Friday, February 27, 2009

My Mouth is Watering and My Hands are Clammy... You Know What That Means..

I've got an idea for a new album kit I want to make.

It's the very early stages of development, but it's Easter themed.

:) I'm so excited.

Okay, I am off to workout, clean my house and catch up on work so I have time to get this album started. I'll post more info as soon as I can.

If it turns out ANYTHING like it looks in my head... oh mama, it's going to be cute!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

HELP ME!

Please!!!

Okay here's the deal. My friend Awesome Emi is giving away an unknown prize from the As Seen On TV store. It totally want to win. Totally.

So please... follow this link... http://heresheisfolks.blogspot.com/ and post comments requesting that another entry be made in my name, Camille McClelland, on your behalf.

Do not enter for yourself! Only for me!!

I will be watching.

Thank you!!!! You are so wonderful, and awesome, and cool, and probably beautiful (or handsome) and thin and SOOOOOOO SO SO SO very attractive for doing this for me.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

More Sweet Sunday Pictures

Remember this post, all about the cute little drawings and love notes my kids made for me during church? I thought I'd share today's pictures with you too.

It all started with this pictures. Jennica drew it and said, "this is me, and this is you."

I leaned over to her and said, Why do I have to be the fat one?"

She thought that was hilarious, and so she drew this picture of me next:

Then this one...


Next came the creation of The Fat Book.

Yes, that little ball at the top is my head, and can you see my little pudgy hands sticking out on the sides? At least I've managed to maintain my skinny little legs.





And this is another picture of me. She drew the "skinny" one first, and I mentioned I must be losing weight, so she scribbled it out and "fixed" it.

You might notice there is no "Jennica" in The Fat Book. I guess that means she's leaving the family if we all decide to chunk up.

I'm keeping this book forever.

And I'm going back on my diet. As soon as I finish this banana cream pie...

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Hey, All you Interior Designers....

HELP!

I have hung my huge fantastic mirror, and I love it, but I don't much care for the reflection... Both of the mirrors I just hung now reflect empty walls and my super boring mantle.


I did have a nice large picture over the fireplace, but it was a Judy Blume and was feeling a bit dated, so I took it down and I haven't found anything I like to replace it.

And then I have this empty wall. I've thought about getting old ceiling tiles and hanging them here, but I'm not sure.. and I haven't found any old ceiling tiles that (1.) I like, and (2.) Are in my meager budget for home furnishings. Do you think this wall needs color?? If so, what color would you suggest? I'm leaning towards a brown?

Another view of the empty wall and the kitchen so this living room area really needs to flow with the red and white and black in my kitchen. Yeah, that's me... Heeeey..


This reflection view shows my entry table and another blank wall. I kind of want to leave this wall because it's actually behind the front door when the door is open and I'm worried if I put anything there, or hang anything it might get damaged when the door is swung open a little too forcefully by an overly excited child trying to escape.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thought and recommendations. It would be very helpful. :)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I am SOOOO Full of Pride, and Proud of it.

So a few months ago at church we had a big discussion about pride and how sometimes when we use the word pride we really mean we are "happy" or "full of joy" over someones accomplishments or what not. So I've been trying to make a conscience effort to really say what I mean... where I would have said "I'm so proud of..." I'm trying to think about how I really feel, happy? grateful? excited?

But today, I'm think I'm feeling all of those things.

I am very proud, happy, excited, grateful, and overjoyed because of what Aaron has done.

Yesterday Noah and Jennica were doing their homework, so we told Aaron he had to do his homework too. He said he didn't have any homework, and I told him he needed to practice writing his name. He said okay and got a piece of paper. Andy and I both asked if he needed help and he said no. Then he brings us this:

(Insert angels singing)

A beautiful letter A! and he made it all by himself, without any help. Woohoo!

So then I wrote out his whole name for him to practice. He needed a little help with pointing out what letter comes next, but he did about 90% of the writing all on his own. This is the first time he has ever written his name.



I'm so proud of him!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Back in the Saddle, Again..

Well before we get into that, lets deal with Valentines.

Andy made reservation for dinner a few weeks ago. First he called PF Changs... "Would you like to eat at 4:30 or 9 pm??" yeah, never mind. So then we called Macaroni Grill. It is, after all, where Andy and I went on our first date. "6:00? yeah we can do that."

Fast forward to last Monday... and I'm thinking I better get a babysitter lined up for Saturday. So what do I do? I totally updated my Facebook profile to saying I needed a babysitter. What happened? Absolutely nothing. Dang. I was really hoping that would work. As I get going on my week and kind of every day in the back of my mind is this "You still need a babysitter" voice annoying the heck out of me. So on Saturday, V-day, zero countdown, I'm getting pretty desperate, so I posted on my Facebook profile, "Camille STILL REALLY needs a babysitter." and again. Nada. I don't know where all my young Facebook freinds were... probably out babysitting for the good wives who actually picked up the phone and called. Well that's just crappy.

So we decide rather than blow off dinner and stay home to eat mac and cheese we'll bring the kids with us. After all, they have been practicing their manners at school for their big annual valentines day lunch. And how did it go? Brilliant. I mean it. Fan . tas . tic. The kids were wonderful. Noah even sat waiting with his salad because Jennica and Aaron had not ordered a salad and "you're not suppose to eat till everyone has their food." No spilled drinks. No fits, no screaming. Afterwards Andy and I even talked about bringing them with us every valentines to dinner. It was kind of nice to celebrate with them, and it gives them a chance to show how well behaved they can be at a nice restaurant.

We took some pictures. The pics I was in came out horrible. I mean bad. So I did a google image search on "beautiful couples at dinner," thinking I'll just find someone who looks like me and post that instead. Surprisingly though, the search results I got, well, lets just say some of those people should have used my picture.... So I photoshopped. Gotta love Photoshop.



Some of you might remember back this last spring when I was weighing in at about 155 post pregnancy and desperate to lose the weight? I wanted to get back to my 132 prepreg weight. that was my goal. Well I reached that goal quite a while ago, but frustratingly, I'm still about a THREE pant sizes larger than my prepreg size. TOTALLY annoying, totally. So I'm still working out and trying to get back into shape. I'd been doing pretty good, till this weekend.

Seriously.

I decided on Monday I am ripping off the feed bag, and getting back in the saddle... But today is still Sunday (at least it was when I started typing) and so I better finish off the Cherry Crisp dessert. Don't want to be tempted tomorrow you know..

Yeah, so what if there was too much to put on a plate so I brought the entire pan in and gorged myself of crumb topping, cherry pie filling and sugar cookie crust. I can literally feel the fat cells adhering themselves to my flabby bits. Enjoy that mental image.

Crap, I just remembered there are gourmet chocolates in the kitchen... I think I'll put them in the freezer for my next splurge.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

How Good Lookin, Whatcha got Cookin?

Of Course, I'm talking about my kitchen. It's coming along nicely. I love the red.

(Although I am already second guessing myself and wondering why I didn't paint the walls a dark bluish green, which is really my favorite color... but I think I will save that color for my bedroom or master bath... I just get so anxious about putting bold colors on my walls. I need to be more daring.)


I love the way the plates and vase worked out. I am not a big fan of "plant shelves" mostly because I am not a big fan or house plants. Over the years I have had house plants.. They usually look beautiful when people give them to me but after about 6 months, of irregular watering and dust they start to look pretty bad... The leaves protest and fall off, spiders make them their home and they are just an eyesore and a nuisance. It's usually at this point that I have company coming over or something and I'm too embarrassed by the sad plants and move them to the garage... and then I leave them there till they finally convert their last molecule of carbon dioxide to oxygen and I can dump the dirt in my "garden" (which is a whole nuther' story of sad). And then when I have finally purged my home of house plants someone inevitably gives me a new one... which I perch on my precarious plant stand and hope someone will knock it over.. I currently have 3 house plants who want out just as much as I do. One of them is relatively new so it still looks nice. We'll see how long that lasts.



This is my beautiful curtain. I wanted a black shear with velvet pinstripes, but I couldn't find any fabric like that. So the lady at the fabric store recommended using velvet ribbon and sewing it on. Brilliant. I love how it turned out, which is much better than this picture looks. The view outside the window is atrocious... maybe this year will be the year I finally get my brick patio.

Yesterday my sister Jill came over and our kids made these cute valentines banners with us. They were fun and easy to make.


Here's my little entry table. I hung the mirror and found this great lantern. It makes me really happy to see my home kind of coming together with some kind of design style.


The other day I found this great mirror at TJ Maxx. It's so awesome, and huge and heavy and just gorgeous. I've been looking for a large mirror like this forever and could never find one that was an acceptable price... this one was just $49!! I mean, are you kidding me? What a great deal. I still need to hang it. It's going to go above the piano horizontally.

(Do you see the plant? It still looks alright, but it's getting very dusty.)

Well that's about it. Welcome into my home. Hope you enjoyed your stay.

Update: Seriously, 30 seconds after I posted this a plant got knocked over. Yes! One down 2 to go..)

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

48 Things You Might Not Know About Me.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I was named after one of my fathers girlfriends.... so was my older sister...


2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Tuesday. I can't remember what I was crying about.


3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yeah. It's messy and slightly eclectic.


4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH Meat? Ham. I love a good ham sandwich, although a turkey sandwich, made from left over Thanksgiving turkey and homemade cranberry sauce certainly could give ham a run for it's money.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes, 3 boys (one deceased) and one girl.


6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Absolutely.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Um yeah.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Heck Yes!!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? granola, with yogurt and fresh berries.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, but I untie them when putting them back on.

12. what's coming up the next couple weeks that you are really looking forward too? Friday night date night.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Breyer's make a chocolate blackberry... I don't remember the title but it's very good.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their attitude/demeanor.

15. RED OR PINK? Red I guess... I'm more of a blues and greens kind of person honestly.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? This is hard to admit, but I feel like a bit of a hypocrite sometimes. I hate that.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Vincent my baby, and Ali my best friend.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS? This is such s stupid question... Seriously, I'm going to say no, just because everyone always answers, "sure!"

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Old Navy jeans, No shoes... just my standard white ankle socks.

20. Bikini or one piece? One piece... After 4 children and 3 c-sections my bikini days are over.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The cat being annoying.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? blue green

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? My kids in the summer when they have sunscreen on. Really good food. Fresh air in the house... like when you open the windows to let the breeze in for the first time in the spring.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Computer Technichian for my dads company.


25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Again stupid question. Sorry. I should be replacing the stupid questions with something else...


26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Football!

27. Natural hair color? Brown

28. EYE COLOR? Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope. I use too, but they bother my eyes and are kind of a lot of work... I'm biding my time till laser eye surgery becomes a bit more affordable.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? SUSHI!!

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Romantic Comedies...

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Take the Lead. It was good.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? white T with gray hoodie

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer, without question...

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses or hugs... depends on the person.

36. First Kiss? 7th grade. His name was Gary.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No... not more stupid questions..
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Ugh!

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The inside outside beauty book.... K so I need to go the library or something... I've reverted back to reading all the motivational books in my bookshelf... just for something to read.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Don't have one, just a large pad of graph paper.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Part of Biggest Loser while folding laundry.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S)The doors opening when my kids or husband get home. Good music. the sound of a good friends voice.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hawaii, I think.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? All of my talents are special, and so are all of yours.... cheesy I know, but true.

46 WHERE WERE U BORN? Santa Clara, CA

47. What is your guilt time waster? Facebook. Hands down..

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER? We were introduced by a friend at a wedding, and married about a year later.

Monday, February 9, 2009

The Heart Attack Monte Cristo Sandwich...


... You don't want to know how good this sandwich is.. You really don't.

You'll love it, even if you don't like Monte Cristo sandwiches... even if you don't like, The Count of Monte Cristo, movie. and you'll want to eat them a lot... but don't.. This is one of those "once a year" meals, when you really want to cheat, and make it count.

Start with a really flavorful bread. I've used sourdough, but I prefer a hearty roasted garlic artisan bread. If you're using regular loaf sized bread cut the sandwiches in half. One half = one serving... trust me.


Add one slice of swiss cheese, and one to two slices or deli ham.


Then add the top slice of bread and using the heal of your hand flatten the sandwich as much as you can. Really flatten the sucker out. It's not possible to make it too flat.

In a large bowl mix 1 cup Bisquick, 1 egg, about 3/4 cup milk and about 1/2 tablespoon crushed rosemary. The consistency should be similar to crepe batter.


Heat about 3 inches of oil in a large pot to about 375 degrees. You know.. Aim for the donut line..


Next dip your smashed sandwich into the batter. Cover both sides and the edges.

Fry the sucker for about 15-30 seconds on each side. Till it's golden brown. Remove to paper towels to absorb the excess oil.


Then, this is the part that makes the sandwich to die for, HEAVILY coat the sandwich with powdered sugar on both sides.
Slice and serve with fresh fruit or veggies, you know for a balanced meal. Enjoy the crisp, sweet and savory outside; and salty, ooey, gooey, cheesy, goodness on the inside. Your mouth will thank you and your love handles will feel nourished.

Enjoy, but only once a year...

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Please Beautiful Queen Mother...

Beautiful Queen Mother... Yes, that's what I make my kids call me when they REALLY want something. I love it, and they are still young enough that they say it without rolling their eyes too much.



And then today at church they totally made my day.

Jennica hands me this drawing she made. It's me (clearly), because I am the queen. Those are not b o o b s, they are puffy sleeves. (I don't want to actually spell out the word because I'm afraid of what kind of nutters might hit my blog searching on b o o b s and Queen..)

Noah followed Jennica's lead and made me this drawing next. Yes, I am the claw hands, hiking boots Queen. And I have really long, curly, sideburns. But I'm still a queen...

Next came this note from Jennica:


And then, not to be outdone... this one from Noah, he's referring to after church when we've changed out of our nice clothes.
They are such sweet kids I decided to give them piggy back rides. It was hard for Aaron to hold on when I galloped.

My kids are so great. They are, after all, beautiful princes and a princess.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Noah's New Glasses

Last December the school nurse called me to inform me that Noah might be in need of glasses. When Noah got home from school he told me the same thing... "I need to get glasses."

I thought Noah was just fine with the idea of glasses, he actually sounded a bit excited. Then a few weeks later, before I had made the appointment with the eye doctor, he starts asking me questions as I'm tucking him to bed at night. He was very concerned about kids making fun of him. I did my best to reassure him that he would look handsome, and that if anyone said anything to tease him he should just joke about it and after a couple days the novelty would wear off and the teasing would stop... but more than likely, being in the third grade and all, people would think it was cool. He was feeling much better, but still a little leery.

So we go to the eye doctor and sure enough, he does need glasses. We looked over the frames and picked these cute... oh I guess I better say cool not cute... blue and black frames. A week later the glasses were ready and we went and picked them up.

I could tell Noah was a little worried about school the next day, but he was handling it like a trooper and ready to face the challenge. When he got home from school I asked him how it went and he said some of the kids from his class didn't recognize hm and they thought he was a new kid. He loved it that he had a secret identity. No teasing at all. People thought he was cool. Yeah! That makes me happy.

Without further adiou, here's the cutie, er I mean handsome boy. He looks much better when I don't ask him to smile. ha ha.













As for the big break in blog posts... I've been painting my kitchen. It was a lovely cream color, but a bit boring. Anyway, I've been painting and decorating, and taking loads of pictures. When I went to upload them from my camera there was a problem with the picture files and they would not load. Errr... totally annoying. I did a quick search to see if I could find a decent picture of my "before" kitchen and the only one I found was one the kids took of me while I was washing dished one day. It's a horrid picture of my rear end, and there is absolutely no way any of you will ever see it. :)
I'll take more picture as I finish up, I just need to make a change to the curtains, and wait for a few items I ordered to arrive by mail, and then I'll take new pictures and post again. For now though, here's a picture of the window in the dining room. I had to take the picture at night or the contrast was to high, hence the black window. I stole the picture shelf idea from my friend Amanda. I'm not thrilled with the pictures of myself or Andy.. they just look too posed next to the kids candid shots... so I'll end up changing those out. My sister Jill made the family block letters. I love them.
Can't wait to show you the rest of the kitchen...