ha ha...let's face it, the funnies are the best part of paper most days.
and i am in serious need of some kneading, lol!



this is a little bit chaotic, but that is the point

i think that pretty much sums up my hubby's intense thoughts...chaotic. for him. for me.
put a fire in front of him and he could be lost in thought and time for, it seems like, ever.
in doing this LO it made me think of an old Paula Abdul song,

"Opposites Attract"
"...2 steps forward
3 steps back
we go together cuz opposites attract
and you know
it ain't fiction
it's an actual fact
we go together cuz opp-o-sites attract"
couldn't have said it better myself, Paula.

when we were dating we thought we were alike, but NOOOO way!
i think God brings opposites together to balance one another out.
or throw one another out of whack from time to time! ;)


so, so, so....
summer break is almost here for the kiddos...eek!
time here will be sparse.
life gets a little more rush, rush.

peaceful summer wishes to you all. :)

i would like to...

...be able to entertain your eyes with something creative today, but
i can't, won't, don't have anything.

this has been the happenings this week:
* the middle dd got strep; not happy times
* the dog got spayed and, of course, did NOT tolerate the procedure/anesthetic
well. this comes to no surprise to me considering her history.
*been cooking every night this week. no take-out. life is good.
*volunteered @ my youngest dd's class to help them make 2nd grade scrapbooks and
was dubbed "awesome mom" by all of her friends aka., "the four peeps", and by default Eden
is also awesome. thank you-- i knew that already ;)
* but the highlight of the week, today, was volunteering @
the Chestnut Mountain Ranch with my middle's 5th grade class doing a service project.
it was fun. real FUN. we planted flowers to help beautify the facility. played games with each other which i became the "Wah Master" and played a light sabre(pool noodle) game with my "power" (soccer cone) held high and won in games with the kids and in a separate game against the parents and the teacher...gee, i hope that doesn't affect my daughter's grades...
i must say that i am not competitive most of the time. my husband is the ACE at those kinds of things, but i think that i made him proud today! i got involved, had fun and beat the pants off those 5th graders!!! lol :)
i realized that i felt honored and blessed to have my kids where they are in school, that my life is about serving others and being a light in the world, and that my "treasure is in jars of clay" and that His light shines through my brokenness.

it was a good day.


i will leave you with this LO.


it was the first LO i ever did with the intention of "getting involved" with the scrap world online.
participated in a "scrapjack". won the attention of the artist. got some cool hambly products.
:)

the truth

pretty much sums it up ;D

*done editing my last session *in love*
*the rain is back...blech...
*one kid is sick and will be seeing the doc today; another is complaining of the same symptoms
*stumbled upon new digi elements from here which the LO above was made
*dog gets spayed tomorrow :D *insert evil laugh* only b/c i get the day to myself if the kids are all well!

all week

I will be here all week....

:D

a whole new world

...now i will have y'all singing the theme song to the Aladdin movie for the rest of the day!!!

but that is what glasses has done for my little baby girl.
it IS a whole new world out there for her to look at now!!!!
AMAZING!
not to mention she is super cute if i do say so myself ;)

you see, i tend to be a little cynical when it comes to believing my children in this area.
let me explain, neither my hubs nor i wear corrective lenses so we both assume that our children
won't have any problems, right?
WRONG!
according to the optometrist it is a complete crap shoot!

as my oldest daughter was telling me last night, in her eloquent nostalgic way,
"You didn't even believe me when I told you I couldn't see! The teacher kept moving me to
the front of the room b/c I couldn't see the board!!!"
ummm....yeah, guilty as charged.
one of many childhood traumas that will be remembered for the rest of her life, i am sure...

on another note...

i wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who left a comment on yesterday's post.
they all meant a lot to me :D
i am still thinking it all over; but also i realized when i have moments like yesterday and new
milestones such as my baby getting glasses that i like sharing that stuff and finding a really
good reason to create (as if i need one) i was anxious....giddy.... :D

and i am quite certain that i will be churning out a paper and glue version of my
lil sweetie soon!

thx again!
xoxo
Have a great weekend!!!!
And remember....be praying that the T-storms stay away for me!!!!!

contemplating...good-bye

...blogging.
some days i love it.
other days i think...."why?"

i blog b/c:
* i get to share
* i have learned a ton of digi/computer related skills
* it is a creative outlet/ can be cathartic

i would stop b/c:
* i don't do it as regularly as i should
* some days it feels pointless
* and let's face it, when you don't get comments...what's the use...really?

~ i know ppl come by, i see my Feedjit live traffic feed...so that either means
a) it was an accident that someone found me
b) my stuff was just...eh...and they kept on truckin
c) they think comments are useless

*there is a sense of virtual "interaction" that just doesn't happen and i guess that makes it seem
narcissistic in a way...that crreeeeps me out!!!!
* i have been more focused on my photography rather than scrapping
* i don't like to get really personal here so maybe i lack a lil *sumthin*

WOW! my don'ts really outweigh my do's...
what. to. do. ????
right now, i am leaning towards scrapping ~no pun intended~the blog.

i am gearing up for a Senior photo shoot this weekend!!!
SUPER excited!!!!! :D
a different setting that will totally ROCK!!!
praying that the thunderstorms STAY. A-WAY!



Peace and Happy trails to you.
Thx for visiting.
;) xoxo

thank you, Julie :)

my friend, Julie, and her family just moved to Fresno, CA.
that is a long way from WV!!!
i miss them :*(
but she has a blog and i get to keep up with things that way.
she uses words like furtive/furtively.
i like her. :D
she also is very crafty. an amazing scrapbooker. all around gifted individual.
her husband, gifted minister/speaker, always liked to give us a hard time about our scrappin'.
i miss Jason, too. not as much as Julie.
sooooo....
my inspiration comes from Julie and is in her honor from this most recent post.

it gave me something to do with those October Afternoon "wild cards" {see post below}



couldn't leave out a details pic since i am ALL about the details this week ;)


then also, in honor of Julie, pictures of the crazy dog.
she thought that she could peruse my blog and find some of her, but
most of you know that is a touchy topic and i am just not apt to do the whole poochie pictures thingy-ma-do.
but for Julie, i will entertain y'all.
uhhhhhh....you see, most of the time when i get my camera out she will indeed attack it/me.
yes, in a playful way; even though she is barking and growling as well :P

so, i had to play a little hard ball.
sleep induced stupors...
OR
in the tub... :D
blame it on the teenager...i didn't do it! promise!
maybe i will like her better after our sessions with the "behavioral specialist"
no lie.
and don't give me the whole "she's too cute to be that bad!"
yes, she is(cute); but she has issues. TRUST ME!

have a great weekend!!!
i am out!

clean space = :D

making a list and checking it off:

*new supplies in the mail (adhesive, pen, ink, October Afternoon cards)....CHECK!






*scrap desk/area organized and cleanerrrr (as opposed to clean--clarification) or at least
as far as you can see....CHECK!






*recent LOs hung for memorialization and future homes in albums-- (which is on my *need* list)...CHECK!






*desk cleared and ready for further creativity...CHeeeeCCKK!

{adds to the character of the space, yes? ;P}

*ready to roll....CHECK!












WAIT! SHE BEAT ME TO IT!!! WHAT?? YOU MEAN....


really...now, how can i resist when my youngest says, "mommy, i want to do something with you.
i wanna scrap. we haven't scrapped in a long time!"
she wins me every time...well, not every time; but almost.
and can you blame me???
i didn't think so.


i will have my time...keeping the creativity juices flowing.

and if you love Pioneer Woman as much as i do and you would enjoy a brief little love story,
this one is to die for!!!

she cooks amazing food, does amazing photography, homeschools her 4 kids, works on a ranch, runs a nationally read blog, (excuse me internationally read),in the process of running a lodge and writes!
too much woman for me! ;)

and for another little laugh Liz Kartchner's birthday blog card...ROFL!
not everyone can get away with doing that!


and now i think this is my longest post in the history of my blog-dom.
i might not recover. you may never see me again.
at least until tomorrow.

daddy love

and the little details of life...



i don't know what has gotten into me...
i haven't scrapped like this in over a year!!!

for some reason the meaningful pictures have been drawing me in...
...to tell the story.
...to get it down.
...to NOT forget.
...thinking about how some days the journey goes by way too fast!

was this really 5 years ago???

enjoy today b/c it is as good as it gets!!!

little details

This is what i scrapped the day before National Scrapbooking Day when i didn't even know
that it was coming up!
i thought about how i like to capture some of the small details on pages...
...the sewing, the dimension, last summer's family beach photo where my youngest is
forcing the fakest smile of her life ~oy~
then i added this frame and saw the other details in the background on my desk...
then i started taking pictures for FUN!!! :D
like some of my favorite supplies that make it all possible...
*the sewing machine which normally always has black thread in it
*my tousled jar of ribbon
*my favorite stamps, pen, adhesive(i actually prefer Kokuyo brand, but was out), stapler
in the background as well...can't scrap without it!
*and a little sunshine helps, too. not that i see any in the basement. not that i have seen any
for days for that matter. actually, i just needed to fill an extra space in my collage! :P

{whoever is doing the rain dance over WV, i implore you to STOP!!!}

* then there is my trusty old typewriter that i can do all kinds of sneaky things with when i need
to-- when i don't want someone to recognize my writing OR when i need to do something like
this...

just remembering why i do what i do and keeping it fun!!!

therefore, i will save my UPS rant for another day...maybe after the whole thing unfolds...