You live only once

Squeaking in a June post

2011-06-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, another month has gone by without a blog post. I justify this because I literally have hardly been home since summer vacation began 4 weeks ago!

The first weekend of summer I ran my second-ever half marathon. Ginger & I ran this race last year so training this year went much smoother. Here's my all ready to go at the start of the race:

Ginger & me mid-race

Me somewhere between mile 11-12. Not sure where I got that burst of energy for the photographer. Obviously, Ginger & I weren't running were time. We were running to finish!

At the finish line!

Two days later we left for a camping trip. This was our third trip to Gualala River Redwood Park. I love this place! The weather cooperated so the kids spent most of the time in the water, riding bikes or climbing trees.

Group photo!

Here are some pretty things around us:

After we got back from this trip I was headed back out again a week later to Lake Tahoe with my parents, my brother and his family.

I'm finishing up a short session of summer school with one of my students and after the 4th of July holiday we'll be off again on our next big camping trip.

On the crafting front, I've been working hard on finishing my 7gypsies mini drawer project from Paula & Debbie at 2gypsygirls. I managed to do the cute make & take at Art Inspired Studios when they were there to teach a few classes but I couldn't make it since I was headed out to the Prince concert {um, best SHOW ever!}so I simply bought the class kit and am just finishing up adding photos. Love it already.

I found these 2 cute projects on my blog roll this afternoon. Yet more projects that to add to my never-ending list of things I want to work on this summer!

This thread rack looks so easy to make. Just buy a few wooden rulers, a bit of fabric I have on hand and some nails and viola! Total cuteness. Thanks to Minitoko's blog for the tutorial! Check it out!

And how about this totally awesome 3D calendar I found on the How About Orange blog. You simply print out the paper and follow the tutorial over at Curiosity Group. Yeah, I know, I have a serious fascination with camping!

Happy Monday everyone! What are your plans this week?

It's a Miracle!

2011-05-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

I know I have been away from the blog world for close to three months now. I think I needed a break from blogging, keeping up on my blog roll and trolling the goings on in the craft world. I didn't know it at the time, but the time away felt good and now I'm ready to blog it up again!

Lots has transpired since my last blog post. Most notably, my sister had her twin boys! They are now 2 months old and the most precious things ever!

Darren couldn't wait to meet his new cousins. He wasn't able to visit them in the hospital since they were in the ICU for 6 weeks.

Darren and cousin Devin

I called Darren the Baby Whisperer because the moment each of them were put in his arms to hold they were immediately content with each other.

Grandma and baby Griffin

So let's see...on the home front, we are T minus 3 days left of school! We have back-to-back camping trips planned and I cannot wait! This has been the busiest year for me work-wise so I am definitely looking forward to some R&R.

I have been doing a bit of crafting here and there. I finally finished my Jenni Bowlin Studio/Kenner Road deLovely project kit. I love all things JBS and Kenner Road so when this exclusive kit was released it had to be mine. It's happily hanging in my craft room so I can adore it on a daily basis.

I love this banner because I created it as a homage to my maternal grandparents.

Aren't they sweet?

My most cherished photo ever of my grandmother when she was a little girl. {love!}

Although I wish my grandfather was in this photo, I get a kick out of having proof that my grandparents were campers! Yeah, tents have come a long way since then!

I'll leave you with a sight from my quaint little town of Brentwood:

Yup. Went cherry picking today after picking up Darren from school. That kid managed to pick 3 pounds of cherries in 5 minutes flat!

babies on the brain

2011-03-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

My sister's baby shower finally happened last weekend. It's a lot of work to give one but it certainly was satisfying to see the look on my sister's face as she gathered with family and friends and celebrated this momentous occasion.

She is expecting twin boys and has another 8 weeks to go! I relished in the ability to take a photo of her because I knew that other than this pregnancy and her wedding last year that these were going to be the only times she would gladly pose and smile for my camera. :-)

My sister's mother-in-law is also quite the crafty gal and made these super cute diaper cakes that were used as the table centers.

She also framed these cute baby pictures of my sister and her husband when they were babies. I'm sure my sister is mortified as she's reading this. Ha Ha! Rock that big white collar, sis! Bless mom for making many of our dresses when we were young. I have to give a shout out to her mother-in-law for finding those vintage baby blocks spelling out their last name. Love it!

I was inspired by the lovely Amy Tangerine to make an on-the-spot baby shower mini-book for my sister. I simply pre-made the book cover, pre-punched holes in the bingo game cards and use those as the pages of the album. While guests arrived I quickly took their photo and asked them to write their well-wishes to my sister and her husband on the back on their bingo card. When everyone's photos were taken I printed out all of the photos on my trusty Epson PictureMate . Once the bingo game was over I collected the cards, glued their photos on the front of the appropriate card and bound everything together with binding rings, a few embellies on the first page and added a few pieces of pretty ribbon to complete the look. It was a mad dash to get it all done while my sister was opening her gifts but I managed to finish it. Here's the finished book:

My sister loved the album as did the guests. They were amazed at how quickly the book came together. Just call me fast fingers. {wink}

{Happy Heart Day}

2011-02-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

I'm not really a big Valentine's Day person. I told hubby in our first year of marriage that he didn't need to go out and spend perfectly good money on overpriced roses on Valentine's Day. For one, I can't seem to keep flowers alive for more than 2 days without killing them. And two, if he were to buy flower bunches I can't arrange them for the life of me...so, just don't bother. I'd rather just get a new pair of shoes. LOL

I've been on a crocheting rampage of late and I decided to finally make myself a cozy.

I love it. I stitched it while I was watching the Grammy Awards last night. Jennifer Lopez looked great. How does one get that "glow"? She always looks so together.

This chick definitely wins for outrageous outfit of the night {which I'm sure it was what she was going for}

Nicki Minaj

I have to say that I never paid much attention to Arcade Fire but they had an exciting performance last night after winning Album of the Year and now I'm contemplating buying the album.

So going back to my coffee cozy I also happened to pick this up at Michael's on Sunday:

This upcycle magazine comes from the same publisher as Somerset Studio. It's filled with tons of great upcycling ideas and it gave me loads of craft inspiration. Check it out if you can. It even inspired me to wrap my Valentine's Day gifts with the funnies pages from my morning newspaper.

I guess I was pretty busy on the crafting front this weekend because I also finally had a chance to download and create this calendar.

You can buy the kit at the House of 3. I scored 30% off since I subscribe to their newsletter. If you hurry, you can still get anything in the store at 30% off by using code love30 during checkout.

What did you create for Valentine's Day?

New Love: Crocheting & Paper Meets High Fashion

2011-02-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know. Another Tuesday has come and gone without a Travel Tuesday post.

Sorry, I've been too busy getting my crochet on. :-P

I tried to crochet my first flower at last Sunday's crop I went to but it wasn't pretty and I'm not showing you the end result. Yeah, it was that bad!

But, after switching to an easier flower pattern and 3 attempts here is my cute little creation:

Isn't it just perfect?

I've also forgotten how relaxing crocheting can be. You should give it a whirl if you haven't. The vast amounts of video tutorials on You Tube are great ways to learn the craft.

I finally finished my JBS-inspired hearts as well at last weekend's crop.

I also happened upon a really cool exhibit going on at the Legion of Honor right now. It's called Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave.

She was a Belgian artist but her muses were textile and costumes. Everything you see in her clothing is made of paper which she then manipulated or painted. I sort of think of this exhibit as paper crafting meets iconic fashion as her works were inspired by fashion legends such as Coco Chanel and Christian Dior.

Some of these works have come to SF straight from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which was one of my favorite art galleries when I toured Europe. The exhibit runs through June 5th so I hope to get there before then!

I have to throw this in here:

Darren asked me to teach him how to crochet. How cute is that? I couldn't resist taking this picture of him. I taught him the basic stitch and now he is working on crocheting a key chain. A key chain for what key? Don't ask me!

No Football Here!

2011-02-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

I know I've been a bad blogger of late. I missed my last 2 Travel Tuesdays but between work and my dear MIL who has temporarily moved in with us due to health issues I honestly haven't had time to blog or craft.

Things are gonna change tomorrow because Darren's last basketball game of the season was this morning {let's hear it for no more twice/week practices and games every weekend! ~ Although I will miss watching him play!}and I'm going to the Art Inspired Studios Superbowl Crop {I think it really should have been called the anti-Superbowl Crop}tomorrow with Ginger and Marie. I have no idea what I will work on but crops usually are social outlets for me rather than getting some serious crafting accomplished.

I really should get my December Daily done but I have been wanting to pick up crocheting again to change things up a bit. I did crochet a very basic stitch that my grandmother taught me when I was a young girl and I remember making bedspreads, area rugs and the like for my Barbies. Yeah, it's been a long time! I've seen so many cute embellishments and crafts being made these days and I saw this video on You Tube late one night this week and my goal is to try to make one {or three!}

I would also love to take Jenni Bowlin's Big Picture Class: Re-Purpose, Re-think, Re-invent that begins on March 31st and runs 6 weeks. I've never used an inspiration board but I love the idea of it. Check out Jenni's inspiration board:

If you've taken this class before, please let me know what you thought about the class. I'm sure it's going to be fabulous. Lord knows I have vintage buttons and doo-dads galore so putting them all to good use beyond a scrapbook page, mini-book or banner is something I want to work towards.

What are your plans this weekend that don't involve football? :-P

antiquing escapades and inspire lovely...

2011-01-30T20:52:00.000-08:00

Ginger and I went antiquing in Lodi on Saturday and left uninspired and without a single vintage treasure.

Luckily, our friend Marie was home in Stockton and invited us down for a bit of antiquing at some of her favorite haunts.

Wow. What can I say but she has some lovely shops in her neighborhood. We all left with a little something! Thanks, Marie, for having us and sharing your shops with us!

Speaking of treasures, you know I've been eyeing lots of fun things on Etsy of late.

One very talented gal by the name of Debee Campos has a boatload of goodies in her Etsy shop right now. These are just a few of the goodies I am enamored with:

{lovely dearie paper kit}

{felt flower embellishments}

{Daisy Dear Embellishment Love}

{crochet flowers}

Go check out her store, Inspire Lovely, because it is, indeed, lovely!

slowly coming together

2011-01-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

Here are a few peeks of my new craft space.

When I found this old hutch on clearance - oh happy day!

I love the old libarary drawers tucked away in here.

I found this lovely wall piece at the Paris Flea Market in Livermore. I can't wait to fill it up with little bits and bobbles I find along the way.

I filled up this cute vintage heart-shaped tin with all of my vintage buttons.

As soon as my other work table is brought over {Thank you Mr. Ginger!} I can start crafting like a mad woman.

First thing on the list:

to make this found on the JBS blog:

Happy Monday!

Don't forget to join in on this:

Thank you!

{all things red}

2011-01-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

I've been browsing Etsy again of late and in light of Valentine's Day I've found tons of inspiration:

{bookity}

What are you handing out to your children's classmates for Valentine's Day? I was thinking about printing out these cute tags from Elle's Studio to put on lollipops:

But then I saw these adorable {downloadable} color-yourself Valentine's Day cards from Shabby Chic Crafts:

I love the idea of including a few crayons as the "treat" in lieu of sweets.

What do you think?

Travel Tuesday: Siena, Italy

2011-01-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's holiday totally threw me off and I just now realized that today is Tuesday!

This is going to be a short but sweet travel post.

Siena, Italy is a city located in Tuscany. We took a day trip here while we were in Florence. The 4 of us traveling together agreed that this quaint town was hands down the most beautiful and friendly place we had visited in Italy.

Again, I must remind you that these photos were taken 20 years ago with a cheap camera and a 20-something gal lacking any sort of photography skills at the time. ;-P

This duomo {church} is stunning on both the outside and inside.

Unfortunately, my camera took useless interior photos. Here are some I found through a google search because the interior is not to be missed:

Incredible. Yes?

the Town Square

If I ever get back to Italy I would definitely make an effort to spend a few days here. Just the few hours I spent here walking around in wonder has stayed with me all of these years. Plus, it's a great place to visit to get away from the hustle and bustle of the major tourist cities.

hitting the road

2011-01-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I drove my parents up to Grass Valley to pick up their new motorhome. I tried to get them to display some form of excitement over this momentous occasion and all they managed was one arm up in the air. Oh well, they are retired so I suppose they're entitled to just take life easy!

I'm so excited for them to go out and see the country and visit family and friends. They worked hard to raise 4 kids and send us all to a private college. They deserve this more than anyone I know and I only hope to follow in their footsteps one day!

My little guy had a basketball game yesterday and played his best game yet. He is 6 for 6 on his free throws and his coach called him a free throw machine. :-P

My sister and her husband came by to root Darren on since they were in town. Darren can't wait to meet his new cousins! She's at the 5-month mark and the wait is already killing me!

I've managed to move into my new scrap space and can't wait to share photos when everything is finally unpacked. I also have a list of projects I want to work on before Valentine's Day. I still have a hallway of boxes and things to move and unpack so wish me luck!

On a serious note, in honor of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday holiday observance today, please take the time to listen to his words of wisdom and hope. He would have turned 82 on Saturday. Who knows what the world be like now were he still alive.

Blog Love

2011-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

Do you find yourself lurking on a lot of blogs but have not once or very often bothered to comment on them? I'm definitely guilty of it but after a brief blog/text discussion with my friend Marie we decided we wanted to do something about it.

Would you please join us in a little grassroots effort to get fellow bloggers to leave a little love on other blogs they follow or even happen-upon? All you need to do is leave a brief comment on blogs you visit. Now, I know, some of you {like me} probably follow or find a dozen or more a day. No worries! Comment on 3-5 blogs and do your best to comment on the other blogs when you view them again.

The idea is to hope that they, in return, check out your blog and leave a little love in return. Who doesn't love a little warm fuzzy?

If you'd like to join our effort you can feel free to add this badge to your blog and go for it!

badge from Free Pretty Things for You

I'm off to leave some blog love now!

Travel Tuesday: Tahiti

2011-01-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

All of this freezing cold weather is making me wish for warm tropical days so I thought a trip down memory lane to Bora Bora and Moorea in Tahiti would bring us all a little sunshine.

Disclaimer: Please excuse the horrible photo quality. Seriously! These photos were taken back in 1991 probably with a disposable camera. Photoshop could only do so much.

First off let me explain that this 7-day cruise was a freebie. I know! Crazy, huh? I had a college friend who was working for a medical supply company and all of the sales reps were invited to take a "business trip" to Tahiti all expenses paid...for 2!

Niiice!

Again, since this cruise was 20 years ago the ship we were on wasn't anything like the cities-on-the-sea of this day and age. We were on a ship called the Wind Song {which as I posted the Wikipedia link I read this ship had an engine room fire a year after I was on it and was a total loss! Wow!}

The Wind Song

After flying 9 hours from L.A. to Papeete, Tahiti, we stayed at some resort with this view. Gorgeous, I know!

We first stopped on the island of Moorea. We rented mopeds and toured the island. The views were phenomenal.

Our next stop was Bora Bora.

Talk about heaven on Earth.

There was a bar called Bloody Mary's that is literally on a beach and the floor is the sand on the beach. If you ever go there beware of the bathroom situation:

Yeah. I took a picture of it. The toilet is out back with no door. No privacy whatsoever. Lovely.

I wish I had taken more pictures of this island. I'll never forget their water. It is pure turquoise. I did not photoshop this picture. That's how crystal clear and amazing the water is.

I'd have to say that my biggest thrill was happening upon the rehearsals for Tahiti Fete. It's a little known secret that back in the day I used to dance hula and tahitian. I've danced on and off since the age of about 9. So to see these performers just in costume rehearsal was a complete thrill for me.

Do you all feel a bit warmer and relaxed now?

things are progressing...

2011-01-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

in my world of crafting! Although I have not yet moved from my dark dungeon of a room I'm currently crafting in to a larger and sunnier room in my house I have been busy collecting fun antique furniture and other goodies to furnish and decorate it. Buying all of these fun goodies are giving me motivation to actually start the packing and moving process but talk about a cumbersome move...{sigh}

Ginger and I made our first joint investment in a crafting machine. We have succeeded in avoiding getting sucked into these nifty machines that come out every year but we just had to get Tim Holtz's Vagabond:

Oh what fun! The layered flowers and the caged bird die cut...lovely!

I've managed to get through Dec. 16th in my December Daily. Yeah, I'm still behind. What's new. Here are a few pages but the rest can be seen on my Flickr photostream here.

I also made these towels for a fellow Duranie friend for Christmas. I loved making the first set with apothecary labels so much I couldn't resist making more. I simply downloaded the album covers off of the web and put them in a blank word document and printed out the page on fabric paper. Sew them on and viola!

I almost wanted to keep them for myself but I'm sure hubby would roll his eyes if these were seen on my towel hanger:

See you tomorrow for Travel Tuesday!

so 2011 brings me...

2011-01-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

a fun new virus for the new year.

oh joy!

sorry, no travel tuesday this week.

back to bed. -------> :-(

hope your new year is brighter!

The Year in Review

2010-12-31T16:15:00.000-08:00

I noticed a lot of fellow bloggers blogging about their Top 10 events, projects and other things but I came across Jeremy's blog and liked his take on the Year in Review. He's a cool dude {probably young enough to be my kid!} who is a talented scrapbooker and story teller.

Anyhow, thanks Jeremy for the inspiration. Here's my take on the Year 2010 in Review:

January brought a box of vintage photos and albums of my grandmother and her ancestors. My cousin is now organizing them all online for our extended family to see and enjoy. What treasures!

February brought our camping trailer. Say goodbye to nights freezing in our tent and hello to an extended camping season!

February also brought me a new brother-in-law when my sister got married on Valentine's Day.

March brought my first delve into the world of digital scrapbooking. Great, that's all I need is a new outlet of scrapbooking!

April was the only thing that took away; Darren's braces that is. ;-P

May brought Darren closer to God with his holy communion. It was a moment we were proud to share since I was Darren's CCD teacher this year.

June brought me past a personal goal of mine I had set this year: I ran a half marathon! I couldn't have done it without the support of my partner-in-crime, Ginger.

July brought the first day of school. How did my kid end up in 3rd grade already?

August brought us our annual moms and kids only camping trip of the year that Ginger and I probably would rather forget but would probably still do again. What? No BBQ gas connector?

September brought me a sprained ankle on the day of Darren's 9th birthday party and an end to my hopes of doing the SF Metro Dash. :-(

October brought another moms and kids only trip to Disneyland.

November brought a trip to North Lake Tahoe for some much needed R&R.

December hasn't brought my 2 incoming nephews yet but here's they are in month 4 of my sister's ever-growing belly! Now that is gonna be the highlight of 2011 come April/May!

Happy New Year to you all. Be safe!

December Daily

2010-12-29T11:15:00.000-08:00

Yet again, I am behind on my December Daily. This year I am sort of combining inspiration from Ali Edwards but focusing a bit more on the journaling aspect thanks to Shimelle's online class I joined this month. Here's what I have finished so far:

I almost embellished these towels with apothecary labels printed onto fabric sheets and sewed them on with my sewing machine. It made a great gift for a friend.

I loved making them so much I made another set with a different theme for another friend. Thanks again to Cathe at Just Something I Made for the fantastic idea!

Travel Tuesday: Brentwood, CA: My Hometown

2010-12-28T17:46:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays everyone! I hope Santa treated you all well!

My sister reminded me on Christmas Eve that I missed last Tuesday's travel post. Well, at least somebody noticed!

I decided to choose my hometown in honor of the holidays and the comfort of home. I'm blessed to have both sides of my family living all within an hour's drive. I cringe at the thought of flying this time of year and the blizzards and resulting flight delays. Yes, I consider myself lucky!

Since I don't bake homemade pies like my mother nor did I have the energy to even try during the holidays I brought a seriously yummy apple pie to a friend's house for a holiday party. Now, I am spoiled when it comes to eating pie. I mean, my mother makes the best pies. I cringe at the thought of store-bought pies; but, I do make an exception with Kandee's homemade frozen fruit pies that are sold at Tachella Family Farms and Brentwood Fine Meats.

Brentwood may not be bursting with night life, fine dining or a Coach store but we do have fantastic local farm stands and farmer's market. Brentwood is most known for their corn on the cob {yumm-o!} but they also have cherry-picking in the spring where people literally travel from all over the country to pick their own off the trees.

and this U-pick strawberry field that is literally a mile from my house. Darren loves to pick the strawberries so we end up with 4 pounds of them so we freeze some for later and give some away.

Smith Family Farms in the nearby town of Knightsen is also a fun place to visit in the summer. There are farm animals the kids can see. In the month of October you can go listen to a band play fun clap-along songs with the kids complete with a washboard and a banjo. You also get to take a hayride to the pumpkin patch on the other side of the farm and pick your own pumpkin. There are boatloads of photo opportunities to be had!

I'll be back tomorrow with a little something I made for a friend for Christmas as well as some much-delayed photos of the first week of my December Daily. And no surprise here: I'm behind!!!

and so it begins...

2010-12-17T21:29:00.000-08:00

...the annual Christmas tin filled with cookies, fudge and whatever else finds its way into my oven.

125 sugar cookies rolled, cut, baked and frosted today in about 5 hours.

So glad my mom is my helper elf.

ha ha

I've been baking holiday treats for almost 15 years and giving them to family and friends. What is your holiday tradition?

The "to-do" List

2010-12-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

My to-do list is so long that I'm afraid to write it down. Not good!

I've managed to tone things down over the past few years but I still plan to bake holiday cookies and package them up in pretty tins to give to family and friends. It's been my holiday tradition for over 10 years.

Besides buying gifts, wrapping them, getting out the last half of the family Christmas cards and everything else on my holiday list I also have a craft list. I'm already aware of the fact that not one will get checked off of that list until the end of this week when I have two glorious weeks off for winter break. {One advantage of being a teacher!}

I did manage to copy Jenni Bowlin's November project kit by using my own stash. This is happily hanging on the door of my craft room:

I don't even want to talk about my December Daily at this point. I've managed to build all of my pages but haven't started on December 1st yet. Not good!

I also want to make some of these:

I came across this from Twig & Thistle's blog. You can just click here for the tutorial and instructions thanks to Family Circle.

Those of you who enjoy creating digital pages like I do should like this from Minitoko's boutique. Just thought I'd share the love!

Travel Tuesday: inspired by vintage finds

2010-12-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

I bought these vintage bulbs at the local vintage store last year at their post-Christmas sale and couldn't wait to display them this year.

They fit perfect atop my Christmas candle holders that I bought in Germany 14 years ago. And this is what brings me to my Travel Tuesday destination today:

Rothenburg, Germany

Rothenburg is a walled-in city that took my breath away with it's beauty. We were lucky enough to arrive during the change of seasons so all of the tree leaves were vibrant shades of red and orange.

We stayed at a hotel that was 600-years old. The wood-beamed ceilings and stone walls in the entry were so rustic it felt like I was taken back to the time it was built. This photo shows the entrance to our hotel. Can I tell you how much I love cobblestone roads?

One of the first stops my sister and I made {yes, we're women...of course we're going to shop!} we went to the Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas store.

omg.

This store made my jaw drop to the floor. Seriously. I bought 2 dozen beautiful ornaments along with my candle holders and a few gifts for Christmas and they shipped everything home directly. You gotta love it.

My tree is still adorned with the ornaments I bought there by half thanks to my then-kitten, Bocce, who decided he wanted to climb the live tree I had in my apartment at the time and caused the tree to come tumbling down. :-(

What do you have displayed in your home that you bought in a far-off place?

All You Need is Now

2010-12-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

Calling all 80's fans:

Remember Duran Duran? Yeah, Duran Duran! Simon Le Bon, John Taylor...need I go on?

They have a new single out called, "All You Need is Now" and you can download it for free

on iTunes here.

What are you waiting for? It's free! Go! :-)

Travel Tuesday: Muir Woods

2010-12-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

Before I start on Travel Tuesday can I play catch up from Saturday?

Ginger and I spent the day here in Berkeley window shopping and working on this at Scrapbook Territory:

We were first admiring these last winter when KL had this Tannenbaum project for sale through her Kenner Road website. She brought it back in a slightly different form for last October's Silver Bella and Ginger and I were all twitterpated about making one. We basically had all of the supplies but for the jello mold which we picked up at the Vintage House here in town. I don't know how KL dreams up these things but this is by far the most adorable thing ever!

OK - so now on to Travel Tuesday: Muir Woods

It's all about something local here in the Bay Area.

I swear I will never move out of the Bay Area as long as I live. Within a 4 hour drive you can reach Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Napa and Carmel. How can you beat that?

Muir Woods is a national monument just north of San Francisco in Marin County. You get to enjoy the infamous scenic drive up Highway 1 before reaching the entrance.

The coastal redwoods are awe-inspiring and almost hard to believe that it is located only 11 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bustling city of San Francisco.

The paved trail is very people-friendly and the self-guided tour allows you to wander at your own pace. There are 6 miles of trails if you are in the mood for a bit more of a workout.

I had a friend visit from the East Coast last year and I took her here as well as Stinson Beach up the road. Here are a few photos I took:

This is from a lookout point off of Highway 1:

If this place doesn't make you a nature lover, I don't know what will!

On a final note, I celebrated my birthday on Monday and enjoyed a lovely dinner with my family and my parents. Here's a photo of my favorite drink: the lemon drop. Mmmm!

December

2010-12-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

How did it get to be December?

For that matter, how did this get to be the last month of 2010?

Here I go again. The start of my second December Daily.

I told myself I wasn't going to create one this year but after seeing this my ever-growing box of holiday-themed goodness:

and this class offered by Shimelle I decided to take the plunge. It's a pretty great online class for $35. I decided to treat myself to an early birthday present. Besides twice daily prompts and exclusive digital goodies {yay!} it also gives you access to this class every year from here on out for free! Think of it as a gift that keeps on giving!

Come on, what are you waiting for? The class starts today!

Travel Tuesday: Yosemite

2010-11-30T21:32:00.000-08:00

I have already managed to miss last week's Travel Tuesday but what can I say? I was preparing for a complete Thanksgiving feast at my house for a party of 25. Yes, you heard that right: 25. That mad final hour dash to whip the potatoes, toast the buns, cut the turkey {and the ham!} and at the same time making sure everyone's wine glass {or beer bottle} was full.

Here's my table all ready to go.

Gift bags for each family.

It was also my mother-in-law's 82nd birthday. Happy birthday Nilta!

OK, so back to Travel Tuesday.

With all of this super cold weather and Sierra snow I couldn't help but think back to last year's day trip to Yosemite. Yes. I'll say it again: day trip. It's a 4-hour drive each way and I would never attempt such a feat but being a passenger rather than the driver? Totally do-able!

We left at the crack of dawn and got up to Yosemite before noon. The backdrop in the snowy meadow we were playing in was unbelievable. There was a thick layer of mist sitting on top of the snow so it made us all feel as if we were living in a dream.

Yosemite is definitely a beautiful place in the summer but the winter scenery is just as incredible.

Photographs can never do any justice to what the human eye sees. You don't have to be religious to believe that Yosemite is truly God's Country.

If you are lucky enough to visit and don't want to pay top dollar to stay at the Ahwahee Hotel and you don't want to go too rustic at the Lodge then by all means I highly recommend staying at Tenaya Lodge in Fish Camp, which is about an hour outside of the park. It has cozy beautifully appointed rooms, a heated pool and jacuzzi, a gym, restaurants, a great room with a fireplace and board games and puzzles you can check out for free and even an ice skating rink.

Even if you don't stay at the Ahwahnee Hotel you must go to their Sunday Brunch in the main dining room. The food is incredible and the views through the floor-to-ceiling windows are spectacular.

If you have been to Yosemite, what part of the park is a must-see or must-do for you?

Are you ready?

2010-11-22T14:30:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving, that is?

Luckily, hubby does most of the grocery shopping and is responsible for the well-being of the bird when it goes into the oven on Thursday morning.

I am responsible for readying the house and making the mashed potatoes and veggies at that last mad hour before the meal is served.

I am seriously dreaming about my mom's homemade pumpkin pie.

Her apple pie is just as divine.

I'm off to boot camp in a few hours to try to work some sort of calorie deficit for the week so that I can eat all of that holiday goodness on Thursday.

I hope I am not alone on that thought?

So I meant to post a few pictures from our 4-day trip to North Lake Tahoe a few weeks ago. It was such a relaxing weekend! You can't go wrong with watching movies, working on a 750-piece puzzle and playing lots of card games.

We drove to Virginia City, Nevada on Veteran's Day to watch the parade. It was freezing but we enjoyed the gold mine tour and the cute little shops.

I found a few quaint antique shops {yay!} and found a few goodies to take home.

Darren and Grandpa

Darren was thrilled to take a picture of a real cowboy.

If anyone has any favorite side dishes they like to serve at Thanksgiving I'm open for suggestions and ideas!

Thanksgiving ideas

2010-11-17T16:07:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is next week!

8 days to be exact.

It's going to be at my house and we'll be having over 20 family members over.

I am sort of at a loss for how to decorate the tables. I've seen quite a few ideas while blog hopping but nothing quite caught my eye until I saw this posted on Twig & Thistle:

This fits into my 2 most important criteria:

1. free or very inexpensive {LOL}

2. quick and easy to make

You can print out the PDF for free {!} at Silverbox here.

Please share any links to any cute Thanksgiving decor or other ideas if you have them!

Travel Tuesday: Cadeques, Spain

2010-11-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

Did Tuesday arrive again this quickly?

Today I am reaching way back into the photo archives for this one.

Date: September 1996

Setting: 5-week long backpacking trip to Europe covering 5 countries with my sister and 2 friends

This is a stop in the coastal town of Cadeques, Spain in the Spanish Riviera.

Memorable moment: drinking sangrias before noon in the famous Bar l'Hostal where Mick Jagger and Salvador Dali used to hang out.

This place was memorable in our trip because it's a lazy town with not a lot of crowds and is peaceful and quiet. This was the only time we were able to kick our aching feet up, hang out by the pool and reflect on our trip.

This is a photo of my sister. The white home behind her in the background is where Salvador Dali lived and painted. Cool, huh?

Travel Tuesdays!

2010-11-09T17:29:00.000-08:00

Yes.

I love to travel.

I wish I could do it more often but life gets in the way.

So in honor of my love of traveling I am going to do my best with posting a travel experience {or dream} every Tuesday.

I'm going to start today with the obvious.

The Napali Coast on Kauai's North Shore.

Here's a photo I took last year on the Kalalau trail that follows along the coastline. I swear it is the most beautiful hiking trail I've ever been on.

The strenuous 2-mile hike leads you to Hanakapiai Beach which is a gorgeous secluded beach with a fresh water stream running to it. The stream is the perfect place to cool off and gather your bearings for the hike back to town.

My husband and I decided our son was old enough to hike it. Here he is enjoying Hanakapiai Beach.

Here's a look at the trail hiking in.

Where is the most beautiful trail you've ever hiked?

Randomness...and a start of something new!

2010-11-07T19:09:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly making my way back into the gym. I'm trying to take it nice and slow because I:

(1) Haven't worked out on a regular basis in over 2 months! Yikes!

(2) Don't want to reinjure myself working out too hard because I am forty-*cough* years old

(3) Because I want to run in the Run Wild for a Child 5K/10K at the end of this month...and you know how I've been cursed of late. Everytime I sign up for a race or an event I get hurt! So I am simply going to show up and register the day of the event. How's that for smart thinking?

Here are a few digital pages I created over the past few days.

I've been wanting to start a weekly something on my blog and I think I've come up with one I'm excited about.

BUT, you'll have to come back and visit me on Tuesday because that will be my first weekly post of my something new!

Any guesses on what it could be?

Here's a hint:

It's related to something I love to do and it's not scrapbook-related or camping-related.

Congratulations to the World Series Champs SF Giants!

2010-11-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

I would've loved to have gone to today's parade celebrating the SF Giants World Series win but it was still exciting watching it all on TV today.

Although I've been an Oakland A's fan for over 20 years I'm still a baseball fan and totally got caught up in the frenzy of the magic happening within this team.
I feared the beard.
I experienced torture baseball.
But these guys beat the odds and became World Champions.

What a great day for San Francisco and Bay Area baseball fans.

Way to go, Giants!

November? Really?

2010-11-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

No, I did not fall off the face of the planet.

I haven't had a chance to blog because I was horribly sick for over a week and all of a sudden Halloween was upon me.

Here are a few pictures from Halloween. Darren was a Jedi warrior sans the light saber.

The cast of characters Halloween night: Bobafette, Pimp Daddy {LOL}, Peter Pan and the Jedi Warrior.

Darren also started his first season of basketball. After only 4 practices they had their first game this past weekend. Oh boy, these boys have a lot to learn!

Proud Dad:

I managed to make this banner last week while in the recuperating stage of being sick.

It's my Thanksgiving banner and it's hanging happily over my fireplace mantle.

Only 24 more days until Thanksgiving! Yikes!

12 years ago today

2010-10-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

the hubby and I got hitched. Well, I wouldn't call it hitched since we had 120 of our closest family and friends and partied like it was 1999. Well, technically, it was 1998.

Here's to another 12 years together.

Fall break is over already???

2010-10-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

So out of the 14 days of fall break I was home for exactly 5 of those days. I'll chalk up this school break as the busiest ever!

We got home from our 5-day camping trip on Saturday afternoon and I was on the road again Sunday morning at 7:30am. Road tripped it down to Disneyland for the week. All of the Halloween decorations inside of the park make me giddy. I guess I'm still a kid at heart.

Check out these candied apples:

And these carved pumpkins:

I thought it never rained in Southern California?

{our first day in the park in the late afternoon}

We ended up leaving the park and waited out the next day as well due to rain, and went back to the park the following 2 days to warm weather. Ahh!!!

The boys wore their hats into the park. Are they cool or what?

Only a little more than 2 weeks until Halloween! What are you going to dress up as?

my drive-by blog post

2010-10-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

So we got back from camping today and will be heading back out tomorrow morning for a surprise trip down to Disneyland with Darren, my partner in crime Ginger and her 2 boys. We aren't telling the boys where we are headed and we won't confirm said destination until they either see the Disneyland exit sign on the freeway or the park itself when we pull up. :-)

I have been off of my soft ankle cast and have managed to pull off camping, 1/2 day at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and a 1-mile walk without making it any more worse for the wear! I'm not sure what 3 days of walking around Disneyland will do but I'm willing to find out!

Here are a few digi pages I made last week since I always feel the need to post pictures here!

OK- I'm off and running again!...

Be prepared for lots of photos upon my return.

Have a fantastic week!

Where do I begin???

2010-09-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Since my last post this is what has transpired in my life:

1. my car breaks down and what was supposed to be a 2-day fix-it job turns into a 10-day job.

2. after borrowing cars for 3 days I break down and get a rental car.

3. Two days after signing up for my latest athletic event "Metro Dash" {see post below} I sprain

my ankle on a training day with my boot camp group.

4. Did I tell you the day I sprained my ankle was the same day as my son's 9th birthday party?

5. I spent the past week in a soft cast after a few days on crutches and am now

rebelling against the whole "recovery" thing and am hobbling around without said cast.

6. And did I mention that I leave for a 5-day camping trip in 3 days?

But I must look on the positive side of things.

Right?

Positives:

1. Fall break {2 glorious weeks!} officially began this weekend! And yes, I need it!

2. I am officially my niece's studio tutor on her nationally televised TV show, "9th Period." Yay!

3. I'm still looking forward to the camping trip down to Santa Cruz this week.

Here's me and my nephew bonding over our injuries the day I injured myself:

Here are a few pictures I took while on the set of my niece's TV show. So totally excited for her!!!

Here's the You Tube trailer:

Can I throw in a picture of my sister's new puppy? Is he the cutest thing ever or what?

Digi-page I made yesterday:

Please keep your fingers crossed that my next week proves to be uneventful {in a good way!}

Happy Sunday!

TGIF!

2010-09-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

listening: iTunes satellite radio: Radio Free Akron {all 80's, baby!}

eating: nothing

drinking: ice cold water

wearing: shorts & a tee

feeling: mentally and physically tired

weather: perfectly cool

wanting: my to-do list to be done
needing: a day of no obligations

thinking: about my little man turning 9 this weekend
enjoying: this rare moment of peace and quiet
wondering: if the weather is going to be pool party-perfect tomorrow

My therapy digi-page for tonight:

Change of Plans

2010-09-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

Life sometimes gets in the way. You know?

Between an especially high workload and mommyhood, the half marathon I was planning on running next month just isn't gonna happen. I've been working instead of doing my training runs and my workload just isn't going to ease up in the foreseeable future.

So, Plan B:

Metro Dash

This looks like so much fun! I'm already envisioning the laughs, comaraderie and pain involved in this event.

There were 3 main creteria that were immediately met:

1. it's not a race {whew!}

2. It's not timed.

3. You can work in teams

Friends in a boot camp group that I'm a part of {well, not recently!} put together a team so it's off to San Francisco on Oct. 23rd for the event. Wish me luck!

Here's some Halloween craft inspiration for you.

Thanks to Jen at the Tatertots & Jello blog for the idea. It looks so easy and fun to make! Go here for the tutorial.

Last but not least. Here's a quick digi-page I did a few nights ago as I was inspired by a fun blog win over at Minitoko's website

Now I'm off to Boot Camp for a much-needed workout in order to prepare for Metro Dash!

It sure is handy to have a chef for a friend...

2010-09-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ginger & I took our annual "moms and boys only" camping trip to Memorial Park. It wasn't quite the weekend we had imaged but if we had to do it all over again we probably would! This was a quick getaway weekend so we picked up the kids after school let out on Friday and we headed out to the coast.

We agreed that we would take a ton of pictures on this trip since we sometimes get so caught up in what we're doing that we forget to bust out the camera. I heavily relied on my Hipstamatic photo app for iPhone since it's so much easier to use on a whim.

Driving down Hwy 1 towards Pescadero

We made it!

We made a quick stop into the local bakery that is known for their mouth-watering still-hot-from-the-oven artichoke bread. We always buy 2 loaves because between the 5 of us the first loaf doesn't even make it out of the parking lot before it's gone!

We set up camp

Within 2 hours of arriving we're enjoying our traditional spaghetti dinner. Mmmmmm!!!

The unfortunate thing about camping during summer weekends is that other campers tend to not understand camping etiquette. Meaning: Keep it down after 10pm! We are trying to sleep!

Thanks to a large group of campers who laughed it up and another group of campers playing with BB airsoft guns until 2am Ginger & I figured we got about 2 1/2 of sleep that night.

Despite being bleary-eyed after 3 cups of coffee in the morning we headed out to the kids' favorite fallen tree via the ampitheater trail.

On the way back we had to stop at the camp store the kids like to call the 10,000 item store because there's a sign posted there that claims they sell that many items and the kids are just fascinated with it!

The kids even enjoyed the park's craft day making coffee filter butterflies.

Ginger tries to sneak in a quick nap in the back of the truck. Nice try, Ging...but it's not gonna happen!

This is where the "adventure" begins. Ginger is about to start up the grill when she realizes my dear hubby didn't pack the propane gas attachment for the grill. Hence, we have no grill to grill our tri-tip. :-(

But wait!

Do not fear!

Ginger can just barbeque the meat right on the campfire grill! I mean, the girl used to cook for a living!

It was delicious!

Thank goodness it wasn't up to me to tackle that because my meat would have been charred on the outside and raw on the inside!

Ginger & I had big plans to scrap our last night after putting the kids to bed but due to the fact that we were both exhausted we called it a night, put in our newly purchased ear plugs from the camp store and gave in to sleep.

Like I said, if we were able to choose to do it all over again. We would!

Life is an adventure. Right?

You say you like free?

2010-08-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

I was happy to find these two really cute digital mini-kits on Minitoko's blog today:

And to make things even better...they are both totally FREE! Simply check out Minitoko's shop here and enjoy! And don't forget to add her to your blog roll so you don't miss out on future freebies! If you're a fan of Kitschy Digitals you'll love her stuff!

Ever since school started I've been busy teaching, getting back to the gym and testing out paint colors on my scrapbook room wall. Well, I should say my soon-to-be new scrapbook room wall! I'm moving out of my old scrap room to another room in the house with much more natural light and much less susceptibility to extreme temperatures.

I am still undecided on a color but it'll definitely be in the vintage blue family {if there is such a thing!}

I think my pal Ginger and I are also going to register for our second half marathon. It's the Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathon at the end of October.

It should be a beautiful run through the Napa Valley {heck, the race starts at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery!} I mean, how bad could it be, right? Perhaps a nice pinot noir post-run? Well, at least after a nice big lunch!

We officially started our training this week so wish us luck!

Happy Duran Duran Appreciation Day!

2010-08-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time of year again! In honor of this special day for fellow Duranies such as myself I made this digital page last night:

I also was motivated to create this page in order to participate in the current challenge over at the These Are A Few of My Favorite Things challenge blog.

I've been on a digital scrapbook roll these past few days. I made these as well:

So in the spirit of Duran Duran Appreciation Day, please share your favorite Duran Duran memory. Here's mine:

Simon Le Bon picked me out of the audience to introduce him at the end of their show back in July of 2005. Yeah, every Duranie's dream, right?!?

back to digital...

2010-08-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

I've been working on lots of mini books lately and am in the midst of a Mou Saha 7gypsies-inspired album (I l.o.v.e. the yellow!) involving lots of painting and misting but I decided to change it up a bit yesterday since I bought some new digi goodness. Here's what I came up with:

I've been getting a bit frustrated with my Photoshop v 5.0 and am now considering v 8.0. Anyone have any thoughts? I'm liking the photo merging capability as well as easier quick-edit tools and it's only $75 on Amazon. I'll try the free 30-day trial version and get a hands-on feel for it.

I'm so bummed I missed the SF Renegade Craft Fair last weekend. The good news is I discovered that it'll be back just in time for the holidays. I've marked my calendar for December 18 & 19th when it returns to SF. Yay!

Speaking of craft fairs, I'm hoping to make it to the SF Antique Fair next weekend. Looks like there should be a lot of fun finds there!

...and we're off!

2010-07-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

....to the beginning of another school year, that is!

Here he is on his first day as a third grader:

I'm so proud of him!

I have to say I'm looking forward to going back to our "routine" which will include a not-so-fun return to the gym!

So here is the cover and a few pages of the latest camping album I just finished.

Happy Wednesday!

Where'd the Summer Go???

2010-07-18T17:17:00.000-07:00

So I haven't blogged because I've been gone most of this short summer! Darren starts school a week from tomorrow. Yikes!

We came back from our last "big" camping trip of the summer at Wishon Village in Fresno County. The campground was a disappointment {can you say RV park? blah!} but the lake was gorgeous. The water was so clear and cold and the kids LOVED all of the granite rocks to climb and what they dubbed as "Rock Island." Here they are fishing on it:

Here's Darren showing off the only trout we caught on this trip:

Bruce diving off the rocks:

Yeah, we did more tie-dying {I think it's a tradition now!}

We brought Bella along on the trip!

Roasting s'mores with kids from the campsite across from us. Um, those kids are a whole other story!

On a scrapbooking note, here are the last few pages of my Style File mini book that I finished from Vee's online class.

front cover:

back:

Ginger & I scrapped at Scrapbook Territory last night and I just about finished yet another camping book. I'll post a few pictures soon.

Stuck at home on a Friday night

2010-06-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

I managed to catch my husband's stomach virus and had to miss out on scrapping with the girls tonight at Scrapbook Territory.

Major bummers.

I'm sitting in my scrap room with my dog Bella and got caught up on my Style File class I'm taking from the fabulous Vee Jennings.

Here is what I have so far:

{gpoy: grab a picture of yourself!}

Enjoy the weekend!

I Will Follow...

2010-06-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yeah, love that song by U2 but that's not what I'm talking about! :-P

I am curious as to why I have one public follower {thanks Marie! LOL} and yet have over 13,000 hits on my blog.

I know. I'm confused!

If you are a follower, would you kindly join my follower list? I totally respect if you choose to follow blogs anonymously but I would love to leave some love on your blog if you visit here {even if it's only once in a while!}

OK - off to do a few days of catch-up on Vee's online workshop before I get too far behind! I promise to post some pictures tomorrow!

Heritage Album and Peter Pan

2010-06-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

I've dropped the ball on finishing this album that I so desperately started way back when but have since been sidetracked with learning how to create digital scrapbook pages, teaching summer school, camping trips and maybe just being lazy! It's summer, right?

Here's the finished album. I'm in love with it!

I'm on Day #2 of Vee's Style File online workshop and am actually enjoying the process and the mini-book we're creating. I always love to see other crafter's interpretation in the end so I'm looking forward to that.

Tomorrow I'm taking my little guy and seeing the stage production of Peter Pan at Ferry Park in San Francisco tomorrow. It's presented in a 360-degree format and I've only heard great things about it.

a style file and a guilty pleasure

2010-06-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

I just signed up for Vee's Style Files Recorded online class.

This will be my second class of hers I've taken. I adore her style and have been wanting to do something with my mounds of clothing tags and receipts and what-not and this gives me the perfect platform to use it all and learn a little something! If you're interested in registering you need to register by the 20th so get cracking!

Tomorrow I'm going to see Rick Springfield at the San Mateo County Fair.

Yes.

I said it.

Rick Springfield.

Ha Ha

I'm all about the 80's and ya can't beat a $8 concert, right?

Coastal Camping and some Digi Layouts

2010-06-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

We just returned from 5 nights at Gualala River Redwood Park up in the southern end of Mendocino County. It's now one of my favorite places to camp. We camped with 6 other families from town and had a blast. The kids climbed trees, rode bikes, swam and kayaked in the river and even made their first tie-dye shirts! Here are a few of my favorite shots:

LOVING our trailer!

The Cathedral of Trees

All of the kids wearing their new tie-dye shirts! Love it!

Here's a view of the Pacific Ocean from Hwy 1 on our drive down the coast. So beautiful!

Before I left on this trip I won a free digital scrapbook kit from Sausan Designs. Here are two layouts I did today using the Love Generation kit. It was the perfect kit to use for our camping trip.

How is your summer going?

Speechless...

2010-06-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

My uncle sent me a huge box of vintage family photos he's been holding on to. This is just a small sampling of what I received:

I so treasure these family photos.

My uncle also sent me binders of our family tree dating as far back as the 1200's. He spent countless days doing all of the research and I so thank him for it. I hope I can pick up where he left off. My heritage has always fascinated me and seeing these family photos makes it all the more real and tangible.

I am definitely going to scan {and scrap!} some of my favorites this summer but does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do with these delicate originals?

I am guessing these leather-bound photo albums are about a century old. I squealed with joy when I took these out of the box! And yes, there are framed photos inside!

This is a photo of my maternal grandfather when he was a boy.

Love it.

Summer is Here!

2010-06-06T15:59:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was our last day of school. Here's my guy demonstrating how happy he is:

The weekend before we took a quick trip to a local county park {never again during a weekend holiday...too much riff-raff if you know what I mean!} and tested out our new trailer. We had quite the gang show up on Saturday for a BBQ!

Yesterday I ran my first half marathon.

Yup.

13.1 glorious miles.

Here are Ginger and I before the race:

The crowd {there were about 3,500 runners total}

Self-explanatory:

And us after the race:

We got in at just under 3 hours. The distance between mile 9 and 10 seemed to go on FOREVER! But once we hit the 10-mile marker we were able to imagine the finish line. Stupid me for not thinking of wearing sunscreen. I am currently the owner of a MAJOR sunburn on my shoulders and back. Yeah, not smart.

This coming week we leave for 5 fun-filled camping days at Gualala River Redwood Park. There are 6 families from town all camping together in one loop. It should make for an adventurous time!

this and that

2010-05-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a digi-page I made on Friday night:

Forecast is calling for rain ALL week but we are taking this baby out on her maiden voyage this weekend rain or shine!

I made this cute little mini-album for my son's teacher yesterday:

Darren's class has been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. They each started out with their own caterpillar inside of a clear cup and watched it spin its chrysalis and eventually saw it emerge ~ transformed into a butterfly. Man, I wish I had fun things like that back when I was a little kid in school. You can buy the kits here.

I didn't want to miss seeing the kids release their butterflies outside so I came armed with my camera for the big event.

On a side note related to my half-marathon training I have hit a rather prolonged speed bump. My impingement problem hasn't gone away and has now managed to cause all kinds of lower back pain. I've tried stretching {which I think made it worse. Oops!} and resting all to no avail.

I have a physical therapy appointment tomorrow. I'm hoping they can help me with treatment or some appropriate home therapy options. I am running this race even if I have to walk it but I'm still crossing my fingers that I'll get ailing and aging body ready in time for the big day because I want to run all 13.1 miles!

7 days and counting!

2010-05-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right folks - 7 more days of school until summer break! Yipeeeee!!!

I have been working 5 days a week this past month; hence, the lack of a current blog post! I'm also 15 days and counting until my half marathon. The precious moments I have not been working I am running!

I have to say that I feel good about the upcoming run despite the very recent setback of an annoying nerve impingement in my left leg. I think my body likes to remind me of my age! So, I'm taking a very brief but much-needed break from running to let myself heal and then it's full-throttle until the half!

I've been able to sneak in a few hours here and there learning some new Photoshop techniques in my quest for a better digital scrapbook page. There is SO much to learn in Photoshop that I am just scratching the surface but Jessica Sprague's Photoshop Friday Series sure has been helpful. Sign up to receive her newsletter or get on her blog roll because you can get all of her new mini-instructional videos for just $1 on Wednesday! I've taken Episode 2 and 3 and came up with these:

Episode 2 taught me how to use clipping masks (using shapes and die-cuts so to speak)

Episode 3 taught me how to use the drawing tool to create the banner.

That's about it for now!

Enjoy the weekend!

I plan to! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to you!

{bouquet}

Today was a pretty good day. I was taken out to breakfast by my family and enjoyed french toast along with my parents. :)

Darren gave me the cutest cards listing the reasons why I was the "Best Mom Ever."

I went to see the Indie film "La Mission" starring Benjamin Bratt. My review: "Loved it!"

Here are the Mother's Day cards I made for my mom and mother-in-law:

What did you do today?

KR and KL-inspired

2010-05-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't get the newsletter I was soooo sad to hear that KL has decided to close her Kenner Road kit club. I am happy though that she can now spend more QT (quality time!) with her "littles" and sit back and relax a bit more. Believe me, I know how fun yet taxing running a kit club can be!

On the bright side for us scrappers, she is going to continue creating digital goodness to sell on 2Peas as well as projects and classes {hopefully!} down the road.

I happened to get my hands on the April main kit, "Patchwork" as well as the project kit, "Nine Patch." I haven't had a chance to start on the vintage banner that she created with the project kit but I am definitely going to make it hopefully this weekend!

Here's a layout I did last week with the main kit:

I am loving the Martha Stewart Punch "Around the Page." I used it on the layout above. KL was playing with it at Scrapbook Territory a few weeks back {even though she was playing with it like a 007 gadget! :-P} and I just had to have it. Thank goodness for 40% off coupons from Michaels!

I also made a KL/7gypsies-inspired necklace that I found on the 7gypsies blog. I had all the components I needed to make the necklace except for the linen. KL was sweet enough to hand over some of hers so that I would have no excuse not to make one. Ha! Ha! {Thanks KL!}

Here it is:

Instead of adding the travel arrow that she used in her necklace I added this little tiny pineapple that I've been holding on to FOREVER and was so happy to finally put it to use! My first piece of handmade jewelry! Totally exciting. :-)

It's a busy week in the holiday world.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all you fellow teachers out there! Please don't forget to let your children's teachers know they are appreciated! Now off to make some Mother's Day cards...

A Proud Moment

2010-05-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

Darren had his first communion yesterday. It was a special day for both of us as I have been witnessing his journey these past 2 years by being an aide in his class his first year and actually teaching his class this past year.

Here he is rockin' his first tie (No! It's not a clip-on!)

Proud parents:

Extra-proud Granny:

His Godfather (and eldest cousin) and his Aunt:

His Uncle, Aunt and cousins:

And his hands-down favorite cousin and partner-in-crime:

Next up: 5 more weeks of school and 2nd grade will be history!

Bring on the summer!

No Turning Back Now...

2010-04-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

I signed up for the See Jane Run half marathon in Alameda on June 5th. Granted, I've been training for it for almost 2 months now but I made a point of not registering up until today in the event of a re-injury to my calf or some other age-related body part breakdown. :-P

I am running with 2 friends and it's going to be our longest run E.V.E.R. We've been running our long runs together and have so far managed to do an 8-miler and a 10-miler. Yup, that 10-miler was a doozy. Let's just say a nap was in order that afternoon!

I'm super excited yet nervous about the race but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless. If you're in the Bay Area, check it out. You can't beat the post-run party which entails chocolate and champagne!

On another note, I just received an e-mail from Starbucks that I've achieved Gold Level member status.

Yikes! I didn't even know they were keeping track of my coffee purchases through my Starbucks card. I am not sure what entails achieving this level and I don't want to know!

National Scrapbook Day is this Saturday, May 1st. What are your plans? I'm going to be quite busy that day with Darren's First Communion and a BBQ here afterwards so I'm hoping to catch some scrapping fever on Sunday. I would have LOVED to have attended the Reflections Event in Southern CA this weekend. Instructors for the event include Elizabeth Kartchner, Debee Campos, Katie Watson & Maggie Holmes. Totally amazing and talented artists...{sigh} Perhaps next year...

What are you doing in honor of Earth Week?

2010-04-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

I got a little ahead of myself and ordered a few of these last week after seeing a friend using them:

They are reusable snack and sandwich bags! You can get them here. These bags are great! They come in different sizes and have a shiny semi-slippery interior so that anything can be put inside: chips, pretzels, strawberries, you name it! You can either wipe them clean with a damp paper towel or even wash them in the washing machine!

And in celebration of Earth Week, anything you buy on their website is 20% off!

I am always in awe of the number of plastic sandwich and snack bags that kids use and throw away at school. I think how every kid probably goes through 2 or 3 plastic sandwich bags a day and if you multiply that by the number of kids at school and multiply that by the number of schools in my school district...well, you get the picture. It most certainly adds up to a lot of waste!

I also like these as an option:

They are Tupperware sandwich keepers. I like these because of the non-squish factor for sandwiches. You can get them through a Tupperware rep or here.

In celebration of Earth Week I also picked up these beauties:

These are my third pair of Simple sneakers. I {heart} them! They are soooo comfy and there is no break-in time needed! The box they come in is made out of 100% post-consumer materials, the shoelaces are made out of recycled soda bottles {no joke!} and the outsoles and shoe inserts are made out of recycled car tires! But really, the purple flower design on the inside of the shoe was the added bonus to the cuteness factor!

What do you do to recycle?

...and the braces are GONE!

2010-04-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning was a HUGE day for Darren. After suffering with braces since October 30, 2008, he finally got them taken off!

Just before he got his braces put on {yeah, I know...for good reason!}

THE DAY BEFORE GETTING THEM TAKEN OFF:

AS OF YESTERDAY :

Ya gotta love a smile like that! It's worth a thousand words and over a thousand....well, I'll just stop there since you all know where I was going with that one! ;-P

Now off to plan the sticky, gummy and gooey party I promised him!

Wacky and Wet Weekend

2010-04-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

I had such a whirlwind weekend! Friday night I cropped {well, mostly shopped and laughed!} with Ginger, Marie and Kerry Lynn at Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley. We browsed Anthro on 4th St., ate yummy food at Picante and laughed those kinds of laughs where your stomach hurts and tears are streaming out of your eyes.

The next morning Ginger and I ran a dreaded 8 miles in cold and wind for our half marathon training. Running 8 miles in no wind is hard enough but the wind added a whole new dimension to that run! Boy, was I glad when that was over!

Sunday arrived with pouring down rain and was supposed to be a day checking out cool Lego creations at Bricks By the Bay in Fremont but the line wrapped through the hotel entrance and up 2 floors of the parking structure next to it. Needless to say, we scrapped that plan and headed over to Toys R Us as a consolation for disappointed 8-year olds.

Last night I ventured back to the world of digi-scrapping and created this:

I took this photo of Darren and his cousin Jason during my sister's wedding in Kauai in February. "keiki" is hawaiian for kids...and well, uh, you get the picture! When you get these two together for an extended period of time they can sometimes spell trouble!

It's back to the grind tomorrow

2010-04-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Our 4-day Easter break has come and gone and it's back to school and work for us tomorrow. We had quite the weekend but I'll post more about that later this week. In the meantime, here's my third digi page.

I am loving this digital scrapping thing!

I think I'm hooked!

2010-04-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

...hooked on digi-scrapbooking! Here's my second layout.

I know, it's still basic as I'm trying to learn digital techniques as I'm going as well as looking for digi kits and elements. If you know of any good sites to buy from besides 2 Peas and Kitchy Digitals {which I've already raided!} then please enlighten me! :)

Have a great holiday weekend!

My first all-digital layout!

2010-03-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

I know it's very basic but here it is!

I happened to find a free digital kit on the 2 Peas website and of course found myself drooling over KL's Kenner Road digi-goodness. I remember having downloaded the Swallowfield digi-kit some time ago but never having the courage or time to delve into the digital medium.

I started playing with the elements I had on Photoshop and going back on Kenner Road's blog because Designer Diana Martin had posted a digital layout tutorial for the lame like me. ha ha

Before I knew it, I was buying more KR elements and the doilies from House of 3 and this is what I managed to put together! Now it's off to figure out how to use drop shadows and paint splatters!

Hey! Where did my Spring Break go?

2010-03-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

In the blink of an eye it was GONE! Darren and I both enjoyed the last 2 weeks off from school for our celebrated Spring Break. As luck would have it my little guy decides on Day #2 of vacation to get yet another fever! Seriously?!? It lasts 5 fun-filled days of staying indoors and watching lots of TV. Oh joy!

I should probably thank the stars above that he actually got sick our first week off because the following weekend we were off with friends for 3 days at Disneyland!!!

We did it all: The Matterhorn (at least 5 times!), Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Grizzly Peak and Pirates of the Caribbean to name a few. The most exciting and most frightening ride was easily

The Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror.

Why I thought to take the 3 oldest boys on this ride was a good idea is beyond me! I figured I should face my fears and go for it. Well, here's a photo of the boys with their "scared" faces while we were waiting in line pondering our fate:

By the time we got to the front of the line one of the boys decided to back out (he shall remain nameless!) One of the ride attendants was kind enough to watch him while we went on the ride as apparently this happens all the time. Well, let's just say that he who shall remain nameless made a VERY wise decision.That ride was probably the scariest ride I have EVER been on. The first drop wasn't so bad, the second one I thought to myself: thank God it's over! And then the last drop. Um, yeah. It did me in. A free-fall from the 13th floor. I went into survivor mode! I blew deep breaths to get through it and couldn't get out of my seatbelt quick enough to get out!

The boy who backed out asked me if he had made a good decision by not going and I told him, "Yes! You are so smart to have not gone because it wasn't good!" If you want to see the ride experience check out this You Tube video I found: Tower of Terror

i couldn't tell ya...

2010-03-10T15:58:00.000-08:00

...the last time I did a 12x12 layout. I still fear the big empty page. There is so much inspiration out there on the gazillions of scrap blogs I follow but I always end up finding myself working on a mini-album.

What really gave me inspiration to work on a 12x12 layout was this picture of my beautiful niece, Gabrielle.

She was the junior bridesmaid in my sister's wedding last month and I took this picture of her at the beach. I loved her sweet dress and the flower in her hair and how she was putting her feet in the tide like a child yet how it contrasted with the fact that she is becoming such a young lady. I can still remember the days when she was a toddler!

I also loved these pictures I took of Darren and his cousin Jason.

These two were inseparable during our vacation. They truly enjoy one another's company. I was so excited when I realized my timing was perfect taking the photo in the middle of this layout with Jason jumping in the air. Oh, to be carefree and young!

Me? Hockey?

2010-03-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

I have never been a hockey fan nor did I ever think I would be one. But this whole Olympic Hockey madness sucked me in. I'll have to admit I didn't get the chance to watch much of the Winter Olympics because it started while we were in Kauai for my sister's wedding and watching TV (besides The Bachelor and American Idol - tee hee!) wasn't a priority.

It all started with Team USA vs. Switzerland quarterfinals. Although I don't claim to know much about hockey besides getting the puck into the net the whole empty-net goal by Team USA was exciting. Now I get it (the excitement of the sport, that is!)

It's too bad that we lost to Canada but what a great game. Huh?

I also watched Men's Speed Skating. Apollo Ohno is one talented dude.

OK, that's not what he wears while competing but...

I personally think he was robbed of a Gold in the Men's 1000 m race. He single-handedly managed to make it through every single one of his races by jumping over fallen skaters. Total athleticism!

OK - on to another subject.

I love Anthropologie but this month's catalog is amazing. The clothes. The photography. The tropical setting.

Love this dress.

and this one.

and this outfit.

The colors in the catalog are giving me some inspiration to scrap. My goal is to do just that this week. I haven't sat down to scrap in close to a month. I'm hoping to change that come this weekend.

Our new baby!

2010-02-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

Uh, no. Not a real baby but still thought of as our newest bundle of joy! A previously gently-loved 23-foot trailer! We bought her last weekend {I think I now need to name her!} although we hadn't planned on actually buying one!

She was perfect.

We just had to have her.

I never thought we would own a trailer since we consider ourselves die-hard tenters in the camp world but now that we are finding we aren't as spry as we used to be. Those cold spring and late fall camping trips found us freezing some nights in our tent and yearning for the comforts of a heater, a toilet you don't have to walk to in the middle of the night and a place where I can just plug in my coffee maker rather than waiting for it to percolate on the camp stove just got the better of us.

So here's to Spring camping, getting a campsite near the lake rather than near the bathroom and to coffee-in-a-jiffy!

Back home to reality...

2010-02-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

We had an unforgettable time with family and friends this past week in Kauai celebrating my sister's wedding. The weather couldn't have been better and the intimate setting made it all the more special. The most sincere congratulations to my sister and my new brother-in-law!

Besides coming back with a tan I also came back with a cold. Ah well...a small price to pay for a week in paradise!

before i go....

2010-02-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

When I saw this photograph of my grandmother camping I had to giggle. Camping must seriously be in my blood!

Granted, my parents kept up the camping tradition by taking me and my 3 siblings on camping trips from when we were young until probably up through high school. We started out in a tent, eventually upgraded to a travel trailer and then decided we wanted to go back to tents again. I camped here and there in my young adulthood but didn't really start camping on a regular basis until I met my husband. From there, it's all history!

So I am probably the only one on the planet to not have watched the Super Bowl yesterday. Instead Ginger and I took off to Berkeley again for some shopping and dining. Our husbands hung out at the house watching the game while the kids played so I think everyone was a happy camper yesterday {um, no pun intended!}

We are off to Kauai on Wednesday for my sister's wedding set for Valentine's Day. I can't wait! It is going to be such a beautiful wedding! Seven days with aunts, uncles, cousins and friends all staying at the same resort should make for a fun {or incredibly out of hand} time!

Aloha!

Scrap Across America

2010-02-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

Yup. That is what my good pal Ginger and I hope to do one day! We both love to camp and we are even known to scrap while we camp. When the kids and husbands go to bed we break out the scrapbook stash, portable DVD player complete with chick flicks, lanterns and if we have electric hook-ups, the space heater to keep us nice and toasty! Of course, we get to talking and the "Wouldn't it be nice if ?..." And that is how we came up with our Scrap Across America idea.

We would combine our love of travel, camping and scrapping by renting an RV, loading it up with every last bit of our scrapbooking stashes and hit the road. We'd visit every scrapbook store from California to New York and perhaps even throw in a few retreats if the timing was right. Of course we'd stop off at national parks to do some sightseeing and hiking. Aaaaah....talk about heaven!

Granted, if this were ever to happen it would be when our kids are in college and our husbands are retired. Our laughable plan is to bunk them up together in a retirement home {insert evil laugh here} and set out on our adventure.

What do you think? Does that sound like fun or what?

We went to an RV show last weekend with the husbands and kids and found a nice little RV for our adventure. Here's Ginger posing in front of our future RV. ;)

Vintage Family Photo Heaven

2010-01-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

My dear uncle recently entrusted me with a box of old family photographs. One goes as far back as 1911. This one I am absolutely in love with:

This is a photograph of my maternal grandmother, Alice Wentworth, taken in either 1912 or 1913. The dress....the pure innocence of the photo...I am so enamored by it!

I have a feeling that the history in some of these photos and the months of research my uncle spent on the Wentworth family tree will be pursued further by me as soon as I can find the time to do it. Unfortunately, there a lot photos with no dates or names noted so they may stay unknown -- which bums me out.

Here's a photo of my grandmother as an infant with a family friend in 1911 when Ferndale Bridge in Humboldt County, California, was being built.

OK, on a completely unrelated topic: Who is watching "The Bachelorette" and who do you think Jake will pick in the end? :)

What the heck - - - I'll blog today!

2010-01-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

I know. I've been avoiding this blog like the plague. I was doing so well with keeping up with my December Daily....until Dec. 15th. Then the holidays were upon me and I haven't had time to look back since!

I've been diligently working on finishing my last few pages and decided to hold off on posting the pictures until it was done....hence, the lack of a blog post in a month!

I'm SO glad I jumped in and have the experience of doing the the daily but I'm not sure if I'd do it again. That's just me. I think I enjoy the journaling/scrapbooking process more when I don't feel a time constraint or an obligation to do it. Crafting is all about the freedom for me and I think I'm just going to stick with what works for me. Who knows, maybe it'll be a different story by year's end. :)

There are so many things to talk about but since we are in the ever-glorious CHA winter-release season why don't I share the things that I'm looking forward to adding to my craft stash?

7gypsies letterblock tray

How many of these can I justify buying? And what wall space can I find to hang them from? Oh, the possibilities of filling this lovely thing is endless!

I love this 7gypsies receipt display because it can be changed up time and time again. I love the re-usage factor! And yeah, it further complicates my wall space dilemma!

7gypsies dangling paper clips? Need I say more?

Who doesn't love vintage ephemera?!? Thank you 7gypsies!

Everyone together now: "Ooooooh! Aaaaaah!" Can't wait to play with this stuff! Tattered Angels has done it again!

Hambly papers. Divine!

Maya Road fabric and chipboard banners. I foresee banners for every holiday and season!

And what good would banners be without these fun little Maya Road mini chipboard alphas?

Sassafras Lass banner stickers. Are you sensing a theme here? ;)

Just plain ol' pretty!

Thank you Tim Holtz for bustin' out the vintage-inspired buttons. Cuz I can never have enough of 'em!

Metallic feet to display your newest work of art? Yes, please!

Tissue tape: yeah, it can be used on anything and everything!

So what are your faves from the CHA sneaks you've seen?

I plan to be back here again soon. I promise! I have so much more to share!

The Christmas Rush is On!

2009-12-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

Only 10 more days until Christmas? Say it isn't so! This holiday always manages to sneak up on me somehow. This week is filled with a 2nd grade recital, a church recital, a haircut and color {badly needed by me!} and an appointment with a physical therapist for my {yet again!} pulled calf muscle.

I managed to overdo it a few weeks back when I was running up some trail hills in preparation for my half marathon and pulled a calf muscle. I was forced to quit running for a week and then tested my calf out on a treadmill and felt fine. Two days later I decided to do my run outside and at 4 1/2 miles I had to stop. Yup, I think I exacerbated my original injury. Great.

So I'm just a bit frustrated that I can't train for yet another week but decided to get some advice from a physical therapist so that I don't keep repeating the same mistake because my time is running out {no pun intended.}

Here are the last 3 days of my December Daily.

I crack up when I look at the photo of my dad holding up his "ugly" cookie. I had a last piece of dough that was too small to cut out one last cookie so I decided it was going to be his "lump of coal" cookie. I frosted it and added some sprinkles and a few chocolate chips and it ended up looking like a holiday skeleton! When he put it up next to his face for some reason I thought I saw a resemblance. LOL.

Darren was showing off his hand-frosted cookie. He decided to give his snowman a yellow shirt. So after spending 4 hours baking and frosting 137 cookies I succumbed to eating 3 cookies. One was broken and the other 2...well, I have no excuse. Ha! Ha!

December Daily pages 9 - 11 and a letter back from Santa!

2009-12-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

Here are the past 3 days of my December Daily pages.

The Parents Club at Darren's school held their 1st annual Winterfest yesterday. All proceeds benefited the school directly so supporting the event was a no-brainer. The school was jam-packed! Kids were allowed to shop for their parents and siblings in a kids-only area of the cafeteria with high school student volunteers helping them with their shopping list. They were even provided with free gift wrapping with helpers to boot! There were craft projects galore, a Scholastic Book Store and even Santa was in the house for photos! The line was too long by the time we got there but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. Darren really enjoyed the opportunity to gift shop on his own {so to speak} and he can't wait for us to see what he chose.

Are you ready for the big news of the day?

This afternoon Darren received a letter from the one and only:

SANTA!!!

He was so excited to open it and read what Santa had to say. I know what I'm journaling about today but you won't be able to see it until tomorrow!

It's Back to School Time!

2009-12-09T20:18:00.000-08:00

Darren finally broke his fever last night but was seen by his pediatrician anyhow. All is good except for a lingering cough so it's back to school tomorrow for him after missing an entire WEEK!

I'll finally be able to get back into my normal routine as well. I'm going to try to run on the treadmill tomorrow to test out my calf. Wish me luck!

Here are the past 3 days of my December Daily. I am really enjoying this process and am really trying to focus on telling my story through my journaling rather than the photo.

I still need to add my journaling for day 8 but I'm going to add in a small page for it.

Oh, and I picked this up today with Ginger:

and yeah, she got one too!

Squeeeeee!!!

Sick Day #5 and Counting!

2009-12-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

My poor little guy is STILL sick! If he continues with his fever tomorrow he'll be seeing his pediatrician. He is being a trooper though. The kid has been overdosing on Sponge Bob SquarePants and iCarly episodes as well as taking advantage of the freedom to drink as much Sprite as he wants. I love how he looks on the bright side of things!

So here is the reason for my getting behind in my December Daily journal:

Different variations of this snow globe are everywhere on craft blogs thanks to Holly Hanks' idea that has spread like the flu! It was totally fun to make and it's happily displayed at the entrance to our house.

Here are my December Daily pages 4 & 5. I'm currently working on yesterday and today's pages.

I am so anxious to get back to running because my half marathon is exactly 2 months from today. Ack! I pulled a calf muscle running up 2 1/2 miles of hills {see Dec. Daily page 5}so I guess Darren's illness couldn't be better timed. We're both out for the count for now...here's hoping for a healthier day tomorrow!

One Happy Gal!

2009-12-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that Darren is STILL sick with a fever, Bruce is working tonight and I'm cooking dinner as we speak, I couldn't have had a better birthday! Hubby scored MAJOR bonus points with this:

I am the soon-to-be proud owner of a new iPhone 3G!!! Woo-hoo!!! The gift card was inside of the card and when I saw it I was so confused. I thought hubby had bought me a gift card to the Apple store so that I could buy accessories or something.

I was like, "Huh?"

Poor Bruce had to explain that the card was for the iPhone 3G. He said he was tired of hearing me complain about how slow my 1st generation iPhone is and how great it would be to have video and photo zoom features as well as faster internet loading. Guess all that complaining paid off!

On a totally unrelated note, I am now 3 days {argh!} behind on my December daily journal because I've been tending to a sick child and working on a little holiday project that I'll post a picture of tomorrow.

I can't wait to pick up my new phone!!!

December Daily - Day 3

2009-12-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Here's my December Daily page 3.

Unfortunately, Darren is now on Day 2 of being sick. Thanks goodness for Motrin!

Last Friday Hambly had a 30% off sale plus free shipping. It just arrived so merry {early} Christmas to me!

Can you tell I like their circle patterns? LOL

Happy Friday everyone!

December Daily - Day 2

2009-12-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

Here's my December Daily page from yesterday.

Yup. I got out my Christmas cards already!

I have a sick boy home from school today. I hope it doesn't turn into anything horrible. He was bound to catch something sooner or later since he hasn't been sick in a while.

On a side note, if you don't follow Tim Holtz's blog, don't miss out on his 12 Tags of Christmas. The guy is a total genius. If I hadn't already sent out my holiday cards and had an extra few hours in the day I would've loved to have made these plaid backgrounds made from alcohol inks as the background to my card. Look what he created:

Oh well, there's always next year! Did I mention that he is giving away oodles of giveaways on his blog everyday if you simply post a comment? What are you waiting for? Go do it! :)

December Daily - Day 1

2009-12-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here's my official first page of my December Daily. So far, so good! Let's hope I can keep this up for the next 24 days!

Here's a copy of the letter that Darren mailed. I'm so glad I thought to make a copy of it for my album!

I hope money grows on trees up at the North Pole because that's quite a list!

I Ran Wild for a Child

2009-11-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

So yesterday morning I got up at 4:45am to do a 10K run with some fellow friends and our boot camp trainer in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. I ran my first 5K run in this same race last year and I think it's now going to be a tradition because every year it just gets more fun. It's the Run Wild for a Child 5K/10K run that's held every year the Sunday following Thanksgiving. The run supports the SF Firefighter's Toy Drive.

8 of us got together and ran 6.2 miles and experienced some pretty amazing moments together. Three of them had never run more than 4 miles or so and they all finished the race under their goal time! The run also served as a huge life milestone for someone else in the group. To go through the run together, supporting each other, experiencing the level of comraderie that we do and sharing laughs and tears all in the span of one race was unforgettable. Love you guys!

Here we are with our race t-shirts!

Just moments before the run!

Me at the finish line!

My December Daily

2009-11-22T14:00:00.000-08:00

Here are most of my foundation pages for my December Daily journal album.

I decided not to number my pages so that I could have the flexibility of moving my pages around depending on what pictures and journaling I want to add on a particular day.

On a totally unrelated topic, did any of you dark chocolate lovers see the commercial for this? :

Great! Just in time for the holidays! Good thing I'm training for this half marathon because I'm going to need to burn off a lot of holiday calories in the next few months!

Up on the Catwalk!

2009-11-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my Snorkel Boy mini-album made it on SIStv's catwalk today! I am on Cloud 9! Getting selected by Amy Tangerine is just icing on the cake. There is so much serious talent and creativity on SIStv that I was seriously shocked to have been picked.

While we're on the topic of scrapbooking, who else is doing Ali Edwards' December Daily project? I started working on my foundation pages on Sunday and last night and I'm real excited about committing to an album that focuses on the journaling versus the photos. Once I'm done with a majority of my 25 pages (!) I'll post a few pictures.

Happy Tuesday!

Snorkel Boy and Runner Girl

2009-11-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

When I bought this Cosmo Cricket Snorkel paper when it was first released I knew exactly what I was going to do with it: make a mini-album of Darren's snorkeling trips from our Kauai vacation. Here it is:

Brrrr! It is COLD today but I am going to go out for a run as my half marathon training officially begins today! I am happy {and comforted!} in knowing that last week I talked 2 friends into doing the run with me so that I won't be alone. It will also help keep me motivated to stick it out on my upcoming longer training runs.

My niece's TV show, "Ninth Period" unfortunately didn't air last weekend. We found out Saturday afternoon that the show will not start airing until January. But the good news is that then even more national channels will sign on to air the show. So for now, we all anxiously await the premiere next year.

Happy Monday!

Totally Exciting News: Ninth Period

2009-11-06T07:02:00.000-08:00

Last night I found out that my niece's pilot TV show "9th Period" will be premiering tomorrow at 9:00am on local station KFTY Channel 50. She filmed a few episodes last summer but hadn't heard of the show being picked up until now. I am SO excited for her! Here she is with her two co-stars:

The show is about 3 middle school-aged kids solving mysteries. I think a show like this will be a hit as it's a throwback to the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series that were popular back in my childhood days.

Check out the producer's website: Chan Add Films to see a rough trailer. Let me know what you think if you are able to watch the pilot episode tomorrow!