CHALK...the documentary

Well, this week had a few new items on the calendar, which is good because my days were running together with lounging around and scrapbooking.
I went out with a friend, Kodi, and her friend April. We went to dinner at Maria's and then to a movie at the Moxie cinema. I had heard about the downtown theater, and knew what to expect. I did not necessarily realize that it was a documentary that simply followed four teachers throughout their first year. I guess I expected a normal movie with a plot. I still liked it and related to A LOT of the problems that they were faced with. Some still occur even when you have taught for 14 years!
There were some funny moments and it was great to get out and do something different. However, this is the second time I have eaten at Maria's with a negative result. The first time, I just wasn't impressed with the food. This time, I ordered something new, and liked the fried taco; however, I spent 15 minutes throwing up the very second I got home. Food poisoning I guess because my stomach was cramping within 25 minutes. The next time I go to Maria's, I think I'll stick with the margaritas.










Friday was my day to get caught up with an old friend, Jean Underwood, and get some scrapbooking done. We talked, cried, and filled each other in on our lives for the first 2 hours I think. I managed to get one single-page mostly finished, except for the title, before lunch. We visited a new scrapbook store in Rogersville and I was quite impressed! The owner said that she knew that she needed to have something different to offer the community, so she made it into a B&B. You can rent the old-time farmhouse for the weekend! It has two rooms for scrapbooking where each person gets their own 8'table. The house sleeps 9 people, has a full kitchen, and two full baths. The storefront is in the first room you enter and the layouts that they have on display are very current, in regard to technique and design. It is located right next to the old middle school building where I taught for 12 years.

Well, Tobin is working his tail off at work due to Firefall. He had to be there at 4am this morning to stock watermelons and sweet corn! Hopefully the rain doesn't spoil everyone's plans tonight.

Back from the Big Piney...

Well, that was the quickest trip, but I am so glad we went! I had to check the date to make sure that we really did go up on Tuesday and come back on Wednesday! It seems like we fit in an awful lot for a day and a half! Let's see...we did a 6-hour float trip; I read my book at the cabin while Tobin went back to the river to fish. Then, Tobin grilled a BIG dinner and built a fire after dark. We got a good night's sleep and drove to Montauk St. Park for breakfast at the lodge this morning!










Tobin was gung-ho to beat the oncoming storm, so we left super early and got on the river by 10 am! It was very hot, even that early, and the sun was beating down! It was a beautiful day and the river was so peaceful. We were the only people the outfitters put on the river, so we had it all to ourselves. The trees branched over the river in some places providing shade from the sun, plus a beautiful area to kayak through. The kayaks are fairly quiet as they move across the water, so we saw some wildlife as well. We also found a place that we'd love to live! There is a cabin in the background of the picture of Tobin that looks right up our alley!!
Tobin fished quite a bit. I totally forgot my reading book, but I never got bored. The rain did finally hit and the sky opened up on us for about a mile of our float. I thought I would hate it, and planned to paddle like mad, but the rain was warm and my hat protected my eyes. Here are a few shots of us in the rain!










I actually enjoyed it, but was also glad for the reprieve when the rain ended. We were soaked, but oh well. We stopped on a gravel bar and stretched our legs.










The resort we stayed at is wonderful! I just love the little rustic cabins, which are fully equipped. They shuttle us to our drop-off site and the 8-mile float takes us right to the campground, so we just have to carry our kayaks up the hill. They also have a lil' general store and a swimming pool! The people that run the place are so nice. Tobin said that they have his dream job for his retirement years. He'd love to be a river rat! OH! I have to include a picture of the little groundhogs that entertained us while we ate breakfast at the lodge. Apparently, the waitresses throw out any leftover produce for the forest animals! The chubby lil' guys sure didn't mind me getting a quick pic!

Leaving for a quick float trip...

Tobin has two days off in a row, so we are leaving in the morning!
We hope to leave by 9am and float tomorrow afternoon. My plan is to get a cabin for tomorrow night, rather than a hotel. I just like the partially rustic atmosphere! It isn't the full blown room-service thing, but it's not the sweat and bugs that come with camping this time of year either! Wednesday morning we plan to go to Montauk State Park and relax. Tobin wants to fish and I have a good book I am trying to finish. No reason to haul my scrapbooking stuff and I'd probably forget something anyway. There's just too much to that hobby to "pack n' take."

I received two Memory Makers magazines in the mail on the same day. I guess that means none for awhile, but I found plenty of layouts that I'd like to do! I found some that I like just the way they are and others that I will need to tweak a little. I don't care for busy pages, and that seems to be fairly "in" right now. This is a page that is fairly close to the way it is in the magazine; however, I did add three wallets to the design and made up my own title. I ran out of letters, so I had to use the exacto knife and cut the outline of some of the letters. I kind of like the effect. Every time I study the page, it just takes me back to the night that we played with the boys while Mel and Brian were at his graduation ball. Both boys were so well-behaved and playful! Koen and Tobin really bonded and had a good time with one another. In the larger pic, it is so cute because Koen was running towards Tobin, but his game was also that he didn't want to be caught! So, he is doing this football maneuver where you can tell that his momentum is toward Tobin, but yet trying to dodge him also. Tobin would act like he was going to get him, and edged closer and closer, but Koen was always out of reach! I just wish the page portrayed all the giggling and laughter that came along with this game they were playing. I don't seem to be in any pics from that night, but that is part of the deal when I am the only one taking the pictures!!!

Smoothies!

Well, the weekend is over, but the days all run together to me right now.
I have stuck to my resolution to burn calories in one way or another every day, except for one. I made it to the gym 4 days this week, which is way more than usual for me! My goal is to lose 10 lbs before school starts. That hasn't gone so well thus far. There is the whole "muscle weighs more than fat" thing goin' on, so the scale is NOT my friend right now. I have had a smoothie for a meal replacement every day this week though. It is a very easy recipe; however, my sister sent me website with a jillion new recipes! Some even include veggies!
My recipe:

cup of ice
one yogurt
half cup fruit juice
cup of frozen fruit

Now, I honestly don't measure a thing, and sometimes I use a tablespoon of frozen juice concentrate when I'm out of fruit juice. They really are filling!
The website that Melody gave me is: http://www.hub-uk.com/smoothies/index.htm#027

Not all of the recipes found there are low-fat, but there are some yummy sounding ones for sure!
Well, I'm excited that the new Janet Evanovich book is out. I absolutely LOVE the Stephanie Plum series! This one is the long-awaited #13. I am on the waiting list at the library. Meanwhile, I am reading another book by her, but without Stephanie Plum. No scrapbook pages in the last few days. I don't want to burn myself out on the hobby. Sometimes I just have to take a break!

New layouts

I haven't been feeling too well lately, but I've managed to get some scrappin' accomplished! It is amazing how strung out the supplies can get. I mean, I have scrapbook stuff in the kitchen and all over the place in my hobby room. The lighting is better in the kitchen, but my computer is in my hobby room. I just can't scrapbook without my computer anymore. Of course, when the phone rings, it is always in the room that I'm NOT in!! Well, this spread contains the professional pictures that my sister had taken at Lamb Photography. I worked on it all day yesterday. The pics of the boys fit their personalities pretty well. Griffey smiles at anything and everything; while Koen remains a little more stoic, especially if he is not in a familiar environment.


Here is the page that I finished today! I love the way it came out!

Hope everyone is having a great Friday!!

OK, how's this?

This is the "redo." I need to get on a roll where I am not needing to redo anything.


Well, here's a silly photo...I threw the bag to my wheat thins in the floor so my cat could play with it. He likes the crinkle sounds. I got involved in the scrapbook page above, and heard him playing with it in the hallway. I guess it was a weird feeling; I'm not sure, but something made me get up and check on him. This is what I found. So, Kodi, I did kind of the same thing as you, but with my cat instead of my child! hahahaha I took a picture before I remedied the problem!

HELP...ran out of steam....

This is a version of one of Allison's pages, from Scrapbook Generation. Her page was way more colorful, but I didn't want to totally steal her layout. Now, I'm out on a limb and don't know what to do....there is too much white space at the bottom. I planned to put the dates for each pic, but that won't work under each pic. More of the same stitching seems like overkill....any suggestions?

I'm on the one/day mode...

So far anyway! I would love to keep this rate up all summer! Here is the most recent page. I am pleased with it, but struggled with the chipboard letters. They didn't want to stick to the cardstock.


Tobin and I ate out twice today...that pretty much shot my eating healthy routine. I'll have to make up for that tomorrow. I didn't even make it to the gym! UGH.
We ate the all-you-can-eat Shoney's breakfast, so neither of us wanted lunch. Tobin was golfing for almost 8 hours today, so when he got home, we headed to LaHacienda.
I did, however, make it to Hobby Lobby in between. Wow, what a sale! What isn't 50% off? I may have to go back tomorrow for some Heidi Swapp foam stamps half off.
I found quite the bargain, if I do say so myself! Look at this..3 albums for $10!!!

Well, the thunder sounds really cool and this is great sleepin' weather! I think my red dog, Bailey, has it all figured out. When she senses a storm, she retreats to the interior of the house and hangs in the hallway bathroom! Hilarious!

Need advice on this spread....

BEFORE:
I am happy with most of it, but my own handwriting was in between the brackets and it had to go. It was uneven and I just didn't like it. So, I cut it out and bent back the cardstock. Now, it is a little close to the brackets and I am not sure the light green paper that I typed on matches....what are your thoughts?????

AFTER:
SOOO, now I am happy with it. I just got rid of the brackets and inked the edge of the torn edge. That drew enough attention to the journaling. Thanks for your input everyone!

We have air conditioning!!

Finally finished this spread from our trip to Fort Rucker a few weeks ago.
One would think that implies that I am current with my pictures and
scrapbooking, but no such luck.

Praise the Lord! Seriously. As soon as the a/c men left, we loaded up and went on a quick kayak trip. Tobin was in a weird mood all day: I guess because he had taken the day off and made all these plans, but instead, he was lying on the couch waiting on the air conditioning men to finish. We were also hungry and didn't want to eat in front of them.


Once out on the water, I read a scrapbook magazine and Tobin fished a little bit. I guess a Great Blue Heron flew within 25 feet of me, but I was pretty engrossed in my magazine, much to Tobin's amazement. I am kind of surprised at that fact, too. I am usually pretty alert to nature when in the outdoors! I was amazed to see where the water lines were from the recent rains. I even saw a little turtle swim up toward my kayak, but I told Tobin he was there and I guess my voice scared the lil' guy off. It was a relaxing float and we were able to catch a few rays.

Still no air.........

.....and now no weekend trip! We are disappointed. The a/c man showed up at 2pm and only worked until 4:45, so he has to return tomorrow. It is his wife's bday, so he said he couldn't be late. He had an inspection this morning that didn't go well, he said. I DID ask him if we had moved up to "emergency" status now!! Me and my big mouth!! He said we were always at the top of the list, but what he thought were small morning jobs, ended up taking way longer than he planned....every day this week, I guess. He left me with a box fan. Here is a pic of the men using a jackhammer to bust up the concrete. You can see the size of our old a/c in the grass. The next pic is the new a/c which happens to be the same capacity, just humongous. He said that is how they're making the more energy efficient ones these days...something to do with the coils. It was a little over my head, or maybe my brain considered it useless information...either way, I didn't retain any of it.
The neighbors commented that it was really big, and Tobin told them that we like to keep our house like a meat locker. That was all the explaining he gave them.


Tobin came home and took a nap. We were supposed to be gone from town by now. He still had the "kayak bug," so he loaded up and went to Springfield Lake. I finished up my scrapbook page that has my pointer finger and thumb just about numb from stitching. I like how it came out though.

Well, I am off to begin on my next page. I didn't teach summer school so I could get a lot of scrapbooking accomplished, so I had better maximize on my time. Gotta go pick up more pics from Sam's in order to do the next page.
Plus, now it's TACO NIGHT!!! YEA!!!!!!!!! Love it.

It's hot in here....

The title has been my sentiment for the last two days. Mornings are OK, but as the day goes on.....oh, and sleeping is no good. I don't even like a sheet when it is this muggy and warm. We sat on the patio tonight for about 30 minutes until the mosquitoes drove us crazy. It was a little cooler out there. The a/c dude stopped by about 3pm today, after I had been ready for him since about 9am (that is just his style--never calls--never gives an exact time). Turns out that he had a client that had an emergency a/c problem and he spent the afternoon in her attic with ductwork. What, no phone call? By the time he got here, he was too pooped to work! I'm thinking, "GREAT!" He started on our job last Friday and it is still 82 degrees in this house. I'd just like to break the humidity! Oh well, enough complaining....
what was it, just five months ago I was frustrated because it was 39 degrees in here during the ice storm...

I scrapbooked most of the day. I have two single pages going. One is going to need to be expanded into a full spread. The other has so much stitching on it that my fingers are sore. I think there has got to be a more narrow needle to go through cardstock! I'll resume in the morning, but maybe after a trip to Hobby Lobby to check out their needle selection.

I talked to my sister, briefly. I miss them, but that started as I watched them pull out of the driveway, if not before....




Tobin worked the 11-7 shift and was bummed that the day was over when he got home. He listened to his beloved Royals as they kicked the cards' butt! Now, he is doing the usual late evening task of lying on the couch watching Northern Exposure.

We are up in the air as to our weekend plans. If the a/c dude wants to work on Saturday, then we will have to kayak the dirty James River. If not, we are considering Boiling Springs Resort on the Big Piney or the Buffalo.

A few more layouts....

Isn't it a beautiful day!? I finally finished the ice storm spread. I think I need to add the date, even though it is on the pictures...what do you think? I still need to do another and incorporate a few more pics of that scenic tragedy. I did do a couple of things on this layout that were out of the norm for me. First off, I added some glitter to some clear embossing powder and heated them together for the title. The newest thing that I tried on this layout is painting my square brads that are holding down my journaling. They were a pewter finish and I happened to remember a fingernail polish that matched the colors of this spread. So, I stuck the brads into the top of a candle and painted them twice. It is definitely something that most wouldn't notice, but I thought it was cool. The funniest thing about this spread is that our dog, Bailey, is lying on Tobin and blends right in with his coveralls!! We were all so very cold!

I am attaching some of my favorite outdoor spreads. Tobin and I don't get too awfully far from home, but we have seen some spectacular views when we go camping, floating, or hiking. Hopefully, this weekend will be no exception. With the recent rains, I expect some pretty scenery!

White Rock #1

White Rock Mountain #2

White Rock Mountain #3

Erbie Campground--Buffalo River, AR--LO idea from Scrapbook Generation

HideOut Hollow, AR

Mark Twain National Forest

Our Birthday Float Last Month

Tobin surprised me with a birthday cake! His birthday is three days after mine!

Group shot before we got on the river!

Me in my fairly new kayak! Bad pic, but here we are around the fire, after dinner.
The resort owners had the cutest little beagle pup!
Jason and Jennifer: Looking forward to the next float trip with you guys!

Instead of kayaking....

Well, we loaded up the kayaks last night and prepared to have a fun day in the sun and on the James River today! However, it was raining when we got up and the rivers were at flood stage, so Tobin decided that we were not going out in the kayaks. I was honestly a little worried about my novice skills on a river moving that fast and in a kayak that is still somewhat new to me. He watched some Northern Exposure and then went shopping @ Outdoor Adventures. I decided to redo the Baby Face page since I was never really happy with the foam-stamped letters. It is too difficult to get them lined up and spaced correctly, so I gave up on that idea. I had some issues with my glue pen on the left side, but other than that, I am happy with it now. Mel, I hope you like it! CLICK ON THE PIC TO MAKE IT BIGGER.

The a/c man showed up and took out the furnace. Still no air, so I'm thankful that it is cool outside. Mr. Tobin went to band practice, so I guess I shall hit the pavement. I plan to work on another page tonight.

Recent Pages

I wanted to post a few pages that I did before school got out. I haven't had time yet this summer to accomplish many pages, so I guess this makes me feel better to see more than one spread in the last 3 months! Maybe I can get with it this week! I do plan on getting a new stereo with XM and speakers for my car, possibly do some work around the house, and continue to train for this 5K that my friend signed us up for!

A NEWER blog than myspace...

Hey! This is my attempt to make a better blog that allows me to post my newest scrapbook pages for my family and friends! It was a pain on myspace, and oddly enough, email seems to be getting somewhat outdated! I can remember when it was a novelty and it was fun to get crazy forwards! Anyway, I'll see how this goes....