Only 2 months behind...Deb this one's for you!

So December's Muse went out last week and I am so glad. That one about killed me, what with all the products that were coming in at the last minute and not in at all....I was up until almost 2AM boxing and shipping and stuff, and then back up for my day job at 6AM :) I learned a lot from the experience so it was worth it.

Anyway - January's stuff is mostly here or on its way, the DT kits go out tomorrow and I am so ready to go on holiday. Tonight we fly to ATL and then drive to TN on Saturday and spend the week at home, but we'll be back in WA for New Years. Our neighbor M's 30th birthday is on the 31st and so we'll be partying with them which will be nice as they live 4 houses down and we can walk home :)

Our power went out last night, and now my computer won't turn on. Scary as all my email and files are on it. I think it's the processor fan, which sucks but is better than the hard drive. But that still means, most likely a new motherboard which is several hundred dollars that we don't need to spend. And to be honest I'd prefer a laptop (even though I already have one for work) because it's just more convenient and the work one I don't put my home stuff on, but I can do all my work stuff from the home one...anyway...a few hundred dollars versus a couple grand is no contest right now when we're in the midst of purchasing a home....

:) Enough of that. Please have a wonderful holiday and I wish you all the best for the coming year.

Lots of fun stuff going on

The November kit is half here. I am so freakin' excited. The December kit will be ordered by Friday so that it won't be in such a rush for the design team next month. I hated that I've put such pressure on them this month, but with the timing, there really wasn't a way around it. I know they'll step up, cause they're all so freakin' awesome.

In other news, my CAI job is doing well - I think the DBA we hired is going to be good, I just gotta figure out a way to get him to step up and start changing things. I know he's hesitant but you just gotta get in there sometimes, ya know?

Oh, and one final note about ScrapMuse - 50% sale, everything in the store!

The sale is going from now till midnight November 15th and the code is washingtonMOVE. The code can be used as many times as you like. Only catch is you have to pay and ship now (versus choosing add to next kit payment or shipping). We accept Paypal, AMEX, VS, MC, and soon Discover (in the next day or 2).

www.scrapmuse.com Happy Shopping!

Lots of news

First, my husband and I just bought ScrapMuse. It's a monthly kit club as well as an online store. I have been a customer of ScrapMuse for over a year, and the previous owner had to sell or close due to her health, which is really unfortunate but she wanted to see it continue, and so did I, so we worked out a nice deal for both of us, and that was that.

I just got back from PA visiting her and assessing the inventory and she is just the sweetest person on earth. Very down to earth, friendly, compassionate, and has good business sense. I think we both hit it off very well.

In order to facilitate moving the goods to WA, we are having a 50% off sale on everything in the store. Use the code washingtonMOVE to get the discount. Fun stuff!

Mina helps celebrate Ben's birthday

Mina was all about Ben's birthday. She "sang" him a birthday song, and even consented to wearing a party hat and sharing her peanut butter with him. It was very cute.

I fixed Ben a nice dinner on his birthday, and on Friday we're going out for sushi at his favorite place, Masu. With the money his family gave him, he bought an effects board which hopefully we will get reimbursed for later by WaferTech as the one he had originally did not make it here. And then he'll have his birthday money back to use on something else... probably more stuff to play guitar loudly ;)


I took yesterday off and went with my friend Martha to the Oregon College of Art and Craft - it was so cool and lunch there was fantastic! We both had lentil and butternut squash soup, olive brean and an autumn salad, and carrot cake for dessert. All homemade, all tasty! Then we stopped by Cornell Farms to look at plants - they had some great stuff, in particular to get design ideas from. 

Back from the ATL

Back from ATL this week. I think their new logo and re-branding idea is totally dumb and a waste of money. Anyway, I spent last week there for work - getting some "face time" in the office and going to lots of meetings. I always forget how many there are when I'm physically there. Also I stayed with friends and remembered painfully what a commute was. At one point it was 90 minutes....and they live 14 miles from my office.

But it was so worth it, and so much fun to see everyone and reconnect. I was even able to catch up with Jessie and Jason in Chattanooga. I was sick for most of the week, but it didn't really matter - I still spent as much time as I could with folks - hopefully I didn't pass on too many germs.

I am back and now I need to rest - my sense of time is all crazy and I am still not feeling 100%. But work is a little busy today, and Ben's car is in the shop and will be another thousand to repair, I'm sure. I know that used cars are a "better deal" financially than buying something new, but damn I love a warranty. Although I really think Ben should investigate a motorcycle and just keep one car. We shall see.

gardening bits

Check out this little guy - he looked totally happy crawling around one of my roses. I don't know why I am so good with roses - I think it's because they are actually easier than a lot of people think, not because I am all that good. It could also be that this area is known for growing roses...cause food and clipping (I almost said cropping - you can see how ingrained scrapbooking is to my brain!) are about all mine get. And this house has three beautiful rose bushes - pink, white and a gorgeous tangerine one. 2 are climbers and the third is one of those patio-type things, that has a stalk and then sort of a rounded bush on top, like a topiary kind of thing. Anyway, these are also things I enjoy photographing. And these are "easy art" for me - I like showing places we've been or things we've seen at home...and so these will probably end up on my craft room walls...along with the other roses that Ben photographed from the Internat'l Rose Garden in Portland. Love that place!
 

first commissioned photograph

My neighbor commissioned me to do this portrait of her husband's Dachsund (sp?). Usually she is camera-shy, but we got out some good treats and she was all about her portrait then!

I think it's one of the better animal photos I've taken. 

Here is a link to another blog I read pretty often...since it's getting to be fall and this is an election year where I HOPE AND PRAY we will take back the Senate and/or House, I am starting to get involved a little more with politics, and I really like the links this blog has to articles and stuff. The links in the URL below are some of the most interesting discussions from a social science standpoint to why so many people who in the 70s and 80s would have been Democrats, are now primarily (and some almost violently so) Republicans...

Deb, I am mostly interested in your response to these - if you have time to read them..

http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2006/09/talking-with-folk-who-hate-you.html

This is the first year I will actually be involved - I have signed up to volunteer with MoveOn.org - Sept 11th, if nothing else, changed the way I think about politics...Sounds silly I guess but the way I feel like I can honor their memory is to become more active in our civic process so that this won't happen again to other innocent Americans.

some layouts I completed over the weekend

Again the pics aren't all that great...

I was stuck in the house all weekend due to a release that I felt like I needed to be on call for. When I wasn't working on that, I was scrapbooking! No better way to spend the time, right?

This LO is a scraplift (almost element for element) of my online friend Vicki Chrisman. Her work is so good! I like how this one turned out. That blurry thing at the bottom right of the photo is a strip of linen that has been inked on one side and tied into a bow. (Using the April 05 kit from ScrapMuse I think)


One of my first LOs that's about Ben...it's using the July 06 kit from ScrapMuse - thought the colors went well with the background of the photo...it's about that 'scoff' look he gives me so often. Like I have just grown three heads....

The final LO about our trip to Seattle - this one is short on photos but I wanted to save some of our memorabilia from that trip - it's funny, we spent 2 days and a night there and I have THREE layouts about it :) What can I say, it was a fun trip!

some layouts I did a couple weeks ago

The pics aren't great - this paper is actually purple and not the sickly weird brown color it looks like on my screen...this is one of my neighbors' Dachsunds -cute, but noisy...












Me and Grandma - or "Grandmu" as my sister frequently reminds me...


My mamaw and me - these pics were actually taken in 2005 I think - I made them both layouts and framed them, and decided I wanted to scrap the pics for my albums too. These papers are all from the June kit at ScrapMuse. 

a few vacation pics

J's new cat Weezy - a very rambunctious kitten!





















Hiking at Old Forge.
















Ben's fez, a present from his sister.

So....

No pics today - something's messed up with my folder that has them - they're still THERE but Picasa can't see them or something. I need some IT help, LOL! Actually I just don't have time to mess with it, so you get an update with no pics.

I signed up for my very first ever art class. It's with the Art and Soul Workshops which are in Portland Oct 4-7 this year and at my neighbor's hotel. He got me a free registration (which is like $45!) so all I pay is the class, and it was kind of expensive (in my opinion) but I'm sure as art classes go, it wasn't all that high. We're making our own mixed media hanging..creation...is the only way I know how to put it. The pic of the example is totally cool and I am hoping mine will turn out similar.... My block in creativity is just letting it FLOW and not talking it or myself down - so hopefully I can branch out and just let myself go and create a beautiful piece that I can actually show in our home. I am TOTALLY STOKED about it!

The weather is much cooler this week and I am LOVING IT. Waking up to 51 degrees outside is AWESOME, particularly when I have the windows open and am sleeping with a blanket. I may need to move Mina's bed from right by the window though - she looks cold in the mornings...maybe she needs a blankie? LOL - I'm crazy..I know...the neighborhood all know us now cause she's the dog always carrying around her plush soccer ball. It helps keep her occupied and not scared of/barking at new people and little kids. I call it her pacifier...cause it works! We had to get a new one b/c I couldn't repair the holes in the last one (plus it had been washed a few times and was just getting tired).

What else - I have been working on a book of Mina for Ben to put on his desk at work - It's actually a fold out purse, but don't tell him - I don't think it looks girly so I think it'll be OK. I have also done several LOs over the past few weeks that I haven't posted, mainly because I haven't had time to take pics of them. Maybe this weekend during a free moment. I am working on a major software release this weekend, so who knows if I'll have a free moment, but maybe I will....

Have a great day!

ATCs

So I'm making these artist trading cards for a swap. And I have been seriously OUT of ideas....like the whole summer...I guess it's because I have never worked on something this small - they're 2.5" by 3.5" - so I finally got an idea last night (yeah, and they're already supposed to be made!), and this pic is part of it...I'm supposed to be pondering the question of life imitating art....I think it's funny...not exactly sure why...perhaps I just have a weird sense of humor...

I will post a pic when I finish - I hope they don't come out totally DUMB. The others that I've already received in the swap are so pretty that I don't want people to be disappointed in mine :) 

I love my husband

So he goes to the grocery store last night, and find my favorite coffee EVER. Tully's Evergreen blend...so freakin' good....and buys some cause he remembers how much I raved about it and how we couldn't find it last time I went.

He's super! 

Vacation recap

This is quite possibly the best photo from the trip...We have lots of good ones...but this captures my husband so well.

We had a great week in Tennessee, back home visiting with family and friends. C and M came up to join us for the whole week - we had so much fun. One night we went camping at Old Forge, which really just meant that we ate really good food cooked over a fire, and that the boys went swimming naked, and no one got any sleep. M and I were convinced (especially having just seen snakes on a plane) that we were going to get bitten by snakes at every turn. But it was fun...perhaps our next camping experience will be in winter or here in WA where there are no poisonous snakes.

Erin came up on Wednesday and we had a lovely visit with her too. Friday/Saturday, several folks from Atlanta (and Chattanooga) came up to go down the river in what's going to be a tradition each summer. Then we had our wedding reception which was fun, but planning for it was a little stressful - although again, thank you M for keeping me sane and putting things in perspective. We had lots of fun and now we're back home, which is nice too. I am so much happier at work - I knew I needed a break :)

Have a great week. I'll post more pics as I get to it. 

Mina leaves for camp

Since we're on vacation next week, we decided that Mina would enjoy a week at a doggie "adventure camp" So she's staying at http://www.doubledogranch.com for the week. She's been there once before but I must admit I was a little teary when I dropped her off today as she's never been away from us for a week (never more than 2 nights)...I know she will have fun, and I trust these folks to take excellent care of her. We will miss her though.

My family doesn't believe it's a little schoolbus that picks them up...
She's happy and ready to go...although after we sat there awhile I think my nerves got to her and she was getting a little apprehensive herself. I should have brought some cheese for Sam to give her. 

Grandma

These pics aren't the greatest but this is another LO I have done this week. Ran out of A's so I thought subbing with the chipboard flowers was kinda cool.

I like remembering my grandma's flowers...she always had really pretty stuff growing. And she was so good at it too. 

silly quiz -answers in bold

YOUR HOME:::
Coffee table or soft ottoman? neither
Flower arrangements or candle-scapes? neither
TV/DVD/stereo black or silver?
Garden annuals or perennials?
Antiques & flea finds or matching sets?
Office or junk drawer?

YOUR SELF:::
Pony tale or butterfly clip?
Make-up or nada?
Cotton or synthetics?
Flip flops or leather sandals?
Silver or gold?
Purse or pocket?

WITH HUBBY:::
Fine dining or picnics?
In jammies or unmentionables?
You click the remote or he does?
Theater or rent?
Lowes or the mall?
House work or hire it out?

Latest works

This weekend I feel like I've moved up to a new level of scrapbooking, albeit temporarily. I did this page for a "Retrospective Challenge" on my friend Nat's website www.scrapbook-trends.com - it's a cool place , she does great interviews with all sorts of scrapbooking 'celebs'.

This next page is the closest I have ever come to "freestylin' " - I love it...but also wonder if this is a classic thing or one that will fizzle out soon. Like my friend Carl and tattoos..this definitely describes the current time in my life (the art, the photos are from 93) , and therefore it's important, as it tells the story of who I am NOW, and what I think/feel/create NOW. Very apt, my friend Carl is...
The last layout mainly to show off these really cool postcards that my mother-in-law sent us in her thank you card for hosting her and my sister-in-law. Not particularly AWE inspiring but a solid LO none the less...

I am feeling so creative - need to go and make more! Goodness knows I have the photos! 

Overtime = scrapbooking tools

With some of the overtime I have been accruing, I decided (with Ben's approval of course, since we share finances) that it was time to try "the Wizard", this fancy die cutting machine that is supposed to work with everyone's dies. I stalked the UPS man until 6:55PM last night for this order... So I immediately had to unpack it and try it out! Well, I read the directions, and it only took me a couple of tries before I got it - which surprised me b/c I had heard there was a pretty steep learning curve on it. I am sure that once I practise more I will be able to use it faster and get the hang of it better, but I did make lots of circles...I am now VERY anxious to get the alphabet dies I bought off a friend :) They're Sizzix and so I'm curious as to how easy they'll be to use on this, as well as how cute they'll look as titles.

I do think this machine is cool - I'm surprised by people who say it's light, because I personally thought it was really heavy - but I also haven't picked up a Sizzix machine :)
 

Birthdays rock!

My birthday started on Friday when my next door neighbor made my favorite snack/dessert, apricot bars. They're so yummy and she brought them over still warm! Friday night we grilled out and several folks, along with their dogs, came over - it was a dog party and a people party. Lots of fun, plus lots of pomegranate martinis, which I HIGHLY recommend.

Ben went against all he believes in and bought me a kickass Apple iPod! It's so cool, and the pic shows the cute and cheesy inscription he made on it. Several friends were so sweet to get me birthday presents as well - a giftcard from Michael's, a leather storage box, a beautiful set of 6 woolen dinner napkins, and some lovely modern-art style home decor pieces...I love birthdays!


 

My two faves

This picture warms my heart - this is back when we still lived in ATL and before Mina's ears would really lay flat....Totally snoozin' - we got her used to cuddling with us early...I even tried to get her to sleep in our bed...that was not a good idea - she wiggles too much, so we didn't do that but once.