My Scrapbooking Class
February 27, 2010
I decided that to maybe keep myself busy (why do I think I’m not…?!) and keep myself sane during the winter months I thought I would take an on-line scrapbooking class to have something to look forward to. So with some of my Christmas money I signed up for Cathy Zielske’s Design Your Life workshop at Big Picture Scrapbooking. She is one of my favorite scrapbookers and I have both her books. It is has been really awesome and fun! It has sure been more work than I thought it would be. It’s like taking a class for school only more fun. I spent 30-50 minutes a week with class video via the internet, and download 8-10 pages of lesson materials. We usually have to do 3 layouts a week. I’ve gotten all the digital templates to so I will always have them. So cool! It is self-paced so that is nice, so if I get behind it’s not really a big deal. But I have tried to keep up and not get more than a week behind!
Here’s a sample of some of the stuff I’ve done. Just click on the picture and it will enlarge it.
(Layouts and concepts provided by Cathy Zielske Design Your Life workshop at BigPictureScrapbooking.com)
Newest Family Edition
February 20, 2010
We got a new addition to our family yesterday. Her name is Gypsy and she is a 6 week old Yorkshire Terrier. We are probably crazy I know, since we already have three cats (2 inside) and two big dogs. But look at these pictures and tell me how we could say no! Is this not the sweetest, cutest thing? And she is all that too – cute, sweet, playful, cuddly. The only problem is that she is so small that you worry about hurting or stepping on her!
The kids think it is awesome of course. The maniacal cats can’t decide if she is some sort of larger rodent or what! They look at her with “what eez this thing. What eez it and why eez it here. No one askez our opeenion.” Tucker, the German Shorthair, is like “puppies….I am not the sort of dog that has patience for puppies” and he walks away and won’t even look at her. Chance, the slobbery big black lab (who thinks HE is the lap dog of the family) just licks her and looks at Dave and you can tell he is thinking “cool, cute puppy. Can we play now huh, huh? I’ll go get my ball. C’mon Dad. Huh Huh?” And Dave? Wow, who would have thought my manly man would have been so sucked in by this cute little ball of fluff! The kids are calling him a puppy hog! She is probably going to be a spoiled girl indeed!
So that is the start of our new puppy adventures! I’m not looking forward so much to all the potty training and all that, and it was a somewhat sleepless night with the little sweetie in the kennel for the 1st time and her crying off and on. But, look at that cute little face! You would do a lot for that cute little face and a little snuggle or two from her, right?!
Yeah I know, I’ve been completely taken in too!
Family Update
February 15, 2010
Well here’s what we’ve been up to the past several months so that all of you don’t think all I’ve been doing is reading books! Seeing as how most of my posts recently have been book reviews!
We spent time this fall with Dillan doing wrestling and Hayley playing basketball. I am kicking myself for not get pictures of Dillan wrestling, but then it really wasn’t his thing I don’t think so the pictures wouldn’t have been that exciting. He mostly just had fun messing around.
Hayley had and is still having a great basketball season. After their regular community basketball season the girls were able to participate in a 5th grade team to play in the Idaho Falls community leagues on Saturdays. So she is practicing 2 days a week and going to a game every Saturday. She loves basketball, and is getting to be good! Sugar girls basketball is very competitive! They always have good teams and the high school girls usually go to state every year. It makes you feel like if you want your daughter to make the team in junior high and high school you need to get her all the experience you can. They took two 5th grade teams to the Idaho Falls games this year. Hayley will have a lot of competition I think trying out for teams as they get older.
Sydnie has been in choir this year and had several performances. She is also still taking piano lessons and getting really good at that. She is going to be a lot better piano player than me! She LOVES junior high! She is also enjoying young women activities in our ward. She is driving me crazy with the email and chatting stuff though! She keeps hijacking my phone or the computer whenever she gets a chance so she can check her email or see who is on messenger so she can chat. She really wants a cell phone of her own, but mom and dad have borrowed the idea from Uncle Nate and Aunt Anna that she has to have straight A’s first. It has been some good motivation for her!
Dave is working away as usual. Nothing too exciting going on lately. He’s just trying to get through winter, which he hates. He is ready to go camping already!
I’ve been just going along like usual. I’ve been busy reading, taking an on-line scrapbooking class, trying to keep up with running kids around to stuff, working, keeping up with house cleaning (NOT!). We have also moved into new ward. They made some changes and re-arranged the wards here and created a new one. So we were moved into a different ward. The change has been good and we are enjoying the new ward, but we have never went to church at the 1:00 time before so that has been different. I have been called to team teach the 8-9 year old primary class. It’s been great to teach kids a little bit older, since I’ve been teaching 4 year olds for a couple of years now. I also have been called to be the ward camp director. I am so excited! Sydnie is so excited too! I am really looking forward to going to camp and getting to know the girls. I loved camp as a young woman.
We had a good Christmas and holidays. Pretty calm and laid back which was very nice!
We’ll that’s my update. We are just so exciting aren’t we!
Book Review: Warbreaker – Brandon Sanderson
February 15, 2010
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was an another awesome book by Brandon Sanderson. Not quite as good as the Mistborn Series, but still a very entertaining read. Sanderson has such a talent for creating wonderful characters. He also keeps you guessing until the end of the book (again!) about how the story will end. Another original, not run of the mill, fantasy book!
Book Review: The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
February 12, 2010
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am still thinking about this book even though it’s been a few weeks since I’ve finished it. It is a very thought-provoking story. I liked how the different chapters were the voice of the different characters. It took me out of my own little sheltered world into Africa and reminded me how fortunate I am. We just don’t really think about people and how they live in other parts of the world.
If what this book says about the politics of our country and others it makes you wonder what you really know about what goes on and if international politics is really based as much on money as Barbara Kingsolver leads you to believe. Human beings can be so cruel to each other; even our own families, like the indifferent, unkind father in this book. This book will stay with me for a while.
Book Review: Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
February 12, 2010
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book. It is such a great story with great characters! I love Dickens subtle humor and moral lessons. Listened to this on my commute back and forth every day and it made the drive enjoyable!
