Heart and soul

It’s strange sometimes how you can be influenced and inspired by a person you’ve never met. For me, that person is Rebecca Sower. I have adored her work since I laid eyes on it in the Creating Keepsakes 2000 Hall of Fame Idea Book. I remember being fascinated with her paper piecing patterns and so thrilled when I was able to purchase her Bumper Crops pattern book (which I still have to this day).

Sometimes when I am scrapping, I become overwhelmed. There have been times when I have rushed through layouts just to finish them and get them done and over with. This is just plain wrong. Why should I ever feel that scrapping is a chore? This is the hobby I enjoy, the hobby I love, the one that relaxes me and takes my mind off life’s little worries. This is not something I should be loathing and hurrying through. When I find this happening, I quickly become discouraged...bitter almost...at the whole scrapbooking world.

And then, like a beacon of light, I look up and see on my shelves, Rebecca’s two idea books and some of her art that I purchased from her Etsy shop. I grab the books and scan the pages, soaking up all that I can. I go through these books as much today as I did when I purchased them years ago. They are just pure eye candy and pure relaxation to me. I feel that she allows me to be non traditional, gives me permission not to have to match everything, allows me to let go and just enjoy the process for what it is. She encourages me to go ahead and tell a story (my favorite part of scrapping) and not just state the obvious about the pictures. And just like that, I am renewed.

The thing that I love the most about Rebecca’s work is that you can literally see her heart and soul through her art and that’s so inspiring to me. I’m sure if I can see it, others can see it to. Isn’t this something worth striving for? I don’t want albums full of pretty pages if there’s no substance to them, I want albums full of pages that show me, shining brightly through them. Now don’t misunderstand me, Rebecca’s pages are as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as any. She has uncomparable talent, and an enviable style that’s not easily duplicated, but she also has that whole soul thing going on and I simply adore it!

So Miss Rebecca, you will most likely never see this post on my blog (and maybe that’s a good thing, I don’t want to frighten you!) but I wanted to sing your praises today for you have blessed me and inspired me with your talent and I am most grateful!

Slow it down

I'm struggling with something here...dd actually. She is growing up way too fast. I'm not sure I can handle it. I'm not even sure I'm ready for it. I realized yesterday that she is at the halfway mark now. You know, halfway to 18 years old, when she'll be considered an adult and most likely go away to college. Ugh! Someone needs to slow this roller coaster ride down. I am so not ready for any of this!!

Tagged!

I was tagged by Gina, one of the girls from We B Scrappin', who hopefully I will meet in person one of these days.

Here are the rules:
1-post these rules
2-each person tagged must post 8 random(... hopefully interesting) facts about themselves
3-those tagged should write a blog post of these facts
4-at the end of the post, 8 more bloggers are tagged and named
5-go to their blog and leave a comment telling them they're tagged

Here goes:

1. I only gained 6 pounds when I was pregant for dd, 7 pounds with ds. (This fact always amazes people especially those who gained a ton)
2. I have met a few Food Network celebrity chefs--Sara Moulton, Giada DeLaurentiis & Paula Deen.
3. I had my first cavity when I was 24 years old.
4. My exteneded family comes over every Friday night & we all order take out together.
5. I just finished baking Cinnamon Sugar Butter cookies & the house smells wonderful!
6. One of my biggest achievements was when I lost 44 pounds a few years ago.
7. I love all things Harry Potter.
8. Journaling is one of my favorites parts of scrapbooking.

So, I'm not sure of who to tag....maybe I'll just leave it alone...I think all of my girls have been tagged 100 times by now!

The We B girls

Yesterday, I got to meet some of the girls from We B Scrappin...my not so local local scrapbook store. We went for pedicures at Miracle Nails and then to lunch at Panera. What a fun time we had! Of course, I made the mistake of taking pics with my film camera, instead of my digi, so I have none to post here yet. Holly put the whole thing together and what a sweet thing she is! She came bearing gifts--Heidi Swapp lip gloss and her own fabulous handmade buttons. She's a big believer in the "goodie bag" and who doesn't love that? I got to meet Nic, Marty, Jen and of course Holly. I'm so glad that I went ahead and did something against my shy nature and met up with these girls. I hope we can get together again soon!

A summer favorite

Janie's blog challenge for today at SSS was to post a favorite summer photo and journal about it. Easy enough, I thought to myself. However, once I realized just how many summer photos I have that I would consider favorites, suddenly that "easy enough" was no longer...well...easy enough. So, I decided to post this one from back in August 2003. I love this photo of dd & ds. It may not be the most PC (photographically correct) photo out there, but I do love it just the same. Dd was 5 years old at the time, ds was not quite 2. Seeing her spray him with the hose while he's fully clothed just epitomizes the fun & innocence of summer! There were (and still are) so many good times had in our backyard--you know, simple, seemingly insignificant times, ones that I hope to remember even when I'm a ripe old age.
I just have to say: funny how I can be so sentimental about a photo 4 years later, when at the time, I'm sure I wanted to scream because she soaked him & now I had to take him back into the house to change his clothes. It really is funny how time turns everything around and makes the unpleasantness of a moment vanish and only the fondness remain.

Have a good week...we are leaving for vacation to Maine tomorrow. Yahoo!

A firm grip

I guess it's no secret that I love Harry Potter. Dd started this whole "mania" thing with Harry. The mania then spread to ds and then came for me with a force to be reckoned with. It was no surprise really, I can get carried away easily.

I was not prepared, however, for this thing to spread to my 51 year old sister. I guess the virus runs strong in our family. My sister came to see the movie at midnight with dd & I. She started reading the books & watching the earlier movies on DVD. As we sat in the dining room Tuesday night, sipping tea, I heard words float through the air of which I could not believe ...my sister actually said, "I wish I was a wizard." I nearly died! Now I'm not sure if my shock was because I couldn't believe my sister actually said that. I mean she's 51 years old, she's always been the serious, older, wiser one. This statement was completely out of character for her. Maybe I was shocked because I had wished I was a wizard myself but never even dreamed of actually saying that fact out loud. Although I did add , "Me too" after my sister declared her thought aloud for all of us to hear. I mean why not? I may as well ride in on my sister's robes...er...coat tails. Her revelation shocked & amused me, but I guess the most amusing thing was the look on my other sister's face as the words rang into her ears. She shot my sister a look of which I could not help but laugh...it was undescribable really... stunned, puzzled, confused...you name it. I could just hear the "oh-my-God-they've-gone-too-far-and-lost-their-minds" thought that was swirling around in her head. Obviously, my other sister must have a real strong immune system, the virus has not yet taken her. I did notice my 73 year old mother sitting there smiling, saying nothing about any of this. She did borrow Book 1 from dd a few days prior....perhaps the virus is just beginning to fester in her. Anyway, I'm not sure how reasonable, grow adults are going to shake this thing, but it should be fun!

I found this on Youtube the other day & have to share:

Oh my! Harry Potter has grown up!

Cool Buttons

I just wanted to share the most fabulous buttons ever! These were just sent to me by Holly Terra, a friend from my not so local lss. (Well, I'm calling her a friend even though I haven't met her, yet!) Tell me these aren't the coolest buttons you've ever seen! She blings them up all by hand and was so absolutely generous to send me a complimentary set. I can't wait to use them on a LO. She makes all styles, all colors. Should you feel the incredible urge to own some of these babies, you can find them in her etsy shop at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5202608

She is the sweetest girl and believe me, a big deal too. :)

Time for me to start scrappin'!