Looking forward to some things...

I'm always looking forward to something. It helps on those days when I am just in a 'funk' and don't feel like getting up or really doing anything at all. I can look forward to those days that I KNOW will be wonderful and I can be happy knowing they are in the future.

Right now, I am looking forward to A LOT of things. I love that, and I love counting down the days until these things. Some are big events, and some are simple days, but they all make me excited for them to be here.
One way I keep track of the days until all of these things is the "Days Until" iPhone app. It's free (which is awesome) and allows me to assign a photo and text to each event and it lets me know how many days there are until that day is here!

Check out the images of all the things I am looking forward to today! (These screenshots were taken yesterday, so I am one day closer now! WOO!)

Don't worry about Jess seeing the baby shower one... she already knows when it is. :-)

Some of the photos I use I download from the Backgrounds App for iPhone (also free)... I just search things like "spring" or "baby" and I get cool images.

Tuesday means FREE!

This week's freebie is a template inspired by this page that Ali Edwards recently posted to her blog. I immediately fell in love with the design when I saw it and knew I needed to recreate it somehow.

Here is my page using the template:

Journaling: Jason and I are having a good time getting to know our new city and exploring. Minneapolis is great so far!
Credits: Papers by AliSarah DigiScraps, Butterfly Brush from Brusheezy, layout design inspired by Ali Edwards

And.... here's the freebie! Enjoy!
[Download the template here.]

Project 365 - February Layout

{Click for larger view.}

The second double-layout in a series of Project 365-type layouts. Click here for all posts regarding this project and for more information.

More Weekend Fun

Aside from the fun blogger get-together on Saturday, there was a bunch of other fun things going on this weekend. Let's recap... shall we? :-)

Saturday evening we headed to Chanhassen for sleigh rides with Jason's co-workers. There was a pot luck and lots of great conversation. And, we got to ride the sleigh right at sunset so we could see the colors of the sky and the stars overhead. It was beautiful.

Sunday we slept in, had some breakfast (which was actually lunch, since it was noon!) and headed to the gym. Jason does his long runs on Sundays; I think he ran 8 miles this time. I spent half my time on the bike and half on the elliptical. It was a "great workout," the elliptical doesn't lie (even though it says that every single time!) :-)

Our walk back from the gym was beautiful. The sky was an incredible blue color. It just makes it that much harder for me to wait for spring! I love these bright winter days though... bright blue sky, shining sun, and bright white snow. Minnesota is especially beautiful on these days.

These hand drawn signs were hung up all over our apartment community. So cute! I love the "A little lemonade will cool you down!" You can bet that I will be supporting these little entrepreneurs on the first day of summer.

Jason and I tend to play a lot of Mario on the weekends. We have already beat the game (well, all except for one level that I HATE and we haven't been able to beat yet, so we started over.) Anywho, we play a lot, and Jason hardly ever dies (I do... a lot, but I'm ok with it.) We beat a level and went to the next and both exclaimed "where is Mario's hat?!?!" Seriously! Where did it go!? We were baffled and SURE he had a hat on prior to this level. So, Jason googled it and found out that if you have 99 lives and you complete a level, Mario looses his hat. He gets it back when he dies again. Interesting. A reward for getting 99 lives means you loose your hat? Hehe. I like it whether it makes sense or not.

Speaking of Mario, Jason has called me Yoshi for as long as I can remember. I have no idea why, but now Yoshi is my favorite Mario character. Friday after work Jason went to Target to get a few things and brought this guy back for me. I love when he just randomly does nice things for me like this. Now this guy sits on our TV and watches us while we play Mario. :-)

I actually scrapbooked this weekend! Yesssss! I feel like it's been WAY too long. I made this cute Autograph Book which I will take with me when we go to Disney World. I love the ribbons... they are my favorite part of the whole project.

While putting together a photo album scrapbook (to be photographed and shared soon!) about our trip to Napa from last year, I turned over this Jamba Juice business card to apply adhesive and found this little note. So great. I love when meaningful phrases just smack you in the face! I mean, right there, there it was! I couldn't even ignore it! So, today, however you see fit, take Jamba Juice's advice and, "Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is."

A Birthday to Celebrate!

Happy Birthday to my Mother-in-Law! I hope you have a wonderful day chock full of smiles and rainbows and chocolate!

Tuesday Freebie for You!

I'm hoping that those of you out there who are Disney World fans enjoy my little freebie today! It's a printable Autograph Book! Yay! What a relief; you do not have to spend $12.95 on an autograph book at the park!

I was anxious to do a little craftiness before our upcoming trip (10 MORE DAYS!) and thought that I could put my Photoshop skills to work creating pages for a cute little Autograph Book. It's super easy to put together (instructions are included in the download) and, even though I used a Bind-it-All, you could just use a hole punch and book rings. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

There are a bunch of characters included, as well as a bunch of blank pages in case you encounter a character who does not have a page (I think the chances are quite good.) There are 36 pages total (including the cover) and the download requires 12 sheets of white cardstock and a printer. I also put a thicker sheet of black cardstock on the back to protect the interior pages a little more.

[Download this week's freebie here.]

A Bloggy Good Time!

On Saturday I had the pleasure of spending my morning with 40 wonderful ladies. All of whom I would have loved to talk to for at least a few hours alone to get be able to get to know each and every one of them.

This was my first Blogger get-together in the Twin Cities and, I have to be honest, I was a little nervous. Going to an event alone is a nerve-wracking thing. There was really no reason for me to be nervous though, because as soon as I stepped in the door, I was greeted by some of the nicest people ever.

Jen of PriorFatGirl organized this event for women to get together to meet other women who may be going through the same healthy-eating, weight loss (or lack of!) issues together. There were some women there who have already lost a lot of weight and some who are still, or just starting their weight loss journey. It really was motivational to meet all these women who have a lot of the same goals and fears as everyone else. We are not alone in this and we all have support when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle.

I have been wanting to change a lot of my eating/exercise habits for a long time and this is the kind of event that I see myself going to again and again to support and be supported. It's a great feeling.

We all met at The Beat Coffeehouse in Minneapolis and, after getting ourselves some morning beverages (yum!) we sat down. The coffeehouse provided a relaxed environment for us all to chat and get to know each other.

Jen did a great job keeping everything really low-key but still adding some structure. She introduced herself and the other who girls who blog with her, Amanda and Lindsey, who both shared their stories. She also had us read some of each other's fears about weight loss
(anonomously), exchange recipes we all brought, and introduce ourselves and our blogs.

Me with Amanda -- Another PriorFatGirl -- who is super awesome and she was sick and still looked fantastic!

Me with Mary -- Fit This, Girl -- and Cindy -- Healthy Heart Journey -- These two girls are great and we talked A LOT about all sorts of things. We were talking, and talking, and talking, and then we looked around the room and almost everyone was gone! I hadn't even noticed because I was so absorbed in the coversation!

Me with our beautiful hostess, Jen -- PriorFatGirl -- who was inspiring and friendly and did a great job at getting everyone together for a great event. Thanks Jen!!!
(Don't you just love my hair in my face in this photo? Yeah, I don't! Haha! Some days it just won't stay out of my face and I just want to chop it all off!)

I also got to meet Suzi of Pink Vanilla Cupcakes (whose blog I have been reading for a while now) and Michelle of Michelle's Hobby Bloggy (who has a blog about knitting and chocheting!) but didn't get a chance to get a photo with either of them.

And, last but not least, we all took home a bag FULL of healthy snacks and coupons (free popsicles? Um, yes!) Big thanks to our sponsors: Smart Food, Barney Butter, Funky Monkey, Mom's Best Naturals, Better Balance, Light life, Fiber One, Amy's Organic's, Popsicle, Saiba Smart, and Orgain!