This was my daughter a couple of weeks ago….all packed and ready to go to college…..CNU (Christopher Newport University here in VA). We could barely see out of the back window because the car was packed so tight. Then we made the long 45 minute drive all the way there….LOL!. It is so close but yet so far away. SHe is living there on campus for all 4 years. It is a gorgeous school. We pulled up to her dorm and the football team was there to great us and unload the car in about 3 minutes flat. They carried everything up to her room while we checked in. How nice is that??

After we got mostly unpacked, she had to make sure she had internet and her laptop worked. Her roommate hadn't shown up yet so we had the room to ourselves. She has a suite with 3 other girls and a bathroom in the middle. It is really a nice set up.

This is a view of most of the room. Her roommates desk and stuff is on the right edge of the photo. I was standing in the bathroom doorway taking the pic.

A couple of years ago I had made a banner for my stamp room that said STAMP on one side and CREATE on the other. So, Lindsey asked me to make her one with her name on it for her dorm room. She picked out the fabric and then we cut all the pieces out using the Big Shot Pennant die. Then I just sewed it all together. She loved it!

Well, it is time for me to say good bye and take one last picture. I cried all the way home……

side note: because of Hurricane Irene, classes were canceled after the 4th day and all the kids were sent home so I got to spend 5 days with her this past week. They were supposed to go back Monday but the school lost power.

It started snowing Christmas day and didn't stop for about 24 hours straight.  We got over a foot of snow which is the biggest snowfall I can remember in a loooong time for the Chesapeake/ Va Beach area. We rarely get any snow here and the city shuts down for even an inch or 2 so a foot creates total chaos. Pretty much everything was closed yesterday which was bad for all those after Christmas sales. Usually it is in the 50's right now but I remember plenty of Christmases when it was even in the 60's and 70's.

Here is a pic of our dog Jake. Poor thing had to go to the bathroom and the snow was about up to his you know what so he was having a hard time lifting a leg to go. Lindsey went out and dug a big circle out for him to go, but he was too confused to figure out what he was supposed to do. We were cracking up.

This is the morning after….the snow has stopped and the sun is coming out but the high today is only 35 so it won't melt too much. I told Lindsey it looked so pretty she should go swimming. The pool is a toasty 39 degrees! LOL! She thought that was a funny idea so she went and put her bathing suit and boots on and wanted me to take a picture of her out there for laughs.

So, here she is in her bikini out by the pool. She only stayed out there long enough for me to take a picture and then ran back in.  She thought it was hysterical. Hopefully the neighbors weren't watching and thinking we were nuts.

Here she is with her snowsuit on making snow angels. Even though she is almost 18, she still acts like a little kid when it snows.

Here is our hot tub….it might be warm enough to go in there later. We keep it at about 100 degrees so it is nice and toasty.  I am ready for spring already though and the winter is just beginning.

This is a view from the front door of our court….not many people have ventured out yet so it is still so pretty out. Well, no stamping pics today but I hope you enjoyed the view.

Many of you know that I took my daughter Lindsey with me on the Stampin Up Caribbean cruise this year instead of my husband. He is the adventurous one so when Lindsey wanted to go zip lining in St. Lucia,  I was kind of in a panic because I am terrified of heights. So, luckily my wonderful friend Melissa and her husband David adopted Lindsey for the day and took her zipping through the rainforest. Here are a few pics of their adventure. This is them getting all prepped and ready to go.

Here is Lindsey on one of her zips. She is coming in for a landing! She was a little scared at first but then once she did it, she was ok and had a great time.

The guides were very helpful at making sure everything was safe.

She made it!

After the adventure was over, they stopped to take some pictures of the incredible trees and landscaping. What a wonderful treat for Lindsey especially since her friends were back at school doing work while she was flying through the forest on the tropical island of St. Lucia. I am sure she will never forget  that day. Thanks to Melissa and David for taking good care of her!

I think Stampin Up needs a new color called Sweet Strawberry! I spent yesterday morning picking these (over 20 pounds!) and then came home and made a bunch of stuff…..

I made 3 batches of strawberry freezer jam! Yummmm…..we all eat some every day all year so I have to make a ton. I already made more last week too. It is so good right out of the jar! You would never eat store bought jam again if you tried it.

Note: This jam is so easy- you only need 2 cups of strawberries (pulsed in the food processor til liquidy) 4 cups of sugar, 2 TBS lemon juice, and a pack of Certo (it is in the canning or seasonal aisle usually). The Certo package also has the recipe in the box. You basically just stir it all together and pour in the jars. This is no cook jam! But it must be kept in the fridge or freezer after you make it.

This is a picture of my daughter Lindsey licking one of the bowls after I put the jam in jars.  I am not kidding that it is sooooo good!

Then I made a strawberry pie! Oh yes! It tastes as good as it looks too!  Today I am making a cake and then cutting up a big bowl to put on top for my downline meeting tonight. I am sure they will love it. Don't forget the whipped cream! 

Pie recipe:

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust (baked for about 10 minutes in the oven and then cool)

3 cups of strawberries sliced up

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1 small box strawberry jello (3 oz)

Mix the water, sugar, salt and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat until it thickens and clears slightly. Stir in jello and set aside to cool. When the pie crust cools a little, pour the strawberries in there. Then pour the cooled jello mixture on top to cover. Make sure all of the berries are covered. Then put in the fridge for a couple hours and serve with whipped cream.

I hope you enjoyed a peek into my other hobby….eating strawberries! LOL!

Last night Lindsey had her Ring dance which is kind of like Jr. Prom and they get their class rings. Here are some pics of her getting ready to leave…..

Here she is coming down the stairs in her gorgeous dress.

Lindsey loves posing for pictures….she is a natural! I may be prejudiced though since I am her mom.

I just love this dress!

Here are a couple of Lindsey and her boyfriend Marco.

Can you tell this girl loves to pose?

Getting ready to leave with Lindsey sticking out of the sunroof of the limo.

I know I have been pretty bad about posting the last week or 2 but I have been spending time with my family. I wanted to post a few Christmas pics that I took. To say that our family likes to cook is an understatement. My husband Chris is the head chef in our family and my daughter Lindsey is taking culinary as an elective this year so she got her dad a chef's uniform as a gift and had it embroidered with "Chef Dad".

My husband and my daughter Lindsey got me a Kitchenaid mixer for Christmas but guess who was the first person who got to use it? I think there was an ulterior motive there.  THis is Lindsey making rolls FROM SCRATCH! They were sooooo good too!

This is a picture of them as they were still rising. They smelled so good….nothing like fresh bread baking. She is a perfectionist so she scooped them all out with a mini ice cream scoop to make perfect balls.

Here is my award winning apple pie! Oooooh was it good heated up with ice cream on top. I am the baker in the family and make tons of goodies for all of our friends, family and neighbors. I should have taken pictures of all of the trays I made before I gave them away….3 straight days in the kitchen.

This is my sweet little angel. I only have one more year til she leaves to go to college. I get sad just thinking about it. She is such a sweet girl.

I can’t believe my baby girl is all grown up and going to her first prom (she is in 10th grade so I guess we have 2 more years of this)…..

It was a hectic week getting ready….but what an exciting time. It brings back memories.  Here are a few photos of the exciting day…..

Lindsey is finally ready….it only took 2 days at the salon….LOL!

This is Lindsey and her dad waiting anxiously for Clay to arrive.

How do you put this thing on?

Don’t they look so cute?

Today was my daughter Lindsey’s 16th birthday ( I can’t believe it!). My mother-inlaw decided to do a really cool gift for her….she made 16 cupcakes and put $5 bills rolled up to look like candles in the center of each one. She got brand new bills and then rolled them up, used twist ties to hold them and then wrapped a little piece of foil around the bottom so the money wasn’t actually touching the cake. So, here are the pictures….look closely and you can see the money in the center.  My husband just turned 44 last week and he asked her why she didn’t make him the same gift with 44 cupcakes!

Here is a picture of the birthday girl!

This is Lindsey sitting in front of the Christmas tree getting ready to open presents…..

Here she is trying on some new pajamas!

This is Lindsey on the couch with Chris showing off her favorite new socks. That is my mom in the background. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.