Live, Laugh, Love!!!

OK...here's another not so scrappy post, but it sure sums up life...and there's lots that can be scrapped about this.

I received an email from a good friend of mine who I haven't seen in over 5 or 6 years (ugh!). Anyway, it reminded me of something Jeff says from time to time: "I work to live, not live to work." And it's sooooo timely...last night I had a CHOICE to work and make some money or go to Erica's soccer game. Can you believe I struggled because I'm sooooooo far behind at work? In the end, I chose to go to her game, had a GREAT time, took some wonderful pix, and didn't' even think about work. She really does only have one childhood, and I want to BE part of it instead of just watch it pass by...I feel awful that I even thought I had a choice...ENJOY LIFE!!!

So this is the email I got...and I checked it from snopes and it's correctly attributed:

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch..
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special..
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain. 25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up..
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Its estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title '7%'...I'm in the 7%.

Remember that I will always share my spoon with you!
Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

How do you scrap?

And I don't mean this as what type of scrap "style" do you have? I mean:

1. Do you scrap alone or with others
2. Are you a "get 'er done" scrapper or do you just go with the flow
3. What about snacks or drinks? I guess that might go along with how you answer 1 and 2...

For those of you who know me (or follow the blog much), you know I am a social scrapper!!! Some times I just want to "get 'er done" and other times I just go with the flow...mostly I'm a flow-er (vs a flower) I think. It takes quite a bit of time for me to do a single layout (and Jeff picks on me about that). As for snacks and drinks, YES! Especially the drinks...another thing Jeff picks on me about: "I'm sure glad I don't have to drink to have fun" is what he usually says.

So what's the point of all this? Just for a little fun. I was at a work mixer earlier this week and had a request for my mojito recipe...which I call "Michelle's soon to be famous Mojito"...and I thought I'd also post it on my blog. I usually have friends come over once a month to scrap and "bribe" them with my mojitos (again, Jeff laughs at me...saying it's similar to having to tie a steak around my neck for a dog to play with me...am I painting a fun picture of him??? He really is a great guy, don't get the wrong idea!!!). I have to be honest and say it's not MY recipe...it's from The Mojito Company and it's the Miami Mojito on their how to make a mojito link. By the way, if you are a mojito fan, GET THIS MUDDLER!!! You will be happy you did!!! So here's the recipe from the website above (I've added a few of my own comments on how I like the recipe).

The Miami Mojito (Mojito with Simple Syrup)
Simple syrup is essentially “sugar water” made by dissolving sugar in boiling water. Simple syrup makes the mojito with the smoothest texture, as the sugar particles have already been dissolved before assembling the mojito. Simple syrup is very sweet – so for those seeking very sweet drinks, this is a good choice for making the mojito.

½ lime, quartered
5-6 fresh mint leaves
Crushed Ice (I actually use regular sized cubes and like it better)
2 ounces White/light rum (Use Bicardi Limon...IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE!!!)
1 ounce simple syrup*
2 drops bitters
3 ounces Club Soda

* Simple Sugar Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Bring water and sugar to a low boil and cook for 2-3 minutes until sugar dissolves. Water will appear slightly cloudy, but will become clear as it cools. Cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator in a squeeze bottle or airtight container. If properly sealed, the syrup will keep up to 2 weeks. One batch will make about 12 mojitos.

Muddle lime and mint in the bottom of a tall glass (I put the mint in first and then the lime...as you muddle, the lime with juice nicely and the rind will "bruise" the mint, bringing out the essence of the mint!) . Add light rum, simple syrup, and bitters. Fill the glass to the top with ice. Top with club soda. Cover the glass with a shaker tin or transfer the mixture to a shaker and shake for 5-6 seconds. (If desired) Garnish with lime wedge, mint sprig, and sugar cane swizzle stick.

Yeah...I scrapped again

Well, I actually scrapped by myself, which is amazing, because scrapping is a social event for me!!! I've been feeling a little puny lately, and rather than lay on the couch and sleep or watch TV, I decided to make a layout. I lifted this layout from Scrapbooks Etc. I've always admitted about being a scrap lifter, but I'm starting to amaze myself at how much my layouts are looking VERY MUCH LIKE THE ORIGINAL. I'm none too happy about that! I usually draw inspiration from others, but I can usually mix things up enough that you can't tell that it came from any ONE layout. Lately that's not been the case...I guess this was the puniness in me. So how does that saying go: Copying is the most sincere form of flattery?

Anyway, this is Erica's Spring picture from Kindergarten. They had four or five different poses we could choose from. Jeff let Erica choose, and this is what she picked. She looks older than a Kindergartner in this picture to me...but it's not bad. It also kinda looks like she's just going thru the motions of having her picture taken, and is not totally thrilled about it. The funny thing is she LOVED school! She made lots of new friends, really took to her teachers and WANTED to do well for them, and has a LOVE of reading and writing (as you've probably noticed from previous posts). We are sooooo very proud of her!!!

The papers are all from K & Co, with American Crafts Poolside Thickers (LOVE THEM) and some misc ribbon from I forget where (it's all in a big jar, sorry). I ran out of pop up dots, so there's not as much dimension on the flowers as I'd like (I'll re-do it when I get more pop dots!). And I need to get back into scanning the layouts so they aren't warped...sorry for that, too...

A Star is Born

It has been WAAAAAY too long since my last post, I'm soooooo sorry! I guess I have to blame it on the summer since it's finally here (lame excuse, I know). But I am VERY excited about summer being here: school ended on May 21 in Anchorage, summer sports have started, and the weather has been B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!! I just hope it stays this way...although, I guess we can't complain. So far this year's Spring has been better than last year's Summer (ugh!).

So speaking of Summer sports, Erica started soccer two weeks ago. She's never played before, other than kicking a ball in our back yard. She's in an under 6 league. The teams are made up of 6 players. Her team has (1) 4-yr old and (5) 5-yr olds. They practice for half an hour and then play a game against another team for half an hour. When they play, it's 3-on-3 with no goalies...and they play on teenie, tiny fields...they're soooo cute! So Erica learned how to control the ball (sort of) and then they did drills to try and get the ball from the coach, and then keep the ball away from the coach. When the practice was over, the teams started a game. At first, Erica just stood there until Jeff yelled, "go after the ball, Erica!" And did she ever!!! When she got the ball, she kept it and made a goal...woo hoo!!! The best part was both teams kept kicking the ball in the same direction WAAAAAY past the goal (there are no nets, just markings in the grass). All the parents had to chase after them and one finally grabbed the ball to stop them. It was hilarious! Then they repeated that drill...with the same result: Erica scored a goal. They took a break here and there and again, repeated the drill...with the same result. Erica's team ended up scoring FOUR goals...ALL of which were from Erica. I kept trying to tell her to kick the ball to one of her team mates, but she never did. That's either the "only child" in her, being selfish or it's just that she's a 5-year old and that's what they do...I don't have any experience with this to know for sure. At any rate, she LOOOOVES soccer and can't wait for next week....and Jeff is already talking about scholarship opportunities (he's such a dad!).

I didn't download the pix from the first practice, but I did from today's practice/game...and we have uniforms. The kids are having a blast, and so is the coach ;-) Are you seeing a theme with the player in the middle of it all...all the time?!?




And of course they end with goods sportsmanship by shaking everyone's hands!!!

Making Kisses

Nothing to lead into this blog post...the story says it all, so here goes:

Erica often gives kisses freely (she's such a love bug), but occasionally she withholds them, saying she's all out. Of course that breaks our hearts because we want kisses when we want them! She's caught onto the fun we have with her and plays with us now. One time in January I asked for a kiss, she said she was out. I asked how that could be because she loves me so much? She said, "Wait a minute and I'll make some more." Then all of a sudden, she put her finger to the temple of her head and blew a raspberry. Then she ran over and gave me a kiss. I was laughing so hard and asked her what she was doing. She said, "That's how I make more kisses, mom." Just like that...so matter of fact...and then she made more!

The papers are K & Co, the rubon letters and ribbon are WRMK and the chipboard is mixed up from 3 or 4 different sources (and painted). And I totally lifted the layout from here...I just loved the lines and blocking!!!

1-pg vs 2-pg layouts?

Let's get you thinking about your scrappin' again...You can tell from my layouts that I prefer multiple photos (Jeff's influence). Do you scrap more 1-pg or 2-pg layouts. I used to only scrap 2-pg layouts...I should say about 90-95% of my layouts tend to be 2-pg layouts. A couple of things happened that has changed that a little:

First, I create monthly layouts as a class for a group of ladies. It started as 1-pg layouts, and after a few years, I went to 2-pg layouts because most of us scrapped mostly 2-pg. Then last year a few ladies asked me if I would go back to 1-pg layouts because they were getting stressed about finding enough photos for the layouts.

The second thing that happened was me finding AC Bailey last year...check out the gallery and all the talented ladies on the Design Team. They are SOOOOO inspirational, as are the challenges they create for us. Since very few layouts are my own design/creation (I'm a HUGE "lifter"), I've found myself creating more 1-pg layouts based on their designs.

Put these two things together and I think I'm down to about 50-50 on 1-pg vs 2-pg layouts. This layout is based on a layout I found on Jenn's blog (she's VERY talented, too...check her out). As I was putting it together, I decided I had too many pictures for one page, so I turned it into a 2-pg layout. It was the perfect design to be a 1-pg or 2-pg layout. Thanks, Jenn, for the inspiration!!! The papers are Kaiser's Squadron, as are the epoxy brads. I added some K & Co stickers and tags that coordinated nicely (had to hunt and pack in the tags since some of the designs had a few too many flourishes and lace elements...but I think it works).

One Photo Layouts? Or Multi-Photo Layouts?

How many photos do you like to put on a layout? Jeff likes more than one...in fact, he prefers as many as possible on a layout. I usually try to put more than one on a page. BUT, I did a layout this weekend for a challenge and had only one perfect picture...no, I didn't exclude others that were not perfect. I just had ONE picture, but it was PERFECT. As I put the layout together, I knew Jeff would be OK with this one only having ONE picture.


Here's the layout...not bad for one picture, huh? The challenge is part of AC Bailey's Stimulus Challenge. We are supposed to do a layout with B&W pix (this one is actually Sepia), stamped or hand written titles (I used a tutorial at this blog...isn't it cool?!?), and hand made embellies (I cut and pieced some elements from the papers...it's the best I could do, sorry), and ribbon and buttons. Everything is from the AC Bailey May Kit of the Month. The kit screamed vintage and with a sepia pix of Erica and her Grandpa, it was perfect. By the way, Jeff agrees...one picture is perfect for this layout!