Grocery Wonder...

image source

Yesterday, I wandered the grocery store and while I was shopping a few things struck me as matters for "wonder".  I wondered...

... when at the grocery store, you're supposed to "shop the perimeter" which is where "all the healthy" stuff is... but what about all those baked goods?  Really?

... when is it too late to buy summer sweet corn?

... is someone watching me when I reach for the celery (or lettuce, or radishes) and as soon as my hand is in the cooler, do they - for kicks and grins - turn the sprayer on me?  (Every.  Time.)

... is someone trying to pull a fast one by charging $2.50 for 1 pound of strawberries (2 for $5) but $4.89 for a two pound container?  How many people don't do the math?

... if I buy "double strength" imitation vanilla flavoring, does that mean I add half of the amount the recipe calls for?

... why isn't peanut butter with "condiments"?


... how old are the eggs in the store, and how long do I have to leave them in my refrigerator before attempting to make hard boiled eggs that peel easily?

... if there were no manufacturer coupons, would food prices be lower?

... is it ever appropriate for the person behind you in line to start stacking their groceries on the conveyor belt when you haven't completed emptying your own cart?

... does double-bagging the groceries defeat the purpose of recycling plastics?  (I didn't ask for the double-bag, it was automatic by the cashier... for practically everything.)

Do you ever have one of those days?

I'll be back to share some of the fruits of my labor from crop day this weekend, I promise.

It's a Crop Day!

Heading out and meeting friends later today for some chatter, creativity and good eats.  I'm considering this an "appetizer" because, yes, I'm heading out to another scrappy retreat in a few weeks.  With all the closings of the scrapbook stores around town, we've been meeting up at my "real world job" office and use the conference room tables to spread out and play.  We used to do these little get-togethers on Friday nights, but brilliant me came up with the thought that a Saturday crop would be more relaxed, instead of trying to cram a few hours in after a work day.  We had our first Saturday crop last month, and it was a smash hit.

Send me lots of mojo... I hope to get more than a few things started, if not completed.  I need all the scrappy vibes I can get.

And then.. maybe... if the mojo is super special... I'll come back and share with you the fruits of my labor!  After all, you'll be responsible for some of it!

I hope you're doing something fun today?

I've Got Nuthin'...

I've got nothing for you today but some quotes that have been speaking to me lately...

"The time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted time."
Bertrand Russell
(Thanks Cheri!)

"Almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
Steve Jobs

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."
Chinese proverb

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
Wayne Gretzky

"The whisper you keep hearing is the universe trying to get your attention."
Oprah Winfrey

"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can."
Danny Kaye

In 1970, the Year When I Was Born...

My aunt sent me an email link a long time ago and I just opened it up and clicked on it today.  It took me an amazing site that puts together some fun facts about the year you were born... and makes you think a little about the path you took to get where you are today and where you may go from the here and now.

In 1970, in the year that I was born...

...there was no Google yet, or Yahoo.
...the top selling movie was Love Story

...the best selling book that year was also Love Story, by Erich Segal
...the academy award for the best movie went to Patton.
...the first episode of All My Children broadcast

...The Boeing 747, the first jumbo jet, goes into commercial service
...Paul McCartney sues in Great Britain to dissolve The Beatles' legal partnership

...Ronald Reagan is reelected governor of California
...the environmentalist movement began
...there was an oil crisis, after which gasoline was rationed in many countries
...the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan
...the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, witness the kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes by Palestinian Arab terrorists
...the space mission Apollo 13 nearly ends in disaster

...Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison all died at the age of 27
...the song "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5 topped the charts

...Josie and the Pussycats and The Partridge Family were popular TV shows
...the pocket calculator was invented
...so was cup of noodles
...microwave ovens became commercially available

Some interesting stuff there, and I didn't share it all.  Want to see what the world was like in the year  you were born?  Click the link below and enter your birth year**...


What happened in my birth year?

You could do a layout with this stuff!  :)  Hey, leave me a comment and let me know what your birth year was and one or two interesting factoids... I love this stuff!

**Just a note... I think this was created by an American so for those of you across the pond and in other areas of the world... some of these things may not be local to anywhere other than the USA, for example, the movie, book and song it listed for me.  But it's still fun, and does include some world events.  Give it a go!

Visitor...

Look who came to visit:

Hello Mr. (Mrs?) Praying Mantis!

I don't know why I'm so fascinated with them, but I am.  Probably because sightings (for me) are rare.  This was very cool!

Sweet Retreat

A loooong time ago, when I was having Sew Much Fun, I alluded to this "relatively simple" project, which ended up actually taking me a very, very long time to complete.  I started it way back in March, during a very rough time when we had to put one of our dogs to sleep.  And then, I just didn't get back to it until last month.  And this weekend, I finally finished it.

Here is my "Sweet Retreat Weekender Bag" made from scratch by yours truly.

The sucker is huge!  It certainly can be used as a weekender tote bag.  I have one little itty bitty thing left to do and that's to make an insert for the bottom of the bag, to give it a flat bottom.  At first I decided I didn't want to make one, but this weekend I changed my mind, so... that will be the finishing touch.

No close ups on this baby... my sewing skills are still at the "baby" level... atrocious.  I'll keep practicing, I promise.  The teal cancer ribbon is in memory of my mom, who died of ovarian cancer.  I love that I was able to find fabrics with teal in them that included dragonflies and butterflies. 

Despite the crooked stitching and the many, MANY other imperfections, I love it!  I have a feeling this bag will be used for a long while.

What did you do this weekend?

Doodly ME

So... I'm dabbling in doodling. 

I like the way that sounds.

Actually, I am convinced that I "can't" doodle.  Or, I was convinced until someone called me out on her blog (anonymously) and finally convinced me that EVERYONE can doodle.  The biggest part of doodling is "NO Comparing!"  And, like anything, it takes practice.

Well, the ME in my MoleskinE class has got me doodling!  I've doodled not only borders, but faces and thoughts.  And you know what?  It may not look like I want it to look, but in the end, it serves its purpose and it's pretty cute to boot. 

Here are a few more pages from my MoleskinE book.

 

 

Whoops. Those are the last pages I have complete!  I guess I'd better get back to it and finish up!  Maybe I can practice more doodling...

Do you doodle?  Do you like what you doodle?

Day 7

I hope you'll indulge me yet again as I speak about my temporary "detox/diet".  I have to say that eight days ago, I never really believed I could accomplish this.

And here we are at day seven!  I am officially 1/3 through this plan and I'm thrilled I've stuck it out.  The first three days... the detox... were the hardest.  Only fruits and veggies and water. 

Day one was probably the toughest.  By the time dinner rolled around, I was already "done" with raw veggies.  In fact, I wasn't upset in the slightest when someone came over to help me finish my dinner.

She seriously ate two pieces of lettuce... or, rather, dandelion.  Okay, I will admit it.  It was tough, but... but... honestly?  Not as hard as I had thought it would be!

Even so, my first protein on day four was like a FEAST to me!

I was soooo ready to eat protein and not veggies that I ate a piece of egg before I remembered to take the picture!

Since then it's gotten easier.  Today was my first "cheat/treat" day and I didn't go all out.  I had salad for lunch and some reasonable items for breakfast and snacks. I did have pizza for dinner.  But I stopped at two slices and packaged up and froze the rest!  That's progress (for me)!

And as a bonus, I have lost weight.  I'm happy about that and after I'm done with the entire 21-day plan I'll be sure to update my stats in the Fitness Foibles section.

But really, all I want to say out loud is... I'm really proud of me for doing this... sticking with it... and keeping an open mind with some of the foods they want me to eat.  It's been tough, but I have prevailed through 1/3 of the entire plan.  In the famous words of Helen Reddy, "I Am Woman!   Hear Me Roar!"

Now we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming...

Ago...

I like to take this from my friend Nancy and put it on my blog sometimes... as always, thanks for the inspiration, Nancy!

13 Years Ago I was celebrating my mom's last birthday with her...

12 Years Ago I started stamping, which led me to scrapbooking...

10 Years Ago you could still walk to the gate at the airport to see your loved ones off...

7 Years Ago I became employed at a scrapbooking store and it changed my world...


14 Months Ago I was turning 40, celebrating 15 years at my company, enjoying my 10-year anniversary with The Hubs and I was just beginning my whole fitness journey...

10 Months Ago The Hubs was so sick and I was consumed with taking care of him (yay for healing!)...

5 Months Ago we lost a four-legged child to cancer and we were very sad...

12 Weeks Ago I turned 41 with very little hullaballoo...


11 Weeks Ago I was still healing from my first bout ever with strep throat...

10 Days Ago I was sharing some of ME with you...

5 Days Ago I began a detox and eating plan that has totally changed me...

4 Days Ago I went to see The Help and completely fixated on the food!

1 Hour Ago I was watching the movie Push on cable...

10 Minutes Ago I decided to write this post...

And NOW I will schedule it and wander off to dream land.  Dreaming about my tomorrows...

What have you been doing and what are your tomorrow dreams?

Heart & Love

Just dropping by to share with you my almost-favorite pages that I've made so far in my Me in My MoleskinE book.  Heart & Love.

What I loved about these pages?  The colors.  I loved making that daggone heart; I love how it looks!  I also loved documenting my first crush and my first kiss.  I am sure I will work more about that into the journaling when I get to it.

Part of the instructions tell you to go find a quote about heart and a quote about love and add them to each of the pages.  I did some searching on the internet and quickly found the "perfect" quote for my heart page.  I didn't realize until I'd written it in my book that Kirsty had used the same one in her book.  How cool (and funny) is that?  Great minds...

"One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter." 

James Earl Jones

I've really missed working on this book.  I've seemingly taken an unplanned several weeks hiatus.  I believe I will try and get some time in on it this week, if possible.  How is it that I've given up a second job and yet, I still never seem to be home in the evenings or have time to do things?  Grrrr.

By the way, I'm very curious.  How many of you actually attempted tracing your own foot after my attempt for this book?  How did it go?


Detox/Diet Update:  Had protein today.  Was yummy!  Progress good.  Very excited.  Still right on track...

Scatterbrained...

My dinner tonight.  It was the most delicious thing I've eaten.  No kidding.
Sauteed veggie wraps.
Veggies: zucchini, baby portabella mushrooms, onion, broccoli & tomatoes.
Yum.

When all you're eating is veggies, fruit and water, I've discovered that my brain becomes a little scattered.  I'm not sure if it's the major decline in calories, or if it's the addiction to food I have, or if it's chemicals in my body being released, or what.  But I've had a funny little side effect of this little detox thing I've been doing.  A combination of hyper-brain (racing thoughts), foggy brain (what was I just saying?), and scatterbrain (let me pick this up hey did I tell you where is he going watch out did you eat I'm outta here). 

Otherwise, so far my little detox experiment is going well.  But since my brain isn't functioning to the best of its ability; i.e. I can't seem to follow a thought through to its end, I'm going to spare you with any chatter today.  Because you might just be spinning as well! 

Today...

 Today is the start of something very new... very alien... to me. 

Today I will begin a journey, for three weeks, into eating clean.  Eating healthy. 

Today I begin a three-day "detox", clearing my liver of chemicals by eating vegetables and fruit and drinking lots of water. 

Today, along with the three-day detox, I being following a 21-day menu plan... a regimented menu plan.

Today I'm repeating to myself, only three days... only three weeks... out of my whole life. I CAN do this.


Today I am looking at the menu I am following and looking forward to Monday when I will be able to have protein and carbs again.

Today I may gag.  A lot.

Today I have warned the people close to me to not eat pizza or fast food in the house.  "Go out to eat, and don't invite me or bring home leftovers."

Today I will keep reminding myself that I am important... and doing this will be an important step toward better health.

Today I am worrying about all the things this weekend will bring to me while my body adjusts to simple organic fruits and vegetables.

Today I will have/had spinach in my morning smoothie for the very first time.  I'll let you know how I felt about that later.

Today is the next Step to a better me, physically and hopefully mentally.

Today (and every day during this eating plan) I will drink half my weight in water.  Trust me, that's a LOT of water!

Today I will be making many trips to the bathroom.

Today I can guarantee I'm craving peanut butter, chocolate, crackers/bread and caffeine.  Not necessarily in that order.  Possibly all at one time.  Probably every minute that I am awake.

Today I am very scared.

Today is going to be very hard.

Today I will discover how strong I am.

Today is just the beginning.  Three weeks... 21 days... is the goal.

Today is just one single day out of my whole life.  I CAN DO THIS!

A Day Called YUM!

Thanks everyone for your comments and support on my 10 Things - goals to achieve before Christmas -  from yesterday.  I have (re)started today on one of them... my quest for a better, fitter me.  I walked in my favorite park...

Pardon the blur... it was my phone camera and I didn't stop walking to snap the shot... must keep moving!  Besides, you were there with me once, so you've seen some of these trees before, right?

Whoops!  There's the blur again.  Like I said... WALKING here! 

I stopped walking to catch the sun on the foliage.  It looks like a totally different form of plant life
or something, the sun's shine was so strong here.

And because I love sun flare, I thought I'd see how my phone camera did.  Crazy flare!

Of course, the weather "permitted" me to get outside and walk today.  I detest...loathe...abhor...heat.  This summer, in Ohio and seemingly everywhere, has been HOT.  And that's a mild term for what I truly felt it was, which would be comparable to what I visualize as the stereotype of HELL.  Anyway... today was the perfect summer day for ME: mid to high 70's...very low humidity...sunshine with some puffy clouds (which looked to be thunderheads for a while, but they went away without rain).  The only thing that would have made it better would have been a bit more of the light breeze.

If anyone out there can help me find a place on this earth where THIS type of day is what summer is 90% of the time, AND also has all four seasons, please let me know.  I'll be living there in a hot minute!  In the meantime, I'm looking forward to more walks as fall approaches and arrives.

But for now... today was just... YUM. 

(All photos posted here were straight-out-of-the-camera, unedited.  The "camera" was the one from my phone - an LG Envy Touch - quality may not be great, but it's all I had on me at the time.)

10 Things...August Edition

For me, August signals the “end” of Summer. I know that the Autumnal Equinox isn’t until nearly the end of September, but August was always the last of summer for me. Perhaps it was because of going back to school, but my mindset didn’t change, not even after I started working. August is when you wind down from the summer fun (not that I did much this summer), your tan starts to peel off or fade (not that I’m able to tan, but if I did, mine would peel) and you’re 100% sick of the heat and humidity (oh yeah!). I look forward with anticipation to fall, because fall is my favorite season and it seems to be ever so fleeting. I plan all the things I will do to enjoy fall, and yet, I seem to never get them all done.

Well, this year I had so many plans for summer and I actually feel like I missed summer. So, for this Ten Things on the 10th, I bring you…

Ten things I didn’t do this summer that I will most definitely do before Christmas:

1.  Write more Ten Things on the 10th, because I totally spaced it out in July and want to do this every 10th of every month from now on…
 
2.  Participate in Story Telling Sunday, hosted by Sian. It took me a while to “catch on” to this. For a while I thought it was every Sunday and then when I’d go looking for it, it wasn’t there. I finally realized it’s the first Sunday of every month and fully intended to participate this month. I even had a story all set up in my mind. Except… before I knew it…before I could type it out…before I could get it scheduled to post…magically, Monday was here! Oops. Next month for sure!


3.  Organize and print my photos. I have digital photo files… everywhere! And I haven’t printed photos since… oh… 2008! I’m bored of scrapbooking old events. Even though printing things from 2009 til now can somewhat be considered “old events” they will be fresh ideas for me. I think this is part of what has me in a “rut” creatively. I keep going back to old photos and staring at them, knowing I need to scrap them, and feeling completely uninspired to do so. I need to mix it up a little, I think.

4. Declutter at least one more room in my house. I felt so accomplished when we worked on clearing out The Girl’s room when she moved in with us for the summer. I felt accomplished again when I got my scrappin’ room set up with the slat wall. I want to feel that way again. There is a huge project of a room in my basement that is screaming for attention and I keep ignoring it. I really would love for this to be cleared out by Christmas.

This is The Room downstairs.  The Room that is packed floor to ceiling, wall to wall.  It weighs on me...and it makes me run away screaming!

5.  Explore Etsy, both as a shopper and as a potential seller.

6. Create at least one layout per topic over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out. I promised myself that once I stopped working at the scrapbook store, that I would do more “scrapping” and I certainly have. I really have! But I haven’t focused on Inside Out’s topics or philosophy as much as I would like. I will share with you when I do them, so you can help me keep on task for this item.

7.  Journal. I have gotten so lost and removed from journaling. I have dabbled more in it over the last month (July), and really like some of the concepts of art journaling. I’m still dabbling… and I’m noticing it feels good when I do.

8.  Create. Start the project I was “challenged” to do on the last 10 Things post I wrote. And finish it. Because I took her challenge and I set a date for “by Christmas”. Must… get…a…move…on! Oh, and while I’m starting this project, I want to also finish up all of my other scrappy & journaling projects that I have started including Me in my MoleskinE, The Planet You, among others, as well as creating my Christmas cards.


9.  More Cards! I want to at least make birthday cards for 2012 if not for every 2012 events (anniversaries, etc.) Ever since I started making cards I have thought it would be wonderful to create the entire year’s worth of birthday, anniversary and other celebrations before the following year so I’d be ready to send them out when the time came. I’ve been making cards for the better part of 8 years and never have done this. I love receiving “real” mail in the mail… and I want to send these little bits of light to others. It used to be very, very important to me to send cards to my friends and family for their birthdays, at the very least… and somewhere along the way, I lost the motivation to do so. I want to find it again. Making a supply of cards should, I hope, help.

10.  Last but definitely not least, lose weight/size. In my ongoing quest for a better me, both mentally and physically, I have let both slack over the summer. I have been wallowing in mental muck and eating like there’s no tomorrow. Seriously. Like there’s no tomorrow! I start actively pursuing this goal on this Friday, actually. Uhm…. this may mean I’ll be moody; it’s hard to give up those addictions of mine. Please bear with me if this rears its ugly head on my blog. And, thanks for your support everyone!!

Whew! that's a lot, but I am pretty sure I can and will do it. Make sure you help to keep me honest, okay?

Can you come up with a list of ten things… any ten things? Share it and join us by linking yours up at Shimelle’s blog. Or, just click here if you want to read more “Ten Things”!

Free To Be Just Me...

Since I'm from the USA, I am sure I often use terms that bloggy friends in other countries may not recognize.   The term "brown noser" was one that was used frequently in my youth.  It was usually in sentences like:

Can you guess what it means?

She's always doing things for the teacher; she's such a brown noser!

Mr. Roberts just gave Karl an extra treat; it must be because Karl's got a brown nose.

You stayed after school to help Mrs. Dubante with an extra credit project?  Geez, you're such a brown noser.

"Teacher's Pet" is a mild term that can compare, but truly it doesn't have to be only with teachers.  It can be with anyone to whom you are perceived as "kissing ass".  The more disgusting explanation of the term is ... you're kissing so much ass you've got a brown nose.  Yeah... gross... but as kids we say things like that and don't really think deeply into the meaning.  It's just a term.

Except, this particular term followed me around for far too long.  So, in exploration of Scrapbooking from the Inside Out's topic of Independence last month, I did a layout following this challenge:

Uniqueness and individuality: What makes you unique? Are you proud of what makes you different, or is it a source of shame for you? Were you ever teased or mocked because of something that makes you 'different'? Did those experiences make you more stronger and more independent or proud of your uniqueness? Is there such a thing as weird?

Mad, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence. Ambrose Bierce

The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought. Emma Goldman

Please create a LO about what makes you different, and whether you've embraced it. Does it make you stronger to be 'weird' in some way?

For the design twist, use a childish, teasing title...'loser', 'COW-fman', 'bird legs...'; whatever made you cringe! 

Well, I was often called a Brown Nose or Brown Noser (among many other "names"), mostly because I was intelligent and placed in elevated courses. Thus, many of my classmates believed I was weird... a teacher's pet, or a butt kisser.  Well, I'm freeing myself from that... becoming independent of that ... here's my layout:

Journaling: "All I wanted was to fit in and be like everyone else but early on I was labeled "GIFTED" which made me "WEIRD". Just a brown-noser misfit to everyone else." 

There is also lengthy hidden journaling, which I won't share all of here... but I will share this excerpt:  "It took me a long time to accept that I was intelligent, and that being intelligent was not something to be ashamed of. Well into my Thirties, in fact.[...] I dumbed myself down on purpose to try and be more accepted. I really regret that and often wonder what would have happened if I had really fulfilled my potential."

One of my sisters gave me the plaque pictured at the top of the layout and it hangs in my kitchen to this day.  I am not weird.  I am gifted.  So, to all of you out there who ever called me a brown noser... suck it up!  :)

What names have you been called that you have broken free from in your lifetime?

Layout created using Inside Out's July 2011 Independence Kit.

Addiction!

Note to self:  NEVER buy these cheddar goldfish crackers again.  There's no stopping eating them once I start!

More ME

Just wanted to share another page from my ME in my MoleskinE.  I haven't worked on it in a while, but I have to say that so far, these two pages are my favorite.  I had fun making the little outfits of "my normal clothes" and "my dream dress", which is somewhat of a lie.  Because my dream dress has handkerchief ends, but I ruined more paper trying to get it to look right.  So, I just settled for some good colors.

I'm a jeans and a t-shirt girl, though... which is the outfit on the left.  That's what I'm comfy in and very, very rarely get "dressed up".  I had a fun time drawing the border around these pages. I actually did it twice because I ended up drawing on pages that will eventually be glued together.  Doh!  So, I had to start again.  And these pages... really made me re-fall in love with my watercolor pencils.  I want MORE!

Pulled an all-nighter with friends last night so I've had very little sleep today.  I hope to get rested tonight and then spend more time on this book tomorrow.  I'd love for this to be a project I actually finish... in less than a year.  Way less.  I've got hope...

Look What I Can Do!

I feel like Stewart from Mad TV.  "Look what I can do!" and then it's this little goofy minor thing... but I"m proud of me!

I turned myself into a cartoon!  To see the photo I started with look up there in the right-corner where my profile is, or to view a bigger version of the same photo, go here at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out.

Not too shabby for my first ever try... in my opinion.  What do you think?  Does it still look like me?  Only cartoon-y?

Don't Laugh (or Scream in Fear)...

I want to chat a bit about a class I've been working, called ME in my MoleskinE by Kirsty Wiseman.  I'll let you click the link to read about the class in detail, if you wish, but a quick synopsis is that it's a "book about me".  What's different, for me, is the doodly-artsy-mixed media.  I'm still firmly stuck in the scrapbooking/cardmaking genres so moving to the "mixed media" craze has been slow.  I shouldn't say craze but it seems like everywhere I look lately I'm seeing "mixed media" or "mixed media art" or whatnot.  I don't remember seeing the term "mixed media" very much say... this time last year.

Regardless, I have watched videos and dabbled lightly in the Soul Restoration 1 class and other than that, looked on in fascination at the pieces of art people have created, using "mixed media".  When I was introduced to Kirsty's class by Bernice (thanks Bernice!), I was immediately drawn to it because, for whatever reason, it just seemed less intimidating. If I'm truly honest, it was intimidating at first, but I decided that I'd jump in.  Kirsty made it sound so enticing. 

Thus, both feet were first in the air, and then splashing into the water (aka, I jumped in).

When I got to the videos and watched, entranced, at Kirsty's ease of creating, I didn't pay much attention to the topics for each piece of the book, instead I was watching the techniques and listening for tricks and tips.  So when I approached the page where one of the prompts is to trace your hand and your foot and then write about what you like or don't about them, I was a little... I was... uhm... I'm not sure what I was.  Kirsty, herself, joked about her "deformed foot" in her sample and while I laughed, I wondered why she'd let it stay that way.  The tracing of her foot, that is... not her foot itself.

And then, I tried tracing my foot.

You know what?  It's not easy to trace your own foot.  I tried.  Twice.  And my foot still looks slightly deformed.  I was with a friend when I was working on this page and she looked over and started laughing and asking me if I had hand drawn my foot.  As in, free hand sketch.  As in, a kindergartener could have drawn a foot better.

Sigh.  I did try.  Twice.  And yet, my foot STILL looks deformed.  It's REALLY hard to trace your own foot!  Seriously! 

Oh well... it's over and done with.  Moving on to the next prompt...

Details & Simplicity

So... after that Lost Weekend when I put together my scrapbook slat wall and space (again), I was lost again.  Honestly, it's been simply fabulous to spend time at my scrap table... frequently.   Not yet quite every night, but definitely a great deal on the weekends. 

So, why haven't I been sharing?  A variety of reasons, actually. The biggest reason is that I've been working on some very personal projects... in classes... that I'm waaaaaaaaaaaaay behind in.  And yet, I feel no pressure to catch up.  The curriculum will still be there.  Well, most of it anyway.  I've been having fun working slowly in the Me in my Moleskine projects, practicing deep and terrible avoidance in Soul Restoration 2, and all out pretending the Planet You journaling class I signed up for hasn't started yet!  (It has.)

But.  I have played.  I have been making cards (my other happy craft).  Let me share this one with you.

For whatever reason, I have been absorbed in details in cards.  Stamping and coloring and Stickling and glossy accent-ing and... well, you get the picture - even though it's hard to see in the actual pictures above. I found that I have a sort-of meditative experience when I'm working in detail, and yet, I still find the card to be beautifully "simple"... something I've always liked. 

Through it all, I have been thinking of you, my dear bloggy friends.  But in the past few weeks, I've actually done a layout, made a dozen or more cards, completed about a third of my Me in my Moleskine class and generally having a fun time.  Craftily.

And maybe a little later I'll be back to share my sewing adventures with you as well.  Because that's been going on too! 

My, my, what has gotten in to me??

He's So Fluffy, I'm Gonna Die!

It took me a long time to watch Despicable Me.  A movie. Animated.

I don't know why it took me so long.  I typically love animated movies (although I detest watching cartoons... yes, I am a conundrum).

In fact, when I first sat down to watch it, I fell asleep at about 15 minutes into it.... and woke up just about 5 minutes before the credits rolled.  My husband tried to wake me up...he kept raising the volume up on the TV.  He said it was because I was snoring so loud.  Yeah, right. 

*blush*

But eventually, I watched it.

Now... I'm freaking ADDICTED to it.  I LOVE it!  I made my husband download the soundtrack for me.  I watch it at least twice a week, maybe more if I'm really honest with myself.

Let me show you... here's an excerpt of one of my favorite scenes.



Favorite excerpt?  The whole movie is my favorite!  Seriously... if you haven't, and you like animated movies even 25%... watch this one!  If you regret it after, come see me and I'll give you a shot of fluffy!

And you too will soon be singing with me, "Unicorns I love them, Unicorns I love them, Unicorns I love them, Unicorns I love them, Uni-uni-uni-corns, I luh-uh-uhve them!"

Sick*...

"I cannot go to work** today."

Said little Peggy Ann McKay (aka Kai)

"I have the measles and the mumps,

A gash, a rash and purple bumps.

My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,

I'm going blind in my right eye.

My tonsils are as big as rocks,

I've counted sixteen chicken pox

And there's one more - that's seventeen,

And don't you think my face looks green?

My leg is cut, my eyes are blue -

It might be instamatic flu

I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,

I'm sure that my left leg is broke--

My hip hurts when I move my chin,

My belly button's caving in.

My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained.

My 'pendix pains each time it rains.

My nose is cold, my toes are numb,

I have a sliver in my thumb.

My neck is stiff, my spine is weak,

I hardly whisper when I speak.

My tongue is filling up my mouth,

I think my hair is falling out.

My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,

My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

There is a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is -- what?

What's that?  What's that you say?

You say today is...Saturday?

G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

Every time I start to get the Monday blues, I think of this.  I thought I'd share it with you.  Does it bring a smile to your face like it does mine?

* Sick, by Shel Silverstein - from the book Where the Sidewalk Ends

** The poem says "school".  I substituted "work" for my own purposed.  Apologies to Mr. Silverstein if that was overstepping my bounds.

And no, no one told me or coerced me or paid me or bribed me or threatened me or gifted me in any way to post this poem. I just LOVE Shel Silverstein and he's been 'popping up' in my life lately... so I thought I'd share. 

Happy Monday all!