My Weblog

Short One

I am exhausted, so this will be short.  It may seem like I've been quiet this weekend, but that is pure fantasy.  We have spent the weekend painting the master bathroom.  We made an agreement several months ago that we would spend our three-day weekends working on the house.  This is step one.  It required washing down the walls with TSP, a coat of sealer, and two coats of paint on the walls as well as sealer and two coats of paint on the woodwork as well as all the taping, etc.  Joe did all the high work and I did the lower stuff.  He is hobbling around here like an old man.  I'm not too bad off tonight but maybe I'll be sore tomorrow.  It'll be worth it.  We used a soft yellow and the room is SO MUCH brighter I can hardly believe it.  Joe saved the door for last.  We couldn't help but remark on how dark it looked compared to the rest of the room.  It's a little brighter than I'd hoped, but still a vast improvement over what we had.  Now I'll work on moving all the stuff back in there that should go in there, finding new homes for or trashing everything else.   Somewhere in there I'll wash, starch and iron the battenburg lace curtains and shower curtain I used to have in there and put them back up.  Since we have white towels, I don't have to worry about that, but we will need new bathroom rugs.  We bought new towel rods, tp holder, etc., and now Joe is really wishing we'd bought a new medicine cabinet as well.  He feels ours are really outdated.  We'll probably go look at the hardware stores, but whatever we find pretty well has to fit the existing hole as I'd be a fool to let Joe cut a new hole or enlarge the existing one (I've seen him with tools!)  Once we get everything else in place, we may decide to buy some of that cheapie plastic crown moulding to put up in there, if I still think it's a bit too yellow in there.  And, Lord knows when we'll get the floor in there done, but it really needs done, and soon.  I think that will be just plain old white tile--that should be relatively cheap.  We had a leak in the toilet pipes which Joe fiddle-farted about fixing and the linoleum has lifted badly.  Next up is the master bedroom..........guess that's the 4th of July weekend.  At least it will be a cooler place to work.  With lights on and the two of us working hard, it was pretty darn hot in that bathroom.

Good news!  Jennifer has a new car.  I'm SO glad.  I really didn't want to even think about her trying to get around town with a car that was undependable and had an a/c that only worked sometimes.  She got a very nice hybrid Camry--silver-colored.  She's really happy with it.  She is planning on keeping it for 7 years, she says, which should be no problem with a Toyota.  Our friend, Tony A, introduced her and Jason to all the right people at the car dealership where he is working now and she feels they got a really good deal.  The interest rate is .6% lower than they were offered at another dealership.  She was shocked (and with good reason) that they gave her a more than reasonable trade-in allowance for her old Escort.  Another good thing about the new car is that it has 4 doors.  Infinitely easier to put the baby into and get him out of. 

I talked to her last night for a few minutes.  She says the baby is really scooting around and starting to get into things.  I guess he tried to chew on the cat's tail last night, LOL.  She figures he'll be crawling very soon.  She brought the little turkey over here Saturday when she came to show off the car and he scratched me.  I still have a scab above my eyebrow from that lousy bug bite almost 4 weeks ago and now I have scratches on my cheek as well.  I look pretty beaten up!  His first bottom tooth is through the gums and he's either chewing to help it come in all the way or he's working on the one next to it.

Almost forgot to mention that I got an e-mail through classmates.com from one of the girls I went to school with, elementary, junior high, and high school.  There's a reunion for the school this fall but I don't really think it will be in our budget.  If I had 2 nickels to spare, I'd probably spend them trying to turn this hovel into a home.............. Hard to believe I've lived here 13 years and only managed to paint two rooms in all that time.

Well, since I spent most of the weekend in the bathroom, that's about all I know.  I've about had it for today anyway.  I'm planning on a hot bath and then into bed. 

HAD to document this funny conversation between DD and DGS from the other day. The little stinker is 7--where does he come up with this stuff. I used Amanda Rockwell's new kit, Sunshine, available at Sweet Shoppe Designs. The tape is from Ashley Olson; the swirl is by Jackie Eckles.

AJ is such a good baby, but even the most mellow of babies has a little something to communicate every now and then. I used Mary Fran's Ain't MisBEEhavin' for this page. The word art is a freebie from Designer Digitals. The bow is from another of Mary Fran's kits, Frost-n-Flakes.

I tried out a tutorial on Rosa Sprague's blog and basically scraplifted her example! These photos are by Deb Pearson and the kit used is Boutique Chic (ES March Mega Kit) by Melanie Colosimo at: Elemental Scraps(this is actually from Melanie's portion of this gorgeous mega kit).

This little cutie is a friend of my DGS. I used Melanie Colosimo's Curly Cuties kit, available at Elemental Scraps.

Joe and I bought Will this inflatable solar system for Christmas. He and his dad had a good time putting these scale models up in his room. I used Theresa Hernandez's new kit, Country Farmhouse, available at ACOT and NDISB. The star is by Misty Cato; the sun is by Michelle Underwood. I used a template by Gina Miller (much altered!).

Me, at a sidewalk cafe in Mexico. Don't I look like a tourist? I used Amanda Rockwell's The Basics--Black for the background. The ribbon is by Faith True, recolored. Small squares of paper and the heart and flower elements are from Misty Cato. I did this layout for this week's Lifts with a Twist challenge.

Joe was messing around in the kitchen and I snuck up and pulled up the hood on his sweatshirt. When he saw me with the camera, he made this goofy face. HAD to scrap it for posterity! The papers here are from Amanda Rockwell's Sunshine kit. The stitching and index card are from Amanda's Fresh Back in Black kit. The staples are from her Scribbles kit. The painted cardboard star are from her Star Light Star Bright kit. The ribbon is by Rose Farver, color altered. All of Amanda's products are available exclusively at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

Still floating on a cloud

This is my third day of having Joe back in his own office.  I eally didn't get to enjoy yesterday, though.  The cleaning lady showed up at 8:45 and stayed til 1:00.  In between, another client came by.  And I blasted out of the house about 3 to pick up Will at school (far northeast of town), meet Jen at Atticus's Day Care (southeast end of town) and pick him up, drive to the northwest of town for Will's ballgame, then take both boys home and babysit til 10PM.  I had had several pain-free days and was really counting my blessings, but I bent over to try to work on sorting through some stuff in a box and something popped in my back.  By the time I was on my way to Will's game, I was in some serious pain.  Joe met us at the game and brought a bottle of Mexican muscle relaxers and they got me through the rest of the night.  He forgot that he took our folding chairs out of the van so we had to sit on the ground and that aggravated my right knee.  So, I was moving VERY carefully after that.  I'd expected my knee would be swollen up like a balloon today, but it's not!  Yippee!  The back is still a problem, so I'm being careful and will shortly take half a muscle relaxer so that I don't end up with a full blown spasm.

Jen nursed the baby at about 4PM and thought that would hold him til I got him back to the house, around 7 PM.  Well, by 5:30 he was getting cranky..........  At 6, I drove back to my house, defrosted and warmed a bottle and headed back to the game.  Went through the diaper bag twice, looking for the newbie nipple thing he uses.........nope, not there.  Finally, I sent Joe off to the snack stand and he came back with a spoon.  I'm pretty sure Atty was wearing as much milk as we got into him, but I figure we got about two ounces into him.  He slept on the way home, but minutes after arriving there, he woke up.  I gave him cereal (he cried the whole time), then I gave him another two ounces of milk, then, finally gave him ANOTHER two ounces of milk.  I'm not sure he was all that hungry (how could he be?).  I think he just wanted to suck.  But there was no getting him to sleep, not even after a warm bath, a fresh diaper, clean cloths and much rocking and singing.  He did lay on the floor and play with his baby gym for a while, but other than that it was waterworks the whole way.......  Tonight I have both boys again for about 3 hours.  Last night, Jen and Jason went to a parenting class and tonight it's a University function Jen has to attend.  Tonight I'll have Joe for reinforcements so that will help.  Will was already saying last night that he wanted Grandpa to work on his hitting with him some more.  So glad these two have found a way to connect!  And, Joe is actually very good at this!  Will was at bat 3 times last night.  He connected with the ball 3 times, but two were foul balls.  Still, he got a piece of them!  And, the third at bat got him a base hit.  Still, we saw the hang dog look when he struck out, so maybe Gramps will have to tell him the story of Babe Ruth again........

Well, one more very small piece of news, and then some pages.  I actually have a scrapbooking table to work on.  I had one for a while and then Joe piled it full of boxes of client junk.  So, Sunday, we fished around in the garage for a small table that's been stored out there for about 7 years.  It's a bit damaged from the water heater breaking, but it's useable.  So, now, once again, I can try to get my scrapbook pages filed away.  I have one stack about 6 inches high and another stack about 7 inches high, and I think there are more in the Living Room.  Joe moves stuff around and takes no note of what order they were in so this will be a real adventure.........  oh well, just so it gets done, sooner or later.  It's not like I can spend all day filing scrapbook pages, you know?

Okay, some more pages from the backlog and I'm out of here.  Much to do today...........

Atticus is having a hard time adapting to a bottle. We've all tried but not with much success. Credits are as follows: Yellow paper, Amanda Rockwell's Daisy Doodle page kit; Blue paper, Amanda Rockwell's Beautiful Disaster page kit from her Back in Black 2 collection; hearts, Amanda Rockwell's color me stitched element pack; Blue flower(slightly recolored), Amanda Rockwell's Painted Glitter Flowers; Newspaper swirls, Faith True; cardboard overlay, Windgefluester; yellow flower, Jen Wilson's Squiggle Fleur; gingham bow, Traci Sims; clothes pin, Windgefluester. Amanda Rockwell's products are available exclusively at Sweet Shoppe Designs. Windgefluester's products are available at Windgefluester's Boutique and at O Scraps.

























When Joe and I visited Ventura Harbor in September, 2006, this little guy settled onto a rock only 4 or 5 feet from us--very tame. I used Lynn Grieveson's kit, Catalina, available at Designer Digitals today. The cardboard flowers are Little Lauren's Lalas (Hey, I don't name 'em, I just scrap with 'em!) by Amanda Rockwell, available at Sweet Shoppe Designs. The gerber daisy is by Rose Farver. I also used the Curled Frame Distressed by Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals.

























I love watching the relationship between DGS and our Lab mix, Toby. Toby is so loyal and loving toward Will that you'd think they spent everyday together instead of just a few hours here and there. I am convinced no one will ever hurt Will at our house as long as Toby has breath. I used Cascia by Stacie Prinzo for this layout. The cardboard is by Christy Lyle, and the cluster is augmented beautifully with a "groupie" by Doris Castle.

On our first trip to Mexico, we passed this area. But with DH at the wheel, we were going very fast. The second trip, I got him to stop. I think this photo is well worth the few minutes involved. I used Gentle Spring by Nina of Nina Scraps. Her kit is available at NDISB and at O Scraps. The bow is by Mary Fran, the inked overlay is by Traci Sims (recolored), the orange flower is by Kay Miller, the cardboard is by Amanda Rockwell, and the key is by Heather Roselli.

























Outside the Olivos Adobe in Ventura, is a beautiful rose garden. I was instantly attracted to this sunshiney specimen. LOVE the color. Windgefluester's Hurrah for Spring had just the right colors. It's available at O Scraps or Pocket-Pearls.

























I get these weird looks when I get the camera out. I'm never quite sure what they mean. I used Cindy Simon's Lucky Me kit for this page. The kit is available at NDISB and Elemental Scraps.

























Spring is here and baseball practice has started again. I remembered this cute photo of Will from last year, looking just like a pro ball player. I used Katie the Scrapbook Lady's Mix and Match Digi Papers - Prints & Fun Mixes - Reds, available at ACOT. The baseball is by Dani Brath. Got a little crazy with VP but I like it!

A New Day a'dawnin'

Oh my!  I cannot believe this is my life.  Joe spent the weekend miving much of his stuff to his new office and it is so wonderfully quiet here today.  I can actually think!  And, the office is a bit less cluttered which is a help to making me sane. 

Saw Jen briefly yesterday.  I'd ordered some baby shoes from e-bay for her and she stopped by to pick them up.  Atticus was very sick, throwing up a LOT Saturday and running a temperature, but by yesterday was back in good spirits.  Joe got to see a bit more of Jen when her battery died.  She'd left here and gone to Babies R Us to pick up a couple of things and when she came back out her car wouldn't start.  She called Jason who simply told her to call AAA.  So there she was with a dead car and two little kids on a 95+ degree day, supposed to stand outside and wait for AAA.  She called Joe and just as he finished jumping her car, AAA showed up though they'd told her on the phone it would be up to two hours before they could show up.  Joe followed her home which was a good thing because the car stalled out again before she got there.  She's having trouble with the clutch.  They were talking about gtting a new car this month, but now it appears that's been put off til fall.  I don't know how she's going to make it through the summer with an undependable car that only air conditions some of the time! 

Well, that's the sum total of my news.  I'll post some pages. 

Caught this shot of DGS a couple of weeks ago. He just looked like he was ready to greet the world. I used Windgefluester's new kit, Your Moments, for everything but the tiny teal bow which is by Ronnie McCray. Windgefluester's kits are available at Windgefluester's Boutique and at O Scraps.

























I did this page several weeks ago and never had time to post it. It was for a Lifts with a Twist challenge where the layout we were lifting was by "Almost Mex". We took our silly puppy up to the mountains, along with my DGS, my stepdaughter, and our retriever. Everyone but the puppy had great fun. Puppy (aka Punkin) wouldn't get out of the car. Just sat there with her ears back and shook. I finally buttoned DGS's coat on her just to keep her warm and cuddled with her.... I did this with a Vera Lim kit called Shabby Blue.

























Another layout I did several weeks ago so the credits will be sketchy....sorry! Last spring, I was taking a nap. Suddenly I heard men's voices and other noises right outside my bedroom window (scared me to death). Got up to see what was going on to find someone had set fire to all the brush in the vacant lot behind the house. Never thought I'd see firemen in my back yard and a fire truck parked out front! The red paper, black polka dotted paper and fire is by Jen Bechinski. Black zigzag stitching is by Kim Christenson. THAT's ALL I know! Journaling: It was a quiet afternoon in late April, just after the end of tax season. I was still totally drained from the extra stress of tax season. I laid down to take a nap. Suddenly the dogs began to bark. Then I heard running footsteps right outside by bedroom. Then there were other noises I couldn't identify and shouts. To tell you the truth, I was scared. But, when I peered out the bedroom window, I was even more scared. I saw flames licking up over the back wall of our property and huge billows of smoke rising. Not long after, the Fire Department arrived, sirens blaring. A brushfire in the wash in the vacant lot behind our house had to be dealt with quickly before the wind blew it into trees overhanging the wall from neighboring houses. I never really expected to see the Fire Department in our back yard, but I was ultimately glad they were there!

























Just a cute snapshot of my new DGS. I used Deb Fisher's "That's My Boy" mini kit for the page, available at Pickleberry Pop. I also used a template by Rachel Giallongo.

 























With two grandsons, I don't get many chances to take photos of pretty little girls. This is Livvy, one of Will's best friends and frequent playmates. I used Bellissimo by Lynn Grieveson. I did this for an Ad Challenge at Elemental Scraps.

























My desk is stacked high with papers. Tax information is arriving on my doorstep, in the mail, in 3-mail, and with clients sitting in front of me at the desk. And, I'm feeling overwhelmed! When I saw Deb Fisher's kit called "That's My Life", I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! Deb's goodies are available at Pickleberry Pop.

























A photo taken the day Atticus attracted more attention than the Eifel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. I used Melanie Colosimo's Belle in Blue page kit, available at Elemental Scraps. Because it's her birthday, it's 30% off too! The frame is from Faith True.

AND, typepad is being cantankerous today, so be grateful I got my usual ration of photos posted.  It took about 11 tries to post 7 pages......  Bye.

A very little nothing

Well there is really very little going on around here.  We did just collect a goodly amount from a client of mine who has owed us since tax season.  That was good news.  The dryer still sounds like a freight train and is now leaving black smudges all over my freshly laundered clothes.  Joe has been working very hard on a deal and it now looks like it will not go through so, unless the Lord intervenes, there goes that commission.  I was bitten by some sort of mystery bug about 10 days ago and spent a good week eating Benedryl and Ibuprofen and applying cold compresses because my eye was pretty swollen, but it's just a scab now which I am waiting to be rid of.  I got some nice gifts for Mother's Day.  Joe bought me a potted azalea tree.  I'm not at all sure where I can plant it around here--I think it's too darn hot and too darn dry for it to survive, but it surely is beautiful.  Joe and Jennifer went together and bought me a gift card for a couple of massages.  I have only had two massages in my life, but both of them have been like a little bit of heaven, so I'm looking forward to that.  I only got to see Jen and the boys for a few minutes when she dropped off the gift card.  I did get a hand drawn card from Will which I will most likely scan and scrap one of these days.  Our new treadmill has arrived, been assembled and we've both logged a few miles on it.  And TV #3 from MINTEK is broken and has been for several weeks.  It has eaten one of Joe's prized CD's of the West Wing series.  Theoretically, they are mailing a part to us after which they're supposed to send someone out to fix it, but we're not holding our breath.  So far, through three TV's they've been in the shop or not working more than they've been i our home and functional.  My advice:  Don't buy anything manufactured by MINTEK if you can help it.  And, that about sums up our lives for the past week or so.  Exciting, huh? 

Here are a few pages as I work to post more of my backlog. 

Dh and I decided we needed to see a bit more of the tiny town in Mexico beyond the areas where most tourists go. On our walk, we found this delightful school. I loved the gorgeous murals on the fronts of the buildings, the bright yellow part of the building that faces the courtyard, and the bright many-colored fence to keep the children safe from any street traffic. I used Lynn Grieveson's new kit, Jungle Juice, for this page. Jungle Juice is a new kit at Designer Digitals today. The crayons are from an old kit by Rebecca Digrazio.

























A couple of weeks ago, Jason ran an 8k. Afterwards, there was a run for the little kids. Will didn't want to run it alone, so he and Dad did the Munchkin Dash together. But, of course, Will claimed the medal and Twix bar for himself. I used Victoria Feemster's Messy boy kit and frames for this. The cardboard overlay is designed by Windgefluester (one of five in the package) and is available at Windgefluester's Boutique or at O Scraps.

























Another of the gorgeous photos I got of DD and DGS at our photoshoot a couple of weeks ago. I used Nina's new kit, Georgina, for this. Georgina is available at NDISB or at OScraps. The scalloped border around the photo is by Shabby Princess, used as a clipping mask for papers from the kit. I did this for a quote challenge at Elemental Scraps. The template is by Jen Caputo and I used VP on the photo.

























Two of my favorite people in the world--Karla and Michelle. We worked together for years and I thought they were amazing women. Karla is my hero, having survived breast cancer 4 times. I used the Two Scoops kit by Amanda Rockwell and Lauren Grier called "Amanda and Lauren Rule the World", which was available at Sweet Shoppe Designs. I also used a Template by Nina, her Set 14, Template 4, available at NDISB or O Scraps. I also used Amanda's Glitter Journaling Strips.

























Photo from last summer when I got to take DGS to his swimming lesson. I used papers from Amanda Rockwell's The Basics--Black, Fab Back in Black, and Fresh Back in Black. The template is by Victoria Feemster. The cardboard stars are from Amanda's Star Light Star Bright element pack. All of Amanda's items are available exclusively at amandarockwell.com.

























I took this photo of DGS the day of our photoshoot. I did this page with Robin Carlton and Christy Lyle's 365, the July kit. The template (much modifed) is a sampler from The Digi Shoppe. The flower is from Amanda Rockwell's Lilac Morning and "little man" is from Amanda's Fun kit from the Back in Black Collection. The green rick rack is by Ronna Penner and the green star is by Mary Fran. I also used Amanda Rockwell's The Basics--Whites for the bg here but I color-altered it to bring up the green a few notches.  Amanda's designs are available exclusively at amandarockwell.com.

























I was shocked when I looked at this photo of Will taken just shy of a year ago; he looks SO much more grown up now! I used Urban Bungalow by Theresa Hernandez. The stitching (recolored) around the photo is from the free with $6 purchase kit, Les Accessories Naturel (offer valid through March 7). The Velour heart is also by Theresa Hernandez from her kit called Velour Hearts, also available at NDISB. The cardboard is by Kim Christenson.

Joe is in class so I have some quiet time.  I'll write a bit but, if he gets home early, it will be just a little bit. 

Around the World, Part Deux

Well, I had the abbreviated version of an "around the world" trip today.  It wasn't bad, actually, til I tried to get home.  Will had a dentist appointment and Jen had previously arranged for me to pick him up from school and take him to the dentist's office where she would meet us and take over.  As it happened, that worked out really well for her.  Her boss's wife went into labor today so he didn't come in to work.  Jen had to cover all of her own appointments with students as well as his.  There is no way she could have left early to get Will to the dentist.  She called me afterwards to say that Will had done very well.  He had to have a filling done and he was scared.  But, he did just fine and the doctor even said he did well. 

Atticus

Got to see Atty for just a few minutes.  Jen and I both arrived at the dentist's office a few minutes early so she put Atticus in the car with me and climbed in and we visited for all of about 10 minutes.  Atticus was in the back seat in his carseat and didn't make a sound.  He was busy playing with a toy.  He is SUCH a good baby.

Mother-in-law

Well, Jennifer's mother-in-law is in town.  Been here since Monday, leaving tomorrow.  I don't think she can leave soon enough for Jennifer.  She's made a few comments that didn't sit too well with Jen, but, all in all, has behaved reasonably well.  Monday night Jennifer inadvertently avoided dealing with her by falling asleep when she put the boys to bed.  One thing that is puzzling is how against breast feeding she is.  Doctors are coming down heavily on the side of breast feeding being the best choice for the baby.  And there are advantages for the mother as well.  She is training to be a nurse, but she doesn't seem to know that.......

Solids

Jen started feeding Atticus some cereal.  I'm glad and hoping that will mean more sleep for her.  Usually he eats just a little and then he's done.  Last night, he ate a full serving of cereal, was still hungry, nursed for a while, was still hungry, and finally had a healthy amount of peaches to top it off.  Good!

Baseball

Well, Grandpa Joe has been voted #1 Grandpa by Will.  the last two times we've spent time with Will, Grandpa has taken him outside and worked with him on catching the ball and on hitting.  He's been doing really well.  He was really disappointed that he didn't do better at Saturday's game.  He was at bat and struck out 3 times.  But, Joe had wanted to get to the ballpark early so he could practice with him with a regular bat and ball.  He's been practicing with a whiffle ball and bat which are much lighter than a normal ball and bat.  Unfortunately, instead of early, we arrived at the ball park a good 15 minutes after the game started.  It was crazy cold out there Saturday afternoon.  The high for the day was 67 degrees and there was a 20 mph wind.  The two together made it darn chilly.  But it's back up in the high 90's now, so no concerns about being cold anymore.

Jeannette

We have finally had an update from Jeannette.  The baby, Aidan Benjamin, is doing better.  He will be in the hospital at at Duke University Medical Center at least another week, but doing better.  However, Jeannette was released from the hospital on Friday and back in the Emergency Room on Monday morning.  She has a pulmonary embollism! She's home now but on all kinds of meds.......

Deb

One of the ladies I create layouts for is Deb Fisher.  Deb is a sweetheart, generous, kind, and a good Christian woman.  She has 7 kids at home.  We learned late last week that her husband was killed in a freak accident on their farm in Australia.  I have no idea how the finances will work out.  But, more importantly, according to her, Ray was her soulmate.  I am sure this family is devastated........

Well, that is it for now.  I'll post some pages and then I've still got things to do before I can go to bed.

Was doing some picking through my hard drive, organizing. I ran across this and realized I've never posted it though I did it several months ago. The photo is from our tour of the Reagan Presidential Library in September. I used Amanda Rockwell's Warm kit from her A Mother's Love Collection. I have a hunch I used a template for this but have no idea whose.......sorry. The silk flower is by Jen Wilson and the newsprint flower is by Tracy Ann Robinson.
























My son-in-law is accomplished with chopsticks. He even uses them at home frequently. I'm the one that asks for a fork in a Chinese restaurant so I'm amazed, just watching him. I used two kits to create this layout, both from Helena Jole. I used Year of the Pig and Chopsticks, both available at NDISB.

























Lots of cities across the US have a "Chinatown". But only in Vegas can you view the Wynn Hotel and Casino through a Chinese gate. I used Chopsticks and Year of the Pig by Helena Jole for this layout. The flowers are extracted from one of the papers in the kit. The old paper is by Amanda Rockwell. The idea for this page came from Katie the Scrapbook Lady's Amazing Month of Memories Class. She points out that February 18 is Chinese New Year.

























I took this photo while we were in Los Algodones, Mexico. Loved the Pinatas--so colorful, like this kit, Spring Sprang Sprung by Tania JPS, available at NDISB. I also used a template by Lori Barnhurst.

























We adopted Toby from a place that had rescued him, starving and near death, after his previous owners dumped him in the desert. I did this page as part of the sketch challenge at Elemental Scraps. I used the Accessories Naturel Collaboration kit from the NDISB Design Team. The kit is free with a $6 purchase from the shop. The letter "t", the square brad (slightly recolored), and the cardboard heart are by Amanda Rockwell; the heart is from her "Color My Heart" cardboard heart kit. The orange polka dot ribbon is by Lynn Grieveson. This was done with a template by Johanna Berry as part of the challenge.

























Many people know that my son in law was assaulted and almost died last year. Nine months later he ran an 8K. We celebrate this accomplishment which marks his physical recovery from his injuries. I used a kit by Jen Wilson, from her Les Amies series, the Wendy kit. I did this for the ad challenge at Elemental Scraps.

























One of the photos I took of DGS at our photo shoot. I did this for a Lyrics Challenge at Elemental Scraps. The song is Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson. I used Little Prince by Windgefluester, available at Windgefluester's Boutique and at O Scraps. The curled frame is by Katie Pertiet.

Just another day in Paradise

Joe has gone off to make sales calls.  He's been threatening (promising?) to do this since the company's new license was approved at the end of February.  Only took two months to kick his butt out the door.  So, other than my freight train dryer, it's quiet here.  I swear, that thing is so darn loud, I have an aversion to unloading it because to do so, I have to spend a few seconds in the hall where the noise is loudest.  But, I digress.

Lunch

So I finally had lunch with my client on Tuesday.  In our case, it was 4th time's the charm.  Unfortunately, he chose to sit on the patio of the restaurant where we met.  It was a lovely day and ordinarily, I'd love that, but it was very windy and my eyes watered and watered and watered.  Allergies!  Not my idea of a fun time.  We went over the two main issues we needed to talk about and then chatted our way through lunch.  This guy is extremely attractive.  I mean, he is Mr. GQ for the middle aged.  He's in great shape and dresses impeccably.  He's well mannered and well spoken.  Maybe my eyes weren't watering at all--maybe I was just drooling?  Halfway through lunch, he just about caused me to fall out of my chair.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm married, for better or worse, but.....I'm also human.  There we sat, me munching on my salad when either he dropped something inside his shirt or a small but flew in there or something.  Anyway, he proceeded to lift his shirt showing off his perfectly flat tummy and brush the offender away.  Holy moly!  About that time, someone turned the misting system on which was a blessing--cooled me down a bit and saved me from grave embarrassment.

Weather

Speaking of windy, we're back to spring weather.  Last week we were seeing highs in the upper 90's.  Today's expected high is 78 with a current temperature of 71 degrees.  Yesterday we had wind advisories with winds gusting to 40mph and beyond.  Once it gets really warm or really cold around here, the pollen count drops dramatically and us allergy sufferers feel better.  But right now, particularly with the wind also stirring up dust, it's not a lot of fun to be outside on the prettiest of days.

Atticus

Atticus is becoming mobile.  I was on the phone with Jen last night when all of a sudden she began to scream something.  It seems the little guy had just managed to propel himself about 6 inches closer to his ball.  Normally, when he's on his tummy, he immediately rolls over.  But, this may change once he figures out he can move better without turning over.  I know he's not on his hands and knees yet, so I would describe this as beginning to creep, but in any case, he's on the move!

Around the World

Well, not really, just across town and back.  Seems Jen has already left work early two days this week and Jason has an appointment late this afternoon.  So, I'll be doing some bonding with DGS#1 in the car this afternoon.  I'll be picking him up after school.  As much as I hate driving in Vegas traffic, I must love that kid 'cause it's a joy to go and get him.

Getting Things Done

Getting anything done around here is a trip.  For me, the problem is interruptions.  For Joe, I couldn't begin to tell you what the problem is.  If it's somehting I don't want him to do, he's all over it.  If I'm cooking, adding a little of this and a bit of that, and then adding a little more of this, I frequently find that my ingredients disappear as fast as I sit them down.  It is just no good to cook without a recipe and a measuring cup.  And, if I'm gone, he rifles through my desk.  He always claims he is "helping".  But, I really think he is checking up on me.  His ex started bank accounts, credit cards, etc without his knowledge and also had at least one major affair.  So, when he goes through my desk, it makes me particularly unhappy.  BUT, I asked him a good 4 weeks ago to work on the sprinklers.  We had a  beautiful bank of shrubs on the west side of the house.  I say "had" because Punkin chewed on them and chewed on them til there was literally nothing left but three bare sticks coming out of the ground.  Well, when we had some rain a few weeks back, the shrubs sprouted some green leaves.  Who would have thought they'd come back from the abuse they'd taken?  I was thrilled.  But, the sprinklers are not hitting them at all with the current sprinkler pattern.  If he doesn't do something about it soon, they will for sure be dead.  Then what?  Well, we'll wait as long as he can conceivably wait until I throw some sort of tantrum or nag him sufficiently or whatever (4-6 months) and then go spend money on new shrubs.  If you know a solution to this behavior, short of a cattle prod, please clue me in!

Jeannette

I have a good internet friend named Jeannette.  She and I have served on 3 creative teams together and we have similar ideas about what is humorous.  Get us both going at the same time and you're going to laugh.  Jeannette has been pregnant and Monday they delivered the baby by "emergency" c-section.  I honestly believe what I'm about to say is a result of miltary-doctor-screw-up, because Jeannette is a military wife, but.......  First they seem to have concluded that there wasn't enough amniotic fluid for the baby, hence, the "emergency".  Second, they should have given her a shot of anitbiotic which they did not so the baby has a strep infection.  Third, there was more than enough amniotic fluid; in reality the baby aspirated some of it, damaging his lungs.  So, the poor little guy has been med-e-vac'd to Duke Hospital (Dad is stationed at Ft. Bragg).  Mom can't go to see him for days because, having had a c-section, she's not likely to be able to stand a 90 minute ride in a car.  Dad has requested leave so that he can shuttle back and forth between the other three kids at home, Mom in one hospital, and baby in another.  One nurse apparently told her point blank that "he is a very sick little boy".  They lost a baby boy about a year and a half ago.  Please, if you pray, remember Jeannette, Clint, and baby Aidan as well as their other children in prayer.  It's urgent......

Well, that's it for me.  Joe will be home in just a few minutes and at that point all intelligent thought on my part will become impossible.  I'll post some pages and then I'm off to do something around here (preferably, NOT unloading the dryer!). 

My cousin, Bill, sometimes sends me family photo. I was happy when I got this one of him with his date at the Senior Prom in 1956. I used Amanda Rockwell's Lilac Morning kit for this. I used a tag from another Amanda Rockwell kit as a clipping mask for paper from the kit to create the tag. Lilac Morning is available at www.amandarockwell.com. I used a template by Conny B for this page.






























DGS always checks out my layouts on line so I figured he'd get a kick out of the title on this one--he was transfixed by the recent rodeo broadcasts on TV. I used Amanda Rockwell's Fun kit for this, from her Back in Black collection. I did recolor the red swirly paper a bit and changed the color of the gold paper to red to match. The template is by Conny B.  This kit is available exclusively at www.amandarockwell.com.






























I've been holding this photo for several weeks waiting for just the right Valentine kit. A simple photo of DGS Will giving his baby brother a kiss. I did this with Sweetest Day by Windgefluester. The heart stickers are also by her, her Valentine Stickers. Her kits are available at Windgefluester's Boutique or at O Scraps. The swirl is by Anna Aspnes.






























I had a photoshoot Monday with DD and my DGS. This is one of the shots I caught. The kit is Love Letters by Lynn Grieveson, and the button heart is also by her. Both are available at Designer Digitals. The butterfly is by Kelly Shults, the flower by Amanda Rockwell, the border by Traci Sims, the key by Alma Townsend, the word art by Jen Wilson.






























This is the "old man" in our house, my 9.5 year old rottweiler/shepherd mix. He was a royal PITA as a pup but has mellowed out to a sweetheart of a dog. He is special to me because of our three dogs, he is the one who has picked me as his "favorite person". I did this layout with Amanda Rockwell's Back in Black 2 Collection, the star kit. I added a flower by Michelle Underwood and a brad by Heather Ann. The UPC items are from Amanda's BOOP embellishment kit, and the small cardboard flowers are from her Tiny Painters kit. All of Amanda's things are available at www.amandarockwell.com.  I also used a template freebie from Janet Phillips.






























This is a double scraplift, so to speak. It is, first of all, my interpretation of this week's Lift with a Twist. But, the idea for the crazy pictures and the quote are a lift from Deb Fisher's interpretation of the same scraplift. I was asked to do a photoshoot with DD and my youngest DGS. The problem became how to keep Will amused. I remembered Deb's layout with the crazy faces boys make, sent him out into the background just to act silly and make faces and a layout was born. I used Cindy Simon's new kit, Doowop, available at NDISB. The tag, staple, and cardboard flowers (her new Sparkle Buds) are by Amanda Rockwell. The alpha is from Kim Christensen's RAD collection.






























We had a first last week, both boys for about an hour. While I took care of some things Will wanted, Grandpa was in charge of Atticus. He did a good job keeping him amused, even when he started getting a little cranky. Way to go, Grandpa! I used Amanda Rockwell's Beautiful Disaster from her Back in Black 2 collection, available at www.amandarockwell.com. The flourish is by Mary Ann Wise. The quote is attributed to Edwina Sherudi.