A few from tonight

Had a little fun tonight at the Gardens. My girls.

Happy Sunday

It's amazing to me how quickly time passes in the spring. It catches me unawares every stinking year. Soccer, with dance, school activities, and life in general. It's just kicking my butt right now. And making me long for summer, and a different pace. One that doesn't involve to-do lists that span the length of my arm.

One of the things that I spent the week (and last weekend) working on was my new Advanced Photoshop Elements class. It takes so much time, because I have to decide what I'm teaching, test each topic, write up the steps for a handout, and choose the pictures to go with the class. Then I have to drop the pics off at the store so they can be loaded onto the computers. The class is 6 hours in total, and I only got done with the first class. On Thursday night, after countless hours spent on prepping for the class, the camera shop called to say they didn't get enough people to run it. GOOD TIMES. At least I have more time to prep.

Yesterday I spent a lot of time at Scrap Supply celebrating National Scrapbook Day. What a blast! I have some Photoshop challenges and tutorials, and the other DT members have fun challenges as well. You really have to check it out! We played Bingo til the wee hours last night and it was a blast. I even created a few actions if you have Photoshop, although they won't work in Elements.

Emily is now officially done with her junior year of college. She called yesterday and talked about how she feels like a zombie now that exams are over. I remember that feeling. She's working at a coffee shop (I believe she is called a barista, but she doesn't find the title nearly as charming as I do.) She's taking classes all summer. I just cannot fathom that she's already been away for three years. Yikes. She gets to come home and hang for a few days and I can't wait to see her. It always makes me feel like my family is complete when she's home.

School is busy too. Grades were due this week, and the kids have been absent in droves due to field trips, sporting events, club competitions, etc. So every day after school I had droves of students needing the lesson repeated or to make up the tests they missed. Plus it was prom last night, so they were really wound up in class getting ready for the big weekend. I got so busy at the end of the week I got kind of cranked. That usually doesn't happen. I'm usually really on top of things at school. Somehow with the make-up work it was impossible. Here's hoping for a more relaxing week. Wish me luck.

I've been working hard on my photos for my photography class. I am learning so much about my photo skills and point of view. We are supposed to shoot a series of photos with a theme/story. It turns out I don't really have one. I'm disappointed in how "snapshotty" my photos are. I want photos that look polished, well-composed, and a little artsy to boot. Doesn't seem like too much to ask, IMO. My passion is photos of people. Not just my girls, although that is a good 90% of the passion ... but that's just because they can't say no when I want to take their picture. So I really wanted to take pictures of Jenna for my series. But I did bring pictures in to class last time of other shots I have taken so the teacher could see I'm not just a mom with a camera. (MWAC.) He particularly liked one I had taken of a corn stalk. And literal-minded math teacher w/a smart mouth said, "It's JUST a corn stalk." Nice, Kay. Now let me tell you about this teacher. He is an accomplished photographer who has studied with several famous photographers, and can make even the most mundane things beautiful. You should have seen the look he shot me. So after much deliberation I have decided to make my series "Things Along the Trail." Little things I observe when hanging out at the Nature Center. Maybe focusing on something OTHER than people will push me forward. Here's hoping.

Just finished the book Water for Elephants. It was REALLY good. In fact, it's the best book I've read in a very long time. Now I'm reading The Year of Fog. It is good, but leaves me feeling so sad every time I pick it up. It's about a missing girl and the endless search for her. I think this time of year I need something a bit more uplifting, and a little less heart-heavy. Next time, I guess. I need to keep reading because with every page I'm hopeful that they find her. I'm going to be a wreck if it doesn't happen. That's all I'm sayin'.

The picture is of my girl last week. Hope you have a wonderful week!

A few faves from today

Here are a few of my faves from today shooting on the train tracks. I've wanted these pictures for a long time, but I wish the weather/light would have been better. Oh well. Baby steps.

Has it been a week already?

Seriously, time is just a flying right now. Let's see. It was a pretty busy week again, what with dance, soccer practice, soccer game, parent-teacher conferences for J, a trip to the dentist for J, photography class for me, a crop on Friday night, and just life in general. And I wonder why some mornings Jenna wakes up and the first words out of her mouth are "Is today a day off?" Is it wrong that someone so young is already worn out? Probably, sadly, so.

Got three layouts done for Fancy Pants, one for Sassafras Lass, and two projects for ProvoCraft. That means I'm DONE WITH MY DEADLINES FOR APRIL!!!! Can you feel the joy? I'm feeling it. Today's task is to develop my "Advanced Photoshop Elements" class that I'm teaching next weekend. Plus grocery shopping. Plus laundry. Good times.

Em is preparing for her exams for next week, and stressing to the max. Good luck my girl. You're almost there!

OK, off to face the day. Be careful out there!

A tale of the teeth, part III

Here's the latest. Both top teeth gone. THANKFULLY. The one hanging, dead tooth in a gap of epic proportions was not a good look for Miss J. The funniest part is her permanent teeth are already coming in. She has to work hard not to, but there is no lisp. You can see her struggle to avoid it, and it is so cute! Maybe the whole shark teeth thing wasn't so bad after all.

Soccer game today. It was her first one this season, and the poor thing coughed and snotted her way through. Bill and I talked about the fact that she will most likely not be able to play an outdoor sport due to her allergies. Poor baby. They are so bad in the fall and spring. And unless we decide to go the way of allergy shots, she's just too miserable. She doesn't look too miserable in this picture though. She sure has grown to love this game!

We went to a Rugby game last night. A few of my students asked me to come watch, and I didn't know anything about the game. WOW. Let me just say I was unprepared for the rough nature of the game. And yet, I was impressed with the strength and tenacity my girls showed. I took some pictures, and I'll share them if I get the OK from my students. Bill was impressed, and Jenna was excited to meet my students. I had them in middle school, and now again in high school (they're juniors), and it was an honor to be asked to attend. You learn something new every day!

Off to dinner tonight with the neighbors. Jenna and my niece played with my sister and had a blast. I think Jen was sad to see us come home.

Emily hurt her foot at school this week, and is in a boot. Bad sprain I guess. Plus her allergies are giving her grief. Sorry my girl!

OK, off to edit more pics for my photography class. Peace!

Random Ramblings . . .

Taking a photo class. It's on shooting a series. Meets every other week, and I love the concept. It's got me out shooting again. YEAH!

Had family birthdays over the weekend. Dad, my BIL, and my sister. It was fun having the family together. Missed Billy.

Funny moment of the day, Jenna was spelling words, names specifically. We asked her to spell Emily. She wrote M - O - L - E. Sound it out. She just may be a genius!

She lost one of her front teeth last night. Don't you just love the result? By the way, her face is wet because we were blowing bubbles and a big one popped in her face. It is not DROOL, Em. LOL!

Parent-teacher conferences last night and again all day. BUSY.

Dance and soccer every week. Can you spell busy?

FINALLY some warm weather. Got up into the 70's. Makes me weep with joy.

Jenna is sick again. Allergies are a bummer. Back to the Dr. but thankfully at this point her ears are good. Wish us luck.

A quick BasicGrey layout to share

I could not WAIT to play with the new Basic Grey. I am utterly, totally in love. Here's a quick layout about my girl. Sorry it scanned crooked . . . don't know why that always happens to me! Just this week we have been joking at Scrap Supply about hoarding scrap supplies. And there are a few lines that I am obsessive about. BasicGrey being one of them. These lines have to have their own shelves and separate drawers, they are THAT important to me. (Can you spell obsessive?) Hey, I own it. Steph and I have a little contest going on who has the most BG. We're both going to snap a photo (aka admit our problem) and compare the illnesses. Now if I only had more time to play!

Thoughts on Antiques

So over the weekend we went to Bay City to the antique warehouse looking for fishing poles. Long story. Anyhoo, whenever I am around antiques I feel a strange sense of sorrow. Maybe it's the smell . . . it smells just like my grandparents' homes in Wisconsin. Maybe it's the sense of history. Who did these possessions belong to? What is their story? What gets me the most is the old pictures. That just cuts me to the quick. Wasn't there anyone who cared enough to keep them? Or was it that the story of the people in the pictures was somehow lost in time. Like someone inherited the pics and didn't really know who was in them. Makes me sad, I tell you. When we walked into the store Jenna said, "Mom, there are things in here from generations of people!" True that, my girl. True that.

Guess what, more layouts!

More from Sassafras Lass. I am in love with this line!

The story of the teeth

So here's the deal. Last summer year when Jenna went to the dentist they discovered that her bottom two permanent teeth were coming in BEHIND the baby teeth. I remember the moment well. Jenna was laying in the dentist's chair, and they had me come over to look inside her mouth. Being the graceful sort, when I leaned over and saw them, it shocked me so much I stood up quickly, thus slamming my head on the dentist's light. Good times. After being called "shark-girl" with two rows of teeth (kidding . . . sort of), she lost the front two, and her tongue pushed the permanent teeth in place. COOL.

Well, guess what. The same thing has happened to the top two. Went for her cleaning yesterday and guess what is pushing her top two front teeth? Her new teeth are right behind them. It has been SO WEIRD to see the transformation of said teeth. They started moving together (Jenna has always had big spaces between her top teeth), then they started moving out. A la bunny rabbit. The weirdest thing is they're not very loose, because the permanent teeth are wedging them in that space tightly. I was sort of sad when I thought of her losing the top front teeth. Not so sad any more. LOL! No matters, the girl is still beautiful!

Well, the fabulous Dena Coe tagged me with a "You make my day" award. So here are the blogs I look at on a consistent basis that "Make my day."

First is the amazing Shaunte. That girl can make me laugh like no other. She has been posting about her recent mission trip, and come to find out she can make me cry as well. She's beyond talented, and one of the nicest people I know.

Next is the one and only Torm. Torm has the most amazing way with words. And while journaling is her specialty, her photography skills ROCK. I'd love to have an ounce of her talent.

I have always loved Vicki Chrisman. Her work is inspiring, and so is her outlook on life.

Lisa also makes my day. She has such amazing photography skills, and such a positive outlook on life. I smile each and every time I read her blog, and I'm in awe of her mad skills.

This blog is a constant source of information and inspiration. Jessica Sprague is a GENIUS. No two ways about it.

In other random news, spring break is coming to a close. Sad. It's my last official day off. But it gave me a taste for the summer, and I'm ready, baby!

Here's what I accomplished over break.
~a trip to Ikea for shelves and drawers. Assembled, and reorganized scrap space.
~a trip ('cause I'm an idiot) to see Emily.
~a crop at MHS, where I (mostly) completed 5 pages.
~a trip to the Center for the Arts to see the "Grossology" exhibit
~another trip to the butterfly house
~organized my closet, burning . . . er, putting away the winter clothes.
~redid Jenna's room, moving furniture, cleaning closet, purging old stuff.
~took some pictures, some that I even like!
~signed up for a photography class.
~took Jenna to a pool at the local community college, and she had a blast!

All in all, I got some things accomplished. Still, would have given anything to be in Disney. Next year, baby.

Peace out!

More layouts - Scrap Supply April

My article this month was on black and white photos. Read the newsletter here.

More Layouts ~ Fancy Pants

A few layouts

using the new lines from Sassafras Lass. Got them done at the crop on Monday. TFL!

And the "my goodness you're dumb" award goes to . . .

me. Yep, yours truly. Sometimes I wonder how I survive at'all.

Here's the story. It's spring break, and I'm home. Pouting. And yes, I realize this is not attractive, and I'm horribly shallow. I'm OK with that. They say the first step to solving a problem is recognizing it, right? Anyhoo, decided a little retail therapy via a trip to IKEA may just help. Couldn't hurt, right? Went with my sister Beth, and met Emily there. Perfect, since Em needs her rent check for college, and I can just deliver it to her that way.

Got some doors (4) and drawers (4) for my Expedit bookshelves. Also bought some more frames so I can finish my photo wall. A few more odds and ends, and we're ready to go. Packing it in the car is always a little difficult, especially with my shopping cohorts. But Em drove herself this time so I could actually see out of my rearview window. SWEET. We went to Chili's for lunch, gave Em a hug and "I love you" and we're on our merry way.

Then Em calls me on the way home, and says, "Mom, you forgot to give me the check." DUH. Um, that's one of the reasons we went to IKEA in the first place. But no worries, she's behind us on the expressway, and we'll just pull off at the next exit and make the financial transaction. Off we go, pull over, and I take out my checkbook. NO BLANK CHECKS. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Wait, there's one I wrote incorrectly. Could I fake it? Let's just say my forgery skills are weak and it didn't work.

Em said she'd drive home the next morning to pick up the check. She wasn't even mad at me, (probably because she's immune to my idiocy.) Of course the mom guilt got the best of me, so I told her I'd drive down in the morning to deliver it. So up early Sunday morning, getting ready to go out the door, and realize I haven't refilled the checkbook. Go into the cupboard to find said checks, and NOTHING. I have no more checks. You see, I don't write many checks. A box can last me a good 6 months or more. I pay all bills online. Now what?

I had a few used check packs in the box WHERE THE NEW CHECKS SHOULD BE and luckily I can't count and had one blank check. (Cue the sound of angels singing, that's how happy I was.)

The good news was I got to see my girl again. I took Jenna and she was happy because she knew I had seen sissy the day before and was jealous. It all worked out in the end. I still get the award, I know.

BTW, putting together the shelves and drawers took me 6 hours. Yep, that's right. A few minor flesh wounds and pounded thumbs later, they were all done. It looks so much better now that my junk isn't quite so visable. I also got lamps for the room. It is now 99% done. The last step is for Bill to add the moulding, and voila. Done.

Went to school to scrap all day today. Felt good to scrap just for me.

I got tagged by my scrap idol, Dena, and I will be tagging people tomorrow.

Enjoy your Monday!

Fun Weekend

Well I had a wonderful weekend! It was filled with family, and that's what matters most to me. Went to the parent's yesterday, and got some good family shots. Hopefully I'll have time to post soon. The Easter bunny did make a stop at our house, and hid the basket in the OVEN. Jenna just couldn't get over it, and told the story over and over. There was no hiding the eggs outdoors as it SNOWED yesterday. UGH. Have I mentioned how much I loathe the cold weather? I have? Really?
On Saturday we visited the Butterfly Exhibit at Dow Gardens. It was SO COLD outside, then you go inside the exhibit and it's tropically warm. I think it took 25 minutes before my camera lens would defog. It was all about who could get the butterfly between Jenna and Emily. They both had success! I want to go back and just spend two hours watching and taking pictures. It's such a glimpse of warm weather and gorgeous color of butterflies and flowers. LOVED IT. There is a separate room with orchids. They are such cool flowers! I'll try to remember to post more on the photography blog.
We also went to an Easter Egg Hunt at my school Saturday morning. There were so many eggs Jenna filled her basket in about 5 minutes, which was good because it was so cold I wanted her back inside quickly with her ear infection. Emily got the eggs out of trees, as I think those were left for the older kids. LOL! It's such a fun event. We're lucky my friend Jen organizes it every year. It's a ton of work!

Got my scrappy deadlines done (or almost completely done) which is a huge relief. Maybe, just maybe, I'll find some time to scrap for myself. Doubtful . . .

Allergies?

I think that's what it is, but Miss J. has a seriously bad cough going on. Poor baby. My guess is allergies because every single year around spring break the girl gets sick. I guess this year is no exception. So here I am, bored at home. We've been snuggling on the couch all a.m., and I've been reading the book Runner for the staff version of "Battle of the Books." It was really good, but now that Jenna is napping, I'm back to bored.

Went shooting yesterday around town. I was inspired (yet again) by the fabulous Torm and this post on her blog. It was SUCH a grey, dreary day. (Big shocker for Michigan, I know.) But it was FABULOUS to be outside, walking around. It was about 35 degrees and felt warm. Sad? You betcha. The Native American is from a painting on the courthouse.
I'll post more later.

Just received a box-o-goodies from Sassafras Lass which are calling my name. A few more deadlines, and it's time to PLAY!

Have a great week. And if you have any ideas for allergies, let me know!

Feeling a bit under the weather . . .

Got a bug this week. It was a cold with a fever, and it has wiped me OUT. I've been so fortunate this winter, and have avoided much of the sickness that has been going around. Not so this time. So I stayed home Thursday and Friday and did NOTHING. And I do mean NOTHING. Wow, it's scary how lazy I was. It seems like a good thing, R&R, but frankly I was just B-O-R-E-D. Read a little, took a nap. Had a snack, took a nap. Watched some TV, took a nap. Getting the picture?

Did I mention a lot of TV? I swear, daytime TV is incentive to work outside of the home. There is absolutely nothing on in the daytime. I did catch up on "Gone Country," and who knows why I like that particular show, but I do. Also, watched the "America's Next Top Model" marathon. Seriously, I think my IQ dropped a few points. But my all-time fave show right now is Project Runway. Got to see a few episodes in between naps.

Took Miss J to the carnival Friday night. She has been SO excited, and Bill offered to take her so I could rest some more. The guilt of missing her first school carnival got to me and off I went. Looking FABULOUS, don't cha know. Of course I ran into a ton of people that I know, as luck would have it. The weirdest thing was how many people (including myself) went to this elementary school, and now we're all sending our kids there.

Speaking of J, do you like the fake smile in the picture? Can't you just see the frustration in her face? "Take the dang picture mom!" Her front tooth is so loose, it's hanging off to the side, making the gap even larger than it was before. It looks so dang funny! I was dreading her losing said tooth, but now that it's all lopsided it can drop out any time. LOL!

Emily made it home from Spring Break. She was by Charleston, SC, and had to drive home yesterday. Her route was through OHIO, and Bill detoured her through Indiana. It added some time to their trip, but thankfully they made it home through minimal weather conditions. (Welcome home, my girl!)

Taught Photoshop Elements yesterday. I felt a bit better and thought I would be fine, but about 5 minutes into the class I got a coughing attack. You know the type . . . eyes watering, trying to clear the gunk in your throat, gasping for air, while these poor, unsuspecting people are waiting for me to get a grip. The cough drop didn't help, so I resorted to chugging my coffee in an effort to breathe. Once "the episode" passed, my voice was gone. With three hours of class to go. GOOD TIMES. Thankfully it came back, I got my bearings, and everything worked out. Of course the minute I got home I took a monster nap. Near death experiences wear you out, I'm telling you!

Went to a dinner last night with Bill's shooting club. About 10 minutes into the meal my ears got completely plugged, and I ceased hearing. Between not being able to hear, the coughing, and the sneezing fits, well, I'm sure I was the life of the party. As soon as we got home I went to bed. Are you noticing a theme here?

Still feeling bad today. Hoping for a reprieve this week. This busy, crazy week. Wish me luck!

A normal March day in Michigan

consists of snow and grey skies. UGH. But it was rather warm, so off we went to City Forest. First, we went skating.

Then trudged up the hill to go tobogganing. Both Bill and I remember the winters of our youth, when the lines to go down the run were endless. There were very few people there today. Sad, really. It's a cheap day of entertainment, with skate rentals $2 for 2 hours, and the toboggan was $4 for 2 hours. Jenna wants me to go down the hill next time. Yeah, right.

Then into the warming house for hot chocolate.