Skip to content

Organized . . . again

  • by

Organized_1

I really, truly tried to resist the urge to reorganize once again but . . . when I read that Stacy Julian organized all her embellishments in shallow drawers by color, I was immediately intrigued. I resisted for over a month, but the idea stayed in the back of my mind along with her comment that having all the embellishments in one place increased her creativity. So since I already had some shallow drawer units doing other (rather insignificant) duty, I decided to give it a try. It only took one evening and I organized mine in six drawers rather than ten. I put pink and purple, green and brown, yellow and orange, and black and white together. I can already tell you that it was worth the time and effort. Stacy is right. We scrapbook by color and seeing all the embellishments you have prompts you to consider things you might never have thought of using. The only expense was the purchase of some small ziplock bags to hold the tiny embellishments. Thanks, Stacy–once again.

One Down, One to Go

It’s the end of the semester. Today I turned in 23 updated literacy profiles and 10 week plans. I have all but six report cards ready to turn in next week. Then the flurry of paperwork will die down for a while. Whew! I’m ready for some serious "me" time.

Challenges

  • by

One of my goals this year is to scrap more and keep track of the layouts and cards I make. I see people post on 2peas and they have an ongoing list of their accomplishments. I made a little Sweetwater calendar to keep track of what I accomplish as well as what I spend on scrapbooking and cardmaking.

When I saw the post on 2peas asking people to join a challenge scraplifting 4 (or more) layouts each month from the Designing With 2006 Calendar, I decided it would be a good way to motivate me to get some work done. I’ve already enjoyed it and have all four of my layouts done and posted for January. Posting my work in the gallery was also a goal. I’ve gotten involved on the message board but avoided the gallery because scanning seemed too much of a bother. I still haven’t tried to scan a 12 X 12 layout, but most of mine are going to be 8.5 X 11 this year anyway.

This is my fourth January layout based on the January 1 page and Ali Edwards’ Christmas layout posted on her blog. I had taken all the photographs on Thanksgiving with another layout in mind but the photos from 2peas pictures (2 X 2) were so perfect for this. It’s a 12 X 12 (too many people in our family for an 8.5 X 11) and I took a photo of it rather than try to figure out the scanning and stitching. It was a fun one to do, but more tedious than I expected because I had to cut all of the squares rather than punched them. But I do like the final result. Next challenge:  How to make a photo album with the DW Challenge layouts to put on the blog? I’ve started the process, but it’s not up yet.

Familyblog

Daffodils in January

  • by

Daffodilsblog

Yep, those are daffodils–peeking out of the ground on January 13th in Rochester! It’s been warm all week and today it was 63 degrees when I left work. Tracy and I walked through Highland Park in shirt sleeves. It’s a rare event in western New York to have such a nice stretch of weather. Big change in the forecast for the weekend, however.

The Big Picture

  • by

I bought a copy of Stacy Julian’s The Big Picture for myself and a friend for Christmas. I read it cover to cover and it really liberated me from some preconceived notions about scrapbooking. This summer I did a few 8.5 X 11 layouts which I really enjoyed doing and liked how they came out. But they seemed kind of random and most of my scrapbooking has been theme-based because I came to this hobby so late. I have 30+ years of photos to scrap. Stacy’s album system (Family, Friends, Travels, etc.) just made so much sense to me. I ordered two 3-ring binders from Archivers and just love how this is all working out.

Then I found The Big Picture website and the online classes. I just finished my Cathy Z. layout:  5 Random Things About Me. Not a page I would ever have considered on my own, but one I enjoyed doing. Her audio presentation made me think about the random facts in a whole new way. This originated as a blog challenge several months ago and most of the posts were single sentences. Cathy asked us to think about writing 5 things our kids didn’t know about us. That turned out to be pretty difficult since my kids know me incredibly well. I finally came up with a few they may not know at all, but certainly wouldn’t come to mind quickly even if they do. Here it is:

5randomfacts

Random Thoughts

Survived the first day back at work. My energy level was at least 10 times greater than the fifth graders in my class. Easy to tell they’d been staying up late and sleeping in, as I have been as well. It took a lot of energy to keep them going!

Thought for the day:

It’s time to scrap the notion that mothers are always kind, understanding, patient, and wise. Persistence and grit should be given their due weight as maternal virtues. (From a great little book, Normal is Just a Setting on the Dryer and Other Lessons from the Real Real World)

I’ve found that persistence has been one of my greatest attributes. In the face of the worst maternal crises, persistence has gotten me through. Not always as gracefully as I would hope, but through nonetheless. One of my greatest gifts of 2005:  no maternal crises.

Lunch

  • by

Lunch

Here we are–the girls (ladies?). Out to lunch at Bistro 135 in East Rochester. It’s so much fun to get together and we really know how to extend a lunch! Small world:  four of us have worked at the same elementary school. Our waiter went to Winslow from kindergarten through sixth grade–remembered all his teachers–most of whom have retired. Two of us are still there. Great food, good service, the luxury of time, the pleasures of a vacation.

Wedding Plans

  • by

Adam

The last two visits Sarah and Adam have finalized many details for the wedding. We had already secured the location for the reception. Sarah’s aunt is doing the flowers (lucky us!), and the church has been reserved. This month they found (after five interviews) the photographer, the cake lady, the location for the rehearsal dinner, and were able to reserve a block of rooms at the Crowne Plaza. The latter proved to be more challenging that we expected since the RIT graduation is the same weekend as their wedding. But the most challenging from their point of view was getting registered. When you don’t have much the needs of establishing a household and the variety of choices can be overwhelming. This is Adam with “THE GUN” at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It wasn’t all drudgery as you can tell from the picture!

I Could Retire

I had a very long talk with my college roommate this vacation and the subject of retirement came up. She genuinely loves her job and cannot imagine what she would do if she retired. I have no trouble figuring out what I would do. Today I completed a nine page layout in the Scrapworks album of our vacations on Assateague Island (1991-94) and made a calendar/planner from a kit by Sweetwater. Read the paper, saw a movie and went out to dinner with friends. . . spent some time on two message boards at 2Peas and learned quite a  bit. My list of things I want (not need) to do on my last day of vacation (tomorrow) is extensive—I could retire tomorrow and have plenty to do.

Laughter

  • by

Fun

The house is filled with laughter when Sarah, Adam, and Matt are all here. It’s not that we don’t have a good time when we’re alone, but it certainly is different and a lot more fun when all the kids are here. This picture taken at dinner when Rachel was visiting captures it perfectly.

A Different Christmas

  • by

Christmastree

Despite the fact that I was depressed the day before Christmas, our celebrations turned out great. The annual eleven o’clock service at Third Presbyterian on Christmas Eve put me back in the Christmas mood. Christmas morning, Tracy and I got up, read the papers, and went to breakfast at Mykynos. At four o’clock his extended family arrived for dinner, frivolity, and opening of gifts. Grandma’s fun gifts to everyone was 20Q, which provided a lot of entertainment.

Finally on Tuesday, we had our Christmas. Sarah and Adam didn’t arrive in Buffalo until 12:20 on Tuesday morning. By the time we got to bed, it was close to 2, so no one was up any too early. It’s not as exciting as it was when they were little, but it’s still really good. Love my kids, love my husband, love the holidays.

Doesn’t Feel Much Like Christmas

  • by

It certainly does not feel like Christmas Eve here. Maybe it’s the weather–warmer than it’s been in weeks, rain not snow. Maybe it’s the lack of vacation time. School didn’t end until yesterday afternoon. Not much time to relax and prepare before the holiday. Maybe–and I think this is the REAL reason–it’s because Sarah is in Washington with Adam and not here for the first Christmas ever. I know I have to get used to this.  We’ll be sharing her with Adam and Adam’s family for many holidays to come. And I really believed I’d be OK with it, even this first year. But when I woke up this morning, it just didn’t feel much like Christmas here.

Star Giving

  • by

For several years when Sarah and Matt were teenagers, they alternated giving the prayer at the family Christmas dinner. It was not an honor they desired, but they always did it graciously. One year Sarah surprised all of us by memorizing this poem by Ann Weems. Each Christmas I reread it and remember how proud and  touched I was by her effort and the message of the poem.

Star Giving

What I’d really like to give you for Christmas
Is a Star . . .
Brilliance in a package,
Something you could keep in the pocket of your jeans
Or in the pocket of your being,
Something to take out in times of darkness,
Something that would never snuff out or tarnish,
Something you could hold in your hand,
Something for wonderment,
Something for pondering,
Something that would remind you of
What Christmas has always meant:
God’s Advent Light into the Darkness of this world.
But Starts are only God’s for giving,
And I must be content to give you words and wishes and
Packages without Stars.
But I can wish you Life
As radiant as the Star
That announced the Christ Child’s coming,
And as filled with awe as the Shepherds who stood
Beneath its Light,
And I can pass on to you the Love
That has been given to me,
Ignited countless time by others
Who have knelt in Bethlehem’s Light.
Perhaps, if you ask, God will give you a Star.

Merry Christmas!

Design Journals

  • by

Photoforblog_2

I found these cute notebooks with dividers and pockets at the Super Target at Stone Mountain when I was visiting Sarah in November. I’ve made three of them now; one for me and two for friends. This was for my friend Lynn. It’s a notebook for keeping track of great scrapbook ideas you find in books and magazines. Each divider is decorated as well and I added a library pocket to the
inside cover with a tag to keep track of the books or magazines that
are referenced.I labeled my dividers “Layout Designs/Titles,” “Cards/Projects,” and “Embellishments/Holidays.” So far it’s been really helpful.  I have a code for the magazine that is referenced on the tag, then a brief comment about the idea (ie. “tiny tages for dates & titles”) and then the page number. Now if I remember an idea I saw, I can usually find it pretty quickly in my notes, or if I’m looking for a layout idea I can go to that section and know which magazines or books to look at. Far faster than leafing through my pretty extensive collection of idea books.

Designjournal2_1