Really crappy pictures here, gotta get a lesson on glare from my Cori but in a hurry and they'll just have to do. Let's just say best laid plans of mice and me...my scrap escape has been cut short. Jim's father's widow is packing up and moving to Tupelo, so the town is giving a reception in her honor this afternoon and we have to make an appearance. Of course that meant that all the layouts dancing in my head were put on the back burner because I realized that I didn't have any pictures in my purse. I hang my head in shame, what kinda scrapper am I? That led to 2 days of sorting and printing recent pictures, then making a mini album for them to go in. And of course, strange and rambling

minded me, decided I had to have a couple of soldered charms to go on my camera bag. LOL, ok, those of ya'll that know my evil side realize that it's all just an excuse to show my SILs that I'm

just as well rounded as they are (damn it, I heard that snort! I wasn't refering to my body type!!!). I'm talking about their skills of jelly making, deer gutting, tennis playing... you know, all the charms that go into being a well bred MS lady. Much to Jim's sorrow, I won't clean a fish, much less gut and dress a deer, so gotta make up for it in some way. Hence the tatting I had to do for the front of my mini album and the soldering thrown in for good measure. And just for the record, the pictures?, proof positive that my kids are cuter than their's. On a sidenote, gotta play more with the soldering thing, figure out which metals work the best. The little hangers on the top are just not my forte, bought a buttload of things to replace the wire but either they wouldn't solder or I couldn't manage to make them sit flush on my piece while I attached them. Hhhmm, sounds like I need a weekend off to figure that out ;-b

You know you've been doing to much internet shopping AND been really busy when the boxes sit piled in a corner for a week before you even get to open them. But wowzers, the wait was so worth it...I'm wild about the Cropodile Big Bite!!! This thing is more desktop than handheld (making exact placement a breeze), reaches to the middle of your page and is just cool beans. I hemmed and hawed over buying it on the HSN but the "today's special" pricing and immediate gratification got me. Figured that the 350+ grommets would just get thrown in the drawer alongside the million eyelets but even these are different, larger in size than a standard eyelet and you don't have to punch a hole for them, can't wait to use them with the Crafter's Workshop templates. Ha! now I get to go open my order with the 7 Gypsies spinner. That purchase made me very happy as well, scored that puppy for under $15, makes it all the more fun!

Last Saturday's torrential rains found their way into the back of the house downstairs (no clue how) so spent today putting my scraproom back together. Thankfully I didn't lose that much but to be on the safe side, I had pulled the shelving and cabinets away from the walls, bleached everything down and put fans up to dry it all. All the laundry is done, cooked a huge pot of chili and as of tomorrow morning, Mom's off duty. Gonna sit on my butt and scrap all weekend.

Hhhmm, think I need to make a quick run to the grocery for provisions though, a couple of bottles of wine and since it's so cold, maybe we'll try a new flavor of tea. LOL and I am out of hot tamales!

Last week I actually started getting excited about scrapping again. Sat down and whipped a page together in record time for me. Not my usual but thinking that might be a good thing. Cori asked if I was going to post it so....

For a couple of months now I've been struggling with that "the thrill is gone" scrap malaise. Shopped til my cc has whimpered, surfed the net til my mouse needed new batteries, whined til my friends ignore my cries. BUT now, maybe, possibly, dare I say it? I wanna scrap! Think a couple of things just clicked into place and hopefully the dust will get blown off my paper. First off Cori pointed out the other day that we have less than a 100 days until the Scrap Etc event in Nashville. Didn't click immediately but kinda simmered in my head all weekend, really making me want to climb out of my slump. So I sat and stewed, really asked myself what inspirational ingredient was missing and realized that while I enjoy looking at the work of quite a few scrapbookers, only a couple can I really relate to. That sounds so hokey but it is kind of a Goldilocks syndrome, each chair has something that I enjoy but very few feel "just right". So, headed for the computer and did a search for Brenda Arnall's work and was thrilled to find that she has a blog. Right off the bat, her sharing of a fabulous planner has me wanting to pull out product and start creating. I have always loved Brenda's work...multi photo, very clean and balanced but in no way stark, great use of embellishments and her attention to detail is over the top. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to actually spend some time with one of her albums in my hands...I can honestly say I learned more in that sitting than I did in all of CKU-Atlanta's regular classes combined (LOL, gotta add though, Lance Anderson's album class more than made up for that! worth the entire cost of the trip). And of course Brenda being so warm and gracious, just makes her work even more of a pleasure to admire. I told Cori that I had something that would make her smile, hope that link to Brenda's blog did the trick! Now I'm all pumped, going to dig around in these boxes and attempt to find Brenda's books, then scraplift until the furnace is fully fired.

Gggrrrr, not especially thrilled with these pages for Cori's Scrap Etc swap but guess I'll just let it slide. I was the happiest of campers though when God smiled, miracles happened and Cori and I were able to sneak off to Heather's in Baton Rouge for 2 days of playtime. We did miss Renee but she just couldn't pull the quick trip off. Good friends, scrap time, a little wine, a bit of shopping, nice dinner...just guarantees a wonderful escape. Of course being with those two, you do run the risk of feeling a wee bit unproductive. Both of them can just kick out fabulous pages at the drop of a hat and throw in a few cards made from each set of scraps. LOL, of course while they were toiling away creatively, I was shopping, hey, you do what you're good at. The time just flew by to quickly, we didn't even get around to ironing out the details on our trips to Nashville and Mesa. Both trips booked and paid for, spaced just perfectly. We just have to pencil in a couple more "private" retreats and then I'll be able to open up my 2008 calendar to Jim, just in case he might wanna book me for a week or two. LOL, gotta set my priorities.

Whew, cards for Heather's swap are all done. Now on to Cori's swap and then the charms. Maybe next week I'll get to those. Not exactly like I have a house to decorate or cookies to bake, snort.

Actually got a lot accomplished in the scrap dept this week. Finished up a baby album for Scott's child, really fun because the baby's name is Lawson (dad is a policeman and mom a dispatcher), hence Law-son. LOL, love it and used it as a loose theme, plenty of stars and badges, all in baby blue, pale yellow and white. Brenda was thrilled, feels good to have your work appreciated. Started on Kylie's b'day pictures but still have a zillion to work through. Just makes me miss her though. Had a quick visit yesterday but not near enough time. Hhhmmm, kinda makes me think I should go check into a hotel in Slidell for a few days...spend the days with Lil' Bit and darn, guess the evenings would just be me, a book and room service. I so would if I thought I could get away with it but Kathy would be insulted. Woe~

Oh so much to do but the last couple of weeks have been more about collecting more crap than actually scrapping. Of course I had to rearrange and reorganize so Jim wouldn't notice all the new stuff piling up. Gotta say, I was hesitant about choosing the garage over the spare bedroom for my lair but it's quickly become the most used room of the house, snort, even before the gutting of my second floor. Jim and the kids all congregate in here and Chuck and Pixel each have their "special" spot to curl up. And this room being on the ground floor makes it so much easier for everybody to drag stuff in and out for crops, now if only I had walls back in the bathroom down here...Cori would be so happy! No sharing of this rest of the room til it gets clean, if that ever happens.

Haven't much to share right now, haven't scrapped in over a week. The Halloween favors for Kylie's class came out cute but I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of them before I sent them off. Cori and I stamped, scored and cut for a whole afternoon getting enough for both Kylie and Cooper's classes. The mini books for her teachers were a success, even prompted a frantic call from MeMe (her other grandmother), that she had to have one for herself. Ha, kicker is figuring out what to do for Christmas now.

Also did a quickie board book for Kylie with some of her WDW pictures. Lots of bling cause that girl loves her "jewels" (MeMe's influence showing!). Had to do a rush job so I could give it to her before her surgery. Yep, Grammie figured we'd need distractions and the little book worked great. MeMe bought her balloons but Kylie informed her that "I don't want it" and gave them to the little girl in the next bed. LOL, that's my girl!

verisimilitude \ver-uh-suh-MIL-uh-tood; -tyood\, noun:1. The appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true.2. Something that has the appearance of being true or real.

Love the word, it just speaks to me, has since that day in jr high when it showed up on my vocab list. Just keep in mind, this blog is my verisimilitude, my perception of truth, regardless of how skewed that might be, it's mine.