I’m a Phelps Phan!!
Really, is there anyone out there that isn’t right now?
What an amazing accomplishment- 8 gold metals, 7 world records, and 1 olympic record! I had the privilege to see each race.
I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!
What makes it all the sweeter is that he seems like a really nice guy. Congrats, Michael!
The crafty bug has set in- so I’m churning out projects. Yippee! A couple of Creative Team calls have kicked me in the rear to get some lingering hybrid projects done. So, here’s the first:
This project prompted by Braeden emptying all of the bandaids out of their boxes...
I resisted for so long, but the Provo Craft lunch box finally sucks me in. Terri did a tutorial for embellishing these at a retreat a few years ago, and now I’m embracing it! I made previous ones with 2 sheets of 12×12 paper (trimmed) to wrap it, and I was hoping to avoid that by using my Epson 13″x19″ paper. It was about 4″ too short, so I had to make a filler piece for the back. I’m wondering if I should buy the paper on the roll for a project like this. Paper on the roll might be nice for paint cans, too…
Another reason for kicking out hybrid projects: I suggested a “Book Club” of sorts on Columbus Scrappers revolving around the special issue of Simple Scrapbooks magazine: Mini Albums in an Evening. What a completely fun book!!!!! It’s one of my best purchases in a long time- it covers a wealth of mini album types (chipboard word, Cosmo Cricket mini, Maya Road, acrylic, etc) and offers a TON of ideas. I have lots of ideas, and not nearly enough time to do them all!
We have a Club Meeting on Friday, August 29th starting at 5pm at the Whetstone Branch of the library (in Clintonville). It’s going to be a show and tell session, and I’m going to bring coasters and the Bind-It-All to make coaster albums. You bring 8 4″x4″ pieces of paper/cardstock, pics to fit, and matching embellishments. Come join us!!!
Natalie starts Kindergarten on Thursday! Stay tuned for more on that!
Finally, a philanthropy note- Labor Day weekend is coming up, which means the annual telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I always watched it before when I could, but now I’m personally invested as well, now that I’m in a lab that’s working on treatments for Duchenne. Help out MDA- treatments are on the horizon and it’s going to take BIG BUCKS to get those treatments to those who need them!
More new pages!
I love Speed Scraps at ScrapMatters!!! They kick me right out of my comfort zone!
Natalie's 5th Birthday
Talk to y’all soon!
Am I ready for some football?
Oh yes, I am!!!
I am blissfully enjoying The Hall of Fame Game on TV right now- Colts vs Redskins.
Ah, football season has started- I am happy. I know it’s only preseason, but I don’t care. So the starters only play for ten minutes in the preseason games- don’t care. I love football- college, NFL, high school on Friday night, just bring it. 
I’m making a goal- we’re going up to Canton when Michael Strahan of my beloved NY Giants is inducted into The Hall. So, Michael, when they call you to tell you you’re in, call me and I’ll book the hotel!
And then there’s the Olympics starting on Friday- whoo hoo!!!! I’m such a sucker for the Olympics, I’d take the two weeks off from work if I could swing it. I could watch it all day long and not really get bored. Don’t call me if gymnastics, swimming, diving, equestrian, or volleyball events are on. This will be my first Olympics with DVR- I think I’ll gain a new appreciation for it!
I have new pages to put up- these two are really my favorites. I finished them and I just LOVED them. Digital is definitely agreeing with me- I think I’m hitting my stride.
A Tuesday Template Challenge at Scrapmatters
A ScrapMatters Speed Scrap result
Newsflash: Buying a kid’s bicycle IS rocket science!
We got Natalie her first real bicycle this week- who’d a thunk it would have been actual work!
We actually bought her a bike back during Memorial Day weekend- she’s outgrown her cute Little Mermaid one, so it was time for an upgrade. So I took her where I always go- Target!!!
<woman grunt> Darn right, Target
We browsed the rows of kid’s bike, and according to the info post on the racks, she was about right for a 20″ bike. It’s a little tall, but with the way she’s growing, it wouldn’t be too long before she could reach the ground comfortably. And the training wheels would help with that.
She picked out this cool pink and purple metallic bike, with a backpack on the front and tassels on the handlebars- fun fun! I grab a pack of training wheels to add on, and off we go.
We got a little side tracked, and it took a few weeks before we had a chance to break out the toolbox to adjust the seat and put on the training wheels. And Jeff calls in from the garage:
“Honey, the training wheels don’t fit.”
Huh?
Sure enough, the frame was too thick to accommodate them. It took me another week (last week) to finally call Dynacraft to order the training wheels. But when i read the model number to the customer service rep, we find out that Dynacraft doesn’t make training wheels for their 20″ bicycles.
Huh?
Don’t you think it would be a good idea to have training wheels for bicycles being sold for kids between 5 and 8 years old??????
So, last weekend, the bike went back to Target, and Monday evening, Natalie and I went to the Schwinn dealer up on Riverside Drive (Strader’s Garden Center- very nice place!), and an hour later (and $40 worth of flowers) we walked out with a spiffy blue and yellow bicycle- WITH the training wheels.
Pictures to follow when we’re home long enough to really let her break it in.
So, the latest page I’ve finished:
Kids at the mall's play area
How appropriate that a post about rocket science results in a space themed layout- ha!!
More later after craft night- Marianne, I’m on my way!
Wow- a month went by?
That was fast- did June really happen?
It was a crazy month- the March of Dimes party, 130,000 muscle bundles counted, and Origins!
But I got some fun digital pages scrapped, thanks to challenges from various sites :) It was the only way I stayed sane!
Natalie in the wading pool- 2003
Wow wow wow
I’m so excited, I think I’m going to cry!
The March for Babies Awards party was tonight at Clippers Stadium, and the CS team was invited. Bannon and I went to represent the group, and enjoyed the standard baseball game fare.
Columbus Scrappers was the #4 Family Team in the Central Ohio region. Holy Cow! That is our biggest honor to date. I am so so so proud- everyone on the team worked so hard. What a wonderful way to cap off 5 years of walking. (We raised over ~$3800 this year, BTW Whoo hoo!)
Exactly how does one START a blog, anyway?
I’m starting off as such a bad scientist- I’m not doing the background research before I dive right in. What on earth do you post in your first blog entry? Possibly some backstory…
As I become more familiar with digital scrapbooking, I’m visiting a lot of blog sites for chatter and freebies. Things are getting easier, so I now allow the wild fantasy that I might one day apply for a Creative Team spot or design my own goodies to share. So, I’m starting my blog.
It’s going to be eclectic, to be sure, owing to the wide variety of interests:
Scrapbooking (both traditional and digital)
The West Wing (which is playing on the DVD player right now- a bad WW episode is better than 95% of what’s on TV right now)
Disney
Figure Skating
Biology
Yikes!
For that creative designing I’ll do sooner or later, the name popped into my head the other day- The Geeky Diva. It may end up being a bone of contention, so I thought I’d describe the origin.
I’m a geek. Yup, I know it and admit it freely. I wish I was this comfortable with myself years ago, it would have made things simpler. :) It will become clear through my posts.
So, here’s the bone of contention- Diva. Hey, it just makes for a catchy title.
I’m the Director for a local scrapbooking group, Columbus Scrappers. We have a website and bulletin board. I was member #3, joining a few days after the creation of the original Yahoo! group in February of 2001 (thanks, Jennette). It’s my internet home, and besides my nuclear family (Jeff, Natalie, Braeden, and Buff the cat) and my job, it more or less defines my life as it is in Columbus. I joined the moderating team in 2003, the that team had the title of the Divas.
I tend not to use it outside the confines of the board. When I talk about it, I’m a coordinator or a moderator. Being known as the Diva Director kind of makes me cringe. Do I expect anyone to take me seriously when I call myself a Diva?
So, why don’t I just drop it? Some may view it as my license to engage on a regular power trip, so dropping it might go a long way of making my moderating job easier. And yet, it holds affectionate memories for me. The invitation to join the moderators because I worked hard to organize a benefit event for a local girl who needed a bone marrow transplant. The email entitled “Diva Indeed” from a former member (now deceased) who thanked me for making a page for her daughter’s scrapbook. The good connotations that can be associated with “Diva”- those are the ones that I embrace and strive for.
So Geeky Diva it is.
Moving on…
It’s been a wild month at work. We’re coming up on a deadline for a progress report on a HUGE grant, so I’ve spent my days trying to count muscle bundles as quickly as I can while still being accurate. Slides get finished, I stain them, get them under the microscope and photographed, and count.
And count.
And count.
But I still love it. I love that the staining is working. I love that I get to work with a team of smart people. I love the pretty pictures that I’ve taken from the microscope.
See? Geeky.
A couple of years ago, a search for Disney and Scrapbook directed me the Dis Boards and their scrapbooking subforum. I breeze in and out of there. Recently, that group has started a weekly digital scrapbooking challenge, and I’ve been joining in in the hopes of finally finishing our family trip from 2006. That, and Heather’s challenges on the CS Board, and digital scrapbooking is becoming comfortable.
The Digital Disney challenges lead me over to Scrap Matters, and I’m enjoying the challenges over there as well. Last Saturday, the challenge was to make a page that was “So Me”
Think back to me saying that stained microscope slides were pretty:
Here’s the page I finished this afternoon. This one was a Tuesday Template Challenge. The sketch is by Ellie Lash, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite designers. Sorry, Ellie, I had to do some sucking up- I’ve LOVED all of the freebies you’ve put out in the past week! Time for me to buy some kits (but the one for this page was by Correen Silke at ComputerScrapbook.com (Unplanned Outing):
Some special credit on the drawing in the background paper. I found the sketch through a Flickr search. It was drawn by Lisa Yarost. It was EXACTLY what I needed! Thanks, Lisa- it’s a great sketch- thanks for sharing!
I think that’s good for starters. Origins (the Game Fair) is coming up at the end of the month, and I am working with GAMA to run the Scrapbooking Events for the Spouse and Family events. I need to get the class samples complete and posted so SOMEONE will attend my classes! I’ll post them here- you never know who will trip over them!
