Paperback Pirate

Do it for the doggies!

2012-02-12T19:06:00.005-07:00

On Sunday we're going to do a People Saving Pets Walk with Captain Skippyjon Jones, Caprica Six, and Stellaluna. We are trying to raise money for Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA, a local no-kill shelter, while socializing and exercising. Corey did a story about AAWL and was almost moved to tears watching the good work they do for animals.

Click here if you would like to donate a dollar or more.

You can also visit Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA.

The photo is of us from last year's walk before it started pouring buckets.

new year's day

2012-02-05T11:30:00.005-07:00

This week at Scrapping the Music the challenge is to use "I'm Alive" by Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews as your inspiration. I can't say I'm a big fan of Kenny but I do love me some Dave Matthews.

The line, Today's the first day of the rest of my life, made me think of the picture Corey took of me with the dogs on January 1st. I spent much of the day reading The Watchmen by Alan Moore which was an incredible book. I just took down the photo calendar Amy made us last year and used January behind my photo. It represents the line I used from the song while preserving a page of the calendar.

sugar & spice

2012-01-28T15:22:00.003-07:00

This week at Scrapping the Music the challenge is to use James Brown's "I Feel Good" as your inspiration. I recently came across the damaged picture of my sister and I from the 70s (top) and scanned and reprinted it. It was sitting on my desk waiting to be sent to my sister but when I thought about the lyrics, "I feel nice, like sugar and spice," I decided what my scrapbook needed was a montage!

Sugar and spice, that's what me and my sister are made of!

I used the flowers to cover some of the water damage(?) to the photo. Notice the Squirt bottle lid I used as the center of a flower after smashing it flat with a hammer. Squirt is my sister's nickname for me, even after she began wearing my hand-me-downs.

Gotta love the hair and clothes.

P.S. If you want to play along go here: http://scrappingthemusic.blogspot.com/2012/01/care-winner-and-challenge-187-i-feel.html

Big Miracle by Tom Rose

2012-01-24T17:22:00.004-07:00

I bet you didn't know that the Industrial Revolution actually helped the environment. It honestly says in this book, "The benefits of industrialization far outweighed its costs and not just to humans but also to the environment." To the environment! After reading that, how could I take anything else Tom Rose said in this book seriously?

I thought this would be the story of people trying to help three trapped whales, but in the 45 pages I read before throwing this book down for good I read instead about the author's political biases. For instance, he complains about a government run t.v. station not loaning out their cameras to taxpayers. I happen to know of a privately owned t.v. station that won't loan their $30,000 t.v. cameras to people off the street either, and in fact, they won't even loan them to their photographers. Corey equated it to pulling in to our local air force base and demanding they loan us one of their fighter jets. We're taxpayers!

The constant and random digs against the government were an annoying distraction. Big Miracle was more like a Big Waste of My Time.

And now the dilemma is...do I go see the movie? I love Drew Barrymore and I even remember this story in the news when I was a kid. But I also don't want any of my money going to a man who believes whales being hunted almost to extinction was good for them.

Google Android Building

2012-01-23T19:13:00.002-07:00

This month at Scrapjacked the challenge is to use this layout by Kelly Purkey as inspiration:

The colorful strips of paper inspired me to scrap some more of my Google pictures:

I often only use 1 piece of paper in the background. I liked how Kelly layered 2 pieces instead. I had a piece of Android Green paper which would have overwhelmed the page on its own, but with just a little peeking out behind the white I liked it.

P.S. If you want to play along the challenge is here: http://scrapjacked.blogspot.com/2012/01/kelly-purkey-youve-been-jacked.html

we are the 99%

2012-01-22T08:53:00.004-07:00

This week at Scrapping the Music the challenge was to use the song Care by Kid Rock, Angeleena Presley and T.I. as inspiration.

I can't change the world and make things fair
The least that I can do,
The least that I can do
The least that I can do is Care

Those lyrics made me think about when we went to our local Occupy protest. The Occupy movement receives a lot of criticism because people don't know what outcome is expected from it. I feel like even if nothing changes it's important that people exercise their freedom of speech. We might not be able to change the banks or what happens on Wall Street, but the least we can do is show we care!

I cut out red strips of paper using my wavy rulers for help. I punched out white stars for journaling blocks.

Journaling: Corey and I headed downtown on the motorcycle Saturday afternoon to show our support in the Occupy movement. Most people were upset with the banks and Wall Street, but anyone with a message was there too which is why I love Arizona and the U.S.A. Activism is patriotic!

At one point a bagpiper started playing and some people walking by dressed up as cows started dancing. Most Random Moment 2011 (bottom left)

There were a bunch of stupid Arizonans hanging out with their guns (bottom right). Luckily the police stayed closest to them. I was so thankful Phoenix P.D. was there to keep the peace!

P.S. Here's the link to Scrapping the Music if you want to play along: http://scrappingthemusic.blogspot.com/2012/01/who-says-winner-and-challenge-186-care.html

P.P.S. If you are the 99% check out Occupy Wall Street's library here: http://peopleslibrary.wordpress.com/

Follow Your Muse

2012-01-21T15:10:00.004-07:00

This month the challenge at ARTastic is to use the painting, Ecstasy of Saint Cecelia by Raphael, as your inspiration. As an additional challenge you can include clouds, an angel, and 2-3 musical instruments.

The instruments reminded me that I needed to scrapbook the pictures Gramy sent me of my nephew playing his various instruments through the years.

I found an overlay with angel wings and of course there are many instruments within the photos.

The photo from his final violin concert had a big ugly stack of orange chairs in the background, so I cut around the violin bow and slid in the cool quote I found in my stash. Since he plays guitar now I used guitar paper.

I couldn't find a way to incorporate clouds.

I made sure to cut out the sparrow and heart from the clear overlay to save for another project since they were going to be covered up anyway.

P.S. Here is the link to the challenge in case you want to play too: http://artasticchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/decembers-inspiration-will-come-from.html

revolution wines

2012-01-16T21:37:00.008-07:00

Over my winter break I searched my favorite challenge sights for challenges I had missed and found this one from ARTastic in November. Their challenge was to use this painting, Bacchus by Caravaggio, as inspiration. For an additional challenge you could include fruit or grapes, a wine glass or bottle, and a bow.

This challenge reminded me of the wine tasting I did with my family in Sacramento.

I took a sticker with a glass of rainbow drink and cut a piece of paper to make it look like white wine instead. I made sure to mention Bacchus the god (not Bacchus the painting) in my journaling.

I put a wine charm on the photo with my sister.

I didn't want to add any fruit or bows but there are lots of glasses and wine bottles in the pictures!

P.S. Here's the link to the challenge: http://artasticchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/novembers-inspiration-will-come-from.html

2011 End Of Year Book Survey

2012-01-08T14:09:00.011-07:00

I found this survey at The Avid Reader's Musings and had to participate!

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint: A Novel by Brady Udall - It's hard to really say this is my favoritest but if I have to pick...This story just sucked me in and was unpredictable sometimes from chapter to chapter.

2. Most Disappointing Book?
The Magicians: A Novel by Lev Grossman - People are singing this book's praises all over LibraryThing which is usually a good sign, but I felt like it was a complete rip-off of Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. I chose it for my book club to read and they hated it too. How humiliating. Not really. We had a fun bitch session.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane - I did not see the end coming, although when Corey and I watched the movie together he figured it out about 25% of the way in. Very engrossing story.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?
The Help by Kathryn Stockett - probably the book everyone recommended the most in 2011

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Spurred on by Corey's desire to see the movie in the theater, I finally started this series and it is awesome. I can't wait to read The Girl Who Played With Fire this year.

6. Favorite new (to me) authors you discovered in 2011?
Helen Simonson, Kathryn Stockett, Brady Udall, Susan Vreeland, Markus Zusak

7. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King - There aren't any chapters and it's all told from Dolores's point of view as she gives her confession to the police. Without any chapters to stop me I just kept going.

8. Book you most anticipated in 2011?
Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman - This had been on my wishlist for a couple of years so I was excited to finally read about The Darwins. Fascinating couple.

9. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?

The cover is the cover of Life magazine, March 27, 1924. Cool!

 10. Most memorable character in 2011?
Sweetie from Sweetie by Kathryn Magendie - Sweetie is a magical girl who loves nature. I felt like she would be a good friend to have in real life.

11. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?
On the Road by Jack Kerouac - This was a reread for me, but I just love his descriptions. One quote even inspired a scrapbook page:

12. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?
Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland - I can never look at Luncheon of the Boating Party the painting the same again, in a good way, because of this book. I even read a non-fiction book about Renoir because of this book.

13. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?
Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper - My friend Angi loaned this to me about 2 years ago, but I didn't read it because I couldn't handle reading a true story where the cat dies at the end. You find out at the beginning of the book that the cat is still alive today! Silly me.

14. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?
Also difficult to pick just one, but this passage was handy. Without further ado, from The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg:

There is a story about a Navajo grandfather who once told his grandson, "Two wolves live inside me. One is the bad wolf, full of greed and laziness, full of anger and jealousy and regret. The other is the good wolf, full of joy and compassion and willingness and a great love for the world. All the time, these wolves are fighting inside me." "But grandfather," the boy said. "which wolf will win?" The grandfather answered, "The one I feed."

15. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012?
Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor - I probably would never reread a book so soon, but if I have to choose I would say this one. We had a very revealing discussion about this book at our book club meeting, which made me look at many of the stories in a new way. It would be fun to reread them with that knowledge.

16. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson - It's hard to pick out just one scene from the whole year, especially without spoiling anything, so I chose this one because it's one I shared with Corey. The Horse Boy has autism which causes him to have tantrums. Right before he has his most intense tantrums he always shouts out, "Giraffe!" which I found amusing since I love giraffes. I'm sure his parents thought it was cute too. Not.

gratuitous giraffe pic:

P.S. Lessons in Dreamtime is from Art&Ghosts which can be found here: http://artandghosts.bigcartel.com/.

P.P.S. I don't remember where I found the giraffe photo, but I didn't take it.

how I get crazy on a friday night

2012-01-06T20:09:00.005-07:00

I just watched this rerun of Glee while cleaning Strega Nona's cage. I love this episode -- it makes me want to listen to Fleetwood Mac nonstop.

Speaking of which, when I went to the Avett Brothers concert in October, I took a picture of this guy standing in front of my friend Stephanie and I:

How rad is that?

And here is a gratuitous cute picture of us:

P.S. The Rumours/Glee picture came from gothamist.

P.P.S. Next I'm going to watch Project Runway All-Stars! EEK!!

Eclectic Reader Challenge 2012

2012-01-04T17:10:00.004-07:00

I found one more challenge I want to join at Book'd Out! I just need to read one book from each of these genres by December 21st:

Literary Fiction
Crime/Mystery Fiction
Romantic Fiction
Historical Fiction
Young Adult
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Non Fiction
Horror
Thriller/Suspense
Classic
Your favourite genre

I'm not sure which books I'll read but it will definitely be fun to pull books off of my to be read pile from all these genres!

P.S. Loving Books Tattoo by Ricardo Cavolo.

2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge

2012-01-03T20:49:00.004-07:00

I've been casting about for a new reading challenge this year and I found one that I thought would be fun -- reading books about witches and witchcraft! You can read any number of books to join, but I am choosing "Initiate: Read 1 - 5 Witchy Books."

Here are some books that I already have which I will choose from:

1. No Rest for the Witches by MaryJanice Davidson & other authors - short stories

2. Son of a Witch: Volume Two in the Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire - I read Wicked in 2006 so I guess it's time to read the sequel

3. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Miller - I did a scene from this in a competition in high school but never read the whole thing

4. The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow - this has been on my shelf for 3 years

5. Witch by Christopher Pike - I have been wanting to reread some of my Christopher Pike books (my favorite in high school) but never find a reason to. Maybe this challenge will get me going.

(non-fiction)

6. The Truth About Witchcraft by Hans Holzer

7. The Complete Art of Witchcraft by Sybil Leek

8. Witchcraft in the World Today by C.H. Wallace

If you would like to join my reading coven visit Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf.

P.S. Has anyone ever read The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier? When I searched "witch" in my LibraryThing library this book came up. Is it witchy?

P.P.S. The Night Sky is by Maggie Taylor.

My Favorite Books of 2011

2012-01-01T10:56:00.009-07:00

I read 43 books last year. Here are my 10 fiction and 3 non-fiction favorites, which I recommend you read as well (listed in the order I read them).

fiction

Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor - young vs. old, tradition vs. progress, all the old battles fought in a collection of crazy, unique, graphic short stories

Sweetie by Kathryn Magendie
reviewed here on January 10th

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - feminism, racism, and friendship in 1960s Mississippi

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall - maybe my favorite book I read last year...a Navajo boy gets run over by the mailman and struggles from there. Funny, moving, and touching. I cried at the end. Twice.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
reviewed here on June 30th

Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King - Dolores Claiborne has a very bad husband who needs to be punished. I read this in 3 days because it was so awesome.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier - historical fiction story based on Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot, two fossil hunting women. Not only was their interest in fossils uncommon for a lady in the early 1800s, but it was also frowned upon by upstanding members of society. Feminism, friendship, and bucking religion all rolled into one by one of my favorite authors.

Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow
reviewed here on November 18th

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - an old man covets his dead brother's gun...just read it!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - lives up to the hype! Super mystery, very twisted indeed.

non-fiction

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
wished for here on February 18, 2009

The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson
reviewed here on May 18th

Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper
reviewed here on November 22nd

2011: A Year in Pictures

2011-12-31T11:52:00.010-07:00

January: 1st Trip to Washington, D.C. (guided by Amy and Tito)

February: 48 Hour Film Festival - Lighting/Actor

March: Cat Sitting Elliot (pictured here), Gertie, and Sonny

April: Corey Shows Me the Collage House

May: I Return Hand-Knit Owl Sweater to my Friend from Australia, a la Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

June: Scorpion Photo Session

July: 4th of July with Friends

August: I Freeze My Ass Off in San Francisco with My Family,

and Corey & I Get Free Front Row Tickets to a Diamondbacks Game!

September: Melanie and David's Wedding in Flagstaff

Table 7 Rules Over All Tables at the Reception

October: Corey and I Occupy Phoenix

and Avett Brothers Concert with Stephanie and Beth

November: Our Last Hike as a Pack of 4 (Stellaluna coming soon!)

and Angi and Dan's Wedding Reception

December: Dance Party at Joe and Jon's!

Love and Happiness to All in 2012!

2011 memory

2011-12-29T18:24:00.013-07:00

In June we went on hike 10 in Best Hikes with Dogs: Arizona with Corey's dad.

Description from book: You and your dog will enjoy this shady hike to a highly unusual geological feature, the heart of a cinder cone estimated to be about three quarters of a million years old. Cinder cones are common in this region, but this one has crumbled and eroded in a way that makes the mountain look as though a cross section has been scooped away.

Magic picture! It looks like we let Captain loose, but he's on a skinny retractable leash.

"The trail ends at the base of this cone, and you can explore part of the area inside this ancient volcano."

I kept imagining what it must have been like when it was flowing.

Heading back now..."Before the 1.2-mile mark, you come upon a stepladder, which takes you into the base of the cinder cone -- dogs will most likely need assistance."

Thanks Papa! On our way in Corey had to help a woman who could not get her stranded dog down.

Dog tired.

That was the 2nd hike we took from this book and we fully enjoyed each one.

2011 Book Quiz

2011-12-28T02:13:00.009-07:00

Time for end of the year book quizzes! Yay! On this one you're supposed to answer the questions with titles of books read this year.

Describe yourself: The Sugar Queen
How do you feel? The Help
Describe where you currently live: The Grim Grotto
If you could go anywhere...? Hotel du Lac
Favorite form of transportation: Secretariat
Your best friend is: The Little Prince
You and your friends are: Remarkable Creatures
What's the weather like? Summer of Glorious Madness
Your favorite time of day: The Dark Half
What is life for you? A Three Dog Life
You fear: The Book Thief
Best advice: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Thought for the day: Everything That Rises Must Converge
How you would like to die: The Year of Pleasures
Your soul's present condition: Sweetie

Who else wants to play?

P.S. Poet's House is by Maggie Taylor.

Let's play a game!

2011-12-27T18:46:00.002-07:00

Can you guess which movie I was just disappointed by? I reread the book last year and tried to get you to play my game before.

Thanks again to Polaroid Cupcake for the inspiration.

Photo Credits:
1. Treasure Map 2. King 3. Shore 4. Mouse 5. Dragon 6. Mermaid 7. Birds 8. Lion 9. Anchor

finally scrappin again!

2011-12-26T18:59:00.006-07:00

I didn't get to scrapbook too much in October and November so I'm catching up on some of the challenges I missed even though the deadlines have passed. This is helping me scrapbook as much of 2011 as I can before it's over!

In November Scrapping the Music had a challenge to use "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette as your inspiration. The line, "lay a whisper on my pillow," made me think of when we were trying to keep the dogs quiet in The Hollywood Hotel. They did pretty good!

That got me started scrapping our trip to Rosie's Dog Beach.

putting Beginner's Obedience to good use:

In October Scrapping the Music had a challenge to use "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode as inspiration. "Words like violence, break the silence, come crashing in, into my little world." The lyrics made me think of my little dogs crashing into each other at Rosie's Dog Beach.

I had fun mixing the paint colors I found in the patterned paper to stamp the title.

right page

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T11:22:00.004-07:00

The dogs had to put on their Christmas sweaters from Aunt Stephanie before we could open our presents.

Peace and love to all!

Joy & Peace

2011-12-23T21:09:00.005-07:00

Scrapjacked chose Leslie Ashe's page for inspiration this month. They also requested that we, "...Christmas it up a bit."

I still needed to scrapbook our own Christmas card from last year and had already picked out the black patterned paper to use. I also saved the cover of the book of stamps I used last year to include.

Leslie's snowflakes inspired me to make stars to sprinkle around. I love using those square alphabet stickers so those came out of the drawer. I also liked how she used strips of paper so I cut up a sticker border instead.

the stockings were hung on the bookcase with care

2011-12-22T14:46:00.006-07:00

I can't find the hooks we hang our stockings on so I had to improvise and hang them from the bookcase instead. Seriously, where are the hooks?!

On the left we see Captain's stocking. His got put under "Plants of Arizona" because he likes eating grass so much. And for the first time on Wednesday he ate a lettuce leaf Corey dropped on the floor.

Corey's is next. He likes Hunter S. Thompson.

Then comes Stellaluna's hand-knitted stocking that I usually use as an ornament, but it was just her size so now it's hers. Her stocking is hung from "The Traveler" because of the way she came to us.

My stocking is hung from the only Christmasy title I could think of, "All She Wanted."

Last is Caprica's. We like to say she's a witch even though she's a sweetheart. She also has a lot of energy so her stocking is hung under, "No Rest for the Witches."

I now feel like losing the hooks is a happy accident.

The Witch's Christmas by Norman Bridwell

2011-12-21T22:56:00.009-07:00

I have a ton of Christmas books in my classroom so I let my class choose which one they wanted me to read on the last day before break. They selected The Witch's Christmas, by the same author of the Clifford books. This book has been mine since 1984, and I know that because I wrote my name and the date on the inside cover.

It had been a long time since I'd read it and was reminded why it should be a Christmas classic.

It snows BLACK snow at the witch's house.

The snowman has snowball fights with you! That would have come in handy when I was a kid with no siblings around to torture me with sneak attacks. I also like how hard the witch is laughing in this illustration.

I would go sledding more often if it weren't for the goddamn climb back up the hill.

Never seen a tree like this one before, and I've seen some sacrilegious trees in my day.

As long as no bats are harmed in the making of the wreath...

How awesome would shopping be?! I like how pissed off the lady waiting in line looks, very true to life. Boys and girls, no short cutting.

SPOILER ALERT!!! On Christmas Eve Santa gets hung up on a space ship. The witch saves the day by conjuring a broom for the astronauts, Santa, and even the reindeer to ride!

"What else could you want if you had a Merry Christmas witch like ours?"

I got my hair did today!

2011-12-20T22:30:00.002-07:00

The highlights are called Winter White. Oh la la.

P.S. This is by Julian Wolkenstein.

xmas card project

2011-12-17T19:29:00.003-07:00

I save my non-photo Christmas cards for one year so I can remember who to send cards to. This year I trimmed 8 of the old ones and put them in my polaroid frames to give some cheap Christmas cheer to the kitchen. It's nice because I know who each card is from so I think of them when I look at these also.

Book Tree

2011-12-16T23:20:00.010-07:00

Every year at school (except last year because I was too drained by my class) I put up my book tree. I wait until after Christmas to get book related ornaments on sale, decreasing the agony of a stolen or broken ornament (there's only ever been 1 ornament stolen, and 1 broken by a custodian). I leave the corresponding book under the tree. It's a festive way to encourage students to read while bringing some christ-less holiday spirit into the classroom. Since a lot of our students are homeless I think it's nice to have our own tree.

The "Where the Wild Things Are" ornaments are probably my favorites!

Most students have seen The Polar Express but haven't heard the book. It's a Caldecott Award winner by Chris Van Allsburg.

I teach a week long unit on different versions of The Gingerbread Man, which are definitely classroom favorites. I usually conduct a scavenger hunt for The Gingerbread Man (a dog toy) at the end of the week.

Curious George, put down the wreath!

Seriously, how cute is The Very Hungry Caterpillar ornament?

Dr. Seuss ornaments are the easiest to come by. Fox in Socks is above.

Horton Hears a Who ("A person's a person, no matter how small.")

Probably my favorite Dr. Seuss story is Yertle the Turtle. Dr. Seuss based Yertle off of Adolf Hitler, and the word "burp" was used in a children's book for the first time ever in this story. Scandalous! On the ornament the heads bobble.

The Grinch, appropriately, sits on top of our tree.

The silver ornaments are all Dr. Seuss characters but don't photograph well. They are from Aunt Judy.

I love those photo cards!

2011-12-11T13:20:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite things about Christmas is getting photo cards and pictures in the mail. I keep mine up all year then scrapbook them when new ones start coming the next year. I got my first cards in the mail this week so it was time to take the old ones down and get scrapping!

all together

left side (my sister-in-law also makes picture tags!)

right side

friends

family

my sister's family - this was a 2-sided card so I scanned the back and printed it on photo paper

I still have a few left to scrap but I need to work on a different kind of cards...report cards!

Oh Caprica!

2011-12-10T13:11:00.007-07:00

On Sunday we took our little pack for a walk. Corey had Caprica and it was obvious she would rather be doing our walk at a faster pace than we had selected.

When we got home we let the dogs go in the backyard and I opened the side gate to take out the trash. Usually the dogs wait at thresholds to be allowed through but Caprica decided to take off instead. She headed down the sidewalk at a dead run, going on our exact walk again but at the speed she thought it should really be done at if it was to be done properly. I took off after her ("come" command not working) and only caught up because she took some time to run around the park area before crossing the street to phase 2 of our walk. I squatted down and said, "Come here Caprica!" in my sweetest voice and she came over to me like she just realized she was doing our walk alone. I carried her back to our house.

So scary! New Year's Resolution Time! I need to do a better job of walking/running her more regularly since she's a greyhound in her heart.

P.S. dog walker is by Masha D'yans.

P.P.S. Get your pets microchipped!

quote of the week

2011-12-03T09:33:00.002-07:00

Last weekend our friends Stephanie and Neil came over for some birthday tidings and to meet Stellaluna.

Neil couldn't get over how little she is. He said, "I didn't know chihuahuas came smaller than...chihuahuas."

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-26T10:12:00.002-07:00

Corey had to work so I spent the day reorganizing our bedroom closet and cleaning. When he got home my cousin Dean came over and we had dinner. Pretty low key but nice.

P.S. I made this in 2007, when Thanksgiving was still my favorite holiday.

Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

2011-11-22T21:33:00.007-07:00

My friend Angi insisted I borrow this book. I've had it for quite some time because I felt like it was too soon to read after Jersey died. If you've read enough pet stories you know how they always end, right?!

I chose this book for my TBR Challenge so I could force myself to finally read it and return it. She loaned it to me on October 14, 2009 after all. I'm so pleased that I did finally take her advice and read it because it's a real feel-good story.

Gwen rescues Homer as a kitten from a vet who's removed his eyes after the people who originally owned him were going to put him to sleep because he had an eye disease. It is amazing to read how easily he navigates through life and incredible to read all of the super-cool things he can do in spite of/because of his blindness.

There's also a chapter about September 11th. Gwen was living a few blocks from the World Trade Center when it happened. Reading about how she couldn't get back to her cats after the crisis is gut-wrenching.

If you like animal stories check it out!

I also noticed that I accidentally went from reading a story about a blind man named Homer straight to a story about a blind cat named Homer. Weird.

And here's a gratuitous Jersey cat picture, taken by my fabulous sister-in-law:

We still miss you Jersey!

Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow

2011-11-18T18:19:00.005-07:00

I read City of God by E.L. Doctorow with my book club and didn't care for it. I had already bought Homer and Langley so I decided I better read it anyway. Luckily I did because it was so cool to read a story from a blind man's point of view.

Have you heard of the Collyer brothers? They were real people, known because they inherited a bunch of money from their parents and became reclusive hoarders. This is an almost completely fictionalized story about them; they live until the 1970s in the story instead of when they actually tragically died in the 1940s, and their birth order is reversed.

What E.L. does for us is take a fact, like that the chassis of a Model T was found in Homer and Langley's house after they died, and imagine the story of how it came to be there. We get to share in the glorious details of amassing a hoard. Ok, hoarding is an illness but in this story it doesn't seem so sad.

I love the characters and the journey we take with them through history. Fascinating story. E.L. Doctorow has been redeemed.

P.S. The Collyer Brothers is by James Lake.

P.P.S. This is 8th book out of 12 I've read for my TBR Challenge. It's been on my shelf since November 2, 2009, and it will remain on my shelf until someone borrows it.

Introducing...Stellaluna!

2011-11-16T17:31:00.007-07:00

Once Corey got home and held this little dog he fell in love. He said, "'Looks like we've picked up another pathetic life form.'"

Since my school is not in the nicest neighborhood there are always strays running around. Most of the teachers have taken home dogs that we've caught on campus, a phenomenon known as "Crockett Dog." I've been at my school for 8 years and I've held out, but now I have my own.

Right now her name is Stellaluna, going with the bat theme and naming our pets after children's books. She has the bark of a big dog and loves following Corey and I around with her tail wagging. I think she weighs less than Strega Nona.

doggy?

2011-11-14T19:45:00.005-07:00

After school today 2 of my books club buddies, Alana and Katie, told me to come to their offices because they had a dog for me. Yeah, right! They couldn't catch it so I decided to help them out.

I found a teensy chihuahua puppy shivering in the dead end alley which makes up their offices. When I tried to pet it I got a growl, so I went into the Cesar Milan sideways squat approach until I finally got to pick it up. I noticed it needed a nail trim and it was a boy. Katie said he looks like a bat and named him Bat. We tied a bow around his neck and tried to pawn him off on everyone still on campus. No luck. It was too late to call Animal Control so I thought we could ask our friends if they wanted him and if not I could call Animal Control tomorrow. I decided to bring him to my vet to see if he was microchipped.

The tech scanned him and found no microchip, and also informed me that he was a girl in heat! Discovery number 2: she's not a puppy but a fully grown adult! And she has a hernia (the painless kind) and her nails on her back paws were so long they were digging into the bottoms of her paw pads. The tech trimmed them because she felt so bad for her and wished me luck finding her a home.

Introductions to Captain Skippyjon Jones and Caprica Six went very smoothly. Caprica didn't even growl once! Maybe because Bat was so tiny she didn't feel insecure. Hard to imagine but our dogs look like giants next to her.

Corey and I have been texting all night and he's almost made up his mind to keep her sight unseen. Looks like we may have a new member of our pack.

Local Girls by Alice Hoffman

2011-11-11T15:15:00.005-07:00

I read Local Girls for my To Be Read Challenge, since it's been on my shelf since July 2, 2008. I was really excited because Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors. Unfortunately I didn't feel like this book was as good as the others I've read by her.

The Local Girls must be Gretel, the main character, and her best friend, Jill. They are teenage neighbors who exact revenge with vandalism on people who have wronged them. Gretel's brother is a science genius in high school, but when he graduates he becomes a drug addict. Gretel's mom and her mom's cousin Margot are best friends who open a catering business together after they have both been left by their husbands for other women. Each character was really tragic but other than divorce I didn't see the cause for everyone's dysfunction. It was a really choppy, disjointed story.

My favorite character was Margot because she made fun for herself in creative ways.

I recommend skipping Local Girls and instead reading Alice Hoffman's superior novels, The Probable Future, The River King, The Story Sisters, or Practical Magic. If you decide to read Local Girls anyway, the good thing is that, "All author profits from this edition are being donated to breast cancer research and breast cancer care centers."

I really love the cover, which was illustrated by Maggie Taylor. I am thankful I read Local Girls because it introduced me to an amazing artist! Behold, Woman with a stone skirt:

Michael Kors Similes

2011-11-09T16:53:00.003-07:00

Episode 12 (Finale Challenge)
It's the designers last chance to show the judges why they deserve to show a collection during New York Fashion Week at Bryant Park, i.e. It's Michael Kors second to last chance to describe designers outfits with similes.

Kimberly

This thing is like you tried to tailor a coat out of an orange paper towel. It's like the souflee collapsed. It's kind of disco Halloween.

Laura

(re: gown on left)
The gown could have been interesting but she looks like a fence walking.

(re: dress on right)
And then all of a sudden, what's her specialty is her flowy dress and it looks like a pillowcase.

(SPOILER ALERT!)
I was so sad that she got eliminated since showing at Bryant Park was her childhood dream.

Josh earned a description of himself with a simile!

I think you're a little bit of like a Magpie where the glitter and the shine is really turning you on.

Michael Kors Simile

2011-11-08T17:57:00.004-07:00

Episode 11 (This Is for the Birds)
Designers, here is a bird. Create!

Josh M.

But then all of a sudden she had to get the I-was-drunk-in-the-Caribbean-at-a-party-corsage on her shoulder!

(Michael Kors liked the dress though. I liked the whole thing! How about you?)

Michael Kors Similes

2011-11-07T19:12:00.004-07:00

Episode 10 (Sew 70s)
Gross, two 70s fashion challenges in a row and in this episode the designers had to make 2 ugly outfits. The 70s are probably my least favorite decade in fashion, but it was fun to see Bert lord his 70s experience over everyone.

Michael Kors, what do you have to say about it?

Laura

Talk about schizophrenic! We've got the ugly print skirt with the prison-striped halter top and then I go the other extreme and it's like taking three sleeping pills.

Anya

The top, it's like the color of Dentyne chewed gum on the bottom of your seat or something, but I like the work in the back of the top very much.

This is a SPOILER ALERT for anyone who hasn't watched the season finale yet!

This whole season I felt like it was so amazing how everyone helped out Anya so much. It made me feel like there is still hope for humanity. Anya lost her money during this challenge so her fellow competitors scrounged up $11 to give to her to buy fabric from Mood. Back at Parsons they gave her their castoff material. Wow, how sweet!

In other episodes fellow competitors helped her actually sew her outfits. Wow, generosity abounds!

But after watching Anya win this season I kind of felt bitter about all the help she received. Is it really fair for someone to win when they received so much help along the way? Why don't I just go try out for Project Runway then? And now that I feel bitter about Anya winning I feel like I'm part of the reason there is no hope for humanity.

But really I just liked Viktor's collection best.

Michael Kors Metaphors

2011-11-06T20:33:00.003-07:00

Episode 9 (Image is Everything)
In this challenge designers were asked to create a new look for the band, The Sheepdogs. The band has a 70s rock sound, so designers were inspired to take the worst of 70s fashion and force these kind men to wear it.

Let the metaphors fly, Michael Kors.

Laura

I think it looks like he cut himself shaving. It's a little Sweeney Todd tie-dye.

Anya

I think he's like Reggae Jesus. He looks like he's got a suede lobster bib on. It's like a Brady Bunch dashiki. I don't know what else to say.

(after 3 consecutive similes I can understand why)

Anthony Ryan

It's kind of like a Golden Girl goes rock and roll moment. I mean he's literally missing a shoulder bag.

Kimberly

I think he looks like Peter Brady at an Autumn Harvest. It's a bowling shirt.

(note to future designers: never combine orange and brown or you will receive the dread Autumn Harvest comment)

And finally Viktor earned a simile as a compliment!

This is kind of like Mad Max meets Woodstock.

Halloween Memories 2011

2011-11-05T16:42:00.009-07:00

Corey and I just wanted to thank everyone again for coming to our party and putting so much effort into your costumes! You characters made it a memorable night!

We were originally going to have everyone vote for the best costume but in the midst of introducing dogs and debating what to do with the fire pit we forgot! So we decided to honor your creativity here.

Best Costumes

Jon (Dr. Frank-N-Furter) and Joe (Anakin Skywalker)
For those of you who don't know, Jon sewed a large portion of their costumes! Awesome!

Most Creative

Chad and Michelle (Die Hard)
I wish I had taken more pictures of Chad's Bruce Willis costume. Not only was he barefoot, but he also had a gun taped to his back. We loved the attention to detail!

Most Artistic

Tanya (Dia de Los Muertos Chica)
She spent over and hour painting her face and she was amazing yet creepy!

Most Politically Incorrect Yet Completely Hysterical
Andrew (Not Pictured)
We love you!

Most Authentic

Dan (Blues Brother)
He actually played us a song on his harmonica at the end of the night! We love live music!

Coolest

Stephanie (Flapper)
I'm jealous of your beautiful costume and special pantyhose!

Soul Sisters

Raiven and Angi (Little Red Riding Hood)
I wish I had gotten a picture of you guys together!

Most Likely to Be an Actual Movie Stand-In

Bob (Indiana Jones)
Watch out Harrison Ford!

Cutest

Audrey, Alana, and Alicia (Butterflies and Witch)
We loved the glow-in-the-dark accessories, and the only costume from Etsy!

Sweetest

Kelly and Bella (Cop and Princess)
Bella was such a good girl and very soft!

Best Jack-o-Lantern

Donald (Stripper)
We love your demented mind!

Many thanks and lots of love! We'll have to do it again next year!

Jessie, Hunter, Banana, and Ram

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:28:00.004-07:00

I went to school today dressed in my Captain Jack costume, as seen in my profile picture. As one of my students came in the door she said, "You look familiar to me." So cute the way some of these little English Language Learners phrase things!

P.S. Witch is by Masha Dyans.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

2011-10-23T21:09:00.007-07:00

I read Lolita for Banned Books Week. Of all the books I own, Lolita has been banned in the most countries so I really thought I was going to read the dirtiest book ever written. {fingers crossed}
Would you believe the sex scenes are not even described?! (thankfully!-let's be real) There is more sex in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon than Lolita! (ok, there is more sex in Outlander than any book I've read to date) I think the real reason it is banned in so many countries is because...at some point in the story you begin rooting for Humbert Humbert, the dirty 30-something man! You actually begin hoping he can make things work with Lolita. Yes, this books turns you into a pervert.

It is very well written and chock-full of big words, including French ones. Reading it is an education.

P.S. This book has been on my shelf since March 13, 2009 and is the 6th book read out of 12 for the 2011 To Be Read Challenge. Eeks, I don't think I'm going to make it!

Halloween

2011-10-22T13:32:00.006-07:00

This month Kerry Lynn Yeary has been jacked at Scrapjacked. Our challenge is to use her shadow box as inspiration and put a Halloween spin on it.

Each box with a little collage inspired me to use my Fuji Instax pictures from last Halloween. I made a mini collage on each picture. The blocky patterned paper lent itself to the boxiness as well.

The witch Strega Nona drawing came from a calendar my friend Alana got me from Etsy.

brown

2011-10-21T16:59:00.001-07:00

So I guess dogs dressed up as Star Wars characters is my new favorite thing.

P.S. Ewok Puppies is from babble.

grey

2011-10-20T21:36:00.002-07:00

To me everything about this says Fall!

P.S. Under Cover is by Art&Ghosts.

orange

2011-10-19T21:10:00.002-07:00

white horse is from Thompson Family-Life.

yellow

2011-10-18T20:57:00.004-07:00

I've been living in denial but this year I decided to be honest with myself and everyone I love...Halloween is my official favorite holiday. Thanksgiving, we had a good run, but cute Halloween decorations such as pumpkins like this are first in my heart.
A closer look:

P.S. Textbook Case is by Dana Gallagher. You can make one too if you have an old encyclopedia handy. And a pumpkin.

red

2011-10-14T17:58:00.005-07:00

It's Autumn Colour Week 2011 at Poppytalk, which means an opportunity for me to share random festive pictures I've had the good fortune to come across. Behold Just a Dream within a dream by Jaime Best.
Loved that full moon on Wednesday.

clear block stamping

2011-10-07T16:24:00.003-07:00

I just came across a challenge on Do More With Less to try some clear block stamping.

Using Google colors I coated my stamps with ink. My rectangle blocks only made a faint impression and an outline. It really only worked with my square block which had red. I switched blue and green to a couple of texture stamps to balance it out.

I thought it was fun stamping the background and I would try it again with the square.

good clean fun

2011-10-06T21:49:00.004-07:00

We took a little trip to Los Angeles to visit Michael and take the dogs to the ocean. I researched beaches that allow dogs and found one that even allows dogs off-leash, Rosie's Dog Beach in Long Beach.

Of course it was raining all morning so when we got there we had the beach to ourselves. Corey said it was like when the Griswolds finally got to Walley World and it was deserted.

The dogs loved smelling seaweed for the first time. Captain Skippyjon Jones liked it so much he peed on it twice!

Let's take off the leashes!

I didn't get a picture of Caprica backing Captain into the ocean and then running away, leaving him standing in the tide. Trickster.

Captain likes staying close to Corey even without the leash on!

Good times!

October Reading

2011-10-01T21:33:00.006-07:00

Yay! It's October which means I'll be reading scary, magical, or fantasy books to get me in the Halloween Spirit! Here's what I'm going to try to read this month:

The Magicians by Lev Grossman - I talked my book club into reading this with me. It's described as Harry Potter for grown-ups.

Local Girls by Alice Hoffman - I love Alice Hoffman in the fall.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane - This is one of the few scary movies Corey agrees to watching with me, so I better get reading!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling - I couldn't bring myself to reread book 6 before seeing the movie, so reading this companion book is a good compromise.

and if there's time

The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly - There's a group reading this on LibraryThing. It also has a Jack the Ripper element.

Are you reading anything special this month?

P.S. Reader Werewolf is by Ricardo Cavolo.

Michael Kors Metaphors

2011-09-28T21:35:00.002-07:00

Episode 8 (What Women Want)
This challenge asked the designers to create dresses for regular women instead of models, with their boyfriends and husbands describing to the designers things they think their gals would wear. Hilarity.

Thankfully Michael Kors was not shy with his metaphors just because regular people were on the runway.

Anthony Ryan's

It almost looks like superhero ice skater. Ooh she's got a cape and she's gonna fly around the house!

She's dressed up as a, I don't know, a cheerleader, sailor, a child.

Bryce's, featuring Most Hated Pockets

To me it looks like you're going to the buffet table and you walk by the bar and you put like a lamb chop in one pocket. Oh look, there's a piece of cake! I'll put it in there.

Keys?! You could put a dog in there!

Michael Kors Simile

2011-09-27T16:27:00.002-07:00

Episode 7 (Can't We Just All Get Along?)

Am I mistaken, or was the only simile from Michael Kors about a person and not an outfit?!

Indeed, Josh M.'s catty attitude earned him a simile:

He is like a little dictator here, which I think is troublesome. He's a bit of a bully.

Michael Kors also disliked the print Josh M. designed, earning him my favorite quote of the night:

Maybe Kimberly was smart to realize that not a lot of women want to have "Canceled" on their crotch.

P.S. The tiny tiny giraffe is by ploop26. Obviously not a little dictator.

Google it!

2011-09-26T19:36:00.005-07:00

This month at From Screen 2 Scrap! the challenge is to use the movie poster from Rio as your inspiration. As an additional challenge you can include a one word title, use blue, yellow and red cardstock, and add a bird.

Blue, yellow, and red made me think of my recent tour of Google! This page was pretty easy and cheap to complete, since I used cardstock scraps and stamps, plus one sticker from the sheet of Google stickers I bought in the gift shop. I've been trying to use white cardstock on a page for awhile and never liked it, but the bright cardstock and inspiration from the Google logo made it possible.

I was originally just going to use "Google" as my one word title, but it seemed redundant with a giant Google sign right underneath it. Once I added the wise owl I decided he's done asking, "Who?!" and now knows where to find the answer, creating a 2 word title instead.

happy day

2011-09-25T15:31:00.002-07:00

At last, one of my favorite challenge blogs is up and running again: Scrapjacked! Their first month back they challenged us to use this layout by Jen Jockisch as inspiration:

I used a general sketch and the title as my inspiration. The pictures are from our hike last summer. One of my favorite things about our National Monuments: free maps full of information which can be used in scrapbooks!

Happy Banned Books Week!

2011-09-24T15:19:00.003-07:00

Another year, another week to piss off the people who went out of their way to have books banned by going out of our way to read them.

Right now I'm reading The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks with my book club. It has not been banned, but it does contain scientific findings so maybe some day it will be! I have a little over 100 pages to go, and then I will begin my banned book selection, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I can't wait to find out why it could have possibly been banned.

What is your banned book selection for this week? If you need a list go here.

P.S. I don't know where I got the picture from, but clearly you can see how dangerous books are.

Happy 1st Day of Fall!

2011-09-23T18:38:00.002-07:00

Today's high, 107.

P.S. Thank you Thompson Family-Life for the lovely photo.

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

2011-09-19T21:04:00.004-07:00

Yo ho ho, etc. etc.

P.S. Hunters Princess is by the dread pirate Anne-Julie Aubry.

Just like a star across my sky

2011-09-18T17:19:00.004-07:00

It's Scrapping the Music's 4th Anniversary so their challenge is to kick it old school and use the song they used for their very first challenge, Like a Star by Corinne Bailey Rae.

The opening line in the song is, "Just like a star across my sky," which made me think of these pictures of Trent from our trip to Chuck E. Cheese's. He's got stars covering one ride he went on, and he's in the sky on another ride. This super cool solar system patterned paper came in a pack and I always hoped I could somehow use it some day!

I wrote the lyric in colored pencil on my layout so it would blend in, which also makes it hard for you to see in my photograph...

the getaway car

2011-09-17T16:12:00.003-07:00

At last, the companion page to Have you ever dreamed a night like this?.
I chose the patterned paper because the texture makes me think of the barn their reception was in, and the font reminds me of the car graffiti.

The Train of Small Mercies by David Rowell

2011-09-16T19:31:00.008-07:00

Thank you, David Rowell, for transporting me to a time before I was born and giving me a glimpse of what Senator Robert Kennedy truly meant to our nation in 1968. My generation will always remember where we were on September 11th. Your work of fiction provided me with another generation's "Where Were You" the day Robert Kennedy's funeral train crossed the east coast to bury a man who could have changed our country through presidency.

Glimpsing just one day in your characters lives left me craving more.

It's so windy

2011-09-12T21:39:00.003-07:00

...and we have a full moon. Lovely. I wish it would rain!

P.S. September Wind is by ploop26.

Michael Kors Metaphors

2011-09-08T21:08:00.010-07:00

The 6th episode of Project Runway, The Art of Matter, was all about taking a child artist's painting and making it into an Avant Garde outfit. Avant Garde is code for excessive similes and metaphors from Michael Kors! Yay!

Before we get to Michael Kors though I want to point out my favorite moment of the show, Tim Gunn chasing Swatch around Mood. I love Tim Gunn more and more every episode.

Michael Kors' liked this dress but disliked the styling. "But with the sleeve and the make-up and, you know, it's a little Tim Burton-y."

"She looks like a victorian cocktail waitress in Las Vegas."
"Joshua C. had this incredible painting of this wolf. Powerful, dimensional, interesting, and instead she's a hostess slash hooker."

So bad he came up with 4 similes and a metaphor!
"Unfortunately she just looks like a girl with a misshapen body with some stuff glued on her."
"It looks like something a Teletubbie would wear to a party."
"Heidi, I know you've been craving a very stiff jumpsuit that will make your ass look that long and it looks like you're having baby number five when you wear it."
"They were sponges. It's like, 'Oh I'm cleaning my kitchen! Beep! Oh I'm cleaning the floor! Boop!'"

"But then the rest of the dress looks like Mood exploded on her."
"His clothes, they're like Valium clothes. They just make you kind of fall asleep."
"Valium Fashion."

P.S. I got the picture of Tim & Swatch from Just a Biddy which has awesome Project Runway episode summaries. Here's the website since I can't get a link to work anymore: http://unemployedbiddy.blogspot.com/2011/09/i-like-real-depressing-music.html

5 books I would take to a desert island

2011-09-05T10:59:00.005-07:00

Lost in Books asked: what 5 books would you take to a desert island?
And: what 5 non-fiction books that you've never read would you select (and NO selecting books on how to build a raft from sand or cooking coconuts 345 different ways, you cheaters. Something different than survival books!)

First I would build this tree house to live in:

Then I would begin reading:

1. Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey - so I could consider the environment while deserted

2. A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman - since I'm sure my senses will be heightened in a life or death situation

3. A Woman Alone: Travel Tales from Around the Globe by Faith Conlon - for empowerment

4. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer - to help me find myself

5. The Harvey Girls: Women Who Opened the West by Lesley Poling-Kempes - another moral boost

Which books would you take?

P.S. The tree house came from here: http://nomadicway.tumblr.com/

P.P.S. Today I'm starting a non-fiction book with my book club, The Social Animal by David Brooks, even though we're just in the desert instead of a desert island.

P.P.P.S. Anyone else using Blogger having trouble with the links lately?

good luck finding a lady friend

2011-09-04T17:08:00.001-07:00

You look very handsome.

The Eighty-Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts

2011-09-02T19:52:00.002-07:00

Within the covers of this book lies the true story of a horse that was saved from the slaughterhouse by an immigrant from Holland. I loved reading the accounts of Snowman and Harry DeLeyer's amazing jumping career, and reading snippets of World War II/post-World War II American history, but the author's repetition kept it from becoming a favorite. Over and over the reader is reminded that the amazing duo were underdogs, which is obvious from the title of the book alone.

If you don't mind the writing style you will be treated to a feel-good animal story.

Michael Kors Similes

2011-09-01T22:32:00.009-07:00

On the fifth episode of Project Runway, Off the Track, designers were challenged to create an outfit to go with Heidi's line of New Balance shoes.

I say BOO! to Josh M. who bullied Becky during the challenge while forcing her to make this not so flattering outfit:

Michael Kors said, "The t-shirt looks like you hacked up a dress."

Some more similes from Michael Kors:

"This is very Sound of Music. Maybe it's for Heidi's German kind of background. It's very dirndl, pretzels, and the beer garden."

"The blouse is just like a souflée that flopped. She's chiffon addicted."

A rarity! Michael Kors uses a simile as a compliment!

"...it looks like a million bucks."

I liked it too, but I think my favorite this week was Josh C.'s t-shirt. It makes it look as though the model is wearing a backpack, although she's not.

I'm not sure why I would want people to think I was wearing a backpack if I wasn't, but for some reason it appeals to me.

Also one of my favorite parts of the show was when Bert's teammates spent a fair amount of time in front of the judges hating on his outfit, only to have the judges tell them his was the best of the bunch. I'm not a big fan of Bert's but it was funny nonetheless.

Michael Kors Metaphors

2011-08-29T21:38:00.003-07:00

The fourth episode of Project Runway, All About Nina, challenged designers to create a day-to-evening look for their judge and fashionista, Nina Garcia. After she gave a laundry list of things she refuses to wear the bottom three designers came up with these outfits:

Michael Kors must have hated the one on the left and the one on the right the most since he used metaphors and similes to describe them. Starting with the dress on the left:

"It's a housecoat. I mean, it looks like a housecoat. You know she should have a pocket with Kleenex in it while she dusts. I mean, it's just sad."

To the outfit on the right:

"It honestly looks like a blouse that one of my aunts would have worn in the 80s. The big shoulder pads. ...all that's missing is a big, wide belt."

"I mean, but this green blouse! Unless you are going to a Joan Crawford St. Patty's day party. I mean, who is wearing this blouse?"

have you ever dreamed a night like this?

2011-08-28T15:40:00.004-07:00

This week Scrapping the Music challenged everyone to use the song A Night Like This by Caro Emerald as inspiration. I had never heard this song before but I like it.

Have you ever dreamed a night like this? made me think of these pictures of my niece and her husband leaving their reception. I imagine it was a dream wedding and reception for them, especially when looking at their faces and seeing how happy they were.

Stay tuned for the companion page.

Big Boy Birthday Bike

2011-08-27T14:22:00.003-07:00

The challenge at ARTastic this month is to use The Playing Claude Renoir by Auguste Renoir as your inspiration, and as an added challenge use ribbon, a photo of a child playing, and create your own background.
Since I'm still working on Jake's 4th birthday I decided his birthday bike pictures would work out great.

My friend Angi is retiring from hand stamping cards which means I got my pick from her collection. I thought this giant stamp of interlocking rectangles she had would work great to make my own background. The blue paper and red ink were inspired by the colors in the painting. I used ribbon to make a "road/sidewalk."

This page was going to look much cooler in my mind and I can't put my finger on what I could have done to make it pop. Doesn't matter! I got his birthday scrapped in less than 10 years and the pictures are cute regardless.

quote of the week

2011-08-26T23:08:00.005-07:00

"Teacher, when you wear high heels you look like my brother."

P.S. I came across these sassy high heels in Vogue and wished:
1. that I had a place to wear them
2. that I could afford them (the Lanvin Cutout Heel Pumps are $1,552 and the Nicholas Kirkwood Suede Booties are $1,190)

quote of the week

2011-08-20T23:07:00.003-07:00

Me: I'm thinking of a Word Wall Word. It has 3 letters and it rhymes with "door."

Completely Innocent Student: Whore?

Me (trying not to laugh my ass off): That rhymes but it's not a Word Wall Word.

Here's my Word Wall. It will have 100 words on it by the end of the year:

P.S. The correct answer was "for."

P.P.S. The Giraffe's Helping Hand is by ploop26.

June Bug

2011-08-18T20:29:00.007-07:00

It's From Screen to Scrap!'s 2nd birthday so they have asked we use the movie poster from Children on Their Birthdays as our inspiration. As an added challenge we are to use a blue and white background, photos of children celebrating their birthdays, and an umbrella.

Jakey's birthday is right after Corey's so the timing worked out nicely. The blue and white pp I had didn't look right with these pictures so I had to settle for a blue background. I selected a white number sticker to add some white in. I used a sticker featuring a bug carrying an umbrella. It's hard to see but it's next to the "Cute as a Bug!" sticker.

I made this at my friend Angi's house last night while she made several Grease scrapbook pages for her friend who works in theatre in New York City. Next up is Hair.

For some reason I can't get the link to work so if you want to go to From Screen to Scrap!'s website it's here: http://screen2scrap.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-birthday-celebrations_02.html

Michael Kors Metaphors

2011-08-16T18:33:00.002-07:00

On the third episode of Project Runway this season, Go Big or Go Home, designers had to partner up to make an outfit for a stilt walker. Michael Kors used metaphors and similes to describe the ones he hated.

About one of my least favorites he said, "To me it's like the wallpaper and curtains at a really tacky catering hall." And then, "It's ugly drapes. I mean they're ugly drapes. Everything bad in the house on your body!"

I didn't think this one was so bad, but Michael referred to it as, "...the Black Swan/Bob Fosse combo."

Can we talk about Black Swan for a minute? We just watched it for the first time last month and it kind of rocked my world. I think I held my breath through the entire movie and at the end of this scene I finally gasped in some air. So good! You should see it if you haven't already.

P.S. The Black Swan photo came from here.

30 going on 13

2011-08-15T20:21:00.006-07:00

It's From Screen to Scrap!'s 2nd birthday which means extra challenges this month. One source of inspiration is the movie poster from 13 Going on 30. The added criteria I elected to include: numbers in my title, and polka dotted patterned paper.

Just so happens I needed to scrap Corey's 30th birthday and I thought the title is almost perfect for him! I punched out our picture with a circle punch to mimic her bubble.

Anyone else see this movie? I thought it was good but I liked Big better.

Michael Kors Similes

2011-08-14T11:55:00.004-07:00

This dress, from the 2nd episode of Project Runway "My Pet Project," was hated by Michael Kors, but not enough to send the designer home. I kind of liked it. The bottom is entirely made of aquarium decorations!

His quotes:
She truly looks like, you know, she's at an Autumn Harvest Festival. She's like, Miss Pumpkin, and you knew it!

You've got to have, like, candy corn teeth to wear that dress!

For your added amusement, Candy Corn Teeth:

These girls can go with her to the Autumn Harvest Festival:

P.S. The dress picture came from Sweet Baby Dolly.

Candy Corn Teeth came from Scion's Dental Blog.

Brown Horse came from Thompson Family-Life.

sTrange

2011-08-13T16:08:00.003-07:00

This week at Scrapping the Music the challenge is to use the song "New Soul" by Yael Naim as your inspiration. I love that song!

I saw the word "strange" in the lyrics and thought of all the strange pictures I've taken. Chronologically Corey's 30th birthday is the next thing for me to scrap and that led me to 10 fun pictures of 2 of the strangest boys I know.

quote of the week

2011-08-07T09:39:00.003-07:00

We've been back to school for 2 weeks now. I love my new class!

My quote of the week comes from a student I had last year. She was standing in her 2nd grade line and saw me coming down the hall. She got a big smile on her face and said, "I just can't resist you!" Then she busted out of line, came jogging to me, and gave me a big hug. So sweet!

P.S. Where the Wild Things Are is by Ricardo Cavolo.

Baby I'm a Star!

2011-08-05T20:17:00.004-07:00

It's nice to have connections. Whenever there's a generic dog story on FOX 10, this picture of Captain goes up over the anchor's shoulder.

I bet after seeing this photo tonight the Humane Society was inundated with adoption requests.

Project Runway

2011-08-04T22:40:00.004-07:00

Project Runway is back on which means I'm back with Michael Kors Similes & Metaphors! Right out of the gate Michael Kors did not disappoint with his creatively harsh assessments.

"She's wearing, like, a Flintstone disco pouch."

"It's an odd angle for a pocket. Might be a, a very 'I like myself' kind of pocket. It's like, 'Hi!'"

"Excuse me. It looks like she went out to eat, she ate too much and had to unsnap her shirt!"

Did anyone else think Heidi was drunk at the beginning of the episode?!

P.S. Dino is by Richard Mullins.

summertime scrappin

2011-08-02T20:11:00.004-07:00

This is the last of my summertime scrappin. My goal was to make 35 scrapbook pages since I had 37 days off, but I only made it to 21. I'm still pretty pleased with the number. I also did a mega organize in my scrapbook room which will make it easier for me to walk in there and work with less time now that I'm back to school.

I meant to make this page in June for the ARTastic challenge but I didn't get around to it before the deadline.

I scrapped some more of our hike while I was reading On the Road. This amazing quote about clouds combined with coming across these photos inspired me.

Class of 2011

2011-07-30T20:53:00.003-07:00

Today Caprica Six graduated from beginner's obedience class at PetSmart. She knows how to sit, stay, take and leave treats, give paw, and walk on the leash without pulling! Good dog!

I'll be sure to wear some flowers in my hair.

2011-07-26T18:32:00.005-07:00

In 2 weeks I'll be in California on the fastest family vacation of my life.
Day 1: Fly into San Francisco.
Day 2: Go to a wedding in Sacramento.
Day 3: Fly out of San Francisco.

There will be 7 of us in 1 van and we are going to tour the hell out of San Francisco. Everyone has a little something they want to see or do, Golden Gate Bridge, the ocean, a tour of Google, wine tasting...can we possibly squeeze in a stop at City Lights Bookstore? I'm dying to see it, especially after rereading On the Road a few weeks ago. Fingers crossed...

P.S. I found this photo of City Lights Bookstore here.

1 year ago today...

2011-07-24T21:51:00.001-07:00

we adopted this cute little girl dog. We are so lucky!

Song Bird

2011-07-23T18:03:00.004-07:00

This week at Scrapping the Music the challenge is to use the song Three Little Birds by Bob Marley as your inspiration. The lyric "Singin' sweet songs" made me think of my niece singing at her big sister's wedding last summer. She sang "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson. So sweet! Three Little Birds also inspired my Song Bird title.

I cut the bird out of another piece of patterned paper very carefully so I could use the paper again someday. I traced the talk bubble from some Old Navy junk mail around the song lyrics.

if saguaros grew as fast as antlers

2011-07-23T10:23:00.001-07:00

All About Captain

2011-07-18T19:27:00.004-07:00

The challenge at From Screen 2 Scrap this month is to use the movie poster from "All About Eve" as your inspiration, and as an added challenge include 4 colorful arrows, hearts, and a photo with 1/2 a face. I've never seen the movie but now I kind of want to.

The best photo I ever took of 1/2 a face is of Captain when I was trying to imagine what he would look like with 2 eyes. Of course we love him just the way he is but we never got to see him before his eye incident and I just wondered.

I have 7 arrows, and I stamped the hearts (and the title and date). I liked the contrast in the movie poster with the white background but I just couldn't bring myself to use white paper. My compromise was white with light yellow swirls; they're hard to see in the picture.

pretty in pink

2011-07-15T18:24:00.002-07:00

Feels like my summer is ending...

P.S. pretty in pink is by awesome gold.

rainbow

2011-07-14T21:30:00.003-07:00

Wishing for more rain and rainbows!

P.S. Not sure who made the rainbow city, but it wasn't me.

blue skies

2011-07-13T12:03:00.004-07:00

This week at Scrapping the Music the challenge is to use "Blue Skies" by Willie Nelson as your inspiration. I love Willie! I used this as an opportunity to scrap some more of the pictures I took on our hike last year where you can see the sky.

I love taking 2 photos side by side and then matching them up on my scrapbook page. It gives you a better perspective of the setting.

red/Octoroon Girl

2011-07-12T20:55:00.005-07:00

This month at ARTastic the challenge is to use Octoroon Girl by Archibald Motley as inspiration, using a photo of yourself, the color red, and a hat or gloves as an added challenge.

Hats made me think of all the pictures I have where I'm wearing a cowboy hat. Red made me think of all my second place ribbons.

I had to find a second place ribbon that corresponded with a photo from the same class. Luckily I wrote lots of information on the back of all my ribbons, including the # of competitors, how my horse behaved, location, and date. It's like I always knew I would be a scrapbooker! Anyway, it enabled me to match the actual ribbon to some photos I had.

These pictures were taken in 1993. Whoa. That's Nacoma. She was a skittish horse but she made up for it in looks. I have many happy memories of things we did together and going through the ribbons I relived some proud moments with her too (like this one! We beat 16 other kids.)

I made a big mess trying to find the right ribbon. I took this picture to show Corey all the fun I had when he was at work!

yellow/saguaro dreams

2011-07-11T12:12:00.004-07:00

Summer Colors Week at Poppytalk has come and gone, but I'm participating this week anyway. Yellow gives me the opportunity to share some saguaro pics.

The mesquite tree in our front yard has been sickly which has set me to dreaming that we could replace it with a giant saguaro! What's more Arizona than a saguaro? Too bad they cost so much. A 3 footer starts at around $250, and the kind of my dreams could cost over $1000!

Corey chopped the sickest half of the tree off and it is making a strong comeback. For now I will enjoy our free landscaping and start saving my pennies for the grandest cactus of all cacti.

P.S. The top photo is a scan of a greeting card I sent to a friend. Notice "saguaros" incorrectly spelled "sahuaros."

The dreamy backyard photo came from vivafullhouse.

The saguaro blossom photo came from Dan Hiris on Wikipedia.

Disneyland part 2

2011-07-10T11:33:00.003-07:00

(The line for) Soarin' Over California:

The California I made was so cute I hated to cover it up:

Did you know that Disneyland is still open after the fireworks?

A chance to use my pirate stuff!

I love that guy:

Good times:

It must be hot lugging those things around.

2011-07-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

Disneyland part 1

2011-07-07T17:51:00.007-07:00

At last I finished scrapbooking our trip to Disneyland from 2008. I thought I would share the first installment of pages today.

Star Tours:

We went to California Adventure too. I had a lot of fun digging out my distressed supplies to make a scary page. It consists of 3 different patterned papers since the main one I wanted to use was 8 1/2X11 and this is a 12x12 page. I used my mini-pinking scissors because they seem the scariest! See my penny?

Stay tuned for 6 more pages of Disneyland scrapbook awesomeness.

Today we watched Blade Runner.

2011-07-05T20:01:00.003-07:00

And Corey played with his new camera.

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T12:42:00.002-07:00

Photos from 4th of Julys past

2010:

2008:

2007:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2011-06-30T17:56:00.004-07:00

I have been accidentally reading a lot of fiction based around World War II the last 2 years and this is the first book in that time I've read from a German's perspective. I've heard a lot about The Book Thief and I'm so happy I got it off the shelf to read at last. This book is on my To Be Read Challenge list and has been on my shelf since June 30, 2009.

The story is not told from the soldier's perspective. Instead Death tells us the story of an orphan girl living with a foster family that quietly opposes Hitler. Quietly they hide something in their basement. Quietly the Book Thief steals her treasures.

The book's emphasis is not pro-war or anti-war, but on the incredible power of words. Words are the enemy so we burn books. Words are what give Hitler his power.

This book is horrifically wonderful and horribly moving.

we're home!

2011-06-28T13:22:00.004-07:00

This week's challenge at Scrapping the Music is to use the song Heaven When We're Home by Wailin' Jennys. I just got a scrapbook to show all the work we've done on our house since we bought it 4 years ago so this song sparked me to get the first page done. These are the pictures I took when our realtor showed it to us. It's so funny looking back at those photos and seeing someone else's furniture in our house, and all the trees are so tiny!

It was the first house she showed us! Isn't that crazy?

Happy Birthday Wall-E!

2011-06-27T15:09:00.001-07:00

I may have to watch you again tonight to celebrate your 3rd year.

12 years ago today...

2011-06-26T15:08:00.005-07:00

I married a smart, funny, loving, kind-hearted man.

We are going to have dinner at Outback and then we'll watch Secretariat.

P.S. Robot Love II is by Raina Gentry.