finally feeling my mojo return......

I was totally inspired after a great church service on Sunday and came home and whipped this out in a couple of hours. No Fear!

most product is from Studio Calico or Jenni Bowlin

hopefully I will become a great Auntie again this week...... waiting patiently for the news from across Lake Washington.

Lots of not so little things…..

It’s a little after 3 and I have had a full day by my usual standards. I woke up to some great news. My son James got an awesome email from the U of Washington. He was awarded a partial scholarship from the Engineering department for his Senior year. He worked with his counselor and through a few minor changes (like moving out of moms house) he now qualifies for more grants and a higher level of subsidized loan. After all is said and done, he will have his senior year covered by a combination of scholarship, grant, and loan. And some say there isn’t a God……. This mama is sighing in relief and is very grateful for one less thing to guilt trip over.

I spent a few hours working on a Habitat for Humanity project in Redmond this morning. It was great working side by side with the single mom who will be living in the townhouse I was painting and cleaning. It was fun watching her take such loving care as she polished and vacuumed her future home. I did so little in retrospect but I have full intention to get more involved with the program in the future. One thing I know to be true is service work for others reduce my own tendency to throw outrageous pity parties for myself.


Last thing for today is showing a layout I just finished. It has been really hard to keep up on the scrapping and I think my mojo might be lost forever….. however this one was way to quick and easy…..




I hope to be back again tomorrow with another post. I have a burning desire to jump up on my soapbox and talk a bit about something affecting every American…..

PS - had to add this video for my Pastors wife Jodie. This awesome woman in doing a half Iron man in Boise as we speak. Her theme song is one of my favorite U2 song. I am going to play it this afternoon several times in her honor. I am pretty sure that right now she is doing the bike portion..... Go Jodie you Rock star you! By the way a link to her blog is on my sidebar to the right. Jodie Howerton. Just click on her name......

long time no post

I am back from my short break. Mostly I was gone because I had absolutely nothing to say. Growing up I remember hearing Baba & mom say "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I guess I am keeping true to my teachings because I have kind of been in a funk lately. A little depressed over the incoming job rejections and constant barrage of negative economic news. Packed with the knowledge that "This too shall pass" I am taking a break from a lot of the news programs I usually watch and am focusing on the positive.

To a group of friends and me, November is known as Gratitude month. So I have been writing a list of things to be grateful for and getting together with friends to share our experiences, strength and hope for a better day. Getting together and listening to one another, I am reminded that I can work through any of my issues. It also helps me keep my issues in perspective and be constantly grateful for what I have accomplished thus far in my life.

I was certainly grateful for AAA this week. After finishing a meeting at Costco Wednesday I discovered a very flat tire. All those years paying for AAA I finally got to use it for a rescue tire change. And boy am I grateful to my good friend Todd, a self professed car geek who LOVES to do investagative work. I now know what tires to buy and where the best deal in town is for those tires, alignment & minor mechanical work. It is such a guy thing and this single lady is very grateful to have a guy around to keep me from doing something dumb like pay too much for possibly the wrong product......

I am excited to see another new baby in the family. It must be the year of the girls around here and our little Avery Elizabeth is so darling..... I haven't gotten through to sister Sue yet because I think she has not been home very much (would you be home if you could be next door holding a baby?) oh the memory of baby smells is so strong in me..... puts me in a wonderful state of mind...

I have been busy cleaning up the back garden, winterizing the beds and filling all my compost bins to the brim@! I have also been working on a few Christmas craft projects I will begin sharing soon.... I hope to be back later today with a few layouts I have completed over the past several weeks.... here is one for starters....

See you later today or this weekend.... Have a good day!

pretend this is friday......

Happy Birthday Sarina!!!!! I know I'm a couple of days late, but I had to wait until I got my mojo back. This mornings walk with Connor and the dry sunny day got me going though.... I love you lots!

quick post ...

so why is it that every time you go to Costco for toilet paper & laundry soap (needed HE kind for new washer) you get back home with a car looking like this........




spent way more than my budget allows right now. I did get a few Christmas gifts..... and got some much needed basics. I also now have several packs of meat marinading in the freezer (a big time saver)

Any one checking back to see a follow up to yesterdays post..... Mark is now a new member of Studio Calico and we are getting together Friday to make Christmas cards and catch up!!! Welcome to SC Mark......

call out to Mark

hey there phone tag brother......


I am calling you out to sign up for the Studio Calico kit I showed you the last time we had lunch..... each month just keeps getting better so you really have to join the monthly membership!


Kind of like the time I talked you into buying the Silhouette when you haven't even started scrapping yet. The one you need to bring over so I can play with it.... JUST like that time. Just do it and do it this month! Just look at the paper that is in this months kit.... you know you have photos of you just made for that chalkboard paper!




and look at these school pics of James.... too funny! The journal says: "You know this is one of those school pictures James will cringe when his wife and family sees" love Mom.


So back to Mark, you know how you want to have everything coordinated for you? They do it for you and it will help you get inspired to start using the stuff you are collecting.....


so just click on the blinkie over to the right >>>>>>>>>>


then leave us all a post so we can celebrate with you!

for the love of dogs.....

It is a cold one out there today but is dry so Connor & I are going to the dog park later. Little does he know as he sleeps by my side that in a few hours he'll be willingly jumping into the chilly waters of Marymoor Park. But first the Texas vs Oklahoma game...... I know I am an odd Duck, I have always liked college football. But here are some Connor pictures - I love this guy!!!





The photo on the Rescue Group website.... Now if you saw this photo wouldn't you go see him? His brothers and sisters were just as cute but they were way too wiggly and yappy. I really liked how he sat in the middle of the huge crated area and looked up at me. He was patient and then to seal the deal when I picked him up he snuggled. Best of both worlds.....

See you later - Go Hug your dog......

Using the voice God gave me....

When Mel lived in Seattle and worked at Brooks in Bothell she would drop off Katie to spend the days with me. So we saw each other daily and had plenty of time for conversation. We occasionally had moments with relationship overload but now that she has moved to Oakland I really miss our conversations about social issues. Between the two of us we could find a variety of causes to discuss. Good thing I’m blogging now because all this stuff keeps rattling around in my old noggin……

Did you know that 1 of 2 men and 1 of 3 women in the US will be diagnosed with some form of cancer?

I hope you all got to see the fantastic show recently broadcast on 3 networks known as Stand up to Cancer. I received an email update and went on the website and started checking out what has happened since the show. With Barack encouraging us all to get involved fueled by my disappointment with the current administration & congress I went directly to the tab “get involved” and found email congress. I figure that if I am going to complain about congress for not supporting issues I find important, then I better make sure they know what I want first. By entering in my full zip code, it directed me to the appropriate email addresses for my area. It also supplied a sample letter format that you could fully edit to make personal. Most organizations I support have this feature and I have used it often for environmental issues (WE). So I sent my 3 out yesterday and have only received a reply from one of my Senators so far. I am looking forward to their reply to see what they have done to support the cause of finding a cure for cancer. If anyone is interested in the cause I have provided a link below. Play around on the site as I have learned a lot from it…..

find site here

Returning full circle and back to Mel. I will leave you with a layout done of their first home bought. They have it decorated very Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware style….. Gorgeous!





Thanks for reading.....

a few photos of mom

These 2 photos were in the stack my sister gave me a few weeks ago. I love getting new old photos to play with... first one is of mom when she was 5 years old and on her toes. She was a dancer with the Portland city Ballet until she broke her leg playing on the stairs.... there are some real doozies around with her in some pretty interesting costumes. (calling all jpegs from relatives)


This next one is a photo of mom with one of her best friends Helen Maul. Helen and mom were the garden club mavens in Ridgefield, taking care of the towns gardens & pots for years. I love that mom is in her "Paint Sweater". Here they are setting up for the yearly garden club plant sale.

My heart and prayers go out to Helen right now as she battles colon cancer. I have so many happy memories of her. She was way beyond cool when I was growing up and I really love her. I even planted a vine maple in my back yard when I first moved in "just like Helens".

look at the size of that

I am so very blessed to live in this part of the world. Yes I have found incredible beauty in my travels but coming home is still pretty darn special. Washington state may have its cloudy days and its drizzly rain, but it holds such beauty as a result. Really, look at the size of this tree! That is me leaning up to this monster on the Trout Lake Hike.

Its has been a crazy day and I have to get ready for company but I will see you tomorrow with something really special.......

That lovin feeling....

Absolutely Drooling over Studio Calico September kit (I know I'm a bit behind)...... I can hardly wait to use these papers with the Heidi Swapp transparencies and the vintage page. Hot things? too many to count! Check back later this week for some layouts using this product.

I would have to say that the Studio Calico gallery and monthly kits have had the most influence on my scrapbooking style this year. I love that they include a stamp set and an alphabet pack in each kit. Tonight @ 9pm Pacific the October kit is available and you can find the link to Studio Calico in the right column.

good night guys.......

last of summer

Connor and I went to Ellensburg to visit Sue & Cary last week. It was a great weekend and very beautiful drive up over the pass. You can feel in the air the changing of seasons here now and I suppose my next trip over the pass will be a rainy or snowy one. We had a quick lunch. took the dogs for a walk and then I climbed aboard this thing.

Not by myself have you, but with my brother in law. We were down the road on our way to Robinson canyon before I realized my camera was left behind. I had such a blast on this thing except for the part when Cary told me about the rattlesnakes. Me in my pretty city girl sandles with painted toes hanging out there like bright beakons. Oh and these guys around here don't wear helmets.... No public service announcement here!!! After I safely made it back - I took a second to fix my hair before Sue took Connor and I for a drive around Ellensburg to show me the area. Again, no camera and boy was there some good photo ops! Our trip home was an awesome ride into the sunset listening to U2 Its a Beautiful Day crossing back over the pass.....

I did come home with a few more photos from Sue and the Family archive. One of my graduation photos was in the mix..... here you go - me at 17

Have a great day everybody...... Miss T

anatomy of a layout

I like to work on layouts over time vs. at one sitting and I get great pleasure from the slow thoughtful evolution of the work. For me scrapbooking is a creative outlet first documentation for future generations second. So when I start a layout it begins with a photo........

I always start with a photo or photos and a decision of what the layout message will be. Whether my purpose is to capture a moment in time or to encourage introspection. A Basic Story.....

I next select cardstock & patterned papers which help determine the color scheme. This can take some time and I usually set everything on a table and just let them be a while. I like to come back to it several times to see it with fresh eyes while I select the remaining elements. I go through my stash by different categories i.e. journal cards, flowers, ribbons or tapes, metal, chipboard, words, alphabets and keep gathering everything on the table......

The process of positioning elements on my layout is purely playing around until I like it. (I use repositionable tape) I edit the large stash compiled and simply move things around until I am happy with the composition. I work a title into the design while adding embellishments & plan my journal element. Sometimes I start a layout with specific journaling in mind but most often it developes over time.

Remember, this is mostly for pleasure so I just keep going until I get the "I like it" feeling. I usually display it a few days just in case I find one last little detail to add ........

weekend pleasures

WooHoo! I made 50 holiday cards for our servicemen & servicewomen. This awesome group supports the troops by collecting cards and sending them to our servicemen. You can read more and hopefully get involved here http://cardsforheroes.org/

I read about it over at Stephanie Howells blog last Friday and got inspired to do something. I have left the cards inside blank so that they can use them this Christmas. Using repositionable tape (kokuyo) I placed a little note of appreciation and holiday greeting with instructions about the card re-use on the inside. I want to get them in the mail soon so they have plenty of time to receive and then send back out this Christmas.

Connor enjoys the summer morning while I have coffee and work at the dining table on cards & layout. I enjoy every last bit of warm weather and know that soon we will not be able to leave the back door open.

After completing the cards I pulled out an old photo of my mom & friends in hawaii. I believe it was the last trip she took. I used a lot of items from my current favorite, Studio Calico. The paper and rubon flowers really reminds me of Mom.

Along with this wonderful creative way to spend a pretty weekend, I got more of the garage cleaned out. no photos needed of that one.....

Meet the Son

Here is a digital LO of my son James HS graduation held at Qwest Field, Home of the Seattle Seahawks. The only time I've been in this stadium. Don't you feel sorry for me and want to take me to a football game? James is now a junior & entering the Chemical Engineering program at the University of Washington. (go Dawgs!) Lord I wish this school thing would end. I have figured it out that I have had at least one child in school for the past 26 years and counting. That is more than half my life! So please excuse me but I am counting my days...








I love him to bits - tj

I heart Washington

ok I really don't know what I'm doing here. I have been trying to insert albums so I can create categories like scrapbook layouts, my recipes, etc. To no avail and I am frustrated. So I am posting a layout I have done recently. The journaling reads: "I love weekends up on Stevens Pass, hiking and camping in summer. One of my favorite hikes is to Trout Lake. Hiking through deep woods, crossing over streams, hugging the huge old growth, passing over recent landslides, and finally to the large flat lake. It was a short hike packed full of Beauty.