Decorating with Digi Layouts

This is post number 201 ... when I first started blogging I never imagined I would have that many things to write about.

Since I've been dabbling in digital scrapbooking / hybrid scrapbooking I decided to decorate my desk area at work with some of my layouts. I have found that framing my 12 x 12 layouts in record album frames works best. Many times Michael's has them on sale for $4 each. Since they are slightly larger than my layout, I've purchased black paper from the art section and used it as a background. I have them printed at Costco for $2.99 each and I can change them out frequently as projects are completed. They are good conversation starters and many have expressed interest in the hobby. It also helps to have "darling" subjects (grandchildren) to scrap about : )

Digital scrapbooking can be time consuming ... downloading, hard drive storage and organization ... but so far everything I've used has been free and less "equipment" and "accessories" are required to complete a page. I still love the craft of scrapbooking ... there are so many fun "toys" out there. The CK Scrapbooking Convention is now in town and this will be the first year I will be unable to go : ( I will miss seeing all the new products!
Last night I worked on organizing my downloads -- I have 8 GB of great elements, papers, templates, alphabets and word art ... just waiting to become layouts. One thing I will need to add to my layouts is credit to the designers ... especially if I post them. Check this article for a great organization tip in adding this to your digital layouts.

17,000 Days Ago

Over 17,000 days ago this picture was taken by my friend, Janet's mom. We are sitting in front of the flagpole at Kennedy Grade School where we attended school in NE Portland. It was 1961 and we were almost ready to start third grade. I believe it was about this time that Janet moved to Alaska. Perhaps this was taken before saying "goodbye" ... but I can't seem to remember.
Janet's mom gave this print to Kennedy McMenamins and it is hanging in the entryway near the main office. Even though they have transformed our old school ... the flagpole is still out front and much of the school's character has been restored. Such good memories ... nice remembering those who have been a part of my "history." Good to see this picture each time we visit McMenamins.
I was able to calculate the days by going to www.timeanddate.com using the duration calculator. It's amazing to consider 17,000 days ago ...

The Glass Castle

Resilience:
“to leap back” from the Latin word resilire
- the ability to recover quickly from illness, change, misfortune, setbacks
- recovering strength, spirit, good humor quickly
- to weather tribulation without cracking

Memoirs aren’t usually the first book I pull off the library shelves when looking for a good book to read. It seems I can hardly keep up with all my favorite fiction authors’ new releases. But at the recommendation of a grade school friend I put the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls on my Christmas wish list. From the very first page I was pulled into the story and found it hard to put down.
“Poverty to Park Avenue” -- The author shares the story of her life with her three siblings as her nomadic parents roamed America … doing the “skedaddle” when money, food or resources ran out. The family finally settled in Welch, West Virginia, a small mining town where the children, living in poverty, learned to take care of themselves.
At 17 she moved to New York and finished high school while working. She got a job at a local paper in Brooklyn and was encouraged by an editor to get a college education. She graduated with honors from Barnard College and went on to become a correspondent for MSNBC.
This book is being made into a film. Be sure you read it before you see it! Thanks, Matte for a great Christmas gift.

Peach Tranquility

Aaaahhhh ... there's nothing more relaxing on a cold winter day than a cup of Peach Tranquility and a good book.
Since I am a tea lover one item I put on Christmas wish list was a Teavana Perfect Tea Maker. I used one at Nancy's on our last "beading" day and loved it. You only need to add loose tea, preheated water, steep for a few minutes and then set it atop your mug to drain = a perfect cup of tea.

A few weeks ago we stopped at Teavana, which means "a heaven of tea," and bought three different teas -- Peach Tranquility, Mrs. Earl Gray and Decaf English Breakfast. I have to admit ... the Peach Tranquility is already gone : ( Their catalog is filled with so many choices ... it will be hard to decide which one to try next.
Visit their website www.teavana.com and check out the variety of teas and products.
Thanks, Tim and Rae for the amazing Christmas gift.

Cinderella

As a preschooler, my parents gave me a Cinderella watch ... and 50 years later it's still ticking : ) This gave me the idea to collect Cinderella keepsakes over the years.

One night we put my watch on Calleigh's arm and let her model it. I don't know how impressed she was with the watch but she definitely liked the Cinderella figurine ...

Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

Okay ... I'm new to Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's cookies but I happened to be out at the new Tanasbourne store while holiday shopping and thought I would give them a try. I am totally sold on 'em ... delicious! If you're a fan of a dark sandwich wafer cookie joined with peppermint filling, you will love these!
Maybe after the high-calorie holidays I will give the regular ones a try. Mmmmmmm ....

It has been a while ...

Wow! It has been a while since I last posted ... nearly two months! Life has moved forward at such a rapid pace and with added stresses ... I've found it hard to keep up on those things which bring so much Joy on the Journey.
This Fall we finally made it out to IKEA (several times now) in anticipation of moving a few rooms around in our house. We moved the guest room downstairs and made the upstairs room into a playroom for Colin ... and Calleigh too. It looks like an IKEA showroom display. What fun we've had making a cozy place for the grandkids to play and spend the night at Grandma's & Grandpa's. To top it off ... the guest room is much more warm and inviting.
Now I need to invest in some toys and books for Calleigh. I'd better go back up in the attic and bring down more of my antique dolls and cradles : )

Bonus Beach Day

In September Mom and I spent the weekend at Lincoln City. We packed for rain and cooler temperatures but we were pleasantly surprised to find the weather improving the closer we got to the coast. It was one of those bonus September days at the beach ... blue skies and plenty of sunshine.
The weekend was filled with many firsts for me --
watching boats make their way from the sea to the Depoe Bay harbor, known as "shooting the hole."






I was thankful to be on land and not on one of the boats tossing around in the surf ... you could get seasick just being a spectator.

We spent the afternoon on the beach at Roads End where we discovered new beach activities --
watching the parasurfers was amazing and very entertaining Just as we were leaving to check into our motel an entire wedding party and guests walked down on the beach. What a gorgeous backdrop for a wedding plus a bonus of wonderful weather.

As we sat on our deck after dinner, we were blessed to see this splendid sunset ...






I think we need to do this more often : )

Shopper-in-Training

Seems like we always include a little stop at the outlet mall while we're at the beach ... all those Labor Day Weekend bargains calling us. I held Calleigh while swiping my debit card and she got so excited watching the transaction. Here she is holding her purchases. I think she likes shopping already : )

Brian Turns Thirty

Colin couldn't wait for Dad to open the gift he picked out for him. He even let it slip a few times ... there was so much anticipation!




The "Ants In The Pants" game turned out to be a big hit with all the guys. Great job, Colin!




"Happy Birthday to you" ............ look at all those candles : )

Bonding with Calleigh

What a fun weekend for Calleigh ... spending time with her uncles and Rae.
Look at the view from our front room window!!

Ready for Fun

Colin is ready for a fun day at the beach ...












"Do it again, Grandpa!!!" Colin loved jumping off the edge.

Hangin' Out at the Beach

Sandy toes : )


Shore is fun with Matt ...


Let's bury Dad on his birthday!


I can't remember a nicer day at the beach ... the colors all around us were intensified. It was warm, relaxing, and fun to just "play." So much to do and enJOY!

24-Year Tradition Switch

After nearly 24-years we broke from our annual tradition ... Wi-Ne-Ma Family Bible Conference over Labor Day weekend ... and rented a house in Lincoln City to celebrate Brian's 30th birthday. {Can't believe it ... 30!!}
It was a fabulous weekend of fun and family ... outstanding weather, great beach days, amazing view from every window in the home ... we couldn't have put together a more awesome weekend!
It was perfect timing ... it gave us some family time before saying "goodbye" to Tim and Rae as they head off to the Bay area for 8 weeks the following day.

This was our first experience in spending time in the Road's End area of Lincoln City and has now become our favorite beach spot. It is rather quaint and far enough away from the business district to truly enjoy the beach atmosphere.

Joy on the Journey???

I guess I need to share all the joy on journey even when it doesn't seem all that joyful.

This is the scene of the "joy-stealer" .....

I was helping Walt from the upper level of the front deck one Friday evening. While trying to assist him I stepped on a loose board and was catapulted into the nearby shrub, fell to the river rock below with my head hitting a railroad tie. Ouch ... the bush removed skin from my ribcage, my elbow was split and I was black and blue here and there.

I've decided to hang up my toolbelt and resign my position as construction assistant on any future remodeling. I think I'd be much safer in the house scrapbooking!!!

But look at the finished product ... what an amazing transformation from our old deck. Walt did a fabulous job even though it was built with a little "blood, sweat, and tears."

Speaking of Jewels

Only two short days before returning to work several of my co-workers got together on a rainy day in August and spent many hours at Nancy's fashioning jewelry, enjoying lunch together, and catching up on our summer stories. With a couple of months off work I was missing the fellowship of those I spend so much time with during the school year.

And an added benefit ... I have several new gems in my jewelry box : )

Birthday Surprise

Looks like I've just returned from an all day shopping spree at a scrapbooking convention ... but no ... everything in this picture is from my Bible Study Birthday celebration. Yes, there's even a new Barbie in there : ) It's amazing -- there were absolutely no duplicates and each item reflected part of my life or an interest. I have already completed several layouts using these fun new "toys." Seems like I've been in a scrapbooking rut and these new papers and embellishments have added new interest and detail to my pages. Yoohoo ... I'm almost starting my 2005 album -- just a tad bit behind ... but plugging along!
Thanks ladies ... you are truly jewels in my life!

Shaping Up

After a summer of one project after another it was time to enjoy the fruit of our labor ... time to have a BBQ and enjoy the view from our new deck.
Since Rae & I share the same birthday in July we decided to celebrate right in our own backyard ... complete with roasting marshmallows.

Yum! We always enjoy any celebration/occasion to spend time with the family!

Two New Digital Layouts

So ... after returning from Wallowa ... cleaning, folding, storing all the camping gear and laundry ... it was time to do something creative. In the past month I have been trying to learn digital scrapbooking using Photoshop. I used templates on the last two digital layouts but this time I wanted to create something on my own.

With all the great freebies I've found online and two "darling" subjects to work with I spent a couple of days creating layouts from our trip. I'm a hands-on, visual learner so I jumped right in to give it a try. I do have resources in case I get stuck -- Walt, a reference guide, and great online tutorials.

It was fun and very stretching(!) but I think the next step is to find out how others organize their files and downloads. I'm sure there are shortcuts and tips that would speed up the time necessary to complete a layout.
I know having something larger than my 12-inch iBook would definitely be a timesaver.

Another Wallowa Tradition

Twenty-seven years ago Walt captured a picture of Brian and I down by the Marina. Brian was pointing to something and I was trying to see what he was showing me. He was nearly three years old. In a few weeks he will turn THIRTY!!!!
So .... now we carry on this tradition with Colin.
Did I mention earlier ... we are a very traditional family !?!?!?! : )