A conversation with Kaitlin...

This is just a bit of the conversation that Kaitlin and I had while we were relaxing out by the wood burning stove last night and warming up a bit.

"Mom, I wish I lived in a castle," Kaitlin said after we had been sitting there quietly for awhile.
"A castle?"
"Yes, and I wish I was a princess that lived in the castle way up in the sky."
"But I would miss you if you were a princess and lived in a castle way up in the sky."
"I wish that you could be a princess, too, Mom."
"Oh, that would be nice."
"Yeah, and Daddy could be one of the soldiers that protects us."
"You mean like a knight in shining armour?"
"Yeah, and he can fight the dragons."
"There are dragons??"
"It is a castle in the sky, Mom," she said, as if this should be assumed of any castle in the sky. Well, of course, what was I thinking!

Sunday Spur for Scrapbookers #2 - Using Witticisms to Record Family History

This weeks Scrapbooker's Sunday Six involves the little witticisms of those you love...you know the things they say that make you smile or maybe even bust out laughing. You must list six...all six witticisms can come from one person, one from six different people or some other combination.

Either participate in the meme through a comment here or copy and paste into your own online journal...but either way, be sure to leave a link to your journal in my comment section so that everyone else can visit!

My Scrapbooker's Sunday Six Witticisms:

#1 - Kaitlin - "Mom, I love you up to Heaven, the moon, the stars and all the way to Canada!" (The first ones are pretty typical. These comments from her started after many readings of "Guess How Much I Love You"; however, when she through 'Canada' in there the other day, that was quite unexpected! It was followed by "Mom, how far is Canada?")

#2 - Kaitlin - "Did you know that some people have vampire teeth? Really, they do." (No idea where this came from, but she is quite convinced.)

#3 - My Dad - "It's like pouring water on a rock...nothing soaks in." (He said this in response to my trying to teach them how to use the Internet after recently getting a connection of their own at home.)

#4 - Kaitlin - "Mom, that was sooo nice of her to say." (In response to the 'lady' computer voice that said "Thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart." while we were going through the self-checkout the other day. Wow, I guess even computers can have manners!)

#5 - Kaitlin - "...for real, Mom." (Usually comes after a statement that I am sceptical of its validity.)

#6 - Kaitlin - "Super serious." (Often follows the aforementioned "...for real, Mom." in a last ditch effort to convince.)

Yes, my list is dominated by Kaitlin...hey, 4-year-olds say some funny things!

CHA Winter 2007...Fancy Pants, Dream Street, and Mustard Moon, oh my!

Well, CHA Winter 2007 starts this weekend. For you dedicated scrappers out there, I know there is no explanation needed, but for those of you that are not CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) hosts HUGE trade shows a couple times a year that last for DAYS and this is when all the new product lines are introduced. Well, the next show starts this week in Anaheim, CA...I was able to find some 'sneak peaks' of some of some of the products coming out and definitely see some that I like...no surprise there!

Fancy Pants...one of my current favorites has several new lines coming out, but it looks like Floral Chic and Aged Florals are going to be my favorites there...


There is also a new company (or at least one that I hadn't heard of before) which had some really great looking papers. So, I guess I'll have to be adding another manufacturer’s folder to my paper storage box!! The company is Dream Street and I believe they have numerous new lines coming out, but the ones that I know of that really stuck out to me were 'A Letter from Julia', 'Pompeii', 'Romantique', and 'Unique Boutique'.



Three other manufacturers that had items that stood out to me were American Crafts with their 'A la Carte' line, Cherry Arte's 'Kitty Lou' line and some papers by Mustard Moon.
Lots of great new products will be out soon...only problem with this is that I haven't used up all the great product I got from the last time around...oh well, I've got to stay up to date, right. If you'd like to see more sneak peaks from these manufacturers as well as many others, just visit the blogs at Scrapbook.com.

Booking Through Thursday Meme

1. How many unread books do you have in your house, right now? (Your own books, that is--not ones that belong to other family members--and not counting things like school books, if you have them.) Clearly, an estimate will do. I would say that I have AT LEAST 15 unread books on my bookshelf.
2. To the best of your recollection, what is the OLDEST unread book in your collection? How long has it been waiting? Probably a book that I bought back in college...hmmm, that would be about 10 years ago...
3. Do your TBR books (that's "To Be Read," if you didn't know) haunt you, make you feel guilty that you haven't read them yet? Yes...I have always loved read. From grade school through high school, I was reading something all the time. When I got to college, I only had time to read what I had to (and didn't always like it). Now, since college, I seem to go in spurts...the year before last I read 15 books or so...last year I think I read maybe 2...hopefully this will be another 15 book + year. Right now, I am reading The River King by Alice Hoffman.

Feel free to answer these same questions in a comment box here or in your own online blog and leave a link in a comment here so everyone can visit.

Here's one for Chris...

This picture came from a shoot I did of my sister and her boyfriend back in October...finally got around to scrapping it.


Supplies:
Patterned Paper - Bohemia by My Mind’s Eye
Vellum - Paper Studio
Rub ons - Basic Grey
Brads - Making Memories
Fonts - Porcelain, Paprus

Journaling:
This picture happened by accident…I was taking photos of Lynn & Chris one day and while she and I were examining the pictures we had so far, Chris wandered off and was playing with Kaitlin by this tree. I couldn’t resist taking the shot. It came out dark, but still, I loved it. His stance gives off such a confident, so sure of himself quality…totally Chris.

Comments/Techniques:
As the journaling says, the photo came out dark, but I exagerated it further with a filter in photoshop to enhance the 'mood'. In making the mat for the photo, I wanted to keep some of the design in the brown paper, so I cut along the design for a ‘embellished’ photo mat. I also used a brad to dot the ‘i’ in the title. The title itself is a homemade rub on using MS Word and a transparency.

Dr. Phil's Test

I owe my coworker Rhnissa for today’s entry. She sent me this as a forward today…she LOVES forwards…and I thought it was pretty cool and would share it with all of you. It makes for a VERY long post, but totally worth it…

This is ‘Dr. Phil's Test’. Evidently, he completed this test on Oprah and got a score of 55 and Oprah got a 38. This is a real test given by the Human Relations Department at many of the major corporations today. It helps them get better insight concerning their employees and prospective employees. It's only 10 simple questions, so...... grab a pencil and paper and keep track of your answers. Please don’t scroll ahead, but simply answer the questions as they come. Answer the questions as to who you are now, not who you were in the past.

Just for fun, leave your score in the comments section along with your comments on its accuracy.

Ready? Number you paper 1 to 10 first. Begin....

1. When do you feel at your best?
a) in the morning
b) during the afternoon and early evening
c) late at night

2. You usually walk...
a) fairly fast, with long steps
b) fairly fast, with little steps
c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face
d) less fast, head down e) very slowly

3. When talking to people, you...
a) stand with your arms folded
b) have your hands clasped
c) have one or both your hands on your hips
d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking
e) play with your ear, touch your chin or smooth your hair

4. When relaxing, you sit with...
a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
b) your legs crossed
c) your legs stretched out or straight
d) one leg curled under you

5. When something really amuses you, you react with...
a) a big appreciated laugh
b) a laugh, but not a loud one
c) a quiet chuckle
d) a sheepish smile

6. When you go to a party or social gathering, you...
a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

7. When you're working or concentrating very hard, and you're interrupted, you....
a) welcome the break
b) feel extremely irritated
c) vary between these two extremes

8. Which of the following colors do you like most?
a) Red or orange
b) black
c) yellow or light blue
d) green
e) dark blue or purple
f) white
g) brown or gray

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep, you lie...
a) stretched out on your back
b) stretched out face down on your stomach
c) on your side, slightly curled
d) with your head on one arm
e) with your head under the covers

10. You often dream that you are...
a) falling
b) fighting or struggling
c) searching for something or somebody
d) flying or floating
e) you usually have dreamless sleep
f) your dreams are always pleasant

POINTS:

1. (a) 2, (b) 4, (c) 6
2. (a) 6, (b) 4, (c) 7, (d) 2, (e) 1
3. (a) 4, (b) 2, (c) 5, (d) 7, (e) 6
4. (a) 4, (b) 6, (c) 2, (d) 1
5. (a) 6, (b) 4, (c) 3, (d) 5, (e) 2
6. (a) 6, (b) 4, (c) 2
7. (a) 6, (b) 2, (c) 4
8. (a) 6, (b) 7, (c) 5, (d) 4, (e) 3, (f) 2, (g) 1
9. (a) 7, (b) 6, (c) 4, (d) 2, (e) 1
10. (a) 4, (b) 2, (c) 3, (d) 5, (e) 6, (f) 1

Now add up the total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTS:
Others see you as someone they should "handle with care."
You're seen as vain, self-centered and one who is extremely domineering. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS:
Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, one who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS:
Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS:
Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful and practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over it if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS:
Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS:
People think you are shy, nervous and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions and who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. Some people think you're boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren't.

WANT TO KNOW MY SCORE?
I got a 37. This was a little scary to me…
“Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful and practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest.” - These first two sentences are certainly how I would hope that people see me.
“Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return.” - SO TRUE!
“Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over it if that trust is ever broken.” - ALSO SO TRUE!!

Okay, now it's your turn...leave your score and interpretation in the comments please...

A Year of My Life: 10,000 photos from my point of view from YouTube

YouTube can be an amazing thing...once you get past all the just plain stupid videos. I found this one today and there is just something very inspiring about it. Maybe it's because one of my goals for the year is to improve my abilities in photography...like being able to shoot in manual and at least have some clue what I am doing and expanding my subjects (in other words taking more photos of things in addition to Kaitlin). As I was watching it, I was thinking:

a) this guy must live in Europe (a little jealous) or have been able to take a years hiatus in Europe (even more jealous)
b) he's a wonderful photographer
c) what a way to sum up a year in your life
d) what would it look life if I did this with a years worth of my photos...would I be satisfied with what it said about my life?



What does it make you think? Other than, "Boy, this is kind of long."