Sherry Out Loud

Woo-Hoo!

2012-02-02T12:30:00.000-05:00

As you can easily see, it's been over a week since I paid any attention to my lonely little blog here, and that's too long! Every day when I finish my other two blogs, I say "Oh, I'll come back to mine later," and then something prevents me from doing that, so today I pulled this right up after finishing the scrapbooking blogs. If you want to see what I've done there, check them out:

Beth Rimmer's Creative Chaos
Silvia Romeo Designs

It's just a small bit of creative writing, but I do enjoy it a lot, and hopefully it helps increase traffic to these two designers' scrapbook stores, that's the intention anyway.

Yesterday was the beginning of Verb Tribe, the 37-day writing class with Patti Digh. I am so excited to be starting this class! Yesterday we had a writing prompt: How do you compare yourself with others?, and we were to do our writing on both sides of a paper lunch bag using a Sharpie pen, like the one Johnny Depp uses to sign autographs with, LOL! We were to write for 10 minutes or until both sides were filled, and "write like our hair was on fire." So got that one done! We also copied a poem in longhand that Patti gave to us, which was interesting, it really helped me to notice things about the poem that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. She also had us start using a notecard to note observations about our day that might be used in later writing - this was very interesting, I didn't fill up my card because I didn't start until 5 pm when I read the first assignment, and today I just haven't grabbed the note card yet, but I promise I'll do that as soon as I'm finished with this blog entry! There are a whole bunch of wonderful women (maybe a man or two also?) taking this class, and I am so excited to be in their company!

So, Monday my dear friend Miriam made it possible for Santa and I to visit Animal Kingdom at Disney, and we had a glorious day. We got there about 10:30 and stayed til 4:30, which is quite a good stretch for me, and though I was tired at the end, it wasn't unbearable. And we got to do ALMOST everything we wanted to do - we missed Expedition Everest, which Santa really wanted to ride on, but that will be our first stop next time. Miriam is always so gracious in getting us in to the parks, but I have not felt up to going for the longest time. This is a great indicator of how much my energy level has improved recently - I wouldn't have even attempted this two months ago. Now the Flower and Garden Festival will be coming up in another month or so, and I hope we can see that - it's been several years since I've been to that.

Of course, one of the big things I wanted to do at Animal Kingdom was take pictures with my iPhone, and I was not disappointed in that. I took approximately 200 pictures - started with a full battery and was down to about 15% by the end of the day, but I pretty much took every picture I wanted. Some were successful, some not so much, but I felt like I got great pictures without having to cart around my DSLR - of course the pictures are different than I would have shot with the DSLR, and the phone camera isn't going to replace it, but I know I will use it a LOT!

Here are some highlights of my picture expedition:

Miriam and me before we went into the park

Santa and me

Big fat hippo lying in the sun

Reticulated giraffe

Baby elephant in front of the baobob tree

It's kind of hard to see, click on the picture to see the larger version, but right in the center you can see the lion all sprawled out on his back, basking with the warmth of the sun on his belly

The rainbow was not there when I took the picture - it's magic

Help Mr. Lizard!

The only gorilla we got to see - the others were otherwise occupied apparently

Painted mural in Asia

Bas relief in Asia - see the elephant on the left?

Sun flare

Tree of Life

This one is priceless - David was chosen from the audience at the Lion King Festival to show our section how to act like wart hogs. Here he's crooking his fingers like tusks and making the BEST snorting sound!

Finale of the Festival of the Lion King

You can see this better if you click on the picture to enlarge it, but it's a tree full of (ibis, ibes, ibises, ibides - take your pick of plural form) roosting for the night. We used to have large numbers of these birds come to our house when we lived on the lake, but I have no idea where they roosted.

I should add that all these pictures are straight out of the camera, with the exception of a couple that I cropped. I know that editing them would brighten up the colors and sharpen them, but not so bad for a camera phone, huh?

I was going to catch you up on all the books I've finished since last we spoke, but Santa wants to go to the library (I need more library books like a hole in the head) so that will have to wait until tomorrow. For now...

Peace and love to everyone!

Underestimation

2012-01-25T20:24:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all!

Last night, as I mentioned, Santa and I went out on a photowalk. I got a few good ones, only one edited so far, here it is:

This is (obviously) a carousel, shot with my iPhone 4S just as the sun was going down, at Old Town in Kissimmee - love this picture!

I'll edit and post more soon, promise!

Now to books! Today I finished this one:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett - This one gets 5 stars from me! The main setting is in Brazil along the Amazon River. The main character, Marina, is a doctor performing pharmaceutical research on cholesterol drugs. The pharmaceutical company is also funding a project in a remote region of Brazil near the Amazon River, having to do with research for a fertility drug. Marina's officemate has been sent to the site in Brazil to try to ascertain the state of the project, as the doctor in charge of it is not forthcoming with status information. When a letter is received that the colleague has died and was buried at the site, Marina is sent to find out the circumstances, and learns amazing things, both about the research and about herself. The characters are fully fleshed out, and I very much felt I was at that site along the river. The ending is surprising, yet quite plausible, and all loose ends are tied up. I had read Bel Canto by Patchett a while back, and this is my second one of her books to read - I will definitely be seeking out more. I like the way she writes!

In moving stuff around on top of my messy dresser in my bedroom, I found two additional books that I've finished this month - thus the Underestimation title of this post, LOL!

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant - The main character is 10-year-old Pia, and is set in a small town in Germany. Pia is an outcast in her school due to the unfortunate freak death of her grandmother - it is said that she "exploded" - she actually caught on fire after a liberal dousing of hairspray to tame her 'do, then shortly thereafter taking over the lighting of the family Advent candle, so it was somewhat like an explosion and certainly became gossip fodder in this small town. At a town celebration of something like our Halloween, a young girl vanishes with no explanation whatsoever, and Pia and her only friend, Stinky Stefan, set out to find out why. They are frequent visitors to an elderly gentleman who tells them stories of the town, which they use to try to piece together the mystery of the girl's disappearance, as well as subsequent disappearing children, and the mystery is resolved by the end of the story. It is funny and suspenseful and a quite enjoyable read - it gets 4 stars from me.

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark - Another book whose main setting is in India, in 1947. Martin Mitchell has won a Fulbright Fellowship to study in that country at a time of political uprising and the turnover of power from the British to Indians. He takes his wife Evie and his son with him to India - but the marriage is less than happy. They move to a somewhat remote small village. In the house that has been assigned to the family, Evie finds a packet of letters from almost 100 years back, at another time of political uprising, that appear to be parts of a correspondence between two women. Evie latches on to research about these women, who originally came from England to India to find husbands, a practice that was very much en vogue at the time. The letters are not in good shape and so much of their content is indecipherable, but there are enough clues that Evie is able to pursue other means of finding out more information. She learns more and more as time goes on, but finds her family in peril, both because of her research and the political unrest. The book contains two stories in one, the story of the two British women from the 1850s, and the story Evie's family in 1947, and both are tied up well in the end. It is a great study in relationships, and I was completely caught up in the story. It gets 4 stars from me.

Well, tomorrow is housecleaning day (insert small boo here, but alas, it must be done!) so it's possible I'll run across more books I've forgotten I've read in the process, but I don't think I will. I'm currently reading a book called Just Wanna Testify - wow, I just searched this book on Goodreads and find that it's #5 in a series - guess I'll be going back to the first four because this one has me captivated.

So, goodnight me lovlies - peace and love to everyone!

Read Reads Read

2012-01-24T15:21:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard of the website called Goodreads? It's a place for tracking detailed information on the books you've read, that you're reading, and that you want to read. It also allows sharing of this information with friends you set up. It allows you to search for books that may interest you. It has blog postings by authors whose books you've read in the past. There are numerous reviews for most books. If you are a reader, you definitely should check it out: www.goodreads.com. I love it personally!

I've been slowly but surely tracking all the books I've read, but since I'm such an avid reader, I'll never get an accurate list - I've been reading voraciously since I first learned to read. I remember one Christmas when Nancy Drew was my book of choice. My parents gifted me with five new Nancy Drew books, and I had them read halfway through Christmas break - they were amazed! I also had a real love-hate relationship going on with our neighborhood public librarian. In the summer I was permitted to ride my bike to the library to check out books - this was probably the summer between 3rd and 4th grade. But the problem was that the library had a policy that children could only check out one book at a time. So, I'd go first thing in the morning, check out my one measly book, go home and read it, then go back to check out another one to read that night. Of course, the librarian refused me for the longest time - this was back in the days when books were checked out by removing and stamping a card inserted into a pocket affixed to the inside cover, and the librarian couldn't be bothered to find my card from earlier in the day (apparently all alphabetizing and filing of the day's cards happened after the library closed to the public). That didn't stop me though, I continued, day by day, to go back to the library to try to get a second book, sometimes even taking along my mom or dad so they could check something out for me. At some point the librarian threw up her hands and just let me check out a second book in the morning - I remember how happy I was when that happened! No telling how many books I read that summer. And I promise there was not one single late book!

So anyway, it's enjoyable for me to peruse lists of books and mark ones I've read, and for the last several months I've kept a record of my readings. Shortly after the first of the year, the website had a prompt asking what your reading goal was for the year. I thought about it, and I didn't want to set it too high, so I chose 52 books. And here it is the 24th, and I'm already at 6 books - I don't think I'll have any trouble reading 52, and it will be interesting to track just how many I do read.

Here's the list of what I've read so far:

Note: The first two books on this list were ones I checked out as E-books from the library through a new program they have called Freading - books are always available for checking out, you don't have to wait until a copy is returned. The books I checked out probably are not ones I would have chosen from the regular selection of E-books, but I was interested in the Freading concept. I have two other Freading books checked out as well.

Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal - Story of a 12-year-old Indian American boy who feels very different from the other kids his age. As a way of explaining his differences to himself, he decides he's the reincarnation of Krishna, the blue-skinned Hindu deity. The book shows many vignettes of how Kieran is different from his peers, and moves toward the conclusion where he actually dresses up as Krishna for his school's talent show, plays the flute, and dances with wild abandon - with surprising results. I liked this book - I very much enjoy Indian novels, and this one was both fun and insightful. I give it four stars.

Golfing With God by Roland Merullo - The title pretty much describes the story line - the main character is in heaven, and is assigned the task of helping God learn to putt better. He is taken on a journey that teaches him much about life and about spirituality. I'm not a golfer, and I'm sure that someone interested in both golf and spirituality would eat this book up, but just the spiritual references were enough to make it worth my while. I give this one four stars too.

The Moment by Douglas Kennedy - Let me start out by saying, Five Stars for sure! This is a novel about a man and a women in Germany in the 1980s when the Wall was still up. They both lived and worked in a neighborhood on the West side, but the woman's life had always been in East Germany. It's a powerful love story with tragic consequences and an interesting ending. Although I've read a whole lot of sad books in my reading life, it's rare for a book to actually make me cry, and this one made me cry three times in the last 30 pages or so. I loved this and will likely read it again.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin - I checked this one out because the title was intriguing. It is exactly what the title says it is, and is based on historical fact. It was interesting in many ways, but I think only a tiny person could actually portray how the world looked from their unique perspective. I did enjoy it, but this one only gets 3 stars.

Blood Fever by Karen Moning, #2 in the Fever series - This series was recommended to me at a Breaking Dawn party last November, as another supernatural series that was interesting and well-written. I read the first and second ones, but I don't think I'll go on from there. I loved Stephenie Meyers's Twilight series, I certainly love Ann Rice's books, but Ms. Moning is nowhere near their caliber, and I found myself slogging through the last pages. Three stars.

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin - I almost didn't finish this one because it was pretty light-weight, but got into it enough to finish it off. It's the story of a woman in the 1800s who married a British Duke, of her life before and after her marriage. It was pretty predictable, but it was decently written, and if I were the author of the book I would certainly want my reader to see it through to the end, so I did. One of the biggest problems I had was that there was conflicting information in the story about a letter that was written, but it later said it wasn't written, then went back to saying it was written. That drove me nuts. Not the tightest writing for sure. Three stars.

So, there you have it - I'm 6 books into my quota of 52. And I definitely won't stop reading once I hit the target. One characteristic of a good writer is that she is an avid reader, so I have that one down for sure - now all I need to do is start writing.

That's it for now - Santa and I are going to Old Town in Kissimmee tonight to give me more iPhone photo ops, so maybe there will be more pics tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Peace and love to everyone!

Two For Two!

2012-01-23T20:22:00.000-05:00

Two days in a row, woo-hoo!!!

How about some more photos?

This is what the world looks like over Santa's shoulder, every morning of the year - well, not Christmas, and he might miss 2 other days, but this is pretty much it. Just to the right of the picture sits his cup of coffee. This man has habit down to a fine art!

Eric with the new guitar his dad gave him for Christmas - it is absolutely gorgeous, stained wood, not painted, beautiful!

Yesterday I posted the picture of Eric's tattoo that was edited with Percolator - here's how it looks just regular.

Woo-hoo, our new vacuum cleaner, now we just need to practice with it, LOL!

Yep, it's a Kindle - it's on its way over the ocean to a very very dear friend of mine, waiting to hear that it has arrived safe and sound!

Scott and Aunt Vera gave David these cool Rolling Stones drinking glasses for Christmas - again edited with Percolator.

A week or so ago, Santa and I were exploring in downtown Kissimmee, and we ran into a vegetable market in a lovely park square. There was a man playing this cello, quite nicely I might add. I asked if I could take his picture, and he said he didn't want his picture taken, but that I was welcome to take a picture of the cello, which I obviously did. We got to talking, and he told me how he likes to talk with people on a level playing field, equal to equal, and when a camera gets brought into the equation, things are no longer equal - the photographer is "above" the subject, and it takes away from the opportunity to communicate on the same level. Interesting perspective.

This was just a regular picture of a bird of paradise flower, but run through the Photoshop Express app using the sketch feature.

This was taken on January 14 - Me, Scott, Aunt Vera and David. We had just had a delicious lunch at Po Folks Restaurant in St. Pete. The picture that the waitress took with their camera had the four of us standing closer together, but I still like this one.

After we left Scott and Aunt Vera's house, we were driving along Gulf Boulevard. I got Santa to find a place to pull into so I could peek at the beach, and this is what I found - God in all his majesty!

There is a muster of peacocks in Aunt Vera's neighborhood with about 20 peacocks and peahens, including some juveniles. They had some really funny stories to tell about them, including how they clean themselves by groveling in loose dirt! This guy here was a big tease, he kept flipping his tail around but would not open it fully, probably did as soon as I left with my camera.

As part of cleaning out the garage, we brought in David's books, and brought this bookshelf in and put it in the corner of the living room where the Christmas tree was. But it needed a light of some sort there - and Aunt Vera gave me this gorgeous Tiffany-style lamp with hummingbirds in the glass as well as a hummingbird on top - and it's just perfect!

These were on sale at the restaurant where we ate in St. Pete - I remember them so well from my childhood all those thousands of years ago!

Santa and I got to see a Broadway touring production of Les Miserables on January 17th - it was glorious, magnificent, amazing - any superlative you can think of! We took each other's picture beside the sign - if I'd been thinking, I would have posed us each on a different side of the sign and then stitched it together in Photoshop, but I was still stunned from the performance, not in photo editing mode, so this is as good as it gets.

A painting of Marilyn Monroe in a window in downtown Kissimmee.

This mural was painted on the side of a building, again in downtown Kissimmee.

Snapped this sign at the produce market we stumbled upon. I'm fascinated by the concept represented by this sign - do they beat you with the basket?

Okay, well that's the highlights version of my best iPhone photos so far. I'll have to get busy and take some more or else I'll fall off the blogging wagon, LOL!

Peace and love to everyone!

About Time!

2012-01-22T20:34:00.000-05:00

Well, Santa told me it was December 11 the last time I posted here, and darn if he wasn't right! That's really sad, as I'm still blogging every Monday through Friday for two of my favorite scrapbook designers, and all I have to do is just push one more button and blog on my own! Oh well, the road to hell and all..... If you want to see the blogs I'm posting on, here they are:

Beth Rimmer - Creative Chaos

Silvia Romeo Designs

I really enjoy these blog writings, gives me a tiny way to exercise my creative writing fingers. BUT! I am going to exercise those fingers in a much bigger way come February 1! I am taking a writing workshop called Verb Tribe with the wonderful writer Patti Digh, and I can't wait! Patti is the author of Life Is A Verb, Creative Is A Verb, What I Wish For You, and Four-Word Self Helps. I believe this is the first online writing workshop she's conducted, and I am so excited to be a part of it. It's designed to help create a daily writing practice, something I've wanted for a very, very long time. I believe I will come away from this successful.

I'm also doing an art journaling workshop at Brave Girls Club. This is a wonderful, life-affirming site that has meant so much to me, and I'm happy to get to do this class. If you poke around on their site, they also have a daily Brave Girls email that is a reminder of all the wonderful things we are and do - it's something I read every day without fail. The art journaling workshop involves actually making art with paper and paint and Mod Podge and pictures and so much fun stuff that I've never tried - I can do it too! It's amazing how much feeling and emotion can be expressed and discovered this way.

If you are wondering how it is that I am accomplishing these things (plus another big thing I'll talk about in a minute) it's that I am feeling sooooo wonderful! For probably the last six weeks, I've had energy and vitality that I haven't felt since I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome almost four years ago. It is nothing short of miraculous, and I am enjoying every minute of it - I'm not hyper about taking on too much, but just making good use of the time and energy I'm feeling. I know that sometimes CFS can go into a state of "remission," but I also know that it can go away altogether. I'll just let time tell which one it is for me. I'm really happy living one day at a time.

With all these good things happening, it's unbelievable that I would have anything else going on and still have enough time to sleep (and I AM still sleeping 8 hours a night!). But I have a new obsession that I spend so much time with! Santa and I each got a new iPhone 4S for Christmas. I've been waiting so long for the iPhone to come to Sprint so I could get one, so we didn't have to change carriers. And frankly it was the camera I was most excited about - it actually does place and receive phone calls, a unique feature of a camera, don't you think? LOL! I've been reading and practicing, took a workshop on iPhoneography earlier this month, playing with several photo apps, and having the BEST time! I am posting pictures on Instagram - as livingoutloud77, if you participate there - and slowly but surely getting "likes" for my pictures and "followers" for my feed, with the invaluable assistance of Santa's daughter Anna, YAY ANNA! The man who led the iPhoneography workshop talked about how cell phone photography is a new art form that really allows almost anyone to be creative at any time - I don't remember the statistic, but there are an amazing number of people with camera phones, and having a camera at your fingertips all the time lets you take advantage of a multitude of photo ops. Try it you'll like it!

I am going to show you just a few of my photos here, maybe more later - I've taken over 200 photos already, which is just a bit much for one blog post, right? LOL! Some of these I've posted on Instagram, some are just fun memories.

This is a picture of my son Eric's spider web tattoo that he has on his elbow. The picture was processed in a photo app called Percolator, which is lots of fun to play with.

One of the things I've actually had energy to tackle was working with Santa to clean out our garage - it had a LOT of boxes left from our move 2 years ago, and we needed it to get cleaned up. Here's the before shot - we still have a little bit to do before I'm ready to share the After shot.

Here's my sweet little Luckie dog posing so cute and giving me a big smile! This was my first Instagram picture that got 10 "likes" - that is nothing compared to people who get 500 likes on their pictures, but it's my first so I'll always love it!

Santa's daughter Anna and her husband sent us the most delicious treats for Christmas - Fairy Tale Brownies!!! The brownies and cookies in this package were absolutely amazing - we've made them last too, I just ate the last brownie today (sorry Santa and Rachel!).

Here's a shot of Santa, about 3 minutes into the New Year of 2012, sipping champagne in front of the tree. I tried to get a picture of both of us but it turned out BAD!

This picture could be called "Reincarnation!" A few days before Christmas, Rachel's electric piano died, a very sad event for all of us. You can tell from the picture that this is not a cheap keyboard, it is a fine electronic instrument. We didn't know if it could be fixed, but turns out it could, and at a pretty reasonable cost too. The repair guy came out and removed the computer board, then ordered another one to replace it, and in this photo he's getting the new one put back in. He also fixed another problem, one of the keys in the lower range sounded about three times as loud as all the other keys, and now it's the perfect volume again. So Rachel is now back to her daily piano playing - YAY!!!

Here's Santa and his sister Jane - they took us to Seasons 52 to celebrate Santa's birthday, and we had a fantastic dinner with great company - thanks Jane and Ron! Do they look like they are related or what???

Okay, that's all the patience I have for uploading photos tonight - I have lots more to share, ensuring that I will have material for more blog posts, right?

I had hoped to share a video of Rachel playing piano with the youth worship band at our church, but it's taking forEVer to upload, so, maybe tomorrow.

That's it for today! I'll be back soon! Peace and love to everyone!

What's In A Word

2011-12-11T13:02:00.001-05:00

There aredescriptive words for so many things that we'd never even think of,like petrichor, which is the smell of rain on dry ground, orbrontide, the low rumbling of distant thunder. But I've been unableto find a word that describes the feeling of living inside a book oneis reading, that the book's life is carried on even when the coversare closed. Maybe someday I'll invent one.

Word or not, thatwas definitely the feeling I had when reading The Taker, the firstnovel by the amazingly skilled Alma Katsu. It has only taken me acouple of days to complete, but I know I will read it again – I didMs. Katsu an injustice by rushing through some parts to find out whatwas going to happen next. Any time I was not reading, a part of mymind was imagining the story's progression.

The book employsforeshadowing to tell the story of Lanore, or Lanny, through many andvaried stages of her life. I'm not really fond of this writingstyle, but it was done with excellence in The Taker. I found myselflonging to get back to the flashback portions of the story, hurryingthrough the present day chapters, although both were crucial tocomprehending Lanny's life. There are sections of poverty anddeprivation, of glamor and wealth, of love won and love lost. Allthis is done with the elegance and grace of language that is such adelight to find in a book today.

I am not a readerwho tries to figure out what is going to happen next, preferring tolive in suspension of disbelief as much as possible (and that waspretty much the whole time in this book). There were things thathappened that were somewhat predictable, but there were severalpassages that took me completely by surprise. This is crucial for mein a great book, and it was carried out up to the last sentence.

Although it isquite different, there were aspects of The Taker that reminded me ofMistress of the Art of Death, possibly because the historical erapassages caught me up so completely in both books.

The title of abook is usually not the first thing that attracts me, but once I'vestarted reading, I have an awareness of attempting to forge the linkbetween the author's title and the story being told. Several timesin my reading of The Taker, I was sure I had found the author'sintention, only to find it in a different way as I continued to read. Upon reflection, there are several plausible interpretations; besure to see which one you think is it.

I predict you'lllove this book. You'll get times past as well as the world today. You'll get the real world and the supernatural, although it iscompletely erroneous to compare The Taker to any of today's popularsupernatural tales. You'll get full-bodied, rich, three-dimensionalcharacters who will grab your attention and carry you through thepages.

Although I am anavid reader, I honestly think that I could possess a small bookshelfwith a limited number of books that I would delight in reading overand over. The Taker would be on the top shelf, without a doubt. This is an amazing first novel by a highly skilled author, and Ieagerly await her next book – may there be many yet to come!

Saturday

2011-12-10T10:59:00.001-05:00

Saturday has dawned sunny and beautiful here in Paradise - er, Orlando. The temperature is pleasant, the sun is shining, there's a light breeze - no sign of winter today, and that's fine with me!

Today is the full moon, which is a time that I always remember the full moon day when Santa and I were married. One of the most magical days of my life for sure! And many more happy moons to come, I have no doubt.

No book reviews yesterday - I did finish a Sarah Paretsky/VI Warshawski book, Guardian Angel, but it's more in the "fluff" category than something I want to review. I did add it to my list in Goodreads, though. Now I'm reading another fluff book, but also a book called The Taker, which has me mesmerized, can't wait to get to the point of reviewing that one! Knowing I'm going to write a review has me reading it a bit differently, and in a good way too.

So enough dull and boring blog posts with no pictures - here's one of Santa a couple of years ago:

He's such a wonderful husband! He says I don't even have to worry about being on the naughty list, that I'm always good - that's a lot of love to say that about somebody! (And obviously not really that true, but I'm glad that's how he sees me!)

Here's another photo from this week. David posed for these pictures for an artist he works with, and the hat is his artistic creation, made from copper. The money on the hat is Million Dollar Bills - that has something to do with the artistic creation but I can't remember what.

There he is, my husband, man of many hats - don't forget the crown he wears to make a living in!

This morning we are going to take Jackiebird to the Birdy Beauty Shop to have her wings and nails clipped. She has just grown the wings she needs to fly, which makes it dangerous for her to be out if the ceiling fans are on. Also, she's had 2 incidents in the last couple of days where she flew to where Luckie was, including one where she landed on his back for a brief second. There is no love lost between Jackie and Luckie, and I think Luckie would literally bite her in half if she got too close when I wasn't there to monitor the situation. Much better to have clipped wings. I'm going to inquire about a new cage as well, she's been in this one 9 years. Don't know how birds do with new cages so I'll ask The Bird Store folks.

It was a sad morning for Santa Claus...his routine involves reading the newspaper and doing the crossword puzzle every morning, 7 days a week, rain or shine. This morning his paper was not here when he got up, and it took them at least 3 hours to get it here. But he handled it well, didn't hit anybody or anything. He is definitely a creature of habit though!

Okay, off to the races, peace and love to everyone!

I Did It!

2011-12-09T07:32:00.001-05:00

Yes indeedy, I did it I did! What's that, you ask? I wrote my first book review and published it both at Good Reads and Amazon.com! It's for a book called The Heart Specialist, by Claire Rothman, and you can see it here:

The Heart Specialist Reviewed at Amazon.com

Apparently I am easily impressed with my own self, but it made me feel wonderful to do this. I've said it so many times, I want to WRITE, and it seems that these little ways to get me started are perfect. It's much more fun to write something that is designed for someone else to read, albeit in small bits and bytes. And the more I can see my words on the screen, the more likely I am to write more and more.

There are more Christmas decorations and less boxes in my house today, yay!!! I think I said yesterday that today would be my finishing day - it's early so there's real reason to hope. David is performing in 2 shows at Medieval Times today so I'll have lots of time to get things finished up. I realize this would be more fun with some actual photos, but just use your imagination and see beautiful decorations surrounding green plastic bins that I drag them out of slowly but surely.

I have finished another secret Christmas project which I can't talk about yet, but I'm so excited about it! Today I'm going to work on a photo book for Rachel - Blurb has a photo book format that can be created from Facebook photos, and it also brings in the comments on the photos. I think she is going to love it, at least I hope so. I have one other secret project that I may be able to get done today, and then we'll see if I actually can scrape up the $$$ to order them - Blurb's 25% off sale ends today, and today is the last day to order and get Christmas delivery without paying exorbitant shipping costs.

So, off to get busy with one or the other of my projects, see you soon.

Peace and love to everyone!

COLD SNAP!!!

2011-12-08T06:53:00.001-05:00

BRRRRRR!!! Baby, it's COLD outside! Taking into consideration my weather wimp status, it is STILL cold as heck out there. Take a look at this:

See that temperature? It's 42 degrees, though it feels like 36. Come on people, this is paradise, it is not supposed to be this cold ever!

Okay, weather rant completed. In other news, I'm still unpacking Christmas decorations. I WANT TO BE FINISHED! Maybe tomorrow. Or who knows, maybe today?

I think I mentioned that I now write daily posts for two scrapbooking blogs. These are fun and also challenging, as I have to come up with something unique to say about a scrapbook layout for each of the blogs, and it obviously can't be the same thing every day. So that is at least a small writing challenge for me. Now I'm adding a new challenge for myself. At this point I am quite the prolific reader, some of which is "fluff" reading, and some a bit more serious, although nothing truly heavy-duty. I am going to learn to write proper book reviews for the non-fluff books I read. I can post reviews on both Good Reads (www.goodreads.com) (that's for you, Santa!) and on Amazon.com. I enjoy reading the well-thought-out reviews on this site, and I think I will benefit from this new writing challenge for myself. It's a shame that my theme word for 2011 was "write," and I'm just now getting somewhat revved up, but at least it is still 2011.

So my first book to review is called The Heart Specialist by Claire Holden Rothman. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a link to the review...watch this space!

Okay, back to my snuggling blanket and my warm little puppy!

Boxes Boxes Everywhere

2011-12-05T08:29:00.001-05:00

Oh how I wish I could start a project and finish it in what I consider to be a reasonable length of time! My Christmas decoration boxes have been out in my (small) living room for the past 5 days, and still all the decorations are not out, although progress is being made. But my expectation is that I should be able to do it all in one day, two at the most. I guess I expect too much, but there you have it. Or maybe I could label it hope instead.

It's now 20 days until Christmas! Mom will be here 2 weeks from today, and Tamera will be here 2 weeks from Thursday! I am so looking forward to seeing both of them. Tamera and I have had two wonderful phone conversations this weekend and I think we will have a good time. Everybody should have a sister in their life, if possible, and I am happy that I have one!

I've got another blog writing task! I am now posting and commenting on layouts for Silvia Romeo and Beth Rimmer - VERY different styles of design, and will require very different writing styles for sure. And then there's Sherry Out Loud - I'm determined to spend some time on "me" too. I deserve my own writing without a doubt.

Tonight is the Medieval Times Christmas party. I have no clue what I'm going to wear. The only decent dress I have will look like a large sausage stuffed in a small casing. And the bank balance isn't exactly hefty enough to go out and buy new clothes. Something will work out though, I have no doubt.

I actually made it to church yesterday, and the Advent service was terrific. There was a performance by the children's choir, and they sang like angels! I was so amazed at their young age, at them being able to harmonize and sing different parts like a round. Their directors are obviously outstanding!

Okay, I'm out of things to say so I'm closing now. Buh-bye for today!

Happy December!

2011-12-01T08:39:00.001-05:00

Well, I missed November altogether, but here it is December 1st (or oneth, as my dear Santa hubby always says to me!) and I can start afresh. Isn't that just the greatest thing about life? We can start afresh every single day - even every single minute! Don't have to wait for anything, just start a new page right now!

So I have this wonderful assignment from Silvia Romeo's creative team. I get to pick a layout done with one of her gorgeous digiscrap kits and feature it every day on her blog, with a little write-up to go along with it. And I do this Monday through Friday, every week, rain or shine. So I'm already in the Blogger program, and I keep wondering why the heck I don't just write on my own blog after I'm done with Silvia's? If anyone can answer that question for me, please leave it in comments. Otherwise I'll try it as a new challenge and see what I can come up with.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we had the BEST holiday weekend! We spent Thanksgiving with Bear and Miriam at their house, enjoying more of her delightful and delicious delicacies in the Thanksgiving theme, then sitting around laughing and talking and just relishing each other's company. Here's a great shot of the four of us:

Oops wait, wrong photo, LOL! Well, you can see Miriam's expert work at carving our Mr. Turkey Gobbler. She had marinated him in brine, and he was SO tender and delicious!!!

Here's David, enjoying a piece of Mim's highly delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake with whipped topping...mmmm mmmm GOOD! David is always happy to be a desert tester any day!

And here we have beautiful Mim cutting my Thanksgiving contribution pecan pie. I may not be remembered as a great cook in general, but there are many people who will remember me for my pecan pies!

NOW here's the photo of the four of us! I love this, I even like me in this one! I take my camera almost every time we go to Miriam and Bear's house, and mostly I never even turn it on. This time, not only did I turn it on, I set up the camera on the tripod that I got from Daddy (and that thrilled me!) and re-figured out how to take photos with the timer on my camera, and ran and sat down in plenty of time to look like I wasn't scurrying to get in the pose, right?

So that was our Thanksgiving Day...I am so thankful for my family and friends!

Black Friday came around, but we didn't do a single bit of shopping...whew! I am not the least bit of a Black Friday shopping fan, believe me, although I have in the past waited in long lines in freezing weather (in Oklahoma, not Orlando) to help my sister get a good deal on a computer, and I'm not going to rule out the possibility of such activity in the future either. Our big Black Friday celebration was this. We went back to Bear and Miriam's house in the afternoon, where she fed us wonderful turkey leftovers as well as freshly made and delicious homemade macaroni and cheese with tomatoes on top. Although I long to live near Miriam, I would be as big as a house after about a month of eating her cooking more regularly. Then we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios to meet up with Margaret, Meghann and Dean to see the Osborne Family lights...what an amazing spectacle that was! Here are a few pictures from that:

David took this one down the main street

He also took this one of me (obviously) LOL

I got this shot of Miriam and Bear - I really love this!

Here's David, me and Margaret - she is just recovering from being seriously ill, doesn't she look fabulous?

Here's the gang (except for me the photographer) - Meaghann, Dean, David, Miriam, Margaret, Bear

A few of the lights in general - David's camera did a much better job of the lights than mine did.

Beautiful nativity

Santa being hauled away in the paddy wagon - so wrong on so many levels!

Arf Arf let us in!!!

This should have been the first picture, but it was the last one I took.

The final big event of my Thanksgiving weekend was to go to the shooting range with Eric on Saturday morning, and we had a really great time. I can hit the target most every time with his .22, and even get it within the lines of the bulls eye too, though not really in the center. I have such fun doing this with him!

So there, now I did it, a blog post! Back to real life to do something worth writing about, LOL!

Peace and love to everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RACHEL!

2011-10-18T06:51:00.001-04:00

Seventeen years ago, right this very minute, I was nearing the final stages of labor. While I had a birth plan that requested that I receive no medications, I changed my mind...but my birth team convinced me to stay with my non-medicated plan. By 9:36 I had delivered my beautiful daughter Rachel, weighing 10 pounds and 2 ounces and perfect in every way! This is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life, and I am happy for both her sake and mine that we had the birth that her dad and I had planned for her.

What have the last 17 years been like for me? The presence of such a beautiful spirit in my life has brought me such joy, such love, such laughter, and yes, a few tears. Rachel is an absolutely amazing young lady. In a world gone wrong, especially when it comes to the world our teens have to live in, Rachel stands strong as an inspiration to everyone around her. She's talented, smart, funny, and has a heart as big as the world, and she isn't afraid to show us all how much she loves us.

I know she is going to have an amazing future ahead of her, and I plan to be behind her all the way, cheering her on, letting her know she has my unconditional love. And I know she will succeed beyond her wildest dreams.

Love you my sweet daughter! (Birthday pics to follow later)

Stress Test

2011-10-11T20:56:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah, I forgot to say that tomorrow I am having a nuclear stress test to diagnose any possible heart problems. Dr. Ferguson found an irregular heartbeat at a routine exam a few weeks back, so this is a result of that. I'm not really worried about it, hope I get to sit somewhere comfortable! Just thought I should document this so I remember when I had it.

As you were!

Bye Bye Nana!

2011-10-11T20:51:00.000-04:00

Well, all good things must come to an end, and Nana's visit ends tomorrow. We have had a delightful time, even though I haven't been feeling perfect while she was here. We've gone to some Al-Anon meetings, had some great meals, made cake pops, introduced her to Seprock's Snow (the root beer stuffed with vanilla soft serve), saw Aunt Vera and Uncle Scott, and I even got to play with her iPhone and Instagram a bit - can't wait for the iPhone 4S(herry)!

One of the sad things that has happened during her stay is that her sweet Cameron had to be sent to Doggie Heaven. This was really tough on both Nana and Tamera - and Annie too. I did a layout for Nana to remember him by, see it here:

What a sweet boy. You can see him taking one last look before he crosses over the ranibow bridge.

I've also done a Zentangle card for Tamera and am finishing up one for Nana as well.

Thanks, Nana, for an awesome visit - can't wait to see you on December 19th!

Peace and love to everyone!

Happy Anniversary My Love!

2011-10-06T10:26:00.000-04:00

On this day 5 years ago, October 6, 2006, I married my best friend, my forever love. And every day since then has been happy, contented, joyful, magical. I count my blessings that I have found this wonderful man as my life partner, best friend, roommate, shoulder to cry on, caretaker, lover, and any other great word you can think of.

Here's a picture from that glorious day 5 years ago:

I love you, My Majesty, Happy Anniversary!!!

Peace and love to everyone!

So Excited!

2011-10-05T12:00:00.007-04:00

So, I have the honor of choosing a layout from Silvia Romeo's gallery each day and highlighting it on her blog - woo hoo! This will be fun - Silvia's products are so gorgeous, and there are so many wonderful artists creating with her kits, it will be such a pleasure to highlight them!

Here's my first post for Silvia's blog:

Blog Post on Silvia's Blog

So check out her blog every day to see some of the delightful artistry that starts with the genius designs of Silvia Romeo!

Now don't get your hopes up TOO high, but I have to go to the same page to post on Silvia's blog as I would to post on my own blog, so MAYBE I'll be posting more, wouldn't that be awesome? I think so!

Peace and love to everyone!

Don't Let September Go By Unnoticed!

2011-09-30T08:04:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's a good thing I decided to peek in here today, otherwise I would have gone the whole month of September with no posts! Obviously I haven't been here much in September, wonder why that is?

Today is a bit of a sad day. Mom's dog Cameron is going to doggie heaven today. He has been a cherished member of her family for several years, being rescued from a puppy mill by Mom when he was about 4 years old. He has learned to be loved and thrived through all the love given to him by Mom, Tamera, and others. Bless you Cammie, we will miss you.

I see that when we last met I was beginning my passion for Zentangles, and I actually did one this month. I did it right after September 11, as it seemed a fitting piece of art to commemorate that day. Here 'tis:

I have lots of practice ahead of me, but I was pleased at how this one came out, being such an early attempt.

Here are a few other layouts I've done this month. Click on the layout to see a larger copy.

This one was done using Silvia Romeo's La Vie en Douce kit and the add-on. We had such a wonderful day that birthday at Disney, and this shows what a hoot my friend Miriam is!

This one was with the same kit. The picture was taken at the candy shop at Sea World. Rachel, Miriam, Bear and I went to "Dinner with Shamu" to celebrate my 50th birthday...sadly, David had to work.

This was also created with La Vie en Douce and add-on by Silvia Romeo. It is a signature block that I use in my digital scrapbook forums, and also goes out at the end of all my emails. I just love this, makes me hungry every time I see it...LOL!

I did this one for a challenge at SBG by Microferk Designs. The storyboard template was a freebie from her, and the kit I used is called "Glorious." The pictures are from a photoshoot that I did with Rachel and Mary at the Ritz Carlton - we had such fun!

This is another Silvia Romeo kit called "Summer Fun." The picture of Eric is from a photoshoot that we did with Barbara Herrera as photographer many years ago. I love this picture of him!

This is a sneak peek for a kit that DoinDigital will be releasing soon! The picture is of my dear friends Miriam and Bear on Halloween a few years back. Although you can't see it here, I made Mim's Alice dress, and Mim made Bear's Mad Hatter costume - they looked amazing!

I have a few others in the works that I will post later!

On the book front, I am in the middle of reading several series. One is by Tess Gerritsen. Her main characters are detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. She is a wonderful writer and just pulls me right in to her stories. There is a spin-off TV series called Rizzoli and Isles - I think maybe it's on Fox? I watched it once, but it just wasn't as good as the books.

Next is a series by Sarah Paretsky about private investigator VI Warshawski. She is also a very good writer, and I really like VI and her cohorts a lot!

I am re-reading Lisa Scottoline's legal thriller series - she is a GREAT writer in this genre, although she has a couple of other books that I'm not really thrilled with. Her characters are wonderful, you can't help but fall in love with them.

My friend Miss Behaving led me to Jim Butcher's series about wizard detective Harry Dresden of the Dresden File series. These are lots of fun, a great take on the supernatural, very entertaining.

Last but not least is Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series. Sookie is a human who can hear other humans' thoughts, and she is a hoot of a character. Her life is filled with vampires and werewolves, and the series is so fun - I always can't wait to read the next one!

So most of these books I can check out free from my library as E-Pub books and read on my computer. There are a few that are not formatted for E-Pub that I've had to order from my library though. The library has just set up downloads for the Kindle - I don't have one currently, but am going to try it out with Rachel's to see how it works.

Mom is here on a 3-week visit (with 12 days left to go, YAY!), and I got to play with the camera on her Iphone 4 and Instagram, and I am in LOVE! Not sure how to upload them to here, I'll do that later. There is speculation that the next Iphone is going to be announced on October 4, and also that Sprint will become a carrier for the Iphone. I've been waiting and waiting for this, since we are Sprint subscribers and David would like us to stay with Sprint. It is also rumored that the new phones will go on sale next Friday, October 7 - keep your fingers crossed!

Okay, that's all for September, hopefully this long post will help to make up for my full month's absence!

Peace and love to everyone!

But WAIT!!!

2011-08-30T20:52:00.000-04:00

So to my potential gift-givers...LOL...I like this one better:

Lucky Day

And I have a 17" Laptop...just sayin!!!

Peace and love to everyone!

You MUST Read This Book!

2011-08-30T20:38:00.000-04:00

Today I finished reading "The Story of Beautiful Girl" by Rachel Simon. Ms. Simon is the sort of author that completely brings me into the story with words and descriptions so fluid that I hardly know I'm reading - I'm living the story instead. She has another book also, called "Riding The Bus With My Sister."

In both of these books, the main character is a developmentally disabled young adult, though the setting in each book is drastically different. Ms. Simon has a developmentally disabled sister, so she has some idea of what she's writing about. Both books are about love and understanding and bridging gaps that should never have been there in the first place. I promise you that you will be so happy you read these books.

Now that that's off my chest, I found the COOLEST Zentangle picture. This is my goal, I want to get good enough to do a picture like this:

Is this not the coolest thing ever? It's called "Rosebud" by Valentina Ramos - you can get it here: Rosebud Picture. Ohmygoodness, I just went to the site and found out that it can be ordered as a laptop skin, along with a whole bunch of other pictures as well! So since Mom and David you guys are probably the only ones who read my blog, if you need a gift idea, try this link....just sayin!

Now I have to go get ready for my Scrapbook Graphics weekly chat. See ya soon!

Peace and love to everyone!

My New Passion!

2011-08-28T20:32:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have an exciting new passion, and it's called Zentangles! Here's a definition:

A Zentangle is a form of artistic meditation that uses repetitive patterns to create images.

A zentangle is usually done in black and white and the patterns have a rhythm. The ideal is to let yourself be carried away by the creative process and allow the design to grow organically.

It is VERY relaxing, VERY creative, VERY fun! I sort of kind of knew what they were, but I went to an Art Journal chat on Friday and we got to talking about this topic, so I looked it up. Here's an example of a Zentangle:

Each little section is a different pattern, and there are many, many different patterns on the internet with instructions on how to draw them - and they are very simple to draw. So my plan is this. Yesterday I bought a Micron 0.5 pen, which is what is recommended. And I also had a Strathmore Windpower Sketch Book size 6.25 x 8.5 with 60 lb paper (70 sheets). I am going to learn different patterns by doing a whole page of a single pattern, then next page, next pattern. That way when I am ready to do a real Zentangle with all these patterns I will have at least a clue of what I'm doing! So, watch this space for more fun, I might even post my pattern drawings, I've done 4 now and they aren't half bad!

Even though I have this new passion, my other passion for scrapbooking has not subsided at all. In the Art Journal Caravan this month, we are each creating a self-portrait page which will then be compiled into a book that can either be printed or looked at digitally. Here's mine:

Click to see a bigger version. I had a lot of fun making this, and am happy with the way it turned out.

There's a fairly new trend in digital scrapbook communities, and that is to make a small signature image to go at the end of your posts. (In fact, I keep thinking I'll make one for my blogs too.) I made this one for Scrapbookgraphics - I made it with Lorie Davison's Watermelon Summer kit, which I love, but especially so because it has these cute little elephants in it! Here's the siggie:

Cute, huh? I pretty much am having to make one for each store that I post at using their products. Maybe next time I'll have a siggie for the blogs!

Okay, off to practice more Zentangles!

Peace and love to everyone!

Frustrated

2011-08-26T09:16:00.000-04:00

I am so frustrated with my chronic fatigue syndrome. It seems like I'm having more bad days than good recently, and that is not okay with me. Then again, the more I fight it, the worse it is. But I don't seem to be able to NOT fight it very effectively.

I went to the first session of Griefshare at my church last night. It was very interesting, and I think it is going to be helpful. It is a Christian-based program, which is okay with me, but I got sort of turned off when the facilitator started in on heaven and hell, that there is definitely a hell, it says so in the Bible, and that a lot of people are going there, even some of the people you see sitting in church every Sunday. That was hard for me to listen to, because that is not my belief. And then she said that she knew that all of our loved ones were waiting for us on the other side to welcome us when it was our time - well how does she know that if she believes in hell like that? But that was the only thing, other than that it was very helpful. There were only 4 of us participating, which is a nice number, 3 of us having lost parents, and 1 having lost her spouse. /as I said, I think it is going to be helpful.

And now for a little happy picture, just something to make us smile on a Happy Friday!

He can make me smile pretty much all the days between Monday and Sunday!

Peace and love to everyone!

To My Daddy

2011-08-21T16:09:00.002-04:00

Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer's gone, and all the roses falling
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.

And if you come, when all the flowers are dying
And I am dead, as dead I well may be
You'll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.

And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be
For you will bend and tell me that you love me
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.

I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.

And I shall rest in peace until you come to me.
Oh, Danny Boy, Oh, Danny Boy, I love you so.

My Main Man

2011-08-18T23:02:00.000-04:00

How To Be Grateful

2011-08-18T16:05:00.000-04:00

I found this blog post somewhere on the internet, and it is just perfect. It describes how to grow through the grief of losing someone you love so much. Please take a minute and read it:

http://www.rootsofshe.com/2011/08/how-to-get-grateful-part-one.html

Here's my favorite part:

Eventually, the world that you thought had cracked?
It had only split open to show you the magic inside it.
Where once you feared darkness, there was only light.

Miracles have happened every year since my brother died.

What I know for sure about death?
That it’s all a gift.
That we never lose anything.

And that our relationship with the ones we love can keep growing,
changing and blooming even when they are dead.

Isn't that just beautiful? This is what I'm talking about when I've been feeling like there was some major growing for me to do through the death of my Daddy.

There are already miracles, just from the fact that I am back in touch with my 3 aunts, Daddy's 3 sisters, and I am so glad to be talking to them. It makes me feel very close to Daddy to talk to them. I hear stories about things from a perspective I've never had before. This is maybe my first miracle. And after reading this blog post, I expect there will be more and more, though I have no idea WHAT they will be. This makes me very happy and hopeful.

Peace and love to everyone!

Tamera

2011-08-11T23:13:00.000-04:00

This is my younger sister Tamera. She is very special to me, and I love her so much. She has had a lot of health problems over the last years, but recently she's had much more than her share of things happening to her physically that just should not happen.

Tomorrow she's going to have a stent removed that was placed a few months back after a botched cholecystectomy. If all goes well, this will be removed via endoscopy, all the complications from the bad gall bladder complications will be resolved, and she will be home by this time tomorrow night, sleeping off the effects of the anesthetic and moving toward a more healthy place in her life. She's very scared, and that is completely understandable with all the things that have gone wrong. My energy tonight is focused on seeing her full of health and light, with a happy belly and a peaceful mind. She deserves to be out of pain.

Tonight was the final episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 8. David and I have watched every minute of this season together. We were afraid he was going to have to work tonight and that we would have to watch a taped version of the finale, but turns out he didn't, so we watched the taped version of last night's performance show, then were ready for the live finale at 8 pm. It was a wonderful show, with many repeats of memorable moments of the season. I hoped that Sasha would win - she is an amazing dancer, a beautiful woman, an inspiration. The winner, in the end, was Melanie - also a strong dancer, beautiful woman, and an inspiration. I was almost as happy to see her win as I would have been if Sasha had won. I predict they will both have amazing dancing careers, along with many of the other contestants of this season.

Peace and love to everyone - and if you need any help spending that quarter mil, Melanie, just give me a call!

Pictures...Yes, Again

2011-08-09T20:58:00.000-04:00

What would my life be without pictures? So much of who I am is tied up in pictures, ones I take, ones others take, turning them into scrapbooks, finding fun ways to share them with others, finding ways to preserve their memories for my future descendants.

Since Daddy's death, I have been talking on the phone to his 3 sisters, Aunt Ruth, Aunt Vera and Aunt Nellie. I was close to them when I was little, but have been out of touch with them for many, many years. I'm sorry for the reason but am so happy to be talking to them again. Of course, they know basically nothing at all of my life, or my siblings, for many years, and asked me to send them some pictures. I started going through recent pictures and found 50 of my favorites...LOL! Yes, that's a lot, but it could easily have been 500!

So, Walgreens is having a sale on prints this week for 10 cents, so I can get them all copied affordably. And then I thought of ways I could communicate the story of these pictures simply. I could have written on the backs of all of them - but to do that 3 times would be incredibly boring and my handwriting would turn out crummy if I was bored. So I decided to put labels on the pictures that told who was in the photo and what was happening! I'm going to include a few here so you can see what I'm talking about. You may have to click on the photo to actually be able to read the words.

Yes, you definitely have to click on the picture to see the words. But they will be readable when they are printed out, and I am quite satisfied with this way of communicating about the pictures. And I did it without deciding I needed to make a 50-page scrapbook in a week!

David and I are going to St. Petersburg Saturday to see Aunt Vera and her husband Scott, and I am so excited about this. I have not seen her in almost 10 years, and I really need to make contact with her right now, it will be very important for both of us. So more on that after Saturday.

Peace and love to everyone!

Peectures!!!

2011-08-08T22:25:00.000-04:00

Yes I am still scanning photos. I'm coming across so many treasures, some with Daddy, some just of us kids. So I'm going to show you a few of them here!

This is me! Soooo cute, aren't I? I think I'm probably 3 or 4 years old, definitely gearing up to be a girly girl!

What a pair of cute babies! This is baby Tamera and Michael, I could just pinch their cheeks!

This looks like a very happy family, I'd say. Since Tamera was born in 1962 (I think), then this is probably early 1963. I like how Grandpa is looking on in the background.

This has always been a picture that I love. Randy had gone to the Orange Bowl with the Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band, and OU won the game, hooray! In my mind this is a picture taken when they got back to the hotel - well, he says that's technically true. However, they apparently had been back to the hotel for a while, apparently some quantity of alcohol was involved, and what can't be seen below the picture are his jogging shorts! Oh well, pictures make for nice fantasy, LOL!

This picture is such a treasure! It has to be one that Daddy took. This is from Brett's and my wedding, and Jordan, as you can see, is the deliciously adorable flower girl. But our "paid" wedding photographer somehow didn't get any pictures of Jordan at all, so this one is priceless to me!

I'm getting closer and closer to being finished, another 2 or 3 hours and I'll have all the pictures scanned that I brought home from Joyce's after Daddy's funeral. But there are more waiting, can't wait to get those too!

We are planning to go over to Vera and Scott's house on Saturday, and I can hardly wait for that! I am getting some pictures copied to take with me, also copies to send to Aunt Nellie and Aunt Ruth.

Peace and love to everyone!

What I'm Reading

2011-08-07T11:32:00.000-04:00

Hi and Happy Sunday everyone! It's a clear sunny day in Orlando, hot as can be and feels like a sauna. But I know that it would feel cool to some of the rest of the country and the horrible temperatures they are experiencing. At least every day we get closer and closer to cooler weather.

Went to 9:30 church this morning, where Revelation 3:30 played for the Offertory. Rachel played the piano, Christian played the guitar, and Olivia, Dalton and Emma sang. I don't remember the name of the song, but it was played beautifully. I know everyone enjoyed it. There might or might not be a video, watch this space for more information!

So I thought it would be fun for me to list what I'm reading right now, because it's a LOT of books!

First, grief books.

Healiing After Loss, Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief, by Martha Whitmore Hickman. Mom gave me this book, and it's wonderful. That's what I'm commenting on with my new blog, Sherry's Daily Words.

Remembering With Love, Messages of Hope for the First Year of Grieving and Beyond, by Elizabeth Levang, Ph.D., and Sherokee Ilse. This book was sent to me by Uncle Scotty. Mom gave him this copy, but he said I could keep this one. This is a wonderful book that has many short messages and meditations, just about all my attention span can hold when I'm having a tough time. I will give this book to others who are grieving.

A Time To Grieve Book One, Journeying Through Grief, by Kenneth C. Hauck. This is a series of 4 short books put out by the Stephen Ministries of the Methodist Church. Debbie Jones loaned these to me, and I've only barely started reading.

I Wasn't Ready To Say Goodbye, surviving, coping & healing after the sudden death of a loved one, by Brook Noel and Pamela D.Blair, Ph.D. This is another book that Mom gave me, and it is terrific. While it has many things that are geared to the sudden loss of a loved one, almost everything it says touches me deeply. These two women are wonderful authors and share their own stories in a way that makes it easy to understand. I'm reading it a bit slowly - my attention span for grief books isn't long, but I think that's okay.

So, that's all the grief books, so now the "regular" books.

Little Earthquakes, by Jennifer Weiner. This is a story about 4 women who meet in late pregnancy, and their interactions after their births and learning to be moms. I'm enjoying it mostly, but reading it very slowly.

Bleeding Kansas, by Sarah Paretsky, author of the VI Warshawski detective series. This is not a detective book, but a story about a family set in present-day Kansas in a small town, and how they deal with things that come up. It's a very emotional book - I'm not sure I love it, but it's worth finishing anyway.

The Sinner, by Tess Gerritsen. This is the third in a series of detective novels featuring Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles, and this one I definitely love. Tess Gerritsen is a great writer who I am enjoying thoroughly. I have this checked out as an E-book so am reading it on the computer. On deck with this series is The Mephisto Club, Vanish, and Ice Cold, with one more on hold in E-books.

Although I'm not currently reading a book from this series, I've come to enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse novels, about Sookie, a human with a small bit of supernatural power, and her love and involvement with vampires. This is definitely fun and lighthearted, and a very enjoyable read. I've finished the first 4 books, and on deck is Desperately Dead. These are by Charlaine Harris.

Also on deck is Heaven is For Real. I have already read this once, but when I saw I could check it out as an E-Book I wanted to read it again. It is a wonderful story about a little boy's near-death experience and his perception of heaven.

So, that's my reading life as of now! That's a lot of books to be juggling, right?

It has now reached the time of day when David and I must visit our pool for a dip, so I will sign off for now.

Peace and Love to Everyone!

New Information

2011-07-31T22:52:00.000-04:00

Hi! First I'm going to post a picture, here 'tis:

I have no idea who was taking this particular photo, but it's a photo of my mom, dad, sister Tamera, brother Michael, and Aunt Cliff. I can see legs just to the other side of Tamera, so maybe Randy and I were in the shot too. My Aunt Ruth said this was taken in Clayton, OK, so probably was at Aunt Cliff and Uncle Ted's house - Aunt Cliff was my granny (Jesse)'s sister. I love the creativity and perspective of this photo! This would have been about the summer of 1966 - Michael was born in late November and it's obviously summer in this photo - nice legs, socks and shorts Daddy, LOL!

So new info! Yesterday I was talking to Aunt Vera on the phone. She was telling me that when my parents separated and my mom decided to go back to college, my Granny Sullivan was very upset, and wanted very much to help out. So Aunt Vera said she got either one or two bushel baskets and went to her huge garden, and filled the baskets with produce for us. Then she took the bus to bring them to us in Midwest City. I don't remember that, and Mom doesn't either, but it's such a wonderful happy story, to know that she would do that for us. I am collecting happy memories of my Granny Sullivan, well collecting happy memories about lots of people, that's for sure.

I spoke to Mom on the phone late this afternoon. She told me that the Bishop of the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference was preaching at their church today. He was going around chatting with people before the service, and Mom talked to him about Daddy. He knew Daddy well, he said, and had told him that after his retirement from Tuskahoma that he felt sure he could steer him toward fill-in preaching situations, which I don't think he actually had time to do. Mom said to the Bishop that Daddy was a miracle, and the Bishop said yes, you could see that shining in his eyes. It is a huge comfort to me to hear yet another example of how much my Daddy was loved.

So far I'm 3 for 3 in posting on the new Sherry's Daily Words. At this point, with commenting on the readings from Healing After Loss, it's mostly just more reflection on how I am feeling as I'm making up my new life map. It's not writing that is intended to help others like Daddy's commentaries were. Oh well, I still have a while to go.

Peace and love to everyone!

Having a Good Idea?

2011-07-29T16:02:00.000-04:00

Hmmm....maybe I am. Let me tell you about it.

My daddy was a Methodist preacher - what is called a "local preacher." He had not been to seminary, but was trained and certified in the duties of a minister, including administering sacraments, but this was limited to his church only. His church was a very small church in Tuskahoma, Oklahoma. I'm not sure how many years he was the preacher there, but it was a bunch.

Prior to this, my daddy had lived a pretty rough life, but when he found Jesus again, he made a complete 180. This was a miracle, and it made the difference in years filled with love and joy rather than years of pain and emptiness.

An important part of Daddy's day was reading the Upper Room daily devotional - Upper Room is a Methodist publishing company, and the devotionals have been a part of their literature as long as I can remember. At some point, Daddy decided that he would write a commentary on each day's Upper Room devotional and send it out via an email list. I'm not sure when he started - I started receiving these emails in early February 2005. Most days I read them, sometimes I just filed them away, but I always kept them in my Gmail mailbox - if any of them got deleted it was purely by accident. And when I looked at this mailbox after he died, turns out I had almost 1600 of these daily devotionals saved.

So, I've been compiling them into word processing documents with the thought of having them printed in a book. These emails are so beautiful - a testimony of how strong he was spiritually, and how much he loved us that he'd reach out to us every day with these wonderful words. Daddy was an amazing writer - his writing is easy to understand, always spelled and punctuated correctly, often included examples from his life that applied to the devotional as he saw it.

As I've been compiling these emails, it has occurred to me what an amazing legacy he has left for us. And when I carry that thought one step further, I wonder if I could carry on that legacy myself? I don't think it would be nearly as meaningful for me to write a commentary on Upper Room devotionals, but I could write something about something. Now keep in mind he did this every day - sometimes he missed Sundays, and there were blocks of time when he was hospitalized or too ill to do it - but basically he did it every day. So that's a big commitment - not so much a time commitment but just a commitment to a routine. And GASP! - I might not be able to do it perfectly, but even if it wasn't perfect, wouldn't it be a wonderful legacy for me to leave? It's how I see my scrapbooking now. Unless we win the lottery or a Brinks truck crashes into our swimming pool, I won't have money or jewels to leave to my children. But I can share the gift of myself, starting today (or tomorrow maybe). Hopefully it will mean something to others, but I am sure it will mean a lot to me. I will feel as though I'm carrying on my daddy's legacy.

I am planning to set up a different blog for this, rather than an email list. A blog will be something that I can have printed easily, as opposed to compiling a lot of emails. And then if anyone is interested they can follow the blog as I make new posts.

So, this is my plan. I don't plan to neglect this blog, just have the other one where I can post my daily commentary on whatever it is I decide to comment on.

So, I'm excited!

Peace and love to everyone!

Remembering

2011-07-23T11:06:00.000-04:00

When I found this picture, I just loved it! Daddy was a jet mechanic in the Air Force, stationed in Germany when this photo was taken. The layout came together in just about 10 minutes.

Peace and love to everyone!

More Pictures

2011-07-21T21:01:00.000-04:00

When last I posted, I think I said I would upload some of the pictures from my daddy's Air Force days, so here goes:

This newspaper clipping is from when he was in Korea. The other ones are from when he was at Furstenfeldbruck Air Force Base in Germany.

I LOVE this one! You can see here that his job was jet mechanic, though what he always wanted was to pilot planes himself.

So those are the highlights of the Air Force pictures. Next time I'll post some of his family.

Here are 2 scrapbook layouts I've done, both with pictures of Daddy and his 3 younger sisters, and the second one with my grandpa too:

It is so meaningful to me to have these pictures, although they bring up millions of questions, and I so wish I could ask them of him. Nonetheless they are treasures to me.

I was going to go to a Griefshare group at my church tonight but have not been feeling well today, so will go next week.

Peace and love to everyone!

3 Weeks Ago Today

2011-07-17T18:31:00.000-04:00

my Daddy died. I was there. I laid my arm next to his on the bed as he slid to Heaven. I will meet him again someday, he is waiting for me. The tears come before I even know I am missing him.

Joyce sent me home with 2 boxes of pictures from Daddy that are real treasures to me. I got them all sorted into loose categories and am now in the process of scanning them. I'm going to post some examples here. You can click on any of these pictures to see a larger copy.

Here's Daddy as a baby, no doubt before he was a year old.

The smile I love!

My grandpa Elmer and his four children Dale, Ruth, Nell Rose, and Vera. Will have to figure out what kind of car that is.

My dad and his 3 sisters again.

Daddy standing on a sort of riding car, holding a little dog. Oh how I wish he was here to tell me the stories that go with this photo! He was always such an animal lover.

There are several class pictures from grade school. This one says 5th and 6th grade, 1940, so he would have been 10 or 11. He is on the bottom row left side - so adorable! This is at Midland School, which I believe was in California. Their family had gone to California during the Dust Bowl years, I think right about the time Daddy started school. You'll notice that in this photo he is wearing shoes, but the 2 boys next to him are barefoot. In some of the earlier grades Daddy was also barefoot. I can't imagine the hard times they must have been suffering.

Not sure where or when this was taken, or who the other guy is, but isn't my Daddy CUTE???

Okay, next time I will post pictures of his Air Force years in Germany.

I love these pictures at the same time they break my heart. He had a hard time in his growing up years, partly because of his mother, partly because it was years and years before anything like attention deficit disorder was thought of, and I know he was looked upon as just an out of control little brat. If he had been born at a later time that might have been dealt with differently. But then I think of Eric, and how he chooses not to look for any physical reasons for his issues, and that's even sadder. So many things about Daddy remind me of Eric, although I do think Daddy had somewhat more acceptable social skills.

Okay end of pictures for today.

I came across an interesting prompt for a scrapbook page - take a photo of the things you'd take out if your house caught fire, and see how that defines who you are. I have lots of ideas on that, and I think I will work on a page for that. Watch this space!

This month I've been working on challenges at Sweet Shoppe Designs, not one of my regular scrapbook sites, but the way they do their challenges is very interesting. They don't give out prizes per se, but depending on the number of layouts you do in a month, you're eligible for store discounts up to 40%. Here are a few of the layouts I've done so far this month for their challenges.

Okay, that's enough for today. More soon.

Peace and love to everyone!

Eric Turns 25!

2011-07-13T21:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, July 12, was a big day - Eric turned 25 years old! It just doesn't seem possible. I have perfect sense memory of what that day, that birth, was like, and it couldn't have been that long ago! But when I look at the wonderful man he is learning to be, I realize that yes, it has been that long. And he is still my zany, fun-loving little boy, as you can see from this picture:

He ate the candle, I ate the cake!

Brett arranged, and treated us to, a wonderful dinner at Kobe's on Kirkman Road. Attending were: of course the birthday boy and his mom (me), David, Brett, Tom, Mary, Susan, Pop and Katie. We had a great time, great food, great company, great laughs - pretty iffy service, but that's not what it was about anyway. Eric seemed to be having a great time, and that's what makes ME the happiest, when my kiddos are happy. Happy Quarter Century dear son!

I'm having kind of a hard time coming here to write. Pretty much everything on my mind these days has to do with Daddy. He's not out of my mind at all, really. It's funny, I didn't see him very often, but I always knew he was there. All my mind remembers is that I could always pick up the phone and he would be there, and he would tell me "I love you punkin." I think that, even through the years that were really, really hard, I never doubted he loved me. There were times when I worried that he wouldn't show up for something in my life, but I always have known how much he loved me - at least that's how I think now.

It's a very special memory to me that he came to see me shortly after the birth of both of my children. Eric was a week old when Daddy drove up to see us. Mom was there to help me out, and we had a wonderful day together. I have some pictures of Daddy holding Eric somewhere, I will find and post them. With Rachel, it was when she was about a month old, but he lived in Oklahoma and I lived in Florida, so it wasn't such an easy drive. In fact, he and Joyce had just gotten remarried, and that was their honeymoon trip, the drive to Florida to see Rachel. They only stayed one night, but it was wonderful. I also have a picture somewhere of Daddy and Joyce holding baby Rachel, I'll have to find that one too.

I've started going through the pictures that Joyce gave me, and there are some amazing ones there. I am particularly happy with a LOT of pictures that were taken of him when he was in the Air Force in Germany in 1949. He was a jet mechanic, very handsome, and probably partying his days away. There are some wonderful family pics as well, and a detailed genealogy of my paternal grandfather's family. There also was a small dress in a plastic bag marked "Dale" - not sure if that was a christening gown or something. I will ask my Aunt Ruth. I am going to write her tomorrow.

Guess it's good for me to write this stuff, because once it starts it's hard to get it to stop.

Peace and love to everyone!

In Christ Alone

2011-07-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

My friends Tom and Ginger took me to the Emmaus gathering Saturday night, and one of the songs we sang is called "In Christ Alone." This has been one of my favorite praise and worship songs since I heard it. It's been recorded by others, but my favorite version is by Owl City. Adam, the artist, is an amazing young man - you may know him for his recording of "10,000 Fireflies" a couple of years ago. If you visit his blog you can hear the song and read his blog entry about it.

In Christ Alone

Hope you enjoy it, it is incredibly moving to me.

Peace and Love to Everyone!

7/7, The Most Magical Day Of The Year!

2011-07-07T23:54:00.001-04:00

So, today when I woke up I decided I needed to spend the day celebrating my birthday in grand style - Daddy would NOT want me to be sad on my birthday! And it has been an absolutely fantastic day! Eric was the first one to call me, and next talked to Mom - Rachel spent the morning doing parallel computing, LOL, and David got me the most beautiful card - he can pick out the perfect one every time!

Pastor Leeann took me out to lunch, and that was really great, she had some very wise things to say to help me with my sadness. After lunch, David and I had a very lovely dip in our pool which lasted until the thunder started. It rained about half an hour later, and as far as I know it's still raining at 11 pm - LOTS of rain!

Oh yes, and when I got home from lunch, these beautiful flowers were on my table!

When I called my mom, she said they were from her and from Daddy, and that they both wanted me to be happy on my special day! Gee, how could I not be happy? These roses are gorgeous, a dozen red ones and 2 pink ones to represent my parents. Wow, that's beautiful - speaking of my parents like that is a wonderful feeling!

Okay, so then I hung out with Rachel, and with Eric when he got off work. Eric got me a GREAT card, I laughed my head off! We were going to eat at Azteca for my birthday at around 6:30.

I was all ready to go at 6:15, which is about what time we'd usually leave to get there around 6:30. But Rachel wasn't ready! I asked her what time we were leaving, and she said "Oh, how about 6:25?" When I didn't respond, she gave me this little smile like "don't ask any questions Mommy!" Then when she finally WAS ready to go, she had her backpack with her, and didn't really have a good explanation when I asked her why.

We get to the restaurant, and David let us out at the front door because it was raining and he had to park a ways away. We got inside, and there were several people waiting to be seated. But Rachel just took my hand and said "come on, we're going in.": Strange, I thought - but didn't have MUCH time to think because she led me to the back room and SURPRISE! There was a whole long table of my dear friends and family! Yes, I was definitely surprised - I thought something might be going on with her suspicious behavior before we left, but had no clue it would be this cool! Here's a picture from my seat at the table:

All those people there for me!

Here are my friends Tom and Ginger

And these beautiful women are Quinta, Lisa and Sally

David, Eric and Brett

Ken and Sandra Carter

The dashingly handsome Carter guys, Chris, Andy and Kenny

My loves, Tina, Amber, Stephanie and Rachel

I believe this is a picture of some sort of secret gesturing ritual

My wonderful husband, who is great at keeping Rachel's plans secret!

My other daughter Tina - I love her!

And my beautiful Rachel, who was the one behind this awesome surprise!

No sweeter kisses than this!

Dinner was fantastic, we had a really great time, lots of talking and laughing and fun. I felt so blessed to have so many of the people I love be there to celebrate my birthday with me.

So today has been an awesome birthday, and with just 6 minutes left, I will close. Thanks to everyone for making this day incredibly special!

Family

2011-07-06T00:57:00.000-04:00

This picture quality isn't great, but it is one of the few family shots I have of us. Michael was just an infant, which meant I was 11, Randy almost 9, Tamera 3, and Michael 1 month. Daddy was selling a camera called Fotron during that time, and this one was an experiment with his camera. Whether or not it's a great shot, it's a memory I treasure. Shortly after that my parents separated, so for the most part there were no more family shots.

Peace and love to everyone

Corners Of My Mind

2011-07-06T00:23:00.000-04:00

Memories can be wonderful. I count on my list of wonderful memories the day I was married to David, the birth of my children, spiritual moments too private to share, the full moon over the ocean - and many, many more. The memory of my life with my father right now is incredibly bittersweet; welcome yet in some ways I wish I could hold those memories at bay until I've mustered enough strength to deal with them properly.

Today my memory is also guilty of assaulting me when I least expect it. Having a conversation with my son, I suddenly flashed back to many wonderful cookouts when my dad made ribs - and he was a master at this, the most delicious ribs you've ever tasted. He studied, as well as trial and error, to make this his specialty, and what a job he did! But I didn't ask for that memory, wasn't seeking it, and its arrival made me gasp out loud, causing great concern on my son's part. For a few minutes I could not believe that I would never taste Daddy's ribs again. Just one of many things too sad to mention right now.

The other excruciatingly painful topic to me is my birthday - it is 7/7, and I've always called it the most magical day of the year. This year I'd be perfectly happy to skip it, because a very important element is going to be missing, and that is my phone call from Daddy. He has called me every year, sometimes not until evening, but always always calls. This year on my birthday, the silence will be deafening.

I'm so grateful for the many friends who've read my blog entries and posted supportive comments. I have no words to tell you what that means to me. You not only honor me with your words, but you also honor the memory of my dad, and that's of utmost importance to me right now. And my family is wonderful - my darling husband, my beautiful children, my mom and my siblings are holding me and extending a lifeline to me that I desperately need. They have no idea who much they touch me with those gestures. My friend Miriam has been by my side, emotionally if not physically, every minute of the last 2 weeks. I already adored her, but after sharing this with me I'm a bit disappointed in my "real life": friends and church members, as there are only 1 or 2 who have truly reached out to me, but hey, maybe I just need something to concentrate on besides my pain.

If anyone has a map showing how to get through this grief, please share it with me. I have no map of my own.

Peace and love to everyone

Christmas in July

2011-07-04T19:54:00.000-04:00

Hi! I promised my friends in the Scrapbook Graphics Tuesday night chat that I would post some Santa pictures so they could see my awesome husband. Problem is, I have thousands of "favorite" Santa pictures in my library. Somehow I whittled it down to 84, so be forewarned, this is a LONG post! And just to tease, the best picture is the last picture!

This is mostly Santa or Santa and Mrs. Claus, but there are some other odds and ends thrown in because I couldn't NOT throw them in...LOL!

So here they are, Sherry's Favorite Santa Pics et al. Turns out it won't let me reorder these, so just know I would have presented them in a much more organized order. Nonetheless, I do hope you will enjoy them!

This was a brochure for Downtown Disney Christmas one year.

This was a newspaper ad for Bright House.

Our living room on our wedding day, October 6, 2006. My fantasy day to marry Santa Claus was on Christmas Eve, but I knew that was impossible - Santa's flying all over the world delivering presents that day! So I settled for an October date with a Christmas theme.

Just before the wedding.

Listening to guests and their good wishes for us.

I now pronounce you man and wife!

Me doing what I do best...talking! I was telling my guests why this was a Christmas wedding.

My awesome family - son Eric and daughter Rachel.

Hey, I'm taller than you when I stand on the stair above you...LOL!

Santa with Santa!

This is what Santa does the other 11 months of the year. He is King Phillipe at Medieval Times Dinner Show.

Wake up Santa! It's almost time!

Do I trust this guy?

The life of Santa can be a tough one!

Wave to everyone!

Sea Doo Santa

Can't win 'em all!

Santa with the cast of All That at Nickelodeon Studios. He was in a Christmas episode of the show.

Santa with Santa. Just wanted to see how it felt to be the one crying.

The Naked Truth

Ah, now we see Mrs. Santa! This was at a local nursing home where we went with my girl scouts for several years.

Mr. and Mrs. Santa and the Girl Scouts

Mr. and Mrs. Santa and Rachel

Mr. and Mrs. Santa with adorable child.

Santa saw children at an event in the Key West Tropical Forrest and Botanical Gardens.

This is the very cool workshop that the Key West folks had put together for Santa.

Santa in the sun

I love these candy-striped glasses!

Buh-bye now!

Another shot of Mr. and Mrs. Claus on a beautiful Florida December day.

At Brighton Indian Reservation - Santa and his crew arrive in a fire truck!

Rachel, Nana, Santa, Mrs. Claus, Eric, and a girl that isn't around any more.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus again

Santa with one of the nursing home residents.

This lady was so cute, and she didn't stop smiling the whole time

The daughters of my girl scout co-leader. They are Jewish and this is the first time they ever had Santa photos taken.

And this is my co-leader, the mom of those girls, in her first-ever sitting on Santa's lap!

Santa and his elf (Rachel) share yummy cookies

Santa with one of the nursing home staff members.

Santa was at an elementary school in Kissimmee, giving books to children and hearing their Christmas wishes. This girl was my favorite.

Santa delivering gifts to businesses. I don't think this guy is eligible!

So, where do I drop off these gifts?

Look, our first gift recipient!

Santa sometimes gets asked to pass out gifts to businesses.

A happy recipient!

Rachel the cutest elf

Me posing with Santa.

This was a very cool convention we went to, the Association for Real-Bearded Santas. It made my head spin to see so many Santas in one place!

One very unhappy Luckie appearing in the role of Santa Claus,.

Christmas Eve hugs and last-minute requests!

Santa and Bear's cat Marmite. He does not make a practice of visiting animals...LOL

Santa with all my girls, family and friends

Santa helped the folks at Florida Retail Association find a winner for their contest and present the prize. He came to the event by sailboat.

Waving hi

At Brighton Indian Reservation. We had to wait inside a trailer for over an hour before they were ready for us to pass out gifts. Eric, ever the curious soul, found some fun items to play with, starting with this wrench.

But the fireman's hat really cinched the look!

Ya better watch out!

He means business

Santa went to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Orlando to have tea with children and read them stories.

And in the meantime poses for me so I can add more pix to my favorite Santa photos

Santa with my best friend Miriam.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus at Brighton

Is it January yet?

This was Santa at the Orlando Repertory Theater

Look Santa, I have boots too!

Just a beautiful picture of my Santa that I love

Santa and the Boot Girl

Close-up

The little girl with the boots had a baby sister too

Santa in the News

This picture is called foreshadowing. When I met Santa, Rachel was 10 and Eric was 18. In this picture, it is our Santa posing at Downtown Disney with Eric, 8, and Rachel, 1. So this is 9 years before we met and fell in love.

Santa sometimes gets to meet famous people

Reading a newly-published book "Santa Kid" to children at a bookstore in South Florida.

Santa with his elves and a darling child.

Three Days After Christmas

This is Mr. and Mrs. Claus the first year I got to go with Santa.

See, wasn't it worth the wait?

Suspended in Limbo

2011-07-03T18:11:00.000-04:00

Here I am, sitting in the Kansas City Airport with a 3-hour layover. I haven't even checked a monitor to see if the flight is on time. I don't like KCI much because if you want to leave the gate area, you have to go out of security then go back through the body scanners to get back to your gate. And it's noisy and smelly and more like a Greyhound bus station than an airport. But hey, they have FREE Wi-Fi and those comfy computer chairs with plug-ins for laptops with no functioning batteries, so what a great opportunity to update my blog, right?

I left OKC at 3 pm and will arrive at Orlando at 10:45 pm. I really want to be back in my own home, and I really hated to leave OKC. I felt like, if I left, I was closing the door on my father forever. I said this to David, and he pointed out to me that I had a whole suitcase of Daddy with me - and he's right! Joyce gave me two big plastic containers full of pictures, which I condensed into one rolling carry-on suitcase, as I was not willing to check these pictures and risk them being lost.

Mom, Tamera and I repackaged them from the plastic containers into ziplock bags that would travel well in the suitcase. We didn't look at anywhere near all of them, but found so many treasures - many pictures of my dad from babyhood on. There was a handwritten family tree that covered many pages, dating back to the early 1800s. There was Daddy's high school diploma from Siloam Springs High School. There was Michael's birth announcement. There were many pictures of me and my sibs through the years. So now all I need to do is get them all scanned and shared, and as many as possible identified, though a whole lot of them have dates and names written on the back. It's amazing how many of my vintage pics have names and dates - my ancestors were much better at that than I am. But I've done a pretty good job of dating pics in my scrapbooks, so that will be good.

So there's some major new scrapping material in my future! I am going to try to get them scanned first, but doubt I can wait that long to actually scrap.

So, there were many good moments from my Oklahoma trip along with the heart-wrenching ones. I got to see Harper four times!!! She is such an amazing little girl - she will be 3 in November. Saw Jordan 3 times. Saw Scott 4 times - we had a date to Big Truck Taco that was conversationally wonderful with great food! And he also went to Durant with us for the funeral. Stayed at Randy & Kim's, so saw them a lot. Spent several hours at Mom and Tamera's house twice - I would have liked to have a lot more time to spend with them, but it just didn't work out. I had planned to spend all day Saturday with them, but ended up being so wiped out from Friday that I slept the whole day away until time for
Family Night at Randy's.

I discovered a wonderful new drink mix - Wal Mart brand Peach Mango energy. Can't wait to get some for home! One step closer to getting off diet soda and brain-consuming aspertame.

So, when I get to Orlando, David will be picking me up, and Eric will be waiting at home for me. I am going to be so happy to see them, as well as my darling little Luckie dog - and of course Jackiebird, but she will be asleep so I'll see her in the morning. Rachel will be home from her cruise sometime tomorrow morning and I look forward to seeing her too - I have missed her soooooooooooooo much!

David said it has been in the 80s and low 90s in Orlando this week - it's been over 100 by several degrees every day I've been in Oklahoma and that is HGT AS AFRICA, as Randy said! David says our pool is back down to 84 degrees, so I'm really looking forward to that - I forgot to take my suit to Oklahoma so didn't even get to take advantage of Randy and Kim's pool.

Well, that's about all the drivel I can think of to type. I just remembered a couple of other posts I need to do, so will get to work on that!

Peace and love to everyone!

His Final Resting Place

2011-07-01T22:35:00.000-04:00

On this day, Daddy's funeral service was held at Holmes-Coffey-Murray Funeral Home in Durant, Oklahoma, at 10 am in their chapel. It was a bright sunny day, but also unbearably hot. The family gathered about 9:30 am. Let's see if I can recall all the family members: From our side was Randy, Kim, Mom, Scott and me (Sherry). From Joyce's side, Renee and her husband Tommy, their children Lindsey and husband, and Kyle and fiance Jackie, and Quinlan, Renee's youngest who was I believe 8 years old. Then there was Michelle and her husband, her two sons and the wife? girlfriend? of one of them, and Michelle's youngest daughter Hannah, who I believe is 5. Joyce, of course, and her two brothers. There were also probably 75 other people in attendance - the chapel was nearly full.

The service was officiated by a minister friend of Daddy's, whose first name is Charles. He had known Daddy since they both were in training to become licensed pastors for their churches. (I learned that a licensed pastor has been trained and can administer the sacrament of communion, conduct baptisms, funerals and weddings, but only at their own church.)

The service itself was very lovely. There were 3 songs - Amazing Grace, How Great is Our God, and (I will have to find out the third song). Bible readings - Psalm 100, and then we all recited the 23rd Psalm together. I had asked Joyce if I could read my writing of "My Daddy's Laugh," and it was very well-received, I received a number of compliments which made me feel so happy. Michelle had written a poem to Daddy several years ago, about the experience of dying, and Charles read that poem. It has been used in many different funeral services around the country.

Charles' message was wonderful, very personal, and centered on what a wonderful storyteller Daddy was - he later told me that I had "stolen his thunder," jokingly, of course. Everyone who came to meet me after the service spoke of Daddy's stories. He was a never-ending font of stories, he always had one to meet every circumstance. I'm going to do my best to compile some stories that all of us can remember of him.

Pallbearers were Randy, Rene's husband Tommy, Michelle's husband, and the 3 grandsons.

The family went to the cemetery, where we had a prayer, and then the pallbearers proceeded to the grave site. The site is so beautiful, underneath the shade of a big tree. It will give me much comfort to know that is his resting place.

Joyce had this beautiful wreath of flowers made for the top of his casket. It consisted of six red roses, one for each of Daddy's children - me (Sherry,) Randy, Tamera, Mike, Renee and Michelle, with a white rose in the center.

After we finished at the cemetary, our OKC crew went back to the funeral home. Joyce had told us to take any of the flowers and plants that we wanted, she already had quite a few at home. Here are the pictures of the flowers:

This beautiful arrangement of roses was sent by Daddy's sister in Georgia, Nell Rose. It had 3 pink roses in the center surrounded by the red roses. Nell Rose wanted to be sure that we took the roses home, so we did. I am going to attempt to dry them and give them to his sisters, the four of us, as well as Mom and Joyce - we'll see if that works out. The arrangement was really stunning.

Mom picked this basket to take home to Tamera.

Randy and Kim took this basket.

Of these 3 plants, I chose the top and bottom ones and Randy and Kim chose the middle one. I am hoping to get them on the plane back to Florida with no trouble, wish me luck!

Once our flowers were chosen and loaded, we went to Joyce's house where lunch was served by the ladies of her church. It was really delicious - rolls and butter, green bean casserole, potato salad, baked beans, ham and brisket, with cookies and a very delicious apple crunch desert.

After lunch we all had a nice time visiting - we really only knew Renee and Michelle, and Joyce of course, so it was nice to talk with the others.

I spent some time in Daddy's computer room, and took a few pictures of his desk area. In the first one, you can see his ham radio equipment - he loved his ham radio hobby so much.

I totally missed the computer area, but that is one side of this area.

Daddy and 3 cats - Chloe, Missy and Rascal. The only one of the three that was around was Chloe, and I snapped a few pictures of her.

Chloe was all around his desk, looking for love, and I know she's missing Daddy. She apparently liked to sit on his desk in front of the keyboard so she could get lots of pets as he worked. She's a very sweet cat.

Joyce seems to be doing very well. She said she was very tired and looked forward to having some alone time to catch up on her sleep. She also said something very touching, that the last few months had been very sweet ones with Daddy that she will really treasure. I'm so happy about that.

Being the wild scrapbooker that I am, I asked about pictures, and she sent me home with 2 boxes of photos. There may be more coming after she goes through his things, and someone will make me copies of the ones on his computer. She also had each of us choose one of his bibles. She gave me his Emmaus cross, such a wonderful memento, and his Emmaus printed materials, and a mustard seed tie tack. The mustard seed was very sentimental for me - Daddy gave me a mustard seed necklace when I was very young, probably 8 years old, so that has always been a symbol I associated with him.

About 2:30 pm we loaded up Randy's truck and came back to Oklahoma City. I think it was a wonderful day spent with loved ones, and I know I gained a lot of closure through this day.

Peace and love to everyone!

Thursday

2011-06-30T12:24:00.000-04:00

Hi, if you've come to see my post about My Daddy's Laugh, scroll down, it's the next entry.

I am so touched to read all the wonderful comments and love and support I've received from so many people during this very sad time. I feel incredibly blessed to have so many good friends that truly care. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you've done.

Services will be tomorrow. The funeral is in Durant, Oklahoma, which is about a 3-hour drive from Oklahoma City. It will definitely be a long day, tough in some ways, but I know there will be consolation to be with others who loved my Daddy.

Joyce has said that she wants each of us, his children, to have one of his Bibles. These were the most important things he possessed, and I am so pleased that she wants us to share these books. I'm also going to ask about pictures, since that sort of family history is so important to me.

I have somewhere around 100 DVDs that he sent me over the years of the church services and his sermons when he was pastor at Tuskahoma UMC. I also have about 1500 emails saved where he wrote commentaries on the Upper Room daily devotional. Both of these will contain a wealth of stories, and I plan to extract those stories and put them in a form that my family can enjoy and remember him by.

Thank you again, dear friends, I will never forget this.

My Daddy's Laugh

2011-06-27T17:05:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of my Daddy taken about 5 or 6 years ago. He died yesterday, on June 26, just one week after Father's Day. I was able to get to the hospital a few hours before he died, and spent his last moments at the bedside with him. I loved him very much.

Also about 5 or 6 years ago, Daddy had a serious heart problem that really frightened me. I thought of all the things inside me that I wanted to express, and I decided to get those things down while he was still with us. The result is what you'll read below, "My Daddy's Laugh."

When I spoke to Daddy after sending this essay to him, he said he just didn't know what to say, that he couldn't believe that anyone would actually feel that way about him, that he was very humbled. He said it would take him some time to absorb its meaning. We never spoke about it after that, but I always knew it was somewhere in his heart.

So here is the essay I wrote.

My Daddy’s Laugh

Just a little over a half century ago, a very special man was among the first human beings to greet me and welcome me to this life. This is the man I’ve always called Daddy.

My daddy has not had an easy life overall. He’s told us stories over the years that make that clear, though mostly it came from reading between the lines. As well, there have been many joys along the way (and I know because I’m one of them!). Today I hear him speak in passing about his hard times, but he certainly doesn’t define himself in those terms. His life today is a constant reflection of God’s love through my daddy’s eyes.

My daddy’s stories have entertained and nurtured so many of us through the years. I can recall some of them, though probably only a small percentage of all the ones he’s told me. What I do recall with crystal clarity, though, is what I see and hear as he weaves his tale. If you knew my daddy, you’d already know exactly what I’m talking about here.

He’ll sit back and observe the conversation for a bit, timing his delivery perfectly. When he’s ready to go, he’ll get this sort of mischievous twinkle in his eye, daring us to take him seriously. “Did I ever tell you about…” he’ll say – and then the storyteller takes flight.

His stories always start out as plausible tales, and I catch myself trying to figure out if this one is truth or yarn. But the impish look reminds me that I know what is coming next as well as I know my own name.

A little farther into his story, every 5^th or 6^th word, he lets a little chuckle slip out. By the third chuckle, I wonder no more.

Now he’s nearing the midpoint of the story, and the real laugh begins. His eyes crinkle up, his eyebrows wiggle, his shoulders sort of bob up and down, his belly bounces between the boundaries of his suspenders, and his deep, sonorous, all-encompassing laugh springs from its source. He’s still telling the story, but there’s a lot more laughing than telling going on.

By the time the punch line comes around, he’s almost completely succumbed. He’s taking gasping deep breaths just to be able to squeeze out the final words – not gasping from any physical malady, but from the pure, all-encompassing joy of letting that marvelous laugh break free. He’s got his glasses off and his hanky out, and he’s wiping his eyes, dabbing at the corners where some of that joy dares to try leaking out.

Once he gets over the punch line hurdle, there will be maybe 15 or 20 seconds where there’s just laughing in all its glory, gasps and chortles and guffaws and snorts, even more so since he doesn’t have to try to talk, only just be fully in his laugh. Then he’ll start to wind down a little, and he’ll say “I tell you, I laughed until…” – and you just never know what will follow that “until!”

By now, in most instances, he’s pretty much into the decrescendo phase. He dabs at his eyes a bit here and there, but they start to regain their normal shape, and I imagine he can see the world again. Once in a while though, just when you think he’s back to his regular self and he’s breathing almost normally, he’ll think of another funny element to add, and it all starts over again – sometimes 2 or 3 more cycles, pretty much the same as the first one.

Even when I’m completely sure this story is over, he still might say, after a moment’s reflection, “But you know…” - and it’s like the roller coaster ascending the hill all over again, its peak looming ahead, the landscape unknown but guaranteed to engulf your senses in joy and delight. And he gives us the gift of another symphony of his laughter.

If you’ve been around for one of my daddy’s stories, you also probably know what happens to his listeners. For me, once I see that twinkle, I know what’s in store. A smile tugs up my mouth’s corners as I watch the familiar, completely endearing scene unfold, and I’m hanging on his every word. But by the time he’s in the mostly-laughing, barely-talking, gasping-for-air phase, I’m laughing too, laughing with my face and my shoulders and my belly and probably my toenails. He’s still trying to finish the story, and part of me is still trying to listen, but mostly I’m just overcome with the delight of being in this moment with him. When he’s trying to laugh himself back down to a normal state of consciousness, I come back too.

When that coming back is accomplished, besides wiping the laugh-tears from my own eye corners, there’s a deep feeling of oneness and understanding from one human being to another – it doesn’t matter if you’re his firstborn daughter or the cardiologist who just patched up his heart. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve just shared a very intimate experience with my daddy, who has always had this remarkable ability to bring that intimacy to those around him through his stories and his laughter.

See, here’s the thing. In those moments when he’s laughing, and you’re laughing, and I’m laughing, nothing else exists in the world but the pure joy and delight of being alive and sharing a moment of love and recognition with our brothers and sisters in this human condition. In my way of looking at the world, we are closest to God when we are so deeply caught up in the moment that nothing else exists. Moments of laughter shared with my daddy definitely fit that bill.

So I hope, Daddy, that you can see the gift you give to everyone around you, and that you’ve given even when times were tough. Maybe you didn’t realize you were bringing the touch of God into our lives back then, but I surely hope you do now.

I know my daddy and I both have times that we wish we’d been there for one another but haven’t, and other times that we have been there. One of the most beautiful memories I have is when he walked me down the aisle of the church to meet my future husband, clutching my arm and patting it reassuringly, both of us shaking like a leaf, and him looking at me and whispering “I’m so proud of you sweetie.” I hope he has a favorite special memory of when I’ve been there for him – I’m willing to bet he does. I treasure those moments in my heart. And even when I can’t be there for him, or he can’t be there for me, whatever the reason, there is always a certainty that lies at the center of my being that he loves me and he’s proud of me just because I’m me.

And those of us who are his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren yet to come, know this fact – don’t EVEN get us started on when he starts to wind up for “Ohhhhhhhhh, the buzzard took the monkey for a ride in the aaaaiiiiirrrrr,” which he will do pretty much at the drop of a hat. Think you’re immune to his humor? Try sitting through that with a stone face – I’d say it’s impossible.

I’ve wanted to write this story about my daddy’s laugh for a couple of years now, but just have never taken the time to put the words on paper. The events of this past week with his heart condition brought home to me that if I keep putting it off, I run the risk of my words being a eulogy rather than the tribute I intended it to be. I try to keep at the very top of my priority list to tell the people I love just how much they mean to me. I want you to know, Daddy, just how much joy your laugh has brought to my life, and how much it always will.

Last Day of Spring

2011-06-20T22:51:00.000-04:00

Howdy friends and neighbors! Well, it's the waning hours of the last day of spring, and I'll probably still be up at midnight to usher in the first day of summer. Somebody forgot to tell the thermometers it isn't summer yet, though, as it has been sooooo hot the last couple of weeks! Surely it won't get worse from here!

I've still been feeling sick today so have spent a lot of the day sleeping, and also reading back entries of a couple of blogs I follow. So I decided my own little spot in cyberspace could use a hello - HELLO!

Rachel got home from her mission trip yesterday afternoon. She slept from about 7 pm last night to about 9 am this morning, and I think she's caught up on sleep. She ran around all afternoon, went to a movie with her mission trip buddies tonight, and now she's going to sleep over at SWAG's house. Tuesday night her dad is taking her to see Hair at the Bob Carr, and Wednesday afternoon she leaves on the middle school mission trip.

I guess since I'm feeling yukky I have to just blog about my daughter's living out loud instead of my own. I hope she has the most glorious summer of her life, never to be forgotten!

Peace and love to everyone!

Slipping In...

2011-06-19T22:42:00.000-04:00

Hi! Missed me? I missed you too!

Today is/was Father's Day (it's 10:40 pm so it's over somewhere!). I spent most of it being sick, but I did speak with my father in the evening. I had tried to call earlier, but he was asleep. Joyce said he's sleeping a lot these days. When I spoke with him, he mentioned he had fallen several times recently, and when I asked him, he admitted to being unsteady on his feet. I love my father so much, and it's sad to think that there may be a Father's Day in the future where I won't be able to pick up the phone and call him...or feel his hugs...or hear him tell me he loves me. Our paths together have not been strewn with daisies, but he is my father and I love him with all my heart. Thanks, Daddy, for the gifts you have given me, seen and unseen. Love you forever!

REALLY??????? Project 365 Update (aka LONGEST POST EVER!!!)

2011-03-10T18:14:00.000-05:00

I know I've been slow to post my Project 365 pictures here, so I decided to come over and get them all updated. But REALLY has it been since Day 35? I am now on Day 69, that's half of them! So I better get my lil self busy and get this thing done!

February 5 - Day 36

We moved into our house on December 15, 2009. One of my resolutions at that time was that I was going to have everything put away nicely as soon as possible. So...apparently possible has not come around yet, because this is what the left half of my garage looks like! I've read in lots of places that if you don't use something for a year, you really don't need it - well, it's been over a year, but I can't even think of getting rid of anything without seeing it first.

Our new goal is to have it all unpacked and thinned out by the first of May, when our church's garage sale will be held, so we can donate all the things that we don't need for a good cause. So we have 2 months, wish us luck!

In our defense, I will say that probably 25% of this junky space is taken up with dressers and bookcases that we don't have room for in our house, so it's not ALL boxes!

Peace and love to everyone!

February 6 - Day 37

Yes, here it is, the famous blank canvas! Here's the story. I am participating in a year-long on-line journaling project called the Art Journal Caravan. It involves digital scrapbooking in a manner similar to physical art journaling, but there are also some special projects that go along with it each month.

One of our first activities was to choose a word that would be our theme word for the year. I chose the word "write." So we were asked to create a collage canvas using our word, that we could hang up somewhere to remind us of our choice. So here I am, 2 months later, and all I've done is paint the base canvas. The rest of it is planned in my mind, just not done. But it's gonna be really pretty, I'll make it a 365 picture when it's finished!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 38 - February 7

Today was a very chilly day, and poor Luckie was shivering so badly that I convinced him to wear his sweater. He doesn't really like the sweater, but I think he's beginning to make the connection that when he wears the sweater, he stays warmer. Or maybe not, who knows what goes on in his doggie brain?

Peace and love to everyone!

February 8 - Day 39

This is a picture of my computer screen during a chat at Scrapbookgraphics. SBG has a chat every Tuesday night, with games and fun and prizes. I've been going to this chat for about 6 weeks, and have gotten to know some really fun people here. You can see one of my posts to the conversation - the big cupcake with livingoutloud (Sherry) next to it. I actually won the game this week, so I got a $10 coupon to Studio Natali, which I immediately spent....wheee!

Peace and love to everyone!

February 9 - Day 40

This is the gorgeous Tyson, son of 2 of my good friends at church, Brandon and Gigi. Tyson turned 1 in December. He is growing up so fast, right before our eyes. He has the best smile around - he can cheer you up just by looking at him. He is definitely a happy and loved baby.

Peace and love to everyone!

February 10 - Day 41

This is a sad picture on a sad day. Through no fault of Eric's, he was t-boned at an intersection by a woman who ran the red light. His car had to be towed as it's obviously not drivable. We need lots of love and prayers for this situation - he needs his car in order to get to work, so hopefully it can be fixed posthaste!

Peace and love to everyone!

February 11 - Day 42

I was going to pick Eric up for some errands since he is "carless." As I was walking up to the front door, I saw this stone bunny head just sticking out of the ground. This was a stone bunny that sat in the garden of our house on Astina Way. It went with Brett, but apparently now it's trying to dig a rabbit hole, without much success, I'm thinking.

Peace and love to everyone!

February 12 - Day 43

This is a picture of Nana and Eric that I snapped as soon as Nana got out of the jetway. We were all really glad to see her - I had tears in my eyes, I have missed her so much.

Later we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, which was good. I took some very colorful pics at Cracker Barrel, but they just didn't have the emotion that this one did.

Oh yes, and David and I cleaned the house today so it would be all sparkly clean for Nana's arrival - yay!

Peace and love to everyone!

February 13 - Day 44

Nana wanted to have some frozen yogurt, so we headed to Menchie's, and these are the frozen yogurt arts we made. They were so delicious - I think I even managed to finish mine (can you say oink oink?).

I had 2 naps today which were delightful. I am so happy to have Nana here. It just feels like now everything will be okay since she's here.

Peace and Love to Everyone!

February 14 - Day 45

Happy Valentine's Day! This is Clyde. David gave me Clyde as a Valentine's gift, and I just love him! He's my second 3D elephant - the first is the necklace Quinta gave me. I do have several digital elephants, including Jellie my Art Journal Caravan partner, but they aren't quite the same as the 3D ones.

I had a hearing aid appointment at the mall, then Nana and I had a battery changed in her watch and a Starbucks coffee and some scones.....YUMmy!!! Back home, I had a nap, then we went to Brandon with Ginger Selander to pick up Rachel from Chrysalis, where she had an amazingly wonderful, life-changing experience. I was really tired after all that activity, and was passed out by 9 pm - that never happens!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

February 15 - Day 46

Today Rachel and I took Nana to Pure Magic! She liked it a lot but the selections were sort of overwhelming to her. But we had a great time nonetheless!

This little stone froggie hangs out in the play yard area of Pure Magic. I wonder if kissing him will turn him into a prince?

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 47 - February 16th

Here's what I got to enjoy for 2 weeks - my darling mother on the other end of the couch, listening to books on her IPhone and playing games on her IPad, sometimes at the same time! And my little Luckie boy loved to snuggle up with her as much as he likes to snuggle up with me. There is no sweeter feeling than having my mom sitting next to me, and I am enjoying every minute of it!

Peace and love to everyone!

Day 48 - February 17th

Doesn't this pool look absolutely scrumptious? The water is clear and sparkling and such a beautiful blue, the sun is warm, the breezes are balmy. Just one problem - the water temperature is 62 degrees! So there won't be anybody jumping in here for at least a few more weeks. I think we first swam in it last year when it was 74 degrees, but even that was pretty chilly, probably we'll wait til 76 degrees this year.

It's such a wonderful treat to have this beautiful pool in our own back yard, and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who cares for it so diligently!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 49 - February 18th

Can you tell it's 5:00 am in this picture? Well, actually maybe 5:15 to be more exact. Got up this morning to get Rachel to the church by 5 am to leave on the youth ski trip - she is sooooo excited, I know they are going to have a great time! So I snapped this picture of Rachel with Quinta to memorialize the beginning of the trip. Safe travels, dear youth and chaperones, we can't wait to hear about all your fun!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 50 - February 19th

Mmmmmmmm yummy sweets! Tomorrow is Biker Sunday at our church, and I volunteered to bring in some deserts, though this will only be a tiny portion of everything there - everybody loves deserts on Biker Sunday! Mom and I spent most of the day making brownies, mini cupcakes, double chocolate chip cookies, regular chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal cookies, and we had such fun doing it. Just one more thing I love doing with my mommy!

Peace and love to everyone!

February 20 - Day 51

This is a stitched-together panorama (yay Photoshop!) of some of the bikes that came to our church for the 12th Annual Biker Sunday. I'm estimating there were about 50 bikes in each of these rows, and a bunch of others nearer the church, so my estimate, based on really nothing...LOL...is that there were about 300 bikes, and LOTS of bikers to go with them! We served hamburgers, hot dogs, beans, chips, lots of sodas and waters, and the most amazing array of deserts this side of the Mississippi! The weather was beautiful, perfect temperature. Oh, and I forgot to tell about the stunt shows - the part we stayed for was really amazing, these great big bikes (Harleys? I have no idea...LOL) riding in formations that were breathtaking!

Eric was over and mowed our yard (read weeds), and it was nice to get to see him. I took about a 3-hour nap, then just hung out with Mom as we sat on the couch and had parallel play with our various electronic gadgets...LOL!

Rachel comes home tomorrow, and I can't wait, I've missed the heck out of her!

Peace and love to everyone!

Day 52 - February 21

This is a picture of Rachel and Carrie, who was a chaperone on the youth ski trip, when they got back to the church after the trip. I snapped this picture to commemorate the end of what appears to have been a wonderful trip with lots of fun and fellowship. And luckily Rachel didn't break any bones (or windows) on this trip!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 53 - February 22

A couple of days ago, out of the blue, I received a Christmas card from my dear niece and nephew Marijean and Scott, along with their cute little chihuahua Sparta. This was only 14 months late - it was actually their card from Christmas 2009. I personally love that I got it now! It doesn't have to share a spot with any other Christmas cards - it can be prominently displayed right on the front of my refrigerator all by itself. Note that they are all three wearing their hideous Christmas sweaters! Also, I felt it only right to stick it to the refrigerator using my magnet that shows the street sign from the corner of Haight and Asbury in San Francisco, being as Scott and Marijean are my little hippie relatives...LOL!

Thanks for giving me this piece of sunshine to enjoy, dear ones!

Peace and Love to Everyone, with a special dose for Scott and Marijean!

Day 54 - February 23

Our Wednesday night Centerpeace dinner this week was a very special Italian dinner, and the couple who put it together really went all out! The serving table had all these cute statuettes including this one with the blackboard. The tables were covered with red and white checked tablecloths, candles, flowers, and candies. They had Italian music playing in the background. It was the most elaborately decorated dinner we've had so far, and everyone was delighted! And the food was amazing, the best meatballs I had ever dreamed of! Mom and I helped with the setup, and we also provided deserts, although they were store-bought, nothing as elaborate as the dinner!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 55 - February 24

This was the last full day of Nana's visit, she's leaving tomorrow. We went to the mall to the Disney store and found plush figures for the little boy she tutors - one of Donald Duck and one of Huey, who is the boy's favorite Disney character. Did I take a picture there? No. So, for dinner we went to Celebration Town Tavern so Nana could have some good seafood - she has to have good seafood on every trip to Florida! Eric, Rachel, David, Nana and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner and great company. And did I take a picture? No. So after dinner we stopped at Walgreens so Rachel could pick up a few things she needed, so guess what - I took a picture, wheeee!!! This is some sort of silly squishy ball that feels sort of creepy when you hold it. Not sure if those dots are supposed to be eyes or some portion of female anatomy, I'll let you be the judge. But either way, I actually took a picture. Hooray!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 56 - February 25

This was Nana's last day in Florida. I took her to the airport, and despite the fact that she had lost her driver's license at some point during the trip, she was able to get through security without a problem (she used her social security card plus her bank card that had her picture on it). I was so very sad to see her go, and I'm already counting the days til the next time.

So in the afternoon David and I attended the wedding of two of his co-workers at Medieval Times, one of the princesses and one of the knights. It was such a beautiful wedding - the bride was ravishing and the groom was pretty spiffed up himself. I had a hard time getting any pictures, but did manage to get this shot of them feeding cake to each other, always a highlight of any wedding! The happy couple is off to honeymoon in Vegas, where I'm sure they will have a spectacular time. Best wishes to them for a long and happy marriage!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 57 - February 26

This picture was actually taken yesterday, but I just had to include it. Nana and I stopped in the Lush store on the way to get her through security, so she could pick up a fresh mask for Tamera and some other items. We were so surprised to see that they had completely redecorated the store, changed things around, made it look much bigger! I had planned to take Nana's picture in there, but forgot, so I went back to take this after she went through security. Oh, and did I mention that I LOVE LUSH???

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 58 - February 27

I had this huge craving for a cupcake today - of course, the one day that Sweet Designs is closed. I just could not get the idea out of my mind. So, after I dropped Rachel off at Revelation practice, I stopped by 7-Eleven and bought these little gems, brought them home, put them out on fine china and a lace tablecloth, then ate them. But all that fal-de-ral didn't make them anything but Hostess Orange Cupcakes, a VERY poor imitation of the real thing. In fact, eating them made me feel pretty yucky. I will definitely be making a trip to Sweet Designs tomorrow.

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 59 - February 28

NEWS FLASH - JESUS LIVES IN OUR KITCHEN! And I have photographic evidence, see? (Jesus is the one on the left, in case you can't tell).

So here's the story. I think it was on Christmas Eve that a couple of Rachel's friends from work called her and told her to come outside, they had a present for her. After solving the problem of the fact that they were at the wrong house, they brought in a big plate of cookies they had made for Rachel. We ate all of them but these two - and they were quite tasty, I might add! But nobody wanted to be the one to eat the Jesus cookie - Rachel said she was going to do it, but now that it's been 2.5 months, I think it might be better if we shellacked him and put him on the wall instead. I think they created a remarkable likeness considering the supplies on hand, don't you?

The other cookie, the heart and cross, represents the tattoo that Rachel is going to have placed on her foot as her 16th birthday gift from me - hopefully before she's 26, LOL! The significance of this is so that she can spread the love of Jesus wherever she goes. I love that, love my brilliant and creative and beautiful daughter!

Peace and love to everyone!

Day 60 - March 1

Look at our beautiful new addition to our living room! These are photos taken by my in-house photographer daughter Rachel, and my mom had them printed to canvas for us as a gift. They totally change the character of our room, and they look MUCH better than the Ikea picture I saw a few weeks back! Thank you soooo much Mom and Rachel! And they arrived at the perfect time, right after we finished cleaning the house...LOL!

I might have to relocate my sitting position in the living room - right now I sit on the couch right under the pictures so I can't see them...well, maybe not. I also might hang them differently - I just hung them on nails that were already in the wall from the previous owners.

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 61 - March 2

This is what Rachel, Emma and friend (I'm so sorry I forgot your name!) did tonight at Centerpeace during dinner! Supposedly they aren't planning their weddings, they are planning careers as wedding planners and photographers...but what young girl does not dream of her magical wedding day? It was fun to watch them look at the magazines and share ideas and giggle.

Centerpeace was very powerful for me tonight, as always. Our message was given by Julie Chatham, and we had some really intense "table talk" time. Sometimes I come away from there stirred up, but I always end up settled down eventually.

Rachel and I were going to come home and watch 50 First Dates, but I can't make our darned DVD player work....grrrrrr!!! Maybe some techie type will come help me soon!

Peace and love to everyone!

Day 62 - March 3

Borders is closing out their Sand Lake store near where we live, so David and I took a field trip to see if there were any great deals. They've removed a lot of merchandise, and there are no HUGE markdowns, but I did find 2 things I really wanted. "Creative is a Verb" is a brand new book by Patti Digh that I really wanted - it was 30% off so got it for $14. Then the other one is called The Writer's Block - and the book is block-shaped. It's full of prompts to help deal with writing block. I wish I could have found the one that said "Here's the Magical Formula for Getting Off Your Behind and Write!" but apparently that one was sold out.

I love Borders and will miss it, but we have a Books a Million very near our house, and Barnes and Noble just a bit farther. Besides, we usually spend our book time at the library!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 63 - March 4

Today Rachel got a new Iphone 4, and as you can see she's very happy about it. Her old Iphone has been on the blink for months, and her dad kept trying to get her to wait until the 5 comes out, but she was just over it and really wanted a phone she could depend on. I asked her what she could do, and she said she could now Skype on her phone....wheee!!!

PS - If you are reading this, my dear husband, I want you to know that I will be waging a gentle but persistent campaign for you to let me get an Iphone next February when my contract with Sprint is up! Mwah!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 64 - March 5

This is a picture of Jackie getting to know my screensaver elephant - they seemed to get along just fine. Jackie loves to be with me when I am working on my laptop, but the crummy part is she wants to sit on my hand, either that or on the keyboard. If she sits on my hand, I can't type, and if she sits on the keyboard, I run the risk of bird poop, and I'm not willing to take that risk, so we spend most of the time squabbling about where she's going to sit. But the baby elephant calmed her a little bit.

Eric came over this morning for a bit - he's still trying to find a car, I'm praying that something will work out for him. Rachel went to a Chrysalis "hoot" with Tina, so it's mostly been me and the King today. I haven't been much good company - I napped most of the day. Oh well, tomorrow's another day.

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Day 65 - March 6

This is a before and after picture of what we call Luckie's "babies." He loves these fuzzy plush toys, and he plays with them til they are just threads. On the right we have a sheep that we got him about a month ago. He made quick work of biting off the legs and pulling out the stuffing, but the brown part you see is the head - he can't seem to get that last little bit of stuffing out of there. So next to that, looking bright and perky (or else scared to death) is the elephant. We got that one for him when the sheep started looking pretty bad, but he won't give up on the sheep til he has everything out of it. He has started picking up the elephant a little; in fact, he's chewed a hole in the end of its trunk, but no stuffing out yet. We have all these delightful conversations, like "Well, it didn't take you long to pull that baby's legs off." I hope no one tapes us secretly...LOL!

Peace and love to everyone!

Day 66 - March 7

Pretty cool picture, huh? This was the aquarium in the lobby of Greenway Ford, where Eric and I spent most of the day Monday buying him a car (which we did successfully - YAY!!!) The tank was clear on 2 sides, so you stand in the waiting area, see the fish, and also the receptionist's desk on the other side. I'm not sure how it came out with the reflection from the parking lot, but it looks cool I think.

It was definitely a long day, but I was sooooo happy that I could be there and be a help to Eric in getting his car. I had prayed so hard that there would be an answer to his situation, and it worked out beautifully, thank you God!

We ended up taking his rental car back at about 8:30 pm, then Eric, Rachel and I had Chick-Fil-A for dinner. By the time we got home I was beat!!!!!

Peace and love to everyone!

Day 67 - March 8

This is my "real" camera. It is a Canon Digital Rebel, the first consumer-priced digital SLR on the market. I got it I think almost 8 years ago, but it still does a great job of taking pictures. But I knew it would be hard to get Project 365 pictures if I had to rely on carrying the big camera around, so David got me the little point and shoot, which does a nice job.

Pizza Hut for dinner tonight, then we all watched Glee - pretty racy!

Peace and love to everyone!

Day 68 - March 9

Every year for Christmas, David gets me a day-by-day Mary Engelbreit calendar which goes in the kitchen, and which we all enjoy. This page was not from today, but I have been saving the ones I really loved. This wonderful definition of laziness is one I think I will adopt and make mine...LOL!

Rachel and I went to Centerpeace tonight, and it was especially meaningful as it was the Ash Wednesday service. We had dinner as always, but then went to sit in the regular seating for the service, which included imposition of ashes and communion. Very meaningful!

Peace and love to everyone!

Day 69 - March 10

Today was overcast, cool and raining, a perfect day for snuggling up or sleeping...LOL! I decided to take a picture out the back door to show the rainy day, and then Mr. Squirrel ran into my shot,, so I snapped it quickly to be sure to capture him. He's a little blurry, as he was zipping along, but I think he's still recognizable nonetheless. It's a bit hard to see because I took it through the screen, but if I had opened the door, Luckie would have run out and scared the squirrel right off!

So after much thought, I've decided what I'm going to give up for Lent. First I thought I'd try sugar - but I'm going on a retreat later this month and I imagine there will be sugary things to eat there, so that idea was out. My second idea was to stay away from Facebook - I really think I could have done that, but it would be a lot of Project 365 to catch up with! But then today, as I was paying my bills, it occurred to me that I could give up using my credit cards. That won't be an easy thing to do, but it will have an added benefit of allowing me to stash some money for Rachel's and my summer trip to Oklahoma. So...no credit cards for this girl for 40 days!

Peace and Love to Everyone!

WHEW! HOORAY, I DID IT, THAT'S ALL THROUGH TODAY! I'm going to try my best to update these before another month goes by!

Delightful New Goodies In No Particular Order

2011-02-27T23:38:00.000-05:00

Hello scrap fans! I am watching the Academy Awards at the same time as I'm updating the blog, so if I veer off into insanity, blame it on the movies! I do have to tell you, though, that I saw Jellie wearing one of her pink costumes there - REALLY AND TRULY, I swear, my husband saw her too!!!!! And no, we were not drinking!

I wanted to show you some of the new kits I've added to my stash in various ways - such wonderful and delightful goodness! I don't have layouts to show yet for all of them, but those will come soon!

Last Tuesday night, I attended the regular Scrapbookgraphics chat (which I LOVE and is now an integral part of my week!). This week's chat was hosted by Studio Christina Renee. We had a GREAT time, lots of laughs and craziness, and in the end, I won the contest, despite an almost 8-minute absence after my silly computer shut itself off randomly as it is prone to do. I won a $10 gift coupon to her store, which I could have spent 10 times over, but finally settled on one thing. I was advised to save it for the release of Authentic Artistry III, but I have no ability to wait when such beautiful goodies are on the line! My choice went to Authentic Artistry II bundle, and here are the previews:

I haven't yet had a chance to dig into the kit for a complete layout, but I did use it for a going-away card I made for mom:

Actually the flower spray on this one is from "The Promise" by Dawn Inskip, we'll get to that in a minute. Anyway, can't wait to make more beautiful layouts with this kit - thank you Christina Renee for your generosity!

Okay next let's look at The Promise by Dawn Inskip. I actually purchased this kit because I wanted to make a wedding card for friends whose wedding we were attending, and this release was perfectly timed. Here's the kit preview:

Again I used this one for a wedding card for my friends, here it is:

Next up we have Studio Gypsy! Lisa released a new kit this week called Rural Chic, and wow is it ever gorgeous! Here are the previews:

And here's my CT layout with pictures of my amazing beautiful daughter:

Love love love this kit Lisa!!!

Now let's talk Tangie! I am lucky enough to be a part of Tangie's Backstage VIP crew for the next few months, and I am having an absolutely fantastic time with this! Here are the products Tangie released this week.

First, Art Journal Caravan Parcel 9, a Collab with Holliewood Studios:

and the Splatter Graffiti to go with this kit:

She also released the fifth kit in her amazing Journal Anthology series:

And, last but not least, Tangie released her Altered Art Smart Starts #7:

Can't wait to use this Smart Start!

I have done one layout so far with this week's products. This is in response to the Art Journal Caravan verb for this week which is "Amuse." This was a tough one for me for some unknown reason. I was not inspired by any of the prompts or quotes Tangie gave us. So finally I said to myself "Self, what amuses you?" And here's the layout that was the result - as always, click for a larger version:

This layout uses pieces from Parcel #9, Splatter Graffiti Amuse, and Journal Anthology 5.

Next is an amazing kit from the designers at Deviant Scrap. This kit is featured as a freebie giveaway in the next issue of Somerset Digital Studio magazine which hits the newsstand on March 1, but Hollie was kind enough to give Deviant creative team members early access to this kit. So without further ado, here is the absolutely stunning preview:

I promise you, after examining this kit, the preview doesn't even come close to doing justice to what is contained within its folders. No layouts from this yet, but soon I promise!

Well, sadly I must end this post as the Best Picture has just been announced - Hooray for The King's Speech! More goodness to come soon, watch this space!

Peace and love to everyone!

Coming Together, Moving Apart

2011-02-25T23:59:00.000-05:00

Today was a day of contrasts for sure. After almost 2 wonderful weeks of Mom visiting us, I had to take her to the airport to go home this morning. It was a little bit stressful as she had lost her driver's license sometime during her trip, so we weren't sure how it would go at the airport, but it was a piece of cake. The airline had told her on the phone that she could use her social security or medicare card plus her bank card that has her picture on it, but until we actually got her through security, it was hard to relax. But as I said, it was no problem at all. Mom insisted on using the "old lady" card in hopes they would cut her some slack, but she didn't need that. Besides, a lost driver's license can happen to anyone, even really organized people (not that I am one of those...LOL!). I am hoping she made it home safely, I will call her tomorrow to be sure, but I'm sure someone would have called me if there were any problems.

It was a rough drive home from the airport. I hate parting from my mom. The time we spend together is so peaceful, so nurturing, so glorious, that I never want it to come to an end. We always say that it probably wouldn't be that way if we lived together all the time, but honestly, I'm not convinced of that - I think Mom and I could live side by side for years on end and be completely happy together. Oh, how I wish circumstances would allow that to happen. But it's not to be - for one thing, she has a very rich life in Oklahoma, and as much as she loves to come visit, she would not have the amazing network of loving and supportive friends she has there.

In some ways, I wish I had never moved away from Oklahoma, so that I would not have to be away from her. But then so much about my life would be different, including the fact that I would not have my own amazing beautiful daughter. I pray that the circumstances of life will allow Rachel and I to live in the same geographic area and that we don't have to live apart like Mom and I do. I'll do pretty much whatever I can to make that happen.

When I got back from the airport, I had a chance to extend some unconditional love to Rachel, and I think that felt wonderful to both of us. Life sucks sometimes, and we have to go through hard things, but it is so completely possible to get through those times and come out stronger on the other side. That's what we did today. I love my daughter dearly.

So, that's the "moving apart" part.

Now, coming together! Today David and I attended the wedding of two of his co-workers from Medieval Times, a princess and a knight. They have been together 10 years, and engaged for the last 3 years, so this was a wonderful day of celebration of their coming together. The wedding was so special - it was outside beside a golf course, and the weather was spectacular, even at 4:30 pm...sunny, slightly breezy, just perfect. The ceremony was so perfectly tailored for the two of them. One thing they did that I had not seen before was the blending of sand. There were 2 vessels containing sand of 2 different colors, then a larger vessel that was empty. They poured the sand from each of their individual vessels into the empty one, which meant that now each one of them individually was merged into a "coming together" being which could never be divided back to the two separate beings that had existed before. It was very beautiful and moving. It was also a lot better than a unity candle would have been, seeing as how it was plenty breezy enough that a candle would never have stayed lit!

I got a chance to meet many of David's co-workers that I had never met before, and that was great. We also got to visit with some friends that I already knew, mainly the other princesses who are near and dear to our hearts. There were probably 75-100 people in attendance, a really great group - lots of knights and ex-knights, some really wild and crazy guys!

Dinner was very good - salad, potatoes, green beans, chicken and steak. Then the party started! The DJ was playing the perfect mix of music for the crowd. The groom and his groomsmen, plus other knights, were all over the dance floor, showing off and being totally themselves. I got a real kick out of watching them have so much fun. And it was fun to watch the happy couple together. Their love for each other shone brightly through it all.

As much fun as it was to watch everyone dance, it never got around to music that David and I wanted to dance to (not even the polka or the Time Warp, or even Disco Inferno!). We were about to leave, but just as we were getting ready, they announced the cake-cutting, so we stayed to watch that and to partake of some delicious cake....MMMMMM!!!!!

Got home and had intended to work on some layouts - I have so many CT layouts to get done, but I ended up catching up on email and Facebook, and then just wanted to blog, so the layouts will have to wait until tomorrow - but I will work faithfully and steadily until I get them done. I have a very few pictures of the wedding, but I'm even too comfy in my bed to download them from my camera - I'll post them next time hopefully.

So, I am behind on CT layouts, picture postings, Project 365 postings, my Adjective project for the Art Journal Caravan, not to mention housework....blech! But I am ahead in love. I love my husband so dearly, I love my family so much, and my living out loud mission is to try to bring as much joy to the people I love as I possibly can...and I think I did that today. And the love was returned to me as well. So even with the moving apart parts, the day was mostly about Coming Together. I am deeply satisfied with that.

Peace and love to everyone!

Miscellaneous CT Layouts February So Far

2011-02-18T23:23:00.000-05:00

I didn't post layouts last month other than my AJC layouts, but this month I've decided to post the other creative team layouts I've done, plus any other personal layouts I want to share. So, here goes!

For the first layout, I used Studio Gypsy's "Do that Thing" page kit - this is so awesome, I had a great time working with it! Here's the kit preview, and you can click on the link below to get to the kit in the store:

Do That Thing: The Kit

You can also buy the papers and elements seperately, as well as word art, paper stacks, card stock and alpha - check them all out!

Here's my February desktop that I made using this kit:

I've been having great fun looking at this on my desktop so far this month!

Okay NEXT!

This is a layout I did with a collab kit by Silvia Romeo and Jennifer Arbon called "Life Tapestry." Typical of all of Sylvia's kits, this one is lush, rich, gorgeous, perfect for heritage layouts which is how I used it here. Here's the kit preview, and click on the link below the preview to take you to the kit at Digitals:

Life Tapestry Kit by Silvia Romeo

Here's my layout, with a picture of me and my adored grandfather. Click on the layout to see a larger version:

I love love LOVE this next layout! This one was done for Angie Young's Art Journaling challenge at Digital Scrapbook Pages. I used several products from Angie's Art Journal Lizzie series. Here's the preview of the elements - click the link to see all the Art Journal Lizzie products:

Angie Young's Art Journal Lizzie Products at Digital Scrapbook Pages

Also, the cute little doggies that are currently on the wallpaper of my blog came from this line of products, you'll see them listed at the link above as well.

Here's the layout. The challenge was to show what love looks like to you, so here's what it looks like to me. Click layout to see larger version:

Anything that has to do with this sexy man I'm married to looks like love to me!

And now we have - Beth Rimmer! Beth has been a favorite designer of mine for several years, ever since she started at Digitals. I've loved every single product she's released, and I have most of them - I have done her quality control for a long time. This kit is called "The Hills Are Alive," and it's full of fun fairies and other woodfolk. When I QC'd the kit, this layout burst into my brain and wouldn't let me alone until I scrapped it!

Here's the kit preview, and click on the link below to see the kit at Deviant Scrap:

The Hills Are Alive

Here's the layout that wouldn't go away until I scrapped it - hope it makes you laugh! Click the layout to see a bigger version:

Next up is a layout that I did with Studio Gypsy's Industrial Collab with ViVa Artistry. This is a dark, grungy, amazingly great kit, perfect for so many kinds of layouts - I chose to do a layout of Eric with his guitar that matched really great. Here's the kit preview, and you can go to directly to the kit at Studio Gypsy if you click the link:

Industrial Collab - Studio Gypsy with ViVa Artistry - The Bundle

Here's my layout - it's called Metal. Click layout to see larger version.

Staying with Studio Gypsy, here's a layout I created using Sugary, Sweet and Shabby Mash-Up Grab Bag, a collab between Studio Gypsy, Studio Flergs, Studio Rosie Posie and Studio Dawn Inskip. I love this kit - it's so versatile and you can create so many different types of layouts with this. Click on the link below the preview to see the kit - but hurry, it's only being sold for a limited time.

Sugary, Sweet and Shabby Mash-Up Grab Bag

And here's my layout. This is called Sweet, and it is one of my very favorite pictures of my beautiful daughter - a self portrait, actually! Click the layout to see a larger version.

Now we return to Silvia Romeo, and her gorgeous Christmas kit called "Visions of Sugar Plums." This kit rocks! Again, Silvia's kits always are so rich and luscious, and I love working with them. Click the link below the preview to see the kit at Digitals:

Visions of Sugar Plums Kit by Silvia Romeo

And here's my layout, using a picture of the fireplace, decorated by Rachel, at our Talova house. Click on the layout to see a bigger version.

Just one more and I'll be caught up posting layouts - WHEEEEEE!!!

I wrote in an earlier post that I won a coupon to Studio Natali at a chat at SBG, and I got her kit "Dreamy." I posted the previews there, so I'm not going to repeat them here, but you can see the kit in her store here:

Natali Designs - Dreamy Bundle

So here's my layout. This is my darling Rachel just about the time she turned 3. The picture was extracted from one we took at her very first dance recital. I remember that little darling girl so clearly. Click the layout to see a larger version.

Okay, that's it! That's all the CT layouts I've done this month other than Art Journal Caravan layouts. Wish it was more, but hey, this isn't too shabby, right?

Peace and love to everyone!

Where's the Peeeeectures??? AJC Postings

2011-02-18T21:22:00.000-05:00

So I'm scrolling down the blog, and realize there are no pictures (except my new siggie) for the longest time! Whassup with that? So, in this post I'm going to catch up my AJC layouts. I haven't posted many this month, better get on the stick.

This layout is mostly about hope for me, not letting myself slide into despair. It was in response to Tangie's prompt "Live." Click the link after the picture if you want to see the credits, and click on the layout to see a larger version:

Learn Live Hope

Another one responding to the "Live" prompt. This one, of course, is my life mission statement, living out loud. I love this layout, love how it turned out! This one is all Angie Young products; again, click the link after the picture if you want to see the credits, and click on the layout to see a larger version:

Live Out Loud

And last, for the moment, but not least, certainly, is a layout that I actually have not posted to the AJC gallery but will post later tonight. This one is in response to Tangie's "Reinforce" prompt. I used her new Mock Turtle AJC font that was part of our provisions for this week - in fact, she released EIGHT new fonts which are designed specifically with the art journaler in mind. I am SO excited about that! I also used the things she taught us in week 4 about modifying type size and such to make the type look less "fontified," and I love how it turned out. Everything from this layout is from Tangie's INKcorporated kit, with lots of recoloring and style application, and like I said, her Mock Turtle font. And check it out - this is the first layout with my little siggie in the corner., Will I go back and put it on all the other layouts I've done so far this year? Not likely, but hey, ya never know! Click on the layout to see a larger version.

There now, everything looks prettier again!

Love and Peace to everyone!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back - no, Forward!

2011-02-18T19:27:00.000-05:00

It's a glorious day in Orlando today. Our swimming pool looks like it needs to be jumped into, but the certain hypothermia that would be encountered keeps me inside. But I can hear the voices of summer calling me!

I've been really enjoying my days with Mom. It is so awesome to have her here, she just exerts a peaceful presence that is so wonderful in our already-peaceful house! She makes me feel like everything's going to be okay just because she "is," you know? I guess that's what mamas are for. I know I am incredibly grateful for my mama!

Let's see...Wednesday night Mom, Rachel and I went to Centerpeace, and that was wonderful, then came home and watched the first episode of the new Survivor series - I think I'm going to love this one! Thursday morning Rachel and I had doctor's appointments, then Rachel took us out to lunch at Olive Garden - yum yum yum! We had a lemon creme cake that was just to-die-for - thanks, Mom, for the tip! Afterwards we took Rachel to American Eagle - she has her eye on a dress to wear to Wicked, but they didn't have it at this store. The final stop was Target - she had quite a few things she needed for her trip. Mom and I picked up some frozen dinners for dinner, since we were going to be just the 2 of us, then we sat at Starbuck's and drank yummy coffee drinks as we waited for Rachel to finish. And had yet another wonderful conversation. I would not trade one single minute with my Mom for anything in the world!

Last night Rachel went out to dinner with Brett, then when they came back, Brett helped me figure out what was wrong with my Itunes on my laptop - turns out there was a conflict with the usb plugin for my mouse - who knew? So we got my Ipod Touch working great on there. Then we tried to get Mom's Iphone set up, but then realized that because it's synced to her computer at home, she would lose all her info if we did that. So we are trying to come up with a plan B so she can download her own audio books, and we will do it eventually!

This morning started dark and early - I got up at 4:40 am to take Rachel to the church for the annual Youth Ski Trip. There are 25 kids plus several chaperones going skiing in North Carolina for this holiday weekend...wheee!!! Rachel has been unbelievably excited, I know she will have a great time. Only problem is that it's going to be quite warm there - 67 degrees for the high! The girls were joking that they would have a waterslide rather than a ski slope. Anyway, we got to the church just right at 5, and the bus was pulled out front, but no luggage trailer, and very few people, so obviously 5 am was not an official departure time...LOL! I stayed around for half an hour or so to make sure she had everything she needed as far as money and paperwork, then I left them all with instructions to have a great time, and I know they will follow that to the letter! Rachel is going to snowboard this year - I hope she has a blast!

I got home and messed around for an hour or so til I got sleepy again, then took a nap for about 2 hours. Breakfast then, and lots of playing on the computer - nothing too productive, but lots of wasted Gmail and Facebook time - time stealers for sure!

This afternoon I watched the new tutorial that Tangie put up for the Art Journal Caravan, which was about making a signature or logo brush in Photoshop. So I made mine to show both Jellie and me. Wanna see what it looks like? Sure ya do!

Pretty cool, don't you think? I love it! The elephant and crown came from one of Angie Young's ATC sets, and the font is by Tangie Baxter, Tweedledee. I made it into a brush, brushed it on the paper, then applied a glitter style. Photoshop brushes are amazing, I need to work with them more!

Mom and I took a break while I was looking for this brush and went to dinner at Panera Bread. Next was JC Penney's to return winter scarves bought before Christmas! Then to Publix to buy supplies to make cookies, brownies and cupcakes for hungry bikers - Sunday is Biker Sunday at our church, and there will be a cookout as well as lots of delish deserts. Our last stop was Walgreens, and now we're back home, stretched out on the couch with our various computing devices and watching the DVR version of the second night of the Westminster Dog Show.

Til next time, Peace and Love to Everyone!

Valentine's Day Eve

2011-02-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

I am sitting on the couch with Nana, while she plays with her Iphone and Ipad at the same time - a mother with great multitasking talents! But I just looovveee having her here! She's always loved electronic gadgets and such. A long time ago, in 1972, my brothers had received a handheld football game for Christmas - WAY early in the years of handheld electronics for sure. But then Nana had to spend 6 weeks at home recovering from surgery, and by the time she went back to work, she was the world champion.

Flash forward to 1988 or 89. Nana and Sammy were visiting Brett, Eric and me when we lived in Davie, Florida. I was recovering from meningitis so I wasn't much fun. So when Eric was at school, Nana would play whatever Nintendo games Eric had. Then the day came that they had to leave. Brett and Eric were at school, and I was way too sick to drive them to the airport, so they had a taxi come to take them. When Brett got home that night, he said "Why is the door open?" I had been asleep when they left and was still asleep when Brett and Eric got home. And then we realized that the Nintendo was also on. So we figured out that when the taxi driver came, Nana was playing Nintendo, and got so excited in leaving that she forgot to turn it off and shut the door!

She also went through phases of electronic tetris and electronic bridge. She would play those all the time. And if she's only doing 1 electronic thing at a time, she can usually carry on a conversation too!

Oh, I forgot one more thng. Probably in 1991, Eric and I met Nana and Grandpa Sammy in Panama City, Florida for a few days at the beach in their motor home - we had a glorious time! I have video from that trip of Nana and Eric sitting on a parking block playing their electronic games, very funny since that is what they did all the time at home too.

By the way, in today's world, she loves to play Words with Friends, so if anyone plays that, leave me a message and I'll hook you up. She does NOT, however, play Angry Birds. And probably never will.

We just finished eating another glorious dinner cooked by Eric! He had some wonderfully seasoned fresh vegetables and rice - baby bella mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, broccoli, onion - and wonderful Basmati rice. Then to go along with it he grilled shrimp in a delicious homemade marinade that was just to-die-for. Luckie even liked the rice leftovers and some of the veggies, but he won't eat mushrooms, ever, and he was eyeing the yellow squash with suspicion, not sure how that one came out.

So now here we are, Nana and me, stretched out next to each other on the couch and doing our various electronic activities - and happy as little clams doing it. David just left for work, so the only interruptions will be: 1) I have to go wash the lunch dishes. That's the deal when Eric cooks, and it's great with me. 2) I think Nana and I are going to spend some time recording questions and answers.

Here's the question and answer project. There are numerous lists on the net of family history questions, that allow you to find out important things to know for your family history, that can then
either be written in a book or recorded form, or made into a heritage scrapbook. Nana and I really want to do this - we have a reasonable amount of history from her parents, but we want to leave as full a legacy as we can from Nana. So we are going to spend part of ths trip of hers with questions and answers that I will record on a digital voice recorder. I am so excited about this, and I know Nana is too!

We first got interested in this as a project when I was able to make several recordings at StoryCorps mobile locations. You can read about StoryCorps here: www.storycorps.org. Here's the mission statement on their home page:

Our mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.

So Storycorps, besides having permanent locations, has mobile setups that go from city to city, usually staying a month in each place. People make appointments to come in to record their stories - any sorts of family history stories they want. They have a list of potential questions on their web site to guide you in what types of questions you might like to ask/answer. The first time, I interviewed my sweet Miriam friend about her days of growing up in Bell Island, Newfoundland. Mim is one of the most interesting women I know, and it was just fascinating to learn more about her.

Then a couple of years later, Storycorps returned to Florida Hospital to celebrate their 100-year anniversary. I made appointments for Rachel to interview me, me to interview David and David to interview me. Again, it was very special, things that we will always treasure.

One very cool thing is that the stories recorded in the professional recording setting of Storycorps facilities are archived in the Library of Congress, so our descendants will always be able to go there and hear our stories. I love that.

Nana was going to go when the mobile booth came to Oklahoma City, but something came up and she couldn't. So ever since then we've been planning our own StoryCorps sessions!

So, besides the fact that I've neglected my blogging these past few days, I haven't posted my Project 365 photos or new scrapbook layouts, so I'm off to do that now.

Peace and Love to Everyone!

Feeling Hot Hot Hot!!!

2011-02-09T08:33:00.000-05:00

It's only 8:14 am, but I am feeling so fantastic that I thought I ought to write it down so I can go back and look at it if there are rough spots to my day!

I am working on a super-secret special project that I can't mention yet, but it is sooooooo awesome! I've made some good headway on it so far, and I know it's going to come together perfectly. Tell ya more next week.

Last night I went to the Scrapbookgraphics weekly Tuesday night chat. Every week the chat is sponsored by a different designer, and there is a contest. The contest consists of questions about the designer sponsor. The moderator, the fabulous Miss Behaving (don't you LOVE that name?) asks the questions, and then all the participants start typing answers as fast as they can. The person who gets it right first gets a point, and the person with the most points at the end wins a coupon to the sponsor designer's store. Well, guess who won last night? I'll bet you guessed it, yep - MOI!!! So I got a $10 coupon to Studio Natali, and had it spent within 15 minutes of getting the code...LOL! I got a beautiful kit called "Dreamy" and a set of quick pages - here's the kit preview:

Really dreamy, huh? I think kits with moons in them are my favorite! There is a challenge at SBG to create a layout about something you love to do, and I think I will use this kit and make a layout about how I love to go to Cocoa Beach for the full moon. I know, this moon here is not full, but nonetheless...

In my next post I'm going to show you my newest Creative Team layouts, and then in ANOTHER post catch up on my Project 365 pictures!

And guess what - only THREE MORE SLEEPS until my mom gets here! I cannot WAIT for her to come! Stay away snow, don't make the airport close! She's in Oklahoma - they are supposed to have ANOTHER big snowstorm today, but surely it will be better by Saturday! Third time's the charm, right? And this is the third time she's made reservations to come see us since before Christmas. To change up a quote a little, I'm going to click my heels 3 times and say "There's No Place Like Mom, There's No Place Like Mom, There's No Place Like Mom!"

Love and peace to everyone!

Elephants versus Dolphins

2011-02-08T13:12:00.000-05:00

I have always been a "dolphin girl." Since I was in high school, dolphins have been my favorite animals. I've read as many books as I could get my hands on. Years ago, I did some dolphin swims, not in a trained dolphin place but where it was more like a natural thing where the dolphins could approach you if they wanted to, but it wasn't like most dolphin swim places, even though they were still in an enclosure. I've always felt that, if I ever did another dolphin swim, it would be in the ocean where they were truly in their own environment. Let's see if the $$$ ever happen for me to do that...LOL!

Somehow, though, in the past few months, I've turned into an "elephant girl" - and no, that's not a comment on my weight! Elephants have become #1 in my animal love space in my heart. I have no idea what happened or why, but I've become sort of obsessed with elephants. It may have been from a book I read part of one day in the bookstore, then ended up ordering from the library, a book called Modoc, The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived, by Ralph Helfer. This was an amazing book about the life of an elephant named, guess what, Modoc....LOL! The main human character was a man who was born on the same day as Modoc, and his father was Modoc's trainer for the circus. They lived most of their lives together, except for a few years when he lost track of where she was. So now I've been watching elephant videos from The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee at www.elephants.com, and checking out and ordering every elephant book I can find from the library. I'm using an elephant as my companion for the Art Journal Caravan - an elephant named Jellie (no clue why I named her that!), when everyone else is using camels. A dear friend of mine gave me, a couple of weeks back, a silver elephant on a chain which I wear often, though not around Jackiebird as she loves to bite through chains around my neck.

So last weekend Santa and I were at the local library, and one of the librarians noticed my necklace, and asked me if I had read the book "Water for Elephants," by Sara Gruen. I had read it a couple of years ago, and loved it! She told me it was coming out in a movie, and I was *so* excited! I searched it out on the web, and found a blog called waterforelephantsfilm.com which has been blogging everything about the upcoming movie, which is coming out April 22...whee, can't wait! Santa said we can see it the day it comes out! It stars Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, and an elephant whose real name is Rosie. It's set in a circus in, I believe, the '40s, and it is such a beautiful story. I've ordered it from the library so I can read it again - apparently even the author was happy with the screenplay, so hopefully it'll be close to the book. So check it out, should be a great movie - I'm recommending it even without seeing it...LOL!

I also found another amazing book at the library, back to dolphins, called "Beautiful Minds, The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins" by Craig B. Stanford and Maddalena Bearzi. Craig has spent his life researching great apes, and Maddalena'a career is as a marine biologist studying dolphins. The book is about the similarities in intelligence of the two species, and also how they are similar to humans. I have just started it, but so far it is amazing.

So there's the story of how I have added another amazing animal to my animal loves. Oh, I forgot to say that my wonderful digital design friend Beth Rimmer has designed for me 3 pink paisley elephants,..LOL! Can't wait to use them on a page!

Peace and love to everyone!

Bummer

2011-02-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

I'm bummed out today, and not exactly sure why. I haven't lit into anybody yet, so maybe I can make it all day without biting off anybody's heads. Oh, I did express some vocal displeasure to Santa about the situation with the air conditioner/heater repairman. There's some problem verifying our warranty, which is good for another 6 years, so the repair guy can't order the parts until it gets resolved. And my mother is coming this weekend, so I would sure like to have some heat or air conditioning, whatever mood Orlando is in at the time. Oh well, it is what it is, I suppose. David's doing a great job of prodding them to get it done, so I'm so grateful to him for that.

I think the main problem with me today is feeling bummed about, first of all, the situation that came up with us last week. I thought things were getting better inside me, but today I don't think so. But someone said something wonderful to me last week - "God doesn't allow pain into our lives unless he's also there to hold our hand through it." That meant so much to me.

Another thing is that I'm having pre-empty next syndrome. Rachel's just 16, so she's not going to be moving out for several years at least, so it's not that part. It has to do with the fact that in 79 days Rachel is going to be able to take her driving test, and she's such a good driver, I can't imagine she won't pass it. This is a good thing. It's going to allow her more independence, another step in growing up. But for me, it feels like a huge loss. I love the time we spend together in the car. We either get to talk to each other, or I get to listen to her awesome music choices from her IPOD - and I'll have no way to find all that cool music for myself once we don't ride in the car much together any more. I was trying to get her to let me download all her music into my ITouch, but it seems like when I talk to her about that she just gets annoyed, so I'm not going to bring that up again. I am going to try to find a way to talk to her about burning me some disks of favorite songs so I can put them on my ITouch myself. She's said she'd do it several times before, but hasn't ever done it (a habit most definitely inherited from me!). It makes me so sad to think about losing that special part of my life. Yes, it will be nice when she can drive herself places, but I'm sure gonna miss her.

My head even tries to run away with how I'm going to feel when she moves out for good. How the heck can I possibly know right now how I'm going to feel? I can't. So what's the point of worrying about it? None. So why am I doing it anyway? I don't know the answer to that question. I do know that I don't always make positive choices in my life, and maybe this is one of those times.

Something really cool occurred to me today. Our Art Journal Caravan verb post this week is "live." I did one with a cool quote "Learn from Yesterday, Live for Today, Hope for Tomorrow," and was happy with it. But then I realized that my very own life statement is about living out loud. And guess what? Maybe living out loud is not always feeling wildly happy and positive emotions. Maybe it's about just FEELING the emotions in the first place, as much as they need to be felt for as long as they need to be felt. And not giving up for some lame reason. The living out loud quote has been my mission statement for 25 years now, and I'm not giving it up for anything. I have noticed, however, that more people are embracing these words and this concept in their lives. I had someone in a scrapbook chat the other night say that they'd like to have that as a scrapbook name, but it was already taken - yes, I have that name at every store I'm registered at, which is a LOT of stores! My husband also pointed out to me that the Oxygen channel has as its theme "Live Out Loud." Hey, did they get my permission? Nope! Oh well, I have no copyright...LOL! I want to read a biography of Emile Zola sometime so I can know just what he felt/meant about living out loud. But no matter what, I've imposed my own interpretation about it, and that's what it means to me. It's being fully present, being willing to take risks, make decisions that may be unpopular, wear strange colors together, say absurd things, run marathons, love fearlessly, every single day. Those are just some of the interpretations.

I have not been in the mood to scrapbook all day, but maybe I'm over that now, so I'm gonna go try it.

Peace and love to everyone!

Single Dad Laughing

2011-02-05T10:27:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite bloggers is Single Dad Laughing - http://www.danoah.com. He is really amazing, and has done the miraculous job of gaining over 50,000 followers since last July (I'm a bit behind, not sure anybody is reading my blog, but I don't care, it's good for me!). Check him out, he's a great writer and picks both funny and timely topics to write about.

So today his post is about feeding dogs from the table. He and his son have adopted a dog, and they are locked in a battle of wills about feeding him from the table - so far they have not caved.

Let me tell you about mealtimes in our house. We sit down at the table to eat, and Luckie takes up his position next to Santa - apparently he gives the most generous tidbits. If we are eating something that is easy to give him small pieces, he gets a FEW bites during the meal - he will sometimes come to me, but mostly it's Santa. If it's not something we can easily feed him bites of, he gets to lick the plates clean, along with a small bit of food we've left him. He's a small dog, a chiweenie (part chihuahua and part dachshund - why did he have to be the breeds with the hardest names to spell? LOL), so he only needs a small amount of food. One of my favorite snacks is swiss cheese and ritz crackers, and he LOVES that - if I say "Luckie let's go get cheese," he beats me to the refrigerator every time. And every time we take him to the vet for his yearly physical, the vet tells us he's very healthy, and just keep feeding him whatever we're feeding him...little does he know, LOL! And if we eat out, which we really rarely do, I try to remember to bring him home a few bites. He always has dog food down, so I certainly don't worry about him starving, but all I've ever seen him eat is sometimes after our meal, he goes to the bowl and eats ONE BITE - now what the heck is the point of that, Luckie?

And then there's Jackiebird, our cockatiel. She also insists on eating with us, and I can't resist her either. I put a small amount of something she's going to like - usually carbohydrates of some sort - on the table near my plate, and she goes to town. At some point in the meal, she checks out the actual food on our plates, but we just shoo her away - as a rule we don't feed her off our plates, but even that "rule" gets broken on occasion. She, too, is very healthy, but unlike Luckie, she eats lots and lots of birdie food and treat sticks.

Don't judge me for feeding my animals people food, please. It doesn't seem to be damaging them in any way, and frankly it makes mealtimes more fun for me. We are very much a "pack" in our house, and it seems right for the pack to eat together. One rule I do follow is that Luckie never gets the first bite of any food - I always have a few bites before giving him anything. I read somewhere that's a dominance issue, and that one I will be faithful to. He has also learned the smell of chocolate, apparently, and does not even bother to beg if we are eating something chocolate, as he knows he won't get that.

So, that's how it is at mealtimes. Be prepared if you come to dinner...LOL!

Peace and love to everyone!

Animal Kingdom Lodge Slideshow

2011-02-04T22:45:00.001-05:00

If you read my previous post, you read that I was either going to get this slideshow to work or be frustrated. Well, turns out it's both. I had them all edited and prettied up, and got those uploaded to Facebook, but can't find them now, so, for now, it's the unedited versions of the pics. Of course, it probably won't bother anyone but me.

The slide show will start automatically, but if it's going too fast, just put your cursor over the picture and click the Pause button. Then you can click the Forward or Back arrows to advance at your own speed.

Hope you like it!

Let's Write!

2011-02-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

I've sorely neglected just writing entries into my blog, so I'm going to just write for a bit.

This has been the week from hell. I think it has been the worst week of my life, because of some things that are not mine to share. I've scrapped very little, and that's not at all like me - I've basically been spending time clicking on every single link of Facebook (GREAT use of time, don't you think?) and watching a webcam that shows two baby hummingbirds in their nest, and you can see the mama feeding them (a little better use of time, but you can only do that so long). It's time to get my act together and start doing something productive, and if I don't get busy blogging, scrapping, and/or commenting on other scrappers' layouts, I'm going to have to do something drastic like clean the garage. That would be tragic!

We had a wonderful night last night at Animal Kingdom Lodge. David, Rachel and I joined Jane and Ron, David's sister and brother-in-law, for dinner at Boma, an amazing restaurant that serves African food buffet style. The dinner was amazing, and the conversation, getting to be with people we care about, was wonderful. I always love it when David and Jane get together because I learn things about their growing-up years that David doesn't remember until Jane reminds him. Ron and Jane live in Port St. Lucie, and they are Disney annual passholders, so they come to Orlando occasionally, usually for just the day, but this time they treated themselves to a night's stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. They said they had a room with a savanna view, which means they get to watch lots of cool animals almost right outside their room. We got there early enough that Rachel and I could take pictures, which was awesome - we got really close to 2 giraffe (did you know that the plural of that word can either be giraffe or giraffes?), a male and a female, and we also saw a number of Roan antelope, some birds that looked a little like pelicans, and some birds that looked like they had the head of a puffin and the body of a turkey. Yep, strange!

On the less exciting side, there were random disturbances at dinner. Now we were seated at the back of the restaurant, far from the host/hostess stand. At random intervals, there would be some REALLY REALLY REALLY LOUD drumming coming from that area - so loud that we could not even begin to hear each other speak. When we were leaving the restaurant, there were 2 of the hostesses playing the drums and 3 others dancing. It was a quaint touch, but it makes you wonder - do they play drums like this during dinner in Africa?

So let's see, I've been emotionally disturbed, got very little scrapping done, had a great time at Animal Kingdom, let the dog out to pee a few times - hmm...doesn't sound like much of a "living out loud" week to me. Time to kick this girl into gear and create some art. I guess I could watch television, but I HATE television except for Survivor, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Bachelor/Bachelorette - oh yes, and GLEE!!!!! Glee is going to have an episode after the Superbowl Sunday night, and I imagine David and I will stay up and watch it - we both really love that show!

One thing that has been shown to me, something I really knew but has been put into action this week, is just how many people love me and will do anything to support me. If you are reading this, you know who you are. I can't imagine my life without my family - both blood family and family of choice. God has blessed me with the most amazing people. I do hope that I am as supportive of them as they are of me - I'm pretty sure I am.

I totally believe that love is the answer to any and all problems we have, and the more we can love, the more our lives will be filled with joy. Every time I see a quote to that effect it gets added to my list of favorites (I keep a wordpad document that I add quotes to routinely). Someone posted as their Facebook status this week that, if people spent as much time loving each other and doing positive things as they did being angry and negative, think what a wonderful world this would be! Everybody isn't going to change overnight - in fact it's doubtful that everybody will change, ever. But I can light my one little candle with love and spread it wherever I go, and I believe I can make a difference in someone's life - my own, if nobody else's. If I'm loving you, I don't have time to be all wrapped up in whatever things I have identified as problems in my life. If I'm looking for ways to show my love to the world, everything looks brighter. That's when I am really and truly living out loud.

So, remember that when your world looks bleak. There's always somebody that can use your love, even if it's the clerk at the bank. You don't have to slobber all over them and hug and kiss them and be excessive - a smile and a compliment will go miles in making someone feel cared about - "I really like your sweater," for example. Just imagine, that person may be totally alone in the world, or at least feel like they are. I think we all remember times when someone, friend or stranger, has said something to us that really made a positive difference in how we felt at that moment. I want to be the initiator of those actions, don't you?

A couple of years ago, I did a project that I want to do again. I made some artist trading cards on the computer, printed them out, and handed them out randomly for the most part, although I did make some that were made for a specific person. An artist trading card is a piece of art that has only one rule - it is 2.5 x 3.5 inches in size. Other than that, anything goes. I made mine on my computer, printed them out on my printer (although you can actually print them out at Walgreen's for whatever cheap price they have going on, 2 ATCs to each 4x6 print), and put them in my wallet. That way, when something happened that was really cool, or when I saw someone who looked like they really needed a pick-me-up, I could pull out one of these cards and give it to them. I used different things from my gargantuan digital scrapbook stash, and either used quotes I love or made up something simple to say, like "You make people smile, thanks for that!". Most of the time I handed it to the person as I was walking away - it wasn't about waiting around for expressions of gratitude (or somebody telling me I was nuts...LOL!). Sometimes I did get feedback later that I had made a positive difference in someone's day, and that was lovely. But no matter what, it made a positive difference in MY day. I think the only thing I will change this time is to write something on the back, in my own handwriting. Some people make their ATCs by hand, but I'm more of a digital artist sort of girl.

Wow, now I'm excited about this! I think I'll end this and go make some art!

Peace and love to everyone!

PS - Before I start arting, I'm going to try to put a slide show of my Animal Kingdom Lodge pictures on my blog, so if you see it, you'll know I was successful, and if you don't, you'll know it was too frustrating!

Project 365 - Day 35

2011-02-04T21:13:00.000-05:00

Day 35 - February 4

So, Rachel has been telling me about this ice cream shop in Kissimmee that has the most delicious ice cream in the world. Well guess what - she was OH SO RIGHT!!!!! This is a picture of our order - I had peaches and cheesecake, she had strawberries, raspberries, and cheesecake. The shop is called Pure Magic, and the name does not lie.

Here's the process. You pick your size (this is small, and it's HUGE - I think it would take Paul Bunyan to eat a large!), and you pick your added ingredients, out of a list of about 50 things. They take a big metal bowl, pour in cream, and put in your chosen added ingredients. Then they mix everything up, then they freeze it with nitrogen (at least I think that's what it is, forgive me if I'm way off base) - cold smoke pouring out everywhere! Then they bring the bowl back to the counter, still smoking like crazy, and keep stirring it up until it's all frozen into ice cream. Then you take your first bite and melt on the floor because it is so heavenly.

So, if you like ice cream, check out Pure Magic. But try to be choosy about when you go - the girl that waited on us said that the line routinely gets to be an hour's wait - and that people wait that long for this. Not sure I would, but I might, who knows? And if you don't like ice cream, I advise you to seek professional help...LOL!

We went for ice cream after I took Rachel to the doctor - she has a bad case of bronchitis and has not been to school the last 3 days. Hopefully with antibiotics she'll start getting better fast, but the doc said it very well could be viral, and she may get worse before she gets better. I hate this - moms never like their babies to be sick, right?

Peace and love to everyone!

Project 365 - Day 34

2011-02-04T21:11:00.000-05:00

Day 34 - February 3

Tonight we went to Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney to have dinner with Jane and Ron, Santa's sister and her husband. We went about an hour early so I could take pictures - and look how close I got to the giraffes! This is a "savanna" behind the hotel - I'd say that's a pretty loose usage of the term since they've hung up a bucket of something tasty that the giraffes are eating in this picture, not like they just wandered up of their own volition. Plus this is 15 minutes from our house - but that's pretty cool, actually, that we live so close to giraffes and elephants! Nevertheless, I got to see them very close up, and it was wonderful. The guy in the foreground is a Roan antelope. I know this because there were signs identifying the animals, not because I'm some sort of zoology specialist...LOL!

We had a lovely dinner at Boma, which serves African food buffet-style. It was really good - and the deserts were to-die-for! I always love it when Santa and his sister get together, because she talks about stuff that happened when they were growing up that Santa doesn't remember, so I get to learn lots of new things.

The only down side to the meal was that the hosts and/or hostesses would start playing these VERY VERY VERY LOUD drums at the most random times - we were seated at the back of the restaurant, and when they started playing we couldn't hear a word anyone else was saying. When we were leaving, there was a group of young women with 2 playing drums and 5 other ones dancing to the beat - they appeared to be African women probably here on Disney's college program, but hopefully they don't play drums like that during dinner in Africa. They did dance a bit with 2 little girls, so maybe there was a small redeeming value in what they were doing.

I don't mean to make it sound like we had a bad time, because we certainly didn't - it was just wonderful to get to see Ron and Jane, and can't wait to do it again.

Peace and love to everyone!

Project 365 - Day 33

2011-02-04T21:07:00.001-05:00

Day 33 - February 2

Yes, I still owe you some pictures. I promise they are coming!

This is how my poor daughter spent her day, snuggled with Luckie on the couch, underneath the oh-so-comfy blanket that she got from the Gordons for Christmas...and notice the Kleenex box, she made good use of that too. I feel so bad for her...moms hate it when their babies are sick, no matter how old they are. She's staying home tomorrow too, so hopefully that will help her be on the mend.

The day was tough. Tough stuff going on right now. But we are family, and we will all emerge stronger and love each other even more.

Peace and love to everyone!

Cool Quote

2011-02-04T20:04:00.000-05:00

I got this from this really really cool lady's blog:

“Your imagination is your preview to life’s coming attractions.”

-Albert Einstein

Thanks Eveleena, you beautiful woman you!

New Art Journal Caravan Layout

2011-02-04T01:24:00.000-05:00

This was a really tough layout to do, but it brought with it at least a small bit of healing. I've had some really hard things to deal with this week, and this layout is a visual of how I have been feeling - that my feelings are consuming me. As always, click on the image to see a larger version.

Peace and love to everyone!

Project 365 - Day 30

2011-02-03T16:32:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of the 3 crossword puzzles that are in the Orlando Sentinel every Sunday. I should have zoomed in on one of them better so you could see it. My amazing husband's daily routine consists of doing the crossword in the paper EVERY day, and ALL IN PEN!!! Sometimes he has to cross out a letter or two, but mostly he gets it all right the first time. Sundays obviously take him longer, with 3 crosswords, plus I think he said 2 word scrambles that I didn't get a photo of. I am justs in awe of people who do crossword puzzles - I don't even attempt them unless it's a choice between that and death by boredom. So, hats off to Santa - he's the smartest guy I know!!!

Peace and love to everyone!

Project 365 - Day 29

2011-02-03T16:21:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm a bit out of order in posting my photos this week, due to technical difficulties beyond my control. But don't worry, I'll get on track again posthaste!

Isn't this a beautiful quilt? My sweet mother made this for David and me 2 years ago, and she quilted it all when she was visiting at our house, so I have lovely memories (and a couple of photos) of her quilting it. The colors are so beautiful, and we just love sleeping under it. Mom has made a number of quilts over the years, but she's slowing down on it because her vision isn't as good. I have always treasured her art, and this makes me treasure it even more.

Peace and love to everyone!

February Desktop

2011-01-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

This is a desktop I created for a challenge at Scrapbookgraphics, using Studio Gypsy's "Do That Thing" kit. Lisa gave me permission to give it away on my blog, so I hereby offer it to anyone who might be interested in having a copy for their own. Since I think I have zero followers, I'm not going to set it up as a download, but I will send you the file, and if I get enough requests, I'll set up downloads in the future!

Isn't this an awesome kit?

Thanks for looking...peace and love to everyone!