Scrappy News!

First, check out the March Newsletter at Scrap Supply. It rocks! There are so many inspiring ideas, you will NOT be disappointed.

Also, found out today I had two pages picked up for the Memory Makers Idea Gallery '08. It's been so long since I've submitted anything, and I found out about the call on Tuesday. Since Jenna was home sick I had a chance to send in some layouts. It's fun to get back in the game! One layout is of Jenna, one of Emily. How cool is that?

My goal for the weekend is to get a few scrappy projects done. It's been a while. Wish me luck!

Music Anyone?

My request got buried on one of the other posts, but I'm on the lookout for some new music. Someone pointed out this on 2P's. Some old school Phil Collins with a twist. Love it!

My Scrap Space

Here it is. I decided to work with a template and use photos of the formal living room which I have been making over into a more usable room. It is attached to the formal dining room (which we don't use AT ALL) so that picture is included as well.

What I love? The word art I made using the Cricut Expression and the vinyl. My IKEA bookshelves (3). My funky chair and my RED COUCH! I also love the personal touches in the room. My sister made me the Sudoku quilt, my brother made me a tiered shelf, and my brother-in-law stained that shelf.

It has come such a long way from where I started (see the little pictures for an idea of where I started.) Notice the hideous light fixture in the dining room? Just replaced it and it's ugly counterparts throughout the house. Put them out to the road and no takers. Go figure!

Next steps are to:

Add crown moulding (is that the correct spelling?)
New lamps (seriously, they are ugly)
Window treatment
Finish photo wall
Add something to the tiered shelf (which is empty right now.)

So much to be done, so little time. (Or is it energy?)

Pictures

So my goal about a year ago (OK, maybe it was last summer), was to display some of the photos I have been taking in my house. Finally, I have bitten the bullet and put them up, even given my phobia of nails in walls. I'm serious, I have a real problem with hanging things on walls. It's too much of a commitment for me, I guess. The result is I have a bunch of rooms that look unfinished. Good times.

So in my family room I propped up photos of my girls and their cousins. (No, I did not mount them to the wall. Shocker, no?) I also added a random photo arrangement behind the couch in the family room. I'm not sure I love the effect, and actually had to leave the house for Bill to hang them. (Is there a self-help book you could recommend?)

In my used-to-be-a-formal-living-room which is now my scrap area, I hung an arrangement behind my cool red couch. I LOVE my cool red couch. I got the idea to hang the photos with s-hooks from a cutain rod from IKEA. And you know what that meant? Only TWO nail holes. Seriously, that's cool in my book. My sister Beth made me the quilt on the back of the couch. The pattern is called "Sudoku" which are puzzles that I adore. It matches the funky chair also in this room. Next up I'm going to extend the wall adding more pictures on either side. A trip to IKEA to pick up more frames is in the works. I'm liking how this room is turning out, but there is more work to do to finish it off. I'll share pics when I get there. In 5 years.

Big news for me in the works. Will share when it becomes official. Needless to say I'm thrilled.

I'm on the lookout for new music. I am so sick of my ITunes library and need to find some new tunes. Any suggestions?

Have a great week!

Layout Love and ice

First, here are some layouts from Making Memories. I am in love with the Noteworthy line, and am so excited about the new lines that were out at CHA. I'm saving my pennies as we speak! They are looking for some guest designers on their blog, so I'm throwing my hat in the ring so to speak. Wish me luck!

In other news, well, there's not much news. We had our hallway entry painted, picked out new lights for the entryway, and put the house back in order. I finally bit the bullet and made a photo wall in my family room. It's my goal to use the pictures that I take as decor in my home, rather than have them sit on my computer. So far it's been fun. But it's sort of like a layout . . . once it's done I don't really like it as much as I did in the creation process. Oh well, it's easy enough to take another picture, or make another layout.

We had a full week of school last week, plus I had grad class on Valentine's Day. How ROMANTIC, no? But all is well on the school front. I'm a bit bored because the student teacher is teaching all but one of my classes now. I sit in the back of the room, and wonder what the heck I'm doing there. I've been rendered obsolete! LOL! But she's doing a great job so all is well. The kids accuse me of playing video games in class. They can see I'm bored.

Today, we have ice. At one point it was forecast that we could get 9-12 inches of snow (insert retching noise here), but instead it's ice. And rain. Good times. It's hard to describe the perpetually gray days that exist in Michigan in the winter. It's really painful. I'm bummed because my sister's and I were going to visit Emily and take her out for lunch.

Think spring. I know I am!!!

Week 3 - Snow Day Heaven

That's right, three weeks in a row with a snow day. It's a dream come true! Went out and played in the snow all morning. It was NASTY yesterday, and we got so much snow we were let out 10 minutes early from school. (Insert furious face here.) But seriously, it was so bad they called it off LAST NIGHT. So I slept in until 7:30. Heaven, I tell you! Especially since I'm prepping for painting tomorrow. I can't wait to get the paining done. This project has been going on since early fall, and we're just getting around to it. Yikes!

Have you seen the February newsletter at Scrap Supply? You need to check it out. It is jam-packed with amazing ideas.

Got a big ol' box of goodies from ProvoCraft at my door yesterday. More Cricut cartridges, and a new product called Cuttlekids. I think Jenna and I will have fun with it! Now, however, I need to rearrange the scrap space to accommodate said goodies. Wish me luck.

Also last week I can home to an unexpected box at the door. It was from KI Memories, and it was the new Idea Planner for 2008 with MY PAGE IN IT! While it wasn't my favorite page from my album, it does showcase my love of coffee. I'm just thrilled to be in it.

More Fancy Pants Goodness

Here are some more of the projects I did for CHA for Fancy Pants Designs. Hope you like them!

Sharing Some Layouts

Jodi from Fancy Pants Designs contacted me a few weeks ago to do some freelance work for CHA winter, and how could I say no? I've been a FP fan from way back. So here are a few.

The first layout is called "Smile" and features the "About a Boy" line. Of course I had to use it on a girl. REBEL!













The second layout is called "Be You" using the new line called "Simplicity." Gorgeous colors and textures on this line.

















And the third layout is from the "Sweet Spring" line. It's called "Happy." When my girl smiles her whole face lights up, I tell ya!

Hope you enjoyed the preview. More to come!

What? Another one?

Yep, it happened. Another snow day. The wind was absolutely HOWLING last night. We went from a temp of the high 30's to the single digits, plus a little snow/ice combo, plus some schools losing power. And BINGO, Kay gets another day off. I tell you, it's the ONLY good thing about winter in my neck of the woods.

Jenna is just recovering from RSV, and I'm recovering from CHA deadlines. Sent my projects off on Monday, and will be taking a break from the scrap-related activities for a while now. YIKES.

So I got this book for my new Canon 40D, and this book for CS3. Can I say I have a lot to learn? It's a touch overwhelming, especially while I'm trying to learn both my camera and the new program's features (I upgraded from CS2 which is a LONG, UGLY story), and trying to keep up with my scrappy deadlines. But since I'm taking a little break from the scrapping for now, it feels OK to focus on the others. This a.m. I tried to get my color management between my camera, my monitor, and my printer all set. And 10 test prints later, I'm getting there.

Nothing else new. We stayed home last weekend because of Jenna's being sick. Not a very exciting weekend, to say the least. And it looks like another quiet week, which I'm OK with.

Have a good day ... and think snow day for Friday. Supposedly there is another storm moving in for Thursday night, and a three-day weekend wouldn't be all that bad. I'm just sayin' . . .

Happy Snow Day!

YESSS! It happened. I am so happy!!! It couldn't have come at a better time . . . I just got a box of CHA goodies to play with (and send in one week) and I got three projects done. Plus the laundry, plus dinner which is cooking in the crockpot, plus laundry, plus a run to Michael's for supplies, plus a trip to the grocery store, plus unloading the dishwasher. Everything today was just a BONUS. The only bad news is Jenna has a sore throat, but what a gift to be able to keep her home to rest today.

I also finished my photography lessons, which you can see on my photo blog. Off to finish my article for Scrap Supply for February. They are having one heck of a sale. Check it out.

Oh, and did I mention? I love snow days.

Freakishly Busy Week

Seriously. Monday was dance lessons. Tuesday was dinner with some teachers from Central. Wednesday was freshmen parent orientation at night. Thursday was my LAST grad class. Friday was a haircut and dinner with more friends. Saturday I taught my Elements class. And today was my mom's birthday party. WHEW. I wanted to stay busy, but SERIOUSLY.

Em came home for mom's birthday. She got her haircut, and it looks SO CUTE! Everyone in my family laughs at me about my haircut phobias. I had long hair when I was in elementary school. So long, in fact, I could sit on it. When I finally chopped it all off in 5th grade in the quest for a perfect Dorothy Hamill 'do, well, it "didn't," if you catch my drift. Seriously ugly. So much so that one of the boys in my class, Jay, told me he'd bring me a paper bag to wear over my head. I still give him grief about that when I see him. He will NEVER live it down. LOL! So when it comes to cutting my girl's hair, my freaky phobia emerges. Why do I admit this stuff?

The highlight of my week? Tennis. I've been watching the Australian Open when I get a chance. I love tennis. Not sure why, but I always have. It makes me long for summer though. And when the high today was 2 degrees, a big ol' dose of summer would be amazing.

No news in scrapland. May have an opportunity, but it's too early to say. Don't want to jinx it, and I'm not sure it's right for me at this time. But if it happens I'll share for sure.

Exam week in school, so the kids are stressed to the max. It's a weird week in terms of the schedule, so it should be interesting. No kids on Thursday and Friday while we finish grades. UGH. But I have a student teacher who helps me out a ton, so it shouldn't be too bad.

OK, I'm out for the week. Have a good one!

Clearly I need to brush up on my dancing skills.

No snow day for me last week. And it was a long one! I started my LAST grad class this week, which will go until March. Also taught another photoshop elements class. That combined with my day job is keeping, well, exhausted. But I know it's good for me to remain busy this time of year. I don't consider myself to be a person prone to depression any time except for the long cold days of January until the end of March. These are my dark days if you will. (Or as close to dark as I get.) So running myself ragged, I feel, keeps me from experiencing the depression that comes from 7 hours of sunshine in three months. It has a name, BTW. It's "SAD" or seasonal affective disorder. And I get me some of that every winter.

I came home from class one night to find Miss J. with her face painted. Doesn't she look adorable? She and her daddy are up to no good when I'm gone. No good, I tell you!

I did nothing creative this week whatsoever. And I'm feeling a bit bummed about that. This afternoon I need to bust out my last DT project for Provo Craft for February. If it wasn't for deadlines I know I would get nothing done.

OK, off to try to create something. Wish me luck, and enjoy your week!

Doing the snow dance . . .

for sure. Word on the streets (or in the halls in my case) is that in order to make a snow day happen, one must complete the following tasks:
1) Flush an ice cube down the toilet. At first, I wondered about the mental health of the student who mentioned it, but I heard it repeated several times. So consider this a reputable source.
2) Wear your pj's inside out. Sometimes I complete this task completely on accident, so this should be no problem whatsoever.
3) Sleep with your homework under your pillow. There are several variations on the pillow move, one of them being sleep with a SPOON under your pillow. Now that's a new one by me, but I'm up to trying anything.
4) Do the snow-day dance. One student said his family's rendition includes spelling the phrase "let it snow" with your caboose, if you catch my drift. And while I don't fancy myself a dancer per se, I may just bust a move.

Why do I focus on snow days? I ask myself this very question. I fancy myself the queen of snow days, and hey, who doesn't wish to be royalty at some point in their life? And while I love my job, a day off would not hurt my feelings at all. We're in line for a little weather something-something, and my snow day hopes are high.

I'm off. I have a lot of preparations to do tonight. Wish me luck!

And sissy, Jenna says hi, and I love you!

I made it!

It was back to school on Wednesday, so the whole holiday break was sort of a rip off. It was just too short! The good news was we were only in school three days. I'll tell you, we were ALL tired, teachers and students alike.

So short week, not a lot going on. Em went back yesterday, and is now, I assume, in total panic mode with next semester. She has Physics II, Organic Chemistry, Statistics, a teaching class, and something other bio class I believe. Buh-bye life! I don't know how she does it! The house feels so empty with her gone. Last night as we were off to bed Jenna said, "Don't forget to leave the light on for sissy!" We were both sad when we realized she's gone again.

Took Jenna skiing with some classmates over break. Played with the new camera. (Have I mentioned I'm in love with this camera? LOL!) First they did tubing, which was cool because the tubes hooked to the tow rope and pulled you up the hill. They they took ski lessons. Jen struggled a bit, and got tired. (Dare I say she got her mother's stellar coordination and natural athletic ability? Probably best not to.) But it was a fun day. All Jen wants to do is play outside. And as a hater-of-all-things-winter, I'm forcing myself to get out with her. Up until this weekend we've had constant snow but we're in the midst of a January thaw.

Head on over to my photo blog for more photos. I'm trying to take more pics through the week, then I'll try to load on the weekends. One of my resolutions is to keep working on my photography skills. Wish me luck!

Layouts of 2007

Come to momma . . .

That's right, I got a new camera. A Canon 40D. I'm in love people. That's all I can say. I was going to wait until I had the full amount in cash, but the impatient side of me thought it was no big deal to charge the last $300. Can you say INSTANT GRATIFICATION? So I did it. A lot to learn, to be sure, but I'm up to the challenge.




And here is one where I was playing with the settings, familiarizing myself with where everything is on this camera as opposed to my old-school Rebel. Have I mentioned how much I love this camera? Still need work, no doubt about it. I guess I can no longer site faulty, outdated equipment as a reason for a bad shot. Hmmm . . . it's not sounding so great after all. Dang. Something I had not considered.

Peace out.

A few holiday photos

And a Christmas decoration update. As of 9:15 a.m. there is absolutely no trace of Christmas to be found. Bah Humbug. Seriously, it felt good to get my house back to normal. Now I can enjoy the rest of my vacation knowing everything is DONE. Done, I tell you! We did brave the malls for Em's IPod Touch. Seriously cool. I'd buy one if I wasn't saving my pennies for the new camera. The one calling my name . . . can you hear it?

And did you notice I even included a few pictures of me? It pains me, because in my head I don't look like this. I avoid mirrors (AKA reality) at all costs. And here it is staring me in the face. But for the first time Em and Bill volunteered to have me in the shots, and I figure I owe them for being the paparazzi and having a camera in their face 24/7.

And that handsome man, well he's my dad. (Pardon the toothpick in his mouth. LOL!) I think the world of this man. He has Parkinson's, and it's one nasty disease. His attitude however is nothing but positive. Sometimes evenings are hard for him . . . he tires easily and has trouble staying in conversations. But he was so sharp, and we shared stories of memories of traveling to his hometown in Wisconsin. It was the highlight of my Christmas, to be certain.

And after all of the singing of "I want a hippopotumus for Christmas," Miss J received just that.

A rocking Christmas, indeed.

Emily's big gift this year was Guitar Hero (or as Jenna calls it "Kitar Rock.") There is nothing like jamming to Aerosmith to get you in the holiday mood. It brings me back to my concert-going days, when my friend Craig took me to see Aerosmith. Five bars into "Sweet Emotion" Steven Tyler passed out, falling off the stage. Concert OVER. Good times, good times. This was before he became drug-free, of course. So we've been jamming out in our household. Funny how the songs of my youth have become "hip" again. Can you spell O-L-D? Yeah? I thought so.

Miss J was in rare form. This morning while waiting for Em to crawl out of bed, (who moped down the stairs with guitar-hero-weary-eyes), she assessed the loot that Santa left. She turned to Bill and I and exclaimed, "See? Even though I was naughty Santa brought me LOTS of presents!" True dat, my girl. True dat.

So it's all over but the cleaning. And over all, I'd mark it a success. I just cannot wait for the Christmas decorations to be safely returned to the crawl space and the house back in order. I have already removed the ornaments and lights from the tree so Bill can put it out to the road in the a.m. I'm hoping for some Kay time. Wish me luck on that.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Santa is coming!

Well, I made it through my last week with kids at school. It is such a stressful time of year with trying to keep up with teaching, home life, plus add all of the stress of Christmas prep. I have been such a scrooge for Christmas anyway, but I'm happy to say at this moment I am all done. Gifts are wrapped, food has been purchased for the meal, and I'm ready to go. I'm excited for Miss J though . . . she is really embracing all things Santa (except for the being good 'cuz Santa is watching. That part just isn't sticking.) It sure looks like she's good in the picture, doesn't it? Not so much.

Here is what makes me happy today. 1) I have received three Christmas cards with photos that I have taken. Now is that cool or what? Add mine to the mix and you have four. Cool beans, I tell ya! 2) Emily is home. It's fun having her around, and she's such a big help. She had her annual friend's Christmas party at our house on Thursday night. They truly enjoy each other, and it's great that these high school friends take time to reconnect. 3) I was asked to stay on the Provo Craft Design Team for another year. I'm happy about that! 4) I am loving all of the visiting and family and friend time of the holidays. We have been busy with holiday gatherings, but it is so much fun to see everyone and reconnect. 5) I bought a Speedlite for my camera with my birthday money. It may just give me something to do this winter that will get me through the holidays without offing myself. Have I mentioned how much I hate winter? 6)I have had former students who are in college in visiting me all week. I am so lucky to be in a profession that brings me in contact with so many amazing people. I do love my job.

OK, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. I'm shedding my inner scrooge and am off to have fun. Peace out!

BRING IT, Mother Nature.

That's right. I need some snow, woman. And not just enough to make life miserable, I need the school-stopping, wind howling, must stay home variety. And the timing must be perfect. None of this starting on a Friday or Saturday nonsense. What is up with THAT? I need the Sunday night through Thursday variety. Because without the hope of a snow day, what exactly is the point of snow? These are the things I ask myself. Yes, we're under a winter snow warning. And it's all I can think about. I know, I really need to grow up. Don't count on it though!

Anyhoo, I've been busy. As have we all, I assume. Here are a few of the highlights of the last few weeks:
~Jenna has another ear infection. Good times.
~took Jenna last weekend to a pancake supper with Santa at my school. The high school kids did a fabulous job with the wee ones, and it was fun to see.
~took pics of my neighbors daughter and her friends and experimented more with studio lights. It was fun, and another reminder of how much I have to learn.
~took pictures of my sister's neighbor, Luke, who is around two. He wasn't feeling well, but what a sweet kid! Loved him!
~turned 42. 'Nuff Said.
~had Aunt Max and Uncle Fred over for pizza. They got me a yummy bottle of wine and two gorgeous wine glasses.
~celebrated Christmas with my high school friend and her family. Had a wonderful time. Took their Christmas card photo.
~my girl came home from college. She is a little exam-weary, poor thing. Went yesterday to get her a new bed for her empty room. Three weeks on a pull out couch is too much.
~Went and picked out our tree and decorated it. Now it feels a bit more like Christmas!

OK, that's about it. Check out my photo blog for some of my recent faves. And happy holidays to you all!