Blog Archives January 2007

That is what happens when you have AMAZING 6th row seats to a rock concert and don’t think to wear ear plugs.  It was so worth it and my hearing will return to normal eventually.  (Yes, I have a medical background and know the danger of repeated exposure to loud music, and I am aware that tinnitus is a problem that plagues many people. But, I can’t get nuts over it when I only go to a concert maybe once or twice a year.)

Bob Seger can still rock like it’s 1983.  He sounded great, he was energetic, and the band and back-up singers were phenomenal.  Loved every second of the show, including the fantastic people watching from our amazing vantage point.  Thanks for a good time, Mom.

A little fun on today’s post…I am headed out to see Bob Seger with my mom tonight.  We are going to party like it is 1985!  I’m not a huge concert person and aside from some (okay, MUCH) Dave Matthews worship, I don’t go to many shows.  I couldn’t pass this one up…Seger is definitely one of my 10 all-time favorite musicians, my mom is a cool cat, and we found seats on the floor.  Look out Worcester…Betty Lou’s Gettin’ Out Tonight.

Hello,

If you have placed a scrapbook order in the past week, please contact me via the contact form.  We are having a couple problems with the submission of the order forms (no payment info is involved and PayPal is fine – it is an internal glitch with this site), which I hope to have ironed out with the vendor in a couple of days. I apologize for the inconvenience!

Have a good day!
Jenn

Though you might be 3,000 miles away – you are on my mind today and I hope you have a great birthday.  In true family fashion, I hope you eat some heart shaped pancakes, have a great cake, sing Happy Birthday at the top of your lungs, remember the ‘unbirthday’ gifts, and let everyone know today is your big day.  Say it loud, and say it proud!
Love you, sis!
From, Fuff

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If you are a scrapbooker, a life artist, a family historian, or a paper crafter, you have probably heard of the Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Hall of Fame.  Sounds kind of dorky to the outside world, but for the aforementioned, it is a coveted honor – one that could land you a book deal or a product line or opportunities to teach classes across the country and around the world.

I entered the contest about 5 years ago and was not a finalist.  I have since said that I would enter again, but have not had the time or the discipline to compile my portfolio.  This is the year.  I am ready to once again throw my hat into the ring.  I have been spending many a night at the craft table – surrounded by gorgeous photos, paper, adhesive, and embellishments.  It has been a long, exhaustive process but I am glad that I am sticking with it.

Regardless of what happens, I will be happy I entered.  It was a challenge, it prompted me to do something I love, and no matter the outcome, I will have ten pages to look back on in the future.  Ten pages that I might otherwise not have created. I have been forced to stretch the boundaries of my creative thought for this contest.  I have been asked to adhere to someone else’s expectations and quite frankly, that is difficult.  Art and the beauty in it is so subjective…usually no two people see things the same way.  So, I will see what happens.  Believe me – I would absolutely jump for joy if I was chosen as a finalist! But if the call never comes, I will give myself a big pat on the back for the effort, enjoy my ten masterpieces, and try again next year.

My tip for the day: Challenge yourself.  Whether it is by entering a contest, trying something that is out of your comfort zone, or simply carving some time out of your overscheduled life to accomplish something that has been on your to-do list for a while.  Go the extra mile.  Because if you are anything like me, you will be happy that you did.

A couple things happened at “the day job” today that prompted me to write this post.  It’s not actually a ‘rant,’ I like to consider it more of a ‘public service announcement.’

1. Please know that the Web is a very powerful tool.  If there are some things that you don’t want in the public domain, I recommend that you not create your own Web site.  There is this incredible search engine called Google that can pick up almost anything and then, your once discreet news is now being shown on You Tube and appearing in blogs all over the world.
2. When you sneeze in your hand, and then touch that bagel at the staff meeting (but then decide on another flavor and put the original one back) – GUESS WHAT, Einstein?!  Your mucus and germs are now all over that bagel.  And, if other people at work are not as observant as me, they might actually eat that bagel which has now been tainted with your bodily fluids.  Please sneeze in your elbow, or into a hanky…and how’s about washing your hands in hot soapy water before you even THINK about touching the public food supply! There are just some things that shouldn’t be shared.
3. Sitcoms are mindless TV shows that allow you to escape the real world for a while.  And, let me tell you, reality TV is so very far from reality.  The things you witness on CBS or NBC are not meant to be copied.  You are not Michael Scott or Donald Trump or Simon Cowell and our office is not the island in Survivor.  Let’s all be adults and just do the best job we possibly can.

Okay, I think that is about it for now.  Have a great weekend (and buy some Purell).

I would like to wish a very special little someone a happy birthday today  Today, you are five.  You have curly blonde hair and these wide, wondrous eyes.  You have a way with your words and your mannerisms – both can make people laugh in a way that is unique to you.  You love the color orange, and have for quite some time.  Your voice has quite a range; from high pitched and excited to low and serious.  You are kind and sweet and my kids love you very much.  So, happy birthday Julia!  May you have a day filled with all things orange.

There is a comfort in good friends.  A familiarity. A bond.  When your friends are really good, the bond is unbreakable – nothing will come between you.  I have friends I talk to every day.  I also have some that I might not talk to for months, but we can pick right back up and go on as if not a second has ticked since we last spoke.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with one of my closest friends yesterday. She and I met in college.  Both very social, a bit on the wild side, and eager to explore our new-found freedom, we hit it off right away.  We were inseparable.  We partied together, we laughed together, we cried together.  Then we graduated, she moved to Texas for work and some of those life milestones began to happen – marriage, kids, homes.  Although still close, we didn’t talk every day, or every month, or even every few months.

She has since moved back home, but things have been like that for years now.  She is still very close to my heart, but not a part of my everyday life.  Now, when we get together, it is usually in groups of 4-6, where everyone is trying to catch each other up on the latest and the greatest and there is this frenzied flutter of conversation.  She and I don’t get the opportunity to go out one-on-one anymore.  Often, I will hear about her life through another one of our friends and she will hear about mine through an email.

But, at a christening on Sunday, we were the only 2 out of the “circle of 6″ that could make it.  So, we grabbed a couple beers, some food, and found a quiet place to talk.  It was a great couple hours – we caught up, we reconnected, we reminisced, and it was like old times again.  That’s what I mean about good friends – time is just a form of measurement; a way to calculate how many kids you have or how many pounds you’ve gained.  I loved that couple hours.  And, I love my friend.  She makes my heart happy and I am blessed to have her in my life…

Found a couple cool things lately that I wanted to share with you.  One is Lanie’s Ladies, these really cool hanging ornaments that are whimsical, fun, and have great sayings on them.  I have one in my office – it’s a mermaid and it says “Impossible is a word you humans use all too often.” Cool saying, huh? Check them out here.

The other cool thing (and I know I am probably a million years behind the eight ball on this one) are the “Storyboard” version of the Moleskine journals. Originally made for graphic designers and the like, these notebooks are perfect for scrapbookers and those of us that write, record and illustrate our lives somehow.  I keep mine in my purse and pull it out a bunch of times a day.