While you were sleeping...

I'm Famous! (Sort of...)

Extra! Extra! Read all about it... I've made my first appearance in a scrapbooking magazine!I stole this photo off of Stacy Julian's blog, but I don't think she'll mind... The Sept/Oct issue includes my first article, under "Simple Schemes." If you don't get the magazine, you can see it online here.

There's even one of my layouts! How cool is that!?! Stay tuned... I have another one in Nov/Dec, and an upcoming couple articles for Scrapbook Answers as well. FUN!

I completed three layouts last night. You can see them in the "Paper Arts" album to the left over there <---. Having fun scrapping! Finished a couple of big articles last week, so this week is catch up time.

Oh, I am selling a bunch of my Sizzix alphabets and dies, as well as some idea books and stamps. Email me if you would like the list. I am cleaning house!

And the winner is...

Okay, so here's what happened:

I listed the names...

...John graciously played Vanna White...

...And we have a winner!

If you can't read that, the winner is LISA B!!!!

Lisa, e-mail me your address (I know I have it somewhere, but it's easier if you just send it...) and I will get a special little package of goodies out to you!

Thanks, everyone, for playing. Don'tchaknow, it pays to read While You Were Sleeping! ;)

Truth

It is important to notice here how natural it is for you to want to run away or escape. Every time you have given in to this urge in the past, you have buried your truth more deeply. Stay with it, be with it, go through it and learn from it, no matter what.

I wish I could tell you where this quote comes from, but all I have on the notecard is a cryptic "TJI" inscription. I have gone through my bookshelf looking for a title with those initials, but I can't find anything! So it will have to remain a mystery for now.

Truth. What a loaded word! How often do I know my truth yet push it aside because I am afraid to admit it? How often do I know what I really think, what I really want to do, yet I ignore it because I feel that the truth is too painful, the actions too hard? When we admit the truth to ourselves, we can't help but act on it -- and that can be scary.

Despite our best attempts to stuff down those uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, our bodies and souls and hearts work in concert to make us admit what we already know. We get headaches. Our stomachs hurt. We find ourselves procrastinating. WE KNOW, even if we tell ourselves we don't. But when we embrace out truths, it's so empowering! We get a rush of energy and excitement, one that hopefully will be strong enough to carry us through the hard parts of change.

Today I'm going to listen more carefully, finding that truth that I haven't admitted.

NOTES:
Only one more day for "The Posse" contest! Link up now and let me know so you can win win WIN! ;)

Look over <-- there to see my latest "Just for fun" project (The Coaster Project). These are coasters from Outback Steakhouse that I converted into little canvases, on which I am sharing my truths of life. I'm aiming for one every few days. At the end, I'll link them all together somehow. So fun, easy to do, and cheap! I'm using scraps of paper and leftover embelllishments. Kind of like ATCs for myself!

Hot cha cha

It's hot. Blinking hot, if you know what I mean.

We got back from Maui at 1 AM on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and we discovered that not only was it 90 degrees in the middle of the night... we also had the added benefit of NO POWER! Our house had been shut up for days, and it had to be 120 degrees inside. Ugh. The power did not go on until Monday morning. So... I had to dump about $500 worth of food that had been slowly decomposing in our fridge and freezer. It actually made me ill -- not the smell, but the waste. It was just awful -- Alaskan salmon, tons of frozen fruit, and tater tots... so sad.

But to look on the bright side... I had the perfect excuse NOT to do laundry! (Although we took a few loads over to my parents' house just to get the mountain under control).

I have a lot of pictures from Maui to post, but I am downstairs on my laptop, so you'll just have to wait. Did some knitting on the way -- have two socks done (unfortunately, they don't match!). Been doing some coolio projects in the old studio, and want to update you on that. Something totally fun, just for the heck of it.

Taught a Kids' Camp at Picture Passion today -- that was totally fun. Kids always amaze me with their fearlessness and their willingness to follow their instincts. We did mini monogram letters, and they turned out so cute, so individual... wish I'd taken a picture! Next time.

What else to report? Oh, I know, let's do a contest! I'm updating the links in the "posse" section of my blog. If you link to me on your blog, let me know and I'll reciprocate. At the end of this week, I'll have a random drawing of everyone who e-mailed me to let me know they're linked in, and the winner will receive something cool as soon as I figure out what it is. How 'bout that? Not that I'm TRYING to get you to link to me, but hey, if you are desperate for mail, this is just the ticket! ;)

Edit: Please notice the new Hawaii photo album over on the left! Just a few of my pics. Didn't want to bore you with 'em all.

Thoughts from Maui

Aloha part II!

We are still having a terrific time here, but I tell you, it's nice to get back to "reality" and check my e-mail every so often. Still having sending troubles, but it gives me an excuse to go to Starbucks. hehehe.

As a writer, I am constantly observing -- and being amused by -- the human species. So here, from the gorgeous shores of Maui, are a few thoughts:

• "Venti" in Hawaii and "Venti" on the mainland are two very different sizes. Who woulda thunk? I always thought "venti" meant "twenty," as in "twenty ounces." Funny how those ounces shrink (and get more expensive) as you head West. Maybe it's the sea air??
• Crocs are a Pan-Pacific phenomenon. I have seen more Crocs -- and Croc stores -- here than in California. More on that later.
• To a kid, a $15 hamburger doesn't necessarily taste any better than a $.99 hamburger from McD's.
• There is nothing cuter than a toddler in bikini bottoms and nothing else except a fine coating of sand.
• When you start taking the view for granted, it's time to come home.

Hope you are all enjoying your July. Looking forward to coming home in a few days!

Aloha!

Hana 'o ki lau ni pe tunalaha!**

Here I am in gorgeous Maui, enjoying the sun, the surf, and the surfers! As far as family vacations go, this is a pretty idyllic one. Only problem -- I am unable to send e-mail from here for some strange reason, so if you've e-mailed me, please know that I am not so full of mai-tais that I'm unable to e-mail straight! Instead, it's purely a technology thing.

So far, we've swum, played in the waves, built sandcastles, and eaten a lot (dinner tonight was at Tommy Bahama's -- complete with Butterscotch Pudding for dessert -- yum!!). We saw "Superman" the other night, which I really enjoyed. And today, I did something awesome... I went parasailing! I've never done it before, and it was just amazing. Ben and I went up together, to 400 feet, and we had the most incredible view of Lahaina harbor. Unbelievable. The best part? Just the other day I started a list of 40 things I want to do before I turn 40, and parasailing was one of them! At this rate, I'll complete the other 39 in time for Christmas. ;)

What else can I tell you? I miss:

-E-mail
-Starbucks green tea (there is only one SBX within driving distance, and they don't have green iced tea!)
-Scrapbooking
-and that's about it.

Hang loose!
**Translation: I think I burned my coconuts.

By Popular Demand...

At the request of the magnificent Maria (who I got to see again today... I am so glad she's local!), I am posting a few layouts I've been working on. First, this is the latest entry in my "She" album:

If you can't read the journaling, it says: "SHE... was addicted to crossword puzzles." I love this photo of Callie in bed "working" on a puzzle, just like Mom.

Next, this is the LO for the BPS "Library of Memories" class. We were challenged to do a LO focusing on the topics we least scrapbook about. My category was "places" and the question I needed to answer was "why." So...

I am not crazy about how the page turned out. It's not awful, but I think I could have done a better job with the spacing. Ah, well, live and learn.

Finally, this is an entry in the Freestyle "1 hour" challenge. My LOs NEVER take over an hour (who's gog that much time??). This one took about 30 minutes. LOVE IT.

It focuses on how every day during Ben's first grade year, Kinsey would walk him into class and say, "Have a good day, lil' fella." And this is to her OLDER brother. So cute.

So there they are, Maria. Enjoy! Now I'm off to pack for Maui. ;)

A new me, take II

For some reason, when I republished my blog in order to get the banner right, it deleted my last post. Oops. Anyway, the recap:

-New banner in honor of our trip to Maui on Sat. Doesn't it look good? And I did it all myself.

Wasn't that quick and easy?

Now, for the fun stuff. Looky what I got:

And for 50 percent off, too! They had ONE copy at Beverly's and I snapped it up. It's hit or miss there... you can't count on anything, so when you see something, you have to act FAST. Best $9.95 I ever spent (except for that awesome maternity dress I got and then loaned to a pregnant girlfriend who wore it to an Enrique Iglesias concert and got to meet him and he PUT HIS HAND ON HER PREGNANT TUMMY! But that's a totally different story, so let's stick to the here and now, shall we??)

Other stuff. Took Ragan's advice and picked up a couple skeins of Lion Brand Microspun today to make a pair of socks (because you know, I NEEDED more yarn). She loves the feel of it, and since she knits more socks than anyone I know, I figured I'd listen to her. I got orange, just like she did. But it looks much oranger than the "mango" color on the Lion Brand site. Fun.

I've been working my little heinie off, getting ready to take off on Saturday for Maui. I have a couple of assignments for Selling Power and one more from Scrapbook Answers. How excited am I to be writing for the scrapbook pubs? I didn't mention it, but at the beginning of the month I got another assignment from Simple Scrapbooks, too. Look for me in Sept/Oct and Nov/Dec. Yeehaw!

I've also been cranking to catch up with the BPS class I'm taking with Stacy Julian. I hadn't done anything until this past weekend, and now I can proudly say I'm almost current. I've rearranged all my old photos going back to 2000, put 2003-2006 in photo albums (which I was dead set against doing, but I finally figured that Stacy should know what she's talking about), created category files a la "Library of Memories," and ordered new albums from A/C. I'm all set to create my own Library. I'm dying to do some pages, and I cannot believe I have to wait until I get back from Maui to scrap!

Whatcha working on in your world?

Patience, patience

"Having patience with myself and with others is an expression of my spiritual maturity. I understand that love and support are more valuable than strict coherence to a schedule. People are more valuable than things. " (The Daily Word)

I get a daily inspirational message in my e-mail in box. This one came today, and I had to laugh. How perfect!

I am taking part in a circle journal and we are facing a few snags right now. With 26 people, that's to be expected. Unfortunately, I think in our quest to keep things moving, a person or two has felt less important than things -- that our adherence to a schedule is more important than their feelings. I really regret this.

There is a balance here, as usual. With most things, we need to keep it moving, keep the balls in the air. Pay the bills on time. Remember the new baby and the recent graduate and the birthday girl in a timely manner. Get the kids to school on time (at least most of the time!). Our acceptance of and adherence to these norms of society show a respect for other people's time and feelings.

But I can get too rigid. I can expect people to stick to my schedule without thinking about their lives. I can expect THINGS to stick to my schedule, too. I can get impatient as I expect the path to unfold in front of me according to my plan.

It doesn't work that way. Trains are late, traffic appears out of nowhere, the agents keep rejecting the manuscript, the weight sticks to my hips and won't let go.

The good news -- along the way, I'm learning. I'm learning to value the process and the journey, to take things with a grain of salt and a big breath, to appreciate the moment here and there when I do have to wait and I can relax, knit another row, read another page, or watch another cloud go by. I'm not perfect -- Lord knows, I'm not perfect at it! But I'm trying.

CKU Ahoy

As you may remember, I was unable to attend CKU-SJ as a student due to a prior commitment to teach Vacation Bible School. Ah, yes, talk about a test of my faith!

However, I was still able to enjoy CKU from the vendor's point of view. Terri, Colleen and I headed up to host a make-and-take for Picture Passion. We helped 500-plus women (and one man!) make a cute "passion" page, using the incredible Cropadile. If you have not yet tried this tool, you must! It totally puts eyelet setting the old way to shame... no more pounding for me!

Not only was it fabulous to help people scrap, not only was it awesome to see Maria come through the line, not only was it coolio to enjoy the CKU vibe secondhand (much healthier than secondhand smoke!)... the best part was that Ali and Cathy Z. were in spitting distance of us! (No, I don't know that for a fact... I did not want to actually try to spit at them... I just assumed it was so). Those two women are so incredible. Their energy never flagged (at least never outwardly). They shook hands, posed for photos, signed autographs, and taught all the while. Incredible.

I was so happy to meet Ali in person after interviewing her a few months ago. She gave me a huge hug and posed for a photo with the Passion girls. And I went up to Cathy Z. like she was my long-lost sister...  after all, I met her in Alabama, so that has to count for something! She was so gracious. Love them.

As I went through three hours of assisting and met about 100 women (and that one man!), I was amazed at how you can totally get a sense of someone's personality, just in the five minutes they are sitting in front of you. The vast majority of women (and the one man!) were complete sweethearts, people I would gladly share my last roll of Hermafix with. But others... wow! Even in five minutes I could tell that these people were not representatives from the Lollipop Guild. It would sort of take me aback when someone would be a little grumpy (after all, aren't we there because we LOVE scrapping??). But more than anything I felt sorry for them. If they could carry that aura into a hall full of free scrap projects, what were they like when they were stuck behind someone with 16 items in the 15 item or fewer line at the grocery store?

Anyway, just an interesting observation on how attitude DOES affect and rub off on people around you. Yet another reminder to me to put it all out there -- all the good stuff, that is. The fun people lifted me up, and that's what I want to do to others.

Okay, off my soapbox now. I'm off to upload photos to Shutterfly.