Confessions Of A Scrapaholic

Seven Random Things

I was tagged a while back by my friend Cathy and I took some time to think of seven remotely interesting random things. (Trust me, it is a good thing I had time to think about this otherwise you would have heard all about the contents of my desk.) Here we go...

1. I only drink purified water. Well, lets say 98% of the time. The water here is fluoridated and so we have had water delivered for the past three years. (Call me a crazy hippie. No way am I drinking the stuff.)  Even when we travel to other non-fluoridated places, I still won't drink the water. What can I say? I am spoiled. Even as I sit here typing I am soooo thirsty, but Kelly is out of town and our water cooler is empty. It's a good thing his flight gets in in about an hour. My very favorite water is Penta, but that costs about as much as a latte so I save that for special occasions.

2. I got my hair cut yesterday and every time I look in the mirror I startle myself for a second. I like it, but it will take some time to get used to. I bought some Velcro rollers today to help put some lift in the back since my hair is flat-flat-flat, but I have no idea how to actually use them. I am kind of a dork in the hair department. I keep trying to be a non-ponytail girl, but what can I say? Given the option I would just pull my hair back everyday. No more though! I am fighting the frump and staying away from the "non-hairstyle" ponytail as my friend Tami calls it. I'll post a picture once I figure out the whole Velcro roller thing.

3. I FINALLY have our Quicken and QuickBooks files up to date. It's about flipping time. It's only May for Pete's sake. Good grief.

4. I made my second baby purchase yesterday. An adorable book called Urban Babies Wear Black. It is a little board book for the nursery. Love it. It reminds me of Zoë when she was a wee one.

5. I now have a favorite song. I've never had a favorite song before. Stacy Julian used it in a presentation for her Library of Memories class I am taking. It will be the perfect song for the menu of our 2008 Family DVD. Yes, I think about these types of things...in April. Hey, I'm a planner!

6. I had a turkey wrap from Costco for lunch. They are a very welcome addition to the hot dogs, chicken bakes, churros and pizza Costco has been selling for years. Ever since doing Weight Watchers years ago, I have a really hard time eating anything at the Costco snack bar because it is all TERRIBLE for you. (Seriously, I am not even going to link to nutritional information, it's that bad.) And the salad? Eh. It's alright, but it doesn't thrill me. So, like I said, I am very happy about the turkey wrap.

7. I have been scrapping! Not particularly random, but it gives me an excuse to include some pictures with my post. I am happy to report that my mojo has returned. I think that the Library of Memories class really has a lot to do with that. My photos are all organized. I feel refreshed and creative again. All good things.

I am going to tag Marie, but feel free to join in the fun if you'd like!

Two Incredible Movie Nights

Movie nights have become a big deal around our house. We look forward to them every Saturday. This week we tweaked the plans a bit and had movie night on Friday AND Sunday. Are we wild and crazy or what? (That would be sarcasm.) We are going to be in Spokane for Bloomsday next weekend, and California the following weekend, so we will be missing a few installments. Best make up for it now, right?

First up was Chicken Little. This movie happens to be a family favorite, but who says we have to watch new movies anyway? I think it is easier to plan movie night with movies that you have actually already seen. That is how I knew to buy glow sticks for everyone to wear. The pieces of sky cookies were a pretty obvious choice as treats and I had to throw in some chicken nuggets for dinner. My sense of humor is twisted like that. It's just the way I roll. Hehehe. My brother-in-law and his best friend were in town for the weekend and got to enjoy the festivities with us. I think I can safely say that they have never experienced movie night the way we do it at our house.

Next up, The Incredibles. This one was a spur of the moment decision on Sunday. It was kind of gloomy and rainy and I thought that would be an incredible way to spend the evening. (Oooh, I am clever!) I impressed myself actually. I came up with the accessories and treats in about five minutes. Not bad. I ordered a pepperoni pizza and asked them to put the pepperoni around the edges and make a lower case i in the center. They were pretty amused, and happily agreed to my request. While we waited for the pizza I made the masks and super hero emblems. Zoë had an absolute blast. She kept calling me Super Hero Mommy and Kel, Super Hero Daddy. She insisted that she be called Violet. It was just too cute. For dessert we had Super Hero Parfaits. Yummy! I thought that The Incredibles might be a bit too scary for Zoë (and there were parts that were) but she really enjoyed the movie.

Twelve on the 25th

Last month I was instantly inspired by this layout on Cathy Zielske's blog and knew that I had to do a 12 on 12 page. What a fun idea! I love capturing every day moments and what better way to do that than twelve random photos of your day? This is my first layout, (so I'm a little late to the party...being the 25th and all) I am hoping to do a 12 on 12 page each month. We'll see how that goes. I included typed journaling on the web version of this layout but I am having it printed without and am going to write the journaling myself. That is the one thing I miss with digital scrapbooking... including my handwriting. I actually have pretty good handwriting, so I might as well use it! (Credits coming soon.)

A few of you have asked me about our trip to Great Wolf Lodge. I keep meaning to post about our trip but honestly every time I look at the pictures I just get mad. Instead of bringing our camera into the water park I bought a disposable water proof camera. I knew that the quality wouldn't be fantastic, but I figured they would be descent after I tweaked them in Photoshop. Wrong. There was ONE flipping photo on the entire camera that was even salvageable. %$#@!

Next time I am going to risk it and bring my Elph inside the "pool park" as Zoë calls it. We did get plenty of photos in other areas of the hotel. Honestly we only spent about two hours each day in the water park, by then Zoë was bored and frankly, so was I. We played in the arts and crafts area and the arcade, and ate obscene amounts of junk food. Note to anyone planning to go: There is absolutely no healthy food on premesis. Oh wait, they did have a bit of fruit in the buffets. That hardly counts though. The snack bars are filled with nothing but candy, pastries and an assortment of fried foods. (Zoë was thoroughly impressed with the baby corn dogs.)

The highlight of our trip had to be watching The Water Horse together snuggled up on the couch in our hotel room. We started the movie earlier in the night while we waited for the bed time story in the lobby, figuring that Kelly and I would finish it after Zoë went to bed. Well, she heard it from her room after we tucked her in and asked to watch it. We told her she could watch it from her bed. What she heard was, "Sure, come get on the couch and watch with us!" She was just so dang cute with her blankie and so excited to be staying up late with us that we let her, and it was awesome. One of those picture perfect family moments. And she loved the movie. It was the first non-cartoon movie she ever sat through. She loved it so much that I bought it when we got home. Oddly enough the evil stepmother from Enchanted freaks her out, but an angry Water Horse eating people is OK with her. Kids.

Embracing My Style

I have finally figured it out.

Finally.

I have been in denial for a while now, but it is true. I am a clean and simple scrapper. I love the elaborate clustered artsy layouts that I see everywhere but that is just not me. Trying to create layouts like that is what has been killing my mojo this past year.

How do I know this?

My Mom bought be Donna Downey's new book A Photos-First Approach to Designing Layouts for my birthday and I loved every single layout I saw. That is totally my style. Simple. Focused on the photos and telling the story. That is totally me. Yes, the elaborate element filled layouts are gorgeous, but that is just not my style. I am embracing it. Going with the flow...

Would you believe that I have finished four layouts in the last few days? That is more than I have completed in the last few months. I actually feel creative again. Love it. Love it. Love it. None of these are posted in a gallery yet. I will post credit links one I do.

And my very favorite...

And Away We Go!

I am so looking forward to this weekend. We are taking a mini vacation to the brand new Grand Wolf Lodge this weekend. It is the first indoor water park/hotel in Washington. And the best part? We can drive. Kelly is so burned out on airplane travel that the idea of flying anywhere for "fun" just does not appeal to him.

I came to a very startling realization last weekend. I need to buy a swimming suit for our water themed getaway. Duh. I don't know why that hadn't quite occurred to me. I think I was blocking that little detail out. Lovely. Do you think I could find a maternity swimsuit anywhere this week? That would be a big no. I finally gave up and ordered one from Old Navy.com. I guessed on the size and yep, it is too big on top. A maternity swimsuit is a hard thing because while it is a bit big right now, this summer it won't be, and I really don't want to buy two of these beauties. I am just going to wear it in all it's maternity glory. It's not like I am going to the water park to pick up guys. (That would be a bit awkward with my husband there. Hehehe) I did pick up a cute magenta cover-up which coordinates perfectly with my magenta crocs. Oh yeah, I said it. I love my magenta crocs. I also picked up some shorts because last weekend when it was 80 degrees in our house the only shorts that fit me were Kelly's boxers. Now that is classy, let me tell you. I had to do something about that situation.

Not bad, right? I am not entirely sure what to pack for the weekend honestly. I can't imagine we will be spending ALL our time in the pool, but you never know with Zoë. She loves the water. Any tips would be fantastic. I did buy Zoë a fun swim suit for the occasion that will let her play in the water without a bulky life jacket. This is going to be a great weekend. It will be wonderful to spend time together as a family. I wanted to go on at least one more family vacation before the baby comes, so I am a happy girl.  I don't plan on going anywhere that requires me to be in a swimsuit this summer. Yikes! Although I may be singing another tune when it is 90 degrees outside. LOL!

Well, That Just About Says It

Guess what I get to do today. Stand in line at the post office to get our taxes mailed. Who's with me?

It's Pretty. It's Sooo Pretty.

I am constantly learning fun new things about my Mac. I am absolutely a convert. I love, love, love it. And now I have one more reason. Wanna see?

Isn't it pretty? These were my weekend birthday purchases. :) My friend Marie (who I recently converted to digital scrapbooking) got me a gift certificate to The Lily Pad. I saved some of my money for these cute doodles. I am waiting to buy them until I have my twenty week ultrasound when we find out if we are having a boy or a girl.

The new scrap goodies are fun, but that is not what I am talking about. I am talking about the folders themselves. There are previews!!! I never knew you could do that! I did some shopping at Jen Wilson Designs and when I upzipped the folders they had picture previews on the folder. Wha, what, What?!? How could I have never known this? You don't even want to know what I was doing before.

Kel and I did some digging and this is how you too can have pretty image previews on your folders.

1. Open up the desired folder image in preview. Command+C to copy the image.

2. Make sure no files are selected in the folder. Command+I to bring up the information window.

3. Click on the folder in the upper left corner. Command+V to paste the image.

4. Done! Now your folder has a pretty preview. :)

Another side note. I searched the Apple "Find Out How" to learn how to create screen shots for my post. They have an excellent resource section for pretty much any questions you might have. If that doesn't help you, I have had excellent luck on the forums.

Now for a little bit of enabling. Let's take a peek at my birthday purchases, shall we?

And now I'm spent. And my PayPal account is empty. But it was sure fun. Happy Birthday to me!

T Minus 24 Hours

Tomorrow I am turning 29 years old for the first time. I say the first time because I hear that is a good number to stay at for a while. I have no idea if turning 30 will actually bother me. I don't anticipate that it will. Of course, I always thought that I would age gracefully, but now that some *ahem* smile lines are starting to appear I am trying to figure out ways to sneak some Botox in. (Since my husband refuses to let me inject anything into my head that has "tox" in the name. Whatever.)

I honestly haven't even had time to think about my birthday. With all the craziness with Kelly's grandma and then Zoë catching the flu that was going around Spokane (I KNEW that would happen. Ugh!) I have barely had time to look at a calendar. Of course, now that I am older, birthdays really aren't that exciting. Anyone else with me? The last time I was really excited about a birthday was when I turned 21. It's really pretty much downhill from there.

So the craziness in Spokane. I didn't really tell you about that, did I? I spent last week mostly sitting around and waiting for people. Waiting for the assisted living facility to call me back. Waiting for doctors to call me back. Going to doctors appointments. Repeat. It was incredibly frustrating. I had no idea how much paperwork was required to move someone into an assisted living facility, and I definitely had no idea that pretty much everyone I spoke with (or should I say left messages for) would be completely unwilling to help me.

My sister-in-law Tera was a Godsend. She took Zoë to play with her cousins almost everyday which made me so much more efficient with my time. Zoë was incredibly well behaved and very eager to help her Nana, but a three year old can only sit patiently and watch cartoons for so long, you know? Zoë was at Tera & Nick's house until 11:30pm Saturday night while Kelly and I finished moving Nana into her apartment and unpacking her. Thank you, Tera!!!

The only reason I even got Nana into the assisted living facility on Friday was because I cried. They were jerking me around and the stress finally got to me. And yes, I cried. I never cry. I probably could have gotten it under control, but the tears and the fact that I am pregnant and was with a tired three year old definitely worked in my favor. Whew! So Nana is all moved in and doing well.

I made Nana a darling change of address postcard (if I do say so myself) which I ordered through Winkflash. They arrived yesterday and look AMAZING! Truly. If you ever need to make postcards I would recommend them hands down. They were reasonably priced and arrived in only three days. Another tip. For anyone who helps their grandparents address Christmas cards, enter the names into Word and save them as labels. To get all the postcards ready for Nana I simply printed off her Christmas labels and voila! It saves me hours every year.

I used a combination of doodles by Kate Hadfield to create the postcard. I love her work. I can't doodle to save my life, but I think they are darling. I even used them to redesign our family blog. I have been trying to customize the CSS code on the blog, but I don't really know what I am doing, so it still needs some work. You'll be seeing some changes around here soon as well. I love the design that Shawn created for me, but I have to redecorate with the seasons (at least) and she seems to have dropped off the face of the digital earth. Oh well. It will give me a chance to flex my brain a little and figure out CSS. (Or recruit my genius husband. Sweet man that he is.)

Props to American Express

We got a phone call from the American Express fraud department this morning. I called them back and gave them my Hilton Honors AMEX number. No suspected fraud. So I gave them my Costco AMEX number. No fraud. So I gave them Kelly's business AMEX number. No fraud. Odd, but I'm glad they were being so cautious.

Then Kelly realized that his Costco AMEX and my Costco AMEX aren't joint accounts, they are separate. So he called. They rattled off five huge transactions from yesterday (all of which were legit because Kelly is equipping his new office) then said, "And there is a $25 charge to Yahoo that we suspect is fraudulent."

And it was!

They were able to tell from our spending patterns that the one small, seemingly insignificant charge, (that I would have overlooked on our statement) was the fraudulent one. As you can tell from the number of cards we have with them, we are huge fans of American Express at our house. We have gotten a few calls from the fraud department over the years, and they were right then as well. They even called us when we were in Vegas to make sure that we were in fact the ones using the card. Now THAT is customer service. Props to American Express.

Zoë and her Nana

We took a spur of the moment road trip to Spokane on Monday. Kelly's grandma Millie (Nana) fell twice last weekend. First on Saturday and she wasn't found until Sunday evening. Then again Sunday about a half an hour after my brother-in-law left. She was on the ground again until Monday morning when my BIL came back to check on her. It was a rough weekend for Nana.

As unfortunate as it is that she fell, there is a silver lining. She is now willing to move into an assisted living facility. We have all been trying to get her to move into one for about six years and she stubbornly refused. This is a welcome change. On Monday she even turned her car into the dealership! I didn't think I would ever see that happen while she was on this earth. The people of Spokane are much safer on the road now.

So, Zoë and I are in Spokane to help take care of Nana (and to make sure she stays vertical.) Kelly is going to join us on Friday when he gets back from Chicago. My BIL Nick has taken the last two days off of work to help, but I don't want him to have to do that when I don't really have anything going on. So Zoë misses a couple days of preschool. No big deal. And frankly after last Thursday (when the preschool director called me and told me that I should come get her because she was being so naughty) I am not that eager to go back.

Zoë has been so so sweet and helpful. I told her on Monday morning that we were going to Spokane to take care of Nana because she kept falling she said, "I will bring her some Diego bandages to make her boo boos all better. And I will hold on to her very tight so she won't fall down." We spent almost three hours at the cardiologists office yesterday and Zoë was the best kid. I couldn't ask for anything more.

We are hoping that we can get Nana into the assisted living facility right down the street from my BIL. With any luck we can move her in on Saturday. The facility is taking their sweet time getting back to me. I am not good at the hurry up and wait game. I want to get things moving! And with that I am off to pick up medications. Have a good day!