Little Bit of What I've Been Doing

I thought that I'd take a quick minute here to share with you some of the newest layouts that I've been working on. I've really enjoyed having my creative workspace in this house and have recently been re-inspired by the cricut (of course!) Without further adieu, enjoy the scrapbook pages:
This one is from Easter 2007

Love my pugs!


And a 2 pager from my bridal shower.

Most Entertaining Thing Since Sliced Bread

I was surfing the internet looking for some clever ideas when I stumbled upon this AMAZING spell with Flickr website. And let me tell you... it is fantastic! Here are some words I created:








Hope you have as much fun with it as I did!

Where'd The Week Go?

This week has seriously flown by. I cannot believe that it's already Thursday night, but I know that this is true because there was finally a new Grey's Anatomy on tonight. We've been busy all week at camp interviewing potential candidates for the counselor positions. Interviewing is one of my favorite pre-summer tasks because it's very interesting hearing what people say when they're trying to get hired for a job. Also because there tends to be some very entertaining interviews (you know the ones where you're thinking, "they can't possibly say that, nooo..... OHHH they said it!" and trying not to chuckle.) Being an interviewer also really gives you a lot of insight on how to be a good interviewee. For instance, I can attest from personal experience that the old adage is correct...your answer should not go over 2 minutes. After that point the interviewer is no longer thinking about what you are saying, but rather about how they should have gotten that coffee in their 10 minute break. So that is my piece of insight for the day.

This week has also been a successful scrapbooking week for me and I have probably completed more layouts this week than in any other week since before I left for Ireland. (I'll try to get up some layout pictures soon.)

That's all for now! I'm too tired to go on!

Blog Addict

How did it take me so long to discover this amazingly wonderful world of blogging? When I first started writing my blogs, I realized that I'd really been missing out the past several years. I definitely should have started blogging when I was in Ireland, if not before then. Think about all the memories that I would have recorded for the world at large to discover and embrace. Now, a mere 3 years later, I can hardly remember some of those things myself and, tragedy of all tragedies, they're lost on the world forever. Ahhhh, but alas! I have found blogging now and my enjoyable discoveries did not end when I started writing. Oh no, I have recently found out that my blogging enjoyment has just gotten started...there's still a whole mother lode of blogs out there that I have yet to read! I had no idea that reading such mundane things about normal people's lives could be so interesting. Not to mention all of the inspiring things people have blogged about (crafty ideas being my favorite). What do you think it is that makes blogs so riveting? What makes you come check my blog as part of your daily routine? And why do I incessantly check my dashboard to see if any of the blogs I follow have been updated in the five minutes since I last checked? My thoughts on it are because it makes us feel connected to something larger than our own lives. It gives us an opportunity to reach people who are otherwise unreachable and to share our own thoughts and ideas knowing that they will likely reach somebody who understands and feels the same way as us. Undoubtedly it is largely about connections...connections that are often hard to come by in our fast-paced and ever changing world and some connections that probably never would have occurred at all without the wonderful world of blogging. All of this begs the question: Why do I blog? Well, I can say that I blog for me and I blog for you. I blog for me because I realized that once I started writing I actually had things to say. It encourages me to think more and to utilize my post-college brain. It also gives me an opportunity to actually hash out some of the things that have been running through my mind. When I have a question/memory/moment of self-realization, I am much more likely to actually see it through and record it on my blog than through any other medium that I have tried. Also, I genuintely enjoy writing. I consider myself to have a rare and beautiful talent in this current society: the ability to construct a sentence, a paragraph, or something larger and actually make it sound literate (and hopefully something more exciting than literate). Secondly, I blog for you because I think that if you're anything like me, you look forward to seeing what I have written everyday, whether out of sheer boredom or a genuine interest in what I have written or what we are doing in our lives. I hope that my writing is often surprising, somewhat provocative, and only occasionally monotonous. I would love to hear why you guys do actually read my blog if you ever get the opportunity to let me know. Until next time, happy blogging. :-)

Weekend Recap

Let the heatwave begin. How quickly we launched into summer weather down here. Daryll is seriously craving a swimming pool right about now. But instead we had to settle for the beach... he he :-) Saturday Daryll and I took the puppies down to Fiesta Island so that they could frolic in the sunshine. That evening we had John Mark, Lauren, Carrie, and Dave over for a bbq/game night and it was oh so fun. You can't beat starting out the evening with margaritas and kabobs and finishing it with Guitar Hero, A to Z, and The Big Taboo (with special guest Bendy Bob). Such fun and lots of laughs were had. Sunday Daryll and I ventured down to Mission Bay for a run and spent the rest of the day trying not to roast. It got up to 80 degrees inside the house, but it was still cooler than outside. (This was quite a shock as just 2 days before the heater was still kicking on because it was too cold in the house.) We finished the weekend off with some tacos last night and finally a new episode of Housewives.

Saturday Morning and Oh What a Beautiful Day

Just sitting here waiting for Daryll to get off of work this morning and thought I'd write a quick blog to help pass the time. It's already been a productive morning...well, not because of anything I've done, but thanks to my gardners who made our front and back yards look wonderful in 1/4 of the time it would've taken Daryll and I to do it. The dogs are already loving the "new" backyard and, as always, are the faithful explorers checking out every corner.

Yesterday was my last free weekday for a while so I spent it catching up on some scrapbooking and putting my Cricut to good use. Last night Daryll and I went to our favorite little Italian restaurant for dinner before catching a glorious sunset at Mission Bay.

As many of you know, I am constantly thinking of ideas for how I can renovate and change different aspects of our house. My newest scheme is to figure out what to do with the landing in the stairway. I'm thinking that I'm going to do an eclectic mix of pictures, embellishments, and the letter D (for our last name), like I found on Elizabeth Kartchner's blog. (She's one of my favorite scrapbookers and has a very cute design sense.) I started on my project yesterday by creating silhouettes of Daryll and myself on Photoshop that I hope to frame and add to the wall. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Oooh, and let me know if you see any random D's anywhere (I know they have them at Anthropologie for instance). BTW, doesn't Daryll's face make a wonderful silhouette?
Anyways, that is all for this morning. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and enjoy the sun!

Easter and Beyond

What a glorious and beautiful day God blessed us with on Sunday as we celebrated Easter. Daryll and I were fortunate this year to be able to see a little bit of everybody from both of our families over the course of the weekend (but though we're grateful for the time we had, we still wish we could have had more). One of the most difficult things for us to consider as holidays approach is if we are going to be forced to forfeit seeing one of our families. Fortunately for us it always seems to work out one way or another and we are often able to squeeze in visits with both sides of our family (even if this does make for some crazy travel patterns). This past weekend I was able to have breakfast with Mom and Amy, coffee with Dad, and swing over to visit with Grandpa before being joined in Burbank by Daryll. The next morning we had Easter Sunday church services, breakfast at Georges, and lunch with Daryll's extended family in Claremont before heading back down to San Diego (after picking the dogs up in Burbank) to meet up with Don and Andrea who were all set up to spend a few days with us there. Phew, it exhausts me just thinking about it. BUT...we wouldn't have it any other way.

Latest Obsession

I’ve wanted one for at least 4 years. I asked for it at every gift giving holiday. I’ve stared at it longingly every visit to Michaels. And now, it’s finally mine...

The Cricut! Unless you’re a crazy scrapper like me, you probably are staring at the screen quizzically right now wondering how I could be so obsessed with something that you’ve never even heard of. Well, let me take a moment right now to briefly introduce you to the most amazing invention ever to hit the scrapbooking/ paper crafting/ home goods making world. The Cricut is at its heart a die cutting machine, meaning that it makes precise cuts of shapes, letters, etc. It can cut through anything from as thin as vellum to as thick as chipboard to as textured as vinyl in sizes as small as 1/4” or as large as 23 3/4'”. And there are infinite possibilities of the shapes it can make and the projects I can create with its power at my fingertips. Annnnd, it magically does all of this without needing to be connected to a computer. (If you want more info go to www.cricut.com.)

Now, I know that sometimes when you think about something for a long time, glorifying it in your brain and thinking of how great it could be if you two were finally united, that when you actually finally get it, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. This was not the case with the Cricut. I am even more in love with it than I thought I would be. I spent all last night watching in awe as the Cricut made tiny little intricate cuts in the blink of an eye and then moved onto huge page elements. I couldn’t help but think of all the time I’ll save by not having to cut out letters one by one with my xacto knife to create the perfect title for my scrapbooking pages. As we speak, my desk is covered in shapes, shapes, and more magnificent shapes. All cut out in mere moments by the greatest thing since sliced bread. Ahhh, I am so happy...

p.s. I made my first digi scrapping page today! Check it out below.

Another Year Wiser...

Tuesday, April 7th marked the date of my 24th year of life. As I turn 24, I'd like to take a few moments and reflect on 23 (no, I'm not turning into Daryll. But he might be rubbing off on me a little bit):

23 About Me at 23:
1. I got married to my college sweetheart and we started our life together on a majestic honeymoon in Tahiti
2. I spent the first 5 months wedding planning...
3. ...and the last 7 months job hunting
4. I spent my 3rd summer working at Knock Around Camp with a promotion to Assistant Camp Director
5. I was interested in being an interior designer, non-profit volunteer coordinator, professional organizer, graphic designer, event planner... (and I still am)
6. I realized that my political science degree is pretty useless
7. I experienced my loneliest year to date with many of my friends leaving San Diego
8. I became a pretty darn good cook and spent a lot of time trying to make new meals
9. I became obsessed with Etsy and started making and selling aprons on the site
10. I was very disappointed in my favorite sports teams: Angels lost in the first round of playoffs, Ravens did well but Kyle wasn't playing, and don't even get me started on Ohio State...
11. I started blogging for the first time ever and I love it!
12. I went on a hot air balloon ride with Daryll for my 23rd birthday
13. I increased my Photoshop skills 10 fold
14. I was on 2 Championship softball teams
15. My joy was increased significantly with the addition of Lulu to our little family
16. I finally got the opportunity to paint the walls of a house that I'm living in
17. I learned what it is like to truly be let down by a person you care about
18. I took quite a liking to Guitar Hero
19. I appreciated my family's support this year more than any before it
20. I FINALLY got to see a Buckeye game in real life (but we won't mention the outcome here...)
21. I realized my dream of hosting a Superbowl Chili Cook-Off
22. I went to my first NFL playoff game
23. I got to do it all with Daryll by my side

On Tuesday my Dad and George came down and Daryll took the day off of work. We celebrated by eating lunch together, playing Wii, and heading down to Petco Park for the Padres first win this season. I really enjoyed the day and was glad to have friends and family to spend it with.

P.S. Admittedly this is not a great picture of any of us, but it's the only one with all four of us from the ballgame, so there you go.

Ave Q, Wine, and Line Dancing

I had a wonderfully jam packed weekend. It started out Friday evening when we met up with my Mom and Amy in Costa Mesa for an evening of madness and hilarity, aka Ave Q. Amy, Mom, and I had seen it in New York last year and we wanted to give our significant others the opportunity to experience first hand the musical that we hadn't since stopped talking about. And the 2nd time was just as great. Everybody loooooved it!

Saturday I stole away to Temecula with my friends Crystal and Kira for a quick girlfriends getaway weekend. We visited 2 wineries and had several tastings at each. It was a beautiful day and we had a really lovely time catching up with each other. After the wineries we went out to a nice Italian dinner and then went back to the hotel to get ready for some line dancing. Daryll and I used to head out to Stampede often when I was still in college, but I hadn't been in a year and a half or so. But no worries, the line dances came back into my mind quick as ever and we had a FANTASTIC time kicking up our heels.

First Sell!!

I am very pleased to say that today I sold my first apron on Etsy! The "Honey I'm Home" full apron was lucky number one. My buyer notified me that it would be a gift for a blushing bride and I hope that she's going to love it as much as I did!



I have already told ya'll that I love crafting for myself, but I think I have to this point neglected to say how much I LOVE crafting for other people. I am so delighted when I see somebody else's excitement over something I have made for them with my own two hands.

One of my major ongoing projects is scanning all of our family photos into digital files. This has proved to be a very time-consuming and overwhelming task, but I am really enjoying looking at all of the pictures from my childhood (and some from before I was even born). So for tonight, I will leave you with one of my favorites that I have found of myself :-)