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Had a lot of fun yesterday putting together two quick layouts for Scrapbook-Bytes challenges. I love simple, graphic layouts so these were right up my alley.

The first one is a picture of my office building and I labeled it "A nightime view of my daytime home" since I actually spend more time there than I do at my REAL home. The building is the Bank of America Plaza and has 55 floors - I'm on the 47th floor. Our firm currently has floors 43 through 55 and we hold options on floors 39 through 42. We're just getting way too big.

The second layout was of my impressions of the City of Atlanta. Even though I actually live in the bedroom community of Douglasville, 30 miles west of Atlanta, I think of myself as living in Atlanta and when someone asks me where I live I say Atlanta.

Wish I could say I took the photos, but I didn't. But aren't they gorgeous!

Asheville Clay Play

Went to Asheville, NC this weekend to play with polymer clay. Got off early from work on Friday and left straight from the office. Spent the night at the definitely no frills EconoLodge and went into Asheville to Bistro 1896 for their wonderful shrimp and polenta cakes dinner. Asheville is such an alive, vibrant town. The streets are crowded with people even at 10 p.m. and everyone is just having a good time - sitting at sidewalk tables at the cafes, strolling, window shopping and enjoying the street performers. And I felt absolutely safe even though I was alone.

Had to get up at the crack of dawn Saturday (hey, I don't normally do 7:15 on Saturday mornings!) and drive over to the Avery Community Center - after breakfast at the Waffle House, of course. And, as is always the case, I was the first one there.

We had such a good time!! We played with our toys, watched a demo by Barb VL on tinting beads with ink and shaving cream and by Maggie on making window clings from liquid polymer clay and then Cynthia showed us all how to fold a wonderful little origami box and lid. I was really sorry to see the day come to an end. The drive back to D'Ville was peaceful and I made it home in 4-1/2 hours including a stop for dinner.

And dumb me, I forgot to take any pictures!!!!!!!!

This is a Test

I found this video on Youtube and just had to try posting it. I especially love the jumping Jack Russell terriers. (Maybe because I have one?) And the dancing afghans. Too funny!

So, What Can I Say?

Today wasn't a really wonderful day. I've been so busy at work and today nothing seemed to go right. No serious problems, just a continuous series of little ones. Emails that didn't show up at the other end. Documents that didn't print when sent to the printer. Everyone on edge because they are so busy. I kept telling myself "busy is good, busy is job insurance," but myself kept me that it didn't believe a word of it.

Decided, once again, to go to Asheville this weekend. I had originally scheduled a trip for Gene and me for a long weekend. The trip was scheduled around a polymer clay Play Day with the members of the Asheville guild. But that trip got cancelled and I decided to just drive up on Friday night, spend the night in a hotel and attend play day on Saturday. Then I cancelled that after I got to thinking how crazy it was to drive all the way to Asheville for a something like this plus pay for a motel and gas. Then today I got to feeling sorry for myself because it was such a cruddy day at work and decided, with Gene's strong encouragement, to just go ahead and treat myself to this day with creative friends, costs be damned (yeah, right). So I made cheaper hotel reservations and I'll be off to Asheville Friday afternoon. Makes me feel better just thinking about it. I'm convinced the Southern Comfort dinner at Bistro 1896 on Friday night will be a great way to mark an end to an otherwise unmemorable week.

Midget

NOW, Blogger is letting me upload pictures to new posts, but not to edited posts. Well, anyway, this is the layout for Midget that I promised in my earlier post. I want to rework this layout - I'm not really happy with it. But that will have to wait for another day.

Blogger Upload Issues

Blogger's unwillingness to load pictures is driving me crazy!!

Midget and Beemer

Here's a fun little layout I did today for a challenge at SBB - Coffeequeen's "Coffee with the Queen" challenge. (Don't you just love that name!) I love simple layouts and this one really appeals to me. It's not as fancy as many of the layouts in the SBB gallery but that's ok, it's more my style than most. And I love these colors. The "inspiration" Laurie used was a set of plates with a softly colored, very graphic design - I would LOVE to have a set of those plates! This layout was done for Beemer. Beemer was one of two young brothers who had been hanging around Gene's shop. They were totally wild and we had to tame them and acclimate them to living with dogs. But they became very social animals in no time at all and were just wonderful little pets (and quite serious hunters!! - especially Beemer). We named them for their coloration. I had a good time coming up with their names: The smallest of the two was was a mostly grey little cat with some touches of white. So (and I'm giving away the convulated way my mind works here), he was named "MG" for "Mostly Grey," which immediately became "MG Midget" for a car I used to own, which immediately became "Midget." Then, because this one had a "Bit More White" than Midget, he became "BMW," and was, of course, called "Beemer." We took them to the vet as soon as we got them and had them vaccinated and neutered, but apparently they had already been exposed to feline leukemia and after about a year and a half, they both became ill and died within a short time of each other. They were strange and wonderful little cats. They wouldn't drink from a water dish, oh no! They drank instead from our water garden, dipping their paws into the water and then licking the water off their paws. Guess they liked that fishy taste. Midget would curl up into anything round, even if it was smaller than he was. Beemer would climb up behind me in the recliner and drape himself around my neck. I will miss those little boys for a long, long time.

ALCOHOL INKS AND VINYL GLOVES

Spent a wonderful fun day at Jo's yesterday playing with alcohol inks and little candy tins. It was also a reminder that vinyl gloves are hot, hot, hot. My hands were wet and looked like little prunes when I took the gloves off. But I had to choose between wearing gloves or going to work Monday with red, purple and green hands. Those alcohol inks take days to wash off. But what a fun technique it was! I love bright colors and that's what we played with - BRIGHT colors. (I'll post pictures when I get time to take them.) I think I've found the project I want to do for office Christmas presents. These little colorful tins with a few ribbons and bows would make great sewing kits, first aid kits, etc.

Today I took my courage by the hand and installed new high speed USB ports into my computer, two rows of 5 each. My courage is named Gene and I let him do it. I do software, he does hardware. And between us we manage just fine. The computer was bought in '03 and the USB ports were all 1.1. The new 400 Gig external hard drive (that's right 400 GIGS!! MINE, ALL MINE!!) connects through USB and I could tell that it was operating slower than it should because the ports weren't high speed. Now they are! So there! Putting them in was apparently quite easy (I couldn't stand to watch. Computer blood makes me faint). And all I was supposed to have to do was put the CD in and let it install the software. But as far as I could tell no installation ever took place. But the new ports are working just fine. I'm not looking this gift horse in the mouth, I'm just using the new ports as they are.

Dog Days Are Here!

The heat these days seems almost unrelenting. Even the office, which is often over-airconditioned, has been warm. Our human resources officer wants us to dress up a little more when we come to work. You know, jackets and things like that. No way! I would melt into a little puddle - ok, a big puddle. We're getting a lot of thunderstorms but they don't have any rain in them. Just wind, lightning and thunder. So I've finally resorted to the water sprinkler. Turned it on tonight around 7:30. Guess what. It started raining!! I just left the water sprinkler going. Maybe it is attracting the rain {grin}.

"Did lunch" with two of my bestest friends today, Linda and Bonnie. These two are really exceptional people. They both give me plenty of space to just be me. And they are both so accepting and empowering. Love you "girls." Looking forward to spending more time with you at the Retreat.

Had a nice long telephone call with my mother last night. It was so good to hear her sounding cheerful and upbeat. She's been through so much and I know it has to be hard for her. But her depression also makes it hard to enjoy a conversation with her. Maybe, finally, the depression is lifting. She got good reports on all of her most recent doctor visits, her internist, her heart specialist, her eye doctor and her orthopedic doctor. The orthopedist put her back on a short term prescription of Celebrex to help with her arthritis, and that alone has made her feel better. I'm spending the Labor Day weekend with her while Gene is in Dallas attending a magic convention and I think we'll have a good time. Going to get her some new, "more modern" eyeglasses (her words, not mine!). It will be just the two of us, Johnny and Jane will be in Destin for their annual Florida vacation.

My Flylady stuff is paying off! The house looks so neat and fresh when I come in from work. Except, of course, for the continuing dog hair everywhere! But that's the price you pay. Gotta have my furbabies.

Going to look at new mini-vans Sunday. I want a chance to tour the car lots without the salesmen following me around. My first inclination is the Honda Odyssey, then the Toyota and third the Chrysler Town & Country. I'll probably end up with the Chrysler as I expect it to be considerably less expensive than the other two. But I really want the Honda Odyssey. So who knows. I'm hoping that since it is year end I can get a decent price on a new, fully loaded 2006. Kinda strange to think that this might be the last new car I'll ever buy. Social Security just doesn't pay that well and I'm only 3 years from retirement. ONLY. Yeah. Don't want to wish my life away, but... Sure wish I didn't have to work for a living.

41 YEARS AGO TODAY

Today is my 41st wedding anniversary. Gene and I were married in Warner Robins, Georgia at Robins Air Force Base 41 years ago today. Gene was an Airman First Class and I was a clerk at the local bank. We lived in a mobile home for the first 4 years of our marriage. Gene left to go to Vietnam on the day of our first wedding anniversary. And he returned on the day of our second. That separation has really given me a feel for what our troops and their families are going through right now. But God has really blessed me in my marriage. I 've been so fortunate in the man I married. Gene is a good, kind, funny, compassionate and understanding man. The kind of guy you overlooked in high school because he was "too nice." The man does not have a mean bone in his body. If other husbands treated their wives as good as he treats me, there would far, far fewer divorces. No, he's not perfect. But he's perfect for me. Hey, all you gals out there who are attracted to the "bad boys" of this world - you don't know what you're missing!!! Thank you, dear husband, for putting up with me and my quirks, bad moods, bad housekeeping and arts/crafts "warehouse" (my craft room) for 41 years. And, yes, I would love for you cook me a steak dinner tonight (yeah, that's right, eat your heart out, he really did volunteer). Did I mention that he cooks, too?

Had a great series of email exchanges yesterday with CoffeeQueen (Laurie) of Scrapbook-Bytes. It's nice to get the feeling that you are beginning to know some of the regulars who hang out there or are DTMs, etc. Even on-line communities can get a little clique-ish and it's great to at least put one foot in the door in the community. Laurie, it was nice to "meet" you and your blog is the first one I've added to my "blogroll" (sure glad I found out what a blogroll is!). SBB is making a lot of "behind-the-scenes" changes and hopefully will be back on track before too long. Maybe then we'll be able to bring back the members of the digi-scrapping community who have moved on to other locations. I hope. The forums at digishoptalk are really hopping right now. Of course, it's like restaurants, it's the newest place on the block so everyone wants to be seen there right now. And I will say that I notice that the digishoptalk administrator is a frequent contributor to the forums so we know she's paying attention. I haven't posted very many layouts there, I intend to continue with SBB and give it a chance to become the site it used to be. But I sure hope it's soon. I've seen posts from Amy showing up more frequently in the forums lately so I think she is beginning to once again put some time and effort into the site.

Happy Anniversary, my love. It's been a wonderful 41 years.

This Day

What is special about today? What makes it different than other days? Guess I should note that this is part of the "Things I'm grateful for" thoughts.

1. It's Friday. No more work for two days. My time will belong to me.
2. Ate Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner!! Love those things.
3. Spent the rest of evening playing on my computer without a single feeling of guilt.

We sure could use some rain. Every day the weather forecasts show thunderstorms but the storms don't produce any rain. All of my beautiful hydrangeas look so forlorn. Guess I'm going to have to break down and water them. This drought that Georgia (and most of the Southeast) is in is wreaking havoc on everyone's landscaping.

MY FLYLADY SINK

My Flylady Sink was nice and shiny this morning! Ok, ok, just in case you don't know already, Flylady is a cleaning/organization/declutter system that I'm trying to employ to keep my house nice and clean. You can find out more by checking out flylady.net. They list specific tasks, strategies, etc. for those of us who are "housekeeping challenged." But be forewarned, if you sign up to receive their emails (and signup is free) you will be absolutely deluged with emails from them. That's part of their system, they send you an email (and it seems like every 15 minutes) telling you do this, do that, etc. I elected not to receive any more emails!!!! I've started making my Control Journal, and last night before I went to bed I started my Evening Routine. I forgot to check my Morning Routine today. One of main tenets of Flylady is having a clean, shiny sink before you go to bed. So I cleaned my sink last night (as well as the rest of the kitchen) and woke up to a semi-shiny sink this morning - only semi-shiny because Gene makes the coffee when he gets up and that, of necessity, means that the sink gets used before I get up. Not a complaint, I promise, I LOVE getting my coffee in bed each morning. Tonight I am going to do my first "27-fling boogy" in the master bedroom. Yikes! That means I have to throw away stuff. Discipline, Ernie, you can do it!!!

Gratitude List

Trying to come up with today's list of 5 things that I'm grateful for is a struggle. Today hasn't been wonderful. It hasn't been bad, it just hasn't been anything to blog about either. So I'm going to create the list and maybe I can fill it in as the day goes along. I could list all of the usual things like good weather, good health, etc. but I want to dig a little deeper than that. Which doesn't mean I'm not grateful for those things!

1. My husband brings me coffee in bed every morning. I continue to be surprised that this is something he WANTS to do and that he seems to enjoy it! I know I enjoy it!!!
2. Both of my geriatric animals (Cowgirl {15} and Stripes {16}) seem to be continuing in good health and having happy lives.
3. Jolty's Java made my "Misto" just perfect this morning. The drive to work is so much more endurable on those days that I indulge myself with my "special" coffee.
4. Which leads to another thing I'm grateful for. I'm grateful that I have a good car, one that is reliable, is in good condition and looks good. I see people driving around in old, beat up clunkers and I'm glad that God has made it possible for me to have a decent car - a wonderfully reliable Honda Accord, a good solid car.
5. My tomato vines are almost outgrowing their planters! We've enjoyed some of the large tomatoes as sandwiches and the grape tomatoes are fun to just pick and eat standing on the deck.

Hey! I made my five things and they turned out to be good things too! So the day really is looking up.
Going to start on my "Flylady" program tonight. The house is still in pretty good shape since our Great Cleanup back in early June (family coming to visit forced us to do it!) and I want to get a system and schedule going to keep it this way. It's nice coming home to a house that's neat and clean. And I'm loving the results of the work I did in my bathroom during the Great Cleanup. The soft yellow walls are wonderful and it's great having the shelves back up on the wall.
Tried creating with my polymer clay last night after I got home from work, but was feeling particularly uncreative. I really didn't like anything I made but I kept trying. I should probably have just put it down and gone on to something else. But I didn't. But I did come up with a little idea that I want to try - but it was 1:30 a.m. and I decided going to bed was the BEST idea at the moment. Tonight, well maybe tonight the idea will work out.
The new Digishoptalk website is in the process of finalizing their layout and they posted the first part of it today. Unfortunately, they've decided on some really garish colors for the background of the pages. Sad to say, but the colors will probably keep me from hanging out there very much. Makes my eyes tired! Read some threads on their Forums boards that made me a little uptight also. Some people just like to antagonize others - I guess for the shock value. PUHLEESE! Grow up already. Now if only SBB would get their act in order, I could get back to enjoying their site.
Now, back to the salt mine....