How I Organized My Greeting Cards....

So today I scheduled in a little time to tackle this project that I have been wanting to do forever.

Not really forever. But at least since I re-organized my office space.

I had greetings cards 'thrown' into an Ikea storage box.

Every time I wanted a card, I had to rifle through the whole box to find what I was looking for.

No more.

 I took some bright pink cardstock and my index tab punch.
I love that index tab punch.

{I chose bright pink cardstock because it's easy to see and doesn't blend in with the cards.}

I cut the cardstock with the paper trimmer to make 'dividers' to fit the box and punched tabs from white cardstock for each divider. I stapled the tabs to each divider.

Then I sorted the cards into piles and wrote on each tab the contents.

Then I filed each card pile into the appropriate spot.

 Now I have this:

 This project cost nothing since I used things I already had...a paper trimmer, cardstock and index punch.

{You don't really need an index tab punch....you could just use small squares of cardstock.}

And here's one hint:

I buy most of my cards at the dollar store and the size fits nicely into this box.

If you buy more expensive cards...they are usually bigger and won't fit into this system as nicely. They may even be too big to fit into the box this way. So if you have bigger cards, you may want to buy a bigger box.

This post is linked to:

Weekup Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello.

So Last Week Some Happy Things Happened To Me....

Maria Killam at Colour Me Happy Blog wrote a post entitled "10 Interesting Posts" and featured my post,

"The Secret of Great Entryways".

If you have never visited Maria's blog...you might want to go visit. She is a Vancouver-based interior designer who does fabulous work and her blog is so full of inspiring ideas and information.

 You can view the post here.

And my little office nook was chosen as 1 of 10 projects that won the 'organization challenge' at the CSI Project Blog.

I am go very grateful to Maria at Colour Me Happy and the girls at the CSI Project for finding my projects worthy!

Easy Crockpot Taco Soup

This is one of our absolute favourite meals in the winter.

It's so good on a cold chilly day.

You can also make it in the slow cooker...or on the stove top in a dutch oven.

You can change the vegetables and beans to suit your family's taste.

It freezes well too.

It can be served with tortilla chips, pita bread, rolls or bread.

It makes a terrific meal for a crowd too....great after a winter skating party or tobogganing.

I served this to my book club...and everyone wanted the recipe.

It's great after Christmas...when everyone is all 'turkeyed' out. 

Taco Soup

16 oz. can chili beans ( I used can of baked beans instead.)
16 oz. kidney beans
16 oz. can black beans
8 oz. can tomato sauce (I use 19 oz. can)
15 oz. can diced stewed tomatoes ( I use 28 oz. can.)
16 oz. can whole corn
16 oz. creamed corn
pkg. taco seasoning ( I use 2-3 Tbsps. of taco seasoning from a large container from Costco.)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 lb. ground beef (I have also used ground pork.), fully cooked. OR 1 bag of BIG BATCH BEEF.
1 onion, chopped, 1 green pepper, chopped & 1 red pepper, chopped
1 sm. can chopped green chilies

Directions:
1. Do not drain any of the canned foods. Add all ingredients to a crock pot and add taco seasoning to the soup.
2. Brown the ground beef in a pan with the chopped onion and add this combination to the crock pot OR add 1 bag of frozen BIG BATCH BEEF to crock pot.
3. Simmer for at least 4-5 hours. Serve warm and garnish with optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips (cooked in frying pan with olive oil and grated parmesan cheese).
4. To make on stove top...cook meat with veggies OR start with one bag of BIG BATCH BEEF, taco seasoning and chili powder in large dutch oven. Then add all other ingredients and let simmer for about 30 minutes.

Bon Appetit!

Blogger please behave....

So I made a few little changes to my header above.

Now it won't load with nice clear pictures.

Why.Oh. Why.

This is what it's supposed to look like.

Drats!

When I wake up tomorrow morning....can it please be magically fixed on it's own?

And moving on to 'Happy {Hearts} Day'...

So I skipped over decorating my mantel...or anything.... for Winter.

I have enough winter outside my front door thank you.

And this technically is not a mantel. It's the top of a piano.

A 'piano-tel' if you will.

I had all of these things already...except for the Valentine jelly bean mix, which I picked up this morning.

 The picture of Ron and I is from our first month of dating almost 20 years ago.

And the other picture is the fruit of our 20 years together...our 2 little sweeties.

 The absolutely gorgeous Valentine-themed subway art came from Eighteen 25.

{I love those girls at Eighteen 25. They share some pretty cool stuff. For free.}

Now if only someone were around to smack my hand away from those jelly beans.

I am so cursed with a 'sweet tooth'.

This post is linked to:

 

 and Weekend Wrapup Party at Tatertotos and Jello.

When she was four.....

"Not too many things catch your heart in this world, so whatever catches your heart you should do. "          

 ~Michelle Kelly, Athlete {1974- }

When she was 4 years old, one day out of the blue, she started asking me about skating.

"Mommy. I want to learn how to skate.

 I want to wear a dress and twirl."

I didn't pay a lot of attention at first because I thought it was a passing fancy for a little 4 year old girl.

I don't skate myself...other than the odd winter skate.

But this request from my curly girl didn't 'pass' or go away....it just...persisted.

I was pregnant with her brother at the time, and we were building a new house.

My energy was flagging and I didn't feel like adding another activity to our schedule.

She was already doing ballet and piano.

But in January 2001, we registered her for the Can Skate Learn to Skate program at the local arena.

And she's been skating ever since.

Her father took her to Can Skate for the first 2 years.

After she completed Can Skate in 2 years, she moved on to "Star Skate" which involved private lessons.

And then I started taking her to skating, while Dad stayed home with her toddler brother.

She loved skating.

About 5 years ago,  when we moved to another province, she tried synchronized skating for the first time.

It was then that she found a new passion.

 Synchronized Skating.

She loves this sport so much, she has been skating with a synchro team ever since.

Often, she skate with 2 teams a season.

Her first year of synchro~the "Car Wash" program~2005-2006.

~the "Cinderella" program~2005-2006.

~the "Ragtime" program~2006-2007.

~the "Ballerina" program~2006-2007.

~the "Jungle" program~2007-2008.

~the "Cars" program~2007-2008.

~the "Spanish" program~2008-2009.

 ~the "Movies" program~2008-2009.

~the "Monsters vs. Aliens" program~2009-2010.

And like any sport, sychro skating has brought many things to her life....like....

Fun and new friendships.

Shared mother and daughter times.

Fun and pretty costumes.

Travel.

Because of synchro skating... we have travelled to Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina, Toronto, and Chilliwack.

Mentoring experiences with older skaters in the club.

A singles skating coach who becomes a trusted friend.

A fantastic head coach who teaches, develops and inspires.

Who makes you more than you thought you could be.

{As spectators at Synchro Worlds in Colorado in 2010.}

And all this because of dreams of a little 4 year old girl.

Who wanted to put on skates and a dress

 and twirl.