Wreck This Journal!

I was so excited when the UPS guy dropped off this book yesterday! It's the latest from Keri Smith and those art journalers among you are going to loooove it! Nattie and I had the chance to look through it briefly last night, and there were some awesome prompts including things like:

glue a random page from a newspaper here;

poke holes in this page using a pencil;

fill in this page when you are really ANGRY; and my personal favorite...

glue in a photo of yourself you dislike. Deface.

What a fun project for the Summer!

In other news :) I took Iain and Jamie to the airport this morning; they'll arrive in Glasgow (Scotland) around noon tomorrow. Jamie was super-excited all the way until I said goodbye to them after check-in. Then his big blue eyes teared up and he just held me tight...OMG...I had to take a couple of minutes in the car before driving home. What a moment! I do plan on making the most of these 10 days with Nattie though!

Ramblings :)

First, today's blog challenge over on Two Peas:

3 Things I like about ME are my sense of humor (gotta have that!), my creativity and my support as a wife/mom/friend :)

3 Things I don't like about ME.. or things I could do without, about me are my weight (no-brainer!), my grey hair, and my anxiety about too many things!

So, we made it to Shrek 3 last night (had to drive through a very heavy rainstorm! Yuk!). I'd agree with what most people have said; it's not as good as the first 2 - but we still laughed a lot! Of course, the kids laughed at things like burping, but Iain and I laughed too; Donkey is still one of my favorite movie characters ever!

20 Random Questions....

I saw these on Anilu's blog (thanks to Anilu!) and thought they'd be fun to answer...feel free to copy and paste on your own blog :) Enjoy!

1. regular or diet soda: Regular Sprite
2. salt or pepper: Salt
3. hot or cold weather: Definitely cold!
4. dogs or cats: Cats right now, but Nattie is being very persistent about getting a dog :)
5. dieting or exercise: Exercise, although I need to do both :)
6. cooking or doing dishes: I usually do the cooking and Iain clears up and loads the dishwasher. Works for us!
7. sleeping or shopping: Shopping - for scrapbooking supplies or stationery
8. Red Lobster or Outback Steakhouse: Outback - Alice Springs Chicken
9. classical or hip hop music: Classical.
10. dancing or playing sports: Dancing, I've never been very athletic.
11. back rub or foot rub: Back rub - not a foot rub fan at all!
12. fruits or vegetables: Fruit - my favorites are strawberries and melon!
13. Grey's Anatomy or House: Grey's Anatomy. I can't get the image of Hugh Laurie in "Blackadder" out of my memory!
14. coffee or tea: Tea - Earl Grey with sugar
15. curling up with a good book or a night out on the town: Curling up with a book. That's an easy one!
16. Straight hair or curly hair: Curly. That's what I have to work with so I'd better like it :)
17. skirts or shorts: Shorts
18. burgers/hot dogs or Chinese food: Chinese.
19. vacationing in Switzerland or Mexico: Definitely Switzerland - lots to explore!
20. sports car or SUV: SUV for sure (except for the gas guzzling!)

Long Weekend!

We had a lovely, quiet weekend at home. On Saturday Iain took Jamie for a haircut while I finished my paper at home. Sunday morning was a lazy one spent drinking tea and reading my magazines, and then in the afternoon we went for a walk around Lake Evergreen and also around the little shops in Main Street (Nattie's favorites!). Hot dogs and ice cream for a late lunch, then we headed home.

On Sunday we went for a walk around the neighborhood; I love how every house here is so different! Iain and I are both starting to get the "painting bug"; we've been in the house for 8 months and it's time to get some color on those cream-colored walls! First up I think will be Nattie's bedroom which she says she wants to be orange or yellow. We'll have a look at some paint chips this week....

Today's Two Peas blog challenge is to share your favorite scrapbooking organization tips. Since we moved my scrap space is much smaller so I've become much more resourceful with my storage :) I put all my ribbon on 2" metal rings and hung them on the wall from mug hooks; I can see the colors easily and I've hung them on pieces of the wall which would otherwise be empty, leaving me more space for all those plastic drawers and containers :) I'll try and get some photos of my scrap room this week (but first I'll have to tidy it! LOL!).

Summertime.....

is almost here! The kids just have one week left of school. I can't believe it! Tuesday is Jamie's last day at preschool....sniff, sniff...

I'm sure many of us will be firing up the grill at some point this long weekend. Whatever you're up to, have fun!

And check out the BRAND NEW stamps for Summer over at The Cat's Pajamas! They are so fresh and unique! Click here for the stamps and here for the gallery. Let me know what you think!

Belated Happy Birthday to CJ!

To my friend Jackie's son, CJ :) He turned 9 this week! I remember when he was just born when we went to visit them in Boston....man, I feel old! This birthday card is of course made with stamps from The Cat's Pajamas! Look out for the Summer line hitting the site very soon...it is gorgeous!

Not too much going on here this weekend; Iain just got back from a week in Brazil and I have the laundry to catch up on! The weather is beautiful here, high 60s forecast for the weekend. Love it!

The 4 of us are going to see Shrek The Third on Tuesday; I've read mixed reviews to I'm excited to see what it's like. We're huge Shrek fans so I hope we won't be disappointed!

Now, off to work on that paper for school....

Generosity

What does generosity mean to me? I believe that generosity involves thinking of others first, and giving of yourself. Not material things, but your time, friendship, support and love. At least that's the way I'm trying to teach it to my kids. I also tell them that unprompted generosity is special as well!

In that same theme, here are some pages from a CJ I worked on this month. The title is "gifts" and we all have to make mini-books from the coasters supplied. The circle is about halfway done, and the work already completed was just inspiring! The rest of the book is in my gallery at Two Peas; just click here.

Have a great holiday weekend!

A visitor in the night...

Yikes! It looks like we had a visit from a bear last night... Nattie went out to wait for the school bus this morning and found these footprints crossing the driveway (yep, that's snow, at the end of May!). She came running back in and of course I ran out with my camera (after checking for bears!). First we thought it was a mountain lion, but the back feet are just too big. I checked a few internet sites to compare mountain lion and bear tracks, and they definitely resemble bears more. I wish I could have seen it :)

Today's blog challenge on Two Peas is to use one word to describe your knowledge of the internet. I think mine would be advanced. I can navigate my way around, particularly if I'm shopping or looking for a certain piece of information, and find what I need very quickly. Great question!

The snow is melting, thank goodness, but I am glad that we were able to see the tracks of our nighttime visitor as a result :)

Treasured relationships.

Today's blog challenge on Two Peas is all about relationships: which are your most treasured relationships right now?

Mine is my relationship with my hubby. I try to always keep at the front of my mind that one day the kids will grow up and leave home and it'll just be the two of us again! Iain and I still laugh together on a daily basis which is huge with all the everyday stress; I love that we can still just "hang out" and chat like we did when we first met :) After almost 17 years together, we must be doing something right!

Mommy-isms :)

This layout is one of my circle journal layouts for this month. The journal is all about things moms say or do...there is some great wisdom in this journal! Kirstie will have a great time reading through it when she gets it back later this year.

Would you like this kind of memento as part of a yearbook?

This morning I went to help out at Jamie's preschool. I helped the kids made plaster casts of their handprints; such a cute gift for moms and dads at the end of the preschool year! I was talking to the other moms and they were telling me all about the Conifer High School yearbook which was handed out last week.

It turns out that the yearbook features photos of students drinking and doing drugs, along with writing about regrets of "getting caught" by police, etc. The yearbook was only overseen by one adult and was not even reviewed by another teacher or the principal before going to print (at a price of $57 per copy!). The school is now offering a full refund or replacement stickers to cover the 4 offensive pages while the incident is investigated.

May 11th the yearbook was handed out to students and of course the complaints started coming in....you can read the full story on our local news channel here.

What do you think? Who (if anyone) should be held responsible?

Writing...

Today's Two Peas Blog Challenge is a very thoughtful one....why do you write/journal/blog? For me, I have always loved the power of the written word. From a very young age, my grandmother taught me how just writing someone a letter can make their day. I have seen in my own kids' eyes how receiving a postcard from someone's vacation brings a smile to their faces. Sometimes when I receive a package in the mail - a circle journal, perhaps - the kids are disappointed that there wasn't something with their name in the mailbox. So go ahead, write someone a note today. Use pretty paper, a favorite pen, and just say hi! Give them a break from the bills and junk mail :)

Check out Jamie in one of his new shirts - he's quite the little man!

Enjoy your Sunday :)

Funky Photo Friday :)

One of my new blogging friends, Heather, has started up a blog with a fun photo challenge every Friday. Click here to check it out! This week's challenge is about flowers, so here are some of my favorite flower photos. I love photographing flowers because it's a great opportunity to play with the macro lens I got last Christmas from Iain :)

Short sleeves :)

A funny thing happened yesterday...I sent Jamie upstairs to get dressed, and he shouted down to me that he couldn't reach the shirt he wanted to wear. I had just taken a load out of the dryer so I told him to just come down and get a shirt from me instead. He replied, "no Mama, I want to wear this new shirt to school!". I had no idea what he was talking about, so I headed up and he was pointing to a white short-sleeved shirt that my sister-in-law had sent for his birthday.

In most households, this wouldn't be such a big deal, but the thing is that Jamie hasn't worn short sleeves for 18 months! Yup, even on those 100-degree days in CA last summer he just wouldn't wear short sleeves....it was one of those things that wasn't worth fighting with him about (choose your battles, right?), and Iain and I always figured that he'd get really warm one day and cave to the short sleeves. It never happened - until yesterday! And then on the way out he says:

"Mama, I think we need to buy more of these short sleeves! They're great!"

Two Peas Blog Challenge: Name 3 things that are on your desk that shouldn't be: where do I start? Well, there's that tea cup from yesterday that belongs in the dishwasher, the pack of photo paper that I didn't put away yet, and the phone from my bedroom....plus a bunch of other stuff....I guess I have some tidying up to do :)

Today's card is another creation for The Cat's Pajamas :) Have a great Wednesday!

Freeeeedommmm!

Yahoo! I finally got out and about driving today :) It was awesome to be behind the wheel of the car again so of course Jamie and I drove down to Target to stock up on essentials - OK, and non-essentials! I just love that place. It's just as well I don't live as close to it as I used to.....it's far too easy to drop some serious $ there!

Also went to Barnes & Noble down in Littleton and picked up the latest copy of "Stampers Sampler" (June) - Alma had told me there was one of my cards in there; I found it and another one of mine ("artist unknown" - they must have lost my name) so it was a happy day!

Iain's off to San Francisco tonight, but will be back on Wednesday afternoon. Jamie and I are going to the "Welcome to Kindergarten" session tomorrow afternoon. He is very excited!

Two Peas Blog Challenge: "what scrapbooking technique do you want to try?" I think I'd say using transparencies. I received a couple in some monthly kits and have seen some fun ideas over at Two Peas and in scrapping magazines. I really like the look they give to a project!

Card on the right is made with stamps from justjohanna; the vase is a punched shape. Thanks for stopping by :)

It's that time again....

Just a little sneak peek at new Summer stamps from The Cat's Pajamas!! There are lots more to come; they will be released at the website here as well as your local stamp stores, but if you can't wait and need to see a couple of other sneak peeks, check out Alma's blog here and the blog of TCP newest DT member Julee right here.

These cards will get your creative juices flowing :) Enjoy!

Friday thoughts...and flowers!

Look at the gorgeous flowers my hubby sent! How could these not cheer someone up on a Spring day :) Iain has done such an awesome job taking care of me this week - just another reminder of how lucky I am....

The Two Peas Blog Challenge for today is a fun one. Here goes:

Two things about me: my hair is about 70% gray and I have lots of freckles!
Two names I go by: tone and toners (courtesy of high school friends and Iain)
Two things I am wearing right now: jammies and socks
Two things I want (or have) in a relationship: humor and security
Two of my favorite things to do: scrapbooking and photography
Two things I want very badly at the moment: for my throat to heal and for the snow to melt :)
Two pets I have: 2 cats: Pickle and Sally
Two things I did last night: watched "Survivor" and had beef pot pie for dinner
Two things I ate today: popsicle and water (so far)
Two people I just talked to last: Iain and the pest control company (coming next week for our maintenance service)
Two things I'm doing tomorrow: laundry and working on a circle journal entry
Two longest car rides: We've moved a lot by car because we didn't want to put our cats on planes, so we have driven from San Diego to Orlando (4 days in 1995). Also Orlando to Boston (1996) and Boston to San Francisco (1997). Quite an adventure!
Two favorite holidays: Thanksgiving (I'm from the UK and love the whole idea of Thanksgiving) and birthdays (I tell my kids there are lots of holidays, but your birthday is the only day when it is really your own day!)
Two favorite beverages: Earl Grey tea or a Mai Tai
Two favorite scrapbooking tools: Ink pads and patterned paper
Two favorite scrapping companies: That's a tough one! If I have to narrow it down to two, I'd pick Crate Paper and Making Memories.

26 Things Photo Scavenger Hunt!

Found this cool game for a Photo Scavenger Hunt! There's a list of 26 items to try and photograph with your own interpretation of each. I'm gonna try and play along :) It'll be another way to improve my photography skills. Anyone else?

Here's the list of items:

keys
dance
fold
soft
tangle
panoramic
truck
sparkle
nose
round
currency
electronic
large
fake
stop
feast
multicoloured
before
after
landmark
from the hip
front page
a difference
telephone
the number 9
sticky

Teacher Appreciation Week

I made some chipboard books for Nattie's and Jamie's teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. Each of the kids wrote inside the book cover, and the rest of the book had different quotes about teaching inside. Here are some pics :) We packaged them up nicely with a Starbucks mug and gift card :) Thank you, teachers!

If only....

If only...this snow would disappear! It's been awesome moving here last October and experiencing 7 months of snow on the ground, but enough already! We are all more than ready for some warm weather and to see what is actually under all the white stuff! Our new patio furniture just keeps getting covered with snow :)

After almost one week on an extremely soft diet, I can't describe how much my mouth is calling out for some REAL food! LOL! I feel like someone on Survivor who has been living on rice (only I'm just on day 6, not day 39) and can't wait to bite into a big ol' cheeseburger! On a positive note, I've lost 10 lbs! Unfortunately I know it'll come back on just as quickly as it came off, but I can enjoy it while it lasts, right?

Miscellaneous Monday stuff...

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm still resting up here but the painkillers are helping. Starting to get a bit of cabin fever, though, because I can't go out and drive! Needless to say, I was on the internet a lot while resting at home this weekend and found some random questions:

1. What was the last magazine you read? This week's issue of "Entertainment Weekly"

2. Look to your left. What is the first thing you see? The view outside the bedroom window: trees covered in more snow!

3. What is your favorite kind of potato chips? Beef & Onion flavor (from the U.K.)

4. Have you ever gone bungee jumping? No, I don't know if I could do that!

5. What is the current temperature outside? Hubby tells me its 38 degrees right now.

6. What is the best place to get/eat pizza in your town? BeauJo's in Evergreen, CO.

7. If you had only 24 hours to live, what would you do? Stay at home with my family, talk and hug!

8. Who is your hero? Anyone who beats the odds!

9. Who was the last person you said "I love you" to? Nattie when she headed out for the school bus this morning.

10. When was the last time you cried? Apparently when I came around from the anesthesia on Thursday (not that I recall it, LOL!).

What always makes me happy....

Who doesn't love a fresh, sharpened set of colored pencils, just waiting to be used on a new sheet of paper? Since I was a kid, this has been one of my favorite things :) Just a blank canvas of possibility waiting to be played with! Or how about seeing the kids picking up something to read, completely unprompted? That definitely brings a smile to my face every time. Guaranteed. Other happy things are Iain's jokes (and sense of humor which completely matches mine), the cats purring, and putting on my favorite jammies.

National Scrapbooking Day

Happy NSD to all my scrapping friends :) I'm checking in here from the couch following my surgery on Thursday.

It was tough, but I'm feeling better every day. Also had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic the surgeon put me on, but we got that sorted out yesterday. And can I just add that my hubby has been great and so have the kids. Hopefully in 3 or 4 days I'll be up and about again; I feel like an old lady right now hobbling around dizzy from the pain meds!

The challenge from Two Peas today is, of course, about scrapbooking: list the top supplies on your wishlist right now. Mine would include some new idea books. I love getting a new book to leaf through! I know that there are new books in the pipeline from Ali Edwards and Elsie Flannigan, and am looking forward to them both later this year. I would also like a Glue Pad which you can dip rubber stamps into, and then sprinkle the image with glitter, beads, or other decoration. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? I'm also working on teacher gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week this coming week and have used up my stash of chipboard albums, so I will need to replenish those....

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Mothers...and sore throats

Two Peas Blog Challenge is all about mothers, with Mothers Day coming up in less than 2 weeks. My relationship with my mum is non-existent; the last time we spoke was several years ago. It's a long, drawn-out saga which I won't get into (I don't think Blogger gives me enough space, LOL) but I have decided to take a positive learning experience and decide that mum taught me how not to parent my own kids. And so far, so good....Nattie and Jamie are way more emotionally healthy than I was at their ages and I plan to help them continue to grow in all aspects.

We usually have quite a low-key Mothers Day, just the 4 of us, with a nice breakfast and me being generally taken care of :) Just the way I like it!

Tomorrow I'm having my throat surgery done to try and open up my airway a bit and alleviate my sleep apnea problems. From what I've heard I'll have the "mother of all sore throats" and will generally feel cr*ppy for a week or two...so if I'm not here blogging, it'll be because I'm enjoying the pain medications....

I'm a little nervous - who wouldn't be if a surgeon was going to alter the inside of their mouth and throat, right? But if it helps with the apnea and (according to Iain) super-loud snoring, then it'll be worth it. Otherwise we'll be adding on another bedroom to the house.

And on a completely unrelated topic, how cute is the cover of the book shown in my photo here? Both of my kids have loved this story, but the illustrations to me are the best part. We always say that the illustrator must have cats, because the expressions are right on.

I've been tagged

By my new blogging friend Noelia! There are two tasks:

Firstly, reveal seven random facts about yourself and then tag seven others...

1. I sang solo parts in school shows and was in the town drama club up until the age of about 15 and loved it!
2. I have never eaten tomato soup since a bowl of it landed on my head when I was 7 years old...we were staying in a caravan (RV) and the fold-down table decided to fold itself up unexpectedly :)
3. I'm a reality TV junkie. Amazing Race, Survivor, Bachelor.....
4. The place I would love to visit most in the world is Alaska, closely followed by New Zealand.
5. I am an emotional eater.
6. I can't bake.
7. I was born in England, moved to Scotland when I was 5, and moved to the U.S. when I was 22.

Secondly: share some favorite blogs you visit for inspiration.

Some of the blogs I have bookmarked include:

http://www.kerismith.com/blog/ Keri Smith is a super-talented artist. One of my favorite parts of her blog is the "100 things" section. There are 100 suggestions for pages of an art journal (or as one of my friends has done, a Circle Journal!).
http://dancinginpajamas.blogspot.com/ this blogging site is written by Alma, the owner and "Creative Cat" over at The Cat's Pajamas Rubber Stamps. I'm a proud DT member and find Alma's writing often makes me ponder :) Always a good thing!
http://alifeunrehearsed.blogspot.com/ Bonnierose is another new blogging friend. Her writing is thoughtful, unrestrained and just plain fun!

Alrighty, I'm off to tag some fellow bloggers....have a great Tuesday evening :)

Springtime :)

OK, OK, I'm cheating...these Springtime photos are from when we lived in CA :) Every year between March and May, the ranunculus flowers are in full bloom at the Flower Fields in Carlsbad. We went and visited them each year we lived there and took the tractor ride around the field. The flower fields are also great photo opportunities, as you can see! This place is a must-see for anyone visiting Southern CA at this time of year.