My Weblog

This week was good; now there's next week......

Well, being the last week of the month, Joe had lots of signings.  I think he did 5 on Friday.  He also got a couple of outside signings which pay more.  Even I had a signing on Friday.  So, I'll be working on company stuff this weekend to make up the time lost from work.  It looks as though we'll have the money for the first mortgage payment before the final due date rolls around.  I am hoping this is the hand of the Lord, granting us a break through.  One other good thing on the signing side--every month or so, there is an auction of foreclosed homes.  The escrow company is there in force to handle all the paperwork.  They've played favorites for a long time and we've been excluded from these auctions.  However, we received the news yesterday that on the weekend of October 12 and 13, both Joe and I will be working an auction.  That should bring in about $1000 if things go as usual.  It doesn't come in until later, but we'll be grateful for it however/whenever it comes.

At work, I am still plodding through the old bank account.  I've now finished May, just June and early July to get through from here.  Due to having the signing yesterday morning, I didn't get my paycheck, but I think it will break the $300 mark for the first time this week.  I have set my withholding at Single and zero, so I am having the most withheld.  Our tax return is always a huge balance due.  A few years I've been able to save toward that, but not this year.  So, this withholding will at least help with 2008's tax liability when that rolls around.  I jokingly asked Joe to drive down to the office and get my paycheck and he said he would, but there has been no movement in that direction.  Oops, I spoke too soon.  He and Toby are on their way now. 

Slow progress on the computer.  I have, however, finally succeeded in getting PSE to work with WIndows Vista, so I'm back in the scrapping business.  Way behind, but back in the scrapping business so it's all good! 

I think my sole remaining immediate problem with the computer is the back up program.  I haven't a clue what to do about that.  I know if I have to start over, I'll lose about $35.00.  We paid for unlimited back up service for the year back in January.  So, I've got 4 months coming, already paid for.  However, given the emotional value of my photos and the monetary value of all the scrap supplies I've got, I guess losing $35 is small potatoes.  I have read so many stories of people whose supplies have been wiped out due to a computer crash and that would be too devastating to imagine. 

I got to babysit with the boys last Sunday night.  That was fun.  Will got Grandpa to play ball with him and they had fun doing that.  At one point, Atticus got the ball and decided to take it upstairs.  I was standing at the bottom of the stairs, ready to run up and catch him if he fell, but he did fine.  He does a lot of the coming down part of the stairs on his butt which is safer and suits me just fine!  He was funny.  He didn't want to take his bath and was ready to come out almost the minute I finished washing him.  Then he wanted to run around naked instead of coming to me so I could put his diaper on him.  Finally, Grandpa caught him and brought him to me and we got him ready for bed.  He took a bottle of water and conked out for the night. 

Well, as to scrapping, I have come to the conclusion that Claudi has no life.  I am just sure she does nothing but design from sunup to sundown every day.  That woman is prolific.  Within two days, she just put out 2 new kits, and put another one out just 3 days before that!  I've scrapped with one of the kits even though it doesn't go into the store until the 1st.  I'll get to the others in time.......

Amanda has still not put any more of my stuff up in the store.  Each day I check and check and check again, and each day I see nothing of mine there.  I've offered to help in any way I can, but she says there's nothing I can do.  So, I'm leaving it in the Lord's hands.  I do have a lot of time spent on putting this stuff together so I hope that time was not wasted.  She did put up two kits this week.  One is very girly, something I might be able to use on a photo of Erica.  The other I've used to scrap a fall landscape photo from last year.

Cori came out with another new, gorgeous kit.  Normally Cori's color scheme's feature intense color.  The new one is a bit more muted.  I'd have expected something with fall colors, but this is not fall colors....maybe more like spring.  Not that the whole scrapping world doesn't have leftover spring photos to scrap.  And, of course, there's the southern hemisphere which is starting into spring while we head into fall.  Anyway, I just got it downloaded and can't wait to play.

LaWanna put the new boy kit in the store and it is so darn cute!  Even the name is cute--she called it "back pocket plunder".  I can't imagine that anyone who scraps for boys wouldn't want to buy it.  The color scheme is great and the elements are adorable.  And, for some reason, LaWanna seems to sell her products a bit below market, so they're certainly affordable.  I had fun scrapping a page with it and will be doing a set of quick pages or a bracket album or something with it, hopefully this weekend. 

Nina, my first German designer (Claudi being the second) has put out some collaborative goodies with Sue Cummings, another designer at OScraps.  It looks interesting.  I've got to get something done with that this weekend!

The designers at ACOT keep pumping 'em out!  Holey moley!  So much stuff!  I can scrap for the rest of my life on my stash now.  Some of it is not my taste and I am just deleting that off my External Hard Drive as I go since I have to go back through everything anyway to tag it in ACDSee.  But some of it is so gorgeous, so darn cute, and I just don't have enough hours in the week or photos in my stash to do all the scrapping I'd love to do.

I haven't spent much time at NDISB during this period of computer woes.  I have some stuff already downloaded that I need to scrap with before I take more.  I didn't really go digging around to be sure, but I know I have at least 4 designers at ACOT who also sell at NDISB.  That means I get to create one layout and it works for both stores.  That's a real blessing. 

We have decided we are going to have to break down and do a real grocery shopping this weekend.  We are out of essentials like eggs and macaroni and ketchup and potatoes and so forth, just the basics of life.  I wonder if I remember how to do a real menu plan and a grocery list?  I've been running into Sunflower Market one afternoon a week, grabbing a few different entree type items and maybe a veggie or two and running back out.  But that doesn't do it long term.

Well, let's see if I have some pages to post.  I honestly don't know.  I've done a few today, but I can't post those here before I post them in the galleries.  Let me go look.....  Nope.  But there'll be pages next time, I promise.  Have a great weekend! 

No new pages!

There!  Just in case you were expecting new works of art, there aren't any.  My Photoshop program, true to the rumors I heard, is not compatible with Windows Vista.  I am SO not happy!  I don't want to spend another $40-$60 on software!  I've already had to buy the new version of ACDSee and start over with organizing my scrap stuff.  And, I can't figure how to get my off-site backup software to work.  AND, they included some cheapie version of Microsoft Office on here, but it's a 60 day trial, then I have to pay for it.  AND, I use Smart FTP to upload my pages and albums to Amanda's site and it USED TO BE FREE.  You can assume from that sentence that, yes, now they charge for it.  And, I've had to pay for it!  I've had to jerryrig the tax software to get it to work, but it works, thank God! 

Money around here couldn't be a lot tighter.  I've taken over paying the payments on my two credit cards.  And, I'm paying for the yard guy and the cleaning lady.  I know it sounds silly that with money so tight there's still a cleaning lady, but she's been with me for years and years and I'd be devastated if I had to let her go.  I do her taxes and I know she doesn't make much.......  And, yesterday, I had to break down and make a grocery store run.  And, when it cools off this evening, I'll have to go put gas in the van.  We're struggling to make the house payment and the second mortgage payment and the utility bills.  But, so far, we've been able to do it, though niceties like bleach to use on white clothes or color to use on hair no longer exist in this household.  I do my best to turn out a dinner for the two of us, even on work nights, for under $5.  Given Joe's appetite and demand for meat and my need to avoid pasta, potatoes, and rice, that's not all that easy.  And then there are the small details of life like dog food and haircuts and that sort of thing.  So far, we've made it, but I'll be ever so happy when the hot weather begins to cool and the air conditioning bill lessens.  That will also mean more mileage from the bit of gasoline we buy weekly.  I'm about ready to go looking for food banks to help keep us fed while we work for the mortgage companies and the utility companies.  But, we still have a roof over our heads and live in relative comfort in that the air conditioner still works!

This has been a decent week as far as signings go.  Joe has had three Monday, Tuesday, and today (afterall, it is the end of the month, the title company's busiest time).  In fact, I doubt I'll see him home before 7:30 or 8PM or later because his last one today is at 6:00.  And, the additional processing they've put off on the signers is really eating up time.  In theory, they were going to schedule appointments only at hour and a half intervals with the "extra" half hour to be used for processing.  However, they are still jamming through appointments at hourly intervals.  Joe gets the signings done, generally, in the hour, but ends up staying late to do the processing.  Also in theory, it was only supposed to take us about 10 minutes per file to process; it seems to take more like half an hour by the time all the copies are made and the piles are sorted and ......  One of the newest signers, a former employee of the title company, had 2 three-hour signings yesterday and 2 three-hour signings the day before.  I'd be happy if the Lord found her and a couple more signers a different line of work!  That seems to be the main problem--they've added 4 signers over the last few months.  And, strangely, at least two of the newest signers are so busy while Joe who has been there, doing this for four years + is sitting around sucking his thumb.  Let's not even talk about how long it's been since I've had a signing, in spite of three years experience with this company.  So, if anyone wants to join me in praying that the Lord will bless some of these signers with new and better jobs, your prayers will be welcome.

The JOB continues.  I've now got the old bank account reconciled through April.  Just May, June and part of July to go.  When I started, that bank account showed a MINUS $540,000 balance.  We're down now to just over $100,000 negative.  My predecessor occasionally recorded only payroll checks; sometimes he broke down and recorded almost all of the expenditures (that "almost" part is the kicker); but booking deposits just didn't suit him.  Months and months of no deposits booked.  There's no hope of determining what customer the monies have come from, so I can't clear out the Accounts Receivable against the deposits.  I'll have to pick through those later and try to get something real in that account.  The loss of so much money to my predecessor's thievery has really kicked the company in the teeth.  Both Matt and Greg are out doing their best to sell, sell, sell, but with construction in a slow down and even the casinos doing layoffs, it's hard work.  But, there are some jobs coming up that will help out a lot.  Maybe we can even get things on an even keel and figure out some way to make a dent in the past debts.  Accounts Payable are all befouled too, and that may be the next place I busy myself.  It sure would be nice to have a good handle on what is actually owed......  I expect I'll be taking over running payroll tomorrow.  It's not one of my favorite things, but since there are only 5 people on payroll right now, it's not too awful.  I will say the place wears me out.  I come home from there just worn to a nubbin, next to nothing left to get through the bit of afternoon and the evening in front of me.

I've taken Joe's earphones to work.  I can plug them into the computer's speakers and listen to Christian stuff the whole time I am there.  It serves two purposes.  First, I am much less distracted by all the noise and activity around me.  And, second, when someone lets out with a really foul swear word, it's pretty much muffled.  And, actually, there is a third purpose--it keeps my spirits up and in an encouraged frame of mind. 

I'm now trying to get in 5 hours a day, 4 days a week.  Obviously I've taken a day off today as I was just exhausted and sick and tired of having a headache.  I went back to bed around 9AM this morning and slept til 11.  I figure that at 20 hours a week, I can take over one more of our major bills and still have a bit of money left over for those times when there is no money in our joint account for food.  Maybe I can even get a haircut!  Wow!   And, I actually have a savings account with a tiny bit of money in it. 

In scrapping news, the big news is that I can't do much of anything and it is a real disappointment to me.  That is my stress reliever.  Yesterday, I finally managed to find a driver to make my photo printer work.  But, there are still any number of computer related problems to solve.

Cori put out a great kit this week.  Unfortunately, I couldn't work with it.  I had just the layout in mind, too, but it went in the store yesterday and I still can't scrap!

Amanda put out a great new paper pack and a cute little feminine kit.  Of course, I can't work with them right now either!  Nor can I do any quick pages........

LaWanna still hasn't put that cute boy kit in the store yet, but she did get my last set of quick pages up.  Very timely, as they are "back to school" themed. 

The designers at ACOT are still busy little bees--lots and lots of stuff to download, unzip and organize.  Apparently the Creative Team didn't put together many layouts for this week's showcase as I got an e-mail soliciting a contribution.  But, I can't scrap! 

NDISB doesn't have a whole lot new and wonderful shaking this week.  Of course, some people would think what has gone up in the store IS wonderful, but let's just say it's not my style.  Or, it's heavily girly which doesn't work too well for me since my photos are heavily oriented towards little boys or scenery. 

Claudi invited me to stay on as a Creative Team member.  I was just on the verge of turning her down when she put a freebie up on her blog.  SO, of course, I went to grab it and found out by reading a bit that she is a born again Christian with an upfront love for Jesus.  Okay, okay, I'll scrap for her!  So, I'm now on her permanent team.  I figured the Lord led her to put up that freebie so I'd see that, otherwise I'd have said no.

Deb is still quiet.  She'll, all of a sudden, pop out a kit and an alpha or two and a bunch of other little things and then I'll have to earn my keep!

I am blessed that Amanda, LaWanna, Claudi, and Deb are all on the Jesus team.  It makes for a great bunch of designers with whom to work.  I don't know about Cori, but she's Amanda's best friend, so she's at least heard the good news......

I do want to say that if I had the right software, the new computer would be a dream come true.  It has double the memory the old one had and can handle so much more so much faster.  There were bigger and faster ones available.  In fact this was the second cheapest they had.  But, I'm happy with it and I pray the Lord will let it run a long, long time.

We in this house covet your prayers.  And, if you read this blog regularly, you can bet you are prayed for regularly too. 

Later.......laundry is calling.

Is it a trend?

Well, Joe has two signings today.  Yesterday he had one.  Thursday and Friday of last week, he had none.  I'm hoping this is a trend~  We'll see if he has three tomorrow.......

In the meantime, he's actually begun applying for some jobs.  It's a small beginning, but it's something.  He applied at Schwan's.  I'd love to see that go somewhere because they have both a 401(k) and a health plan.  Then, he gave me his updated resume to review.  Yuck!  Poor guy hasn't had to go hunting a job for about 25 years.  I don't know if what he gave me was what worked 25 years ago or not, but I seriously doubt it would work now.  Several hours later and several revisions later, we have a resume that is presentable and highlights his skills.  Now, if I can just get him to send it out!  The job market here is piss poor, but the Lord is able.

I'm trying to work myself up to doing more hours at Floor Coating Creations.  I started at 12 a week and I'm hoping to do 18 this week.  Honestly, after I get the old stuff cleaned up, I don't know how I can justify many hours.  But, for now, it's such an awful mess that it's a real challenge and it wears me out!  I have no clue what the previous person did for 8 hours a day other than plan ways to steal.  The company makes some payments by bank by phone or bank online.  They also have a company debit card.  In the month of January, the man, literally, booked one deposit for the month (there were 8) and no checks were booked except for paychecks.  Even the checks he booked were booked incorrectly--he booked John's paycheck as if it were George's, George's as if it were Charlie's, and so on.

Jen is staying temporarily in a house near Jason's.  Jason has been doing some better with his moods, but Jennifer really wants to see some consistency.  He really has to take his meds regularly and work with a therapist.  She needed furniture so Saturday, Joe, Jason, and Matt lugged our sofa and love seat, two side tables, our dining room table and chairs out, loaded everything into the van and Jason's truck and took it all over and delivered it to her new place.  I'm so glad Matt came to help out.  He's BIG and very strong and I don't worry as much about him having a heart attack in the heat as I do about his 58 year old father!  We're eagerly awaiting a call from Fran saying "come and get it" with regard to her furniture.  It's not that we use either the living room or the dining room furniture much, but it does look pretty empty in there.  And, I'm just sure that one of these times, Jennifer will move in a month that is NOT August, LOL!

Not a whole lot going on in my scrapping life.  I told Nina very specifically all the reasons I could not meet her published team requirements and she still wants me to stay on.  SO, I'll still be scrapping with her goodies. 

LaWanna has turned that kit that had me mystified into the cutest kit for little boys.  Gee, I just happen to know a couple!  She sent out previews today asking for title ideas.  It is so darn cute and I can't wait til it hits the store and I can scrap with it.

I've taken over making previews and product descriptions for my pages for Amanda.  Though it's more work, it's different and challenging until I get bored with it and then I'll not be so enthusiastic about doing it.  But, previews are a way of life when you design, so.....guess I'll have to get used to it.  I just finished a 5 x 7 brag book for Amanda which is all nicely bundled up with its preview and its product description and sitting on her server, along with 5 sets of Quick Pages that she will post sooner or later.

Cori took a week off this week.  I kept haunting the team forum, but not a word from her.  I was surprised, given that she is the guest designer at Funky Playground Designs this month, but everyone gets worn out sometime.  But, I do look forward to her kits so now I can just haunt the forum til next week!

I'm doing a guest gig for the month of August for a german designer named Claudi.  Claudi sells at Inspiration Lane, Sunshine Studios and Digital Freebies.  I think it takes a while to get into the groove with a new designer, but I just finished my third official page with her stuff and I'm pleased with it.  So, hopefully that means I've hit my groove.

I was also just requested to do a guest spot for Tracy Blankenship.  Tracy does templates and sells at Funky Playground Designs.  Sometimes it feels to me as though all my pages look alike.  I'm sure that's not really quite true, but Tracy's scrapping style is quite different from mine and I love the variety in "look" I get when I scrap with her templates.  It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if she asked me to stay on down the road because working with a template designer just makes doing pages for other designers easier.  You use the designer's kit and the template designer's template, the page goes together liked greased lightning, and you get credit for 2 teams.

My computer is acting up.  There is a fan on it that is meant to exhaust the hot air away from the computer.  But, that fan has stopped working.  We still have Joe's computer that was bought at the same time, but his doesn't have a fan at all--we checked because we were going to scavenge his for parts.  For right now, we've opened up the case and it's doing okay, but, around here, dust and dog hair is everywhere no matter how much we clean, so I don't think it will do well with the case open for long.  I guess I'll have to get a new computer.  Joe does not play with others when it comes to sharing his computer and neither do I, so that won't work.  I've already decided on where and what I'll get, just need to get there and get it done.  In the meantime, I'm in a mad rush to back up everything on this one to my mega external hard drive.  I'm almost done with that.  The worst thing about a new computer is reinstalling all the programs.  And, there are rumors about Windows Vista not working well with Photoshop programs so I'm a little concerned about the whole thing.  But, it doesn't look like I have much choice.

Well, I need to call some clients, so I'll post a few pages and get on the phone. 

My son-in-law took this photo while the family was on their annual retreat. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this photo and wondered if he was transfixed by the fact that she was climbing the fence or at something else. I used "Maria", a new kit by Claudi Designs, for this layout. The stitching and yellow button are from Claudi's kit, Lori. You can find "Maria" at Inspiration Lane.

A while back I found photos of Johnstown, PA, my father's family home, on the internet (thank you, Robert Pence). I did a series of layouts about the area, reminiscing about the times I spent there. This is the last of the photos I'm going to work with (I think) and I've put it off forever....seeing this photo of the steel mill really makes me think of my grandfather and miss him, though he's been gone 40 years. I used a beautiful kit called "Kellie" by Claudi Designs for this. I tinted some mauve items a bit more to the orange side to go better with the photo. You can find "Kellie" at Inspiration Lane, Sunshine Studio, and Digital Freebies. I also used a template by Tracy Blankenship which I've modified a lot. Tracy's templates are available at Funky Playground Designs.

While Jennifer, Jason and the boys were on their annual retreat, Atticus earned himself a new nickname--Sharky. He kept biting people. What an encouraging sight to see him run up and give this little guy a hug! I used Patricia Amaral's The Love Collection for this page. I used an alpha by Dani Mogstad as a clipping mask for paper from the kit to do the title. This layout is based on a template by Tracy Blankenship. You can find Patricia Amaral's fabulous Love Collection at Natural Designs in Scrapbooking (www.ndisb.com).

DH and I never get a "real" vacation. We DO get a few long weekends. We started touring the California missions primarily because we can drive to them. And, of course, I love the history. Here is Mission San Juan Capistrano with its garden in full bloom. Like the swallows, I hope to return to this beautiful place. I used Cori Gammon's new kit, Beauteous for this page. Beauteous is available at ScrapArtist.

When he's at daycare, Atticus spends some time outdoors. However, when he's at home, that doesn't happen too often (after all, it's 110 degrees out there!). But he and Grandma take a walk or explore the backyard in the evenings when she comes to stay with him. I used the new Cori Gammon-Traci Murphy collaborative kit called Pure Energy for this page. Pure Energy is available at Funky Playground Designs. The turquoise flower and ribbon wrap are from Cori's kit, Truly Blessed. The other flowers (orange one is recolored) are from Cori's High Fidelity kit. The alpha is from Sweet Pea, another Cori Gammon kit. You can find Pure Energy at Funky Playground Designs, and you can find Cori's other kits at ScrapArtist.

This handsome young man, my DGS, William, was my partner at breakfast on Mother's Day. What a sweetie he is! I used Cori Gammon's new kit, Cherry Snap, for this page. The beaded alpha is by Kimberly Giarusso and the white alpha is Cori's from her Color Me Happy kit. Cori's products are available at ScrapArtist.

That's all for today, folks.  Have a blessed day!

Can't get it right....

When I went away to college, I was always in hot water because I called home every week but I didn't write letters.  Same when I was just out of college.  Now, I tend to make my calls within network on my cell phone and I find that hearing what the other person is saying is sometimes difficult.  Either they don't speak directly into the phone or they're driving and I hear the road noise or they're driving and the conversation cuts in and out or I'm someplace noisy and I can't hear (like at home where my hearing-challenged DH has the TV up to max volume at all times).  For a while I got discouraged with the whole calling thing and resorted to posting here instead.  Now that I'm commuting to work and in a quiet car, I've been calling more.  When I was posting here, that was wrong.  Now that I'm calling, I'm being reminded to post to the blog.  Geez, what's a girl to do?

There is just a bit of family news.  Jennifer and Jason and the boys just got home from their annual retreat.  Before going, it was Jason's job to acquire a new camera since Jen had lost the old one.  (It was an OLD one, too, because I had used it for several years before giving it to her.)  He asked my advice and I highly recommended an updated version of the one I am using.  I use a Sony DSC-5.  He got the DSC10 which, I believe, is at least 2 versions later than mine.  I've been thrilled with mine and the price on the later versions has come down from what I spent more than a year ago.  Well, he actually listened to my advice and he took a lot of photos while they were out of town.  Quite a few of them were good photos, just need a tweak or two in photoshop as most digital photos do.  This camera has fantastic optical zoom on it.  With a digital camera, you get a choice of digital or optical zoom.  It's the optical zoom you want as digital zoom actually just sort of crops your photo.  (And, by the way, it's optical zoom you pay good money for.  Digital zoom is cheap, but not worth much anyway.) Also, since he was injured, there's been a slight tremor in his hands.  Most of the photos he's taken over the past few years have been blurry and I believe this is the cause.  This camera has a feature called "image stabilization" which reduces that kind of blurriness.  He uploaded 180 or so photos taken at PYM with the new camera and I didn't see a single one that was blurred in that manner.  He is now taking 10 megapixel photos with an excellent Zeiss lens as opposed to the old camera which had a so-so lens and took 4.3 megapixel photos when set at its best setting.  That means that the photos are much clearer than with the old camera as well.  Finally, I know that they tend to let the kids mess with their cameras.  So, a sturdy model was important.  For example, I still have a Fuji laying around here which I could have offered them.  But the thing is such a delicate little flower--I had it shipped off to New Jersey twice, for more that a month each time in the first year I owned it for warranty work because it wouldn't zoom at all.  And, now it is out of warranty.  But having it worked on for a month at a time is a bummer!  The DSC10 has a permanent housing and the lens moves within that housing to zoom.  This is quite different from the cameras you see where the lens moves in and out of the camera body, unprotected, depending on your focus.  If he really gets the photography bug, I'm sure that one day he will want a top of the line camera like his uncle has.  But, for now, this one is much easier to learn and not as bulky to carry around.  And, if you lose it, you might feel really bad, kind of like losing your right arm, but you won't need a bank loan to replace it!
I shopped it on line and came away with best price of $299.  I don't know how, but he found it at a substantial discount below that here locally.  That compares quite nicely to the fancy schmancy cameras where a camera body and one lens cost between $700-$900 and additional lenses can cost up to $2500 EACH!

I have a funny Atticus story.  Jen took him into the bedroom to change his diaper a few days ago.  She was singing some little made up song to him to keep him entertained during the changing process.  Somewhere in there she stopped singing.  He signed "more" and she thought he wanted her to sing some more.........no, not quite.  Momentarily, there was a fountain.  His "more" meant he needed to pee some more!  So, they are now the proud owners of a baby potty.  Potty training to begin shortly!

He is still such a quiet little guy.  He knows quite a few words but says little.  I babysat Friday night and heard "up" a lot, but that was about the extent of his conversation.  I think he gets a lot of what he wants by other means so finds words unnecessary at the moment.  For example, if he comes to you carrying a book, it's pretty easy to figure out he wants you to read the book, so he doesn't really have to ask...... 

I went over to Jason's house at 5:30PM as requested.  As I was coming in through the garage, he took one look at me and took off running for his mother.  That behavior is not intended to make a grandma feel welcome.  Poor little guy stood by the door into the garage and cried for the bulk of 20 minutes when Jason and Jennifer left and nothing I did or said seemed to comfort him.  Once he was done with that, we had a good time.  We watched kiddy movies and had some dinner and read books and walked around outside.  Then, when he was tired, he happily took his bottle and went to sleep.  It was all good.

He is becoming, or has become, an escape artist.  Several months ago, I was over there and Jason was letting him play with opening and closing the front door.  Now, I know that opening and closing things is a real thrill for him, but I'd draw the line at the door to the house.  Bedroom door, sure; doors to the outside world, not on your life.  They do have a little courtyard area outside the front door that is fenced off with wrought iron.  Now, he's learned to open the door to the garage as well and they have to keep the kitchen door locked to keep him from exploring the garage or, God forbid, wandering off.
I think it might be time to invest in some new locks that only adults can reach!

I didn't get to see William as he was spending the night with a friend.  Jennifer says he's been doing quite a bit of that.  I think that's good for him as there are really no children his age in the neighborhood.  I was happy for him, but I missed him.......

In the scrapping world, my biggest news is bad news.  Lynn Grieveson has decided to give up on having a Creative Team.  I've been with her almost since she started and I'm so sad.  It's almost like losing a friend.  The store she sells at frowns on designers having creative teams and we weren't allowed to call ourselves that, but we functioned like one.  Now, all that's gone.  It's only been a couple of days, but I feel so sad........

Amanda has not been doing much as far as creating is concerned.  She's had some sort of virus in her computer and has turned herself inside out trying to get rid of it, all, so far, to no avail.  So, mostly she's selling commercial use stuff, no new kits.  In theory, she's got two collaborative kits in the works, but until she gets the computer problems solved, that won't happen.  She has started an internet class to teach folks how to design digital scrapbooking products.  I'm taking the class (more about that later.)

Cori has been doing her bit to keep me busy.  She landed a gig as a guest designer at Funky Playground Designs for the month of August.  And, of course, she is still selling at ScrapArtist.  So, we are getting two kits a week to scrap with instead of one.   That's like a double dose of heaven for me as I so love her work.  The only problem tends to be the short time lines we work under and the need to rearrange priorities just to keep up.  But, I was actually first in with my two pages this week and I was pretty proud of that.  I have to say that anyone who doesn't buy this girl's kits is just silly.  She has great colors, and every kit is jam-packed with goodies.  I had to giggle this week.  Her kit for Funky Playground is a collaborative kit, meaning it is created by Cori and another designer.  The funny part is that the kit two people worked on is WAY smaller than the one she created by herself for ScrapArtist.

Deb Fisher has even turned out some new products recently.  I hope that means that slowly but surely she is getting her life back.  Last spring, Deb lost her husband in a freak farm accident and was left to raise 7 children alone.  Quite naturally, she kind of lost her creative mojo and she and her children just sort of huddled up at home trying to comfort each other and trying to figure out how to go on.  She says almost nothing to the Creative Team about all that but whenever I get a new product from her, I tell myself it's a good sign. 

LaWanna Desjardin.  That's my girl.  She and I have become quite good friends, batting ideas back and forth and sharing secrets as we girls are known to do.  For example, yesterday she even e-mailed me some previews of some kits she has in the works and asked for suggestions.  One had "apples" all over it for me.......green and red apples.  And, I suggested she use that as a theme, particularly as we are headed into back to school and then fall.  The other looked pretty summery, and I don't think I had a whole lot to offer when it came to ideas for that one.  She likes to do themed kits so I suggested basketball, Nascar, or cats--there was a good bit of orange in the kit papers......   She's actually taking a bit of a design break and is going to fill the "holes" by posting some more of my quick pages.  I got paid for last month's stuff a few days ago and was thrilled to receive almost double what I've been receiving.  I'm still not getting rich off of it, but DOUBLE the sales is nice!

Nina has moved the team forum again.  She continually tweaks things.  We just get settled in in one location and we're off somewhere else.  It's so bad, I've forgotten the password to download her products at one store!  I feel like a gypsy!  Thank goodness, I have access to her designs through another store without a password.  Her husband, Bernd, just lost his job so she is really pressuring the Creative Team to produce layouts and produce them quickly as well as doing a lot of extra stuff.  I've actually resigned from the team, but she is asking me to reconsider.  The truth is, with the new demands on my time, I don't have time for the extras she's demanding.  I can do the 4 layouts a month, but the other things she wants are either things I'm just not all that comfortable doing or things I don't think I have the time for right now.

I'm still chugging along with Store number 1.  July was the end of my second year on their CT.  They've taken on some designers whose work I'm not crazy about, but there are some other designers there whose work I love.  So, as long as I get to pick and choose what I'll work with, I'm happy.  And, there are at least 3 designers who sell at both stores so I can do a page for one store and use it to meet requirements at the other.  That helps a lot.  A funny thing about the new designers there--two of them are the only two designers from whose teams I've resigned.  They're stalking me, I think, LOL.  One of the bad things about that is that when they have been out of the market for a while or are just opening up with a new store, they recycle the old stuff.  Well, if I found it difficult to work with then, I still do!  Again, I get to pick and choose, so it's okay.

And, I guess I'm still chugging along with Store number 2.  Today is actually the end of my one year contract but they haven't kicked me out so I'm still there.  I'm sure there are always designers one loves and designers whose work just doesn't appeal.  Store number 2 has some in that "doesn't appeal" category too.  But, again, there are designers whose work I really like there and it's fun to get free stuff every time I sign on!    I noticed today, as I was downloading kits from this store, another designer recycling her old kits.  I used to love her work, but tastes change and she has done nothing to update her style.  It's a shame, too, because she certainly has the talent.

So, let's talk about a new designer who's about to break into the market.  Her name is Marci and she does some really nice work.  She has an excellent eye for color, and produces a real quality product.  She's been learning design from a master, Miss Amanda Rockwell.  And has produced two kits.  She labored under the idea for a long time that a person had to be able to draw well in order to design.  Then she began creating Quick Pages for LaWanna Desjardin and began scouring the commercial design sites for little things to add to her pages so she wouldn't have to make LaWanna crazy with her requests for new stuff.  She was shocked to realize that art can be bought, even in the digital world.  And, while it does cost, it's not horribly expensive.  Then, LaWanna happened to say one day "Gee, I wish I could draw!"  At that point, Marci realized that LaWanna has a successful design business and can't draw.  Maybe Marci could do the same thing??????  Marci's husband, who really knows very little about scrapbooking, has wondered why she didn't try designing, but he doesn't understand the time required to learn various techniques, advertise, assemble a creative team, etc.  But, Marci thought about all that and decided that designing is fun and whether she spends her time designing or spends her time sleeping, she is just getting older.  Might as well do something fun in the process of aging!  So, for now, I've added that little project (BIG project) to my list of things to do......

Work is still crazy.  I've managed to whittle the piles and piles and piles of paper that were in, on, and surrounding my desk down to a little pile about 3 inches high.  Some of those items are total mysteries which I hope will be solved as I go along.  Others of those items are just things I haven't been able to get to yet.  The CPA for the company is still being a stumbling block.  I think he has come to realize that he is about to lose a client.  I have managed to get the bank reconciled through September 2007 which is a real improvement from where I found it, December 2006.  There's still a long way to go and a lot of things to get cleaned up.  One of the problems is Greg.  Greg is a really nice guy, from what I've seen, but about the most inept or uncaring person I've ever seen when it comes to paperwork.  Deadlines mean nothing to him.......  Rules don't mean much more.....  Just finding out from one day to the next what he's done with the bank account is an adventure. 

Joe's work is still S-L-O-W.  And he's still not ready to try anything else.  If he keeps fooling around, we'll lose the house or the car or both besides having to declare bankruptcy.  I am so very tired of him allowing his preconceived negative ideas come between us and progress.  He just sits at his desk and waits for the phone to ring.  If it doesn't ring enough, we can't pay the bills.  And, it hasn't been ringing enough.  Honestly, there is little we can pare from the budget.  We could ditch the lawn service, but my lawnmower is about 15 years old and the battery just won't take a charge.  So, if we ditch the lawn service, we'd have to buy a lawn mower and a bunch of lawn tools and then someone would have to hold a gun to Joe's head to get him to use them.  Particularly since he hasn't got a brain in his head when it comes to scheduling outside work for the early morning hours or the cool of the evening.  He went out yesterday, when it was at least 103, in the heat of the day and worked on the Mitsubishi.  He added water to the battery and cleaned the battery posts.  He came in here soaked in perspiration and huffing and puffing and complaining about the heat.  Well, honestly, what did he expect?  It was 2PM, the hottest part of the day......

A good year ago, I came up with the idea of taking some classes (a one year distance learning program) and getting into medical transcription.  It would have cost about $1500.  But a good transcriptionist can make between $50,000 and $75,000 a year and gets to work from home--no commuting cost and no work wardrobe required.  He wouldn't even consider it--it cost too much.  Now I ask you, would you spend $1500 if you knew there was a 30x return on the other end?  I sure would........  And, that money that I'd now be earning would certainly come in handy about now, wouldn't it????  Now, I'm concerned that it may be too late to save the farm.

Well, that's all my news for now.  I have no idea why but this computer is moving very slowly.  Perhaps it just needs to be rebooted.  And, I've promised to work on a set of quick pages today as well as needing to go see a client and go to the grocery store.  So, I've got to sign off.  No pages for now.  It's not that I don't have some to post.....just don't have the time right now.  IF the rest of the day goes well, maybe I can get back here tonight and post a little eye candy.