good e-vening

the last few days i've been busy making Halloween cards. some for family, some for friends. I just kept making them til i'd had enough (well enough stamping and embossing til the point i said to myself - tracy you won't wanna finish these - mat, attach to card backs, stamp the inside - if you don't stop now- hence some friends will probably get cards for thanksgiving or fall or even christmas at this rate - its more about the saying - hi - i'm thinking of you - than making sure i get one to every single person for halloween. i make myself crazy. but i digress)
Amidst this stamping and embossing i'd been emailing back and forth with my oldest child who is away at college. this child - well he is a character. an original if there ever was one. And of late he has a greeting - which he uses when answering the phone, sending emails, or talking to you in person. Whether it be in the morning, the afternoon, the middle of the night or in the evening - he greets you with a "good evening". Like i said he is a bit of character. You cannot help but laugh.
So i was stamping... and i decided he needed his own special Halloween card.

now its not much of a "card" - i was going more for a-muse-ment. I know when he opens it he will laugh. And that, of course, is the point. I used Purple Onion Designs "lizziebelle" alpha stamps (oh... what a surprise.... ) colored them in with a zig marker and put a shadow on them using another zig pen. i'll have to post the other halloween cards on tuesday - Halloween - when i'm sure the recipients have gotten them.

Every Grampa was once a little boy

One last thing for today - i wasn't gonna post it but heck.. why not
its a layout using that Signature Suite line from My Minds Eye. Pictures are of my Dad as a little boy. The most wonderful thing, i think, about having these pictures of my father is that you can see the face of my son in one, my nephew in another and my brother in another still. It is really quite amazing. Daddy (and my brother) would be so happy to know it - the living reminders of them.

Books to read, Books to make

Okay so i've been absent lately. I'll bring a note from my Mom soon.
What have i been doing? Working, Mom-ing, Wife-ing
Today i am home as I'm teaching a class this evening. Its a Christmas Planner. Yegods. Christmas you say? Well if you're a planning type person, this would be just the ticket. (And if you're not - well its can be viewed as another reminder of your lack or organization or an excuse to make something cute :-))
I don't have the actual class sample here to scan for you - I do, however, have 2 versions i made to show my students. The class will be making the planners using composition books - covered in Basic Grey Fusion papers:
specifically Mesmerize http://www.basicgrey.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=314
and Chartreuse http://www.basicgrey.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=324
then add some ribbon, some faux Dymo label letters and you get the picture in general.
I made two - one for each of my sisters (who love Christmas as much as i do).

this one is for my older sister. I used Wild Asparagus papers cardstock stamped with Purple Onion designs Paisley stamps (its hard to see - I versamarked them). The alphas, tabs, and holly and berries are made using Quickutz (the font is Zoe).



This one is for my younger sister. I used papers by Doodlebug. The tabs, tree and alphas are all by Quickuts (font is CK Handprint).

Oh and i modpodged over the entire cover. Each tabbed page uses the same line of papers and cardstock and features a pocket.






Now books to read.
a few i've read recently i've been meaning to share:
Miss American Pie by Margaret Sartor
Very interesting book - its the diaries of the author from the time she was about 12. I suppose i found it interesting because she is approximately the same age as me - although she lived a very different life. But its like a time capsule - brings me back to the same era.

After This by Alice McDermott
A novel about an Irish-Catholic Amercian family living on Long Island - the husband/wife and their 4 children. It spans the 40's thru the early 70's - and the effects really of 2 wars on their lives (WWII and Vietnam). It is like nothing i've ever read. I'm a big "scanner" when i read. I know i don't read every word - but with this book - you must read every word. And it is incredible writing. The story skips back and forth - time wise. One minute you are reading the present - and the next moment the author drops a little bomb about what happens in the future. It is really something to read.

Well enough now. I've got a few things to do before i go to work in a little while.

Happy Birthday Dear

(the aforementioned card - stamps by Purple Onion Designs)
I hope its a wonderful day Annie! Don't forget to wear your crown :-)

i'm getting ahead of myself

and i actually made a card for my sisters birthday - and its not for another week! scarey i know. its been on my brain since i saw that pig. the same pig i used on the card below.
When i saw the pig it reminded me of Green Acres. Remember that show? if you don't check this out
http://www.tvland.com/shows/greenacres/
well my sisters and I loved it. We were particularly fond of Arnold Ziffel. (how could you not love Arnold?) Anyway there was one episode someone was selling greeting cards - i can't recall who - probably was Mr. Haney. Anywho - EVERY card started out with the same phrase - with the recicipient reference changed to suit. Example: Happy Birthday O'Sister O'Mine; Happy Birthday O' Uncle O'Mine; Happy Anniversary O'Wife O'Mine... (the inside of the card would alwyas say "I hope this card finds you well and fine") get the idea? Well, it was hilarious and this has been a running gag for my sisters and me ever since. Hence the following. Having the pig - well it just reinforces the green acres thing for my sister - i know it will make her laugh and, of course, that is the whole point.
The stamps are Purple Onion Designs and I MCPT'd the background and used a pen to draw in the border line.
I have another birthday card to post but I need to wait til the recipient has seen it :-)

a little card

for a dear friend - hope it was a happy one miss B

i've been gone all weekend - so i'm catching up. things have been busy between, work, home, blah blah. hoping to write again soon.

oh the card - the alphas are Purple Onion (natch), the hat was stamped using Michelle Ward stamps, and the paper is MME and Basic Grey and the pig - courtesy of the washington post (an ad i cut out)

talk to you soon

Birthday cards

Its been a while

sorry bout that. you know how it goes.
where did we leave off. Oh yeah
DD and i did go to the Smithsonian Naturalist Center. Bad day to go though. They were gearing up for their annual 2 week cleaning (before the hoards of kids start to descend on field trips). Many of the larger animals were already covered with plastic in preparation (although they told me they'd later remove the coverings to vacuum the fur... sounds icky but ya gotta watch out for bugs i'm told). The employees were very helpful and welcoming but DD and i could not help but feel we were in the way. We stayed for an hour. My favorite sketch was of a stone crab but it isn't anything i want to share here. suffice it to say i'm a bit rusty. DD however wasn't. The kid is talented is all i can say. She sketched in minutes the essence of several animals. i could go steal her sketchbook and scan in some drawings but i don't know if she'd appreciate it. Also, I hate to interrupt her at the moment. She's working on homework - either pre-calculus or chemistry and it took a little prodding to get her going, on a Saturday, with the homework.
Earlier today we went on a hunt for a camera for DD. She's taking photography in school and she needed a manual camera. In my day that meant a 35mm. Now its a bit different. Even the Nikon we finally settled on had auto and manual modes. A most cool camera i must say. Oh whilst i have been away (from you all) i also purchased a new digital camera. i think i mentioned my camera died while on vacation. The new one is quite slim and pretty - has a manual feature which i'm looking forward to playing with - it suits me just fine - not too fancy or spensive.
It seems lately i've only gotten to work on work- related things. I've got a 2 page spread on my drawing table right now that is for a class I'm doing at the end of the month. Same materials as the class dictates with a bit of my own twist - and it has pictures (which the class samples don't have naturally.) i think it helps to see these layouts with real photos instead of imagining how they'll look like when they're finished.
But i stopped working on that because today i needed a birthday card. I'm going to a luncheon for my friend's 40th birthday tomorrow. I'd bought some of my new favorite patterned papers - My Minds Eye Signature Suite. Gorgeous stuff and i know my friend also loves it so...
I used Purple Onion Designs alphas on that card and the one i made for an online friend, Michelle (its supposed to be her adorable beagle, Macy)
well darn. i've been trying to upload the pics of the cards for 20 minutes now. i'm gonna post this and hopefully post the cards later. gotta run

Baking and stuff

Last weekend I baked some brownies (chocolate chip cookie dough thrown in a 9x13 baking pan) for DS. He'd mentioned wanting some before we went off to the beach, then he left for school with no time for me to bake them & send him down the road with a batch.

Anyway i baked the brownies on Sunday nite so i could send them along with some books he'd ordered that were due to show up probably Monday or Tuesday. Well the books finally arrived today (Friday). the brownies have been sitting here all week screaming (at anyone who will listen) to eat them. We don't like to ignore such screaming and so the brownies have diminished substantially... ahem. Enough to send DS a small portion but i decided i needed to send him some other goodie. So this afternoon i baked up a batch of his favorite cookies (oatmeal chocolate chip). I have them all bagged up and ready to mail in the morning - even if they don't quite survive the trip - the crumbs will be delicious. :-)

Project Runway - i knew as soon as they said the designers would be dressing moms/sisters there was gonna be trouble. I loved the idea - imagine creating clothes the real world can wear? What a concept.
I was pretty sure Vincent would do ok - only because he had some experience having his own company and perhaps because he's older and the reality of selling clothes requires realizing you need to design for someone other than a perfect 2. I didn't think he'd win but was quite happy he did. He isn't my favorite, he's a little quirky for sure - but gosh - anyone who cashes in their life savings and puts themselves out there like that - well i wish him well - how's that?

I felt sorry for Robert early on - he looked so lost. Vincent's sister was no Barbie doll - his usual client LOL. I was sad to see Robert go - i didn't think his was the worst. (the red was a great color on her - and i can't imagine any woman who is bigger wanting to put on some print like the judges suggested - obviously they've never had a weight problem)

Jeffrey's behavior - well you just wanted to slap him one. Be a big boy and do your job. I think he was more ticked off at having to design for someone who wasn't young and pretty with a tiny little figure and then to get Angela's mom on top of that - well you knew there was gonna be trouble. I was hoping his own mother would go in there and give him a talking to - tell him to grow up. Oh well. He would have been my choice to go this week even though there's something about him i like (and its not those neck tatooes i assure you). His design - well yuck.

Tomorrow DD and me are going to try and hit the Smithsonian Naturalist Center - a small hands on extension of the Smithsonian Museums. http://www.mnh.si.edu/education/naturalistcenter.htm
Our intention is to go there and draw.
Years ago i had to take DS there to work on a school project and found the place fascinating. All kinds of stuff - from insect collections, to shells, to stuffed polar bears (for heavenssake) - they've got it all (including some creatures in jars - things like octopii... ewwww) I got to talking to one of the people who works there and she told me they have many artists go there to just draw. So i filed that in my scarey little brain and knew eventually i'd go back with sketchbook in hand. The best part is its right down the street - literally a minute in the car - or a fine little walk. DD and i have wanted to go there all week - she's only got one week left of vacation - something always seem to get in the way. Their hours don't leave much time after work for me so tomorrow seems to be the best bet this week. Here's hoping we have some great sketch time and good mom/daughter time.

I just realized

its Project Runway tonite! Yeah .... love that show.
i remembered it was on earlier and thought i would throw my two cents in on last weeks elimination. Sorry but i'm the only one i guess on the planet who liked Vincents dress. I know you're thinking i'm crazy. i didn't love it mind you but i think there were several a lot worse. I looked at the show more than once (passing thru and saw it was on again) and i loved the silouhette of the dress with all that junk on it. If you can stay with me on this - and check it out again on the replay tonite - there was one shot of the dress with the girl coming down the runway and the pieces on the dress kinda reminded me of beading and things. Whatever.... I'm sorry but Kane's dress was hideous. And even though i loved her, Alison's dress was not up to her usual. I wish she'd stuck with her original idea. Anything woulda been better than the poofy thing she came up with. i really loved Jeffrey's dress (when i was watching and realized he was working with the newspaper i was hoping he'd paint it up with some PearlEx since they were allowed to buy some art supplies... wouldn't that have been pretty?)
In general i don't like the judges. Michael Korrs and Nina (whoever) were a little skitzy in their critiques. They want inovation but they drooled all over Laura's dress. Sorry - i saw nothing innovative in the dress. I loved the dress but for me it didn't fulfill the challenge. Kane - they went on and on about how hideous it was but MK said somethig like - he can sew a dress. Well again... where was the innovation and they just finished saying how awful it was. So they're allowed to base their choices on past weeks? if so why did sweet hip little Allison go home??? He shoulda gone home. Alison at least tried and hers wasn't theee most awful thing. And Vincent - well- they carried on about how the model couldn't walk in the dress. Hey - she made it down the runway just fine and are they saying that coutoure is always easy to wear? I can remember tons of coutoure that number 1 never was gonna make it into a store and 2 plenty that wasn't easy to wear or walk in (take a look at a few awards shows with these women in tight full length gowns and they can barely walk up or down stairs) Even Heidi conceded the dress was innovative.
ok... done with my rant. We'll see what they come up with tonite... can't wait.
oh and my class... they were just the best bunch of women - so fun and worked like mad - and they were newbies too. Caught on real quick and just were so happy to be there. Made it a total pleasure to go in and work.. doesn't it figure? I spent time whining and it worked out so nice in the end. i hope i see them again real soon :-)

Not in the Mood

for work.LOL i know how pathetic am i?
i went to work yesterday and found out my class tonite is on. Before i left on vacation no one had signed up for the class (zoo pages... actually very nice class - if you like paint & chipboard - which i do) and i thought well fine. I'll have an entire day off after i get back from vacation to catch up on things yaknow? Well yesterday i looked at the schedule and three people had signed up for the class. It surprised me for some reason - i mean no one had even commented on the samples in the store (we usually get a feeling for how the classes will go just by the comments people make - if they get lots of good talk - the class will fill up nicely). Since i'd mentally decided the class wasn't taking place i had to totally shift my thinking. I had to reacquaint myself with the whole thing and get some more samples done. Last nite i ordered from photos from Costco and i picked them up this morning. (love Costco photo developing for just that). Early this afternoon i created 2 more 2 page layouts for the class with pictures. And although they came out quite nice (nicer than the "class" ones if you ask me) i just wasn't into it. It was such a chore and i hate feeling that way. Know what i mean? Well off to the orthodontist with dd.

Beach Books and DVD's

I read only two books while on vacation (i should've brought a few more)
12 Sharp by Janet Evanovich - if you haven't already read any of the Stephanie Plum novels - do yourself a big fat favor and run out and get all 12 (this series is numbered - for example: One for the Money, Two for the Dough, three to get Deadly and so on). They're hilarious reads. I literally laugh out loud reading them. I've even got my mother reading them and she laughs out loud as well.
Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani. I think I've read all of her books - i especially the The Big Stone Gap books. This one was very good, if not a little sad. I loved the time frame in which the main story takes place - the 1950's in New York City. A good part of the story takes place at B.Altman's. If you don't know B. Altman's i can only say how sad. A wonderful store that no longer exists - a favorite store of my youth. It was a favorite of my grandparents as well as my parents. When i was a child my grandparents would sometimes have us stay with them in NYC on weekends. We'd go all over the city (museums, the UN, Radio City) and 5th Avenue was a frequent destination being not that far away. We'd shop at B. Altman's & Saks. Anyway - I loved the characters and the way the author tells the story.
When i'm picking books i want to be entertained - and both these books and authors know how to do that.
DVD's - I'd heard a lot about a series on Showtime called WEEDS. when we went to the Blockbuster at the beach i saw the first year on DVD and thought why not try it.
OMIGOSH... If you don't have Showtime (we don't) you must rent the first season. Of course if you can't imagine being amused by a comedy wherein the main character is a newly widowed mother of two who sells weed - don't rent it. It's outrageous - we loved it. It's not for children thats for sure. And since we watched something like 10 episodes i have the theme song stuck in my head - it is a brilliant song - actually each episode has music that is quite the coolest bunch of tunes i've heard in a while. But the theme song is something of a 60's protest tune and its just wonderful - called Little Boxes. I shall be purchasing the cd shortly. Here's a link if you want to hear what i'm talkin about http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/music.do just click on the link for the music and listen to Little Boxes.
time for bed - i have to work tomorrow. ugh...

we''re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

well we got back yesterday afternoon. a long delay on the approach to the bay bridge and another delay due to a terrible accident maybe half a mile in front of us on the beltway but we're back. we were trying our best to get home before ds left for school. we thought he was returning on Sunday but he wanted to get going on Saturday. Fortunately he was still packing his car up when we arrived home. Its funny how the first year they go off to college you go with them and its a big dramatic thing. This year (the third year) i think i was the only one who was feeling it. I miss him already. Despite the fact he was rarely home more than a second any day during the summer - barely time to shower and change clothes - i still miss him. oh well.
The rest of yesterday was taken up with doing laundry (piles and piles) reading 100 emails, and unpacking various and sundry items.
We had a wonderful vacation. I shall fill you all in later but i will mention the one bad thing now. I am camera-less.
We were on the ferry to Cape May and i took several pics with no problem. We got off the ferry and started walking about. I saw a house - gorgeous Victorian - tons of gingerbread and it was - pink! - and it practically screamed "take my picture". So i pulled out my camera and took a shot and looked at the review - nothing - black screen. I tried repeatedly to no avail. i thought perhaps when i get home and upload the photos (i took a few more just in case) they will be there. Perhaps something was wrong with the review portion of the camera. Everything else seemed to be working just fine. Last night i hooked it all up and uploaded and still black.
The rest of the vacation i was camera- less. it was like having my arm cut off. At one point, on the beach, i pulled out my phone, forlordssake, to take a pic - i'm that desperate. bereft.
tomorrow i'll be calling the repair company the manufacturer recommends to see what it would cost to repair it. Of course i'm thinking already it may be cheaper to just buy new.
We shall see.
gotta run for now

well thats weird

i uploaded the ocean city pic and its no where to be found. hmmmm
lets try one more time

ah now there you go

and whilst i'm at it a few close ups

See you next week

we are heading out

in the morning for the beach.
de- laware
i plan to :

• do beach (dh's family's way of saying going to the beach. when i was growing up in NJ we said we're were going "down the shore" - so...when in Rome and all that..... )
• read beach books (aka - trash; also semi trash and maybe a little jane austen)
• eat beach food (in these parts that means CRAB. CRAB and more CRAB. did i say CRAB?)
• play skee ball (why i love skee ball - i cannot define it - i could say its because you get tickets and then trade those in for prizes that are total trash which makes it all the more wonderful - but then when i played skee ball as a kid "down the shore" we never got tickets and i STILL loved it... go fig)
• play putt putt (again.. NJ we said miniature golf... but i am in another land - not even that far away - but it might as well be Mars - regardless its got a stick and a ball and its toooooo fun and it is our tradition. And i love traditions.)
• walk every morning (we have taken this up at the beach the last few years. we get up, put on something not too hideous and walk at a good fast pace for around 45 minutes. i like to think of it as an antidote to the ice cream with chocolate sprinkles i will eat later in the day. )
• eat ice cream (with chocolate sprinkles - a major dose of those please) - see above
• see at least one movie
• go to the dollar store for something we forgot. the dollar store is up the street from the house. makes for a nice walk in the middle of the day.
• walk on the beach at least one evening. it is so pretty at night
• draw in my sketchbook every day. i plan to share that here next week.

the skee ball we'll probably play in Ocean City - thats the OC in Maryland not the OC in New Jersey (and certainly not that "other" OC) And on that note - i'll share a photo of a most cool place in OC, MD. We went there one day during last years "beach week". its a short ride from the house in Delaware. everything is a short ride from Delaware (right Lindalou?) Anyway i took my camera (as i'm known to do - i'm no photographer and don't plan to ever be but i like recording for the scrapbook or just to be able to look at things later or refer to the pics for drawing) and snapped this pic of a most cool place on the boardwalk.

sexy since 1981?

have you seen those commercials for Candies? Pat Benatar singing her heart out? Well i had seen the shoes recently at Kohl's and i had a little flashback to college. I took a peek at their website
http://www.candies.com/sitelet/default.asp
and that's the tagline for the original - or rather "vintage" - candies.
Sexy since 1981
I stared at the screen and thought -i think not. I know we had those shoes back in college. Which was between 1975 and 1979 for me.
So i consulted the highest authorities to check that my memory was correct.
The highest authorities - my girlfriends from college of course!
The agreed with me - and have photos to prove those shoes were around long before Candies said they were. How odd -for them to say the company was founded in 1981 with those shoes when we know different. Dontcha think?

Last few days

haven't been ultra interesting. Our A/C was failing and we had to call in someone on Sunday to check it out. It definitely needed fixin. Let's just say freeon (is that how you spell it?) has gone up in price - akin to the gas pump.
I visit the gas pump frequently as E is doing a class this summer and we are running back and forth to the school every day. Well, J does the drop off and i do the pickup, but i digress. An hour to and an hour home - kills a lot of gasoline. Good news is Thursday is the last day of her class. What's she been learning? A computer science class she must have for school. She must be learning lotsa fancy stuff. She was working on her final project last nite when i checked in on her, working hard at her computer. Playing a game that looked like Pong. She made her own version of the game. She wasn't done yet but it looked pretty darn good to me.
Well i'm off to work. I hope to check back in later.

Black is ever so slimming

so tonite i went to the crop at work with the intention of getting work done. i have two classes in september and the idea was to work on the samples: one completed and a good start on the 2nd. well i finally left in disgust at about 9pm. I never began the 2nd sample. The first sample was halfway completed when i walked in the door. I'd done all the cutting yesterday (while i was cooking dinner...lol) and thought this was gonna be easypeasy assembly.
needless to say it wasn't.
darn if these projects that appear sooo simple end up being theeeee worst.
however.
one of the other croppers is a wonderful woman named Teri. She comes to the crop most every week and works on ATC's. she's in a bazillion swaps (or seems to be) and uses friday nites to create her swaps. she is very talented. her atc's would make you drool. they're just - wow. and yaknow i don't think she realizes just quite how good she is.
anyway Teri and I are sitting at tables that face one another and we are chatting off and on. somehow the topic of weight always comes up in female conversation doesn't it? interspersed in the same conversation we're talking about what we're working on. i noticed her atc's are edged in gold. i was inking an edge of a tag with some chalk ink. I commented to her how they (my employers designers) are enamored with black ink. I didnt think it appropriate on the very colorful tags i was working on for their class so i chose a pink pad and was dabbing away. (it looked just right) and suddenly i got a pretty funny notion and started to laugh. Teri said "what?"
i asked her if she thought that if i inked all my edges in black (hips, thighs....) that i might appear thinner? you know - black is ever so slimming.
i hadn't laughed that hard in ages.

tumble dry kitty

i said i was doing lots of laundry yesterday. I pulled a load out of the dryer and left the door open. i went to get the next load for the wash, returned and this is what i found.
he's a funny boy, my frankie. i wish i could've gotten a shot without the glowing eyes but he's not one to sit still long. I am amazed he sat there long enough for me to run down the hall to grab my camera.

2 out

ok so project runway - i guess i lied before when i said i didnt have a favorite. i really liked Keith. Well... maybe not liked him but i loved his clothes. I kinda suspected he might be the one to be getting the boot when they showed the previews last week. He was a bad boy. And we love a bad boy - especially when they make pretty clothes. It was kinda stupid of him to have those books (how did he get them past them in the first place?) but i guess he also left and used the internet (apparent no-no's). You break the rules - you gotta pay the piper.
I really liked his design and was happy the other two were able to pull it off without him leading. i woulda picked their team. Angela - she's a piece of work. She was able to work with her team - not like when she was paired up with Vincent - egad. And those little rosettes worked as buttons (thank goodness they talked her into that!)
When i saw those rosettes i thought of this quilt my mom told me my grandmother made. It was out of little circles all sewn up like little puffs - not unlike Angela's rosettes. Funny - everything old is new again.

a little this - a little that

ok. so i've been on a long blogging break.
but i've been delightfully prodded back
- thank you miss b -
anywho -- life has been whirlwindish. summer brings visitors, new schedules and more reality tv.

i admit i've been hooked for years on Big Brother. It is back and its all stars and it is tooo stinkin fun. it might be hard for someone to just jump into watching BB7 now but if you're at all inclined give it a try.
my other reality guilty pleasure is Project Runway. I watched last season and was so happy to see a new one starting up a few weeks back. Last season i had my definite favorite - Daniel - but this year i'm still on the fence. I do so enjoy watching and tonite you know where i'll be - watching PJ. Course i can't just sit there and watch. Tonite i'll be folding piles of laundry. Makes me feel a bit less guilty :-)

well i'm off right now. i just finished making a huge batch of meatballs (for tonite and a few other meals) and now i think i'll see if i can work on a little project.
i'll be back soon

i'm sure they didn't realize

so last nite i filled out the form for E's summer school (she has an opp to take a course during the summer to free up time for other classes during the school year. translation: she can fit in an art class which is her r'aison d'etre) She'll take a computer science course which she has to have by end of sophomore year. The postmark date must be no earlier than today. I realize this morning i forgot to have her sign the form (required... sigh.. i guess i could forge it? won't help - you must supply a copy of her report card - distributed today - with the application) and i'm thinking well - i'll pick her up this afternoon, have her sign and we'll hit the post office.
I'm listening to the news as i get ready for work and realize
YEGODS... ITS TAX DAY.
We did our taxes months ago so i didn't even give it a thought.
Now we need to go to the post office... to get it postmarked today - so we have a fair chance she'll get into the class.
I wouldn't even think of going anywhere near a post office today but these are the things you do for your child, right?
I am sure the school administration didn't realize it was tax day when they named today as the first day for sending in applications.
i'm sure they couldn't be that cruel

Happy Easter

Greetings
isn't he the cutest ?
more later

blog hopping

tis the season for hopping tisn't it?
so tonite after an early Easter dinner (early as in -son visits for Easter weekend and is going back to school on Easter Sunday- early) i had good intentions of updating here.
its been over a week i'm sure since i've posted.
but intentions are often good 'round here
but i digress
(as i often do)
First i work on some cards.
feeling a tad inspired.
new stamps do that for me :-)
new stamps and old stamps ta-gether
so after playing a while with the stamps i think
now i'll upload a few photos from our annual easter egg dye-ing event
and then i think
i'll just check some of my favorite blogs
do a lil readin
well i blog-hopped for hours it seems
hop
hop
hop
and now its way too late
so
demain
(tomorrow)

i don't whistle while i work

i listen (and half watch) tv and movies.
sometimese i full watch but whatever.
i know some people find the tv distracting but its like the radio to me.
i have it on in the background. Sometimes i watch only.
More often than not however i work on something while i'm "watching"
With movies we rent - those- i sit and watch - just watch.
No sketchbook or project.
Like over the last two weekends we've rented
Capote, Crash, and North Country.
For me - thats a lot of sitting still and watching and doing nothing else.
However all three were worth it. See'em if you have time.
But back to tv.
I like having it on. Like i said its like radio to me. Perhaps i don't like complete quiet.
No - definitely i don't like complete quiet.
But i find i can work on scrapbook pages, make cards, stamp....definitely sketch in
my book - while "watching" tv.
Things just flow for me with that noise in the background.
The radio or cd's rarely do the same thing for me.
And once i get to that place - i have no idea whats happening on the tv -
i just tune it out. funny huh?

This explains my problem

with the scrapbooking world
(i have numerous other problems... but today we'll tackle this one... we just don't have enuf room to tackle all the others)
read this blog entry titled "scrapbooking" dated yesterday, 4/7
http://traciturchin.typepad.com/traci/2006/04/scrapbooking.html#comments
her entry about the editors wanting her to crop the butt out of her layout is where my problem lies.
No matter if she was scrappin for herself or to get herself into a magazine - why oh why is the editor asking her to edit her life?
If scrappin is taking your photos and putting them on cardstock and adding the words to retell a story why do we need to edit that memory?
that butt is real. it's part of the story. Years from now it will still be part of the story. (perhaps it is not the focus of that particular layout however it is part of that persons anatomy - that person was in the picture. they were part of the story of that layout. Just cos some editor didn't like the picture - now we change the memory of that day?)
i'm all for cropping photos. getting rid of distractions in pics. Sure. You're trying to tell what happened in the photos. But why does some editor need to step in and tell her what she should be editing. Obviously she included that pic as it was. Thats the way life is. Big butts and all.
If she wanted to edit out the butt that was her business. But having some magazine editor tell her to edit it out... i got problems with that.
It is her memory. She gets to include what pics she wants and edit them the way she wants.
(i should add here apparently the blogger didn't mind the fact the editor wanted her to crop that pic. i mind. does anyone care what i think? no. but i still have an opinion and that is what this is about. So there)
Is she designing a magazine spread or a scrapbook page?
i've done both.
They are entirely different things.
But more and more i am seeing less scrapbooking and more magazine layout creation - as a scrapbook page.
i don't want my scrapbooks to look like a magazine layout.
i like the way scrapbooks look real.
i'm talking old time scrapbooks.
Like someone's hands have made them.
There's love in that handmade look.
Magazine spreads look very sanitized. Very perfect and thats all good if you are making a magazine.
ok. rant over.
go back to what you were doing

my laugh for the day

i was reading a thread on a message board.
someone was asking for easy recipes for a get together.
a poster replied with a number of suggestions.
One being a platter of -
get this -
crue d'ete
i swear i'm not makin this up

just hilarious!

old friends

the other day i was talking to dh on the phone and i heard the annoying beep of call waiting. Dh was just telling me he was on his way home so we got off and the phone rang.
it was a friend of my mothers.
an old friend. we're talking old.
I'm talking the length of their friendship.
I've heard about this friend probably all my life.
My mom has a group of friends she has had all her life - well practically.
I know they've been friends since at least high school.
And that, my friends, was almost 65 years ago (since she began high school).
Isn't that incredible?
this friend was trying to get in touch with my mom just to chat. She was increasingly concerned as she couldn't reach her at her home. My mom has had a lot of health problems so the friends was naturally concerned. i reassured her that my mom has just been away visiting one of my sisters and not to worry.
I've been emailing with some of my old friends a lot lately.
my friends from college. probably some of the best friends i have ever or will ever have.
We email all the time actually.
There had been a bit of a lull. We all have busy lives: families, jobs etc etc.
Lately the email has surrounded our attempts to schedule a get together. (its always tough to get us all together but we managed it on a number of occasions over the 27 years since we've graduated.)
I'd seen two of these good friends back in the fall. My roommate was having a 25th wedding anniversary and she invited us to their party. What a wonderful time we had. It had been so long since we'd seen one another.
but the thing about these kinds of friends is that no matter how long its been since you've seen one another - its just like yesterday.
We continue where we left off.

This and that

i saw this ad today in the Washington Post Magazine section - it says
Urban Style
I say
Cheddar Style
Anyone got a wheat thin?
seriously would you want to be sitting on a wheel of cheese in your living room.
the kitchen maaaaybe
hell.. not even maybe.
onward

Under the heading
I looked it up:
the word "pompitous" (as in pompitous of love - steve miller was playing on the radio when i was out and about this morning and it occurred to me i'd finally like to check that word out.
to see if it is actually a word.
these are the things we like to do 'round here. We are always referring to the dictionary. (i guess we are in constant scrabble challenge mode... whatever.)
it ain't... a word.... pompitous.
i know you're relieved.
As was I
but under the heading of "believe it or not"
(and i'm sure you will)
there are quite a number of websites which debate and discuss this line from the song
it's a wonderful world isn't it?

moving on....
we heard from DS last nite. he's on an interstate scavenger hunt for a frat.
yegods.

we're having a quiet sunday 'round here. just the dh and myself.

DD is off sampling macroorganisms or somesuch thing from the waters of Fairfax County.

She had her hipboots, goggles, and other sundry scientific materials ready this morning. DH took her to meet up with her fellow scientists.

She should be calling for her ride home soon.

Me - i went to the grocery store, put away said groceries, cleaned a bathroom (don't i always seem to be doing that? we have 4 - so its inevitable.) and baked some brownies

I think i will go work on some cards or scrapbook pages with the time i have left

go back to what you were doing

all fixed

which is a relief.
water pump.
i guess it coulda cost more
:-)

H is for hot

in the last week or so i've noticed something on the garage floor -
looks like a puddle of water. like when you've got snow on the car or its been raining - the garage floor usually reflects that.
so last nite i pick up dd from the bus and we're on our way home and some kind of light comes on the dashboard.
it looks like a tiny thermometer.
we are sitting in mega traffic.
of course - it's NoVA
i begin to get a little nervous but think we're almost home.
then an alarm starts to sound.
it's like a bell being rung over and over
i see the temperature guage is on H
i'm thinking "crap" with a big C
at this point we're are soooo close to home. just through one more major intersection and then one more (very busy) left turn and we're home.
i decide to turn the car off while we wait at the big light
its a loooooooooong light so i'm hoping it will give the car a chance to cool off
a bad word pops out of my mouth
dd says its ok mom. we're almost home. :-)
and indeed we do make it home.
Guess what we're doing this morning?
dropping off the car
more later

you know you're distracted when...

your daughter says to you,
"Mom, why is there a towel in the dishwasher?"
this happened last nite.
I had a day off yesterday.
got my hair cut and hilighted (i was lookin like a skunk in reverse again so it was tiiiiime)
and
doing this
that
and the other thing.
and apparently i left a towel in the dishwasher.
(to dry off shtuff as i take it out. Does your dishwasher leave you with pools of water in the tops of the cups? someone should seriously work on the re-design of the top rack -youknowwhati'mtalkinabout?)
anywho
i didn't think it was such a big shmeel
but apparently it amused those living in my household.
i'm getting a bit of a ditz reputation.

hey this is like some kinda record. i've posted everyday this week.
and countem'
twice today.
now go back to what you were doin

The Concierge does it and you can too!

i was reading Heidi Swapp's blog this morning and saw her video demonstrating her rub-ons. If you want a little chuckle please take a look at it:
http://www.heidiswapp.typepad.com/
scroll down to where it says "here it is!! so excited!"
she's got a link there.
It really is quite a bit of marketing genius. It would be a faboo commercial. Seriously.
If you're not hip to the history on these rub-ons - well i'll clue you in. They got some bad press that i know of -on a particular well-known scrapbooking site (which shall remain nameless...ahem).
Totally unfounded i might add.
I have the aforementioned rub-ons. And i used them over this past weekend. They worked just fine - i didn't need a video either.
But hey.. that's me.
I am rub-on inclined.
Perhaps others are not so gifted. (these are the jokes people.)
Regardless these rub-ons are a fine.. nay.... a WONDERFUL product.
However since they got a bad rap or rub as the case may be i am sure HS felt the need to do a little PR? whatever. Personally i would love to see more creations ( she's something else that one - what a creative mind she has!!!!) than her spending her time trying to redeem a perfectly wonderful product.
But in true HS form - she creates this hilarious little video.
A 12 year old can use them; a grown woman and a grown man can use them. Heck ...
even the Concierge can do it.
Some might say they all had instruction from HS. so of course they could do it.
I say.. oh who cares.
go back to what you were doing now....

i'll get my clothes dirty

cos it'll be cheaper than this
http:/www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/486569.html?cm_id=3000.640
yegods.
i checked to see what it was made from (thinking hey it must be some exotic 'spensive fabric for $49.00 right?).
it says "kool rugged cotton, 4 pockets, a silkscreen wasp and great twill straps".
what if it was cool rugged cotton with a "c"?
or maybe a little less rugged?
would that cost less?
or perhaps if there were only 2 pockets
i mean the second set of pockets (viewable in the "alternative view") would reside on my butt.
i don't know about you but i don't need pockets on my butt when i'm creating (or otherwise)
and the great twill straps.
what if they weren't quite so great?
and i could definitely live without wasps. i have enough problems with wasps around here building nests. i don't need one on my chest.
oh heck. i don't wear aprons anyhow.
i'm done blabbering now.
go back to what you were doing

it has become obvious

that i stink at keeping up this blog.
but i digress right away.
it became apparent to me over the weekend, whilst working on ds's scrapbook that
while i adore patterned paper
(like some women love shoes)
(my love for patterned paper is close to my adoration for chocolate)
that i don't use it much (the paper not the chocolate)in my scrapbooking
i have three containers full of patterned papers - stuffed to the gills i might add
and two containers for 12 x 12 cardstock that are moderately full. (we won't discuss the 3 containers for 8.5x11 cardstock, k?)
i came to this conclusion when i was searching through the cardstock bins to find an appropriate color. I wasn't likin my choices. i had used them up.
now i use patterned paper like KA-RAY-ZEE on my cards.
but on the pages - not so much.
now the question becomes: do i keep all this patterned paper? do i sell it on ebay (as have some of my friends have done) or do i keep it for cards (i will never make that many cards i guess.
and what do i do when i see more cute paper.......

So you see why i hate resolutions

i can't seem to keep to 'em.
i have been drawing more - so that's good. I've been drawing almost everyday even if its a doodle. doodles count in my book.
Great things come can come from doodles (great thighs from cheese doodles - great ideas from other doodles)
anyway things continue to be busy. work (taught 2 classes in the past 2 weeks); dd has kept us hopping with her rehearsal schedule for her play at school. Thankfully that's over til the next play appears on the horizon. We went to the play on thursday night. "Much Ado About Nothing" - one of Shakespeare's plays i was not familiar with - never having seen it performed. It was quite amusing, our daughter was wonderful (natch) and the rest of the cast was quite wonderful. What a wonderful bunch of kids she has met at that school.
anyway, other than doodling and work obligations - not much creating going on here. Its in the brain but not making it to paper - other than notes and doodles. and for now i have to be content with that. Too much time talking about what isn't being done.
What is getting done? Ah well bathroom cleaning seems to be never-ending (4 bathrooms will do that) as is cooking and laundry (the bane of my existence - fortunately the husband seems to love doing laundry - or just puts on a good act for me.... and what more could one ask? he does it once a week and i do it once a week - apparently we make a lot of dirty clothes). This afternoon i'm baking. Do we need cookies? absolutely.
Sometimes creating doesn't have to be with a pencil, brush, stamp or whathaveyou. Sometimes, in my mind at least, creating means making something. Any thing. And today, for part of the day, my creating will take the form of oatmeal and chocolate chips.
And whilst i'm scooping out dough, wonderful ideas will swirl in my head and then into my sketchbook (in between batches). So what if the sketchbook gets some traces of dough on it, right?

resolutions

i really hate resolutions - new years and other kinds i spose but its that time of year and i've neglected this blog for way too long. So i'm resolving to post more often in the new year. the last few months have been filled with not-so-fun stuff. I guess that's an excuse - certainly a rationalization but also true. Things are calmer at the moment. I'm starting to feel a bit like my old self. The craziness of the holidays is almost over (although we venture out of town to do the husbin's family christmas and if that ain't crazy - nothing is... more on that in a second). My kids and husbin are home. My mom is visiting my sister. I have new music and books to listen to and read. Life's feelin good at the moment. I'm a little chubbier -thanks to my own baking skills :-) - but i think even that's surmountable in due time.
Tomorrow we leave for the husbin's family christmas - i guess about a 3 hour drive to Delaware where all his siblings will descend upon the main family home (as opposed to the beach house which will house some overniters - we however are staying in a local motel). This event makes me cringe every year - its all very nice - all friendly happy faces - its just the sheer numbers that get to me i guess - and my feelings of claustrophobia :-) Approximately 30 family members will attend this years event. And there is no escape. There are people every where. For me this is difficult. Some people who know me think I am an outgoing personality - I am certainly "on" at work - but for those who truly know the real me - I am a shy girl at heart. I am most content in a quiet environment - listening to music, reading a book, watching an old movie. Drawing in my sketchbook - making things. Being in my own little world. I like quiet. I enjoy being alone. I will however be there and try my best not to freak out. I could send my cookies and meatballs (both requested items) and stay at home. But the husbin would not be very happy about that. My participation is important to him - he knows it is very hard for me but he really doesnt ask much - so i will suck it up and go. I will report back later - perhaps with photos of the insanity. I am always armed with my camera and the pics of the gift exchange alone are amusing (a literal sea of people watching a particular giftee open their present)
Our gifts are wrapped (courtesy of the husbin) and my gift tags are adorning them (courtesy of my quickutz - i love it and my dies lord help me - its an addiction). I've packed up the cookies (which i painted with edible gold dust and vegetable coloring - i've painted cookies as long as i can remember - its not Christmas if I don't paint my sugar cookies). I need to pack some clothes but i'll do that in the morning along along with a new book and my sketchbook and my rapidograph. maybe the new issue of CK i haven't had much time to look at and we'll off. We'll be back on Saturday early afternoon, in time to ring in the new year from the burg. Oh and we will be taking a sidetrip to Ikea on the way back. Lookin forward to that.
so... resolved to writing and posting more.
My other 2 resolutions: draw and scrap more. Drawing is number 1 however. always has been and always will be.

okay... so i've been busy

and not posting. there are only so many hours in the day and i like to use a few to sleep.
In the last two weeks we've been to the beach, my sister and her family from Arizona have been here to visit; as well as my sister and nephew from NJ also came to VA for a few days; my mom has been in the hospital (9 days and counting); we've taken our son back to college and done a picnic to meet other families from my daughters high school (its not in the area so this was a good opp for her to meet a few kids and us to carpool network). And to top it all off I'm on call for federal jury duty. Haven't been called in yet (which is good cos the courthouse is over an hour away - yuk... Northern VA traffic not included) and i've got one week left to go after this one.
Hopefully i'll be back again soon to post some stuff.

chain chain chain

referring to that wonderful tune "chain of fools" - great song huh? well i was just reading my email and that song popped up in my head cos i just got one of those "chain letters".
You know the ones you get from people (you thought were your friends) that say something like this

pass this on to your true friends. Something good will happen to you today at 11:11 in the evening. something that you have been waiting to hear. this is not a joke, someone will call you by phone or will speak to you about something that you were waiting to hear. DO NOT BREAK THIS CHAIN. Send it to a minimum of 7 people.

I hate these things. I love my friends who send them but i hate when they send these emails to me. I never send them on. I don't want to inflict this on anyone else. Why oh why would anyone send this to a friend? i ask you.....

lizziebelle

well since she's now out on the purple onion site i feel free to talk about her - lizziebelle the alpha. (not Lizziebelle the daughter.. heck i'll talk about her - and do- any old time)

lizziebelle - with a small L - is my newest child. I have my 2 kids - my joseph and my elizabeth- and of course my furry children - Holly and Frankie my cats - but lizziebelle (small L) has been in the works for a while - and she's like a child to me.
I've been drawing those letters for - gee i don't know how long - suffice it to say - a long time. I drew them when working on a circle journal with a great group of friends - and my friend Michele, saw them. Long story short here - she liked them and asked if i'd be interested in making them into rubber stamps for her company, Purple Onion Designs.

Deciding to allow Michele to create rubber stamps of lizziebelle - well believe it or not - it was very hard for me. sending her out into the world is like giving away a piece of me. she wouldnt be just mine any longer. i would be sharing my child with others... sometimes thats hard to do. when you create something - it is part of you. And sharing parts of yourself - well for me - that's really hard to do. sharing my creations - cards, pages, drawings etc. always has been hard for me. Part of why i started this blog was to get better at sharing what i do. Whether posting pictures or just talking about it.

After many months of thinking about it, and much encouragement from Michele, i decided to go ahead and be brave and send lizziebelle out there. it may be difficult at first to see her being used by others. but i decided i can always draw lizziebelle myself whenever i want - whatever size i want -whatever changes i want... still keep her my own in a way. and for me - thats cool.

If you would like to see lizziebelle - check out www.purpleoniondesigns.com
she's there in the alpha section. tell her i say hi

the rest of the story

so... where did i leave off? (its only been like a week.... busy busy busy).
ah yes. i was cackling evilly.

So my husband and I went to the 8th grade awards assembly last Friday. Braving the driving rain here in Leesburg. Totally miserable day - soon to be better. We find a seat and look over the program. There was a whole host of awards. Whodathunkit? As Eliz is a bright kid, and the counselor had told us she was getting a special award, we knew she'd be going home with something. A nice feeling for the parental units.
The chorus began singing and the kids started entering the auditorium and well - i guess i just got overwhelmed a little - i'm such a mush. Fortunately i'd brought a decent handful of tissues. (Lord only knows how i'll make it through the high school graduation.) I think its a mix of realizing my baby is not quite a baby anymore and seeing another one of those defining moments being marked off (this time its going from middle school to high school) in the list of her life. How did we get this far so fast?
Anyway, the usual speakers went up and down. On to the awards. She received several awards - this kid probably has more certificates in her scrapbook than any kid could - for doing all kinds of mathematical feats and having a certain gpa for the three years . We're sitting there thinking well this is very nice. But i suspected there was something else coming her way. And indeed there was an award.
I believe it was four years ago, a boy who attended the school (and who lived in the next neighborhood over from us) was killed in an accident (i believe by a drunk driver). Eliz remembered him. This boys parents set up 3 awards, in his name, to be given to 8th graders. And Elizabeth received one of the awards - the Spectrum award. Spectrum is a (for lack of a better description) talented and gifted program. This boy was in Spectrum as a 6th grader. Eliz told me later they were in Futura together when they were both in grammar school. Futura is the grammar school equivalent of Spectrum. This boy was a year older than our Eliz.
The award was presented by the Spectrum teacher, who talked about our daughter in such a way - well it was funny and sweet and I would love to contact him to get a copy of his little speech to put in her scrapbook. It just made me grin from ear to ear - while my eyes were tearing up. Eliz was caught completely off guard. She went up to the stage very composed and shook the hand of the teacher as well as the father of the boy. And I was even prouder of her than i already am - if that's possible.
The part that stunned both my husband, me and Elizabeth is that this award was a monetary one.... scholarship money. We had no idea such a thing was done in middle school but there you go.
After we watched a few other kids we know receive awards - always so very nice to see good kids being rewarded - the ceremony concluded. We all headed to the cafeteria for a little celebration - you'd think these kids never saw a cookie or cake before. Well maybe not at 10am?

Anyway now we're on the countdown to the end of school for the year. A field trip on friday to a very fun place for her then just next week and then she's free.
Well, except for the three books she's got for summer reading :-) (and one of those books - WE have to read too!!!!!! can you believe it?)

This message brought to you by

Simple Scrapbooks - well sorta.
I pull up to the house on Tuesday afternoon (see what am i telling you about Tuesday?) after work and i see a box on my front steps. It says "Primedia" - i can see that from the driveway so you know its a decent sized box. I'm thinking "what thaaaaaa?!?!"
I get Simple Scrapbooks magazine (as well as CK and Papercrafts.. yes i know... but i love my magazines) and i check their website out on a fairly regular basis. And stupid as it seemed, i always entered the contests on their website and the CK one. I figure i have nuthin to lose and everything to gain. Maybe 2 months ago i received a package in the mail - with free chatterbox paper and rubons in it - i believe that was in response to an entry on the CK website - although no note inside the envelope to tell me so.
Well this package was indeed the prize for the Polka Dot sweepstakes Simple Scrapbooks had on their website. Me, being a polka dot lover - of course i signed up for that one - but, as I always do - i forgot i even entered. You can't think you are going to win anything. Considering the number of people filling out the online form - well it would be silly to even think you'd win.
And darn if i didn't! The box had a ton of stuff in it. You can see it above in the picture - a 12x12 album, a K&Co tag album, tons of polka dotted embellishments, STAMPS (omigosh) and even Dots candies. My favorite thing had to be an accordion file by Lasting Impressions - its green and polka dotted and just what i've been looking for - too bizarre. Elizabeth and i had been to Michael's on Monday looking for paint for a project for school and i told her i was trying to find something to put my finished cards in - a file. I've pondered all kinds of ideas for a card file and nothing seems to be the right size for my cards. When i showed Eliz this accordion file she said - well now that's just spooky.
So - thank you Simple Scrapbooks Magazine - for all the magazine inspiration AND the polka dotted prize.
We shall return to our regular programming (i'll finish my story about the phone call from school... maybe later :-).. insert more wicked laughing here)

my polka dotted prize

Good News Tuesdays

If you knew me that title might suggest something remotely religious huh? Nope. Not that kind of good news. (now that those who know me have gotten up off of the floor and have stopped laughing i will resume my babbling.)
But it occurred to me that last Tuesday i heard good news and yesterday i also got some very nice news. Tuesday is turning into a cool day for me. Tuesday has never been one of those kinda days right? i mean its a regular kind of day. Friday is the best day. Wednesday is often referred to as ... hump day... a term i never cared for, but i digress. Thursday is the day before the best day...Saturday and Sunday - well heck - they're the weekend! Mondays normally stink out loud (unless its a holiday then Tuesday pretty much is given that honor) so Tuesday... nothing special normally.
When i was living away from home for the first time i would talk to my parents routinely on the weekend - giving them the scoop on what i was doing. My Dad would get on the phone and say, what's new? And if nothing much was going on I'd say - nothing. He would inevitably reply - nothing new is ok. Having just a regular day is nice. Sometimes something new isn't always good (meaning that it might be a bad thing that was new). In short- your basic, boring day could be a very good thing. So i guess, in retrospect, Tuesday being an everyday boring day would be quite fine. Daddy was right.
However - Daddy would be thrilled to have gotten the call I received yesterday... a Tuesday. I was at work and my boss answered the phone and she told the person on the other end that, "yes, she's here...." and "just a moment"... she looked at me and indicated it sounded like a "mom" call.. they were calling me by my "mrs. p" name...
Now anyone who has a child in school dreads a phone call from school. Usually this means: a. Your child is sick, come pick them up
or
b. your child is in trouble/did something not so great. We need to talk - can you get over here right now?
I've received both those calls.
I'd take a over b anyday
I was delighted to hear neither of those reasons coming out of the mouth of the 8th grade counselor. She wanted to remind me of the 8th grade awards assembly on Friday. I told her i was planning on attending. (they don't have a "graduation" so i figured i should at least go to this right?) She was happy to hear that because....
well darn. I have to go to work now (she cackled evil-y). I'll have to finish my story later

ok i've done that

i was busy this weekend working on a some scrapbook pages about our little baseball excursion (see may 15th's entry) and was happily working away. after the initial ideas came and i started arranging the photos, figuring out where to put the tickets and memorabilia, stitching down the ticking (which had that baseball pinstipe look i was going for) it was really the mechanics of getting it all tacked down... and my mind started wandering to the next thing. I wasn't finished with this layout - i had the journaling going on my computer - and i had such a time staying focused on what i was doing - because thoughts of another project started filtering into my brain. I was wondering this morning if anyone else has this problem. Actually it worked for me this time- as it gave me the impetus i needed to get these pages finished so i could get to the next thing... But this happens to me a lot. My brain says ... ok.. you've done that... now what about this! And those thoughts - the new thing - whatever it might be -- haunt me. It just won't go away until i have done something with it. It helps the congestion in my brain to jot down the idea - maybe do a little drawing in my sketchbook - then the idea isn't everpresent til i do something real with it... but that idea still floats around in my head until i've used it.

So now you know.. i'm certifiable - right?

laundry

is evil... and never-ending.
i wish i could come up with something positive about laundry. Yes i need clean clothes. I like fluffy just washed and dried towels (but i'm not doing towels today LOL).
It is one of those necessary evils. The kind of chore you tell yourself "if i do this, i can then do this fun thing"... thats what i do often to make it tolerable. I play "Let's Make a Deal"
Do you make deals with yourself too? Well, I play Monty and i'm also the contestant.
Right now Monty is saying, if you fold another load, put on the next one, you can run on over to Michaels to look around. See what's behind door #1,2 and 3. Maybe the new Legacy magazine. Maybe some other fun goody. Maybe something to inspire me as not much has lately.
Hey.....I'll take that deal!
See you later!

A happy monday?

well it was. now its tuesday and i'm lookin for more of where that came from.
Usually days that start out with everyone running around like lunatics trying to get out on time - well those are the stressed out mornings i detest. i like to start the day kind of quiet. Get my thoughts together. And by the time i am at work i'm ready to go. Yesterday was Joseph's first day at his summer job and we had to leave early to get him there. Well this Northern Virginia traffic wasn't having any of that - and he was actually 15 minutes late... it was raining and the location is right in a very congested area (near a very large telecommunications company which shall remain nameless but pays our bills.. ahem) . We finally got there but learned our lesson - leaving before 8 will be required. Groan....
Anyway it was a nice day at work. I heard some nice news about a friend. Then i got home and heard the nicest message ever on our answering machine. Joe's Aunt calling me to say how she received Eliz's thank you note and she just went on about how beautiful the card was - I made it- natch- but it was just that she thought to call me and say so. I can't say how much i admire her - she's just this amazing woman - but that she toook the time to give me a call to be my cheerleader. Isn't it funny how when one special person says they like what you do - well you can just feel so great?
And then to have a group of special people say it? That was my next happy monday thing. A group of very special friends (i know you're out there :-)) told me they liked a project I've been working on - and finally was revealed to them yesterday. I'll show it here soon but thank you p2p'ers. YOu have no idea how much your support means to me.... little miss lacking confidence here.
And finally i got some very great news about my good friend Jen Duncan. Cover of the new issue of Legacy magazine features Jen's artwork and her name is right there on the cover too... you can see it here:
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?gallery=3&cmd=display&layout_id=567658
yeah it was a happy monday... now i'm shooting for 2 in a row... happy tuesday all.

I knew I shoulda

worked on cleaning out my closet yesterday. I've got an organization coming to pick up used clothing tomorrow.i keep putting off going through my things. It's such a hateful task. I've been looking at this mess of a closet for months saying i'd get to it. So when the organization called a few weeks ago, as they do periodocally, i said - Yes, I've got some things - and put it on my calendar. Well one thing or another sidetracked me - along with my usual procrastination. Now when i return from work this afternoon I'll have no choice but to attack that closet. Yeah yeah. I'll be so happy tomorrow that i've done it. But this morning its just a bummer to think i've got to do this later.
There is also that pack rat thing i've got. I know i'll stand in the closet and have big issues with throwing away some things. I probably should just throw away those t-shirts my brother gave me - he had a little collection of fun ones - there is a lot of sentimental value there. Maybe i should take pictures of them? perhaps that'll make it easier to let them go. I certainly wouldn't wear them. I know this already. But its that they were his that makes me hold on to them. I know that's what it is. It would feel like i'm giving him away. Forgetting him. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's all so illogical - how could giving away a bunch of shirts make me feel so sad? Yeah i think i'll take the pictures and quickly stuff them into a bag and give them away to someone who needs a shirt.
I have my memories and i really don't need a t-shirt to remind me of those, now do I?

Frosted Flake

ok so now i'm posting all kinds o'crap and not saying a whole lot. But things have been a wee bit busy. Bear with me....
Taught a class last nite at work - which would have gone a whole lot better if i'd arrived at my usual time. Normally i like to get there an hour before, set things up, have a little time to think about what i'm teaching. Go over my notes - that kinda thing.
Last nite however my 20 minute ride to work turned into an hour ride to work. While i was sitting in my car i thought maybe this is just evil Northern Virginia traffic.... which we do indeed have. But even though this is one of the fastest growing counties in the country - the EVIL traffic is in the county next door (slowly making its way here but i digress). No it was an accident or two or three. I stopped counting. I felt very sorry for these poor people - who the heck wants an accident (certainly not on the way home - it was about 6:45pm). I definitely felt for the woman who pulled over on the side of the road - as i passed her i realized why she'd pulled over. she went to the rear passenger side and took a little girl out - maybe 3 or 4 - used both doors to shield her from the traffic - and assisted her in pulling down her pants - i presumed a potty was much too far away.
I finally arrived at work - with 15 minutes before the class started. Not good. I hurried around and got everything set up but.... no time for thinking, contemplating WHATEVER it is i need. I guess some might call it meditation? ANYWHO... it took me about 15-20 minutes into my class to get into my groove... poor students. I'm sure they thought for that first part of the class - what a flake. And a frosted (hair) flake at that.
Really it went ok. One of my friends - June- who also teaches at the store - took the class. She wanted to make the project - a really nice Graduation tag book - lovely design. Anyway June told me today - godluvver- that it was a great class. I guess she likes frosted flakes.
And speaking of flakes....
I'm mentioning to my husband the other day that i hadn't received something i ordered - a book - and i was disappointed it hadn't arrived. He said you didn't get the book? She didnt give it to you? I said I think we're not talking about the same thing here. He started to laugh and said-- did our daughter give you a book for Mother's Day or not? I looked at him -then replied "what book?" He smiled and said we got you a book and apparently she never gave it to you.

The flake, apparently, doesn't fall far from the tree.

So on Sunday we're getting ready to leave for the metro station (about an hour drive) to go to the baseball game. Elizabeth is asking if she should bring a book (not knowing how long of an adventure we had) - I said definitely. Then i said, while smiling at my husband, GEEE I wish I had a book to read! Then i left the room (within earshot of course). I hear my husband talking to Eliz, saying i guess you didnt give her the book. She says something like - didn't we? i thought we did. Then off she goes in search of where she'd left my gift.

My sweet little flake of a daughter. She found my book. There are times when this flakiness is exasperating. But she's like the nutty professor - seemingly ditsy but quite brilliant. Her mind is on loftier things i suppose. Plenty of time to get serious as she gets older I think. And hey - i still got my book. Sort of an extended Mother's Day.

The book is wonderful by the way. I love Rita Mae Brown and the book is her latest, co-authored by her cat - Sneaky Pie Brown - the title "Cat's Eyewitness - A Mrs. Murphy Mystery". These little mysteries are just so fun - characters are a hoot and have Rita Mae's usual wit. If you're not familiar with Rita Mae or Sneaky Pie - do yourself a favor and read one. Very fun - not serious at all. Rita Mae's got plenty of those under her own title (sans Sneaky Pie) - also great reading.
And now.. i've blabbered enough for one day

RFK Stadium: Washington Nationals vs Chicago Cubs 

Take me out to the ballgame

well here's what we did today - took in a ball game! Drove out to the metro station and had a fun ride into DC right to the ballpark. We met Joe's family there: Joe's Aunt Dot came from the Baltimore area with a friend; Joe's Dad drove from Delaware to Maryland to meet up with Joe's brother and the triplets; and Joe's sister and husband came from Rhode Island and one of their sons came in from Michigan. Quite a many-state-d event but that's how it is with this family. We had a great time too. The weather, while overcast, was really nice - cool but not cold. We had seats in the box area and then way up at the top. After an initial venture by the men to the box area - they decided to join us up in the seats way at the top - i guess they missed us :-) It worked out nicely that there were enough empty seats at the top to work it all out. It was nice catching up with everyone and being at a game for the 1st season of this new team. Everyone was up for it. There were quite a lot of Cubs fans at that game too! But, in the end, the Nationals won. The trip back on the metro was a little crazy - so many trains running and one had a problem. We went back and forth a little but eventually we got back to Virginia. A really nice relaxing day.

and here's the right side of the layout

Here's the left side of a layout of the confirmation 

and here's the other side 

Faces i love album - one side 

Catching up after Mother's Day

I will try and recap my dee-lite-full Mother's Day weekend - over the next day or so - but first
BREAKING NEWS....apparently Samantha Stevens will have her statue in Salem, Mass. What you say? You haven't heard about the town of Salem getting a statue of everyone's (at least of my vintage) favorite TV witch? I shall link you up to the online article in the Washington Post I read the other day (not online) about this important news story.
http://http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/04/AR2005050400352.html

i loved Bewitched.

if you're PMS'ing OR you've got company coming

either way... run, do not walk, to your kitchen and make this recipe for Chocolate zucchini cake

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe
1/2 cup soft margarine 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 tsp. baking soda
1 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup cocoa
2 eggs 1/2 cup sour milk
1 tsp vanilla 2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt 1/4 cup chocolate chips
2 cups shredded zucchini
Mix all ingredients together. Pour into 9 X 13 baking pan.
Top with 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup sugar.
Bake 40 minutes at 325 degrees

(I tried posting a link to 2Peas to their weblog which gives this recipe but its not cooperating so i cut and pasted it above- so credit Kristina at 2peas - her mom's recipe)

you and your hips will thank me for the tip.
I made this yesterday - had my mom over for Sunday dinner, my son was home from college for the summer and well heck - the rest of us deserved something yummy too.

Ricky would call it "delish". I say "More please!" It is incredibly delicious. Make some.
Thats an order

an atc of me and daddy 

flowers and chocolate

so it's a rainy crummy day here in VA but i was determined not to let this day get me down. Today's the 15th anniversary of my father's death and 3 yrs and 11 days ago the anniversary of my brothers death. Gee this seems like its gonna be a maudlin entry - but hang with me.
I miss them both very much and while I have my teary moments i think i have many moments that are just lovely thinking about them - knowing they'd be amused at a joke I'd heard or a television show we watched ... whatever.
But I like to make sure my Mom is not dwelling on their being gone - especially today. So I went over to the grocery store and picked up a few things we needed - and decided on two bunches of flowers i thought she'd like and a container of these gourmet chocolate cookies i knew we'd both like and drove on by her place. She was in a fine mood as it happened - not all sad as i feared she might be and we had a nice time. Just chatting away and munching on those cookies. Neither of us could eat more than two - and believe me - for two chocoholics to say enough at two - well you know they had to be decadent and rich.
Anyhow it was a good way to spend some time - eating chocolate and enjoying the pretty flowers. Talking with my Mom. Daddy and Ricky would approve I'm sure.
And when i arrived home, there was my son - back from college. His freshman year completed. I got a back breaking hug from him.
Not a bad day at all.

so i've been busy

hopefully i'll post more again soon.

the little album i made

here's the cover. i just love my quickutz and this sweetwater pp

Go with the flow

Sometimes when it rains it pours.
And the sun is shining outside. so we're not talkin "mother nature" weather.
I'm just busy. Busy is a good thing for me but i just wish sometimes things didn't pour so often lately.
Last nite my sister, nephew and mom came by with pizza. My mom lives in town and my sister and nephew are visiting from out of state. I was so excited they were coming for a long overdue visit but then I realized I'd also be working while they were here. They're leaving town on Friday - when of course it would fit in so much better to have a nice dinner for them. But you gotta go with these things when they happen (not my long suit) and enjoy.

Forget about the class you're teaching tonite you still need to create some more samples for. Forget about the two other classes you have to make samples for by Friday.

And we did enjoy the short, pepperoni topped, visit. We caught up quick. Did a lot of laughing and eating pizza. It was nice and too short.

Today i'm home from work and created a little album (as an additional sample for the class) called "the faces i love". The faces that were sitting around the table last nite are most of the ones in the album. (notable missing faces are my son and the other sister and her two sons.) I'll post pics later but now i think i need to take a wee nap and shower. Then on to the next class samples which should be fun.

productive day

at least i can say its been a productive day. i got a good bit of the upstairs cleaned -thats two bathrooms and 4 bedrooms - well 3 bedrooms and one scrapbook room :-) .

I should be honest and say Eliz tidied her room (you can now walk thru the room to open the window - an accomplishment). I only vacuumed J's room.

My bedroom - a bit of tidying done but no where near cleaned up. The bedroom area isn't in such awful shape but the sitting room area is still a mess (I shall enlist the husbands help as its mostly his mess). But the two bathrooms up here - you can eat off the floors and not fear any skeery germs. Whilst i cleaned i should note i ran a lot of laundry - tons of towels not to mention one large load of whites. (isn't it ridiculous how i need to justify my time? oy!)

And of course my sparkly clean kitchen floor (and off the kitchen area powder room - lest i forget to mention it). Now all this cleaning is good for what ails me - i dont know about anyone else but when things get too messy around here - i feel slightly crazy. I'm not a neat and tidy person (if you could only see my drawing table - its piled yet again with half finished projects - you'd see i dont mind a bit of mess). But when the dirt and piles get to a certain level i feel a little nuts. I cannot have too much clutter.

And my craziness comes at a good time - we will be having guests on the 20th for Eliz's Confirmation - so the cleaning must commence now. That's only 11 days away. Between everyday work and home nonsense (cooking, laundry - you get the idea) and a class at work to teach - well 11 days might not be enough time to get this place ready for company. Oh and i need to shop for something to wear for the aforementioned Confirmation. ugh... shopping. well thats a discussion for another day.

i am off to finish a belated card or two. nitey nite.

more cleaning

taking another break... now i'm cleaning the chamber of horrors.

translation: teenager bathroom

you're thinking "why aren't the teenagers cleaning it?"

good point. interesting point. however its that vision problem again. they just don't see dirt the way mothers see dirt. its a scientific fact.

it is E's job to clean her bathroom. and J's job to share when he's in residence (not away at college.. there he's got a nightmare bathroom of his own - one he shares with three other men. he has gained a new appreciation for my cleaning skills. )

so i admit i've been a little lax reminding her of her bathroom cleaning job. I either plain forget or, when i do remember, she's got a load of homework to do all weekend. And she doesn't remember hateful jobs on her own. Why should she be different than others right?

Well, I'm almost done cleaning in there. I'm having trouble getting the smell of all the cleaning products out of my nose. My fingers are fairly pruney and i've used almost an entire roll of paper towels. Thank God for the paper towel.

Next stop: my bathroom

it is a conspiracy

I had to break down and wash the kitchen floor this morning. I put it off and off again until i can stand it no more.

First I must take the blame for choosing a white floor. A moment of insanity to be sure - but gosh it looks so purty when it sparkles. But I digress.

I'm convinced there is a conspiracy between my cats and my daughter involving that floor. Eliz, for all her amazing and wonderful qualities, is not the tidiest kid in the world. She is a tad sloppy. I often think that her being a very intelligent child - well her mind is on loftier planes... thinking deep thoughts. Not to be cluttered more by thoughts of cleanliness. That sounds like a rationalization doesn't it? Well it is. She just doesn't notice dirt. Thats more being a teenager than having rocket science thoughts. Again - digression. She isn't the tidiest and she is often in a hurry which means spilled juice (orange soda, milk... any liquid). Now, to give her credit, she does clean up the spills she notices - you know- when they spill half the gallon bottle of juice? Okay - she doesn't notice the small splash of juice here and there.
The juice dries. Even the cleaned up juice spills dry but remain slightly sticky.
Enter ... kitties.
My cats have to be the hairiest American Short Haired cats in the U.S. Frankie is my black cat and he has a sleek physique and the most beauteous sleek coat. It shines. He's beautiful and he knows it. And Holly. My mostly companion. She's a fur ball. When we adopted her at 7 months old she had this downy fur I was sure she would lose as she got older. Well she hasn't. She is soft and sweet and that down-y stuff gets everywhere.
Mix fruit punch and fur and you get a nasty kitchen floor.
I'm sitting here typing as the floor dries. Then i will revel in the beauty of my white sparkly floor

................ for maybe an hour if i'm lucky.
.................then the cycle will begin again.

I tell you its a conspiracy

singing and pictures

well the birthday was nice. quiet but nice... after all the phone calls of course.
In my family, when its your birthday, you are called by anyone who has access to a telephone - singing happy birthday to the birthday person is required. If a group sing is possible, all family members are gathered round the phone to sing, at the top of their lungs, and quite often off key, the birthday standard. It wouldn't be a birthday without the singing you see.
So Eliz got her phone calls, opened gifts, had cake and ice cream. All which were documented by moi with my trusty camera. One must have singing and photos taken on one's birthday.
Since the birthday i've been working on work things - creating sample cards for the card class i teach at the store. Cute, fun, cards. I'm just about done and look forward to doing something non-card. i really am.

comique pour ma fille 

mento years perhaps?

birthday comic

we're big into comics in this house. we love the funnies. at one point i'd even drawn a comic and sent it into a syndicate. i got the nicest reject letter probably there ever was. the guy told me i should write a book instead. i think cos the way my comics were written - well they were funny - but they were little stories - funny little stories.
anyhow elizabeth loves the comics. she reads them, without fail, everyday when she arrives home from school. she is an artist herself, my daughter. the kid can draw. she also has a sense of humor that is sharp. she's a funny kid this daughter of mine. This now 14 year old daughter of mine. When its time to give birthday cards, Eliz will often draw hers. She's made some great birthday card comics for us all.
So, today its my turn to make one for her. Here's the one she's getting tonite -with her gifts, cake, candles and Cold Stone Creamery ice cream

birthday prep

ok so Eliz will be 14 on Monday which means this Mommy needed to get her butt in birthday mode this week. I got a call earlier in the week from Joseph- my college boy. He called to ask me what Eliz would like for her birthday. Choke. There are these moments when that boy of mine just gets me all Mommy-misty. He's there at school but he thinks to remember his sisters birthday. Maybe this doesn't seem like such a big deal to some - but hey this is an 18 - soontobe 19- year old kid. They can often be a tad self-centered at this age. Anyway I give him the run down off her birthday list - short as it is (she's not a greedy child - she basically asked for 4 cd's and 2 graphic novels).
Later in the week I'm shopping and realize i should just purchase his gift for him (we'll settle up later) and text message him just that. He texts me back (we love to text - he and me) he'd appreciate it as he's a little busy with school - exams around the corner - little time for trips into town. So i find 3 out of 4 cd's and feel somewhat successful. I hit the Borders today in search of the graphic novels. The website says they have one in stock - they did not - but strangely enough they have the final cd she's wanting.
I hate it when they ask for very little and you have trouble producing an item for their birthday (or for that matter, Christmas. We don't gift our kids a lot - but birthdays and Christmas - we try to make those wishes come true). I'll be reduced to ordering it and it won't be here on her birthday. She, being the child she is, will be excited to get a note wrapped in a box, saying the books are on their way.
On the way home from Borders, i stopped at the grocery store to pick up the necessities to bake her cake. This is the first time in many years we are not making the traditional Ice Cream Pie. The aforementioned dessert came into existence years ago for Joseph's birthday. He and his Dad share birthdays one day apart. That's a lot of cake in one household as I believe everyone should have their own birthday cake made to order. So one year we came up with Ice Cream Pie - a decadent concoction of ice cream, oreo cookie crust and additions of the birthday kids choice (examples being hot fudge, m&m's, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips.. i think you get the idea). Nauseatingly good. Not for the fainthearted. But i guess my baby is growing up. She said she thought she'd like just a regular birthday cake - butter cake with chocolate frosting. And as birthday girls are queen (or birthday boys are king) - her wish is my command. I just finished frosting that cake. Tomorrow we'll go out for dinner - her choice of restaurant ( i can bet it will serve crab legs - her favorite birthday fare) and we'll return home and we'll have some cake. And then we'll do the cake & candles all over again on Monday nite.
As each year goes by I seem to get more and more sentimental about these birthdays of theirs. You cannot help but think back to theeee birth day. Their arrival into the world. (The two most amazing days of my life.) And all thats happened since. How you are handed this little creature and look into their face and wonder who they will be, what they'll be like. And it seems so long ago yet just like yesterday all at the same time. And each year goes along and another birthday is celebrated and i know they're thinking "now i'm 14" - or "now i'm 19" i'm pretty grown up. But me- the mom- i see it so differently. I think how did they get so grown up? I was here all the time and they did it like a magic trick right in front of my eyes.