I love to change out my desktop wallpaper each month so I was really psyched when Jenny (of LJC fame) first linked to Smashing Magazine. Every month they publish a ton of fabulous free desktop wallpapers with and without calendars. Lots of different artists submit designs so there’s a style for everyone. Click here to see this month’s offerings. For February I chose February Fever. I like having a calendar on the desktop that I can glance at without having to pull up iCal all the time. I think it’s smashing! herrr!
Bless Your Heart
Living out loud in the Carolinas
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Cover of Learn Spanish (Learn Languages Series) I’m a planner. Considering we’ve been trying to adopt for 5 years now I’ve had plenty of time to plan. We’ve discussed everything from dating rules for our kids to who’s going to pay for their first car etc. One of the things I’ve thought about lately is languages. It is so important now to be bilingual at the very least. I took 4 years of Spanish in school. I can be cordial with the waitress at our local Mexican restaurant but I’m nowhere near conversational or fluent. I do have a book on tape on my iPod, I guess that would be audiobook now- old habits, and I’ve listened to it some . I bought it when we were working on our Guatemalan adoption. I think it would serve our children well if they learn Spanish, whether in school or at home. I’ve also been thinking about Mandarin, especially with my recent trips to the Grand Asia Market. China is clearly emerging as a world power so learning Mandarin could be a huge benefit too. I have Pimsleur’s Quick and Easy Mandarin on my iPod too. I haven’t made it past the first 3 chapters though. Once I got to chapter 3 we were disqualified from adopting from China so I had to stay away from learning it for a while. When I was with Susan at the Asian Market the other day we talked about this and she suggested teaching the kidlets Mandarin because they’ll likely pick up Spanish from friends and in school. I think that’s a good idea. I really admire people who are fluent in more than one language. Ooh, I know like 5 words in Greek, does that mean I’m trilingual? I think it would be really fun to learn the languages along with my kids. Plus, we can totally speak in Mandarin or Spanish when we don’t want bystanders to know what we’re talking about. Like a secret code!
Do any of you plan on teaching your children another language? If so, what?
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Angry Birds Seasons released their Valentine’s Day update today.
SUCH cute graphics! 
I shouldn’t be working on the Valentine levels though when I still have some Christmas levels to beat. I STILL can’t beat Christmas level 20! And I can’t get 3 stars on 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 23. Must be due to my old eyes and slowing reflexes! -
My sister Sara & BIL Marc took my nephews Jake & Joey to Disney last month. Of all the pictures she took that day my absolute favorite is this one. It perfectly captures their personalities. LOOK at those faces!!!
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3 pug beds
2 human beds
numerous chairs
Tons of places for the pugs to sleep yet Molly & Zoe prefer to pile up together:
I love how they make a little upside down heart! -
Remember when we talked about The List? Well, I have an addendum. It’s not very often that I need to add someone to The List but I’ve recently developed an almost embarrassing cougar crush so I need to go ahead and make it official. You know, just in case he shows up at my house and throws himself at me. Cause there just aren’t enough pretty girls in Hollywood for him to date. Anyway, I’ve seen this boy around here and there for years but for some reason he didn’t jump out at me until I saw the movie Country Strong. O. M. G. He drives me to distraction. Garrett Hedlund. He’s from Minnesota. So is CSP. So maybe I have a thing for Midwestern boys. Who knew? All I know is that this boy, and he is SO young, like 26, he has something about him. His voice. OMG his voice is so deep and he can sing! He learned to sing and play the guitar for Country Strong. And it’s 
so odd cause I am NOT a fan of smokers or all that straggly hair he had all over his face during the movie but buy the end of it I was like I MUST have that soundtrack so I can swoon over him in the privacy of my own home. I mean LOOK at him. Look how he’s staring RIGHT AT ME. And his smile, it’s pretty dreamy. I’m all atwitter!Please don’t tell CSP. He already picks on me when ads for Jason Statham‘s new movie come on (he’s on the list). The trailer starts and CSP goes “He’s so dreamy!”. And he is. But I have never devoted a blog post to him. Garrett just flew right up the list to number one. Although I feel like such an old perv just looking at him! Anyway, don’t tell CSP or he’ll make me write a retraction like he did a few years ago. Because, you know, this is the WORLD WIDE WEB.
By the way, the Country Strong soundtrack only has one song that Garrett sings so I need the More Songs from Country Strong soundtrack if anyone’s feeling generous. I mean, I did just provide you with some serious eye candy. You’re welcome.
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This winter has wreaked havoc on my skin. I have really dry, sensitive skin. I have pretty severe eczema too so that makes it tricky when it comes to what I can put on my skin. This winter lotion just wasn’t cutting it. I tried oatmeal lotion, shea butter, the works and I still felt like my skin was just going to crack and fall off. Then a friend told me about Aura Cacia almond oil. I ordered a bottle from Amazon since searches of my local grocery didn’t turn up any almond oil. Plus I wasn’t sure if I could use food grade almond oil or if it had to be just for skin. Anyway, my oil came in and it’s amazing! A little goes a LONG way. Thank goodness because I was not crazy about the price (about $11 for the bottle), but if it lasts a long time then it’s worth it. It absorbs (unlike baby/mineral oil), doesn’t have a smell (so it doesn’t clash with my perfume), and doesn’t leave me looking greasy. My Aunt Marsha told me she uses almond oil from the grocery store and keeps it in the fridge. I’ll try that once my bottle of Aura Cacia runs out. So if you have dry, sensitive skin- run out and get you some almond oil. It’s even helping my eczema! -
So, you know those Valentine’s I told you about for 10 cents each? Well, while CSP helped me wrangle the pugs (green beans for treats helped!) we had a little Valentine’s photo shoot. Then I chose the best shot, uploaded it to See Here and ordered my free cards. I chose the 2 day shipping for like $6 I think because I wanted to make sure that they get here in time so I can get them out in time (we have 2 relatives in Minnesota so I need a good 5 days). $6 for 25 photo cards isn’t bad if you ask me! Well, they shipped them that night! I started my shopping at Ebates like I usually do, even though I knew I was getting the cards for free so I didn’t expect any money back. Imagine my delight though when I found out that See Here deposited $1.47 into my account at Ebates! Woot! So now my cards were only $4.50! Nice!
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Saw this deal on my Couponing to Disney email. Went to the original blog and checked it out. SUPER CUTE.
Then had a Valentine photo session of my own with the pugs. They don’t have fists and we don’t send candy out with our Valentines but I think ours turned out just as cute. And since they are FREE they are even cuter! Sorry, but I can’t show our cards until Valentine’s Day. I don’t think CSP’s Gramy in Minnesota has the internet, but just in case, I don’t want to ruin the surprise.The details:
- Click Here & Login or Sign-up for See Here
- Click on “Photo Cards” then on “Photo Card, 4×8″
- Pick Your Design (I found one under “Wedding” to customize)
- Create your card & order 25 cards
- Use promo code 25cards to get your order FREE
- Just pay $2.49 in shipping!
See Here participates with Ebates so if you buy anything else, be sure to start your shopping at Ebates to get 12% back! You can’t beat this deal! If you create some, lemme see them!
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Bless Your Heart 