Nerd Confession #4...Deep Sea Nerd

I always tease Matt when he talks about wanting to own a set of nun-chucks.
I insist that those not of Asian decent who love Nun-Chucks are inherent nerds.

White guy+Nun Chucks=Low Social Skills and bad 90's hair.
(Case in point...Chuck Norris. )

But I have my own problem.
I have developed a recent fascination with odd undersea creatures which are practically indestructible. Two examples of said nerdy fascination....

The "Water Bear". They are ca-raze-ay indestructible. The government have sent these little guys into space and they survived. You gotta watch this short video from NPR's Science Friday. They look like teeny little Teddy Bears! For cuteness!




But even more cool is the Blind Albino Salamander.

Yes, they are blind and they only live in one small part of the country in very dark caves and survive for over 60 years. I watched a Discovery Channel special about Dragons last week and this was profiled. look at its cool red spikes by its head!


I am not sure why this fascination has hit me suddenly. Maybe it's because I find them interesting within the scope of my feelings of God as a creator. Now, don't get all political on me. I'm just sayin'. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the perplexity of life and the intricacy of how God's creations interact and benefit each other. What purpose does a blind cave salamander fill?

I know, I know...you come here for crafts.
At the very least you could share these creatures with your grade-school age son.
He'll think I am super-cool.
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Too old for Naps

Ella has mostly stopped taking naps, but once in a while, like today, she climbed into my bed and quickly fell asleep. She is holding a blue crayon in her right hand, which is tucked under her chin.

It seems like my children are dominating my photos for this 365 project, but I loved this photo too much to pass up. I did take a photo of myself today, but it didn't make the official Project 365 cut.

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I knew this day would come.

Today I had the following dialog with Ella.

Ella: I miss Grandma and Grandpa.
Me: I know, I miss them too.
Ella: Grandma is Daddy's Mommy.
Me: Yep.
Ella: And Grandpa is Daddy's Daddy.
Me: You're right. Who's Nainy?
Ella: Nainy is your Mommy. {pause} Who's your Daddy....with Nainy?
Me: {long pause} We don't see my Daddy.
Ella: Why?
Me: Because sometimes people make very very very bad choices, even when they are big. My Daddy was not a nice Daddy. He was very very mean. When I was around him I felt very sad. So me and Daddy decided it would be better if we never saw him anymore. So we won't ever see him...ever.
Ella: My Daddy is a very nice Daddy.
Me: He is. I picked to marry Daddy because I wanted to make sure my children had a very nice Daddy that would not do such bad things. And your Daddy is wonderful. He will always be a good Daddy.

I knew this day would come. Especially with Ella on the case, who is observant and smart. And in that moment I was not as prepared as I should have been and I hope I didn't say something wrong.

Of course, as time rolls on she will want to know more. Why we are estranged and what he did to his children. But to be honest, I am still not sure how much and when we should tell our children about that. For now, we got over this first hurdle and Ella seems satisfied, although I feel a bit shaky.
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A New Beginning

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

With all of the hubbub of CHA and my travels we have left an exciting family announcement until now. Yes, we just recently moved across country for a fellowship, however Matt has accepted a new and permanent position with a physicians group in Ephrata, PA. We are still tied to our lease here in Delaware until June, so Matt will commute 1.5 hours each way until then.

We will not live in Ephrata, but will set up shop in nearby Lancaster, PA. Famous for it's Amish communities. We are so excited about this move and look forward to spending at least 3 years with this job and in this new area.

I am going to really miss Delaware. I felt an immediate belonging here and I will always remember this time of our lives, though brief, with immense happiness.

As we get ready to move we will be checking areas for good school districts since little Ella should be starting school in a year or two. Lancaster looks totally beautiful and fun and filled with opportunities and experiences. I know we will be happy there. We are beyond thrilled!

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I'm Back!

WOW! CHA was a whirlwind of fun, stress and scrapbooking!
I could never cover it all, but here are the highlights.

Saturday - Traveling and Miss America

Traveling. I missed my first plane, but managed to hop on another. During my layover in Chicago I had the best airport food of my life including this, Sundae Sundae from Ben & Jerry's. Old hippies really know their ice cream.


And whilst eating my ice cream I could not help but notice a nearby news stand filled with magazines about Barrack Obama. This was a photo for my Project 365 since this seemed to me to be a perfect representation of the times. I then met my good friend, Heidi, and enjoyed a delightful night watching the Miss America pageant....until they robbed Miss Hawaii that is.


Sunday - New Vendors and Paris Hilton

Awake early and head to the CHA for day one. On this day we were slated to hit the New Vendors section in the morning. I had two clear favorites and in the following days at the CHA, the buzz about these two companies was undeniable.

Bella Blvd. Who released 4 new lines that were warm, friendly and whimsical. Shown below is a sampling of Family Tree, my favorite of their new lines.


and Jillibean Soup. This company offers their lines on white backgrounds and on craft. Super fun and frolicking designs. Here is a sampling from my favorite line called Minestrone.


And now for the report that has blackened a little bit of my soul. I did, in fact, meet and talk to Paris Hilton. And she was everything you thought she was. A bit clueless, but nice and drop dead gorgeous. You know how sometimes you see celebs in pap photos and realize they have bad skin or look crappy without make-up? Not Paris. Close up she is perfect. Her skin is perfect, her teeth are perfect, she even smelled good.

Here's a video clip. Watch for the back of my head at 1:25. I was wearing a navy blue and white top. And seriously people, does the back of my head always look that square?!! Yuck.


Her lines were....ridiculous. And they won't sell. But she was very polite and her clothes were FABULOUS! This next footage was shot by yours truly. You can see just how very up close and personal I got to Miss Hilton. And you even get to hear my sweet voice talking to her.



Monday - The unfortunate Cupcake Mix-up

More CHA fun. Mostly browsing and meeting people I love. I spent some time at the CK Media booth to celebrate PaperCrafts magazine. it was their 5 year birthday. Here's me and Cath Edvalson celebrating in style.


Then I headed over to the 2peas Cupcake Social. Don't these cupcakes look amazing?

Please note the foremost cupcake in this photo. Clearly a white cupcake with lemon frosting. But you'll also notice the cupcake just to the right of it. Which appears to be a similar cupcake, but was a fluke cupcake. Notice the darker bottom? It turned out to be a mocha cupcake with mistaken lemon frosting.

And that's the cupcake I accidentally chose. After a few bites I turned to my neighbor and remarked, "Dude. Smell my cupcake." And she did. See...I'm not crazy! This hilarious girl turned out to be Kayla, our new found friend that we went to dinner with after she so selflessly smelled my yucky cupcake of terror. I am sure she is going to love this most flattering photo of her and my weirdy cupcake. Sorry Kayla! You're gorgeous girl!



Tuesday - Tim Holtz and Donna Downey Madness.

I used this day to make sure I visited some of my favorite companies.

Cosmo Cricket is a company I have always loved and the people behind Cosmo are some of the most fun and delightful people on earth. here's me and Julie Comstock.

And Julie, if you're reading this, I want you to notice that I chose the photo that was better for you, despite the fact that my ginormous cranium appears to be three times the size of yours. That's how much I love you.

Mid-day I tried to interview the gorgeous Donna Downey about her new line of Canvas products released through Prima. The following insane and unscripted exchange took place between the two of us and one very kooky Tim Holtz. Great fun! To read a separate interview I had with Tim Holtz click here.



Wednesday - Finishing up and rushing to the Airport.

I had a quick two hours in the morning to finish up at the CHA. I ended up at the Fiskars booth and was immediately in love with the cute Fiskateers that I met. I gabbed on and on about my new Fiskars Premium Craft Trimmer, which is highly unavailable right now due to it's popularity and I feel lucky to be a scrapper with my very own. it's perfection!

Also visited with GCD and Pebbles Inc. and fell in love with their products as well. All of my reports and peeks will be going up on Craft Critique in the next day or two. So check there for complete articles on all of my favorites.


I almost missed my flight because I simply had to have a photo of the creepiest cat statue of all time. This little architectural gem can be found outside of the home of Heidi Sonboul's neighbor. Creep-tastic!

And now a huge thank you to the people who made my trip a delight...

- The Cosmo Cricket, Glitz, Sasafrass, Studio Calico and Fiskars teams
- All of the girls at Monday night's dinner
- Everyone at CK Media
- The Sonboul Family
- Dana Delaware for watching my kids

and especially to

-Bradley Sonboul, who was the only roommate I had who didn't complain about my snoring. Sad that many adults aren't as polite as this 5 year old boy!

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..I'll be posting sneaks and reports from the show on theCraft Critique blog while I am away.
* * *And if you're missing me terribly (you really need me, don't you.)you can browse the new blog feature where I display my favorite photos.Click on the vintage camera in the right hand column.You might just get some great ideas for some photos to take today. ..
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Friday Fill-In

1. Oh, I am so excited about CHA!
2. Here come changes, big and little.
3. During Project Runway, I don't accept phone calls.
4. Paris Hilton making crafts; are you kidding me???
5. Right now I'd like to be eating Ramen.



6. The television remote is my favorite gadget.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to packing new and fabulous clothes, tomorrow my plans include flying to California and Sunday, I want to bask in the glow of scrapbookers; people who understand me!

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Random Thought Thursday

(as stolen from Emily's blog)

These are just one of the pairs of new shoes I purchased for CHA.
Isn't the color perfection?



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I love it when I hit spell check and it reads "No Misspellings Found".
It's like I won or something.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sometimes I call Eva
the Silent Assassin.
She is so quiet
that often, she'll be playing in her room
and I am standing in the kitchen and turn around and she is there,
standing behind me.
Watching me.
It's cute, but also kind of creepy.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I spent an hour today tackling the
Great Styrofoam Packing Peanut Incident of 2009.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

My favorite song of all time is
Blackbird by the Beatles.

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Miracle of Miracles

People.
I did not get the flu.
Yes, everyone in my world was barfing,
retching,
practically dying.
And by some twist of fate I avoided the flu.
It's a CHA MIRACLE!!!

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And now for a CHA to do list....

- Solidify plans of who is watching my girls while I am away.
- Buy cute shoes. (check)
- Organize schedule of CHA meetings and playdates with scrapbooking friends. (check)
- Wax eyebrows.
- Shave legs....debating the validity of this one.
- Pack extra suitcase for acquired goodies.
- Print Freelance Artist business cards (check)
- Make a plan of attack for sweeping the booths (check)
- Dye hair. Cathy Zielske did it, I need to too.
- Pack all pairs of pajamas (roommates probably don't want to see me sleeping in my underwear.)

In other CHA news....after an amazing quantity of blog backlash, Paris Hilton has decided to not conduct one on one interviews. Blast!

They offered to have me interview the President of the company distributing the goods. What fun is that? Is he a ridiculously spoiled heiress? I doubt it. I still get to take photos of her and say "Crafting's HOT!" a lot. My co-workers should love that.

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Did you see the October Afternoon sneak of their brand new Cherry Hill line?
I could go swimming in that Cherry paper.
To DIE for!




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October Afternoon Blog Debut + SNEAKS!

YAY!

After much planning and creative juices, October Afternoon's blog is now LIVE!
Head over there now to see a welcome message and some exciting news about a GIVE-AWAY!



And, if you check back later tonight....SNEAK PEEKS of the NEW LINES!
You won't want to miss that!
Woot!

Head on over and leave some LOVE.
http://octoberafternoon.typepad.com/october_afternoon/

P.S. There are way too many exclamation points in this blog post.
But I am really excited.

And here's a recent layout I made using the Night Light line from October Afternoon and some adorable photos of my friend's son, Bradley.


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Organized AND Inspired

I am feeling very scrappy today. I have almost finished cleaning out and organizing my scrapping space and I am thrilled with how it is going so far. I took a hint from the wonderful Wendy Smedley, who wrote The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker.

I reevaluated my scrapping needs and how I create. The greatest concept that has come from that line of thought is creating a basic tools box. Instead of pulling multiple basic items from their designated spot each time I scrap, I have combined them all into one box. Then I can just grab my box and get to work! Genius, Wendy.


Here's my box and here's what's inside...you can click on the image to make it larger. I am going to test drive the contents of this box for a week or two and see how it is working for me. Some items might go (like the acrylic block) and some items might be added (like my Provocraft Silent Setter).


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Day Two of our Family Visit

Yesterday we had a marvelously lazy day. We went to church, had an early dinner and played board games into the night. A perfect Sunday.

Ella and her cousin Max have been bounding around this house, thick as thieves. They hold hands, chase each other and play all sorts of imaginary games.

Ella has also been thoroughly enjoying her time with her Auntie Liz.

Tomorrow we plan on visiting Amish Country in Lancaster, Pa. We got online and found a great little Amish restaurant where all of the food is homemade, raised on the farm and, best of all, All-You-Can-Eat.

Goodbye New Years diet.
Hello Amish Smorgasbord!.
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Impromptu Visit

Could anything be better than an impromptu visit from people you love? Nope.



Matt's brother, Jon, his wife Liz and their son Max all came to visit. Liz called on Thursday and proposed a surprise visit over the long weekend. We happily agreed and they arrive Friday night from Pittsburgh. Yesterday we all went to Philly together so they could have their first authentic Philly Cheese steak. We took them to Tony Luke's and I taught Jon how to order. Cheesesteak...Wit...with Wiz.



Tomorrow we are going to church, having a big dinner and playing board games all night. This is exactly the fun break we needed after so many months of being sick.

Ella has been playing with Max and teaching him all of her wicked behaviors. Max thinks she is pretty great and they have been having a swimming time together.

Evangeline is feeling a bit under the weather, so she has been resting a lot.

Ella keeps saying to them,

"You can stay forever, if you want."

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Ballerina School

Ella started Ballet Lessons yesterday which she calls Ballerina School. It was such a great experience. She got there in her new (and freshly washed and pressed) ballet leotard. We also got her regulation pink tights and shoes. We couldn't find a skirt to fit her tiny waist so I will be working on that this week before next week's class.

Here is Ella lined up with the other students before class.


Her teacher, Miss Kim is an absolute dream. Before class started she sat and read a book to Evangeline so she would feel included. So amazing.



Miss Kim gave Ella a glowing report and Ella even showed me some Ballet skills. Like this "Umbrella Arm" position. I'm sorry to gush, but it's all so incredibly cute to me I can't stand it. Of course, for this adorable picture, Ella decided to throw out the "No Lips" smile. LOL!


And finally the shoes. These regulation ballet shoes set us back $20. Can you believe it?! That's why they get to star in their very own photo.


Since it was a special day I took the girls to lunch at Wendy's afterwards as a special treat. It was such an all around exciting and fun afternoon. I don't know who's more excited about next weeks lesson, me or Ella.

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Happy Birthday Hubbs

Today is Matt's birthday. And, although I have always been good with words, I cannot find the words today to express all of my feelings for him. So I am getting a little help from E. E. Cummings, who said it more perfectly than I could have on this day.



i carry your heart with me
(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it
(anywhere i go you go,my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear no fate
(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world
(for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's, you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root
and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky
of a tree called life;
which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
I carry your heart
(i carry it in my heart) .

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Somebody's Crying

Simple Scrapbooks has been my very favorite magazine since I first realized there actually were scrapbooking magazines. The clean and graphic style, the emphasis on the story behind the photos, the simplicity, the capturing of everyday moments. These are all the philosophies I ascribe to and the reason that Simple Scrapbooks is the perfect magazine for scrapbookers.

In December I was asked, and accepted, to fill a position to be a 2009 Simple Gal. That meant I would actually work for my favorite magazine. It was just thrilling!!!


Last week the announcement was due to be made on the Simple blog, but there was a last minute delay. Then, two days ago, I received a wonderfully sweet and sensitive email from Simple, explaining that the magazine is closing down. They were so very nice and clearly conveyed their understanding of how disappointing this must be for all of us.

I have cried a few times since then, not just about the Team position ending, but for the end of Simple Scrapbooks. I have grown to love (and call friend) many of the women associated with producing that amazing magazine....some personally and some via email. I am constantly inspired by the philosophy and idea of Simple Scrapbooks and it's end is a sad one for me. At least, for one month, in my heart, I was a Simple Gal.

To see the official announcement visit the Simple Scrapbooks blog by clicking here.
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My Favorites So Far

From my Project 365.

Taking a photo every day has been relatively easy so far.
I'm sure that will change by year's end!
Some great photos have come out of this Project.

January 1 - A perfectly lazy New Year's Day. We lounged around, ate good food and Daddy and Ella played Candy Land together on our King Sized bed.



January 8 - Heading over the Delaware Memorial bridge on our way to New Jersey.



January 11 - Today we finally all got to attend church together for the first time in months. We've been taking turns being sick and staying home with a sick child and we're finally all well. I hope it lasts.



January 12 - These days are a constant blur of dress up for both girls. Sometimes I get frustrated since there are days when I get the girls completely dressed and 10 minutes later they have stripped off their clothes and are decked out in Princess gear.


As usual, the shots I have liked the best are the completely unplanned and unexpected ones. Having my camera with me all the time has been the best habit to come from this experiment. These are mostly shots I would not have normally captured and I loooove that.

To see all of the pictures I have taken this month click here.
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Crafting? That's HOT.

Yes, Paris Hilton will be attending the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) Tradeshow.
Yes, she will be launching her own craft line.
And yes, I will be interviewing Paris Hilton as a Reporter for Craft Critique.
I can't wait.
I am seriously considering trying to use the word "hot" in every single question I ask.

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Wicked

4:36 pm.
All was quiet.
Too quiet.
And then I heard the shower door slam.
Not good.

I raced into the Master Bathroom and there she was. Little Fifi, fully clothed and sopping wet. She had just exited the still running shower and was busy giving her Barbie doll a swirly in the toilet. On the bathroom floor were the discarded dress-up clothes of her sister and partner in crime, who was now streaking through the house, sopping wet. I guess we'll just start all over again today.

Fresh bath,
fresh clothes,
frustrated Mommy.
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8

In My Dreams

This is my digital camera...


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And this genius is my personal 24 hour photography teacher...


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I never miss a show because we have this....

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This happens to me every day....


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And this happens to me every week...

Anyone wanna be my secret financial benefactor?

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Golden Globes Fashion Wrap-Up

At least 5 blog readers emailed me yesterday to make sure I would be reviewing the fashion from this year's Golden Globes. Well....of COURSE! You know I can't help myself. Overall this year's fashion was a Hot Mess. Some really serious mistakes filled the carpet and I am sorry to say I have more bad than good to report.

Let's get the BAD out of the way first...

Look at Drew Barrymore. Isn't this dress DIVINE! She had a chance to make this a winning look, but from the neck up she ruined it entirely. That HAIR and the makeup is bad too.




Oh Jenna Fisher....has it come to this? The shape is great for her body...the print is all wrong for this occasion. If she were going to a Summer premier it would have been fine, but it's the Golden Globes....you can't wear cotton!




Glenn Close wore a oddly gold tunic top with cropped pants. How unfortunate.




Renee Zelweger just looked a hot mess. Every bit of it is wrong from the hair to the dress to the yellow gold accessories.




Cameron Diaz went with an oddly cut dress in a geriatric coral color and with bed-head that hit too close to home. Bad roots, no life and it looked stringy.




And now for a strange blend of chic and tragic. Look at gorgeous Kira Sedgewick. Everything is working for her. The dress, the jewelry, the hair the make-up. And she was gracious enough to escort a homeless psychotic man fresh out of rehab as her date. Oh wait, that's her husband, Kevin Bacon. Talk about mis-matched couple. He looks unforgivably disgusting.





And now to the FABULOUS...

My early favorite was Anne Hathaway. She almost always gets it right. Everything is in perfect balance and she looks elegant and beautiful without being boring.




And also getting high marks is Elizabeth Banks. Some people thought the gown was too wispy, but I loved the whole look. Especially the jewels and matching hair clip. She also managed to get volume in her hair without it looking teased and stiff like so many other actresses. Way to go Elizabeth!




Do you really care about the men?
Okay, I'll mention them too.

Best dressed man was Tom Cruise. Crazy looks good on him.



Worst dressed man was either Tracey Morgan, who showed up as a waiter or Mickey Rourke, who showed up as...well....Mickey Rourke (we were expecting anything else?)



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