1-27-07 PhotoHunt : Silver

This week’s theme: Silver

My favorite silver object right now is
my two-tone gold and silver ring from Tiffany's.
This was a Valentine's Day gift from my husband in 2006.

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.
Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Snow!

We got about an inch of snow yesterday. It's the first snow of the season. I hope it's not the last (it has been so unseasonably warm!). I didn't get any photos, either. But I did make several roaring fires in the fireplace (love that!!!).

I'm off to work on my Library of Memories photo storage assignment. I'm determined to stick with the class and start getting layouts done.

I'm SO tempted to take some more classes (some GREAT ones coming up). Should I? Or should I concentrate on LOM for now?

Decisions, decisions...

Yahoo!

I just completed a roll call on my scrapbook-related yahoo group, and I wound up deleting a lot of people who didn't respond to the roll call. This group used to be thriving (under different ownership LOL).

I would love for this group to be hopping, again, with lots of layout shares and inspiration, as well as camaraderie, bonding, and friendship. We're a small, intimate group of online friends right now. If you'd like to join us, and share your scrapbooking fever, let me know!

I think I found my “word”.

I’m not up-to-date with the blogs I frequent or the awesome scrapbook newsletters that I subscribe to, but I know that everyone is abuzz with Ali Edward’s “one little word” idea for 2007.

I have waited until the right word spoke to me…the word I could embrace for an entire year. The word that would reflect how I want to live my life – this year and beyond.

I have chosen the word “serenity”. There are other goals I want (and need) to meet in order to reach a state of consistent serenity, so I think this is the perfect word for me.

Here are some definitions I’ve found. I like them all!

-Serenity: (n) peace, peacefulness, peace of mind, repose, ataraxis (the absence of mental stress or anxiety)

-also: (n) repose, quiet, placidity, tranquility (a disposition free from stress or emotion)

-noun 1. the state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil; sereneness.

Serenity now!

Podcasting

I have been having a lot of fun with my iPod (Christmas present). I've been locating and downloading podcasts (I would conveniently ingore references to podcasts in the past...I would just flit them away, like a fly buzzing a little too nearby.) Now, it's like a whole new world of fun!

I have even downloaded scrapbooking podcasts and scrapbooking video podcasts. Like the podcasts from the (recently departed) Scrapbook Answers Magazine.


This is so much fun.

Monday humor

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller.
He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.

"Miss Whack, I'd like to get a $30,000 loan to take a holiday."

Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager.

Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.

The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.

Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.

She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral."

She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what in the world is this?"

(You're gonna love this)

(It's a real treat)

(A masterpiece)


The bank manager looks back at her and says...

"It's a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."

;)

Good news

I am Scrapstrong!



Whoo hoo!

I ams scrapstrong by virtue of Stacy Julian's A Library of Memories class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. You can be scrapstrong, too, by shopping here.

Photo Hunt

Ugly who?

I'm in my new jammies (bought them trying to start a new Christmas Eve family tradition) and watching the Ugly Betty marathon on Soap Net. I'm crackin' up!

I'd seen it before, but I didn't tune in regularly...that might have to change. I can actually identify with Betty an itty bitty bit (maybe even more than that lol).

I think (I hope) there's a little bit of Ugly Betty in each of us. Not necessarily the insecurities, but the big heart and the incurable good spirit and creative vibe.

Changes are coming...

Stacy Julian posted that they are finally unveiling [their] big surprise at Big Picture Scrapbooking!

For now, all I see is this:


And I don't know if I can stay awake long enough to see the site come back up, again.

The Library of Memories class starts this week. I can't wait!

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year! Greetings to 2007.



Farewell to 2006. We'll miss you. You were a good year.

Playin' with my iPod!

I got an iPod for Christmas! I didn't even know I wanted one this much!



Now I'm trying to sift through thousands of songs to see if I want to pay $.99 for some, or $9.99 + for an album, or $1.99 for a video, or $$ for a game or $$$ for a movie or...

You get the point.

My first purchases have been...strange...to say the least. I gotta load 'er up, but I have no idea what to put on there. The latest and greatest? Billboard toppers? Old classics (I can dig through mine and DH's cd collections.)

I want to find music to walk to (more exercise -- Yay!), and music that I just want to hear cuz I like it. Unfortunately, 90% of the music I've listened to in the past 5 years have been for toddlers and early elementary schoolers.

Tips for successful iPod integration are being accepted...

Merry Christmas!

I hope you have a wonderful and happy holiday.

Catchin' up

What a week! We surprised the kids with a trip to the pet store to choose a new pet (they each got a guinea pig), and we left with the cavies AND two chinchillas! (Crazy, impulse purchase!)

I also received an early Christmas gift -- a Craft ROBO!!! (The original Wishblade machine)

We're all struggling with a horrible cold or flu...I can't shake one before I come down with another!

My 8 yr old drew this cute self potrait. She's taking ice skating lessons and incorporated ice skating into her picture...too cute!



All in all, things are going great, and I feel truly blessed. If I don't make it back by Monday, happy holidays!

Santa's Number

Here is Santa's Number. Have your little ones give him a call!

Santa Claus
1-800-972-6242

So, what's so hard about scrapbooking, anyway?

Today I was wondering why some people have trouble journaling. I never have trouble journaling. Never ever. Honestly, I don’t understand why anyone would.

I suppose it could be tricky to do some special sort of journaling, poetry, hidden messages, etc. But it is very easy for me to look at a photo or group of photos and write down the story that the photos tell me. I suppose the only difficulty would be if I totally forgot any details about the photo.

Anyway, I realize it is truly challenging for some people to journal. But for me, if scrapbooking only consisted of gluing some photos to paper and writing down my thoughts or memories surrounding the photos, I could scrapbook 5 layouts a day or MORE!

So, what makes it so hard? It’s the artistic aspect. The rules of design. The millions of papers, cardstocks, and embellishments. The pressure to make the layout “publishable” (even though I don’t send in layouts for publication). The thought that if I shared my layout on a blog or message board or gallery, people would look at it and go, “Ew!” or “I could do so much better than that.”

Should…that…even…matter?

I

    think

            NOT!!!

Maybe, just maybe, I should just glue some photos to paper and tell the story behind them. In its simplest form, isn’t that what scrapbooking is really all about?

Remember Corduroy?

The little bear stuffed animal who wore overalls with a missing button? I used to love that book as a little girl. Here's my Kindergartener's rendition of Corduroy. Too cute!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The turkey is in the oven roaster, and I'm about to start the potato salad. I should have made the potato salad last night, but I was sooooo tired!

I'm having 8-10 people for dinner, so I need to set a plan and schedule for getting all of the dishes cooked and prepared. I know, I know, I should have done that long ago, but I'm keeping the day casual...I don't want to stress out. I just want to enjoy the day!

Here's my menu:
Turkey
Ham (small, pre-cooked, packaged ham)
Stuffing
Mac and cheese
String beans
Greens*
Corn
Sweet potatoes*
Mashed Potatos (tentative)
Potato Casserole
White and Brown rice
Crescent rolls
Potato salad
Tossed salad
Apple pie*
Sweet potato pie*
Ice Cream (Vanilla, Chocolate Rasberry, and Egg Nog*)

*My sister is bringing the asterisked items.

Happy Feet!

I just saw an adorable movie with my 2 kids and 2 of their friends. I think my husband and I enjoyed it more than they did. The music and 'dancing' were great...had me wanting to dance! Now I'm home checking out the trailers so I can listen to the musinc and see some more dancing!

Two great big thumbs up!

Oh, goodie, goodie!

Today is my son's 6th birthday. (In the words of the illustrious Stacy Julian, "Yippy Skippy!") I was recently blog surfing and came across this post about kiddie goodie bags (what great timing!) Goodie Bag Idea. I thought that this blogger had some good points about sending stuff home that kids might actually use and enjoy, so I borrowed some of her ideas and made my son's goodie bags.

Each bag has a little notebook, decorative pencil, a curly straw, and some stickers. I made a label with each child's name on the computer, and my son decided which classmate would get each bag.



I put a Happy Birthday sticker on Christopher's bag.



He and his 8 yr. old sister helped to stuff the bags. They made sure that the boys didn't get girly stickers or a girly pencil (that was funny to watch!). 25 bags later (plus 2 extra -- just in case), and a tray of 30 cupcakes, my son is a happy camper.



When we walked in with the goodies this morning, the kids Ooohed and Aaahed. I can't wait till Christopher comes home to tell me all about his little classroom birthday celeberation.