I've moved...

Find me HERE. I've made the move to Typepad.

You know you're getting old when...

I have a conversation tonight with Mikey at work, it goes something like this:

Me: "Hey, Chuck brought home Karaoke Revolution American Idol and we played it last night - it was so much fun."

Mikey: "Remind me never to get married. Actually don't remind me, just keep telling me lame stories like that."

Me: "Um, it was really fun. We drank Heineken Lights and stayed up until like 1 a.m. playing."

Mikey: "Ooooo, 1 am - you guys are nuts." (Said with the most sarcasm one man can display)

Am I seriously becoming lame or am I well past the point?

Anyway:
I am going to try to make up for the neglect of my blog...seriously. To start, here's a photo from the Bachelorette party down in Long Branch, NJ.
This is the only photo you'll see here, because Danielle would probably kill me if photos of her in her "Special Hat" surfaced here. If you live in the tri-state area, I highly recommend a weekend spent in Long Branch...so much fun, and you never have to get in a car during your stay - everything is right out your backdoor: restaurants, the beach, bars, and shopping what's better than that?

While I was out living life and not blogging, I taught a class making this Father's Day gift, it's a mini book called "Why I Love My Dad"
It's basically just Envelopes from Paper Source, Amy Butler Paper, MM tiny alphas and ledger paper. It was so much fun. The idea for this album comes from Kristina Contes, I took a class with her last year where she made a mini book completely out of envelopes and your photos - genius and oh so easy. I love when you can take a class and really get something out of it - techniques you can use for other projects. If you ever get a chance to take a class with her, do it. I'll post the rest of the mini tomorrow, it's 2 am right now - I need to get some sleep.

Okay lots going on over here, will fill you all in soon. Hope you're having a fabulous week.

Words

We had our MOMS Club Annual Banquet last night - it was serious fun. Alot of work to put together, but we're almost done with our one year term as a Board and then it'll be nice to sit back and let someone else plan everything. We had a really great Board this year and worked well together, so it was a nice night to celebrate that. One of the favors that we chose to give to all of the Moms was a handmade frame, we had sent out an email awhile back asking everyone to say something (an adjective) about each woman in the club, we took all of those words written for each woman and put them around the person's name in the frame. Someimes my ideas are a little "off the wall" and sometimes they work, this was one of those instances when at first the other members of the Board were like "WHAAAT?" and then everything worked out and the response was amazing. People were so emotional and happy for what others had to say about them, it was really awesome.

I got my frame last night too, these were the words people wrote about me:
energetic, compassionate, amazing, ferocious*, happy, bubbly, excited, generous, entertaining, fun, thoughtful, kind, cheerful, sincere, crafty, smiley

*Um, the ferocious is an inside joke with some of the girls, although, yes at times I'm definitely ferocious!

As I showed my husband when I got home, he said, "Notice Nicole, it does not day punctual." No, S-it Sherlock. Never punctual but I'm pretty surprised that no one wrote perpetually tardy.

Anyway, hope you're having a fabulous week. I'm off tomorrow for a weekend of sun, fun, spa, and friends. We're going to Long Branch for my friend Danielle's Bachelorette Party, I can't imagine having three meals in a day where I won't have to cut up anyone else's food. I can't wait. Here's a layout from her shower.


Cheers!

If I Never Make Another Cosmo Again...

I'll be a very happy girl.


I was lucky enough to be able to leave work early on Thursday night and see the "Sex and The City" movie at the midnight showing on Friday morning with some girls from work, and John. Loved it. It was so much better than I expected. No spoilers here I promise.
But then the Cosmo madness began at work the next day. We had a Sex in the City party, and numerous groups of women coming in before seeing the movie. Seriously, my boss checked the computer at 7:30 on Friday night and we had already made 260 Cosmos between five of us. Crazy right? By Saturday night, I think I made 180 Comos myself. I think I had nightmares about making another Cosmo. So, no more Cosmos...please.

I did it

Finally, I sent out my resume. I've been lucky enought to stay home with my son for the past two years and I think it's time to return to work in September. There were Biology Teacher openings for two excellent schools in the area and I sent out my resume for them - now, I just have to wait. I'm a little bit nervous that there are only two possible openings in this area, but I honestly refuse to commute an hour each way, thats time I could be spending with my family. I'm signed up for all of my Jersey tests, paid all of the fees, and now have to gather together my life story for the state of New Jersey to grant me my teaching certificates, which the state of New York had already granted me five years ago, after paying their fees and taking their tests of course. It's completely crazy but I guess that's just the way it is.
Anyhow in other news, my car completely and totally fell apart on Thursday night, yeah, it was bad. And I was suddenly reminded that if I went back to work, I could buy or lease a brand new car without reservation. Lots of incentives to go back to work full time, but I am going to miss my time at home during the day with Jack. What finally made me realize that returning to work was the best thing for us was the other morning, I was honestly too tired to play with him. Waking up and being a Mommy all day followed by bartending until 2:00 - 2:30 a.m. and getting home after 3:00 a.m. just doesn't facilitate being a fun and happy Mother. So, that's that.

We had a fantastic weekend. I worked on Friday and Saturday, but Chuck and I went on a real date on Sunday. We saw "Baby Mama" with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (it was hysterical by the way) and had some desserts at the restaurant where I work. On Monday we got our first poolside day of the season in with our family at my SIL and BIL's Barbeque. Here's Jack oh so happy to be by the pool.


Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

There you have it.

Um, I'm shocked to see that you guys think I'm so much more of a badass than I really am. The lie is that I have two tattoos - Dude, I have NONE - I can't commit to anything for that long. As far as the motorcycle, yup I've ridden on one tons of times, much to my Mother's dismay, and my former neighbors' dismay for that matter. As a teenager, and sporadically into my twenties, I had a boyfriend (correction: "kind of boyfriend") with the LOUDEST bike on the planet, who would occasionally drop me off in the wee hours of the morning. I was a crazy teenager, no doubt. But, surprisingly, I never got suspended from school - I probably should've, but never got caught. So there you have it.
In other news, I got a box from Paper Source with some pretty envelopes for some upcoming projects - they're seriously burning a hole in my pocket - I NEED to use them, but my life, which consists of being a Mommy all day and bartending until late, late at night is totally preventing me from making stuff - until tomorrow, meeting up with Nat before she leaves for Taiwan and Morgan for some scrap time after a shopping trip, that is. Happy Wednesday!

Two Truths and A Lie

Wow, I'm a pretty bad blogger lately, one of my New Year's resolutions was to blog more often, not going so well - but I'm going to challenge myself this week to create more and blog more but, we'll see how that goes:)

My lovely monthly goods from Studio Calico and Scarlet Lime arrived last week in addition to a stack of great photos from the printer, so lots of fun things have been going on over here.

"2-2-Fee" is what Jackson was saying when he got to the top of the slides at the playgrounds for awhile. What's scary to me is that it hasn't even been a month and he now counts correctly, well almost correctly: "1-2-fee." I do love that photo of him though.



Breakfast is a happy time around here. I know I've probably said this before, but God blessed me with a baby who sleeps later than most, like oh 8:30 ish wake-up time everyday, sometimes later. (I really don't tell other mothers this IRL because they probably secretly hate me after that, but I digress.) Breakfast in our house is really a fun time right now. It's just me and Jack in the morning and as soon as we get through the morning diaper change, he's running into the kitchen to tell me that he needs a cup (which he still calls a "Bottle" and a "Nana" or banana.) And he keeps telling me until it's all cut up and on his plate. And then he sits in his highchair happily eating his favorite meal. I really love this time we spend together.



And lastly, I'm organizing some games for our MOMS club Banquet, note: I used to think that games were pretty lame until I had to go to some showers out here in NJ by myself only knowing the person they were being thrown for and maybe a few others, so games in my book are an important "ice breaker".
Anyway one of the games is 2 Truths and A Lie, so here it goes, see if you can pick out the lie, and have a lovely Monday!

a. I've ridden on a motorcycle.
b. I have two tattoos.
c. I was never suspended from school as a kid.