Judy Garland - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

This is such a beautiful performance. It is most appropriate for me this year. Sadness has been overwhelming my life and that of all my students and colleagues. Knowing that we will not ever be all together again at Christmas has made this year very bittersweet. Since that is the storyline that led to this song in the movie (Meet Me in St. Louis), it just seems right to post this now.

Winding down from the blizzard

So, it's been a long and interesting couple of days.

Saturday was snow, snow and more snow- it just kept falling. I did a little work on the house- getting ready for the new windows to be installed today. I played, a LOT, on the computer. Read a LOT about digital scrapbooking- my new addiction, in case you hadn't noticed. Made beef stew- the good kind that cooked for 3 1/2 hours. Late Saturday afternoon John Bolaris, the weather guy on the local station that was doing live coverage the entire day, said "the worst of the storm is about to start". WHAT???? All the snow we already had and the worse was just starting???? So, I took this picture:

We woke up Sunday to the final results: 23 inches plus drifting. I only ventured as far as the front door and this is the view from there:




Now it is Monday afternoon and here is what things looks like now:




We had a good quiet time for the 3 days. It was partly restful and playtime- lots of exploration about digi-scrapping for me, lots of watching football and basketball for DH and DS. There was also lots of work around the house- getting ready for those windows, remember? Might as well tell you now- we do NOT have new windows. The window guys *might* have been able to do the work- unlikely but possible- but there was no place they could park their truck anywhere near the house. So, now the windows get put in NEXT week. Oh, well, there is always a downside, even to a blizzard!

Back to school tomorrow and Wednesday, then Thursday to get ready and VIOLA! Christmas is here! Will I be ready? Probably not. Will it be a good Christmas anyway? For sure!

Then it's Saturday and we are OFF TO FLORIDA!!! After all the shoveling yesterday and today, DH is now completely on board with the idea that Florida is the place we want to live- and SOON!

Hope everyone has a good week!

Time for a Blog Award

It is snowing like CRAZY out there!

I thought, last night, that maybe I could get a little shopping in if I got up at 8 and went right out. Well, we got up at 8, looked out the window, and said "forget that!". At this time yesterday morning, they changed the forecast from 1"-3" to 3"-5"; every couple hours it went up; the latest update, around 6:30 this morning changed the 10"-18" to 12"-20". So I am sitting here in my PJs, getting around to doing some blog reading that I have not had time for in weeks.

And that brings me to this award. BTW- you are welcome to "borrow" or "steal" this award; it was my very first attempt to "create" in Photoshop and while it is primitive, I know, I am VERY proud of it. So proud, in fact, that when I got a pop-up to order the upgrade to PSE8, I jumped on it. Until now, PSE4 was my tool, and it didn't get a lot of use- it opens my pictures for me, and sometimes I would crop or do super basic editting, but that's about it.

I am currently using Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus 3.0 and Polaroid's My Memories Suite V2 for digital scrapbooking- my newest crafty addiction. I am LOVING digital scrapbooking!!! and I am really enjoying both programs a LOT. I have enough paper supplies for MANY more albums and I will make them as time goes by, but I am pretty committed now to no more paper scrapping buying- switching over to digital fits soooo well into our gradual "downsizing" plans and isn't it wonderful that I LOVE something that will help with that?

Anyway.... yeah, I'm babbling, but what the hey- it's a blizzard and I am having fun just looking out the window!

Each summer I choose some project that I will "concentrate" on during my time at the Jersey shore. 2008 was cardmaking and learning to use my Silhouette. 2009 was stitching. Not so much stuff gets done because there are the distractions of beach and books, but I always make at least noticable progress. I have already decided that 2010 will be the "photoshop" summer.

Spending time at The Digital Scrapbook Place and Two Peas in a Bucket has opened my eyes to what these ladies (mostly) are doing with various forms of Photoshop. The work they produce is AMAZING!!!! So, my plan is to get comfortable with digi-scrapping with the SBC and MMS programs and then see what I can learn about scrapping with PSE next summer when I have real time to concentrate.

WOW- have I veered off topic here!!! Back to the award!

I want to give this award, for the first time, to a blogger who has a really, REALLY fun blog to visit. Do you ever read blogs but don't really look at the sidebar? Well, on top of an inspiring post yesterday about what she accomplished with Photoshop, I took the time this morning to really check out her sidebar- and this lady and I have SO much in common! Besides our mutual love of stitching and Jane Austen and reading in general, this lady has the exceptional good taste to include Lord of the Rings and Stargate SG-1 on her sidebar- YIPPEE!!

So, please, go check out YoYo's blog! You'll be glad you did!

"Historic" is a little bit of a scary word when they are talking about snow!

See all that purply-pink area?

That's all gonna be under snow- about a foot of it if they've got the forecast right.

And how do I feel about that?

Well, the stuff around the house to get ready for the new windows isn't done- but if we get a foot of snow, what is the likelihood that the window guys will show up anyway?

Christmas is totally NOT ready- still need to get some gifts and all kinds of other stuff to do as well.

But.... I love GOOD snowstorms. A good snowstorm is one that just KEEPS you home. Old movies on TV, lots of hot chocolate, good books. I never get anything much "productive" done with a snowstorm- there's just too much feeling like it's time to just hunker down and relax.

So, if this is a GOOD snowstorm, then I guess I won't get much done this weekend- and maybe that's exactly what I need.

David Bowie and Bing Crosby - Little Drummer Boy (Ultra High Quality)

This is a wonderful piece of music and this new remastered video is so much better to look at, I couldn't resist posting it.

The story of this performance can be found HERE.

No, this has not suddenly become a blog all about digital scrapbooking- it just seems that way, lol!

This is a pre-designed page from Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus. I've been playing with the pre-designed pages and having a lot of fun. I did another page last night and even discovered that the pre-done pages are all still completely changable- wow! I might just go back and add an embellishment or two to this page to see how it looks.

This picture is of my SIL's mother. She is a beautiful woman and I really like the feeling this picture of her gives- a quiet serenity.

I really am beginning to see why so many digi-scrappers say that their hobby is addictive. It is similar to paper scrapping, but you add and subtract elements with the click of the mouse rather than paper and glue, and changing something if you don't like it is SOOO easy. The fact that I can do it all just sitting here, without digging any supplies out (or having to put anything away after!) is very appealing.

Otherwise, life continues dismal. I am unready for Christmas and unable to muster any enthusiasm for getting ready. School is grim. Stress and aggravation continue to cause my fibromyalgia to flare, and the migraines are now chronic, almost daily. Hopefully, I can get into some Christmas spirit soon. Until then, I'll just keep slogging along.

The Greatest Christmas Light Display of All Time

My son filmed this- who'd think you'd find a show to rival Wanamaker's at a medical lab in the middle of Kansas?

Quick post, quick page

Got through another dreadful week. Along with the ongoing awfulness, there was a really unpleasant dentist visit.

I did get this page done, very quickly. I used a Creative Memories pre-designed page for the first time. The colors and design just seemed made for these pictures.

Tonight I am off to a Close To My Heart crafting evening- going to make a holiday banner.

The rest of the weekend is holiday house cleaning and grading, marking, recording, etc- progress reports next week. Some fun, huh?

Pearl Harbor Day

For those of us under a certain age, a defining moment of our lives was September 11,2001.

For my parents' generation, THE defining moment of their lives was December 7, 1941.

I visited Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial in July of 2004. It was an experience that I will never forget. I had read years ago that one of the most touching and emotional things about visiting the Arizona was seeing the oil on the surface of the water, still leaking after many years. When I visited there was still an oil slick coming from the depths of the harbor, from the oil tanks of the Arizona, and it continues even today.

It is especially dramatic to visit the Arizona at low tide, as I did, and as it was when this picture was taken. One of the spouts of the Arizona is above the water and you can see, just as in this picture, the outline of the ship that lies below you. The realization that more than 1000 men are buried below you is shattering.

I do not espouse remembering Pearl Harbor with bitterness or rancor, but I do feel that remembering the events of December 7, 1941, and honoring those whose lives were forever changed in its aftermath is important.

Thank you to my parents and all members of what Tom Brokaw has named "The Greatest Generation".

[AC] Advent Conspiracy 2009 Promo Video

Spent an easy Saturday

I've finally found a little time to "play" on the computer.

This is my latest page for my family heritage digital album. It was done with Polaroid's My Memories Suite. I am doing all the heritage pages with MMS- it has one huge benefit over the Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus for this specific project- it will layout in 8 1/2" x 11" in portrait style. (The CM SBC+ will only allow for landscape in this size.) Since I am doing this album with the intention of sharing it with my large family, I want my cousins to be able to print it out at home if they'd rather instead of having it made up as a photobook, and the portrait is much better than landscape for that option.

I have to check, but I believe this picture was taken around 1911. My next page will be another picture of him, taken around 1940- the contrast will be interesting.

The last several weeks have been devastating in terms of physical, intellectual and emotional exhaustion. Far too much work, far too many disappointments, and way too much drama. Christmas is looming and I have nothing done to get ready. I am weeks behind my normal pattern- and my normal pattern is not exactly being ready ahead of time, lol!

It's time to concentrate on home and family. I have a lot of schoolwork to do and catch up on, and I'll get that all done, and I must continue to be sensitive to the ongoing trauma that the kids are experiencing. But, starting now, I have to focus my non-school hours on myself and my family and Christmas, and I am determined to do that.

So, tomorrow is a FlyLady day around the house, with some Christmas organizing thrown in. Tonight, it's going to be spending time with DH, and maybe just a little Christmas planning. Mostly, it will be resting- I NEED it!

Advent Musings

Well, here it is the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The first Sunday of Advent. The beginning of the Christmas season. And, all that.

It's going to be a tough Advent around here. There's so much going on. My nephew is seriously ill. My son needs spinal surgery. School is still a constant source of depression- although that is not limited to Advent but will continue indefinitely. Overwork, exhaustion and the multiple stressors are taking my Fibromyalgia to heights not reached in more than 10 years. Life is not particularly "good" right now.

The good news is that I take Advent seriously. I don't like the fact that Advent has disappeared and Christmas runs from Thanksgiving (or before!) until December 26th. I totally do NOT like that people actually take Christmas stuff down on December 26th!!!! after spending what should be Advent celebrating Christmas.

I tried to cancel Thanksgiving here but the rest of the family overruled me. I was just totally not in the mood for being grateful or feeling blessed. Fortunately, Advent is here.

Theologically, they tell us that Easter is the most important Holy Day in the Christian calendar- the fulfillment of redemption through the Resurrection. For me, however, Christmas is the real miracle- that He came at all!

This is why I love the Advent season- a time to prepare for something REALLY special. We celebrate His birth as we would a great event in our lives- with lots of effort ahead of time and lots of partying when it happens.

My goals for this Advent season are to get myself into a proper frame of mind to really celebrate when Christmas comes. I need to recognize all the troubles in my life as things that I can deal with through hard work and prayer. I need to get beyond my own sadness, anger, grief, frustration and pain, and see the larger Miracle that is Christmas. I hope, with His help, to succeed.

Too much caffeine today.....

..... is why I am still awake at this ridiculous hour!

But I am getting some things done- my pictures from today are all edited and uploaded to Shutterfly. Today was the annual "Ladies' Lunch" for the women in my family, and, as usual, we were loud and had a lot of fun!

Here are a couple pictures:

Thanksgiving!

Here's another page done with Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus.

This is another page of happy memories from earlier days with the kids at school. This is one page from what will be a project/album from a class trip to Dorney Park for "Physics Day". The kids learn a LOT about how Physics is used to design and run amusement park rides, and have a GREAT time in the process.

Now it is time to go put the turkey in to cook. We use the Showtime Rotisserie Grill for turkey now- would not cook it any other way. Have I mentioned before that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Showtime Rotisserie Grill??? It makes the MOST amazing turkey and in about half the cooking time it would take in the oven. Tastes FABULOUS, WAY easier than oven cooking, leaves the oven open for the pies and the rolls and such, and just makes any holiday turkey dinner wonderful!

Back later with more pages I hope! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody

Is this wonderful or what?

Quick Check-in

Here's another new digital scrapbook page. I am still just playing around- grab a picture and see what comes of it. For this page, done with Creative memories Storybook Creator Plus, I used a pre-designed layout that was basically just a sketch. One of these days I will settle down to a "real" digital project, but for now I'm learning and having fun.

This is about the *only* fun I'm having these days. Spent after school today at the dentist- ANOTHER root canal!- I soooo hate my teeth!

I am totally NOT into Thanksgiving this year- I just feel like a hypocrite even thinking about "celebrating". I am completely out of thanks and am not feeling particularly blessed right now either. But, when I tried to "cancel" TG, the family did not take it particularly well, so I guess I will be cleaning and cooking and all that stuff. Is there a Thanksgiving equivalent for "bah, humbug" ?

Sorry to be so grouchy, but I am tired, worn out and depressed. At least I have pictures, and memories, like the ones on the page above, to remember happier times.

Hmmmm.....think there's any chance I'll get into Christmas spirit?

Darn Spammers!

I've added a word verification to my comments section- temporarily. I've been getting spammed a LOT lately and hope that putting this in for a short time will make them move on. Hopefully!!! I hate doing this but am getting tired of having to delete several comments a day.

Digital Scrapbooking for this beginner

So, I've been spending a little time playing with my digi-scrapping. Here's a page I did the other night during my second experiment with Creative Memories' Storybook Creator Plus. This picture is from the Prom a few years ago; these two wonderful kids are getting married next year. I'm pleased with the page, but I know there is still WAY more I can do with this software.





This page uses a picture that is a real family treasure. Great Aunt Helen was a singer and actress on Broadway in the years before and after World War I and there are few pictures of her because she was rarely home. I think this picture somehow really shows that she was a confident, successful and independent woman at a time when that was unusual for women- there is just something in the way she carries herself. I also see that Great Grandmother didn't really understand, but loved her and was proud of her. Maybe I am reading a lot into an old photo, but that's what I see and I really treasure this image. One of these days I will scrap a formal portrait picture of her I have- I am guessing that it was a publicity photo and it is wonderful!

I did this page using the Digital Scrapbook Place version of My Memories Suite. I am finding this product to also be fun to use, but, like the CM software, I still need to learn more about this software as well. So far, I couldn't choose between them.

My quarterly grades are done but I am still drowning in reports, recommendations and school work. I don't have much time, or energy, to "play". One of the things I have already learned, quickly, about digi-scrapping is that, for me, it is no faster to make a page digitally than with paper and supplies. What makes a HUGE difference is that I can sit down at the computer, open the program, and make a page! I don't need to dig out tools and supplies, changing my paper choice requires only a click of the mouse, it doesn't matter if I cannot remember where I put the Glue Glider, and when I am done, I AM DONE!!! NO cleanup! Nothing to put away. I still have years worth of paper supplies to get through, and I will, lol, but I can easily see that as we downsize and especially if we move to a smaller house one of these days, digi-scrapping will be my preferred method in the future.

PS- one more thing I like. I bought a bunch of new "paper" last night. Did it with a few mouse clicks, didn't have to go to a store and carry a heavy bag home, and now those papers will never run out. "Ain't technology grand?"

Operation Write Home Veteran's Day Blog Hop is here!

The legal Veteran's Day holiday was celebrated on Wednesday, but Operation Write Home is celebrating our active duty heroes all weekend with a Blog Hop! The fun starts at 1PM Eastern (10AM Pacific) Saturday- so if you're here early, make sure you come back and see everything!

If you arrived here from Rebecca's blog, Bella Carta, WELCOME! I'm glad you are following the Blog Hop and hope you are inspired to send cards or make a donation to support Operation Write Home.

If you are here but not on the Blog Hop, I hope you know about Operation Write Home. You can learn a lot more at their website, but the short story is that a large group of papercrafters all over the world are creating handmade cards and sending them to deployed troops to give them something nice to write home on. As of last week, more than 246,000 cards have been shipped overseas to our service men and women.

If you got here without seeing the blogs from the beginning, you can start over by going to the Operation Write Home Veteran's Day Blog Hope page. I'm #12 on the list so it won't take you long to get back here and then you can follow along to see all the great blogs supporting OWH. I was blown away by the beautiful cards and interesting blogs I discovered on our last Blog Hop and am really looking forward to spending time with all of them again this weekend.

Here is my "Any Hero" card for this weekend. I got this stamp set recently (Vintage USA from Close To My Heart) specifically for OWH.



So, make sure you check out all the work done by the OWH cardmakers, and think about joining by either making some cards or making a contribution to offset the costs of shipping the cards overseas. This is a totally volunteer organization, so any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Next stop is CARYL's blog and then you can continue on from there. Remember, there are a lot of prizes and blog candy along the way and some special prizes if you complete the entire Hop.

Thank you for visiting and may we all thank our active duty heroes and all the veterans who have served in the past. God bless them all!

Operation Write Home Blog Hop