Craft Day and My Big Fat Mormon Winter

I hosted a craft day yesterday.

10 hours of visiting while pretending to 'work.'

I think it's time for a new tote, Terri. :)

I didn't do any layouts, but I did make some cards.

Tomorrow I'm re-registering for Weight Watchers Online again.

Matt and I did it a year or so ago, it was a really good program and worked really well for us both. We did well as a team on the plan.

When we moved, I went off of the plan.

Over the course of  this incredibly long and depressing winter, I have gained some weight.

Like, NOTHING fits gain, my fat pants are giving me wedgies.

(TMI? )

My arthritis was a killer this winter and I spent a lot of days hurting so much and because I eat my feelings, like so many of us do, I sat around for months and just puttered around my house and ate. 

I will always be a person with curves. I like having curves, to me they are feminine, to my husband, they are sexy. Breasts and hips are awesome. 

(Yay! More TMI! )

After spending all of my teenage years starving myself, I stopped caring about being super thin when I had my first child. I think my parent cared more about my weight than I did and when I realized where I was happy at, I stopped hating myself because my clothing size wasn't a single digit. 

But this winter, I just went to crap.

Cold weather that never ended, arthritis and flat out stress eating. 

I have to make some changes or this will happen to me every winter.

 The nature of the seasons are not going to change, but the nature of this woman can.

So tomorrow, with the discount Matt gets from work, I'll sign up again and stop buying rainbow cookies and Cheetos. I'll stop having an energy drink for breakfast and M&M's for lunch.

I'll be more supportive of Matt as he has been trying to get back on the plan for a month now and I have been cooking and buying groceries in the same fashion I did before.

Owning it is the first step. 

Not eating a box of Girl Scout Cookies while watching The Biggest Loser is the second, or so I've been told.

May Cause Regretful Blog Posting

Day three of LOAD- the prompt was "an important but often overlooked item."

I made Matt these socks a couple of years ago. 

They took forever.

Tall guy has big feet. 

He didn't seem too thrilled and I shrugged it off and told myself it wasn't that cool to him.

So be it, not every gift is a hit.

One day I was sick home from church and he texted me this picture with a note that said "whenever I wear these, it makes me feel loved."

And I cried and that was why I knitted them. 

I didn't need them to be his favorite fashion statement, just to know I loved him.

One more dose of antibiotic.

What a pain this was. 

I'll take the flu anytime. 

I spent all yesterday just cleaning my sickness filled house, especially our bedroom.

It tends to be one of the big dumping grounds for stuff in the house. Matt and I always think we'll just feel like sorting junk and folding laundry when we go to our room in the evening- and we NEVER  have done that.

Time to let go of the dream, Folks.

New goal- I will always have clutter and junk I need to find a place for or get rid of. No more storing that junk in our room. 

I'm serious, it's so much nicer, even though all the junk is just in a room downstairs, we need to get back to having our bedroom be a place of rest and sanctuary and making out.

Oooh, got ya with the stealth TMI there, didn't I?

 Eh- count your blessings, I've made everyone I know listen to me talk about my pee for the past 4 days, you got off easy.

Saving the Date

Today I managed to leave my room. 

I went with Matt to go to Target and help get some Superbowl snacks and after about 15 minutes, I realized it was a bad idea. 

We made our purchases and I came home and took a 2 hour nap.

Sigh.

I have become one of those old people who does nothing but complain about how wrecked her body feels. 

I think I have been one for a long time.

I did finish my second layout for the challenge:

I am much happier with this one. 

I think I have done at least one if not two layouts with this picture, but it's one of my favorites, and it's kind of day one of our new little life here in New Jersey.

The other day, I saw something I had saved that was another reminder of the beginnings of a new life.

In January, Matt and I usually celebrate out "dateaversary," the anniversary of our first date. 

We usually forget exactly what day it is, though.

I found the calendar I had been using at the time and snapped a picture of the page that showed when it was and smiled at how different things were then. I had no idea that dinner with "Matt Olson" was going to be the first day of the rest of my forever life. 

Did you know he had a back up date planned that night?

I know!

He says it wasn't a back up date, it was just a "I'm out here anyway, wanna get together after my dinner with this girl with four kids..." thing- but I consider that a date. He didn't go because he and I were having such a great time together and fate was doing what fate does best.  

She was a crazy girl, too. Matt was her "plan B" until she was no longer in his plan at all, then she wanted him to be her "plan A."  

Sorry, Whackadoodle Krystelle.... Matt went with "Plan C."

Wait, that sounds sad, I'm plan A- but my name is Chris and it starts with a C......

Oh nevermind.

I was seeing two other guys when we met as well, and another guy was really trying to go out with me, but I think back on the conversations I had with that guy and I realize he probably had his previous girlfriend in the trunk of his car. I was going out on a lot of first dates back then.  One of the guys I was dating was really nice to me and really funny, but he was as dumb as a bag of wet bread. Sunnie hated him. I was seeing one guy who was dating was actually a pretty big jerk. He liked me a lot, but needed to let me know that I'd be perfect if I just lost 40 pounds. I think I put up with him because I liked him more than he liked me, but I knew he wasn't ever going to be the right guy- for me or any girl until he made some changes in how he treated people.  He also didn't want me to see anyone else, but he was still finding out what he wanted, so of course he could date other women.

Maybe he ended up marrying Krystelle. 

I can look at that calendar page and smile because after January 23rd, that 'dinner with Matt Olson' there were never any more dinners or dates with anyone else- for either of us. I had some lined up and bailed on them, he bailed on future dates with that crazy girl, who suddenly wanted to date Matt seriously once she realized he was in love with someone else. 

Chicks be crazy, Yo.

I have never regretted that Monday dinner date with the freakishly tall guy who wore wool pants to our date. He has probably regretted wearing those pants because I still give him grief about it, but I think we both agree that it was the best thing we ever did. 

I love you Matthew Olson.

Wool Pants.

Seriously, Babe?

Scrap Happy

Disclaimer:

I am loopy right now.

I spent yesterday at the hospital, I have a really severe bladder and kidney infection.

So...that's awesome. It was an all around crummy experience because it hurt so much I about punched a wall, but the staff at the medical center we have been going to is consistently crappy.

Thankfully, we now know enough people here that I have some referrals for better doctors and I am not going to deal with the staff at Overlook Family Practice any longer. I'm tired of being treated poorly in offices that are filthy and have a revolving door of doctors that do not communicate.

End rant.

So, I'm on heavy painkillers today.

Good thing I'm on the internet.....

But I had to post because today is day one of the LOAD (Layout a Day) challenge that Lain Ehmann has been running for years!!

 It is hands down my favorite scrapping event and I am excited to be doing it again.

I didn't do most of them last year because we did that whole 'uproot your family and move to the East Coast" thing, but I'm settled in and excited to do the challenge.

I'm excited to make some new friends and I'm excited to have the excuse to give myself some serious 'me' time every day. I have a family that is happy to let me take the time I need, but I am an expert at Momguilt, so I rarely give myself permission to do the crafts that can't be done in the family room.

LOAD helps me with that and it's just such a super fun challenge- even when I don't finish it. 

In spite of the rough beginning-- February is going to be a great month!

When We're Not Touring.....

I'm still doing that class at Big Picture Scrapbooking with the sketches.

I haven't done all of the sketches, partly because we've been traveling so much and partly because some of the layouts involve way too much photo hacking.

Here is what I have finished:

I'm using supplies from my stash, which was one of my goals. For some reason we scrapbookers tend to spend a ton on pretty papers, then we save them for the perfect layout. We all do it and it's silly because I have never done a layout and thought "If only I hadn't used that blue swirly paper I bought last month!!" A large part of the craft is making something cute out of the variety of supplies you have on hand.

It's too easy to just have too many supplies and then you really only use what's on top.

So some of this paper is 5 years old, which is nerdy and sad but I'm glad I'm using it and keeping the looks of the layouts current.

I did go out and waste 20 bucks buying a dozen rolls of washi tape.

28 Days Class- 1 & 2

This is going to just be a boring old post about scrapbooking, as opposed to my usual boring old posts about being a full time tourist and feeling homesick.

I started my "28 Days of Sketches" Class at BPS and so far, so good.

The class gives you 28 sketches and the idea is to interpret the sketch and do a layout every day. I've always struggled with sketches because I pressure myself to make the so creative and original that I kind of ruin the whole point of a sketch. I'm not very good at coloring in the lines.

Shocking.

One of my goals is to make sure my layouts follow the sketches in their core design. I need to break out of my rut and the only way to learn something new is to actually DO something new.

I have no hopes of doing 28 layouts in 28 days. My goal is just to do the 28 sketches, even if it takes me a year.

 It's summer break and my days are filled with kids and hiding from the fact that we still have a good 30 boxes to unpack downstairs and in Greyson's room. My priority is spending time with my family, but it has been nice to steal away a couple of quiet hours to myself and work on these.

Sketch 1

My layout

Sketch 2

My layout

This one was harder to do because I over thought it and had to reel myself in a few times as I let myself think so far outside of the box that I wasn't doing the assignment anymore, and the things I was thinking up on my own were not even good.

I am happy with both layouts, I like that they are different and don't fit into my old formula. I like that they have more than one picture on them and yet don't look too busy. I like that I'm using supplies from my stash and mostly, I like that I'm excited about scrapbooking again.

Scrapbooking and Stick Up Cups

Such a clever, creative title.

I guess there is no book deal for me in the future. ;)

Two more layouts, finished:

 Obviously, I've been doing 'family' layouts from the photo session we had with the Olsons in May, I am working on one more of Mom and Dad and then I have a new layout for each of the 'O' homes.

This one was done from a sketch and it helped me break out of my same design formula, so I signed up for a sketch class at Big Picture Scrapbooking that begins next week.

A month ago, I placed an order for these cups with magnets in them from a company in Utah, Stickupcup.

I'd purchased these cups before and they were great for the kids and saved me from having to wash 8 billion cups in the summer. I ordered one for each kid with plenty of time for them to arrive before the girls got here. They never arrived. My money was collected right away, but there was no sign of the cups.

I contacted the company- nothing. I was very nice and asked what the status of my order was...nothing. I contacted them again and was very nice, but asked for a refund...still nothing.

Ergh.

So, I contacted paypal and filed a complaint and asked that they get me a refund.

Within 48 hours of doing that, my order was shipped.

I know they only sent the order after I complained to paypal because it had actually been two orders and they charged separate shipping for each order, and when they arrived, it was all in one box, no order slip and the shipping for all of the cups was less than what I was charged, but whatever.

And it's really a great product, they cups are heavy plastic and they stick right to the fridge and come in enough different colors that even a huge family can give each kid their own color of cup. There is always a cup within reach and it's a brilliant idea and the kids love them.

They do have a booth at the Quilted Bear in Midvale if you're local so you can avoid the shipping stupidity. If they'd have even sent a note with an 'oops' I would have felt better about them, but if you are thinking about making an online order from them, I'm not the only one who has had problems with orders not being shipped.

 That's too bad because it's a great idea for families with kids.

We finally broke down and set up the pool in the yard. We weren't going to do it because summer is already halfway over, but it's hot and the kids are too content to watch cartoons all day and I can only listen to so many hours of Adventure Time before I start to twitch and go crazy.

Matt and the kids spent an hour+ setting it up and went to turn on the water and discovered that the guy who remodeled the house before we bought it had capped off the spigot and there was no outside water access.

Super annoying.

We ran the hose through the laundry room and the pool is almost filled and we found the capped off line and it should be a simple job, but it's still something we are going to need to hire someone to remedy and it's one of those stupid things you never imagine anyone doing to a house.

I wonder how many things the people who live in out Utah house are finding and saying to themselves "What kind of idiots lived here before us?"

not quite as bad as whatever they did to this house, but it always seems that way to the next person

Doh!

We did manage to change out of our pajamas this week, I swear.

We have kept the craft room open and in use off an on all week, I think we'll just keep everything out all summer. It's been fun to be stickering and glittering. Yesterday, the kids found play dough in the craft supplies and they pulled out the bag of vintage cookie cutters I have and spent two hours playing with play dough.

These are teenagers we're talking about, teenagers who also have access to four big game systems and Nintendo DS games as well as i pods, the internet, Netflix and Cable TV.

They chose play dough.

Very cute.

The girls made memory boxes to keep momentos and ticket stubs fromthe things they see and do while they are here.

I finished three more layouts.

Just simple layouts, getting my feet wet again.

I am in love with this photography themed paper line from Die Cuts With a View. They use to be our biggest competitors when I worked at Deluxe Designs. I guess they won the day because they are still making cute stuff and Deluxe has been gone for years.

 I still think we had nicer people in our company. ;)

I remember one of the reasons I stopped scrapbooking though and it's because I feel like my layouts all look the same. I have a handful of techniques I always seem to use, a handful of design elements that always appear no matter how much I try to change it up. The layouts look just fine, but to me, they all look like different versions of the same five designs and I need to find some inspiration to change it up and leave my comfort zone there. I think I'm going to register for an online class and see if they can't help me stop using my 'formula.'

If I'm going to get back into the craft, I want to feel like I'm making pages that I'm not just happy with, but that I feel show a higher level of technique and creativity. I need to change things up.

Matt is taking the girls into the city today, I'm staying home with Grey.

 He hates the city and we have to choose the times we drag him out carefully. They are going to go and check out the Brooklyn Museum and see if it's a place that we could take him to in the future and not have him shut down.

I also need a little bit of a break from all of the noise to just catch up on some house cleaning and make sure Zane's room is void of any evidence that we totally let people sleep in there while he was gone.

Crafty

After three days of too much, we're all taking a break for the rest of the week.

We also went to Hershey's Chocolate World and the shore last weekend and we're all pretty pooped.

Matt went to work and I declared it "craft day" yesterday. Nobody had to get dressed, we ate cold cereal and chips and watched some movies and got glue and paint under our nails.

I had seen this project on Pinterest:

DIY blue jars.

It was crazy easy and the results are nice.

There were a lot of different ways to do it, but I chose the project that only required food coloring and modge podge, since my jars were not going to be used to hold anything but sunlight.

You just mix some water, modge podge and a little green and blue food coloring, then you paint either the inside or outside of the jar.

I painted the inside and let it dry.

Some people who do this project complained that it looked streaky. I think they were just using too much goop at once. I coated the jar pretty thoroughly and didn't have any issues with drips or streaks.

I didn't go as dark as some of the ones on Pinterest, I only wanted a light tint to my glass. If I had wanted it darker, I only needed to apply another thin coat of goop after the first one dried.

I think they look very pretty.

It took me entirely too long to finish this simple scrapbook page, but I haven't done any scrapbooking in almost 2 years. I have a great craft area in this house and I'm hoping to get back into it, but I'm rusty.

The big gift Romy asked for?

A "pack-it."

She falls in love with some of the weird stuff she sees on infomercials and has always had a weakness for weird ways to bring lunch to school. This one has the gel packs sewn inside. She got some cute clothes and even a video game, but the "pack it" was clearly the biggest hit.

She'll use it once, mark my words.

I also finished a gift album that I've been trying to finish for months, I'll post pictures after it's been given to the person I made it for.