Summer Fun

It is time for Saturday Scraps! It’s a chance to show off your scrapbook layouts either traditional paper or digital. Everyone is welcome to join in. If you post your layouts, be sure you link to click on the pic to link to the Official Saturday Scraps, so your friends can join us. She also has a Mr. Linky up, so we can all visit your beautiful scrapbook page.

She provides a link for the digital freebie kit to use. You don’t have to use this kit, you can show off any of your digi scrap layouts.

I love to use the kits she provides and here’s mine for this week!

Sweet

Theme: Sweet. Become a Photo Hunter View Blogroll

The theme this week is Sweet. I thought of how sweet Princess is when she sleeps and when she is playing in the grass and I thought of some of the sweet things she loves so much.

Feasting & TV Talk

Click on the picture to join in the Friday Feast Fun! Have a Great Friday

Appetizer
How many pieces of jewelry do you wear most days?

Two, my wedding ring and my engagement ring

Soup
What is your favorite instrumental song?

Hmmm . . . I am not sure, maybe chariots of fire?

Salad
Who has a last name that you like?

Reba McEntire

Main Course
Name a popular movie you’ve never seen.

Passion of the Christ (and I'm Baptist. )
Taxi Driver
The Godfather
Ghandi
The English Patient
Dessert

Fill in the blank: Nothing makes me ___________ like ____________.

Nothing makes me happy like the smell of fresh coffee first thing in the morning.

So You Think You Can Dance

I missed So You Think You Can Dance this week. I think that is going to be happening more and more often as Canadian Idol and Big Brother are both on. Prince Charming hates all those shows and I can only hijack the television for so long. It sucks though because I love it. How was it this week? Who left?

Big Brother

On the subject of Big Brother, I can't wait until it comes on! I love that show. Ever time I see a commercial I stop to see if I can find anything else out about it.

Pirate Master

Prince Charming is loving this new show Pirate Master. And I have to admit, I am really enjoying it too. It is fun to watch and talk about what you think will happen and how you think it will go. Do you like it? Have you see it?

Friends

Scroll down for Thursday Thirteen

This week's theme is "Friends." I did these pages last summer. Princess has so much fun playing with MAMA in love's adorable son, that when I saw the theme for this Thursday, I knew that I had lots of pics of them together and lots of scrapbook pages. Perfect!

Take time to visit and comment on others. It will be fun to see how everyone interprets this word and all the quotes that are possible.

Doctors Visit

I finally went to the doctor yesterday and got medication to clear up my UTI. I have such an issue with going to the doctor these days. It took me a week of discomfort and wincing to finally get up the gumption to call the doctor. When I did I was in cold sweats and shaking. I just didn't want to go. I didn't want to get on the bus and go halfway across town and walk down that long road. I didn't want to sit in that room and wait. I didn't want to look around and remember the tears shed in that room. I didn't want the doctor to ask me questions about my loss. I didn't want to go to the doctor at all. But I put on my big girl panties and I dealt with it. I did it and now I can get better.

Scrapbooking Sites

Thirteen Scrapbooking Websites that Twisted Cinderella enjoys Scrapbookbytes Digital Scrapbook Place Digitals Digital Freebies Shabby Princess DigiScrappin with Jen Fishscraps Hummies World Digi Shop Talk Scrapcloud Scrappin with Ikea Goddess Saturday Scraps Eve Recinalla Designs Links to other Thursday Thirteens! (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Summer fun

Click the pic above to get to other Wordless Wednesday Participants.

Just a little note: 5 Minutes for Mom has some Great July 4 Contests going on that you should check out! Most of them are open to Canadians as well.

Drawer Tackle

It's Tackle It Tuesday, again and I have decided to tackle the drawer in my kitchen. It is the drawer that Princess always opens to get her spoons and she roots through it and leaves such a mess. So, I looked in there and had enough. It is much better now.

It is only a little tackle and I have some more things I need to get done. But I have to get in to see a doctor today. I am pretty sure I have a UTI and it is a pain in the butt! Not to gross you out or anything but when I pee, I am starting to make faces like Popeye with one eye squished closed and my face all screwed up. Not good I tell ya!

So here is the before pic of the messy, dirty drawer.

And here is the after pic of the clean organized drawer.

Notsosnowwhite

It was funny last night I was watching Canadian Idol and it is just no fun without someone to discuss it with, so after the third guy sang, I called Notsosnowwhite and asked if she was watching it. She was and we discussed the singer. It was too much fun after that. After every singer we would call and discuss them, their singing and the judges apparently deafness. After one singer that the judges just loved, I called and asked, "Is that guy drunk?" and at the same time I was saying that she was asking, "Is that guy having a seizure?". The judges loved him and thought he was unique. We decided he was bad, apparently drunk, and full of himself. I love that even so far away we shared our show. We are continuing our conversation when the girls sing tonight. And don't even get me started on all the calls that will take place when Big Brother comes on. LOL

I'm A Rockin' Girl!

Bridget over at .."And Miles To Go Before We Sleep..." has graciously awarded me with the Rockin' Girl Blogger Award. Thank you so very much!! She made my week!

I am so glad that my blog has enabled me to meet so many wonderful people and to make so many new friends and connections. Blogging has been a place for me to come when I needed a listening ear, when I wanted to share my beautiful daughter and my life as well as my quirky sense of humor. Thank you so much for making my blog the refuge that it is.

More Princess talk

She is such a riot sometimes. As I was putting her on the bus this morning, Princess, looks at me and smiles and says, "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be just like you." I give her a big hug and say, "That's nice baby. I love you." The Princess continues, "I want to be a mommy and maybe you could be my kid." With a grin, I give her a kiss goodbye and say, "Well . . . I like being your mommy, but you could still be a mommy if you want to." She nods and says, "Okay and Daddy can be our kid." I stifle a laugh as I say, "Have a great day at preschool baby, I"ll see you later." As I walk away, I can hear the bus driver laughing at our little exchange. Sometimes, Princess just knows how to start my day off with a smile. I guess it helps that she got 14 hours of sleep last night. She got lots of sleep to dream up conversations to have with mommy.

Secret Agents Belle

Secret Agent Belle

Princess seems to have been spending a lot of time contemplating her future lately. She will be playing away in her room quietly when she will come out to the top of the stairs and call out to us, "Daddy? I know what I want to be when I grow up now." and he responds, "Oh yeah? What is that?" and she answers very definitely, "A movie rewinder in a movie store." He answers her seriously, "That sounds like a great idea." and she trots happily off to bed. The he looks at me and laughs, "You think there is a big career in that?"

Other jobs have come up as well. Yesterday, this conversation took place:

Princess: "Daddy, I don't want to be a Rock star anymore. Can you use my rope to make a circle over my head?"
Prince Charming: "A circle over your head? Why? What do you want to do?"
Princess: "I want to be a cowboy and I want to throw the circle over my head."
Prince Charming: (a light of understanding dawning in his eyes)"Aaaah, I see. Lets see what I can do." (he ties a circle in her rope.
Princess: "Can you show me how to throw it?"
Prince Charming: "Baby, I can't. Even Daddy doesn't know how to do that."
Princess: "Well fine. I don't want to be a cowboy anymore." (the rope gets abandonned at her feet as she trots off sulkily.)

Last night, while Prince Charming was talking on the phone, Princess came out of her room and called down the stairs, "Daddy, I don't want to be a cowboy anymore now I know what I want to be." And Prince Charming with a smile on his face awaiting the next rendition of how cute can she be answered, "Oh yeah? What would you like to be when you grow up?" Princess announces "I want to be a secret agent." Needless to say, Prince Charming was somewhat suprised by this latest development but after Movie Rewinder no job would be too surprising. With a little grin he asked, "And what does a secret agent do?" She stopped, confused for a moment as to how to demonstrate her 5 year old understanding of what a secret agent does, then she hunched her shoulders, held her little hands in front of her, bent her knees and began to tiptoe, "They do this." It was so comical, and just like something out of a cartoon, you could just hear the Pizzicato music from the Bugs Bunny and Tweety show. "Oooh, they sneak around like that do they?" Prince Charming asked. "Yeah they do. And when monsters come, they do like this." And then with little arms and legs flying in her best karate chop Bruce Lee impersonation, she showed him how she figured they would beat the big bad monsters. Now I ask you, how can you possibly get upset with her for coming out her room when she is supposed to be sleeping when she has to go and be sooo darned cute.

First Blog

I went back and found my first blog ever. It was funny to read and some of it had me laughing so hard. I did notice that I was quite sarcastic and unhappy a lot back then. I would love to carry some of that sarcastic humor to this blog, but then I would have to be as unhappy and angry to get me to that place and I don't particularly want to be there. So you are stuck with me, a somewhat less funny, but much happier me.

Blog Rating

I got my blog rating. It was too funny to learn that apparently I am completely harmless and suitable for all audiences.

Mingle² - Blog Rating

I hear Voices

I hear voices in my head that nobody else hears. Well, actually just one. It is the voice that insists I must clean my plate even though I am getting full. It also tells me that people are judging me when they look at me and makes me apologize when something goes wrong whether it is my fault or not. And, it is the same voice that gets grouchy and pissy when I can't diet the way I want too and wants to throw in the towel and sit on the floor and pout instead.

This voice has been particularly loud with regards to my journey to finally taking a new baby home with me one day. In the four years I have been hoping to conceive, there were a lot of months of anxiously waiting and hoping AF wouldn't rear her ugly head, only to be bitterly disappointed when she came again with bags packed and ready to spend the week making me miserable. But after a while, The Voice stepped in and in an effort to protect me started whispering in my ear, "It isn't going to happen." and "Stop waiting and hoping." and when I would take a pregnancy test, instead of being happy and hopeful, The Voice would again pipe up with a warning mantra of, "Don't get your hopes up, this is test is going to be negative." The Voice would keep me from getting my hopes up. I kept trying for all those years, but I stopped being so tied up in it. I just began to feel like I was going through the motions, making a pointless attempt at a goal I was never going to reach. It made it less painful somehow, I no longer had a bitter disappointment every month, I just kind of gave up and kept going anyway.

Then I got pregnant with Little One. I can remember standing in the bathroom with that test in my hand and The Voice repeating once again it's mantra of "Don't get your hopes up, this is test is going to be negative." And when I took the test and it was positive, I was confused for a minute. I read the test instructions again, convinced I had done something wrong. It was like I was in a play and someone got their lines wrong. I couldn't quite convince myself that the test was positive. I took another test right away and it said the same thing. I kept the tests and every day, I would look at them in an attempt to quiet The Voice.

Because he was still there, in the back of my head, whispering, taunting, trying to protect me from the disappointment I was surely going to feel. I lived every day with the sound of The Voice in the back of my head saying that this wasn't real, this was all going to go away, there is no way I am ever going to get to take a baby home. So, I did what I could to convince myself, I talked to other pregnant moms, I took belly pics, I did scrapbooks, I talked to Little One, I rubbed my belly, trying desperately to quiet The Voice. To say that at last, my dream was going to come true, it was okay to be hopeful.

But then the bleeding started. There was no quieting The Voice then. No matter how many Ultrasounds told me that Little One was okay and growing, no matter how many doctors and friends said that bleeding was normal, no matter what anyone else said, The Voice just kept saying, "I told you so. This is all going to go away. This isn't really your dream to have." It all became too painful. I was terrified I was going to lose my baby, I was scared to hope, I was too scared to believe.

Then on June 4, 2007, it did indeed go away. My Little One was lost to me forever and The Voice won. I kept seeing my baby on the Ultrasound, feeling her in my hands, and feeling like there was something I did wrong. Maybe I didn't believe hard enough, love hard enough, eat the right things, take it easy enough. And all the while there was The Voice, repeating over and over, "I Told You. This isn't going to happen for you. Give up. Don't hope."

It has been a little while now and I no longer cry. I can look at a pregnant woman and not burst into tears, and I can appreciate the beauty of a newborn child without feeling the pain of my loss so desperately. And sometimes, I can even convince myself to believe that it will one day happen for me. I tell myself to go through the motions again. I make the room ready for one day. I hope and dream of one day. But secretly, in the deep, dark recesses of my mind, I still hear him. The Voice whispering incessantly, "It isn't going to happen. Stop waiting and hoping." And when I can't truly believe, I wear my smile like a mask and pretend that I still truly have hope in my heart of hearts.

Wildflower Saturday Scraps

It is time for Saturday Scraps! It’s a chance to show off your scrapbook layouts either traditional paper or digital. Everyone is welcome to join in. If you post your layouts, be sure you link to click on the pic to link to the Official Saturday Scraps, so your friends can join us. She also has a Mr. Linky up, so we can all visit your beautiful scrapbook page.

She provides a link for the digital freebie kit to use. You don’t have to use this kit, you can show off any of your digi scrap layouts.

I love to use the kits she provides and here’s mine for this week!

Shiny

Theme: Shiny. Become a Photo Hunter View Blogroll

The theme this week is Shiny. I had a tough time trying to decide which pics to use for this when I remember Christmas. There had to be something shiny at Christmas. When I began to go through my pics, I started to laugh at all the pics that came out badly because of the SHINY Christmas lights and a wiggly Princess. So here are some of my SHINY pics.

Random Thoughts

Diet

I have been doing really badly. Part of it is because I have been having motivation issues. Money is tight over here if Ever After and every time I try to add something healthy and diet-freindly to my shopping cart, I end up putting it back due to budget issues. I can't afford to eat the way I want to and my inner-five-year-old child feels like throwing a tantrum and saying, if I can't eat the stuff I want to in order to be healthy, I won't be healthy at all. Mature, I know. But hey, I can't be mature all the time.

Another reason, I have been doing badly is emotional. Whenever I am down, food makes me feel better. It comforts me and that self-same diet destroying inner-five-year-old child tells me that with all that I have gone through, I deserve to eat whatever I want to. And while that inner-child pouts and sulks, I feed her ice-cream to make her happy.

That is all very well, but I am quickly losing any and all ground I have worked so hard to gain. I can't let this make me gain all that it took 1 1/2 years to lose. I have decided that I really need to pull up my sock, put on my big panties and deal with it. To that end, I am really going to try. I ate cereal with skim milk for breakfast, and I plan on having apple with cinnamon for a snack as well as a tuna on whole grain bread for lunch and I am not sure about supper yet. I have to try.

I don't know how I am going to approach this, I don't know what diet I am going to do, but for now let's start with healthy and work from there.

So You Think You Can Dance

I love this show. I was suprised and saddened by the male dancer that the judges chose to send home. I love to watch Jimmy. He lights up the stage when he dances. Cedric, while talented dancer in his own feild, simply does not have what it takes to dance in pairs competitions and he keeps letting his partner down. This week his partner went home. I truly think she wouldn't have even been in the bottom 3 couples if it hadn't been for him. I truly believe that the judges were wrong in this case.

Friday Feast

Click on the picture to join in the Friday Feast Fun! Have a Great Friday

Appetizer
Name a funny habit you have

Hmmm . . . when I put things away in my cupboard, they are super organized. All like with like and all the labels with the english side facing out. I am obsessive about keeping things stocked up. I hate to run out of things so tend to do things like, keep over 40 rolls of toilet paper in my linen closet

Soup
If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?

Piano. When I was a little girl, I was learning a little from an older lady that I adored. She only taught me very little. But I always thought it would be wonderful to make the ivory's sing.

Salad
How long is your hair

Right now it is overgrown but short. I am going to get it cut like Princess's hair though.

Main Course
When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?

A couple of weeks ago, I forgave Prince Charmings Aunt for the terrible things she did when I had Princess. I am now willing to spend time with her and be freinds with her. My only provisor is that she will never be allowed to babysit any child of mine.

Dessert
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?

My Coffee Perk.

Purple

This week's theme is "Purple." I did these pages this winter. Princess has so much fun playing in the snow and when I saw the theme for this Thursday, I remembered that her winter clothes were purple. Perfect!

Take time to visit and comment on others. It will be fun to see how everyone interprets this word and all the quotes that are possible.

Recipe Sites

Thirteen Recipe Websites that Twisted Cinderella enjoys Allrecipes - I love using this site with it search function. I can search through recipes that people have submitted as family favorites by the ingredients I have in the house. It even has specialized sections like South Beach and vegetarian! Fixing Dinner - I love how this show gives us shortcut ways to prepare really wonderful food for our family. This is the site and it has recipes from all the episodes. This is the site that gave me the chicken pot pie my family loves. Ragu - This site is great for giving me ways to use the same ingredients. I hate it when I look at a pot of tomato sauce and all I can think of to do with it is spaghetti, I love to use this site to get inspired with foods that Princess will even eat. Paula Deen - Her food is wonderful and rich and luxurious and oh so fattening, but it is nice to know how to prepare all those wonderful southern favorites for a treat once in a while. Sparkes Recipes - SparkRecipes provides healthy and delicious recipes. You can find and rate recipes from other members and use the free recipe calculator to determine nutritional information of your own recipes. Homemade Simple - Great recipes from the hit show and you can browse through old recipes as well. The Very Best Baking - A great site for all sorts of wonderful baking recipes. I use this a lot around the holidays. 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet - You don't have to give up flavor when you reduce calories. This site offers recipes that are deliciously deceiving, using less sugar and fat to provide healthier recipes that please both family and guests. The recipes are suitable for any healthy weight loss diet. You can also get diet support for almost any way of eating at their forums. Rachel Ray - I love Rachel Ray and this is her site with lots of wonderful recipes. You can also check out her 30 minute meals site as well. Boot Camp Buddies - Has some great diet friendly recipes as well. You can also go to their forums for diet support on Weight Watchers Flex and Core as well as Weight Watchers Vegetarian recipes. Dottis Weight Loss Zone - Has great recipes, support and info for anyone on weight watchers. Campbell's Soup - Lots of great recipes that are easy and quick which makes it a hit with you and yummy enough to be sure to be a hit with the family. VeggieBoards - A wonderful resource for lots of very tasty vegetarian dishes. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Make-believe weddings with dandelion bouquets

Click the pic above to get to other Wordless Wednesday Participants.

Nursery Tackle

It's Tackle It Tuesday, again and I have decided to tackle the closet in the room that I had planned on being the nursery. I had a pile of clothes and things for the baby sitting on the bed in that room and the closet was filled with boxes and other storage items. Since losing the baby, I haven't been able to face dealing with that room. But today, I am stronger. I have faith that I will get pregnant again. I will have another baby and that the new baby will wear all those lovely clothes and sleep under those blankets. So, I cleared all the boxes out of the closet, and put all the clothes and blankets and other baby things away. I have the blankets and bottles and things on top of the closet, and all the baby clothes hung color-coordinated in the closet. Here are my pics:

Before:

After:

Random Stuff

Kind of a quiet day here at in Ever After. Prince Charming is sleeping, Princess is out at daycare and I am nursing a cold that Princess brought home from daycare and passed on to me. I hate having a cold. Ugh. What did you all do for Father's day? Anything exciting? We didn't.

Princess loves her new pierced ears. She is convinced that with her Pixie haircut and her new earings, she looks like a Faery Princess. I love that. She wants me to get my hair cut like hers. She asks me every day. I told her I would. What's a mommy to do after all?

Well have a great Monday! I am off to nurse my cold!

Addicted

I am complete addicted to this game. I swear, last night I was playing it in my sleep. I used to play tetris years ago and this has become my new addiction.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Prince Charming. I am so proud of you and the father that you are. I love the way your face lights up when Princess giggles and I love the way you love to tickle-bomb her and cuddle her and tell her stories. I also love that you know how to be firm with her and you can do that even when I can't. I love you Prince Charming. You are a great dad and Princess is lucky to have you as her daddy.

In that light, I thought I would share some memories that show why I am so proud to be married to you, my Prince Charming.