Friday, March 31, 2006

My daughter's best friend/sister, Stephanie wrote this on her blog and I thought it was just about the most intelligent, insightful, and so real, that I thought that you may all enjoy reading and seeing the thoughts of a 17 year old. This is proof that not all teens only worry about what color to dye their hair, or which pants make their bums look smaller. There are some intelligent wonderful teens out there. Read on.

"It's a shame FDR couldn't have lived a few days longer to see Hilter slay himself. Or maybe it's a shame that Hitler didn't resort to his death knell earlier. Or perhaps those halfwitted boobs should have just let young Adolph into art school and we could have found ourselves studying repulsively strange artwork instead of photographs that scream genocide. Hindsight's a funny thing.Decisions become more difficult each day. I cannot seem to understand the significance of old and new, nor the difference between inverse and reciprical. But it rained today, and I liked it. Remember when we went out in the rain to take pictures? We were young and innocent, hearts unblemished. Do you remember the blueberry candle? Or the lemonade stands on the gravel road? Remember...?I'm going to trust that experience is equivalent to wisdom. To forbid for my own good, comprehensible. But to forbid and leave the sparrow in the forest, susceptible to vulture and the like, is not my nature. But I'm going to trust experience, wisdom. I'm slowly learning to abide and respect, abide and surrender.Who honestly uses this darned website anyways? Besides you, Mary. Thanks for the invitiation.And thanks for you hospitality, and lunches, and wise words. And thanks for your daughter. I hope my grammatical errors don't irritate you. You English guru, you.Bailey is summoning. Good evening.
posted by Stephanie Rose "
Rainy Friday!

Woke up to the sound of rain hitting the window panes of my bedroom and it sounded so peaceful. Ran downstairs to check my email because of the submissions I did, like they would email ME! I have to change some things I have on the TwoPeas website. Bob took Nathaniel last night to get all his boy scout camping stuff. I have no idea what all he got, but it's in a pile in the dining room right now. The guys are all leaving this afternoon. Bob is taking a half day...imagine that. Mr. Never- Takes-a-day-for-anything, but hey,.....this IS Boy Scout CAMPING!!! He loves to do things like this with the kids.
Meg has invited the cast from Annie over this evening, so I guess, I have to behave like a normal person. That's gonna be boring! Being in various productions has been good for the kids. They all love to act, especially Meg. I don't know why I even wrote that, it's been her passion since she could walk practically. I remember the afternoon, when she was three and a half, and she saw MaryKate and Ashley Olson on Full House. She watched them intently and looked up at me and said, "Mom, why are they on tv? I can do that." Then....it all began; all the dramas that Bob and I had to sit through as she made her brothers be everything from a ballerina to Bond James....not to be confused with James Bond...she was really original at that stage in her life. We got out some movies of the kids the other day and found a whole stack of cassettes/movies, that Meg had made with the kids. It's funny, we thought that she only hooked her siblings in., but NO.....You're gonna love this, she hooked our neighbor into acting in a few of the movies....she even has Brian, Stephanie, Maddie, and a whole slew of unsuspecting victims. I wish I could put a few of the movies on this blog, so you can all see Meg at her creative best.
Now that I mentioned Brian....that brings to mind the one event that is on Meg's mind....well, besides "Annie", and that's PROM..... she has her dress, purse, jewelry, and has even ordered her shoes....last night she asked me to meet Brian over at the florist to pick out flowers soooo, I sat and waited and Meg finally took a break from rehersal and told me that Brian was there with her watching, and she just wanted me to pick out anything that I liked. She is very matter of fact about things. She doesn't hem and haw... if she likes something she doesn't mull it over for days on end.
When we found her dress we had only been looking for a few hours down in SF. She tried on a few of the dresses that she thought might be a possibility, then we found her a Jessica McClintock all black vintage looking satin floor length that fits her perfectly. The problem with the other dresses was that they were too big and she couldn't find any that fit her the way she wanted them to. The best part of the dress is this....because it's all black, she can use it for other occassions as well.
Off of Meg...and on to Anabelle....she did the nicest thing yesterday...she made me lunch....lol a PBJ.... I hate sandwiches, but I ate it with a smile on my face...it was the sweetest thing she has done in a few days.
I feel like I am jumping from one subject to another....went to co-op last night and it was ok... Ten members showed up so we should have a decent order if all the regular case orderers order. If there is an Organic Buying Club that operates in your area...you really should look into joining. Great organic products at a fraction of what you will pay retail. Mailing out some scrap items, page kits, for some gals back east later today.
Well, I guess I should get dressed and get my day officially started....Already had one cup of java.... the aroma of coffee is calling my name from the kitchen.

Love you!

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Another Day of Possibilities:

Woke up a little early today, feeling a lot better and more rested. As I sit here on the computer with coffee in had, I am listening to the waking up of my family. Bob is taking care of Barney's needs (dog food, being his prime goal in a doggy dog life), Meg is upstairs getting ready for classes and Robby is in the shower. Andrew, Nathaniel, and Anabelle are still sawing logs.. Their world of dreamland will come to an abrubt end when I go up to wake them in a few minutes.

Yesterday was pretty productive. I submitted five layouts to three different magazines. I am not going to give up. Today will be a busy one for me. After Home Schooling is finished, Chris is coming over for some help with her grandmother's album...She's going to be 100 and Chris is making her a life album. After that, Meg, Brian, and Brian's Mom want me to meet them at the florest to help them pick flowers for prom, I have a co-op meeting tonight, that I really don't want to go to, but being the corrdinator, I really should be there. I will bring some hot tea and cough drops with me.

As far as scrapping for tne day, I will do a few layouts when Chris is working on her stuff. I would much rather her come to my house than me go there. I end up leaving the kids' home alone and I really don't like doing that. Well, Hope you all have a wonderful day. Weather wise, here, it's raining and I know that several of you are experiencing the same type of weather, or wish you had rain.. oh well.
that's all for now
Mary

Wednesday, March 29, 2006
































































Some little observations here.....
I am such a fortunate person.. I have six wonderful kiddos and an incredible hubby. Life is good.
Scrapped a little yesterday and finished three layouts.. Here they are for your perusal....

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Life is funny sometimes. I spent a good part of the day scrapping and actually finished three (3) layouts. I hope I continue to scrap at this pace...actually,,,it's not the pace that I need to worry about, it's getting it "right" for me. Scrapping is an artform. I am an artist...sounds strange, but if you really look at it...it's true..aren't we all artists of some sort? Scrapped with Shelly earlier after the kids' all finished their school work. I am inviting a few gals over to scrap this Saturday. Bob and all three boys are going camping this weekend so I will be all alone with the girls..we should have a fun weekend.
Meggie is judging interp down in Brookings on Saturday, so she'll be home a little later than usual. I hope she keeps going in the direction that she has been. She is becoming such an intependent responsible young lady.

Well, that's all for now. I am going to try to post more layouts here.
It' a Crazy Life
Some days seem a little more peaceful than others. Today is an overcast day with a little hint of spring peeking out of the clouds. I sit here with my hot cup of coffee and think that "life is good". Kids are all up and going about their day. Meg and Rob are up at the high school while Nathaniel and Andrew are argueing over a game of cards.
Andrew and Anabelle are still under the weather so I have them doing quiet work today....mainly reading while they stay warm.

Yesterday the calls started for Scrapbook Trends and I didn't get an email. This is not that discouraging, I have only submitted a few items. The gals on the pub board are saying that it takes about 10 submissions to get 1 or 2 calls. I will keep working at this. I have started looking at other scrappers' blogs to get a feel for what the magazines are looking for. I want to get published and I guess I will just have to keep submitting.
That's all for now. I am going over to Shelly's a little later to scrap. going to work on "Naming Nathaniel" and "Censored".
BBL

Monday, March 27, 2006

Another Busy day. Made enchiladas for dinner with curry saffron rice. Hope it turns out ok. Kids have always loved it, so it should be good.

Kids are still sick, I need to get them to be earlier than they have been getting there.

Not much for me today, just feeling a little on the tired side. Can't wait to get into my warm bed with feather comforter.

ttfn,
manana
mary

Friday, March 24, 2006

Hi there,
Been another crazy day. Kids are DRIVING me insane....actually, they are all reading in their bedrooms because I sent them ALL to their rooms...

Spent some time with Megan looking at colleges online. She is looking at Colleges of Arts and Design. She is interested in a couple here in the states and a few in Canada and Europe. They all have pretty good financial aid packs. The Savannah College of Arts and Design is one of them and it looks very interesting.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

COMPLETED LAYOUTS: available for publishing

I finished these layouts while at a weekend retreat that Shelly put together. It was a lot of fun
and I actually got quite a bit accomplished. These are my favorite layouts today...who knows what I'll like tomorrow....






It' a Crazy Life
Been a few days since I posted. I guess that means life is busy and maybe a little crazier than before. I went to a scrapping retreat this past weekend and was pretty happy with the end results. I finished 29 pages of layouts and did a major part of Meg and Rob's pages for their Senior albums. I don't want to get caught off guard trying to get them done a few weeks prior to them graduating.

Andrew and Anabelle aren't feeling to great. They are both running a bit of a temperature and are achy, (the spelling on that work doesn't look right. hhmmmm.)

Oh well, There were several people at the retreat and some are great scrappers..others were just pasting photos on preprinted layouts....Anabelle could have been right at home with that group, but everyone scraps at different levels and that's ok.

I submitted some more of my work to the various magazines and feel less scared than I did with Hall of Fame. I know that the likelihood of me being published is slim, but at least it gets me to look more critically at my work and really causes me to stretch myself.

Megan is looking at various colleges and has pretty much made up her mind that she wants to go to a performance/arts college. She wants to major in Theatre and design. I didn't know this, but there are actually colleges out there that are devoted to production/arts/music. Some of the majors are things like costume design for the industry., Well, she loves to sew and create new looks and she definitely has a style of her own. She has a great eye for color and loves texture. And...well, the acting part isn't a suprise. She is currently working on Annie, as is Robby. He goes by Rob now with all his friends at school.

The kids sure are growing up. The other night Meg, Andrew, and Robby went to an activity with the home school group. Meg invited Brian, Robby invited two girls from school. Both girls showed up and the home school moms were laughing because these girls followed Robby around so now the moms refer to Robby as "Rob, the guy with the groupies". lol

He takes it all in stride.
I've been concentrating more on my writing and jotted down a short story/free form poem. It's a look into how I feel as a mom of a girl growing up too fast.:
here it is:

And They Blinked

Once upon a time there was a little baby girl who was loved more than any other baby in the world. She brought lots of love and happiness into her mommy and daddy's hearts. They held her, fed her, bathed her, dressed her, hugged and kissed her, and they loved her more than they ever thought possible.

Then the mommy and daddy blinked and their little baby was now a big girl with big girl toys and big girl friends. She was a big sister and she played with her brothers and sister and was a wonderful joy. She taught them a lot of things and they all loved her very much, then...

The mommy and daddy blinked and their little girl was almost as tall as the mommy; tall enough to look into her mommy's eyes and see a sadness and fear in them, but this little girl did not notice this because she was so busy with her friends and her own life...

And then the mommy and daddy blinked and the little girl was now a young lady with ambition, dreams, and plans of her own. She was old enough to drive and get a job and she was even busier than ever. She was so busy that she didn't see the tears in her daddy's eye when she went to her first dance...

And the mommy and daddy blinked once again and the little girl was a little taller and older. She grew and learned even more than before. The little girl became more and more independent and began looking at colleges and made plans for her future...

And the mommy and daddy blinked. One afternoon the mommy and little girl went shopping for a dress. As the little girl tried on a beautiful princess dress, she looked at her mommy and saw tears in her mommy's eyes and was embarrassed. What the little girl did not know was that the mommy did not see the young lady in a beautiful dress. What she saw was a little baby girl who was held, and fed, and bathed, and dressed, and hugged, and kissed, and was loved more than they ever thought possible, and the mommy was sad, and she wished she and the daddy hadn't blinked at all.

Monday, March 20, 2006

March 20, 2006
Good Morning, off to a good start. Put a load of laundry in and took one out, and already fed everyone their breakfasts. Meg and Robby are off to school and Bob is off to work. I have a few minutes to enjoy my cup of coffee and then I have to get going with the rest of my day.

Just a few notes and thoughts about this past weekend. I attended a scrapbook retreat that my SIL hosted. I usually help her, but she didn't need me this time so I got to participate as a paid attendee. I had a really good time and was able to get quite a bit done. I finished 29 pages of 12x12 format. It felt so good to get this done. I had a few photos of Meg, that she had taken of herself, and decided that I really need to get started on her book for her graduation next year. I think I have finally found my "style" of scrapping. I have really struggled with this over the years and have decided that I just need to do what I feel looks good and I need to stop trying to incorporate what everyone else is doing. I love clean crisp flowery patterns. I love the vintage papers that are coming out with brights and odd shapes. I used to really love Basic Grey, but find that I am more drawn to the papers that My MInds Eye is currently putting out.
After this past week of Hall of Fame announcements and NOT being called, I have decided that this year is my year to be published. I have already started submitting my layouts to other SB magazines with the hope of getting published in one of them. I really don't know what kind of chance I have, but looking at some of the magazine sellections I wonder who in the heck chose that layout...or what were they thinking? Too funny.
I am going to submit one of the layouts I did of Meg to CK for the Fresh Faces ongoing call at CK.
The really neat thing that happened this weekend was meeting Lori Deutsch. She is a really nice lady who has a daughter up at the high school. She is very insecure about her scrapping, but she is REALLY good. I want to get to know her better. She said that she wants to go to CKUMasters in Boston when we go in Aug. I am really looking forward to going. I need to make sure that I have the money in hand to register the 31st of May at 7pm sharp. I just have to refrain from buying supplies for one month and the money will be there.

Well, home schooling calls me and the kids are ready to go.

Friday, March 17, 2006

To Blog or Not to Blog....What was the Question??

Oh Yeah, "Why Blog?"

This is simple enough for me to answer. First, I need a place where I can write without concern, post photos without fear, and communicate with my family without worry of time zones.

If you have access to this site, please know that you are of a select few that I trust with my creations. Some are good, many are not, so please be honest with me in regard to your assesment of my writings and creations.

I love each and everyone of you...let's face a little bit of reality here....If I didn't, you would know it...

If you feel the urge to share a little of your writing, please post and share with me. I want to encourage you all to write and express yourselves. Just remember that there are kiddos that may be reading these posts, so....use caution in your posts...there are a few things I will not allow...Most importantly.. DO NOT USE BAD WORDS>>.. (to risk sounding like Mommy Dearest....God is watching you!)

Well, let's see how this all works.
love you all.
Mary