It's Ready!

Hi All!
My blog has moved! Please, visit http://gehoski.com/eachdayisagift

Catching up...

So...the new blog is not ready yet. I am still tweaking things here and there. Turns out tweaking CSS code is much more work than I ever imagined!! I thought I had a pretty good handle on web design since I do teach a class on it...but much of what I have been tweaking on this blog template is new to me.


As for my very late and overdue Five on Friday...

1. The mini-muffin advent calendar is ready to go! I sure had a good time laughing and crafting with one of my besties on this project (pictures to come later of all the holiday traditions and the advent calendar itself!)


2. We had the opportunity to have Miss Michigan, Katie LaRoche, as a guest speaker at our school a few weeks ago. I am proud to say she is from my hometown and also a graduate of BCPS! Her platform is human trafficking and let me tell you...the message was POWERFUL. She is an excellent speaker and also performed a very powerful, emotional dance to culminate. I was enraged and saddened after learning about sex trafficking; happening to our young women and littl girls overseas..and right here in the U.S. If you know nothing about human trafficking...read this. Also, was so very excited to see that Anurhad won this year's CNN hero.


3. Lately my conscience has been keeping me in check more than usual. CHECK #1 -Last weekend I went to the casino for a concert with my sisters and mom. While I was people-watching I caught a woman in the high stakes area repeatedly pulling a $25 slot machine...I thought how sad it was. She could give that money to someone in need and really make a change for the good. Made me realize how stupid it was to waste my money...and how much more I can do to help people out. CHECK #2-My hubby is working some overtime this week-five nights in a row. I was thinking to myself...you can do this-it won't be so bad. Then a commercial came on with mothers and children sending holiday wishes to their hubbies/daddies serving in the armed forces overseas; And I realized...five nights in a row is nothing.
4. My goal this year is to FULLY enjoy the holiday season and that means finishing the shopping/wrapping early. Last year I was so stressed out on Christmas Eve that I had a very difficult time enjoying the holiday. The shopping is not completely done. But it is close.
5. If you are at a loss for gift ideas and you need something unique...check out Etsy! I have been shopping Etsy over a year now and ALWAYS find something I love!

Five on Friday!

The reason I have been a little absent on my blog lately is because I am working hard to get my new Wordpress blog up. You should see a post later in the week that will direct you to the new site!! I couldn't pass up another week of Five on Friday so here it goes...even though I am writing this on a Sat. morning :-)

1. Tomorrow we will celebrate not only Halloween, but EJ's first birthday! I absolutely cannot believe he is already one!! I better charge up those camera batteries!!


2. You would think the 1 year milestone would mean a better sleeping schedule...yet EJ wants abaolutely NOTHING to do with his crib the past week. Everytime we lay him down he screams!! He just wants to be held...and we know that. And we know that we are probably going to have to let him cry it out :-(.


3. Love this video I saw a couple weeks back. I just love everything this video communicates. A very good friend just had her baby girl last night and I just know she is going to be a super mother.


4. Another reason I have been blogabsent is due to the fact that I am taking two short online courses...along with teaching 120 high schoolers! One of the classes will result in a family heritage digital scrapbook. It is my first Jessica Sprague class and I have a feeling I will be taking MANY more. I am loving the digital scrapbooking!!! I have been spending all my free time scanning pictures, digging up marriage, birth, death dates...and learning a whole lot about my ancestors. I can't wait to see the finished product!!! The other class is just a basic Photoshop Class...bonus is that it was free!! I already knew most of the skills I am learning...but it is a great refresher!! If you are brand new to PhotoShop I highly suggest you sign up for the next free class!!


5. I don't think I posted yet about our first geocaching experience. If you have no idea what the word "geocaching" means please do yourself a favor and visit geocaching.com. We had an absolute BLAST... a full post to come on that later!


6. A package came in the mail the other day...a PhatStrap just for me that Hubby picked out as a surprise. Sometimes he's a pretty sweet guy ;-).


7. I'll leave you with the birthday invite I designed for EJ's party tomorrow.HAVE A SPOOKY HALLOWEEN!!!

Five on Friday

1. Fall is not my favorite season, yet it sure tried to convince me yesterday. It was absolutely GORGEOUS everywhere I looked. We took advantage of the nice weather and beautiful foliage by heading straight to the park after I picked the kids up from school. Then we stopped home for a quick snack and my mom stopped by and joined us for a walk to another local park. It was a great day! (I'll post some pics from our walk below)
2. This blog is what I have been reading the past few nights. I read almost the entire thing the first night. It is shocking, heart-wrenching, and just plain interesting. I recommend every parent or person in the medical field read what this family experienced; someday you may be really glad that you have the knowledge.
3. Potato chips are not usually my weakness...unless of course they are sitting next to some french onion dip. Yet, I have come to love the new Lays Garden Tomato & Basil potato chips. Once I start eating them it is very difficult to stop...watch out for these on your grocer's aisle...they are dangerous.
4. Saturday we are going to make individual pizzas for dinner...but this time we are going to make our own crust using this recipe. I'll let you know how it turns out. Still waiting for your awesome recipes ;-).
5. Last year I searched the stores and Internet for an advent calendar. I found many...but not the type I was looking for with large enough openings to put special prizes/treats. So, I am going to try my hand at making my own version of these. Wish me luck; and if you've tried it please share any tips/tricks!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Hubby turned another year older on Wednesday. We celebrated by having dinner at the local japanese steakhouse. We had never taken the kids there and they loved watching the chefs cook right before our table. L-n-L spent so much time trying to master the art of their chopsticks that we ended up leaving with three very large doggie boxes. We came home and had some pumpkin pie for dessert (hubby's fave).

Happy Birthday Daddy!