On My Mind...

Just a few things after taking a week off blogging. I need a blog break every once in awhile so I don't get burned out. Not that I am a daily poster by any means, but I do try to post a few times a week :)

I decided at the beginning of September to make monthly goals for myself regarding my health. I find if I give myself a short term goal where I try it for a few weeks and don't tell myself "never again!, I am more successful. The first goal - no soda and drink more water! And now that September is almost over, I have done it! One sip of soda that tasted horrible to me when I made the kids root beer floats. It was icky, sweet. Haven't had a drink of it since! It's not like I was a big soda drinker to begin with. Maybe just one every few days. But I noticed I was drinking it more and more for a sugar rush. Not sure what my next goal is for October, but I have a few thoughts in mind!

The next few photos are taken on my camera phone. I really love having a camera phone!

  Dance class! She is loving it :)

Naps are a thing of the past. Except the occasional one in the car :)

 

And I have been scrapbooking, but mostly Scrapgal assignments. So I won't be able to start posting those until this Saturday (Oct. 1) Also this upcoming weekend though, the Guest Design Team is hosting a crop at Scrapgal. It will be kind of nice to just sit back on this one and participate :) If you are looking for some challenges and a chance to win prizes, Scrapgal is your place to go this weekend!

Product Showcase at Scrapgal

For the month of September's product showcase, the design team was given a manilla tag and...

this pretty trim from Prima. I am really loving mist right now and decided to use the trim as a mask for my tag.
You may remember the Mini-apple album I did on this post. Whenever I create a mini, I usually do at least one layout for the family album to go with it. I used most of the same product that I used in the album so that made it super easy to come together :)
If you would like to see how the rest of the design team used their tag and trim, you will be able to find their projects in the "Product Showcase" board here. They should all be going up today and tomorrow!

Amazing!

The kids and I went with some good friends to see the flag memorial in Forest Park last night. Right on Art Hill in front of the Art Museum.

Evan was pretty much in awe. Over 3000 flags each with the name of one person who lost their life on 9/11. I guess if they count all the lives lost as a result of this tragedy, the number is much higher. But this was a reminder of that particular day.

I found myself crying as I looked at many of the poles, reading the names and info of a person that I have never met. And it made an impression on me. I think it did to Evan as well. Erin not so much. She is only four. But she was definitely more observant and in tune to it than I thought. As we were leaving she expressed the thought that it was a graveyard. Which I reassured her it wasn't. Just a way to remember and honor those who were gone.

The art museum also had a large flag on the front.

I thought it was an amazing, and touching tribute. I'm not sure how long it will be there, but I'm glad we went.

I Won't Forget

This photo was taken of me on our way back from the Statue of Liberty in 1988. I was on a school trip to New York City. It was a great trip! We saw Broadway shows, and shopped and did all the typical sight seeing. And it was even better to be there with friends :) Little did I know how this photo would affect me when I found it a few years ago. It has an entirely different meaning.

I'm glad I have these photos though. And I keep telling myself I will scrapbook about 9/11 one day. If I do, I'm sure I will use these photos. But not yet.
My prayers and thoughts are with all those who lost family on that day ten years ago.

On the Go!

I created this layout for fun using two separate challenges I found on-line. I have just discovered Shimelle Lane's blog and let's just say it is full of inspiration and great challenges! And I loved her "Starting Point" challenge here.
I actually heard about it on another blog and decided to give it a try.
Then Amy Tan had the weekly challenge on the Studio Calico blog this week. "Use something on a page that you normally wouldn't use." I used pieces of a map from the Botanical Gardens since I interpreted that challenge as non-scrapbook product! The may is actually an integral part of the story to this layout because Evan had used one like it to give us a "tour" of the gardens.
This past May we had gone to the Gardens with my husband's cousin Amy who was in town visiting. It was our first time meeting her and the kids just loved her. So I wanted to create a layout not so much about the actual gardens because I have several of those. But about the experience of meeting Amy and Evan being the perfect tour guide. Marking her map with the highlights of the tour and everything :)
Two fun challenges this week. And I can't wait to add Shimelle's blog link to my blog roll!

This Little Girl...

was scheduled for a minor out patient surgery on her foot today. For a splinter that she got back in February!
It was the oddest thing. She got it on the top of her right foot. Such an unusual place for a splinter. Took her to the doctor because it looked awful and he tried to remove it.
Couldn't get it all out and sent us to the E.R. After exams by several doctors??? and an x-ray, they deemed it to small to remove it. Generally that is a good diagnosis. Just let it dissolve on it's own. It really was tiny what was left.
But a few months went by and it wasn't going away. In fact a bump started forming on her foot where the splinter was tucked away.
So another trip to the doctor for a dose of antibiotics and more foot soaks.
In July, the doctor finally said it had to come out.
So we have been trying since July to get a surgery scheduled. And her foot actually looks much better, but she was supposed to go in today. And then she got a cold two days ago.
Surgery cancelled!
I can't say I'm to upset. A little relieved actually because I am going to have another surgeon there look at it, since the one that was supposed to do the surgery is gone for a month now.
And if it's still deemed necessary to have it removed, then we will.
But I'm hoping that maybe it's not necessary now.
I guess we'll find out next week.
And Erin is happy now to say the least :)
But what a roller coaster ride it has been the past few days here emotionally!

If you have ever had a child need surgery, some reassuring words of wisdom would be great! :)

My New Phone :)

I have a new post up on the Scrapgal blog. A tutorial using mists with acrylic stamps. And since the actual tutorial is already on that blog, I won't share it here. But I do want to share my layout on my own blog.

Yes, a layout about my phone! This one is going in my All About Me album, with all those random layouts I am doing and have nowhere else to put them :)
I do love my phone. I denied that I wanted a "fancy" phone for a long time. But then Mike bought me one for Valentine's Day and there was no looking back. I can't believe I was ok with my little, junky phone from Target. Let's just say though it suited me because I have lost one or two phones in my time, and didn't think I deserved a new phone :)
But this one is just fun!
And I think it will be fun for Evan and Erin, and any grand kids to look back some day and see the technology. I can just hear them saying "Look at this old phone she used!" ;)

Have you scrapped any recent technology?

*Scrapgal September Projects*

It's September!! And I created four projects in all so far for www.scrapgal.com this month using product from Maya Road, Imaginisce, Jillibean Soup, American Crafts, October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket.
My first project was this little apple mini-album which I used to finally scrap some photos from an apple picking expedition with my son! I always like to take turns scrapping the older photos along with the new. And this mini gave me the chance!

I covered it in this  paper by Imaginisce. Adding a cute little apple tin pin and letter stickers by October Afternoon. A journal spot from Jillibean Soup is under the word picking.

This is the front of the album...

and this is the back. The apple paper is also by Imaginisce! I hand cut the apples out in places to use as embellishments as well throughout. Same with the trees you will see. Those were on the reverse side of the paper I used to cover the album.

The lined paper is from Basic Grey. And I did ink every stem and leaf using some of my own ink pads from my stash.

Journal spot is Jillibean soup from this sheet of stickers. Lots of fun stickers on that sheet, including a mini-alpha which is on the next page of my album spelling uh-oh :)

I love this photo because it is one of the clearest memories I have from the trip. Evan looking down at a squished rotten apple on the ground and saying "uh-oh" :)

And you can't go apple picking without eating a few apples right from the tree!

Letter stickers are Jillibean soup as are the two little hearts on the photo of Evan and I together. What a trip down memory lane this was. I mean these photos are from when he was two! And he just turned nine this year. So I say it's never to late to go back and scrap those older photos!!!

For the month of September, I have the journal challenge.
And I am challenging you to use this prompt for a scrapbook project - "If Only..."
For my layout, I used an older photo I took of Evan's room one day when it was clean. I mean really clean. We don't see it looking like this to often. In fact I like to describe his room as "creative chaos" :)
So if you would like to play along, or see some of the other challenges by Design team members, they are under the Monthly Contests section on the Scrapgal boards.
You have until September 30th, when one participant will be chosen randomly to win a prize from Scrapgal.
Happy September!