Kindergarten Art

The pile in my kitchen hutch is still there (Tess's 1st grade work), but our kitchen table is (mostly) clear. I went into my scrap room and got to Tess's pile of kindergarten art from last year and remembered this gem:

All about her day, Step One: "I git my mom ep" -- It made me laugh when I first saw it, and it still does (I especially enjoy the accompanying artwork). I see she didn't get the concept of the assignment...she doesn't go back to sleep In The Morning. She does now, though. I have to "git her ep" in the mornings this year. My alarm goes off at 7a but I usually hear the high school bus coming through our neighborhood at 6:50a. Yeah, you read that right. 6:50a.

Seriously, I do NOT remember getting up that early for school as a teenager. Then again, I didn't take the bus. I thought school started around 8:30a, but another Livonia grad claims we all started at 7:30a. Of course, I didn't take the bus, but I walked or my Mom drove my sister and I in, so we had to be ready to leave with some time for travel.

My new printer has a scanner, obviously. I have soo much scanning to catch up on. Not too happy that I have to have Kodak paper for it -- makes sense, but I had just bought a HUGE package of Canon paper; I ended up giving it away at SIStv since my pictures were coming out dull. E claims Kodak ink is cheaper (one of the many reasons he picked this printer); I'm hoping the same holds true for Kodak paper.

Photoshop EleWHA?

I'm cleaning out kindergarten artwork (goodness, my girl has come a long way in a year...but I still love some of her original spelling!) when I come across a Scrapbook Answers (sniff...long since shut down, every issue came with a) DVD...two of them, in fact. One had a 30-day trial of PSE 4.0 so I downloaded it. I've been looking for a replacement for my beloved but frustratingly slow MS Picture It software, which is apparently not compatible with my new Vista system.

I went to a beginner's tutorial site and tried a few simple steps...holy cow, it is not at. all. intuitive, nor does it work as they describe (and they are also using PSE 4.0...I know there is a 7.0 version out right now).

I am so disappointed, I wanted digital scrapping to be easier, not harder, than paper scrapping, but there are so many steps and I've had to start over so many times with one stinking LO that I'm giving up for today.

29 days to go...

Here's the paper LO I worked on this weekend...not anything ground-breaking, but it takes care of most of the pictures from our trip to Ohio last August. I haven't done a 2-pager in a while, this was time-consuming...but not as time consuming as my first (so far) failed digital page!

Oops! The girl's bus is here...gotta run.

Skipping church

Wow, I was on a roll there, wasn't I? Well, today I am Pampering MySelf (yup, check those initials), so I let E take the kids to the gym/daycare and later his mom's (packed up some of my stuffed cabbage for her), and I have the house to myself.

I have been in a really bad mood this week (again, check the acronym up there). I slept in until 9a and made the executive decision that I was just not going to be ready to head out the door by 9:30 a.m. Most Sundays I am -- Tess has Sunday school, then children's choir, then she joins me halfway through church (BRILLANT idea, thanks Liz!) and E picks her up after to go to my MILs for the afternoon. Most Sundays.

Today I'm going to get some scrapping done. While it's nice to haul everything out of the house and go meet friends, I like having EVERYTHING I own, scrapbooking-wise, at my fingertips. Don't you just hate that feeling when you're out at a crop, and you know you have the PERFECT embellishment, sitting in packaging at home? And since I'm on a buying freeze (a mode I got into while saving for Creative Escape last year, that -- given the economy -- seems to be a permanent habit of mine), I can't just go buy another embellishment. While I'm scrapping, I'm going to organize, as well. But first, I must start with my Hot Spot in the kitchen:

This has been festering for weeks. Mail, Tess's school papers (check out the hutch...that has been multiplying for months), books from the library, magazines (Tennis, anyone?), perhaps a check or two down there somewhere (that would be nice). Let me know if you see anything that is yours...

On the lighter side, I have been working with the SIStv Winter Detox kit to make a fun mini (8x8) album that I hope to post soon. I entered their (snort) Style Star publishing contest for the theme "Spring Green," against my better judgement (I hate contests, and I hate WTP -- Working To Publish -- seems such a waste of my limited scrap time...besides, me? a Style Star? That's a stretch):

Well, it was fun, and I scrapped some amazing photos I took of the Huron River overflowing its banks, an annual event, it seems (we've only lived here 2 springs so far).

Hopefully I'll be back later with pictures of a clean kitchen table and hutch and some scrapped-up goodness.

I am so going to hell.

More rummaging...

...in Florida, of course! Church rummage sale, amen. They take some pride in what they're selling. Now, let's see how these PhotoScape page combos turn out:

Pretty cool, huh? (the PhotoScape program, I mean. I'll get to the frame in a sec...) Too bad it doesn't seem to have an "exit" option -- you have to close the whole program and start over to do a new project. Weird. I'm sure I'm missing something. Took E to find the crop option, so perhaps he can help me with this, too.

The bottom of the frame says "British Make." It's a heavy silver frame, 8.5" x 5" (frame opening is 7.75" x 4.25"). I could not for the life of me figure out how to open it, then found that the bottom of it slides back and the glass and backing slip out (see top photo combo).


Total cost?

25 cents.

I love church rummage sales.

My next find -- one more from the rummage sale, and another from Betty's Stamp Pad (WARNING: dangerously loud and annoying music set up there...lower your volume...and, most of her inventory is hopelessly out of date, as well as ridiculously expensive, but there was a find or two there):

From the rummage sale, a small Cuban cigar box, with the most gorgeous little clasp. I'd like to alter it, but it's almost too beautiful to cover up. Almost.

From Betty's, the wooden tic-tac-toe boards are perfect for altering. She had a really gorgeous sample which I completely forgot to photograph. Oh well, that leaves them open to my individual interpretation.

Cigar box? Another whopping 25 cents.

Tic-tac-toe boards? $3 a pop.

Things I'll remember about our trip...

1. It rained in every. state. on our trip down. Yes, even when we got to Florida:

2. That damn DS. We had to limit Tess's time on it to about 45 minutes-1 hour. Mesmerized.

(yes, I'm aware she's holding the case upside down. She was just getting the game chip out, not reading. Reading she is still doing great at, despite the fact that she brought no books along. She gets car sick, like me).

3. Golf carts are even funner than cars! Especially when Pa lets me drive!! --Ben

4. Dr. Seuss fish at Mermaid's Kitchen, Sanibel Island.

5. Mermaid's Kitchen: where desserts are the only thing worth getting. Seriously, don't eat there. The decor (mermaids!) and their cakes are awesome, but not their $24 shrimp (lunch!!) entree, with only 4 shrimp on the plate, a tiny cup of coleslaw, and a pile of inedible french fries.

6. Tearing into Charlotte Harbor on our friend's father's boat. Took my breath away!

7. The peacefulness of the canal (once we slowed down...)

8. How much Ben loved the ocean and its waves. Add another swimmer to the family!

9. The creativity of my daughter, the Indian Princess:

10. Pelicans dive bombing in formation toward a school of fish in the swim area:

The highest temps reached was 78F. On our last day. Which ended up being Saturday instead of Friday, so we could hit the beach. Finally.

We took 2.5 days to drive down, but made it back in 2 (ugh). On the drive home, we listened to waaaay too much HSM2 dance party music (Ben's favorite: hey batter batter swing, better known as I Don't Dance) and I knit a very yellow sock, which will henceforth be known as my Florida Sock(s). Found out I can turn a heel while in the car, and not get sick.