Scrappin' Away

Well, I'm off to the beach for our scrapbooking weekend. I'll pick up Deb at the airport and we'll be off to Newport. I'll give you a nice long report when I get back and recover. Got to turn off the computer now so I can pack it. See ya!

Happy Spring!

As usual time has gotten away from me and I haven’t kept up with my blog. No excuses, I just haven’t done it. Instead of beating myself up here, I’m going to jump right in to what I’ve been doing instead of blogging.

1. Have had a weeks worth of family dramas. My aunt had a very bad week. To make a very long and complicated story short, she ended up in the hospital for emergency surgery. She’s on the mend now and hopefully will continue to do better.

On Leibrand side of things, my mother-in-law is in the process of leaving her husband. This has caused all kinds of trickle-down problems and various stresses and meltdowns. We are working through them, but it has been tough on everyone. Hopefully she’ll make it through this rough patch and stay out on her own. Hopefully Greg won’t completely implode.

2. Haven’t had a drop of pop since February 18th. Yep, working on 31 soda-free days. After Easter I will probably allow myself one or two a week, but I don’t want to get back in to the 3-4 a day habit. I have to admit that I don’t feel any better or worse from not drinking pop. After the first week when I had horrible headaches I’ve been fine.

Went to the Spring Flinger letterboxing gathering on March 17th. I made the event book for it, so I spent quite a few nights after work scrapping it. Had a blast at the gathering itself. We were at Rainbow Falls State Park outside of Chehalis, Washington. Here is the stamp count from the gathering:

Finds = 18
Exchanges = 26
Travelers = 27
Cooties = 10
Event Stamps = 8
Hitchhikers = 2
In plain site boxes = 21

Basically that boils down to a lot of stamps!

We stayed at the Olympic Club hotel in Chehalis. It was the most interesting hotel I have ever stayed in. It has quite an colorful history. It has been renovated by McMennamins. I shared a room with my letterboxing buddy, gerlfren. The room was very small with bunkbeds, a sink, a table and two chairs. We didn’t have our own bathroom, but had to share with everyone else.

Okay, I'll have to write more later. I have to go do the laundry if I want to have clean underware to wear to work tomorrow. I'll be back...

There May Yet be Hope

I'm sure you all figured out by now that I gave up soda for Lent (see previous post). Even though I'm not Catholic, I thought it might be a good idea to try and see if I could actually give up something for 40 days...something I really like and am addicted to. So I chose pop. It's not good for you, there are so many chemicals in it, blah, blah, blah. So here it is day 15, and I haven't had a drop of pop. I'm doing pretty good. The first week was the hardest. Once I got past the 5-day caffeine withdrawal headache it wasn't too bad. I mostly wanted to test myself and see if I could actually do it.

Then today I was reading the headlines on Drudge and found this story. Healthy soda? Sign me up, Scotty! I'm there.

Well, after Easter anyway.

C8 H10 N4 O2

Okay, what is this? Anyone? Anyone?

When you figure this out you will know what I have given up for Lent. Okay, so I'm not Catholic, but it's good to give something that you really, really like every once in a while, right?

Happy Birthday, Carmen!

I can't believe I didn't post on here for Carmen's birthday. I am a bad mother. I hang my head in shame. Anyway, Carmen was 5 on February 11th. FIVE! Can you believe it? I don't know how that happened, I really don't. I thought I'd post some baby pictures of her for your viewing pleasure.







Isn't she a cute little thing?

Today was the Washington Whippet Racing Club's first race practice for 2007. My friend and fellow owner of two of Carmen's littermates, (the one who watched my girls while we were in Hawaii) thought it might be fun to have a little party in honor of our 5-year-olds. So I got a cake and she brought some turkey and we all had a little celebration. It was pouring down rain half the time while we were practicing and my birthday girl only got to run one time, but a good time was had by all.

A friend at work forwarded me an article with the following statistics. I am horrified.

The following statistics about book publishing and reading were found on www.parapub.com, the Web site of self-publishing guru Dan Poynter. They'll give you an idea of what you're up against if you want to write books for a living.

1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
70 percent of books published do not earn back their advance.
70 percent of the books published do not make a profit.
(Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)

Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.
(Source: Veronis, Suhler & Associates investment banker)

EIGHTY PERCENT of families did not buy or read a book last year??????? FORTY TWO PERCENT never read another book FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES??????

OMG.

Stuff on My Sophie

Flowers!

I took my camera to work and took some pictures of the tulips that Marmalade brought me for my birthday. Aren't they beautiful? I got so many comments on them and people would just hang out by my desk and bask in their beauty. They made us all happy.

It's Groundhog Day!

I just love that movie.

So Phil didn't see his shadow and it will be an early spring. Yay. I'm sure Phil was thrilled to be dragged out of his warm crate at the butt-crack of dawn in the middle of a Pennsylvania winter by a bunch of weirdos wearing top hats simply to tell them (in groundhog-ese, of course) his prediction about how much longer winter will go on. He was probably all, "Hey! I was in the middle of a good dream! And spring starts on March 21st, you idiots. Look at any calender and you'll see that. Now put me back in my warm bed."

Check out the FAQs on the groundhog.org site. While Phil is cute and all, it kind of makes you wonder how someone started this tradition. According to Wikipedia, the tradition in the US is derived from this Scottish poem:

As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and rain
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop

I don't see anything in there about groundhogs, do you? Do they even have groundhogs in Scotland?

All I can say is a good thing they use groundhogs and not whippets for weather forecasting on February 2nd. Whippets would be all, "Who the *bleep* cares if you can see my shadow? It's 6:00 in the freaking morning, it's freaking cold out here, and I don't freaking care about this whole freaking holiday thing anyway! Let me back in my bed...NOW!" and then streak off to bed so fast you'd think they WERE a shadow. Well, at least that's what Sophie would do.

Anyway, hope you had a great Groundhog's Day. Now go watch the movie.

And the Release Date is....

... drum roll please...

... more drumming ...

... long moment of suspense ...

... the audience is listening ...

JULY 21, 2006! Yay! I can't wait!

... loud cheering and applause ...

Stuff on My Dog

I'm starting a new web site. "Stuff on My Dog." Here's my first picture submission:

Hippo Birdie Two Ewes!

Actually, that would be two mees, since today is MY BIRTHDAY!

I have to say that it kind of sucks having your birthday fall on a Monday, because I had to work. But on the good side I had lunch with my Mom, Dad, & Grandma (thanks guys!). I got flowers from my letterboxing girlfriends (tulips...my favorites!) (thanks gals!). My cousin Deb made me an uber cool, specially scrapped for me birthday card. Isn't it the coolest?



Greg made me a yummy dinner that was all ready when I got home for work (thanks Snookie!). I got cards from everyone (including my eye doctor and chiropractor...how popular am I?). And tomorrow some of my friends from work are taking me to lunch.

It's wonderful to have all these kindesses raining down on me. More, more! (Just kidding).

Goodbye, Barbaro

A sad event happened today. Barbaro, the racehorse that broke his leg last year during the Preakness, was put to sleep today due to complications from the injury.

Here is the story from CNN.

I'm so sad. I was really rooting for him to make it. I checked the University of Pennsylvania's web site where they house the Barbaro updates just this morning. It sounded pretty serious, but I was hoping he would pull through.

Sleep well, Barbaro. You fought a valiant fight. You will be welcomed at the Rainbow Bridge.

April 29, 2003 to January 29, 2007

Carmen is So Cute!

I've managed to completely waste this weekend. I wish I had the energy to actually do something, but I don't. I don't really even have anything to type in to my blog today. So I'll just give you a cute picture I took of Carmen yesterday.

Another Snow Day...And Another Page

I'm home again because of the snow. I managed to do some work today and even squeezed out a scrapbook page. This is my nephew Dakota's first experience with snow. Wendy sent the pictures and I thought I'd surprise her with a page. Okay, it was a plopper, but I did it anyway. I just need my sister-in-law to give me more words for the journalling part and it is finito!

Later on today, some of the neighborhood kids were building a snow woman in the front yard, so I made a page. Yeah, yeah, it's the same page that I used for Dakota. Who cares? I like to stick to a good thing when I find it.

Snow Day

I got up this morning as usual. I looked outside and didn't see any more snow or frost or ice. "Yes!" I thought, "No problem going to work!" So I got ready to go and walked out the door at 6:00 a.m. It was just barely starting to snow. Just a few flakes. "Well," I thought, "I'm sure it won't amount to anything. The news didn't make a big stinky deal about it like they ALWAYS do with the tiniest chance of snow, so it will probably just be a few flakes that won't stick." And I got in my little car and drove merrily on my way.

By 6:15 a.m. I had stopped at the ATM to deposit a check. It was snowing a lot harder now and it was starting to accumulate on the road. "Hmm," I said to myself, "isn't this weird? I'm sure it will stop soon."

6:30 a.m. I am now on I-205 about to get on I-84 and head out to Gresham. There has been no snow accumulation over the bridge or on the side of the street. I'm feeling pretty confident now. "I'm sure it will stop soon. I'll just go on to work."

6:37 a.m. I stop for breakfast. Still snowing, not much on the ground.

6:45 a.m. I arrive at Gresham City Hall. There is a light dusting of snow on the ground, and it is snowing. I can still see the pavement. "It must be almost done."

7:30 a.m. Um, still snowing. Really hard. Ground is totally covered. Schools that were opening late are starting to cancel classes completely. Cars are wizzing by on 223rd. The news is starting to talk about jack-knifed trucks, accidents, etc. Idiots.

8:30 a.m. Now I can't see the pavement on 223rd at all. Cars are slowing down...what cars are still on the road. Still snowing hard. I am starting to think coming to work was a bad idea. A co-worker comes in and tells me it's really bad out there on the roads. Uh-oh.

9:30 a.m. POURING down with snow. Can't tell where the street ends and the sidewalk begins. Should I go home now? Weather report is saying there might be freezing rain now. @#%! Why did I come in to work!

10:30 a.m. After much consultation with other people at work (most of whom live right in Gresham), Greg, other people who live in Vancouver and the news web-sites, I decided to head home. My boss, who is from Michigan, gives me tips on driving in the snow. It's STILL snowing.

10:35 a.m. Okay, I'm driving on Division. I can't see the pavement. People are driving slowly, but still tailgating. Dumbasses. I put the car in 2nd and just inch along at 20 mph. If anyone doesn't like it they can go around. Some stupid lady waiting for the bus puts her baby in it's carrier IN THE STREET. Okay, I know it's kind of hard to tell where the sidewalk ends and the street begins with all this snow, but I'm thinking this is a really bad idea. I glare at her and she moves the kid. I see a guy waiting for the bus without a coat. Damn, the news casters really DO need to tell us to wear a coat when waiting for the bus when it is snowing! Who knew?

11:00 a.m. I survived driving on Division. My bad luck with traffic lights allows me LOTS of practice in braking and taking off carefully in snow. My rear wheels spin a couple of times, but I stay in control. I'm getting good at this, but not being over-confident. I'm now getting on I-205.

11:30 a.m. Greg is calling me every 5 minutes with updates. He tells me I shouldn't try the I-205 bridge. I snap at him that I can't drive and talk on the cell phone at the same time. I decide to see how it goes. I traverse the bridge with no trouble. Slow and easy does the trick.

12:00 p.m. I'm home! I made it! I'm in one piece, the car is in one piece and we were very, very, very, very careful. Whew.

I had lunch and then coaxed Greg outside to have a snowball fight. He takes some pictures and I manage to bean him right in the ear with my first snowball. I miss hitting him with 4 more snowballs. He doesn't throw any at me. Ha! Guess I won that fight!

We took the dogs outside and played Frisbee with Carmen for a bit. She loved it. Sophie hated it. She was eating some grass and trying to only stand on two legs. Cleo wasn't too impressed and didn't like getting her little feet cold.

So now it's 3:30. It's not snowing any longer and I see no sign of freezing rain. It's still cold though, and the snow is not melting. The sky is really bright but has that orange tinge to it that means more snow. We'll see what happens.

Enjoy the pictures and scrapbook page I created.

New Look

So what do you think? After I posted last night I played around with the new options for my blog. I thought it might be time for a new look. Since it's a new year and all. I like it.

I Just Found Out...

I know someone famous! Wow! One of the police officers at the City of Gresham has written a novel called Sniper Shot. It was really a good story, made even more interesting because it is about places I know and have been. Put this one on your "Books to Read" list if you like police drama/adventure fiction.

Now I'm totally changing the subject.

I've been trying for the past two hours to create a digital scapbooking page for a letterboxing event coming up in March. I SUCK AT THIS! OMG, it is so hard! I downloaded all these cool digital scrapping things from this great free stuff site. Since the gathering is on St. Patrick's Day, I'm going with an Irish theme. One of the things I downloaded was a cool alphabet. I didn't realize how nice it is when you get alphabets as individual files. I've been trying to take one file and create individual files for all the letters I need. I've been working with the following letters: S P R I N G F L I N G E R. I can't get the damned things to all be the same size and lined up where I want them. I need to take a class on how to use this stupid Adobe Elements program. Maybe I'll secretly have my uber-scrapper cousin Deb make these pages for me. She does BEAUTIFUL pages! And I don't remember her ever saying it took her two hours to NOT be able to make a page. I still don't have anything to show for it, except one piece of black paper with letters on it. Sigh. I'll try again.

Okay, just a little frustrated here.

And on another completely unrelated topic:

We got snow here! Thursday morning I woke up to about 3 inches of snow on the ground. I didn't get any pictures of it though...sorry. I need to get my own digital camera so I can be better about recording stuff like that. I shouldn't have driven to work, but I was stupid and I did. As I was driving out of my neighborhood, I over steered and ended up doing a 240 (little more than a 180, but not a 360) in the middle of the intersection. Luckily, no one was coming from the left, and the guy on my right was way back and in no danger of hitting me. I reversed and carefully got myself going in the right direction again, but I was mighty red-faced! There is still snow on the south side (where the sun doesn't hit) of the streets in my neighborhood. A few snowmen are still valiantly waving, a bit drunkenly now, from people's lawns. It's still pretty cold, but I guess we aren't going to get any more snow. Oh well. That's how winter goes in Oregon.

So that's it for today. BYE!

It's the 10th???

How did it get to be January 10th already? Is 2007 going to be one of those years that wizzes by in the blink of an eye? How do I slow it down?

Okay, I have a couple of pet peeves I need to get off my chest.

1. People that drive with their headlights turned off when it is dark or really rainy out. Um...duh!!!! Turn on your damned lights, you idiots. And if you drive a grey car with your lights off when it is dark, you are an extra-special idiot. You'd better not make me hit you because you didn't have your lights on. I'll have a few choice words to share, I assure you.

2. News casters that feel the need to tell you to wear a jacket when waiting for the bus if it is supposed to snow. Okaaaay. Thanks, Mom, but I think we, the news-viewing public, might just be smart enough to figure that one out on our own since we go to work and pay bills and raise kids and all the little mundane things of life like that. Except for those people that drive grey cars in the dark with their headlights off. Oh, I see! It's a public service announcement for those people! Got it.

3. News casters that get all hyped up because it "might" snow. Strong emphasis on the "might". I swear, you'd think God himself was coming for a visit the way they get all excited about even the remotist possibility of a little snow. And then if it doesn't happen, they act like they never spent 45 minutes of the news talking about how all the ODOT vehicles are chained up and ready to go, and interviewing the road to see how it will feel about all those chains and snow tires driving on it. Seriously.

4. Okay, let's face it. The media in general is annoying me this week. Like this story. So someone asks you how many people are in your vehicle and you say one. An inspection reveals two other people. How is this a misunderstanding? The guy flat-out LIED, you idiots!!!

5. People who come to work sick. And then want to hang around your cubical coughing on you. Stay HOME!!! The rest of us don't want your stupid germs. We are very happy being well, thank you very much.

Whew. I feel better. Just had to get those things off my chest.

Did you see this? Poor Barbaro. I hope he gets better soon!

While we are checking up on our animal friends, what's Vivi up to? The runaway whippet is still on the loose, they think. No confirmed sightings for a while, but Team Vivi isn't giving up hope. We'll keep our fingers crossed that they find her soon and bring her home where she belongs.

So that's it for the first post of 2007. Ciao!

The Last One

So this is the last post for 2006. I'm going to say a lot of things that everyone else says here, but I can't help myself. Can you believe how quickly this year has gone? Seems like it was just summer and here it is the end of the year.

2006 was not a great year overall in our household, so I'm going to skip the recap and just move on to 2007. Oh, wait. I do want to comment on my 2006 resolutions. I know myself well enough to not try for big goals, but to set reasonable ones that I'm 99% sure I can reach. Yeah, not much of a challenge there, but I really don't need anything else to make me feel worse about myself. I don't think I ever wrote them down, but my goals for 2006 were:

1. Read 120 books
2. Find 120 letterboxes
3. Listen to 120 books on tape.

So I ended up reading 129 books, finding 205 letterboxes, and listening to 119 books on tape. Yeah! I'm pretty happy with that. Two out of 3 ain't bad. And really, one book on tape under the goal isn't bad at all.

I'm looking forward to this being a MUCH better year than 2006. And to make it so, I have composed the following list of goals.

1. Read 125 books
2. Listen to 125 books on tape
3. Find 250 letterboxes
4. Get back to Flying
5. Finish some open craft projects

Nothing earth shattering on that list either, but hey, it's all stuff I need to do.

Well, ya'll have a Happy New Year!!