A little Post-It-Note chat with my bod.

So, it's Tuesday.

And Tuesday is Post-It-Note blog post day.

At least for me it is.

An Evening with Gracie Lou

I've always wanted to participate in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop, but was always too lazy busy to fit it in. But thought I'd give it a try today. The topic:
(drum roll please.....)
Introduce a Pet

Oh! Hello! I guess I'm supposed to tell you about myself. Was that today? Well, I really don't have time for this nonsense, but since you're here, let's get on with it. I'm Gracie Lou.

For starters, I don't get a moment to myself around here, because I live in some sort of freakin dog commune.

I've got my humans trained pretty well. If I stand up on two legs (like we never walk around on two legs or something!) they get excited and give me  treats. They never seem to notice the bored look in my eyes. They don't know me.

This is my boyfriend Scooter. He may not be much to look at, but that pooch has a heart a gold. Pure gold, I tell ya.

Really? You just had to bring up that Playboy shoot, didn't you? Well you know what? I'm proud of  my doginess and I'm not afraid to show it!

Seems like we're always lining up for something around here.  For walks, for treats, for licks at the cat, for humans to get home and scratch our bellies...always something.

This is my best friend Lucy. Here we are in the car on the way home from the spa. I don't mind the bathing, but can do without the squeezing...if you know what I mean.

Well, it's time to wrap it up now. As you can see, I have a very busy schedule. Basically, I'm just a misunderstood beauty trying to sniff my way through this crazy world. I'm amazing, yes, but I'm fragile, and I need loving, just like everybody else.


Aaaaaand Cut.

If you'd like to participate in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop, go to her website, read the fun topic choices, and link up!

Mother's Day Scrapbooking/Craftmaking Extravaganza of 2013

I had big plans for Mother's Day. I told my girls earlier in the week that all I wanted was to stay home and scrapbook. I still had tons of pictures to put in scrapbooks and Mother's Day was the perfect time to do some of it. I could relive memories of when the kids were little, and get something accomplished at the same time. 

My youngest girl (The Girl) said she wanted to scrapbook too, and my older one (Sis) said "I'm down!" (which actually means she's up for it). Sis just moved into her own apartment and wanted to make something she could hang on her wall.

So we made plans for the big Mother's Day Scrapbooking/Craftmaking Extravaganza of 2013.

On Mother's Day, I set up all the scrapbook supplies on our kitchen table and got to work. I finished a couple pages and was sorting through pictures for the next few pages when Sis arrived.

The first thing she does (the first thing any kid that just moved out on their own does when they come over) is announce she's hungry. She starts raiding the fridge and complaining that she doesn't grocery shop very well.

Then she tells me she doesn't know what she's going to make for our Scrapbooking/Craftmaking Extravaganza.

Sis: I didn't bring anything to make.

Me: That's ok, I bought you a scrapbook and I have some pictures here of you when you were little. Do you want to start a scrapbook?

Sis: Nah, I don't want to do a scrapbook.

Me: Ok, well look online for craft ideas and see if you can find any ideas you like.

5 minutes later, while I'm trying to figure out how many of the 72 pictures of The Girl's pre-school graduation  I should include in her scrapbook, the conversation starts again.

Sis: (Makes a noise of exasperation that I couldn't even begin to spell) Moooommmmm, I don't know what to maaaaaaake! What should I maaaaaaaaake?

Me: Did you find any ideas online?

Sis: Well... I could do a band collage.

Me: Great! Do you have stuff from your favorite bands?

Sis: No, it was all in (names her ex-boyfriend) car. (This car was towed a year ago).

Me: Okaaaaay. Then how can you make a band collage?

Sis: I don't knooooowwwwwwAAA. I don't know what to maaaaaaake!

I decided to include 17 pre-school graduation photos in the scrapbook and give the rest to the kid's dad, who's been bugging me for years to give him some pictures of the kids when they were little, despite the fact that said pictures weren't important enough to him to take with him when he left 15 years ago for his internet girlfriend. 

But I digress...

Me: How about you just make a collage of something else? We can go to Michael's real quick and get some stuff. (I cringe when I say this because a trip to Michael's is never "quick" and I really just wanted to stay home and get some dang scrapbook pages done!)

Me again: Your sister will be off work in 20 minutes. We'll go pick her up, then we'll go to Michael's.

Sis: Will you help me pick out some stuff? Because I don't know what to maaaaaaake!

Before I can answer, Sis's phone rings. I can tell it's The Girl. Here's the conversation:

Sis: Hi. (Pause) Yeah. (Pause) Well...um, mom is going with me to pick you up and then we're going to Michael's. (Pause) Because I have to get some stuff to make a collage. (Pause) Because I didn't know what to maaaaaake and I didn't bring anything to maaaaake! (Pause) No, it's ok, mom won't care. (Long pause) No, don't worry, it's ok, mom won't care.

So here's the translation: The Girl wanted her sister to stop somewhere after she picked her up, so that The Girl could get me a card, or flowers, or something for Mother's Day. Which was very sweet, but really, I just wanted to have our Mother's Day Scrapbooking/Craftmaking Extravaganza.

We leave to pick up The Girl and go to Michael's. The Girl gets in the car and immediately starts talking.

The Girl: Hi mommy, (she still calls me mommy) Happy Mother's Day! I wanted Siss to take me to Albertson's so I could get you flowers and some tea, but  I thought it would be tacky to stop and buy you your Mother's Day present while you're waiting in the car, so I don't have anything for you for Mother's Day...Sis, why did you make mom come? 

Me: So I could help her pick out some stuff so she can make a collage and I can be NOT scrapbooking on my Mother's Day Scrapbooking/Craft Making Extravaganza.

The Girl and Sis immediately start arguing about how selfish each other is.

I make a mental note to devote my next holiday off work to Scrapbooking. And to NOT. TELL. ANYBODY.

We get to Michael's and any differences we had in the car were immediately forgotten as we browse embellishments, shadow boxes, papers, miniatures, feathers, flowers, and stickers.

We get home with our treasures and I settle in to laying out the 17 pictures of The Girl's pre-school graduation. While I'm contemplating giving a few more pictures to my ex, just so I don't have to put them in a book, Sis starts asking how to put the background paper on her shadow box and The Girl starts asking which pictures she should put on a scrapbook page, which background she should use, and where are all the embellishments.

Sigh.

I was beginning to think my Scrapbook Extravaganza Day was just not going to happen.

But once I solved the two crises (no really, that's how you spell it - I looked it up), we all settled into our projects and I'm happy to say, we made some progress. Although I didn't finish all 17 pre-school graduation pictures (yeah, that's right, 7 hours of planned scrapbook time, and I couldn't manage to place 17 pictures), the pages I did finish looked pretty cute.

The Girl completed 2 pages, and Sis finished her shadow box and both projects came out pretty darn good.

Here's a picture of a couple pages I had finished before the girls came over:

Not fancy, but not bad for a Scrapbook Rookie

Yes, both pages took me like, 2 1/2 hours

And here's a picture of Sis's shadow box she made:

So, all in all, I sort of had my Mother's Day Scrapbooking/Craftmaking Extravaganza. But the best part was spending time with my girls and doing something creative together. We hadn't done that in a very long time and it felt really good. I didn't even mind the bickering. Much.

Oh, and my brother made awesome barbequed ribs so I didn't have to cook!

Hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day. At the very least, a peaceful one.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I would be remiss (and my girls would point it out to me when they read this) if I didn't say that each of my girls bought me a $25 Michael's gift card so I can continue feeding my scrapbook addiction. Thanks, my darling girls!

Moms Shape the World.

Just a quick Mother's Day post tonight. When I was in Spain (more on that later), there was this little cafe that had family pictures and quotes on their menu. It was the most whimsical thing and I took pictures of them. This one is my favorite:

"Traditions define the laws, women define traditions and hence, women define the laws."

A poignant statement, isn't it?

Moms are powerful. We help shape the world.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE.

To my Hubby on our Anniversary

This post is dedicated to my husband. Today is our 10th wedding anniversary.

Honey, I didn't fall in love with you because you were handsome (although you were, and still are).

I didn't fall in love with you because you were in a rock band in the 80's.

That good looking guy seated in the center is my hubby

I didn't fall in love with you because you were a pilot.

I fell in love with you because you see me for who I am, with all my faults, and all my good parts. And you love me, not despite them all, but because of them all. You've never tried to change me, even when sometimes, I wish I could change myself.

I fell in love with you because you accepted and loved my brood...

...And my village.

And they loved and accepted you immediately.

I fell in love with you because I admire your faith in God. No one taught it to you, you just feel it.

I fell in love with you because you ponder things. You have ideas and perspectives that I find fascinating. You enlighten me.

I fell in love with you because you make me laugh and I love laughing with you.

I fell in love with you because you're not afraid of introspection.

I fell in love with you because you tell great stories. And I know our kids have given you some doozies to tell.

I fell in love with you because you don't care about money.

I fell in love with you because your favorite movie is Anne of Green Gables and the scene where Matthew gives Anne the dress makes you teary-eyed.

I fell in love with you because you're chivalrous, giving, and loving, with a rocker spirit, and a cowboy heart.

I'm still in love you and looking forward to growing old with you...

in our RV.

(Which is another reason I love you - even though I know you're not crazy about it, you're willing to move into an RV and travel around the country with me someday.)

Happy 10th Anniversary, my Honabaloo!

My tribute to you: