How Did I Get Here?

Have You Noticed?

I've haven't made a scrapbook page in a long time. Like months. I honestly can't tell you the last time I did... the end of September maybe? And you know what? It's been nice.

I stepped away from the dares, I bid adieu to my Mandarin Pixie gig for the time being... and I've pretty much rediscovered myself. Which sounds pretty lame when I write it down, but it's what I've done. I was telling my sister the other night, it's been so nice to step away from the computer and not be all wrapped up in the online scrapping world.

I've actually seriously considered stopping blogging... but I decided against it because this is one place where my family and friends know they can come and catch up on our lives... so if you haven't noticed, this is less of a scrappy blog anymore... and more of a Connor stories and things that amuse me blog.... and I'm good with that.

On the scrapping front, I'm sure I'll get back to it. I'm still taking pictures and planning pages... I'm just really enjoying not being told I have to make something by a certain date, or given a topic that I have to adhere to. I work on a deadline everyday. All day. And I think I started resenting scrapping when those deadlines invaded my hobby, too.

Because that's what scrapping is to me. A HOBBY. I enjoy it. But I don't enjoy the competitive nature of getting published or trying to stay interesting for others. I got published in a book, and I saw several pages make it into a few magazines.. and now, I think I'm finished with that.

That's not to say I don't enjoy seeing other people's work... or celebrating the triumphs and accomplishments of my scrapping friends. I say "more power to you!".

So what have I been doing instead of scrapping? hmmm. Reading. A LOT. Watching good TV. Enjoying the season with my boys. Working. A LOT. Getting ready for Christmas. Enjoying my Buckeyes championship run. That's about it.

And now, I have Heroes to watch... so goodnight!

New TV and a Few Loose Ends

First off...
THANK YOU to everyone who has posted here or sent me emails saying you saw my page in November's Creating Keepsakes... what's funny is, I was actually approached by Ali Edwards to make that page specifically for that article... never thought my first big pub would come that way! And now... I don't care if I have another one. It was just cool to see it happen once.

Ok... I was going to post something else here... oh yes! My birthday. Nosy nellies want to know when my birthday is... October 8. 33. EEEEEEK. We'll be in Vegas, then traveling home that night - WHAT FUN!

Ok... so I've had a few requests to see what I'm liking for new fall tv.
Let me give you just a few hits and misses... since not all shows have premiered yet... and I won't have a clear picture of what's at the top of my TiVo season pass list for another week or so.

The Hits
(I'm going by night here)

Monday:
Heroes(9pm/NBC)- This is right up my alley. I'll always be a Buffy girl... and this show hits on that... extraordinary things happening to ordinary people (thanks tv gal!).. and a lot of backstory... I love backstory.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip(10pm/NBC)- A show about tv. Behind the scenes tv. Hello?? Can you say "written for me"???  Someone asked me who is "me" on this show... that's tough. I'm a cross between Danny(Bradley Whitford) - the producer - and Matt(Matthew Perry) - the writer... HOWEVER... I sit in the booth during the show like Cal(Timothy Busfield) and make sure we're on time, etc. Clear as mud, right?

Tuesday:
Gilmore Girls (8pm/CW)- I love this show, but Lorelei is pissing me off. WHY WHY WHY did she sleep with Christopher?

Veronica Mars (9pm/CW)- ok. season premiere. Tuesday night. October 3rd. WATCH IT.

Wednesday:
Lost (9pm/ABC)- Another one I'm ready to premiere already!!

Thursday:
Ugly Betty(8pm/ABC)- One show and I am hooked.

Grey's Anatomy(9pm/ABC)- Yes. I will be PARKED in front of the TV Thursday nights.

Sunday:
Desperate Housewives(9pm/ABC)- 3rd season is WAAAAAAY better than the 2nd. Already.

Borthers & Sisters (10pm/ABC)- ok... not sure this one is a hit yet... but I'm watching... FOR NOW. If they don't step it up soon though, my Sunday night bedtime will be 10pm.

Ok... gotta go watch me some tv now!
Night!

Nuh-Uh & Godspeed

Are you seeing what I'm seeing? I know it's small potatoes in the grand scrapping world, but it's got me tickled. Today, I made Creating Keepsakes Page of the Day! Now how cool is that? For my non-scrapping friends and family, every day the web hostess at creating keepsakes online, Erin Lincoln, goes through hundreds of pages in their online gallery and picks a page of the day... today it was me :)  She actually said my handwriting should be a font... I've heard that a few times now... and I may actually do something about it ;)

Godspeed

I did this page of my little man tonight... typed out the lyrics to the Dixie Chick's song "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)"... this song will make me tear up EVERY SINGLE TIME I hear it. Oh boy.

So I took a pic of Connor, on his very first night in his big boy bed and put them together :)

The scan is a bit dark here... thanks to my friends, the buttons :)

Supplies:
Font: Pharmacy
Photoshop 'Labels': Vintage Labels from 2peas
Buttons: Foof-a-la
Ribbon/Ric Rac: Basic Grey and Ki Memories
Patterned Paper: Chatterbox

I had a very ambitious plan to thread each button with ribbon.. but I actually wanted to go to bed tonight ;)

And before I leave you...
How about some song lyrics to make you tear up? Or is that just me?

Godspeed

Dragon tales and the water is wide
Pirate’s sail and lost boys fly
Fish bite moonbeams every night
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

The rocket racer’s all tuckered out
Superman’s in pajamas on the couch
Goodnight moon, we’ll find the mouse
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

God bless mommy and match box cars
God bless dad and thanks for the stars
God hears amen, wherever you are
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Godspeed
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

Inspired

I've been feeling so inspired the past couple of days... I don't know if it's the time off from work... the new garden blooming at 2 Peas... or the fact that I've got all my scrap schtuff organized... maybe it's a combination of all 3.

Since I've been off work.. I've read magazines, scrapped, had my hair done, visited with my sister and her little sweet peas, watched No Doubt - Live in the Tragic Kingdom twice, organized my scrap space, spent some GOOD quality time with Jon and Connor... just basically replenished my emotional stores- if you will.

Jon came home from a weekend golf trip last night, and we had a wonderful evening... ate pizza on the floor, watched No Doubt, layed on the couch watching movies... it was WONDERFUL. While we were watching the concert, Connor decided he needed his guitar, too:

He was totally head banging, and jumping around with his little guitar. Cracking me and Jon up.

The new garden bloomed Friday night, and WOW. Usually, I take a look and don't really go back. NOT THIS MONTH. The theme is digital... and the garden girls totally brought their *A* game. Completely inspiring. I've been going through each layout, one by one, reading the photoshop instructions and figuring out how to do some pretty cool stuff. It inspired me to make the new banner you see above... I downloaded a bunch of the new kits... including Juicy... I used most of that one on the new banner. I know it's nothing fantastic... but I'm just a digi dabbler ;)

We had some serious storms here this afternoon... tornado warnings... all kinds of crazy stuff. Seriously. My station did about 2.5 hours of STRAIGHT weather... is it bad that I'm kind of relieved I wasn't there? Does that make me a bad journalist? Or just tired? ;)

OK... I'm off to work on some pics for layouts... since I'm feeling the inspiration. Maybe tomorrow I can take pics of my scrappy space all organizational-like ;)

Have a happy 4th!!

A Little Epiphany

I had a little epiphany last night.

Let me start, at the beginning.
I was watching my TiVoed OC (slut spiral, anyone? funniest OC line of the night).
But I digress.
My screensaver on my laptop is my scrapbook pages.
As I was sitting and watching one of my favorite shows, I was also glancing at the images flashing before me on the laptop... and something happened... they made me smile.

They made me smile because they were little pieces of art that I made... and I made them around the people I love- my family. I made them FOR my family. So my Mom can see her grandkids and revel in their cuteness.... so my Husband can see our son and remember what a blessing he is... so my sisters can see how much I love their children and love being their aunt.

Lately, I have been down on myself and my scrapbooking. I submitted a little, and didn't really get anything picked up by any magazines, I entered Hall of Fame, and didn't get an honorable mention. My layouts on two peas don't garner a ton of praise. Usually I'm quite upbeat, but I started wondering why I was doing this... am I scrapbooking to get recognized by someone? The answer to that, I realized last night, is NO.

I have a job. A fulfilling, hectic, crazy job... actually, it's a CAREER. A career where I am recognized...where I'm given accolades and admired. I'm a teacher. A leader. A silly, yet  respectable journalist. A job where I'm not necessarily saving lives, but hopefully, I am enriching them in some way. Yes. I have to tell people about bad people and the things they do... but I hope my viewers are sticking around for the good things in my show too. The feel good stories. The stories that will help them lead a happier, healthier life.

So NO. I have a job. Scrapbooking is NOT it. Scrapbooking is my hobby. It is a way for me to remember the good and bad things in my life... and help those that come after me, understand what my life and the people I loved were like. The end.

I'll still submit, like I do now, randomly and when the mood strikes. But I'm not making this into a job. It's my creative outlet. My family, friends and my job, come first.

I Didn't Win HOF!!

Let's embrace that statement... shall we?
OK, how about this: I didn't win Hall of Fame... and that's OK. From the start, I didn't have high hopes, mostly because I always think a wee bit less of myself than others (I'm trying to fix this part, I swear!!) and the other part was... I don't even know if my entry made it. The stupid postal service website STILL has my entry listed as "ready for delivery". Not "delivered"... "READY for delivery."

So from early on.. I embraced the "losing" angle of this whole thing. Honestly, just entering was cool. I've never witnessed the 2peas pub so hyped. It was kind of cool. I know I promised myself I would stay away, but wow... the energy is infectious. So I watched and waited with the rest of them.

It was just so cool to see some great people on the list of winners. Laura and Nisa being the two that put the BIGGEST smiles on my face. Very very cool.

So without further ado... I'm going to give you a few of my entry pages. I'm going to spread them out just a smidge, only because that would be ONE BIG HUGE post for me. LOL.

{Me}dia

This is my entry for Assignment H: Personal Statement.

Just photos, some american crafts stickers and century gothic font.

I think you can read the journaling...

Beauties Beginning to Bloom

This one is one of  my freebies... you got 4.

My sweet pea nieces Alex and Caitlin...

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Rubons: 7 Gypsies
Rubber Stamps: Purple Onion Designs
Foam Stamps: Heidi Swapp
Ink: Colorbox

I drew the flowers then cut them out and used them as templates.

Game Face

Another freebie here... Connor with his game face on... the day of the Ohio State/Michigan
Game.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paint: Making Memories
Ink: Colorbox
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey, 7 Gypsies, Ki Memories
Chipboard Letters: Heidi Swapp and Making Memories
Rubons: Making Memories

Hero

This one fulfilled my Assignment A: Photography requirement.

Just one of my favorite photos of Connor and Jon.

Supplies:
Ghost Letters: Heidi Swapp
Patterned Paper: Kaleidoscope (My Mind's Eye)
Cardstock: Bazzill

OK! That's it for now :) I'll be posting some more through the week... and we'll end the week on the NEW DARE!! (Formerly Effer Dares)... and we're moving back to weekly dares... so GET READY TO CREATE!!

Oh! And I wanted to say thank you to the people who put me in their HOF predictions... so so so sweet. You really touched my heart.

I Will Try...

To not to go anywhere near The Pub for the next week or so.  For those of you who don't frequent 2 Peas, THIS IS NOT A BAR, it's the place where the obsessed scrappers, like myself, go to chat about getting published in the big world of scrapbooking. I don't normally post, I'm just a lurker.

Now, with all the Hall of Fame hype going on... the place has become almost unbearable. People are getting nervous, waiting to see who won a spot in the top 25.  The tension is INSANE.

Today, there were a ton of "secret toots" going on. Posts by people who had something to be proud of, but couldn't share yet... it was making me a little batty, trying to figure it out.

I emailed Gabby and asked her what she thought.. and she said she heard that Simple Scrapbooks has a "no toot" policy now... and this is just a snippet of my email to her:

A NO TOOT POLICY???

WHA?!?!?!?!

Ok, that's just funny.

and if everyone is "secretly" tooting and everyone knows SS has a "no toot" policy... then wouldn't one LOGICALLY ASSUME that the secret toot is for SS?

Oh boy. My head hurts now.

No... it wasn't a Simple Scrapbooks toot... it was a design team toot... but still, that made me giggle just a bit.

And here's a fun little aside for you. I entered The Hall of Fame contest. But I have no clue if my entry made it in time. Darned postal service tracking SUCKS. I can tell you I mailed it in plenty of time for it to get there, but I really have no confirmation that it came in under the deadline.

I am not concerned. At first, I have to admit, I was so sad. But now, I've come to terms with it. I don't even think I have a shot at winning... that's really not what it was about for me. It was a challenge to enter. A great experience. Maybe I will try again in 2007... maybe not. Who knows what can happen in a year? I can tell you I made 10 pages I am very proud of. 10 pages I'll probably get to share with you very soon.

Updates

Look at that! Connor, sleeping in his big boy bed :) Totally makes my heart melt.

He did so well last night. Totally went to bed, read his book, didn't get up... even in the morning, he woke up, and called for me... "mommy!! way-ah-ooh!??"  Love that kid.

I totally snuck in last night before I went to bed, and snapped a few pics... I had to! Can't let the first night in the big boy bed go by without a few pictures.

He's laying in bed right now, singing to himself.

Footballers Wive$

Ok. I watched it. WOW. Quite risque. Let's just say there was almost a threesome and I saw way more nudity than I would on american television. That being said, I'm going to give it two more episodes. And if I don't get hooked.... I'm out.

New Obsession

Like I need ANYTHING else to be obsessed with. But now, I am hooked on sudoku puzzles. I blame it on my Vegas roomies. All three of them had sudoku books. So I bought one before the plane ride home... and I jammed on my ipod and did puzzles ALL THE WAY HOME. Geez. Now I do one a night. Right before I go to bed. NERD ALERT.

iPods

Speaking of the almighty iPod... I'd like to give a shout out to my sister, Tina. She just bought her husband, Dave, an iPod for his birthday... and SHE LOVES IT. I'm telling you... the iPod will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Trust me. And a happy early birthday, Dave!

Annoyances

Why, oh why, do people feel the need to kiss up? Sometimes, I feel like I'm in a three ring circus, watching people I work with try and one up each other and impress the boss. Can't you just be good at your job and let that speak for itself? Just one of my annoyances. Brown nosing.

Scrapping and Outlook

So I got a new laptop... and it's keeping me much more organized. I now have a calendar set up in outlook express, devoted entirely to scrapping. It helps me keep track of circle journals, birthday surprises, dares, DT work, etc. Speaking of dares... gotta work on the next one tonight.... did you guys see we added the AMAZING GEN to our ranks? This will be her first dare... so give her a good welcome!!

OK... gotta get to work. TTFN!

Go Tracy!!

**ETA**
I have to give a shout out to my sister, Tracy :)
I gave her knitting needles and some Stitch and Bitch Books for Christmas, and she just finished her first scarf!! WOO HOO Tracy!! Now start working on a cutie hat for me :)

WOW

WOW WOW WOW. I just saw tonight, that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be released on DVD March 7th. WOW! I am so getting that the SECOND it hits store shelves ;) DOUBLE NERD ALERT!

The Post-Vegas Post

So I guess I was a little quiet about the whole vegas thing, because tonight, as I was packing up a couple of pages for publication, Jon was asking what I was doing, and where my layouts were going... and I realized, I've been quite silent about some things.

I'm being published, in a book tentatively titled:  'Imperfect Lives: Scrapping the Triumphs & Challenges of Our Every Days'

It's the first time I'll be published. To some scrappers, that's pretty ho-hum, but to me, it's pretty cool.

So that was the whole reason I went to Vegas, the wonderful women putting the book together, were kind enough to offer me a pass to CHA. So I took the chance to go to Las Vegas, meet some great friends I made through this amazing hobby, and get to see the inner workings of the scrapbooking world.

It was very REVEALING. Wow. Some things were amazing. Some things were disappointing. But I wouldn't change the trip- not one bit.

So let me stop my rambling... and bring you a couple of pictures from the trip.

I didn't get my camera out too much (I  KNOW - SHOCK!) but it was only because there was many a camera around.

Erin has already sent me a cd of all the pics on her camera... and Gabby, April and I will do the same... soon. I know most of you will see their pics on their blogs... So here are some of the shots caught on my digi rebel:

Miss Erin and April Pfab-uless :)

Miss dance-a-jig-to-see-you-smile Gabby

Dinner at the Lux Cafe (Mom, you were right- GREAT choice)

Erin.. standing next to her amazing work for Provo Craft.

There are more pictures... but I am more sleepy.

Highlights:

I am so thankful I got to room with three wonderful women. Three girls... girls who get each other... relaxed girls... true friends. I am happy to know each and every one of them much better. Gabby, April, Erin- you all three know how I feel :)

Meeting so many of my blogging buddies. It was so funny to hug someone on first sight. But I feel like I know so many of you... that a "hello, how do you do?" would just be odd.

VERY STRANGE meeting people and saying "Hi! I'm Missy"... and getting... "Oh I know who you are" or "you cut your hair!" ... boy, you guys really do read this blog, don't you? But it was still fun.

Erin's "Rare tuna" salad. Go Ahead. Ask Her. I DARE YOU.

Erin's new bag for her CHA loot. Again. Go Ask Her. I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU.

April and Gabby's: "WHY AM I TALKING SO LOUD!!?? DO YOU HEAR ME!!???"

Big ass green cricut roller bags from those blessed peeps at provo craft... which were so conspicuous... but saved my back.

BASIC GREY. Oh my. I am a basic grey girl. But now. now? I may want to MARRY basic grey patterned paper. and rub ons. and can I just walk in there an BEG to design for them? because THAT would be my dream come true.

Seeing Ali Edwards then feeling too silly to say hi.

April and all of her photo-ops. The girl has an eye for beauty in everything.

There were so many cool things I saw. New Fontwerks stamps. New Technique Tuesday stamps. I am turning into quite the stamp hoarder.

There were some low lights.

Leaving Connor. Oh my. For the last week before I left, every night I kissed him and tucked him into bed and got teary eyed.

When I left Saturday morning, he lost it. Oh boy, was it hard to walk away from Jon's truck. When the plane took off... I started crying. I'm sure the couple next to me thought I was LOOPY.

Missing Jon. Oh he sent me some pretty amusing text messages and camera phone pics... but there's nothing like the real thing.

Missing my family. My sisters and Mom. You guys are my rock. And I've missed you, long before I went on this trip.

That's about it friends! I'm sure there will be more vegas related posts... but that's the big one. Enjoy :)

Here's The Mail...

...it never fails... it makes me wanna wag my tail... when it comes I wanna wail... MAAAAAAIIIIIILLLLL!!

OK.. sorry for the Blue's Clues moment... but look at these goodies!

This stuff came TODAY. Three separate packages... one a gift.. the other two... anxiously anticipated shopping packages.

I ordered the Basic Grey Blitzen Paper a while ago... and I should have known better... as soon as it arrived on my doorstep... I get an email from Cord saying it's in stock. When will I learn to trust my scrap store (when it comes to Basic Grey)? The other stuff, however, I cannot find at my LSS (local scrap store- for you non-peas). I also got some Fontwerks Steelfish Stamps in the mail yesterday- forgot to throw those on the pile.  And April... do you SEE my new primas?? I can't wait to use them! And the David Walker stamps are a birthday present from Miss Jen J.  Thanks Jen!! 

Speaking of birthdays... I want to take a pic of all the fabulous cds I've received so far for my Birthday... it's been a month and they're still rolling in... I love you guys!

Have a great Saturday! I think I'm going to play with my goodies ;)