A Scrap of Life

Today's blog question is: If you were a crayon what color would you be and why. For me, it's pink. Not only is it my favorite color, but it's a color that symbolizes so many things in my life. It symbolizes the feminism that I bring to this testosterone-filled home. It symbolizes the love I feel for my children. It symbolizes the tender care that I have for my friends. It's also the color of my face when I get embarassed (quite easy to do!) and the color of my skin when I'm out in the sun. Pink is the color of my life.

We have always called Tristan "Boney Tristeroni" but added the "broken" after he broke his wrist falling off the see-saw in early 2005. Well, he has earned the nickname yet again. We were camping at Ft. Stevens at the beach near Astoria, Oregon. It was a pretty rotten trip from the get-go and it ended horribly. Here's the story ... To start out, the mosquitos there were vicious! The first thing that happened when we got there is that we were swarmed by mosquitos. And these things don't care if you're wearing bug spray, at least the kid-friendly version of it. We had to jump in the van to the store and get the super-DEET-filled hunters version. It helped some, but they were relentless. ICK! Then we just had grumpy people. If it wasn't one of us, it was another. We were just not meshing well. The second day we were there we went to Long Beach for the day. It was hot at the beach, around 85, but it was SOOO windy. We only spent about 1/2 hour at the bea...

My Mom came over yesterday to spend some time with us before she heads home. She lives in Costa Rica most of the year so we only see her 3 or 4 times a year when she comes home for a bit. Mom came in the morning and we gave her this: Rico is a build-a-bear that the kids made a few days ago. I had them record a personal message for her and that's the sound box inside the bear. So when she pushes his from paw she hears the little message the kids recorded for her. I thought it would be a good way for her to hear their voices when she was in Costa Rica. After giving Mom the bear we tried to call my brother Jimmy in Italy but missed him twice. Then we decided to head to the zoo. It was a nice day for it - mid-70's with just a few clouds in the sky. We only stayed for about 1/2 the zoo, as the day was getting late and I wasn't feeling well. But we had lots of fun. My Mom hadn't been to the zoo in years so it was a chance for her to see all the new exhibits. We fed the lorike...

It's been a busy week already and our summer looks to continue that way through the end of July. But at least it keeps the kids busy and entertained. :) School got out on Thursday. On Friday we went to see "Cars", which was SO adorable. I was entertained and that's pretty good for a kids movie. Then again, having your kids sitting next to you laughing their heads off is a pretty good indication that the movie is funny. Saturday we spent doing family things and then Mom & Dad came over to help us work on our deck. We set up the pool in the backyard and it's warming and filtering right now. Sunday was Fathers Day and we headed to Mom & Dad's for ham dinner and to finish the fencing we started this spring. Monday we took our kids as well as Brenden & Anwen (Chase's best friend and his sister) swimming at the local pool. Then we went into town to see my father and wish him a belated fathers day. Got some fresh raspberries from his bushes while we w...

Angie and Uriah left today. They left for their new home in Wisconsin. And I'm sad. Uriah has been one of my scouts since I started leading in Tiger cubs. I used to babysit him in the morning when his mother left for work and he and Chase became good friends. And Angie and I became friends too. She was just one of the friendly and genuinely nice people. But we knew that evenutally her job with the Coast Guard would mean that she'd have to leave. But an early promotion and new assignment means that they have to leave a year earlier than planned. We drove by their house today and it sat completely empty. We were all sad that they were already gone. A few hours later we answer the door and it's Uriah and Angie stopping by with some cleaning supplies for me and some gift certificates to share with me and the other cub scout families. While that was nice, I was glad just to be able to see them both one more time and wish them goodbye. In the 3 years that we've known Angie an...

This weeks challenge is to write an ad about yourself as if you were for sale. So here's mine: Married White Female, 32 years old, red hair and the temperment to match. Hates to do the dishes, fold the laundry or any other cleaning tasks. Loves to relax reading a good book, scrapbooking or walking on the beach. Unable to commit to making a decision for herself but can make decisions for others all day long. Good listener. Enjoys cats, dogs & horses but not snakes, frogs or bugs. Likes pizza, chocolate and good friends. Dislikes vegetables, mean people and fakes. Can often be found listening to music and singing (loudly) along. Comes complete with 3 children and a hunky husband.

I've never heard the term second-chance friends, but that's exactly how I would describe my friendship with Becky. You see, I've had the same friends since I was in elementary school... Kim, Wendie, Karina and Jenn. Some I keep in contact with, some I don't. But they're the only ones I truly consider "good friends". Brian and I are both homebodies, so we haven't made good friends with anybody in our community. So our only friends are our childhood friends. Thanks to Bek and Brandon that has all changed. Becky and I met on a message board for Mom's due in February of 2001. I asked her to join an email group we call the February mommies. And through that we became friends. She lived in Euguene at the time, about 2 1/2 hours away from where I was, but then moved to Vancouver, less than an hour from me. We finally met when she came to my baby shower in December of 2000. Then we met again to introduce the families. Then we met again when the girls were ...

And no, I'm not talking about the boys. I'm talking about ME! I finished my final assignments and tests yesterday so I am DONE. And I'm not taking summer classes, so I have a break until fall. YEAH!!! Doing the little happy dance here in my dining room. Brian's done for the term too (double YEAH!) and is only taking a week long arts program this summer. So we are both off the hook for weekly assignments and readings and such. Will be a nice break for us both.

In this life where I am mother and wife, I have learned that I can't have everything I want. I can't have expensive haircuts, tons of shoes or spa treatments. But I can have this ... my shampoo. It's the one thing I do allow myself to splurge on. And believe me, it is a splurge. A new round of moisturizing shampoo, conditioning balm and detangler can cost about $75. Yes, I'm a wife and mother who stays at home all day with the kids, but I still deserve something for myself. And this is it. My shampoo, my splurge.

OK, so I'm not actually IN "My Minds Eye", but I want to be! See, My Minds Eye is a scrapbook manufacturer that makes some of my all-time favorite papers, Wild Asparagus. They also make a wonderful line of bright, fun papers called Kaleidoscope. They currently have a design team call and I applied. So keep your fingers crossed for me. I know the competition is tough out there and there are usually around 600 entries for any DT application. But I want this one SOOOO badly! I've only applied for 3 DT's because they were the only ones I could REALLY see me loving to design with. And My Minds Eye tops the list! (Think it would help if they knew my latest page requested for publication uses their products?!?) OK, enough of my wishing out loud. Here's some o f the work I've done with their papers.

... I got my first horse. A wonderful loaner horse named Pete who lived with us for a while way back in 1986. He was such a great teacher for me ... kind, gentle and oblivious to the 12 year old who didn't know how to ride. And now, 20 years later, Carissa has found her teacher in Cloisine, a sweet little Arabian mare. Today was her first riding lesson and the pictures tell it all ... she was THRILLED. She spent all lesson with this huge smile lighting up her face. I was absolutely impressed both with Carissa and her instructor, Michael. Carissa listened well the whole lesson and was able to translate what she was learning into the correct actions. And Michael was so kind and patient, explaining what you do and why and how you do it. Carissa and Cloisine started out walking the ring with Michael by their side learning how to steer. After a bit they moved on to lunging so that Carissa could get a feel for the (very bumpy) trot and work on some balance exercises. Then came time f...

Little ole me ... I was sighted today! You see, my photo was in Memory Makers most recent issue next to a layout of mine that they published. And today when I was at the boys school a mother came up to me and asked me my name. When I told her it was Annette she said "I thought so ... you were in Memory Makers, weren't you?!?". Totally blew my socks off and made my day!

OK, NSD offically stands for National Scrapbook Day but at ScrapAddict they decided to make the festivities last for the entire month of June. I did get quite a bit done (22 layouts, 1 altered tin and 2 circle journal entries). And they had some really great challenges to get us moving. Although I was out-scrapped by several other die hard scrappers who won the big contests, I did tie for 1st place in the "best photo" contest. (It was the photo of Carissa that I took from above in her dance costume ... you can see it a few posts below.) I also won the "best journaling on a layout" contest with the layout below. Huge thanks to ScrapAddict for a wonderful NSD!

... and that means that I can now share my designs using June's kits from www.ScrapAddict.com . Loved the kits this month (but then again, I always do!). My favorite by far was the "Meg's Flower Shop" kit. Here are some LO's I made from it: I wasn't even assigned the "Flower Freak" kit but knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it. I've made a few LO's with it but this one is my fave. And last but not least was the "Crayon Canyon" SDJ (meaning that it's a super sized kit). Now this kit has Basic Grey paper with it, which I usually find hard to work with. But I'm pretty pleased with what I made. OK, enough of my LO's for today. Thanks for looking!

I look at these photos and those lyrics start running in my head. Today was Carissa's big recital day and she was so lovely. Our sweet little ballerina girl. She was so excited for the recital. The first thing she asked this morning was "Is today my recital day?". She had a hard time standing still so I could put her hair in a bun (though she did stand very still for her first time wearing mascara). Carissa had a great time and did such a wonderful job as a fish in The Little Mermaid . After the show she received a beautiful bouquet of roses from Grandma & Grandpa and a Little Mermaid musical plate from Brian and I. There is definitely not another like Carissa. She was the most lovely ballerina girl of them all.

What, you're name's not Darla or Michael? And you're still reading this post? Shame on you. Nosy, nosy, nosy. JUST KIDDING!!!Those who know me know that my dear friend Kim passed on in 2002. She and I were like sisters in many ways (and we fought like sisters sometimes too! LOL) and she was such a huge part of my childhood. Lately I've gotten back in contact with her mother (Darla) and her brother (Michael) who requested to see some LO's that I had done. So here they are. You should be able to click on them and see them larger to read the journaling.

It would only let me post a few pictures at a time, so here are the rest.

So today's blog challenge is to post 3 obscure things about yourself. These are things that most people don't know about me. So read on and keep the snickering to a minimum: 1. When I was about 12 I won the "Most Freckled" contest at the Lincoln County Fair. 2. When I was a teenager I had an entire wall in my room plastered with New Kids on the Block pictures that I tore out of my "Tiger Beat" magazines. And I once cried myself to sleep when I realized that I was never going to be able to marry Jordan Knight (one of the singers in the group). 3. I'm very attached to my hair. Not just in the literal sense either. My hair is my safety net. I play with it when I'm nervous. I let it fall in my face when I'm trying to hide or I'm embarassed. I throw it over my shoulder when I'm trying to be flirty. I'm scared to do anything traumatic to it because I don't know what could happen, so I only get a haircut about once a year and I ne...

Happy Birthday to me Happy Birthday to me Happy Birthday to myself Happy Birthday to me. LOL ... ok, so I turned 32 today. Had a pretty great day. Brian got up with the kids and got them all to school. My Mom called from Costa Rica to wish me a happy birthday then Brian took me out to breakfast. We had some things to do after Carissa's school but then came home for a while and I got a phone call from my brother in Italy. My in-laws came over for dinner and brought me an Old Navy gift certificate (YEAH!!! I've lost about 18 lbs. and I want clothes that fit right!) and I got a Little Green spot cleaning machine that my Dad so cleverly hid under my bathroom sink when he was here 2 days ago. My Mom sent me a check, which I already spend on some cute strapy sandals for summer. So I am all set. It was a pretty wonderful day and I have to say that I'm feeling great, even if I am now 32 .