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Tougher Than That

2011-02-23T02:40:00.013-06:00

War and Peace

2010-09-09T10:34:00.010-05:00

For the past three weeks I've been reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Last night I finished. It was hard to put down and I'm a fast reader, but 1358 pages take awhile.

As much as I love reading, the thought of writing book reviews makes me cringe. I will report, though, that a fair amount of time was spent deciding which translation of the book to read. I finally chose Briggs' owing to my inability to read French*, and was overall pleased except for two glaring distractions: the British slang of the Russian soldiers, and the speech impediment given to Denisov.

I look forward to reading at least one more translation. Even after 1358 pages, I wasn't ready for it to end.

*Yes, it was written in Russian but it includes French dialogue, which some translations retain.

Fifth Grade

2010-08-19T16:49:00.025-05:00

This morning our fifth grader began her official tour of duty. So far, so good. There were friends in her class, the lunch was edible and, best of all, her new teacher gave each student gifts: a silly band, a mechanical pencil, a bookmark, and a juice box. What more could a girl want?

I'm reminded of my own fifth grade teacher a few (many) years ago who absolutely did not lavish gifts on our class. She had already taught way too long to be pleasant. She wasn't nurturing, she didn't appreciate humor, and she was married to the principal. Just saying.

So I'm happy Cambryn is excited about her teacher. I'm happy she gets so excited over a silly band, mechanical pencil, bookmark and juice box! Thanks, Mrs. Marlin. We should all be so lucky.

Driver's License

2010-08-10T23:46:00.039-05:00

I went to get my driver's license renewed last week. I waited in line. I checked the organ donor box. I updated my "weight" to something I could honestly weigh if I just wouldn't eat. I waited some more. Then I took my turn in the chair, faced the camera and tried not to blink.

The camera flashed. My eyes stayed open (yay me!). And then the entire system crashed.

Yeah, exactly. I didn't just break the camera, I broke the whole state-driver's-license-computer-system.

The tag agent politely assured me again and again that this had never happened before, which consoled me none whatsoever. Thank God I had fixed my hair and worn some makeup or else the whole building might have blown up.

I waited 15 long minutes while workers flipped switches and pushed buttons and cursed until the system recovered. Then we had to start all over again. Organ donor, check. The weight I would love to be, check. Eyes open for the flash, check. Scattered applause from everyone in line behind me as I was handed my license, check. Don't have to do that again for another four years, CHECK.

Me, Myself and I at Fifty

2010-07-29T15:16:00.007-05:00

If life begins at forty, I'm now ten years old.

Namaste

2010-07-25T12:23:00.006-05:00

Don't you just hate it when you have to pause your yoga workout to open a jar of pickles for someone?

Maybe it's just me.

Thanks for Reminding Me

2010-07-24T17:12:00.003-05:00

I forgot I had a blog.

Prized Possessions

2009-12-28T17:36:00.012-06:00

You're looking at something very dear to Cambryn's heart, her blankie. Yes, she's almost ten years old now but sometimes a girl needs the comfort that only a beloved possession can provide.

The blankie started out as a crib sheet sewn by my mom and this is what's left of it. If it looks a little knotty, that's because the delicate pieces have been tied together. It's hard to imagine there's enough fabric left to do any good, but when it's called into action it can still work magic.

Collin's beloved possession was a stuffed toy dog named Brownie, which he still has. Actually, he has Brownie II, because Brownie I got left at the Gaylord Palms hotel in Florida when Collin was five. We returned for Brownie just a short time later but evidently someone else had already claimed him. Trust me when I say that wasn't the highlight of our summer vacation.

I cajoled Collin into taking a picture with Brownie and he humored me with one stipulation: "Collin no longer sleeps with Brownie every night."
He's in middle school. He has a reputation to uphold.

That Crazy Santa

2009-12-25T18:30:00.012-06:00

We've hit a snafu this Christmas. Santa brought one of these to Cambryn:

but instead of putting it under the tree, it seems he wanted to play a game of hide-and-seek. He hid the gift somewhere in our house and we need to find it.

We've searched the most obvious hiding place -- my closet -- to no avail. Santa's really making us work for it! If you have any suggestions, please help us out. Cambryn would love to play her new games and I would like to feel better about ~~myself~~ Christmas.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T02:41:00.003-06:00

O Christmas Trees

2009-12-18T11:23:00.010-06:00

If these trees don't put you in the holiday spirit, I give up.

I would've taken more, but the kids were fussing and my husband was losing his patience.

Trees courtesy of God. Lights by Chesapeake Energy.

Coco

2009-10-10T19:43:00.020-05:00

Several weeks ago we tragically lost our sweet Angel. The accident happened in a flash and Angel never suffered, yet we suffered her loss terribly. We were devastated. We were struggling with our grief. We were barely able to stay at home without her.

Finally I had no choice. I started looking for another puppy...

and this photo caught my eye.

She was a liver pepper parti mini schnauzer, just like Angel, and she even looked a lot like Angel. Too much, perhaps?

We decided on her sister...

who was also beautiful but darker, with her own distinctive look.

After waiting a couple of weeks until she was weaned, I drove to a neighboring state to pick her up. As soon as I got there I excitedly scooped her up, so happy to finally hold another puppy of our own, and then I saw her sister. The one who reminded me of Angel.

It was sooo hard to leave one behind. I even called my husband to see if I could bring both of them home with me. He, however, was far away and somewhat objective so I reluctantly left with just one of them.

Meet Coco.

We're so thrilled to have her. She's sweet, playful, snuggly, and very good medicine for healing hearts. We will take the very best care of her that we can and we look forward to many, many happy years together.

I Mean...Really!

2009-09-16T15:19:00.006-05:00

Collin can shoot basketballs all day long.

My Place

2009-09-11T20:10:00.020-05:00

Whenever my husband visits my hometown, this is his go-to restaurant. Great food, great prices. It's been one of my favorites since I was a kid.

There used to be another barbecue place in town called Slick's, which gained some notoriety after a mention in Playboy back in the '70s. It was well-known for its food, but I was too afraid to go there because of all the Slick stories that circulated around town.

Once a friend tried to use a coupon with his meal and Slick didn't want to honor it so when my friend protested that the coupon hadn't expired yet, Slick quietly pulled a pistol out from behind the counter and laid it next to the cash register.

Not to mention that the waitstaff would swat flies with the same rags they cleaned the tables.

My Place has always been my favorite.

Criss Cross Applesauce

2009-09-05T14:53:00.013-05:00

Cambryn has an interesting sleep position that people find hard to believe, so I took some photographic evidence. These were taken at the New Mexico cabin during a nap she took after a seven hour hike.

She's a young thing and didn't get all stiff from all that climbing, unlike others who will remain unmentioned.

If you want to try this at home, sit criss cross Indian style, fold your arms across your body, bend forward at the waist until your face rests comfortably on the bed, then sleep as long as possible.

As you can see, she also sits criss cross when she's awake. This was taken at the peak of our seven hour hike. I think she was bird-watching, hoping for a large eagle to swoop down and carry her to the bottom so she wouldn't have to hike one more blasted step.

That didn't happen so she deserved a good nap.

Out Back

2009-08-09T17:55:00.009-05:00

We just got back from our annual Taos, NM, vacation, the mountain trip we take when the Oklahoma weather becomes unbearable.

It's always so pleasant to walk outside and not feel like you just got slapped in the face by a wall of fire.

When in Taos, one of the restaurants we always go to is Taos Pizza Out Back. It's our favorite pizza, plus we love the salad dressing (chefs have to sign a non-disclosure agreement) and the tiramisu, if we have any room left.

I'll admit the service is sometimes very laidback, but Taos time isn't quite the same as regular time. If you've been there you know what I mean.

That's Cambryn running toward the table.

"Out Back" has nothing to do with Australia. It refers to the restaurant's location, formerly a house, out back of the business near the street.

After being sued by that newer steak place, Outback Pizza changed their official name to Taos Pizza Out Back.

And finally, this didn't start out as a restaurant review. It's just, we don't take a ton of vacation pics so I'm trying to work with what I've got!

Random Quote

2009-07-23T01:25:00.005-05:00

Collin: "I remember it just like it was yesterday. When I learned to snap my fingers, I was eating a piece of toast and one of our toilets was overflowing."

Sock Dance

2009-07-18T00:57:00.012-05:00

The kids have been playing with my camera again. I discovered these pics when I uploaded it yesterday. [Note to self: potential blackmail material.]

Preacher's Kid

2009-06-22T05:05:00.018-05:00

My dad is a minister. He's been a pastor, a military chaplain, a hospital chaplain, and now an interim preacher. That makes me a preacher's kid, something people find intriguing.

EXAMPLE 1.
Everyone: "What's it like having a dad who's a minister?
Leslie: What's it like having a dad who's not a minister?

EXAMPLE 2.
Almost Everyone: There are only two kinds of preacher's kids. Are you the really good kind or the really bad kind?"
Young Leslie: The really good kind.
(Older Leslie: None of your business.)

It also intimidates people. I once invited a college friend to go home with me for the weekend. She got all freaked out.

Friend: I can't go stay at your house!
Leslie: Why not?
Friend: Because I sin every five minutes!

Friends have often said they feel like my dad can see right through them. That's just a combination of their guilty consciences and my dad's propensity for looking people in the eyes and truly listening to what they say. There's no way he has x-ray vision or I wouldn't have survived my teen years.

Luckily for me, perfection wasn't part of the preacher's kid job description. My dad would assure you it wasn't part of his job description either, but I think he comes pretty close.

Father's Day

2009-06-21T18:33:00.012-05:00

In honor of Father's Day, here's my dad.

Dad growing up, up, up.

Dad holding baby me.

Dad ready to escort me down the aisle.

Dad seeing Cambryn for the first time.

My dad has always been very proud of his family; there's never been any doubt about that. Likewise, I've always been very proud of my dad. He's my hero.

Dad, thank you for making me. I love you.

Older Now

2009-06-19T13:52:00.003-05:00

I've aged a year since my last post. I figure it's better than the alternative.

Kennedyland

2009-06-08T16:22:00.007-05:00

I can't look at this without smiling. Thank you, JK, for inviting us to your party and taking this photo. Swimming, a giant inflatable slide, a moon bounce and, ohmygosh, mechanical bullriding?! Cambryn can hardly wait for your birthday next year.

History

2009-05-26T15:55:00.008-05:00

Sometimes I rewrite history upon request.

For example, here is my sister and her youngest son at school. Because you are wondering, he's wearing his Halloween costume.

And here is the photo my sister sent me. I'm sure the lady in the background is a very nice person. She just didn't necessarily belong in a photo of my sister and her youngest son wearing his Halloween costume.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T15:54:00.039-05:00

In honor of Mother's Day, here's a look at my mom during each decade of my life.

The 1960s: She had three babies within four years. She was a homemaker and occasional beautician, helping my dad through college and graduate school.

The 1970s: She attended college and graduate school, then became an elementary school teacher. This is what she looked like when I was in high school. People started mistaking us for sisters.

The 1980s: She and Dad put all three of us through college, then helped my brother through law school.

(Dear Mom, I know you don't like your "big hair" pictures but it would ruin my theme to leave this out.)

The 1990s: She became a mother-in-law and grandmother, and buried her parents. She survived Dad's cancer, as did he. She retired early.

The 2000s: She's rarely apart from Dad now that he's semi-retired. They're hand-in-hand, thick as thieves, indivisible.

She continues to inspire me with her appreciation of beauty and art, her boundless energy, hard work, and most of all, her passion for family.

Mom, thanks for having me. I love you.

American Girl

2009-05-02T22:35:00.013-05:00

I never said this blog was chronological and speaking of birthdays, we celebrated Cambryn's back in January. She turned nine this year. That's pretty amazing considering I'm only two years older than I was when she was born.

So here's a special pic from nine years ago. Most moms have lots of these; I have one. Most moms are wearing gowns; I had on a black t-shirt. Spending the night with Cambryn in our own hospital room was very cool.

Cambryn needed an extra 24 hours in the
hospital to develop her sucking reflex.

Fast forward nine years and my mother-in-law and I took Cambryn on a road trip to the American Girl store and bistro in Dallas for her birthday. Cambryn was thrilled!

[Note to anyone thinking about doing this: don't even consider taking male family members to the American Girl store or bistro. Trust me. Take Dad's credit card but leave Dad at home.]

I couldn't help but wonder how many more years she'll get this excited about dolls. And doll clothes. And doll furniture. And doll pets. And everything else imaginable and even a few things you'd never think of for dolls.

Cambryn at lunch in the bistro with Julie, her brown-eyed blond doll. We were pleading with Cambryn to smile sweetly for the camera.

The "real" Cambryn with Julie and Ivy.

We haven't had a dull moment in at least nine years.

Eleven in Spite of Us

2009-04-16T11:39:00.011-05:00

Collin is now eleven years old. Oh how time flies when you're trying to keep your babies sweet and innocent and babies forever. Bear with me while I reminisce.

This photo was taken within the first few minutes we laid eyes on our new baby boy. Of course I held him first, then my husband got his turn. At this moment we were simply stunned. We had never changed a diaper, never attended a baby class, and didn't have a nursery waiting at home. Our families were very curious as to how we were going to manage. Perhaps bets were even wagered.

We had a borrowed car seat, a borrowed bassinet, some hand-me-down clothes from my nephews, and the new outfit you see here that I bought at Gymboree. Yep, a matching onesie, jacket, bib, cap, socks, blanket and if there had been matching sunglasses and cowboy boots with spurs I would've grabbed them, too. I told everyone in the store that I was having a baby in a few days and I'm pretty sure they thought I looked fabulous.

Or just delusional, but whatever.

Oh, and I had bought a package of ear plugs at Walgreens because I knew babies tend to cry and we had a 2 1/2 hour drive home. Maybe they teach you in baby classes that newborns mostly just sleep, but I had no idea.

Luckily our new baby didn't realize we were so clueless, because he actually thrived. He thrived!

Here he is, thriving at 13 months.

And then he grew to be eleven years old. Just like that.

Family Easter

2009-04-14T12:35:00.007-05:00

This isn't the best quality photo but here we are, all cleaned up for Easter.

Collin wasn't happy about tucking in his shirt. "I look like a farmer!" We have no idea why he thought that and please, no offense meant if any farmers are reading this. He's a city boy and doesn't even know any farmers.

Honestly, Jesus probably didn't care if Collin's shirt was tucked in or not.

Cambryn was just happy to twirl in a new dress, wearing "high" heels.

Telluride

2009-03-26T12:46:00.017-05:00

Here's proof that at least three of us went skiing over spring break. I took the picture so you'll just have to trust that I was there.

Or realize the likelihood that my husband would take the kids on a ski trip without me. Yeah, not happening.

See Forever, Telluride, CO

Notice the lack of jackets (jacket-lacking?). The temp was in the 50s, so great spring ski weather.

Cambryn was the "pink bullet," fast and efficient. She only made turns if she had to; she's pretty much a "point 'em straight down the mountain" kind of girl.

Collin, the snowboarder, got back on skis for the first time since age three. Wise choice, due to the snow conditions. His comparison of the two: with skiing there's just one direction to fall but with snowboarding, you can fall all over the place. In other words, skiing is easier.

They kept up just fine on the blue slopes.

Peaks Resort, Telluride, CO

Cambryn was equally excited about the indoor/outdoor pool with the 2-story slide. Which reminds me that the last time we stayed in Tulsa for a basketball tournament (Doubletree at Warren Place with its awesome indoor pool), Cambryn declared it the best vacation she'd ever had. Forget the beaches, mountains, and amusement parks. All she needs is a nice pool and a hotel bed to jump on.

Spring Break Survivors

2009-03-21T23:59:00.024-05:00

As usual, my husband booked the earliest flight possible for our spring break ski trip.

(Have I mentioned I have a sleep disorder? It's called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome and doesn't much jive with earliest flights possible.)

So we "woke up" at 3:30 dark, got to the airport with a comfortable hour to spare, and boarded the plane at 5:45. Still dark.

And then the plane broke.
And couldn't be fixed until a part was flown in from Denver on a flight arriving in five and a half hours. Which would cause us to miss our connecting flight to Montrose, CO.

And being spring break, there were no other available seats to Montrose that day. And being spring break, our options for the rest of the week were limited, too.

So spring break was not looking good.

But then we discovered we could salvage the trip by flying into Telluride instead of Montrose.

Ohhh boy.

Telluride was, in fact, our final destination. We just hadn't considered actually landing there. We've always flown into Montrose and then driven the 1.5 hours to Telluride.

For good reason.

Think about it: Telluride is a ski resort and people ski during spring break, yet we had no trouble booking four seats that very day. Four seats together!

To drive that point home I've written the following research paper, just like in junior high except I didn't cite my sources and Google didn't even exist back then anyway.

Telluride Regional Airport, the highest commercial airport in North America, is known locally as the USS Telluride because landing there is similar to landing on an aircraft carrier. The short landing strip sits on the edge of a mesa. Three sides, including both ends of the runway, plunge about 1,000 feet to the San Miguel River below.

You're looking at the runway.

If that's not scary enough, it's surrounded on all sides by mountains exceeding 14,000 feet and last, but not least, there's a big dip in the middle of the runway. You know that touchdown bump at landing? You get two of those at Telluride. Bump, dip, bump.

I haven't even mentioned the weather yet. Winter flights are often diverted to Montrose and other airports due to duh, it's winter in the Rockies.

Luckily, only the top 5% of pilots are allowed to land there. They have to be specially qualified (as well as have major coconuts) to contend with the extreme altitude, rotors, strong turbulence and down-drafts associated with the cliffs.

So although it might not be the nation's most dangerous airport, it's certainly one of the most "thrilling" landings.

Don't they look thrilled?

We spent an extra six hours waiting for parts and flights, which as you can imagine with kids was no picnic unless you're picnicking in Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain and blows away anything not pinned down by a brick until you just give up and go eat in the car, but the Colorado skies were sunny and clear, our elite pilot was on the money, and we landed at Telluride and lived to brag about it.

Stay tuned for more spring break...

Happy Birthday, Misha!

2009-03-04T13:59:00.003-06:00

Today is my little sister's birthday. She lights up the room, the party, and the whole wide world like few can. I hope her wishes all come true.

Happy Birthday, Misha!

I Love These Boys

2009-03-03T02:06:00.003-06:00

And the one in the red shirt? He's my favorite. I fell in love with him the moment I knew he was mine.

Hers Must Be Different

2009-02-20T11:33:00.003-06:00

I can't remember who sent that to me, but it made me laugh. There is a Super Wal-Mart 2.12 miles from our house and I go inside it maybe twice a year. I've said repeatedly that if I were ever to have a panic attack, I'm pretty sure it would happen while waiting in a Super Wal-Mart checkout line. The last few times I've been there, I've simply abandoned my merchandise and walked out empty-handed.

Luckily there's a Super Target which also happens to be 2.12 miles from our house. Ahhhhh, Target: my home away from home, my comfort zone. I love all your cool stuff, your big clean aisles and your short friendly lines. Thank you for saving me from panic attacks.

Some Might Argue

2009-02-18T11:56:00.007-06:00

Your Spiritual Number is Two

You bring kindness and harmony into other people's lives. Whenever a situation or idea seems extreme, you try to lend some balance.

Right now, your life is about benefiting from choices you've made in your past. You have done your best to be a good person, and it is starting to pay off.

You are an idealist with interesting ideas. You can't help but see all of the beauty in the world. But you are also aware of the world and its limitations. You have realistic expectations.

What's Your Spiritual Number?

Hair?

2009-02-17T14:39:00.006-06:00

Speaking of my husband, you might not recognize him in this picture. I didn't, the first few times I saw it.

Please note: Some of the faces have been doodled to protect the innocent, just in case anyone at one of these parties was ever remotely innocent.

No Secret

2009-02-15T22:13:00.005-06:00

The secret's out. After two years, my husband has discovered my blog. And read it. And sent the link to his friends. And tried to give me suggestions for it.

I guess this means he knows the dining room is a different color now. It's a good thing I didn't blog about replacing the dining room chandelier.

I never made a big deal out of the blog because he has this innate distrust of the internet. Of course now he's wondering if someone will find it and sta1k us. That probably won't happen, though, because I'm pretty sure sta1kers always google the word "sta1k" before zeroing in a sta1kee and I just totally saved us with that 1.

I also made a point of not mentioning my husband much on the blog but I might all of a sudden be smelling fresh meat.

Merry Christmas Card

2008-12-27T00:06:00.018-06:00

Just in case yours hasn't come in the mail yet. :o)

Cambryn is laughing because my husband was standing behind me doing something funny. I'm better off not knowing what it was. Let's just say the end justified the means.

I hope your Christmas was very, very merry.

p.s. I have a new camera.

Cousins

2008-12-23T00:35:00.009-06:00

One of my mom's passions is genealogy. She spends a lot of time researching our family tree and often calls me all excited about filling in a missing piece of our heritage or meeting another long-lost relative online. I'm fascinated by our direct lineage but when she starts in on distant cousins or in-laws I can't help but get lost. Tonight she caught my attention, though. I'd like you to meet my 10th cousin...

George

And my other 10th cousin...

Barack

My husband, ever hard to impress, has always said if you go back far enough, we're ALL cousins. This probably proves his point.

Christmas Rejects

2008-12-21T13:07:00.012-06:00

I'll admit, even I've checked my blog to see if I've updated it yet. And been disappointed. I'm finally here to fix that, thank goodness.

Do you have one of those perfect families that turns up the Christmas music, pours the eggnog, and snaps a photo of your beautifully dressed, well-behaved children in the blink of an eye? Oh, maybe you'll take TWO photos, just so you can choose the better one? Well, that's not our family.

Here are a few photos from one of three different sittings on different days. One constant you will see is Collin's ever ready, sweet smile. Another constant you'll see is Cambryn's inability to sit still. Throw in the puppy, and it's a real party.

"Cambryn, you'll need to stop talking while I take the picture. And could you get Angel to sit up and look at me?"

"OK, don't choke her. Whoops, caught you blinking!"

"Nope, I blurred it. Cambryn, you need to raise your head up, please, and I think you're still choking Angel."

"No, Angel! Don't bite Cambryn!"

"Collin, why don't you try holding Angel this time. And Cambryn, quit making goofy faces, please."

"Ummm, Collin's in focus; Cambryn, you're not. Why don't we just take a break. Maybe we can do better next time."

Yes, it's gotten a little easier as they've gotten older. When they were toddler and infant, I actually cried! Thankfully no tears were shed in the making of this year's card, which I will now address and mail. Some might actually arrive before Christmas. There's always (Christmas) hope!

New Plan

2008-11-26T00:58:00.010-06:00

Woohoo! I'm thankful to announce that my cell phone plan has been upgraded to include:

1500 anytime minutes (shared with husband)
unlimited nights and weekend minutes, with nights starting at 7PM
unlimited text messaging
unlimited internet access

That might not seem like a big deal to you, but this is what I've been dealing with:

not enough anytime minutes
nights starting at 9PM
no text messaging
no internet access

I was so excited, I took a picture of myself on my cell phone enjoying my new minutes. At least one friend, one sister and one parent will appreciate this news. And remember the post about my broken camera? It's still broken.

So I didn't really take a picture of myself on my cell phone. I borrowed someone else's phone.

And someone else's hand.

Hers, to be exact. Maybe she won't mind.My fingers aren't nearly that bony, no offense. I'd take a picture and show you, except my camera's broken.

Happy Birthday, Tim!

2008-11-13T10:17:00.008-06:00

Today is my little brother's birthday. He's seventeen months younger than I am and we'll just leave it at that. He's a very good brother. I highly recommend him. And I hope he gets all his wishes today.

Happy Birthday, Tim!

Broken Camera

2008-11-13T01:50:00.008-06:00

This is a picture of my camera that no longer works. Until a replacement falls in my lap or I buy a new one, I won't be posting any new photos.

In other news, I find it hard to add posts without photos.

Still in other news, a small creative urge hit me. It didn't knock me over but it forced me to revamp my blog. It made me add those stripey legs.

And stay up way past my bedtime.

Obviously.

Everything Princess

2008-11-04T13:00:00.015-06:00

I'm still sharing old Halloween pics here because nobody asked me to stop. Hopefully I'll be done with Halloween by Christmas so I can start in on Thanksgiving before New Year's. Because that's how I roll.

2002
Little Ballerina Princess

The pink costume included a tiara and tutu which she could easily remove. And did.

2003
Bride Princess, age 3
Here she is, practicing her dreamy look for the future groom. Oh, wait. Now I remember. Her memaw wanted to take a picture but Cambryn couldn't take her eyes off the TV long enough to look at the camera so she's killing two birds with one stone, posing and watching TV all at once.

2004 (maybe)
Rapunzel Princess
Are you detecting a theme yet? No matter what she was, she was a princess. You don't think this sweet girl would ever be a scary ole zombie, do you? Of course not!

Next post:
Zombie Bride Princess

Old Navy Animals

2008-10-29T23:17:00.009-05:00

If I concentrate really, really hard I can remember Halloween 2000. I had a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old and my life was a little blurry from lack of energy.

A lot blurry, actually. Words cannot describe just how energy-lacking I was. In fact, I'm getting tired just thinking about it.

Long story short, I ran into Old Navy and grabbed the costumes closest to the check-out line. Collin liked being a frog. Cambryn couldn't care less. We trick-or-treated at the zoo. The End.

It's a good thing they were so cute at this age. And if you think for one second that those manicured hands are mine, go back and read this again.

Queen o' the Nile

2008-10-28T22:19:00.006-05:00

Let's stick with 2007 and check out the costume my daughter chose that year. But first, let me tell you that the girl has always been fascinated by Egypt.

By the tender age of three she could tell you that mummy brains were removed from the skull through the nose and I'm pretty sure if she'd had access to a mummy and a hook, she could've removed a brain all by herself.

She knows about pyramids. She constantly checks out Egyptian Cinderella from the school library. She loves the movie Scooby Doo in Where's Your Mummy? And of course she's all about pretending she's Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile.

You're looking at one happy trick-or-treating queen. In fact, so happy, she almost decided to wear it again this year.

Almost.

Soldier

2008-10-27T23:32:00.015-05:00

In honor of Friday and in an attempt to blog several times this week just to prove to myself that I can, I'll be plastering some older Halloween photos on my blog. The first goes all the way back to 2007.

My then-9-year-old told me he wanted to be a soldier. Hmmm. Except that he used an odd accent and stuck "boy" on the end of it.

After visions of my baby dressed in camouflage carrying a toy M-16 flashed before my eyes, he pulled up this image on the internet:

Well, okay. And what did that have to do with G. I. Joes, I wondered.

It seems I was due for a pop culture lesson. That, dear reader(s) over the age of 20, is DeAndre Cortez Way, an American rapper better known as Soulja Boy.

What's a mother to do? I made a trip to Hobby Lobby and bought some fabric paint, that's what. Check my soulja boy out!

Please keep in mind that this was a Halloween costume and he doesn't normally dress like a rapper. He normally dresses like a basketball player. Well, except for church.

For church he dresses like a golfer.

State Fair

2008-09-30T09:15:00.016-05:00

Uncle Jay doesn't have kids and Aunt Em doesn't do fairs, so when the state fair came to town earlier this month, Uncle Jay decided some uncle/nephew bonding time was in order. This was very welcome news for Collin, the one and only nephew.

The dastardly duo spent about six hours riding scary rides, checking out weird sideshows, and testing their skills on the midway. Surprisingly, the only food Collin consumed was a corn dog. No funnel cake. No cotton candy. No Indian taco. I guess he was just too busy to eat.

The Natural

Don't you want to run your fingers through that hair?!

(I do it all the time.)

His Favorite

Free Fall

Oklahoma star and Heisman trophy winner Billy Sims

Happy Fan

See that giant wolf dog in the right corner?

Mission Accomplished.

I think Collin would remember this uncle/nephew day for a long, long time even without the giant wolf dog to remind him. We thank you, Uncle Jay. We're sure Papa was smiling.

Puppy Property Laws

2008-09-09T22:29:00.006-05:00

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my mouth, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I'm chewing something up, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks like mine, it's mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours.

(funnydog.net)

Do Unto Others

2008-08-31T13:52:00.005-05:00

On the way home from church today I asked Cambryn if she knew what the Golden Rule is.

She said, "Yes."

I said, "What is it?"

She said, "Always tell the truth and never pick your nose in public."

I am Plain Joe

2008-08-06T15:22:00.005-05:00

I love coffee. I like personality quizzes. I'm so glad to finally know what kind of coffee I am. All the wondering had been keeping me awake at night.

Or maybe that's just the coffee.

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead, think uncomplicated.

You're a low maintenance kind of girl who can hang with the guys

You're down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites.

And you're dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

Blueberry Peach Pie

2008-08-02T23:34:00.006-05:00

It is my very good fortune that Tara, my BFF, loves to cook and entertain. Often on Monday nights after dinner she hosts "Dessert Night" at her house. We, the lucky friends, know that whatever Tara has decided to make will be spectacular. Not only will it be spectacular, it will look spectacular on our plates.

I finally got the grand idea to document one of her desserts so I took my camera along to snap some pics. Tara seemed truly flattered. The rest of the crowd (OK, just my husband) was slightly embarrassed when I insisted on taking pictures of the individual plates around the table. I didn't care. I was on a mission. So here, I present Tara's Blueberry Peach Pie. Feast your eyes. Imagine the goodness. Yes, it was...spectacular.

Books

2008-07-21T22:52:00.010-05:00

Hi. My name is Leslie. I'm a reader. These are the books I've read so far in 2008:

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure by Michael Chabon
Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson
Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland
A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle
A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Innocent by Ian McEwan
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
If I Told You Once by Judy Budnitz
Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland
A Boy of Good Breeding by Miriam Toews
Womenfolks: Growing Up Down South by Shirley Abbott
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland
Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson
A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro
A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor
The Deal by Dwayne Smither
The Way the Crow Flies: A Novel by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I'll Remember It Well

2008-07-18T21:55:00.008-05:00

This post is for my friend, AJ. She was appalled that I didn't get any vacation pics of myself so I photoshopped one just for her. That means I didn't really stand by this Indian and take a picture.
The sad thing is, someday I will look at this and fondly remember standing by this Indian and taking a picture.

Friends and a Gorge

2008-07-16T11:29:00.014-05:00

Here are some more Taos photos. We synchronize our NM trips with another family we met there. They're originally from Texas, living in Maryland, and they have a cabin near "ours." They also have a boy Collin's age and a girl Cambryn's age.

The photos were taken at the plaza, at Out Back Pizza, and at the Rio Grande Gorge.

New Mexico Cabin

2008-07-14T13:59:00.016-05:00

Several days ago I tried to post these vacation photos along with witty captions and after 45 minutes of work, I ended up with a bunch of error codes and no post. I'm uploading them again but I'm just not feeling the wit at this moment.

Let me just say that we have a dear friend, Howard, who has a cabin outside of Taos, NM and he lets us use it whenever we want. And well, we've "wanted" to pretty much every year since 1992 so it feels like a home away from home.

Some notes:
1) The landscape photo with the bridge is a view from the back deck. Carson National Forest is on the other side of that fence.

2) Howard has toys at the cabin: mini-bike, four-wheeler, hot tub, satellite TV.

3) He also has mom toys (dishwasher, microwave, washer and dryer) but I didn't take photos of those. It's a log cabin but we don't exactly rough it.

4) There was a brown bear hanging out in the neighborhood all week but we didn't get a photo of him.

5) An analogy: Cambryn : creek as other kids : Disneyworld.

Angel

2008-07-05T21:52:00.011-05:00

We just returned from a week in Taos, NM and we brought home a new family member! I'm delighted to introduce Angel ..............

She's such a little sweetheart! She's an AKC mini schnauzer with liver (chocolate) parti coloring, 8 weeks old. Collin and Cambryn named her Angel. And now we have a baby in the house.

Piano Room

2008-06-10T16:30:00.005-05:00

This would be the room formerly known as the piano room. My dear husband decided to help me decorate. What do you think...does he have talent?

Santa Fe Basketball

2008-06-07T15:40:00.004-05:00

Another update on Collin...he spent the past week at the Edmond Santa Fe High School basketball camp. His team went undefeated the whole week and at the awards ceremony yesterday Collin won two awards: 2nd place for Best Dribbling and All-Star Team (one of five players chosen). We're very proud. Yea Collin!

This morning Collin and my husband left for a father/son trip to Arlington with Collin's baseball team. Today they're all eating lunch at Joe T. Garcia's in Ft. Worth, swimming at the hotel pool, then attending the Rangers game. Tomorrow they've rented out the Rangers Youth Ballpark and will be playing there several hours against a local rival team.

Meanwhile, Cambryn says she and I are having a Girl Power weekend. "Girls Rule, Boys Drool!"

Milestone

2008-05-27T23:42:00.005-05:00

Collin has reached a new milestone in his tween development: he now will not allow me to put sunscreen on him in public. Apparently it's the kiss of death for a ten-year old to be seen with his mom rubbing him down with lotion. Instead, my job is to watch him put it on himself and carefully monitor the level of absorption. This is our new routine:

Step 1. He applies, rubs, then asks, "Is it all rubbed in? Can you still see it?"
Step 2. We repeat Step 1 a thousand million times until his skin is covered and there aren't any white splotches.

It would be so much faster and easier for me to rub it in. I'd hate to stunt his development, though.

A Year in the Life

2008-05-25T21:48:00.008-05:00

Since my one devoted reader is begging for an update, specifically about the book I'm reading, I will oblige. Although tempted to simply give the name of the book and its author, I will include my own brief book review. I'm quite sure my reader will hasten to the nearest bookstore and buy the book so that we might engage in lengthy discussions of its contents. Or maybe he'll just be bored out of his skull by this blog post and quit asking for more.

The book is A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro.

This is a detailed study of the significant political and cultural events of 1599 that would have influenced Shakespeare's writing. It was during that year that he wrote Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and Hamlet, and erected the Globe theater. I recommend it to all readers interested in Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I, and British military history. Although it sometimes reads like a textbook, it is well-written and interesting.
.....................................

If you're not interested in the book maybe you'll at least be interested in some of the places I've been reading it.

on my bed
on Collin's bed
on Cambryn's bed
in the bathtub
on the couch in the family room
on the couch in the study
in the car during softball practice
in the car before baseball games
in the car between basketball games
in the carpool line at school
at my parents' house
at the pool
on my patio
on our trampoline

I have absolutely no idea how to make this post any more interesting, so there you have it.

2008-04-29T00:25:00.006-05:00

Just scrapped a photo of Collin from a couple of years ago.

Click image to view larger.
Click here for credits.

2008-04-18T10:46:00.003-05:00

I'm back. Don't faint, Mom. Here's a little story for you...

Someone in our Sunday School class mentioned that she prays with her kids each morning on the way to school. I figured we should try it. We started last week and it has significantly cut down on the crying and fighting in the car. Of course, one morning when I asked Cambryn what she wanted us to pray for she said, "for Collin's head to explode," but at least we're trying to move in the right direction.

2008-03-10T23:51:00.006-05:00

Just wanted to document a Cambryn quote before it's gone forever.

Background information: (1) Several weeks ago Collin's basketball team played in a tournament in Tulsa and we had reservations at a Doubletree with an awesome indoor pool. (2) William is the younger brother of one of the basketball players. (3) Before we left, Cambryn called me from from my in-laws' house.

(Telephone ringing)

Leslie: Hello?
Cambryn: Hi Mom. It's Cambryn.
Leslie: Hi Cambryn.
Cambryn: Is William going to Tulsa?
Leslie: Yes.

(pause)

Cambryn: Mom, can you pack my striped bikini?

2007-10-16T03:08:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm still alive.

2007-08-15T00:14:00.001-05:00

Just popping in to say that I've been ailing for awhile. Just when I think I'm getting better "IT" morphs into a new and improved ailment, all reflux and respiratory related. Ugh! As soon as it's gone I'll be back.

Happy thoughts!

2007-08-03T20:35:00.001-05:00

Here's a new vintage layout. Isn't my mom beautiful?

Click image to view larger.
Credits here.

Bye!

2007-07-30T23:32:00.002-05:00

There's a reason I stuck the E=mc2 on my avatar over there. It's to make myself feel smarter. [Never mind. I changed my avatar.]

I take Topamax to prevent migraines and if you're unfamiliar with this drug, here's an excerpt from a list of its side effects:

"Memory loss, aphasia (weird words coming out in place of what you meant to say or write), word find problems (not being able to recall the names of people, things or concepts), and a general cognitive impairment that has earned this drug the nicknames 'Stupamax' and 'Dopamax.'"

I lowered my dosage several months ago in hopes of regaining some IQ points. It's sad to trade any points at all for pain relief but if you get migraines, you understand my dilemma. A happy forgetful head or a pounding, crashing, throbbing remembering head? Just don't be mad if I forget your birthday.

Or your name.

Mom.

Hahahaha!

Here's a layout from Cambryn's May dance recital. She felt really grown up because she had to wear eye shadow, blush and lipstick.

Click image to view larger.
Credits here.

Bye!

2007-07-27T15:13:00.002-05:00

Ding, ding! We have a winner!

Collin won the Junior Golf Club Championship today at our country club in the age 9-11 boys division.

There were nine boys in his division. They played six holes and Collin shot a 27. His good friend Andrew got second place with a 28.

I'll post pictures as soon as I get them from my friend Lisa. I forgot to take my camera (bad mom).

2007-07-26T00:26:00.001-05:00

You know those people who will ride absolutely anything at the amusement parks?

I'm one of those.

July 24, 2007

2007-07-24T23:28:00.001-05:00

"SNACK"
A very short play based on real life.

Setting:
Our home at about 10:00 a.m. this morning.

Cambryn: Mom, I'm hungry for a snack.
Leslie: Well, we have peaches, plums, grapes, or cantaloupe.
Cambryn: I don't want any of that.
Leslie: Raisins.
Cambryn: No, I don't want raisins, either. [Pause.] I want a snack that's not good for my teeth.

--The End--

p.s. We settled on strawberry yogurt.

July 23, 2007

2007-07-24T00:39:00.002-05:00

Here's a layout of my kids with my parents. Grandparents... grandchildren... life is grand... GET IT? Can you believe I thought that title up all by myself?*

Click image to view larger.
Credits here.

*That was supposed to be funny.

Bye!

July 22, 2007

2007-07-22T23:25:00.002-05:00

I'm on a roll here. I even freshened up the place to look more summery. Who knows, maybe someday I'll throw in a story or two.

Click image to view larger.

Credits here.

Bye!

July 21, 2007

2007-07-22T04:00:00.003-05:00

Surprise. I'm trying to climb back onto the face of the earth. No big reason, just a busy life. Here's a layout.

Click image to view larger.
Credits here.

Cheers!

Spring Break

2007-03-17T23:27:00.000-05:00

We're waking up in less than six hours to go to the airport. I should be in bed but first I'll leave you with something funny from each of my kids.

A conversation with Collin the day before St. Patrick's Day:
Collin: Ohhh, Mom, I need you to go get me a big green leprechaun hat.
Leslie: A big green leprechaun hat? What for?
Collin: DUH! Because tomorrow's St. Patrick's Day.
Leslie: Just because it's St. Patrick's Day doesn't mean you need a big hat. Wear a green shirt or something. You don't see Dad and me wearing big green leprechaun hats.
Collin: That's because you don't know how to celebrate.

A conversation with Cambryn:
Cambryn: Mom, did you used to ride a horse to school when you were little?
.
.
.
No, he didn't get a big hat and no, I didn't ride a horse to school.

Happy Spring Break everyone!

Fortunes Freebie

2007-03-12T16:09:00.001-05:00

You're welcome to a new freebie. We like Chinese food and the kids get a kick out of reading the fortunes so I scanned some. It's not included here but we got a funny one last night at P.F. Chang's -- Follow your heart's desire; start with the spring rolls!

Download here.
[download expired]

Bye now. We're off to dance lessons!

Basketball 'R Us

2007-03-04T21:18:00.000-06:00

My parents came to visit this weekend. Thanks, Mom and Dad! We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving. With illness over Christmas break and then basketball season starting up we hadn't had a free weekend to go see them.

They came to watch the kids play basketball and I'm pretty sure they got their money's worth. Collin's team made it through the tournament to play in the championship game tomorrow night. Collin even hit a 3-pointer for his grandparents. This league is serious business. Not for the faint of heart.

Cambryn also played a game. Her league is strictly fun, thank goodness. They use different colored wristbands to match up opposing players and when she's playing defense she sticks to her "man" like glue. She stares them down, too, because she said her coach told her to look 'em in the eyes.

Have I mentioned that I, myself, am nursing a basketball injury? I was playing with Collin in the driveway and as he tried to "stuff" my shot (his word), he fell against me, our feet got tangled up and I twisted my ankle. It's all bruised and swollen. Lovely.

Lest you think I'm a basketball wizard, whenever I play with Collin he gets so freaked that I'm actually playing that he laughs for the first five minutes. But I can still win because I'm taller. Sometimes.

Enough basketball. I've decided on my next freebie. Now I just need to get started on it, lol. Maybe I can get it out before the week is over.

I hope you have a winning week!

Elvis

2007-03-01T09:58:00.001-06:00

Yea me! I finally got a page scrapped during this dry spell of creativity. One that involves an Elvis impersonator, no less.

We have friends, two couples, who throw a big valentine party every two years and alternately host it in their homes. They have big homes so the parties are always big but last year one couple moved to an even bigger home (read "mansion") so this year's party was huge!! There were 200 people in their house, not including caterers and servers and photographers and coat checkers and valet parkers and Elvis.

[I wonder how many spills there were on their new floors and furniture. My husband and I did see a meatball in marinara smashed into some sisal carpet.]

We had a great time, it was fun seeing everyone, and as usual we were the first to leave, lol. We were home in bed by 11:00. We got a picture with Elvis to prove we were there, though!

Click image to view larger.
Credits here.

We're in the thick of kids' activities. This week holds the usual practices and lessons plus a basketball party for which I had to decorate because the original volunteer had to go to a funeral, Cambryn's 1st grade musical program at school on two consecutive days, and Collin's post-season basketball tournament this weekend. It was also my week (every third) to do the school newsletter.

Could someone please come and finish my laundry while I do all this running around?

Oh well. It was worth a try. Bye for now!

Poet and Don't Know It

2007-02-20T23:15:00.001-06:00

I usually blog in the middle of the night

when everyone else is sleeping tight
but lately instead of being wired
at bedtime, I've actually been tired!

And while I've gotten a bit more sleep,
I've totally ignored the hobbies I keep
but as soon as I have some awake time that's free
I'll get back to doing the things that are me.

---------------------------

I don't have a new layout but I'm pulling one from my gallery just to make sure you realize my dad is healthy and able to wash his own hair. And if that doesn't make sense, please read my previous post.

Click image to view larger.
Credits here.

Goodnight!

Cambryn is Funny

2007-02-15T22:05:00.002-06:00

Here's another Cambryn story for you. When I told it to my husband at dinner I laughed so hard I cried. She doesn't lack imagination.

For homework Cambryn brought a list of ten sentences she needed to rewrite because she had written her words so closely together, each sentence looked like one gigantic word. It was a list of her responsibilities. Some examples were "I clean my room." Yeah, right. "I wash the dishes." Uh...as in the imaginary ones in her mind, I guess. "I get the mail." Yes, she does that.

So I was helping with spacing and spelling and the scene picks up at sentence number eight.........

Leslie: I can't read this one. What does this say?
Cambryn: I wash my grandpa's hair.
Leslie: What?!! I wash my grandpa's hair?
Cambryn: Yeah.
Leslie: You don't wash grandpa's hair!
Cambryn: I do when you're not looking.
Leslie: Cambryn, You've never washed grandpa's hair.
Cambryn: Oh, OK.

The end.

I mean, really.

I immediately called my dad to let him know Cambryn was thinking about him. For the record, he's perfectly capable of washing his own hair. If he ever needs help, though, I've got just the person for the job.

Back to Life

2007-02-14T23:57:00.000-06:00

Yikes! I've lost a big chunk of time. The good news is that I'm finally dismantling my sickbed on the couch.

I made a semi-coherent decision not to blog while I was sick. Let's just say I had what Cambryn had and tomorrow I think I'll try on some skinny jeans and pretend I've been on a great diet.

Late Valentine's Eve I rallied to get started on the kids' class valentines. A normal person would've just gone to Target for some flashy foil Spiderman cards. I, however, was up half the night scrapping, printing and cutting! The kids got them addressed before school so it was all good.

You'll have to use your imagination because I don't have a photo of the finished products. These are treat bag toppers. They were folded in half longways and stapled onto the top of plastic ziploc bags filled with candy. The kids all thought they were super cool.

His Valentine
Credits Here

Her Valentine
Credits Here

I'm anxious to get back to real life, including blogging and scrapping. Happy Belated Valentine's Day to everyone. I hope it was special.

Sick in Bullets

2007-02-08T13:29:00.000-06:00

I would really rather post something fun or cute but good grief, this is our real life.

Tuesday

Collin still sick

Wednesday

Collin went back to school
Got called to pick Cambryn up at school and she threw up the rest of the day
My husband got home from his trip
I started feeling sick, but maybe just exhausted?

Thursday (so far)

Cambryn stayed home again
I somehow got the school newsletter finished and sent in
Got called to pick Collin up at school as he had fever, headache and fatigue
My husband got groceries during his lunch hour

And that brings us up to date. When I signed Collin out today we were on the bottom of a whole page full of signed-out sick kids. It's everywhere!

On the bright side Cambryn has been much easier this time around. Perfectly neat, with her double-lined trash can, lol, and no crying, either. Wow.

We all hope to get well one of these days. I hope you're either healthy or you get that way soon!

Safety Pins Freebie

2007-02-05T23:58:00.001-06:00

I think the freebie is finished but I'm so tired I could be delirious and linking to an empty file. Hope not. Here's what it's supposed to have in it. You'll never have to look for another safety pin again...

Download here.
[Note: some pins in preview may look a bit wonky but they don't look like that in .png file.]
[download expired]

As for Collin, he still has a high fever with headache and dizziness. Usually when he's sick he just sleeps on the couch. Today, however, he needed me about every five minutes. No, I exaggerate. Every ten minutes.

We saw his doctor for strep and flu tests. They were both negative.

I need to remember to cancel my hair appointment in the morning. Does anyone want to call me and remind me? Unless Collin could go sleep on a massage table somewhere while I get my hair done! I doubt that they would go for that.

My husband keeps calling to see how we're doing. He also keeps mentioning how great the weather is in San Diego. I think he said it was 75F today. It was about 60F here, though, so not too bad.

Obviously my secret painting mission got canceled when Collin got sick. Now I'll just have to do it right in front of my husband's face somehow but you know I'll at least start while he's at work. That way I'll have a lot done by the time he knows what's happening, lol. I've learned a few things in thirteen years of marriage.

Okay, I'm exhausted. Tomorrow will be more of the same. If you stayed away from fevers, good for you. If you didn't, drink lots of water!

A Sick Boy

2007-02-05T01:52:00.000-06:00

Quick post. Collin has had a high fever since Saturday along with a bad headache. He's been in bed or on the couch ever since, needing lots of mothering.

My husband left for San Diego. I'm sure he'll be thinking of us while he wears short sleeves and walks in the sand. Okay, so he went to a banking convention and it can't be that exciting but at least it's not cold. He'll be back on Wednesday.

Cambryn finally got to play her first basketball game and her team won! She was so excited. She was the smallest player out there but made up for it in aggression. She knows how to play some defense. She also brought the ball upcourt some and she made good passes. A wonderful debut if I say so myself.

Monday I should have lots of time to finish my freebie since I'll be confined to the house. It's not a small project.

No pictures, no layouts, no links this time. I'll be back soon, though. Stay well and keep away from fevers!

I'm a Cartoon

2007-02-01T10:19:00.000-06:00

Guess who this is supposed to be! I discovered this fun site on Michelle Underwood's blog. You can create yourself, lol. Go ahead, it's free.

I started working on a new freebie. Here's a hint, but not a big one: it involves scanning and tedious, meticulous extraction. Umm, which I enjoy for some reason. My husband is sooo the opposite of that. He's the total big picture guy and I'm all about the details.

Forest, what forest? Heck, what tree? All I can see are the bark patterns and veins in the leaves.

Oh, for those wondering...no, he hasn't noticed the new wall color in the dining room yet. I really don't think he's going to until I point it out. He's not colorblind. Maybe it's just too small of a detail to notice.

It's snowing again.

That's not normal around here!

We're going to Crested Butte, CO over spring break but by then I may be sick of snow. It's something I don't mind traveling to. I just don't particularly want to live in it.

Okay, I'm off to do some housework. I hope you're safe and warm.

Oklahoma is 100 Years Old

2007-01-31T00:44:00.002-06:00

Thanks to everyone leaving comments! They're fun to read and it's nice to hear that the word art is appreciated.

As for the question about how Cambryn got her name, I found it in a baby name book. It means crooked hill in Welsh. I have some Welsh ancestory, my husband's seen a crooked hill before, it just all fit together.

Now then. I do have a son and I've been working on a particular layout of him forever. Every once in awhile on the digital scrap boards someone new will post the question "How long does it take you to finish a layout?" Well, the following layout should make everybody feel better about himself because I started it in November.

I've changed kits several times, I've created new alphas only to delete them, I've rearranged over and over and over, all because I wanted to fit so much onto the page even though I don't do well with clutter.

So here is my labor of love (or insanity).

Collin's great-great-great-grandfather on Bill's side, Choctaw Chief Allen Wright, proposed the name "Territory of Oklahoma," which means "Territory of Red People," in an 1866 treaty with the U.S. Although the name wasn't used in 1866, it's how Oklahoma got its name at statehood in 1907.
Click image to view larger.
Credits found here.

Oh, guess who'll be out of town for three nights very soon. I may be painting again, lol. This is a long trip for him! He likes to sleep in his own bed so unless he goes to either coast, he's usually back the same day.

So what I'm saying is that almost four days without him only happens about once a year. And that's about how long it would take me to paint the formal living room.

I'm just saying.

Anyway, it's very very late (early) so I'm going to bed now. Happy Hump Day!

Cambryn is Funny

2007-01-29T12:37:00.002-06:00

Another quick post today because I don't want to forget something Cambryn said.

At about 12:30 last night Cambryn stumbled into the office saying she needed her blankie and she didn't know where it was. She said it might be in the car and she insisted that she woke up because it wasn't in her bed and she just couldn't sleep without it.

So I looked just about everywhere, but no blankie. I went back to her room and said,"Cambryn, I think maybe you left it in Mommy and Daddy's bathroom when you took a bath but I don't want to go in there because it might wake Daddy up."

(My husband is a very light sleeper and I didn't want to turn on any lights.)

Cambryn sat up in bed, let out a big sigh, and then using hand motions to help explain the situation said, "Mom, you're Daddy's wife, and he loves you very much, so you can go anywhere you want to. It's the truth."

Of course I went straight to the bathroom and found the blankie. I asked my husband if he heard us last night and he said no.

Who knows, maybe she's a future psychologist.

Word Art Freebie

2007-01-28T22:31:00.000-06:00

I finished playing with the companion quotes to my first set. These are a little more random in topic and I just threw in the scrapbook quote because it always makes me laugh.

Download here.
Please leave a comment here on my blog.
If you use one of these in a layout, I would love to see it. Please send me a link.

Maybe I should make one for my mom that says "Blessed are the children of genealogists because they shall inherit the genealogy notebooks." Every last million of them, lol.

Well, did you happen to notice how well my dining room photo matched my blog header? I'm certainly consistent in my color schemes although I don't get credit for choosing the paint color. A decorator is helping me.

And speaking of paint...you should see the color he chose for the formal living room. Not only would my husband notice this one, it would be like hitting him over the head with a 2x4!

I'm not brave enough to post the color here because it might freak somebody out but if you want to look it up on Sherwin Williams' website, it's coconut husk. Don't tell me if you don't like it, though!

Everything the decorator has done has been really cool so I have no reason not to trust him. It's just a little scary to make such a drastic change.

Enough about paint.

We had a fairly typical Sunday except for a couple of things, both involving my husband. First, he played nine holes of golf in 33-degree weather. It was freezing! He said it was perfectly fine because there wasn't any wind. Maybe it helps that he always walks, but still! Wind or no wind, that's cold.

The second thing was the highlight of my day. My husband actually loaded the dishwasher and started it all by himself. Don't laugh! I told him it was the sexiest thing he's ever done. I thought he had a dishwasher phobia because he rinses his dishes out and sets them on the counter over the dishwasher every time. For thirteen years, people. I made a big, big deal out of it. Talk is cheap but washing dishes is major in my book.

Okay, hello to Julie, Tina (from Oklahoma!) and Phoxy4. I hope everyone has a thrilling Monday and from the wisdom of Yogi Berra, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it!"

Quick Post

2007-01-26T12:57:00.004-06:00

I'm short on time but here are a couple of new things to look at. The first is a picture of a wall. My mom wanted to know what color I painted my dining room so here it is:

The walls were previously a deep red with blue tones and now they're a deep red with yellow tones, aka "flowerpot."

Are you curious about what my husband had to say?

Husband: (home for an hour) "I smell paint. What have you been up to?"
Leslie: "Oh, nothing."

The end.

He hasn't noticed that the walls are a different color. Hmmm.

The other thing to look at is this new layout of my sister and me.

Click image to view larger.
See credits here.

I hope to post another freebie sometime this weekend. OK, back to my domestic kingdom for laundering of royal garments and washing of silver goblets. Bye!

Secret Mission

2007-01-23T21:16:00.000-06:00

My husband had to fly to Portland, OR this morning so it seemed the perfect time for a secret mission, one involving this:

But before anyone (Mom) gets all worried, yes I'm wearing a mask.

See, I enjoy painting, mostly because I'm a perfectionist and of all the four professional painters I've hired in the past I, the amateur, am the best. So not only do I enjoy painting, I can't stand the thought of paying someone else to do a worse job than I would.

The trouble is that my husband and perhaps my mom think that painting makes me sick. That might be because during one paint job I went to the doctor with bad chest pains and was diagnosed as having a severe asthma attack when I'd never had asthma before.

However, after months of medicine and more tests I was finally diagnosed with GERD (acid reflux) - induced asthma and I distinctly remember that I never ever drank any of the paint while I was putting it on my walls.

Okay, then there was one other time I got sick but that was probably just a cold coupled with a bad reflux episode again. There have also been times when I didn't get sick at all.

Anyway, to avoid hearing my husband tell me I shouldn't paint, I figured I would just get it all done while he's out of town. By the time he gets back tomorrow evening the dining room will be completely finished (yay!) and I'll be completely healthy (fingers crossed).

The reason I've done so much painting is because we completely redid our last house, I've helped a friend paint, and now this house just needs some freshening up and I want new colors. With all my experience maybe I should write an advice column:

It's not a good idea to wear 2 1/2 inch platform flipflops on a ladder while painting the top of a 10-foot wall.
Reconsider starting large projects between Thanksgiving and Christmas hoping to be finished in time for your Christmas party when there's a major stomach virus going around at school and your kids have never been afraid of a few little germs.
If you scoot backwards on the floor painting around the baseboards while wearing nylon sweats, don't be surprised when your pants slide down to your knees.

Okay, keep those in mind next time you start a painting project and if you need any more pearls of wisdom just let me know!

Back in School

2007-01-22T11:03:00.000-06:00

Woo hoo! After a week of iced-in togetherness the kids are back in school. Now I can reclaim the house and try to get it in working order again. If that's possible.

Here are a some photos taken when I ventured out for a couple of cold minutes, LOL.
We don't get pretty "snow" this often so I wanted a picture of our house in it. Remember, though, it looks like snow but it was ICE, or at least a heavy layer of ice covering the snow.
Cambryn wanted to go outside and slide around so I went out and took some pictures, mostly blurry. I asked her to stand still for this one so she decided to strike a pose, which is why she looks so, er, posed. What makes this totally Cambryn is (1) she has one blue mitten and one black mitten and (2) she had marked all over her face with a marker (forehead and nose, maybe not so noticeable here). Thankfully it wasn't a permanent marker this time.

Collin spent a lot of time with his friend Alex who lives two doors down as they alternated houses every few hours. Cambryn's playmates had to be imported, LOL. We don't know any girls her age in our neighborhood.

Thanks to all who have left comments about the quotes freebie. Judging by the number of comments it seems mildly popular but when I looked at the number of downloads I was shocked. Now I know why everyone always begs downloaders to leave comments: because hardly anyone does. It would just be nice to see who's actually grabbing it. I'm happy that people seem to like it, though.

Well, off to tackle the house and laundry. An exciting day, for sure!

My First

2007-01-20T23:13:00.001-06:00

Someone may actually see my blog now because I'm going to link it up after I post. Maybe I had better introduce myself a bit more. If you're from DST and don't recognize my name it's probably because I'm just not that outgoing. I do post in the forum and gallery. Before DST my main gallery was at SBB.

I'm on the awesome Michelle Underwood's creative team. I was also on Jomi's (SBG) creative team but she left design work at the end of the year. I'm quite content to stick with just one now. I scrap my kids, my family, vintage photos and heritage pages.

So, since we were iced in all week long I had some time to work on a freebie. My first! The blogging, saving in .png files, zipping (instead of unzipping!), uploading to rapidshare, etc. are all very new to me. Hopefully there aren't any mistakes along the way.

After two years I'm pretty much a digital veteran. Or so it seems when people start posting that the first kits they ever bought were all from last fall, LOL. I have used sooo many freebies along the way that I just want to try to pay back some of my gratitude.

Download here (4shared).

Download here (rapidshare).

[download expired]

I hope you like it. I have another set ready to upload in a few days. Enjoy!

Never Say Never

2007-01-17T22:47:00.002-06:00

I've been wanting to give back to the digital scrap community that has been so very generous to me with their freebies and a blog seems to be the way to do it so here I am, the person who didn't expect to have a blog.

Maybe my family can hop on and catch an update on the kids when they want. Maybe I'll actually document some of those funny things my kids say that I never write down. First, though, I'll do a practice run to make sure I can do this. It took a lot of determination to get that custom header in place!

It's Wednesday and we haven't had school all week because of ice. Tomorrow's a bust, too. My friend Christi wants to call the principal and report that her kids would be a lot safer going to school in hazardous driving conditions than they would be spending one more day at home with her.

The major streets are cleared but everywhere else is solid ice. It looks like several inches of picture postcard white snow but it's not! You don't walk in it, you slide on top of it. No footprints. It could be worse, though. My parents haven't had electricity since Saturday. Just a generator for the fridge and a couple of space heaters, plus lots of candles and bulky clothes. Luckily they still have hot water.

Okay, for my grand finale I'm going to post a layout done for designer Michelle Underwood. She has really been cranking out some great kits. I have no idea how she designs so quickly. My brain just doesn't go that fast.

Click image to view larger.
Credits found here.

Until next time, keep warm!