Wimbledon Magic

I'm such a fan, so you know what I am spending my time on right now. It's a hectic next two weeks, and I'd love some creative time, but it's highly unlikely. Especially given the fact that I just finished the last of my June deadlines. Talk about down to the wire!!!!! I'm turning into a slacker, I tell ya.

Here are some pics of my girls from yesterday. Em made it home for a scant 24 hours, and she even suggested I take some pics. Will wonders never cease?

I'd love to sit around and regale you with the minutiae of my life, but there's a tennis match happening, people. Got to go!

The story of a water balloon fight

She's got swimming lesson hair, that's for certain. Last night while we were playing outside she and her dad decided to have a little battle. Check out my photo blog for more pictures!

Summer vacation, my foot!

It's been a busy one. Oddly so. So here is a random listing of the last week.

~It was a rather stressful week with the family. My parents are aging, and they both have very different, yet pressing needs. I'm not going to go into details, but it ate up a lot of my emotional energy as well as time the past week. That being said, we are heading down the right track and making progress. Family is everything to me. 'Nuff said.

~Jenna had swimming lessons last week. And it was COLD. No complaints from her though. The girl is a fish. Her class is small, 4 kids, 4 teachers. A lot of individualized attention, for certain.

~Went cropping at my LSS. I went with the fabulous Sarah Klemish as well as my sister-in-law. We've been meaning to get together for some time. Finally it worked out. Miss Sarah conveniently neglected to tell us, however, that our local newspaper was coming in to interview and take pictures for an article for our paper about scrapbooking. She is a very sweet and humble individual who did not want the article to be just about her. It's a good thing she's so sweet, it makes it impossible to get mad at her! LOL! Got quite a few pages done that day, and haven't had time to scan or upload them all. Here are two I did for Sassafras Lass.

~Went to Saginaw Zoo. We love hanging there. Buy a yearly pass. It's close, it's very doable in a short period of time, and it's fun. Jenna just adores animals.



~Also took a trip to Frankenmuth. It's such a cool place to visit as well, but the construction we ran into along the way was BEYOND frustrating. There was a big pile up three cars behind me on I-75. There was a detour, and we were routed onto 675. Seems like an easy enough endeavor, and yet there was CONSTRUCTION on 675, with only one lane open. It was difficult hitting those breaks in time, and even once I did I was nervously looking behind me to see if others would be so lucky. Some were not. Won't be traveling south again any time soon. We did catch a little art fair and some German entertainment.

~Hit the Greek Festival as well. One of my best friends in high school was Greek, and we would go with her every year. The food is AMAZING. Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) are my all-time favorite, closely followed by tiropitas.

~Taught Photoshop Elements, and had 7 students. That is a good number! I so enjoy the people I meet in these classes.

~Emily went to Chicago for the weekend. Wend to visit the American Doll store for a bday present for JJbeans. Can't wait to hear how much fun she had. I love Chicago!

~Speaking of American Girl Dolls, Jenna asked if she could take Jess to Dow Gardens this a.m. So off we went. No major mishaps, except Jess lost her sunglasses. One minor hissy-fit later (Jenna, not Jess) and we retraced our steps and found them.

~One of my former students came over this evening for help with his college math. We worked on solving systems of inequalities using the Simplex method. I studied all afternoon so I knew enough to teach him. Nothing says fun like math in the summer! LOL! Seriously, we both decided that there was something oddly rewarding about working hard at a math problem and finally getting it. There were a few times when we would compare answers and his was right, mine wrong. The student becoming the teacher. What could be better?

~Took a few senior pics of my niece. (See post below.) Learned some things along the way, of course. I need to start noting the little mistakes I make so I don't forget them. Maybe when some time magically appears for me.

Hoping for a less stressful week. Hope you have a great one as well!

Hayley - Senior Pics, Round 1. DING!

Head on over to my photo blog to see some of the pics I snapped tonight. Hope you like them, Hayley! You know I'll be taking a million more!

Free at last.

This is the first Monday of freedom, and I'm loving it. By 10:00 a.m. I had done two loads of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, completed a layout and started on another, made a run to the post office and to Rite Aid to pick up my allergy meds, and dropped off Jenna at swim lessons. During her lesson I took my walk, and listened to my IPod. Sheer joy, I tell you!

It's funny that summer vacation is such an adjustment for me. While it's exactly what I look forward to, there is this weird time where I wonder, how can I fill a whole day? It passes, as long as I stay busy. So that's what I'll do for a while.

Finished a new book today. It's called But Inside I'm Screaming. It was OK . . . kind of a downer. I guess it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out given the title. What was I thinking? Need a new read. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I've finished 5 of the 9 scrappy assignments for June. I only have about an hour of creative energy a day right now (as luck would have it), so I'm scrapping like a madwoman for that hour and then walking away. I've learned you can't turn creativity on when it fits in your timeframe. Wish it would though!

Had a great father's day. Em came home and got Bill a golf pullover that says Michigan State. Jenna got him a beanie baby, and made a dish at school for coins and such. She also decorated a hammer for him at daycare. She wrote him a letter that had us all stumped. It said, "Dear Daddy, I do not want to go to college. I do not want to go to school I do not want to grow up." Um, OK. What is this all about? When Bill asked she said, "I don't ever want to leave you, daddy!" How freaking sweet is that?

It almost made up for her temper tantrum that got her sent to her room at 7:00 to bed with no TV. She tried to get on her bike WITHOUT her helmet. When I called her on it, she threw her bike down in a fit of rage. When I said, "that's it, we're going inside," she proceeded to tell me what a "mean mommy" I am. Well, that didn't work out so hot for her, now did it? You'd think I committed a heinous crime when I told her she was done for the night. After plenty of begging and pleading for "a second chance" it was off to bed for Trixie. Bill and I both felt we needed to make a point of putting the smackdown on her behavior right away for the summer. And that we did. She has been so much better today. The issue is to nap or not to nap. We've been so besy for the past 4 days, she hasn't napped at all. I think this is going to be an issue . . . she still needs her naps, but when do you wean them off of them, knowing she will be in all-day school next year? I consulted my "Parenting for Idiots" manual, and so far no answers.

Our town does a festival every June and one of the attractions this year was this aerial act. She did ballet in the air, as two people held the ropes so she didn't float away. Now THAT is trust, don't ya know. They were called conedancers. It reminded me that some cool things are available in my little town.

On a very serious note, my friend Leslie is going through quite a trial right now. Her son, Kevin, was hit by a suicide bomber in Afganistan. He is in a coma fighting for his life in Texas right now. You can follow the story on Leslie's blog. I read it with such a heavy heart. Les was the first person to hire me for her design team at Scrap Muse, which is a monthly kit club. The friends that I met through that experience mean the world to me, Leslie being the center of it all. You see, you get to know people through scrapbooking. It more than just "pictures and paste." It's telling about you, your family, your hopes and dreams. Heck, I jumped on an airplane and flew alone for the first time 4 years ago to Atlanta to CHA to room and hang out with people from Scrap Muse that I had never met in real life. And yet, the minute I walked into the restaurant to meet them, it was as if we had been friends our whole lives. Now one of these friends is going through a real struggle. Please, if you're the praying type, keep Leslie and her son in your prayers.

I'm out for now.

Almost There!

To the end of the school year, that is. Two more days of exams, and one workday. Then sweet, sweet summer. Nothing much earth-shattering going on, but here are a few tidbits from the last week.

Finished the book Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon. I've read the entire Mitford series, but this one was by far the best. LOVED it. It provided some background information on the main character of the series, and also dealt with getting older. That has tended to be the theme of that last few books that I've read. What do you think THAT means? LOL.

Went to the art fair this weekend. Spend time checking out all of the photographers' booths. It was HOT, but we spent time sitting in the shade checking out some artists working.

Air conditioner puked on Friday. After being in school with no air all day in 90+ degrees I was so looking forward to some relief when I got home. Not so much. No air, and no end in sight. They are ordering a new compressor, and hopefully that will do it. It won't be in until the end of the week though.

Went to a Loons game yesterday. It went from rain to a full-on monsoon during the game, so in 3 hours we saw 2 innings. Jenna was at the park at a birthday party and when the storm hit I was in a bit of a panic wondering where she was. Motherly worry. Good times. It was a school gathering and we had fun. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate!

Jenna had her last soccer game on Saturday. She's had so much fun this season. She was bummed she didn't get another goal, but she did a great job. It was SO HOT, and she got tired quickly. She hung in there though.

Had my last photography class. It was such a great kick start to get back into (and loving) photography. It was just what the doctor ordered.

In scrappy land, nothing new. I have a bunch of deadlines for June (9), and haven't started a one. I am convinced I have forgotten how to scrap, it's been so dang long.

Jenna's school was closed today due to a power outage. BIG storms last night. What a mess! I went to drop her off for before-school care, and the supervisors weren't sure what was going on. Only that there was no power. I wasn't comfortable leaving Jenna, so I took her with me into school. I had exams to give so I called Bill and had him come to the school to pick her up. As Bill was on his way to get her, the daycare people called and said they were setting up generators and school would be in session. So Bill took her back to school, knowing she'd be disappointed if she missed her end of the year party which was today. So back to school he took her. About an hour later the daycare ladies called again to say school had officially been canceled. ARGH! So in between exams I picked her up and drove 20 minutes each way to drop her off at daycare. Our district really dropped the ball on this one.

Nothing else new. Have a great week!

Happy June

FINALLY it's June. It has been so cold in Michigan this spring, and the temperatures would lead one to believe it is April. There was FROST last week. And after the brutal winter, we need warmth. My problem is I don't tell time by the calendar, I tell it by the weather. So this perpetual state of April is doing quite the number on my head. But the calendar says June. And June means that school will be out soon. NO. I am not out of school yet, like the rest of the world. We have two more weeks. Good times.

Busy weekend, as usual. Yesterday was coffee at mom's, a soccer game, laundry and housework, then out to eat with friends. Today was coffee at mom's again since Em came home for the day, grocery shopping, making a salad (which was delicious) for a steak dinner at one of Bill's shooting clubs, off to a graduation party, then to the steak fry. Absolutely no down time. This is becoming a habit.

Jenna scored TWO goals at her soccer game. I am so impressed with her coaches and this team and how much they have all learned while having fun. She was so excited to score, and hasn't had many opportunities because she's been playing defense in every other game. She was so thrilled, and Bill and I were so proud.

I'm off to celebrate the anniversary at Scrap Supply. There are some cool things going on today, including Bingo with Ali Edwards. Check it out if you get a chance!

Oh, and I had a page picked up for the November/December issue of Memory Makers magazine. I rarely get a chance to submit, so it's a good thing when something gets picked up. Now I need to fill out all of the paperwork to send it off.

Have a great week.