.

Bye-Bye, Blogger!

2006-12-19T19:46:00.000-06:00

I have a NEW blog! Click it & bookmark it! ;)

http://sweetgenevieve.mommyish.net

Grrr....Blogger!

2006-12-19T09:54:00.000-06:00

Okay, Blogger is NOT my friend today. I stupidly decided to change my template over to their new WYSIWYG-edited templates, and now I can't figure out how to get my blog banner and blinkies back up! Rot rot rot! Hopefully, my wonderful web-designer friend, Leah, will be able to help me out a little later.

Anyways, once again, I am posting when I have fifty-million other things I should be doing. We're leaving tomorrow for Michigan, so I have tons of packing to do. I have TWO newsletters that need to go out for my job. And I'm trying desperately to finish a new kit before I leave, so I'll have something to post while I'm gone. *phew*

Okay....that totally makes me stressed, so I'm going back to work now.

My Baby is One Year Old!

2006-12-13T09:31:00.000-06:00

Today is Mia's first birthday. I just can't believe it. The year seems to have flown by. I can remember last December like it was yesterday--just coming home from the hospital with our tiny new baby, mom and Maria staying with us for almost a month to help take care of her while Bobby and I adjusted to our new role as parents. How did she go from tiny sleeping baby to VERY BUSY, opinionated 1-year-old? Someone told us once that having kids is like someone hitting the fast forward button on your life, and I would have to say that that is a very accurate description!

Anyways, I had plans to have a little party for Mia tonight after church, with a little cake for her to get into and everything, but those plans might all come to naught because both Mia and I are sick. Mia's been coughing for over a week, and started to get a really runny nose this past weekend, and she's just been miserable for the past couple days. I have had a bit of a scratchy throat since Sunday and was hoping it was nothing, but I was all congested and coughing last night, and feel pretty rotten this morning. Ugh. It's this stupid weather! Last week it was in the low 50s all week, and this week it's in the mid 70s! Up and down. Up and down. It's enough to make anyone sick. *sigh*

But all you digiscrappers out there can still celebrate with us, because I'm having a one-day happy-birthday-to-Mia sale today, and my being sick doesn't interfere with that at least!
Today only, pretty much everything in my shops at DigiScrapDivas and Oscraps is marked a $1 off (commercial use items, and items $2 or less not included--the latter due to PayPal fees for small purchases). So, there's some enabling for you, if you feel like shopping today! ;)

And here's me...eating my words!

2006-12-11T22:16:00.000-06:00

Here is a post I wrote last February, on an old blog (that I no longer use). I can't remember what it was like to feel this way. But I bet a lot of people will get a huge kick out of reading this, considering how digital I am now...

"Digital Scrapping and Me"
Thursday, 16 February 2006
"I have a confession to make. I'll whisper it so I don't upset too many people: ::whisper:: I don't like digital scrapbooking. Shh! Don't tell anyone! I know how popular it's getting! I guess I should add a disclaimer before I go any further. So, disclaimer: I have seen many beautiful digital layouts, and I think it's amazing what people can do with a photo shop program these days!

"Here comes the but: BUT...For me personally, it just doesn't appeal. I guess it's hard for me to be creative at a computer beyond fixing/tweaking a photograph or typing out my journaling in some cool font. For me scrapbooking is as much about the tactile process as it is about preserving my memories. I love to get up to my elbows in scrap paper, stickers, glue, paint and everything else. If I don't come out of my scrap room covered in glitter, with sticky fingers and paper trimmings in my hair, then I didn't get anything done! :)

"Guess that's the amazing thing about scrapbooking. There are so many facets of scrapbooking that it appeals to different people for different reasons. I'm sure that the process of physically arranging a layout, and then having to tack it down once you finally get it how you like it, is probably grueling to some people (hey, sometimes it's even grueling to me). Digital scrapbooking would eliminate that step. You don't like the photo in that corner, just drag and drop it in another corner. And I bet with digital scrapbooking you get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time. Sometimes it takes me days to complete a layout. So, I definitely see the pros. And I love looking at the layouts of the many talented digital scrappers on this site.
But for me, I'm going to stick with my cardstock, paper trimmer and adhesives. At least for now. I mean, hey, a year ago I swore undying love to my 35mm filmCanon Elan 7e, and now I can't wait until we can afford a digital Rebel(or better yet, Elan)! I still do love my film camera, but... Oh, enough already! You get my meaning! :)"

Mia WALKED!

2006-12-10T20:38:00.000-06:00

Mia has been crusing along furnature for months now, but until recently has never showed any inclination to actually walk on her own. A couple weeks ago she started taking a step inbetween pieces of furnature to get from one to the other, but was still kind of unaware of what she was doing. Tonight, Bobby and I were playing with her, and she took a couple steps in a row to get to a chair. We freaked out and clapped and praised her, and then decided to see if we could get her to do it some more. So we sat on the floor a couple feet away from each other and Bobby stood her up facing me and I held out my hands, and she WALKED to me! She went back and forth between us a few times before she started getting tired and resorted to crawling again. So three days before her first birthday, our little girl took real steps for the first time!

Holiday Decorating

2006-12-08T18:26:00.000-06:00

Well, we pretty much came to the conclusion last night that our holiday decorating is just not going to get done this year. No pretty wreath on the door. No lights around the window. And no Christmas tree. It's sad, but it's just going to be impossible to do this year. The first chance Bobby would have to go to storage and dig everything out would be next Friday, and it would be silly to put it up then because we're leaving for Michigan 5 days later. So, the first Christmas decorations I will get to enjoy this year will be in Michigan. And there had better be snow to go along with them!

Anyways, since I can't decorate our apartment this year, I decided I'd at least decorate my blog for Christmas. What do you think of the new header? The papers and bows are from the Christmas collaboration Leah Riordan and I did called Swanky Christmas (follow the link to find it at Oscraps), and the garland is from the Holiday Garland pack I made, and the alpha in "Merry" is from my Midnight Clear kit. Yay! :)

And speaking of my designs, I put out TWO new kits today, and I think they are very cute. They are called Coffeehouse and Tea and you can find both individuall or as a set(which is discounted) at Oscraps and DigiScrapDivas!

Same ol' busy blah.

2006-12-07T08:30:00.000-06:00

Well, we've been home from NM for over a week and I haven't had time to update! The flight home was not fun. We flew in the evening this time, and we thought for sure Mia would sleep again on both flights, but she didn't. She was exhausted, but refused to sleep. Instead she fussed and wiggled and whined the whole time. We got in at 11pm, caught the shuttle to the lot where our car was parked, and they couldn't find our car. When they did find it, the battery was dead. After they jumped it, we drove to our hotel--the hotel couldn't find our reservations. Because my mother-in-law made the reservations at the wrong Holiday Inn. We got in the car and drove 20 minutes to the right Holiday Inn. By this time, Mia's diaper had leaked and she was soaking wet. So I give her a bath, take a shower myself, and we crawl into bed around 1am. It was a loooong day.

And it's been go go go ever since, of course. Bobby is going insane between work & end-of-semester stuff for his classes. And Mia's been teething and about as cranky as she's ever been lately, so I've been opperating on less sleep. We finally found out that we will be able to go home to Michigan for Christmas, which we are excited about, but there is an endless stream of things to do, events to go to right up until the day we leave. I guess that's just pretty typical for this time of year. On Saturday I have a bridal shower to go to, and Bobby's broker's Christmas party is the same night. So I'm going to the shower for like five minutes before I have to go home and get ready for the Christmas party (and honestly, I don't know why they decided they needed to have the bridal shower in December--the wedding's not until next summer. But you know, whatever. Stack it on the pile).

I just don't feel very Christmasy at all. We haven't had time to get our tree out of storage yet, and the more time that goes by, the less worth it it is to even put it up, since we'll be in Michigan the last part of December. I need to dig out our Christmas music!

Sorry this wasn't a very cheery post. We are all doing just fine! Just very busy! :)

A Post Before Flying

2006-11-27T20:29:00.000-06:00

So we have a long afternoon/evening of traveling ahead of us tomorrow, and then a morning of driving on Wednesday before we'll actually be home. I get tired just THINKING about it, but it's been a very good visit (long, but good), and I'm thankful it went so well.

I will be happy when we're finally home, though. I am looking forward to a couple weeks of our "normal" routine before we head off to Michigan for Christmas--and, YAY, it looks like this is now a certainty! For a while there we weren't sure we'd be able to go, but Bobby's work schedule is finalized, and we are free and clear for about a week around Christmas. Of course, two of those days will be spent driving (UGH!!!), but we are thankful we'll be able to spend Christmas with our families.

So, I wonder if my Wacom tablet misses me, because I sure miss it! I have big plans for two new kits that I want to get started on right away! Whoo-hoo! Until then, though, here's another LO I did a couple days ago. I believe someone was complaining that I don't do enough "Mommy & Mia" layouts, so here ya go!

Credits: Paper and Elements from Scrap Artist's Simple Pleasures megakit. Font is Coronet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T17:46:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends & family! I hope you're all having a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I hope you know that you are all on my list of things I'm thankful for!

I'm watching the sun set over the New Mexico desert as I write this, waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to be served in about half-an-hour. Today has been a relaxing day. I've spent it alternating between reading and digiscrapping. I haven't had to worry too much about Mia the whole time we've been here, as "Lolli"(Bobby's mom) does pretty much everything with her. Yesterday they went to the zoo, and and I think they're swimming in the hot tub (with the temperature reduced especially for Mia) right now. I'm so glad that my mother- and sister-in-law (and even my step-father-in-law, though he's had to work long hours most of the time we've been here) are enjoying her so much. And of course, Mia loves all the attention--spoiled little girl!

Bobby and I even went out alone together the past two night. Monday night we ate at PF Changs, which we love, and is a special treat since there is nothing remotely close to it where we live (because let's face it, unless it's fried chicken or bar-b-que, it just doesn't exist in the South). And we got some Christmas shopping done at stores that also don't exist where we live (i.e. Old Navy, Macy's, etc.). We enjoy visiting here because there's almost as much here (as far as stores and restaurants and such goes) as there was in San Diego, but we both agree that we probably wouldn't choose to live here.

Tomorrow my mother-in-law has big plans for us. She wants to take Mia on her first "archaeological dig." Translate: we're going to visit some cliff-dwelling native-American ruins. Sounds interesting at the very least.

Anyways, I'm off to dinner now. I'll leave you with a fun layout I did the other day.

Credits: Papers and alpha from "Flop" by Tracy Ann, flowers from Tracy Ann's Flower Power and Random Blooms, paper tear is my own, font is Courier PS.

Safely on Vacation

2006-11-20T17:02:00.000-06:00

Well, we made it safely! It was a LONG trip with A LOT of baby gear, but we're here, all our stuff is here, and so far no one's the worse for wear. Mia actually slept through both flights, including the 3.5 hour one--call me surprised! It was actually pretty funny, because as we boarded both flights, she was her usual, wiggle-wormy, energetic, flirt-with-all-the-people self. But as soon as the plane got airborn she zonked right out. Kind of like how people in the movies just drop off to sleep when they're being hypnotized: "You are getting sleepy. Your eyelids are very heavy. On the count of three you will be asleep. One. Two..." Just like that!

And after spending all morning trying to figure out what was going on with my mother-in-law's wireless internet, we finally got the computer online and I was able to get some work done. Bobby and his mom took Boo out shopping all afternoon--hit some second-hand shops to find a high chair and some toys for her to use while she's here. So I actually had quite the relaxing work day.

And last night, after a fabulous dinner of pork roast, potato pancakes and applesauce (my MIL is a gourmet!), I actually got to scrap a little! It's kind of nice. I can't really do any designing while I'm here, since I don't trust my hubby's laptop to display the right colors, and I don't have my Wacom with me (and I kind of depend on it while I'm designing). So this will allow me to JUST scrap! :)

MIL is having a GREAT time playing with Mia, so that is nice. Maybe this will turn out to be a relaxing trip after all. We could certainly use the rest!

Film vs. Digital - Digital WINS!

2006-11-18T09:51:00.000-06:00

Okay, so when Bobby went on his buisness trip last week, he took our point-and-shoot digital camera with him. Well, you can hardly expect me to just NOT take pictures for five days, so I hauled my 35mm Canon SLR out of the closet and started snapping away. It made me remember how much I love my SLR, even if it IS just a film camera. I thought to myself, "So what if I have to wait days to have my film developed, I love the speed and control of my SLR compared to our p&s. I'm going to start taking film pictures again." I shot a whole roll of b&w photos, SURE I had some money shots on there even if I couldn't preview them like I can with our digital cam, and I trotted down to the local photo lab to have them developed. They said it'd be a week, I said, "No problem, as long as you can put them on a CD for me." They said they could.

Fast forward to a week later--today. I am so excited to go pick up my photos. Upon initial review of the prints, I am pleased to see that, yes, I did indeed have some money shots, even if the lighting was a little imperfect--after all, I have the prints on CD, and I can just whip them into photoshop and fix that with a little contrast adjustment. Well, I get home and open up the CD and find that they scanned the images in at 72 ppi! WHAT GOOD IS THAT? That is NOT a size that can be reprinted, and certainly not scrapped with. Completely USELESS! So, I ended up scanning the actual prints into my computer (despite a schmootzy scanner bed that always scans specs into my pictures, but oh, well). I don't think I will take film pictures anymore after all (my poor Canon Elan 7e, if only you were digital!).

And this experience has renewed my determination to save up for a digital SLR. So a small public service announcement to my family and friends that are wondering what to get me for Christmas and/or my birthday(not that you should feel obligated to get me anything). Unless it's a digital SLR, DON'T GET ME ANYTHING! I don't care HOW good a sale it was (Mom!), I really don't need anything (like more socks or skirts). If you really want to give me something that I will love, contribute to the digital SLR fund and write me a check. Public service announcement over.

So wanna see a money shot?

Yeah, so I'm not a professional photographer. But, hey--the kid's cute! ;)

Why am I posting when I should be packing?

2006-11-16T22:32:00.000-06:00

A short blog post before I head off to bed. Actually, I shouldn't even be posting--I have a million other things I should be doing. But somehow, when I get really overwhemled by the things piling up on my to-do list, I end up coping by not actually doing anything on my to-do list. Make sense? No. But rarely am I an easily explained, rational person.

So, we are getting ready to head out to New Mexico for Thanksgiving. Vacations are supposed to be fun and relaxing, but somehow ever since we had Mia, they've been the exact opposite. I think it's the sheer amount of STUFF we have to take with us because of her: Carseat. Pack 'n Play. Stroller. Toys. DVD player with lots of Baby Einstein DVDs for the flight. The list goes on. And then of course, Bobby has to bring all his books, and his laptop (which admitedly, I need for work), so guess who gets stuck with all the baby stuff. Yeah. This is going to be such an amazingly FUN trip, and I just can't wait! <---sarcasm.

Plus, today I got turned down for a creative team that I applied to. I kind of figured that making it was a long shot, so I wasn't too disappointed when I got the email. Until all the people who DID make the team started posting their "toots" in all the forums. I don't begrudge them their spots--they are all superbly talented scrappers. No, instead I started to feel embarrassed that I even had the nerve to apply in the first place. I bet they looked at my gallery, snorted, and said, "Yeah, RIGHT!" compared to the amazing people that made it. Okay, maybe I'm having just a little bit of a pity party. It's the stress I've been under. The lack of sleep. The sick, cranky baby. The absent husband. *sigh* I feel like crawling in bed, pulling the covers over my head and sleeping until the holidays are over!

Anyways, here is a POSITIVE note for this post: A layout that I am very proud of because not only do I like the layout, but I LOVE the photos, and even more, I LOVE the people IN the photos. :)

A Sick Baby and A New Christmas Kit!

2006-11-10T21:21:00.000-06:00

Mia came down sick last night. Bobby's had a cold since last week, and he must have passed it on to her. She was coughing all day yesterday, which I didn't think anything of at first, because she coughs a lot from teething drainage. But then she started sneezing all the time, and by evening she had a full-on runny nose and congestion that only got worse when I laid her down to sleep. She woke up every couple hours last night, just miserable. So I spent most of the night up with her, watching Baby Einstein--the only thing that would calm her down!

And today I was completely sleep-deprived. How sleep deprived? Okay. At lunch time I went to the store to buy some cold medicine to hopefully help Mia sleep better tonight. I bought the wrong stuff--children's cold medicine instead of infants--duh! Had to return it later and get the right stuff. But that's not even the brain-dead part. After we went shopping, I went through the drive-thru at Wendy's for some lunch. I ordered my food, stopped at the first window and paid for it, and then drove off...without my food! Yes, I'm a huge dork. I got half-way home before I figured out that I'd forgotten the food, and turned around to go back for it. "This is your brain. This is your brain without sleep. Any questions?"

Anyways, I have a new kit and matching quickpage up today! It's called Midnight Clear, and I am so happy with how it turned out! You can get it at DigiScrapDivas and Oscraps for $6.00. :)

Credits: Paper & elements from Midnight Clear by Sweet Genevieve Designs, ornaments made with Christmas Basics: Ornamental Templates by Sweet Genevieve Designs, fonts are Garamond & Porcelain

Here's the quick page album, also available at DigiScrapDivas and Oscraps, for $6.95.

Considering Adoption?

2006-11-07T22:06:00.000-06:00

I'm posting for a second time today because I just added a very special blinkie to my sidebar, just below my layout slider. It's for A Gift of Hope Adoptions, an agency started by my friend Ebie and her dad in the St. Louis, MO area. They are in MO (duh), but can assist in adoptions outside MO as well. Knowing Ebie, I know that clients of A Gift of Hope receive the most personable care and service possible. I am very thankful for people like Ebie, and organizations like hers, because adoption is such an important thing. The process can be long, difficult and emotional, and I think that deters people from considering it. But agencies like Ebie's are striving to provide more personal support for both adoptive parents and birth moms, so that all involved can find the comfort and care they need. If you or someone you know is considering adoption, or if you're pregnant and unsure of your options, visit www.agiftofhopeadoptions.com (or click on the blinkie). I know you will find the best care and service there.

Did You Vote Today?

2006-11-07T08:10:00.000-06:00

An early post this morning! Why? you ask. Because I was up at 6:20 this morning. Yup, on purpose! Bobby has a big business thing today, and he wanted to get to the polls early to vote, so I decided to go with him so I wouldn't have to worry about it later. So I got up, got dressed, got Mia dressed (even put her hair in pigtails!), and we went! I really wanted to take my camera and get pictures of Mia in her stroller next to the voting booth, but with the way they've been cracking down on cell phones, etc. during voting, I figured I probably better not risk it. I wanted to do a layout for her of how important voting is, but I will just have to figure out a way to do it without pictures. Hee hee.

Anyways, as a little pat on the back to myself for getting up so early to perform my civic duty (and privilege), I stopped at Starbucks on the way home to get a chai latte, and--joy of joys!--they even had blueberry scones, my favorite! So, now I'm home again, and just in time, because it's raining now. It rained last night, and it was so humid when we went out this morning that Mia's pigtails actually curled, which I've never seen happen before. You can kind of see it in this picture. The one on the right was the most curly and it's kind of curled backwards, so it's hard to see.

I feel very bouncy and awake now, and I have the whole day ahead of me! Unfortunately, I bet this invigoration will wear off by lunch time and I'll be sleepy the rest of the day. Oh, well. Maybe it will rain all day. I love the rain! :)

Busy Me! Where Have I Been?

2006-11-01T16:10:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I went another week between blog posts! Man, I've been bad at this lately! But we have been busy busy busy, and time does fly!

Last week was missions conference at our church, so we had extra services on Thursday and Friday evening, in addition to our regular Sunday morning/evening and Wednesday evening services. Plus a potluck on Saturday. With Bobby's classes on Monday & Tuesday night, that made for a very full week! But the conference was such a blessing, and a huge challenge to my heart. Watching the presentations from different missionaries who go all across the globe, it made me realize that I get so caught up in the little day-to-day things that I forget my service to the Savior. Right now my biggest area of service is as a wife and mother, but even that is easy to take for granted. Let's face it, changing diapers and doing laundry doesn't seem like much in the context of eternity! But I take for granted the power my prayers for my husband and daughter, and my actions towards them have. And I hope I am also able to be a blessing and a witness to the people that I come into contact with on a daily basis.

So, it's November already. In another month and 12 days, my baby will be one year old! I can't believe it! But we have a doosy of a month to get through first. Bobby has all kinds of conferences to go to over the next couple weeks, and a hiking trip, and then we're going to New Mexico to spend Thanksgiving with his mom for like 10 days at the end of the month! *phew* BUSY! But this is such a fun time of year. Always a lot to look forward to!

And I have lots of holiday fun in the works as far as my digital scrapbook designs go. Today Leah Riordan and I just released a really fun collaboration kit at Oscraps. It's called Swanky Little Christmas, and it's very bright and non-traditional and fun! :) I was going to upload previews, but apparently Blogger doesn't want to do that today, so you'll just have to click on the link and check it out for yourself! Now thru Friday, the kit is only $6.00(regularly $7.99)! I also have a solo Christmas kit in the works, and of course, lots of fun little things, like the ornamental templates I put out on Monday! :) So, I'm still around, still makin' stuff!

My Scare for the Month!

2006-10-23T15:58:00.000-05:00

Wow. Been a while since I posted! I kept meaning to post this weekend, but never got around to it.

Thought I'd share a funny (scary) thing Mia just did a few minutes ago. She scared the living daylights out of both of us! She loves to play with our universal remote, which we try to keep in the center of the coffee table, out of her reach, but she manages to get it sometimes anyways (and reprograms the TV so that it takes us hours to figure out how to fix it). Well, while I was working on the computer, she got the remote, turned on the stereo system, set it on the FM tuner (which is not tuned into a station right now and just channels static), and turned the volume WAY up before the sound kicked in(there's a little bit of a lag between turning it on and getting sound). When the sound did kick in, it was EXTREMELY loud, and static at that volume sounds downright demonic. It scared me so much I jumped out of my chair and let out an honest-to-goodness scream at the top of my lungs! I realized right away what she'd done, and ran for the remote to turn it back off again, but not before she started screaming, too. LOL So, I picked her up to comfort her (and myself). I'm still shaking! LOL Man. Talk about a heart attack. *deep breaths*

And that is my Halloween story for the month! *eek*

A Beautiful Day

2006-10-14T22:14:00.000-05:00

The weather was unbelievable today--just beautiful. Cool enough to be able to open all the windows and get some fresh air through the house. And for once I enjoyed the sunshine. One thing I love about this apartment is how much natural light there is, even with the blinds shut. We never get any direct sunlight, and yet the apartment always feels light and airy.

The only way it could have been more perfect is if Mia was feeling better. She's had a runny nose and congestion for the past few days. I'm not sure if it's a cold, or if she's just teething, or what, but the poor thing hasn't been sleeping very well at night because she can't breath through her nose. Last night I was up four times with her! I hope she sleeps better tonight, for both our sakes.

Oh, and in other news, I got a lot done on my dad's website today, and I'm really thrilled with my progress. It's a pretty simple site, but it is neat and organized, and graphically pleasing, I think. The more I learn, the more I realize how much there is to learn! My next project will be to figure out CSS. And learn more HTML. I really should start looking into classes...

A Quiet Minute

2006-10-13T18:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, Mia is asleep and Bobby ran back to the grocery store to retrieve the pizza crusts that we paid for but were left out of our cart (annoying). Anyways...

Busy week. I feel like there was a time in my life when I wasn't busy all the time, but I can't remember when that was... Before I had Mia, when I wasn't working or addicted to digiscrapping, maybe?

Today I actually have not done anything digital scrapbook-related! Can you believe it?! On my lunch, I worked on the logo for my dad's website, and when I finished work this afternoon, I actually got started on designing the index page. Working on this website feels like cramming for a test. It's not that it's particularly difficult to learn my software, it's just that I need to know how to do everything now. But I'm enjoying it. Bobby and I have even talked about me maybe taking some classes at the local community college next semester. We'll see what happens.

We've also been solidifying our holiday plans. We have decided that we are going to spend Thanksgiving in New Mexico with Bobby's mom. And things are looking favorable for us to be able to go home to Michigan for Christmas! That would be SO cool. Mia will be walking by then, and how fun would it be to play with her in the snow? Get her some cute snow gear. Take her sledding down the hill in the front yard. I get giddy just thinking about it!

So, that's the update for now. Back to my web design cramming!

Busy Weekend!

2006-10-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy weekend, and I thought I'd blog about it before it all goes out of my head. On Mondays my boss and I always have a conversation that goes like this: "Did you have a good weekend?" Me: "Yeah, we had a great weekend!" "What did you do?" Me, long pause, "You know, I can't remember." Sometimes I feel like my brain still hasn't recovered from being pregnant, because my short term memory really stinks lately. Ha ha!

Anyways, Thursday night we went to the local (I guess it was a) County Fair. We only went for about an hour, because that's all Mia could do before she got fussy, and when you can't go on any of the rides there's not much to do there anyways. But it was fun. We ate all our favorite carnival junk food: cotton candy, candied and caramel apples, funnel cake and corndogs. Snapped a few pictures, so I'm sure you'll see LOs.

Friday I took over hostess duties at the Designer Chat at DSD at the last minute, because the gal who was supposed to do it fell ill (hope she's feeling better!). That was lots of fun. We had a gallery scavenger hunt, and I gave away a free kit to the winner, and coupons to all the participants.

Yesterday Bobby and I went to a geocaching meet & greet for our area, and that was a LOT of fun! Had to get up pretty early to get there, but we met all the people whose names we see in the logs on all the caches around here, so it was nice to see the faces behind the names. And there were like 3 other little girls all around Mia's age! One little one was only two weeks older than Mia, and pretty much at all the same developmental stages--two teeth, busy all the time, starting to stand on her own and walk along furnature. And her mom was really nice, too. The only bummer is that they live quite a ways away, and are super busy with both parents working, etc. Too bad. I am very thankful for the friends we have, but Mia will be getting to the age soon where it will be fun for her to interact with other little people, and I wish I knew other moms with babies her age. I don't really have a way of meeting people around here, either... Wonder what the local scrapbook store would think about this digi-girl signing up for one of their crops and scrapping on my (well, Bobby's) laptop? Hmm...

Oh, and while we were at the meet and greet, Mia went on the swings for the first time! She loved it! :) We'll have to make a point to get to a playground with her every now and then.

Anyways, in scrapping news, I released my newest kit, Gaelic Whispers on Friday. It's my 5th kit, and my favorite so far! Even now after having worked on it for so long, it still stirs my imagination! I love Celtic lore and the history of the British Isles (especially around the time of the Romans and shortly thereafter--I adore Arthurian ledgend), so that is kind of where this one comes from. :) Ugh. Blogger is being stupid and not allowing me to post any pictures, but you can find this kit at both DigiScrapDivas and Oscraps!

Some Layout Love

2006-10-05T12:45:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I posted any layouts here, so I thought I would take this opportunity, since I've got a couple fun, new ones. :)
Mia is doing new things every day now. While my mom was here, she even took a couple steps by herself. She didn't really realize she was doing it, so hopefully it will still be a while before she starts walking, but still! Anyways, we've been giving her these fruit puffs and letting her feed herself. We leave some on the coffee table, and she loves to stand there and eat them. It's so cute to watch her do it! :)
Credits: Autumn Chic kit by Shabby Princess, font is Angelina

I've been wanting to do a page with pictures of Mia over the months to see how she's grown, so here it is! I did this one with the Birthday Bash collab (that I got to contribute to!) that Dani was offering to celebrate her site's first birthday! I LOVE the oversized numbers Dani put in there, and wanted to use them, but Mia hasn't even had her 1st birthday yet, so I just did months! :)
Credits: Birthday Bash kit by Dani Mogstad and others, also used Dani's Creative Crops(circles)

One last one, and this one is special for two reasons. One, the subject: While my mom was here, Bobby and I got to go out on a few dates by ourselves, and that was just wonderful! It was so nice to be able to spend that time with him alone! And two, this is special because it was done with my newest kit, Gaelic Whispers, that comes out tomorrow. I am so thrilled with how this one turned out! But more on that tomorrow! :)

If you'd like a closer look at some of the items in this kit, I put together some desktop wallpapers (with the October calendar, and a place for a photo) with the kit, and you can download them right here! :)

It Must Be Fall Somewhere...

2006-10-04T08:56:00.000-05:00

It's October, and I'm homesick for Michigan again. It always seems the worst at this time of year, because fall was my favorite season back home, and October my favorite month. In my minds eye, I can see the trees that line the road I used to live on turning glorious shades of red, orange and yellow, and the absence of such a change here feels...strange. Fall in Florida doesn't mean anything particular; today it's supposed to be a high of 90, with humidity enough to make it feel like 96. My heart longs for the cooling of the air, and the gilding of the leaves.

There is a beautiful old cemetary in Clarkston (where I grew up). In the oldest part of it, you can find tombstones dating back to the early 1800s, when Clarkston was founded. There is a lake behind it, and wonderful old oak and maple trees that grow up over the cemetary, like ancient guardians. It is a very peaceful, beautiful place, especially--somehow--in the fall, when the leaves change. I remember driving past on many a sunny fall morning, with the sky a brilliant azule (always brighter blue in the autumn chill), and longing to stop and take pictures of the beautiful old trees, and the way the light filtered through the leaves and glistened on the dewy lawn. I never did, though. I wonder if I would have been able to capture the real beauty of the place on film anyways.

So, here I sit in sunny, sweltering (blast it all!) Florida, trying very hard not to resent it for not being my beloved Michigan. But if the sun continues to shine and heat the place in this infernal manner, there will be no forgiveness! Who ever heard of 90 degrees in autumn?! Ridiculous.

5 Weird Things About Me

2006-09-30T18:15:00.000-05:00

I meant to post this sooner (sorry, Vicki!), but my mom's visiting and things have been hectic (blah blah blah), so here it is! I've been tagged by Vicki Stegall. I have to post 5 weird things about me, and then tag 5 people (and post comments on their blog to let them know that they've been tagged). Here goes:

1. I have very little use for the outdoors (I'm not agoraphobic or anything, just would rather stay inside and read a book, or play on my computer, etc. I think this is probably due to the fact that I grew up in a cold-weather state where we mostly stayed indoors October-March).
2. I HATE HATE HATE shopping. Unless its online shopping for digi stuff. I don't think this is weird, but most of my friends are usually shocked and appalled when they find this out about me.
3. I have a very large, very heavy Funk and Wagnel's Encyclopedic Dictionary that I love to scour for words I've never heard before.
4. I love to eat with chopsticks.
5. During my college career, I attended three different universities, changed my major twice, and still managed to graduate in four years.

So, now I have to tag 5 people... (mwah-ha-ha-ha) My lucky victims are....
Debbie
Maria
Tiffany
Leah
Um...gonna have to be 4 people, because I don't know anyone else (personally) who blogs on a regular basis...

I have tons more to post/talk about, but I'll probably have to wait until later. Got a freebie coming this week, and sneak peaks of the new kit I'm super excited about!!! ;)

Visits, Shopping Sprees and Web Design

2006-09-27T09:06:00.000-05:00

Yay! My mommy is visiting! :) She flew into Pensacola yesterday, so I had to get up super early for mother-retrieval detail--2.5 hour drive both ways to pick her up. But it was a good excuse to get some Starbucks. And she was so excited to see Mia. She said Mia doesn't seem like she's grown a lot, but she's certainly doing A LOT more than when Mom saw her two months ago. She wasn't crawling or standing or any of that when we were in Michigan this summer! :) So, Mom gets to hog her grandbaby, I (hopefully) get to get my work done a little faster this week, and Bobby and I get to go out by ourselves (as much as possible!). Should be a fun week.

Also, I shopped last night. Yup. I have been good too long, and I had some extra money in my PayPal account, so I decided to reward myself. This is what I got: Autumn Chic by Shabby Princess, and Cosmopolitan by Mindy Tesawara.
Fun, fun stuff! I had a chance to play a little bit last night and I got a LO done with Autumn Chic, but didn't have time to do one with Cosmopolitan yet. I have one in mind, tho. I always like to use new kits right away, or they sit on my harddrive and I forget about them.

And my freetime (what little of it there was) has just been spoken for. My dad wants to hire me to help my brother re-design the company website. (Nevermind that I have NO web design experience). Well, I've always wanted to learn web design, and I have Adobe GoLive now, so why not? I went out and bought Adobe's book on GoLive last night, so we shall see! Guess that's about it for now! :)

Ode to My Siblings

2006-09-25T09:56:00.000-05:00

My sister (remember, she's studying in Germany for the year) just told me that our brother emailed her ALL IN GERMAN! This is really funny because while my mom, sister and I are multi-lingual, my brother is not. We all had German in grade school, and the only word he remembers from that is "grunenbohnen"(which means "green beens"--very useful). She said she's pretty sure he used an online English-German translator because he referred to her in the polite pronoun, and not the familiar(which is appropriate for family members), but how sweet and cute is that? I feel so blessed that my siblings have such a close, loving relationship with each other and with me.

Here are some pics I just dug up of us when we were little. Oh, happy memories.

How about a 48-hour sale?!

2006-09-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

Yay! Oscraps' server is back up and running! To celebrate, and to thank our customers for their patience, there's lots of stuff on sale, including 20% off all my stuff. The sale runs today and tomorrow, so don't miss it! Also, be sure to check out the super-cute freebie by Vicki Stegall! And a personal recommendation: Check out her "Some Like It Hot" kit--it is AWESOME, and ON SALE!

Fairies!

2006-09-22T09:52:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post before I start work this morning. Bobby and I got to go on a date last night! Our first time out together without Mia since our anniversary in May! The past couple days have been kind of hectic for both of us--for me, just because Mia's been a little fussier than usual and I got a migraine on Wed. night; and for Bobby because they're tearing down the sales office he works in (because they started building the condos) a week ahead of schedule, so now they're in a scramble to get all the vitals moved out of the office before the wrecking ball shows up. Anyways, he came home last night and goes, "Let's go play miniature golf tonight." So we called up Debbie, and she and her hubby were so sweet to come over and hang out at our place with Mia while we went out to dinner and played a round of mini-golf. Thank you, Debbie! :) I am so thankful we have friends that we feel comfortable leaving Mia with, since we don't have any family near-by. So that was a nice, spur-of-the-moment night out with my man!

Switching gears, Oscraps should be back up today. The server crashed on Tuesday, and Vicki has been working like a mad-woman to get it back up again (despite being sick and not feeling so hot!). Which reminds me that I need to make myself an Oscraps blinkie and post it here so you can click to my store at Oscraps from here. Coming soon!

In the meantime, these are up at DigiScrapDivas, new today:
They're pretty fun. :) I made them to make ATCs with, but you can use them for whatever. Here are two ATCs I did with them. I was kind of on a "fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream" kick, but I think they turned out super cute. Do you recognize the fairies? Peaseblossom is my adorable, spunky, mischevous Mia, and Titania is my equally adorable and michevous sister, Maria. :)

So, happy Friday, everyone!

Freebie: Maria's Batik

2006-09-20T08:14:00.000-05:00

Good morning! So, remember how I was customizing my sister's blog and designing a header for her? Well, I made some papers just to use in her headed, and ended up with an entire paper pack! And since I haven't posted a freebie in a while, I thought this would be perfect. So, I hope you enjoy this paper pack freebie:
Remember, no hot-linking(because it's considered piracy!). If you wanna share it, just direct people to my blog! Thank you! :)

Tooth No. 2

2006-09-19T21:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, while I was giving Mia her bath I thought I saw that her second tooth had come through, but because she wouldn't hold still long enough for me to properly check it out, I couldn't be sure. But today I am positive: My baby now has TWO bottom teeth! How fun! :) Of course, it's not so fun when she's fussy all the time, but everyone has been telling me that after the first tooth or two, the rest come in without all the teething side-effects. PLEASE let that be true!

Hmm...what else? Well, I've been stumped on this autumn-ish kit I've been working on. I have had this idea in my head of what I wanted it to be, but actually getting the idea to become reality has been challenging. Finally, tonight I was playing around with layer styles in PSCS2, and actually made some headway--came up with some stuff for it that I was happy with. Hopefully this will get me past my block. I've got two kits in the works, and I'm determined to finish them before I start any more!

I think that's about it for tonight...nothing terribly exciting, I know. But be sure to stop by tomorrow because I'm posting a FREEBIE! It's been a while since my last freebie (which I found out had been hotlinked--grrr!), so I thought it was time again. :) So see you tomorrow!

Update As Promised

2006-09-18T19:44:00.000-05:00

Mia's 9-month appointment went really well. This was our first dr. visit with a civilian doctor on our new, non-military health coverage. I really like her pediatrician. He was a very practical, older man. I am really leery of doctors that try to solve everything with a prescription, but he is definitely not one of those. Mia did great. No fussing, just a lot of wiggling, and I figure that just goes with being 9 months old. :) She gained three pounds and 3 inches from her 6 month appointment. Still only in the 25th percentile! Ha ha! Our petite little ball of curious energy!

In my rush to finish my last post and get out the door to her appointment, I didn't get to talk about how excited I am that I actually got a lot of my To-Do list from Friday done this weekend. I made my sister's blog header and customized her blog for her. You can check it out here. I finished my brush set and in the process learned how to make my hand-drawn stuff look really sharp using Illustrator! The end results will be going up for sale on Friday! ;) So, really the only thing I didn't get done was proofing my brother's web text, and that is because I am still waiting for him to email it to me, which he can't do because he left his laptop in Charlevoix this past weekend. Silly boy. How do you forget to bring your laptop home? I just don't know!

Of course, a big reason I got all that stuff done was because I spent the entire day Sunday at home SICK. Yuck. We had a bunch of friends over Saturday night for pizza, and in the middle of the night I woke up feeling extremely sick to my stomach. No one else was feeling bad, so it can't have been the food (my first thought). So I stayed home from church just in case it was a bug--didn't want to get everyone else sick, too!

But that gave me the day to rest, and feel better, and get some things done. I even had a chance to work on an ad challenge I'd been wanting to do at DigiScrapDivas. Here's the LO I came up with. I just LOVE how it turned out! :)

Credits: Papers from Moth kit by Tracy Ann Robinson, font is Century Gothic

Sweet Genevieve Designs at a New Store!

2006-09-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

A few changes last week, as far as where I'm selling. I stepped down from the DigiScrapShak (my things will be up there through the end of the month, but I won't be posting anything new there). Nothing bad happened--I simply felt I was having too hard a time getting acclimated over there. They've got big exciting things happening there, though, and I wish all the girls there the BEST of luck--they are really a sweet group!

Shortly after stepping down at DigiScrapShak, I was invited to sell at Oscraps.com! So far the site seems a little more my style, and I'm thrilled to be there!
I'll update a little more later. We're rushing out the door to Mia's 9-mo appointment right now!!! :)

Happy Friday!

2006-09-15T09:01:00.000-05:00

Man...when I said my blog might go neglected, I wasn't kidding! I really didn't mean to go THAT long without updating, but on top of having new software to play with, things have been a little crazy with my job (it's the mid-month rush). I feel so bad because earlier this week I offered to customize my sister's blog, and she's been looking forward to it, but I haven't been able to get to it yet! I have all these FUN ideas for it, too. I should start jotting them down so I don't forget by the time I finally get around to doing it (which I REALLY hope will be this weekend).

List of things to do:
Make Maria's blog header
Customize Maria's blog
Proof web text for Gunar
Finish new brush set
Learn more new stuff on my new software! :)

Anyways...I have some fun news to announce, but I'm going to wait until I have a link to show you, which hopefully will be within the next day or so.

For now, I have a new quickpage album out at DigiScrapDivas. Check it out!

Drum roll, please!

2006-09-11T20:32:00.000-05:00

Look what arrived in the mail today!!! See that glow? That is the unlimited power of Adobe that I now wield! Mwah-ha-ha!!!! Okay, not really. I got everything loaded up and running, and after playing around a bit in Illustrator and PS, I realize I've got a lot to learn. So if my blog goes neglected for the next few days, you know where I am. ;)

In other, equally exciting news, Mia stood up by herself on Saturday!!! Oh my stars, that girl just amazes me. We were playing on the floor, and she crawls up to me, pushes herself to standing using me for leverage, and then.........lets go! She stood there for a good 15 seconds before plopping back down again. Wow. My baby. Yikes, she's gonna be walking before she's one. I don't know if I'm ready for that!

Anyhow, that's all that's going on here. Off to play with my new toys! :)

Rainy Saturdays and Teething Babies

2006-09-09T15:30:00.000-05:00

It's a nice, take-it-easy, kind of rainy Saturday and I just woke up from a 2-hour nap. I've been really tired lately. I think maybe because Mia's been a little more difficult lately. She's been teething worse than ever, since her first tooth came through. I suspect there's a second tooth working its way up. She's been pretty miserable the past week. Runny nose, chomping hard on anything she can get into her mouth, and REALLY miserable and cranky in the evenings--crying and pulling on her cheeks, poor baby--and she's been waking up more often at night, too. Takes a little more out of me. Yesterday, my mom suggested giving her tylenol when it seems to be the worst. DUH! I hadn't even thought of that. She's been so healthy, never had more than a little sniffly cold since she was born, and I've never had to give her any medicine, so it never crossed my mind that it might help now. And it did help. Gave her a dose last evening when she seemed to be really bothered, and she calmed down shortly after, and even slept much better last night. I keep wishing those darned teeth would just come through so we could get the whole teething thing over with! While I was napping I dreamed that I checked her mouth, and she had seven new teeth all of a sudden!

Hmm...but anyways, the rain has been nice lately. It has cooled things off A LOT. Now it's in the high 70s, instead of the 80s/low 90s. Still humid, but humidity is much easier to take when it's cooler.

I read all these blogs of people who live further north, where fall is starting to happen, and I get a little sad. Fall was my favorite time of the year back home--the changing leaves, the cooling weather, the brilliant blue skies that only happen in the fall, fall cider and craft festivals... Growing up it was all part of the order of the year, and somehow I feel completely adrift without that down here, like there's nothing to anchor me into the flow of time. Days go by without change, without any sense of time passing. It's disorienting to me. I just feel so out-of-place sometimes. I felt this way in San Diego, and it took me two years to get used to the much-more-subtle change of seasons there. Wonder how long it will take me here. Is it a pro or a con that this time we don't have another move ahead of us, so I have all the time I need?

Sequiny Things and ATC Basics!

2006-09-08T09:58:00.000-05:00

A couple new releases this morning: A sequin element pack, and an ATC brush set. Examples of how to use my brushes:

Also, today is the last day to get my Puttin' On the Glitz kit free with a purchase of $10 or more (of my product) at either DigiScrapDivas or the Digi Scrap Shak (be sure to email me your invoice)!

In other news, my sister is safely in Germany now. I got to talk to her on Hello a little today, and I think she's doing really well. She only talked to me in German, and I'm so proud of myself--I understood everything she said, except for one word that I didn't know ("verwechselt" which--I now know--means "confused"). :) Go me! And GO MOO! I'm so proud of her. She's going to do great. Don't forget, Maria: If you only bring me back one thing from Germany (besides chocolate, of course), I want a Pelikan fountain pen! :) Not the snooty expensive ones (you can get those here), just a student-grade, every-day one. :) Yay, fountain pens! :)

Guten Morgen!

2006-09-06T09:07:00.000-05:00

Guten morgen, alle! A German greeting this morning, because my little sister left yesterday to study for an entire year in Germany! She should be arriving in Oldenburg, Germany within the next couple hours, and when she settles into her student housing, and eventually gets hooked up to the internet, I hope she sees this and knows I'm thinking about her! :) What a big adventure! A whole year in Germany! I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. I always wanted to study abroad when I was in school, but it just never fit into my schedule. So, Moo, I know you'll do great! This is going to be an awesome experience for you, and whenever you feel unsure, just remember that we're all praying for you back here, and we love you!

So, who took advantage of my 50% off at Digi Scrap Shak last night? Sorry if you started shopping at 7(EST) and things weren't showing up on sale. There were technical difficulties at the store, and my sale got started a little late. Lori extended it to midnight to compensate. Hopefully this didn't inconvenience anyone, and you were still able to shop to your heart's content! Hope you enjoy my designs! ;)

50% Off My Designs at Digi Scrap Shak!

2006-09-05T13:43:00.000-05:00

That's right! 50% OFF!!! Tonight from 7-11pm EST! Don't miss it! :)

Happy Labor Day!

2006-09-04T14:15:00.000-05:00

We are having a very nice, leisurely day off today, and it is lovely! I've actually been SCRAPPING today, catching up on some CT requirements, and that's been fun. I haven't scrapped enough lately, so getting to do a few pages today has felt good. I finished an element pack last night that will go up for sale on Friday. And also wrote a tutorial for Kim Hill's tutorial site, DigiScrapping Tutorials. So I have been very productive! :) Last week I made myself an excell spreadsheet calendar that I can keep track of everything on, from Mia's doctor appointments to what days I'm going to release new kits. It's even color-coded. I know. I'm a huge geek. But having everything laid out like that really helps me work more efficiently and spend my time a little more wisely. And it also keeps me from getting frazzled and stressed-out. :)

Anyways... Mia's very first tooth broke through the gum today! We've been able to feel it beneath the gum for a while now, and she's been a little fussier than normal because of it. And today it poked through. You can see the little white ridges (assuming she opens her mouth and holds still long enough). I can't believe it! My baby has her first tooth! Pretty exciting for us.

That's about all that's going on today. I'll leave you with one of the layouts I did today. :)

Credits: Kit is Maddie's Smile by Dani Mogstad, fonts are PR8 Charade and Century Gothic

A Relaxing Saturday - I Hope!

2006-09-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

I'm having a nice quiet morning this morning, after all the excitement of yesterday. DigiScrapDivas was hoppin' yesterday--it was awesome! So great to see such a big turnout. I hosted my journaling challenge chat at 5pm EST yesterday, and had a blast, and I turned up again later for Kathy's freestyle challenge, which was also a ton of fun. Here's the LO I came up with for it:

Credits: Star Brush by Kathy Moore, Alpha Beads from my Ephemera Element Pack, all other pp and elements by me, font is Dear Joe 4.

I really love challenges. Most of the designers posted their challenges in the Chatterbox forum over there, if you still want to participate. I plan on doing a few more today. Also, the gallery over there is just jam-packed with fab new layouts! I could probably spend all day just poking around there!

But alas, I have other things to do today. Saturday is always laundry day. And I get to make Oreo dirt cake today! Tomorrow our church is celebrating its third birthday, and there's a potluck after church (because we wouldn't be good Baptists if there wasn't a potluck!). And I love Oreo dirt cake and haven't had it in forever, so I thought this would be a good excuse to make it. :)

Bobby is working today, so I should make use of the time he's away by scrapping and designing. I've got Mairead Nesbitt playing (I can't get enough of this CD lately--If you like Celtic fiddle, check it out!), and Mia's down for a nap... Seize the day! ;) Off to be productive! Have a good one!

Grand Opening Day! :)

2006-08-31T22:52:00.000-05:00

Whoo-hoo! I have been so excited for this day to come! I know I've had stuff up for sale at the Digi Scrap Shak (the site formerly known as Digiscrappin.biz) for a couple weeks now, but today is the grand re-opening of BOTH the sites I'm selling at, so I feel like today is my big debut (sort of) as a designer! Lots and lots of stuff going on...where do I start?

Well, the Digi Scrap Shak is having chats and sales all week long. Each day, one designer's product will be on sale for 50% off from 7-11pm. My day is Tuesday! Also, there's a Digital Rebel giveaway, so pop over there for details!

DigiScrapDiva's big event is ALL DAY today! Yup, 15 hours of chats! Here's the schedule: Chat with me at 5pm EST for a Journaling Challenge and 3 random prize giveaways! Also, enjoy 20% off store-wide at DSD today through Sunday, and if you spend $25 or more you get the MegaKit for FREE! And if that's not good enough for you, I'm adding my own little somethin' somethin': Spend $10 or more on my products at DigiScrapDivas or the Digi Scrap Shak today through Friday, September 8th, and get this kit for free: It's called Puttin' On the Glitz, and you won't find it for sale anywhere--this is a special promo. All you have to do is email me a copy of your invoice, and I'll send you the links to the kit(purchases made during the four hour 50% off sale on Tuesday at the Digi Scrap Shop are ineligible--sorry)!

And because I am in such a festive mood, here is a quick page freebie for you featuring my new Ring Around the Rosy kit! :) Enjoy!

Edit: I've taken this freebie down a little early because people have been hotlinking it! >:( Sorry to those of you honest scrappers out there. Sad how pirates ruin things for the rest of us.

Ring Around the Rosy Preview

2006-08-31T09:24:00.000-05:00

Ready for another new kit preview? This is Ring Around the Rosy, going up for sale tomorrow!

And here is a LO I did with it:

So tomorrow is the Grand Re-Opening for both Digiscrappin.biz, which is changing its name to The Digi Scrap Shak (digiscrapshak.com), and for DigiScrapDivas. Lots going on at both sites, and I have very special things planned at each site. Tomorrow I'll be posting a very special offer, so be sure to check back! :)

Wildflowers at Summer's End Preview

2006-08-30T09:32:00.000-05:00

So, as opening day draws nearer, I am getting more and more excited!!! I have TWO new kits going up for sale! Want a sneak peak? Here's one of them: Wildflowers at Summer's End!

And here's a LO I did with it:

Keep your eyes peeled in the galleries for LOs by my fab CT, and tune in tomorrow for another sneak peak! :)

I'm a DIVA!!!!

2006-08-29T08:28:00.000-05:00

I've been holding this in ALL MONTH, and now I can finally tell:

That's right! I am one of the new designers at DigiScrapDivas! :) I am SOOO excited about this! Kim and Kathy have been working so hard putting the new store together, and organizing the opening day events, and you will NOT be disappointed! 15 straight hours of chats (I'll be hosting from 5-6pm EST), lots of fun and games, AND give-aways! Plus, 20% off store-wide starting on Friday, and spend $25 and get the mega-kit for FREE!!! How's that for a Grand Re-Opening Event?!?! Hope you'll join us!

PS: Starting today, keep an eye on the galleries for LOs with some of my new kits coming out on the 1st!

Rainy Day Thoughts

2006-08-25T12:27:00.000-05:00

It's raining, and for some reason rain always inspires me to write. Dark, stormy, rainy days always give me a feeling of divine contentment, as I sit cozily inside watching, a hot cup of tea to warm my hands (even though I'm sure it's plenty warm outside).

It rained all night last night, with thunder and lightning. The rhythmic sound of the rain falling outside was a lovely lullaby, although it disturbed Mia's sleep. She woke up once more than she normally does at night. Not frightened or particularly upset, just probably stirred from her sleep by noise she is not accustomed to. Bobby was gone overnight (at a two-day seminar a couple hours away), so I brought her in bed with me for a while. Of course, all she wanted to do was play with my face, grab my nose and eyebrows and hair. Then I decided that she didn't want comforting, she wanted to play, so I put her back in her crib and she was quiet after that.

We really need this rain, if you ask me. It thunders an aweful lot around here, but then no rain ever falls (which I always find disappointing). So, I'm glad it's raining now. And those are my thoughts on this rare rainy day. :)

Going Out - Highly Overrated?

2006-08-23T09:49:00.000-05:00

Last night, Bobby and I had a conversation as we were going to bed, in which he expressed his deep concern over the fact that I never leave the house(slight exaggeration on his part--I leave to go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and for the occasional trip to the pool). "Do you not leave because you are afraid to?" I had to laugh. Okay, my thoughts on going out:

1) When do I have the time? I work ALL day on the computer, get done between 4 and 5, just in time to bathe Mia and make dinner, and then in the little free time I might have in the evening, I would much rather scrapbook or design than go out somewhere (unless there was a planned event).
2) What would I do if I went out? Seriously, I have no desire to go shopping. My mom has the shopping gene, but I think it skips a generation or something, because I definitely did not get it. What else does one do while "out"? Buy ice cream? Maybe I'd go out for that.
3) Why on EARTH would I want to go outside in 100 degree heat with 100% humidity? Especially considering that I would have to take Mia with me. Yuck. No thank you. I like my air conditioning.

So, there's that. Maybe in November, when it starts to cool down a bit around here, going out for a stroll would be nice. Until then... Where's the fire?

Introducing My Very First Creative Team

2006-08-20T13:15:00.000-05:00

These past few weeks have been really exciting for me, as I've been getting my designs set up at Digiscrappin.biz, as well as preparing to sell at another site (more on that very soon!). So, now that I'm a selling designer, I need a creative team to help me out, right? Well, I had lots of talented scrappers answer my CT call, and I honestly wanted to accept EVERYONE who applied! But that is highly impractical (especially for a brand new designer), so I chose nine scrappers who stood out.

So, without further ado, I am so excited to announce my very first creative team! Click on each name to see their galleries.

Jadelyn Alvarez
Christel Conley
Tiffany Frieze
Tonje Gram
Debbie Kennedy
Jamie Peterson
Joy Tanjuakio
Heather Vaughn
Laura Wolff

I'm so excited to have these girls on board, and I can't wait to get to know them better! Be on the lookout for their gorgeous creations in the galleries! :)

I caved.

2006-08-19T16:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I just gave in and bought Tracy Ann's Streetwear collection. And it is really fun! :) And you just can't beat 7 kits for $24.99. But I swear, no more spending for a while! Those seven kits should keep me plenty busy anyways! ;) So, here's the LO I came up with yesterday using the Chill kit from the collection.

Credits: Chill kit by Tracy Ann; fonts are Suede, Minion Pro, and Windsong

In other news, my CT call is over, and I'm assembling the team now. Be sure to check back on Monday for the big announcement! :)

Easily Amused

2006-08-17T22:31:00.000-05:00

So, earlier this week (or was it last week?) I finally downloaded Hello, and have been having a blast chatting with scrapping friends, sharing LOs and designs in-the-works, etc. I even got my little sister signed up, and can now chat with her pretty much whenever (which is nice, because she's in MI and I'm in FL, so we don't get to see each other a lot). Well, tonight we were having some fun with Hello. When you type emoticons into Hello, these cute little colored icons come falling across your Hello window. A yellow smiley face when you type :), a blue sad face when you type :(, a heart when you type the word "love," etc. There's a bunch of different ones and we were trying to figure out what they all were. Then we started seeing how many we could get to fall at one time. My sister typed "love" repeatedly, and when she hit enter this seemingly endless cascade of pink hearts came falling across my screen. It went on for so long that I actually thought she might have broken it and made it "stick" somehow. It cracked me up! And then I thought of how lucky I am to have such a close relationship with my sister that I can feel completely comfortable doing something completely ridiculous, like seeing how many Hello icons we can make fall, with her. I would have felt silly typing emoticons just to watch the smileys fall with anyone else. So, Moo, if you're reading this, I LOVE ya (millions of pink hearts)!!!

In scrapping news, since I have "gone live" selling my designs in a store, and plan to start selling at another store soon, I have made a pact with myself to not spend any money on kits until my kits start generating a little $$. But this does not, of course, keep me from shopping. So I've started a wish list. Here's what's on it:
The Streetwear by Tracy Ann Robinson -- better act fast on this one, $24.99 at 40% off is a good deal!!! (and a certain enabler out there - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!! - has told me I can't live without this one)
In the Rough by Sara Carling - because I pretty much just love everything she does(and this one even has purple in it!!!)
Olivia by Shabby Princess - I've seen so many gorgeous LOs with this one, I just WANT it!
All of this just brings me to one conclusion: People need to start buying my kits! So what are you waiting for? Click on that blinkie over there------------------> and spend some money, so I can spend some money! ;)

Also...tomorrow's the last day to apply for my CT, if you haven't already! :) Whoo! The suspense is killing me! I can't wait to see who I'm gonna pick!!!! lol ;)

Trappings of a Fuzzy Brain

2006-08-16T16:59:00.000-05:00

*deep breath* It has been a day! Mia seems to be going through some kind of fussy, clingy phase... I don't know if she's just asserting her will, or if she's not getting enough attention, or maybe she's getting TOO much attention... Why don't babies come with user manuals? Anyways, she was up most of the night crying, and not wanting to give in to her crying(because all she wanted was for us to be awake and play with her--IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT), we left her in her crib. But I can't sleep while she's crying, so I was awake until she stopped (an hour later). *sigh* So I was running on empty, and this is a particularly busy week for me as far as work goes (there is always an extra project every month the week of the 15th). And my brain is just not functioning properly!

We managed to fix the problem we were having with Mia and the DVD player. Bobby got a piece of plexiglass, which we have adhered to the front of the entertainment center with some sticky velcro. It's great. She still plays with it, but can't get to it to break it. :)

I think that's all the exciting news I have for now. Man, I'm tired!

We Have a Crawler!!!

2006-08-15T19:05:00.000-05:00

So, yes, Mia crawled for the first time last week, but it was only a couple "steps" and she really didn't crawl much after that. Until today! All of a sudden, she is really, REALLY crawling--like up-on-all-fours CRAWLING! It just seems so out-of-the-blue. She went from accidentally crawling, to purposeful forward movement! I guess the key is having the right motivation. She loves our DVD player, loves to grab the door and pull it open and shut. Everytime she managed to scoot over to it, we would tell her no and move her away from it again. So, of course, today when she crawls, it's straight to the DVD player. I tried putting her on the floor, sitting a couple feet away and getting her to crawl to me, and she just stared at me blankly for a minute before turning around and heading for the DVD player! Mommy is just not that interesting! lol Anyways, here she is, the little stinker:

Everything else is going pretty well. Been keeping busy designing new kits for next month! I've been designing so much that I haven't scrapped at all lately. I need to sit down with my pictures and just scrap! It's so hard to turn of the designing part of me, though! lol

I've also been having fun going through applications for my creative team this week. I've gotten a bunch of applications already from scrappers around the globe, and I am just amazed by the talent and diversity! Wow! This decision is NOT going to be easy!!! Thank you so much, those of you who have applied so far! I've really enjoyed poking through your galleries! :)

Creative Team Call!

2006-08-11T17:53:00.000-05:00

Okay, here it is:

Click on it, for a bigger version. I'm looking for a few good scrappers! If you're interested, email the following to sweetgenevieve@gmail.com :

Your first and last name
Your user name on most forums
The forums you are active on
Any other CTs you are currently on
A link to your most complete gallery
A link to your blog if you have one
A little bit about yourself, and what you could add to my team

I look forward to hearing from you! :)

Busy past few days...

2006-08-10T17:06:00.000-05:00

Phew! The past few days have been so busy for me! Good busy, because today I have some exciting news! I know I've hinted in past entries that I would be selling more kits in the future, and that I had a big surprise coming up. Well, this is not that surprise (that one is still coming), but it is a surprise nonetheless! A couple days ago I was invited to sell my designs at digiscrappin.biz! Whoa!!! Leah of Mommyish Designs (who sells at digiscrappin.biz) was poking through my blog, and thought my designs were noteworthy enough to show to her boss, Lori, who owns digiscrappin.biz, and Lori liked them, too! So, I am now selling at digiscrappin.biz!! I'm in a store!!! Whoo-hoo! :) You can check out my stuff here. So far I just have my Hawaiian Summer kit up, and an alpha set, but I have lots in store for September!!! :) Plus, that other thing that I can't talk about just yet!

Guess this means I need a creative team, so you can be expecting a call as soon as I get everything organized! lol And since this is such big news for me, I think a freebie is in order! Here are two cute 6x6 quickpages for you!
The pages come without cute kid pictures and journaling, obviously--you add your own! :) Hope you enjoy them! Download them here. And remember, this is free, and it's really easy to direct people to my blog to download it, so please, no hotlinking. And if you grab it and you like it, leave me a little love! :) Enjoy!

Edit: Sorry, this freebie is no longer available.

Look at this!!!

2006-08-08T18:54:00.000-05:00

I didn't even get a chance to post about how she crawled for the first time yesterday, and she's already on to the next thing! This morning she figured out how to pull herself to a standing position by grabbing onto the gates of her play yard! How am I going to keep up with this child?!

So, notice anything different around here? No, I haven't given up purple as my favorite color! But I love changing things up now and then. Like the new blog header? Made it with my newest kit, which will be available in September!!! I am in serious love with this kit, too! Might as well quit while I'm ahead, because nothing I make will ever be this cute! lol More on that when it's closer to going up for sale.

Geocaching for Pirate's Treasure

2006-08-06T14:45:00.000-05:00

I know I've talked about how we (especially Bobby) like to geocache. Well, since we started geocaching 2 years ago, Bobby has always wanted to place his own cache. But placing your own cache requires that you live in the area so that you are able to maintain it (switch out the logs, check periodically to make sure it hasn't been muggled, etc.), and life in the military being what it is, we moved around too much for that to be possible. Now that we're out of the military, and "settled," he is finally free to place all the caches he wants. If you know my husband at all, you know that he will never be content to simply place an ammo container in a bush somewhere and call it a cache, and he certainly wasn't going to settle for that on his very first cache.

He spent all last week coming up with this elaborate 4-part cache, complete with a backstory about local pirates and buried treasure. And I just have to brag on him for a little bit here because it really is an awesome cache. The first coordinates take you to a really well-camouflaged cache (I watched him camouflage this cache at home so I knew what it looked like, but when he took me out to where he had hidden it, I stared directly at it for about five minutes before I realized it was even there!) that contains a treasure map (which he put together in PSE, with my help, printed out and then soaked in coffee and burnt the edges to make it look old!). The treasure map has half of the coordinates to the next cache plainly written on it, and the other half are hidden within a story on the map. In order to decipher the story to get the rest of the coordinates, you need the map's key, which is attached to a travelbug that floats from cache to cache within our county(so you have to locate the cache that the travelbug is in first). You can skip finding the key, and go to an alternate cache that he hid elsewhere, and answer a fairly difficult riddle to get the second half of the coordinates, but he made that route very difficult. Anyways, the final coordinates take you to St. Andrew's Treasure, the final cache. And for the first four people/teams to find it, he placed a brand new Pirates of the Caribbean DVD, a brand new National Treasure DVD, a really nice map compass, and a free game of mini golf at a local pirate-themed miniature golf place.

The cache was published on Friday, and so yesterday he moped around all day waiting for someone to post that they had found it. Finally, last night someone posted a FTF(first to find). He was ecstatic! I was pretty excited for him, too, knowing how much time and effort he had put into it, and plus, I just think it's a pretty stinkin' cool idea for a cache! Not too many people in our area go to the trouble of hiding really creative caches (there are so many magnets hidden underneath lamp post skirts that it makes you want to scream sometimes--come on people, be a little more creative!). So, that was our big excitement for the weekend.

That, and it's so blasted hot outside today that both of us felt like we were going to pass out during church today! I don't know if I'll ever get used to how hot it is down here in the summer. I'm a Northern girl (or "Yankee" according to my friends down here--lol); I'm not made for all this heat! :)

Winner of my Hawaiian Summer kit!

2006-08-04T10:05:00.000-05:00

Well, I had nine beautiful layouts posted in response to my freebie. I put all the names in a hat, and had to draw just one. So... Congratulations to Michelle, winner of my Hawaiin Summer kit! I should have said to leave your email when you post a link to your layout, so I can get ahold of the winner, but I didn't. So, hopefully Michelle will read this and post her email here in a comment so I can get the kit to her!

Thank you so much, all of you who entered layouts to win my kit! I had so much fun looking at them. I tried to leave comments on the forums I'm registered on, and if you didn't get a comment from me, it's just because I can't register everywhere (I have a hard time keeping up at the places I'm registered at right now!). ;)

If you didn't win, and you'd still like my kit, it can be found here, at the Design by Dani store! And, as always, stay tuned for more freebies and fun in the future. I'm working on a couple new kits for release in September, and I'll probably have a freebie to throw in there somewhere, too!

August Already!

2006-08-03T10:34:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how fast the summer's gone by! When I was a kid, it seemed like summer flew by, but as I got older time seemed to move more evenly. And then I had Mia, and now entire weeks go by like seconds! Someone told us that when we had a baby it would feel like someone hit the fast-forward button on our lives, and boy, were they right! That's exactly what it feels like!

This most recent rush of days was helped by the busy two weeks I spent in Michigan, along with finalizing my kit for sale in Dani's store (I'm still so excited about that!), and a couple of other pretty big and exciting developments that I'm not alowed to talk about just yet (for now I'll just say that my Hawaiian Summer kit is only the beginning!). And work always keeps me busy, which is good. I like that there is always something to be done, and there are lots of different types of things to be done, so I don't get bored. And then there's Mia, who is becoming more mobile by the day! Yesterday we (finally) childproofed the apartment--latches on the cupboards (and even the fridge, although I think it'll be a while before she figures that one out), plugs in the outlets, cushy foam corner thingies for the coffee table. She is only 7 1/2 months, but already she is such a little kid! She amazes me daily! :)

Speaking of my cutie, I put pigtails in her hair for the very first time on Sunday! She looked SOO cute! Of course, they didn't last very long, but I got some adorable pictures before she took them out:
So, tomorrow is the 4th, and I'll be posting the winner of my new kit! Have you posted a link to your LO using my Hawaiian Summer mini-kit freebie? You have until the end of the day!!!

Also, I'm about to go over and post a new journaling at Girl Talk, so be sure to check over a little later for that!

Have you entered your layout yet?

2006-07-31T23:38:00.000-05:00

I am so glad so many people are enjoying my Hawaiian Summer mini-kit freebie! I'm having so much fun looking at the layouts you all have posted!!! :) Each one is awesome! That's one of the things I find so cool about the digital scrapbooking community--everyone brings something different to it. Anyways, if you've downloaded my kit and haven't posted a layout link here yet, I hope you will! Three more days left to enter to win my kit for free! So, come play! :)

Not much going on with me to talk about. Just work, being a mommy, and digi-scrapping/designing. Oh, well, there is one thing. Mia is starting to crawl! It is SO much fun to watch her. She can now sit herself back up again from lying down, which is nice (she used to cry when she was laying down and she wanted to be sitting because she couldn't sit up herself). And when she's sitting and she sees something she wants (usually it's me), she lurches forward to an all-fours position, bounces there for a minute, and then goes flat onto her tummy. So she hasn't quite gotten the "one hand in front of the other" thing yet, but it's coming! Man! Where have the past seven-and-a-half months gone?!

Okay, it's late, so I guess I'm going to hit the hay. 'Night, Blogland!

Hawaiian Summer--Available NOW!

2006-07-28T12:04:00.000-05:00

Whoo-hoo! My new kit, Hawaiian Summer, is now available in the Design By Dani store! Check it out here!!!

Freebie: Hawaiian Summer Mini kit

2006-07-27T08:16:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! My very first kit is going up for sale on Tuesday! It's called Hawaiian Summer. I've been posting LOs here done with the kit, and now you'll be seeing some in the galleries! To celebrate this momentous (for me) occasion, I designed a mini add-on kit that I'm offering as a freebie here.

AND I'm throwing in a contest: Download and use this mini kit on a layout, post the layout to your favorite gallery(s) and then post a link here, and you will be entered to win the full Hawaiian Summer kit for free! It's going to be a random drawing, so all you have to do is make a LO and enter! Enter your LO no later than August 3rd. I'll post the winner on the 4th!

Here's the mini-kit:
*Edit 8-16-06: Sorry, this freebie is no longer available.

Home Again

2006-07-26T19:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I am finally home from our two-week trip to Michigan. It is so nice to be home, even though I love my family and Michigan and wish we could move back. Being in my own home, having my office space back again is wonderful. Working while I was away was insane.

So, how was my trip home? you ask. Never--and I do mean never--have I ever had a worse travel experience, and I have traveled a considerable ammount in my brief 26 years on the planet. The original plan was to fly Detroit to Memphis, and then from Memphis home. Simple, right? Not if you happened to be flying Northwest yesterday. I flew Detroit to Memphis with few problems (except for the fact that Mia screamed for half the flight, and spent the other half pooping all over me). Arrived in Memphis, cleaned Mia and myself up as best I could, and got to my next gate. I sat down at the gate an hour and a half before my flight, and the board listed my flight as being delayed a half hour--no big deal. I sat there for about a half hour, and then *poof*--all of a sudden the board at my gate is no longer displaying my flight info. I wander up to the desk (which is now surrounded by other people presumably on my flight), and the gal tells us that our flight has been canceled! Not only that, but she can't rebook us or issue us food vouchers because Northwest's computers are down (apparently they were down nationwide, according to a press release on the news today). So I call the 1-800 number she gave us to rebook. The next flight available is on Delta, flying me to Atlanta and then home, and is 5 hours later than my original flight. I was supposed to leave Detroit at noon EDT, and arrive home at 4 central time. I left Detroit at noon, and arrived home a 9:30 central time! I was so stressed out from the first flight with Mia that I just sat there on the phone with the lady trying to rebook me, crying hysterically (and I didn't feel bad about it because the lady was pretty unsympathetic and even a little beligerant--she was lucky I didn't have more of my wits about me, or I would have given her a good piece of my mind!). It was pretty horrible.

But after a good night's sleep, and the arrival of my NEW Wacom 6x8 Intuos 3 graphics tablet, I am in a much better mood! I'm also getting ready for the release of my new kit, but more on that tomorrow!!! :)

Busy Busy Busy

2006-07-23T20:02:00.000-05:00

My two weeks at home are almost up! I knew they would fly by. Each day has been so jam-packed I can hardly remember everything we've done, but it's been a lot of fun. This past weekend we spend up north (in my family, "up north" always refers to Charlevoix, MI where my grandparents lived). My grandfather lives in Phoenix, AZ year-round now, but we still have his house in Charlevoix. This year, my mom and aunt (my grandfather's daughters) decided to sell all of the antiques and memorabilia in the house, and put the house on the market. We grandchildren were not happy about this decision--losing this house would feel like losing our childhood--but of course, none of us are in a place financially to do anything about it(like buy it ourselves to keep for the future). Well, Michigan's economy is in the hole right now, and real estate is not selling, especially not for what we hoped to get for this place. So, last night, my mom and dad and aunt and uncle stayed up very late last night debating over what to do with this place. And after much deliberation, they made the joyous decision to KEEP IT!!!! We are all thrilled with this decision. Charlevoix is so beautiful, I can't imagine never coming here again (when we came up this weekend, we thought it would be the last time).

This weekend was Venetian Festival in Charlevoix. A very exciting time! There's always a carnival in town and a street parade Saturday morning, but Saturday evening is the big event: a boat parade (Charlevoix is happily situated between beautiful Lake Charlevoix and Lake Michigan), where the boats are all decorated with lights and there's usually a theme--this year's theme was broadway musicals--and the parade is followed by a fireworks display. It was so much fun! Here's a picture I took of Round Lake (the little lake between the two big lakes, where the parade takes place) just as the boats were starting to come out.

Sisters, sisters, never were there such devoted sisters...

2006-07-21T13:56:00.000-05:00

I changed up my slider over on the sidebar there. I've got lots of new LOs up because....Dani is coming out with a 6-kit CD collection, and it is AWESOME! You can check it out here. I've been having so much fun with all these kits--it's like Christmas in July! Here's one I did of my pretty sister. :)

Credits: Bold Moves kit from Dani Mogstad's "This Love" CD collection, fonts are Nueva Std and Rage Italics. Oh, and special thanks to my sister for being so pretty. And for being a nice sister, I guess. ;) Hee hee hee. (She's reading this as I type, and she says I'm a poophead. Didn't I just call her a nice sister?)

Note to Self:

2006-07-18T09:49:00.000-05:00

Next time you decide to go on vacation, take time off work! I don't know what made me think I could work while I was here. I should have known better; every time I come home, I never have enough time to do everything we want to do, see everyone we want to see, etc, and that's without factoring work in! And of course, I had to come to Michigan during the busiest time of the month as far as my work goes. Two newsletters to get out instead of just one. So yesterday I worked all day long (while Bobby and my sister when out geocaching--oh, how I wanted to go with them!), and finished in time to go see The Devil Wears Prada with my mom(it was pretty cute). Then I came home exhausted (I'd gotten up at ten to 6am with Mia), and had to listen to my sister complain about how boring I was because I didn't want to go out again. *sigh* I need about 5 more hours in the day.

Anyways, I won a $5 gift certificate at Scrapbook Graphics for entering their Day at the Spa contest, and so I bought Sara Carling's Golden Moments kit (I LOVE Sara's designs--she is quickly becoming one of my favorites), and I made this LO of Mia with her Grandpa Bob and Grandma Debbie:

Credits: Sara Carling's Golden Moments kit, "Kick Back" word art by Anna Aspnes(from the Studio Girls' Day at the Spa kit), font is CAC Pinafore

So that's how I've been keeping out of trouble lately. Actually, I think trouble would have to schedule an appointment before I'd have time for it.

Big Surprise!

2006-07-16T06:09:00.000-05:00

Wow! Yesterday, I got the biggest surprise! My in-laws came over to pick Mia and me up to go to Saint Clair so Mia could meet her great-grandpa. I let them in the front door, and we were chatting, when all of a sudden I hear someone talking behind me. I figured it was my dad, and engrossed in a conversation with my father-in-law, I didn't turn around to see who it was until everyone started saying, "Hey, I think someone's talking to you!" So I finally turn around, and it's BOBBY! I couldn't believe it! He had flown in Friday night, and I was supposed to see him when I went over to his parents' house, but that didn't happen because I was sick. Anyways, he is staying for 10 days--flying back to FL the day before I do! I am so relieved now that he is here. I don't even know why, exactly (because it's not like I'm lacking in help with the baby around here--my mom and sister are more than helpful), but I am deffinitely happy he's here. I always hate being away from him when I come home for a visit.

But, oh, man! Was he laying it on thick the week before I left. "I wish I could go to Michigan with you" (big sad puppy dog eyes). "I guess I'll never get to see Charlevoix, or your Opa's house"(we're selling the house this summer). "I can't believe you're taking Mia away from me for two weeks!" lol The whole time he knew he was coming up, too! Ha ha!

I'm also glad he brought his laptop. Since I've been here I've been accessing my computer at home remotely (with gotomypc.com), so I can use the programs I need for work (FrontPage and PSE, mostly) that my family doesn't have on their computers here. It worked okay and everything, but it took me an eternity to do anything in PSE because of the lag caused by my remote connection. Bad for my work situation, but let's face it, the truth is I just can't go that long without scrapping! ;) So now that he's here, I can use my laptop and won't have any problems with a remote connection! Yay!

Summer Colds...

2006-07-14T12:37:00.000-05:00

...are the absolute worst! Not to mention that I'm in Michigan for two weeks, and I have a very tight schedule of making sure that all the relatives get to see Mia. I'm supposed to go to my in-laws tonight, but there is no way I'm driving an hour in rush-hour traffic feeling like this. Hopefully we can reschedule. I'm really starting to wonder if making this trip is worth all the stress and trouble. Maybe if I get some rest, I'll get over this quickly and the rest of the visit will be fun. I certainly hope so.

Meanwhile, I'm still working on getting my new kit up for sale soon. Not sure exactly where we are with that, but the kit is done and ready, and lots of fun (well, I think it's fun). Here's another LO I did with it (that also happens to have pictures of Mia's very first swim)! Enjoy!

Credits: My new Hawaiian Summer Kit (for sale soon!), dots pp from my Hawaiian Summer freebie (downloadable here soon!), font is Century Gothic, photo turns also by me

New Journaling Challenge at Girl Talk!

2006-07-13T18:08:00.000-05:00

I posted a new journaling challenge over at Girl Talk. Check it out here. And don't forget: Just by posting a link to a LO, you're entered to win a Gift Card to Dani's store!!! Hope you'll play along! ;)

The challenge is journaling strips, and here's the LO I created to go with:

Credits: Hopscotch kit by Dani Mogstad, fonts are Black Jack and Cooper Black

Visiting Home

2006-07-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

Well, we made it safely to Michigan! Mia did beautifully on the flights. She took a few short-but-effective naps, and managed to stay cheerful (if a little squirmy) while she was awake. She became fussy on the drive home from the airport, and stayed that way for the rest of the day yesterday, but I was just relieved that I didn't have to be "that woman with the screaming baby" on the plane!

With the stress of traveling out of the way, I am able to fully enjoy being home again. For some reason, whenever I come home to Michigan I all of a sudden feel a burst of creativity--I want to write poems, and take beautiful pictures, and paint watercolor scenes of the woods. I don't feel this any place else. Maybe it's the history I have here that makes me feel so tied to the land and the trees and the wildflowers, and the change of seasons. It poured all day yesterday, and all night I listened to the sound of the rain falling, and I smelled its fresh scent on the breeze through my window, and I thought that few things could be so beautiful as a summer rain in Michigan. This place is delicious and alive. No place else will ever feel this way to me.

And it's wonderful to see my family again, especially my sister. We laugh and act silly together as if we were still children, and it's wonderful. I am happy to be home.

Traveling Jitters

2006-07-09T21:55:00.000-05:00

Tuesday I am flying to Michigan with Mia to see--well--everyone. I love to fly and I've flown many, many times, so I'm not worried about flying, per say. I'm worried that Mia will be...difficult to fly with. Will she be fussy and fidgetty while we're waiting for our plane? Or while we're on the plane? Will they be able to get the stroller out of the under-plane storage fast enough for me to make my connecting flight in Memphis? Will Mia be able to go that long without nursing? Ugh. I'll just be happy when it's over and we're there.

Of course, being there is not going to be all fun and games. The two weeks have already pretty much been planned out for me. I'm staying at my parents' house, which makes sense to me. Friday after I arrive, Bobby's dad and stepmom wanted to spend the evening with Mia and me all to themselves (understandable--they're her grandparents, too). Saturday afternoon will be dedicated to the rest of Bobby's family--his grandfather and great aunt, his aunt and uncle and cousins, as well as his dad. Sunday afternoon is to be dedicated to my dad's side of the family. The following weekend is going to be spent in Charlevoix with my mom's side of the family (and will include a memorial service for my uncle who passed away earlier this year). Plus, my brother and sister-in-law want me to go to their church with them Sunday. My SIL also wants me to attend a play group that she takes my neice to, because apparently she's concerned that Mia doesn't get to socialize with other babies enough (we go to a small church, and Mia is one of only two babies). Uh, okay. And on top of all that, I will still be working the entire time I'm there. Some "vacation." I told Bobby this is the last time I go anywhere without him. Everything is so much easier when it's the two of us.

All I really want to do is hang out with my sister. Go for a bike ride into town, eat cookies at the bakery, maybe see a chick-flick or two. Those things will be easily fit in with all the other scheduled appointments, but it's just going to feel so hectic. Maybe I'm overthinking it, though. I tend to do that. Guess I should just not worry about it, and take it one day at a time. Yeah. Good plan.

Journaling Challenge at Girl Talk

2006-07-06T16:41:00.000-05:00

I just posted a journaling challenge over at Dani's Girl Talk blog. If you haven't checked it out yet, go now! There's a recipe card swap and two challenges up(including mine), and more to come--and we're just getting started! ;) We want you to come have fun with us!!!

The Fourth in Review

2006-07-05T21:14:00.000-05:00

The past few Independence Days were pretty dull and uneventful for us. In both 2004 and 2005 we had just moved to new areas (life in the military!), and so didn't know people to cook out with, or where the good parades and fireworks were. Thus, I have NO pictures from either of those years. They might as well have not existed! That thought makes me so sad, and this year I really hoped we would do something worth remembering. And...We did! The day got off to a slow start--Bobby took off geocaching for most of the morning/afternoon, while Mia and I just lazed about the house(which was fine with us). But in the evening we cooked out with some friends from church, and that night (despite no planning and the fact that we had to mobilize a large, highly uncoordinated group) we even made it to a fabulous fireworks display in the next town over! Mia didn't take her afternoon nap like she usually does, and I was worried she would be extremely cranky and fussy, but she did great and even stayed up and watched the fireworks! Our first 4th as a family of three!

Also, I finished a kit yesterday, and there are plans in the works to put it up for sale in August! This is the first time I've deemed my designs worth selling, and I'm so excited! I've even got a mini kit freebie designed to go with it. I'm planning a contest to celebrate my new kit, and one lucky winner will get the complete kit for FREE! So stay tuned in the upcoming weeks! To give you a peek at this new kit, I'll post a LO I did yesterday with it! Enjoy!

Credits: All papers and elements from my new Hawaiian Summer kit--coming soon! Fonts are Civilian and Century Gothic

Hymns of Independence

2006-07-04T09:14:00.000-05:00

I love singing our national anthem, and the many other patriotic hymns out there. When I sing those words, pride and gratitude and love for my country swell within me and I usually end up teary-eyed, so fierce is the patriotism I feel. The majority of Americans know exactly what I'm talking about(and the rest enjoy the freedom we have in this country to not feel that way). But though many patriotic hymns' first verses are well known (The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, God Bless America, etc.), there are further verses to those beautiful songs that usually go unsung, and I have found those unknown verses to be even more poigniant and meaningful than the ones that are commonly sung. I've included two of my most favorite patriotic hymns here, with their additional verses. Read them, and reflect on what our forefathers went through to win this nation and make it great. In these verses you can see the bright hope and vision they had for this country. Remember also what our servicemen and women still go through today to keep America free, and say a little prayer of thanksgiving and protection for them and their families. And enjoy your Independence Day! God bless America!

The Star Spangled Banner

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand, Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation; Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust" And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

America the Beautiful

Oh beautiful, for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.

Oh beautiful, for pilgrims' feet
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw;
Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!

Oh beautiful, for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,'
Til all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine!

Oh beautiful, for patriot's dream
That sees beyond the years!
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!

The End (?) of a Stressful Day

2006-07-01T19:47:00.000-05:00

Mia is asleep in her crip, and Bobby is passed out on the couch (even though he's supposed to be preparing a Sunday School lesson for tomorrow), and I am drinking tea and listening to Enya. The muscles in my neck, shoulders and back are just starting to loosen. It is the end (hopefully) of a stressful mommy day.

I'm sure every parent has days where they feel like they are at their wits' end, that their child is uncontrolable and doomed to grow up wild and unmanagable, and that they are a failure as a parent. It was one of those days for Bobby and me. Mia has learned that she has a voice and can make all kinds of neat noises with it. She's also learned that her voice can be LOUD. In fact, some days LOUD is her only volume, and 6-month-olds just don't have the comprehension skills to know what an "in-door voice" is (they just don't!). I don't mind her loud noises; she's a baby and she's learning and developing, and this is normal. I do mind that she is starting to manipulate us with these loud noises. Anytime she is unhappy with her situation, she makes loud noises in great abundance (beyond the just happy/playing loud noises). She does it when we try to go out to dinner ("You expect to be able to go out to dinner with a 6-month-old? You're crazy!" I know). She does it when she thinks I should be paying attention to her instead of the dinner on the stove. And we just don't know what to do about it. Everything we've read says to ignore the child's behavior when they do this. I don't think that whoever wrote that ever actually had children. Try ignoring a 6-month-old who is squawking with all her might at the absolute top of her lungs. At one point today, I finally put her down in her crib. She squawked for two hours. When I finally put her to bed tonight, I felt extremely exhausted, and unsure of my abilities to be the kind of parent I want to be. Luckily, I've had days like this before, and I know that it is just one day. It passes, and you wake up in the morning with a bright and happy baby who is such an angel that you wonder if someone didn't kidnap the baby from yesterday and replace her with a look-alike.

In other news: My mother's day present finally arrived today. Bobby ordered me The Firm fitness program two months ago. It was mis-shipped twice. The first time it ended up being delivered to some lucky person in Ohio who happily accepted this free gift that they did not order (seriously, who does that?!), and the second time who knows what happened, but the third time's the charm, I guess. My new workout regime starts Monday! Time to start shapin' up!

One last bit of fun digi-scrappin' news: Dani started a brand new blog called Girl Talk. It's going to be "run" by us Dani's Girls, and we are going to have lots of fun challenges with giftcard rewards, as well as other fun tips and tidbits. Yours truly will be offering up a weekly journaling challenge! It's going to be tons of fun and I'm so excited, so check it out! :)

Make it Mean Something

2006-06-29T23:06:00.000-05:00

Scrapbooking appeals to me for so many reasons. It allows me to combine my love for design and color and art with my love for writing. It has opened the door to a myriad of other artistic pursuits, like photography. But most of all, to me it is art that has a purpose and meaning that is of the utmost importance: leaving a legacy for future generations.

I have always been fascinated with my family's history, but more than just "so-and-so begat so-and-so," I was interested in hearing the stories of each individual member. One of my favorite stories is of my great-grandfather Henry and my great-grandmother Genevieve (who I was named after) during World War I. Henry was a fighter pilot stationed in France, and Genevieve was in the Red Cross stationed elsewhere in France. Henry used to fly over the little town where Genevieve was stationed and drop love letters to her. When the war was over, they were married in Paris. I love to think about what they were like, what their lives were like. And I am always sorry there was not more evidence of them left behind. I have a handful of photos of them, and some letters they wrote, and the stories my grandfather tells, but oh! to have a journal written by one of them.

So, when I scrapbook, ultimately it is with future generations in mind. My children. My children's children. I want them to be able to look at my scrapbooks and know what was important to me, how I lived my life, the values that I held closest in my heart. Most importantly, I want them to look at my life and my scrapbooks, and I want them to see God's Hand in my life.

Lately, my scrapbook pages have all focused on little things, and how we value the little every-day moments is important, too. But sometimes I forget to include the bigger things, the more important things. I get so caught up in enjoying the art, that I forget to make it mean something. And to me, if it doesn't have meaning, it was not worth creating.

Bye-Bye, Paper Supplies!

2006-06-28T17:49:00.000-05:00

I did it! I just listed ALL my Quickutz on eBay! I still can't really believe it, and I'm even feeling a little jittery since I listed them. My Quickutz were the CENTER of my scrapbook pages. Like Bobby said the other day, "If you're going to sell your Quickutz, you might as well sell everything else!" lol He's right. I think now that I've taken this step, getting rid of everything else will be easy.

So, that's it! I am 100% DIGITAL now! Yikes!!!!

Step AWAY from the Computer!

2006-06-27T18:15:00.000-05:00

Ugh! Some days I just feel like my computer burns a hole in my brain! I work on the computer all day, and then when I'm done I play on the computer(message boards, galleries, blogs, PSE!). Computers are a wonderful thing, but today I feel like I gotta take a break. The sad thing: I don't WANT to! I want to make more scrapbook pages! I want to redo my blogger header! I want to play around with designing some more! But my brain is saying, "Step AWAY from the computer!!!"

"But, Genevieve," you say, "what on earth will you do if you're not on the computer?!?!" Bobby's gone geocaching, which means I can get at least two hours into Pride and Prejudice(the loooong A&E version with Colin Firth because it's the best), and put a pretty good dent into the pint of Phish Food ice cream he got me today. So those are my big plans for the evening! Hopefully my brain will feel recovered by tomorrow. Can't go too long without scrapping!

Before I sign off, here's a LO I finished this morning of my sister and me.

Credits: Elements and paper from Michelle Coleman's Chelsea's Dream kit (Scrap Artist), Schmootzy frams and acrylic paint swoosh by Nancy Rowe Janitz (also Scrap Artist), font is Miss Brooks

Journaling Reads: How many times as children did we walk along some lonely Lake Charlevoix shore looking for Petosky stones? They were magical things when we were kids, those special stones that are only to be found in Great Lakes waters, and we used to hunt for them as if they were pirate’s gold. When we found one, we would take it home and seal it in clear nail polish to reveal its true nature, and Oma and Opa would set it out somewhere for all to see. Looking back on those times I realize that the real gold was the memories we were making. In these pictures we are no longer children. I was 24 and you, 19. Young women, adults, even. But on this quiet summer evening, during a visit to Charlevoix(and such visits were becoming rarer and rarer), we walked down to Depot Beach, and went barefoot through the water, looking for Petosky stones. The beauty of this place and time stings my eyes, because of all the happy memories that are built into it. I will always cherish you, my dearest sister. Our childhood is behind us now, but happy memories live on in our hearts.

Happy Monday!

2006-06-26T17:52:00.000-05:00

Wow! I am just floored by all the positive feedback I've gotten on my little freebie! I'm so glad so many people are enjoying it! Definitely made it worth posting, and it has me thinking I'll probably make more in the future! I think sharing it was even more fun than making it! :)

Even aside from getting to be done with work early to do a little geocaching and all of the fun comments on my freebie, today was a very fun day. Why's that? you ask. Well, because today was the day we got to post all of the fun LOs we've been making for the past week with Dani's new kits! You can see my LOs in my slide show, but I'll post my two favorites here anyways. Happy Monday!

Credits: Yankee Doodle Candy elements and pp by Dani Mogstad and Kimberly Giarusso(available July 1st!), heart felt shape from Dani's ala carte Felt Shapes(also available July 1st!), font is Black Jack

Credits: Hopscotch pp and elements by Dani Mogstad(available July 1st!), fonts are Artistamp Medium and Freebooter Script.

My First Freebie: Ephemera

2006-06-25T16:12:00.000-05:00

I did it! I finished my very first freebie!!! Like I said, it's just a random collection of collage-y type things, but I'm pretty happy with it! Without further ado, here it is! I hope you like it!

And please, no hotlinking. It's free--If you want to share it with a friend, please send them here to download for themselves. Thank you! :)

Edit 7-4-06: Sorry, this freebie is no longer available.

I Dream of Home

2006-06-24T23:02:00.000-05:00

A second post today because I just remembered a beautiful dream I had last night, and I didn't want to lose it.

I dreamed I was standing on the shore of Lake Charlevoix on a crisp, cool Autumn morning. The surface of the lake was completely still, and mist floated in patches over the water. Where there was no mist, the rich deep greens of the pines and the oranges, reds and yellows of the changing leaves were reflected on the lake as if it was a mirror. Everything was peaceful and I just stood there, listening to the quiet sounds of the surrounding forest waking up. I breathed in the fresh, cool air, and exhaled wispy plumes of white mist. Home. I felt content, at peace. There was no stress, nothing at all to distract from the beauty of God's creation. What an amazing dream.

When I woke up I felt the bittersweet pangs of homesickness. I got married and moved away from Michigan (forever?) four years ago, and even though home is wherever Bobby and Mia are now(even if they are in the hot, sticky South), a part of me will always call Michigan home. I lived there for 22 years. My internal clock still expects the change of seasons, even though they don't really exist where we live now. I especially miss the fall--the colors of the leaves, the coolness in the air, how the sky is brighter blue in the fall than any other time of year. I miss lilacs in the spring. I miss riding my bike in downtown Clarkston. And these are only a handful of the things about home that I cherish in my heart. Every time I go home, I take pictures hoping to capture all these feelings in images, but home is such an elusive thing. And yet my subconscious, dreaming mind was able to recreate it perfectly.

Digital Designing Babble

2006-06-24T13:57:00.000-05:00

I wrote a really fun tutorial for PSE last night and have been trying to post it all morning, but for some reason Blogger is giving me grief about inserting images (screenshots to go with the tut). It says they're uploaded, and then they just don't ever appear in the entry. Then when I try to navigate around my blogger dashboard it says my cookies are bad or something, and no amount of cache clearing or rebooting seems to help. Obviously I'm still able to post, but images seem to be too much for Blogger today.

So instead, I played around in PSE some more, and did some more designing. Everything I'm coming up with lately is really random, so I'm thinking of just throwing it all into an elements pack and calling it "Ephemera." Random, hodge-podge, collage-y things. And if I ever get over my (overinflated, I think) fear of piracy, I might even post it here as a freebie! Must write a TOU first. Ick.

My thoughts on designing in general: Well, right now I can't see myself doing it on a regular basis. I just work so slow, and I get complaints if I spend too much time on the computer! I don't know how independent designers (like Dani) do it--two new kits a month, plus extra little freebie type things here and there? Wow. Plus, right now I can't design the kind of things I get satisfaction out of using in my own layouts (except I will say that everything in my Ephemera pack is turning out how I wanted it to so far). All my papers look flat, and I can't quite get them to have the shabby/soft/distressed look I like. One thing I am good at: brushes. I've come up with some neat brushes that I'm really happy with. Maybe I should make a brush set freebie. There's an idea.

A Brighter Day

2006-06-22T12:54:00.000-05:00

Things are looking much better after a good night's sleep. Isn't that always the way? Anyways, I whipped this up this morning. Simple, but effective, I think.

Credits: flourish brushes by Michelle Coleman at ScrapArtist, font is Windsong

Counting My Blessings

2006-06-21T21:10:00.000-05:00

Today was a particularly long day. I've had a very full plate the past couple of days as far as work goes. We had two newsletters to get out by today(normally there's just one per week), and on top of that I was having to deal with our most high-maintenance client, and today she was more high-maintenance than she's ever been before. By the end of my work day she was still sending me corrections and additions she wanted made to her brochure (which was supposed to be done by tonight, but she made that impossible). Not only that, but she was sending me raw material and asking me to actually write it for her. My job is just to put all of their information together for them so that it is visually appealing, they are supposed to have it written up how they want it (with all corrections made) when they give it to me. I was just getting so frustrated. I do go above and beyond for clients--if they don't have graphics made up, I will come up with something for them even though that is not what we are paid to do for them. But I feel like she's taking advantage of that. Every time she wants something new, and now she even wants me to do the verbiage. I'm not getting paid for that, and she takes up my time like she's my only client. Which she is not. *sigh* I should have gone into graphic design. I'd still be doing the same stuff, dealing with the same tedious customers, but at least I'd be getting paid significantly more money. Don't get me wrong; I am very thankful for this job--it came right when we needed the money most--and I really enjoy it (most days), and my boss is wonderful. I just hate feeling run over by this particular client.

On top of that, I'm feeling a little sorry for myself right now. My sister-in-law just emailed me the beautiful professional photographs she had taken of her 3-month-old daughter (my niece, yay!), and I felt this huge pang of guilt for never taking Mia to have portraits done. Then I remembered that the reason I've never done it is because we can't really afford it right now, which makes me feel worse. We were perfectly fine and stable financially the first 3 years of our marriage. Why did he have to get out of the Navy and be changing careers now? Now that we have a baby to take care of! It's not his fault, of course, it's just the way things happened. And we won't always be this tight financially, but I'm just having such a hard time with it right now.

My diagnosis is that I am tired from a stressful day, and so things are bothering me more than they normally would. In light of that diagnosis, I prescribe myself at least 15 minutes of reflecting on everything I have to be thankful for. Here's a start: Jesus loved me so much that He died for me. My husband loves me and our daughter, and is kind and loving and patient to both of us. My daughter is beautiful and healthy and spunky. I have a wonderful mom and dad and brother and sister, who made my childhood full of happy memories. I have friends who love me and care about me. I have a nice computer and nice software on which to create beautiful things(which makes me happy)....

It's Official...

2006-06-19T17:16:00.000-05:00

I've been bursting to tell all weekend!!!! I MADE IT! :) I was selected to be part of Dani Mogstad's creative team! YAY!!! I got an email Friday morning, and only half-awake, I figured it was another, "Thanks for applying, but..." e-mail. I had to read it a couple times before it sunk in that I'd been accepted, and then I squealed and danced around the room! Bobby thought (not for the first time) that I'd gone crazy! Anyways, this is my first design team, and I am so excited. I LOVE Dani's designs--they're just my style, and after getting to know the other ladies on the team a bit this weekend, I'm already sorry it's only for six months! lol I am really looking forward to this opportunity, and I know it will be challening and fun. We've got some new things planned, so stay tuned for updates!

Coming back down to earth now... Mia has been out of sorts all day, and it's been kind of wearing on me. She cries any time I try to put her down, and has just been fussy all day. It's made it really hard to get my work done--typing with a wiggly 6-month-old in my lap is beyond my talents. I wish I knew what was bothering her--tummy ache? teething?--so I could make it better. Well, it'll be bedtime soon for her, and hopefully she'll sleep well tonight since she hasn't napped very well today.

Hmm...I think that's all for today, but I'll end with a LO.

Credits: PP, elements and alpha from Dani Mogstad's Sassy Pants kit; font is Loosey Script

I'm a Father's Day SLACKER!!!

2006-06-17T20:29:00.000-05:00

Man! Been a crazy week/past couple days. My boss has been on the road all week, so I've had to handle a little more of everything than I normally do. Nothing I can't handle (although, I'm sure those ladies I had to do the mail merge for think I'm an absolute moron because I kept sending them blank files over and over again until I finally figured out what was wrong! Oh, well! They'll get over it--I have!). It just means I've had to be a little busier than usual. I kinda like being busy anyways. To a certain point, the busier I am, the more organized I am, and the more efficient I work. But now it's the weekend, AND....

Today we went GEOCACHING for the first time in over a year! We used to geocache all the time when we lived in Pensacola (because I wasn't working, and neither was Bobby--that was back when the Navy was paying him pretty good money to just sit around), and then we moved to Valdosta and he got too busy with flight school to do anything (and I was pregnant and huge anyways--can't imagine I would've enjoyed caching like that). So, now that we're settled back in FL, we thought we'd check out our area and see what the caches are like around here. We took our friends Alan and Debbie, who'd never even heard of geocaching before, and we all had a blast. Went after 4 caches, but only found 3 of them--there were too many muggles (=non-geocaching people) around the last one to search properly.

Tomorrow--ugh--is Father's Day. I say UGH because I am a huge slacker this year. I just finished making our dads cards, so they're not even getting mailed until Monday! And I haven't gotten Bobby anything! It's really hard to shop for him. Most of the things he wants he just goes out and buys, leaving me with no options when it's time to birthday/Christmas/Father's Day shop for him! He never seems upset about it, but I just feel so darned guilty! And tomorrow is his first Father's Day. Maybe a LO with him and Mia? *sigh*

Layouts With My Own Designs?

2006-06-15T12:56:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a new kit. Having a little bit of a hard time with it because it's evolved several times since I started it, but I'm finally coming out with some things I absolutely adore and that might make a coherent kit. So, I go to make a layout with my newly designed papers and elements, and...scrapper's block! Why is it so hard for me to make layouts with my own stuff? I do it so easily with things designed by other people! Finally, I came up with this layout.

Credits: All papers & elements by me. Fonts are Dreamer One, Scrptina and Sansumi

I submitted it to a critique group I'm a part of to see if they can help me make it better, but I guess it's not too shabby as is. Mostly I'm just really happy with the papers and brushes I've come up with for this kit. I've even started to think about offering it as a freebie (once I figure out all the technicalities of making it available for download). If you'd be interested in seeing the things used on this page in a freebie kit, I'd love to hear from you! Leave me a comment and let me know! I'm just getting started at this--I need encouragement! ;)

Mail Merges are the Devil!

2006-06-13T17:08:00.000-05:00

Today the Boo is 6 months old! I can't believe six months have gone by since her birth. I still remember it {vividly, because the epidural didn't work!} like it was yesterday. She had her 6 month well-baby appointment today, too, and it has been determined that she is, in fact, a well baby. 14lbs and 4 oz., 25.5 in. long and in the 25th percentile(what can I say? she's petite!). The doctor was also pretty impressed with her ability to sit up. She (the doctor) said that while many babies are starting to sit up at 6 months, it's unusual for them to have the balance Mia does. Yeah, she's a firstborn--we like to be ahead of the game like that.

But then came the immunizations. I think I hate them as much as Mia does. She screamed and cried, and made me want to scream and cry! After the immunizations we had to sit in the pharmacy for 45 minutes (I had to wait 20 minutes so they could tell me it was going to take them another 15-20 minutes to slap a sticker on a bottle of flouride for me--isn't that just typical?), which was not fun with a baby who was fussy because she just had needles stuck in both her thighs. And then another 45 minute drive home. I'm glad she's healthy, but the dr. visit took a good 3-hour chunk out of my work day, which was already not going very well.

The first project I had to do today involved creating a mail merge from several excel spreadsheets. Not a big deal, right? Well, I couldn't figure out how to save the darned things as their own separate documents so that I could email them to the client who needed them. It turned out to be a simple/obvious fix, but of course, I had to beat my head against a wall for nearly 3 hours to figure out that it was a simple fix. You know how when you're tired and run-down obvious things completely elude you? Well, it's been that kind of day for me. I definitely need a nap. Whether or not Mia will allow that has yet to be seen.

But just when I needed something to cheer me up, I got a private message on the Digi Chick saying that my layout, "A Perfect Moment," had been chosen layout of the day! Thank you to Darla for choosing it, and to everyone else for leaving me nice comments on it! You really lifted my spirits right when I needed it most!

This is a Perfect Moment

2006-06-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

Normally Sunday mornings are a pretty rushed affair for us. We sleep in as long as Mia will let us, which is usually until around 8, and even though that still leaves us two hours until church starts, it's just barely enough time for us to get showers, get dressed, eat, get the Boo fed and dressed, and get out the door. But this morning, Mia woke us up at 7, and that extra hour was sweet. After I fed her, Bobby came out and we sat on the couch together just playing with Mia. She is always a delight to interact with--her bright eyes looking around at everything, just soaking it all in, and her happy smiles and talking noises make me laugh with joy(cheesy, but true). But this morning it was more than just her. It was enjoying a special, carefree moment with both of them. How did I get so lucky? Well, of course, I don't believe in luck--what people call "luck," I call blessings from the Lord. And I am so blessed. I made this page (with a picture I took this morning of the three of us, imperfect as it is) so I can always remember.

Credits: Circle grunge brushes and grunge photo mask by K. Pertiet @ Designer Digitals, splotch brushes by Tracy Ann Robins @ Scrapbook-Bytes. Fonts: Geosans Light, PR8 Charade

Fun With Blogger

2006-06-10T14:25:00.000-05:00

I spent yesterday evening and this morning figuring out how to adjust the colors of my blog and insert my own blog heading design. I am by no means an HTML wiz, but I can figure things out here and there if I'm particularly determined. And I was determined. I hate using preset templates--I have to customize everything, make it my own. I used to completely cover my three-ring binders in my doodles when I was in middle school, I painted my own cartoon characters on the back of my bedroom door when I was in high school (with my parents' permission, of course), and now I need to have my blog decorated! :) I'm happy with it now, except that for some reason my header image won't center. It's centered when I look at it in the editing preview, but when I publish it, it looks off. Hmm... Of course, if anyone reads this and knows how to fix that, feel free to chime in!

CT Hopeful

2006-06-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

A Little Background
I have been paper scrapping for 8 years now. I vehemently swore I would NEVER go digital, but two months ago I downloaded a digital scrap kit, and haven't done a paper layout since. Granted, part of the reason I haven't paper scrapped is because most of my paper supplies had to go into storage, as we moved into a two-bedroom apartment(we were in a 3-bedroom before, albeit a very small 3-bedroom) a couple weeks ago, and I now have no dedicated scrap space. But the supplies I did save from storage just sit in my closet now, and my thoughts turn to eBay and the small fortune I could make if I sold my supplies, and then I imagine all the software upgrades and digi-kits I could buy with that small fortune... The outlook is bleak for my paper supplies.

My Thoughts on Digital
Digital is amazing to me, for so many reasons. It's so much more cost-effective, which I love since we are in a transitional phase right now (translate: tight budget). It takes up a lot less space, and is there's nothing to clean up when you're done. And if you're in the middle of a page, and the baby starts crying, you just hit save and leave it. But probably my favorite thing about digital scrapping is the community.

Scrapbooking in general has become a HUGE industry, which is great! It's a worthwhile hobby, and more industry=more variety for scrappers. But with paper scrapbooking, there is a certain distance between the lay scrapbookers and the "professional" scrapbookers--those who publish the magazines, set the "standards," etc. It's gotten to the point where it feels like there is a scrapping aristocracy and then the scrapbooking peasants(the average scrappers). I mean, the paper world has its own set of celebrities--people who normal scrapbookers freak out about, fall all over themselves over, and would die to have their picture taken with! That's cool, I guess, but I've never been that into celebrities. In fact, it kind of turns me off. Susie Scraps-a-lot's layouts are not better than yours just because hers are published in a magazine! ;)

And this is what I like so much about digital: In digital, the designers, the industry trend-setters are right there with you, posting in the same forums you post in. Uploading their layouts right next to yours. Even leaving you praise in your gallery! Why? Because they're digital scrappers just like the next girl (or guy!). It makes you feel like you could do what they do. Or even maybe be on one of their creative teams.

So, I recently answered a couple creative team calls. I chose designers whose designs I love and I would be so honored to make it, though I have no expectations. I am fairly new to the digital community, and maybe that will work against me. Maybe not. But it doesn't matter, because I felt comfortable enough with my abilities as a fairly new digi-scrapper to at least try. And I'm going to keep trying until I make it. Because I've definitely found my niche in the scrapping world, and my day will come!