Photos, Scrapping and Tribulations

Tue 7/31 Blog Prompt: Take a photo you've been meaning to scrap and write your journaling for it here.

There are so many. Digital photography has really changed how I take pictures. I take hundreds of them at a time. What surprises me is how many of them really come out excellent. But in the vein of today's prompt, how about I journal about the scrapbook page below where I left off the journaling.

I titled the page "Cousins" even though the word does not appear anywhere on the page. The two young ladies, the Princess and the Ballerina are, in fact cousins. But to look at them together one may mistakenly take them for sisters. Even they will call one another sister, furthermore confusing those who do not know them.

Still, the Princess is half Filipino; while the Ballerina is half Japanese. So while they may look similar, their heritage is not. And I wonder as time progresses, if their appearances will become more similar or will each take a different path. Only time will tell.

Template, (c) Michelle Coleman
LimeTea Page Kit, (c)2005 Nancie Rowe

Twenty-Seven Tribulations

Scraps of Mind has a new scrapbooking challenge up and it really sounded interesting so here is my take on the black and white trend surfacing among scrapbookers these days:

Swirl from New Year kit, (c) Rhonna Farrer
Alpha from Springy Step kit, (c) Atomic Cupcake

Hats Off to Tribulations

Mon 7/30 Blog prompt: How many different 'hats' will you wear today? Will you be mom, grandma, employee, employer..etc. How do you balance all of it?

Today I get to be Tink. The Princess will be here soon and I am sure we will be heading to the pool for a quick (2+ hours) dip. Then we will head home for lunch and a bit of rest and relaxation. She will probably watch television in the living room while I either watch it in the back, work on the computer or re-read Harry Potter.

This evening I will spend with my spouse of 18 years. Yep, today is our anniversary. We actually went out to dinner last night since he wasn't sure how his work week would be seeing that it is the end of the month. I asked him if it felt like 18 years and his reply was no, we were still on our honeymoon. He is a darling Pan and I really do love him with all my heart.

A new layout for summer using pieces from the SNL #27 kit.

Falling Quick Click Template, SNL #27, (c) bentrdr
Papers, SNL #27, (c) brkforcoffee
Alpha, SNL #27, (c) karen_76123
FlipFlops, SNL #27, (c) Ethyl
Stitches, SNL #27, (c) tjmuse

Wild, Free & Spontaneous Tribulations

Okay, maybe not wild, free or spontaneous, but the fact that I actually am trying to catch up on the blog prompts is (isn't it?).

Mon 7/23 Blog Prompt: What advice would you give to your younger self?

Younger self as in a child or younger self as in a young mother? Oh not designated? well how about I just respond to both then. I would tell child self to pay more attention to my parents. They really did know what they were talking about and could have saved myself a lot of heartache along the way.

If I am talking to young mother self, it would be the same as any other mother would tell her younger self... hug them every day, listen to what they have to say, tell them you love even when you are angry. Oh, I did all these things, it's just now I wish I had done them even more.

Tue 7/24 Blog Prompt: Find a proverb or saying that you think is true.

Tis easy here. My mother had a saying that she wrote in the front pages of her bible when she was younger. Something along the lines of:

"God never closes a door without first opening a window."

And whether you believe in the same God I do or none at all, it still is appropriate. There are always alternatives, sometimes you just have to look for them.

Wed 7/25 Blog Prompt: Stand in a favorite spot in your house, garden, wherever and describe it for us in detail.

Actually I'm not standing but cuddled with legs beneath me and a comforter wrapped over my upper legs. If I look up I can see the sky and an occasional bird that decides to see if there are any bugs in the seams of the skylight. Still above and just forward a little is a 56" ceiling fan with bamboo leaf shaped paddles. Probably a little to big for the room especially since you can reach up and touch it while kneeling on the bed.

Behind me is the leather headboard of my kingsize sleigh bed with 3 or 4 pillows propped up against it. The footboard is also leather but is usually covered by a rich red & gold booster pillow my mother made for me.

To my right is Pan's side of the bed. His side table currently is a drafting table. The window is also on that side of the room and the wall is covered with silky moss green and light gold curtains to make the window look larger.

Again looking in front of me is another wall. To the right on that wall is the door to Pan's bathroom. Directly ahead is the flat screen LED television. Below it is the cutout in wall to house the new receptacles and cable wires which he ran in the wall so they wouldn't be hanging everywhere. There is also a shelf on the cutout to put the cable box and Pan's x-box, with room for his games. It needs some more work since Indy tried swinging on one of the brackets holding the shelf up. One of these days I need to put something else on that wall. It is just too bare.

To the right is door to the hallway and the door to the walk-in closet (which isn't walk-in anymore since so much stuff is in it). And next to my side of the bed is a round table with two levels. Both tables have lamps (which match) and clocks (which don't). There are books and magazines on the bottom level of my table, so many I need to start moving some of the out. There is also a dark red brocade stool on my side of the bed.

The floor is cork and is cork colored. It is soft to walk on and easy to clean. Indy has a box of his toys on the floor, normally they are not in the box but on the bed. And if I bother to move the decorative pillows currently residing on the bed around I would probably find more that needs to go into his box.

Thur 7/26 Blog Prompt: Make up a great excuse why you can't work today.

Funny that this prompt should fall on Thursday, especially since it is just one of the two days I do have to go to work. But my excuse would have been that it was just to nice and I needed to get the exercise lounging at the pool would provide. Somehow I don't think they would buy that though.

Fri 7/27 Blog Prompt: What was the last movie that made you really laugh? Or do you have one you've seen over and over and still makes you laugh?

I am not much of a comedy type watcher. And although I don't like the movie and won't watch it, when Pan is, I have him call me in for one particular scene in Porky's. It is when the two coaches, the principal and Ms. Ballbreaker are in the principal's office. Each time I watch it, it will have me rolling on the floor. Not because it is particularly funny; but because the two coaches aren't faking their laughs. Or if they are, they are darn good. There laughter is just so infectious and I will invariably end up holding my sides while watching them.

Now how about another scrapbook page. This time flowers from mother's backyard.



Template, (c) Pattie Knox, Digital Designers
Gold & Blue papers, (c) Lisa Whitney
Marigold Fields paper, (c) Katie Pertiet
Flowers, (c) Sande Krieger
Brushes, (c) Mary Ann Wise
Font: Dirty Finger, (c) Harold Lohner

Word of the Week - PEDAGOGUE (PEDAGOG)

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.

pedagogue, a/s/a pedagog(n)
a teacher; often specifically a pedantic, dogmatic teacher.

Why not take a moment and see what you can do with it. Use it as a jump start for a short story; if applicable, find a picture of it; let us know how you would incorporate it into your daily life. Whatever you do, post a comment or a link so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Tribulations of the Blahs

I just can't seem to get going on anything these days. Not for very long anyway. Well except maybe finishing the new Harry Potter book, but I read it on the way to and from visiting Pan's family on Saturday.

I know I am getting older (51 next month); but I really am not getting the normal aches and pains one associates with age, it's my hair. It's driving me nuts and I really need to get it cut. Only thing, once I start I have to have it cut every 3 weeks and that can get a bit pricey. I have hair to die for, waist long, thick, silky, luxurious, black brown with a tad of silver flittering through. And yep, it is going to be the death of me. With it this long it gets in the way, no matter how I try to put it up. It is hard to wash (takes at least an hour) and takes forever to dry. But the worse is when I am trying to sleep. Putting it up gives me headaches and leaving it down it is all over the place, including my ears, eyes, nose and mouth.

Also I seem to be just roaming from one thing to another without ever really spending time doing one thing. At least since the surgery. I just seem to have the Blahs. Maybe soon I will get over them and set out on a journey of exploration to share. Until then, how about a scrapbook page I actually did finish:




Template, (c) Misty Cato, Treasures to Scrap
Day Dreams kit, (c) Carrie Stephens, Scrapbook-Bytes
Shine On brush, (c) Lynn Grieveson, Digital Designers
Compass brush, (c) Katie Pertiet, Digital Designers
Circle Grunge brushes & Watch frame brush, (c) Kellie Mize, Digital Designers

Word of the Week - PELAGE

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.

pelage(n)
the coat or covering, of a mammal, as hair, fur, etc..

Why not take a moment and see what you can do with it. Use it as a jump start for a short story; if applicable, find a picture of it; let us know how you would incorporate it into your daily life. Whatever you do, post a comment or a link so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Eight Random Tribulations

While not specifically tagging me on her blog, the bug called to tell me I was tagged. (Talk about tribulations.) Anyhow, I guess I am suppose to tell you eight random things about myself.

1. I ran out of the house naked when I was little. I think I was in trouble.
2. I talked ddpup into helping me paint the trailer we were temporarily living in with turpentine. I definitely was in trouble.
3. I once put my favorite shirt over a lamp to create a fairytale mood and forgot about it when mom called us to lunch. It started smoking and mom called the fire department. Boy was I in trouble.
4. When we lived in Arkansas, mom, ddpup and I would lay out on the lawn and name the constellations. Didn't get in trouble for that.
5. I wouldn't finish my classwork in first grade so I wouldn't have to go on the playground.
6. In California, I had a choice for my birthday. A small telescope that I could take home immediately or wait for the bigger one. I waited.
7. Soon after getting my driver's license, ddpup, a friend and I were driving on the base in Illinois, when a mouse jumped out of the wiper well. Scared the tribulations out of me.
8. When my ex failed his journeyman's test the first time, he brought the test home and read the questions out to me. I got them all right.

It's up to you if you want to do this random 8 meme.

A Handful of Tribulation

At 10 months


Handprint, (c) Katie Felix
Serendipity kit, (c) Atomic Cupcake
Fonts: Helinda Rook

Word of the Week - QUODLIBET

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.

quodlibet(n)
1. an academic debate or exercise in argument, esp. on the theological question
2. a humorously incongruous musical medley.

Why not take a moment and see what you can do with it. Use it as a jump start for a short story; if applicable, find a picture of it; let us know how you would incorporate it into your daily life. Whatever you do, post a comment or a link so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

A Star, a Birth and No Tribulations

I had really intended to do a scrapbook page a day for each of the grands; but somehow never got it done. And I failed to start it with the Princess but maybe I can rectify that now. So in honor of a precious girl who turned 8 yesterday and whose birthday is being celebrated today at the pool, here is the start of the a Star Attraction...

Page Template, © 2005 Monica McGill
Baby of Mine Kit, Atomic Cupcake
Fonts: 101!Star Lit Night; Escrita; Blackadder ITC
Poem by Larry Barretto

The Princess turned 8 years old Today

Happy Birthday Honey,
from Tink, Pan, Uncle Nuke, Uncle Scamp, Aunt Honey and the Ballerina

Template, (c) Misty Cato Designs
Pity Party kit, (c) FernLili of FernLili's Digital Designs
Fonts: PonytailSSK; ZephyrScript FLF

A Long and Lazy Tribulation

Haven't been posting much. Don't really know why. Lazy, maybe.... Or just a reaction from the surgery. Just can't seem to get into anything this last week. Blogging, scrapbooking, cross stitching or even crossword puzzles. I just kind of float from one thing to another, not really completing anything. Except the dishes, LOL.

I really have no reason not to go back to work, but I left with the indication that it might be 2 weeks so got nearly 2 weeks worth of work done before I left. I really was going to go in this morning. I didn't sleep well last night. It was the first night I went without the pain medication. Oh I have some, it was only suppose to last me two days and nearly two weeks later I still have half a bottle. So after getting to sleep after 2 a.m., I decided I wasn't going in this morning either. Of course, I woke at 7:30 a.m. to the sound of thunder and of rain pelting the skylight over the bed. Another excellent reason for staying home don't you think?

Maybe tomorrow I will go back in for an hour or two. Maybe.

Word of the Week - RECHERCHE

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.

recherche(adj)
1. sought out with care; rare; choice; uncommon
2. having refinement or studied elegance
3. too refined; to studied.

Why not take a moment and see what you can do with it. Use it as a jump start for a short story; if applicable, find a picture of it; let us know how you would incorporate it into your daily life. Whatever you do, post a comment or a link so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Beauty in a Make-Up Tribulation

Fri 7/6 Blog prompt: Do you wear makeup? Love it or hate it? If you do wear it, is it for you or other people?

Me in make-up? You have to be kidding. Even as a teenager I wasn't particularly fond of it (although I wore it because in my mind I was rebelling, go figure). It makes my face itch and feel yucky.

That isn't to say I never wear it. Occasionally I do. Like to big dinner parties or formal parties. Nowadays, we don't have those as much. On that note, I guess I wore it more for other people than myself.

A Beautiful Change of Tribulations

Thur 7/5 Blog Prompt: How have your ideas of what is beautiful changed since you were a child?

I don't think they have much. Though I probably didn't think about art and artists much when I was little. Back then a field full of clover, a night full of stars, getting up close and personal with a bumblebee caught in a bottle, clover necklaces and a Christmas tree covered with angel hair were beautiful. They still are. And the memories are beautiful.

Being a Patriot is No Tribulation

Wed 7/4 Blog Prompt: Do you have a favorite patriotic song? Share it with us...we'd love to hear it!

First I guess you should know that I am fiercely patriotic. I believe in my country and my military and just about any song which extols the virtues of one or the other or both will make me swell with pride and get all teary-eyed. But being a military brat, it is the military songs that are dearest to my heart.

The Marine Hymn
From the Halls of Montezuma
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
of United States Marine.

Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in ev'ry clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job--
The United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.

The Navy Hymn
Lyrics by Reverend William Whiting and Music by Reverend John B. Dyke

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep,
Its own appointed limits keep.

Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea! Amen.

Eternal Father, lend Thy grace To
those with wings who fly thro' space,
Thro wind and storm, thro' sun and rain,
Oh bring them safely home again.

Oh Father, hear an humble prayer,
For those in peril in the air! Amen.

Oh Trinity of love and pow'r,
Our brethren shield in danger's hour,
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them where so e'er they go.

Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea! Amen.

Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder
Words and Music by Captain Robert Crawford, ©1939 as the "Army Air Corps Song."; renewed 1977 by the USAF

Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
Climbing high into the sun;
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,
At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun! (Give 'er the gun now!)
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under,
Off with one heckuva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!
Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!

Minds of men fashioned a crate of thunder
Sent it high into the blue
Hands of men blasted the world asunder,
How they lived God only knew!
Souls of men dreaming of skies to conquer
Gave us wings ever to soar,
With scouts before and bombers galore, Hey!
Nothing'll stop the US Air Force!

Here's a toast to the host of those
Who love the vastness of the sky,
To a friend we send a message
Of his brother men who fly.
We drink to those who gave their all of old,
Then down we roar
to score the rainbow's pot of gold.
A toast to the host of men we boast, the US Air Force.

Zoom!

Off we go into the wild sky yonder,
Keep the wings level and true!
If you'd live to be a grey-haired wonder,
Keep your nose out of the blue! (Out of the blue, boy!)
Flying men guarding the nation's border,
We'll be there, followed by more,
In echelon we carry on! Hey!
Nothing'll stop the US Air Force!

10 Tribulations & Counting

And the Princess will be 8 years old. Where has the time gone?

CREDITS: Two Peas, January 2006 Freebie kit, ©2006 Anne Langpap
Two Peas, Floral Stamp from Flowers Are Beautiful kit, ©2006 Rhonna Farrer
Two Peas, flower stamp from A Little Pizzaz, ©2007 Sande Krieger
Scrapartist, Elements from Avec Amour, ©2006 Isabelle Cyr aka zazou
Scrapartist, Love & Affection word art, ©2006 Daniela Peuss

A Beautiful Tribulation

Tue 7/3 Blog Prompt: Define the idea of beauty -- physical, artistic, natural, whatever...just talk about what you think is beautiful.

"Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates
them."

~David Hume's Essays, Moral and Political, 1742

Physical: To see a child laughing. The sparkle of happiness in a person's eye. Two people holding hands, no matter what the ages are; a child and parent, an elderly couple; a couple contemplating their life together....

Artistic: Resilient Wanderer, Clyde Caldwell; Passion, Sir Frank Dicksee; The Sailing Signal, Arthur Hughes; On the Terrace at Rolleboise, Daniel Ridgway Knight; Arthur Steps Up, Don Maitz; High Cross of Clonmacnois, Mary McSweeney; Greeting the Dawn, Keith Parkinson; On the Terrace, Sir Edward Poynter; The Cherry Bonnet, Emile Vernon; Passage: The Avatar, Michael Whelan; Lunar Celebration, Wyland; are but a few of the many.

Natural: Watching the waves lap upon the white sand shore. To stand beside a redwood and see a deer peering from behind another. Gazing down at the Grand Canyon, either from edge or from a plane. Rolling black clouds of an impending storm. A sunset from the boat.

Waves lapping

Sunset

Tribulations and UFOs

Mon 7/2 Blog Prompt: Today is World UFO day. What do you think UFOs are? Do you believe in little green men?

Today Ordinary Days starts leading the blog prompts again and she has started with a doozy.

Well, I think UFOs are exactly that... Unidentified Flying Objects. And no, I don't believe in little green men. But that doesn't mean I don't believe in extraterrestrial life.

I think Jodie Foster expressed it best in "Contact" when she said:

"So if it's just us... It seems like an awful waste of space."

Word of the Week - REFULGENT

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.

refulgent(adj)
shining; radiant; glowing; resplendent.

Why not take a moment and see what you can do with it. Use it as a jump start for a short story; if applicable, find a picture of it; let us know how you would incorporate it into your daily life. Whatever you do, post a comment or a link so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.