Done. Finished. Through.

I'm done!!!!!!! I just attended my last class towards my MSE. Three years and more money than I care to disclose and I get to wear this ridiculous hat, which, I am convinced, does not look good on anyone.

P.S. For those of you wondering what exactly is going on in the picture. . . I was trying for a perplexed, intelligent look. Plus, what teacher is complete without their red pen?!? Mostly I just wanted to try on my hat.

Get this! Brad won't even entertain the idea of going out for a drink because 24 is on. Come on. Priorities, babe!

I Spy . . .

Tulips in a park downtown. This is a shot for my $40 a Day CJ.

One sick baby. I know this isn't the best pic, but it does capture the misery. Natalie is okay. Pink eye, ear infection, bad cold. Nicky is one tough lady. I don't know how she does it!


An altered CJ album somewhere in the mess. I don't scrap well in messes!


Please notice the orange glitter on the cover. There is orange glitter all over my craft room. It looks like a bottle of tang exploded. All I have done so far is the album. I still need to do the sign in pages and my own page. I need one more picture for my page--of a turtle sundae from Tom's. Guess I'll have to eat one soon. Yum. Maybe tonight during Grey's.

Not much else for now. I baked pink cupcakes in Barbie papers for my LAST grad class tomorrow night. Some of the ladies are pretty serious. I don't know that they will appreciate the childishness of the whole thing.

Hoping for a great week.

P.S. This is my 95th post. I have some great things planned for my 100th. Stay tuned, dear readers.

Happy NSD!

How cool is it that my hobby gets its own national day of recognition? Yah! Scrapbooking! It was quite an eventful day.

• Got fab new hair yesterday. Of course, today it didn't look nearly as hot as when Lindsay (my substitute stylist) did it.
• Talked to Ang this morning. She was considering wearing gauchos. We discussed (briefly) what it would look like to morph her worst body traits with mine. The result would be strange!
• Drove around the Valley taking pictures of food-related things for my CJ. The topic is $40 a Day. Now, I just need to get them developed and get my butt moving on the book.
• Visited my LSS twice today. Yes. You read that right. Twice. Once with Angie and a second time to get goodies for Nicky.
• Scrapped with Nicky today. Created the page above. I made another one, but need to keep it secret for the little CK contest.
• Went to the ER with a very sick Natalie today. She has snot running everywhere and is one sick kid. The best part?!? I had my camera along and took a whole ton of pictures. I am one sick scrapper!

JC, Bugles, and a Good Read

So, you've all met my hot mailman hubby (some in person and some via the Blog). Mr. Barb (as he's affectionately become known upon my blogging buds) has a secret admirer!

She's not really so secret. She's a middle-age women he works with. She thinks he's a total hottie. The other day she told him she thinks he looks like a young Johnny Cash. She's now calling him JC. To some that might mean Jesus Christ. To us heathens, it means Johnny Cash.

Thought that would give you something to giggle about tonight.

In other news. . .
Last night's little chat with my "Internet" friends led to an interesting talk about Bugles. Em, apparently, likes to put them on her fingers and use them like claws. I had the brilliant idea tonight that it would be hilarious to send her an Edward Scissorhands-esque picture of myself with Bugles on my fingers. Didn't work out so well because, apparently, even my fingers have become plump. I broke every single Bugle I tried to shove on my fat little finger tips. Memphis (who was declared overweight by the vet on Monday) thoroughly enjoyed each and every Bugle. Oh well! It's the thought that counts, right?

One last thing. Hauled my increasingly large caboose to the gym tonight. Hopped on the elliptical and totally fell in love with Eat, Love, Pray. The whole entire time I was reading I was thinking how much I'd love to be friends with Elizabeth Gilbert. Am even considering not sitting around on the computer and reading tonight instead. It's fab. Well, the first 50 pages are fab.

One can only take so much randomness in one night. I'm outta here!

Impatient.

I'm horrible @ keeping secrets. Horrible @ patiently waiting for something. I'd be a basket case if ever prego b/c I could never wait 9 months for something that fab to happen.

I'm thinking about entering the Scrapbooker of the Year contest through CK. But, that means I need to create 12 fabbity LOs between now and June-ish that I can't share with anyone.

But, I'm sharing this one. It's too fab not to. Plus, it's not CK material. I must give credit where credit is due. Got the idea for the scalloped background from Missy's Dare LO this week. Plus, Michelle previously scrapped these crazy pics. I know Angie can't get enough of our tipsiness floating around cyberspace. Enjoy, loyal readers.

One other thing. A shout out to the fabulous Em. Do check out her blog today. There are some wonderful words and some touching pics. Love it, Em!

I'm off to get a little Grey's Anatomy fix. I've been itching for it for weeks now. Can't wait to put on my pjs and get comfy with a little Dr. McDreamy.

Eating My Way Through the Weekend

Had a totally great first half of the weekend.

Drove to Angie's last night straight from work to scrap it up. Got to talk to Michelle and Em last night (my Internet friends). Hung out with Angie for most of the day today, too. And even got a visit some relatives who happened to be around for the weekend.

One main theme of my weekend was definitely friendship, as it's always great to be able to spend so much time with Ang. Even if we aren't really doing anything, we still have a great time and tons to talk about.

Another main theme of my weekend, though, was food. I probably consumed more calories in the past 24 hours than someone in a third world country does in a week. Like I told Michelle last night, we're not exactly thin here in WI, but no one person should eat this much. Here's the list. Anything sound good?

Pizza and cheese bread from Sammy's (where Angie knew the waitress)
Lambrusco (only two glasses, much to Michelle's disappointment)
Ice Cream (purchased, but never actually eaten)
Chocolate Chip Pancake (only ate half, as it was bigger than my face!)
Bacon
Hot Chocolate
White Cherry Icee from Target
Chocolate Beefsticks (aka Chocolate Carmel Sticks--new from Hershey's)
Taco John's (tacos and potato oles)
Ka-Bobs for dinner (made at home and oh-so-yummy!)

Would you believe that no where in there did I drink any Coke?!? How disappointment. And would you believe that right at this very moment, Brad is begging for me to go out for ice cream with him?!?! Ugh. I don't think I can do it.

Have some scrappy stuff to share later. Ta ta.

It's FRIDAY!!!!!

Raise your Starbucks cups and toast to Friday! Hooray!!!!!!

It's been a long week, and I'm thrilled that's it's almost over. Have big plans to scrap with Ang tonight. You should see all the crap I packed up.

We're even having a slumber party. Watch out! You never know who we might call. Is your refrigerator running? He, he, he.

No. 24

It's been awhile since I've done it up Effer style. But, with Ali E. as inspiration this week, I couldn't resist. This week's dare was to observe life around you. I focused on my job: my attitude towards it and the attitudes of people around me.



For those loyal Babble readers and close friends, you know I've totally been in a work-related funk lately. It's started to get really ugly--my attitude and outlook toward work is carrying over into my "normal" life. I'll spare you any rambling about it tonight. But, this dare was a really helpful chance for me to really think about what makes me happy.

I loved Angie's post about happiness tonight. Happiness is a condition we create. It's not about having things or about achievements. It is about living life. I can't believe how many people waste such a huge portion of their life being unhappy. I don't want to be one of those people. I won't be one of those people.

Speaking of happy, Em (drinker of four beers on a school night) entertained me with some fabulously funny emails. Thanks for the laughs, Em!

High Five

Haven't done a fun little tag or list thing for quite awhile. I found this on Chiara's blog.

5 things In my fridge
Milk
Cherry Kool-Aid
Cauliflower
Half-drank bottle of wine (A travesty, I know!)
Left-over Potato Salad

In my closet
(I'm pretty organized about this)
clothes
shoes
luggage
purses
pink cowboy hat

In my purse
Coupons for my LSS
Work Keys
Cell Phone
Burt's Bees Lip Balm
Hand Lotion

In my car
Empty chocolate milk bottle
CDs
My glasses (I never wear them)
Empty shoe box
Gym bag (It hardly ever leaves the car)

I tag the Bloggin' CJ gals. Can't wait to get to know everyone better.

Lazy Routines

Have been feeling really worn out and just not myself lately. Took a sick day to take care of myself. Lots of sleep and lots of liquid.

Didn't take off my flannel pants all day.
Drank tea with my breakfast out of my big, blue mug.
No shower.
Napped on the couch with the dog.
Read for awhile.
Didn't answer the phone.
Watched Bridget Jones's Diary.

What are your sick / lazy day routines?
How do you take care of yourself when you're not feeling so great?

I made friends today.

I know that sounds like a really juvenile thing to say, but I made a whole bunch of friends tonight!!!!!!!

The fabulous KatPost has organized a rockin' CJ filled with awesome ladies. Check out all of their links over to the side. Can't wait to learn more about you and get scrappy, gals!

Am off to bed early. Am not feeling 100%. The kiddos prey on that, you know. Any weakness they can sense and pounce upon.

The End

I always get a little sad on Sundays. It seems I never get everything done that I should over the weekend. It makes me sad to think that another week passed, and I didn't really do anything spectacular.

In more optimistic and pleasant news. . . .
We had a romantic getaway in Door County this weekend. The weather was miserable, but we had a relaxing time any way. On Saturday we visited a winery where we ran in to a friend of the family that I haven't seen for almost two years. A fun little coincidence.

I also got a pack of pictures developed. They (along with the five boxes of goodies I got last week) will keep me busy scrapping away next weekend.

I always start looking forward to the weekend on Sunday. It's a part of my beat the Sunday sadness strategy.

P.S. I know some of my bloggy friends had exciting weekends. Kat and Michelle cropped together, Angie went to a family wedding, and Emily went to the sympony and a fancy dinner. Can't wait to hear all about it tomorrow girls!

Since January

Way back at the beginning of the year I made a bunch of resolutions.

I have been fabulously successful at not losing any weight, the first of my resolutions. Hooray for me!!!!!

I wanted to read one actual novel each month. I do read all the time, but it hasn't been novels lately. Mostly books for grad class. Learning about literacy coaching hardly counts as relaxing with a good book. I give myself a D- on this resolution.

I also resolved to lessen my stash by making one LO each month only using supplies from my stash. This was a tragically flawed resolution to begin with. I have been making a LO each month from my stash, but I'm also buying tons of stuff to replenish (and increase my stash). What was I thinking with this one?!?!

I resolved to become a published scrapper. I've submitted to a few places. I get an A for effort, but an F for actual success.

I resolved to send cards and letters again. I'm doing embarrassingly horrible with this. My mom's bday was way back in March. I still haven't sent her card. And she is my own mother. How terrible of me. F- for that resolution.

Lastly, I resolved to cook one new meal a week. You might guess from all my previous resoultions that I'm also doing poorly with this one. Come on! Have some faith in me. I've been cooking new meals like crazy. This week we enjoyed salmon topped with tomatoes and cooked in foil with a side of pasta primavera. Compliments of Giada de Laurentiis. YUMM-O.


So, fess up. How are your resolutions coming along?

My adventures in Cyberspace

Big confession. . . .I've never really chatted on the Internet before.

But, I did last night!!!!!! Angie, Kat, Michelle, and Em worked past all the technical difficulties and chatted. It was so fun that I totally lost track of time. Somehow I managed to sit on the computer talking with these chicas for like three hours. No lie. Three hours. It might have been the half a bottle of wine that helped me lose track of time. (I can't quite pour 'em back like Angie or Kat, but I can handle my liquor better than Michelle!!!!!)

Love ya, gals! I sometimes still get weirded out by the fact that I now have virtual friends. It's just so crazy and fun that this hobby brought us all together. Ahhh. Tear in my eye.

In other news, I'm having dinner with some gals from work tonight (@ a fun Mexican restaurant that ends dinner with a chocolately shot of something alcoholic) and then heading my butt home to do some serious school work. I want to go on a romantic rendezvous with Brad this weekend and can't do it if I don't kick it in gear for grad school and work.

Brad @ Work, Shopping, Celebrating (and Easter)

I have a very high class problem today. I have too much to post about. So, beware. This is a very rambling post.

Brad @ Work
Since Brad got his postal uniforms (and actually looks like a real post man), I went to take some pictures of him at work. He's such a good sport about my crazy obsession. There was a lady in the house we were parked right outside of, though, that thought I was a total nutcase. I could tell from the way she kept looking out her window.

Isn't he a hottie?!? Just wait until summer, Ladies. I'm soooo taking some pictures of those mail man shorts!

Shopping
I bought four new outfits (and that's not counting all the other mix and match combinations!). Three skirts, one pair of cargo khaki capris, one sweater, three shirts, two t-shirts. I am going to be a new girl. I even bought a pair of shoes. I bought a book (Eat, Live, Pray). I ate a pretzel and drank a Green Tea Blackberry Frapp. Even Brad got in to the shoppy mood. He bought a hot new dress outfit and two pairs of shoes. He's such a honey about getting dressed up. He loves it!

Amazing with all that shopping, I even had time to place (another) Internet order for some scrappy goodies including new paper from Cactus Pink, some phat (couldn't resist that word!) rub-ons, some ribbon slides from Maya Road, and a few other random paper and embellishment goodies. Can't wait for that box to arrive.

Celebrating
To top it all off, we had a fabbity dinner and some drinks with Mike and Angie to celebrate their second anniversary. Total laugh riot. Between Friday and last night night, I probably bunred a million caolories just laughing. We went to the Melting Pot for a 2.5 hour dining experience. It was SO GOOD! My favorite part was most certainly the dessert (the Flaming Turtle). It doesn't get any better than melted chocolate, caramel, and nuts with all kinds of goodies to dip in it.

P.S. Sorry the pics are limited. Blogger is being RIDICULOUS this morning about uploading pictures.

We followed up with ultimate dining experience with the ultimate drinking experience at a local martini bar. Word to the wise. . . do not ever order a martini with the word MONKEY in the title. I got the Chocolate Monkey (the suspciously brown drink in the picture below) or something like that. So GROSS! It didn't taste like chocolate at all and did, in fact, taste exactly like what I'd imagine it would taste like to take a big bite out of a monkey! Brad drank it for me, and I got to drink his yummy Grasshopper Martini.

For now, Happy Bunny Day. I need to make an appetizer for a family dinner later. I need to grocery shop. I need to finish my 21 Day Challenge!!!!!!!!!! I have one other scrappy project to work on. I need to do a little bit more laundry. It's going to be a busy day. Thank goodness Grey's is a re-run. It gives me an extra 60 minutes to get work done.

One more thing. . . what is the best place your Easter basket has ever been hidden? My parents once put mine in the dryer. I was maybe 12 or so. I couldn't find the basket and got so frustrated that I refused to continue looking for it. Finally, later in the evening, my parents gave it up and told me where it was. They were so proud of themselves.

Drinking and the Internet

After a long day of organizing, invitation making, and some serious crab eating, Angie and I decided to have some celebratory vino for Kat's b-day (Angie sprung for the humongo $6 bottle, Kat!). We accidentely discovered the Internet equivalent of drunk dialing:

Taking pictures of yourself and sending them to your Internet buddies! Watch out! You never know what might be in your email. P.S. If you're ever at Starbucks and we call you on your cell phone to tell you that "you have mail," you should go right home. IMMEDIATELY! To check your email.































Here's a fun list of numbers related to today:
0--the number of times Angie and I have been published
1--the number of times Mike has been published (damn right you, Darers)
Too Many--the number of times Mike reminded us of having been published
5--the number of hole punches I found while cleaning Angie's craft room today
50--the number of years my Grandparents have been married as of today
500--the number of crab legs we consumed tonight (most of which were eaten by Mike)
5,000--the number of times I laughed so hard today I thought I'd pee my pants
50,000--the number of times Angie and I checked for responses from the Blogging friends we drunk e-mailed tonight

Funny things we laughed about tonight:
1. Faye Morrow Bell
What do you think about a Where in the World is Faye Morrow Bell blog? She's been MIA from CK for quite awhile now. We think she might be making a page inspired by a garbage can or something. J/K. We do really love your quirky style FMB.
2. Really bad scrapbook pages
We're such bitches. Total bitches.
3. The Office
I've never been a viewer, but Mike and Ang tivoed it. I have to admit--it was hilarious.
4. 24
What's with all the beeping? I mean, really. Beep, beep. Stop it! I think my DH might have a heart attack while watching the show it's so intense.
5. Angie's keyboard
It squeeks. She's apparently an "aggressive typer" and has caused unusual wear on her keyboard (I don't think this is covered by the warranty, Ang). It sounds like a million little mice babies are running around beneath her keyboard.

I should probably go now. I need to drink some more wine, I think.

It's Day 18 of 21. I did three LOs tonight to catch up. Thanks to Em for some of the goodies on LO # 3.

Ummmmm. Very tired. Must sleep now.

I've Missed Y'all

I've totally been out of Blogging and Scrapping world this week. I'm feeling distant and lost from all my virtual friends. How strange that I feel so lost from something I didn't have a year ago. How are all of you?!

I have to do a quick tribute to the word "y'all." We don't say it here. Instead we say something ridiculous like "yous guys." No. It's not a typo. I meant to put an "s" on the end of "yous." That's how we talk here. I say y'all every chance I get in my classroom. The kids think it's hilarious. But, it's kind of like my own little movement to help people start using the word here. I like it because it's interesting and gender neutral.

Any way . . .

Last night we helped our friends celebrate their daughter's first birthday. Isn't she a DIVA!?!?? She didn't even want to rub the cake in her hair. Her mom made her do it! (Can't wait to scrap this.)

Her dad is in the Army, currently serving month 8 of a 12 month deployment. He's home on leave right now for 15 days. Check out the news story about him. I'm so proud of him. He's incredibly brave and making such an enormous sacrifice. And, I'm so proud of my friend, too. She's been so strong and independent and brave through all of this. Their love and support for each other is incredible. I really am inspired by them. Their struggles put everything in to perspective for me. My little disagreements with Brad or complaints about my job or every day headaches are nothing compared to the sacrifices of others.

Complete change of subject. I do need to brag for just a minute. I have no kids. But, Brad and I rock at buying kid gifts. We got Noah and Chase this very cool zoo for their first birthday. They love it! And we got Natalie a cute little outfit and some very cool giant Legos. She loved it! The blocks more than the outfit. We are like the coolest Aunt and Uncle ever!

Anyway. . .

I am planning to get caught up on the 21 Day Challenge tonight. Plus, I need to do the dishes before Brad evicts me. Plus, I need to do a little packing for a day in GB tomorrow. Am so excited. Haven't hung out with Angie in what seems like forever! Can't wait!!!!

All Caught Up

This little fitness lady I see at the gym (I can't bring myself to call her a trainer because she's not a totally fitness crazed drill sargeant, like the word trainer brings to mind) is always telling me that I'm still exercising even if I'm just outside walking or cutting the grass (not that I do that!) or something. I'm still working toward the 21 Day Challenge even if my LOs aren't about the quotes, right?

That's just a little something I'm telling myself to make me feel better about getting behind yesterday. This really takes a lot of work to stay caught up. Huge applause for my scrappy friend, Amy. Check out her gallery at 2Peas. She's been caught up the whole time!

Anyway, here's my Day 14.

And My Day 15.

I don't know that I'm any closer to finding my style, my goal for this whole thing. I think my style changes a lot with what kind of product I'm working with. Does that make me a poser?

This is getting too philosophical tonight. Must get some sleep. I have a 7am meeting to analyze developmental spelling stages of students. UGH.

Weekend LOs

I should totally be working on one of my last big projects for grad school, but it's so much more fun to share my latest LOs with all of you.

I also need to thank my weekend scrapping mentor and assistant. Her supplies were plentiful, advice was excellent, and conversation was outstanding. THANKS!

LO # 1: Journey
Thought I should commemorate all the hours that went into to finishing the final project for my MSE.

LO# 2: Grandma
I've shared this pic of my grandma as a little girl before. I haven't done a LO of her since just before she died.

LO # 3: Boys of Summer
These are from last time Noah and Chase were in WI. Don't they look like little old men in these hats? So cute!

LO # 4: I See You
This is an older pic of Noah. This paper is a bit obnoxious, but I thought it went well with the pic.LO # 5: Hat Boy
A very quick LO to commemorate Noah's love of hats. So cute!

Now, I know what you're thinking. A girl can't use that much stuff from her stash wihtout replacing some of it. Here (drum roll, please) are my latest scrapping purchases. In my defense, Rhonna's 21 Day Challenge has really been helping me use some of what I have. I was due for some new stuff.

Day 12 and 13

I took my scrapping on the road, but I have been finishing my pages for the 21 Day Challenge on time. Honest. I have. Here's my work for Day 12 and Day 13.

Day 12

Day 13

Besides these fabulous concoctions, I've also found time to eat ice cream (twice today) and enjoy some Starbucks (Hopefully, I redeemed myself in your eyes, Michelle!). Amazingly enough, I even managed enough time to create a few other LOs and do PLENTY of scrap shopping. Wait until you see all of my fun new stuff! I'll post pics of the other LOs and all my loot tomorrow.

5:40 a.m. Day 11

The stickles are dry! I left a few extra minutes this morning to share it.

Now, I'm headed to Walmart to buy some candy for the kids. I don't imagine that any day that starts with a trip to Walmart at 6am can turn out all that great. No time for Starbucks today, either. I have a morning meeting, and it's too far out of the way.

Day 11

My Day 11 is finished. It's after 10pm (I hardly ever stay up this late on a school night). But. . . The very cute Stickles won't dry. I can't scan and share because I would glittery mush all over my scanner. How frustrating.

In other news, I'm busy preparing for a big scrappy weekend. The LOs probably won't get posted until Sunday. But, I promise not to fall behind.

Got to babysit Natalie again tonight. She's such a sweetie! Nicky is busy getting ready for Chris to come home on leave. I am so excited for them to be a family again for awhile. He comes home tomorrow!

Take care everyone. Will be back Sunday.

XOXO

Day 10

I can be such a brat. The last thing I said before I went in to my craftroom tonight to do Day 10, was "Ugh. I really don't want to do this tonight." I proceeded to launch in to a huge bitch session about how I didn't feel like doing the challenge. In the end, I'm glad I buckled down and did it.

That's not the attitude to start anything with. But, it was kind of the motto for my day. I'm so in need to learn how to adapt to change. It was hat day today at school. I'm such a brat that I wouldn't let the kids wear hats in my room. I'm telling you. I don't adapt to change well.

Reasons why I'm Bratty:

1. When we go on vacation, I pout for days about the stress of packing. I've even been known to throw fits and threaten not to actually go on the vacation just because I don't really want to pack.
2. If all a restaurant has is Pepsi, I will order something other than soda.
3. I really only like my own dog. Other people's dogs are cute, but I don't want to cuddle or pet them much at all.
4. I sometimes imagine what people around me would look like with an Extreme Makeover.
5. I consider going to the least desirable Walmart in my area so that I can feel thin and beautiful and rich in comparison with the other shoppers. I, of course, will refuse to buy anything while I'm there.
6. When we bought our house, I threw a crying fit in Home Depot and again in front of the realtor because I was completely disappointed the house we just bought didn't have a huge, beautiful kitchen.
7. There's a woman who works out at the same time I do. She never stops talking! If she's anywhere in sight when I get there, I'll go to another room to completely avoid her. I'll even shoot her evil glances. Just because she has bad hair (top of the head pony tail in a scrunchy) and I don't want to talk to her.

I really could go on and on, but I'm starting to embarass myself. I do think, though, that I would make a great celebrity. My list of backstage demands would be extensive and detail-oriented. What is your brattiest moment or habit? Do share. Please.

Day 9 : My Itinerary

Super long day today. Here's the synopsis.

6:30 Met the carpool
Morning: Standardized testing
After School: Missed the library tea (but my colleagues brought me pie--twice)
5pm: Gym (but left early because annoying loud lady was there)
6pm: McDonalds and hanging out with Nicky and Natalie
8pm: Home to do Day 9

9:20: Thinking about getting off the computer to hang out with Brad.

P.S. Brad got his postal uniforms today. His official postal uniforms. Only problem--he's lost so much weight since he started, nothing fits. Oh well. Guess I'll have to wait a little longer to take pictures. Come on! It's begging to be a LO.

Rhonna: Day 8

You have the power to change.

That's our advice today from the wise Rhonna.

I went in kind of a strange direction with this. If I was a superhero, I think my special power would be the ability to change things. I could just change things whenever they weren't going my way or whenever I sensed an injustice. What would your superhero power be?

P.S. If you haven't read Em's blog today, you positevely must. I almost peed my pants laughing! Thanks, Em.

Rhonna: Day 7 of 21

This is my 7th day for the Rhonna's challenge. I really needed to narrow it down to my worst bad habits. So, I chose bad habits specifically related to things I do. There are plenty of other bad habits related to things I think and say. Is it a bad sign that my bad habits are so plentiful they need to be divided into categories ?!
With one week complete, I'm not sure how much closer I am to finding my style.

Day 6 and Other Projects

Here's my Day 6.

In other news, I scrapped with my mother-in-law, Sue, today. We had a blast. Started off the day with a little shopping. My LSS is having an anniversary sale. Tomorrow they're giving away a $500 gift card. Sue or I are so going to win! We agreed to split it.

LO # 1: Pals
This is a total rip off of something posted as part of the Scrapbook Stand's February Kit. But, it's such a fun page that I needed to share it.

LO # 2: Trouble with Toys
An older pic of my newphews enjoying their toys. These are some crazy new colors for me. I'm not scared of color, I just don't use primary colors very often. But, I loved the ribbon and bought the paper to match.

Now, we're headed to dinner. Should be a fun night.

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.