ScrapMuse News

Check out our October Muse!

2007-10-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

We call this one Hollow's Queen - it is SO beautiful, and there's a short waiting list, so if you want it and you're not already a ScrapMuse member, email me!

Our latest contest

2007-09-25T10:32:00.001-07:00

From Donna:

It’s fall here at Scrapmuse, and we’ve never FELT better!! We featured felt in our September Scrapmuse kit and we would love for you to play along!

Contest dates: now until October 20th

View the details here:
http://www.scrapmuse.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=9241

We can’t wait to see your creations in the gallery!!! And if you're waiting to hear who won the August contest, it will be posted later today!

Random bits of news

2007-09-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

Have you checked out our Rouge de Garance contest? You totally should - the RDG papers are beautiful, and there's some fabby prizes to be had!

http://www.scrapmuse.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=9094

Sorry if the website has been acting up the past couple of days - we're getting more and more traffic our way and while this is good, it's causing us some growing pains :) Thanks very much for your patience while we sort things like this out.

All the pieces of the September kits are finally here! And they will be shipped a few days late, b/c my DH and I are going on vacation next week. We're taking a cruise to Alaska!

Totally excited about that. And I'm totally excited over a piece of software that my friend Nathalie pointed out to me - bloglines.com It helps you keep up with your favorite blogs - any of them who have an Atom or RSS feed, which most do if they're on blogspot or typepad or LJ. Very cool, thanks Nat!

Wow, it's been awhile

2007-08-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

March 15 was the last time I posted to this blog. Dang, that's a long time. I have nothing to say other than life just got in the way, as it often does.

Now, I have been tagged as a "Rockin Girl Blogger" by my friend and DT Member/Editor/Queen Catherine, so I must update - that and you 3 readers deserve one too, LOL.

ScrapMuse news - there's a huge surprise in the works for this year. It will most likely come in fall. I am working really hard to make it happen and I am nervous about it going off without a hitch.

There's a hella-sale going on there right now, 10-70% pretty much everything, kits included. It's a darn good deal, lemme tell ya. I just got tired of looking at those older kits wanting to be loved and ordered - my garage is overrun with product and I need to MOVE IT OUT to bring in new fun stuff.

Hints for the fall kits? TEXTURE and lots of it!

I promise this blog will be kept up better from now on...until the big surprise comes along and then we'll do things a *little* differently.

Oh, and it's a GOOD surprise. (and one that I've mentioned before). Hope you like surprises!

Product Review...UHU liquid glue

2007-03-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

So I got some samples of UHU All purpose, Liquid glue and would love to share my thoughts on this product.

First, the price point of this product is $3.25 I believe. (Looking on amazon.com)
The bottle is 3.2 ounces, and the design fits nicely into my hand. You can use the glue three ways: as a small pointed tip, narrow glue strip, or wide glue strip.

I took this glue with me to the Ali Edwards Discover Home class last Friday, and I must be honest, I was a bit unimpressed with it at first. The main reason is that it is very runny and so it is easy to use too much. Which is what I did, all over the cover of my Junkitz metal album. A little saddening, but ah well.

As the class went on, I got better at going lightly with it, but it really wasn't until today that I feel like I was using just the right amount. This is all with the small pointed tip, by the way.

Today I also tested the narrow and wide glue strip capability of this product...I was less impressed with that - again easy to overdo... The way you get the flat gluing surface is by twisting the top of the bottle around, which is a REALLY cool idea, but somehow the narrow tip part still sticks out a little bit and so really you end up with a line of glue that you have to work to smear around, which gets glue all over the sides of the bottle and then have to wipe off, else you'll glue the cap to the bottle.

So all in all, I will not be carrying this product in the store, and my favorite liquid glue, Aleene's tacky glue, is still the 'reigning champ' in my book.

Here's a link to Maria Filosa's blog if you'd like to try some UHU samples for yourself:
www.mariafilosa.com

March kits will be shipping soon!

2007-03-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

I am really excited about this kit - almost b/c I think you need to see the papers in person to understand how cool they are. Lana did a great job with kit pics this time, but the distressed nature of these papers just doesn't seem to come through...

In other news, we have so many CHA goods in the store right now - it's awesome. I just love going into the warehouse to gawk at the many fun things available.

and more :)

2007-02-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Huge stickers from Heidi Swapp - Love those birds (hint, hint)

More bling from Heidi Swapp - these crowns are so fresh and funky!

Cuddles from Everlasting Keepsakes - totally cool! (hint, hint)

Yesterdays collection from Chloe's Closet (hint, hint)

Office Supplied line by Imagination Project - Gosh I ADORE this line!!

more sneak peeks

2007-02-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Here's some really cool acetate/plastic lettering and shapes from Making Memories...saw lots of that at CHA...

Just a taste of many, MANY cool new items from Heidi Swapp!

Love the blue photo corners (hint, hint)

And the playing cards, as well as the journaling spots that look like little pink post-its!

I am in love with these buttons~

Ahh...Hambly...they have rubons and papers with owls, and my favorite - ROBOTS!
(hint, hint)

Back from CHA

2007-02-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Gretchen and I on our first morning at CHA. I was totally overwhelmed at the whole thing, but Gretchen helped me cope, and made excellent suggestions on how we should "do" the show and where to go when. She was my compass and she was invaluable (although we all knew that already)!

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing Vicki and Cat! We had lunch together several times and even had dinner with Cat - it was so wonderful to meet them all in person!

Check out Cat with her new book! You can buy it here -> Cat's super awesome book

And last but definitely not least for this post is Vicki and the gorgeous wedding dress she created FROM PAPER for the AccuCut booth. The photo I took doesn't do it justice b/c our jaws dropped when we saw this thing for real...

also beside it (sorry, it's hard to read) is a lovely invitation/announcement style placard that had Vicki's name displayed prominently as the creator of the dress. She also did the bouquet that you see on the table there.

ScrapMuse and the new DT

2007-01-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

ScrapMuse has found the additions to our Design Team!

First, let me just say that we had such a great response to this call. Each and every one of you who submitted had lovely work and this decision was truly, TRULY difficult. You should all be proud...proud of your memories and moments and of the beautiful ways you have chosen to remember them.

We couldn't pick just 2 ladies for the permanent design team. So we chose 4 and here they are (provided they accept of course!):

Nathalie Kalbach
Rebekah Robinson
Michelle Clement
Bernadette Henderson
Congratulations ladies! And again, thank you ALL who entered.

The Guest Designers for Feb - June are:

Jill Cornell - February 2007
Christiane Muller - March 2007
Elizabeth Carney - April 2007
Kristen Rousch - May 2007
Emeline Seet-ng - June 2007

Well, it's Friday at lunchtime

2007-01-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

And I am so glad that it is. I am actually *somewhat* ahead on ScrapMuse kits(one can never truly be ahead when you run your own business but you know what I mean). And my DH actually went to the grocers yesterday so we have food, and more importantly, COFFEE. :)

My New Year's resolution was to commit to putting the cats on a diet...alright, alright...and I'm going to watch what I eat too...mostly cause I feel hypocritical, LOL... They're one helluva lot friendlier now that they depend on ME for their food. Kind of nice, really.

It's another gray day in the Pacific Northwest. My day job is going OK - still trying to find ways to keep myself motivated on projects instead of just putting out fires but I think it's because it's been so long (a year at least) since I actually was in project MODE...I am getting the hang of it though.

My cold is gone, thank goodness, and just in time too - we're taking our neighbor and his wife out to Alameda Brewhouse tonight for his 30th bday. I am looking forward to it b/c we haven't been out with them in awhile and they ALWAYS show us good places for beer in Portland.

Mina is doing fine - my other New Year's resolution was to take her on at least ONE walk a day on the days she doesn't go to doggie day care (I can hear my sister laughing). So far I am upholding this resolution OK. It's important to me b/c buying ScrapMuse has really cut down on the time I spend with her and I want to do at least one thing with her each day.

So that is that. The house plans are moving along nicely too. I am so glad we decided to close at the end of January - with all that's going on, rushing it like every realtor and builder wants you to do, would have just driven me bonkers.

Have a super weekend ya'll!

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

2006-12-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

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

2006-10-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-09-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

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

Hiking at Old Forge.

Ben's fez, a present from his sister.

So....

2006-09-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-08-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

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.

whew

2006-08-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it's August and I'm so glad. Although this month is going to be as crazy as the last one... Ben and I decided that we were OVER July.

My co-worker has had a emergency that requires him to return to India for a few weeks - I am his backup so that means I do 2 jobs this month. Fine by me - I just hope his family gets well. I am also supposed to take vacation one of those weeks - thank goodness my boss says I still can. I am willing to work from TN one or two days but not the whole week, because this is for our wedding reception. So that's kind of more important - so glad she understands.

In other news, we're halfway through obedience class which is nice but it's going by too fast - I guess if I practised more with Mina I would feel like we're getting more out of it... I am having a craft gathering this weekend - hope it goes well. I think it will be fun - I am always impressed by the different crafts that people do. My neighbor makes needle-felted purses, and another neighbor paints watercolor, another one embroiders, and yet another makes bead jewelry. Too cool! And there are a few people who are interested in making a scrapbook for this or that...so I am looking forward to sharing what little I know about it with them.

Yay friends!

2006-08-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Love this pic! And I love my friends!

a smile today

2006-07-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

I am having a crappy day - work is really stressful right now, so I thought looking through last weekend's photos for a minute would help me clear my brain and have a little smile. This is J and C along with my husband who went to Ga Tech with J. I am very proud of them for everything.

Mina likes Hawaii

2006-07-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well, she would, if she had ever been there. This shirt was too cute to pass up, especially since it was only 9 bucks! So I got the largest size possible and it's barely big enough. But I think she looks just adorable in it! (Yes, there's something WRONG with me, I know)I also got her a pair of doggles, doggy sunglasses. It's going to take a little while for her to get used to those, but I'll post a pic soon!

the A-T-L

2006-07-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

Heading there this weekend for a close friends' wedding. Should be fun! Have a great weekend!

Mina loves sand.

2006-07-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

She loves to dig in it and EAT it...and run around...

I love how it's on her nose and whiskers and around her mouth!

Mom's birthday present

2006-07-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

Shh, don't tell! Or send her the web address, LOL... This is a book (matchbook album from Lil Davis, actually) of inspirational/leadership quotes that I've made my mom for her birthday. I used the Basic Grey Hang 10 collection, cause I thought it would sort of match her office. I wasn't going to leave space for photos, but I decided that might be good afterall, so I left places for her to put photos of the bank and her co-workers in there. I hope she likes it well enough to put it on her desk.

For Connie - sorry I'm posting these pics so late - it took me forever, I kept waiting on the Mod Podge to dry :)

We live in a beautiful place...

2006-07-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

I love where we live - I open the windows and hear the birds (although I think there's a hawk's nest close by cause I hear more screeching these days than usual), and when I look out my windows I see beautiful pine trees and tops of houses. It's still a bit cloudy so I can't see the hills past our neighborhood, but that's OK.

I turned down Banfield again. I think/hope that I left it open enough so that if something unexpected happens, then I will have maybe an option, but I also made it clear that I am not comfortable changing jobs right now. I think it's the best decision. Now I just have to seriously consider the merit of going back to school online. Right now I can't get past the cost, and how we'll pay for that - I am a terrible financials person. I had hoped that Ben would take that over, but he doesn't seem to have any interest in it either. And I'm interested in managing it, but have no willpower. Blech...hate talking about money!

Anyway, Mina is still snoozin - we contacted a playmate of hers from back in Atlanta who was a little younger. A full Dane named Marley - they played together often at our local dog park and were in puppy kindergarten together. Marley is TALL now, 34" at the shoulders. Parkey, her "mom", sent me some pics back. She's totally adorable. Mina has definitely turned us onto Danes as a breed. But we're staying a one dog family for awhile longer, that's for sure.

Lovely rain

2006-07-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

It is raining today, the first time in a few weeks. Today it is nice; it makes me feel peaceful. And Mina isn't being a pain cause she's still tired from playing all day at "doggie day care" yesterday. I realised I need to do something for Mom cause her birthday's next week. I think I'll create something - lord knows I have plenty of stuff already here to do that with.

Everyone is talking about sneak peeks for the CHA Summer show...that would be so fun to attend. And I have to miss the CKU-Atlanta this year, it's the weekend after I'll be there for A and P's wedding. Oh well - I think it would be fun to go to a different place altogether for it. Maybe somewhere in CA...anyway...

I made a book for my MIL the other day but forgot to take pictures of it. LOL, I also forgot to send any sort of note explaining what it was to her either, but surely she'll figure it out. I can be such a ditz sometimes.

Cutie pie!

2006-07-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

Isn't he cute? This is my neighbor's grandson - he's like 4 months old..maybe 3. Such a good baby! They have asked me to take some pictures of him, like some formal ones, which will be fun I think!

I have a couple of good, candid ones like this from our BBQ on the 4th.

I would like a better close up lens, I think...but this one is working well for now.

In scrap-related news, I didn't create anything this weekend but I did tie up some loose ends. I finished a flip book for Ben's mom, and put all my recent pages in albums! I organized them into groups like 1) People 2) Me and Ben 3) Family Christmas (over the years) 4) Me and 5) Pets. I also finished putting our San Francisco trip together - still have some journaling but I'm getting there. It felt great to get that accomplished!

Job at Banfield

2006-07-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought about it over the weekend and decided to decline their offer - I am not ready to change into a more restrictive job yet. I love the freedom I have now with time off and stuff, and I love the people I work with, so I'm going to stick around :) It was kind of hard telling the folks at Banfield that I didn't want their job after all, but I was honest about why. Turns out they can negotiate a little bit with the paid time off, but not telecommuting. Because both are important to me - the telecommuting is probably #1, I said no thanks. But I was impressed with the way the whole thing was handled and their people in general. I would definitely apply there again if something happens to my current job (of course they will not have an opening then but hey that's how it works, LOL).

I am so turned around with what day it is this week...today's Thursday right? That's a nice thing to remember :)

my first 8x8, themed album of a child

2006-07-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

This was too fun! My co-worker's stepdaughter, sort of...she's such a cutie and I made this for them. Totally awesome learning experience - I used paint....LOL

Another kit from ScrapMuse of course! The colors just went so well together...

Leo

2006-07-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

Isn't he cute? He's the first mostly quiet Cocker Spaniel I have ever met - he and Mina really get along well, and we have been pet sitting him a couple of days this week. They have lots of fun.

It's so cute to see them both running around - a tall black and white dog with a short black and white dog running along side...

My parents came to visit

2006-07-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

I totally didn't think my mom would get on a plane, but she did and my parents came to visit over the weekend! We had so much fun, and it was SO GREAT to see them relaxing a little. We went and did some tourist-y stuff, like Multnomah Falls, Latourell Falls, and Wakheena Falls, and then we drove up to Mt St Helens - all of these things were just so beautiful. I will post some pics later of the falls, and Mt St Helens. I also realised where my friend M's granparents live and it's pretty close to us.

Anyway, they left early Sunday morning, so I decided to get some yard work done, and my neighbor who is a landscaper helped, in exchange for some computer lessons/repair. I think that deal is going to work out well! My yard already looks 100% better and I am teaching him about CDs versus DVDs currently.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

stuff...

2006-06-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

Well, today will probably be the 4th day in a row that it has hit 100+ degrees here. Yesterday and Sunday it was 111 in the parking lots...and 105 or so just in the yard. It's dry heat but that's still freakin' hot. I hope it goes back down in the 70s soon..

Mom and Dad arrive tomorrow night. I'm excited but also nervous as I really need to bring up some topics that aren't going to be all that comfortable..like my little brother's future....I am really nervous about that because I really want them to hear what I have to say and I don't want to mess it up by getting frustrated..

The Banfield interview went pretty well I thought. I liked the team alot and felt like they liked me - I was honest when I told them what I did and didn't know - they're working in a newer technology than I do right now...but I am really not sure if I'm ready to leave my current job. The interview was from 9 until almost 1:30 so that was long - and I was really tired yesterday.

Mina got sick while I was gone - thank goodness it was on the pergot flooring downstairs and not the carpet. Her tummy has been sick since 4:30 Monday morning, because on Sunday she ate some things out of her norm... We'll not do that ever again! Ben came home at lunch and cleaned it up since I was gone - bless his heart. Sick doggies, esp 85 pound sick doggies are no fun!

another one of Mina :)

2006-06-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

This might be my favorite LO of the week - I thought the beauty one was cool but I think I like this one better... it just feels AWESOME to me when I actually like my finished work - all too often when I finish a page I hate it but don't know how to go back and make it better...

Anyway, the journaling is: "My family laughs at how we treat our dog - she eats veggies, goes to "doggie day care", graduated from kindergarten, has set naps, the whole nine yards. And I do admit that we probably go overboard with it. But in the eleven months she's been withus, we have developed such a bond of companionship, loyalty, and friendship with her, that the lengths we go to with her aren't anything out of the ordinary for us. We love her so much and love the fullness she has brought to our lives. She has her moments, yes, where I want to scream because she's just destroyed something valuable, but the majority of the time, she's wonderful to be around. She is so much more than just a pet to us - she's a companion, friend, confidante, playmate. We are grateful that she is in our lives."

Love the new workspace!

2006-06-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

After I put the craft room back together a little bit, I sat down and actually USED the room and it felt AWESOME! I got so much done, because I was able to spread out like I like to do...
I tried my hand at writing (well doodling) on a photo...it was OK...I was really nervous about it!

And then I did one about piercing my nose - I love scrapbooking any which way - no set dates to go by, don't go in order...just DO IT! That's so freeing!

Possibly my favorite...the June Muse totally inspired me!

And a lesson from Ali Edwards about circles...love those underneath the title!

some layouts

2006-06-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

These photos are horrible - I need a good wide scanner, but oh well. This is an old layout about my temp apartment in SC. I didn't realise until I was moving out how truly small it was. All my stuff, including me and 2 cats, fit in my MINI Cooper when I left. God I hated that place.

And the other LO is our group of ATL friends and a favorite sushi hangout. I love them AND RuSans!

My new tables

2006-06-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Ben was supposed to come home at lunch yesterday and help me carry these upstairs into the craft room. But he had some issues at work and had to stay through lunch...and the impatient person I am, I carried them myself up from the garage, which involves some tight turns and lots of steps. It was hard to do - esp since the long table is 6.5 ft long. But I DID it! LOL

ANyway, here they are in their new home, and I've already been scrapbooking on them - I love how I can spread out now! And have my sewing machine on there too. Now I'll finally try some sewing on my pages!
*Already full of stuff, LOL

Building furniture!

2006-06-20T07:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't get to scrap this weekend, but it was because I had decided to build myself some new furniture for my craft room. This months Creating Keepsakes had an article in it about building craft furniture for cheap, so that's what I did - I started out with 2 tables and I think next weekend I am going to build a bench or some shelves. Or both! LOL

And I got my June Muse kit on Saturday - so lovely! As soon as I can get these tables in my room, I'll be ready to use it!

Ho hum....

2006-06-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, and well, I'm really glad. This week, actually the past two weeks, have been super busy and we've had guests, so I haven't had nearly the time to scrap as I wanted to. So I have devoted most of the weekend to holing up in my craft room and getting some stuff done! I am excited about that - also, I am excited b/c the June muse is on it's way to my hot little hands! I always get REALLY excited to get the latest kit from them - it's like a little Christmas each month, LOL...

Happy weekend!

Say what??

2006-06-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

Mina loved playing in the sand last week at Cannon Beach. She wasn't a big fan of the water, but then when it's freezing, I'm not either!

Nose pierced!

2006-06-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Can you tell what's different about me in this picture? That's right - my nose is pierced! Joslyn and I went yesterday to Captain Jack's on Hawthorne - she was going to get a belly button piercing and I wanted this. Well, unfortunately, OR state law would not allow her to be pierced because she isn't yet 18 and I couldn't sign for her since I'm not a legal guardian. But I still got mine - the process was very quick and it only hurt a little, less than my belly button piercing I think.

Flowers and our wedding

2006-05-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some more layouts that I've done this week. The jardin one is photos of my mother in law's flowers - so beautiful!

This layout is from my wedding, a totally unexpected event earlier this year. When I say that people always assume the worst, but it's the marriage part that was unexpected, we had been dating for years :)

It was a small event with only a few friends in attendance - nonetheless, it was totally special and I'll remember it always.

TFL and have a wondrous week!

Finally posting some LOs!

2006-05-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have been ordering ScrapMuse kits (the older ones anyway) for awhile, since December at least. And these LOs are all from the July 2005 "Peachy Keen" kit - I LOVE IT.

This is LOKI, my mother-in-law's cat. He's totally adorable, about half the size of my two and totally a ball of fire! He is also the resident squirrel/vole/snake killer, which makes Julie very happy.

The 2nd layout is a 2 pager, about the day that Ben and I spent biking on the Silver Comet Trail - it was so much fun! And I totally loved using these fun, bright colors - kind of different for me!

New glasses and funny faces

2006-05-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

These are my new spectacles -I think they rock, although this self-portrait leaves a lot to be desired. This was taken down by the Columbia River a couple weeks ago with Mina...

My husband thinks he's funny - which is true most of the time, actually - he keeps me laughing, which is such a good combination for us. I am the practical one, he's the one who'll sell our house for a plate of "magic beans" - or at least, I keep teasing him about it.

Lush stuff

2006-05-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

A couple of friends back in ATL turned me onto this store - they learned of it from a friend in England who's in love with their stuff.

They urged me to go to the store and report back, as there's one in Portland, and I must say the first time I went I was totally overwhelmed.

I went back last week to buy something for one of my ATL friends and ship it to them (seems to be faster that way than ordering on the website), and the store manager talked me into some facial toner and moisturizer. She also gave me samples of an exfoliating scrub and a heavier 'nighttime' moisturizer. Now, the stuff is expensive (43$ for 45 g of product!) and it smells weird, the moisturizer smells awful, and the salt scrub smells like margaritas, which is weird on your face, but holy cow do they work! And I think they're going to last awhile, so that's good!

Along the Columbia

2006-05-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

Mina and I decided to take a walk one afternoon along the Columbia River - she loved it, but I was a little afraid she was going to chase after the gulls on the water and go in without thinking. She probably can swim, but I couldn't have pulled her back to the bank!

It was very windy that day, but we had fun. Now that it's warm all the time, we'll go again!

Straw stealer

2006-04-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, fond memories of drinking margaritas. I joined this scrapbooking swap, of sorts, where we made a layout of our favorite mixed drink recipe - mine of course being, the margarita, and we made enough copies for everyone in the swap. Then we all mailed them to the coordinator and she mailed us back one of each, which was fun. As I expected, several people dropped out or were 2 months late on theirs, so I don't know if I'll do swaps all that often, but it was fun to make them. We did 8x8 layouts...

Anyway, one of the pics was supposed to be us drinking our drinks, and I thought this was cute. Although Mina really only has water. And she didn't really *get* the whole drinking from a cup thing. All she wanted was the straw...

My drama queen

2006-04-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Not to be accused of favoring my dog, this is my first pet, Cutlass. He's an orange tabby we rescued the night before I graduated from college in 2001.
He is one of the most beautiful cats I've ever seen, but he knows it. While he's very prissy and whiny, he's also incredibly smart - he knows sit and shake, and we taught him how to use a human toilet. But that's a different story.

My grandmother

2006-04-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

This, albeit a rather blurry photo, is my grandmother. I have no idea when this was taken - probably early 1940s but I just love the look on her face. In particular, the look in her eyes. You just know she's up to something.

It's interesting also because this photo shows a side of my grandma that I rarely see. And it's not just because I live far away now. I guess that's because people change, in particular women, who feel like they have to mask the fun sides of themselves to be "responsible" or "adult"....I'm sure it also has a bit to do with going through hardships and such too.

I like remembering my grandma can be mischevious.

I heart Google

2006-04-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

I read an article awhile back (from Ali Edwards I believe http://aliedwards.typepad.com) on cool software products and one of the ones mentioned was Picasa. It's a free software product owned by Google and man it is COOL. Plus - you can post to your blog straight from there and also to your photo printer from there (like if you use Shutterfly or something like that). So freakin' neat.

Anyway, have a great day!

Best friends

2006-04-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

This is Mina's best friend in the world, Piper. Mina really misses her I think. I wish there were a way for dogs to travel as easily as humans so that they could actually visit each other.

He's a giant chicken - a chicken I tell you!

2006-04-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is one of my many favorite pics of our dog. We dressed her up as a chicken last Halloween and we were totally surprised to discover, she LOVED her costume. Every time we would put it away she would go and find it and get it back out.

2005-06-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

So I've not yet gotten the hang of this whole blogging thing - posting every day and what not. But I'll give it a try - who knows - I might have a lot of fun - it certainly seems like there's a lot of people out there who enjoy blogging (and reading other people's blogs).

There are several key, crazy things going on in my world right now. 1) I just quit my job in South Carolina to take a better one in Atlanta. I'm so happy to be coming back to 'Hotlanta' - I love this place, as smoggy and full of traffic as it is. And I'll be back in technology, working with SQL which is what I love best, so that's good too. I'm also glad not to be working in manufacturing anymore. But my commute to this new job was going to be like 45 miles because I still owned a house outside the city. And now it seems that I have an offer on the house! Kind of a lucky break, I think - although the offer is only verbal at this point. I'm REALLY hoping they get me some kind of paperwork soon to sign so that it becomes binding. Or that the other couple who's interested will move on it and make me an offer. Now that I have had the chance to actually consider living in the city, I really want to sell that place!