My Weblog

Uh-oh........

Joe's home.  I wonder, therefore, if this will make any sense when I'm done with it.  He's just come dragging into the office muttering "It's hot out there.  It's SO hot out there."  The sad part of this is that Thursday is the first day of summer, meaning it's still "spring" here and already he's complaining.  I can hardly wait to see how he baves come mid-July (NOT!).  It is in the triple digits again, so, yes, it's hot.  But, undoubtedly, we'll se it another 15 degrees hotter for quite a few days in the next 2.5 months. 

Well, the hanger problem is solved.  We did indeed get a tension-type shower curtain rod installed in my mini laundry area so now all the empty hangers have a home, and when I take clothes out of the dryer, once again, I can hang them up.  I am still not thrilled with the performance of the new dryer, but it is what it is, so I'll use it and thank the Lord for it.

Yesterday was Father's Day.  Joe had a speaking engagement for the Gideons, so he was gone to some Methodist church all morning.  He raised more than $300 which will buy about 60 Bibles or 225 New Testaments.  He is pretty happy about that since he estimates that there were only about 150 people in each service and he did two services.  He says that a bit more money always comes in afterwards in the mail, so who knows what the total will be.  After that I honored him for Father's Day by letting him take me out to breakfast! LOL.  He watched the US Open golf tournament (partly slept through it, to be exact) while I got a grocery list and menu plan ready.  Then he went off to gather food for the week.  I grabbed a very short nap and when he got home we took off to meet Jen, Jason and the littles at Red Robin.  It wasn't horribly expensive and gave Joe the opportunity to eat meat and Jason the opportunity to avoid anything that looked or smelled like meat so they were both happy.  Jen gave Joe a sweet card thanking him for helping her out with the car and spending time with Will, just generally for being a "Dad" when he's not really related by blood at all.  He clouded up....... 

Today, his Father's Day gift from Jennifer and from me arrived.  I found a nice Epson Printer on line which I think uses the same ink cartridges as mine.  That's a good thing since I've found a place that sells the ink wholesale with no shipping charge.  Printing three copies of every layout I do does tend to get expensive after a while, so I look for bargains where I can find them.  I got paper from the same place as well and I'm very happy with the price. 

I bought a pair of Crocs sandals last month and, while I find they don't give me enough support to keep the backache away, they are VERY comfortable.  I found a 15% off coupon on Crocs clogs so Joe said I could order them.  Well, even though they're supposed to be my size, I have to return them--they are WAY too big.  So, I'm going to exchange them for a smaller pair. 

Jen called this AM and we had a conversation about Jason.  She says he's doing better, but it's SUCH a slow process.  She's given me a bit more insight into it all.  Certain parts of his brain just do not work yet.  So, he does not process like we do.  For example, he is very willing to "help", to go and fetch whatever is needed, but it doesn't seem to come out right.  Atticus has been on solid foods (baby food and cereal) for more than a month now.  While at the restaurant last night, he got hungry and Jen wanted to feed him some cereal.  So the next problem became getting some room temperature tap water to mix with the cereal.  Jason cheerfully went off the the men's room to get some water and came back with what looked almost as thick as library paste.  Jen tried feeding it to Atticus but he didn't like it, so Jason dutifully went back to the bathroom to add a bit more water.  The point here being that in a month of watching Jen feed Atty cereal, one would think he would have a pretty good idea of the appropriate consistency, but no.  Will decided the perfect place for him to sit was next to Grandpa which was a special treat for Grandpa.  But, just before we were getting ready to leave, he crawled under the table to the side where Jason and Jen were sitting.  He managed to wiggle himself on to Jason's lap.  Now, this thrilled Jason and he talked about it last night, about how great it was.  But, the whole time Will was on his lap, he didn't touch Will.  He actually was doing some arms-above-his-head thing.  Jen finally took one of his arms down and put it around Will.  When he was talking so happily about Will sitting on his lap, she pointed out to him that he should have put an arm around Will, rubbed his back, put a hand on his shoulder, or something.  I asked her if he would remember that if it happened again and she said she doubted it.   And, so, we struggle on.....

Well, Joe has now decided to get on the phone.  That wasn't bad enough--he decided to use the speakerphone.  So, whatever I had planned on saying has now fled my brain.  I'll try to post some pages and see if I can concentrate enough for that.

When we were in CA in September, we stopped by DH's old office to meet with some of their staff. Debbie is just so gorgeous and I loved having a photo taken with her. I used Sunday Brunch from Bella Gypsy Designs (Tabatha Reed) for this page. I did it quite a while ago, so I can't remember where I got the "2". The swirl and the cardboard "Painted Twirls" are by Amanda Rockwell.

This photo of Jen and Atticus was taken by a family friend. My DD is such a good and loving Mom and I am so proud of her. All of the papers and the blue flower come from a kit called Baby Blue Eyes by Helena Jole at NDISB. All of the swirls are designed by Faith True. The stitched heart is by Amy Teets. The sequined heart is by Marcie Reckinger. This page was designed for this week's Lifts with a Twist challenge.

Okay, that's it.  I can't hear myself think, so I've got to quit.  Later..........

Giant Machines and other stuff

Well, the new washer and dryer have been delivered.  They are monstrous.  The tops of them are literally at my armpits.  And they're weird!  The washer has no agitator.  It's a front loader and the drum just rolls in one direction for 5 or 6 spins and then rolls in the opposite direction for 5 or 6 spins and so forth.  It's some sort of water saver, which is okay and will certainly help with the water bill, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept that clothes will come clean without being immersed in soap and water.  The washer requires a "high efficiency" detergent.  I've no clue what that is.  I guess I'll have to go to the store and read labels, but in the meantime, I'm using up what I had, so there!  Another freakish thing about it is that it takes 58 minutes to wash a "normal" load of clothes.  Whoever heard of a 58 minute wash cycle?  The dryer is equally weird.  The clothes coming out of the washer are drier than out of my old washer, but somehow it takes longer to dry a load of clothes in the new dryer.  I haven't got that figured out at all.  I used to run the old dryer on one of the lowest heat settings; now I have this new dryer set much higher and after 40 minutes or so, my clothes are still damp.  It does have one feature I like--It tells you when you forget to clean the lint filter.  I admit, the lint filter is not something I think of after every load, so it's nice to be reminded.  One problem we have to solve is what to do with hangers.  I have some open shelves over top of the washer and dryer.  In the past, I've always kept empty hangers hanging on the edge of the lower shelf, there, ready, when I pull something out of the dryer that needs to be hung up.  Well, these monster machines are so tall there's no longer any room for the hangers.  I'm not going to put the hangers in the drawers underneath--what sense would that make, having to bend down to get a hanger each time I want to hang up a shirt or pair of pants?  I think we're going to put up one of those tension shower curtain rods and put the hangers there.  But, we're on the third day of having hangers splattered all over the floor in the hall.  I suppose I should pick them up, but I keep hoping Joe will get tired of jumping over them everytime he has to pee and that will make the installation time something short of two months! 

I've been wracking my brain, trying to figure out what to do for him for Father's Day.  It does no good to ask him what he wants--his answer is always "socks and underwear".  One idea I had was to "kidnap" him and take him to Southern Utah.  We'd leave around 12:30PM and arrive around 2:30PM.  We could poke around Pine Valley for an hour or so and then have dinner at his fave, Chuck-a-rama, then head home.  I invited Jen, Jason and the boys to go along, but I'm not so sure it's that great an idea.  She says Atticus will fuss/cry for a solid two hours up and two hours back.  He hates his car seat!  And, we'd have to come home earlier to get them home in time to do a proper bedtime.  So, we'd end up with maybe an hour at Pine Valley which would still be nice, but I know I won't want to leave after just an hour......  My other idea is to get him a printer.  He has a Lexmark, but it will no longer feed paper.  So, it's pretty useless at this point.  Jen wanted to be sure to do something for him because he's taken special care to spend a bit more time with Will.  So, I'll see if she wants to go in on a printer.......

Will is headed to the doc's this afternoon.  Seems he's developed an ingrown toenail.  I know he's going to be a pistol if they don't find someway to knock him out.  Jen may have to fight them on this;  I hope she's got her boxing gloves on. 

Well, I weighed myself this morning.  Thought I'd be pretty happy with what I saw because my clothes are fitting a bit differently these days.  But, no, I weighed in 2 pounds heavier!  The only thing I can figure is that working out is building muscle which weighs more but takes up less space.  A pound of muscle is much smaller in size than a pound of fat.  Well, I'm not discouraged.  I'm going to keep at it.  I know one more secret and that is that muscle burns more calories than fat.  So, if I'm building muscle, I can expect, in the long run, to see pounds coming off.  I'm still working at lengthening my time on the treadmill and increasing my speed, so as time progresses it will become more and more effective.  I just try not to think about how much further along I would be if Joe had been able to do something about the broken treadmill in something less than 3 months.  Or, if I were married to a man who were fonder of salads and less fond of bread, potatoes, rice, and pasta.  My body hasn't changed--it still hates that stuff! 

That's it for now.  I've still got a lot to get done around here today.  I'll post some pages and then get back at it. 

Photo taken by a friend of mine while hiking. Paper is from the Art Grunge Collection II by Nina (slightly recolored to emphasize the green). Ribbon is by Faith True. Clasp on ribbon is by Ronnie McCray. Ribbon flower by Amber Clegg. Cardboard is by Linda GB. Nina's products are available at NDISB and at O Scraps.

A layout about a very special moment between a boy and his grandma. I used paper from Nina's Art Grunge Collection (available at NDISB and O Scraps). The frame, ribbon, and swirl are by Michelle Coleman. The heart is by Vera Lim and the flower by Lori Wiley (Diamante).

Trying out the new camera here! Jen wanted photos of Atticus in his bunny suit, so here we are. I used Lynn Grieveson's new Woodlands kit for this. I did slightly recolor the blue paper to harmonize better with the baby's outfit. Cardboard eggs are by Amanda Rockwell and the bow is by Kelly Shults. Lynn Grieveson's designs are found exclusively at Designer Digitals. TFL!

I took this photo of Will Friday afternoon. I had brought along the sunglasses as a prop after paying 3.99 for them. They were well worth the money. I was playing with filters when I saw this on the screen and knew I had to use it! I used Kim Christiansen's Sk8ter kit for this. The stars are by Marcie Reckinger.

Several months ago, DH received a box full of long forgotten photos. I found this one in there and had to scrap it. That's DH on the pony. I used Mary Fran's Giddy Up kit for this page. "Cowboy" is one of Kay Miller's add-ons. I added the "s"......

This photo is from a photoshoot I did with my DD and DGS on 2/12/07. I've used Tabatha Reed's (Bella Gypsy Designs) Comfortable Silence for this page. IMHO, Tabatha has taken her design work up a notch with this gorgeous kit. The deckled edge on the photo is by Gina Miller. The frame stamp is by Faith True. I've used a slightly recolored flower from Gumdrop Baby by Lynn Grieveson. The cardboard flowers are Amanda Rockwell's Tiny Painters. The bow, slightly recolored is by Traci Sims. This kit is available at SBB. Tabatha has it on sale right now to celebrate the opening of her new store.

Atticus has discovered his hands and they are in his mouth constantly. He seems to be in the early stages of teething, chewing his fingers or yours--whichever he can get to easiest. I did this page with Bella Gypsy Designs (Tabatha Reed's) new kit called Playdate. It is available at a special price in her new store at SBB. I used a template, but I can't for the life of me figure out whose template......Sorry.

Catching up with the end of the week

Well, let's see.  When last I blogged, I was ready to take Joe out and flog him because of the dryer situation.  He came home at lunch and announced that he had bought a new washer AND dryer and that it had cost him $2000 and I was to stop spending money.  Geez.......  I didn't need a washer.  Mine still works fine.  I only needed a dryer.  And I didn't need a 5 year extended warranty nor did I need the storage drawers for underneath.  $400 or $500 would have done it, so let's go spend $2000 and then blame it on someone else!  I've tried to talk him into going back and telling them he wants only a dryer, but he won't so I guess it's all my fault, right?  Well, I don't take responsibility for it.  I nursed the other dryer for double its life expectancy.  I think that's about all I could have done!!!!!  Don't get me wrong--with my tiny closet sized laundry area, I'll love having those storage drawers, but, really.....

Jen stopped by yesterday.  She and Will had both just had haircuts.  Her hair was REALLY long and I'm so glad she got it cut.  She donated her hair to Locks of Love and to do that, the part donated has to be at least 10" long.  And her hair is still shoulder length.  Her bangs have grown out to be long enough to almost hit the chin.  I think I'd have been tempted to have all the hair cut to that length, but she looks way cute with it as it is.  The place she went to wasn't a fancy place, but the girl who did her cut did a good job--even layered it a bit at the bottom in the back so it is very bouncy and full.  Will got a hair cut too.  His was getting pretty long.  Now it's quite short and looks so good on him.

Will spent the day with me Friday.  Well, really, Will spent the day with my TV Friday.  He was no bother at all; just wanted to watch cartoons all day.  They don't have TV at home, so I let him watch cartoons til his eyes crossed.  I got some cute photos of him which I'll have to scrap when they're uploaded from the camera.  He had a serious cae of bedhead goin' on and sitting in 95 different positions throughout the day only made it worse.  Really cute! 

A friend and client of mine, Dottie, recently retired and moved to Mexico.  She was a very active realtor in this area and had her own branch office of a large company here in town.  She liquidated as much of her office equipment as she could.  Then she dropped off two used but usable computers here.  I don't want either one--the hard drives on them are way too small for me with all my digital graphic and photo files.  But, we gave one to Will yesterday.  The little guy was so excited that after Mom got it all loaded into the car, he wouldn't leave the car, even to come in and say goodbye!  I doubt it's all going to work out quite the way he thinks.  First, I think Jason will go through and get rid of the few files left on the hard drive and clean out the internet cache.  Second, I don't think Will really has much in the way of software to use with the computer.  Maybe, if he hasn't acquired a bunch before then, Grandma and Grandpa can get him a game or two for his birthday.  Third, Jason has no intention of letting him have the computer in his room with an internet connection.  He's very concerned about internet predators and that's just fine with me.  They are looking into what kind of software might be available to block certain websites, etc.  If that's not possible, Will's computer will either have to be in a "public" part of the house with internet, or in his room without internet.  So, I doubt, with all that to take into consideration, that the computer will be all that exciting for a couple of weeks, but we'll see.  Anyway, it is now off my dining room table which is a real thrill for me.   Will was "diagnosed" a while back with dysgraphia which means that paper and pencil do not work the way they're supposed to for him.  I'm hoping the computer will be a help.  It was one of the recommendations the testing center had for them....

I was informed we're going to So Cal the 26th and 27th.  Erica is graduating from middle school and headed to high school in the fall.  She is very excited about it--counting down the days for at least the last 3 weeks.  So, we're going to drive down on the 26th and check into a hotel.  Then, the graduation is at 9:30AM the next day.  Then Joe has promised a tour of the San Gabriel Mission (about an hour away) and we'll head back home.  He'll be back at work on the 28th.  I'm sure we wouldn't be going if not for Erica.  And, the mission trip is just a sweetener for me, I think, though, since we started the mission thing last fall, he seems to enjoy them.  This will mean we have seen 4--only 18 to go, haha.  I should live so long!  Anyway, the other computer from Dottie is going to Erica for a graduation gift.  Her computer is now 6 years old, so I'm sure it's due to be replaced.  She will get just a tower, not all the peripherals.  (We had one flat screen monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc. and Joe said to give that to Will.)  She has monitor, mouse, etc., so hopefully she can just transfer them to the better computer.  Her mother is in a better financial position to buy new peripherals than the kids are anyway.  I'd hate to think of her starting high school with a 6 year old computer so this should be a help to her.

I've dillydallied as best I could with sorting through things and moving them back into the bathroom.  And now that I'm 90% done, the new storage unit arrived.  I worked on it yesterday and in just a few minutes had the top put together.  But there were some screws I couldn't screw in tight enough.  I asked Joe to do that and he took over the whole project.  First he called me back into the room to point out to me that I'd put one piece on backwards--big deal, unscrew 4 screws, turn it around, screw down 4 screws.  From there he decided he had to do all the rest, poor man.  (No one asked him to--I love doing things like that!)  Then, instead of assembling the rest of it on the floor like the directions said, he tried assembling it vertically.  When he tried to lay it down, it broke!  Thankfully, that side will be up against a wall so no one will see it, but honestly, the thing was only hours old!   Then he put the back piece on upside down so the finished side was out and the rough side was going to be visible to the world.  And it was nailed on, probably at least 24 nails that had to be pried out and then reset.  You know, of course, that I was in another room when all this was going on!  So, it still needs the doors attached.  He has graciously said I can do that!  Why should I?  I wanted to do the whole thing, not just the parts he didn't want to do after he'd made a mess!

Well, I'm going to post some pages and get on my merry way.  I grabbed an ergonomic keyboard from the stuff Dottie gave us, but I'm not quite used to it so typing is a challenge.  Here are some pages:

This photo was taken on a back road outside a small town in New Mexico. DH and I both looked at it and the first words out of our mouths were "Green Acres" so that became the title. We think it's appropriate. We're getting a lot of vicarious enjoyment out of DBIL's photos. I used Amanda Rockwell's black paper from The Basics--Black. The green and blue papers and the sun element (duplicated and rotated) are from Amanda's Sunshine kit. Flowers are from Big Lauren's Lalas, FlowerBox, and Little Lauren's Lalas and the Ladybug is from Flutterbys. Grass is by Corina Nielson; denim strap is by Taran Conyers; and the alpha is by Doris Castle.  Amanda's products are available exclusively at amandarockwell.com.

My brother-in-law is a golf nut. And, he hangs out with a group of golf nuts. They attended a Halloween party and this was the carved pumpkin he took! DH, also a golfer, thought it was one of the coolest pumpkins he'd ever seen. "Golfers" is from Michele Coleman's distressed alpha. The template is by Kimberly Geswein. Everything else is by Amanda Rockwell. The black is from her The Basics-Black kit. All other papers are from Star, Back in Black 2. Stitching is recolored but from one of her older kits. Amanda's products are available exclusively at amandarockwell.com.

A very tongue-in-cheek look at an old TV commercial and a new Halloween costume. They say the sign of a good advertising campaign is when you remember it--well this one was a good one! You may have heard the term Frito Bandito, but now you know what he looks like! I used Amanda Rockwell's The Basics--Black for the background on this page. The flowers (recolored) are from her Have Heart kit. The swirl is from Ronna Penner. I found the image of the Bandito on the internet. Amanda's products are available exclusively from amandarockwell.com.

My brother-in-law sent us this gorgeous photo of sunset in New Mexico--he knows I'm a nut for beautiful sunsets and they're hard to come by in this part of the country. I used Amanda Rockwells Slice of Love mini kit from the February Sweet Shoppe Designs sampler. The purple doodle flower is from Have Heart from her Back in Black 2 collection.  Amanda's products are now available at amandarockwell.com.

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law toured a ghost town in New Mexico and sent me these photos of an authentic old schoolhouse, now abandoned. The print paper and the green paper are from Amanda Rockwell's Warm kit from the A Mother's Love Collection. The brown paper is from Amanda's A New Journey. The marigold colored paper is from the Fun kit from Amanda's A Mother's Love Collection. The chalkboard is by Robin Carlton. The ruler is by Jen Wilson. Faith True designed the old photo edge and the ribbon. The pressed flowers are from Sausan Designs.  Amanda's products are now available at amandarockwell.com.

We toured the Conservatory at the Bellagio. It's truly amazing in any number of ways. It's sort of a funky man meets nature display and it's a lot of fun. I used Amanda Rockwell's kit, Emma Jo, available at amandarockwell.com. Sales from this kit will help defray medical costs for a sick little girl. I've also used doodle flowers by Deb Fisher from That's My Girl (available at Pickleberry Pop) and by Genevieve Sass. Tear by Victoria Feemster.

This is a small sample of the flowers that are part of the Spring display at The Conservatory in the Bellagio. Aren't they gorgeous? I used Nina's Art Grunge Collection paper. The frame is by Amanda Rockwell, from her Soft kit, part of the A Mother's Love Collection. The folded and stitched ribbon is by Faith True and the bow is by Mary Fran. The green floral doodle is by Ida Rudningen and the butterfly is one of Amber Clegg's painted butterflies. Nina's products are available at NDISB (yes the store is back and being "restocked") and at O Scraps.

Warning: Bad Mood Ahead

I am thoroughly disgusted with Mr. Joe.  I just checked:  I first blogged about the sprinkler problem on May 9, noting that they had not been working right for a month at that time.  On April 19, I blogged about the wretched noise the dryer was making.  Well, would you like to know what has been done about these two problems?  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  I have come to a decision.  I have a load of laundry in the washer right now.  It is the last I will do until there is a new dryer in this house.  If he has to take his clothes to a laundromat, so be it.  It is utter nonsense, in my opinion, for me to go through sorting clothes, washing clothes, taking the clothes out of the dryer, folding them or hanging them up, and then putting them away when they are dirty because of the dryer.  Three out of 3 pairs of shorts I've pulled out of my drawer this week have had marks on them from the dryer.  Many of my tee shirts are also apparently ruined.  I have no clue whether the marks actually come out in the washer and then get put back on in the dryer, or just don't come out at all.  But, most of his clothes are dark in color and don't show the marks as much as my lighter colored ones do.  I'm just sick of it.  I don't care anymore if he has to go to work naked!  I can wash my clothes out by hand, if need be.  Let's see what he is going to do about having nothing to wear.  Even the clothes I just bought him have spots and marks on them, but he doesn't care.  Well, I DO! 

And, of course, we live in the desert.  Nothing grows without water.  Apparently it does not concern him that because the sprinklers need work, only small areas around the sprinklers, maybe a two foot circle is being watered.  Worse, we should be watering daily by now, but he still has the sprinklers set to water 3 days a week.  Apparently he can't get it through his head that having almost no grass in the back yard accounts for a lot of the dust that covers the interior of this house in a matter of  minutes after one dusts.  I've suggested he have the guy who mows the grass fix them.  No, he can do it himself.  But, WHEN?  I seriously want to hurt him over behavior like this.

I went out into the garage over the weekend to find a large art poster (by Georgia O'Keefe) that I wanted to hang in the freshly painted bathroom.  I bought it many years ago and have carted it around with me and kept it safe for all that time.  I pulled it out to find it ruined because of water damage.  Do we remember that he ignored a small puddle in the garage until it turned into a major flood, signifying that the water heater had died?  I priced a replacement poster on line--framed it will cost $125 plus shipping.  Who has money to spend like this--on replacing things some jerk just didn't take care of?

And, yet, I look at him and he's watching TV or playing solitaire on the computer!  He really does next to nothing around here and I'm so sick of it I could hang him!

Well, on to other stuff.  Tuesday was a heavy duty day.  Lost the whole day.  Cleaning lady was here from 8:45 til 1PM so I got nothing done around here then.  Then, I had to pick up Will from school, drive to the university and pick up Atticus, and take them home and "help" Jason take care of them.  Yeah, right........  Jason did hold the baby some, and he changed him into his jammies.  But Atticus got no bath Tuesday night and Jason was yelling at Will, something about library books.  It really made me angry.  Joe had come over and brought me dinner and then spent some time outside with Will, working on hitting, fielding, throwing a baseball, and Will was so happy.  But, with Jason's yelling, Will went to bed crying.  Gee, thanks, Jason.  You are such a help.  Also, I think it's a real shame when a 35 year old man can't take of his own two kids for 3 hours and so asks his mother-in-law to come "help".  Of course, I know Jen feels better if I'm there, but..............  Apparently Jason was carrying on about some books he wanted Will to put away.  Will was willing to put the books away, but wanted to keep a library book separate so that it wouldn't get "lost" and would be easy to find when it was time to return it to the library.  Jason wouldn't listen, just shouted him down.  I am going to have to be more assertive with Jason next time.  I am not going to continue to let myself be upset for days because I didn't shield my grandson from such irrational behavior.

Well, enough of my ranting and raving.  I'm going to post some pages and get on with finishing my dirty laundry!

Another photo from our trip to the LV Zoo. All papers are by Amanda Rockwell: blue from Amanda and Lauren Rule the World; green from Fresh, Back in Black Collection; yellow (saturation increased) from Daisy Doodle; orange is from FunkyTown, Back in Black Collection; red from Tropical Island. Alpha is by Michele Coleman, used as a clipping mask for papers from the above named kits. Doodle and doodle flowers are by Genevieve Sass. Title work was inspired by a Rachel Giallongo layout which was last week's Lift with a Twist. Amanda's products are available at amandarockwell.com.

I couldn't catch these darn flamingoes anywhere close by--sorry for the graininess of the photo. What can I say? I need a camera with a better optical zoom...... I did this using pieces of Amanda Rockwell's Tropical Island and A Mother's Love--Unconditional. The swirl is by Kay Miller and the doodled flowers are by Jen Wilson. Janet Phillips gave away a template similar to this on her blog and that was my inspiration though I didn't use the template...... Amanda Rockwell's products are at amandarockwell.com.

DD has been saying that she sees no resemblance between herself and my newest DGS. As I was scrapping this photo from 1980, I decided she is WRONG! Yes, there IS a resemblance! I used Amanda Rockwell's Daisy Doodles kit for this page as well as her The Basics--White. The bg paper is from another Amanda kit which is no longer available. The title is done with Katie the Scrapbook Lady's Fillabet, available at ACOT, filled with papers from the kit. The journaling frame (recolored) is by Faith True. The frame around the photo is by Jen Wilson. All of Amanda Rockwell's designs are available at amandarockwell.com.

Another photo from our trip to the zoo. These guys greeted us with "hello" the minute we walked up to their cage. I never held a conversation with a parrot before..... I used paper from Amanda Rockwell's Amanda and Lauren Rule the World. The red paper is by Ashley Olson. The doodled frame is by Genevieve Sass; the alpha is by Kate Hadfield. Flowers are by TracY Ann Robinson. I also used a template by Melanie Colosimo, her two page template called swirls. Amanda's products are available at amandarockwell.com. Melanie's products are available at Elemental Scraps.

My Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law visited a small ghost town in New Mexico with a group of their friends. They sent me this photo which I really like. I've used a new kit by Deb Fisher, Grey Afternoon (available at Pickleberry Pop), for the page. The paint stroke behind the title is by Michelle Coleman.

This guy posed nicely for a picture, but he looked and acted in such an aggressive manner I couldn't help but think he was spoiling for a fight! Maybe it was something we said? The polka dot papers are from Melanie Colosimo's Polka Party kit, available at Elemental Scraps. The black paper is by Amanda Rockwell, her The Basics-Black kit. The green is from Amanda and Lauren Rule the World. The beigey-orangey paper is from A Mother's Love--Joy by Amanda. Flowers are Big Lauren's Lalas and Painted Twirls, also by Amanda Rockwell. I used a template by Kimberly Geswein. All of Amanda's products are available at amandarockwell.com. Some inspiration for this page came from Julie (Loves her 2 boys).

We had a lot of fun watching this little guy chasing the birds while we were hanging around the beach at Ventura Harbor. Even though they kept fluttering away, he kept trying til his mommy made him leave..... I used Lynn Grieveson's new kit, Brighton, for this page. Lynn's products are available exclusively at Designer Digitals.

Hot hot hot

Well, Friday was our first day of triple digit temperatures here.  Phew!  I live in mortal fear of the next power bill.  No matter what we do, it is still too warm in the office.  We've got solar screen  and film on the two west facing windows and an insulated door.  We have a fan sitting in the doorway, theoretically sucking cool air from the rest of the house and blowing it out here, but I really don't think it helps much.  The difference in temperature as one walks through that doorway is amazing.  Maybe one day we'll buy a swamp cooler for out here.  They work pretty well for all but about 6 weeks of the summer--the last two weeks of July and the month of August when it gets humid. 

I somehow didn't have much time with the boys this week, but I sure was busy.  I have a case with scazillion issues in Appeals at IRS so I had to put together this massive package of documentation, argument, summary, etc. all indexed and put together so the Appeals Officer could follow it.  I'm sure we'll be meeting with him face to face, but I really wanted him to see a) that I know what I'm talking about and b) what a piss poor job the Revenue Agent did.  If he can't get the idea from what I sent, he's an idiot.  But, it took the better part of three days just to nail that thing together, copy it twice, and get it on it's way.  Joe played courier and delivered it to the guy (and made him sign a receipt).

I'm still working on the bathroom.  I've got about 50% of the stuff re-situated in there.  To tell the truth, I'm not too anxious to work on that until the new storage unit arrives.  I hate the idea of loading up the old yucky one just to unload it and move everything into the new one.  But, it's difficult to walk through the bedroom because Joe just piled stuff everywhere, so I've had to at least make a path.  We used painter's tape on the edges and that was a fiasco.  I'd always heard not to remove it til the paint was dry.  Someone else told me that is totally wrong and it should be removed immediately (which seems darn impractical when you have to paint two coats--what, are you supposed to re-tape for every coat?) Anyway, Joe got in there (fools rush in where angels fear to tread) and yanked and took a bunch of paint off with the tape.  So, I crawled around in there yesterday for quite a while, sanding the rough edges and repainting all the spots where he yanked both tape and paint off. 

Well, that's about all the personal news I have.  In scrapping news, I've been asked to join two more teams.  I will be scrapping for Lena Brandenburg and for Lawanna Desjardin.  I've known Lena for a year and a half and actually scrapped for her when she and her sister were designing together.  Lawanna is a sweetie, and what a quality product she puts out--great textures and beautiful prints.  I would have to guess her house is immaculate because her design work is SO pristine and precise.  I also resigned from one Creative Team where the designer has been on some kind of unofficial hiatus for about 7 months.  I love getting free stuff from all these designers......now if I could just get myself set up to scrap for hire, I'd love it.  Imagine real money for something I love to do..........  Deb Fisher, for whom I scrap, is still not saying much of anything.  She lost her husband to a freak farm accident and was left to raise 7 children alone.  While some of the big name designers really make great money at this, I doubt Deb is in that category.  She's been designing for a long time but for a lot of that time, she just gave her stuff away.  It's only been a few months she's actually been selling at a store and with her responsibilities at home (besides being a mom to 7, she homeschools) she hasn't been able to put out that many kits.  I wonder if Australia has any form of "social security".  Here, she'd get an allowance for each of the kids.............  The store where she sells has gathered a group of 50 designers together and put together a gorgeous scrap kit to be sold.  It is beautiful.  Her husband was named Ray, and the kit is called Ray of Light.  You can find it at Pickleberry Pop.  Here's a link to the Ray of Light kit  http://www.pickleberrypop.com/shop/product.php?productid=426&cat=0&page=1.   Her creative team has been asked to make as many pages as possible with the kit and to help advertise it , so I'm trying to help with that.  I've done two so far and just remembered another photo I think would look really good scrapped with papers from this kit. 

And the digital scrapping community suffered a loss this week with the death of Carla Gibson.  Carla was a relatively young woman but woke up the end of last week not feeling well.  She suffered a brain aneurysm.  For a few days it actually looked encouraging, but it was announced that she passed away yesterday.   I'm sure she was in intensive care for the week, and I just read that the family didn't have medical insurance.  That has to be financially ruinous.  Folks are making things to sell at the store where she formerly sold and the money will go to her family.  I put together 4 quickpages.  It wasn't much--I was prepared to do at least that many more, but was told 4 was enough.  I just hope they help.  They're not up yet, but will be sold here.

Oh, one other piece of good news.  Young Mr. Aidan Mulligan is finally home with his family.  My friend Jeannette had to have an emergency C-section and Aidan was almost a casualty of the whole thing.  It took a long while (a month) but he is now home and looking VERY healthy.  You can find her layout showing him off here.  

Well, I only have the opportunity to do this because Joe has gone off to the hardware store and I expect him back any minute so I'm going to post some pages and then do some other work.  Oh, if you happen to be reading this and you also happen to be my mother, I am having trouble finding someone to print the proper size page for your mother's day gift.  I'll see if I can succeed at that this week.........

Will was a little boy looking for a daddy when Jason entered his life. Seeing the two of them together in moments like this really warms my heart. I used the Tropical Island kit by Amanda Rockwell for this layout. The "j" and "w" are by Faith True, recolored. The paper clip is by Paula Duncan. You can find Amanda Rockwell's designs exclusively at amandarockwell.com. This is a scraplift of a Shabby Princess layout which you can see on her blog.

I WAS the proud owner of 5, count 'em, 5 unopened boxes of Thin Mints. I forbade DH to eat them, but I failed to forbid DD since she lives elsewhere. Little did I know she'd open two boxes while she was visiting. Seems my son-in-law ate hers! I used the new March NDISB Collaborative kit (a ginormous kit) called Primavera Firenze. The idea for this page came from Katie the Scrapbook Lady's Amazing Month of Memories class for March--did you know March 12 is Girl Scout Day?

Took this photo of DGS watching TV upside down. It was just too cute and had to be scrapped. I used papers from Amanda Rockwell's Get Out kit, part of the Back in Black 2 Collection. The alpha is Victorian Circus by Lynn Grieveson. The swirls are by Ronna Penner. Amanda's creations are available exclusively from Sweet Shoppe Designs. Lynn's designs are available exclusively from Designer Digitals.

This photo was taken for Atticus's 3-month landmark. He is grasping toys, but has been known to bop himself in the head with them! I used Amanda Rockwell's A Mother's Love Collection, the Soft kit for this page. The Painted Glitter Flowers are also by Amanda Rockwell. The Baby Baubles on the right side of the photo are by Faith True. The staple is by Ashley Olson. Amanda Rockwell's products are available exclusively at amandarockwell.com. This was inspired by Andrea Wiles scraplift of a Gina Miller page called "Dad and Raymond".

Joe thought I was crazy when I suggested we drive through this old cemetary in Yuma. It was very interesting, but disheartening. I used Amanda Rockwell's--The Basics--Craft paper. The bow is by Faith True. The flowers (color altered) are by Kelly Shults. I also used one of Nancy Comelab's "on the edge" templates.  Amanda Rockwell's designs are available eclusively at amandarockwell.com.

Another memory purse insert. I used Amanda Rockwell's The Basics--Craft paper for the bg. The flowers are from her Big Lauren's LaLa's kit. The butterfly is from her Flutterby kit and the heart is from her Color Me Stitched kit. Amanda's items are all slightly recolored. The brush is by Mary Ann Wise. Everything else is part of Lynn Grieveson's gorgeous new kit at Designer Digitals today--Spring Picnic. You can find Amanda Rockwell's designs exclusively at amandarockwell.com.

I've lived in Vegas for 28 years and for 28 years our zoo has been a pathetic disgrace, particularly for such a monied town. Nevertheless, we walked through it the other week. Lots of birds, including this proud peacock, struttin' his stuff! I used Fresh from the Back in Black collection by Amanda Rockwell, available exclusively at amandarockwell.com. The flowers are from a freebie by Helen O'Daniel many moons ago.

Another memory purse insert. I used Amanda Rockwell's The Basics--Craft paper for the bg. The flowers are from her Big Lauren's LaLa's kit. The butterfly is from her Flutterby kit and the heart is from her Color Me Stitched kit. Amanda's items are all slightly recolored. The brush is by Mary Ann Wise. Everything else is part of Lynn Grieveson's gorgeous new kit at Designer Digitals today--Spring Picnic. You can find Amanda Rockwell's designs exclusively at amandarockwell.com.