Happy 4th of July, Long Time Since Posting

It's been almost a full month since my last blog. I started a new job for a major grocery chain in their management program and am in the training phase. It is a 17 week training program and I am three weeks into it now, well; a month actually. I have worked in my first of three training stores for three weeks now and really like the job, or maybe it's the people...or both :) After being unemployed for nearly 7 months I am very tickled to be working again. What has been challenging is trying to adjust to the grueling schedule and still have time for other things that I love, like scrapbooking... but I've managed to squeeze a little bit of that in.

For instance: I am getting a new Airedale puppy in a week and a half and went to pick her out at the end of last month. I am scrapping some pages of the visit and choice. These first two pages are of that visit. They were created with Sophisticated by Lori Staton of Deco Pages. She is a wonderfully talented designer and has beautiful kits. This first page is about how the puppy chose us. Journaling reads: In a conversation with the breeder over the phone she had asked me if i had chosen based on the pictures and i told her that i couldn’t choose from the photos...the puppy gets to choose too! and so it was. All the puppies were brought out to play with us and they were all so cute! but one stood out against the crowd. one stayed close to us as the others wandered off to play. one chose us. when the others wandered off to sleep, she stayed and played until she was too tired to play anymore and then she fell asleep...but not with the others, she stayed with us. she chose us and we chose her! This next page is about trying to choose the perfect name for her. With Murphee it was much easier I think. Mostly because I bought her from Petland and had her before I tried to chose a name for her. With this puppy, I am getting her from a breeder and I don't actually have her yet. But, I have chosen Zoee for her name and am still trying to decide what her AKC name will be. The journaling on this page reads: Choosing the name for orange girl is a tough decision. Zoee comes from the book Frannie and Zoey by JD Salenger and was chosen by Bobbie. We are still trying to decide the rest of her AKC name. I am getting so anxious to bring her home.
There will be much more of her to come believe me. I can't wait to get her here!

I also have recently scrapped a page of a story that my grandmother told me last week when I was visiting with her. We always have a yearly "friends" reunion the week after our family reunion. Mom always wanted us girls to attend and we rarely ever did but I have for the last two since mom has been gone. It never really seemed right to go as the "friends" were her friends...people that she grew up with. Listening to Grandma's story about what it was like when she was raising kids was interesting. It is definitely different nowadays. Or at least from what it was like when I was raising kids. With mom being gone and Grandma now 90 years old, I thought that I should be documenting the stories that Grandma tells me. So this page is about the "friends" when she was raising kids. Journaling reads: "In the 40’s and 50’s communities were tight knit and everyone knew everyone else. Kids grew up playing with the neighborhood kids and mom’s watched each other’s kids when they were in the area. Everyone was like family." These are the neighborhood kids that proudly sport the title of family and although I don’t know most of them, Gr’ma is like their second mom. Kit used was Country Potpourri by Paris Designs and can be found here.
With today being the 4th of July and time for the parade and fireworks, I decided to scrap about my DGS and his first parade and fireworks. He was so fun watching him watch the parade. He really didn't know what to think. It will be fun seeing his reaction this year. Pages were made with Deb Ammerman's 4th of July kit and you can find it here.
Thank you for taking time to read my blog! Since you have been so patient and read to here, I have a "surprise freebie" for you. It's a QP that I made with a kit that I designed specifically for the holiday. I hope that you enjoy it. Have a wonderful, safe and happy 4th!

Whoo Hoo! New Job

I have finally, after several grueling months found a job as a Manager in a major grocery retailer! I have spent most of time in computer and technology retail but have some experience in food distribution but even though the products are different, the concept of leadership is still the same!!! Whoo Hoo! I am so excited. I start training in the morning. So, I have been hard at work trying to catch up on my page creations and have completed several.This page above is of a new kitten that was abandoned in a Home Depot parking lot! I don't understand how some people can be so cruel but the little thing is adorable and even though my current cats haven't come out of hiding, they soon will. This page was created using pieces of Jennifer Rassi's Treasured "reward" kit and her Alpha's for the ABC challenge at Deco Pages. It's a fun challenge using a variety of alphas that she has created.

I have used a kit by Tom Dillion II called Wild Thing for the next two pages. I love the rich colors and the paw prints are so cool!
I have recently contracted with another designer, Lori Staton to be on her Creative Team. She has some of the coolest kits with the most awesome elements in them! My first kit to create with from her is called Sports Kit 1. This kit has 4 12x12 Papers, 39 Elements, 1 Frame, and 5 Journals. Check these out....
So, I guess that's all for now! Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog!

History in the Making

History in the making! Discovery Astronauts are getting ready for their first space walk! They are going to install a new lab onto the space station! How cool is that! It is amazing how far technology has taken us in not to long a period of time. With the first moon landing in 1969 by Neil Armstrong and we keep going further and further into space. Who knows where we will be in the next 40 years. Maybe we will have colonized a planet or two. Can you believe it's been nearly 40 years since the first man on the moon....the 40th anniversary will be July 20th 2009. I think it is fascinating how far we've come over the years. History made in my lifetime!

More history in the making is the scrapbooking pages that we all make every day! We are so lucky to be able to document our own history and leave as a legacy to our family far into the future. And with geneology we can go pretty far back into history and document our ancestors as well. How cool is that. Plus with the internet we have the ability to share our journey with our "virtual" family and friends. Speaking of sharing.... :) I created a couple pages of a fishing trip that my son and daughter in law made last year. I got such a kick out of my son's big catch of the day. It was too funny. Especially considering how big the fish was that my daughter in law caught. lol. So, Katie wins the prize for the Catch of the Day! lol. Both pages were made with Sea Fishing by Theta of Deco Pages. This is a really cool kit. It has 6 12x12 paper solid, 6 12x12 paper solid with spots, 6 12x12 paper squid cross, 6 12x12 paper squid corner, 3 12x12 paper stripe, 1 12x12 paper parquet/check, 1 12x12 paper torn page, 1 12x12 paper sailboat scene,
9 assorted fishing certificates, 6 colored metal Barracuda/Kaku, 6 colored metal Dolphin Fish/MahiMahi, 6 colored metal Marlin/A'u, 6 colored metal Sailfish/A'u Lepe, 6 colored metal Salmon, 6 colored metal Snapper/Opkapaka, 6 colored metal Tuna/Ahi, 6 sewn buttons, 6 tied buttons, 4 metal fish lures, 3 squid 1 lures, 3 squid lures, 6 ribbons, 6 rings for making charms or grommets, 4 ropes, 3 bouys, 2 rod and reels, 1 life jacket, 1 med swirl, 1 small swirl, 1 winner seal
1 underscore, 1 flying gaff, 1 anchor and a bonus of 6 12X24 papers. Huge kit and right now is on sale for $5.50 over at Deco Pages. This kit is perfect for the fishermen and women and perfect for some of those father's day pages coming up.

Gardening is in full swing here in Ohio! I find it so relaxing and fun, even when I have to pull weeds. I have 9 flower beds with a variety of different flowers for different birds and butterflies and 3 vegetable gardens and one gourd garden. I plant gourds so that I can make bird houses with them to hang in my trees. I love watching the variety of birds that use them. Of course being an avid bird watcher, (at least in my yard) I find it a lot of fun. You can see one of the gourds I've made that is currently inhabited by a Carolina Wren Here. These two pages were made with Gardener's Delight by Sue Fata. I love the soft colors and the variety of elements that she has in this kit. Right now she has it on sale for $3.00.

One of my other favorite past times is watching my grandson! Watching him learn and discover new things and just watching his cute little face. Sometimes I wonder where his mind is and what he's thinking about just like in this next page. He looks so far away.
I used Sunflowers by Deb Ammerman as well as Doodle All Day. I love the rich colors of her sunflower kit and the metal basket elements are wonderful. You can find it here in her store. Her kit has 6 Backgrounds, 4 Borders, 7 Rounded Corner Tags, 7 Large Tags (With a Green Raffia Tie to fit), 7 Small Round Tags (With a Green Raffia Tie to fit), 7 Small Tags (With a Green Raffia Tie to fit), 1 Gold Sunflower Basket pin, 1 pewter Sunflower Basket pin, 1 Sunflower, 1 Sunflower Paper Piecing, 1 Sunflower Basket Paper Piecing. It's a great kit!

Well, I guess that's all the rambling for today. Have a wonderful Tuesday, Thanks for stopping by!

Good News!

It's always a relief to read about something good in the news! In this article: "Neighbors Save Day For Teen In Pool" Exactly the kind of thing that we need to hear more of! Neighbors helping neighbors and it saved a life! Kudos' to the "good samaritan" that heard someone and acted on it! There is still "good" in this world!!! and I for one enjoy reading and hearing about it!!! I know that from a marketing standpoint violence and sex "sell" but so do the good stories! I wonder if we as a general public would pay to read a paper that "only" published "good news!" I would. The problem is finding the good news...there doesn't seem to be enough of it being spread around....*sigh* Maybe tomorrow I will find something "good" to talk about.

On the flip side of news there are tons of articles on the price of gasoline. It was very interesting to read today that the price per barrel of crude has actually decreased and yet our price has yet to drop! Personally, I think that we are being gouged by the oil industry and it is hurting the economy!

DigiSkrapNMomma released a new kit called Retro Funk! I love the colors of the kit...blues and browns, glitter and bling!!! I love it! She has it on sale right now over at Divine Digital for $3.75. It's a great price for the amount of papers and elements that are in this kit! Here is a page that I made from this kit!

Lead is Back in the News

Lead is back in the news but this time it's not in China! This time it's in Ohio, news that is! The Columbus Dispatch reports that the higher the level of lead, the higher the possibility that a child will commit a crime in their article "Lead in Kids, Violent Crime Appear Linked." There was a new study published after a nearly 30 year study from the University of Cincinnati in the PloSMedicine Journal and it is linking violent crimes with children who've had major lead exposure. The report indicates that the exposure shrinks the brain and has a major effect on the frontal lobe which is where we process information about consequences and conscious operates from. You can read the report: Association of Prenatal and Childhood Blood Lead Concentrations with Criminal Arrests in Early Adulthood. It is something that we think about now but it makes me wonder if all of us born to the boomers have diminished capacity because of it? Does that mean that we all could be just a little smarter than we are, or a little more conscientious than we are if we weren't exposed when we were young? Or does it mean that our children are couch potatoes and don't go outside to play as much as we did to entertain ourselves. I for one am going to use the excuse from now on when I slip up that I can't remember or multitask because I was exposed to lead as a child. Sounds like a good excuse to me :)

In an article on Nationwide insurance "American Idol's Sanjaya to be featured in Nationwide ad campaign" has signed Sanjaya, one of last years American Idols to a commercial contract. I'm going to be watching for that! It was always fun watching him on AI even though he didn't have the talent that the others had, he was always entertaining.

Wireless Technology is stepping up to the plate! In an article from the New York Times: "Wireless Broadband Boosts Economy" the technology is reported to generate $860 Billion in Gross Domestic Product. That means that there is no such things as leaving work at work anymore?! Guess it ties right in with the Millenials who are more into socializing that working. They can just take the work home with them. In a way that kind of takes me back to one of the statements that they won't fall into the traps their parents did by pouring their heart and souls into their jobs....guess if they are taking it with them, it kind of does mean that. If there is no separation of the two, then they are going to fall right into the same conditions that their parents have been in it will just be a little less blatant.

Well, I have computer maintenance to get done and a data back up to complete so I guess I am done rambling. If your computer is running slower than it used to check out this article from Microsoft on Maintenance that can speed up your computer.

Here is another QP for you that I made with my kit. Thanks for reading my ramblings. I hope that you enjoy this.