I dream of paper

1-20-2009

2009-01-20T20:01:00.001-08:00

What a day it has been. I always thought of this day as the "end of an error." Now having witnessed the events of today, I can happily commemorate this day as the "dawn of a new beginning."

The most important message of the day personally is one of UNITY. A little hope can go a long way in today's world.

I am saddened that I did not get to listen to President Obama's message in full as he was speaking. I went to my daughter's preschool to participate in her half birthday celebration (summer birthday!) which, of course, was a huge deal to her! I was impressed, however, that in her Montessori school, the director had placed laptops in each of the classrooms with the live video playing.

I hope that my daughters will emerge into adulthood in a new world in part by what took place today. My older daughter is already an Obamba fan... and my younger daughter is too young to notice anything special about today but her birthday walk! (and that is just fine by me...) One day, I can tell her the story about how I watched President Obama's inaugural address on a computer in her classroom.

I had so many goosebump moments today. I was most impressed by the mass of people in attendance of the swearing in ceremony. My thoughts were with my co-workers who were there.

But today, more than ever, I am so proud to be an American. Here's to our new beginning!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T17:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it's 2009 already. We had planned to have some friends over, but the kiddos were running fevers earlier in the day... and while we love to share with friends, we try not to share our germs! LOL!!! So, anyway, we spent a quiet evening in.

We started what I hope will be a new tradition this year with the girls. I bought some sparkling apple cider, and we toasted to the new year as a family! The girls even got to drink the cider out of champagne flutes! They really thought they were grown-ups then!

In 19 more days, we will have a new president. I couldn't be happier. I was never more proud to stand in line for almost an hour to cast my vote for Barack Obama. I literally had goose bumps when I hit the "vote" button on that computer! I am optimistic that he will help unite our nation and soothe tensions with other nations. I also feel that he is humble enough to draw on the expertise of those he has chosen as part of his team to help advise him in making the right decisions for our nation. I am ecstatic that the leadership of our country has swung back to the left, at least for a while.

I watched a very scary documentary the other night called "Jesus Camp." I literally sat watching with my jaw on the floor, in pure disbelief of what I was watching and hearing. It chronicled the lives of three young children who are being raised in very conservative Christian households... homeschooled and taught some pretty radical views about the world. They have been taught to reject all conventional science... that global warming is not real... that if you go to a "quiet" church, it's a "dead" church... that you are to believe what your preachers tell you without question.

Now, I know that I am (admittedly) a liberal democrat. I know that my views are far different from the right. I am, however, a Christian. I regularly attend church. I look across my congregation and see not only white, but African-American, Indian, and Asian members. We have ordained women as ministers. We have women deacons. My church also happens to be Baptist. I believe that the Bible was written in a time when not all laws of science were clearly understood, and that this great book should be read and personalized, not interpreted by someone else and that interpretation forced upon you. I believe in evolution, and believe that evolution is God's will. I believe that God created us with an intrinsic curiousity and the intelligence to understand all the processes that He has set in motion. He did not create a human race to act like sheep and merely follow.

What scared me most about the documentary is the parents' and church leaders' choice of words when describing the children. The children's minister profiled said that the children are perfect to USE in God's war. (War? Does God really want us to go to war? With opinions like this being filtered throughout the airwaves, it's no wonder that so many hate Americans.) In another scene, a very sweet child witnessed to a complete stranger. I would have had a chat with my child about the dangers of talking to strangers without an adult around, but the child's father congratulated her on being OBEDIENT. (Again, are we like sheep? )

Maybe my fears of these views come from growing up next to quite possibly the most self-righteous Christian family I have ever met. They professed their faith in God, yet were possibly the meanest folks I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. Since they were so much more obedient to God than the rest of us, I suppose that gave them the right to be hypocrites. They own a huge bus to drive around gospel groups, and they start it once a week, letting it run for hours, stinking up the neighborhood. They called our house one Christmas Eve and yelled at my dad to clear the street of our leaves. (It was raining, so the leaves were backing up water in their gutters.) We came home one day to find the evergreeens which created a border between our house and theirs had been stripped of all the branches on one side. (the branches had grown a few inches over their property line, so they took the liberty of destroying the trees rather than having a civil discussion about it.) Oh, and did I mention the multiple times that this family's son, who was much older than me, tried to molest me? Oh yes. Disciples of Christ, this family is. I have clearly forgiven this family for all they have done to mine. (LOL!!!)

Another shining example of excellent behavior from another self-righteous conservative (this is a woman who regularly witnessed to patients and played religious music at her desk for all to hear): I was pregnant with my first child. I was pulled aside by this co-worker and told the following: "It's bad enough that you are pregnant and showing, but the fact that you talk about it too is just shameful." Huh?.... It turns out that someone in my office had miscarried and was having a difficult time with it, and the fact that two of us in the office were very pregnant did not help her. Well, I was devastated, as any extremely hormonal woman would be... and on my wedding anniversary, no less... and barely a month after 9/11. I took the issue to management because I felt I had been harassed. She was forced to apologize. Her letter went something like this: "I'm sorry that you misinterpreted what I said." Hmmmp. Some apology.

Also, I, too, was a victim of the Jesus Camp mentality. I went to a church camp when I was in elementary school. One of the speakers told us that our friends would go to hell if they did not believe in Jesus... even the Jewish ones. My best friend happened to be Jewish. I told her what he said. At the time, I believed what I was told. After all, he was a grown up. He had to know better than me, right? To this day, I wish I had never told her. I'm pretty sure her parents hated me after that. So that fundamentalist camp misguided me severely... and cost me one of my dearest friendships.

I think the last example is actually the most disturbing. I took my kids to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt that happens to be hosted by a very fundamentalist Baptist church. I deeply appreciate their ministry, but I did not appreciate this: my older daughter was making a "prayer bracelet" with the help of one of their church members. The lady was explaining to my child what each colored bead meant. One of the beads she said meant that "you are a bad person." Huh? Are children created bad? I thought we were created in God's image? Anyway, my daughter was in tears. So, I had to explain that what she really meant to say was that all people do bad things. I thought this was an isolated, misspoken issue on the lady's part until I got a little card on my car one day. It had a hologram-ish square on the front that appeared to be like one of those mood detectors. It asked you to hold your thumb on it for ten seconds to see if it changed color, indicating that you are a good person. I knew it was not real, flipped over to the back, and read this: "Don't worry. We are all bad people." It gave me a bible verse to read. Maybe I am just so stupid that I can't read the Bible myself and need to be scared into believing God. Is that what I'm supposed to take from propaganda like that? I think what it needed to say is that we all sin... not to imply that we are all bad people.

Anyway, thus, my fear of the conservative Christian.

I have found great comfort on the left side of the pendulum. In my happy little world, God is compassionate, loving, respectful of humans (since He did create us in His image, after all). In my happy little world, all people are equal, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion (or lack thereof) or class. I am not naive enough to believe that all people think this is truly the case, but I am hopeful that our new leadership will guide us one step closer to getting our nation, and perhaps our world, to that happy place. I think that would make God truly proud.

If you have read this far, thanks! If I have offended you, I am truly sorry. If you do happen to identify more with the right, I hope you will consider how a typical liberal feels when confronted with conservative views. I don't admit to being the best Christian, but I do hope that I am at least real.

AMERICA, YES, WE CAN!!!!!!

2008-11-05T05:13:00.000-08:00

And we did!!!

I am so proud to be an American today... a part of a great nation who has just turned a new page in history... and I am honored to call Barack Obama my President!

I'll be back to say more later!

I've been a bad, bad blogger!

2008-10-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

My life has been fairly eventful these days...

I've had a couple of (near) major issues, including some question about my health, some issues with my older dd at school, and the need for me to transition to full time work.

First the health issues. I have experienced weird symptoms including vertigo spells, paresthesias, and minor coordination issues. This has been ongoing and cyclical in nature for quite some time. I will have a few months that I feel OK, only to have the symptoms return. I finally convinced my doctor that I needed further testing. It turns out that I have a brain cyst which may predispose me to having vestibular migraines. Now, I've had this since I was born... it's just the nature of the thing... and my brain has formed "normally" to accomodate this void in the back of my head. It's actually kind of interesting to look at my MRI images. It was going to take a while to get in to see a neurologist, but, lucky for me, I work with MCV physicians. I got to see one of the top neurosurgeons in the region, and she thinks surgery would not help me. (WHEW!!! I wasn't in the mood for brain surgery, anyway! LOL!!!) My next step is to see a migraine specialist and get a second opinion from another ENT (I saw one in January.) Anyway, my biggest fear was that I had MS, and the MRI definitively answered that question for me as a no!

Second, the school issues. My child is bored in school. Her best friends are in higher grades than she is. She gets 100% on all of her tests. She reads at a 3rd grade reading level in 1st grade. She is in a mixed level class, and I was concerned that she was not being challenged enough. I met with her teacher and made what I hope is a good start in assuring that a few things change to meet her needs. The most important one is that she be allowed to check out books at a higher reading level than 1st grade! The librarian at her school wouldn't allow it, so I asked her teacher to change that. Now my dd can check out any book she wants! Yay! We have another conference scheduled for the middle of November.

Third, I had to go back to work full time. My dh's benefits expired since he lost his job. He is employed doing contract work, but that is without benefits. Clearly the job market for health professionals is better than it is for financial professionals! (go figure!). So, now I work longer hours with less pay, but at least we have health benefits... and for the first time in 6 years I will have paid vacations!

Lastly, I have some pages I did for Scraplovers this month using papers from Scenic Route and chipboard words from Maya Road. Thanks for reading if you have gotten this far, and take care!

More September Reveals for Scraplovers!

2008-09-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

Just under the wire, I might add!!!! More with the wonderful Hometown collection from October Afternoon. I just love these papers! So much fun! I also used colored cardstock from Die Cuts with a View. I really love its white core! So much fun to distress! :)

We have visitors....

2008-09-21T18:35:00.001-07:00

Visitors of the smelly kind! We knew we had skunks... we have smelled it every now and then, but we just assumed the critter responsible for destroying the trash on occasion was a raccoon! But my dh found this little guy in the trash this morning! The critter was scared to death and raised his tail to spray my dh, but didn't! So he called me outside so I could take some pics... this was with camera dangling over the trash can just praying that I had it centered! LOL!!!

Happy Birhday to me! (and some projects!)

2008-09-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

First off, I want to thank the Coconut Scrapshop for having me on as a GDT this month! I just received the wonderful kit featuring Mollie and Mac papers created by Tabitha Jones, and created this page last night!

I also created some projects with the Homestown line from October Afternoon for Scraplovers!

I also used a stamp set from Inque Boutique for the mini album! You can see the full album in the Scraplovers gallery!

And, yes, I am 34 today.

7 years.

2008-09-11T19:09:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it's been that long since that awful event? I can't. But this is the first year that I have actually felt OK on this day. The pain of those memories is now just a fabric of my being, not something I play out all over again as in years past. Does this mean I'm healing? I hope so. Does this mean I will forget? Never.

I hope you all are doing OK today as well.

I am in so much trouble!

2008-09-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

That's right... our Whole Foods Market just opened on September 3rd. It is AMAZING! I went yesterday AND today. I'm such a dork! The reason I went today was to buy a beautiful orchid for $12.99. I told my dh about these, and he asked me why I didn't buy one! I also bought a case of organic lemonade for less than $12!

The reason why I'm in so much trouble? It's literally right on my way home from work. They even have a wine bar inside! LOL!!! So, when my coworkers asked me where they could take me for my birthday next week, this is where I chose! (tee hee!) I can't wait!

It's official...

2008-09-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

I am the mother of a first grader! I took this photo over the weekend. I am having the most difficult time with lighting these days. In my old house, I knew where all the sweet spots were and the best times of day to get them, but I'm going to have to figure that out all over again!

I'm so sad.

2008-09-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite patients died on Saturday.

In my line of work and working in a nursing home, death often becomes simply another part of life, and at times, a blessed end to pain and suffering. In fact, it is not uncommon for rehab professionals to be among the ones patients choose to tell that they are ready to leave this earth, and for us to advocate for them to let their desires be known and discussed with the rest of the medical team and their family. It's just a part of helping them maintain as much dignity as possible in their final stages of life.

But this particular patient... this one I was not expecting. I saw her on Thursday, and I literally gasped when I entered the room. She looked terrible. And she knew something was gravely wrong. A quick discussion with nursing sparked a call to her doctor, and she was off to the hospital. She passed away on Saturday.

She was one of the first patients I had ever worked with at the home. She had not walked for a while, and I found a way for her to comfortably and confidently do so with assistance, and that was her main exercise for the 5 years I have worked there. She had pain that kept her up at night. I provided the modalities to relieve her neuropathy. I always made a point of speaking to her every time I saw her in passing, and I considered her one of my many friends at the home. I only wish I had the chance to say goodbye.

I will miss her terribly.

A Tutorial!

2008-08-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a technique I developed a while ago and have used several times since: creating shapes with ribbon and/or fibers. The key to its success? Strano Ribbon Stiff.

To create a ribbon heart, you will need the following supplies:
pins, Ribbon Stiff, ribbon, and a foam block (the one used here is from some decorative brad packaging)

Next, you will cut your ribbon to the desired length (practice making the rough shape first), and coat it with the ribbon stiff. A foam brush helps!

Once this is done, pin your ribbon down at the dip in the heart (fold the ribbon in half at an angle and pin).

Next, shape your ribbon into a heart, then pin at the bottom.

Now let your heart dry, then use it in your next project!

Enjoy!

Points to ponder...

2008-08-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

Why does our "family friendly" radio station play the full version of Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville" yet choose to block out the phrase "I like a good beer buzz early in the morning" from "All I wanna do is have some fun" by Sheryl Crow?

Why can Spongebob Squarepants and his buddy Patrick live under the sea, yet can't swim?

Does the sun yawn? (this last one a question from my younger dd! lol!!!)

Just a few of my younger dd...

2008-08-28T18:51:00.001-07:00

What can I say? The girl just loves all things creepy and crawly... and dh wants to try again for a boy? LOL!!! What more could he ask for? :)

More projects!

2008-08-21T19:08:00.001-07:00

These are again using the Cosmo Cricket Haunted line. I also did a fun technique with fibers on the layout on Kraft paper! I'll share soon on the blog, but it's up on Scraplovers as the Technique Thursday for today!

And in other scrappy news.... I just got an e-mail from Scrapbook Trends requesting a page for its January 2009 issue! Yay!

August Scraplovers Reveal Time!

2008-08-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

I got to play with the super cute "Haunted" line by Cosmo Cricket! These background papers are by Basic Grey. They don't lend themselves well to our "dog days of summer" theme, but, hey, at least I finally got to scrap the photo of the bat!!! LOL!!!

Photo shoot!

2008-08-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

OK, so I am by no means on the same level as my dear friends Tisha or Stephanie, but another good friend of mine was expecting, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to photograph her! Her little girl is adorable, too!

She had her baby girl last week, and I can't wait to take pics of her, too!

More July Projects!

2008-07-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

More projects for Scraplovers! This time I'm using papers from October Afternoon! Love, love, love these papers... the colors are perfectly bright, almost retro inspired!

I am having fun with a new technique. I love both sides of most double sided paper, and it seems a shame to hide the other side on a page. So I've taken to rolling the edges sometimes, and I really like the depth it adds to my pages!

Sorry for the yellow cast to these photos. Even with my white balance set correctly AND color correcting in Photoshop, they still kept a bit of yellow!

July Scraplovers projects!

2008-07-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pages using the Making Memories Passport line! I really love its versatility! I created a very somber page about 9-11 with a photo that I rediscovered when looking through some very old pictures. I have held on to this photo for what seems like forever...

Then I was inspired to create a baby page because of the "fragile" stamp on the paper! I love this paper line!

Yay!

2008-07-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

I won the Coconut Showdown over at Coconut Scrapbooks! There were some amazing projects created by everyone, and I'm so honored to have been chosen!

On another note, I was listening to NPR this afternoon and heard this story about a new book, and decided that I may just have to buy it! (tee hee!)

New projects!

2008-07-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

These are pages I have done for a contest over at Coconut Scrapbooks! These ladies came up with some darn creative challenges!

Second June reveal!

2008-06-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

The first page features Cosmo Cricket and Maya Road.

In the second page I used the Maya Road overlay as a mask with a bit of glimmer mist to create my patterned paper. I used a flourish foam stamp by Plaid as well as some jeaneology iron-on paislies. Letter stickers by American Crafts, fabric flowers by Technique Tuesday, and buttons by Autumn Leaves.

My second reveal of the month for Scraplovers!

Yay!

2008-06-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

Just a little toot... but so fun! I wandered over to the Piggy Tales blog today to see some sneak peeks, and found out that I was an honorable mention in their Earth Day photo contest! You can see all the HM's photos here.

Mine is the one of the pink Yorktown onion flower!

Just a few things....

2008-06-12T19:57:00.001-07:00

Just a consolidated collection of things I've created with Cosmo Cricket papers(just in case anyone is looking! lol!!!)

June Reveal!

2008-06-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

We have some fabulous papers from Cosmo Cricket to work with this month at Scraplovers! I love this bright and cheerful Hello Sunshine collection! Letter stamps are from Tin Box Creations!

So Merry!

2008-06-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

Just a little page for the team at Tin Box Creations! All stamps by them from the Empty Upper Alpha, Styl'n Around, and Totally Unique sets. The white background snowflakes are made using the chandelier stamp from the Totally Unique set. The stickers are from Doodlebug (thanks to Scrapbook Trends!).

If you are looking for a guest DT spot, head on over to Scraplovers where we are having a GDT contest! Details here.

Nightmares!

2008-05-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

I have been having lots of dreams with a recurring theme...

Now, those of you who know me well know that I have crazy dreams (that sometimes come true!). And lately I have had some fleeting thoughts about going back to school. So guess what my dreams have been about?

Yes, I am sitting in a classroom taking a class from high school (again) because they decided I didn't do well enough the first time (and I am protesting the authorities because I now have an MS!!! LOL!!!!)

Or I remember going to this math class in the beginning of the semester, and now I can't remember going the rest of the time... and how am I going to perform on that big exam for that class I forgot to go to? LOL!!!!

I always wake up in a cold sweat!

So why these fleeting thoughts of going back to school? Well, I never had the guts to go to med school, but now I find myself frustrated by the system. Doing the job that I do as a PT, I often spend more time with my patients than any nurse or doctor. Sometimes I get results when I go to them to tell them something is wrong with my patient, and other times it takes a few days for them to see what I see.

So in my frustration, I have been thinking of ways to beat the system. I am soooooo tired of hearing families tell me that they have taken their loved ones to the doctor for a "chronic" condition only to be told they are just old. HELLLOOOOOO! Even a 90 year old may live another 10 years! What happened to quality of life? Isn't that what we are all working to maintain in the geriatric population?

My fleeting thought is to go back to school to be a physician's assistant. I would specialize in geriatrics. Now all I need is time, energy, and money to do it! LOL!!!

At least for a bit of time I have been thinking like an idealistic twenty-something again! :)

YES WE CAN!!!

2008-05-06T18:47:00.001-07:00

And if you are on the same page as me, that's all I need to say!

Finally.... some new projects!

2008-04-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

These are my March projects for Scraplovers! Also used a bit of Tin Box on some of these!!!

It's been too long!!!

2008-04-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

Don't hate me for not blogging... hate Comcast for holding my services hostage!!!! It's been a long battle, but we finally have internet at the new house, we are all settled, and I am happy to be blogging again!

More updates soon!!!

UGH!!!!

2008-02-28T11:29:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit under the weather... as has the rest of my poor family! We all came down with the stomach bug, which I haven't had since I was 9 years old! Let's just say that I have been better acquainted with my toilet than I ever care to be EVER AGAIN!!!! Yitch....

Now, the last time I had this, my last meal prior to getting violently ill was a steak from Quincy's steak house, which began my dislike for red meat! (rarely ever ate a steak after that, now don't at all!). Unfortunately, my last meal prior to this time was also from a restaurant... one of my favorites... Panera Bread Co. So, I don't know how long it will be before I can ever eat a bowl of their broccoli cheddar soup again!

First my older dd got sick on Saturday, followed by me on Monday, my younger dd on Tuesday, and now my dh, who has been so sweet to take time off of work to take care of all of us! I was feeling much better yesterday, but I made the unfortunate decision to eat a real meal for dinner last night, and my body is letting me know what a poor decision that was. My entire abdomen just aches!

On the bright side, I did lose 4lbs, and my skin looks great (albeit pale!) Must be the magical detox of the rotovirus... LOL!!!!

Did I mention we are supposed to move this weekend? I had already scheduled some time off this week, but not to be sick! To PACK!!!! EEEEKKKKKKK!!!!

Well, I best get off of the computer and get to packing boxes.

And in honor of Valentine's Day:

2008-02-14T10:57:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of projects I did for Tin Box Creations using various sets! Love these acrylic stamps!

The bookmark was layered with various stamped images, then heat embossed with UTEE. I made the tassel from leftover yarn from one of my Mom's knitting projects!

On the card, I "watercolored" the word "Love" using inks and water... just mixed it in the lid of my ink!

Some projects!

2008-02-14T04:35:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pages I did for Scraplovers!

This one features Moxxie products:

And this one features products from Creative Cafe:

:)

Don't forget to vote!

2008-02-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

Fellow Virginians.... it is our turn to determine who will run for President in whichever party we feel most affiliated with. For me, I will be voting on Tuesday for Barack Obama. His views are most closely aligned with my own... and I am so ready for change in Washington! I normally shy away from speaking about specifics with politics and religion, but I can finally say that for the first time in my life, there is an emerging leader whom I feel can truly lead this nation so completely in a positive way. He reminds me of Julian Bond, whom I met during a class I took at Longwood College (way back in the day!). He is so charismatic! If you haven't listened to him speak, you can see a video of him here.

I'm not saying vote for him because I am... but DO be a part of the process, and DO LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD. Why? BECAUSE IT MATTERS. Why? BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE GREAT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF BEING A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES!

So get out there and vote! :)

Comcast must have known....

2008-02-10T05:17:00.000-08:00

that my kiddos were mourning the loss of "Cars" from its On Demand line-up. See, we have one of those new fangled digital cable boxes that are not compatible with our old analog TV, and now we can't get our DVD player to talk to our TV!!! So, our only source for movies has been directly from Comcast (and, well, I'm kinda cheap and don't want to use the pay services!) So, we've been lucky that Cars has been available for 2 months! But it was missing for a few days.... much to the dismay of my 2 1/2 year old. When I mention "Cars", she immediately says, "Cachow! Speed!" This kid LOVES this movie!

Anyway, I was so excited to see Cars reappear in the line-up of free movies again this morning!!!!

Time to update, huh?!!!

2008-02-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Well, times have been very, very busy!

My older dd is now 6! Her birthday was on the 5th. We went to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner on Monday to celebrate (it was the only night that all of our local family could get together!) It turned out to be a great night to go, though, because it just happened to be kids' night! She had a blast having the clown make balloon creatures for her and just loved being the center of attention!

In house news, we are much, much closer to moving in. The cabinets have been installed (not sure I am pleased with my color choice for the kitchen, but it's a bit late now! :( ) Our carpet and wood floors should be installed next week. Painting the interior is complete. Now we just need light fixtures, countertops, toilets... you know, the little things that make a house function! LOL!!! So, that means a few trips to the Home Depot or Lowes to pick out a few things!

I am very happy for my dear friend Tabitha who has recently gotten back into scrapbooking after a bit of a rest as she started a new career! Love her art, and she's such a great friend!

I'm also excited for my dear friend Tisha who has opened a new photography studio in the heart of the "cool" part of downtown Richmond! Can't wait to see it!

I have some scrappy news that I will share later!

I was also invited to serve a third term over at Scraplovers! I'm very happy to do so!

And right now I am thoroughly busy with my job. I'm still at the nursing home... still loving geriatric rehab... still trying my best to be the best PT I can be. I work "on call," but am filling the lead PT position, working full time hours. I find myself surprised at times that I have evolved from a timid, shy student into a "leader" of sorts. I am flattered and humbled that colleagues seek my advice about their patients. I am proud of each day that I get to help all of these grandmothers and grandfathers... especially when they get to accomplish fantastic goals like walk for the first time after an injury! Very satisfying work, indeed!

So, if you haven't seen me on the boards much, this is why.

Now... let me go tackle the mountain in the hall that is my laundry! LOL!!!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Check it out!!!

2008-02-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

I have a new sketch challenge and a ribbon heart tutorial over at Scraplovers!

DT call at Scraplovers!!!!

2008-01-31T17:40:00.000-08:00

ScrapLovers is looking for two new Sweethearts to join our existing team. We need one regular Sweetheart and one who does strictly cards/altered items. We are looking for designers who can meet the following criteria:
- Unique style
- Ability to use a variety of styles and be familiar with up-to-date techniques
- Ability to create projects from basic to a more advanced skill level
- Creative use of product
- Ability to think outside the box
- Ability to work within timelines and under pressure
- Cooperation and teamwork
- Great communication skills

If chosen to be a Sweetheart you will be responsible for:

1. Committing to a 5-month term beginning March 1, 2008 through July 31, 2008.
2. Creating 4 layouts using the monthly product you are sent. If chosen as the card/altered item Sweetheart, you will create 1 altered project and 3 sets of cards using the product you are sent. You will upload half of your projects on the 5th of the month and the other half on the 20th of the month.
3. Taking turns hosting a technique or stash tutorial for our Technique Thursdays.
4. Taking turns on a weekly basis posting a Question and Project of the Day.
5. Posting additional projects in your personal member gallery.
6. Participating in forum discussions on a daily basis and keeping the message board flowing by regularly posting new topics.
7. Leaving praise in the gallery on a weekly basis.
8. Issuing 2 monthly challenges to the members- one on the 1st of the month and the second on the 15th of the month.
9. Participating in cybercrops and contests held by ScrapLovers.
10. Contributing to the ScrapLovers newsletter and blog when necessary.
11. Promoting ScrapLovers on your personal blog (if you have one) and other forums (where allowed) to help facilitate the growth of our community.
12. Identifying that ScrapLovers provided the product in ANY layout posted on another site or published. Projects are exclusive to the ScrapLovers site for one month.
13. Communicating with the Owner and Sweetheart Coordinator about absences due to illness or vacation

If chosen as a Sweetheart, you will be compensated in the following ways:

1. You will receive product to work with each month to create your required number of designs free of charge. All projects created are yours to keep.
2. You will receive 20% off purchases from our store throughout your duration as a Sweetheart and free shipping on orders that are shipped with the monthly kit. You will receive a shipping credit of $5 once each month on any additional orders.
3. You will receive exposure with your bio and headshot being posted on our Sweetheart page, as well as being spotlighted once on our blog during your term.
4. You will be provided a blinkie for use in your signature, on your blog, and at other sites as permitted.

Application requirements:
1. Upload 5 pieces of your best work that are representative of your style to the 2008 Design Team Call section of the ScrapLovers gallery. Projects do not need to be new or never-before-seen, but should be original works of art (no scraplifts, please).
2. Register and become a member of our message board. Introduce yourself in the Welcomes and Introductions forum.
3. Send an email to info@scraplovers.com including the following:
- Provide your name, address, preferred e-mail address, and links to online communities in which you are active (be sure to include your username). If you have a blog, please include that link as well. Please specify if you are applying for the card/altered item Sweetheart.
-Provide a list of current and past design teams. Don't worry if you aren't on any. We want to see your work, and we all have to start somewhere. Membership on other DTs is not discouraged.
-Let us know if you've been published and where.
-Complete an essay about why you feel you are a prime candidate for our design team. Focus on your strengths and include what you will contribute to our team and message board. Share your ideas and thoughts for promoting our site and store.

The deadline for submitting your application is Monday, February 11th at 11:59 PST. International applicants are welcome. If chosen, you will be notified via email to accept no later than Saturday, Feb. 16th. The official announcement will be made on the message board no later than Monday, February 18th. You will start on March 1st with your Sweetheart duties. If you have any questions feel free to email me at info@scraplovers.com. Good luck and thank you!!

New Scraplovers Contest!!!

2008-01-31T17:32:00.000-08:00

Scrap Around the World!

Pack your bags and get your passports ready because it's time for a contest!!! We are about to embark on a 7 week journey as we Scrap Around the World. We will make a stop on each continent where a challenge will be issued for you to complete. The first challenge will be issued on Thursday, Feb. 21st. All subsequent challenges will be issued on Thursdays. You will have until the following Wednesday at 11:59 EST to upload your week's creation into the appropriate area of the gallery. You will need to declare at the start of the contest whether you are competing in the paper or digital category. You will not be able to switch after the contest has begun.
The Sweethearts will then judge the creations on a 10 point scale. You will be judged in three categories- Creativity, Photography, and Overall Design/Appeal. Your individual category scores will be added up for a total weekly score. Scores for each round will not be revealed. And the good part is no one will ever be eliminated!! Please pay close attention to the requirements of each challenge. Ask questions if you need clarification. Any deviation from the challenge requirements listed will result in disqualification. This is only to be fair to those who follow all of the requirements. All submissions must be original designs. Layouts submitted for any round of the contest must be posted only in the ScrapLovers gallery until the end of the contest and must not be published, posted or entered in any contest, in any magazine or on any website until the end of the contestant's participation in the contest.
Exception-layouts may be posted on your personal blog.

As for the prizes...the paper and digital participant with the most points at the end of the 7 weeks will become a Guest Sweetheart for the months of May and June. There will also be a random prize drawing from all other participants.

In order to be eligible to participate, you must have at least three layouts uploaded into the ScrapLovers gallery and a minimum of 100 posts (both MB and gallery posts count) by the start of the contest on Feb. 21st.

Find more info here:

Contest info

What a relief!

2008-01-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

We are now officially able to take our current home off the market! We've had a FSBO sign in the yard since before Thanksgiving, but the only phone calls we have gotten are from agents who want to sell it for us.

But now we have a friend who wants to rent it from us with the intent to buy later. So, we will work up a kind of lease to own contract with her.

It is such a relief to get that piece taken care of!

We should be able to move into our new home at the end of February. Cross your fingers for us that our builder can get it done!

Mediocrity....

2008-01-21T18:44:00.000-08:00

Do you ever just feel mediocre? Just like you are a jack of all trades, master of none? I've been feeling that way lately. Maybe I just have too many interests and/or responsibilities to be truly good at any one thing. I have always wanted to be extraordinary at something... just one thing. You know... that fantasy of life's purpose in an idealistic teenage/early twenty-something mind? Ahhhh... but maybe the wisdom of being thirty-something is that it's ok to just be who we are, and accept mediocrity whole-heartedly!!! LOL!!!

I don't think so. ;)

Something that is certainly not mediocre.... REAL popcorn cooked on the stove! We've been avoiding the microwave as much as possible, and all of the chemicals in the microwave popcorn gives me the heebie jeebies... so, with the advice of a good friend (thanks, Tisha!), I cooked my first batch of popcorn on the stove. I used organic oil and corn... and it was fabulous! And I have to admit to becoming just a bit giddy as the first kernels popped! Let me tell you... every last kernel popped, and it tasted JUST LIKE movie theater popcorn! Especially since I used the hot pan to melt a bit of organic butter to pour over top and finished it off with some kosher salt! Yum! My girls devoured the whole batch!

Another project!

2008-01-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

Here's another page for Scraplovers. Patterned paper is mainly Scribble Scrabble! I also used Tin Box Creations stamps here!

Want to know how I made the ribbon heart? I'll show you later this month over at Scraplovers for the last Technique Thursday for the month!

First day of school!

2008-01-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

Remember this picture? You know it would end up on one of my pages eventually, right? The stars were created using the photo corner stamps from the Totally Unique stamp set from Tin Box Creations. I also used the Youth Upper set!

January reveal time!

2008-01-10T20:02:00.001-08:00

Our first set of reveals for January! We chose what we wanted from the store this month! I chose more Cosmo Cricket! :)

It's a new year!

2008-01-05T20:23:00.001-08:00

And I can already check off one resolution from my list this year!

I took a sewing class, completed a project, and now know how to fill a bobbin and thread my machine! I promise I will post pics later!

Anyway, I found this wonderful little quilting shop called quilting adventures less than 5 miles from my home! They carry all of the latest and greatest fabrics, too, with a wonderful mix of simple and artsy products and classes. Just what I need... a source to feed what may possibly become a new addiction for me... LOL!!!

More Cosmo Cricket!

2007-12-19T20:37:00.000-08:00

More projects for Scraplovers! I really love this paper line!

Scraplovers projects!!!

2007-12-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

This month's sponsor is Cosmo Cricket!!! I love the "Be Good" line! Christmasy, for sure, but the colors can be used for so much more!

Speaking of Christmas, how are you doing with your shopping? I've got a long way to go!!! Hopefully I can take a day next week to shop a bit! I need to go out this week and buy a couple of gifts for some residents at the nursing home where I work (as part of our annual party for them given by the staff) and a book for a book exchange at my dd's school. I've still got family members to buy for as well!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Just a little card!

2007-12-02T19:50:00.001-08:00

Just a quick card I made for Tin Box Creations using their "Laughlines" and "Youth Upper Alphabet" stamp sets! Inks are by Colorbox!

Baby, you can drive my car....

2007-11-30T19:23:00.001-08:00

I created this car for a challenge over at Create my Keepsakes using Cosmo Cricket papers and felt! Assembling the wood car model kit from the Target dollar spot was, well, challenging! But I love the end result! I wanted to give it to my dd to play with, but I don't think that's going to happen now! LOL!!!

Comfort ye, my people...

2007-11-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again. It's time for me to pull out my Handel's Messiah CD so I can listen to it full blast on my car stereo! My old car that I just spent $700 fixing. Yes, that's what happens when you ignore the obnoxious sound created by a rotten CV boot, yet you continue to drive it. The result is a ruined axle! whoopsie.... Did I mention that the starter had gone bad, too? And the transmission fluid leak? Driving a 9 year old car is GLORIOUS!!! Glorious, I tell you.... LOL!!!

On to more serious thoughts...

Comfort ye my people...

One of my favorites from Handel's Messiah is this one. Comfort ye my people, saith your God. I really hope He hears our collective need as a planet for comfort. When all goes awry, you have a rotten day, a rotten week, a rotten year... tragedies beyond your control. I'm not even talking about my life. There has been much death and destruction at the hand of nature this year. That doesn't even consider the harm we have inflicted on each other. What we need is comfort... plain and simple.

And here are a few funny thoughts...

We just returned from our annual Thanksgiving vacation. My 2 year old decided that one of the chair cushions in the rental house made a more appropriate canvas for her ink pen than her paper did! My mil washed the cushion cover, getting most of the ink out with some hair spray and stain treater. It did just fine in the washer the first go round... but with the second, it completely fell apart at the seams. Good thing I remembered seeing that the local quilt shop had sewing machines you could use in the back of their store! They graciously allowed us to use the machine to repair the cover. I, of course, made a few obligatory purchases... and now I am afraid that sewing projects may take over for my scrapping habit!!! LOL!!!!

Oh, and wouldn't you know.... I was one of the crazies outside the doors of Wal-Mart at 5 AM on Black Friday. My sil called me the day before with a crazy idea for a Christmas gift, and theirs was the best price! But I went, I saw, I conquered!!! I got what I was after (plus a few other things, too!!!)

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, too!!!

Some backyard visitors....

2007-11-13T04:17:00.000-08:00

My older dd had just asked me on Friday if she could buy a blue jay. I tried to explain to her that those are wild birds and could not buy one, but we could make a nice spot for them to hang out in our yard and, hopefully, they will come!

So, imagine her surprise when a FLOCK (and I do mean a flock!) of bluebirds arrived in our yard on Saturday! She decided she could settle for these!

We also had several yellow rumped warblers (thanks to a couple of OLP members for the ID!!!). One of these perched right on our chimney!

I used my longest lens to capture these, but it still wasn't long enough!!!

Time for another Scraplovers reveal!!

2007-11-10T13:41:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of layouts using the fabulous Luxe Designs papers!! We focused on "bling" for this technique team theme this go round!!!
I also used stamps from Tin Box Creations!!!

Another silly story!

2007-11-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

We went out to dinner last night to a Mexican restaurant, and after we had finished eating, my older dd accidentally spilled her drink... ice and Sprite went all over her leg and onto the floor!

We reassured her that it was just an accident, and that these things happened all the time. She was still pretty embarrassed and miserable...

Well, about 2 minutes later, another little girl who was a bit older than my dd did the same thing, but made a much bigger mess and was absolutely soaked!!! (poor thing!!!) And we turned to our dd and said, "See, it really does happen all the time!!!" She giggled and felt much better about things!

When we went up front to pay, the mother of the girl who also spilled her drink came up to the counter soon after I did. I thanked her for their act of kindness... you know, making my dd feel better about spilling her drink, explaining the situation to her. We shared a good laugh... and suddenly 2 embarrassing accidents turned into something funny and happy!

Giggle....

2007-10-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

I do have a funny story to tell.

My younger dd turned 2 in July, and she has already started to make jokes!!! She tries to tell knock knock jokes, but not very well.

Tonight, she made up a real joke! In Richmond, our local grocery store is Ukrop's. Since my dh is a "true" Richmonder, this is where we shop most of the time. Well, we told the kids we were going to Ukrop's, and my dd's response was:

"No!!!! Mycrops, not Ukrop's!!!!"

Oh, this sparked an onslaught of insatiable laughter from all of us!! And she absolutely knew that she had told a joke!!! Too funny!!

Long time, no blog!!!

2007-10-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

So I have been seriously slacking on updating this blog!!! Ah, but life does get in the way sometimes! I did participate in a really fun crop at Create My Keepsakes over the weekend. I managed to get one challenge done! This is the layout I created for it... with an emphasis on texture. It was fun! These papers are from Creative Imaginations. They are from a beachy collection, but the colors look very fall-like to me! Letter stamps by Tin Box Creations! Chipboard letters from Maya Road.

Oasis

2007-10-14T11:00:00.001-07:00

In the midst of our suburban Richmond utopia, we have an oasis known as Wawa. We live less than 2 miles from the closest one... and love it for its cheap gas, clean and well-lit convenience store, and COFFEE.

My dh would hate to admit it, but he has become hooked on coffee. At one time, he referred to the brew as dirty water, but this morning, he said to me, "It's your turn." Thinking that he was referring to getting our younger dd, who, at this point, had been asking interchangeably for mommy and daddy for about 5 minutes from her crib, he surprised me. "It's your turn to go to Wawa for coffee."

Keep in mind that we now also have a brand new Target with a Starbucks inside literally across the street from Wawa, but my dh chooses Wawa! Well, I happily obliged his request that I make the coffee run (10 minutes of solitude is priceless some days!) and left with 2 coffees and 3 doughnuts for less than the cost of 1 Starbucks fancy coffee! That is indeed a bargain!

My kids were in heaven eating their bakery treats! And I was (finally) awake in a state of caffinated bliss! What a great way to spend a Sunday morning!

My Final Scrapncircle projects!

2007-10-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of sad to be posting these.... I have been with Scrapncircle almost since the very beginning... when my dear friend Tisha created the site. I have seen it pass hands a couple of times, each time to another dear friend. But, alas, good things must come to an end, I guess, and Jeri has decided to close the online store.

But for our last hoo-ra, Jeri gave us some beautiful products from SEI. I had the Kitty's Place line to work with... so cute! I almost bought the whole line literally the day before my package arrived on my doorstep! Imagine my joy as I opened that package!

Jeri, I wish you the best of luck in your future scrappy (and any other) endeavors... you are a fantastic person, and I'm so lucky to know you!

Nice.

2007-10-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

What a simple word.

It's the centerpiece of my most famous Anne-ism... something I tell my patients all the time when they thank me for helping them.

"It's easy to be nice to nice people."

They think about it for a moment, then laugh when they realize that I have just paid them a compliment.

Our message this morning in church was about Jesus' lesson to love one another. Although I am not obtrusively Christian, I try to be a good person and exhibit my Christianity by example. (in fact, I'm usually suspicious of folks who flaunt their spirituality.) This is a product of growing up next to some of the most self-righteous neighbors you could ever meet, and learning repeatedly how truly un-Christian these folks were.... the stories I could tell!

Yet this brings up the other point... I struggle daily to not hate. Don't you? How difficult is it to not be angry with that guy who cut you off on the road... the customer service rep who clearly does not care about what you need... people who have hurt you in the past.... people who live on the other side of the planet, have never met you, yet still hate you.

How can I learn to forgive these people?

I especially struggled after 9/11. I can forgive the people who actually carried out the act. Why? Because in my mind, they were simply carrying out the orders of a clearly delusional, evil person. They themselves were victims, too. It is more difficult to forgive their leader. I'll leave that challenge for another day.

A more common struggle for me is when I have worked an entire day, my kids are driving me crazy, and I have to run an errand.... and the person I need to help me clearly does not want to do their job. Then I finally lose my patience. I become a mean person! How difficult it must be for them to be nice to me?! Does this happen to anyone else? LOL!!!

A clear lesson in forgiveness can be learned by the Amish who were so deeply wounded by the senseless murder of 5 of their daughters. Remember those school children who were held hostage? In the middle of perhaps the most peaceful place in this country, a most violent, un-peaceful act was committed. Yet the Amish families actually attended the murderer's funeral, offering sincere condolences to the widow and his children. They are now forming a trust fund for his children. I heard this story on NPR the other day, and it had me in tears.

I seriously doubt that if I found myself in the same situation that I could offer that kind of forgiveness.

So, while it is easy to be nice to nice people, it is, obviously, extremely difficult to be nice to mean people. I hope I can learn to exude niceness rather than impatience at the end of the day!

She's too young....

2007-10-06T04:43:00.000-07:00

to be thinking about stuff like this!!!

So my 5 year old dd says to me:

"Mom, can I have a sleepover with Carter?"

me: "Is Carter a boy or a girl?"

"He's a boy."

me: "No. Girls don't have sleepovers with boys."

"But Carter LOVES me, Mom!"

me: "I'm sure he does, but girls don't have sleepovers with boys until they are married."

She seemed to understand that answer. I think 7AM is too early to deal with issues like this!!!

Birthday Bash!!!

2007-10-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Looking for something scrappy to do this weekend? Well, we are having a BIG PARTY to celebrate Scraplovers' second birthday! Come on over and celebrate with us! We've got tons of challenges and special classes for this event. I have a class on hand stitching myself!

Yay!

2007-10-03T19:15:00.001-07:00

Just got an e-mail from Paper Trends for a card for the Feb/March 2008 issue! This is my first card pub!

Two for Tuesday!

2007-09-25T18:44:00.001-07:00

These are a couple I did for the Scraplovers' September second reveal! Our sponsors are American Crafts and Strano Ribbons. Our theme for the month is "angles." My technique team partner Heather and I concentrated on journaling "angles" the first reveal, and I concentrated on ribbon use for the second reveal!!

***ETA: "Sling Babies" has been picked up for pub.***

2 year olds are soooo funny!!!

2007-09-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

We were out this evening, and my 2 year old saw the moon in the sky as it was rising (at this point, the sun was still up!). As usual, she was excited to see it, and made a point of telling us that she found it!

When we left dinner, the sun had set, and she saw the moon again.

"*gasp* I see the moon!!! Look!!! They turned the light on!" (since by now, the moon was a very bright crescent low in the sky!)

That kid really cracks me up!

I had an epiphane....

2007-09-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

I was listening to NPR the other morning, and I heard a news story that gave me goose bumps. The story was about the local VA hospital here and how it has become the hub for recovery for soldiers who have suffered spinal cord injuries in the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

I have searched my soul for many months, wondering what I could do to help with all that is going on that is horrible in this world.... and then that moment came. My skills? I am a rehab PT. It's just what I do best. I love where I work now, but I feel like I am being called by some higher being to work for the VA. I shared this with my husband, who most likely thinks I'm crazy.... but I've decided to look into it.

Once I made this realization, a part of my spirit seemed relieved that I had finally figured it out. Hopefully, I will have the courage to act on it!

My grandfather was a C6 quadriplegic.... he is one reason why I felt called to be a PT to begin with. It seems like beginning to work with this population will pull my professional journey full circle.

A cute one of the "baby".....

2007-09-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

I'm having fun playing with the lasso tool in PSCS!

First day of school!

2007-09-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to editing and posting these photos!!! She was so excited to get on that bus! I actually started to tear up when she got on the bus... but somehow, I managed to hold it together!

And another:

2007-09-06T18:46:00.001-07:00

I took a whimsical approach... a love letter (and apology) to my enduring favorite Maybelline Great Lash mascara! Papers are from the fabulous Dream Street papers!

A September project for Scraplovers!

2007-09-05T19:16:00.001-07:00

One of our sponsors this month is American Crafts. Yes, those are paper beads... from a continuous strip of double sided paper! One of the residents at the nursing home where I work makes paper beads, so she inspired this technique! The beads sure make for a lousy scan, though!!! I also used a stamp from the "Block This" stamp set from Tin Box Creations! I will take a photo later... TFL!!!

Anyone else feel uneasy...

2007-09-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

When the weather starts to get a bit of chill to it.... you know, the kind of gorgeous late summer day with that nice crisp breeze? The kind of day you looked forward to all summer?

It always reminds me of 9/11 now. I can't get over that feeling. As far as the weather goes, that was a perfect day, and I remember that morning before those dreaded events very clearly.... as clear as that crystal blue sky. My birthday is on the 14th. My birthday isn't really a day to celebrate for me anymore, since it coincides with all of the events of that time.

It's a very sad time of year, indeed. A time to reflect on all of the things happening in this world that we can't control... and a time to hold on to our loved ones dearly.

I'm still waiting on the world to change... hopefully, for the better. And hopefully, to reach a point where I feel safe again.

And a card...

2007-08-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

OK, so I used this same technique for this card as I did for the tag I just made... I just love using the resist technique!!!

Just a tag!!!

2007-08-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

I made this tag with 2 Tin Box Creations stamp sets.... "Block This" and "Spring Flowers Set." I used a resist technique which I will detail this week for Technique Thursday over at Scraplovers!

This must be my lucky pub week!

2007-08-24T12:30:00.001-07:00

I am excited to have a page picked up by Scrapbook Trends for their wedding idea book!!! It was a layout I created at the VA SIS crop at the beginning of the month!!! This kind of week never happens to me in the scrapbook world!!!

Yay!!!!

2007-08-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail request for a home decor project I did using beads! It will appear in the new Bead Trends magazine in their premeire issue! :) Bead Trends is a new venture by the same family of publications as Scrapbook Trends!

This was fun!!!

2007-08-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English
20% Dixie
15% Yankee
0% Midwestern
0% Upper Midwestern

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz/">What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

So, does this mean I speak "normal" American English with a touch of Southern charm? LOL!!! I do live on the northernmost fringe of the South!

The house...

2007-08-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

We are under way with building our house. The roof structure is almost complete now, actually, and we should be under roof by Tuesday. The windows and exterior doors arrived yesterday, ready to intall.

Do you think the house will be ready by the end of November as promised? I'm not holding my breath!!! But it would be nice!

Now, with the crash in the mortgage market, I'm a bit nervous about putting our current house on the market, to say the least! Our current home is in a modest, quiet neighborhood where all of the homes are well within the price range of properties which are still moving in our house market. Crossing my fingers....

By the way... see those cute little dormer windows on the second floor? Those windows belong to my new "project" room! Hubby has his big garage of his dreams... the kiddos have a playroom above that.... and I have my special room, too!!! Happy, joy!!!!

Scrapncircle Projects! Piggy Tales!

2007-08-15T12:59:00.001-07:00

We got to play with the super fun Piggy Tales papers this month!!!! Thanks, Jeri!!! Love how versatile these papers are!

The "Muscles" layout also features the circle stamp from the "Block This" stamp set by Tin Box Creations! I used the stamp as a border, journaling spot, and to make a tab! You seriously need this stamp set! It is so much fun!

http://www.tinboxcreations.com/boutique/product_info.php?cPath=1_6&products_id=107

Thanks for looking!

I am such a blonde....

2007-08-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

I can't even order myself coffee at Starbucks!!! LOL!!!!

Our special treat on Sunday morning (if we get ready in time!) is to go to Starbucks before church! It was my "turn" to go get the coffee this week, so I ordered a Tai Chi latte. The barmister (or whatever you wish to call him!) says to me, "Ma'am, Tai Chi is an ancient form of Chinese martial arts. Perhaps you would like to try a Chai Tea latte instead?"

Now, I tried to explain to him that I just took a course on Friday that discussed all of the benefits of Tai Chi.... before I asked him if I could get an iced Frappachino. To which he replied, "Ma'am. All of our Frappachinos are iced. That's what makes them Frappachinos."

Yep. I even have a Master's degree. But I can't order coffee and sound reasonably intelligent.... LOL!!!

So glad my kids are good! (well, most of the time!!!)

2007-08-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

We went out to lunch after church Sunday at Ruby Tuesday (I'm seriously addicted to their turkey mini burgers... I know! not orgainic!!). About midway through our lunch, another family sat down near us. They had one boy (maybe about 4 or 5ish). He had a couple of little tantrums, and then all YOU KNOW WHAT broke loose. They were sitting in a booth, and the boy THREW his little container of KETCHUP behind him and over his head... it landed all over the booth seat on the other side AND all over this lady's dress and WHITE cardigan!!!! EEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!

Can you imagine the anguish on both sides of this situation? The lady's outfit was most likely ruined.... and the parents of this child?The thing is, this could have been my children.... it's just today they were exceptionally well-behaved.... and when my younger dd grabbed the ketchup container, we caught her before anything happened!!! The father actually left the restaurant to get money to pay this lady's dry cleaning bill.... he did the right thing... I have just never seen something like this in person!!!

Both my kiddos got dessert after lunch... and lots of praise for being good!!! :)

My sweet dh...

2007-07-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

Brought home a surprise the other night.... the Plain White T's CD! Wasn't that nice? He noticed that I had been listening to their song from their website, and brought the album home for me!

He made a statement that these guys were not the best looking... but I also pointed out to him that it looked like their portraits were taken with a very wide angle lens, distorting their features. I don't know if this was the photographer's intent or not, but I am very sure that these guys look much different in person!

It's a fun album.... definitely subjects pertainant to the late teen to twenty-ish crowd!

Whew! I can share...

2007-07-25T05:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I can finally share the second bit of news.... I am so happy that Christina and Mackey at Scraplovers have asked me to serve another year at their site! I really love it over there!

A DT call will be announced soon to fill the vacant slots! They have restructured the whole DT design, and it is great!!!

My baby is 2 today!

2007-07-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

It seems like it was just last summer that she was born! I can't believe she's 2 already!!! We are going to take her somewhere fun for dinner....

We sang happy birthday this morning and she started blowing (the candles, of course, even though there was no cake for breakfast!) And then she says, "Eat cake!!!" LOL!!!!!

The first picture was taken out by the new house. She found this ring of bark on the ground and was pretending that it was real jewelry! And the second was at a friend's birthday party!

Today was a good day!

2007-07-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

I found something that I thought I had lost.... my Lemonheads "It's a Shame About Ray" CD!!! I bought it before I began college, and I really missed it! Well, somehow, it found its way into a Smiths CD case, which I discovered this morning.

I have been on a nostalgic music craving for some old school alternative 80's rock! So I dredeged through my extensive Smiths collection and decided to take a greatest hits CD with me for my morning commute. I still love the music, but man, oh, man.... I was a most self-tortured teenager! I have forgotten how sad Morrissey's lyrics really are!

I'll be giving that old Lemonhead's CD a little more love, too!!! Oh, happy day!

Want to know my first secret?

2007-07-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

Go here:

http://www.tinboxcreations.com/entryform.html

:)

More Williamsburg pics!

2007-07-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more images from Williamsburg! I can't wait to go on another shoot with my Dad!!!! As you can see, I love to take pictures of STUFF!!!

I have a new look!

2007-07-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I was just getting tired of my old blog.... so I made this banner a while ago and decided to try it out!!!

Have you heard of these guys?

2007-07-09T19:10:00.003-07:00

It's my favorite new band.... Plain White Tees! They have this amazingly sweet song called "Hey There Delilah" that plays only on our local Richmond station Y101. I normally don't listen to this station all the time, but it's one of my preset stations, and I happened to hear this song. I was hooked instantly!

Here's a link to the band's website, and you can hear it for yourself!!!

http://www.plainwhitets.com/

They are actually doing a Tiffany-like mall tour and will be at a mall that's not even 5 minutes from my house in August! Just don't know if I want to fight the teeny boppers to see them, though!!!

Scrabook Answers = Sassy

2007-07-09T18:24:00.000-07:00

Remember Sassy magazine? How different and fun and hip and cool it was? I was a child of the 80's..... emerging into adulthood in the 90's.... and I remember it well. I was a Seventeen subscriber, and my best friend in middle school was a Sassy subscriber. I always read about the cool new bands in this magazine, and found clothes that were things I would really wear!!! (I was one of those semi-goth, alternative, drama chicks in school... even though I cheered, too!)

So, anyway.... when Scrapbook Answers debuted, I was very excited! And right away I saw it as the Sassy of the scrabooking industry. It was as rebellious of a scrapbook magazine as Sassy was as a teen girl fashion magazine. The writers at Scrapbook Answers let us in on their personas, lent their voices to their articles, and dared to discuss products with honesty. I loved that magazine!

But, alas, their run was much too short.... just like Sassy. But die hard fans will still remember them!

Wow! A photographer's job is TOUGH!!!!

2007-07-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday, I embarked on a new adventure. My dear friend Tisha asked be to help her shoot a wedding. Granted, I knew the bride and actually referred the bride to Tisha, but I was so honored that Tisha trusted me enough to help her with this!

Anyway, I realized many things. I know that I'm not even close to being good enough to shoot an event so important on my own (not that I really had plans to, anyway!), that I need to be more assertive during shoots (I'm not the bossiest of people... but I need to definitely take on a new persona if I do this again!), and that my camera (Canon XTi) has multiple limitations. Oh.... and that Tisha is one fantastic photographer!!! (well, we already knew that!!!). It was so much fun just to watch her work!

So, I learned a TON about myself and my camera.... and had lots of fun, too! I just hope Tisha will let me try again!!!

Second June Reveal!

2007-06-30T21:14:00.001-07:00

Here's my third project for Scraplovers using the super cute, bright, and cheerful papers and templates from the Crafter's Workshop!!!

My inspiration for the giant swirled paper cutout came from a design magazine from the BHG group!

Shhhhhhh......

2007-06-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have not one.... but TWO secret toots..... so SHHHHHH for now.... (and for the record, I've never had a secret toot before!!!!)

I promise I'll spill the news soon!!!

So much fun!!!!

2007-06-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

My Dad invited me to meet him in Colonial Williamsburg for a "photo shoot" on Friday. He's a Pentax man.... he's got the new K10 and it's little brother. He's still trying to convert me from Canon!!!

Anyway, we had a blast!!! He may think that my spending the day with him was a gift from me to him, but I was the one who felt gifted on Friday! It's been a long time since I've had my dad all to myself for a day! I'm just so excited that we both have this passion for photography. Of course, he's the one who planted that seed in me.... he gave me my first real camera.... his Nikon FG!!!

So, Dad, thank you for such a great day! And happy father's day!

More June projects!

2007-06-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

These are for Scraplovers!!!! We had the super cute Crafter's Workshop papers and templates to work with.... and man, oh man, were they ever generous with their product!!! http://www.thecraftersworkshop.com/ I absolutely love the versatility of their templates, and their papers are so bright and cheerful!!

In other news, we were on vacation last week on the Outer Banks of NC... we had great weather and a fabulous time as a family! My dh and fil went on a big fishing trip, and my fil caught a 70 lb. Cobia! They also caught several flounder that ended up becoming our dinner one night!

My dh also found out that his job is moving to St. Louis. We, however, are staying in Richmond. All of our family is here, and we have no interest in moving. So say some prayers for us that he can find a new job that he enjoys. It looks like I will have to go back to work full time, though :(.

June Scrapncircle Projects!!!

2007-05-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

After I created these, I realize that I essentially made the same design for each!! But I still like them... LOL!!! Jeri gave me the wonderful MME Signature Life papers to work with!!

May Scraplovers Projects! (part 2!!)

2007-05-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

I did a bit of stamping with this reveal! With the first layout, I actually made the green patterned paper with an ink dauber and by clear heat embossing of some flower images (Autumn Leaves and Paper Salon).

I had the privelege of working with more Prism, Queen and Company, and Scribble Scrabble!! Did I mention how wonderful Prism paper is to stamp on? And it takes color so well!!! And the Scribble Scrabble papers were so adorable and SO perfect for this picture, I was inspired to create this layout the very day I received the papers in the mail!

A little family fun...

2007-05-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

We took the kiddos to Maymont Park on Saturday. They have a beautiful nature center, and the kids had a really good time! I think the otters were their favorite. My older dd was especially amused that one of them seemed to be playing with her! He kept doing flips right in front of her!

It's so nice to have a free resource like this in the area! I wanted to take some photos outdoors, too, but it was a bit too rainy, and I forgot a plastic bag to protect my camera!

One of the things...

2007-05-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

about working for a Jewish nursing home is the culture. I love it. I'm a little Baptist girl (although not a conservative one), and I have a deep respect for the Jewish culture.

And working for such a home, the likelihood of meeting a Holocaust survivor is relatively high. I have met 3 in my life... all at the home. It's meeting a gem of human history when you meet a survivor.

I must admit that reading about the stuggles of survivors was an interest of mine in middle and high school. I read the Diary of Anne Frank and other accounts of what it was like to be Jewish and live through such awful times. I studied why WWII came about. I read about that unspeakable evil man and what he did.... to put it extremely mildly, it is frustrating to me that similar things are still happening around the world. (and if you recall US history correctly, we had our own concentration camps here during WWII, but singling out another group).

I am in awe of survivors. It is a great mark of their spirit and character to have endured what they did...

One resident in particular has had me thinking about this recently. He's an amazing man. So sweet... so likable... yet there's this thing always bothering him. It's always there... almost unspeakable for him. What do you say to someone who endured such horrible things? He talked briefly to me about how he survived. He simply became whatever tradesman they were looking for in the work camps. He had no clue how to be a bricklayer... or much else they were looking for, but he did them to survive. And just thinking about it brings him to tears.

I can't imagine being part of that or enduring all that he did. I don't know if my spirit would have been strong enough to live. To have been born in this country, relatively immune to persecution for what I believe... that's a gift. And it's also a gift that I have met great men like him to remind me of how lucky we all are.

May Scraplovers Projects!

2007-05-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

These are from the first round for the month. We have the pleasure of working with Prism cardstock and Queen and Company products!!!

I really love the texture of the Prism cardstock. It has that nice orange peely texture on one side and smooth on the other. It's easy to stamp on, too!!! And the fact that they sell little accent color packs is great!

The Queen and Company sequins and brads are simply too cute for words. I love how they are packaged like make-up!!! Adorable!!!

TFL!!!

Remember 4-16-2007

2007-04-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

I think I 'm finally ready to write about this.

Most of us who are in our thirties can relate to both the college kids and the parents... it's not too long ago that we were in college, with idealistic dreams, just coming to terms with who we really want to be as "real" adults. And all of those promising young lives cut short. I am deeply saddened by this.

Those kids were to go on to become successful contributors to society. Now there will be no fulfillment of dreams... no marriages to form... no children to be born... no more chances to tell the ones they loved that they do love them... no opportunity to realize that all of that hard work in college pays off.

As a parent, I also sympathize with the mothers... I would be completely heartbroken to lose my child in such a senseless way. Words can't describe what they must be feeling.

I wore maroon and orange today. It's such a small thing... but it made me feel better to show some outward sign of support for the victims, the survivors, and the families. It was nice to see others today who did the same, many of whom exchanged glances with me. Their eyes all said the same thing... that they were sad, too, but hoped for healing as well.

I will continue to pray for the vicitms, their families, and the survivors. God bless you all.

Have you seen this?

2007-04-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

If you are a fellow Richmonder, you have to pick up a copy. I'm so proud of my friend Tisha... she does the most amazing work, and this is her photo on the cover! (you can link to Tisha's blog in the sidebar).

Kudos to you, my friend! You deserve all the best that comes your way!

In honor of the survivors...

2007-04-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

A little background about this layout... this is an idea I've been mulling over for almost a year now. The idea was to capture that feeling you get when you celebrate the simple joy of living... and how wonderful life can be. With the recent tragedy so close to home, it took a new direction, becoming a quiet tribute to those who survived this horrific event and, for me, what I will try to take away from it and other similar events, like 9-11. It is in no way meant to discount the suffering so many have faced... or the answer to why it has happened. It is, however, a reflection of how precious our lives truly are, and the hope that those who have been affected can rebuild their lives.

The quote I have used for my layout is from John Mayer:"I am invincible... as long as I'm alive."(Cautiously celebratory of our gift of life...)

This is my third April project for Scraplovers.

Supplies:

Patterned papers and chipboard letter (Zsiage)http://store.scraplovers.com/zsg-z0205.html http://store.scraplovers.com/zsiage.htmlStamps (Stampin' Up)Inks (Colorbox, Ranger)Journaling pen (American Crafts)Cardstock (Nicole, Bazzill, DCWV)

Photo by Tisha McCuiston

I dream of paper

1-20-2009

Happy New Year!

AMERICA, YES, WE CAN!!!!!!

I've been a bad, bad blogger!

More September Reveals for Scraplovers!

We have visitors....

Happy Birhday to me! (and some projects!)

7 years.

I am in so much trouble!

It's official...

I'm so sad.

A Tutorial!

Points to ponder...

Just a few of my younger dd...

More projects!

August Scraplovers Reveal Time!

Photo shoot!

More July Projects!

July Scraplovers projects!

Yay!

New projects!

Second June reveal!

Yay!

Just a few things....

June Reveal!

So Merry!

Nightmares!

YES WE CAN!!!

Finally.... some new projects!

It's been too long!!!

UGH!!!!

And in honor of Valentine's Day:

Some projects!

Don't forget to vote!

Comcast must have known....

Time to update, huh?!!!

Check it out!!!

DT call at Scraplovers!!!!

New Scraplovers Contest!!!

What a relief!

Mediocrity....

Another project!

First day of school!

January reveal time!

It's a new year!

More Cosmo Cricket!

Scraplovers projects!!!

Just a little card!

Baby, you can drive my car....

Comfort ye, my people...

Some backyard visitors....

Time for another Scraplovers reveal!!

Another silly story!

*Giggle*....

Long time, no blog!!!

Oasis

My Final Scrapncircle projects!

Nice.

She's too young....

Birthday Bash!!!

Yay!

Two for Tuesday!

2 year olds are soooo funny!!!

I had an epiphane....

A cute one of the "baby".....

First day of school!

And another:

A September project for Scraplovers!

Anyone else feel uneasy...

And a card...

Just a tag!!!

This must be my lucky pub week!

Yay!!!!

This was fun!!!

The house...

Scrapncircle Projects! Piggy Tales!

I am such a blonde....

So glad my kids are good! (well, most of the time!!!)

My sweet dh...

Giggle....