the Finer Things

First Day of School

2009-08-25T06:00:00.007-04:00

Really. The first time in PUBLIC school for either of my children! This wouldn't be so unusual for my son, who is four and actually starting VPK. It is unusual for my daughter who is starting her first year of High School!!! I like the schools and I feel great about them going. We are so lucky that Diana's bus stop is right next to the house. Edmund's school is close too. I love this town. Diana got admitted into an awesome program and we are so excited for her. Congrats Diana and Edmund!

Yosemite Valley

2009-08-23T06:00:00.006-04:00

Every view was spectacular! IMHO you can't even find a bad view here. Flying 2,427 miles and driving 153 miles to get here was worth it! I felt exhilarated to finally be in the immense presence of Half Dome and El Capitan. There is unlimited adventure here awaiting your footsteps. In two days, I managed to scramble up rocks and boulders toward the falls in the morning and part way across a river in the afternoon all while holding my son's hand and we still made it to Glacier Point by sunset. Incredible! This awesome trip was sponsored by my Dad! Thank you!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T20:26:00.007-05:00

Hope that you've had a nice day with those you love. I received some lovely roses, which are my favorite! I tried to post the pic from my iPhone, but have not figured a work-around yet. I'll keep trying to get it right.

Perception

2009-02-10T20:22:00.003-05:00

Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there, and be guided by the truth as one sees it. But no one has the right to coerce others to act according to his own view of truth. " Mahatma Gandhi I meant to publish this quote long ago. As I reflect upon it, I think. My truth may not be your truth, but it is what I have to guide me. May your truths be useful in your life.

Peaceful Easy Feeling

2009-02-07T20:17:00.006-05:00

I am so loving my day to myself. DH took the kids for a family visit and left me here to have some quiet time. I had forgotten what that was! I'm taking several great classes at Big Picture Scrapbooking. Today Get Organized Be Inspired is having a Super Saturday, so this is a perfect day for sorting and purging my scrapbook supplies. I finally added some tunes to the blog. Back to work. Have a wonderful evening. I think I'll sneak in an episode of BattleStar Gallactica too. I got an iPhone for Christmas! I found so many cool apps for this. There is even a gratitude journal. You gotta love that! As you can see I still have a lot of boxes to unpack from this latest move. Lots of purging! I love these Kapla blocks. Edmund loved knocking down Diana's creation.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T22:33:00.008-05:00

Updated Post! My gift to you is a link to Ed's great photography blog. He has loads of inspiring images to browse. I hope you've had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The link I wanted to show you on Christmas is here. Here's hoping the link works now!

Grateful Heart

2008-11-28T06:00:00.005-05:00

It is with a grateful heart that I say Good Morning to you. I am one of many who enjoyed a wonderful day with good company and good food and shelter. I'm grateful for moving to a new city, that I love; into a new home near the shore; a pleasant walk on the beach with friends; sweet beautiful children, a nice, funny husband, thoughtful family, good health, so much abundance of material stuff that I can give bunches away and still have "enough;" a slice of the best pumpkin pie I've ever tasted made by the great chef in our family (see photo), my son's inquisitive heart, my daughter's thoughtful insights, my husbands quick humor, my Dad's unbounded knowledge, insights and patience, a whole family full of talents and qualities I admire and most of all that I am lucky enough to be here to enjoy it and a thousand other generous gifts this world has to offer when I make the effort to appreciate it. You have to accept a gift, by appreciating it. I appreciate it and I appreciate your stopping by. Thank You! Please read Stacy's blog, she has something wonderfully grateful to share, go to the link she has and see how you can share your gratitude in a meaningful way.

Closed Door #2

2008-11-24T06:00:00.002-05:00

A year and a half ago, we left Keystone Heights to move to Sebring. We lived in this home for a year before closing this door too. It was a nice, calm, friendly, inland town. We rented a brand new house, while waiting for our home to sell. If you have an older home and you have not lived in a new one, know that new is not always better. Skimpy insulation is very annoying and costly. My old home was solid and very well insulated. Things were not perfect and new, but they were pretty reliable. This rental did look sharp though and it was nice to try out a new house. It was a good experience. I think we made the right move. I'm grateful to be able to release this door too.

Closed Doors

2008-11-21T06:00:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, we closed these doors on our old home to open new doors for today. A lot of things were beautiful about where we were, but it was not where we needed to be. I am grateful to be able to let someone else enjoy this view and to move on to a new view of my own. It's very hard to pick something up, until you put something down. It feels good for me to move on and embrace something new. Enjoy what you have now. Fill your arms with what you love. Let go when you need to.

Right On Track

2008-11-20T06:00:00.003-05:00

Moving right along, we decided to focus on what we wanted. We wanted to live near the ocean. We wanted to be done with the concern over selling our home. We accepted a low offer and sold our home. We found a new rental home near enough to the shore. We moved everything out of both homes into the new one. Now my task is to settle in and to release all the unnecessary items I have accumulated, to make room for living! Hopefully the storage unit I rented yesterday will help facilitate my effort Best get Back on Track! Drawing by me for my son's birthday card.

You Must Be the Change You Wish to See in This World

2008-11-05T06:32:00.004-05:00

We are all in this together. If you live in the US, you probably voted. You cast your vote because you care. You care about yourself, your family, your community, your state, your country, your world. Your candidate won or lost. Now it is up to all of us to contribute to making our world, country, state, community, family and selves a bit better. How you choose to do that is very personal. That you choose to do this is very important. How can we be the change we wish to see in this world? Title quote by: Ghandi

Right Now

2008-09-16T09:57:00.005-04:00

"Catch a magic moment, do it Right here and now It means everything." Van Halen Being Present requires a level of attention I am not accustomed to giving. I am loving it and feeling like a child again. In those present moments, I'm looking at the world in wonder and awe and wondering how to share this with someone else. It's just too good not to share. Sometimes the smallest beautiful details are lost in the hurry to our destination. I drive by this nearly every day. I never noticed. I went for sunrise walk one morning and liked the dew on the leaves. Several days later, I almost tossed the picture. It wasn't that great, but I liked the dew drops. Oh, yeah, wasn't that why I took this picture? I stopped and took closer look. Those drops are really interesting. They make me think of other worlds unexplored. They are perfect spheres reflecting what I don't take the time to notice. I noticed today and I'm grateful for my perfect moments.

Wish on a Scrap

2008-09-05T12:25:00.004-04:00

I have really enjoyed Loreen's Scrap Space She has a really great site and I love that I have joined her Yahoo group. Look on the right side of her blog for the sign up link. I have ordered some awesome supplies at great prices through her and they are always doing something fun there. I've already ordered Glimmer Mist, Glimmer Screens, Bazzill in bulk, and some very cool strong magnets. It's worth a visit!

Finally Printing

2008-09-02T14:19:00.006-04:00

I printed and I am joyous! I have never printed a digi layout before this. I am embarrassed to admit I have not been printing my digi pix at all! I took an entire online class (Library of Memories) with Stacy Julian at Big Picture Scrapbooking and even after hearing her tell me for four months to print my pictures...I didn't do it until I saw there was a sale at scrapbookpictures. It was the square pictures! The only printing I had done before this was a poster for my Grandmother's 90th birthday. It had 192 square photos in it. I had already processed these 2.5 inch pix and I was ready to do another project with them. I had already printed that poster through Kinko's and the pictures were good enough already. After I ordered the small square pix, I realized I also had 12x12 layouts to print. I just got those back and they came out awesome. I highly recommend this company. The shipping is very reasonable too! I am so delighted!

Moon Over Miami

2008-09-01T11:44:00.005-04:00

We Went Down to Miami to visit family and celebrate two birthdays. My In-Laws are leaving Miami, which leaves my parents as the last family there still. We had a really nice time visiting Ed's parents. Afterward, we went to Toys R Us and got some extra gifts for DS. Then we visited my parents and went to the Chart House in the Grove for my Dad's 70th and my son's birthday (see photo). It is a great restaurant! When my Dad made the reservations, they asked him if we were coming for a special occasion and he said "It's my birthday." When we got there they had Happy Birthday and my Dad's name printed at the top of the menu. So we were all surprised. After dinner, we walked out to look at the bay. I love looking at Biscayne Bay when the weather is rough. The rain got the better of us, so we didn't stay long. The moon was up when we left, but you couldn't see it this time. The next day we went to visit my Grandmother in the nursing home. She is 90. It is nice to see her, but it is hard because she can't remember anything for very long. I have been sorting through her stuff in her apartment to rescue her memorabilia. I have so many questions and she just can't answer them now. It is quite hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. She didn't have any order to things. As she grew older and less able to manage that, the mess grew worse. Do your family a favor. De-clutter. De-clutter. De-clutter. Let your family share those memories with you and even help you sort it out. I offered years ago, but she was probably overwhelmed then. She is so sweet and everyone loves her. She was a Jazz Singer all of her life. When she lived in Marathon, they used to call her the "Sweetheart of the Florida Keys." When I call or visit I tell her the stories of her life, because she can't remember. She still likes to hear her stories.

Time is On My Side

2008-08-28T10:46:00.006-04:00

It has been a long time since my last post! I realize that in one way we do have to act as if time is on our side and on the other hand we have to act as if we don't have a moment to spare. I feel both are true. In the time since my last personal post, I have flown to Vancouver, cruised to Alaska, walked over a suspension bridge, gone up in a very tall building and enjoyed the view, flown in sea plane, saw bears fairly close in the wild, flown in helicopter over high mountains and glaciers, stood on an ice field on a glacier, dog sledded, ridden a train up and down a historic mountain, cycled through a rain forest and a deserted gold rush town, cruised through fjords, watched glaciers caving, saw a whale completely breech the water, his entire body in the air, saw sea lions, otters, eagles on vacation, watched a hurricane, turn into a tropical storm before it went over my town, had a birthday, had a life changing event, printed a couple hundred photos and overcame a messy paper filled desk. I am afraid of heights so some of those things involved my overcoming my fear to enjoy the beauty of the moment and I am glad that I did it when I had the opportunity and time to do it. Enjoy the time you have and make it your own without letting fear hold you back. Have a wonderful day!

Hummie's World: Take a Sip of Tea & Help A Special Guy Win!

2008-08-08T15:44:00.004-04:00

Hummie's World: Take a Sip of Tea & Help A Special Guy Win! Click the link and read Hummie's post to find out more. Watch this video and keep the hits coming through August 11th. Sorry I got this one linked up so late. It's a fun video and educational too. We have been away on vacation.

Library of Memories - Things We Do

2008-06-12T17:20:00.004-04:00

This morning when Stacy Julian posted our last Library of Memories lesson she said to take picture of three everyday things. I decided to make a this LO. Wish the coffeepot was a bit shinier and colors matched perfectly. This is not about perfection. It's about getting it done. It's funny to do a LO about such mundane things, but I wonder what was mundane in my family 100 years ago Fonts: Garamond, Scriptina, BG paper from my Seven Summer-Licious freebie set.

Library of Memories - All About Us

2008-06-07T09:21:00.009-04:00

I have been taking this years annual Library of Memories 16 week non-chronological scrapbooking class with Stacy Julian. As part of our All About Us, Personality page, I created this LO to share Ed's fun personality. It has just been snow much fun to play with the "Winter" theme here in Florida. I am amazed how much this class is changing the way I scrapbook. I highly recommend her books: "The Big Picture" and "Photo Freedom." Credits: Bon Scrapatit Designs/Linda Walton: Win'treeWeather 3S DAD Scrapkit: BGPaper11 and Snowflakes 1-4. Fonts: King and Queen and Garamond. Photos: Tasha and Ed Stanton

Hummie's World: Why Does Everyone Want Link Love?

2008-06-03T20:31:00.001-04:00

Hummie's World: Why Does Everyone Want Link Love? This is an awesome post. I have been wondering about this for some time. It takes a little effort to understand, but I feel it is worth it. I have joined Technorati and Del.icio.us too! Hope this link works! If you are a designer, this is a must read post!

Christmas Card

2008-03-06T11:37:00.005-05:00

NWR really helped me catch up on my LO's! This is for the Week 2 Wed. Challenge and my last for their gallery. Journaling block at bottom reads: "Every year we pose for a Christmas card photo. This year we had just moved in December. We were in a hurry to be done. Ed is a great photographer and he is practicing his art on us. He took oodles of photos and we were not happy with them. Edmund was getting tired, so Ed took one last shot. The best photo is this one that shows us as a family." Credits: Sweet Shoppe Designs: Carnival Kit (recolored); JSprague 4-Square template; Fonts: CK Alis Writing, Engravers MT, Century Gothic.

bc - before children

2008-02-23T08:11:00.006-05:00

This is a retrospective of my time when I was 28, long before I had kids. Life was very different. I am grateful to be a Mom now, just taking a different look back. This was for one of the challenges in my NWR class. Credits: Photos: Ed Stanton, Carnival Collaboration Kit from Sweete Shop Designs, December Daily template by J Sprague, Jason Gaylor Japanese Foliage brush 007. Font: VTPortable Remington.

Snow Fun

2008-02-23T07:56:00.006-05:00

Snow fun is a rare chance in Florida. In January we had fun playing in a pile of imported "snow." Papers: 07, MCO Beautiful Journey 02 (recolored), MCO Scalloped Paper Mask, K Pertiet Sanded Overlay; Embellieshments: MCO_Boho Flourishes 03, MCO Topper, Leora Apron Strings 2 pldlabel , JHE Twilled Phrases blank, brush: 1166757445_Grunge by in vogue, JSprague DauphinAlpha; Fonts - Century Gothic, vtRemingtonPortable (will add more credits later when I find out who MCO and JHE is)

Mother's Day

2008-02-22T18:41:00.004-05:00

Last spring we went to the Village in Keystone Heights for Mother's Day. We enjoyed a delicious meal and just plain fun. This is my week 3 LO for my NWR class with Jessica Sprague. Credits: J Sprague: Red Solid paper; K Pertiet: FairyDreamer 8 paper, Botanist No 7-2 paper; SnapFrames, On the Edge Fluorishes 3-6G & 2-1G, Jack-n Me Alpha blank, Katie Quotes, Brown Stitching; MaryAnn Wise: A LA MODE Brushes Scroll3

Thankful

2008-02-22T10:12:00.002-05:00

We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving together last Fall with Ed's family. I feel thankful to have such wonderful people in my life. I created this for my NWR Week 2 Lesson with Jessica Sprague. Credits: Photos: Ed Stanton, J Sprague: 4-square Template, GrungeFrame1, K Pertiet:_Papers: Cotton Easter red, Graph Notepaper, King Me 6; Tag: Stick Pinz Round; Overlay: Graphic Sun Prints 4a, Fonts: Asman from DaFont, Century Gothic and Lithos Pro.

Explore

2008-02-21T10:45:00.001-05:00

Last Summer we had an incredible vacation in Bar Harbor. We cycled the Acadia National Forest carriage road and had a delicious lunch at the the Jordan Pond restaurant. My son enjoyed exploring the shoreline of Jordan Pond while my DH took photos. I created this LO for my week 1 assignment in Jessica Sprague's'"Now We're Rockin'" class. It was awesome. I am so glad I took her class. Photo: Ed Stanton; Papers: Crushed Bubbles 9, Idea 8; Distressed Diva Distressed Edge Overlay by Trish Jones; September Afternoon Alpha: M. Fenner. Rounded Corner Brush and Stapled Heart embellishment by J Sprague. Paper Reveal No. 2 template: K Pertiet; Valentine Brushes: Jason Gaylor, Fonts: Century Old Style & Gothic.

Awesome Wacom

2008-01-11T10:34:00.000-05:00

I got my Wacom Intuos 6x11 Special Edition tablet up and running in a flash. I wish everything installed that easy! It is a dream!!! I have been playing, but I don't have any freebies yet. This one matches my widescreen monitor. I have always wanted one of these and it is just so cool. I still don't have a printer working yet :). I'm trying to think of something fun to do for the weekend. Do you have plans yet? Think quick, it's nearly here. Have a wonderful day!

Settling In

2008-01-10T14:31:00.000-05:00

I'm happy that I found a dance studio and drama classes for my DD. I am still working on soccer for my DS, but it looks like he is not old enough until the Spring session next year. We went for a bike ride in the neighborhood yesterday evening. It was fun. I saw a show about how much air conditioning changed our society. I think it is so true. When I first drove around the neighborhood, I did not think many children lived here. They are all indoors! Is your neighborhood like that too? We had a few winter days. I had to make a run up to our house for sale and it was a cold sleep. I didn't realize the thermostat had been set to 50. Went to sleep and woke up very chilly because I was not dressed for that temperature! I jumped up and down, reset the thermostat, covered the kids, got dressed better and jumped back in bed. DS got up early and was curious about everything we had left behind. I heard the neighbor kids outside playing. Their Dad had left the sprinklers on to create a Winter Wonderland for them. The icicles were beautiful!

A Wonderful Year

2008-01-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

I see a wonderful New Year waiting to be enjoyed. Every day is a chance to make it better. Last year was busy. I didn't take the time to say Hi, how are you today? We are settled in at this house for now. Our lovely house is still waiting for someone to come settle in there. I am learning a new town and I think I know every house for sale within five miles of where we live. Christmas was fun and visiting my hometown was fun too. I got a new computer which means photoshop should load lightning fast now. We have fast DSL now too. I went to my old house where we had dial up and the phone company called to see if I wanted DSL. Too funny, it finally came after I was already gone. I am thinking of trying out Atomic cupcake. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? I got a mega cutter called a Klic n Kut, must sit down and get it to work now. It looks awesome. Hope you are enjoying this wonderful Wednesday!

Thankful

2007-11-13T09:49:00.000-05:00

I'm so glad you have come to visit. I hope you have been well and will forgive my absence. We moved from the home we are selling. We are soon to move into the fourth home since we started this adventure. I am so excited because this one is bound to be a better fit. I am wishing the best of luck to a new home buyer who I believe will start the chain of home purchases necessary for our home to sell to it's interested buyer. It has to start somewhere. We are all exited about this move. My DS will be reunited with his missing toys. DD will have her own room again. I will get my own bed back. DH will have everyone happy again. The most important part is that we are all together. Enjoy you time together with family, it is precious.

Shine On Amy!

2007-08-27T15:39:00.000-04:00

Amy created a gorgeous layout with my AquaStatic template! I love how she cropped the photos really tight to show off her beautiful photos. Amy chose an awesome quote and set it with an excellent font to create a very special piece of word art. I'm sure "Daddy" is proud! Credits: Papers: Shabby Princess, Tracy Drane, Digital Scrapbook Place; Font: “Dali”; Stamp: Shabby Princess

Eye Opening

2007-08-15T10:22:00.000-04:00

My dear MIL was concerned that DS may have lazy eye. She noticed it in a photo. He very rarely does it, but once in a while one eye wanders in a bit. So... I took him in to see my favorite Ophthalmologist. DS is just two, so I warned him that the first eye drops sting, but only for a little while. The testing is really non-invasive and it's amazing what they can learn from someone who can't read yet. DS was really good, but he was upset about the first drops. They dilated his eyes with an extra long lasting dose because he is little and the muscles are so strong and flexible. He wore dark glasses all day yesterday. His eyes are still dilated today! The good news is that he has 20/30 vision, a little farsighted (which is normal at his age), no glasses needed, no glaucoma and he doesn't have lazy eye. He does however copy everything his DD does, including trying to cross his eyes LOL! I was so afraid. Now I'm so relieved he is OK. Glaucoma rarely affects someone under 40, but it can happen and the result is permanent blindness, without symptoms. I have a rare genetic form of glaucoma and I have had surgery for it. I had never been to the eye doctor until something flew into my eye and got it infected. I was referred to the ophthalmologist who discovered my condition. If any medicine dilated your eyes, the increase in pressure could cause you to damage your optic nerve. Always check for glaucoma first. I did not have any symptoms. The test is simple and painless and our eyesight is precious. If you are over 40 please get tested :)

Summer Swelter

2007-08-12T12:43:00.000-04:00

Hi! I'm sorry I've neglected you dear blog readers. I thought I was just talking to myself :) I am fine, just busy. We found a temporary home, while our old home is waiting for new owners. I have been working hard on painting to spruce things up a bit. The market is pretty slow right now. Thanks so much for your email comments on my blog. I really appreciate it. It is very hot here now and I'm on the porch using DH's awesome laptop with the wireless phone card in it. This is too cool. I have heard of something called FIOS. Does anyone use it? It is supposed to be very fast and fairly reasonable. Must go... more work to do! TTFN

Splash-Tastic Fun

2007-07-20T01:48:00.001-04:00

We had so much fun together, enjoying our new town. We are not moved yet. We are just learning more about it. We learned we love their best hotel and it's pool. Today we are headed out for the Harry Potter festivities with friends. Hope you enjoyed the Summer-Licious papers. I have a few in a blue series, like this background and photo frame. Maybe I'll make some more to go with them. Let me know if you are interested. Please post on the blog, not 4shared. The blog emails me and 4 shared does not. I can't save the 4 shared comments. There is an element that is nearly invisible on this layout, but I think it adds to it. Can you find it? The yellow roses really were at the pool. It is a beautiful spot! Credits: Papers and elements by me, Fonts CurlyQ, Goodfish

Seven Summer-Licious Papers-Freebie

2007-07-12T08:26:00.001-04:00

Seven Summer-Licious Papers for your sweet summer layouts. Post comes complete with a preview and an easy to find link, including password so you can add something different to your collection. For more details on what inspired me, please read the prior posts. This is a consolidated re-post to make it easier for you. Petal paper close ups are shown actual size to show detail. There are seven downloads.

Paper 01: Spumoni Floral
Paper 02: Coconut Ice-Cream
Paper 03: Orange Cream-sicle
Paper 04: Papaya Sorbet
Paper 05: Raspberry Cream-sicle
Paper 06: Flocked Sherbet
Paper 07: Raspberry Cream Parfait

UPDATED 7-23 (My apologies, there was a font error on the download link and password. It looked fine on my computer :0 ) The earlier post had the links correct. Also I removed the offensive free cBox, it appeared to have a porn link mysteriously suddenly embedded in it (I didn't actually click it). This did not show up on my computer, but I saw both of these problems on a friends computer when I was out of town. Please let me know the specifics if there is a download problem and if there are any other problems that I may not be aware of. Password: Java Download HERE

Summer-Licious Papers

2007-07-09T12:40:00.000-04:00

Ready for a tasty treat? I was thinking of raspberry-orange creamsicles when I designed these papers. They were originally inspired by this soft photo of a rose. The pinks were picked from this rose at the Inn on the Lake. Some of the forms within Paper 01 were inspired by its abstract forms and it just grew from there. We had a beautiful weekend staying there and enjoying the pool, which is surrounded by potted tropical flowers and gives a gorgeous view of the lake. You will find the freebie here. You know how much I love a cup of Joe in the morning, afternoon and late into the evening... so the password is Java. Grab the papers there now and come back for the others when you can.

DigiScrapDepot - Awesome Freebies

2007-07-09T12:15:00.000-04:00

I found wonderful Freebie site! Vicky's DigiScrapDepot is a wonderful site for viewing, sharing and finding designer freebies and discovering your digi style. You can see designs from a variety of designers, not just one Creative team at a time. You can see them all in one place. It's a great way to learn more about current trends both from a designer's and a scrapper's point of view. I think this site is awesome and you will find my freebies listed there! Be sure to visit Vicky's blog too! If you check her June archive you will read her explanation of why she started this site. I think it is an awesome idea!

Lucky Seven

2007-07-08T09:08:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! Did you hear about the Lucky Seven date yesterday? I have a belated Lucky Seven Summer-Licious set of papers for your digi-scrapping. I had hoped to have these up on the 7th, but I decided to redo number five. The uploads may take a while at dial up speeds. I'll post when it is ready. These are my first paper creations. Feeback is welcome. Belated Happy Fourth of July! I am still waiting on pics to scrap. We had a wonderful time enjoying our hometown parade and went to a nearby town for fireworks over the water. My DD had a friend sleep over the night before. They had a great time together. My DD now has a Wii! It is a blast! The whole family enjoys it. You can you golf, bowl, fish, play baseball, tennis and a bunch of other stuff without leaving the house.

Digi TREATS - Pamela's Mega Kit

2007-06-20T15:54:00.001-04:00

I bought Pamela's great kit over at her DigiTreats blog. It is awesome and so fun. I think it is only on sale for a couple more days. If you have any pregnancy pages you need to scrap, you must see her kit. It is too cute and fun. I love the graphics. It really brings a light, fun side to the whole pregnancy thing. Her Little Astronaut kit is really beautiful. It is almost like you are taking your own trip to outer space. She has done a really nice job on elements for all of the kits. Her Petals kit is just beautiful! Look closely at all of her photos to get any idea of how much you are getting for under $10. Just the Year in Review would be worth it! Also there are some excellent leather papers and alpha stitches and I'm sure there is more I forgot. She has given us so many wonderful freebies, now is the time to show her some support. You never know what she might create for us! She obviously invested a lot to be able to create so many awesome embellishments. It is a MEGA kit, so at least give it a close look!

Happy Father's Day

2007-06-17T22:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all of you Dad's out there. Without you -- all of this digi-scrapping of our kids wouldn't be possible! It is really good to share Father's Day with our family. Even our little boy had his card to give and our DD did too. The rain finally took a break and just in time. Yesterday was a blast! We went to the beach and spent the day with friends, having fun with riding the surf, playing in the sand and having an awesome dinner with great company. I didn't want to make the effort to go at first, but I am so glad I did. The ocean is so calming and energizing at the same time. I must tell you I am amazed at all the visitors I have to my site. I have been playing around with a NeoWORK counter. I didn't think anyone ever visited because comments are pretty sparse. I've heard this comment from other bloggers and now I understand why. You probably don't know what to say. So I'll ask this - if you don't say something to me, please take a moment to tell someone you care about - how much you really care. That way I feel like I did something positive and you will too. I hope you all made some connection with the Dad's in your lives. If you need to become friends again - just do it. In the end it doesn't matter who is right. It just matters that you have each other to share with. Do It Now!

Good Morning

2007-06-15T08:36:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! Hope you are all well and happy. I am looking forward to the whole family being well again. That enduring flu has invaded our home and I am ready to be rid of it. DS is doing the best of all, but it is lingering amongst the rest of us. We have finally received something my whole area has been wishing for. Rain, glorious rain. Swoooooosh..... if you listen you can hear the sounds of the lake filling up, bass fish rolling in delight and the flowers, shrubs, trees and GRASS are just screaming "GREEN -- It's so easy being green." Yes the birds are all atwitter and the butterflies have been hiding under their umbrellas (leaves). I am sure it will feel like a sauna later when the this side of the earth heats up from the suns enduring rays. Is anyone interested in retiring and buying a home with a beautiful peaceful view? It simply must go to someone who will love it as much as we do. Father's Day is almost here! I found Father's Day word origins on Dictionary.com. If they show the ad for the Visual Thesaurus, it is worth a look too. I do plan on creating more freebies to share. I am learning so much and there is still so much to learn. I'm sure you've seen Jessica Sprague's blog and her incredible articles in her mag "Computer Tips for Scrapbookers." Run, don't walk... this is cool. There are freebies involved too.

Thomas & Friends Recall- Lead Poisoning Hazard

2007-06-13T19:14:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my Dad, for letting me know. We only had two Thomas toys and one of them is the recalled one. Please follow this link to find out which toys were recalled. RC2 Corp. Recalls Various Thomas & Friends™ Wooden Railway Toys Due to Lead Poisoning Hazard

Shine on Melothria!

2007-06-11T01:28:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad Melothria created this with my challenging AquaStatic template! She made this layout for her cover of an album of her vacation in the country. She says it is a homage to the cows. I can't help but say it is really fun and moo - tiful too ;D (beautiful) . I love the texture of the stitches and fabric too. yet the photos still dominate and tell the story. It just makes me smile to see it. Credits: Paper: Jan Crowley, Tag: Amy Knepper, Buttons: ScrapSugar, font: DJ Moo

Shine On Karin!

2007-06-09T14:26:00.000-04:00

I love Karin's gorgeous layout using my AquaStatic Template! It is so vibrant and captures the playful spirit of her beautiful child. I love how the series of pictures look like a filmstrip. I really like where she put the large title too. I never thought about doing that. I also love how she used the large photos to show movement across the page. It makes this this layout very dynamic. She even made LO of the day on a German blog! Thank you Karin for trying out my template and posting your sweet comments on our blogs! Credits: “Stay for Tea” : Amy Kropp, Flower from “Lil Sweetie”: KSharonkDesigns, Stamped alphas: Lisa Whitney

Shine on Jenny!

2007-06-08T11:30:00.000-04:00

Jenny took on the challenge of my complicated, but very flexible AquaStatic Template. She really showed it off! She left a sweet comment on her blog and a link on my blog. Her layout is fabulous. Her blog is so creative. She did scrap outside the box LOL! I love how she used a different color for the "outlines" and she played that up with the color scheme. The contrast of the striped papers and floral patterns add the right touch and really show off her sweet photos. Very Creative! She is a homeschool mom, which means she is always busy! I am too! N.B. Post updated to show LO and credits. Credits: Mary, Mary Quite Contrary Kit by Sande Krieger Two Peas), Paper by Jenny using brushes from the kit..

Splish Splash Layout

2007-06-07T01:43:00.000-04:00

DS has fun playing in the bath and I had fun creating this layout. I took these photos last Friday while waiting for DH to come home from work and DD to come home from her sleepover. The kids have been sick and are hopefully on the mend now. My high hope for this day is to make it to the grocery store, which also means leaving our home "Realtor ready." Thanks FlyLady for sharing your love of routines. It is so much easier! This layout was so fun to create. Pamela made a really fun kit! I enjoyed using the template and papers, tinkering with the embellishments and playing with the bubbles. I learn more every time I work in CS2. Credits: Bathtime Kit by PrincessPamela.typepad.com, Fonts: Melanie BT and Palatino Linotype.

Layout by Miss Vivi

2007-06-03T08:16:00.000-04:00

Miss Vivi's Magnificent Layout! Oh... this is just so beautiful! I love how you spread a panorama across two of the panels. What a great font to use for the title and I also love how you found a great spot for a long journal. The photos are so vibrant, but work so nicely with Mindy's beautiful "Diesel & Dust" kit! Thank you for creating this lovely layout with my template, for crediting me and letting me know! I love seeing what can be created with my template. Please let me know if you would like me to post your layout. Credits: Kit "Diesel & Dust" de Mindy, Police CK LoveNote et Angelina.

Graduated

2007-06-03T07:52:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! We are having some wind and cooler weather this morning. It has been very lovely out here, the birds were singing. The weather has just become quite overcast and suddenly the birds are silent. Possibly it is time to take the laptop inside :) Our friend's DD graduated high school and we enjoy a wonderful visit and celebration last night. Congratulations!!! It is hard to believe she is already grown up. So much behind you and so much ahead! I got to share my love of digital scrapbooking with them, thanks to DH's cool laptop. Look for Miss Vivi's fine layout in the next post, I'm having a techinical problem. If you went on the field trip and are looking for the pictures, please see the top link on the right. Only participants in the trip and my family are allowed access to those pictures. You will need a password, please email me for that.

Memorial Day Layout

2007-06-02T09:33:00.000-04:00

Ed took this beautiful photo of the kids when we went to the annual Blue Crab Festival. It was so nice and breezy! I finally got my second layout done. I kept it simple to feature the photo. I have so much to learn about Photoshop cs2. I am still so awed by all of the wonderful comments I have received here on my blog and through 4shared. I wish I could read French. Miss Vivi has a magnificent layout using my template on her blog. I will post it if I can :) I can't tell who did it, but I am grateful to Emilie for posting on Maryse's blog to let me know. My DD is back from her sleepover. DS kept me on my toes yesterday with his incessant curiosity. He is into everything! Credits: Photo by Ed Stanton. Template, papers by me, papers and embellishments by Amy Watson from her "Memorial Day" kit. Fonts: Effloresce, FontdinerdotcomSparkly

Layout by Maryse

2007-05-28T16:30:00.000-04:00

I love how Maryse used her Forever Yours kit and my AquaStatic template to make this gorgeous layout! The photos are so incredible and rich in black and white. Her expressions seem to capture a moment in time. I love the treatment she gave to the edges and outlines, it adds a nice feeling to her LO and her elements add the finishing touch. Her use of the Forever Yours kit with this template adds such warmth and softness, yet a bit of sparkle too. Thank you Maryse for trying my template and for posting your layout on your blog and linking it back to mine.

Thank You

2007-05-27T10:26:00.000-04:00

Thank you IKEA Goddess for posting my AquaStatic Template freebie on her blog. Thank you Maryse for creating a gorgeous layout using her Forever Yours kit with my template and posting it on her blog. I hope to post it later, when she gives me permission to do so. Pamela has been such an encourager and really inspired me to get it done. Your generousity of spirit has really touched me. I am awed, amazed and ecstatic about the wonderful response I have received from everyone. There have been over 300 downloads so far. I know it is a complicated template with many layers and options, yet Maryse put together an awesome layout with it with incredible speed. I want to send my best wishes out to Hilma and thank her for being my first encourager in blogdom. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend, I must get back to work and play with family! I also want to thank my Dad for buying the whole CS2 suite for me. I finally learned to use it, although I'm just scratching the surface of what is possible. Thanks again!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-26T09:06:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! The air is sweet the birds are singing, even a happy tree frog is croaking! We've had a touch of rain this week and that makes everyone happy. Hope you are all having a wonderful long weekend and that you will stay well and happy. Be careful on the roadways too. My DS, age two is into everything now. He has taken all the milk, cream and juice containers out of the refridgerator to count them. He found the paper clips, he has sorted them by type and color and is counting them too. The counting is not quite there... but the joy is. He is an orderly type and likes to see completion. Unfortunately, his has decided orderly does not include putting toys away, just sorting them when you take them out LOL! Boys are so different than girls. My DD is eleven. Oh to be a tween again ...NOT! She is really sweet and seems to be more mature than I was at that age. Why can't girls love their hair? She has awesome hair too. We went shopping a couple of days ago and she is now wishing she had picked the tank top with bling. It's only 1.5 hours drive back to the store! That will be another OUT day. DH won the photo contest for the Florida State Parks contest posted this month. Go see it before the month ends. It was an awesome pic, you just don't see every day. Click the link above to see it! He has some more submissions this month too, voting for this month is almost over, so vote for what you like soon. I neglected to label my last post as a freebie, so I will do it here. Pamela mentioned that she could not post on my blog. I fixed that. The default settings did not allow unregistered users to post. That is why Maryse and Hilma could post and Pamela couldn't. I'm still learning here! FREEBIE is here. Password is swirl. I will take passwords off later.

My First Freebie!

2007-05-25T15:35:00.004-04:00

Thank you Hilma, Maryse and Pamela for your encouragement and advice. Thank you IKEAGoddess for finding the freebies that inspired me to share. Thank you Andrea for inspiring me to create a template. Thank you Misty for creating tutorials on how to use templates, which led to figuring out how to make templates. After a huge learning curve, much fiddling and fussing I finally have my first freebie to offer. The template, preview and TOU are separate files in the Templates folder on my 4shared account. I would love to see your LO's! Please send me a link to your LO and I may post them here. The font in my LO is Duality from Larabie fonts, one of many free fonts from his foundry. Template AquaStatic is here!

Happy Mother's Day & My First Digital LO!

2007-05-15T08:30:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! Happy Mother's Day! Well, I meant to post that sooner. I had a very nice Mother's Day with my family. My Mom passed away 17 years ago, she would be proud of her grandchildren, I'm sure. I am lucky to have them in my life! I finally finished my first digital LO! I created the papers using the butterfly wing pattern for texture and as a background. What a challenge! My first freebie will be this template. It is really different and I need to fix it up before I share it. We went on a field trip to a butterfly farm and my DD took all the photos with her Dad's awesome camera. It was a dreary day with high winds and the butterflies had been wind beaten, but the field trip was still awesome. They let us feed the butterflies with Q-tips dipped in Gatorade. They gave us caterpillars to take home. It was so cool watching them emerge as butterflies. Hugz

My First Sketch: Aquastatic

2007-05-11T11:38:00.000-04:00

While cuddling with my DS (two yrs old), this sketch came to mind. When he fell asleep, I ran to sketch it out. It morphed as I sketched and finally I was content to stop. I scanned it and opened it up in PSCS2 with the intent of turning it into a template. I've never even made a digital LO and I didn't know how to make a template. I was using my magic wand and making layers like crazy, but I could not see any shapes or figure out how to make it do it. Searched for a tutorial on this, but I couldn't find one. In desperation I started the built in tutorial for beginners and voila... a clue came to light. I had to create a copy of the background which becomes layer 0. So, I started over and it worked. All seemed to be going well until I tried to use the template. All my papers were turned gray! I had posterized the image for clarity and crispness and the original was a b&w scan. Somehow I managed to convert it to color. It was two in the morning, so I'm not too clear on that part. Whoohoo, I have color now! I'm still working on the LO and the template. Isn't this one different? Hugz

Swirls & Whirls

2007-05-10T23:53:00.000-04:00

Whirling, swirling ... smoke, wind and rain. Hoping that storm Andrea puts out the fires completely. I am hoping for more rain and less wind. I am not so close to the fires, but not far enough for my liking either. I got inspired to sketch a template. It has a whirling theme too! A very different looking type of template, but not simple enough for me to create it yet. First I must learn more about CS2. I sketched and scanned and fiddled about with the magic wand. Now I am actually doing a tutorial to figure out how to make this work. Good Night for now,

Welcome to my blog!

2007-05-09T09:09:00.000-04:00

Every day is Finer, because you are in it. I am grateful for today, for those I love, those I know and those I will meet. I am a homeschooling mom of two beautiful, sweet, smart kids and I am lucky to see them more, because I homeschool. Welcome to today, appreciate it - while you can. Today is a "home" day. This is nice because we have been very busy. The air is filled with smoke. There are fires in a nearby town. My realtor and many of her employees live there. I hear my realtor had to move some of her cows. I guess you could say this is a small town. When I moved here we had one traffic light. Now we have two. We have one zip code and one phone exchange. I have dial-up :0 If I lived "in town" I could have DSL. It is wired at the end of our street, but they won't wire it to our street. LOL. I love to download beautiful freebies for digi-scrapping in Photoshop CS2. So I go into the nearest wifi hotspot and do it when I am in a bigger town. Silly maybe, but it brings me joy. We are moving when some lucky person buys our home. It is beautiful here. We have a gorgeous view of the lake, which does have water in it, unlike some of the lakes in our town. Our home has a huge atrium in it and an open feel which offers a view of the lake from nearly every room. We are sheltered under a canopy of oak, which are flanked by azalea bushes that bloom in a variety of colors in spring and some in fall too. I intend to learn photshop a bit better and create some freebies to share, so stop back by when you can. Have a wonderful day. Sincerely, Tasha "Be the change you wish to see" Ghandi