The Ashcraft Family

I Think I Finally Get It, too...

2012-01-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

I subscribe to a LOT of blogs and don't tend to read the lengthy ones unless there is a cute scrapbook page or great photos that catch my eye. Sometimes not even then, I will just cheat and skim over the images without reading a word.

But somehow, today, this one caught my eye. Maybe it was the title "Holy Sh*t, I Think I Finally Get It", or maybe it was just intuition that kept me reading, but by the end I was in tears and when I continued to the article she attached, I cried even more, laughed, and ended up feeling somewhat normal again.

Being a mom has brought me great joy, but it's also been a challenge too. Something a lot if people neglect to tell you as you go through this process. But today, after reading both of these, I think I finally get it, too.

A Comparison

2012-01-14T15:39:00.000-08:00

I had the hardest time finding anything in my little one that resembled me. Everyone agreed he looks so much like Jonathan! But my step mom brought up how she hadn't ever seen Jonathan's baby pictures to compare David to. So I had to put these together to do a little comparison. The second I brought up my baby photo, I knew everyone was wrong, he looks like me after all.

That is Jonathan on the left (when you are looking at it), David in the middle, and me on the right on the blue blanket.

What do you think???

Hello 2012!

2012-01-09T10:39:00.001-08:00

Wow! Not a single post in 2011! Life ended up being a little busy, but little did I know how much more busy it could get!

I spent most of 2011 baking my little boy in my belly. It was a challenging pregnancy full of almost six months of all day sickness, bouts of bed rest, and lots of pain from a torn muscle in my side. But all ended well, with the arrival of this little guy on December 15, 2011.

Welcome David Michael Ashcraft. 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and 21 inches long. Of course, he is three weeks now, so he is already bigger and growing way too fast!

In order to help document his first year of life, I have every intention of participating in Project Life this year. So far, I am on track, but it is time consuming, so I am hoping I can keep up. This project is geared toward documenting the every day. I think about how awesome it would be to have an album like this of my first year of life or my parents first year... or any year, and I can't help but be excited about what this will mean to our little guy when he grows up.

My plan of attack is to just keep shooting photos and try on the weekend to keep up on journaling. I am also planning on using the Monthly Roundup that Katie the Scrapbook Lady came up with. I figured even if I can get a monthly two page spread together using the roundup as a base, I will have a years worth of photos and memories documented in Project Life. So far, I have been able to keep it weekly (of course we are only one week in!), and I hope to keep it that way, but my goal has been a monthly spread, so if I end up finding weekly too overwhelming, at least I am not too disappointed to go back to my original plan.

So far I am doing a combo of paper and digital. I hate my handwriting so my journaling is all digital. But I plan to print everything, including photos and put them in the book with some paper and 3-D elements. Here is my week 1 spread. When I print the photos and actually get it into a book, I plan to round the corners, but in the mean time, at least the digi version is done!

I look forward to what other creative sparks will fly in 2012!

2010 To "Do" List Warp-Up

2010-12-31T00:51:00.000-08:00

I started out 2010 with my one little word to live by: “Do.” My list of things that I wanted to do in 2010 was pretty intense, but overall, I think I did pretty darn good. In honor of the close of the year, here is my wrap up of what I as able to ‘Do”:

* Learn something new - I am not so sure I learned something new every week, but I did stick to the list and learned a bit more of sign language, took a class on using my sewing machine, not only learned how to quilt, but completed one, and also took my camera out more and started reading the manual.

* Try new recipes – Maybe not one a month, but here is a list of the new recipes I did make this year: French onion Soup, Chicken Picata, Twice Baked Potatoes, Truly the Best Frosting I Have Ever Tasted, Chicken Fried Steak (from her book, but the Round Steak recipe found here is close), The yummiest Mashed Potatoes I Have Ever Tasted , Friend Mozzarella Sticks, Butter Toffee, Creamy Pesto Chicken (I forget where I got this recipe), A delicious pulled pork with apple cider vinegar (I can’t remember where this one was from either), and even though I have eaten plenty of it, I have never made it myself, so I count my Mother-in-Law’s Rocky Road candy. My crowning achievement of the year was learning how to properly make gravy for the very first time! I was SO proud when the gravy actually came out the right consistency (and tasted good too)! So, though they may not have been one per month, I did make at least 12 new recipes this year!

I have found new love for my kitchen after cooking all of this yumminess. I was not disappointed in a single recipe. In honor of my new found love, Santa was very good to me this year and brought me lots of new kitchen gadgets to try out next year. I think I will continue this part of my to “Do” list for years to come.

* Read more – Though I didn’t necessarily get through a lot of classics I have not read before, I did get through a lot of books. I joined a book club and the first four months I have been to during 2010 involved Jane Austen classics that I have ready over and over already. But I read them again for the meetup and got a refresher, so I count them! The books I did read this year were: Classics: Daniel Deronda , The House of Mirth, Dangerous Liaisons, Pride and Prejudice (re-read), Mansfield Park (re-read), Sense and Sensibility (re-read), and Emma (re-read). Modern: Eat, Pray, Love, The Help, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

I also consider it a pretty big accomplishment that I decided to tackled Clarissa this year, of which, I am about half way through. It really must be THE longest book in the world and something like 8000 pages. I am determined to finish this one soon. Not that it's bad, it just is really really really LONG.

* Take more pictures - I think I had the hardest time with this one this year. Although I did have a LOT more camera clicks this year because I went to a lot of model events, and did start a business which actually brought in some paying photography jobs, I found that I am not pulling out my camera for the everyday stuff I was hoping to capture. My hope is that everyone gets so used to me carrying it around with me everywhere that it becomes part of me. A friend I don’t see very often saw me earlier this year at an event and said hello to me in passing when I arrived. I came back later with my camera and he said “Oh there you are! It was hard to recognize you at first without your camera.” That’s who I want to be all the time!

* Move more – Another tough one. Although I did not establish any regular routine, I do take the dog out for a walk more often after work now. I did walk a gazzilion miles while on vacation on the East Coast (especially New York, and I did lose 20 pounds over the course of the year and have managed to keep it off through the holidays, EVEN with the all the awesome cooking going on in my household (refer above).

So goodbye to 2010. I believe I checked off quite a bit from my to “Do” list. Now I have to think of a new word for 2011 in the next few hours!

Hello December...

2010-12-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

Hello to December
Hello to waking up to 32 degree weather
Hello to 15 minute defrost delays in the car every morning
Hello to yummy Peppermint Hot Chocolates
Hello to the holidays
Hello to my welcome friend!

To December Daily or not....AGAIN???

2010-11-15T18:03:00.000-08:00

My debate continues this year as it did last year... to December Daily or not to December Daily? I think I am ready. Lord knows I have collected enough holiday themed scrapbook items to create them for the rest of my life! But it is a bit of commitment during what is already a crazy time.

So in order to try and get myself motivated, I FINALLY took detailed photos of the one I created in 2008. They are posted Here on Flickr

And for even further inspiration, even though I decided not to tackle a December Daily last year, I still had tons of photos I wanted to scrap and felt the need to at least make a mini album out of them. So without further ado, my semi-December not so Daily of 2009 (More appropriately titled "December Celebrations":

More Photos from the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-09T12:36:00.001-07:00

From our annual visit to the Bishop's Pumpkin Patch.

This is the reaction I get every time she sees me!

Auntieeeeeeeee!

First a visit to the petting zoo

Talking to the cows... Moooooo!

And on to the bouncy area.

Next to the play area

And finally to the pumpkins

I love how she kept trying to pick up the really big ones!

One Year Later....

2010-10-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

Apparently I have been a disappointing blogger lately. If you couldn't tell from the fact that it's been six months since my last post, much to my sister's dismay. So this one's for you Melanie.

We went to the Bishop's Pumpkin patch again this year. It's amazing to see what a difference a year can make.

Just one year later and she is looking so grown up already.

Hopefully I can get back in to blogging soon. It forces me to actually correct my photos and get them posted so they don't keep sitting on my hard drive collecting digital dust.

February Update - 2010 To "Do" List

2010-04-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

Way, way behind, but it's the thought that counts!

New Recipe -

Another Pioneer Woman recipe from her blog. This time it was something I have sadly never tasted the deliciousness of before. Her Twice Baked Potatoes recipe is to die for. I can't believe I have never had these before. I am a fan of the potato and this was one I have definitely been missing. Here is the outcome:

So one thing I learned when going back through these photos is 1. I need better lighting in my kitchen (thankfully the hubby already fixed that for me) and 2. I need to learn how to take better food photos (Unfortunately, hubby can't really fix that one for me!)

These yummy potatoes were my Valentine's Day dinner surprise for that awesome hubby o' mine. To go with them is my secret recipe baby back ribs. Ok, maybe not so secret since I am going to post the recipe here:

Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs

1 tbs salt
1 tbs freshly ground or crushed black pepper
2 tbs sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tbs paprika

This is plenty o' rub for two full racks. Mix the ingredients above in a small bowl and sprinkle both sides of the rib racks generously with mixture. I usually get pretty dirty and actually rub the mixture into the meat, but your level of contact is up to you! Let the seasoning sit on there as long as possible (a few hours if you got it!). Preheat the oven to 300 and bake for about 2 hours. When done baking, turn on the broiler (or turn your oven up as high as it goes) and pop those suckers right under the heat for about five minutes or until they get a little crisp outside. And viola! Ribs are done.

** NOTE** The secret to making this rub work is the pairing of the BBQ sauce. It works best with a sweet sauce. Our personal favorite is from Smokin Mo's BBQ called Sweet Carolina. They only have a few locations, so we always stock up when we go by one. They also have a website where you can order a variety pack or a case here. And trust me, we could use a case up pretty quickly around here. There is nothing quite like this sauce!

Learn Something New

February was an amazing month for me. It was the month I took these photos. It's taken me until this actual photoshoot for me to realize I really do have something special when it comes to photography. I have been shooting for years, worked for a photographer, even freelanced for a magazine, but up until this point on this actual day in February when I sat looking through these photos, I finally learned that I actually have a knack for this.

So with great vengeance and determination, I set out to finally set up my own photography business. So most of my learn something new stuff for the past few months has been focused around building a business. Applying for a license, finding insurance resources, setting up a domain name, ordering business cards, and still trying to improve my skills as well.

A lot of my time was spent building my website, but thankfully I finally got it complete. Here it is: Lynne Ashcraft Photography. With a website, I finally feel legit! More on the progress of the business later...

Read More

In February I finished the classic novel Daniel Deronda by George Elliott. I am not sure what to say about this novel. First would be that it was incredibly long! Not Moby Dick long, but loooooong. And I think it seemed longer to me because I really did not like the heroine. I am not even sure she was meant to be a heroine. But if she wasn't, he sure did spend a lot of time writing about her. But I did love Daniel. And it was some interested insight into how Jewish people were viewed back in the late 1800's.

Take More Pictures
See post above about Learn Something New. More to come...

Move More

This is the one I have struggled with the most. But I have at least tried. Even if it is just Wii Fit every now and then... I guess the animals are so excited they want to get in on the action too!

2010 To "Do" List - an Update

2010-04-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

I would be like most if I was posting on here that I had lost steam on my 2010 To "Do" List, but I am proud to say, I have actually stuck to it. I am just INCREDIBLY slow to share the news!

So I have decided to limit myself to monthly updates on my progress. I am already way behind, but hope to have something posted for February tomorrow. And for March later in the week. So stay tuned!!!

Ready... Set... GO!

2010-02-09T16:56:00.001-08:00

This is our niece Isabella playing one of her favorite games with Jonathan....

Ready.... Set....

GO!

Yep, she loves her Uncle Jonathan!

2010 To "Do" List - Learn Something New, Week #4

2010-02-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm slow to post, but I actually have been on the ball with keeping up with my 2010 To "Do" list. So in week 4, I conquered my desire to learn how to use this monster...

Ok, so it's not really a monster, but I've had it for two years and it's stayed in the closet the whole time, so it could double for a monster lately. But I decided to dust it off for a trip to Joann's for a basic sewing class. I've sewed before as a kid, but my mom set everything up and all I had to do was stitch, so I've been lost when it comes to trying it on my own. Thankfully, the lady that taught the class helped fixed my machine too.... I guess the lack of use got a little too overwhelming for the machine or something. By the end of the night, I was officially sewing with my machine and had created this darling little bag...

Now, I have my monster sitting on a table in our office... and if I am hoping if I just keep it out of the closet for a while, it doesn't just become part of the decor and I will actually make something with it eventually!

2010 To "Do" List - Learn Something New, Week #3

2010-01-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

In Week 3 of my 2010 "To" Do List, I spent some time at a Click Moneky's Meetup where we all gathered to share our hoarded treasures, ie photography equipment. It was a rainy night, so I didn't bring much (so that I didn't have to haul it in from the car), but there was lots of other treasures there that others had to share. From lighting systems (including a six foot soft box - yikes!), to the Time Engle's trademark flashlight collection, to this little gem that I fell in love with...

Kiny Mccarrick brought her creation to share. An old 2 1/4 film camera that she had adapted to use her DSLR with. You get all the grain and feel of vintage photos, but the freedom of the digi world (without superimposed post production). She rigged it by attaching a cut up cereal box and lots of electrical tape to enclose it for the length that she needed.

Here are some samples of what she was able to do with this.

So what did I learn this week? A little about soft boxes, a few new things about lighting possibilities, but mostly, a LOT about how much I still have to learn. But like I shared at the meeting with those just starting out, a wise man (and great photographer) once told me, "You can learn the technical stuff as you go, ...but you can't learn the eye. If you have the eye, you have what it takes." I really hope that saying starts to sink in for me soon.

2010 To "Do" List - Learn Something New, Week #2

2010-01-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

As I prepare for the launch of the 2010 Library of Memories class at Big Picture Scrapbooking, I started considering switching to a digital version of the LOM system. I spent a lot of time and money to start this system and felt really energized and reinvested in my scrapbooking creativity, but I haven't really used or kept up with it. So much still sits on my computer because I take SO many pictures, it would be overwhelming in time and especially cost, to keep up with it. So maybe a digital version is the answer for me. However.... when I started this LOM group on yahoo, I also started using ACDSee to catagorize the existing photos I had on my hard drive. Over the course of a few weeks, I spent about 30-40 hours working on getting all my photos tagged. But alas, after several hard drive crashes in my computer enhanced life, you would think I had learned my lesson and started backing EVERYTHING up! But I didn't. And I lost it all. Including three months worth of photos. Thankfully, I had printed some of those because of the LOM system and had (some of) them already printed so I could re-scan them. Now, as I consider re-organizing my system and switching to digital, I was a bit weary of investing all the time to re-catagorize everything and risk losing it again. So I wanted to make sure ACDSee could do what I needed.

This week I actually sat down and read the ACDSee users manual from cover to cover. I did invest in the 2009 version a couple of years ago. I also use Picasa, which is a free photo organization system, for organizing all my digital scrapbook stuff, and either would work, but now that I actually read the ACDSee users manual, I am glad I invested in it.

So what are some of features I learned to "do" when I read the manual you ask? Well, for one, they emphasis MULTIPLE times to back up your directory often! Too bad I didn't read this earlier. But I also learned, I can keyword and categorize all of my images without having to keep them all on my hard drive.

It will automatically create image thumbnails so I can keep the larger version somewhere else outside of my hard drive and free up that space. (Speaking of which, I now religiously back up all of my images to an external hard drive and burn them to CD, like a good girl should!) I can back up the directory to CD or to my external hard drive as well and it will back up the thumbnails with it.

I also learned that using keywords rather than categorizing may suit my needs more.

I originally used a ton of categories, but then found that if I wanted to find a picture of say me and my Dad together, and I clicked on my name and I clicked on his name, it gives me every photo I am in and every photo he is in. If I use the keywords instead, I can search for keywords and specify that I only want it to show me photos with Both words, or with either word. Yay!

So now that I am about 99% sure I am going to switch to a digital LOM version, I started thinking about all the photos and film that still need to be digitized. Yikes! But it's been a fun weekend going through old film and photos and looking at all those images. Especially those from when I first started out as an amateur photographer. I miss those days where you had no choice but to shoot in Manual mode, the says of black and white film and mounted transparencies, the days where you had to rely on what you knew and couldn't see the product of what you shot until you were in the dark room. But then again, I wouldn't give up my DSLR for anything!

I don't want to sound like a spokesperson for ACDSee. There's plenty of other photo organizing software options out there. The point for me was that that something I already purchased had the capabilities to do what I need, but because I didn't take 30 minutes to sit down and read the manual, I lost out on so many more great things that it can do for me beyond what I ever imagined it could do. What I learned wasn't so much about a new program or reading a manual, but more about how I limit myself by being lazy and thinking I can figure it out on my own. Maybe this is a bigger lesson that will help me realize that a little effort now, saves a lot of frustration later.

2010 To "Do" List - Read More

2010-01-16T11:23:00.000-08:00

I finished this book last week...

Not a classic novel, so it really shouldn't count as part of my to "Do" List, but it did get me back in to the reading every day mode. I saw the movie on Christmas Eve (yeah - a real FUN movie to watch for the holidays!) and decided to read the book after Christmas to see how different it truly was. I used my handy Kindle app on my new iTouch and read the whole book from there! One of the features of the Kindle app is that you can highlight some of your favorite quotes to refer to later. So here are some of mine...

"A photo says, You were happy, and I wanted to catch that. A photo says, You were so important to me that I put down everything else to come and watch." - From a photographer's standpoint, I LOVED this quote!

"The human capacity for burden is like bamboo - far more flexible than you'd believe at first glance."

"And the very act of living is a tide; at first it seems to make no difference at all, and then one day you look down and see how much has eroded."

There were more that I liked, but I didn't learn to use the highlight function until about halfway through the book! Ooops. Now I am working on one of my classic novels. Not sure what to think yet since I don't really like the lead female character. We'll see how this one turns out.

2010 To "Do" List - Learn Something New, Week #1

2010-01-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

There are a TON of resources out there for learning American Sign Language (ASL). Some differ in quality but the couple I have found really delve into the culture and some the semantics, which are a huge part of the language and understanding it's proper application. I found some podcsts through USI with video webcasts of the sign language course. It's nice to see the teahcers assistant (who is hearing impaired) sign all the vocab words and see the proper way to use them. I have made it through course five this week and have picked up some new words. There is also a Sac State teacher who has a website at lifeprint.com where I have already learned a lot of words, but the new words I can claim from the podcast this week are...

NEW WORDS:
Cousin
Roommate
Boyfriend/Girl Friend
Grandchild(ren)
Grandson/Granddaughter
Brother/Sister-in-Law
Step-Dad/Step-Mom
Parents
Nephew/Niece

REVIEW:
Dad
Mom
Grandpa
Grandma
Man
Lady
Boy
Girl
Kids
Friends
Baby
Uncle
Aunt
Brother
Sister
Family

2010 To "Do" List - New Recipe #1

2010-01-09T12:48:00.000-08:00

2010 is already off to a good start! I have successfully created a brand new recipe, much to the delight of my hubby. I can't tell who is more excited about this goal for the year - me or him! He's already thinking up a list of things he wants to try.

But for this first one was of my choosing. After all the holiday festivities and heavy eating, I felt like making something light and this recipe for French Onion Soup by the Pioneer Woman, one of my favorite bloggers to follow.

The recipe seemed easy enough and sounded delicious, so off I went on my quest to try a new recipe! It does take quite a while to prepare, but it wasn't difficult and was well worth it!

I ran off to the store, and unfortunately, forgot the recipe, so thanks to some help from Jonathan via phone reading it off to me, I successfully returned with my list of items complete.

The most difficult item to find was the Gruyere cheese. Sure, you can sub for other boring cheeses like swiss or mozzarella, but I was committed to whole process and determined to try it like she suggests. It only took two stores to find it, and in the end, Bel Air was the lucky winner of my ten dollars for 5 ounces of cheese. This is what ten dollars of cheese looks like, by the way!

Not much... But I will say, she was right, it's worth it!

So the cooking adventure began. The chopped onions got the best of me and I was a crying mess by the end of it. But this sure was a LOT of onions to cry my way through...

In hind sight, I really wish I would have re-read the WHOLE recipe earlier in the day. Turns out when it says two hours cooking time, she's not kidding! I somehow missed that little detail and didn't get started until almost six. So it was a late dinner for us that night. The picture doesn't do it justice, because Boy, was it yummy!

New Year, new me... Time to "Do"

2010-01-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions. I tend to get motivated to make one, then the idea fizzles within a few weeks. But somehow, this year, I know I need something.

I've been a fan of Ali Edwards for quite a while, and every year, instead of resolution, she chooses a word to live by. Something that helps her focus on what she wants to achieve in the coming year.

I've never been very dedicated to much of anything (except my husband!). I tend to start lots of projects and never finish. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things I have accomplished that I am very proud of, like completing my AA degree in two and a half years while working full-time! But then I stopped, as is the case in most of my life.

So this year, it's a new year, a new decade, a new chance. I've been at a point over the last few months where I am ready for a change. The other day, I was thinking about all this and weighing whether I should have a word or not, when it suddenly dawned on me what an appropriate word for me would be... and that is "Do." There's so much I want to learn, want to experience, want to complete, but that want has never formed into anything because I never take initiative to just "do" them.

So here are my things to "DO" this year:

* Learn something new - I have always wanted to learn sign language, how to use my sewing machine, how to quilt, how to use my camera. I challenge myself to "do" just that by learning something new at least once a week. That's a huge challenge to undertake, but hey, even if it's one sign, one stitch, or one page of my camera manual, that's one more piece of knowledge then I had the previous week.

* Try new recipes - Jonathan is particularly excited about this one. I love to cook, but rarely try anything new. I recently made these Monkey Muffins from a Pioneer Woman recipe, and they were YUMMY! I loved the outcome and how good it felt to try something new (and it helped that it was successful!) It reminded me of a time about nine years ago when I was working from home and watching cooking shows all day. There was a gourmet breakfast recipe that I decided to try and it turned out awesome. The presentation was exquisite, the food was delicious, and the feeling I got of being proud about what I had created was priceless. There's lots of foods I have never branched out and learned how to cook. Now I will "do" just that. I think I will make this one a bit more manageable and make at least one new recipe a month. Then if I make more, I can exceed!

* Read more - I go through phases of this. I tend to read a LOT for a while, then can go for months without reading anything. I have wanted to read the Top 100 Classic Books. There's a lot of different lists out there, but most of them are fairly close to each other. I am about half way through, which is definitely a huge accomplishment, but again, haven't finished (or even been working on it for a while). So I will "do" more reading and dedicate myself to at least one new classic novel a month, even if I have to juggle it with some of the more recent stuff I have been reading lately.

* Take more pictures - Part of learning about my camera, is also to use it. I will "do" that this year, even if it is just an every day photo of something boring around the house, or something boring about me. I will take at least one new photo a week.

* Move more - I know, I know, this is the one that we all say we are going to do at the beginning of the year and don't stick to it. This year, I am trying a different approach. I am not saying I need to lose weight (even though I do!), or I am going to start going to the gym every day (don't get crazy), I am just saying what I think I will "do". And that is to move more. Whether it's on the treadmill, taking the dog for a walk, actually taking a break at work and using it to walk around a bit, or maybe just doing some Wii Fit fun stuff. I think I can "do" that at least three times a week.

It seems pretty real to be putting this all on my blog. Now I know I have to dedicate myself to it. I remember when I was 19, my friends and I decided to do a life book collage. One of my friends knew that putting your dreams or hopes or wants into words or pictures, made them more tangible. So we sat around one night and cut up magazine and made our book of dreams. It seemed so far away and unrealisitic at 19.

Now, I think back to that book, though I haven't look at it in over ten year, and I can remember what I put in it... a car (I didn't have one at the time, so this was a BIG deal! Check), my AA degree (check), love (check), marry an awesome man (check), vacation in Hawaii (check check!), a house (check), a job I enjoy (check), kids (well, that's still a work in progress, but we'll get there eventually)... I have achieved most of those things. And those that I haven't, are still in progress and I am still working on them. Maybe putting all these things I plan to, strike that, thing I am GOING to "do", will make them more tangible too.

So how about you? Any resolutions or word to live by in 2010?

Christmas Festivities

2009-12-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

This year, Christmas dinner was at Mae-Mae and Papa's house. And this is how we celebrated....

Hello Santa!

2009-12-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

Our tradition continued with our annual visit from Santa at auntie's house. I recently bought a Gary Fong 1/2 cloud Light Diffuser for my flash and I must say I am impressed so far. I kind of wish I would have bought the cloud instead of the half cloud, but hey, there's no harm in having one of each eventually. Sometimes the Santa photos are touch and go. Poor lighting, too much movement, anxious kiddos, and on and on. But this year, Santa was on a roll with making sure I got a good shot (and the diffuser helped a LOT too!) Here are some highlights:

Can you tell we had fun?

Festival of Lights

2009-12-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

Last night Jonathan and I went to Auburn to attend the Festival of Lights Parade. Apparently, it is a really big deal for the locals to all come out and begin their holiday season with these festivities. We got there early and staked out our spot and then did some sight seeing.

We found a real record store on our walk! I was so excited to see their Christmas album display int he window!

Then we went to dinner at an awesome bar and grill in downtown Auburn. I wish I could remember the name of the place, but I am sure we will go back some day. Great food, awesome drinks, and a nice atmosphere.

Then we were off to watch the parade. I don't know who this guy is, but we sat next to him and I just HAD to get a picture of him, since I really don't think this smile EVER came off his face the whole parade.

Jonathan was like a little kid himself. He waved at all the people waving from the floats and yelled out Merry Christmas when they passed. It was so cute! This photo came out blurry, but I love that you can tell how excited he was.

Then there were the floats. This was my favorite.

This was Jonathan's. They were marchers in front of their float, and who can resist a lit up Boba Fett, Darth Vader, and all the Storm troopers?

And the real reason why we went was to see Samantha in the parade. She was with her 4H group riding on the float that they made. Here she is (with Jacqueline and Hannah too!)...

And their float...

And what Christmas parade would be complete without Santa!

If you get a chance to go out next year, I would highly recommend it. It was a really fun time with a great community and we were still home before 8!

Another Layout

2009-11-30T18:59:00.000-08:00

They are few and far between, but they are actually getting accomplished nonetheless. Here is the layout I created for the pumpkin patch visit we took in early October.

Scraplift from a sketch in Scrapbooks Etc Magazine. PP: Bo Bunny. White and Orange Cardstock: Bazzil. Stampin'Up scalloped border punch (for the small scallops, I hand cut the larger one). Brown Letter Stickers; Scenic Route (sigh - I'm sad to see them close their doors). Font: Angelina (for the journaling and the "patch" in the title, which was cut on my Wishblade).

It feels good to be creating again. Oh how I have missed you. I hope I don't let the chaos of the holiday season make me lose sight of that again.

On a lighter note

2009-11-05T20:30:00.001-08:00

Here are the other layouts I've finished so far for Ali's class:

The Cover Page

The template and words are by Ali Edwards, The papers are digital from Michelle Martin's Manchster kit at Designer Digitals, the tag is Making Memories,The outline is from a Jen Caputo template from Scrapbook Graphics

And this layout is about random Childhood Memories.

The template are the frame for the journaling blocks are by Ali Edwards. The ribbons are mostly Creative Imaginations and some others from my stash. The cardstock is Bazzil and I used is Calibri.

This was a tough one...

2009-11-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

I have been multi-tasking my classes lately. One of them is the Ali Edwards class at BPS called Yesterday and Today. I have been so inspired by the class and am (for the most part) actually keeping up to date on the layout assignments. Well, she didn't take it easy on us. In week 4, she asked us to do a layout about a challenge in our life, because those are what makes who we are along with the good stuff.

I struggled with this one... I knew in the back of my head it's been almost two years since the foster kids left us and I still hadn't scrapped a single picture of them. They were all still hiding on my hard drive, waiting to tell their story. So I finally buckled down with this challenge and got up a couple Saturdays ago, sat at my computer, and started typing. Before I knew it, the words were flowing, and so were my tears. It was very difficult to get through, but quite therapeutic in the end.

So to go along with my blog class, Shimelle talked yesterday about posting layouts that maybe you don't want too much info out on. And of course, for legal purposes, I can't post photos or their names. So here is the edited result of my layout...

If you click on the image, it will enlarge it and you can read the journaling. It's rather lengthy, but once I got started, I couldn't stop! There was a lot more to tell in this story then I thought there was.

I am really glad I did this layout. Hopefully it'll help me bring a little closure to that chapter in my life.

Blogging fro the bloggily challenged

2009-11-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know that's not a real term, and probably horrible grammer... but I must admit, my name is Lynne and I am blog challenged! I originally started this blog to document the every day. To use it as a tool to help with my scrapping since life gets really busy and I forget what happened this morning, let alone last month. But it's been a challenge to keep it updated.

I have been seeing it lately as a chore rather than a tool. So I joined a class called Blogging for Scrapbookers at Shimelle.com and I have already learned a lot on Day 1. I can't believe how much time I was wasting surfing from blog to blog for updates when Google has a great tool to do it for you! Ahhh, Google Reader, where have you been all my life?

So my quandary lately is .. to December Daily or not to December Daily? I did an album last year, like so...

This turned out to be my most favorite project that I have ever created... but alas... I wonder if it will get boring if I do it every year. Not much has changed. Except my job... and Jonathan's job... and our nieces and nephews are bigger... and I'll probably be taking a lot more holiday photos for other families this year... hmmmm...Boring, boring me.

Budget Lighting Model Shoot

2009-10-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had an amazing opportunity to attend a seminar through a meetup group Click Monkeys. Time Engle was the host and taught us about his lighting system while allowing us an opportunity to photograph some models he had brought in his different lighting scenarios. Here are my results...

This is Naomi Garner

AND this is Kaitlyn Methot

And my FAVORITE from the day....

Pumpkin Patch Take 2

2009-10-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a trip back to the Pumpkin Patch with the Intiso's. Sometimes Isabella is so adorable, it kills me. I loved going through these photos and have a hard time picking favorites since they are all so darn cute!

Ok I lied. This is my favorite!

The Smisor Family

2009-10-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting with the Smisor family at the Wheatland Pumpkin Patch and shooting some photos for them. Their little girl Maya was adorable and so full of life and cute smiles. Thanks to Denise and her family for the experience. Here are the results!

A Family Reunion, of sorts

2009-08-26T19:33:00.001-07:00

Whenever my brother and his family come to visit, we always try to get the family together. Since it's been over two years since we all were in a photo together, I mentioned in passing how I would like to get a new family photo. Lo and behold, I was committed to the new family photo project last weekend. I was stressed about it for a while but all in all, every one is used to my process by now and even the kids were very cooperative! Although I wish I had a better background to work with, I am happy with the outcome... and you really should have seen it before I Photoshoped it! But here it is... my family...minus Deanna and Devin...

And the I got a couple shots of my brother and his family who always look great!

We had some fun times in the pool and hanging out together. And I couldn't quite tell whether Shawn or the kids were having more fun with his throwing them around in the pool! But it made for some really good photos!

And my favorite of the day!

Jonathan calls this photo her "Papa look" cause she looks just like my dad when he looks at people crooked.

Mae Mae caught Papa squirting her with the squirt gun. He tried to deny it, of course and it progressed to this - so telling of their personalities...

Year in Review

2009-08-02T17:10:00.001-07:00

Back in May, I went to a scrapbooking event hosted by Green Tangerines. As one of their prizes, they gave everyone their January kit including the supplies to make their new Month-in-Review page. This is something I had thought about doing previously and had a template fairly similar to their calendar style layout. But I never really got into the idea until I saw their sample layout in the store. After putting together the January one they gave to us, I was hooked. I have been wanting to do some sort of favorite photos album and this will allow me to do that, while at the same time recording events that happened during that year. I plan to use every day stuff too so when we look back on these albums, we not only see what we looked like, but what the things around us looked like too. This is definitely not taking the place of my regular layouts, but it's somewhere to have a little taste of events and allow me to focus more on the Library of Memories approach to scrapping of not feeling like I am "behind."

Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately since it saves me a lot of money) they only allow kit club members to purchase their Month-in-review layouts, so I had to improvise. But I am totally loving my version so much more. And there is an added plus to finally using some of these papers and scraps that have sat in my stash for years! So here is the one that was provided to us from Green Tangerines with a little of my own spin since I didn't use their embellishments or hand write my journaling...

All the supplies (except the black #'s and the labels) are from Green Tangerines Kit Club
You can see their sample that it's based off of here.
Papers are: October Afternoon, Scenic Route, & Cosmo Cricket
Letters and Red #'s are American Crafts Thickers
Black #'s are American Crafts Remarks
Labels: Lynn Grieveson for Designer Digitals
Font is Ashley

And here are the ones I made on my own...

All Papers are Stampin' Up
Pink Letters and Numbers are American Crafts Thickers
Glitter Numbers are Making Memories
Journaling Blocks are Ellie Lash for Scrapbookgraphics.com
Font is CK Anecdote

All Papers are Stampin' Up
Orange and Green Letters and Numbers are American Crafts Thickers
Black Numbers are American Crafts Remarks
Labels are made by me
I can't seem to find the journaling file so I am not sure what fonts I used. Ooops!

Papers are Chatterbox and My Mind's Eye
Yellow letters and numbers are American Crafts Thickers
Butterfly Punch is Martha Stewart
The little circle ebellies with the dates in them are made by me
And I have no idea what I did with the April file to find out those fonts either. That's what I get for cleaning up my desktop!

These were all layouts I started at a crop night a couple weeks back. Hopefully I can finish another four months at our next one!

A new perspective

2009-07-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I am WAY too critical of myself.

Sometimes I don't challenge myself to try new things.

Sometimes I am lack confidence in my art.

But then...

I put together a digital frame with some of my favorite photos of family of friends, all of which I have taken. It sits on my desk at work and the other day I found myself staring at it, thinking that if I saw these photos in someone else's cubicle, I would commend the photographer. And yet, I don't do that for myself. I came home and told Jonathan, "I realized today that I really don't give myself enough credit."

And so a new desire was born in me to really start photographing regularly again. To challenge myself to try new things with it, like filters, and camera angles. And above all, to gain some confidence in myself. So after yesterday's post, I was taking a look back at the photos and thought, yeah, that's a nice photo, but then I played with it and found what I consider "wall worthy."

It's hard to tell from a small blog photo, but such a simple change made a huge impression on me that this is a really good photo. I think I will have to frame this one and and actually hang it!

Some new treasures...

2009-07-30T18:14:00.001-07:00

I bought a new camera a couple months back. It's a Canon 50D, the latest and greatest of the semi-affordable Canon SLR line. So I set everything up the way I wanted including shooting in RAW format, which basically gives you a raw image without a lot of the automatic image editing mumbo jumbo that most cameras will do with other image types. I took it to a Mother's Day family BBQ and was very excited about my new toy. Sadly, when I got home, I couldn't see the images. After a little research, I found I should have done more research earlier. The camera was too new for my version of Photoshop (CS2) and was not compatible in RAW format. It's rather ridiculous to me that the Photoshop upgrade we bought only a year and a half ago is now outdated and won't work with a new camera... anyhow....

At least the camera came with a conversion software and I was able to salvage the images. Since then I have had to shoot in jpeg, which is sort of disappointing, but it beats spending another several hundred dollars on software upgrades. In the mean time, I was so distracted with my loathing of the software industry, I forgot I was able to salvage the Mother's Day shots and came across them again the other day. So here are my few forgotten treasures...

Bad Bad Blogger....

2009-07-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

Again! I can't believe how long it's been since I have posted.

The last six months or so have been very hard on me and my family. I hated my job with a passion, the whole getting older and the outlook of having kids looking grimmer and grimmer, my sister getting laid off, my niece in the hospital, and on and on and on.... But now things are definitely looking up. I started a new job that I think I am going to totally love! It's a career change for me so it was really nerve racking when I was deciding whether to take it or not, but even after two days, I feel like I finally found my niche. And being away from my last job has really helped me realize how stifled I was there. But that's enough about that!

Hopefully things will look up for my sister soon too. She is a teacher and had only been in this district for two years, but thankfully, she is #1 on the seniority list, so hopefully they will restructure or someone else will quit or something and she will have her job come the new school year! Keep your fingers crossed for her.

My niece is out of the hospital but is slow going on her healing. She is only two and is being put through a lot. Not to mention how much my brother and sister-in-law are going through with spending two weeks in the hospital with their son just eight months ago. Send them lots of prayers for all their health and safety. They could really use it!

I am excited about another scrap night with Melanie on Saturday. I'm feeling inspired again so hopefully I can get some stuff done! In the mean time, here's a couple layouts I finished in the last few weeks...

NSD 2009 Layouts - Finally!

2009-05-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to finish some of the layouts I started at our National Scrapbook Day weekend event. This is the only one I actually finished while I was there...

And these I started but couldn't quite get everything done. These are all an attempt to catch me up on my 12-of-12 layouts:

I did December's in a baseball card holder, so this is the scan of the front and back side of the holder.

Hopefully Melanie and I can plan another scrap night soon... If it took me all this time to finish just four layouts, I am doomed!

National Scrapbook Day Weekend....

2009-05-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a three day party at Green Tangerines, a local scrapbook store. Melanie was able to go with me this year and my friend Maria and her mom Nancy made it out again too. We started the festivities on Friday night and didn't end until late afternoon on Sunday. I barely accomplished anything, but hope to post some of the stuff I worked on after my weekend hangover passes. But for now, I am pooped!

Stay tuned for more... maybe I can stay awake for more than five minutes at a time this weekend!

Easter Sunday Traditions...

2009-04-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

Easter this year was a special event with my niece Emily also celebrating her birthday that day. With my dad's birthday coming up this weekend as well, we combined all our celebrations into one and had a big party on Sunday!

The kids were very happy to see Uncle Jon-fin and started a new game of climbing up his chest! They spent the rest of the day trying to climb onto him every chance they got!

We spent some time playing in the backyard with all the kids... Maddy seems to be practicing for her modeling days!

Then came the Big Easter Egg Hunt! Isabella did just as expected and was very happy playing with her two eggs!

And the rest of the kids were all a blur as they ran around the yard frantically searching for the most eggs!

Connie: "Carter, what's in this egg?"
Carter: "CANDY!!!!"

Afterward, we ate and hung out together. Isabella is as cute as always!

And Carter's totally infectious laugh had us all in stitches.

Then we got to enjoy all the presents!

And Little Miss who just turned 9 and is looking so grown up already in her new cool sunglasses made sure to announce to everyone how she is "almost ten!"

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

Isabella's Birthday

2009-03-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

We spent the week before last with not one, but two celebrations of our niece Isabella's birthday. Her actual birthday was on the 17th so we went over to Mel and Lou's to have dinner and a little dessert.

It was St. Patrick's Day so her Mommy had her dressed for the occasion in green garb. I shot a few photos playing around with her on the ground.

After dinner, we got to experience her first try with cake. She was kind of curious at first...

She got in a few good bites, but then got a little more into playing with it rather than eating it, as you can tell by the frosting in her hair!

She was sweet enough to share with Daddy.

This one is my favorite. So Adorable!

I can't believe she is already 1! Happy birthday little niece of mine!

V-Day Weekend

2009-02-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

We had the charge of Samantha over V-Day weekend while her mom and dad traveled to Vegas for their 20th anniversary vacation. Thursday she had a dance and got all gussied up for the event and we got to be the ones taking her photo and telling her to be careful as she went out the door.

Friday night we went to Mikuni’s for dinner. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of that place. Now it’s growing on Samantha too and she was all excited to go! After dinner I got a new cell phone and actually signed up for a plan that was a little more with the times and actually includes texting! Way to get with the 21st century!

Saturday I took Samantha to the scrapbook store and she felt my pain. She kept picking stuff up and then looking at the price and saying “This is bad. We need to get out of here!” Of course, she spent all her money (plus some!) but she was really excited and enjoyed her time.

We went bowling in the afternoon and it was quite an adventure. Turns out that bowling in real life is nothing like the Wii!

In the evening we watched Isabella too so that her mommy and daddy could have a nice Valentine’s day together too. She was sooooo adorable and had us all cracking up with her antics. She would bounce up and down and just LAUGH. And then when we laughed with her, she would do it again and Laugh even more.

And of course, I can’t have Isabella over without taking pictures of her!

Sunday we all went to brunch with Papa and got to enjoy watching him tease Samantha in true Grandpa fashion.

And leave it to Jonathan to challenge Samantha to walk backwards the entire grocery store trip... and leave it to Samantha to pull it off!

Family Get Together

2009-02-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

We missed Maddy’s 6th birthday while we were down South, so Connie ended up throwing a family dinner the weekend after and we all got together to celebrate.

All the kids wanted to play with the baby as usual...

I love this photo of my dad down on the ground and playing with Isabella. I hope she gets to enjoy many more years of this.

And Uncle Jon-Fin too...

Yay Presents!

I can’t believe Little Miss Madison is already 6. It seems like just yesterday that we were up here looking at houses and considering moving here and little Maddy was still in diapers and afraid f the loud fireworks on the 4th of July. This picture totally sums up what her personality has grown into.

She is such a cutie!

Bad Bad Blogger....

2009-02-20T19:53:00.001-08:00

I’ve been such a bad blogger lately. Shame shame!

There’s a lot to catch up on, but I’m going to try and separate them into different posts so that it’s not too overwhelming.

So I’ll start with our trip to Orange County a few weeks ago. Isabella was being baptized and we were asked to be the godparents. We made a weekend of it and went down on Friday and were able to stop and visit with Liza and the kids for a couple of hours. I must say, I was totally jealous of their back yard! They have a zip line and Andrew showed how totally fearless he is by demonstrating it over and over again.

Even Bailey was excited by going on it (with Mommy’s help of course).

We left their house with the intention of going straight down to Huntington Pier and grubbing on some Smokin’ Mo’s ribs. They have a very unique BBQ sauce that they bottle and sell, but since we ran out of our stock several months ago, we went there with the intention of buying tons of it. Unfortunately, they only had four bottles, but we snatched all of those up. Another unfortunate incident is that we have already used a whole bottle of it since we got back! Anyway, the meal was yummy and I got to catch to catch up with the owner (who is my friend Ben's dad) and hear how Ben is doing.

On Saturday we spent some time with my mom in the morning and then met some friends and family in the evening. We went to dinner with Angel, Rebekah, and Billy and afterward Angel went with us to Pineapple Hill to meet up with Steve, and Cherie and Mike. It was good to see them again and FINALLY get to meet Mike. They had an 80's night theme so there were a lot of people dressed in 80's garb (including our awesome server!)

On Sunday was Isabella’s baptism. She looked adorable and had the whole church laughing with her when she got walked down the aisle. Here are a few highlights from the day:

Three of my sisters...

And all of us together...

And the little cutie!

Of course, it was also Superbowl Sunday, so we had to partake in the festivities at Joe and Lisa’s.

After all these years of camping together, Joe and Lisa are like our family, so it was great to see them again and just hang out. Joe had just broken his ankle the day before, so he was a little crippled!

We headed home on Monday. Back to the daily grind of work, school, and whatever else is going on. It was a fun weekend, but I was glad to be home and see my Sadie too.

We're still alive!...

2009-02-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted, but sadly, it's because I have had yet another hard drive failure! My computer died four weeks ago and had to be shipped to HP for repair. It's back and now I am trying to load all those little settings I already had set up and all my software and yadda yadda yadda!

Word of advice. Back up EVERYTHING, including your iTunes! You would think I would have learned that lesson when we got this system, but I don't think I updated my library since we switched last May! Hopefully I still have the back up on the USB drive, but I am not sure... I'll have to check that one out when we switch the drive back over. But, knock on wood, I backed up my photos a few days before it failed! I would have lost most of 2008 photos if I hadn't done that. So I am glad it was not worse than it could have been.

We just got back from a quick trip to Orange County. I will have some photos to post once I get all my junk loaded on this CPU again! We are now officially god parents to our niece Isabella. We came back to an official offer letter for Jonathan's new job, and the timing couldn't have been better. He starts that job on the 23rd and is really excited.

We also came back to a note passing on a phone number for an old friend of both of ours from So Cal. I have known Jason since elementary school and Jonathan and he were hooligans together through most of their youth. It's funny how Jason knew Jonathan and I knew Jason for several years before I ever met Jonathan! Last night Jonathan reconnected with him and we found out he moved up here with his family and they live about 20 minutes from us! So we are excited to reconnect with them and can't wait to see them again.

So I am back to loading things on my CPU and will update with photos soon!

Final Catch-Up

2009-01-02T21:50:00.000-08:00

Hope you are happy Katella! =)

My final (backwards) update!

Thursday, December 25th

A VERY busy day, as most Christmases go in my family. Jonathan and I opened our presents for each other first thing in the morning. We had both already gotten our big gifts, I got a point and shoot camera that I can carry around in my purse and a Nintendo DS that I bought for our long road trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving. Jonathan got his new fancy high end trolling motor for his boat, just what he asked Santa for! Shaggy has ALWAYS loved Christmas!

We went over to the Keyes’ house after our present time and exchanged gifts with them. They were very generous in thanking me for the photo shoot and gave me a Mikuni’s gift certificate. I can’t wait until I am over this cold and can taste again!

After the Keyes house, we went to the Intiso’s for breakfast. Since it was Isabella’s first Christmas, she was totally spoiled by everyone. The Keyes’ had sent us with a gift for her, one of those popping walkers with the little colored balls inside that pop as you walk. I totally remember having one of those when I was kid, though mine had no fancy buttons or music playing! Jonathan and I got her a little Winnie-the-Pooh doll, but next to the colorful, music-playing, popping walker, she wanted nothing to do with anything else! Isabella is a total punk rocker without her pony tail!

In the afternoon, we all headed to Connie’s house for dinner. It was a huge family event and probably the first time we have ALL been together for a long time, including all the Presnalls. With Jeff and Heather living in San Diego, Eric about to live in Paris for eight months to do a Disneyland show there, and the Bonds living in So Cal, it’s rare to get us all together. But there we were, 17 adults and 7 kids, all in one household! It was chaos, but a fun sort of chaos. The cousins all had a lot of fun playing together, and the adults did too! Towards the end of the evening, the adults even got in on using the kids toys! Emily had gotten some sort of glitter hair color thing that colors your hair pink or blue (and washed out apparently) that all the adults were trying to tackle each other to use one another. Funny how most of the guys ended up with it in their hair and a lot of the girls didn’t… hmmmm!

Aunt Liza and Uncle Shawn making faces at Isabella

Eric playing with Bailey's pink phone. He's SO ready for Paris!

Erin and Tony

And my favorite of the day... little Miss Isabella looking all adorable.

Wednesday, December 24th

Christmas Eve was spent with last minute frantic shopping, last minute frantic wrapping, and last minute frantic resting. Jonathan and I were both still sick, but it was now or never! I was able to get my last few presents early in the morning before the crowds, do my grocery shopping for Christmas Day, and warp everything all at once in the evening.

We continued our tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve. I gave Jonathan the new Monopoly game, a big surprise since I have refused to play that game with him for ten years after how disastrous our last attempt was!

Tuesday, December 23rd

Still sick, but was able to rally enough energy to visit Santa at auntie’s house. I knew Shawn and Liza were in with the kids and we were anxious to see how Andrew was doing after his huge health scare this year. I also knew that Melanie would be bringing Isabella for her first Santa trip, so I drug myself there. Since I missed wearing the dress that I was supposed to wear at Saturday’s holiday party, I decided to wear it especially for Santa instead. He did ask me if I had been nice this year and I said “Eh… mostly.” He said “That’s ok, Santa likes it a little naughty sometimes too!”

A few highlights….

Isabella was not having any part of it!

Probably my favorite photo of the night, Maddy with her Auntie Erin

Another one of my favorites. These kids just love their Auntie Erin...

Quote from Jonathan: "Carter, shoot your aunite! Carter, get auntie!"

That toy was a hit for the night

And there’s WAY too many good Santa photos to share them all, but these are some of my favorites…

Monday, December 22nd

Since I have been too sick to function, let alone snap a few photos, I rely on the Ghost of Christmas past for today. I was scanning through old family photos from past Christmases and came across this one of my mom that caught my eye.

Her younger brother Mike was born when she was a little older, so she would have been 11 in this photo. I just love how she is holding him and showing him the tree. Probably some ornament that she loved and wanted to share with him. I love how you can already tell in this photo what a great mom she will be.

Mom has always been a big fan of Christmas. I think that is where I get my spirit from. No matter how much she may have been struggling, she ALWAYS spoiled us during the holidays and made Christmas incredibly fun. Even now she sends more than she can afford and tells us she just wants to share with us and send us a little something.

Sunday, December 21st

Someone posted recently on one of the scrapbooking boards about what your favorite toy was that you received for Christmas as a kid. I immediately thought of the year I got my cabbage patch kid. They had just been released and were very hard to find (and very expensive!), so I didn’t think I would ever get one. But come Christmas morning, I was surprised by my present of my very own cabbage patch doll! My mom told me in later years it took lots of searching and even help from others to find one, but she eventually snatched one up! When I found this photo, I also found others from that Christmas.

My grandpa Mosakewicz gave me that teddy bear that year (I collected Teddy Bears as a kid and Melanie liked unicorns!) I kept that teddy bear, the only one I kept as an adult from my whole collection, to remind me of him. I sadly had to give it up, as I gave up a lot of things when I moved back from Colorado and only brought a few suitcases back with me, but I think I will remember that bear forever! I’m guessing by my pose in the photo that I must have gotten some new nail polish too!

And then there’s this photo… probably showing off our new outfits that we received as gifts. I think Melanie’s outside was a full jumpsuit with pockets… that’s hot! What a bunch of hams!

Saturday, December 20th

I was sadly disappointed to not be able to attend my friend’s holiday party with her work. I got sick on Friday night and was way too under the weather to go. I’ve made friends with a bunch of the ladies from her work, so it was hard to back out, since I knew how much fun the night would be. She tried to persuade me with a couple of shots to cure my cold, but alas, I couldn’t do it!

Speaking of holiday parties, I found this photo of Jonathan and me from when we attended our first holiday party together. It was ten years ago and I was working at Money Mailer as their receptionist. He was still working at Xerox and we had only been dating for three months. Look how young we were… and at that HORRIBLE mustache!

Friday, December 19th

My first holiday party at RT. We went to PF Changs for lunch and played holiday games (I won two of them! Go Me!) and came back to work for a white elephant exchange. It was quite hilarious seeing some of the reactions to gifts and how polite everyone seemed to be. There were a few that were stolen quickly, but for the most part, it was a clam and fun day.

Thursday, December 18th

My last photo session of the season with my neighbors and friends, the Keyes family. I was feeling pretty exhausted and like I had a cold coming on, so I wasn’t entirely up to par, but overall the end result turned out fairly decent, if I may say so myself…

Wednesday, December 17th

As a treat for spending enough money in their store to feed a small village, Green Tangerines hosted a free class and dinner night for me and other top customers. We made this cute little travel album that was originally designed by Teresa Collins. I am SO loving mini-albums right now. Guess I better get to work on putting together my December Daily!

Catch-Up #2...

2008-12-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, Katella, now I am REALLY behind! I am not sure I can even remember what I did yesterday, so I don’t know how I think I’ll remember last week! But here goes… and just to really mess with you, I am going to go backwards so the most recent is on top:

Tuesday, December 16th

Work has been looking like a Winter Wonderland. There's been treats galore every day and tons of pressure to keep up with everyone in their decorating mania. So I did a little Dollar Store shopping and tried to keep up with the times.

Monday, December 15th

The tins are packed, the cards are signed, the table is full… maybe one of these days I will get to handing this stuff out!

The weekend – December 12th – 14th

It was a busy weekend! We had dinner at our house to celebrate the many November and December birthdays that tend to get missed in all the holiday hoopla!

Can you tell he likes the present we got him?

And his mommy and Uncle Jon-Fin set up the tracks so he could play. ALL the cousins got in on the action, including Isabella, who patiently waited to catch the train!

The girls kept asking "Where's my baby?" and took possession of Isabella all night. I swear they must have said goodbye to her two dozen times a piece!

The Winslow’s came over early to try and get a Christmas photo. All I can say is, God Bless Photoshop! Getting three kids to cooperate, smile, and face the camera all at the same time proved impossible. Even after bribing them with juice and cookies! But Photoshop came to the rescue and I was able to make something out of them after all:

And my favorite of the day was not planned. It was just a cute moment where I happened to still have the camera in my hand. Maddy was nice enough to share her bribery, I mean reward, with her Mommy.

I spent most of Saturday baking. One of my many holiday traditions! I always tell people that I think there would be a riot if I didn’t make my chocolate chip cookies every year. This year I also made some coconut squares and tried them with caramel and chocolate – YUM! And I dared to try something else new and made peppermint chocolate cookies. My niece Emily would have swallowed them all whole on Sunday if I hadn’t been guarding the container!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Coooooooooooooooooooooooookkkkkiiieeeeeeees!!!

We also had Jonathan’s holiday party with his work. It was a casino night theme and actually quite fun. They had craps, blackjack, poker, and roulette. I lost everywhere but craps and it was my first time playing! I think I found a new game! The guy that ran everything had a great personality and explained everything really fast but also so that it made sense. And he gave out lots of bonus chips just for staying at his table, so I liked him!

At the end of the night, you cashed in your chips for raffle prizes and then put yours into the prize that you wanted. We didn’t win, but we did get some movie tickets in the door prize drawing. I have to say, it was one of the better holiday parties that I have even been to. But I have a few more to go to yet this season, so I won’t vote it the best of the year yet.

Thursday, December 11th

35 years ago today, my big sister was born!

Now that little baby is all grown up and has a baby of her own!

We went to dinner with her and Luigi and Isabella on Thursday at Red Robin – her favorite. Jonathan told the girl in the big the Robin costume to shake her tail feather.. and she did it. He was so proud!

Wednesday, December 10th

My first day off on my new work schedule. I work and extra hour for 8 days, and get every other Wednesday off because of it! I spent the entire day running around and doing my Christmas shopping. The stores were still fairly crowded, but I can’t imagine they were anywhere near as busy as they would be on the weekend. I got the majority of my Christmas shopping done and only have a few last minute things to pick up now. Even though I am tired a lot lately and haven’t quite adjusted to the new longer daily schedule, I think I am going to REALLY like having a day off every other week!

I spent the evening with Brenda and Beth and even as the designated driver, had a good time out with the girls.

Tuesday, December 9th

I have no idea what I did on Tuesday. Insert Christmas memory here __________________

Monday, December 8th

A Charlie Brown Christmas was on TV tonight. I was bored with the football game, so I flipped the channel over and had it on in the background while I was organizing and cleaning for the weekend. But eventually the movie caught my attention. It’s totally different humor when you watch it as an adult. Some of my favorite quotes:

Sally: I've been looking for you, big brother. Will you please write a letter to Santa Claus for me?
Charlie Brown: Well, I don't have much time. I'm supposed to get down to the school auditorium to direct a Christmas play.
Sally: [hands a clipboard and pen to Charlie Brown] You write it and I'll tell you what I want to say.
Charlie Brown: [sticks pen in his mouth] Okay, shoot.
Sally: [dictating her letter to Santa Claus as Charlie Brown writes it for her] Dear Santa Claus, How have you been? Did you have a nice summer? How is your wife? I have been extra good this year, so I have a long list of presents that I want.
Charlie Brown: Oh brother.
Sally: Please note the size and color of each item, and send as many as possible. If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself: just send money. How about tens and twenties?
Charlie Brown: TENS AND TWENTIES? Oh, even my baby sister!
Sally: All I want is what I... I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share.
________________________________________
Lucy Van Pelt: You DO think I'm beautiful, don't you, Charlie Brown?
[pause]
Lucy Van Pelt: You didn't answer me right away. You had to think about it first, didn't you? If you really had thought I was beautiful, you would've spoken right up. I know when I've been insulted. I KNOW WHEN I'VE BEEN INSULTED.
________________________________________
Schroeder: This is the music I've selected for the Christmas play.
[Schroeder plays Fur Elise]
Lucy Van Pelt: What kind of Christmas music is *that*?
Schroeder: Beethoven Christmas music.
Lucy Van Pelt: What has Beethoven got to do with Christmas? Everyone talks about how "great" Beethoven was. Beethoven wasn't so great.
[Schroeder stops playing]
Schroeder: What do you mean Beethoven wasn't so great?
Lucy Van Pelt: He never got his picture on bubblegum cards, did he? Have you ever seen his picture on a bubblegum card? Hmmm? How can you say someone is great who's never had his picture on bubblegum cards?
Schroeder: Good grief.
________________________________________
Charlie Brown: Thanks for the Christmas card you sent me, Violet.
Violet: I didn't send you a Christmas card, Charlie Brown.
Charlie Brown: Don't you know sarcasm when you hear it?
________________________________________
Lucy Van Pelt: I know how you feel about all this Christmas business, getting depressed and all that. It happens to me every year. I never get what I really want. I always get a lot of stupid toys or a bicycle or clothes or something like that.
Charlie Brown: What is it you want?
Lucy Van Pelt: Real estate.
________________________________________
Charlie Brown: [Yells into mailbox] Hello in there. [looks away and soon begins to walk] Rats. Nobody sent me a Christmas card today. I almost wish there weren't a holiday season. I know nobody likes me. Why do we have to have a holiday season to emphasize it?
________________________________________
Patty: Try to catch snowflakes on your tongue. It's fun.
Linus Van Pelt: Mmm. Needs sugar.
Lucy Van Pelt: It's too early. I never eat December snowflakes. I always wait until January.
Linus Van Pelt: They sure look ripe to me.
________________________________________
Lucy Van Pelt: Look, Charlie, let's face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know.
________________________________________
Charlie Brown: Look, let's rehearse the scene at the inn. Frieda...
Frieda: I can't go on, there's too much dust. It's taking the curl out of my naturally curly hair.
Charlie Brown: Don't think of it as dust. Think of it as maybe the soil of some great past civilization. Maybe the soil of ancient Babylon . It staggers the imagination. He may be carrying soil that was trod upon by Solomon, or even Nebuchudnezzar.
Pig-Pen: Sort of makes you want to treat me with more respect, doesn't it?
________________________________________
[Linus knocks on an aluminum Christmas tree, which gives a metallic "clank"]
Linus Van Pelt: This really brings Christmas close to a person.

Catch-Up...

2008-12-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

So I'm way behind on keeping up with my December Daily journaling, and I figured if I don't catch-up now, I probably never will! So here goes...

Friday, December 5th...

We spent the evening across the street with the Keyes'. Mark got his bonus and let Brenda do the honors of opening the envelope...

Saturday, December 6th...

My first scheduled photo shoot with the Intiso's. Unfortunately, by the time everyone was ready for photos, Isabella was ready for her nap! So there weren't too many to choose from. But she still looks adorable, as cranky as she was...

I call this one her 1980's look....

And although it's really grainy, this is the best I was able to salvage of the family photos...

Sunday, December 7th...

I spent the day putting up the tree and decorating the house... oh, and it was all by MYSELF, cause where else would Jonathan be on a Sunday?

And there's something about the final touch of the topper on the tree that always reminds me of being at home with my mom and putting the angel on her tree. It was always a special treat to be able to do that and be hoisted up or up on a chair to finish it off. I think it was a tradition when she grew up too!

I'm being summoned out the door for a ladies night, so I'll have to catch up on the rest of the week later.

Must See TV...

2008-12-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

There are a few movies that are the staple of my holiday season. I watch them every year and never get sick of them! Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without watching these. My top 10 holiday must see movies: The Santa Clause, Elf, Miracle on 34th Street (the original), Love Actually, Bad Santa, Scrooged, The Nightmare Before Christmas, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and my all time favorite, Home for the Holidays! We could watch this movie a dozen times between Thanksgiving and Christmas and still think it’s funny. I’ve only caught bits and pieces on TV in the last couple weeks, so I’ll have to sit down and actually watch the whole thing very soon!

Thanks for the Memories...

2008-12-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

We were saddened last week by the news of the passing of a friend of our family. We knew the Meeks family through my aunt and uncle and saw them often at family gatherings over the past three years. Marvin was a BIG guy, six-foot-six, or maybe even taller, and all muscle, but his warm smile and genuine personality invited everyone in and made them feel welcome. He was known to be a big teddy bear. Sadly, Marvin found out in mid-November that he had colon cancer and lived only two very short weeks longer.

We first met the Meeks family three years ago around this time when Santa came to visit my aunt’s house. They brought their two young kids with them so they could get a chance to visit with Santa, but it’s tradition at auntie’s house that EVERYONE gets to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. It was quite a site to see this big guy on Santa’s lap, trying not to crush him!

When Jonathan and I gave up on fertility treatments two years ago, it was only a few days before Santa was coming again. We were lucky enough to get a chance to corner Marvin and Marianne at the event and pick their brains about their experience adopting their two kids. They were both so supportive and gave us a realistic run down of the positives and negatives of their experience. Marvin talked a lot about his struggles trying to be a good Dad to his kids but always ended his stories with how rewarding it all was. A week later, we started our process through the agency they had referred us to. Marvin was even in the orientation video they showed us when we started!

A year later, we had our foster kids for only a couple of days before Santa came again. Marvin and Marianne were so excited for us and loved how well our boys got along together. Marvin wanted to set up play dates for the boys and thought how good it would be for two adopted kids to share their experiences together. Unfortunately, the kids didn’t stay with us long, so we never got the opportunity to spend that time together. But I remember being very thankful for all their support and knowing there was someone else out there that understood what we were going through.

Today at work, we were talking about holiday traditions. One of my co-workers, Amy, was joking about how she’ll probably be dragging her kids to see Santa and go on a Christmas train ride once they are teenagers. Another co-worker, Sandy, mentioned how, despite the fact that they may gripe, if the tradition is started, they may also appreciate it in later years. I immediately thought of our visits from Santa and how much fun it is to see all the adults sit on his lap too. The kids get such a kick out of seeing their parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles laughing on Santa’s lap and acting like kids again themselves. This photo of Marvin flashed through my head and I thought how some day his kids may look back and consider little moments like this with their dad and smile.

We miss you already Marvin!

Oh the Weather Outside is...

2008-12-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

Awesome! I love this time of year when the winter weather starts taking effect and everything that goes with it. Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolates, bundling up in fuzzy coats and soft scarves to go outside, snuggling with Saddie when I get home, and curling up under a warm blanket every night. The weather today is finally down into the 50’s after many weeks of a warm spell and something about the cold weather pushes my holiday mood into full force.

This is an e-mail my mom sent to me a couple weeks ago:

One of my coworkers, just reminded me of a wonderful memory of you that I want to share with you….

Her daughter just started college back East and she called her and said it was snowing today. She was so excited, being that she was raised out here.

The first time you saw snow, I think you were about three, and your sister and you and I went to Michigan for our first Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa. As the plane landed, everyone started shouting and were all excited and saying “Oh my God……..it’s snowing” and you started crying, because you didn’t know what that meant or why everyone was making all that racket and I had to calm you down and tell you that it was OK and show you the snow out the window of the plane and tell you how much fun we would have playing in it. I bet you don’t remember that and I don’t remember if I ever told you that story, but I have a lot of wonderful memories of you and your sister…………………………Love and Kisses……….MOM

Maybe I associate this cold weather with the holidays because we spent so many Christmases in Michigan in even colder weather. I remember the days of traveling to there for the holidays as a kid and being so excited to experience a white Christmas. I would sit in the window of my grandparent’s house, watching the snow fall and feeling anxious for it to pile high enough for us to be able to play in it. Then Melanie and I would bundle up and spend hours outside making snow angels, building snow men, sledding, and having snow ball fights. There was always good memories of Grandma and Grandpa’s house and all the amazing Christmases we were lucky enough to experience with them.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

2008-12-01T18:42:00.001-08:00

The sight of my house all decorated and ready as I drove up tonight made me sing this song out loud! I love the holidays and this year have decided to document it in a December Daily Album inspired by the Ali Edwards project here on her blog.

We're back safe and sound from our trip to Arizona. We spent time with Jonathan's parents and his two sisters, went gambling and shopping in Laughlin, played games, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving... ate until we could hardly breathe!

My favorite photo from the weekend is a classic Ashcraft family photo! Mom really wanted a family photo together before we all left, but no one could stop laughing long enough to take one all together. This is more typical of how they all look all the time when they get together then anything I could have ever posed!

My first Design Team Layouts...

2008-11-12T18:29:00.000-08:00

It's official! My first design team layouts are ready. I used the November kits from A Page in Time Scrapbook kits.

These are all from Fancy Pants paper products:

And these are from the awesome Crate Paper kits... No, you don't need to adjust your screen, I just didn't want to post photos of the kids without my brother and sister-in-laws permission!

Trip to the "Punkin" Patch

2008-10-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took a family trip to the Ginormous pumpkin patch in Wheatland. It was like a fair with a petting zoo, big forts and slides and tons of places for the big kids to play, train rides, pig races, and TONS of good food! I went along to take pictures of the nieces and nephew and spend some time with them. Little did we know this was the Winslow's third pumpkin patch trip in the last couple of weeks so they really weren't into the pumpkin's, but they did seem to really enjoy all the other fun stuff. So here's some photos from the day....

Isabella was fascinated by the hay and kept grabbing at it

Carter told me ALL about how he wanted a little "punkin" - it was actually the perfect size for him!

Maddy was a little nervous about the animals at first but Mom encouraged her to put her arm in the fence. I could tell she was still nervous, but she waited ever so patiently for the goat to come to her and when it finally came and ate from her hand, she had the cutest smile on her face!

Emily is getting really tall and growing up WAY too fast! She was doing such a good job being a good big sister by keeping her eye on Carter.

You can't see Maddy and you can barely see Emily, but the family took a train ride around the patch! The Winslow's in the first row and Luigi and Isabella behind. Melanie and I missed the ride because we were taking pictures of Isabella with the pumpkins and had to sneak her over the gate to Luigi at the last minute to get her on the ride... Shhhh!

And of course, those pumpkin pictures are adorable!

My FAVORITE photo of the day is not even a really good photo from a technical perspective. But I just couldn't resist the look that Isabella is giving Maddy as Maddy is entertaining her! You can just tell by her look how much she is going to lover her cousins!

Design Your Life Sketch #2

2008-10-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Another assignment from Week 1 of Cathy Z's Design Your Life class. I'm running behind since we have a total of six sketches now, but I'm still proud I have accomplished anything! Especially since I spent Wednesday and Thursday night at Green Tangerines taking two AWESOME classes with Melody Langworthy!

Anyway, here's the layout I finished today. Again the concept is Symmetrical design. These are photos from my first impromptu photo studio in our small apartment in So Cal.

Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill; PP - Gina Cabrera (polka dots & gray script), Shabby Princess (ornate); Font - Batik Regular

The journaling reads: "When I first started getting into photography, Jonathan helped me build a mini-studio in the spare room of our apartment. Tonya was generous enough to offer to model for me right after it was all set up. I had lots of ideas but was not sure how comfortable she would be. She turned out to be a very easy model to work with. She took all of my direction and the photos turned out better than I even imagined. The photo on the top left ended up on display at the Orange County Fair the following year. I was very proud to see my work on display. I felt like a true artist. I will be forever grateful for that time I had to play and experiment in my little studio."

Design Your Life...

2008-10-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

I've been taking the Cathy Zielske Design Your Life Class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking starting last week and I am totally LOVING it! I have taken classes before at BPS but never really kept up or was motivated to do any of the projects. I just hoarded the instructions the "some day" that I would put everything together. But I have to say that I am learning a lot in this class and am truly enjoying keeping up with the projects. I get the added bonus of actually completing a bunch of layouts too!

So here is the first layout I did based off her Sketch #1. The concept of based on symmetrical design.

Supplies: Cardstock - Stampin' Up, PP is from my stash and the journaling block I created in Photoshop CS2.

The photos are of my niece Isabella who will be 7 months next week! Holy cow!

The journaling reads: "Little Isabella grows quickly, right before our eyes. Little Isabella looks more and more like her Mommy every day, especially when she smiles. Little Isabella is quite the darling of this family! Little Isabella is a photographer's dream, sitting pretty in pink!"

And the week continues....

2008-10-03T16:04:00.001-07:00

This week continues to grow in excitement for me. I got a kick lately of submitting for magazines and design teams and figured nothing would happen for either, but at least I was inspired to start creating for submitting. So I get the notice on Wednesday that the magazine I submitted to wants to publish me, then I get the notice today that I've been accepted on a design team!!!

I will begin creating soon for A Page in Time Scrapbook kit club. I have been a member receiving their kits for close to a year now so I know I already love what they have to offer. It will be exciting (and a challenge!) to actually sit down and use some the stuff and get some layouts done - instead of just hoarding it and saving it for that special rainy day! =)

So look out for more of that soon!

'Til next time.....
Lynne
Officially to be Published scrapper, and A Page in Time Scrapbook design team member

ETA: Since the CK magazine is already out, I can finally add the layout that was published. This is my August 12-of-12 layout, officially published in CK Magazine!

A Very Good Day!

2008-10-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

I was dreading today. October 1st marks the beginning of Open Enrollment at work. I was the primary contact and had to adjust my schedule to be there from 8-5 so I could available to employees. It's just the beginning of many more of those types of days for the rest of this month.

Thankfully, it didn't get too busy. And everyone has been so incredibly nice, it's hard not to feel relieved. Quite different from anywhere else I have ever worked. But the real kickers are two fold...

First - I got an e-mail yesterday from someone who found me on Ancestry.com . She thought we might be related. Turns out we are (3rd cousins, once removed - I had to look that one up!) The awesome part is, she has a bunch of family photos! She sent some to me today. She can't confirm and is hoping someone in my family can, but she seems to think these people are my great great great grandparents!!

If it is truly them, these photos are from the 1850's! I love history and all the stories and connections. It's amazing to me that these could be my relatives.

BUT - here's the REAL kicker of the day. I got the following e-mail this afternoon:

"If your page titled *?* is still available, I would love to include it in Reader Gallery in the February 2009 issue of Creating Keepsakes. I am attaching the form will all the details. Please let me know if you have any questions and of course let me know if it’s still available."

I went out on a limb and submitted a layout to Creating Keepsakes magazine two weeks ago and now I'm getting published! I can't say which layout it is, so you'll just have to pick up the February 2009 issue of CK Magazine and look for me!

So in the end, it turned out to be a MUCH better day then I could have ever imagined!

Another Layout....

2008-09-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Melanie came over on Friday for a little bit to scrapbook, giving me a kick in the butt to actually start working on something. Though I pooped out pretty quick on her, I was able to finish up what I started today. Here is a layout from my dad's flight on a War Bird in June.

CS: Bazzill, PP: Scenic Route, Chipboard: ??, Fonts: Stencil and CK Shannon

The journaling reads: "The whole family chipped in to buy Dad a flight on a World War II Warbird for his birthday. As luck would have it, the flight ended up being scheduled for Father’s Day in June. Dad got the chance to ride in the front seat, experience acrobatics, and even fly the plane for one of them. His beaming smile when he got out of the plane said it all!"

12-of-12 - September 2008

2008-09-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

After three hours trying to get my sewing machine to work and wasting a whole spool of thread, I decided to do this digitally. Once in Photoshop, I was done within 30 minutes!!! When will I learn my lesson?

Here is my September 12-of-12:

A scraplift of a layout by Lisa Truesdell from the latest Scrabooks Etc. mag.

Adobe Photoshop CS2, Paper is Ali Edwards from her CK kit of the month digital kit, fonts are: Ck_Ali's Handwriting, Hightower Text, and Jane Austen

The journaling around the photos reads:

"Photos from left to right, top to bottom: My Mac face-paint.. or make-up, the book I finished reading again today - The Magus, paperwork at work for the open enrollment meeting, big ol’ photo o’ me, My busy calendar from the week, a blog post about today being the tenth anniversary of my first date with jonathan, toys given by the EAp stress management trainer, the stress-relievers board from the EAP class, a card I made at a stamping event that night, the book I started - Twilight, another card made that night, and stamping stuff I used at the event."

=)
Lynne

Woohoo!

2008-09-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

Another layout finished! I have been working on this one for over a week and I finally got it finished today. I've been doing a lot of digital pages lately so it was fun to play with paper and real elements again.

These are photos from my cousin Jeff's graduation party in May. The journaling reads "Our family shared in the celebration of Jeff’s graduation from Sonoma State in May 2008 with his BA in communications."

Products used: Sketch: Becky Fleck, CS: Bazzil, PP: Creative Imaginations, fonts: Copperplate Gothic Light and Times New Roman. Punches: Fiskars Threading Water, EK Success Circles and Scallop Circle, and Stampin' Up Scallop Circle (the smaller scallop circle)

And the Silver medal goes to....

2008-09-13T17:48:00.001-07:00

Today my niece Emily had her first gymnastics competition. The competitors were other young gymnasts from all around Nor Cal. Each girl competes on each of the four different events, beam, floor, vault, and bars and they get scored on each. Medals are given by age group. Out of sixteen girls in her age group, Little Miss Emily took 2nd on the vault with a 9.175. They actually allowed you to place up to 8th (half the participants) so she also got 7th on the floor with an 8.65, 7th on the bars with an 8.275, and 7th Overall with a total score of 33.40. Way to go kiddo!

I imagined in 8 years whether I would be sitting in some arena in Chicago, Madrid, Rio, or Tokyo - watching her compete and hearing her name announced over the roar of thousands of spectators! Let's hope the Olympic committee picks Chicago! It'll be a little lighter on auntie's pocketbook.

On a lighter note… Ten years ago TODAY…

2008-09-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

After 7 years of being in each other’s lives off and on… three of those containing endless flirting, unspoken desires, and avoiding bad timing… Jonathan finally asked me out on a date, ten years ago today.

I remember he took me to the movies at the Irvine Spectrum and we saw “Your Friends and Neighbors” with Ben Stiller. Ironically, that was on cable last weekend and I watched it again, and not so ironically, it’s still not a very good movie! He had used the valet service and as an eerie foreshadowing of how I would learn about his mis-managed finances, he didn’t end up with enough to pay the valet! Poor guy had only been living on his own for two and a half months and was probably feeling it in his wallet. Either that or he just didn’t bring enough cash – which still seems to conveniently happen often.

But I took pity and paid to get his truck back. After all, where were we going to go with his keys held hostage? He was probably pretty embarrassed but I still think it’s funny.

No this isn’t a photo from our date, but it was taken only a few months earlier. Arent we hotties?? Though I always had a little inkling of hope, little did I know at that time how soon we would be embarking down the road of life together. We’ve hit a few bumps now and then, and he might have hit a road block for a few weeks, but we’ve always met back on the same path. I love this man with all my heart and I know I am one lucky girl to know how much he loves me back. Happy fake anniversary babe! (Cause who the heck celebrates dating anniversaries after you’re married right!!??)

Seven Years Ago Today...

2008-09-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

I usually watched the news in the morning as I got ready. I turned on the TV that day and could hear the audio before the picture even came up (really old TV!) and knew something was really wrong! I was always careful not to wake up Jonathan but this day I went and woke him and told him "You may want to come watch this."

A few minutes later we watched the second tour fall. The first thing I said was "Think of all those people that were down there trying to help." Just imagining all the brave people who were trying to help and now lost their lives.

At work that morning, someone knew we had a TV in our conference room and asked if they could turn it on. A few of us were watching when my boss came in. She had no idea.

I remember the sounds of the jet fighters flying over our house that night and it still gives me the chills. How secure and safe I felt only the day before, now feeling like I lived in a war zone. Not really certain if it would be some time soon. And then thinking of all those people that really do live in a war zone and how they can manage feeling that every day of their lives with no hope in site.

Even seven years later, it's still fresh in my mind as if it were yesterday. Though it seems so trivial now, I am glad I put the flag out this morning. Maybe some one else will be reminded and wonder how it's possible that they could ever possibly forget.

Another Layout...

2008-09-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

I have had this one done for a while but kept feeling like it's missing something. But the more I look at it and try different things, the more I like it as it is. So here's a layout I did about Isabella based off of yet another challenge at 2peas. It's a scraplift challenge from your saved layouts by other people. So I based mine off of This one by Sarahak.

Isabella's photos at 4 months...

Adobe Photoshop CS2, Fonts: Felix Titling, CK_Ali's_Handwriting, and French Script. Actions: Atomic Cupcake bling.

For Connie....

2008-09-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

We've been telling everyone this story for the last two weeks so I figured it was probably time to share the photos that go with it. We spent some time at Mae-Mae and Papa's house a couple weeks ago with Samantha and the Winslow munchkins.

Carter is such a character, he had us cracking up. I love how he can still look so masculine in his hot pink floaties!

And how he was like our little life guard on duty, stressing out and yelling at his sisters when they were acting up in the pool, furrowing his brow and yelling "Girls! NO!!"

The adventure continued with the Oreo's....

And then this little girl who magically puts on her innocent face when the camera is around! Don't let her fool you!

Two of a Kind

2008-08-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

A new layout inspired by a challenge at 2peas about scrapping your childhood. This week I chose the prompt about the clothing we wore. I have always LOVED this photo and I am glad to finally have a place for it in my scrapbooks. I think I;ll be participating in a lot more challenges from now on!

Used Adobe Photoshop CS2. Atomic Cupcake actions: stitched edge and small scallpoed edge. White ric rac by Debbie Fisher. Red ribbon and Journaling block by Atomic Cupcake. Fonts are Impact, Kunstler Script, and Arial. Buttons are from my stash.

The missing piece...

2008-08-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

We had our neighbor Samantha stay over last weekend and while she was here, we worked on a puzzle. She left it here after she left and it was driving me crazy since all the pieces looked the same. By Tuesday, I was tried of it and she thought the one she started at home was too hard, so we switched. Lo and behold, four days later.... ta da!

I remember getting a puzzle almost every Christmas when I was kid and setting up a table in the middle of room and working on it for weeks. I used to do puzzles all the time and for some reason haven't done one in probably 15 years or more. It was one of those rare good nostalgic memories. Heck, it was even something Jonathan got in on last night and we actually did something together!!! But of course, we get towards the end and I can't find that one darn piece. Jonathan says from across the table how it's a metaphor about me. I'm just one piece short of a complete puzzle....

Funny thing is, if he had stuck around for the hard parts and finished it with me, he would have discovered he was missing a piece too! Hence the new blog title. I think it fits. =)

Thursday Funny

2008-08-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

In honor of the closing of the Olympics...

Here are the top nine comments made by NBC sports commentators so far during
the Summer Olympics that they would like to take back:

1. Weightlifting commentator: 'This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria . I saw her
snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing.'

2. Dressage commentator: 'This is really a lovely horse and I speak from
personal experience since I once mounted her mother.'

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: 'I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and
father.'

4. Boxing Analyst: 'Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in
boxing, but none of them really that serious.'

5. Softball announcer: 'If history repeats itself, I should think we can
expect the same thing again.'

6. Basketball analyst: 'He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it.
In fact you can see it all over their faces.'

7. At the rowing medal ceremony: 'Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC
president is hugging the cox of the British crew.'

8. Soccer commentator: 'Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got
eleven Dicks on the field.'

9. Tennis commentator: 'One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that,
before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them... Oh my
God, what have I just said?

101 Interesting Things...

2008-08-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

I was challenged to post 101 interesting things about me…. Thankfully a few others have already done theirs so I found some inspiration!

1. My right eye squeeks when I rub it
2. I get EXTREME vertigo! I can’t even look up without falling over unless I ground myself and hang on to something
3. I’m a middle child of 7
4. I have always wanted to learn sign language, so I actually signed up for a class that starts on Monday
5. I can’t swim underwater without holding my nose
6. I hate vegetables!
7. I love my husband a lot
8. My nickname is Lynney
9. I loved teddy bears when I was a kid and had a whole collection
10. I could eat a Mikuni’s michi roll every day and never get sick of it
11. I LOVE photography
12. I am obsessed with scrapbooking
13. My first job was at Round Table Pizza
14. I manage to kill all my plants except one, that sucker is resiliant
15. I can recite several 80’s movies verbatim
16. I can’t stand mopping. I’d rather clean toilets all day then mop the floor.
17. I’d like to go to Italy some day
18. It only took me three years to get my Associates Degree while working full-time
19. I’ve had one tattoo for ten years
20. Nobody cries alone around me
21. I love to fly on airplanes
22. My favorite part of a man’s body is his forearms. Yummy!
23. I hate being late. It even stresses me out to just be on time and not a little early.
24. I still love checking the mail and looking for some interestinmg letter that never comes.
25. I’m a big home body
26. I miss the beaches of So Cal
27. Football rocks. I can’t wait for the REAL games to start
28. My face turns bright red with any hint of embarassment
29. Or the tiniest bit of alcohol
30. I bit my nails for 20+ years and then just stopped one day.
31. Haven’t done it since.
32. I wore braces for two years as an adult. Just got them off in February.
33. I rarely wear jewelry. Wedding ring and the occasional earrings are my limit
34. I’ve dyed my hair for 12 years
35. I’ve started about eight different cross stitch projects but have yet to finish one
36. I’m incredibly shy and intorverted
37. I’m jump-on-the-chair-and-scream-my-head-off kind of afraid of mice and rats.
38. And don’t even mention their rodent big brothers, the po*%um, I can’t even type the name without wanting to throw up!
39. I wish I had more time to scrapbook
40. I love to read
41. I made it a goal a few years ago to read the top 100 classic novels of all time.
42. Recent counts have me at 35 so far
43. I have disgustingly thick hair
44. I balance my check book almost every day
45. I rarely ever stay on budget
46. I admire people that don’t have any issue standing up for themselves
47. I’m not on the texting band wagon.
48. My wedding was a one of a kind experience. My dad and step mom got married after my hubby at the same ceremony
49. I was involved in Theater in High School and college
50. I met my husband in theater class my freshman year. He said he took it because that’s where the girls were. Boy was he right!
51. We didn’t start dating until 7 years later
52. We didn’t get married until 6 years after that
53. We’ve been married for 4. You do the math.
54. I don’t have a Facebook account.
55. Music is a huge part of my life. It’s very passionate and emotional and inspires me.
56. Yet, I don’t play a single instrument or sing
57. I took violin for one year in fifth grade and sucked
58. Although my grandpa survived quadruple bipass, a critical condition car crash, and Type 2 diabetes, he could only survive living without my grandma for three months.
59. It still brings tears to me eyes ten years later
60. I lived in Colorado for nine months
61. I worked for an airline at the time and got to travel as much as I wanted
62. But only Tuesday and Wednesday (my days off)
63. I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 20
64. I used to ride my bike about 6 miles a day
65. I like to go cmaping
66. Fall is my favorite season
67. Christmas is my favorite holiday, not the actual day, but all the spirit and preparation and family time leading up to it.
68. I’m allergic to pollen, dander, garlic, onions, and certain types of pork.
69. I get asthma attacks from perfumes, certain cleaning solutions, burnt toast, pan cooked scrambled eggs, and microwave popcorn. I have no idea why on the last three.
70. I have a very mathmatical mind
71. Inherited that from my dad
72. I’m very compassionate.
73. Sometimes overly so.
74. I inherited that from my mom
75. I took a test in school where they measure whether you are a visual or audio learner. I scored equally on both
76. I scored higher than anyone in the class
77. I got pulled from the class ten minutes later and told I don’t belong there. Go up to the advanced class.
78. When I visited my sixth grade teacher, she told me she was surprised and she didn’t think I should be in advanced classes.
79. I ended up taking them through Jr. High and High school and never got anything below a B
80. I was in the top five in my class (of about 500) the next year and gave a speech at the Presidents awards for academics
81. I learned you should never let anyone’s opnion hold you back
82. I love reading blogs by Ali Edwards and the Pioneer Woman.
83. My favorite author is Jane Austen
84. I wish she had written more
85. I predicted an earthquake once when I was a kid
86. My step mom said she was going to sell me to science after that
87. I’ve broken my toe, my nose, and my cheek bone
88. To prepare for a part in he Miracle Worker, we had to wear a blind fold all day in school
89. It was one of the worst experiences in my life
90. I learned a new appreciation for the struggles of anyone with any sense impairment
91. I’ve been to Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and Mexico.
92. We once drove to Michigan from California so technically I have passed through a lot of other states
93. I love to bake
94. I make awesome chocolate chip cookies
95. I’m pretty lazy around the house
96. I need a housekeeper
97. I live off of Diet Dr. Pepper
98. I couldn’t stand any diet drinks until a few months ago when I decided to give it a go.
99. Now I don’t like the non-diet kind!
100. I’m a TV-aholic
101. I’m exhausted!