We're all in this together.

Sing it now! Sing it Long! Sing it again! Sing it in your brain for hours after you leave!


I went to High School Musical at the Children's Theater this evening. For those who don't know the background, Disney made this movie, direct to DVD, and is marketing it to the skys amongst the pre-teen set. I had heard none of the songs, didn't know the plot. Had only heard "Grease" starting to market itself as "The orignial High School Musical"

The opening scene and music is ripped straight out of Grease. Then they do something a bit more wholesome with the whole thing. Jocks v. Brains v.Drama club. Build up the tension. Get the star of the basketball team to try out for the musical and suddenly everyone is singing about soaring and flying and breaking all the molds and doing what they've always wanted to do.

And sing it again. We're all in this together.

It was an excellent production. Just a sweet predictable ending, but he music was fun, fun, fun!

Now I need to go buy tickets to take Amelia. Wish me luck!

A color for Suzy Q

Suzy,

My apologies for not thinking of a color! (I guess I should have expected forgetting at least one important person, eh?)

I have been thinking a bit. The colors that come to mind are yellow for hope, orange for laughter, and grey..um...well...let's leave that there.

Glad to see you are reading my blog. I guess I have to be careful what I say...who knows who is reading?

What's your color?

A friend gave me the book "Visual Chronicles" this weekend. It is a "no-fear guide to creating art journals, creative manifestos and altered books" She wasn't being inspired by it, and I thought it was totally cool.

The first chapter talks about color. The assignment is to " Start with a person, someone important in your life: What colors come to mind when you imagine this
person?"

So instead of this column being personal about me, it will be personal about you, my readers. (Or perhaps they are imagined readers in some cases.)


Minda: A spicy nutmeg roast. Browny-orange with lots of depth and energy.

Lisa: A deep red. Thoughtful, spicy and sexy with a bit of mystery.

Erin: Bright golden yellow. Youth and energy and growth all together.

Susan: Pink. Can't say much else. It just seems to be a color made for you.

Kate: Green. A rainbow of greens. Growth and stability.

Martha: Brown. Brown with every color in it. You are an enigma to me.

Nicole: Olive green and Deep sky blue. Honest as all outdoors.

Michelle: A palette of blues. Stable and optimistic.

Vicki: Well, I have never really been to Texas, but the colors of Texas are what I think of for you. Sand and Terra cotta, Dusty Green, Deep Blue Sky.

Marcy: You are changing colors. I think perhaps you were a dark and murky orange, but you are emerging to a bright orangeish yellow, ready to take on the new world!

Two of you I am having trouble with the color. That would be Linda and Bonnie. I think it's because I know you both are very different deep down than you appear upon first meeting. I know you more than first meeting, but not deep down. So my crystal ball is cloudy right now. :-)

***Update...I thought of colors for Bonnie. Black and Flowers. Ok...black because her blog is black so I really associate that with her. Plus I think she was wearing black the first time I met her. (Nothing sinister or depressing) And then flowers, which I know really isn't a color, but there always seems to be flowers on her blog. Plus, when I did a weekend retreat with her, she was surrounded with flowers (and used them on almost every page!).

So...there's my psycho-analysis of you for today. Of course, we bring our own lens everywhere. Who's to say the colors above won't change as I change? Really it is about me?

Off to crop!

Summer Evening

Rebecca Sower's blog recently exhorted its readers to do "pick one" of a list of simple pleasures to "savor the raw beauty and simplicity of the process".

Last night I played in the sandbox with my daughter (not on Rebecca's list, but definitely on mine).




I had a sandbox just like this when I was a kid. Actually, it was at the neighbor's, but we didn't have fences in those days, so it was as good as mine. It had wooden sides just like this one. We would spend hours in that sandbox building forts. I remember we each would take one corner and pile up the sand. Then we would put in a moat, a bridge, windows (finger pokes) and various designs. We had to dig down into the "wet sand" to make it work. I think we just had our hands. I don't remember any shovels or other tools. We would get in trouble if we turned on the hose to wet the sand or fill our moats. That would be wasteful.

So last night Margaret and I made some of the sand into "wet sand" and made a fort. I had the sprinkler going while we did this, and as we were digging and carving, we saw many birds (mostly robins) come to pick for worms. We also saw a cardinal sitting in the "rain" on the fence. And a woodpecker in the apple tree. It was so fun to just sit and dig and listen to the sprinkler and the birds. We even had some towels and clothes on the clothesline. It was just like childhood... except for the planes on their landing paths close overhead.

This morning when I got into the shower I realized I had a tick! on my belly! I don't remember ever getting ticks in the sandbox when I was little. Got it off with the tweezers and then checked Margaret for ticks carefully. Luckily she didn't get any. Oh well. A small price for a little piece of childhood last night.

It's here!

Yay! My hubby knew I was waiting for the new Jenni Bowlin kit so he called to tell me it has arrived! I know what I'll be scrapping tonight!

I also have some stitching to finish on this (Stitch on the flowers or add brads. Also stitch around the tag)


and this (I'm going to add a circle)

Summer's Here!

Look at the forecast!

Date Skies Hi/Lo %chance of rain HIGH

Today
Jun 11 Sunny 89°/69° 10% 89°F

Tue
Jun 12 Sunny 90°/69° 10% 90°F

Wed
Jun 13 Partly Cloudy 90°/68° 10% 90°F

Thu
Jun 14 Cloudy 91°/72° 10% 91°F

Fri
Jun 15 Partly Cloudy 92°/72° 10% 92°F

Sat
Jun 16 Partly Cloudy 92°/74° 10% 92°F

Sun
Jun 17 Isolated T-Storms 88°/69° 30% 88°F

Powerpoint humor

For those of you in office land (or glad you're not, or wishing you were), here's a great video about the dangers of Powerpoint. I haven't laughed this hard in ages.

Soccer!

Margaret is so totally loving the soccer thing. She is just laughing while running up and down the field. Like it's a fun game and not a competition. That will come later, I'm sure. This past Wednesday night, at one point, she and a girl from the other team were just kicking it back and forth. They really were trying to get it past each other, but were only about 2 feet away and it ended up being a little volley back and forth. And she was just grinning and laughing.

She still asks after every game: "Mom. When's my next soccer game?" And she knows that Saturday is her last game. And so she's started asking about the fall. And I tell her, "of course we'll sign you up again!". I think she will cry after the game on Saturday.

Above is a layout I did of some pictures from this season. I have some nice shots of Margaret, but I think capturing the not so great shots with all the kids around the ball and and coaches and sidelines will also provide great memories.

A question for my soccer mom... The older sister is just dragging her feet and putting up a tantrum and generally being poopy about having to go to her sister's soccer games. We make sure she brings a book or something to do, but wondering if you have some techniques for helping the one who is not playing in the game. She is only 9 years old, so I can't leave her at home alone (which is what she really wants)

The last week of....

The girls' last day of school is next Tuesday, June 12. We have been discussing "lasts" over the last week.

Today is their "last Wednesday". Margaret is sad because it is her "last day of art class". Amelia is sad because it is her last day of reading and now she has to spend "all day in Mr. K's class". (They switch classes for reading and she really, really loves her reading teacher) Not a lot of working going on...mostly the winding up of things.

Handing in the library books, bringing home the art projects and work books, field day and carnivals, choir concerts.

I think that is was I miss most about school. It seemed that no matter how hard or bad things got, it would all be over at the end of the semester. You could start the next school term energized and full of hope. A totally new set of classes. A chance for everything to go well.

Sometimes I feel like I need an "end of the semester" for my personal life. You know... wrap things up. Closure. Maybe an evaluation period. But then the ability to MOVE ON. I seem to carry stuff forever. I have some ideas in my head of things to "do around the house" that have been there for years. Or just general things that I am going to do "someday". I'm not talking about giving up legitimate dreams (I still want to score 100 on 18 holes someday), but I am talking about giving up the laundry list of somedays. And of course, all the parenting mistakes you make... you don't just get a grade and move on...you have to live with the outcome of the mistakes you made. And you can't just tell the kids, "New semester at school. I'm going to be a different mommy now." and start over.

There's no drastic things in my life I'm talking about, just the strain of 22 years of being an adult and not being able to "close up the semester".

Here's to fresh starts!


I have scrapped at least one page every day in June so far! It's my own personal challenge for the month. Here's yesterday, for those who haven't seen it on the board where I post my layouts. Gotta start thinking about tonight's! I don't have a lot of time to do them (I can squeeze in 30 mins or so) so they are simple. But hey, they are completed pages. And a good stress relief for me.

A not so random RAK

OK...my last post got me thinking. Those of you that I might actually see over the next month...post a reply with some favorite product line/color/style and I will put together a paper pack "RAK" for you. It won't be the latest and greatest stuff...but it will be nice. Oh...and I won't mail it...we'll have to arrange to meet. I'll be at TOO the entire weekend of June 22-24 where folks can come pick it up!

I think if you qualify for this not so random RAK, I will have your e-mail address. Please, don't be shy!

Some of you I can guess on what to gift to (Linda...need some more Doodlebug?). The others? I'll get to know a bit more about your style. And I'll still have 15" worth of paper to sell :-)

Here's a sample of what I need to know:

I love earthy, shabby distressed stuff. 7gypsies, Rusty Pickle, etc. I also love green. Not so much on bright colors.

Or

I have tons of baby pages to do. I love florals and pale blues.

or

GIVE ME ALL YOUR CHATTERBOX.

OK...maybe not so much on that last one.

Another Question..

Michelle said...

Which product do you have the most of? Why? Because you like it and horde it? Or don't like it anymore but have a ton leftover?

Patterned paper. I have enough to scrap every single picture I own on a one page spread and I would still have some leftover. No secret that I love pp. The insidious part about paper is that it's "only" 60 cents, or 90 cents. Can't beat that, can you? Of course, I have gone to the counter with a stack of items that are only "60 cents" and spent $50. And Scrapbooks Too will occasionally have a 40 or 50% off of all patterned paper. Then I spent $60 (and get a ginormous stack).

In the old days (before I admitted I had a problem) when I new line came out, I would go down the stack and buy TWO of every single sheet. Even that odd design sheet that seems to come out in every line. Whoa!!! Now I really limit to three or four sheets per line (except the Tres Jolie...had to go up to 10 on that one). Really.

Seriously though, aside from the "value" of pp, I just love it. I could seriously scrap with just cardstock, patterned paper and adhesive. I do use a lot of it...sometime 4 or 5 patterns on one page. I especially love the challenge of mixing PPs from various manufacturers. Here's a page I made yesterday with 3 types of Foofala and one 7Gypsies.



I am garage sale-ing tons of patterned paper the end of the month (a stack about 15 inches tall as I speak...will likely get taller) that I have to figure out how to divide and package. Suggestions on that are appreciated!

More Questions!

Thank you Nicole for asking questions. I hate to have the long, long "Ode to Engineering" as my most recent post. (And thank you Michelle, for understanding)

Nicole said...
If you had gone to a bus plant, would you have been excited about it?

Absolutely! To see how all the parts go together, to see the automation they have; how they install windows, how they put on the "stop arm". Cool Cool. I went on an automobile assembly plant tour recently and it was really great.
Now about going to Tulsa? Not so much. :-)

Nicole said...
Will Linda ever update her blog on a regular basis?

The problem with blogs is that if you have a life, you don't have time to write. If you don't have a life, you don't have anything to write about. So...most of us who blog (i.e. have time) don't have much to write about. We resort to asking people to ask us questions so that that we have something to write about. Linda must fall in the other category. 'Cause when she does post, it's darned interesting.



Nicole said...
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Hmmm. Several possiblities arise. I'll pick near the ocean north of San Diego. Awesome weather and a place to go and cool off when the weather does get too hot. I do like California...except for all the people! Either that or Albuquerque