Scrap Girls - Digi Layout Contest - What Makes Me Happy

Digital Layout

 The journaling reads:

What makes me happy?  Pumpkin Lattes,  from October thru December.  My 12-year old daughter making scones - just because she wants to.  My 11 year-old son wanting to ride his bike to the neighbors and back all by himself (2 miles round trip - we live in the country).  my favorite birch tree turning colors. Mad Men on Sunday nights!  Soccer games and jerseys that have ‘Corona’ on the back - because our team is mostly hispanic,  even if it’s a youth team and not PC! Learning new things.  The hope to be something better!  

Supplies:
Cathy Zielske Layered Template #37 (I changed it a lot!)
Katie Pertiet Collection Manuscrite

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So there's this super duper awesome challenge going on right now at SrapGirls!  They are a digital scrapbooking community whose newsletter visits my e-mailbox almost daily.  And, today, in my little einbox was the announcement that a challenge was going on - with ipod shuffle prizes!
Yep.  Ipod.

I'm not much of a digital scrapbooker.  But, I am trying!


Go play, too!

Putting my Foot Down - Book Club Night

This is a woman's post. 

Tonight my 'girls' and I have our monthly book club meeting.  What I should say, is the girls get together once a month and I come if other duties aren't calling - like anything kid related or ranch related or part-time job related. 


So here's the deal.  The book club meets 1x a month.  That is it.  One night a month.  Three hours tops if you count drive time.  Three glorious hours to be away.  And it's scheduled.  Now, if any of those other distractions come into play, and they are scheduled before book club, then fine.  I'm your girl.  I'm your loyal mom/wife/employee/volunteer.  Or, I'm your door mat.  I have not figured out yet which category I really fall into. 

(You do know where I am going with this, aren't you?  My fingers are typing faster and my heartbeat is going faster, too!)

So. It's been a while since I made book club night - due to those above listed distractions and other obligations.

So, last Thursday one of the girls emailed me with the meeting deets (she was vacationing in South Carolina at the time - and sharing the hurricane watch), and I responded that yes, I would love to go, and since the dinner theme (aka we are really a food/wine group disguised as a book club!) this time is Mexican, that I would bring fresh garden tomatoes with fresh garden basil, and sheep's feta cheese all smothered in balsamic vinegar.  That was last Thursday. And no other distractions were in the way!

So... last night, about 8pm, I was in bed and the phone rang (yes, 8pm.  it was a rough day).  My daughter came into the room and told me it was the soccer coach saying the kids have a scrimmage tonight (Tuesday) with another school at 5pm.  Totally unscheduled and not an official game.  More of a 'practice' before their first game this coming Saturday.  BTW, we still did not have the official game schedule - I had to pick it up in town today. 

I told my daughter that I could not drive, because I had a meeting at the school for work, followed by book club night, and to tell her dad that he would have to take them  (why yes, my kids do have another parent for crying out loud!!!!!)  or they would have to carpool via another parent. BTW, Mr. Sexton was in the living room, and she could have told him before coming and waking me.  But sigh.. that is how my dysfunctional  family rolls. 

So.. this morning at the breakfast table, we have a family meeting.  I share my schedule - calendar in hand, and my daughter shares what my husband remarked last night.  That book club is not a priority and I should cancel my plans! I stomped on the 'we are Sunday driving and chit chatting' brakes... and put it into 'road rage' gear.

So - in a not so controlled manner, aka, high pitched woman's voice that we are all so famous for, and talking fast, I shared how book club is 1x a month, that tonight's scrimmage was not scheduled,  and scheduled and I have already adjusted my schedule a million times to accomodate everyone else and tonight is MY night AFTER a meeting, and AFTER driving back and forth to the school to get the kids so they could get chores done so they could go to the game and that last week I missed a work meeting due to schedules for the ranch and this week I am doing the same darn thing again because someone else is too darn busy! (this paragraph would be in all-caps, but I really don't want to shout at all of you.. you get the message..)

Ever see blood boil?  That was me.  I.hit.my.limit.

Needless to say, my husband will be taking the kids to and from the scrimmage game tonight.  And, cooking dinner.  But, that my friends, is another story.

By the way, the book I am reading?  Eat.Pray.Love.  You know, the one where the gal take's her life back?

I 'might' have gotten a little inspired from the book...

So.. anyway.  No doubt some of you are in shock to be listening to my 'real life' story.
These things happen.  And I apologize for offending any of you.

But gosh it feels good to share!
(remember, I am isolated, and on a ranch, so I tend to get lonely with my own thoughts).
Thanks for listening...

Ranch Share - First Frost and Freeze!

For your reading pleasure, a share from the ranch side of my life!

Check it out:

First Frost/Freeze

Caardvark's TiffanyDoodles September Challenge - Sketch by Heidi Van Laar!

My October Card, for Caardvark's September Challenge!

Caardvark's is back up and running with 2 challenges per month. The current challenge, which is sponsored by TiffanyDoodles is to use one of two sketches made by DT member Heidi Van Laar.  I chose the first one, which looks like this:

Heidi Van Laar's First Sketch

To see the other sketch, a 'scrapling', and to learn how to play along, visit the Caardvark's site here:  Caardvark's

This card was also inspired by the current blog hop at the Hero Arts Flickr site.  I saw so many fun, fall, creations, I just had to get playing!  Thanks Hero Arts girls!!!  And, since it is a Fall card, I am submitting it into this month's Hero Arts Challenge, the 'Everything Autumn' Challenge'! 

So!  There you have it!  Two challenges, inspired by the Hero Arts Flickr site!

Card Recipe:
Hero Arts Stamps (s5037 Design Bock Tree, C6102 Antique Brocade, JS155 Clear Design Month November (the pumpkin), and JS154 Clear Design Month October (the October sentiment).
Card Stock:  Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper:  October Afternoon, Heidi Grace, (I stamped the pumpkin on a 2007 era tag and cut it out)
Embellishments: Heidi Grace Border Stickers (from 2007 folks!), Stampin' Up Linen Thread
Inks: Stazon, Versmark, White EP heat embossed

Thanks for looking!

Our Beautiful Vacation in Missouri - Photo Share - Batch #1

Salt Lake City Airport

Jake at the same airport

First, let me say, I have lots and lots of photos to share with you.  So, we will have to do this in separate posts on separate days!

Day 1:  We left at 6am (which means I got up at 4am and woke the kids at 5am) and drove 2.5 hours to Boise to catch our plane.  We ended up with a delayed flight when we were to connect in Salt Lake City (super big wind storm - so all planes grounded) - and arrived two hours late in St. Louis, Missouri.  By the time we got to my sister's place, it was 10pm!  The heat shocked us all when we stepped out into the St. Louis night air.  But, once at my sister's I was loving all the wild thing sounds!  I love those singing insects - loud and wild.... The kids perked right up when they saw Paula's 2 itty bitty baby kitties!  However, one of the older cats, MO, make it a point to hiss and swat us at every opportunity. 

Sami with one of Auntie Paula's itty bitty kitties

Our Family House, Chesterfield Missouri  - For Sale, Again (3rd time since we moved)

Green Trails Lake - Our Lake, where we walked to to play, swim, find turtles

Day 2:  After clothes shopping (for school - we did it in Missouri, and sent the box home - it arrived Wed. the following week), we took the kids to see where we grew up.  Lots of great memories in this old neighborhood.  My father died in 1990 (twenty years ago!) and my mom decided to move to Seattle, WA and live with her sister. So, our house was sold to our older sister, and then she sold it, and now it's for sale again.  My sister married in 1990 and lived on a farm down 'in the bottoms' in Chesterfield Valley.  She is now on her own, about 30 minutes away or so, in Ballwin. 

We dined on all sorts of fun stuff at Houlihan's!  My signature drink is an Arnold Palmer. 

This is my compassionate, silly, fun, ever so loving Baby Sister.

These two clowns are blowing air at each other - two peas in a pod, let me tell you.

Jake and my 18/19 year old Nephew, Andrew - 'Gaming'

My nephew is now a man.  Freaky.  Not the wild child who ran around when he was 3 at my wedding.  Not the smarty pants who told his dad 'you aren't my father' at a 7-11 in public, and almost got my brother-in-law arrested for kidnapping.  He is now a young man.  Gentle voice, sweet to his cousins. 

And, Our Playground, Day 3-6.  Tan Tar-A Resort, Lake of the Ozarks

Day 3:  We drove 2.5 hours to the Lake of the Ozarks.  A beautiful drive!  I love Missouri.  The trees, the insects, the scenery.  Oh what a great place! 

Our real adventures start here.  So, I will have to share with you on tomorrow's post how we spend 'our days'.  Remember the little album I made?  It will all make sense starting tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting!