Day 5: Throw Back to My Favs

I'm on a 21 day quest to find my scrapping style and maybe learn a little about style in other aspects of my life, too. Tonight's LO is a total throw back to all my scrapping favs:
1. Ribbon (YUMM-O)
2. Buttons
3. Stripes
4. Flowers
Even before I scrapped a lot (and invested too much money in product), I gravitated towards these things. No LO is complete without one of these four!

P.S. Totally stole the idea for the photo-corner flowers from a few different LOs I've seen lately on the Peas and in CK. Why didn't I think of that myself?!?



Apologies for the bad scan. Apparently the buttons were a little bumpy.

Jobs

Let me just preface this by saying that getting yelled at and endlessly questioned by not just a parent, but parentS at the end of the day on Friday does not do a lot to make me feel good about my job, but I've been thinking about all of this lately anyway. . .

I often wonder whether or not I really should be a teacher. I'm very good at what I do (and so modest, too); I wouldn't do it if I wasn't. But, I really wonder whether or not it's what I should be doing. Would I be happier or more satisfied doing something else?

It's not always the most intellectually challenging job in the universe. I enjoy the kids most of the time, but get very tired of dealing with the bureaucratic, PR, and paperwork aspects of the job. Some days I get bored; I say the same things five times a day. I hate being required to take work home every single day. I know I supposedly have summers off, but I've never actually had more than about a week off during any given summer. I just feel like I put so much more into it than I get out of it. I enjoy my colleagues, but I think that would be the case with any job.

I know every job has its ups and downs, but how do I tell whether or not I've really chosen the best job for me? It's so hard because so many people who are teachers really think that teaching is their calling. They love what they do. They're proud of it. They couldn't see themselves doing something else. I don't feel that strongly about it. I never have. I haven't dreamed of being a teacher since I was a kid. I don't have buttons or clothes or bags that declare my love for the profession. I always feel like I need to defend myself rather than feel proud when I say, "I'm a teacher."

So. . . how do I tell if I've really chosen the right career for me?

Day 4: Potential (And Ramblings)

Cherry Arte paper is hard to come by. It took a lot of Internet CSI to find this fab paper.

And I hacked up all of what I bought to create Day 4. It looks like a Cherry Arte massacre in my craft room. Paper scraps everywhere. The worst part--after all that hacking, I only ended up using less than one sheet to create this beast. One sheet. It pains me to think of how many others I wasted. There are starving scrappers all over the world, and I'm wasting!

With supplies like that to work with the potential is huge, right?!?! Yeah. The potential is huge. But, the finished product didn't live up to its potential.
My goal for all of this challenge is to find my style. I think I get confused about what my style is because I get so smitten with certain products. I got so worked up about getting these papers right that I actually went through two drafts of this LO. The first is too embarrassing to share.

Less hype. Less stuff. More me. That's my goal for tomorrow. Bring it on, Rhonna!

In other news . . . I was completely right about the fate of my new hair cut. It didn't look nearly as fabulous today. I had multiple people say to me, "Oh." Pause. "You got your hair cut." Imagine an awkward silence after that. The kind of silence where I can only assume the speaker is thinking awful thoughts about what was a cute and sassy haircut yesterday, when it was in the hands of a professional. One kid--a boy--even told me, "Wow! It's the same length as my hair."

To balance out all the damage to my self-esteem today, I did drag my ass to the gym at 8pm for a little stroll on the treadmill. But, I also bought a bag of those Cadbury Mini Eggs. That's a step up from yesterday, when I ordered Chinese food (not just steamed veggies and rice, either) from my cell phone on the way out of the gym.

Now, I'm just rambling an embarrassing amount. This is what happens when I stay up past 10pm on a weeknight.

Ahhh. I just keep sounding so much less nerdy as this post goes on. And on. And on.

Day 3

Day 3. Finished. I think this one is my fav so far. If my goal for this whole challenge is to find my style, I think this is the closest I've come so far. It is, though, only Day 3.


In other news, I decided to set aside all self-dignity and post this self-pic of my new hair cut. This is probably the only time it will ever look like this. When it comes to doing hair, I'm just not a girl. I can't even curl the back of my own hair. And I'm not about to ask my husband to do it. So, I just pretend that since I can't see the back, no one else can either.


I've also been thinking a bit about how much the non-scrapper just doesn't get it. I carpool with some awesome gals, but I can't talk scrapping at all. I was trying to explain just how excited I was about winning a RAK from Michelle W., and they just couldn't get it. Even the lady who cuts my hair just doesn't get it. Do you have to be a scrapper to really get it?

LOTS to say.

First, I tried to post last night. Blogger wasn't cooperating. UGH!

I've embarked on the Rhonna Farrer 21 Day Challenge. I've been keeping up so far (it's only day 2) and loving it. I'm hoping that every day my stuff gets a little more creative.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Does my scrapping look a little schizo to you?! These pages seem so drastically different. Guess I haven't found my true style. Hopefully, this challenge will help.

Also, I've added a new link. Hooray for Michelle W.! I {heart} her craftiness and her honest blog. One of this girl's latest posts made me giggle all day.

Had a fun time with the FAM this weekend. The double-bubble was a huge success, as was the rest of the weekend. I shopped with my aunt on Saturday and discovered the gorgeous wonder that is the Kate Spade bag. G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S. I swear, I was never meant to be a teacher. My tastes are far to fabulous to survive on a teacher's salary. I (obviously) didn't buy the Kate Spade bag. I had to settle for a cute little green and blue Sak purse.

I have the almost, but not quite spring blues, too. The kiddos get so out of control this time of year. It's enough to make even the best teacher question their career choice.

This whole 21 day challenge thing is great for me right now. It's making me make time for myself. Also included in the make time for myself plan--tomorrow night's haircut. I think tomorrow night (post hair-cut) will be a great time for some self-portraits.

XOXOXO.

Breakfast and Blogging

I'm starting to think there's something majorly wrong with me.

I've gone to bed almost every night this week by 8ish.

And all the blogging I've done has been over breakfast. Blogging before 6am?!? Am I crazy?

Anyway, I'll be MIA for the weekend. Going on a mini-road trip to visit my family. Am doing the double-bubble tonight (aka happy hour with my grandpa) to celebrate the Master's presentation earlier in the week and am going to hit the mall of all malls with my aunt tomorrow. It's been awhile since I've visited, so I"m really looking forward to it.

P.S. Am totally pumped about this week's Dare. I'm excited to see what everyone will make! I Get busy, gals!

Really OLD or Really WISE ???

Things went well yesterday. My advisors kept my binder, and I'll get something in the mail letter me know how it really went.

My achievement warranted a celebration, right?

So, flashback to three years ago when I finished college. I turned in a big project--my last big project. A bunch of us went out. I drank so much that I threw up all night. Plus, as an added bonus, when I took the dog out the next morning at 10 a.m., I threw up again. . . in my front yard! We lived right on the busiest highway in town, and I was on my front steps in my bathrobe, with my dog, throwing up.

Fastforward to last night. I turned in a big project--my last big project. I chose to eat dinner at home because I wanted to buy some new shoes. I have to make choices like that now because of my scrapping supply addiction. Brad got me flowers (will post a pic later). We went out for ice cream at Cold Stone (the fanciest possible ice cream place). I did some homework for school and was asleep by 9 p.m.

Old or wise?

I'm guessing old. Especially since I'm awake enough to be able to do a blog post at 5:50 a.m. That seems like an old person thing.

Thanks for all your kind words. Things really did go well!

Journey to End All Journies

No. This isn't a post about the rock group Journey.

It is all about my Master's project.

I present tomorrow. Tomorrow I will show my advisor's a three inch binder filled with artifacts from my three year teaching career to prove that I am a reflective educator. I'll spare you the lengthy description of what exactly a reflective educator is. Crazy to think it took three years to create this beast, but I only get 30 minutes to show it off!

I'm totally ready and pretty confident that what I have is rockin', but I'm still strangely nervous about it. I'm not quite sure what they will ask me or where I'll find a parking spot or whether or not I should wear my somewhat-slutty black boots (which do look great with this cute skirt I have).

It feels strange to almost be finished. I'm not quite sure what my next academic pursuit will be. Guess I might just try doing my job and only my job for awhile. Not sure that will last long, as I tend to be a bit of an over-achiever.

Here's to tomorrow. . . . Totally looking forward to it!

Two Thumbs Down and a Birthday Shout

We went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Good Company, tonight.

I had a chocolate martini while we waited for a table. As I got to the bottom of my drink, I noticed two suspicious objects floating in it. Brad assured me they were chunks of chocolate and had been in my drink the entire time. Closer investigation revealed these alleged chunks of chocolate had wings. There were BUGS in my drink. Granted, they were only small, gnat-like bugs. But, as far as my eating habits are concerned, a bug is a bug.

I told the waitress right away, and she took it away. She came back and offered me another drink or free dessert. I have no intention of drinking anything from this place that doesn't come from a bottle that I open myself ever again, so I turned down the drink. We had way too much food, so I turned down the dessert and suggested they simply take the drink off our bill.

To make a long story short, they weren't interested in doing that. Since, obviously, I needed to be reminded that I consumed many ounces of liquid cominled with bug guts, the bar manager even had the nerve to point out to Brad that I drank more than half the drink. The manager even claimed that we should understand because bugs are attracted to sweet things such as the ingredients of my martini. Brad threatened to tell everyone in the bar about the bug, and the bar manager agreed to refund the money. But, he wouldn't give it to Brad. He brought it directly to me with a far less than sincere apology for the incident.

The whole thing is very irritating to me. It made me uncomfortable. It made Brad uncomfortable. It made the waitress incredibly uncomfortable because she seemed to understand her boss was being an ass.

Too bad. We really liked this place. The garlic cream cheese mashed potatoes are yumm-o.

In other news. . . happy b-day to Momma Sue. She had a big birthday @ the casino planned. Sorry we couldn't be there to celebrate, Mom. Watch the USPS for your card!

Apologies aren't my specialty

So. . . .last night the brand-spanking-new wireless Internet totally stopped working. Yeah. The same wireless I was so excited about on Monday. I spent so long on the phone with customer service agents at two different companies that the battery in my cordless phone actually went dead. I was swearing, red in the face angry.

After unplugging everything a million times and turning it on and off another million times, I had no luck.

The entire time, I was just bitching at Brad. I'm not just talking a little bitching. I'm talking irrational, embarrassed I said the things I said bitching. It was bad. Obviously, this whole mess must have somehow been his fault! Did I mention--I was being irrational?!?

Here's the worst part. Despite all my bitching, he fixed the wireless for me today. Even though he had the worst day off ever (highlighted by a 90 minute wait at the DMV), he fixed the wireless. For me.

Okay. I owe him a very public apology. Don't know quite why he puts up with me. Sorry, babe.

In my defense, though, I am sick. After my whining little post on Monday, I went to the doctor on Tuesday. Am officially sick. Ugh.

Now, the same husband I screamed at last night like a raving lunatic is taking me for ice cream. How did I get so lucky?

Coming to you. . .

. . . from the comfort of my couch with a whole lot of randomness.

That's right, folks! I've gone wireless! Hooray! Now I'll actually use the cute little laptop I bought in October ALL THE TIME.

I was a TOTAL slacker last week. I only went to the gym one time--to meet with my trainer. So, I went back tonight. I'm back on the fitness wagon. Nevermind that I'm going to eat a Fudgsicle soon. But, I spent my elliptical time reading a great book--the Bookseller of Kabul. It's an interesting read that follows an Afghani family through several decades.

Okay. I'll admit it. I was reading mostly because the elderly gentleman on the machine next to me didn't know how to point his remote and kept changing my channel rather than his own. I finally just turned it off and tried the book instead.

Although the fabulous LO I made on Saturday (I don't usually brag about myself, but this one was great!) helped a little, I've been feeling really drained lately. The whole must finish my project for my MSE and plan for school and just be all-around awesome is taking its toll. I've been really short with my kiddos; I'm actually starting to feel a little sorry for them for having to deal with my crabbiness every day. Besides being perpetually exhausted, I also think I'm starting to get sick. Ugh.

Here goes. . . a list of good things to make me feel better.

1. I have lots of creative ideas right now, just not enough time to work on them. Watch for some cool stuff in the future.
2. We bought a NEW stove yesterday. Black. Stainless. Flat top. Much cooler than anything else in our kitchen. Plus, it was on sale.
3. Got my Jenni Bowlin kit today. I {heart} Jenni Bowlin. This is not a breech of my no-scrapping purchase plan, as it was the last thing I bought before going on the plan. I suffered from the disillusion that if I bought this kit I would scrap like Ali E.
4. I found a new gallery at the House of Paper. It's a great place to shop, but you can also post and comment on pages.
5. We had tacos for dinner tonight. And I got left-over tacos tomorrow for lunch.
6. Bought the highly recommended Jack Johnson Curious George Soundtrack. It's nice to have some relaxing tunes for the commute.
7. Oh. Did I mention? We went wireless!

TTFN. Hoping for a more energized day tomorrow.

SQ (Scrapping Queen)

Had a stressful morning of grocery shopping and errand running, but I bought some tulips to cheer myself up. I'll quickly list my morning stresses:

1. Creamette has removed my lasagna recipe from the box. Makes it difficult to shop for the ingredients. Plus, my mom mocked me when I called her to ask for it.
2. The ice cream I thought was buy one get one free actually was not. I had to return two containers of ice cream. I love ice cream. It broke my heart.
3. Every store I stopped at had Girl Scouts selling, you guessed it, cookies. I felt terrible telling all of them, "NO!" So, I caved and bought one box. Add that to all of those I've already bought from my cousins!
4. I took the Escape to the wash today because my running boards were covered in mud. Apparently, the wash isn't equipped to handle running boards. Despite the $8 wash, they're still filthy dirty.

Then, Nicky and Natalie came over for a scrap-ival. Here's what I created.

LO# 1 Birthday Boys
Noah and Chase turned 1 at the end of January. Just getting around to making a page for them today. Love this new paper from Sassafras Lass.

LO # 2 Family
This is my fav LO in awhile because it's such a stretch from my normal style. The paper is all patterned and all Cherry Arte. I added rub-ons (KI) to the picture, so it's technially Effer 20. The stickers (soooo cool) match the flowered Chester paper. The picture is of my sister, brother, and me at my wedding. It's actually one of my favorite from that day.

Crafty Day

Angie came over today for some serious crafting. Our craftiness did involve a trip to the LSS. I know I vowed not to buy anything for 2 weeks, but I spent $24 today. I mostly bought card stock and a few cute little embellishments. I've decided embellishments are a major weakness for me. I need to buy more fun THINGS and fewer pieces of paper.

LO # 1: Pick-up Man
Brad got a new truck this week! It was a scrap-able moment. Aaahhhh. The joy of being married to a scrapper.
LO # 2: Daily Grind
You might not know this about me, but my commute to work is about 50 minutes each way. So, I've joined a carpool of awesome chicas from work. We meet each day at 6:30. Urgh. But, we take turns each Friday driving completely out of our way to pick up Starbucks for anyone who is riding. Last week was my turn. Have you ever driven alone in your car trying to balance 5 steaming hot coffees?!? Amazingly enough, I didn't spill at all. Plus, I ordered the drinks extra-hot. That way they were still yummy by the time I reached the car pool.

Brad's Demand and Birthday Wishes

This week's new meal:
Supersize turkey meatballs with spinach and cheese (ala Rachael's magazine) You can just imagine all the inappropriate jokes we made about a meal with the phrase supersize balls in the title.

Today was Brad's day off. Being the awesome person he is, he made dinner. As he was cooking he actually demanded, "You better write on the ------- [Insert inappropriate word of your choice. We swear a lot.] blog that I cooked the new meal this week. Me. Not you. I did the cooking." He even took the picture himself. I am publicly giving credit where credit is due. It was a yummy meal honey. Almost makes up for the horrible bear movie he made me watch!

Since I'm talking about New Year's Resolutions, I need to publicly confess that one of my resolutions was to always send cards and letters in a timely fashion. I did (with the help of Angie) manage to send out the Valentines, but I've fallen off the Hallmark band wagon. Today is the birthday of three important people. Not one of them received a card from me.

Happy birthday, Scott! Petey is no ordinary man. One time while eating dinner with Petey and Angie at a restaurant at the Mall of America, we got our entire meal for free because we were the 50th (I think) table of the day and it was their 50th anniversary. STRANGE! But, these are the kinds of things that happen when you hang around with Scott.

Happy birthday, Loren (my step-father-in-law)! One of Loren's many talents (besides being the world's most dedicated outdoorsman) is to totally get any little kid in sight completely wound up. He does this thing called The Claw that all kids go crazy for. He is also, hands down, Memphis's favorite person.

Happy birthday, Laura! My one and only little sis. Brad is fully expecting a middle of the night tipsy phone call from you from the Joint.

Now. Really. How can I be expected to send the cards on time when there are three birthdays on the same day!?

Bears and True Love

You remember that Friends episode where Monica thinks she catches Chandler watching shark porn and instantly becomes worried her man has a strange obsession with sharks? I'm afraid Brad has a strange obsession with bears.

Well. . . last night was designated movie night at our house. We re-arranged the living room to ensure an optimal view of the television from the couch. We got movie snacks (Coke, popcorn, M&Ms, Mike & Ikes, pizza). We rented a bunch of movies.

Brad insisted on renting a documentary about Timothy Treadwell, a wacky environmentalist who lived with grizzly bears each summer in Alaska. This crazy man spent hours taping himself frolicking with various wildlife and pretending to be a bear. W-A-C-K-O! No big surprise, he and his girlfriend were eaten by some bears a few summers ago because that's what grizzly bears do: eat things.

Timothy, or Timmy (as he liked to refer to himself in third person), was one crazy man. The low point of the movie was when he played with bear poop and explained how amazed he was that it had just been inside the bear. It was rumored that he spent so much time with bears he forgot how to interact with people; he would making growling noises and act like a bear when confronted by someone who made him uncomfortable.

Now, if watching a movie like that to satisfy Brad's strange craving to know more about bears (instead of watching In her Shoes) isn't true love, I don't know what is!

P.S. We also watched Crash. Fabbity! I love movies/books with many intersecting story lines.

So bad Saturday

Ever have so much to do that you just don't know where to start?

My house hasn't been cleaned for two weeks. I need to go to the gym today. I need to grocery shop. I have bundles of stuff due in night class on Monday. Brad needs me to buy him deoderant. I have 40 book reviews to grade and lesson plans to write. My sister's and my step-father-in-law's birthdays are this week; I haven't bought presents. I need to send my aunt $$ for Girl Scout cookies. I need to write a letter to a friend (long over-due).

The list is endless, really.

So. . . what have I done today? I showered and put on my velour jogging suit. And I scrapped! Now I'm going to order Chinese take-out for lunch. Maybe I'll do some work later. Yeah. Right.

A Little Problem

I've been suspecting for awhile that my scrapping purchases have been getting out of hand. It was confirmed today. I got two boxes. TWO BOXES! In the mail. They were sitting there on the table when I got home from work.

Normally, I would be ecstatic about two boxes. Today I just felt a little embarrassed, as the purchasing has apparently gotten that out of hand. (I got a box yesterday, too.)

I waited until after Brad left for cards tonight and, like a guilty addict, sat on the couch buried in mounds of gorgeous patterned paper. Some fab new SEI, a little Chatterbox, some Sassafras Lass, and (my personal new favity-fav) Bookshelf from American Crafts.

There's been lots of talk about what people are giving up for Lent. I know I can't go the entire Lent season without purchasing any scraping stuff, but I'm going to challenge myself to make it at least for the next two weeks. Then I might allow myself a little cardstock, but just cardstock.

Ugh. It's bad.