Social Sunday with Kim & Renee'

Today we Renee' and I (Kim) are participating in Social Sunday. 

Thank you to Neely and Ashley for hosting some fun questions.

1. What is your favorite kind of surprise?

Renee: My favorite kind of surprise is when someone brings me something unexpectedly. It can be simple like an iced tea:) Just something when I don't expect it.  A Happy Surprise!

Kim: When Renee' shows up at my door unannounced.  

2. Flowers or Chocolate?
Renee: Are you kidding? Chocolate! I like flowers but they die quickly and my cats knock them down.

Kim: Chocolate...YUM

3. What is your favorite summertime activity?

Renee: My favorite summertime activity is sleeping. Once the school year is over I get to catch up on some 'ZZZZ'sss':)

Kim: Swimming in our pool...Since moving to TeXas we can spend a lot more time out doors.

4. Do you have any vacations planned this summer?

Renee: Yep, Going to California with the family. LA and Palm Desert area

Kim: Possibly going to Destin Florida and Chicago to see all my friends.

5. Favorite Summer Holiday?

Renee: Is there another summer holiday besides Fourth of July??? I enjoy barbeques and watching fireworks.

Kim: HuMMm I think there is only one...4th of July

6.What is your Dream Vacation?

Renee: Exploring other countries, especially Greece and then staying on some remote island like I see pictures of on Pinterest

Kim: Bora Bora and Cruising Northern Europe, Scandinavian countries, and Russia.

KiMs Review of the Kreate-a-Lopes® Envelope Template

How excited was I to be approached by The Kreate-a-Lopes® company to review their Envelope Maker.

I think I was the most excited because I was having a conversation with one of my friends A, who mentioned that she would like to make envelopes for the monthly cards swap.

Well shortly after that conversation we received a message asking if we would like to try this Kreate-a-Lopes® Envelope Maker.  How exciting was that!!!

While I was thinking about reviewing this I was most curious about how I would get the envelope to stick. I could use my scrapbook adhesive but it would depend on the paper. Glue? How am I going to make these stick. Well before I got too stressed thinking about this the Kreate-a-Lopes® company said they were sending Lick & Stick remoistenable envelope glue. Great for making hand made envelopes.

The products that I was sent to review were the A7 envelope size, A2 envelope size (which is the size of our card swap cards) and Lick & Stick Remoistenable Envelope Glue.

Make an envelope using scrapbook paper, wallpaper, magazine pages, rubber stamp art, computer art, digital photography, wrapping paper and more.

Check out their website Kreate-a-Lopes® for more information

Now onto my trying to make some envelopes....

I had so much fun making these envelopes. Who knew it was so easy to make envelopes to go with the cards that I make. It took no time to whip up these envelopes using magazines and scrapbooking paper. I put a bit too much glue because it took a while to dry before I could lick and stick the top closed.  

Thank you to Kreate-a-Lopes® for sending these to me for review.

Kim from Texas

Disclaimer I was given this product to review my opinions are my own. There are links in this post. 

Another Year of Teacher Appreciation Done....

Tis' the time of year for Teacher Appreciation week! What to do, what to do.....I perused Pinterest and found some ideas and then made up a couple of my own. I thought I would share my final creation just so everyone out there can get even more ideas:)

My kids wanted to give their teachers something everyday so I found some ideas that would lend itself to that. 

On Monday, my kids brought in a pack of pens with a tag that read "You have been just WRITE  for me!". 

On Tuesday, they brought a pack of sticky notes that was in the shape of a "thumbs" up and a tag that read, " You're THUMBS up in my book!"

On Wednesday, they brought in a pack of highlighters and a tag that read, " Thank you for making my school year  BRIGHT!" 

On Thursday, they brought in a colored pack of paper clips with a tag that read,"  Thank you for holding EVERYTHING together". 

Finally, on Friday they both brought in custom made vinyl cups with their names on them, drink mixes inside, with a tag that read, "Thank you for QUENCHING my thirst for knowledge".

All in all, the project for two kids cost around $20. I had my own vinyl at home to use with my Cricut Expression so I used that for the cups that I bought. It was a creative way to say thanks to their teachers and they both sent emails saying how much they appreciated everything.

I have included a couple of pictures of the items and of one of the cups I made. I hope that you enjoy taking a peek! Until next time........

Peace out: Renee~from Illinois

Social Sunday with KiM & Renee'

Today we Renee' and I (Kim) are participating in Social Sunday. 

Thank you to Neely and Ashley for hosting some fun questions.

1 Year ago I was doing...
Kim: living with my mom and my boys finishing up school before we moved to Texas.
Renee: about the same thing as this year. Swim team, running, boy scouts....

5 years ago I was doing...
Kim: planning a Mediterranean cruise with my mom and watching my boys grow.
Renee: I was pregnant with my third child. That was a fun summer:)

10 years ago I was doing...
Kim: working at Pampered Chef taking care of my 1 1/2 year old boy enjoying our new little family. Me and Renee were just beginning our relationship. Little did she know we would be besties for ever.
Renee: I had only 1 child and I was still working in the same position I am now. I had also just moved out to the area where Kim lived.

1 year from now I'll be doing...
Kim:Keeping my family sane, stressing because I will have a son in junior high, still participating in bootcamp, eating vegetarian/vegan, hopefully my Origami Owl business will be going strong, our blog will be generating more than 50-80 views a day, and my Crafty Cups is continuing strong.
Renee: more running without injury, scrapbooking more, hanging out with kids and friends more

5 years from now I will be doing...
Kim: stressing even more because I will have one driving. Taking vacations with Renee. Excited because dear h and I will be married for 19 years.
Renee: I will still be teaching....probably forever:), still scrapbooking, enjoying my older children, and apparently taking vacations with my bestie:)

10 years from now I will be doing...
Kim: visiting my boys (hopefully) in college and enjoying life. And traveling with Renee.
Renee: Visiting two children in college and getting my third through high school. Traveling, still teaching, still scrapbooking, still healthy, everyone that is!!

Ramblin' Renee: Another week has past....

I can't believe sometimes how fast time really flies!! I mean it seems like I just wrote my Ramblin' Renee yesterday. So, there were a couple of things that happened this week that I thought were pretty fun.

First, we finally had warm weather here!! I mean like mid-70's and low 80's. Yee-haw!! It was so much fun to take the kids to the park after school and sit there comfortably while they played. AWE....SOME....:) Of course, today it was 50 and dreary. I mean last week we would have been happy with 50 and actually thought it was fairly warm but since we had a taste of warm, now we suddenly feel chilled by 50. Pretty funny how the brain works actually. All in all, I think we are headed in the right direction. Tulips are blooming, grass is green, and there are leaves on the trees. Happy, happy, happy.....

Speaking of happy, happy, happy! A shout out to my brother who celebrated his 44th birthday this week. He was actually lucky to have his birthday on one of the nice, warm, and sunny days. We will celebrate his birthday on Mother's day this weekend. He and his Hispanic wife will cook up a Mexican fiesta for us! Yummy.... Can't wait!! Sorry, Kim, that involves a fatty, salty, yummy steak!:)

Another fun thing I saw this week was the birth of a couple of baby birdies. A mama robin built her nest and laid two eggs on our play set. This happened within a week and literally one week after they hatched! My kids have been fascinated by peeking at the birdie nest. It is awesome that they were able to witness the mama bird making the nest, watch the eggs and even see them cracking, and then watching the baby birds grow. It has been pretty cool I must say! Mama Robin has actually been pretty tolerant of us peeking in on her babies. She has only swooped in on us twice. Once on me and once on my daughter. Usually, she sits on the fence right near us and chirps at us. In bird talk I am sure it translates to, "If you do anything to my babies, I will hunt you down and .......:)" You get the picture! The pictures I have included are within the first two days of life. They are now starting to open their eyes and grow more feathers. It won't be long and the babies will take flight! What a wonderful learning experience for the kids. Feel pretty good about the whole thing.....

This week I  was able to buy a Runners for Boston t-shirt this week, too. Here is a picture of it. What is awesome about this shirt? The shirt was $20 and local running stores around the country gave all of the proceeds of their sales to the victims in the Boston Marathon bombing. The Naperville Running Company, where I purchased the shirt made over $25,000. That is awesome! I am proud to have been part of the cause.

I also FINALLY learn how to do a fishtail braid. I tried for months to grasp the idea of the braid and this week I successfully fishtailed my daughter's hair! It looks pretty cool, right????:) Again, how fun is that???

Lastly, we went to my dad's river house this past week and went fishing off of the dock and made a campfire. This too was very successful because we all caught fish! It is so exciting when the kids catch a fish and reel it in. They love it but yet are terrified at the same time. The picture off to the right is of the biggest fish which my daughter caught. It really isn't that big but for us it was! The most terrifying part but yet gave me a few belly laughs when all said and done was when my two bigger kids ran back down to the dock after taking a break from fishing and screamed like you wouldn't believe and ran as fast as I have ever seen them move! I glanced up and saw a flash of black and it turns out that the flash was a long water snake. The kids said it was moving around wildly and I told them it was probably moving around wildly because they scared the living daylights out of it! It was probably taking a leisurely sun bath and was startled awake by two screaming giants.....Boy, did I laugh afterward about that.....I mean really laugh, that deep belly, feel good laugh.....:)


It was really was a good week! Lots of fun things happening with more fun to come. I want to say Happy Mother's Day out there to all of the mothers! From my house to yours, I bid you good night!

Peace out: Renee~from Illinois

Chatter of KiM & Renee #12

A Big Thank you to Grace is Overrated for letting us link up to her weekly and share our answers to her doodling journal pages.  I will be linking each page from her site so if you want to print them out and follow along click through the links.

Renee' and I will be answering these Cool Journal Doodling pages weekly.  On to Page 12. (Click "Page 12" to view the blog post from Grace is Overrated for the actual print out.)

To Do
-one thing for a friend/colleague
Kim: Book flights to Illinois 
Renee: go visit my best buddy in Texas

-one thing for a family member
Kim: keep them posted on what I am up too
Renee: spend more time with my chillins'

-one thing for a complete stranger
Kim: I want to say to the woman I see walking all over the neighborhood. I am proud of you and how much you are walking. Keep it up you are doing Awesome.
Renee: pay for the person behind me in the McDonald's line. Someone did that for me and I have continued to pay it forward.

I feel most self-conscious when...
Kim: I am surrounded by super tall people.
Renee: I feel fat

I feel most at ease when...
Kim: when I can truly be myself and know my true friends will brush off or enjoy my crazy antics, repetitive stories, making fun of them, laughing and being silly.
Renee: ditto what my bestie said:)

Greatest hits
2 things I did really well/nailed/hit out of the park in the last 7 days.
Kim: 1. Finished a lot of our cup orders for our little neighborhood crafting business
2. My boot camp I have been trying to up the work outs and it seems to be working.
Renee: 1. making teacher appreciation gifts
2. improved my pilates.... feel like a rock star for some moves now:)

Stumbling Block
1 thing that has been a huge challenge/pain in the you-know-what
Kim: dealing with parents.
Renee: hmm....dealing with girl drama

Lightning Round- Food Edition

Waffles or Pancakes
Kim: pancakes
Renee:waffles lately

Juice or Pop
Kim: pop
Renee: juice with fizz specifically ICE brand

Bacon or Sausage
Kim: bacon
Renee: bacon, I love me some good bacon:)

Strawberry short cake or apple pie
Kim: warm apple pie
Renee: strawberry short cake

Whole Wheat or Rye
Kim: whole wheat
Renee: whole wheat

Toasted or not
Kim: toasted
Renee: toasted

Corn on or off the cob
Kim: corn on the cob
Renee: corn on the cob

Rice or pasta
Kim: pasta
Renee: pasta

Cream soup or broth
Kim: cream soup - this reminds me of when we would sneak into the sorority kitchen after a night out drinking and I would make cream of mushroom soup with my friend Tracy. YUM.
Renee: cream

Casual brunch or fancy restaurant where jackets are most definitely required
Kim: casual brunch
Renee: casual brunch, love being casual, who needs the fancy stuff anyway?

Donut or cookie
Kim: donut
Renee: donut

Ice cream or sorbet
Kim: ice cream. Mint chocolate chip all day long
Renee: ice cream chocolate peanut butter, yumm......

Soft drink with or without ice:
Kim: with ice
Renee: with ice

Egg roll or burrito
Kim: oooh that is a tough one. Burrito
Renee:burrito

Broccoli or peas
Kim: broccoli
Renee: broccoli even though it smells like a big fart

French fries or mashed potatoes
Kim: ugh really that is a hard one. If I had to pick it would be French fries.
Renee: french fries

Thursday Thoughts with KiM & Renee'

We are linking up with Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for Thursday Thoughts.

KiMs Thursday Thoughts

~Wow it has been a crazy week. I have a fitbit that I am trying to accomplish 1 million steps by December 15. I am averaging about 6000 steps a day. They say we should have 10000 steps a day. Look out. I would have to constantly be walking for ever. That is a tough one for me.

~I am a Young & the Restless junkie and I love that they make it so dramatic and drawing out the Adam & Chelsea saga. As much as I want her to tell Adam so they can get back together I am enjoying the cat and mouse game. Any other YNR addicts out there?

- Two shows that I am so sad that are over and am missing.
Gossip Girl. I loved that show. I would stay up late watching it and really enjoyed it. Now I am so sad it is over. The other one I really miss is The Hills. Did you watch any of these shows? Do you miss them like I do?

-I was driving in the car and at noon the emergency broadcast system did its test. Eeeehhhaaa Eeeehhhaaa Eeeehhhaaa (that would be the noise it makes) comes on. Well that got me thinking has anyone ever heard them actually announce an emergency over this broadcast system? My whole life, 40 years but probably only 20 would I have paid attention if there was actually an announcement, I have never heard one.

- I totally over ate sushi and veggie pot stickers from Whole Foods. Ugh I don't think I will be able to eat for days. I am sooo full. Because I can't just leave the left over pot stickers for later NOOooo... I had to eat them all now. Ugh I have been chugging water trying to flush it out but it makes me feel more full.

RENEE'S THURSDAY THOUGHTS....

I am hoping to continue running this week. Had a little mishap with my knee when my basement flooded. Hoping to get out there this week though! I love this as a stress reliever.... Works really well! I am the person that gets the runner's high after a run.

I am also hoping to get out with my hubby this week or next. I am feeling like we need a date night. It has been a long time. I don't know if that will happen with all that we got goin' on but hopefully soon:)

Also, I am hoping to find a date

Ramblin' Renee: You know what I love? Girl drama.

You know what I love more than life itself? Girl drama! NOT!! 

When I was in junior in college I lived in an apartment with 3 other girls. I lasted 3 months and then moved in with my bf, now husband, and his best friend. I have never handled stupid girl stuff well. 

This leads me to my rambling of the day. About an hour ago while I was putting my youngest to bed, the parent of one of my daughter's friends called and yelled at my husband for a text that my daughter had sent her daughter.

When I caught the gist of what was happening I was freaking out thinking what in the world did my daughter send to her? Right? 

It turned out that the text wasn't that bad and had the mother not been involved the girls would have probably have been friends again by today. 

Here's my thing, what is it with parents who feel the need to micromanage their kids' relationships? If parents keep trying to solve all of their kids problems, then kids won't know how to solve their own problems. It is a growing problem with our generation of parents thinking that we need to protect our kids. When I was a kid, we dealt with our problems! 

Now, I am not saying that kids should not tell us if they are being bullied or if something really serious is going on. I just think that some parents need to take a step back and evaluate what is serious and not that serious.

At the end of the day, I have been through all of my own girl drama because I was once that age and I really don't want to go through it again with women my own age. This is the time for our own children to learn how to solve their problems with our guidance. I mean, I am just saying.........

Peace out- Renee~from Illinois

DeeP ThoughTs by KiM (Not ReaLLy DeeP)

~ Just stopping in to say a quick Hi to everyone...Things have been very busy around here in good Ole TeXas.

~ I want to learn how to make these cute titles that everyone has for their posts on particular days.  If you know of a free place to create this HTML let me know..Then I will make a cute one for DeeP ThoughTs by KiM.

~A neighbor and I just started a crafty cup making biz you can visit us at KL Crafty Creations to see all the fun CrafTyness I have been up to.

~Don't forget about our Card Swaps if you are interested in joining in check out the Tab at the top of the blog called Monthly Card Swaps

~ It has been starting to warm up here in TeXas and yesterday I wore my first pair of WHITE (yes you heard me) Shorts.  I wore the most obnoxious colorful top as to distract from the shorts.  LOL

~ I also just got a new pair of Minimus Shoes.  I purchased them because I like the way they looked...I knew they were Minimus shoes when I bought them but did not think much about them...Till I got home and saw the warning label on them.  Really? A Warning Label?  YES  Here is what it says...

Caution: This product increases the stain on the foot, calf, and Achilles tendon.  Overuse of this product or use of activities outside of running and walking may increase the risk of sustaining injury.  

This product should be introduced slowly into a running exercise routine. New Balance recommends limiting initial use to 10% of overall running workouts and very gradually increasing time and distance.

Okay so I can't use them for running right now I will use them for boot camp.  I wore them yesterday and I am going to again today...I also will be sporting my really cute shin compression socks as seen here...

So that is what's going on in my neck of the woods.  What do you have going on fun this week? Leave me a comment even just to say "HI" I love getting updates that we have a comment on the blog.

Happy Wednesday...Kim from TeXas

Ramblin' Renee: What a Mess!!

Ok, so in my last post I was saying how I was enjoying the rain storm and how we were finally having a spring in Chicago. Well, let me update you on the gentle rainstorm we had that evening. 

In the middle of the night I woke up to my husband calling my name. I immediately ran downstairs and our sump pump had stopped working. Our finished basement had about 3 inches of water at that point! 

My scrap/hobby room was down there so I began taking all my stuff upstairs. Meanwhile, my husband went to Menards to get a new sump pump. As soon as he installed the new pump the water receded but unfortunately the damage was already done! 

I attempted to go to school that day and in 2 hours time only managed to get half way there. When I called school they told me to go home because the roads right near my school were closed, too! Everywhere I turned there was water on the pavement. I wanted spring but not spring with a vengeance.

Like I said, the damage in the basement was already done. So, that day we started the clean up. That meant pulling all of the carpet and padding up and hauling it upstairs and cutting the drywall part way up the wall. Let me tell you how fun that was to do! 

Turns out, our insurance would have covered a clean up team. Oh well! We would have had to wait at least a week for that and I was afraid of mold so I really wanted to get the stuff out! Luckily, our garbage allowed a free pickup for people who flooded so that helped. 

As it was, our garage stunk to high heaven with all the wet padding and carpet. I can't even imagine waiting for a clean up crew to come and what our basement would have smelled like. Yuck!!!! 

All in all, we are very lucky because things could have been much worse. There were people in the area that had sewage coming up into their basements.

Yummmmmyyyy...... The good news is that we actually are getting some insurance money. It is not a lot but any little bit will help. In the meanwhile, I have constructed my make shift scrap/hobby/computer room upstairs in the loft. Love it!!

Peace out for now from water logged Chicagoland..... Renee~from Chicago