Krissi's vist and a Pinterest Party

When Southwest Airline deals were disappointingly more expensive this year, we decided we could only afford one girl-time trip..me to visit Krissi. I went in February, for a relaxing week of Krissi time.

A few weeks later, Krissi called me and told me about a so-so deal that had popped up. We decided to book it, so she could come see me too. Yay!

Her time here was shorter than usual (from Wednesday to Saturday), so we had to pack in the most FUN possible. I decided that called for a Pinterest party! I invited my mom, sisters, and sister-in-laws and told them to bring a friend, if they wanted.

Each guest was asked to bring a treat/snack to share and a wrapped gift... that were both inspired from Pinterest.

 Pinterest tip: if you dip your chalk into water before writing, it will turn up darker on your chalkboard.

 Wreath inspired from Pinterest.

 A photo-op frame from Pinterest.

 I copy/pasted and printed off funny, cute sayings I found on Pinterest. Then I laminated them and put a magnet on the back. These served as favors for everyone to take home.

I made 2 treats. First, a salty sweet snack mix.

 The salty; popcorn, pretzels, Frito chips, almonds and sunflower seeds (what I had on hand).

 The sweet; white chocolate, milk chocolate and M&M's.

 YUM!

 Treat number 2; Pink Lemonade Cupcakes.
A friend made these for a baby shower, over a year ago, and I have been craving them ever since. They did not disappoint.

Mandy with Geneva Kate (Tawnya's baby)

We talked about playing a game or doing a project, but opted for talking and laughing instead. 

We did the gifts white elephant style..draw a number, pick a wrapped gift or steal a gift.

I used the Pinterest photo-op frame to take a picture of each person and their Pinterest inspired gift they received.

Amber M- picture frame ring holder (made by me). Wish I had taken a better picture of it. It's a place to put your ring, when you take it off to knead dough, wash hands, sleep, etc. I love this idea.. I bought another frame to make one for myself.

Tiffany (Karen's friend)- received a cute tile/chalkboard countdown (made by Amber M). She stole this from me! :)

Mandy- homemade gift bows (made by Mom-LoraDawn). A natural model don't cha think? :)

Tawnya- cloth snack bags (made by Karen). Good way to store your pretzels, crackers or Cheerios for church. 

Krissi- calm down jar (made by Amber M acting as Mandy's proxy). When one of your children acts up and needs some calm down time, shake the jar. When the glitter has all settled to the bottom, they can come out of "time out". 

Karen- Grandma Waite curtains, turned little girl apron (made by Amber C). So cute..I remember that print in Grandma's kitchen/dining room.

Chanel- JOY blocks (made by Tawnya). Very cute...very domestic of her. So proud.

Mom/LoraDawn- ombre french knot wall hanging (made by Chanel). Reminds me of a river/stream.

Amber C- homemade laundry soap (made by Tiffany). I had been wanting to make this, so was very excited to have it UNTIL... Amber stole it from me!

Me- dry erase note frame (made by Krissi). Thinking about using it as a pass-along note. When you find it by your bed, write a note and put it by someone else's bed.

I really had a good time..hope those who came (that were not family) had fun as well. Somehow we got onto the topic of "back in the day" and "what's your number? (of how many guys you've kissed). Amber M was just sure mine was at least 10... I'm happy to report (after thinking a bit) my number is 6...just 6.  :)

Sidenote: In the short time Krissi was here, she helped me to get a lot of things done;  free up space on my laptop (with the help of her husband Steve), get a new (under warranty) kitchen faucet, set up Microsoft Money and purchase a new cell phone and case. We even found time to go shopping, go out to lunch and watch a play too. 

Krissi's time here was too short, but FUN!

Annual Post Falls Trip

Southwest Airlines seems to have a steal-of-a-deal on tickets, each year in the Fall. There are restrictions on dates and times to fly, but that doesn't stop Krissi and I from snatching them up each year. She comes here and I go there within 2 months of one another. My turn came early February this year.

I typed up a schedule, letter and surprise list to keep things running smoothly at home, while I would be gone.
Leaving little daily prizes for the kids to open (after tasks or chores are finished) is becoming a tradition. I think they like it, because they say things like, "Mom, when are you leaving? I can't wait!" --Thanks a lot. :)

This is who greeted me, as I stepped inside the door of Krissi's mom and dad's house ....Amber the crazy dog. Don't let her cuteness fool you, she is a WILD puppy!!! She jumped up on me, chewed on my hands and tried to bite off the decoration buckles on my shoes. She wouldn't leave me alone. She thought I was her instant best friend.

Krissi and Steve sold their house, as she was visiting me in December. They moved in with her mom and dad until they could figure out their next move. Living together started to seem like a good idea. They started talking about it and eventually decided that they would build a house for all to live together. Her mom and dad put their house on the market, had a showing the first day I was there and then SOLD it the next day! ---I'm claiming to be their house-selling-good-luck-charm. :)

Jessica and Ila LOVE this crazy dog!

Jessica bought this HUGE moose while I was there.

Her school mascot was a moose.

She thought I should love it as much as her.

And her mom too.

Daniel came to me Sunday evening and asked if I would help him make a house for his Zhu-Zhu pet, Sarge. He had drawn all the walls, pathway and bushes. I helped him cut them out and tape them all together. --Creative kid!

I think Sarge and his cars are quite cozy in their house, don't you?

Krissi and Anna Laura made treats almost every day I was there. It was torture being on my NO SWEETS challenge!

We went about the week doing nothing in particular, but having a good time being with one another. I helped out at the elementary school, did Activity Days with Krissi and the girls, went shopping, etc.

The last night, before I went home, we had dinner with these ladies; Kathy Pollock and Lisa Zane. It was fun to talk and catch up with them.

It's so nice to do this twice a year. I'm so grateful for our families and for Jason and Steve who support us in our "girl time". Thanks guys!

Whooo Loves You?!

Krissi was here this week.

We did nothing too extraordinary, but had FUN doin' a whole lotta nothin'.

When we are together, usually something crafty occurs.

This week; Owl Valentine cookies.

The original idea used OREOs and different kinds of melting chocolates. I have a hard time copying someone's idea verbatim, so mine look a little different.

What I used: vanilla sandwich cookies, wintogreen Lifesavers, mini chocolate chips, cinnamon lips (cut in 1/2), pink colored melting chocolates and orange frosting.

On the site where I found the cookie idea, she also had these cute cards to print off.

I like that mine look like the Valentine card. Sooooo cute!

Krissi

***This post is over due. I should have posted this several weeks ago. ***

I had BIG plans for us.... plans of crafting and making gifts 24/7... or at least most of the hours of the day.

My good friend Krissi (from Post Falls, Id) came to visit the first week in December and got to stay for a WHOLE week! ---We take turns going to see one another. We usually get to see each other about twice a year. Once at her house, once at mine. Such a fun, special treat our husband's and families are so sweet to endure.

We shopped a little, decorated a 13 year old's locker and bedroom, tried to go to lunch at "The Melting Pot" (but ended up going to dinner, when they were actually open), attended a family Christmas party, made yummy Christmas treat pretzels (of 2 varieties), taught pre-school, babysat, read a little, played a lot, relaxed, visited and actually DID get around to making a few Christmas gifts. ---Krissi took home 30+ cute bookmarks for teacher/friend/neighbor -type gifts!

This was my first time at "The Melting Pot". It was yummy and oh so very expensive. :)

Here we're painting canvases to go in the windows of Rylee's room.
These were extra yummy pretzels. Krissi cooked the carmel from scratch (a process that took WAY more time and patience than I have for cooking) which is why Krissi did it.
After the carmel started to set, we cut it in strips, then took the carmel and wrapped it around a pretzel. Next we dipped it in chocolate, then drizzled white chocolate on top for decoration.
Do they remind you of corn dogs.... or cat tails??? They tasted much better I assure you.

These were the second pretzel treats we made... I've seen them referred to as "bellybuttons". Bellybuttons are my kind of treat.... quick and easy.

Arrange the pretzels on a cookie sheet, plop a Hershey kiss in the middle of each one, put in a 200 degree oven for approximately 5-7 minutes, then take them out and press an M&M into the top of the kiss. Let cool.

Voila! A wonderful combination of salty and sweet. It's hard to eat just one. If you start, it's very hard to stop.... not that I would know. :)

Verdict: Second pretzel treat takes WAY less time/effort to make, almost equally yummy.

During the week, I felt that I wasn't being "productive" enough... that we weren't accomplishing what we set out to do. Now as I look back on the week, I see it differently..... many things accomplished, lots of fun had and many memories made.

Thanks for a wonderful week Krissi! And thank you Steve and Goodmansen Family for letting me take your wife and mommy for a week.

Post Falls Get away

I've just returned from visiting my good friend Krissi, in Post Falls, ID. We had a lot of fun.

First on our agenda was a spa day, at the "Highlands Day Spa". Six women gathered (Amy, Laurie, Dena, Erika, Krissi, & myself) to treat ourselves to some relaxation and time away from every-day life.
We enjoyed a hand and foot paraffin dip, a foot soak and massage, a mud hair treatment and...
an awesome upper back massage from Zach! He did a great job. I REALLY needed a good massage! As we took turns at each station, we ate yummy snacks and visited with one another. We had a nice relaxing time, enjoying the company of women and getting to know one another better.

Next, we went to dinner. A few more women joined us for the night; Tami and Terri. I can't remember the restaurant's name, but it was like P.F. Changs. We enjoyed a family-style meal, including lettuce wraps...of course!

Then, we headed towards the mountains. We stayed in a condo time-share. We stayed up late talking and eating yummy treats. The highlight was the chocolate fountain in which we dipped, rice crispy treats, strawberries, mint Oreos, etc.

In the morning, 3 girls had to get back for kid's ballgames, but the remaining 5 of us took our time getting showered, dressed and cleaning up before leaving.

Me, Dena, Erika (Dena's sis-in-law from California), Krissi & Terri.

Here's the view from our condo balcony.

Right on Lake Coeur'd Alene.

After checking out, we went to lunch and did a little shopping. Such a nice get-away, with such a nice group.

Saturday evening, I went to a Spokane Indian's hockey game with Krissi and her family. Steve's work (Krissi's husband) takes all of their employees/family/friends to the game, once a year. They rent out a "box" and have catered food and drinks. It was an exciting game. They played the #1 team, in their league, (Spokane is #2 in the league) in which they have a lot of team rivalry. There were 2 really big fights (gloves, pads, helmets, etc. thrown off) and 1 small fight.

Spokane's mascot visited our box twice. Some kids loved him others did NOT.

For the remainder of the week, I hung out with Krissi, her family and her friends. We scrapbooked, volunteered in her girl's school, went to her R.S. birthday dinner and did a little shopping.

Here's Krissi's youngest, Daniel. I took a picture of him with all these stuffed animals surrounding him. The whole couch was full! It reminded me of that scene in E.T. :o) --His favorites are "Cookie" (bear) and "Puppy" (build-a-bear dog).
Did I mention we scrapbooked??? My goal was to scrapbook a whole year while I was there. Well, I didn't get a whole year done, but I did get a lot accomplished. I started in June 2006 and ended in April 2007 (I had to skip Dec 2006, because I accidentally left my pictures at home.)

Krissi's friend Lisa, let us come over several times and scrapbook in her awesome basement. Krissi has brought over most of her stuff to Lisa's because she has such an awesome space. All I had to bring was my book pages, photos and cutting instruments, everything else was provided. (Lisa has a Cricut. You know that cool die-cut machine. That was fun to play with.)

Thanks Krissi and Lisa!

***Lisa and Jodie, you lucked out. I accidentally erased the picture of you scrapbooking. So sorry. I bet you're so bummed. I was fun hanging out with you girls! Thanks again.***

Overall, I had a really nice week. I am grateful for good friends and a great husband and family.