Just Make Stuff

Craftiness...

Just one layout from last night, but I like it. :)  For our anniversary Sean wrote me a loooong letter chronicling our entire relationship so that's in the envelope tucked in the side.  Love that making 12x12 layouts means I can use the cool shaped paper a lot easier than 8.5x11.  There's ten hearts on the page too...the 9 tiny pink hearts were an idea when I needed something to cover up a hole from an accidental stapling...I swear 68% of my scrapbooking ideas are created to cover up mistakes.

So speaking of scrapbooking supplies...I always make my own gift tags at Christmas...usually just a little stamping or patterned paper...but this year I been having a little more fun with labels, my typewriter and the seemingly 4.3 million various alphabet supplies I've collected in the last several years...

 

That's it for now...I'm going to go see if Sean wants to go see a late movie in our pajamas...we almost never go to the movies, Mac is at his Dad's and I really want to see August Rush...good night. :)

Night off...

Thursday night on my desk...two school binders pushed to the edge, scrapbook supplies strewn about, and playing DJ with I-tunes on the computer...good times.

Two weeks from tonight I'll be done for the semester...that'll REALLY be a night off.  Only two little, completely full weeks left of school...as I said to a friend a couple of nights ago, "Only two weeks and four years then I'm done". :)

Simplifying...

I have been dramatically mourning the loss of my holiday season for awhile now...knowing full well that school was going to seriously cramp my get-it-all-done early-and-relish-the-details style.

I tried to re-frame my depression by telling myself it was a chance to simplify.  Maybe I wouldn't be able to make everything I usually do...maybe my Christmas cards will go out after December 3rd...maybe I'll still be finishing my shopping on December 21st...all things considered I have nothing to complain about...far worse things could happen.

So last night when Sean pulled out the thirteen boxes of Christmas decorations I decided to think long and hard about what I really wanted out...how exactly I wanted this house decorated...and I decided in keeping with my idea of simplifying that I would concentrate on a few little areas instead of throwing up Christmas on the whole damn house.  So the mantle, the front entry table and cabinet, and my village I was so excited to get last year...oh and the couple decorations and lighted tree I have from my grandma on the wine cabinet in the dining room.

What we didn't simply is lights...there is still lighted garland on almost every banister and window since I love to have the house all lit up and glowy.

My Christmas cards actually aren't too far behind schedule...I brainstormed about them on the plane ride home last week and finalized my idea on Thursday morning when I made my new blog banner which is pretty much the way our cards will look. 

Friday night was super productive...within our three hours of shopping I got so many gifts crossed of my list that I was literally skipping with joy out of the mall...maybe I won't be shopping on December 21st after all.

So one of my two papers is done and right now I'm going to watch a Christmas movie while wrapping gifts so I can get them under the tree.

Yea for productive holiday weekends! :) 

Holiday weekend...

Just a few blurry shots of our Thanksgiving...me the night before cooking in pajamas and my super frilly apron...Sean, Mac, Caleb and the dogs watching the parade...my brother preparing to cut into the turkey...and the table...

So now it's the holiday weekend...otherwise known as time to decorate.  All the fall decor is down and packed away...I'm making a massive pot of turkey noodle soup...Sean's cleaning and then he's going outside to hang Christmas lights and we're doing a little shopping tonight...hopefully by Sunday night the holidays will be in full swing around here...and maybe I'll have written the two papers I have due this week...

What I am most thankful for tomorrow...

Ten years ago tomorrow I went on a first date. I had known him for awhile since we had mutual friends and I was starting to realize he was a really nice guy. I thought it might be fun to invite him to my sorority's informal in Oak Glen since we had just really started talking often over the last couple of weeks...

We ate some dinner and danced a little...he wasn't the best dancer, but I thought it was sweet that he was still willing to...we went outside and sat on a bench cuddled together talking and, although I tried my to give him plenty of opportunities, he didn't kiss me.

At the end of the night we got back in my 1982 Volvo station wagon and in typical "Nora" style I took matters into my own hands. He went to buckle his seat-belt and I kissed him for the first time...so he might not have been the best at dancing, but he was darn good at kissing. On the drive back to school we came up over a hill and saw a shooting star right in front of us.

   

Ten years later he's still the same dancer and kisser...and my best friend. He made me want to be a better person. I was amazed to meet someone who simply was good...he always made an effortless decision to do what was right...it's what made me fall in love with him. Ten years later I still feel the way I did out on that bench wanting him to kiss me...and I'm still the very much girl who took charge and kissed him.  We're not perfect, but we work. We're increasingly becoming two halves of a common soul. We balance each other. And we have an uncanny way of ending up dressed in the same colors. 

Photos...

Here are my favorites from the trip straight out of the camera...not that I have any wondrous editing abilities anyway...my dad has an amazing swing in his backyard...a photo of us playing in his bedroom...one of most of us my Dad, sister Peg, Caleb, Mac, my teenage step-sister, my toddler sister and I...then a couple more I liked and one of Dad's house.

 

It's Tuesday night and I'm finally starting to get a little ready to host Thanksgiving...just eight or so people but everyone in my family are big fans of leftovers so Sean and I bought two 20 pound turkeys tonight so we'd have plenty to send people home with.

Tomorrow I have a couple of quizzes and then I'll be home to cook and set the table to get ready for more cooking on the big day...it's all a little anti-climatic this year with so much schoolwork hanging over my head, but Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday so I'm going to try to really enjoy it.

Headed home...

We're waiting in the Will Rodgers World Airport for our flight to Dallas...thankfully this time we have a longer layover so hopefully there will be no sprinting required.
Mac is officially addicted to travel Yahtzee...which really is the best game ever...Sean and I got it to take on our honeymoon after I heard Julia Roberts on Oprah mention how addicting it was...how's that for a random memory? Anyways my point is next time you're at Target you should totally buy it. :)
Our trip was good...a little tense, but we tried. Apparently my dad's wife thought I was serious when I made a joke about never coming back...chalk that up to the 273rd my sarcastic sense of humor has gotten me in trouble.
I will try and share some photos tomorrow...that whole worldview paper I need to turn in on Tuesday morning isn't done so tomorrow might be pretty miserable unless I have an epiphany on our flights home...

It's like a bed and breakfast...

I'm laying under a chandelier in one of the guest rooms at my dad's house...which is pretty much astounding...the attention to detail between the lighting and crown moulding and fabrics is quite something...and their library really does have floor to ceiling bookcases with a rolling ladder.
Enough about the house though, much more importantly I met my sister today...she's about two and a half years old now and it's pretty surreal. I was dreading meeting her since her birth was tied in so much with our infertility and I admit I took a minute out in my dad's backyard to let the tears hit my cheeks instead of trying to hold them in my eyes...and after I got that over with I realized she's adorable. She warmed up quickly to Caleb and Mac and even mentioned once that Peggy and I are her "sissies" even though the poor girl is trying to take in all five of us and who the heck we are. On my way here I had a hard time dealing with the fact she was going to be real now...that I was going to actually know her...and now I just hope I can make an impression in the next couple of days so she might be able to know me.
So I'm going to go to sleep under the candelier...I have to be rested for tomorrow to give my dad his birthday gift from me...for the first time I'm going to go with him on his daily jog...poor guy is going to have to put up with my pathetic fifteen minute mile. :)

So that didn't work out...

We were cutting it close getting to the hospital...my sister was on the phone with my Dad and he said he was heading into surgery so she tried to stall him and it came out that he already knew we were coming...his secretary told him when he was angry at her for making his day light...and he had to get into surgery so I said a whole bunch of bad words that Mac decided it's be funny to repeat and now we're going to have lunch at a Cracker Barrell which I've never been to..I kind of figured we wouldn't really be able to surprise him, but I'm still disappointed...hopefully Cracker Barrell food will make it better? :)

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains...

I tried to snap the "Welcome to Oklahoma City" sign as we just picked up the rental car but I missed it.
We flew in late last night...on the last flight into the airport that we had about 17 minutes to get to in the Dallas Airport...I ran like hell and had to beg them to hold the flight for us...my sister and nephew are here too so we're quite the bunch.
We're off to surprise my Dad (who turns 60 this weekend)...he's at the hospital doing 3 total knee surgeries today...and hopefully we've timed it right to show up in between the first two.
Now if I could just stop singing "Oklahoma" to myself over and over..."where the waving wheat can sure smell sweet..."

Would you look at this...

I got back my religious violence paper today in my Critical Thinking class...a paper that I would have given a "B-" and thought that was generous considering I'd probably used faulty logic and nowhere near backed up my arguments with enough information...but look at this...

"a true illustration of the meaning of critical thinking"...I sorry for the blatant bragging, but those words mean the world to me considering I was in tears the first day of class I was so worried that I couldn't do this...well maybe I can...hopefully this bodes well for the next paper that I haven't been able to get any farther on and still actually feel like it's not coming together very well.

And in keeping with the horrid self-promotion theme here today I will share something else I am proud of (or at least share a few little parts of it)...

I was asked to choose products to create layouts for my scrapbook store and they're being sold as a kit in the store & via their blog.  I always pinch myself in disbelief that with all the talent Scrapbook Oasis has to choose from both locally and around the country that they give me the time of day...that they believe in me and my silly creations even when I worry.  As for the kit it's filled with patterned paper that I love and of course a couple of stamps...because really what more do you need besides patterns and stamps? :)

So, that's all for today...thanks for tolerating my inflated sense of self...I'll try and shrink my big head back down to size in the next few days....but hello, did you see that I got an "A"?!? :)

I'm struggling...

Mac took this photo on Friday when I handed him the camera to take photos for his book for this class that we had such a great time at on Saturday. 

I spent most of the day like this on Friday and a lot of today too...I'm not as far along with my work as I want and need to be.  I did get a lot done, but I've also hit some major roadblocks.  I'm not coming up with the ideas and logic and information I need to write a worldview paper for my Critical Thinking class...maybe it's just me, but I having a hard time developing argumentation about why I feel the way I do about my central concept, myself and others, nature and objects...you want me to talk about it?  No problem...you want me to defend my beliefs with information?  Yeah, not so much.  I just hope I can struggle my way through it and turn in something I'm ever so slightly proud of....we'll see.

Even though that paper is due next Tuesday I need to get it done now because we're going out of town this weekend (which I'll talk more about later) and I absolutely cannot have it hanging over my head.  Add to that the rough draft I need on Wednesday for my Art Concepts museum paper on the Monet painting I saw at the Getty last month and my next Critical Thinking test on Thursday and I don't know when I'm going to find the time to pack and get on a plane Thursday afternoon.

I'm off to sit in bed with Critical Thinking argumentation essays to study for my test and a heavy stack of books about Monet...

This is going to be quite a week.

A little housekeeping...

I spent some quality time in the kitchen yesterday afternoon when I got home from school...just scrubbing the sink and cleaning out the fridge...and I was all too happy reorganizing spices since I had just received my recent order from Penzeys.   

And these are sitting on my edge of the my window box leftover from Friendsgiving...

My attempt at flower arranging...I love to use these bud vases and several stems of flowers from the grocery store to build up little bouquets...I've been doing it for several years now and they always seem to work well...it gets flowers on the table in a cheap and easy way and they're not too big to be in the way when you're passing food around...usually I make them the night before and keep them in the fridge, but on Saturday I was standing in line at the grocery store buying flowers with about an hour to go until dinner and I still hadn't made the soup or showered...so again I recommend making them the night before. :)  Speaking of soup...I DO have recipes I want to share...that I've been meaning to for awhile so please keep an eye out because I promise they'll be there soon.

I have a pretty darn busy weekend planned...and at last count a dozen tasks I need to get accomplished for school...so I'm off to be productive before I pick Mac up from school... 

A year later...

Today is the anniversary of "plan B"...I cannot believe a whole year has passed and yet at the same time it feels like a lifetime ago...like in so many ways I was an entirely different person than I am today.

Sometimes I worry that I'm not really handling it...almost as if I'm shoving my dreams in a corner for the sake of survival and I just have myself fooled when by thinking I'm okay...that one morning I will wake up and it won't be okay and I'll have denied myself of the family I dearly wanted.

On the other hand I see it working out...I can see reasons why it all happened the way it did...why my family is destined to be Sean and Mac. 

And I am happy.

I have goals, I have my family and friends, and I have love.  I'm a damn lucky girl.

So here's to another year of "plan B"...I think that, ultimately, one of the more painful days in my life will be one worth celebrating.

So, it's not Sunday...

like I had hoped rather it is Tuesday night at 10:37pm and my religious violence paper is done...so very freshly printed out, stapled, and done.  To say it was hellish is kind of ironic considering the subject matter, but it really kind of was.

I wish it meant I was done with school work for a day or two, but I'm not that lucky...so I will just relish this brief moment of victory and move on to the next task tomorrow.

Night...

Maximum Capacity...

I would say Sean and I host a decent amount of parties and get-togethers...we love to cook and we love to have the house filled with friends...but I would also say that most of the time we detest the hour before the party...you know the complete freak-out...seeing the clock tick down the minutes while frantically accomplishing tasks all the while wondering how on earth will it ever get done...hoping that when you get in the shower at 5:15pm that no one will really take that "dinner starts at 5:30pm" thing seriously...and when the doorbell rings at 5:48pm and you're just putting on your earrings while coming down the stairs to a clean house where the table is set and the food is cooked and you thank your lucky starts that it all managed to come together once again. 

Every once in awhile we're all ready and waiting for the party to start, but that was not the case last night with Friendsgiving...I'm guessing it was because of the hour Sean and I lost having to rearrange the house...moving our massively heavy dining room table down into the living room so that we could fit eleven adults and three kids around the table...so I now officially know that maximum capacity for the table is a cozy fourteen.

It was all so very worth it in the end...even the mess in the kitchen...and this was after it was already somewhat cleaned up...

Now it's one of my favorite days of the year...the time change...an extra hour and that feeling that you're ahead of schedule...except I'm not since I've done nothing remotely productive this morning...but I'll make up for it starting now...I have my first big paper due Thursday and my lofty goal is to get it done by today...it's eight to ten pages on a book about religious violence and whether or not terrorists are critical thinkers...a nice, light topic for a Sunday afternoon...since I only have the first paragraph written I really need that extra hour...

Sean and Nora...

coutesy of McIntosh O'Kane Photography...

otherwise known as--what Nora would look like if she didn't have a fat ass and what Sean would look like if he did, well that and breasts. :)  My family and our neighbors had a great time teasing us...and Sean asked since he was Nora for the night if that meant he was in charge...ha ha...no.

Okay Sean and I are off to the mall to get our knifes sharpened and to stop by Williams Sonoma for a couple of cooking supplies so we're ready to host Friendsgiving tomorrow night...and to stop by Paper Source just because you HAVE to stop by Paper Source, right?

Night...   

Until tomorrow...

sorry I didn't post the photos of Sean and I from Halloween...instead I took the time to make a new banner and futz with the blog a little...and now I really want to go watch Grey's Anatomy and then go to bed...so I will tease you with one photo of our "costumes"...

Can you guess who we dressed up as??? :)