Layouts

A Couple of Layouts

I accomplished these two pages today. They are just quick and simple but that is all I am up for right now. I have not been feeling very creative lately but I know that it makes me feel good to do a layout. These photos were taken back in September of 2003, yes, 2003. How time flies!

One of the problems I am having right now is I don't have any updated pictures printed. Since I went digital I have load of pictures but I have to print them out. I think I just need to print out photos at the end of the month every month. Let me know if you have any good ideas on how to keep up with all of the digital photos.

English

After 16 years, I have registered and am now attending English class. I know I speak English so this shouldn't be hard for me but it is the writing that I fear. I don't like to write papers, I don't know how to write.

I have to pass this class for my AA and I already took it once 16 years ago and got a D for the grade. I will have to write 6 papers to pass. I am not very confident about this but I do have a lot of people willing to help me. Once I finish English I then have to take a new requirement, Ethics, and then I will or should have my AA. Now they seem to change things around a lot so I have to go talk to a school counselor again and see if that will do it for me. I have all of these classes done and no degree. So I am going to try and do this, I am going to try and pass this class and write all of those papers.

More Knitting

I have really been working on my knitting at night. I finished another scarf and now I am working on a bag. The bag is a little scary since it isn't just the plain old knit stitch and I am "knitting in the round" on this one. Once I am done knitting the bag I will felt it. Felting is when you take something that is knitted with wool and you wash it in hot water. Your stitches disappear and you are left with something that is smaller and softer.

One Word Challenge

I have choosen the word Accomplish as my word for the AEzine Newsletter one word challenge for 2007. You can read more about it on Ali Edwards's blog.

Accomplish

Main Entry: ac·com·plish
Pronunciation: &-'käm-plish, -'k&m-
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English accomplisshen, from Anglo-French accompliss-, stem of accomplir, from Vulgar Latin *accomplEre, from Latin ad- + complEre to fill up -- more at COMPLETE
1 : to bring about (a result) by effort
2 : to bring to completion : FULFILL
3 : to succeed in reaching (a stage in a progression)
4 archaic a : to equip thoroughly b : PERFECT
synonym see PERFORM
- ac·com·plish·able /-pli-sh&-b&l/ adjective
- ac·com·plish·er noun

**************************************************

What does this mean to me? I am going to keep track of my accomplishments this year. Even if it is just something little like organizing my scrapbooking room. I tend to see all the things I can't do or have not been able to do mostly because of my back injury. So I think this will be really positive for me to see what I have accomplished this year.

Need A New Banner

Okay, I know Christmas is over and I need a new banner. I also need to start posting here but I just am in a slump. I do have some new layouts to post though.

Visiting

My brother, his wife Martha and their four kids came up for a visit last week from Southern CA. We played in the snow, went to the zoo and hung out with my nieces and nephew. The kids are really growing up, they each have their own personalities. Emily and Maddie got to go on a geocache treasure hunt with Uncle John and their Dad. I think they had fun but couldn't understand why there wasn't an X to mark the spot for the treasure.

Our Christmas Morning

John and I had a great Christmas morning. John got me the vertical grip for my camera that I have wanted forever and I was so excited. I got John a new headlamp for when he is outside at night getting wood for the fire. He says you can't go wrong buying a guy a headlamp, it's the perfect gift. I also got him a really cool watch with a heart rate monitor.



Our dog didj hurt her leg on Christmas morning (we think it is arthritis). We were so worried about her but she is doing much better now. I love this picture of her.


John made Christmas dinner. It is so nice that John is such a good cook and enjoys cooking as well since I don't really know how to cook. We had a really nice Christmas day at home together.

Knitting

I have been knitting lately. I even knitted a few scarves as gifts for Christmas. Here are my latest. I think I am ready to try something new now like knitting and then felting a purse but I have to find some help before I take on that project.

Miller Family Photoshoot

I had the opportunity to photograph the Miller family at their beautful home last weekend here are a few of my favorites.

Final Tomorrow

My final is tomorrow in my drawing class and I can't wait until this class is over! This has been the worse class I have ever taken. I wanted it to be a fun class just for self improvement but I also need it for any kind a major in art or photography. Instead it turned into the class from hell. I have hated every minute and every assignment and the teacher is the worse, absolute ... I just am so glad that it will all be over tomorrow.

Thanksgiving Photos

This is a photo of all the Cousins at Thanksgiving dinner this year at Uncle Roger and Aunt Brenda's house. If you would like to see the photos of Thanksgiving you can go here to see them.

I am frustrated with the way the website makes my photos look blurry. It is the website that has the problem and I need to find a better place to post my photos. This site is free so I guess you get what you pay for.

I also posted a bunch of photos of our time in Pismo Beach here and more of our dinner in Pismo here.

Christmas Tree Farm

Every year we go to Hidden Canyon Christmas Tree farm for our Christmas tree. It is so beautiful there. It can get crazy here this time of year with all of the people from Sacramento driving up to the country for their Christmas trees. So we love that Hidden Canyon is a little out of the way small family owned farm. This year we picked out a tree pretty quickly. I am so happy with our choice. I thought it would be too small but we had to trim the top so it wouldn't hit the ceiling. Since we have the wood stove this year we have to make the tree fit in a certain area of the living room so it wont get dried out. We needed a tree that was narrow enough to fit in the living room but it also had to be full enough to hold all our ornaments as well. I think we found the perfect fit.

I have been working so hard on the four drawings that I had due today for art class that I haven't had time to decorate the tree yet. Today was my last real class. I only have the final next Wendesday and then I am done!!!

What Did He Say About His Nutcracker?

Anne, for Cameron's scrapbook, can you remember the comment he made the other day about the nutcracker?

Since I went digital, I have not printed any photos. So I am going through my photos and picking out what I am going to print for scrapbooking. Cameron and I decorated this nutcracker last Christmas with all of my "shiny" crafting things and he made the coolest comment the other day about it. Perfect for his scrapbook.

Amanda and Allie On The Beach

This is one of the photos I took of Allie and Amanda on the beach. You can see the rest of them here.

A Few Crafts

I have been making gifts for Chirstmas and working on my drawing assignments for art class. I love the crafts and hate the drawings. I only have two more weeks of class!!! Anyways, here are a few of the crafts I have been making. The scarf is one that I started on our trip for Thanksgiving and I finished it in the car on the drive home. The ornaments are made from scrap paper and I am on my second set of six.

My neighbor, Nicole, come over and helped me decorate so I am all ready for Christmas and John and I should go get our tree today.

Altar Boy

I just had to post this photo Anne emailed me of my nephew Cameron. Today was his first day as an Altar Boy. We are so proud of him, especially his Godfather John (my husband), who was also an Alter Boy.

At The Beach

I took a little break from my blog over the Thanksgiving weekend. We spent three wonderful days in Pismo Beach for Thanksgiving. Our hotel was 50 feet from the beach and it was perfect weather. My Aunt Linda and Uncle Rudy were so nice to get six rooms at the hotel so we could all stay together. We really had a fun time.

The best part of the Holiday was spending time with my family. We had around thirty people at my Uncle Roger and Aunt Brenda's house. The food was great and I really enjoyed visiting with everyone.

Of course, I took a lot of photos and even did a photo shoot of my counsins Allie and Amanda on the beach at sunset on evening. I will post the photos when I get a chance to catch up. Right now I am spending a lot of time working on assignments for my art class. I can't believe that I actually wrote a four page paper, an art critique. I have not wrote a paper in over 10 years!

Our Weekend

Isn't she sweet! This is my next door neighbor's daughter Melia. I got to play with her for awhile this weekend while her mother, Nicole, worked in her flower bed. It was a great opportunity to grab my camera and take a few pictures. Melia is full of energy and I had a wonderful time hanging out with her.

We had a beautiful weekend here and John got to work in our "cottage garden" again. We planted 48 bulbs! I can't wait to see how they look this spring. We planted hyacinth, tulips, crocus and iris. Our little garden is starting to come together. The next step is to start planting the roses and other potted plants.


John did 99% of the work.


Didj thinks she is helping.








This is what I did most of the time.

Sisters

She may be my sister by marriage but Anne is my friend by choice. I really enjoy the time we spend together. We can relax and be ourselves. Even though we live far away from each other, we share what is going on in our lives over the phone. It is nice to have someone to share my feelings with and she accepts me for who I am. I am sure there are times that I drive her nuts but she is always there for me. Even at my absolute worse, after I had my back surgery, she was there just to get me through the day. I can’t thank her enough for all that she has done for me. I am so lucky to have a sister like Anne.