I've been keeping some of my alphabet stamps in embroidery floss boxes for a few years and finally moved all of them into boxes and stamped labels for each one...
I have them all stored in the bookcase right next to my desk...
I have exciting news...
Okay 99.9% of you won't care, but in the Land of Nora there was momentous news...I discovered that there are finally, and I mean finally after like three years of waiting, new Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink pads colors available. After trying numerous brands these are my very favorite ink pads so I'm pretty darn excited...that Sour Apple color alone pretty much had me shaking with glee. Sad but true, ink just makes me happy.
So I will go to bed tonight dreaming of the new colors on their way to me...but before I go here's the layout I used the tree stamp on...
Gotta go...
I just have a minute since I need to get off to my internship to make up for the hours I missed yesterday. Thanks so much for the well wishes for my mom...the surgeon was pleased with the results and she made it through the first day amazingly well.
A little more craftiness before I head out the door...
And just noticed a typo...hate when that happens...okay gotta go...
Mom & Dad...
Getting caught up on Mac's scrapbook with a photo from when my dad was in town a couple of months ago.
Speaking of my parents, my mom is having shoulder surgery today so if you have a second to send a thought or prayer out for her it mean so much to me.
More craftiness tomorrow...
Technically...
I am on Spring Break...but it won't be too much of a break with my same internship hours and heaps of schoolwork...a bunch of get ahead schoolwork...stuff that's not due until later in the semester so it'll take an enormous amount of resolve to work on it now.
But this weekend I got a chance to enjoy some little spring-break-like behaviors...a couple of hours on the beach...
And some crafting...I decided instead of posting everything tonight I'd share throughout the week...especially since my blog has been pretty darn boring lately...
So keep an eye around here this week...I promise it'll be all crafty all the time :)
I just want more weekend...
Ah the typical Sunday night scramble to get it all done...to have some sense of peace as the week begins.
I want more of this weekend...quiet at home...Sean working in the yard as I filled a vase with roses...getting the bare minimum of homework and studying done...good food...catching up on favorite TV shows...watching some college basketball...hanging out in bed way too late on this rainy morning.
It was pretty much perfect.
Flowers...
I really wanted to try to come up with a birthday gift for my sister that she could use over and over and remember her 30th birthday. She just inherited a really neat dining room table from her husband's family and loves to fill her house with fresh flowers from her local farmer's market so I thought I'd get a her a new vase...and I just had to try to make sure it was extra cute so I made money flowers that way she had some cash for her next few farmer's market trips.
It was nice to get a chance to be crafty between all the schoolwork this week. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do it again this weekend between the next batch of schoolwork...
Looking back at it...
I was kind of grumpy and overwhelmed earlier today, but this evening I realized everything I got to do added up to a really good day.
I was able to live vicariously through the excitement of someone at my internship who was getting to go to this today
It was my sister's 30th birthday and my mom arranged to go to an amazing lunch...and she treated my brother and I to a lobster lunch we shared. I'll show my sister's finished gift tomorrow, but for now here's her little tag-book/card...
I earned some extra credit for my theory class by attending a talk at school
I inadvertently ended up talking to one of my professors for two hours...most of which we were laughing hysterically...I am damn lucky to have the teachers I have.
And on my way home tonight I got to shop over the phone and make sure several pieces of my precious Hambly are tucked into a bag waiting for me.
So Obama + lobster + extra credit + laughing + patterned paper = a good day
Dealing with...
...what happened three years ago today
...fighting the cold I've had since Friday
...a fun but super busy weekend that has had me playing catch-up all day
...a social theory paper due tomorrow
...a huge midterm on Thursday
...a book that's supposed to be read by now and oh I'm about page 54
...general grumpiness & stress because of those last three things
However having the house straightened up, eating leftovers for lunch while catching up on a few minutes of TV, and starting to craft part of a gift I need done by Wednesday helped today not be totally horrible...
It'll make more sense when I finish the rest and take a picture of the whole gift...but probably not until later this week.
Back to work...
Happiness is...
Now that my geology course is a thing of the past, my almost 10 hours at school on Tuesday is a lot more bearable. Now I get to...
-Move my car about 10 rows closer in the parking lot since it empties out in the afternoon
-get the heavy books out of my backpack
-listen to NPR for a few minutes
-and actually eat lunch
Today I had a salad with baked chicken, strawberries, a sprinkle of feta cheese, butter toffee sliced almonds and blush wine vinaigrette. You can't really tell from the crappy cell phone photo, but it was delicious...so good I almost want to have it again for dinner but Sean the wonder-husband said he'd have our grilled flank steak dinner ready when I get home tonight.
Finally after eating lunch I get to hang out on a computer in the library for a little while doing such studious things as perusing blogs on my Google Reader before I head off to my last class.
Tuesdays are MUCH better now.
I need my hour back...
I stood in the shower this morning at 7:43am totally running late for the day because I threw a hissy fit at some point when my alarm was relentlessly buzzing and decided to turn it off.
Not good.
I love that it stays light out later and all, but I hate that I feel totally incapable and completely behind for a few days before adjusting.
However with that said, it's 9pm and I'm ready to go to bed...I packed my lunch for school, I have tomorrow night's flank steak marinating in the fridge, I organized my calendar for March (because it's not like it's the 9th day of March or anything), oh and I straightened up the house a little too.
Yep, I'm going to bed.
The unfortunate thing is I have a TON of school reading to do when I get there.
I have a problem...
I am entranced by seeds...little packets of hope and promise.
Every spring I have dreams of harvesting vegetables and especially bouquets of cut flowers...and thankfully we have great boxes Sean built a couple of years ago and an informative book to refer to.
Can't you just imagine the cutest darn photo of a ball jar or something just stuffed with cheerful blooms posted on my blog this summer?
Me too.
That's why this pile is sitting on my kitchen table...
Yeah that's a LOT of hope and promise.
He doesn't ask for much...
Eleven years ago when I started dating this guy he informed me that most of life is put on hold during the month of March...the height of basketball season.
Over the years I've learned that thankfully he wasn't that serious when he made that proclamation (it also helps that we got Tivo) but basketball is definitely one of the loves of his life.
That's why I'm currently at the local high school basketball championships with him...let me tell you it's quite the hot date on a Saturday night. :)
Right where I want to be...
After a long (but good) day at school I came home, went on a walk with Sean while Mac was still at tutoring, we ate dinner, then I borrowed Sean's laptop and crawled into bed...our comfy, cozy bed which is just one of my favorite places to be.
This past weekend in my minor reorganizing frenzy I put together a new little set up next to my side of the bed...it's silly how happy it makes me to rearrange and re-purpose things from around the house...
And now I have to crack open that book in the photo and read about the Grimke sisters...goodnight.
Wrapped up...
I was thinking about the quote I have hanging over the table where I am lucky enough to get to wrap gifts when I was packaging up the gift for the party Mac went to on Friday night...
It may be cheesy, but I just love trying to make something look special.
Even way-back-when I would create huge piles of "curly ribbon" on a gift with my Sanrio scissors...which I still have and cherish because they are just the best for the task...in fact their official title around here is "curly ribbon scissors"...
I used them this weekend to pile a heap of ribbon on my nephew's gift for his 2nd birthday party today...
I can't believe he's been in our lives for two years now...after last night I kind of got all sappy writing in his card today and really took a moment to enjoy the fact that he wanted me to carry him around for a few minutes when he was tired from all the celebrating...I am really lucky to get to be an aunt.
Sean offered me a sledgehammer...
So I've caught a spring cleaning bug...or at least that's what I'm blaming my latest rash of reorganizing on. In one of the drawers I was cleaning out this afternoon I found this address stamp...
from three years ago...it sat on my desk for the rest of the day...I couldn't put it in the trash quite yet. When Sean saw it sitting there tonight he offered, "I have a sledgehammer...that might make you feel better?"
Tempting.
Instead it's the old cathartic stand-by, write it down here. Not to illicit sympathy, but to send some of those residual pangs out into the internet cosmos...just wait a little for them to inevitably dissipate.
And it worked...the stamp is in the trash.
At the end...
I am especially happy for Friday since it means the end of a busy week. I've been meaning to share a few little things for the last several days, but never got to them so it here it is all in one random post.
I restocked on writing utensils around here. I'm probably the only one obsessed with finding the perfect things to write with, but in case I'm not I figured I share...
I finally found very favorite pens...perfectly rolling, not-too-thick & not-too-thin.
One of my scrapbook necessities pens for journaling...which are the antithesis of proper acid-free-ness, but I love them anyway.
Then there are the best highlighters for when you've been reading as much thick school stuff as I have been lately.
Oh and what I write most often with...my trusty favorite pencils.
I have left these happy green boxes open all week before I send them off to me niece and my sister this weekend...I am officially having way too much fun thinking of little holiday packages.
I cleaned out the fridge and freezer this morning thinking that it might be nice to cook something for the first time in a week...although Mac's been in heaven living on pasta with butter & cheese every night...seriously he's disappointed when I cook because that means he doesn't get his favorite meal.
So in my freezer excavation I discovered a ton of saved up breadcrumbs. I throw all our leftover bread, rolls and crackers into the food processor and freeze them. So that discovery helped me officially decide I'll make meatloaf for dinner tonight
And I just finished putting together a gift for Mac to take to a party tonight. It's like a right-of-passage for me to give cash as a gift instead of picking out a toy but I guess that's the age and stage we're at now...of course I still had to try to make it cute by picking up dollar coins at the bank and stitching a little pouch for them.
Happy weekend! :)
Out to lunch...
Mac has the day off school and we just finished up his quarterly physical and occupational therapy checks...it was amazing to see the little kids there and remember back to when I used to take Mac to therapy twice a week.
Now he's old enough to talk our way through lunch at Ruby's.
Where does the time go?
Touch and go...
I spent most of the weekend writing a paper (and actually kind of crying about the paper) but I took a break tonight to watch the Oscars and scrapbook a little...
I didn't quite finish the layout yet.
This is going to be a busy week between school and life stuff so I'd better go get some rest before it starts...
A new level...
Today I hit a new level of procrastination-productivity (which just this minute became my new favorite term). Now don't get me wrong, I finished some schoolwork. I also did things like rearrange the shelves in my bathroom...something I never really knew HAD to be done.
I'll try to squeeze in some more procrastination-productivity this weekend...
Wish me luck...
This was part of my Little People shopping spree this evening. A new catalog came in the mail today and with all the cute possibilities (and discounted shipping) I immediately had to get the shopping done for my nephew and my sister's birthdays. (why oh why will I never cease to giggle at the fact that I have a sister to buy toys for)
So tomorrow I start the internship that is part of one of my classes...I'll talk more about it later, but for now I need to get back to reading about Marx...so I can watch Real Housewives of Orange County later.
My kind of romance...
Sean came home today with these...
I was kind of annoyed since I'm one of those obnoxious girls who thinks a dozen red roses are totally cliche...so with concern in my voice I asked, "How much did those cost?" wondering why the heck he would do this when I've asked him not to buy me flowers...unless I can plant them...then please buy me lots of flowers.
"They were free" he assured me.
To solve my confusion he explained they were just giving them away at Trader Joe's when you finished your shopping...he had just been out doing a Costco run and the grocery shopping for the week.
So this got me thinking about today and what my kind of romance is...
a guy that will run errands (and entertain the three phone calls to add forgotten items to the list)
a guy that will always go on a walk with you
a guy that will make dinner with you
and a guy that will bring home free roses. :)
Isn't it romantic...
Valentine's night sitting by the fireplace together...while Sean and Mac play Mariokart and I'm on the laptop. :)
So here's the little book I made yesterday...full of hearts and a few quotes (which I didn't credit the authors for as usual)...
I realized after I stamped the date that I need new date stamps...my ended with 2008
The button heart was inspired by this...because of my lack of spacial skills it took me forever to put together
The back is waiting till I get a new date stamp.
We always make each other something for Valentine's day and this year I "made" (since it's not like I sewed them or anything) some boxer shorts with an innuendo we joke about...here's the action (a.k.a. blurry) shot from when he opened them...
He made me a scrapbook out of plywood...
You just gotta love a guy that will make a scrapbook with a skill saw. :)
13...
Since it's the 13th I used the number 13 to pick who gets the heart garland supplies...
me me me....pick me!!! =0)
Posted by: Jenn Lanza | February 11, 2009 at 06:25 PM
Jenn please e-mail me
Today I started making a little card for Sean that turned into a kind of mini book...
Just putting the finishing touches on it now...I'll share it tomorrow after I give it to him...
I had to...
Between organizing all the pages of notes I take each day at school and writing flashcards outlining all the intricacies of earthquakes I need to know for a rapidly approaching test I had to attempt to copy this adorable idea.
I made mine with a larger heart punch and hung it in the dining room all the while trying to brainstorm how we'll celebrate Valentine's Day this weekend.
I also made enough to be able to send a packet of heart garland supplies off to someone...just leave a comment if you'd like it to be at your house...
My kind of Monday...
It started with Sean having the day off from school...making biscuits and gravy for breakfast together...and lots of rain.
If only every Monday could be like today.
And now back to getting ready for Tuesday...
Up where we belong...
Sean and I stayed in bed for a few hours today because he insisted I watch An Officer and a Gentlemen for the first time...and the windows were open to listen to the rain so it was altogether pretty much a perfect day to be cozy in bed watching a movie. Of course I couldn't help but proclaim that the iconic ending just further showed women "Don't worry a man will rescue you"...and I haven't been able to get the theme song out of my head all day.
As for the rest of the weekend Sean's mom was in town visiting which meant we had lots of fun with her. She attempted to be a dog groomer for our shaggy bunch which ended up being three hours of dog hair in the bathtub and the canine trifecta sporting some uneven haircuts, but oh well we tried all the while laughing. We also watched Caleb and Matilda for a couple of hours (I joked with Ellie that they were her honorary grandchildren) and I did a little crafty Valentine wrapping...
Now tonight we tried a new Macaroni & Cheese recipe that was amazing (it was supposed to be dinner last night but the grooming marathon threw us significantly off schedule and my mom saved the day by treating all of us to In & Out) and I'm watching the Grammys since I always love the performances that bring several artists together...my very, very favorite was four years ago...I went and found it in case you haven't seen it...
I've got to get to class in a minute...
I'm in the library at school and just had to share this video after seeing it while I was getting ready this morning...I was literally smearing lotion on my face with tears streaming down my cheeks...
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Okay I'm off to learn...
The calendar...
In addition to that little bit of scrapping yesterday (and a lot of catch-up reading) I finished organizing what I call my "master syllabus". I combine the workload of my various classes organized by week so I can get a better overall picture of what I'm in for...and that picture shows that I'm in for a significant amount of schoolwork.
I also filled in and printed out my February calendar which included the birthdays of a couple of my friends from Redlands. They call our house "Hotel Griffin" and they appreciate that one of the perks of staying here is the turbie twist. One of those as-seen-on-TV items that I have used everyday since I admittedly ordered them straight from a commercial like nine years ago. I found cute printed ones recently and wrapped them up as a little gifts...the tag was inspired by this.
Oh and the bookmarks go to the 36th comment...
Nora,
What a great idea!
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa | February 02, 2009 at 03:34 PM
Lisa please e-mail me your address.
And speaking of bookmarks I need to go read...
It's inevitable...
A few new scrapping supplies + dozens of pages of theory & feminism reading looming over my head = a little inspiration
Spring semester procrastination has begun. :)
In summary...
Mac was super cute in the musical...
But that slicked back hair looked pretty crazy when he woke up this morning...
And I did get to make something this weekend...
Someone commented with a great suggestion to make bookmarks...so I poked around blogs looking for a little inspiration which I totally found...and then I found some quotes about education that I really liked.
I made an extra set to share so if you'd like to tuck these into something you're reading just leave a comment...
Not so bad...
So I finished my first week of school...only fifteen more to go. :)
It turns out to be just fine...a little annoying as I hurry from one class to another, but I am incredibly fortunate to have really dynamic and down-to-earth professors.
I will be significantly buried under a pile of reading though. I need to learn to dedicate myself to reading every single day so I'm not propping my eyelids open the night before class.
Looking forward to the weekend...Mac's is in another musical right now so we're eager to see him in Thoroughly Modern Millie tomorrow night, then we are watching my niece & nephew on Saturday so that my sister and her husband can go see Mac's performance. Sunday we'll be settling in to check out the Super Bowl...I'm thinking we'll need a few of these to snack on. Oh and I want to make something...I don't really know what exactly but I just need some craftiness...
It's a school night...
I organized my flash drive this morning for the new semester...creating files for all six of my classes.
Yes, six classes...either I am getting far more confident in my abilities as a student or I've freaking lost my mind.
If and when I get through this semester I will have only two classes to take next fall...which means I'll only have to pay for part-time school therefore saving a decent chunk of money.
They way the classes break down this semester...
--three regular classes...however now they include larger numbers and scary words like "theories"
--one class that is double the units because it includes a 60-120 hour activism based internship (which hopefully I will have a much better understanding of by tomorrow night)
--one class that is an independent study...I'll be working with the Women's Studies faculty to learn how to develop an Introduction to Women's Studies class...basically it'll be like playing pretend as a professor
--a Geology course (if you look at those files it's like "one of these things is not like the other")...despite the fact that I have met the requirements for Math and Science the community college and the university have a one unit discrepancy...which means I have to take a Geology course for five weeks...Geologic Hazards of California...really is there a better class for someone who is as much of a scaredy-cat as I am? Can't wait to learn more specifically of what perils we face on this particular part of the earth
Because of the $%*&@ one unit class I will be in school for nine hours on Tuesdays...from 10am until 7pm with no break whatsoever. I should take this in stride, but I have been complaining pretty much nonstop...just ask Sean. My saving grace is it's just for five weeks...after that I'll get a cherished 90 minute break before heading into my three hour class.
So please bear with me yet again as I balance school with rest of life...who knows how much crafty procrastination I'll really have time for???
Yesterday...
I was lucky enough to spend a few hours at CHA...few things are as fun to me as a chance to see new scrapping supplies. I only remembered to grab my camera a few times as stuff caught my eye...
Of course Hambly...
Pebbles Inc. had fun colors & the cutest little bird patterns...
Sassafrass Lass had card & flower embellishments that I loved...
I really liked the patterns on the back of Webster's Pages new line...
And a new company Jillibean Soup had a great green and yellow combo...which I always keep an eye for since it's Sean's favorite...
And now today is my very last day of freedom after 41 days of blissful laziness. Tomorrow starts way too much school for the next five months...I'll tell you about it later because I'm going to busy soaking up the last chance to be utterly useless. :)
What made me happy today...
Yesterday.
I'm fairly certain I watched the television for about 15 hours straight and loved every minute of it.
The weather.
After almost a dozen days of heat it is finally cooling back down and we might even get a little rain.
I really want to do something with it, but I haven't decided what yet.
One layout.
With Christmas pages finished I'm pretty much at the end of the pile of photos I had to catch up on...but I'm having a little fun with a couple more photos before school starts back up next week.
Among the tissues...
I could share photos of the massive piles of kleenex I've been blowing through since I've seem to come down with a cold...or I could whine to you about the fact that I hate being sick (because poor Sean has been putting up with lot of it). I'll spare you though and share a little Valentine crafting instead.
Back in October I came up with an idea to send a little something to my niece and my sister for every holiday. I found super cute Valentine's coloring books at Target and had to get them a new box of crayons too. I actually wrapped the crayons in an older piece of patterned paper and tied it altogether with some yarn.
Other little craftiness included Valentines for Mac's classmates...totally inspired by this phrase...now they are just waiting for some candy to be stuck to them.
Okay enough time at my desk...I'm going to crawl back into bed...
Well that's done...
Last night I had reconnected with a good friend from grade/high school that I hadn't seen in twelve years. She and her son came over for dinner and we talked for hours trying to catch up on everything that's happened over the years.
As we told the various stories and looked at a few photos she asked if it would be okay to see a photo of Darby. We were in the living room sitting next to all our scrapbooks, but I had to go upstairs to our hall closet to the bottom shelf in the back where I had stashed away the beginnings of Darby's scrapbook. In the time that has passed (almost three years unbelievably enough) I've never quite decided exactly what to do with them.
This morning I did...I opened up my book from 2006 and incorporated the layouts into there. It was a little hard to see the photos and pages I was so happy about quickly turn to documenting the aftermath, but it's just part of that whole life story thing...the good and the bad.
I lost count...
The Christmas book is all done...I included 8x8 and 6x6 pages so I could add extra journaling and some 8x10 photos which means it turned out to be a lot of pages...
I'm so glad it's done so I can move onto other holidays. I"m trying to get a bunch of Valentine's stuff made now since I'll be busy with school in a mere ten days.
As for the envelope the generator picked #10...
I haven't scrapped a single thing since last summer-isn't that crazy? I had to close my little scrapbook store ( stupid economy) and just lost my mojo in the process. My DH just finished building me a studio in the basement and as I've been going through things,getting them organized and put away I have felt a little tingle of excitement...perhaps the missing mojo??
About your post yesterday- 90 degrees?? Seriously?? It is -6 degrees here this morning(windchil -25) and we are expecting to get to whooping 8 degrees for a high! Wanna trade?? LOL.
Posted by: mary w | January 16, 2009 at 04:13 AM
Mary please e-mail me your address.
Off to enjoy more of the weekend...
Back in business...
I took this picture with my new purse camera while Shamrock and I were stopped at a light on the way to pick up Mac from school this afternoon.
Last month my "purse camera" suddenly stopped working...when I called Canon they explained the repair costs, but also told me about their loyalty program that allowed me to turn in my broken camera towards a new one. A newer model that I could get for half off which was about $50 more than the repair would cost. I was really impressed by their customer service. In fact I could have turned in my Powershot for a Rebel XT for half off. My Rebel is over six years old and has been starting a slow death for awhile now, but I am holding out for this deal...Sean's been instructed that if anyone asks I want Costco giftcards for my birthday. :)
My goal tomorrow is to get all this stuff cleaned off and put away...which will require me finishing up our Christmas pages. I finally started really cranking them out today, but have a handful I want to finish tomorrow. I'm keeping it super simple...like I'm trying to channel Cathy Zielske...however her work is impeccable and mine is pretty shabby.
Before I pack it away for the year though I put together an envelope of a few little things since I'm guessing I'm not the only one with a pile of holiday photos needing to be scrapped. Just leave a comment if you need it...
It's like a joke...
The snowman flag hanging from our house in 90 degree weather.
I should know better than to complain about a heatwave when I see the news about the Midwest or when my sister-in-law's e-mails from Iowa include statements like, "right now it's -34 here with the wind chill".
Still it would be nice not to be sweating in January.
Confessions...
I've been sucked into The Bachelor...I usually can avoid this kind of thing (besides addictions to Gossip Girl and maybe Real Housewives of Orange County too) but I officialy seem to be committed to melting my brain while watching Jason and all those crazy girls...please tell me I'm not the only one.
So today besides cleaning up the house, making pot roast for dinner, and watching TV I made a couple of scrapbook pages...
Here's a page about what I'm hoping for this year...I wanted to distress the photo as kind of a contrast to the idea of peace which kind of indicates where I am right now...I masked off the polka dots with circular labels and then used one of those triangular make-up sponge things with ink to color the background...I used a peace symbol stamp to fill the circles...
And I made a title page for my next scrapbook...I'm finally starting to feel like I'm getting back to scrapping that I'm really happy with...which usually means the page is a total mess, but it was really fun to make.
Our weekend...
was inundated with "spiky balls"...surely that's not the technical term for liquid amber tree seed pods, but that's what we call them.
Thousands of them have been dangling on our next door neighbor's trees and gusting Santa Ana winds have ensured that most of them have landed in our yard.
We had a really nice time at Tilly's baptism...Mac should have tucked in his shirt like sharp looking Caleb...
And today Sean and I ranerrands which included an unintended epic trip to Costco...the kind when you go armed with a couple of coupons to restock on toliet paper and toothpaste...but then you find the cookbook you've been wanting since your sister got it for Christmas and you find rainbow and cherry pajamas your niece in Iowa must have...
Now I've spent the evening watching the Golden Globes since I'm always a sucker for award shows and am just feeling lucky that I still have a couple of weeks at home ahead of me.
Pages...
A page for my book about Christmas...
A quick 6x12 one with a photo from this past fall...
A title page for our Christmas book...
A 2008 summary page that is the last one in my book...
Hypothetically speaking there should be a lot more scrapping to share in the next 18 days, but I'll admit I haven't felt very satisfied with the stuff I've been making until this last page...I mentioned feeling rusty a couple of weeks ago and I still can't quite shake the feeling yet...hopefully just more stamping and gluing will do the trick.
Futzing...
Did you know that "futz" is actually a word in the dictionary? I confirmed that about 60 seconds ago. It's also what I have continued to do around the house...a little of this and a little of that...nothing terribly productive though.
Well unless you want to count making a holy mess out of my desk as productivity.
There's random bits of scrapbooking scattered around, a pile of papers that each symbolize some kind of task or phone call I need to deal with, and a Tiffany & Co. bag...because that's what you should always have sitting on your desk right? Well you should when your niece's baptism is this Saturday and Uncle Seany wanted to get Mattie Mae something extra special since he is her Godfather.
The one actual productive thing I accomplished today was making a calendar to print out each month and hang next to my desk...I copied and pasted these into Word, did a little editing, and used one of my favorite fonts in a different color for each month.
Tomorrow I'm finally sharing some scrapbooking...I'm happy to report my album is all caught up for 2008...still have Mac's to get caught up though and tons of Christmas to scrap.
Hibernation...
I have been hiding out at home in my pajamas and slippers the last couple of days while Sean and Mac went back to school. Yesterday I spent almost 12 hours laying around in bed with a book...
I'm trying to get ahead on reading for one of my classes and got sucked into The Dirty Girls Social Club...I was up until 2am devouring it...unfortunately A Midwife's Tale isn't quite as quick of a read.
Today I was pretty much a waste of a person...I even took a nap...which I never do. Actually I take that back, I often take naps as a migraine survival technique. I never crawl back into bed to sleep for an hour just because it sounds like a good idea...I have to admit I was almost giddy diving back under the covers.
When I woke up I finally opened a box that was waiting all weekend to be unpacked...it was full of albums and page protectors that will be waiting to be filled this year...
That red one needs to be filled with Christmas layouts in the next couple of weeks. I try to color code our albums so the green one is for me/family and the blue one is for Mac...they will be the 10th scrapbook for each of us.
Besides sleeping and getting future scrapbooking organized I attempted to make a felt cover for the little planner I've been using since this fall...
The stitching is less than stellar and I need to figure out some kind of snap to go behind the button...and I need to figure out how the heck you even do that so any sewing tips are welcomed.
From every angle...
They are kind of redundant photos, but here are the results from Rearrange '08.
The red square ended up drying just fine, no extra coat needed. I'm thinking the wall now might look like a furniture store with the mish-mash of pieces, but for some reason I like it. The old windows ended up scattered around...one you saw on the mantle...one is on the wall by the dining room and one is perched on top of the bookcases holding all our scrapbooks.
I'm not sure if I'm 100% satisfied with the changes, but overall I've been so happy to have things a little freshened up around the house...it really is such a nice way to start a new year.
Multitasking...
Have I ever mentioned that Sean is an amazing window valance maker? Just give him some fabric, scissors, fusing tape, and an attempt at flashing an irresistible smile. He can create the straight lines I am thoroughly incapable of...I once made a valance for a bathroom window and we literally had to hang the curtain rod crooked to make up for my shoddy workmanship. Tonight he worked on a new one for the living room (while watching basketball in our bedroom)...it was literally made and hung in a couple of hours.
And if you look closely you'll see that I've lost my mind and picked up lime green zebra stripes. I have never had one minute in my life where any kind of animal print appealed to me in anyway. However I saw this particular fabric a couple fo months ago when there was another valance creation in the house and decided today to go for it. Especially since coupon usage made the piece of fabric just $6 so it was gamble we were willing to take. I'm eager to see what it really looks like tomorrow morning.
Zebra stripes might be as exciting as this weekend gets...it's back to school for Sean and Mac on Monday so this weekend is a major last call for productivity before things like lesson plans or homework have to once again become a part of the daily routine around here.
Not to brag...
Actually I am totally going to brag...or least celebrate the fact that I pulled it off...that messy photoshopped, circle contains "A"s for all four of my classes this past semester.
There's also a pretty decent Cal State Fullerton grade point average, and thankfully a cummulative G.P.A. that's slowly creeping up...something I'm extra grateful for considering where I was last year just getting into the school.
Of course there's no resting on my laurels...just gearing up for next semester...18 units and maybe, just maybe, another 4.0.
