Back in the Land of the Living

Well, I know I don't have a ton of readers who wonder if I fell off the earth, but those I do have have already pinged me about my whereabouts.  I can't believe a month flew by without me posting anything.  And to tell the truth, I haven't been to a whole lot of blogs lately.  This weekend will change that.  Time to catch up!!

So what have I been doing?  Well, last weekend was spent with my sister and her friend, scrapping at her friend, Jean's house.  We left Friday midday and it takes about 2 1/2 hours to cross the state to Elizabeth, which is just east of Galena.  No snow near Chicago when we left.  That changed big time during our trip. 

Long to short here: Driveway is long and steep, sister has front wheel drive vehicle, snow was very wet and huge flakes, we got stuck.  No boots, no traction on my gym shoes to allow me to get out and push.  We made some ruts.  Once we got into the house, there was no leaving for the weekend. (Not that there were any plans to...after all, it was a scrapping weekend.)


Not yet stuck, tracks heading up the driveway



Stuck...one of a few places

Friday night sunset was stunning.  I'm seeing it as reward for us getting the vehicle up to the garage.

 Saturday was a dreary day outside, so it allowed me to concentrate on getting some pages done.  Here's some that are complete:

And some that need a little work:



Yeah, first born girl always gets the photo package from Van Gogh!!
Sorry, Colleen!

 And then there's some I can't show you yet. 

Jean knows how to build a fire.  Another bonus!!

And Sunday, we were blessed with a most beautiful sunrise. 

And later that morning, a beautiful panoramic view of snow-covered farmland. 

Wow...this is the upside to trees losing their leaves.  You get a different view of the beauty of nature. 

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to visit my #2 grandson's school for a Pre-K School Sing.  After they sang, I went back to the classroom to meet his teacher and to enjoy all the things his classroom offers him.  I left with a very happy heart!!

Things have been pretty busy at work, and it looks like the next 2-3 months will be all that and more.  I am truly blessed to have a great boss and to work with a lot of great people.  And as we play musical chairs in my little work world, it should be interesting to see how things wash out. 

But my PG and I are heading out see Jeanne Robertson tonight.  I first found out about her through my Texas Sisters.  A former Miss Congeniality at the Miss America pageant.  Humor based on real life.  My kinda speaker!!  Here's a short youTube that shows you her stuff. 

I've been working on some mindfulness exercises offered by Lisa Wilson through her Wild Elephant Project over at LifeUnity.  I know I'm not alone in needing to be reminded to be mindful in everything I do.  And yes, it's difficult.  But just going thru her exercises is a great reminder. 

Okay, I've rambled on enough.  Time for me to put away all my scrapbook stuff from last weekend, visit some blogs, cut my PG's hair so he looks purty for tonight, and get some laundry folded and put away. 

I promise to work harder at getting a post in every few days.  

A Couple More Pages

Can't say there's much going on here.  I found out yesterday that there's actually woodgrain on the top of my desk.  Who'da thought???  Yep...that means I'm getting thru the stacks.  Can't say I'm doing it alone.  I'm lucky enough to have my buddy Margo helping me!!!!

I've worked on a couple digital scrapbook pages.  I'm trying out a white background, but once I print them out, I'm feeling compelled to add something with a little dimension.  But here are the pages sans embellishments.



A few years of birthday cakes for grandson #1. 
I'm not that good, but he enjoys them.




Funfest at Indian Trail
June 1, 2011


So that's all for now!  I'm trying to make it a point to do a little blogging, a little visiting, a little scrapping, a little painting and a little photography each day.  Well, make that each week.  And if I'm not DOING it, I'm reading more to learn.  I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Happy Hump Day.  We're halfway to the weekend!

Creative Avenues - The Road Now Traveled

My friend Leanne over at From Chaos Comes Happiness once said that she doesn't multi-task very well when it comes to creativity.  I think I'm the same way.  Sometimes it's art journaling, sometimes it's card making, sometimes it's writing/blogging and sometimes it's scrapbooking.  But I don't seem to be able to do more than one of those and feel like I'm putting a part of myself into them.  Does that make sense?  I guess it's like driving.  You can only be on one road at a time!

Lately, I've been having some fun taking up Design Challenges over at Big Picture Classes.  We are issued three challenges a week, roughly every other day.  And I've really been doing a good job of keeping up.  I thought I'd share with you some of the layouts I've completed in this class. 

The first challenge was to take something common and use it to design your layout.  I came up with this:



A checkerboard layout
(I love how the flash caught the center of the flower)
Photo courtesy of Colleen Buti


Challenge #2 was to use your photo as your base.  (I'll probably re-do this one by handwriting instead of computer writing). 

Cormick's Imagination

Challenge #3 was to use orange:

What a happy little girl!
Photo courtesy of Christine Buti

Challenge #4 was to use vintage font/type in your layout

So Silly
Photo courtesy of Christine Buti

Challenge #5 was to use a symbol as part of your layout (I think I may tweak this a bit).


The Door - left page



The Door - right page

Challenge 6 was to do an almost monochromatic layout.

Challenge 7, one of the most difficult for me, was to use bold/busy paper. 

Challenge 8, use a sign.


Photos by Edward Fox Photography


We've got three more challenges to go.  Can't wait to see what they are. 

But I guess that's all I have for you today!!  Sorry I can't think of any deep, probing, life changing question to post!  It's just not in me right now!!

My Creative Journey (this month)

I've been busy, busy, busy getting my Craft Cave organized.  For too long, things have gotten away from me and it's been so crowded in the Cave that I couldn't even work in there.  So, inspired by a couple of Big Picture Classes that I am taking/have taken, I'm holding true to my word of the year, SIMPLIFY. 

I've whittled down my paperstock (way too much for one woman to have -- and I really don't even like some of it!!), organized and labeled my embellishments

and alphas, 

and ROYGBIV'd my cardstock. 

By the time I complete my class to Find Your Way at BPC, I should have a good idea of what type of layouts are the ones that work for me. That will allow me to whittle down the paperstock even more.  And I will be able to

embrace imperfection in my layouts, because it really is all about the memories!!

When I'm not in the Cave, I've been going thru pictures, sorting, dating and getting them into plain jane albums (with my PG's help) that will help me find what I want when I want to scrap a page. 

So that's what's been on my creative radar this week.  But I also wanted to share this little tidbit with you.

Back in April 2005, a group of girls got together at my girlfriend's house to work on vision boards.  (A digital version of it can be seen on Leanne's blog, here).  As I was organizing my cave, I turned around to notice that my vision board

 was behind a cork board that had this poster on it. 

Now, I don't want to get all Freudian on you, but I couldn't help but chuckle when I thought about how I was covering up my vision, yet telling myself to keep in touch with my dreams. 

So I ask you...have you been covering up your vision?  Is it front and center so that you can keep in touch with your dreams?   

Have a great Sunday, y'all!

Scrap Cellar Update

Oh, yeah!  It was a great day in the Cellar! 

Celebrated one of the chicks getting published in a national magazine!! OH YEAH!!  Cindi over at So, That's Why does some amazing things with digital scrapping.  And is now being recognized!  This layout  is one of my all time favorites of hers. You can see a bigger version here.  Congratulations, Cindi!!

And for those of you who know Leanne's work (From Chaos Comes Happiness), I've asked her to crank up her Create-o-meter and design a new blog header for me.  Who can resist the incredible work she's does?  You can see more of her artwork at The Adventures of Mr. CT and Me, or at {Words of Me} Project, or Blissful Babble.  Those headers are her work!!

CT (Laura's hubby), affectionately known as our Scrapbook Beeeatch, was extra special sweet.  He made a mid afternoon run to Starbucks for us.  Yes, we are spoiled!!!  Thanks, CT!!

My time spent in the cellar was very productive.  I completed 10 pages (9 of which are shown here) and I couldn't be happier.  Some were pages in progress that just needed some little extras.  And I do need to do some journaling on them (can't do that when I'm with the Chicks, with all the talking we do) so I'll get that done today.  But I'm very happy with what I got done!!  AND, other than the mini-chips in Laura's phenomenal biscotti (oh yeah...she's back in the zone!!) I got by without chocolate!!

All in all, it was a great date.  Don't ya wish guy/girl dates would be as nice??  Have a great Sunday, y'all!!

It's a Cellar Kind of Date

Oh, boy.  Remember back when you had a big date, and you spent hours or days deciding on what you'd wear, how you'd fix your hair, what you'd talk about?  Yeah, me neither!!  "Take me for what I am or you're not worth it" is how I saw it. 

But I've got a date this weekend.  And I do spend some hours getting ready for this date.  I've got a date with my Cellar Chicks!!


Clockwise from top left:  Me, Cindi from So, That's Why!,
Laura from The Adventures of Mr. CT and Me, and
Leanne from From Chaos Comes Happiness.

So I looked for some pictures I wanted to scrap, and put together some packets that will let me get the most out of our time together.  I even asked my PG to pick up some low Points Plus (as in, Weight Watchers) chips instead of M&M's.  (I'll struggle with that one, but I'll survive). 

It's a day that fills me with creativity.  We catch up with each others' lives, we play show 'n' tell with all the new purchases from Archivers and Michaels and Hobby Lobby, and we have at least a little chocolate (it's a necessity, y'know!!), and we inspire each other with our latest projects from our latest classes. 

Yep, I'm looking forward to this date!  I'll let you know how it goes!!

Skeletons In The Closet

Do you remember the children's song about the bones in your body being connected?  "The hand bone's connected to the wrist bone, the wrist bone's connected to the arm bone..." and on it goes about "Dem Bones".  That's pretty much describes my hobbies.

It formally started when I was attending college.  I suppose the fact that I was in my 40's was one reason why this caught on with me.  We had to do a paper about our heritage.  So I pulled out the information my mother assembled years earlier (when I didn't care a wit about it) and wrote an essay about my parents and grandparents.  I think from that point on, I was hooked.  I became known in the family as the one who knew how everyone was connected.  Next thing I knew, I found myself looking for genealogy software.  I had to get this documented!!

When my mother passed, I was the one that got a lot of the "stuff".  My Dad's paystubs going back to 1957 when his take home pay each week averaged $140 and that had to feed seven people.  Old bank books and insurance payment books from my grandparents.  My great-uncle's eyeglasses and prayerbooks.   Hundreds of pictures of people, to whom I couldn't even guess on how I am related.  As I explore these documents, touching a bank book of a man who died 2 months after I was born, I tell myself, "I have to get this documented!!".  And so, my scrapbooking passion is fueled. 

Cardmaking?  That's an offshoot of scrapbooking...when you don't have time enough to complete a scrapbook page, finishing a card can give you that creative "relief" that you sometimes need when you feel like you're going to burst if you don't "DO" something.

My photography hobby?  Easy...I want to be sure that my life and our family history is documented.  I want to be sure that when my grandkids pick up pictures, it tells who is in the picture and what the story is behind that picture.  I want to be sure that the generations that I won't meet will know their past.  The best way is in pictures (with journaling). 

As for the title of this blog post, let me get to that little bit of "dirt".  In November 2003, a month after my dad's sister passed (she was the last of that generation), I received a call from a woman who had spoken with my brother and was advised to call me because "Peggy knows how everyone is connected in the family."   This woman proceeded to tell me that she was my cousin, who had been given up for adoption when another of my dad's sister's was 18 years old.  She had done her research and was willing to share it with me.  Obviously, I was skeptical.  There's no way this could be, I thought.  Nothing I'd seen up til then indicated anything like this happened.  I kept thinking about how it was only a month after the one woman who could possibly substantiate any of this was gone.  Coincidence??  A con??  

I took her number, told her I'd contact her "brother" and then we'd see where it went from there.  Calls were made, faxes were sent.  This was for real!!  When she walked into a party I was having in December, our jaws dropped.  She was the spitting image of my grandmother in this picture. 

There was no denying she was related.  Slowly, the other cousins added puzzle pieces that made this whole thing come together.

Since then, I've found other papers that spark more questions about all sorts of things in the family.  I may not have the answers, but the journey and the questions that surface are a lot of fun to contemplate!!

So, any FUN skeletons in YOUR closet??

A Night in the Cellar

I know I've talked about this before, so my long time followers will understand.  I'm so excited!!  Tonight, I'm spending it in the cellar.  No, not a wine cellar.  The Scrapbook Cellar, silly!! 

My friend Laura graciously offers her basement/cellar/converted craft room for our monthly (roughly) getaway to help us explore our creativity.  It's there that I join her, her sister Leanne, and Cindi E in an evening of inspired creativity, snacking (with chocolate as a staple), kvetching (yes, even crafty, upbeat people have issues), and laughter (at times, side-aching laughter).  I have to say, spending time with these very talented ladies is truly one of the most enjoyably creative evenings I've ever had.  I am so incredibly grateful for all they do for me. 

And one more thing...Laura's husband, CT is just about the best hubby around for putting up with this invasion each month.  He helps us by hauling our bags (those of you who scrap know perfectly well that scrapbookers rarely travel light) down and back up the stairs, running out for our lunch or dinner, and delivering any packages that just might arrive during our session.  He's just a good guy.  We love ya, CT!! 

So tonight, I think I will draw some inspiration and maybe try to venture out into a new area.  Inspired by Leslie's 31 Day Challenge, I might try to paint some background paper.  I'll see how I'm feeling at the time.  If anything wonderful comes from it, I'll post it tomorrow!

And one thing I really need to do is get my head around doing some heritage pages.  I've got a promise with another scrapping friend to get together to work on heritage pages, now that she knows she doesn't need to do them "in order". 

What's not to love about Fridays?!?!  And what are your plans for the weekend???

Creativity - Are You In????

Well, we've finished installing the shelving in the craft closet, so I can start to get my craft room back in order.  And just in the nick of time.  You see, a fellow blogger has issued a challenge.  Leslie at Words of Me Project has proposed a creativity challenge that will last for 31 days beginning on July 26.  During those 31 days, we are to do something creative every day.  Whether it's writing in your journal, scrapbooking or cardmaking, painting (yes, painting walls counts), gardening, photography or whatever else is in your creative veins.  Maybe it's a little bit of each. 

By the end of the 31 days, by taking the time to care for yourself, you are happier and healthier for it.  How can you go wrong??

So I'm in!!  I'm going to spend 31 days finding something creative to do, each and every day.  It might be taking some pictures, or creating some cards, or penning some deep thoughts!!  And I'll post some of it here. 

Would you like to join in this challenge??

OH, and along with my search for a new look to my blog, I've been encouraged by Leanne at From Chaos Comes Happiness to add a button.  She's the genius behind making buttons work, so I'll need her help to make this happen.  Watch for my button in the next day or two!!  It'll look something like this:

I guess I'm getting a head start on this creativity challenge!!

Random Thoughts

• Having a dream about the death of a friend of a friend is disturbing. Especially when you're pretty sure the friend of your friend is pretty healthy.  Do you tell your friend about your dream and risk upsetting him, too?
• Crawling up into the attic (thanks to help from my older grandson) is sort of like a treasure hunt.  Things have been up there for so long you forget what's there.  It can be both a sad and a joyous adventure.  And a walk down memory lane.
• I'm hooked on Starbucks' Caramel Frappuchinos. 
• Once you forget about expressing gratitude every day, you open the door for the negativity to walk right in.  Makes getting angry so much easier.  YUCK!!
• Having a weekly chat with a friend sort of centers me and gets me focused all over again.  I hope I give her the same "feel-good" feeling. 
• It is amazing how spending time with your grandkids will fill you with such joy that it changes your outlook on everything!!

• Accomplishing some long neglected things around the house gives me an incredible high.  I love marking things off my to-do (or as Leanne says, TA-DA) list. 
• Digi-scrapping can be the quick fix to fulfill the creative need.  I've found that I enjoy digi-scrapping while my beloved PG sits watching TV.  We can both be in the same room, yet do what we enjoy.
• I love making pasta sauce, love the way my house smells as it cooks and even though it was a weird day to be make it (given that it was 90 outside), I'm glad I took the time!
• I've begun a daily gratitude email with my girlfriend.  We make sure we tell each other each day what we are grateful for.  First steps in getting the law of attraction to bring you more of what you can be grateful for.

So, if you were emailing me your gratitude for the day, what would it be??

"What Is My Angel's Name?"

Well, I got one scrapbook page done this weekend.  And I put it in a frame and gave it to my daughter, the mother of two of the most beautiful grandkids a Gram could ask for.  She really is an incredible mom.

I wish I knew the author of this poem, but all my research comes up with "Anonymous".  It's titled "A Newborn's Conversation with God." 

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy." God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?" God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

Who will protect me?" God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."

But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore." God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

God said, "You will simply call her, "Mom." 

And I made a matching card, inspired by Leslie at Running with Scissors.  That's about as far as I go with my creativity this weekend.
 
Hope everyone had as wonderful a Mother's Day as I did.

Another Day in the Cellar...with CHOCOLATE

As I start this post, I find that I'm taking a deep breath and realizing how relaxing the day was.  You see, I spent another day at the Scrapbook Cellar with my local inspiration.  And I always come home feeling energized to keep up with my scrapping!!  Thank you, Ladies, for that!!

And of course, (as every dedicated scrapbooker knows) the day was filled with plenty of chocolate.  Oh, I'm sorry...for those unaware, chocolate is one of those scrapbook staples.  Gotta have it.  Preferably, the non-messy kind (a.k.a. M&M's).  But today, we had Chocolate Wine, Chocolate Chip Biscotti, Chocolate Cannoli (yeah, that was a bit messy but it was lunchtime so that's allowed) and Chocolate Pirouettes (yes, they're shaped like cigars).  So we had some fun.  Hey, some people like cigarettes.... we like chocolate! 

And on the way home, I picked up the Glee CDs as recommended by Leanne in this post.  So I have joined her Dorky Mom Jamming in her Car Campaign.  I play it loud and sing along.  It'll be my new fave for a few months, I'm sure! 

Now as soon as I can get some pages scanned, I'll get them posted here. 

They've Got My Heart - The IRS, Not So Much

Don't you just love it when boys eyelashes are long??  My grandson graciously agreed to "model" for me to help me with my Day 10 "Capture Light" assignment in my Picture Spring online class at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  Love the freckles, love the eyelashes, love the kid!!

Then, just to see if I could do it (it's never easy capturing a dog that is constantly moving) I took some shots of Barney, our 14 year old cockapoo.   He's such a loving dog.  And it's so sad to see them slowing down as they get older.  I've been trying to work on a scrapbook album all about our little buddy, using prompts and messages from another BPS class called Celebrating our Pets.  Maybe I'll get some pages posted once I finish. 

What's not to love about this sweet face??

That's all I've got right now.  Today is Tax Day.  Hope yours is done and the damage wasn't too bad!!  Each year I say I'm going to complete and submit in February, yet end up submitting at the last minute.  Since I owe this year, I was willing to put it off until the final hour!  How about you?  Are you a last minute filer?  Or do you get it done early?    

Catchin' Up!

I know it's been way too long since I've posted.  As my good friend and fellow blogger mentioned in this post, I too am multi-creatively challenged.  When one aspect of my creativity is in full force, the others seem to take a back seat. 

So let me catch you up on some of the items for posts that I started but never finished. 

• Recently, we received news that an incredibly passionate former high school English teacher had passed away after a valiant fight against pancreatic cancer.  When I heard of his passing, I reflected on my interactions with him since both my kids had him for English, plus he was the girls' gymnastics coach for a couple of the years that my daughter was on the team.  And I realize he was a good man, who would do the right thing and wanted nothing more than for his students to learn the wonderful world of literature and writing.  He truly was an inspiration to the students and teachers of East Leyden and will be missed.
• On the way to my -- wait for it -- Ahhhhhhh! Scrap Day at the Cellar, I was behind a vehicle with a tire attached to the back door.  I was so inspired, I had to take a picture of it.  Yes, I did what you are probably thinking...I propped the camera on my dash and as I drove, I snapped pics.  But honestly, look at this picture...doesn't it look like a happy face (see the eyes, nose and smile) with arms and legs, even two ears???  Okay, call me crazy.  But it put me in a jolly mood for my ride to New Lenox. 
• Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day.  I've always been fascinated by the man.  There was a time when I thought that he was only speaking to "his people".  Then I took the time to look at his "I have a dream" speech.  (To be honest, as I type this I am emotional).  This was an incredibly amazing man.  One line in his speech that doesn't get as much play time is "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."  Think about that.  Content of Character.  Isn't that what good parenting is all about??  Making sure we raise our kids with integrity, compassion, sensibility.  Content of character. I think if today's politicians spent more time working on their own content of character, our nation would be in better shape.  MLK photo courtesy of eis.rbbcsc.k12.in.us
• On Tuesday, the love of my life if going in for rotator cuff surgery.  He's my rock; always by my side through the many surgeries I've gone through since I've known him.  He's such a healthy guy that this is a new experience for us.  Please keep him and his speedy recovery in your prayers.
• Some food for thought - The reason that some of your thoughts haven't yet become things is because other thoughts of yours have. 
• Haven't done a whole lot with searching for serenity this week.  But I do have this constant reminder sitting on a bookshelf looking right at me!!  Picked it up on a side trip we took when we went to Branson, MO in 2003.  I just love it!

It's going to be important this week, for me to look for the serenity in my life.  Sometimes it's in simple words.  The word RAINBOW offers that.  Same with ANGEL,  So what words instill serenity in YOUR life?