What a week!

It's been quite the week around here! We got the "winter break" pack of UA basketball tickets so we've been out and about two nights this week. After Monday's game we went to Mimi's Cafe and enjoyed some hot cocoa and fried zuccini (I know, weird combo). Last night's game went to overtime - my voice is still sore from cheering! But, it was lots of fun and we did finally win, so we went home happy.

Yesterday at lunch I did some last minute errand running - stocked up on household items so Bob doesn't have to deal with that while I'm in Michigan (he's a native Arizonan and a Michigan winter is just not something he can handle - so he stays here and we spend some Christmases apart, kind of sad, but it's the cost of living far from family) If we had either toilet paper or Kleenex he'd probably be okay, but we were running dangerously low on both, so I braved the Target. It actually wasn't even too terribly busy. I also picked up a few last minute gifts there. And, it's right next to Michael's so I ran in and discovered that they were having clearance! I got two little tins for storing embellishments and beads, some embossed paper in sage green, and best of all the fun print at home 3x3 mini-albums pictured on the left! They're from Zoom Album and I think they're going to be a fantastic way to carry some of my favorite layouts with me! $9 for three of them in the pack!

Tonight I have to do some laundry, wrap a few more presents, and get packed - soon I'll be off to the frozen north! It's been in the mid-70's here, so I think I might just freeze to death in Michigan! But, even though I'll be cold and miss Bob, I am excited to see my family and spend some time with them!

And, finally a parting quote for the day - came in my Sojourner's newsletter today - I can't resist this kind of irony . . .

"I tried to watch President Bush's speech, but I couldn't; there was no electricity."
-Maxine Nash, Christian Peacemaker Teams member in Baghdad, commenting on President George W. Bush's Sunday evening address regarding progress in the war in Iraq.

Love of Family

In the spirit of treasuring family and remebering what's important, I was inspired by Carrie Stephens' Family Togetherness kit! This is one of our engagement photos - I love that you can see the spark between us - the very beginning of our family. It is ceaselessly amazing to me that one can forge this wonderful relationship with another human being, that we can choose to become a family - what a gift!

Feelin' a little Scrooge

It seems to be going around this year - a general sense of "bah-humbug" about Christmas. I have it too. I usually create a Christmas explosion at home - decorating every available corner and a big old live Christmas tree. This year we didn't get a tree and I haven't gotten out any decorations. I'm just not feelin' Christmasy this year. I think it's the fact that I've been getting Christmas forced down my throat since sometime in September. I miss the days when Christmas was something to look forward to. I couldn't wait for the season to start! But now the season is half the year and I'm just ready for it to be over - the hype, the advertising and the endless barrage of "must have" gifts. This just isn't what Christmas is about.

We watched a lot of sports this weekend and nearly every single advertising break had an ad for diamonds - apparently this is the only appropriate gift for a woman. I hate that! I mean, diamonds are fine, but what happened to personal, well-thought gifts that actually have something to do with the things the woman in your life is passionate about? Diamonds just seem too safe and easy to me - not to mention the whole blood-diamonds problem. Anyway, this was just one small example of what I see going on throughout our culture in regards to Christmas - it's just a big shopping event! So, instead of spending gobs of money on the next big thing, let's give to those less fortunate and give from the heart to those we love. Let's forget about fighting over whether to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" and reclaim our holiday spirit, whatever holiday we celebrate - a time for love, joy, peace, and family. I'm feeling a little less Scroogey already!

Digichick Blog Challenge

This sounds like so much fun! On Mondays there will be a blog challenge from the Digichick at the site's These Chicks Blog . I'm always looking for a little blog inspiration, so this should be great! This week's challenge is simple - Why do you scrapbook?

For me, it's a two part answer. First and foremost, I scrapbook for me - as an artistic outlet. I absolutely love to create things and work with color and design! Before I discovered digital scrapbooking I felt like I had some creative ideas and a decent eye for some artistic things, but I was never very good at art. I'm terrible at drawing and that always seemed like such a big part of art to me. When I stumbled onto digital scrapping I was thrilled - I could bring my ideas to life with a computer! Plus, I love taking pictures, so scrapping gives me a way to share my six million photos and preserve them for future enjoyment.

And, that brings me to the second reason I scrap - for the future. So that someday I can look at photos and remember what they were about and the particular magic of each day. So that someday if we have kids they can look at our photos and know something about our lives. I feel like I know very little about my ancestors - what kind of people they were, what their lives were like, what they loved and did everyday. Even my grandparents I really only knew as grandparents - not really as individuals. I want future generations to feel like they can really know something about me. But, on the other hand, if they're not interested in knowing their relatives that way it's cool - because I've had a great time making every single piece and finally feeling like an artist in my own little way!

Best bags ever!

I bought the cutest bags over the weekend! Tucson has a street fair twice and year and these folks had a booth. Their prices ran from $20 to $45 - very reasonable - and each one is unique! It sounds like they sell mainly at craft shows and such, but they said they would take phone orders too. They're called True Colors at 562-695-6099. They had all different sizes, from purses like these to bigger bags that would be great for craft totes. I could have bought one of each! But, in light of closet space, I settled for two. I'm so excited about them, I had to share!

Long time no blog

Wow I am a bad blogger this month! It's been a while, but we've had a houseguest - one of my husband's friends - so my computer time has been cut back a bit (our guestroom is also the office/craft room). But, other than that I've been busy doing some Christmas shopping and planning. I've gotten quite a bit of gift buying done, but I'm thinking of making a few things too - I'm going to do little shaker bottles with our favorite steak seasoning for the grown-ups, but I'm still debating on some things for our nieces - I'm torn between little tote bags with a digi-design ironed on and altered notebooks. Maybe I'll go with the books - I've been loving to alter lately! And, I'm going to do a canvas for my dad with a picture of his boat (assuming he gets around to sending the pictures LOL) - that will be digital and ironed on.

Also on the list of things to decide - whether or not to take Donna Downey's class! I'm definitely going to take Stacy Julian's class on making a creativity "funbook," but I'm on the fence about shelling out the bucks for Donna's. I think it will be great and totally worth the price - just not sure if it would be worth it for me personally - maybe I'll try a quarter and see!

Finally - be sure to swing by Fishscraps, Scrapartist and Digichick - they all have some great stuff out - both Christmas kits and non-holiday goodies. I'm seriously having a hard time even deciding what to scrap first - there's too much good stuff! A little scrapping marathon may have to begin once my computer is my own again!

Excitement!

We got our basketball tickets! The U of A sells a package of tickets for the games during winter break (this year the Fiesta Classic, USC and UCLA) and Bob went down and got us a set again this year. It's so much fun to go to Wildcat games - having attended small, private schools my whole life I never really experienced a big college until I went to Arizona for law school. Now I, along with most of Tucson, am a huge Wildcat fan! We always have a great time - we get an Eegee (that's a frozen slushy drink for those of you not from Tucson) and burritos from a Mexican place in McHale at half time and cheer on the team. Can't wait to go - especially since we're looking better - our game against Virginia was great in the second half. Isn't it funny how you talk about your sports team as if you were a part of it? In some ways it really feels like you are - I guess that's the fun of sports!

Last Minute Preparations!

In my usual "put it off until the last minute" fashion I am not ready for Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving - it's one of my favorite holidays in fact - probably due to the fact that it hasn't been totally commercialized! This year all I have to bring is whipped cream and green bean casserole and yet I haven't even gotten the ingredients yet. I'm a little scared of what the stores will be like tonight! I guess I'll find out - it can't be much worse than the day after Thanksgiving and I always go shopping then, so I think I can brave it! I haven't done much planning for Black Friday either yet - the ads come tomorrow, so I'll lay out the plan of action then and head out bright and early. I am a big fan of "day after" shopping - I do it at Christmas too! It gets a little crazy, but I love a good deal and there's some fun in the camaraderie of standing in line with people at 5am! I'm hoping to find a portable hard drive this year - it would be great to be able to take my scrapping with me! So, for now I will wish everyone a Blessed Thanksgiving and a great shopping day on Friday!

A Movie Date and other Fun Stuff

Bob and I went out for a movie date this weekend! Everytime we go to a movie, I quickly remember why we don't go more often - it is an expensive venture! But, we went to see the new Harry Potter movie and it was great! It was a lot scarier than the others, but very good - I really enjoyed it. I wonder if people are taking their kids to it though - I think it would have given me some nightmares. I don't envy parents the decisions they have to make these days - it certainly seems like a lot of things marketed for children are not very child appropriate.

Last night was also pretty exciting - the first official game of the season for our Arizona Wildcats! They beat Kansas, but it wasn't pretty - not nearly enough passing and way too much dribbling - looked a lot like last year's difficulties and to be honest I'm a little scared by that! Hopefully it was just the excitement of the first game and we'll settle in to a better rhythmn. On a good note though - Kirk Walters had a career high game! It's so fun to see him do well - he's from Michigan - went to the high school I would have attended if we hadn't moved.

Finally, I talked to my mom for a while last night about Christmas presents - got a few ideas for my niece and gave her a few more things for my list. It's funny - we started drawing names last year so we wouldn't have to buy for everyone, and this year about half of us have the same people as last year! Fortunately for me I got my dad and my next brother down again - both pretty easy to buy for!

So, while I'm on a Christmas note - I'll leave you with my first wintery layout of the year! I love these papers by Michelle Coleman at Scrapartist! And, Nancie just put up two more paper packs of Christmas stuff - just gorgeous, I can't wait to play with them!

A Great Weekend!

In keeping with my grand procrastinating tradition - I'm going to blog about last weekend when this weekend is almost upon me! Being a state employee, I get Veteran's day off so my friend Marie and I headed up to Phoenix for a day of shopping and a lunch with Michelle (aka Rynonut Mom). The photo is Michelle and I at lunch - it was so much fun to meet her in person. I've made some wonderful friends on the internet and I really enjoy chatting with people and getting to know them through their artwork, but there's still nothing like sitting down with someone for a meal - live and in person. And, it's an interesting experience to meet someone in life who you've only known online. You know them quite well and yet you've never actually met them before. I was excited about it, but a little nervous too - turned out there was no need for nerves - we had a great time doing some scrapbook shopping and chatting. And, by the way, Phoenix does have some amazing scrapbook stores - Scrapbooks, Etc. was insane! I am now the proud owner of a bunch of Bazzill cardstock and mini-albums :)

I was also very excited to go to Ikea - this was my first time ever! I was completely amazed! It's like a whole city in there! They have MAPS for pete's sake! I didn't end up buying much - a set of funnels and a little kids dish set that looks like a frog - very cute! Definitely a place I'll have to go back to, but I think I'll go through the catalog first next time so I have a better idea of what I actually want to get - it's just a little overwhelming to browse.

And, I bought a great painting for my office wall - an abstract modern on stretched canvas - very cool. I've got a few other things in mind - a lamp, some altering of my cork board, and a few scrapping projects - so I'll post some new pictures when I get that done - hopefully by next week.

All in all - a great weekend - it was really great to have a girls' day out! I don't have a lot of close girlfriends and most of them live at least a few hours away - many across the country - so it was great to spend some time with new friends and get to know them better!

My New Digs

It is such a joy to have windows! My judge moved into a new chambers, which meant a new office for me too! My office for the last year was about this size, but had no windows - kind of like working in a closet. I didn't mind it too much then, but it is such a joy to come to work in the morning with light streaming in! But, I need to do a little decorating in here. Below is my big white wall - I'm doing a little shopping this weekend for something to fill it - my diplomas just aren't cutting it. Any suggestions are welcome!

Fun Lunch!

What a fun lunch break today! We went up to the Fireman's Chili Contest that Tucson has each year - it's right downtown and they have tons of booths with all kinds of different chilis (along with some good old roasted corn and tamales of course). You buy tickets and then you can sample a whole bunch of different chilis - great idea! There was a ton of people, live music, great food and gorgeous weather to enjoy it all in! The weather here is just beautiful right now - a little warm for this time of year - but definitely beautiful! When fall and winter roll around here in Tucson I always remember why I love it so much!

What is wrong with the media?

Our local paper ran a story yesterday about Republican allegations that one of the Democrats' leaders, who is also a state attorney, was violating a law prohibiting state employees from holding leadership in political parties. Now, I know that the paper is just reporting the Republicans' accusations, but would it kill them to do some research? I did. It took me a matter of minutes to determine that the law in question has a specific exemption for state employees who provide legal counsel. In other words - he's not violating the law at all. Why not point that out when you write the story - as it stands now, everyone who read that article thinks the guy violated the law - and he didn't!

In the interest of honesty here - I'm a self-described liberal on many issues, but I am an independent when it comes to political parties - I frankly don't care much for either party. I'm with Jim Wallis - the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it! The problem here, however, is not so much political inclination or "spin" as just a total lack of actual journalism. I mean are the days gone when you actually investigate a story before running it? Are we to go without an independent media? Must our media outlets simply accept what politicians feed them? I am a firm believer that democracy cannot survive without a strong, independent media. It's long past time for ours to start doing its homework!

Legacy Toot!

I am very excited about this one! Legacy wants my "Promise" layout - I love that magazine and I've always thought that layout was perfect for it! I submitted it quite a while ago and had kind of given up hope, but they emailed me this week requesting it! I guess it goes to show - keep submitting. I've been laying off of the submitting lately due to my computer problems and time constraints, as well as the general malaise that too much submitting tends to cause for me - it just gets depressing when you get rejected! But, it certainly is a thrill when they accept something - especially when it's something you love! Can't wait to see it on the shelf!

Go White Sox!

The Sox have long been a sentimental favorite of mine - Big Congrats to them and to all their fans - particular the city of Chicago - on a well earned victory. I saw this in Chicago this weekend - crackin' me up with the white socks :)

I'm finally back!

Okay, after several weeks, I am finally back in action. I have been a bad, bad blogger lately, but it was just too much hassle to deal with on my old laptop. My new computer went down again (this would be the third new hard drive since I bought it in August) and this time I sent it back to HP for repairs. It finally arrived yesterday, so I spent last night getting everything loaded and installed and now I think I'm finally good to go. Hopefully it will continue to work properly - I'm really tired of dealing with computer issues.

Also, since I last posted, we had a break in at our house. They came in through our bedroom window and stole all of my jewelry, our camers, a dvd player (that doesn't even work LOL), my mp3 player and some DVDs. I replaced the camera already - it was actually kind of nice to upgrade a bit - I bought another Olympus - this time the D595Zoom - great camera for around $200! I love Olympus :) I am, however, heartbroken over my jewelry. Quite a bit of it I made myself from stones I bought at the gem show here. And, I had lots of family heirloom kind of things too - pieces from my grandma, a ring from my grandpa, jewelry from my parents, my college ring, gifts from my husband - it's so sad to think that it's likely gone forever. It makes me want to cry every time I think of it - filling out the police report has been really difficult. And, to top it off, we rent and I hadn't gotten renters insurance, so it's all out of pocket. The only bright spot in all of this is that this morning I discovered a black hills gold cross that my parents gave me that they didn't find. I always took it along to my law school exams for luck and so it was tucked in with a stack of my other stuff in a different room. I actually did cry when I found it this morning I was so happy to at least have something that survived. The police came and did find a fingerprint, so we'll see what happens. I also want to say a big thank you to all the chicks over at the digichick - they were the first I told about it and everyone was so supportive and encouraging - it really helped me through those first rough days!

Now, on a happier note - Bob and I went to Michigan for a long weekend this week and it was absolutely wonderful! Hung out with my parents, saw my brother and his wife and my adorable niece and my youngest brother too. We drove around Northern Michigan, checking out the beautiful fall colors and did a little hiking in Ludington. My aunt and uncle had the whole family over for Sunday dinner and cooked a full on Thanksgiving dinner for us! We never get there for Thanksgiving, so it was great to enjoy a holiday meal with everyone! We also got to spend some time in downtown Chicago - one of my favorite places - and spent several hours in the Field Museum (possibly the greatest museum ever!). We also got to see my dad's little sailboat in the water - we didn't take it out, but we sat out on it at the docks for a while - it's so cool. He completely rebuilt a SeaSprite sailboat over the past few years - I really hope we get to go out on it someday - it was just too cold on this trip! All in all it was a great trip and I took lots and lots of pictures - can't wait to scrap with them :)

Good Luck!

Well, today is the big day for recent law school graduates all over Arizona - the day the bar exam results come out! I wanted to wish everyone waiting for their letters today good luck! It's been odd to watch the new clerks at work stressing out and waiting - I can't believe it's been a whole years since I was stressing out and waiting! The bar exam is a horrible ordeal - far and away the worst test I've ever had to take or that I can imagine taking - exhaustive and complex. And then the waiting - months of waiting for your results. By the last day you're just dying to know! Last year I almost drove home from work at lunch to see if my letter had come, but our mail didn't usually come that early. Then I knew that Bob was probably home, so I debated about calling him to see if it was there, but I decided that I couldn't make him read me the results - what if I failed?! How could I make him be the one to tell me? But, then, he called me and said "There's a letter here from the Supreme Court, should I open it?" Heck ya!!!! And, mercifully, he didn't have to break my heart - I had passed! I wish the same joyous moment for everybody today!

Excitement all around!

First today I want to congratulate our new team members at the Digichick! Welcome to Robin (SweetandSassyMommy) and Michelle (Rynonut Mom)! You won a tough competition!

And my big excitment - plane tickets to Michigan! We're going to visit my family for a long weekend at the end of the month - I'm so excited. We've been talking about going in the fall for several years now and we started thinking about it again this summer, but I didn't think we'd actually pull it off. It's always tough to get time away - both of us getting off of work - and then coming up with the funds for travel too. But, this year things pretty much fell into place. I got called for jury duty the week we wanted to go, but they were great about changing my date and we both got the time off. So, off to Grand Rapids we go!

We're flying into Chicago too so I'm hoping Bob can finally see more of the city too. We went once for my brother's wedding, but he really only saw O'Hare and the suburb my sister-in-law's family lives in. He keeps saying he likes Detroit better - that is just insane!!!! (although I think he mainly does it to tease me LOL) Chicago is such a beautiful city, I'm really excited for him to really see it! I hope we get some fall color too - he's very excited for that. I can't wait to see my family and especially my little niece!

Argh . . . computers!

Once again my computer crashed this weekend - I bought an HP and the first one I had home had a hard drive failure and this is the second one, which I've had about a month. It wasn't total hard drive failure this time, but I did have to reformat my hard drive so I spent a good deal of my weekend re-installing all my software and trying to recover some of the stuff that I hadn't backed up yet. The good news is I didn't lose a lot - just the time to find it back. I really wanted to just return the thing and get a different brand, but CompUSA (where I bought it) won't take it back because I've had it for a little over a month and their return policy is 21 days. You'd think when you sell a person not one, but two computers that have major issues in the first month of ownership you'd try to do something about it. But, no. So I just won't shop there or buy any more HP. Anyway, I'm pretty peeved about the whole thing, but at least it's working now. The moral of the story - always, always backup!

I Miss Fall

I never thought I'd say it, but there's actually something I miss about living back east - FALL! It is still almost 100 degrees here - that is just not right! I always loved fall - the turning leaves, the great fall clothes and that wonderful snap to the air when the weather first turns. It will get cooler here - and hopefully soon - but we don't get that "fall" feeling - it just turns from way too hot to beautiful - and as much as I love that beautiful weather that we enjoy here 9 months of the year, I do miss the fall. So, to get my fix, I head to the mountains - it's not fall, but at least there's a snap in the air!

Digi Boo Layout

Well, I'm still stewing on a bi-scrapual project, but I couldn't wait to use this kit! This is my co-worker's adorable little girl when she was younger - love those ears :)

Halloween is coming! I'm a big Halloween fan - it was always so fun to dress up and I am a huge candy addict! I'm thinking of making some kind of altered gifts for my nieces and nephew this year (of course filled with candy LOL) - just downloaded the fabulous new Halloween kit from Digichick to make them with. Now I just need an idea for what to alter - one thing at a time I guess. Whatever it is it's going to be super cute - this kit is amazing! And, I think a lot of it will be great for non-Halloween layouts too! Be sure to check it out!
Get Digi Boo! here

The Bright Side

Kim tagged me to play "Polyanna" - pick three negative things from your life and find the positive in them. Definitely a good idea - so much of life is what we make of it! So here's mine . . .

1. My family lives very far away - they live in Michigan, I live in Arizona - the upside of that is that I have really come to appreciate them. When I lived right there I took it for granted that I could go over to mom and dad's whenever, but now that it's a day's flying to get there I really appreciate visits. And, I think not having them right on top of me has actually made me closer, especially to my mom - I'm a lot more open with her now.

2. My job exposes me to a lot of very, very ugly things. As a judicial clerk, I spend a lot of time at work reading about horrible crimes and people's very sad and desperate lives. But, in doing that I've come to have more empathy for others - you just never know what led a person to a certain place - and it has made me very appreciative of my own life. I grew up in a normal, healthy family and I am married to a wonderful man who loves and appreciate me. So many people don't have those things and live much of their lives in fear and pain - I am so blessed!

3. I am a liberal in an increasingly conservative church. I struggle with this a lot. It has, however, taught me to speak kindly and not to jump to conclusions about people's motivations and beliefs. It has also taught me a lot of patience.

Please let me in . . .

I had to use the buzzer to get into work this morning because I didn't have my pass card to get into our chambers - I forgot my entire wallet in fact! I don't know when I've done that last! I took it out of my purse last night to get dinner - didn't feel like dragging the whole thing along - and I was in a hurry this morning - trying to finish a layout before I went to work. And so my wallet is still sitting on the counter at home - getting lunch should be interesting :) Talk about your senior moments, huh?

But, the good news is I did finish my layout - I used Holly McCaig's new Signature Collection papers and Worn Denim Alphas for a picture of my niece from this weekend. She's so cute - she was so intent on learning to build a house of cards - has to keep up with big brother you know! The papers are fabulous - I used them for the cover of my album too - I love the colors and texture!

This weekend's projects

This isn't the greatest picture, but here's my weekend projects (the outsides at least) - on the left is my quote book, on the right a little altered tin and in the center my own little lunchbox variety creation from a card box. Now I just have to finish the insides LOL.

Monday

Mondays are no fun - it's bad enough that it's Monday and time to head back to work, but Bob doesn't have to work on Mondays so it makes it even harder to leave - I just want to stay home and hang out with him for another day! Today started out early too! I didn't get the work done that I wanted to this weekend so I headed in early. Of course I didn't get that work done because I was busy with some altered projects - definitely a fun weekend! Pictures to come later today - I didn't get that far yet :)

Right Now - The Pub Blog Challenge for Today

Right Now I am . . .
. . . on the internet - should be working - oops
. . . doing research on the infamous water case. There are too many people living in the west and too little water - hence a near 100 year old fight over the water of the Gila River.
. . . thinking about CK HOF - to enter or not to enter, that is the question.
. . . wearing brown and blue - I love brown!
. . . completely addicted to the silverjewelryclub.com (there's a link on my sidebar if you want to join my obsession LOL)
. . . debating about going to the oral argument that starts in 15 minutes. Interesting issues, but I have so much work to do I'm not sure I should spend the time on someone elses case.
. . . wishing I'd remembered my granola bar for breakfast!

Love that Man!

I try to print my layouts as I make them - 8x8 at home - and put them in an album. The most recent was a fabulous red K&Co. gatefold album. I'm waiting for my new Bazzill album to come because the red one is full! Anyway, last week I took the album to work with me to show a few co-workers and when I took it home Friday I had left it in my briefcase. So this weekend Bob asks me "Where's the red picture book?" He just wants to look through it again! I love that man!

The close of a good week

Well, Friday is upon me again - time to wrap up the loose ends and head for the weekend! This has been a good week at work though! I finally (after three weeks) finished the horrible case I've been working on and now I'm starting into a water law case. The field of water law is enormous and confusing, but it's a fun challenge to "dive in" so to speak! I'm looking forward to working on this one!

Our new clerk also started this week - this is good for several reasons. First - I really like her. The job of working for a judge can be somewhat lonely - you spend a lot of time just sitting in your office reading and writing - so I'm very excited at the potential to have a friend here! Also, because I've been the only clerk I've been doing all the editing in addition to working on my own cases and that's gotten to be a little much in the last month. So, all in all "It's a good thing" (consider that my tribute to Martha's new found freedom LOL).

I also bought the new Blues Traveler CD, "Bastardos," last night so I've got some great tunes for the weekend - took a listen last night and it's awesome! Highly recommended. I'm hoping it will give me some new layout inspiration! Bob has to work tomorrow, so I'm planning on some movie watching and scrapping. I'm working on some things with the new stuff in the Digichick boutique - we certainly have some talented designers there - be sure to check out the new batch that came out yesterday! Lots of cool stuff.

Car Repair

This weekend my car's battery died - it had trouble last weekend, but made it through the week before totally dying on Sunday. In years past, if I had car trouble, I just had to deal with it myself. And so I am totally capable of changing the battery in a car. But, it was beyond fabulous not to have to. My wonderful husband researched on the internet to find a place to get the battery, took me to the place to get the battery and installed the battery for me too! I just held the tools! I've always been proud that I could take care of myself, but it's certainly nice to be taken care of from time to time! I never would have thought I'd say that.

On an entirely different note, if you want to read something scary about the state of our government, check out this article from the New York Times - apparently Michael Brown isn't the only hack political appointee out there running a government agency. All The President's Friends (you might have to register with the Times to get in, but it's free)

My Very First Kit

I was playing around this week and decided to try to put together a little freebie kit - so here's my first ever kit attempt - hope you enjoy it! You can download it at Scrapartist here :


Sandalwood Kit

Bad Day - Good Papers!

Today was not a good day. I was completely berated by a virtual stranger - I wasn't entirely innocent in this run in, but I definitely did not deserve the long and angry attack I received. I can't remember the last time someone spoke to me that way. It's a very bad feeling. I will remember that feeling and never speak to anyone that way. I see parents talk to their kids like that and it makes me want to cry. So, I apologized for my part and now I'll move on. Part of the moving on? Scrapping! How can anyone not be happy looking at these fab papers by Holly McCaig - FunkyBunch indeed!

My First Big Toot!!!!!!

I am so excited! MM called yesterday and left a message, but not which layout, which book, etc. So all morning I'm dying, waiting to hear from them - I finally just call back and sure enough - they want my "We are an Ocean" layout for the Graphic Pages book. It's my first ever layout in publication! It's due out in March - I'm not sure I can wait that long! I'm so excited to see some of my work in print! Somehow I feel official now - I am a published artist! Very cool :)

Five Things . . .

Okay, Andrea tagged me, so here are five things that you probably don't know about me . . .

1. I have an interesting family - we're multi-racial :) I'm all Dutch. I have four brothers, two of whom are Korean, one of whom is Hispanic - they're adopted - and then I have one other brother who is also Dutch. Oddly enough, however, to the best of my knowledge I am the first person in my family (we're talking extended family here too) to marry someone who wasn't Dutch.

2. I have an odd, almost phobic, dislike of cotton balls. I can handle cotton clothing (but not diapers!) as long as it gets lots of fabric softener, but I cannot touch cotton balls. I have to use a knife to take the cotton out of pill bottles and even that freaks me out a bit. Just the thought of touching cotton gives me the heeby-jeebies. Very strange.

3. I'm very musical - until I graduated from college I was heavily involved in music. I even played in a professional county orchestra for a while. Frankly that's the art I always thought I'd pursue. I still play piano and flute and sing in church, but my serious musical days appear to be past for now - Scrapbooking has taken over LOL.

4. I collect those flattened pennies that they sell at tourist traps. DH and I have a little collection from all the trips we've taken or anywhere we go that has a machine. I just bought an album for them in San Diego - now I need to alter it!

5. I played six on six girls basketball in highschool! It hung on in Iowa until the early 90's and I loved it and I was a starter! I could never shoot and in 6 on 6 I didn't have to - I played defense and you weren't allowed to cross half-court! So, I set shot blocking records, got beat up a lot and never had to take a shot! Also, you only get two dribbles in 6 on 6 - another thing I was never any good at that wasn't required - ball handling!

So, there you have it, 5 odd, little known facts about me :) I tag Kim aka SAHMom

Another Great Katrina Fundraiser!

This awesome kit was created by Michelle Coleman and Carrie Stephens! It's $6.99 and all proceeds go to the Red Cross for hurricane relief! Be sure to visit Scrapartist to buy yours :) Just follow the link below . . .

http://www.scrapartist.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25&products_id=123

Toot :)

It's official - I'm this month's Featured Artist at DesignerDigitals.com! I'm very excited and honored to have been chosen! You can see my layouts on their home page and be sure to check out the rest of the store too - beautiful stuff :)

http://www.designerdigitals.com/

Happy Labor Day!

For much of my childhood Labor Day was my favorite holiday - odd I know, but I lived in a tiny Iowa town - 2000 people, no traffic lights - here's some pictures of it today . . .



Labor Day was a big weekend in our town! It meant Big Sioux River Days! We had softball tournaments, a citywide cook out with lamb burgers, a poker run, a carnival, biffy races (that would mean carts made with toilets for seats) and our church's annual pancake breakfast. It was always so much fun and frankly the only exciting thing that happened in our town. So, Labor Day in Tucson is less exciting, but as a state employee, I do have the day off so that makes it a pretty good holiday! Hope you all enjoy it too.

Great Idea

If you have any interest in making papers or those cool handdrawn brushes, but like me, don't have a tablet (I know - I point out a sale, but don't buy it myself LOL) be sure to check out this great thread by Sarah Batdorf aka Annie Girl. She's shared some great ideas for hand drawing or drawing in PS to create! http://www.scrapartist.com/scrapforums/showthread.php?t=379 I for one can't draw very well (the main reason I haven't shelled out the bucks for the tablet yet), but I think I'll play around a little with drawing and scanning a design!

Great Sale!

If you're interested in a Wacom Graphire Tablet - Best Buy has the 4x5 on sale for $59.99 after rebate this week!

Even the Wind and Waves Obey

I took this photo at Point Loma in California this summer. I was looking through our pictures from the trip to San Diego and looking again at the power of the ocean - even on a calm day - I was reminded of the story in Mark where Jesus calms the storm. With everything going on right now I have felt particularly helpless and somewhat overwhelmed by the world's wars, disaster and poverty. Just like the disciples, at sea in the midst of a storm, I want to say to the Lord "do you not care that we are perishing?" Jesus calms the storm in that story and asks the disciples why they were afraid - if they had no faith. Faith is difficult in difficult times, but it is in those times that faith is most needed. Just like those disciples, I am helpless on my own, so I will hold to faith and continue to pray the the Lord will calm the storms raging in the world today.

My Latest

All the loss in the gulf has really made me count my blessings and remember what is most important in life and so I got out our wedding photos this morning - remembering what a beautiful day it was and honoring the love we share. This is one of my favorites. The papers, word art and cool metal flower are all from the soon-to-be-released Digichick kit for Katrina relief.

Human Nature

There are many beliefs about the nature of humanity. Mormons believe that each of us carries the light of Christ. The Reformed believe in total depravity - the idea that by our nature we hate God and our neighbor. I am always torn between the two. I have been watching the coverage of Katrina and see evidence of both.

I see the light of Christ in the compassion of ordinary citizens in reaching out to their fellow man - people giving food, clothing and shelter - even when they don't have much themselves. People risking their own lives to try to help rescue others. I see it in the outpouring of generosity by people from across the country in giving to the Red Cross and other organizations who can help. I see it in people who have opened their homes to total strangers.

On the other hand I see the depravity of man in the fact that it took us five days to go to the aid of those that we told to go to the Superdome and Convention Center for safety and then left there to fend for themselves. I see it in the violence and crime taking place. I see it in the racism and disregard for the poor that likely caused it to take our government five days to get there. I see it in the finger pointing between government officials to try to defend their poor response. I mean, seriously, we didn't go because the governor didn't ask properly - was there a magic word she was supposed to use? We all saw this storm coming, they knew that thousands of people would be unable to leave and yet nothing was done.

In 2005, in the richest country in the world it's just unacceptable that our citizens - individuals with inherent value as human beings - image bearers of God should be reduced to this and left to die in the streets. I hope that we have turned the corner in this situation and that we can do right by those who have lost so much in this disaster.

If you want to help there are lots of options out there. Scrapartist.com is having a half off sale and donating its profits to the Red Cross through Sunday. The Digichick.com will have a huge kit for Katrina relief available tonight or tomorrow. Stop by and give generously!

Totally Random Collection of Thoughts

I think that digital scrapping is spoiling me! I was all excited today to go to our big Target to check out the scrapping supplies - they've gotten some Heidi Swapp, Memory Makers, Lil Davis, etc. I get there and the stuff was in, but I didn't find a thing to take home. - I was so sad! Some of it just wasn't as good as what I'm able to get from the digi-designers. Other stuff (like Heidi Swapp plastic alphas) I thought were cute, but then I thought - "I'm going to pay $6 and use it once?" I just couldn't do it. So after driving across town for scrapbook supplies I struck out - but I did get a very cute brown sweater that will go with half the things I own - I really like brown :)

Also - if I haven't told you - I love Chinese food! I picked up take out from Old Peking (the best place in Tucson by the way) on the way home and it was so good! I worked at a Chinese and Korean restaurant for several years during and after college and ate there everyday, so you'd think I'd be sick of it, but I still love it. It's been a while since we've gotten it, so today was a real treat - Shrimp with Vegetables and House Special Lo Mein! Yum!

Finally - I found out today that I'm on the schedule to sing for the praise team at church this Sunday. I love doing it, but I've had a cough/cold for the last week and a half and still have a pretty sore throat. I'm hoping I'll be up for it by Sunday, because I hate to pass it off, plus I'm scheduled to sing with my favorite teammate. We always have so much fun singing together! I think I'll just have to drown my pain with Tylenol cough syrup and tough it out :)

See, totally random!

Page of the Day

I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up, but I thought it would be fun to do a page of the day. I'm going to pick out something I like each day - from 2Peas, Digichick, Scrapartist and Fishscraps - and post it here. The artist's name will be a link so you can go and leave them some love! There's so many great digi-scrappers out there and I find so much inspiration from them - this should be a fun way to share.

The very first Page of the Day goes to Andie - love how she used the soon to be released hurricane relief kit from the Digichick!

The Artist's Way

My copy of this book by Julia Cameron finally showed up at the library today - we're doing a discussion group on it in the forum at scrapartist.com. I started reading it tonight and WOW! I am a firm believer that our creative energy flows from God - the ultimate creative genius, so I love that she makes that connection. I'm really excited to get into this further, but it's getting late, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

In the meantime a quote from the introduction, somewhat off topic for the book, but ever so true - particularly in the world today . . . "Nothing dies harder than a bad idea." Ain't that the truth.

Strange Changes . . .

Okay, so after about ten different versions - I have settled on this layout for the moment - the original dots were just a little too much LOL. I'm never going to get any work done now because I'll just be obsessively changing my blog layout to make use of all the cool templates out there!

Edited to add: see I changed again! Love this one though :)

So sad . . .

I am overwhelmed by the tragedy on the gulf coast - the damage and loss there is just unbelievable. I feel so helpless in the face of it - I want to jump in my car and bring people water and food or take some of them home with me for a while so they have a place to stay. But, that's impossible so I'm giving to those who can go to help and praying for everyone there fervently.

I'm also amazed at how something like this brings out the best and the worst in people. I see looters on the news, but at the same time I've seen incredible outpourings of generosity too. At the Pub on 2Peas people are making plans to help a Pubster stranded down there and all over I am seeing efforts small and large being made to help. At the Digichick our designers are making a kit as a fundraiser - be sure to watch for it - it's a great way to help. I've also added links for giving to the Red Cross and CRWRC (my favorite charity) in the "Make a Difference" section of my links.

This is me - jumping on the bandwagon!

Okay, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon. I have kept lots of journals over the years and generally find the process cathartic, so this seems like a natural extension. I'll talk scrapbooking, law, religion and politics - let's all just hope that I can keep my ranting to a minimum!