I Love my Scrapbook Buddies

Guess who dropped in to say hello! My favorite Warrior Princess Savannah, sporting her new Diva Liver! She came with her Mami Ana and Supper Papi Robert (he took the picture). We were all so happy to see her beautiful healthy skin and her normally rounded tummy! I hadn't seen Savvy or her mom and dad since the day before they left for Philly to be closer to CHOP! Savannah make it crystal clear why we should all adhere to the saying "Don't take your organs to heaven...heaven knows we need them here!" Have you signed your organ donor card and told your friends?

Although Ana could not stay with us last night to crop, we had such a great time! The gang you see on the picture came for the pot luck, and Michelle V.E. came in later. We all loved Marie Laurence's chocolate "Fondant"and after I translated the recipe (lots of dark chocolate and only 2 tablespoons of flower) each of us got a copy. We might have a bit of a hard time with the imported French chocolate part, but I'm sure we'll manage somehow!

I think we all greatly enjoyed the evening which did not end at midnight, but at about 1:30am once it occured to me to ask someone what time it was. There is no clock in the room we scrap in (my living room), that way creativity is not trumped by time restrictions. Here is what I worked on:



My 1st All Clear Acrylic Album.

Front Page
Everything is in black and white except for that splash of pink Prisma flowers on the rings, suggested by my scrapbook buddy Michelle V.E.

Looking right through the album
The hard part was keeping it clear right through. After the first mistake, which required taking the picture on the second page right off and spending quite some time cleaning off the glue left behind, it was quite fun working on multiple layers to make it all work. Good thing to know, the TLC album did not get scratched despite all the rubbing I did to get the glue off!

Tomorrow - a look at my crop "store" set up!

When Time gets Away from you

It's amazing how fast time seems to be flying by! It’s already Friday afternoon and I just spent another $770.00 on car repair. Ugh! Can you say think new car??? I’m going to see if my gas mileage has improved and if not, it’s bye-bye car between now and the end of May!

On a more positive note, I’ve been getting some shipments in. Some of the new TLC line is in and I’ve got to say I love their new chipboard kits. It comes in the following shapes, flower, home, circle and heart. Sorry about the glare on that, I'll try to do better and change the picture!

I’ve also gotten most of my Cookbookin order! I just love their stuff! It will be up on the website for sale in the next couple of weeks, even if I have to link it from here and/or just put a simple front page on my www.notjustscrapbooks.com webpage. Their designer just emailed me to let me know that she is getting some pictures ready for me so that I can post them on mywebsite, but she needs a couple of weeks as they are very busy after the show! Thanks Jackie, that's really sweet of you and I do appreciate it!

Well I have one hour till people start arriving and tons and tons to do!!! I’ll let you know how things went tomorrow! I can't wait to see everyone. Ana is coming tonight and it's the first time I've seen her since the day before she left for Philly to get Savannah a new liver! It will be great to give her a big hug! It's going to be a bit of a reunion night and I really need to go clean up!!!

For those who are asking, I haven't seen anyone bring anyone new to the site, so right now the prize hasn't grown!!! Tell your friends to come on over! The more the merrier and the bigger the prize!!!

Did I mention that I need to go clean up, LOL! NOW!!!

Why is "Once" my 2008 word?

I’ve been asked what is up with this “once” thing you have going on? I’m not sure exactly where I got the idea from. I believe that it was either from a scrapbook blog or magazine. They suggested that rather than make a whole bunch of resolutions for the year, it might be better to choose a single word to characterize the year. Intrigued by the idea, I sat down and gave some thought to the word that would best describe the life philosophy that I wanted to achieve.

Sorry the picture of the layout is a little crooked!

I realized that I’d been just cruising through the days, an easy thing to do when you are home alone most of the time. Something that is probably forgivable since I’d gone through 3 surgeries including a complete knee replacement between October 2006 and March 2007. This latest surgery, my 6th knee one, had taken a lot more out of me than even I had first realized. Worse than just cruising through the days, I often I went to bed feeling that I hadn’t achieved very much, not a feeling that I was used to, nor enjoyed. I felt that I’d cheated myself from creating meaningful memories, a nearly unforgivable sin for an avid scrapbooker like me! As I searched for a word that could help to turn things around, it occurred to me that a good word to live by was “once”. This four letter word describes each moment of our lives so thoroughly. If adopting this word as my own has done anything for me, it is to motivate me to better seize opportunities and connect with people. Truth be told, even when you get to do something twice, it is never under the exact same circumstances. It is by definition a different moment, one which of course, you only live once.

As you know by reading this blog, I’ve achieved a number of things since picking my word for the year. I’ve taken the step to do the advanced workout at Curves. I’ve visited family in San Francisco, where I did take the time to go to Curves. I’ve attended CHA, where I walked for miles and miles. And I’ve increased the number of people I am blessed to have over at my home for crops. There are other changes but they are somewhat less tangible. I am eating better, feeling good and usually glad of all the things I’ve managed to do. Am I completely in tune, unfortunately not. I’m still trying to catch up with the backlog that having a down year can bring and I am definitely not up to date on my phone calls, something that I’ve always been bad at. I have a friend to call, and if you are reading this Barb, I’ll be on the horn with you tomorrow. But somehow, my life seems more positive and I am definitely a lot more active. Good things are happening! I’m learning to treasure each moment whether it is an active one or a leisure one (another thing I have a hard time doing). Life is so much fun, but even if you believe in re-incarnation, you’ll agree that you only live this one… “once”.

MC-s Friendship Blog - Contest!

What is a blog without a contest? Well a whole lot of blah, blah, blah and not much fun! This is a special contest where the more people come and comment, the bigger the prize will be! So get your friends to come on over and enjoy! The prize will get bigger for each person that puts in a comment/suggestion and each time you comment you get a ticket in the pot. Of course you can only comment once per day!

Drawing will be on February 29th and the winner announced on March 1st right here on M-C’s Friendship Corner. Those who know me can tell you that I’m a generous soul so come on over and comment! Of course since this is a friendship blog and is definitely craft/scrapbook oriented, your comments/suggestions need to be kind, gentle and appreciative, and definitely positive, LOL!

Remember each moment of your life, your reality, just like mine, only comes once!