Bits&Pieces

No crabs!

I misspoke… I actually WILL take my bra off, later, you know, in a more appropriate setting

Off to Buffalo, I will soon roam

Finalizing a few things before I head out tomorrow for a nice long day of connecting flights as I make my way to Buffalo CKC.

Are you taking my class? Because if you are, read this carefully: THANK YOU! and, remember: you need to bring a vertically-oriented 4 x 6 inch photograph (preferably of you, but it can be of someone important to you.) We are doing a layout project, sisters. At first, I was just going to do a little presentation and a yap session, but then I made a layout I liked, and I thought it would be fun to make with all those brave scrapbookers who dare to take a class with one who has no real techniques to share.

Except the technique of scrapbook love.

So… I look forward to meeting you there.

In addition to the class project, where we get to use my most favorite Fontwerks stamp  ever (as seen above), and products from American Crafts, My Mind's Eye, Ranger and Bazzill Basics Paper, you're going to get a sampling of some of my favorite products this year, from companies such as: Cloud 9 Design, BasicGrey, Making Memories, Heidi Swapp, to name a few. (Thank you sponsors. I have much of aforementioned scrapbook love for you all!)

I also bought some new clothes to better camouflage the muffin top. They aren't really fooling anyone, but hey, new clothes that actually fit me are good, right? Even if they are a bit larger.

I may post from the road. I may not.

But rest assured, I hope to be able to personally bathe all of you in the warm light of scrapbook love.

And that's really not as inappropriate as it might sound.   

There's No Place Like Home

For those who would like to help out the tornado victims in Hugo, Minnesota, you can go here (the Twin Cities Area Chapter Red Cross.)

There is also a call for help in Hugo to clean up debris on Saturday, May 31. You can learn more here.

There's definitely no place more important than home.

Memorable.

Went up to Nisswa over the weekend. Drove home last night, about 20 minutes behind the horrific storm that tore through Coon Rapids and Hugo, Minnesota. My heart aches for the devastation, and the loss of life.

I couldn't help but try to imagine what it would be like to wake up one morning, and you have no home. Yesterday, you had one. Today, you don't. I'm hoping there will be a Red Cross Relief link soon, and I will post here to encourage my fellow Minnesotans to give what they can.

Hugo is about 20 miles from where I live.

So this morning, I'm recapping the weekend, and feeling very, super grateful. Not going to whine on and on as in my previous post. (But thank you so much for sharing bits of your own struggles and thoughts. Much appreciated.)

We left on Friday for the cabin. We always pack as if we're going for a month.

The destination? Grandma Boeder's cabin, just a bit over 2 and a half hours north of St. Paul:

Let's say for the record, I'm not really an outdoors-y type. But Nisswa in May can truly be a wonderful place. Few bugs, cool weather. And, the attendance this weekend was on the lower side, which means it wasn't hard to find a bed in which to crash. My kind of weekend.

And that weekend included:

Bonfires and smores with the Boeder and Pahl cousins:

Several sessions of hot box:

Sweet boys cozied up in the newly remodeled cabin basement:

And then there were the cool finds. My mother-in-law, Joan, did a bit of sorting and organizing in some of Great Grandma's basement cubbies, and found the following:

No, you wouldn't want a bite, but how cool is that? Had to toss due to oozing red 40-year-old lollies.

But the following item was not tossed, and guess where it landed?

When Joan asked if I wanted it, once I picked my jaw up off the table, I was like, "Um, hello? Yes." Which was also my reply when she found another, and asked the same question.

Seriously.

Serious.

Then there were the other traditions of going to the lake.

Unsuccessful fishing:

And the Nisswa Classic Parents vs. Kids game, which saw the kids win yet again.

And that means only one thing: a trip to the Chocolate Ox.

Personally, I can't breathe in that place. But I had to get a few shots. One woman saw me taking pictures and said, "You're supposed to EAT the candy, not take pictures of it."

I wanted to tell her "But that's how I keep my girlish figure," but thought better.

And lucky for us, Grandma B, who lives in Brainerd in an senior living center (where she has her own apartment and and lives just a few doors down from her sister, Felix, who is 93), came out for a brief visit. Man. 96 years old and she still knows how to pair a jacket with a shirt. She's an amazing woman.

One other cool thing this weekend was getting to know my father-in-law's year-and-a-half old Australian Shepherd, Matey. She's a farm dog, who I think could use a good grooming and a LOT more cuddling and "inside the house" time (she currently gets none), but she has a really great disposition, and I'm thinking of borrowing her for one good flea dip and trip to a groomer. We went for a nice long walk and she just strolled gently along side of me. Thankful, I think, for a bit of one-on-one attention from a human.

In all, I'm thankful for the weekend. Thankful to be home. Remembering all this stuff that makes life so good. I think I'm scrapbooking today to remind myself just how lucky I really am.

Happy Memorial Day to you.

 

20 lbs of whine

Oh motivation for healthy living, where for art thou?

It's almost June and the needle on my scale and the button on my pants are both telling me the same thing: for the love of chub and all things holy, HELP US!

About two weeks ago, I had one of those "I am hitting bottom moments"; you know the ones I'm talking about. Nothing fits. You can't look in the mirror without thinking, Dear God, is my butt really that big now?  You realize that you're hanging on to your current pant size by the skin of your teeth and one more peanut butter cup will be the ultimate tipping point. So, I re-committed to exercise and healthy living.

That lasted all of a week.

I wish I were okay on the puffier side. I really, really do. I wish I looked in the mirror at any size and thought: Well hello there... how much for de lady?  But maybe those searing brands of 7th grade insecurity never really go away. That feeling that somehow, you know you could and should look better. Don't get me wrong. I really like who I am. I just take issue with the packaging.

Two years and two months after leaving my 20-little-sticks-of-love-(and death) a day habit behind, I still think sometimes: I really miss being a skinny smoker. No, I have no plans of doing anything rash. I'm just sayin'. Nicotine and photos of myself from 2006 still haunt me.

I'm sure some would say, "For the love of Neil, get OVER it. Go for a flippin' walk and shut up!" And sometimes, that's exactly what you need to hear. And other times, well… your hormones might just have to go all medieval on their asses.

Still. I'm looking for love in all the wrong places.

Signed,
Stalemated, i mean "scale" mated in St. Paul

Dream big!

I have a dream.

And in this dream, Waste Management arrives in the pre-dawn hours to deliver an obscenely large leave-behind dumpster. And when Dan wakes up to see the large depository sitting out behind our garage, he smiles and says: "Go ahead. Get rid of anything you like. I'll be home at 6."

Shivers down my spine. Truly.

I'm fully aware of how dreaming too big can get you into trouble. So I'm starting small.

Today, I've hired a dude who's coming to remove one of what I hope are many large things that clutter up my otherwise peaceful world. I present to you, Barely Used 1970s Box Freezer:

(I know it looks like this is also the place where we clean and gut our deer, but stay with me here for a minute.)

We bought our Mom and Dad's house. Not literally, mind you. Because if that were true it would mean that Dan and I are brother and sister, and that's just ewww. But when we bought this house, there were so many things that felt WAY too grown up for us...like a Box Freezer... and it made us feel as if we were living in our parents' house.

We tried at first, to play along. We bought numerous turkeys. Frozen burritos in bulk. We even went in on a full side of beef with Dan's dad. All in the name of filling up the Box Freezer. You know, for all those elaborate, meat-laden Sunday night dinners that most people in their late 20s make.

Over time, we forgot about the Box Freezer. I just don't plan ahead like that, end of the world be damned.

Then 12 years passed.

So last week I called a haul away service. I figured if I can't justify a cleaning service, I absolutely can use some of my hard earned dollars to start chipping away at the glutton of stuff that is taking up space in my house. You know, to start making room for the basement remodel project of 2022!

And while they're here, you know what else they're taking away? Let's just say there is a 1960s air conditioning unit, almost the size of the Box Freezer, that's been sitting squarely in the center of my deck since October, and its hours are numbered.

And I know what else you're wondering, "Is that grey chair in the shot what I think it is?"

Yes. You are correct:

It too, came with the house. A giant, 1960s, sit-down, hair dryer. Now THAT is something every family needs. (I know, Tara, the garage-saler in you is DYING right now that you can't turn this into a shoot prop.)

And guess where this sucker is also going?

AWAY.

I think I just had an orgasm.

Wait.... no. I didn't. Still, I have a really strong urge to smoke right now. 

Suffice to say, maybe you CAN dream big, because in a matter of hours, I'm going to become a shining, living example that some dreams really do come true.

On a final note, I really am looking forward to the basement remodel of 2022. Because as I'm now able to see more clearly the walls of this same basement corner, I only hear one word:

Preciouuuuuuuuussssss.

like I said on Twitter: older, less cuddly, not nearly as cute version

Yes? A little? And maybe I'm not LDS either, but you really can't deny a very slight connection on both the hair color and bang treatment.

Good luck, little twin! We're all pulling for you. And the other guy, too.

Remembering the thing you love the most

What is the thing you love the most about scrapbooking?

Me? It's a toss up between the photos and the stories. Probably, the stories would win out in a head-to-head contest, but really, it's hard to say that with 100% conviction.

I was cleaning out the basement over the weekend, and I came across this lovely:

My very first SLR camera. Sigh. Hello, Minolta SRT200. I missed you.

This wasn't my first camera. My parents gave me a  Kodak Instamatic when I was 9 or so, and I took MANY an out-of-focus macro shot of my extensive pet rock collection. But for my 15th birthday, they gave me the lovely thing you see above, thereby further cementing my life long love of taking pictures.

Not that the love of taking pictures makes me unique, nor did it automatically predispose me to become a scrapbooker. It helped, but it certainly didn't mandate the transformation, you know? A lot of people take a lot of pictures, and don't become scrapbookers. I know. Shocking.

I really did love reading Ali's whole Words+Photos blog posts. Great reminder about the simplicity of using your photos in basic but meaningful ways. Even great design takes a back seat to the core basics of putting words and photos together. Seriously. If you take a photo and tell a story that means something to you, but it looks like shit? Honestly? Who cares!

(I personally would care if it were my page, but remember: I have order issues.)

My sweet friend Stacy had a great idea in her book Simple Scrapbooks, the whole Favorite Photos Album. By now, it's certainly not revolutionary (or maybe it still, in fact, is!) but the idea is such a sound one. Make an album of your favorite photos. How you define its structure can be up to you. I have one of these albums of my all-time faves. But now, I think I just want to make an ongoing album featuring my favorite photo from each month, and the reason why. A simple straightforward celebration of pictures and stories I love that emerge from the photo first.

I opened iPhoto and combed through the 301 shots I took in the month of April, to see which shot would stand out as the favorite. Now, it could be for any number of reasons: meaning, humor, overall artistic quality. I have to say, I was heavily favoring this one:

But I already used that on a layout, thereby sort of rendering it to the DQ list.

So I picked this one, on the merits of artistic integrity:

I dig it. Pasty white arms and all.

Note to self: find cute album, get started.

 

Coffee, comrades?

Good morning, and cheers, fellow United Workers of America. I bring you wishes of peace and solidarity and caffeination.

Having recently bid adieu to my Super Mullet of Horror, and only minutes ago, canceling my membership to Weight Watchers Online, i'm feeling marginally out of control and carefree this morning. Like I'm 36 again.

Why cancel the membership? Why not? I had success. I had failure. Or rather, I have failure. I'm going to try a new thing: eat less, move more. Now who's talking about revolution, eh comrades?

But I want to focus on the positive things in life. Things like:

1. Epic Dental Gum
So I mention this gum on my blog a few weeks ago, and they must have a nice Google Alert set up, and they send me the following: a Party in a Box as a thank you for the blog mention.

Buried in all that adorable color is this guy, and he's full of, you guessed it, gum:

Epic Dental, you have officially got it goin' on in the customer service department. You have made me and my teeth feel loved. (Even if the pinata was a tiny bit psychotic looking.) Bravo to you!

Seriously. Companies that do stuff like this? Hug them. They are few and far between.

2. This photo makes me happy:

I don't know why. Traveling isn't high on my list of Things I Love, especially after my recent trip to Utah where the combination of turbulence and lightning exploding just outside our plane made me never want to be higher than a second floor apartment ever again.

3. Cole's shoes and the back of his head.

I just like his shoes and the back of his head a lot.

What are you feeling positive about today? Please, do tell.