Today is a rant...

It's true I probably watch too much news & am addicted to Fox News. (As a side note, Ben can tell you the primetime lineup on Fox News better than Disney or Nick & has been a tad bit worried about Glen Beck coming to Fox from CNN - how will Grandpa handle not having Glen Beck to watch? - Scary I know!) So anyway, last night I watched a couple of news programs & I've decided the world is a confused mess. I know this isn't a news flash to the majority of you, but sometimes one just has to step back & roll their eyes at people.

First, we have Caroline Kennedy wanting to be a Senator. As I watched people defending her & stating that all her philanthropic activities was experience enough - I just wanted Caroline to be able to answer a question in a complete sentence in her interviews she had over the weekend. Now what is confusing to me, is these people defending her are no doubt the same people that criticized Sarah Palin for her lack of experience in the political realm. So, governor of a state vs. philanthropic actitivies & 'you know' a zillion times... am I the only one seeing the problem here?

Then we move on to Pres. Bush - all the Democrats want to know why he isn't getting involved in the MidEast crisis. Hmmm, are these the same people that are frustrated he went into Iraq? I'm sure that if he were involved they would say... "why is he involved?" I'm telling you, you just can't win with these people.

Third, we got to see President elect Obama with his shirt off. Now, one commentator said that was to make him 'real' to us. Please - I don't need the President of the United States to walk around undressed - I prefer seeing him in a position of respect. So, my observation is that Clinton with his pants off & Obama with his shirt off are what the people want, but yet George Bush, who has remained fully clothed, apparently isn't real! Once again, it's a lose, lose situation.

Things that make you go hmmmm....

Perhaps tonight I better stick with HGTV (Home & Garden TV for Mike who needs help with acronyms :) )

Later...

My snowman's head has been cut off - but I'll have to wait & fix him tomorrow...

Good night snowman!

John & Ben are now in Indiana - it seems so quiet. Oh... it is quiet! Yesterday I took them down to Madison, WI to meet Brad. Saturday a pretty big snowstorm went through & the wind chill has been down around -20 to -30 degrees. Yesterday we left home around 10 am & before we had even left the Twin Cities metro area we had seen 2 accidents, 7 cars off the road & had been almost hit twice - one car had run a red light & another car swerved into my lane while the driver was texting (I'm sure that's what he was doing!) By this point I was wondering if we were supposed to be getting some sort of message that we shouldn't be doing this. Once we got into Wisconsin it was fine. There were some slick roads, but all was well. I made it home last night around 10:30, with J & B making it back to Indiana by 11:30. Long, long day for all of us. Poor John has a cold & was just plain miserable yesterday. The big winner was one of Ben's Christmas presents that he got early - a personal DVD player. I highly recommend this for entertainment on a drive. Movie of choice - Unaccompanied Minors. Chuckles all around while watching.

Today is our get ready for Christmas travel day... I'm taking John & Ben to Madison, WI where we will meet Brad & he'll take them to Indiana for Christmas. List of things to do...

• Car tuned up
• Presents wrapped
• Boys electronics (car entertainment) ready
• Laundry, laundry & more laundry
• Schedule for J's homework over the break (much to his dismay!)

Ok, I think I can handle this -

I love this layout - it was all the pictures that J & B took on Christmas Eve at Larry & Lynae's house.

Cutie patootie little Paige...proud to be 2

Yes - a bit off on the seasons, but had a template I wanted to use & delete (love cleaning out the EHD!)

**All credits for layouts can be found by clicking on my digi layouts link

New pages - I'm really starting to get quick doing these. So, here is my thought... I much prefer scrapping to cleaning. I'm thinking how nice it would be to 'scrap for hire' & make enough to hire a housecleaner. Silly? I dunno - it keeps the wheels turning ...

I know my fans are just dying to see my latest scrapbook pages - ok, maybe not, but I like to look at them :) :) :) I've been home from work for a few days - feeling completely rotten. I take cold medicine to help my nose stop running, which then conks me out. As soon as I raise my head up out comes the ... gunk. As gross as this is it's quite creative - John calls me the 'mucus fountain'. I know... tmi!

Other news - it's official. I am part of Team 56 for the upcoming Amazing Digi Scrapping Race 4. What is this you ask? While I'll always love the Amazing Race first this will be my feeble attempt to fill the hours while I wait for the next season with Phil. Basically we race around the digi scrapping world making layouts & earning prizes. Yep, maybe not India or Moscow but Scrap Orchard here I come ... Notice the 'blinkie' on the right. I'm starting to become a tad bit amazed by myself. There is nothing a person can't learn to do with a little help from the world wide web. How did we ever survive without it?

So... did anyone else taste the yummy holiday milk we've become so enamored with at our house? I'm waiting for reviews from others..

These pictures are scanned in so they don't look as good - but the memory is captured, which is the whole point.

One of the mysteries of my life - everytime John & Ben are watching a DVD they whoop & holler at the FBI anti-piracy warning. It's almost more exciting than the movie itself. $250,000 fine & 5 years in federal prison is apparently quite the entertainment. Go figure... And I buy these kids toys why??? Yesterday Ben entertained himself with a ball of yarn. He tied it around his waist & then when I wanted him to do something I would pull on it. Odd to say the least...

I often wonder why I 'suggest' more difficult science projects. Next year (I tell myself this every year) we are going to start early & simple. 7th grade science project - can a fuel cell using everyday materials (I might add - some turned out not to be everyday!) be as efficient as a standard combustion engine? That's a regular engine in your car for people like me who aren't quite as brilliant as John. It was quite interesting. I've learned what a voltmeter is - easily purchased at a hardware store. Now the stickler - platinum wire. We all know the expense & beauty of platinum rings. Yep - I spent an afternoon driving around looking for platinum wire - this is not an everyday item! We ended up finally ordering it on the internet - $13 for a foot of wire. I keep reminding John that I am investing in my future. He must get a good job & support his mother in her old age - preferably in a large mansion :)

Here is John's fuel cell - but before you think this silly contraption doesn't do anything stay with me for the fascinating part. (No - the Crest provides no meaningful contribution other than holding our battery up)

It's very difficult to see in this picture, but off the coil of 'very expensive' platinum wire you can see the massive amounts of bubbles being formed. The platinum wire was separating the hydrogen & oxygen in the water & there were 2 coils. I've shown the coil with more bubbles coming off of it. The other coil had less. We weren't sure which one was the hydrogen & which was the oxygen. It was kinda cool to watch.

When you remove the power source the hydrogen & oxygen recombine & that provides the power - John can obviously explain this MUCH better than I.
John has also found a new love... anyone who lives next to a Target or SuperTarget - run, don't walk to pick some of this most yummy treat up.

Candy Cane flavored milk - it's to die for!!!

Ok - I've been busy - but completely out of control with this digi scrapping stuff. I really need to get back to doing other stuff - like... I dunno - i'll just keep scrapping. It makes me happy...

Completely random - obviously no chronological order whatsover -

An update...

I've been busy neglecting many areas of my life, but I've gotten some scrapping done which has been fun. Here are some pics of our life lately - along with some of my favorite layouts.

Ben ran for Student Council & I think his posters & flyers looked pretty good. He didn't win, but generally half of the class runs & only 2 of the 15 are voted in. He handled the loss VERY well, really better than me.

We had a Primary Olympics for a Primary Activity. Here's Ben carrying the flag out to start the parade around the church before we started. Fun was had by all. This Sunday is our Sacrament Mtg program. I am accompanying the primary on the last song with my flute. I've been practicing like a crazy person... so afraid to really blow it.

Here's John back from his first backpacking trip. I forgot to take my camera to the church to take a picture of all the boys before they left. It was a short trip, but he had lots of fun, at least he smelled like he had fun.

I messed up on the date of this one - it's really 1994. But I've corrected the 'real' copy :) My goal for this layout was learning how to 'ink' the edges of paper. I think I 'inked' these papers a minimum of 6 times with different methods. Ah... love the learning curve. But that also shows the beauty of digi scrapping. Don't like it - just use that magic undo button.

I decided to apply to be on a Creative Team for an online digi scrapping store. I had a specific kit to make layouts from & this one of Andrew & the pumpkin was one. I 'stole' the pics off of Stacey's blog. Thanks Stacey - I've gotten lots of positive comments about it.

Here's my second layout from the same kit. I stole these pics & the journaling off of Jen's blog. Apparently no one's pictures are safe. Nahhh... you can let me know if you don't want me to use any of your oh so cute kiddos.

This is my current favorite layout. It was for a 'typography' challenge. This was a lot of fun & Ben really liked how it turned out.

Blog changes...

This is making me crazy!! Wow! It took me forever to get this fixed. Sometimes learning is painful! I'm sure I'll remember how to do this the next time I go to make color changes. Good night blog... I'm very tired.

Too busy scrappin'

It's not like I've forgotten my blog or had anything to say. It's just that I've been in an overwhelmed state. So, I've thrown myself into organizing my digi scrapping supplies (brainless activity). Then I've been scrapping - relaxing activity.

Amongst it all is work & 7th grade Algebra & Primary & 7th grade Algebra & running for Student Council in 5th grade & 7th grade Algebra. You get the picture!

I shall post some of my latest pages & then come back this weekend & spend some quality time updating my blog & making it look pretty & fall like :)

Update

I suppose with no boys around it doesn't feel like much is going on. I'm completely caught up on the news & current on all the HGTV shows :) I've done some reading & some scrapping and some working late but all in all I've just enjoyed the quiet & calm. I've felt guilty for my 'recluse' status but I think I really needed to just 'be'. In my defense, I did actually go to a coworkers b'day party on Friday night - of course, I only stayed for 40 minutes, but hey I went! I had made her a scrapbook of her trip to Alaska last summer to visit her kids.

Today in Primary I started looking at the list of kids turning 8 next year & these are all the kids who were born shortly after we moved into the ward. This is the longest I've stayed in one place in a long, long time. I'm starting to feel ready for a new adventure, but John & Ben really like their schools & since nothing pressing is calling me I guess we'll continue to stay here for awhile.

J & B are now in Indiana with their dad. They enjoyed their Colorado time & from all accounts appeared to have a great time. I, of course, am disappointed that a camera wasn't capturing all their adventures, but once they get home & I try (hey, they're boys!) to find out the details I'll try to get it all down. Huge thanks to Gary & Marti for trudging (once again) over to the Denver airport to drop them off. It's official that I am so indebted to Gary I will never be able to recover from his help :)

I'm in the midst of the advanced digi scrapping class & have been enjoying it. I've discovered that my scrapping look is much different than the teacher - more simple & clean, but I've learned some great techniques & have enjoyed playing in Photoshop. I tried to do my own background here on my blog & finally realized it was going to be a work in progress. It's always good to learn new things, but learning tends to take time. :)

So... back to watching the Olympics I go. But in farewell, my latest scrapping endeavors.



I love these photos.







I really like how this one turned out.

I suppose I should write about the reunion...

But I've been enjoying my 'free time' (i.e. no boys around) to organize digi supplies, catch up on freebies, and work on layouts. I need to get a life I suppose...


Anyway, this is a test to see if I upload a different type of saved layout allows me to click on the image & get a super size pic. Yes, it's a much better way of admiring my work. I told you I need to get a life. But I know that we, as women, need our recognition. Be it scrapping, baking or cooking, sewing - it's good for us to sit back & admire our hard work. So to all of us I say... sit back & give yourselves a huge pat on the back for your accomplishments for the day (even if it's just getting through another day at the dreaded workplace :) )