Category Archives: A Day in the Life

You’re Made for God-Sized Dreams

Have you ever had a dream or desire that started as a quiet whisper in your heart?

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For me it was a whisper that started out so subtle that for days, weeks or maybe even years it was drowned out or pushed aside as I moved through life’s daily tasks.

I even began to wonderful if I ever heard anything at all.

A few years ago I found myself going through life unable to see clearly.  I was blindly operating on “auto-pilot”.  When asked how I was doing I would even catch myself saying, “I’m surviving” or “Just trying to get through this day”.  I had gotten trapped behind negative self talk and even started to believe this was as good as it was gonna get.  Have you ever found yourself there? Continue reading

A Special Card for my BFF

Sometimes you need a special card for that someone special.  Back in February I did a post sharing the Card in a Box I made for my “true” love… my best friend… my hubby… for Valentine’s Day.  You can find that post HERE.  Today I want to give you a sneak peek of the one I made for my other “true” love… my bff… since grade school.

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You know… that special friend that when your paths first crossed you became instant friends.  No matter what storms came your way… a new friend moving in right next store, boy crushes, parents divorcing, moving away from one another, getting married and starting your own families miles apart… you still can come together for a precious time of a few stolen minutes and start right back where you left off.  That’s who this card was for… my girlfriend, my bff Liz.  I was blessed to spend some precious time with her and give her this card a few weeks ago during our quick trip to Maryland.  Nothing better than a hug from your best friend!

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Liz and I met 40 years ago.  Our friendship is the longest and dearest friendship I have.  I was in the fourth grade (the same age as my youngest child) and had just moved into town and to this day we can’t agree which one of us got in the wrong line on the first day of school.  I’m guessing since I was new it was me, but let’s not tell her that. The one thing we can agree on is that in that very moment both of our lives had been changed forever.  We discovered we lived right around the corner from one another and became the best of friends.

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We truly “grew” up together as we spent hours, days and years playing with Barbies, riding bikes, scraping our knees, going to girl scout meetings, making crafts, learning to bake and sew, going camping, swimming, playing games in the park till dark, watching movies, giggling through sleepovers, staying up all night sharing life together.  We went from chasing lightning bugs and running from boys as little girls to chasing boys and letting them catch us through our
teen years.

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But then something happen that rocked both our worlds.  Before high school began Liz’s parents divorced.  This was the first of many families that would go through this painful separation.  To this day the pain of her having to move away with her mom was one of the most painful moments I had growing up, not knowing at the time my own parents would be following suit.  I remember crying till all my tears had emptied out and I could not cry one more tear… my heart just ached.

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We wrote long heartfelt letters to one another promising to always be there for one another no matter what, no matter how many miles were stretched between us.  I still have mine packed away somewhere but found these quick notes of love written on the back of school pics she gave me way back then.  After she moved away we cherished the moments we got to spend together when it was her dad’s weekend and she was back around the corner from me or the special times that I would get to spend with her at her mom’s house and even her grandma’s house which wasn’t as far away.

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Life went on and we both grew up in our different worlds and life was nothing like our childhood plans of growing up, buying a camper and traveling carefree across the nation together experiencing life. HA!  Instead I moved from Maryland to Ohio to go to college.  There was no internet or social media back then, only long distance phone calls and writing letters.  And for us… it was mostly letter writing because I didn’t have a phone.  As a mom with kids in college now I can’t even imagine not being able to call or text them anytime I want.  It was a different world.  Oh how we missed one another during those years… sometimes you just need to talk with your best friend face to face and those times were difficult.

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But… in some ways I truly miss the art of letter writing.  I still treasure the hand written notes and letters I have from those I love… the love notes from my now hubby Todd when we dated… the hand written letters and recipes from my mother who I miss dearly, especially treasured today on her birthday… and of course the notes and letters from my best friend.

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Eventually, we both married and of course were each others Maid of Honor.  She married her high school sweetheart Sam and stayed in Maryland and I married my high school sweetheart Todd and settled in Ohio… oh so many miles away!  We tried to stay in touch over those early years of adulthood as best we could being so far apart, but those seemed to be the years that the distance between us was so vast in so many ways.

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Then… we both started families and that seemed to give us a new special bond as we shared in the love, joy, tears and heartache of raising a family.  Every chance I got to go home we would get together with our kids and catchup on life.  The pics above of our firstborns were taken almost 20 years ago.  We both wished we had lived closer to one another so we could have done this season of our lives together.  I can’t believe so much time has past since those pics were taken and we’ve both sent our kids off to college.

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But through it all… the good, the bad and the unknown I can always count on her.  I know her love and concern for me is genuine, unconditional and true as mine is for her.  I wish more than anything that we lived closer but am so blessed that we have one another and can even keep in touch through Facebook.  I wish we had more moments in real time together, but I love that when do get together we can start right back up where we left off even after being apart for months or even years.  Gosh I love this girl!!!

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Our friendship is deeply rooted, always authentic, respectfully honest, lovingly real, painfully raw, sometimes messy, positively priceless and heavenly bound.  The more years that go by the more I realize just how special our friendship truly is… just how much of who I am is because of “us” and how very much I love and miss her.  I also realize that I need to make sure she knows just how special she is to me.  I don’t think we… or at least I… let those I love and care about know just how special they are to me and how important their friendship is.  So that is why I made this card just for her.  Something fun to say hello… to let her know I miss her.  How about you?  Have you let that special friend know just how special they are to you?  Go for it… send a text, or a hand written note, or give them a call, make time to get together.

If you would like to make this special card for yourself to give then I encourage you to sign up for my Card in a Box Class.

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My Card in a Box Class is coming up soon and I would love for you to join me to make this fun card that you can give to that someone special in your life.

Card in a Box Class
Tuesday May 6th at 6:30pm
or
Wednesday May 7th at 10am.
Class fee  $15
Please Register by May 2nd

You will create a lovely free-standing card that would be perfect for Mother’s Day, a Birthday or Graduation. You will learn how to make the base as well as decorate the card using exclusive stamps, punches and die-cut framelets. You will even learn to make your own envelope using the Envelope Punch Board.  Please bring your favorite adhesive and scissors.

 

Blessings and Happy Stamping!
Anita Haines

Project Life by Stampin’ Up!

April 15, 2014

The most exciting news was announced today!  Stampin’ Up! has partnered with the wonderful Becky Higgins to to bring us the real deal… authentic Project Life products in exclusive Stampin’ Up! colors and designs.  Woot! Woot!  How exciting is that!!!  I am over the moon about it and can’t wait to get my hands on it to start playing!  Yes… I am doing a happy dance today… even with all the snow on the ground… and it being tax day… it’s a good day!  Best news ever!!!!  You can read more about it on Becky’s Blog.

The best part is that you will not have to wait too long and will be able to order a selection of Project Life products starting May 1!   And with the launch of our new annual catalog on June 2, you’ll be able to buy from our complete line of Project Life products.

But if you’re as excited as I am and can’t wait that long then you need to join my team today. Stampin’ Up! demonstrators will be able to order the limited selection starting April 21.

 

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You know what I’ll be doing on the 21st!!!  I love that as a demonstrator I can order the products early and if you join my team you can too!  If you’ve already fallen’ in love with Project Life and have been using it yourself can you think of nothing better than becoming a demonstrator and not only saving but making money sharing something you already love and enjoy?  As Becky mentioned on her blog, “It’s one thing to tell someone about Project Life and explain how easy it really is.  It’s another thing to be able to sit down with someone and show them just how beautifully simple the scrapbooking process can be with Project Life.”  That’s what I am so excited about as a demonstrator… that I get to share this joy with all of you.  If you want to talk about becoming a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator contact me today.  I would love to share with you.  You can also find more info on my website.

You can be sure that I will be planning lots of fun events for of us Project Life Scrapbookers.  Until then, here’s hoping your tax day was a good day.  I know I am smiling from ear to ear!!!

 

Blessings and Happy Stamping!
Anita Haines

DIY Chocolate Butterflies

It’s been a Spring Break week for us here in Ohio. And if you know anything about Ohio you’ll know it’s a bit confused about what “Spring” means.  You know…. sunshine, warmth, singing birds, budding flowers.  If I’m honest I will admit that I’m a bit envious of all the beach and ocean view posts I’m seeing from friends all over facebook and Instagram.

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Yep… This was our view in Ohio this week. Someone forgot the memo that it is Spring here.

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Yep… That’s me… somewhere behind that cold and snow flurry blown hair… not the gentle ocean breeze I would prefer.

But there is one thing I’ve learned in life… ok maybe a few things.  Sometimes life doesn’t seem fair.  Sometimes life is difficult.  Sometimes life is ugly.  Sometimes you don’t get what you want.  Sometimes you can’t seem to find what you need.

Ice-Beauty-www.stampwithanita.com

Those are the times you have to seek… to find beauty.  Those are the times you may have to create beauty.  Those are the times you may even have to give what you need to find what you seek.  It is in those times you may not get what you want but instead you find out you will get what you needed all along.

So this Spring Break I had to choose to find the beauty in the season I am personally in at this time.  That season goes way beyond the weather.  There is beauty to be found… even in the cold “winter like” Spring of Ohio.

One place I find beauty in is creating quick and easy projects.  So that is where these fun DIY Chocolate Butterflies come in.  I created these for a Spring Event I had a couple years ago.

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Look how fun they are!!! They were the perfect touch for my event to top off the cupcakes.  Let me show you just how quick and easy they were to make…

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I just used chocolate chips and melted them down.  Follow the melting instructions on the package you purchase.  Once melted I placed them into an icing bag with a small circle decorating tip.  If you don’t have icing bags as I used here you can simply use a baggie and cut a tiny hole in the corner.  I found an image I wanted to use from my Stampin’ Up! Catalog then laid a piece of wax paper over the image and just traced it.  Once I had all the butterflies I needed I gently placed the wax paper onto a cookie sheet and placed in frig to harden.  Once they were harden I carefully peeled them up and placed them on top of my prepared cupcakes.  Quick and easy!  You could also do this with any of the candy melts that come in multiple colors as well as trace any other image you might need.  How fun is that!!!

So I encourage you to go find beauty in today… seek it out… and if you can’t find it I challenge you to create it.

Don’t forget Sale-A-Bration is quickly coming to an end…

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If you purchase $50 you can choose a Sale-A-ration Product for FREE till the end of March!

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OR… if your wish list is long JOIN my team for continued discounts on all your favorite products. I’d love to share with you all the benefits of joining and being a part of my Stampin’ Up! family. Contact ME today if you would like to chat about it!

Place at least a $50 order and not only will you get to choose a FREE SAB product I will also send you this card as a thank you..

Scallop Tap Punch Card Closure www.stampwithanita.com
“Create what you seek but can not find”.

Blessings and Happy Creating!
Anita Haines

Meet The Other Girls in Our Family

Today the skies were a beautiful blue and the sun was shinning bright.  There was still a chill in the air but the sun was very inviting!  It was the perfect day to let our girls out to free range in the yard all afternoon.  It’s been such a long Winter and they did not want to have anything to do with all that fluffy cold white stuff that has covered all the grass that they so loved.  Yep… I’m talking about our feathered girls…

Live a Lovely Life... raise chickens
It brought me such joy to go outside today for some fresh air and spend some time with them.  Natalie joined me as we spent some time petting and talking with them… and of course giving them some treats.  There is just something special, fun and even calming when spending a little time watching them.  We call it “Watching Chicken TV”.  We even invite the neighbors to join us at times!  They can truly be entertaining.  Really!!

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Our girls will all turn two this month.  We have raised them all from tiny fluffy peeps just one day old.  We let the kids all pick out their own to name.  We started out with eight, but one didn’t make it past the first week.  Then it didn’t take long before we realized one of our girls was a roo… because of his distinguished voice so we had to find a new home for him.  This Winter was a rough one and we ended up losing two of our girls to it, so now we have four.

CaptinLet me introduce you to “Captain”.  She is a Golden Buff and our best egg layer.  She lays the rich brown eggs and almost never misses a day… except when she’s broody, but that’s a whole other story for another time.

CallieThis beautiful gal is “Callie”.  She was named after our calico cat “Callie” that we used to have.  She’s an Easter Egger and lays lovely light green eggs.  She is at the top of the pecking order and keeps all the girls in line.

NachoSay hello to “Nacho”.  She is a Plymouth Rock and lays the speckled brown eggs.

huevosAnd last but not least, I introduce you to “Huevos” which means eggs in Spanish.  She is a Light Brahma and our biggest girl and contrary to her name she was the last of our hens to start laying eggs.  We weren’t sure she was ever going to start!  She is also the one in the peep photo above.  It’s so hard to believe she was ever so tiny.

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Not only do our girls bring us fun entertainment, they also give us beautiful yummy eggs everyday.  See how fun all the different colors are.

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Having fresh eggs everyday has been such a wonderful blessing to us.  They are so much yummier and fresher than store bought and make every recipe taste better!

YUMMY sausage and cheese quiche
I thought I would share one of our family’s favorite egg recipes.  I had gotten it years ago from my friend Nancy Gillespie during our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) days.  One of the best things about those days were the hot breakfasts we enjoyed during the meetings.  I think it was the only breakfast, let alone hot breakfast I ever got during that season in my life.  I still have the red sign-up sheet from the meeting that I had scribbled the recipe on, folded and tucked inside a favorite recipe book, but I know this one by heart now.  I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we have over the years.  It’s also been a favorite at my Stampin’ Up! Events.

Sausage and Cheese Quiche Pie

YUMMY sausage and cheese quiche • 8 Eggs
• 1 pound of Sausage  (I usually use Bob Evens Regular Sausage)
• 1 pt. Whipping Cream or Half and Half
• 4 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 2 Prepared Pie Shells  (store bought or make your favorite homemade recipe)
(optional)  I have added fresh spinach at times.

Brown sausage and then mix together all ingredients. Pour into pie shells.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350˚.

That’s it!  Simple and Yummy!

 

Come back and visit me next time for some fun project ideas for Spring.

Blessings and Happy Stamping!
Anita Haines