Brooklyn Girl Next Door

2-4-7 - Was that a sitcom...

2012-01-18T20:54:00.003-05:00

... with Florence from the Jeffersons? Or was it 2-5-7? Either way, it's just another indicator of my age, past the 40 1/2 stage. But the best, or should I say worst, indicator of my age is the rapid influx of gray hairs!!! I can't take it. I can take a lot - the sagging of the you know whats, even a wrinkle or two, but the grays just feel like nails on a chalkboard. Everyday it's a new squatter on my head. So I bit the bullet, purchased a box of L'Oreal's Feria Natural Black, and went to town. I got 97% of the infiltrators and when I realized I missed a few, out came the tweezers. Yep. Pluck, Pluck, Pluck!

So enough about the bad stuff. This year has gotten off to a fabulous start. I really like my new job. Of course it is still the honeymoon period, but I see a lot of potential for my professional growth and development and upward mobility. Everyone has been wonderful. I miss many of the people from my old place, especially the students and my right hand TB, but we are still connected, so I am not worried about losing the strong friendships that I have formed there. I have absolutely no love loss for residence life. I am thankful for the valuable experience. There is no replacement for the skills you obtain in the field, but transitioning out was the right thing to do on so many levels. Where I am now, I am in charge of Orientation, Commencement and a wonderful student leadership program. OH, and lets not forget the commute. What's there to miss? NADA!

So, as I slowly ease out of my first year of 40 and ease into my second year, 40 is turning out to be a fabulous age, minus the grays of course!

Pictures of the Month:
Ethan is having a hard time adjusting to our new commute, especially that long walk from 7th to 10th Avenue. I personally love it. I walk a lot now. I don't have to pay gas and tolls. And I get to relax while I commute. It's hard to relax on the Whitestone Bridge or the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Ethan, however, has found a way to relax on the subway. I wasn't thrilled about half his face on the seat back, but isn't he the cutest little hobo you have ever seen? He was knocked out!

Ethan is an observer. I guess he noticed the biggest past time on the subway and decided to try it out. Too bad he can't read yet.

Focusing on Me

2012-01-12T21:47:00.001-05:00

It's the 12th of the month and that means my blog post is about, you guessed it, me. I'm focusing on all the ways I can feel better about myself which is not always so easy. I invite you to photograph yourself each month and love yourself.

It's been 10 days since I started my new job and it's going great. Ethan is having a harder time. He went from being chauffeured in the lap of luxury every day to taking the subway and walking 3, very long city blocks to get to his school. Me? I love the change of pace. I'm not especially thrilled about taking the subway, but I do appreciate the fact that my commute doesn't require me to pay much attention to my fellow commuters or red lights. I don't have to worry about road rage, tolls, running on E, or obnoxious drivers.

I do appreciate that I walk 20 blocks roundtrip every day as a result of my commute. I'm starting to feel really good and while I haven't lost weight, yet, I know this is a good start to moving more. I'm actually wearing makeup and blowing up my fro more often - more put together. I was in a rut and that's over. Thank God!

Are you in a rut? Are you down on yourself? Don't be! Take a picture of yourelf and admire your best feature. Just like we have a feature we hate on our bodies, we all have a favorite feature. Focus on that for starters. We'll work on the other body parts later. I focused on my face with these pics with a little creative cropping. I actually like my face. It has it's flaws but they don't drive me too crazy. It's the neck down on I'm working hard on. The 2nd layout is a group of photos that my 4 year old took with my camera or iphone. He always cuts off a piece but overall, not bad!

Bring It 2012!

2011-12-31T14:50:00.002-05:00

2:22 pm on Saturday, December 31st and I have absolutely nothing to do. I LOVE THAT. Ethan is fighting a fever and just lying down, quietly. Ron is working. I have a ton of errands to run (laundry, food shopping, staples, stockings....so I guess I do have a lot to do) but alas I can't very well leave my son all alone to battle his 101 degree temperature. So I have nothing to do.

I have done a lot of thinking about what 2012 is going to mean for me. I made a couple of resolutions for 2011, none of which I even remember but it was probably the usual fare - save money, lose weight, do more community service. I had a word for 2011 too - de-clutter - which I worked really hard at but was unable to accomplish fully. The fact of the matter is that my home is cluttered because it's too small. And until the renovations are complete, the clutter will continue. My office was cluttered because I had not a moment in the day to just do some basic filing. So while de-cluttering as a goal is not going anywhere, I have moved on to a new word for the year - FOCUS. It will indirectly include de-cluttering, saving money, losing weight, blah, blah, blah. But yes, FOCUS is my word of the year. The common denominator is ME. I am going to FOCUS on ME, inside and out. I am well on my way.

1. New job - CHECK

2. New beauty regiment - CHECK

3. New exercise routine - CHECK

So while I will continue my 40 and Fabulous blog posts on the 17th of each month, I am adding a new component to my blog. On the 12th of each of month, from January to December 2012, I will be FOCUSing on ME and I invite you to join me and focus on yourself. On the 12th of each month I will be taking a photo of myself, or having someone else do it. No matter what state I am in, I am going to take that picture. I am going to look at that picture and appreciate myself for who I am regardless of what my hair is doing or where I am going. Focusing on myself will make me a better worker, a better mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend and a better person overall. I hope you will be inspired to join me on this journey and do the same for yourself.

So like the title of this post says, bring it, 2012! Because it's all about me.

Uniquely Unique, NY

2011-12-25T17:30:00.001-05:00

What's not to love?

216 Days and Counting

2011-12-18T23:25:00.000-05:00

$40 Trip to the hair salon
$25.00 1 hour in a midtown Manhattan parking lot
$300 New Interview Suit
New job closer to home making more money...PRICELESS!

WHAT
A
YEAR!

I am so glad that 2012 is only 2 weeks away. It cannot come fast enough. I am so excited to start a new job that my current colleagues have noted a new bounce in my step, as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And it has.

Everyone says that change is good, including me. A quote about change has been part of my email signature for a long time. But DAMN! The changes at work have been stressful and anxiety-ridden. I think I was the most excited for the changes that I knew were coming, but the changes went so over the top that morale has taken a huge dip even among the most optimistic among us. While I am going to miss most of the people I work with, that is all I will miss. I am happy to give up the one-hour plus commute, the huge gas and toll bill, the early morning alarm and some of the unpleasant feelings that led me to leave my current place of employment. Those who have become important to me and who have developed a friendship with me, will not be lost to me. I am not moving out of state or going hours away. I"m just going into the county next door. I cherish my experiences and I have learned a ton, but alas, it was just...time to go.

So goodbye 2011. And good riddance. 2012, here I come...hitting the ground running and diving in head first. Can you hit the ground running and dive in head first at the same time? Probably not, but you get my point. So "say a little prayer for meeee."

By this time next month, I'll be reporting on how my first 2 weeks at the new job are going. And I have a great new series of posts starting January 12, 2012. So get your cameras ready and do your hair, or not. I am going to encourage those of you who read my blog to develop stronger self confidence and love of self and our imperfections. Trust me you'll love it. But more to come in a month. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

Picture of the Month

185 Days Later

2011-11-22T22:38:00.001-05:00

Change doesn’t happen in the middle. It only happens when we venture over to the edge and take one small step after another. -- Karen Sheridan

I’m 40 ½. 6 months into my 40s I find myself at a crossroads. The crossroads feel more like cross hairs, truth be told. This crossroads of mine has proven to be very taxing. But I have learned two things as a result of this time in my life.

Life is too short to be miserable (anywhere).
If you are comfortable at work, it's time to go.

Man at the Crossroads, infamous 1934 mural by one of my favorite artists, Diego Rivera. The mural was painted at Rockefeller Center and quickly destroyed after its completion because of its communist viewpoint. Diego got comfortable!

I'm sure you see where I'm going with this. Comfort is good at home. It’s not good at our places of employment. The moment something rocks that comfort level and takes you out of your groove, you’re in deep trouble. I have learned that the hard way (and so did Diego). But I’m perceptive and adaptable and those characteristics have proven helpful to me as I do all I can to learn all I can to make myself marketable. Do I sound overly cryptic or enigmatic? Well that is intentional. I have some major changes happening in the next month and I am very excited about it all. More to come.

In the meantime, I did a scrapbook page called "12 Things about Me Right Now." They are in no specific order and they are by no means comprehensive, but it’s always a good idea to take stock of you, even if it’s not about the profound stuff in life.

Scrapbooking, sleep, and watching TV relax me.
Michael’s Italian Restaurant on Nostrand and Avenue R in Brooklyn is my favorite local spot.
I shop at Target almost ever weekend.
My favorite color is red, but I love earth tones to decorate the house.
I worry about my money, my job and my weight.
I’m hooked on the Twilight Saga.
And I love any and every cop show on TV right now.
The trunk of my car is full of clothes that I need to give away.
My ideal Friday night is quiet.
My ideal Saturday is to run errands in the morning and be home to chill by the mid afternoon.
My ideal Sunday is to never step out of the house.
The new year is going to bring big and wonderful changes.

Definitely not a Diego mural and definitely not Communist.

Photo of the Month, wink wink:

150 days

2011-10-20T00:29:00.001-04:00

Top 5 Things a Woman (i.e. ME) Should Know before Turning 40 (and didn't)!

Bra Fitting - Really? It took 40 years to get a proper bra fitting? It should be on the agenda with the birds and the bees conversation.
5% chance of getting prego at age 40 - TMI you say? I feel it's important to educate my fellow 40 year olds. 5%? Well at 20 it only 25%. At least that's what the Today Show "experts" said. But at 20, the energy levels are at 100% and at 40 energy is barely at 25%. I'll leave it at that because I know you know what I'm talking about!
After you turn 40, it's harder to get a new job. And that is not necessarily due to do the economy. So make sure you moisturize. It keeps you looking young. If you look 30 when you interview, you should be fine because they aren't allowed to ask your age in an interview.
It's harder to walk in heels. At least in my case. Maybe that's just me and my larger posterior, but I just can't last in heels as long as I could have even 5 years ago. I love my heels and refuse to part with them for a new collection of Easy Spirit sensible shoes. I just can't do it. I already have a few pairs of Minnetonkas and that's bad enough!
I love TV. And I love sleep. How are these things related you ask? I can barely stay up past 10 pm and that's when some of my favorite shows are on. Thank you DVR inventor! I can't sleep past 7 or 8 am on the weekends. So you see I can't fully enjoy my prime time TV shows and I can't get the proper rest on weekends. This, I believe, is a consequence of getting older (not old), just older!

So why is this important? I wasn't sure at first. But as I asked myself this question, I opened my new little book that I used to write my last post for inspiration and the first page to open said:

LOVE YOUR EXTRAORDINARY SELF.

My ladies over 40, be sure to drink to that. Toast your extraordinary selves. We were extraordinary at 20 and 30 so logic tells me, you are just (if not more) extraordinary at 40. CHEERS!

Picture of the Month

This kid is turning into quite the car guy.

He made a bee line right for the Mustang and struck a pose.

And YES, he's ONLY 4!

Just a thought.

2011-10-12T21:50:00.000-04:00

“Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses.” -Proverb

check out more inspirational words at www.tinybuddha.com.

120 Days and Counting

2011-09-20T21:35:00.008-04:00

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. -Albert Schweitzer

I am 3 days late in writing my monthly reflection. It's writer's block. I was uninspired. But I think that has changed. I ordered a book titled "I Am Her" on the recommendation of a blogger whose blog I enjoy reading. She's issued a challenge: write a series of “she” statements about yourself and answer them with a resolute “I am her.” I pass the challenge on to those of you reading this to help you explore who you are, for better or worse. All of the people who comment on my blog are women. But i you're not, feel free to answer with a resolute, "I am him." It all counts.

She is constantly exploring who she is and what she wants out of life.
She is well aware of her imperfections and always wondering if it's worth trying to correct them.
She embraces imperfection.
She is working hard to reduce clutter in her life and is having a hard time succeeding in this task.
She believes strongly in balance.
She doesn't believe in workaholism.
She doesn't believe in losing herself so completely in family obligations that she forgets to take care of herself.
She has an unfinished goal or two.
She loves her family dearly and unconditionally.
She is a lipstick feminist.
She is a wannabe Renaissance woman, dabbling in a little bit of everything as it catches her interests.

I AM HER.

Photos of the Month

New landscaping on campus thanks to Hurricane Irene.

First time at soccer.

First scrimmage is about to begin.

Flagged for un-sportsman-like behavior.

Nice Surprise. Tio Eric joined us at the soccer field.

He's going to be taller than me very soon.

He's such a ham! I didn't pose him. He did that all by himself.

90 Days Later - The Reflecting Continues.

2011-08-17T00:00:00.001-04:00

Wow, 90 days into 40, summer is 2 weeks from calling it quits and I won't see another week off until Christmas Eve. SIGH. So now that I've gotten my complaints out of the way....

What I've noticed about myself in these last 4 weeks is how engrossed in body image I have been. Perhaps it was the torture of shopping for a bathing suit. Or seeing all the cute outfits that I couldn't fit into. Maybe it's the realization of how out of breath I get when climbing a flight or two of stairs. Never before. Body image is a constant in my life and I know I am not alone.

What makes my neurosis different this time? My self-confidence is not what it used to be and that worries me. Up until about 4 years ago, I have always felt good about myself. My self-esteem has always been high. It's not quite in the gutter, but I want it back in excellent shape. I want to get back into the gym. But with what time? Seriously. I have a 2 hour commute roundtrip. I haven't seen a 5pm exit from the office in forever. And I won't for the next 6-8 weeks. I have a young child who requires a great deal of attention. Oh and hello?! I do have a marriage to care for. Excuses right? Maybe, but excuse or not, it's a reality. There are just not enough hours in the day. I found a great class during the week but it's at 8pm. 8pm. Really? I'm going to kick box my ass off for one hour at 8pm after battling the airport traffic on the Van Wyck? Not going to happen. I'll fall asleep on the drive back.

I am very conscientious about self-esteem. I really have practiced what I preached about the importance of taking care of yourself and not letting others define your happiness or your beauty, especially as women. But I can't help shake this feeling of dislike for how I look lately. I really would love to just blame pregnancy. I mean I was at my best right before it. But pregnancy was just an excuse to indulge and not care. And how many people have babies and bounce right back to their previous weights? So pregnancy is no excuse. At least not for me.

Sometimes I think I'm just lazy. But if I were lazy, I would have been fired a long time ago. My garden would be ugly. And I would never have done a few home improvement projects here and there. So that's not it either. I most certainly have new interests and hobbies that take up a lot of time. And I am and always have been a TV junkie. Again, none of this is the problem. Maybe if I go to bed at 10 p.m. (DVR my fave 10pm shows) and get up at 6 a.m., I can get back into the swing of the work outs. When I work out, I always eat better because the idea of watching Billy Blanks for an hour only to binge on twinkies, does not appeal to me. That's a good goal. Not to binge on twinkies but to change my sleep habits. Maybe writing it, or in this case typing it, will make it so.

You know how some people need Jesus? I need vegetables! I don't like vegetables. Never have. I mean I'll have the occasional salad or peppers but please oh please do not put broccoli on my plate. YUK!

So I have rambled enough about my lack of exercise and legumes. I'll keep coming back to this topic as I try to move more and eat less this fall and winter.

Home Sweet Home

2011-08-15T23:04:00.001-04:00

My one week resort vacation has come and gone. It was well deserved and much needed for us, but we are glad to be in our home and in our own beds. The customer service left a lot to be desired this time around, which I found very strange since I always stay at the same resort and have always been more than satisfied. I am just going to chalk it up to one bad stay and hope it doesn't happen again.

I love to sight see and visit new places when I travel. But there's something about being in the Dominican Republic for me that makes me feel at home on so many levels. I don't feel the need to be a tourist. I don't feel like a tourist there. I even hope to live there some day for part of a year like the NY/FL retirees. But like in my 70s or something far far away like that!

In the meantime, I will just have to be satisfied with one or two weeks per year in my home-away-from-home paradise.

Here are a few of my favorite pics.

We were lucky enough to share this vacation with my great friend,

college roomie and hermana, Monica, and her gorgeous baby AJ.

I mean really, can they get any cuter?

SUPER STAR! She signed a lot of autographs that day.

It was nuts. Who knew Ecuadorian stars were so popular in DR?

Actually, AJ was the real superstar.

Ethan just couldn't hide the excitement of being on a plane. "Are we there yet?"

"No Ethan, we haven't even taken off!"

"Where the hek are we? I MUST find the pool!"

This is what we call the HYYY YAT Jump!

Those swimming lessons are really paying off.

"Hey, stop squooshing me! i want to be in the picture too.

Mommy and E-tan are camera hogs."

"Phew! Was that so hard? Yes, Yes get my good side."

The water felt as good as it looked.

Week in the Life - Day 7

2011-07-31T22:45:00.000-04:00

July 31, 2011

Silliness

Ron hates to be photographed. I wonder why.

Apparently, Ethan wasn't in the mood to be photographed either. That quickly changed however.

"This is the perfect pool, mom. Take a picture." How sweet! If he only knew how the other half lived!

I didn't pay too much attention to my garden this summer. But there were a few diamonds in the rough.

We see a lot of butterflies in my backyard. They love this Butterfly Bush...aptly named!

Giving Chewy some love.

Mr. Drama Boy said something bit him. I didn't see anything. But he has a fear of flies.

He called himself Fireman Ethan.

Week in the Life, Day 6

2011-07-30T23:49:00.001-04:00

July 30, 2011 - Day 6

The day started off very slowly. But I was determined to see the Hot Air Balloons at the Annual Festival in Readington, NJ.

There is something magical to me about hot air balloons. They were so cool to watch. Next year, I am definitely getting a ride on one of them.

Then we hit some rides.

Maybe not such a great idea after all.

He got the hang of it.

I neglected to mention that I couldn't find my car right away. Because of the way I entered the parking lot, I didn't get a look at the aisle I was in. So I wandered a bit. But at least I got to appreciate the night sky.

Week in the Life_Day 5

2011-07-30T11:47:00.000-04:00

Oh Friday, Sweet Friday, where have you been all week?

I found this little package waiting for me outside. Everyone says Ethan looks like my brother Eric.
I "vintaged" the photo. You tell me. Could this have been Eric Santos in the 70's? I'll try to dig up some old
photos of my brother for those who don't know him. To be conitnued!

I guess I can retire the tricycle.

Catching Up with My Week in the Life

2011-07-28T23:23:00.001-04:00

I was in Boston a couple of days for a conference and I was unable to write about my week the past few days, but I was definitely recording it with photos.

Day 2 - July 26, 2011
The pet peeves continue. Garbage day is Tuesdays, bright and early in the morning. This is what I found Tuesday when I got up. Well past bright and early.

Then I went to the Westchester to run an errand and visited the family restroom. Normally this is TMI and not too interesting. But this restroom is next to Tiffany's. If you've ever been to the Westchester, then you know it's not for the broke! Have you ever been in the family restroom at Target? This isn't that.

After I oo'ed and ahh'ed about this restroom, I was like, there are no napkins in here. Brownie points deleted. Then i look and there it is. This thing is a dyson hand blower. From the toilet it looked like a seat for a baby. When i got closer....impressive piece of machinery. Just put your hands in there and your hands are dry in 2 seconds flat. It's the little things people.

Ok so off I go to Boston College for a conference. Got there in 3 hours flat. Very nice campus. Open bar. H'or doerves. A harpist for entertainment.

Day 3 - July 27, 2011

Long day, but the evening reception and dinner for the conference was at the New England Aquarium. We had the place to ourselves. Very cool.

Day 4 - July 28, 2011

Nothing special today. Except my 4 year old refuses to give up his giraffe. I think he's a little to big for it now. What do you think?

Week in the Life, Day 1

2011-07-25T23:54:00.000-04:00

This week I am documenting a week in my life. It's a challenge from the Ali Edwards blog. She always does interesting things to get people to really think about their lives and understand that everything we do from the minutiae on up, is important. It's the little things in life that count. It's all important. Even if it's annoying!

So what was my first day of the week like?

Today, I was so busy at work that I didn't really stop and record my day. Overall it was orientation for the incoming freshman and I am in charge of parent orientation. I enjoy speaking with and to the parents. They are so thoughtful and focused on what is best for their children. And I can truly appreciate their point of view.
When I picked up Ethan he started doing the limbo out of nowhere. Where the hek did he learn that? Turns out the limbo, hot potato and muscial chairs was part of the curriculum at camp today. Don't I wish my day was that much fun. I didn't get any pics sadly!
I was driving on the Van Wyck and there was an overturned truck on the Jewel Avenue exit (Queens). I had no clue how it got that way based on where it was. It was on its side on the shoulder. It looked like someone pushed it really hard and tipped it. Traffic was moving so I couldn't safely take a pic.

I did get pics of the pet peeves that I deal with regularly. Do these things only happen in my household?

SIGH. Seriously, Ron!?! I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I see this. This is a regular occurrence in my home!

See the OJ on the counter? IT'S EMPTY! That's were I found it. Right over the open cabinet that has the recycle bin and trash. IT WAS OPEN. Does it not take the same energy to put it in the trash as to place it on the counter?

First 60 Days - Christmas in July

2011-07-18T01:10:00.000-04:00

I brought children into this dark world because it needed the light that only a child can bring. ~ Liz Armbuster

Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big thin back and realize they were the big things. ~ Robert Brault

July 17th is 60 days into my 40th year and it's the anniversary of the most important day of my life. I became a mother on the17th of July in 2007. I know I am not alone in feeling this way. There is no feeling like being a parent. Kids test every inch of you. They bring out every emotion you possibly have and a few you had no idea existed. Within 60 seconds, they can piss you off, scare you and make you laugh out loud - sometimes on purpose and sometimes without even realizing it. My friends and relatives with older kids tell me it doesn't get easier. It just gets different.

I have never been much of a worrier. I don't stress easily either. This year has really tested my self-confidence professionally, but that's another post. In any case, I have to say that a little piece of me is less trusting and more worried since the kidnapping and murder of Leiby Kletzky, very close to where I live. I couldn't write this post without talking about the effects of this news on me as my son turns another year older. I have always wanted to raise a free range kid. You can click for a full understanding, but in a nutshell, it's a child-rearing philosophy that is based on raising kids to be self-reliant. That can mean letting them pick their own wardrobe, making their own sandwiches or even sending them to the store alone or letting them get home on their own after school! While I still value this school of thought, I have to admit that the Kletzky case has left me a little uneasy about how to pursue free range childhood for my son. He is much too young to walk anywhere alone, but the time will come where his father and I will have to make these kinds of decisions. I most certainly do not blame the little boy's parents. All of the blame belongs to the sick individual who took him from his family. I think all parents deal with hard decisions like letting their kids walk home alone for the first time or taking public transportation, dating, etc. As parents we do the best we can in the world we have. I cannot think of this little boy's case without a lump forming in my throat. And it makes me so very sad that someone like me, who always sees the glass half full, is now reconsidering that notion.

On a brighter note, I often look forward to Ethan's adolescence, filled with athletic events, crushes and best buddies. But I don't want to lose the wet kisses and tight hugs that he randomly gives me in private AND in public of his own accord. I hear that will end some day for fear of embarrassment, and while I look forward to being that embarrassing parent, I never take his kisses and hugs and quirky noises for granted. I firmly believe he is who he is going to be for the rest of his life...fun loving and affectionate with a serious mischievous streak and flare for drama! It's been a 4 year adventure that has tested me in many, many ways. And I have no qualms with asking for a break, leaving him with his father for a few hours or even overnight while I refresh alone or with girlfriends (who need to refresh as well).

So how did we celebrate our 4th anniversary as parents to this child? SESAME PLACE on Saturday and TOYS R US on Sunday. Has anyone noticed that Toys R Us is like walking into a time warp? The "new" toys are not new at all: Scooby Doo, Star Wars, Transformers, and Alphie. Remember Alphie, the talking robot?

Well that's what Ethan was into? Some fake tools, one robot, light sabre and $200 later, it was Christmas in July. It's was a great weekend, one that I will never to be taken for granted for we are not guaranteed another day. Kiss your babies goodnight, even if they aren't babies anymore.

I have to admit the toy shopping was fun. That camera you see? It is cool for a playskool toy. It takes up to 1000 photos and you can download the photos using a usb cable.

Who doesn't remember the Mystery Machine and Scooby Snacks?

I think Ron was really hoping that Ethan would like the chain saw. He was playing with that thing well after Ethan had moved on to a different toy.

Oh, and Ron was definitely into the light saber. I have to admit, I was swinging it around too.

I know this post has been a little all over the place, but that's the kind of month it's been - all over the place. That goes for the photos of the month I chose.

PhotoS of the Month

I have 2 photos that really inspired me this month. The first photo is the part of the Rocky Mountains that surround Salt Lake City called the Wasatch Mountains. This is a view from my hotel parking lot in Layton, UT at 9am in the morning. They were simply breathtaking. I felt like I could reach out and touch them.

My second picture is quite literally a world away from the one above. This is my brother-in-law, Erick "Arc" Elliott. He is an up and coming artist and I was privileged to see him perform at the Nuyorican Poets' Cafe in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I was so truly impressed by his stage presence, his music and overall performance. While my husband and I were quite easily the oldest people in the audience (even though we were the only ones who knew that - wink), the music has a wide appeal. It's one of things I love about hip hop - the storytelling aspect of the genre is applicable to all of our lives. We all have stories to tell and there are always others who can relate to those stories in some way. My husband was beaming with pride about his little brother who is 13 years his junior and whose diapers he helped to change. It was really nice to be part of his early audiences! We may never get a chance to see him in a small venue again. His star looks bright.

OUT AND ABOUT

2011-07-05T21:56:00.001-04:00

New York city is such a cool place to live and work. You don't have to go too far to find something worth photographing, at least in my opinion. Here's a patriotic house off Flatbush Avenue.

And lookie lookie here. I didn't need to leave home to see this little slice of life. If this isn't the good life, I don't know what is. Talk about improvising? Who needs a mansion in the Hamptons?

Look how cute this little alarm/clock radio is with ipod attachment. I was doing all kinds of stuff around the house and I realized I no longer own a boom box. So I hit target and got this, $29.99 and the designs can be removed and switched out. Once my neighbors brought out the DJ equipment 4 houses down, it wasn't worth leaving on. SMH

This picture sucks but I LOVE Butterflies. And this one landed right on the first floor window of my house. Probably on its way to my backyard where I have a butterfly garden. So cool.

Bentley anyone? I've been seeing more of these around town lately, 3 this summer alone to be exact.Are they getting cheaper? Doubt it!

The Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the Lower East Side.

Here are my new tenants. Apparently, they were born and WERE being raised in my backyard. They were evicted this weekend amidst a great deal of protest. Here are kitty and catty staring dead at me through a window as if I'm the one who didn't belong! Cute, yes but only for a few more weeks. The adult cats in this neighborhood are GANGSTA and I certainly don't want them thinking my backyard is home sweet home.

The First 30 Days

2011-06-17T18:58:00.001-04:00

In counting down to my new decade I also thought about how I wanted to live my year. Needless to say, that was too much to think about all at once. So I have decided to write a post on the 17th of each month to reflect on my year as a 40 year old. It's really not about the age anymore. 40 is just a nice round number that has given me something to write about! It's now about continued reflection on how I live. What I do, how I do it and what needs to change. It's a journey at mid-life. Isn't 80ish the life expectancy of a woman?

So here are a few things I did in these last 30 days as a newly minted 40 year old.

1. I made one of the most important purchases I have ever made.

Yes people. I feel like my hair follicles had a little switch that turned on and said, "oh wow, she's 40 now. Turn up the gray hair production." I should count myself lucky since my father has been gray since he was about 19 and I know plenty of people who started going gray in their 20s. But the influx in pigment-less, kinky grays right above my ears is nothing to celebrate.

2. I think I am going to try to finish up my doctorate. I've done all the course work and I just need to take my comprehensive exams and write the damn dissertation. Oh, that's all! But I've started the necessary paper work to get that up an running again. Fingers crossed.

3. I went cold turkey on any and all beverages. H20 ONLY! I have had only 2 starches in the past 2 weeks and I have drastically shifted my eating habits. Pre-baby, pre 35 body anyone? Toes crossed.

4. I made our summer vacation plans. Punta Cana, here comes the Elliott crew. I think Ethan is old enough now to appreciate a resort.

5. Summer camp registration is a go. It doesn't sound like a big deal but it's not like I can take July and August off. The child needs something to do. So camp is all set followed by after-camp camp ie Camp Abuelo and Abuela. He's never going to want go back to school in September. Can you say spoiled rotten?

So summer begins in ernest next week Tuesday. If you don't want to think about your year ahead - might be too much for some - think about the next 2 months. What are your plans? Are you going away or planning a staycation? Maybe a little bit of both? How about some home improvements? Share with me if you'd like. Maybe I can get some ideas from you. Happy Summer!

Photo of the Month

I take hundreds of pictures a month and in trying to improve my skills, I am going to pick one photo a month as part of this post to share. Enjoy.

Continued Reflections

2011-06-12T20:46:00.001-04:00

Today's post is inspired by a fellow blogger's latest post - Sweet Talk with Brooklyn's Sweetheart. So much talk about change and what different milestones in our lives inspire or measure change always inspire me or make me think. It could be graduation, a new job, a marriage, the birth of a baby, or even turning a certain age. Imagine that!

In my profession the "year" starts in July not in January. So for me, as July approaches, I start to think about what this year has meant for me and what I want to accomplish professionally for the upcoming year. It has meant, guess what, CHANGE. Specifically, I have encountered a great deal of professional change this year. I have always thought of myself as a flexible person who has always welcomed change. I surprised myself when I found that I was starting to resent some of the changes I was expriencing, not because I didn't want to see change happen. Instead, I began to feel that the change was overly personal - more about me and who I was than the overall institutional change. While I quickly got over that, and remembered how good I am at what I do, there is still a lingering after taste.

However, what I have realized is that the kind of change I experienced this year was necessary for me. Sometimes I think I lead a somewhat charmed life where I don't have problems with people personally or experience any drama. Every once in a while I'll get a kick in the butt telling me otherwise. It's karma's way of telling me, "Rosann, you were getting too comfortable with the way things are." I needed to go through this professional experience to become a better professional and while I don't think the changes are over or my choice, this year has better equipped me, especially mentally, to deal with what else might come. It has also made me start to think long and hard about what's next for me. I'm sure that I'll share that once I figure it out.

On a less serious change, the weather has drastically shifted and I am so ready for summer. I'm on vacation this week. And I made plans to hit Punta Cana in August. Oh man, I can't wait. I also always make the best of what our region has to offer and will be enjoying day trips with my son around town. You know what that means. Lots of pictures to scrap. :) Here are some of my latest therapeutic creations that were inspired by springtime.

Taking Creativity to the Next Level

2011-05-29T22:28:00.000-04:00

I've gotten so many great reactions from my Countdown to 40 that I find myself thinking hard about what to do next. When I started my blog, I really started it for myself as a way to be creative and journal, since I've never been a great diary keeper.

In thinking about taking this blog to the next level, I realize that it will mean taking my photography and scrapbooking to the next level too. I love photography. I have since I was a kid. And scrapbooking is merely a venue for displaying my favorite photos.

My favorite photos don't have to be taken by my favorite camera. They just have to be taken. Here are a few that Ethan took this weekend of our front yard garden.

Here is a picture of my favorite muse.

Summer Summer Summer

2011-05-26T00:59:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is commencement at the College I work for. With commencement comes a very long weekend and the start of the summer "break." There are 15 weekends from Memorial Weekend to Labor Day Weekend. 12 of those weekends are available to me. 2 of those weekends I plan on being on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean.

For Memorial Weekend I don't have any plans outside of a little rest and relaxation. I am hoping to be somewhere in the Caribbean in June. And the last 3 weekends of the summer are really busy times for me at work. I don't plan on doing too much for those weekends. That leaves me with a nice round number - 10. 10 weekends to hang out and explore and be spontaneous, weather and finances permitting. And NY being the great place that it is has plenty of free and indoor activities, so I don't anticipate those obstacles factoring in too much. So here are the Top 10 things I would like to do this summer, in no particular oder. And you know I'll take my blog readers along with me.

1. Must hit the beach. I count it only once, but realistically speaking, I could go to the beach every Sunday, yes? YES! Sunken Meadow Park in Suffolk, LI is really nice and right on the Sound. It is much better than Jones or Orchard Beaches. At least in my opinion.

2. I really want to hit an amusement park this summer. I am thinking Sesame Place because Ethan really enjoyed it last year, but I am open to 6 flags or a water park. Ethan has come a long way in his swimming and I think it would be great for him to be out there practicing his backstroke.

3. I really REALLY want to get to a hot air balloon festival. There is one in NJ at the end of July. I have marked my calendar. And it will be great if I can convince Ron to get on with me. There's also one in mid-September in the Adirondacks. I might hit that one instead since I have some friends up that way. We'll see how it goes.

4. I have my Zoo membership so I'll need to take advantage of that donation.

5. On a rainy day, I'll take advantage of my memberships to El Museo del Barrio and The Museum of Natural History.

6. Way back when, when I was cuter, smaller and single, I would hit that Puerto Rican Parade HARD. You all know exactly what I am talking about. It was a lot of fun. But now that I'm 40, married and peri-menopausal (can't take the June heat the way I once could). I'll have to go in the opposite direction and stay on this side of the bridge. So PR weekend, I'll probably be at the Brooklyn Children's Museum or the Prospect Park Carousel. We love merry-go-rounds around here.

6. I have weekend plans in August with my partners in crime - "the girls." We're hitting Riverhead for some wine tasting and shopping. I'll have to check if it's a payday weekend.

7. I want to take a weekend trip to Timothy Lake in the Poconos and drag some friends along. My parents have a time share and the resort is so much fun for big kids and little kids alike. There's also some cool shopping - home made candle store and antiquing. I used to shop for shoes. Now I shop for antiques.

8. My son loves boats and helicopters. I think he's too young for the helicopter so I am thinking of taking one of those touristy boat rides along the Hudson. I'm thinking the speedboat over the Circle Line. I'll have to think that over.

9. I thought I'd try a day trip over to Governor's Island. I have a colleague who swears by it and recommended I head over there. Why not?

10. I want to take an overnight trip to Mystic, CT. I've already been to Norwalk's Children's Museum and Aquarium. So I think I will go further north and see what Mystic has to offer. I went once in elementary school. I bet there's a lot more now.

So that's the top 10 list. None of it is set in stone and I am open to suggestions. So bring it on. Now that I have written it down, you know what that means. I have to do it. Can't wait.

Have a great Memorial Weekend Everyone.

Countdown OVER - 0 days to 40

2011-05-17T00:42:00.002-04:00

Well the countdown is officially over. I am FOR-TY! I feel the same. The bones haven't deteriorated. The hair is still mostly black. I haven't turned into a pumpkin either. This little 10 day journey has been a lot of fun and has allowed me to really reflect and appreciate what is really important. My outfit!

I couldn't even get too cute because the weather is awful. This is the first time in a long time that I remember May 17th being so crappy. I usually get pretty good weather on the anniversary of my birth. Though I remember one May 17th where it snowed in Albany. I remember b/c it was graduation weekend on UAlbany's campus. But I see that Mother Nature has other plans on May 17, 2011.

I think you will get a kick out of the next series of photos. I found photos of a few childhood bdays and the sweet 16. Very cute and very pink party in the hood. Sounds like a bad movie but it's true. LOL. Enjoy your day everyone and thanks for reading. I'll see how else I can keep you entertained with my blog as the year progresses. Enjoy the show. (It has music, so if you are at work turn off the volume. Oh and I couldn't figure out how to stop the loop or the music.)

Besos MiGente.
Rosann

Countdown to 40 and Fabulous - 1

2011-05-16T00:10:00.000-04:00

May 16th - 1 day to 40

It's not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years.

Ain't that the truth? No doubt that i have lived life. I have had the good fortune to have traveled to some wonderful places, both inside and outside the United States. I have been fortunate to have gotten a good, no great education, from childhood into adulthood. In fact, the learning never ends. I've loved and lost and loved again, finding my life partner. I've had lots and lots (and lots) of fun. There are many witness especially in Syracuse and Albany.

In the past 9 days, I've talked about who I am, where I come from, and who I come from. I've discussed the events that have shaped the 4 decades I have lived through and what I am doing or not doing on my birthday. For the final day of the countdown, I thought I'd look at little bit at where I am going.

To be honest, I don't know. I have goals. I have expectations of myself. But it's not like when I was 25 or 30 where I was in graduate school with a clear finish line. I hope to move forward in my career in higher education, but that comes with years of experience. I've been in my profession almost 10 years so I am well on my way. I certainly hope to have another child and adoption is not out of the question. But that's a longer term goal. I look forward to continuing to build on my marriage and my parenting skills. And I want to still be a good friend, colleague, cousin, niece, daughter, sister, wife and mother. (I want to be an auntie but my brother is not cooperating!) So even though I don't know exactly what's around the corner, who does? I'll take it one day and time and embrace what comes and handle what doesn't.

Then there are the obligatory goals like losing weight, saving more money and finishing this dam dissertation, being a better housekeeper (hahaha), reading more, creating more, gardening more. I'm not really interested in cooking more, however. Not my thing! Thank God for Ron. He'll make a grilled cheese sandwich gourmet just for the hell of it.

Yes people, shotgun wedding. Just in the nick of time too. Ethan was born 4 days later.

So I look forward to the wisdom and continued experiences that 40 (and beyond) will bring. I have been thinking about why I am so open to what 40 will bring. I hated turning 30. It was not a great time for me. And that of course is the key. I am going into 40 with a good job, great friends and a wonderful family and network of people who love me and accept me for who I am. If you have been and/or still are part of that network, THANK YOU. I would not be who I am without support. I want to pay that forward and ensure that I am always there for my family and friends, even though their support is unconditional.

So 40 and fabulous, here I come. I hope you are ready for me.

Don't you love these old fashioned photo booth photos!?! So fun.

Countdown to 40 - 2

2011-05-15T00:29:00.001-04:00

May 15 - 2 Days to 40

People have asked me if I am taking Tuesday off. It really wouldn't be worth it for me to do so considering the distance between my house, Ethan's school and my job. If I took Tuesday off, I would want to have time to myself. I would want to sleep in. I would not want to do any housework. Well, I'd still have to get up early to drive Ethan all the way to school. I wouldn't bother coming back home because that is just too much gas and too many tolls. And even if I splurged and came home, there is so much mess and housework to do that I wouldn't really be able to enjoy my "time alone." Not to mention it's a crazy time of year for anyone who works in higher education and I am 99% sure my boss wouldn't approve the time off. So, no, I won't be taking my birthday off from work. Don't you hate when life gets in the way?

I thought I'd keep it light today and check out what the symbols for May birthdays are.

The most obvious is the Zodiac sign. I'm a Taurus. Here's what Horoscope.com says about us Taureans:

Strong, dependable Taurus leads the way when it comes to reaping the rewards of hard work. Lovers of everything that is fine and beautiful, Taureans surround themselves with material gains. This is a sensual, tactile sign. Touch is very important in everything from work to romance. Stable and conservative, Taureans are among the most reliable of the zodiac. While sometimes viewed as stubborn, this sign will plod along on a task until the very end, ensuring that everything is up to standard. They're highly creative and thoroughly enjoy making things with their own hands.

Pretty accurate I think.

Birthstone - Emerald
Flower - Lily of the Valley
Zodiac - Taurus. Even under the supposedly new zodiac configurations, I'm still a Taurus.
Weird fun fact - Apparently whatever day of the week May start, means that no other month will begin on that day. So May 1st this year was a Sunday. None of the other 11 months have or will start on a Sunday. Same goes for June. Weird huh?!?

Countdown to 40 and Fabulous-3

2011-05-14T00:28:00.002-04:00

May 14 - 3 days to 40

"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future." --- Gail Lumet Buckley

It's been really fun this week reflecting on the daunting task of turning 40. So what else should I talk about? I thought it would be a nice idea to talk a little bit about my heritage and my identity. Being the history geek in my family, I have a lot of good information about my relatives, especially on my mom's side. But I think I will focus a little bit on the two women who I was named after.

Baby Rosann (Yes, 40 years ago)

What's in a name?
As my parents tell it, they originally planned on naming me Irene. Can you imagine? IRENE? Ok, well I suppose I wouldn't have known any better right. For a while I didn't like my name. What kind of name is Rosann? And what's worse was that it was spelled so differently from any other Rosann...NO E's....Not in the middle or at the end. No one could ever spell it right.

One day, I expressed to my parents how much I disliked my name. Why couldn't I be named something more trendy like Lisa or Melissa or something? I have no clue how old I was. But that's when my parents explained to me that my name was important. I was named after both my grandmothers. I never disliked my name again.

I never got to meet Rosa, my dad's mom. But she was friends with my mom's family on Fox Street in the Bronx and I have one great-aunt (on my mom's side) who has always spoken very highly about her character and her looks. They lived in the same building and were friends.

This is Rosa Vizcaino Santos

I was very close to my maternal grandmother, Abuela Ana. I am often told we look a lot alike. I still miss her because people always talk about her in the family, about how cool she was. She couldn't speak a word of English but she could tell you how to get anywhere in NYC on the bus. She was funny and pretty and made the best bread pudding you ever had. Just ask Eric (my brother). He would devour it. I'm getting a little teary writing about her now.

This is Ana Pena Mojica

But these are the women for whom I am named and I am proud of that.

Countdown to 40 and Fabulous - 4

2011-05-13T16:00:00.000-04:00

May 13th - 4 days to 40.

OMG, technology reallly messed me up today. But all is not lost. Here is today's post...FINALLY!

May 13 – 4 days to 40

Well it looks like technology is creating some glitches, but that won’t hold me back.

So today I want to talk about who I want to be like when I grow up. I have a lot of people I admire and most of them are people I know personally. I’m not much for idolizing celebrities, though Michelle Obama and Oprah are very good role models. There is one celebrity in particular, however, who has really made quite the impression on society over the past few years. She has reinvented herself to the nth degree and her appeal and notoriety is all over the demographic map. Who is this person you ask?

Let me just show you.

From this:

To this:

TOOOOO this:

REALLY?!? The woman is 88 years old and gets about 4.5 hours of sleep per night (according to Parade magazine). I’m crying about only getting 6 or 7. She loves animals and only drives herself around in Cadillacs.
So if I had to pick one person to be like in 40 more years, then Betty White is it – not so much fame and fortune, though I continue to play the lotto regularly – but in terms of her zest for life, positivity and energy. I mean have you seen the Snickers commercial or her host gig on SNL?! She’s even hung out with Jay Z a little when she went on the Letterman show. So don’t call me Marta Estewer (she’s been to jail). Call me Beh-tee Why. Or Betty Tannish-Brown works too.
The year is half way done, but I need to get this calendar. I’m sure it’s on clearance! FABULOUS!

Countdown to 40 - 5 (REPOST

2011-05-13T14:54:00.000-04:00

Today I reflect on the popular culture and history during my 40 years of life. Some fun facts, some not so fun facts. I'll go decade to decade (only 4) picking out some highlights. But anyone who knows me, knows I love history, Jeopardy, trivia and a ton of useless information. I also enjoy long walks on the beach. LOL. So this post is long but fun. At least I think so.

Disclaimer: most of this is from wikipedia. I didn't have the time to verify everything especially little things. I do believe the historical events are in the proper decade though.

1970s

An 8 track tape for all of you youngins. - Goodbye 8 track hello cassette. Personally, I must qualify this by saying that I don't remember 8 tracks. I never owned one. But my dad and grandfathers had old ones rolling around the house so I know what they look like.

- Nixon resignation

- Recession and oil crisis (wait...sound familiar?!?)

- Andy Warhol and Freddy Mercury "came out"

- VCRs and Floppy Disks (remember those?)

- Lava Lamps, Disco, bell bottoms and platform shoes

- Space Invaders and Asteroids

- Rapper's Delight - Hotel, Motel, Holiday Iiinnnnn

-Roberto Clemente dies in an airplane crash during a humanitarian mission

- The 10 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing): Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Jaws, Grease, The Exorcist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, The Godfather, Saturday Night Fever, Rocky and Jaws 2.

- And Ladies, you know I have throw in some women's history. In the decade of the 70s many women made political strides. You may not have agreed with their politics but they deserve credit for making it in a man's dirty world of politics - Isabel Peron (Juan Peron's 3rd wife) became first, non-monarch, female leader in the Western World; Lidia Tejada became the first women president of Bolivia (she was interim but it still counts). Indira Ghandi in India and Golda Meir in Israel made important contributions to their nations. Margaret Thatcher became the first woman Prime Minister of England.

- oh and most importanly, I was born!

1980s

Olivia Newton-John has 80s written all over her don't you think?-Nintendo, Commodore and Apple came on the scene (once you go mac, you never go back)

- Walkmans and Boomboxes

- Halley's Comet

- The Yugo (remember, it was a car)

- Tianneman Square

- The DeLorean (interesting fact: John DeLorean became a coke dealer to save his company, but got busted in a sting operation - who knew!?)

- War on Drugs: Just Say No

- Ronald Reagan becomes President in his 70s

- Berlin Wall came down

- Mt. St. Helena, Hurricane Hugo, Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl

- John Lennon, Indira GandhiMarvin Gaye, Anwar Sadat assassinated. Attempts on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II (The 80s was crazy huh?!?)

- Bad fashion: Acid Wash Jeans, neone and Leg Warmers

- Great fashion: The wrap dress (hides it all). Thank you Diane Von Furstenburg

- Political Correctness, rejection of smoking and nukes and using Ms. came into vogue

- the Marielitos of Cuba and Operation Peter Pan (Pedro Pan) - come on look it up.Scar Face is an extremely fictional story about it. Bet you didn't know that! You talkin to me?

- Michael Jackson's leather jacket, glove and moonwalk

- Madonna and Duran Duran

- The 15 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest domestic grossing): E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, Rain Man, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Top Gun, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Back to the Future Part II, Crocodile Dundee, Fatal Attraction and Beverly Hills Cop. But let's not forget all the Brat Pack Movies (Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink) and all the Break Dancing Movies

- Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Iced Tea, the Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff, Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul (I LOVED THEM), Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy, 2 Live Crew, Run DMC, KRS One, and the list goes on and on

- Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotlands (Syracuse University students on that flight)

- Corazon Aquino with all of her shoes becomes first president of the Phillippines

- the Jamaican Bobsled team (blut, blut)

- Mike Tyson, youngest heavy weight champion of the world

- Pac Man, Super Mario, Frogger, Tetris

- Oprah's On!

1990s

Kurt Cobain epitomized grunge.- Apartheid Ends and Nelson Mandela is given his freedom and eventually elected president of South Africa

- The Internet - wouldn't be writing this without it.

- End of the Cold War

- First attack on the WTC, Timothy McVeigh

- Monica Lewinsky (I like Bill Clinton, but he'll never live that down!)

- Legalization of cannabis in California (medical purposes only of course)

- NAFTA

-Welfare Reform

- Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo and AOL (the list goes on and on and on and on)

-CD rom, MP3, USB, DSL, Digital Cameras

- Saturn cars

- Dolly, the cloned sheep

- 1992 dubbed "year of the woman"

- Anita Hill (I believed her)

- JFK, Jr., Princess Diana and Mother Teresa die

- OJ Simpson, Columbine

-500th anniversary of the "discovery" of the Americas by you know who. He sailed the ocean blue in 1492.

- The 15 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing): Titanic, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, The Lion King, Forrest Gump, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon, Home Alone, Pulp Fiction, Ghost, Twister, Saving Private Ryan, Pretty Woman, The Matrix, Mission: Impossible, Dances with Wolves, The Mummy, and The Bodyguard

- Martin, Fresh Prince, Beavis and Butthead, The Simpsons, South Park and Anime

- Brittney, Mariah, Spice Girls

- Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil and Final Fantasy, Sega

- Jennifer Aniston's hair, grunge look

-Boy Bands, Biggie, TuPac, Puff Daddy, Jay Z, Dr. Dre

-Selena

2000s

OMG! Lady Gaga defies definition. This is one of the tamer outfits I could find. - New Millennium

- Y2K

- 9/11

- Outser of Aristede in Haiti, Sadam Hussein

- katrina, Gulf oil spill

- Fidel resigned, Michele Bachelet, first woman president of Chile, Barack Obama, first black president of the US (born a US citizen)

- Benazier Bhutto assasinated

- H1N1, Avian Flu

- Recession and energy crisis (wasn't that in the 70s)

- online dating, google, myspace, twitter, facebook, youtube (remember MiGente and Black Planet?)

- Mars Rover, Human Genome Project

- climate change, tsunami

-Elian Gonzalez

- Virginia Tech

- The 20 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing): Avatar, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Spider-Man 3, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Finding Nemo, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Shrek the Third.

- Reality TV (Sarah Palin just won't go away)

- Xbox, Wii, Guitar Hero, Grand Theft Auto

- Uggs and Crocs; Wedges and spiked heels

-Harry Potter, Twilight, DaVinci Code

- Vampires and Werewolves (True Blood, Twilight, Vampire Diaries, Van Helsing, Underworld)

2011 - Barely half way there but Osama is captured and killed, Elizabeth Taylor dies, Donald Trump thinks he and his comb over can run for president, Newt Gingrich (just today) announces he is running for president, The terminator and Maria Shriver seperate, Mariah and Nick had twins, Betty White was on Hot 97, everything old is new again....I TURN 40!

This is me yesterday wearing a wrap dress.

Countdown to 40 and Fabulous - 5

2011-05-12T08:46:00.000-04:00

May 12 - 5 days to 40.

Today I reflect on the popular culture and history during my 40 years of life. Some fun facts, some not so fun facts. I'll go decade to decade (only 4) picking out some highlights. But anyone who knows me, knows I love history, Jeopardy, trivia and a ton of useless information. I also enjoy long walks on the beach. LOL. So this post is long but fun. At least I think so.

Disclaimer: most of this is from wikipedia. I didn't have the time to verify everything especially little things. I do believe the historical events are in the proper decade though.

1970s

An 8 track tape for all of you youngins.

- Goodbye 8 track hello cassette. Personally, I must qualify this by saying that I don't remember 8 tracks. I never owned one. But my dad and grandfathers had old ones rolling around the house so I know what they look like.
- Nixon resignation
- Recession and oil crisis (wait...sound familiar?!?)
- Andy Warhol and Freddy Mercury "came out"
- VCRs and Floppy Disks (remember those?)
- Lava Lamps, Disco, bell bottoms and platform shoes
- Space Invaders and Asteroids
- Rapper's Delight - Hotel, Motel, Holiday Iiinnnnn
-Roberto Clemente dies in an airplane crash during a humanitarian mission
- The 10 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing): Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Jaws, Grease, The Exorcist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, The Godfather, Saturday Night Fever, Rocky and Jaws 2.
- And Ladies, you know I have throw in some women's history. In the decade of the 70s many women made political strides. You may not have agreed with their politics but they deserve credit for making it in a man's dirty world of politics - Isabel Peron (Juan Peron's 3rd wife) became first, non-monarch, female leader in the Western World; Lidia Tejada became the first women president of Bolivia (she was interim but it still counts). Indira Ghandi in India and Golda Meir in Israel made important contributions to their nations. Margaret Thatcher became the first woman Prime Minister of England.
- oh and most importanly, I was born!

1980s

Olivia Newton-John has 80s written all over her don't you think?

-Nintendo, Commodore and Apple came on the scene (once you go mac, you never go back)
- Walkmans and Boomboxes
- Halley's Comet
- The Yugo (remember, it was a car)
- Tianneman Square
- The DeLorean (interesting fact: John DeLorean became a coke dealer to save his company, but got busted in a sting operation - who knew!?)
- War on Drugs: Just Say No
- Ronald Reagan becomes President in his 70s
- Berlin Wall came down
- Mt. St. Helena, Hurricane Hugo, Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl
- John Lennon, Indira GandhiMarvin Gaye, Anwar Sadat assassinated. Attempts on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II (The 80s was crazy huh?!?)
- Bad fashion: Acid Wash Jeans, neone and Leg Warmers
- Great fashion: The wrap dress (hides it all). Thank you Diane Von Furstenburg
- Political Correctness, rejection of smoking and nukes and using Ms. came into vogue
- the Marielitos of Cuba and Operation Peter Pan (Pedro Pan) - come on look it up.Scar Face is an extremely fictional story about it. Bet you didn't know that! You talkin to me?
- Michael Jackson's leather jacket, glove and moonwalk
- Madonna and Duran Duran
- The 15 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest domestic grossing): E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, Rain Man, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Top Gun, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Back to the Future Part II, Crocodile Dundee, Fatal Attraction and Beverly Hills Cop. But let's not forget all the Brat Pack Movies (Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink) and all the Break Dancing Movies
- Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Iced Tea, the Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff, Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul (I LOVED THEM), Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy, 2 Live Crew, Run DMC, KRS One, and the list goes on and on
- Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotlands (Syracuse University students on that flight)
- Corazon Aquino with all of her shoes becomes first president of the Phillippines
- the Jamaican Bobsled team (blut, blut)
- Mike Tyson, youngest heavy weight champion of the world
- Pac Man, Super Mario, Frogger, Tetris
- Oprah's On!

1990s

Kurt Cobain epitomized grunge.

- Apartheid Ends and Nelson Mandela is given his freedom and eventually elected president of South Africa
- The Internet - wouldn't be writing this without it.
- End of the Cold War
- First attack on the WTC, Timothy McVeigh
- Monica Lewinsky (I like Bill Clinton, but he'll never live that down!)
- Legalization of cannabis in California (medical purposes only of course)
- NAFTA
-Welfare Reform
- Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo and AOL (the list goes on and on and on and on)
-CD rom, MP3, USB, DSL, Digital Cameras
- Saturn cars
- Dolly, the cloned sheep
- 1992 dubbed "year of the woman"
- Anita Hill (I believed her)
- JFK, Jr., Princess Diana and Mother Teresa die
- OJ Simpson, Columbine
-500th anniversary of the "discovery" of the Americas by you know who. He sailed the ocean blue in 1492.
- The 15 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing): Titanic, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, The Lion King, Forrest Gump, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon, Home Alone, Pulp Fiction, Ghost, Twister, Saving Private Ryan, Pretty Woman, The Matrix, Mission: Impossible, Dances with Wolves, The Mummy, and The Bodyguard
- Martin, Fresh Prince, Beavis and Butthead, The Simpsons, South Park and Anime
- Brittney, Mariah, Spice Girls
- Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil and Final Fantasy, Sega
- Jennifer Aniston's hair, grunge look
-Boy Bands, Biggie, TuPac, Puff Daddy, Jay Z, Dr. Dre
-Selena

2000s

OMG! Lady Gaga defies definition. This is one of the tamer outfits I could find.

- New Millennium
- Y2K
- 9/11
- Outser of Aristede in Haiti, Sadam Hussein
- katrina, Gulf oil spill
- Fidel resigned, Michele Bachelet, first woman president of Chile, Barack Obama, first black president of the US (born a US citizen)
- Benazier Bhutto assasinated
- H1N1, Avian Flu
- Recession and energy crisis (wasn't that in the 70s)
- online dating, google, myspace, twitter, facebook, youtube (remember MiGente and Black Planet?)
- Mars Rover, Human Genome Project
- climate change, tsunami
-Elian Gonzalez
- Virginia Tech
- The 20 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing): Avatar, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Spider-Man 3, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Finding Nemo, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Shrek the Third.
- Reality TV (Sarah Palin just won't go away)
- Xbox, Wii, Guitar Hero, Grand Theft Auto
- Uggs and Crocs; Wedges and spiked heels
-Harry Potter, Twilight, DaVinci Code
- Vampires and Werewolves (True Blood, Twilight, Vampire Diaries, Van Helsing, Underworld)

2011 - Barely half way there but Osama is captured and killed, Elizabeth Taylor dies, Donald Trump thinks he and his comb over can run for president, Newt Gingrich (just today) announces he is running for president, The terminator and Maria Shriver seperate, Mariah and Nick had twins, Betty White was on Hot 97, everything old is new again....I TURN 40!

This is me yesterday wearing a wrap dress.

Countdown to 40 and Fabulous - 6

2011-05-11T00:00:00.008-04:00

May 10th - 6 days to 40.

Before I begin, I have to say that I am truly overwhelmed by the positive responses and comments that I have received. I love that this has become so interactive and that everyone has something to contribute. For those of you who are 40 or plus, thanks for being so welcoming into the 40 club. Happy to be here. When is the first meeting? haha.

So today, I read an email from one of my crafty membership sites that talked about God's creation of color. The author of the email was referring to colors as they appear in nature and how we often take flowers and animals and the blue sky for granted. Well I thought of taking this concept of color a step further.

God's creation of color and the colors that we as human beings come in are not always appreciated. So much of our identity is based on our color, no? So much so that we use black and white (names of colors) to define race relations. Well don't worry, this isn't going to be a manifesto on race and identity. Quite the opposite. So let me get to the point.

I completely identify as Latina. I have sub-identities like mother, wife, sister, daughter, Director, Dominican, American, Dominican-American. But I have to say that since I was about 17 or 18 years old, that "label" has been one that I am very comfortable with and happy to adopt. Of course there comes the burden of being the "in-house" Latina at your job or at your school (if diversity is iffy) or in your kid's play group. But I am really ok with that. I know, I know. My race is human. I get that as part of the big picture. But for me, Latina encompasses who I am. PERIOD! I like how it sounds. I like what it means. I like my color, my hair, all of it. It didn't happen over night. Took 40 years :) But that's why I am feeling more and more comfortable with being 40. It's fabulous to really know myself. I know who I am. I like who I am. I love what I do. I am happy with the people I have chosen to spend my time with. Don't get me wrong, i LOVED being 25 too. But 40 is a close second.

Countdown to 40 and Fabulous - 7

2011-05-10T00:00:00.054-04:00

May 9th - 7 days to 40.

As many of you know, I am into scrapbooking and crafting. I love it. It's a very relaxing (though often messy) hobby. But it keeps me creative. Well I got this in my inbox today for a website I am a member of and I wanted to share it with all of you. It's the Paper Source Colorscope that tells you what it means if a specific color is your favorite - kind of like a horoscope but much more visually appealing. My favorite color is RED and I thought the description was pretty on point.

RED: You know who you are and what you want. Popularity, money and power are all yours. You are kind and generous to your friends.You love to have fun at parties,especially if you are in charge.You are also a perfectionist and you state your opinions boldly.

I think these are all qualities I have. Admittedly I am not quite the perfectionist I used to be. I had to let a lot of that go since there are only 24 hours in the day. I also don't need to be so popular anymore, but I definitely did like that. Money and power are arguable. I don't have any real money and power, well that's all relative. But overall, this totally describes many facets of who I am or who I was. 40 years is a lot of mileage and changes our perspective. I love to have fun at parties, but I don't last as long at them anymore. And I still have bold opinions, but I am much more filtered these days for practical reasons like not wanting to get fired. LOL. Anyway, check it out and tell me what your favorite color says about you.

Here's a little fun interview with myself. If you've known me a long time, see if you think anything has changed. I'd love to know.

What are my favorite shows these days?
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Vampire Diaries and Hawaii 5-0. Can't miss those. I like Glee but I don't feel obligated to always watch it. NCIS wins over Glee most times unless it's a repeat. I have often thought of getting rid of cable so I can be more productive and save money. But I enjoy watching TV so much that I just can't do it. I mean True Blood is right around the corner.

What's on my ipod?
I'm all about podcasts and audio books these days. When I was first getting used to my commute and a crying infant in the back seat, audio books saved my life. I got through every Twilight book from itunes the summer of 2008. I developed a love for classical music too. It's amazing what Bach can do for your road rage and stress! I have a few podcasts that I really enjoy - Manic Mommies (it's a talk show of sorts for, you guessed it, manic mommies). Their tag line is "for moms trying to do it all, and then some! Does that sound like someone you know? They are really funny and you just know you aren't alone when you listen to them. They have some great topics and interviews that are quite relevant (religion, raising independent/free range kids, struggles with getting your kids evaluated for adhd or autism, etc.) Check them out on itunes or ManicMommies.com. I also have a craft podcast I listen to. It's very nerdy, I know, but it makes that one hour commute seem like 20 minutes. It's called paperclipping roundtable and paperclipping digi show. I have several audio books I haven't gotten to yet like Skinny Bitch, Oscar Wao, Siddhartha, and Reading Lolita in Tehran.

What is my favorite piece of technology right now?
iPad

What is the most important thing you have learned in 40 years?
I can't believe how hard I am quizzing myself. I guess this is what I would want to know about someone turning 40. I think one of the most important lessons I have learned is that there is always a choice. When people say they have no choice, it's not true. It just means that the best choice is the one that has the least negative consequences. I have a choice to say no to my boss, but are the consequences of that worth dealing with? I still have a choice nonetheless.

What do you want most for your child(ren)?
I only have one for now. I want him to be normal. If he ever finds fame and fortune, I hope he also maintains a sense of normalcy with all that fame and fortune come with. We just saw the royal wedding with a billion other people around the world. Princess Diana did her best to make a normal life for those boys. Even though their normal is most certainly not my normal, they seem pretty down to earth for people who have access to the crown jewels. Yea Harry drinks alot. But I know a lot of people who like to party like him. it's NORMAL at that age. Maybe I am just romanticizing life, but I do think there is something to be said about just being your average everyday person. That's why I married Ron. When people would ask me what I liked/loved about him, my response was always, "he's normal!" Little drama (let's face it we all have some). Down to earth. Doesn't feel entitled. Normal. That's what I want for Ethan. I want him to have everything he dreams of as long as he remembers his sense of self, hard work, down to earth-ness (not a word I know) and his sense of normalcy. Oh and I also want him to be the person who stands up for himself and others. I want him to be the popular, smart, athletic kid that doesn't allow a less popular kid to get pushed around. High expectations? Maybe. But I can try!

Countdown to 40 and Fabulous - 8

2011-05-09T00:00:00.063-04:00

May 9th - 8 days to 40

Turning 40 means that there are people in my life (not including family) I have known for over 20 years, that is, half my life. I find that so amazing. I pride myself in the fact that I have significant relationships in my life that are long standing. Yes there is my husband and son, but I truly have a cadre of friends that have become part of my extended family. I am grateful for that.

Yesterday I had lunch with someone from my Albany days. It was so nice to reconnect and reminisce. Friendships are often fleeting and of course there are lots of acquaintances, countless over 40 years. There is nothing wrong with that. We grow out of people like we grow out of fashion or music. It doesn't sound so nice to say it out loud or write it on a blog, but I really think it is the order of things. We choose a variety of paths in our lives, in 40 years no less, that connect us to people that make sense for us to know while on that path. My oldest friend is someone I have known since 3rd grade. We were inseparable until High School and then we were on and off during my college years only to completely lose touch for about 10 years. Now, we keep in touch, not everyday, but we know how to find each other and that works.

I also have contact with 1 friend from high school. There are a few on Facebook, but the contact has only been through Facebook. My greatest and longest friendships are those with the group of people I connected with in college. I still have a core of friends from my undergraduate days that I have kept in touch with regularly - weddings, baby showers, summer barbecues. And I love that. I also love being in my sorority. I have some great relationships that have come out of that experience.

My sorority sisters at my baby shower, 2007

I am also proud of the community I created for myself when I was in graduate school in Albany. I spent 10 years in Albany and I often miss it. But as time goes by, I realize that I don't miss the city of Albany, I miss the connections and the relationships that I was able to build and sustain while I lived there. I had a good life there. Life is good now, no doubt, but definitely a little more challenging. That's what happens when it's not about you anymore. And I am perfectly fine with that.

My mom comes from a time where too many friends wasn't necessarily a good thing. Your family members are your friends. They never turn their back. They are never fleeting. There is a sense of duty. That was then. We all know that family can be very unreliable and fleeting so there goes that theory. I love my family, but that comes from obligation on some levels. However I have managed to carve out some important friendships out of family members too. My friends are very important people to me. They are people who I chose to be part of my life and presumably they chose me too.

So here's to all of the friends I have made over the years and whose names and numbers and emails are still in my rolodex (there goes that rolodex again that only I still have). Thank you Syracuse. Thank you SLU. Thank you Albany. Thank you family. I am so lucky to have a strong support system from a variety of places to choose from.

"My friends are my estate." ---- Emily Dickinson

Countdown to 40 and Fabulous - 9

2011-05-08T00:00:00.004-04:00

May 8th - 9 days to 40.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

So here I am again. 9 days until the big day. I woke up yesterday and thought, I need to go to the gym. I don't want to be 40, Fabulous and Fat. So I headed over to Court St. and Hamilton Ave. and joined CKO Kickboxing. Wow, what a workout. Fingers crossed that it will give me the motivation and energy I need.

This is a step toward de-cluttering the body. I have one resolution this year and that's it....DE-CLUTTER - the mind, the body and the soul. It's not been easy but I try to do something every week to bring me closer to that goal. I think I'll just spring for a cleaning lady to help me out with the spatial de-cluttering. The mind, well, de-cluttering continues to be a work in progress. There is so much I want to do that my mind is always racing.

TinyBuddha.com has some great quotes and words of wisdom. I found a quote that I have been keeping in mind lately to help me with my goal to eliminate the clutter in my life. "When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt." (Honore de Balzac) So when I say I doubt I can lose 10 lbs in 2 months, I think about taking my power back from doubt. When I say UGHHH I doubt I can get all these chores done this weekend, I say, damn you doubt! I've got 1-800-Maids in my rolodex (does anyone use a rolodex anymore?) But you get my point.

40 means taking a cue from 1980s Janet and staying in CONTROL. It means taking Honore's words to heart and not relinquishing power to the mind games we play on ourselves, hence a start toward de-cluttering the mind. So I say Hail 40! The power is all mine (evil laughter).

Countdown to 40 and Fabulous - 10

2011-05-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

May 7th - 10 days to 40.

What does 40 mean to me right now? It means taking steps to reevaluate my career goals. It means possibly having another baby. It means continuing to work on my marriage and other relationships that are important to me. It means being a good parent, a good friend, a good wife, daughter and sister. It also means being a better person and doing more for others, professionally and civically.

As I move closer to a new decade in my life, I have become more and more reflective about where I've been and I where I want to go. Sounds corny, I know! But it's true. We all approach milestones that makes us say hmmmm. It could be parenthood, the loss of a job or getting a new job, starting or finishing school. For me right now, it's all about turning 40. Many people don't think birthdays are a big deal - age ain't nothing but a number right? WRONG!? There are different expectations at home, at work, in society. HELLO, your body changes. Your abilities in certain areas decrease (liking staying awake past 10pm), while they increase in others (being wiser and better at a variety of things due to experience).

So over the next 10 days, I'll be reflecting about lots of things. I'll be reflecting on current events, relationships (past and present), where I find acceptance and I'll even be conducting an interview with myself. Hey why not? It's not like Oprah is knocking on my door wanting to interview your average girl next door. So I'll do it myself. I hope you will continue to join me on this little journey of self reflection. Feel free to comment and dialogue with me during this time.

Thanks for reading.

Without change, there would be no butterflies!

2011-05-03T19:02:00.005-04:00

I want to write, but I don't want to write. Does that make sense? I feel the need to express myself, but I can't seem to put the proper words together. One of my newly favorite web pages is TinyBuddha.com. I love quotes and this site has good one everyday. Here is a quote tht really inspired me today. I hope it will let me articulate myself the way I wish to.

"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy the world." --- Helen Keller

I adore my family, nuclear and extended. They are all such a great group of people from the eldest to the youngest. Today, my family said goodbye to one of our elders. And sometime this week, we will be saying hello to a new baby. So, I find Helen Keller's words to be ever so fitting for me today as I put pen to paper or in this case fingers to keyboard.

Perhaps it sounds trite - the ever cliched terms - everything happens for a reason or God never gives us more than we can handle or time heals all wounds. Maybe! What I think is important about these terms is just that we grow and learn from every mistake, from every wound, from everything that brings us joy and from everything that brings us pain and sorrow. As long as we continue to be open to what lessons come our way, we'll be alright. Just as soon as we say ADIOS, we get a chance to say BIENVENIDO!

Meta Blogging? Huh!?!

2011-04-23T17:02:00.001-04:00

My blog this year has been really about my one little word - declutter! So why not declutter my blog? I am satisfied with it thus far, but things can always get better, no? How would I do that? Well for starters, I've signed up for Google Analytics. I really want to know who my readers are and what I can do to make their reading experience at my blog better. I want them to keep coming back.

Blogging for me is inextricably linked to my scrapping. But that has evolved. And the evolution has been pretty natural. Never forced. When I got started, it really was just about sharing my layouts and talking about what I liked, my styles and also my photos. I started a Photos of the week post that I never followed through regularly but am thinking of adding back in. My photography is improving and it's the foundation to my enjoyment of scrapbooking.

The next evolution has everything to do with the storytelling. Journaling has become such an important aspect in my scrapping and my blogging. I am not just posting a pic of my layout. The layout is now the by product of the stories. What has become important is the photo and the story behind the photo. Sometimes it is the other way around. I want to tell a story about my son's personality and just find a photo that makes sense about who he is at a particular moment in time. I've never been very good at keeping a diary or journal until I discovered blogging.

I know I really enjoy photography blogs, crafting blogs and blogs by women. Reading those blogs have really allowed me to become a better writer and have a better design eye. After all, a blog is just a virtual scrapbook and journal. I know my style and I know myself and I want that to come through in my blogging. And to think, this all started with my desire to relax and relieve some stress through art (photography, art journaling, scrapbooking and now blogging). Stay tuned.

So what made you start blogging? Leave me a comment and share. I'll do a random drawing for a Simple Stories Destinations paper pack.

Let the Countdown Begin

2011-04-22T23:09:00.000-04:00

Today is April 27th. There are 25 days left to my birthday, a very milestone birthday at that. On May 17, 2011 I will turn....wait for it....FORTY! Yes the BIG 4-0. When I turned 30, I hated it. I had just ended a 4 year relationship on very bad terms. I was trying to figure out the next steps in my life. I was living in a small, less than exciting town. The idea of not being in my 20s totally depressed me.

I still have mixed feelings about this next decade, but overall, I embrace it. I have embraced myself in all my imperfection. I have a good life. A family who loves me (nuclear and extended). My health is relatively good, considering! I have a job and a roof over my head, which in today's economy is a lot. Of course, I still have work to do. My one little word for the year, afterall, is DECLUTTER, on a variety of levels. But just because there is some clean up to do in aisle 40, doesn't mean that a lot of other things aren't in order!

So with that in mind, I created the following layout. It's a busy layout. Very anti-Cathy Zielske's whose clean and simple look and style, I love. But shabby chick is still a style I like and enjoy and I think that's what this layout is...shabby chic!

The bottom reads "Both of us can't look good at the same time...It's either me or the house." The tag on the bottom right corner says "original." The top left "R" is for my name and now you know what the "40?" is all about.

The journaling reads: I chose this photo for a few reasons. First, I don't scrap pictures of myself enough. And I actually like this photo! Second, this picture was taken on April 10 at work. That's not the reason! The reason is that I am going to be 40 in 5 weeks (from when this photo was taken). Call me crazy or conceited, but I don't think I look 5 weeks shy of 40 at all. I certainly do not feel like 40...whatever that means!!

I was listening to the Paperclipping Roundtable this week and was inspired by the idea of chronicling a piece of my life. I thought about it too late to chronicle the year leading to 40. I do want to do a long term project chronicling my 40th year - on being 40! But that is not here yet. So I decided to do a Countdown to 40. I will document the last 10 days before I leave the decade of the 30s. TEAR! Like New Year's Eve, it will be 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, FORTY!

Stay tuned because part of the project is to blog on each of those 10 days. I haven't figured out all the details yet. I only know that the 10 days of blogging is goal 1 and making a mini album about those 10 days is goal 2. This layout is practice :) I hope you will join me on my journey.

No Pain, No Gain!

2011-04-17T00:59:00.001-04:00

First of all, it's still cold and rainy
Second of all, gas prices are bankrupting me.
Third of all, decluttering is painful.

In an attempt to continue the decluttering of my body, today I went to the best aerobics class I've ever been to in years. The instructor said we would be sore on Monday. No such luck. It's almost 1a.m. and I'm SORE now! But the class was awesome. The pain was worth it. It was a free trial class and I am going to join. Saturdays will be my day and supplement a normal workout during the week.

How can I describe this class. Intense. Adrenalin-rush. True work out. Half way through, I felt this sudden emotion. I guess the Adrenalin rush was such that I held back tears. I know it sounds weird but kickboxing is the ultimate anger management system. I guess I've been angrier than I thought. Anyone and everyone who has pissed me off was on that punching bag. And boy did it feel good. That feeling alone makes the pain worth it. BRING IT!

Check it out: http://www.ckokickboxing.com/

REALLY!?!

2011-04-08T22:15:00.000-04:00

Weekend Retreat

2011-03-29T20:17:00.000-04:00

There is a lot to be said for the getaway. Not the getaway as in "I just robbed a bank" getaway. But the getaway as in "I need to get a way. So this year I attended the 2nd annual Stamp Away retreat up in Kerhonksen, NY in the lovely Hudson Valley outside New Paltz. It's my second year attending and it's an awesome weekend. A group of scrappers, in this case women, take time away from their busy schedules to just relish in their hobby. Well I sure did relish. It was a great trip. The women are great. I made some new friends, connected with old ones. It helps that the retreat location is nature at its best. It makes for great mental decluttering.

Work in Progress, Part I

2011-03-20T20:57:00.000-04:00

I love this term - A WORK IN PROGRESS. I see myself as a constant work in progress and I see this as part of my one little word - Declutter. This is the harder part of decluttering. It's easier to organize a desk and throw out old mail and newspapers and clothes. It's much harder to declutter you mind, spirit and body. It's actually scary and emotional to even try to take steps toward doing so. Why? Because the stakes are higher. I can't even bring myself to type up the goals attached to decluttering my mind and body. You know what happens once you write something down for all to see! So for now, I will be satisfied with taking the first steps toward this massive, personal and private decluttering until I have made some strides toward those goals.

The Lost Arts

2011-03-13T00:45:00.006-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about the find of the century, or maybe it was of the decade. Either way it was a find for me. I visited my storage facility and found some very special letters and boxes of photos that I thought had either been lost in the mix of my many moves throughout college and graduate school or just that I forgot they even existed. I've been really busy with work, getting home late and now heading out to a professional conference for a few days so I haven't had a chance to really delve into the boxes of photos and handful of letters. But the task is inching its way up the priority list.

Letter writing is a lost art. I feel like it has gone the way of rotary phones and audio tapes. I remember having ONE pen pal growing up. Now I have 500 Facebook friends! The only time I buy stamps anymore is to send out our family Christmas cards. Otherwise, all correspondence is via text and/or email. As much as I love technology and all that it comes with, I do lament all that it takes away too...good grammar for one. Before we know it, the letters u and r will show up in Webster's dictionary as acceptable abbreviations for "you and are."

Like letter writing, certain forms of communication are also being lost. The move into a fully techno world has created a generation of people who lack basic communication skills. Instead of turning to their roommate 5 feet away and asking them nicely to lower their music, people are opting to post a less than complementary message on Facebook complaining about the loud music. As much as our new forms of communication have made the world smaller and our ability to communicate faster and more efficient, it has also made us forget how to have a simple, civil conversation.

I am a big advocate of balance. Work-Life balance. Tech-Non tech balance. There is a time and place for everything. There is space for a little bit of everything in our lives too. There's nothing wrong with working late a few nights here and there for our careers, but I do not care to become a workaholic. There is nothing wrong with doing a digital and a paper scrapbook layout in the same day. And there is certainly room for texting or social media AND old fashioned phone calls and the occasional letter to a special friend. Sometimes retro is the cool way to go. Grab a pen and start with the word "Dear." Maybe for National Letter Writing Week in January you'll give it a try. Who knew?!?

Lilies of the Field

2011-03-06T15:06:00.002-05:00

If anyone told me that I was going to be not only watching, but enjoying, Sidney Poitier's Oscar winning performance in Lilies of the Field today, I would have looked at them cross eyed. First of all, I love trivia, but I have no real talent for movie or music trivia. So while I have heard of the film and I know very well who Poitier is, I didn't know that the 2 went together. And shame on me that after 12 years of Catholic school, I didn't know that the title was from the Bible. I had no idea what this movie was about until now.

Why is this relevant to me and my hobby and this blog? Well, one of the major themes of scrapbooking is story telling. Hollywood is famous for telling stories and spending millions to do it. But this story was so bare bones on screen (at least compared to the blockbusters I am used to) that I didn't think it would hold my attention. It's been a train wreck ever since. I can't stop watching it. I am engaged in the story. I care about the characters. I don't want to turn the channel. And that's with NO bells or whistles. As old as this movie is, it is quite relevant to our world today. Race, the economy, women's struggles, religion...what more do you need to tell a good story? It's all there, quite literally, in black and white!

Telling stories doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't even have to be Oscar winning or trailblazing or even in color. It just has to be sincere, heartfelt and something you really want to accomplish.

The Find of the Century

2011-02-27T17:20:00.000-05:00

Do you have storage facility? How about an attic or basement? Well I visited my storage facility today. I am transitioning out of it and only a few items left, thank goodness. But I picked up a couple of boxes, mostly labeled picture frames and photos. I have to admit that I got a little chill of excitement. It was THE FIND OF MY CENTURY. Granted the century is only 11 years in, but a find nonetheless.

I have recently been thinking about all of my letters. Letter writing is a lost art. When I was 12, I spent the summer in the Dominican Republic. I was only supposed to go there for 21 days with my grandmother and cousin. 3 weeks turned into 2 months and despite a lot of begging and pleading, my parents would not allow me to live there. After my grandmother left, I stayed with my Dad's sister in her home. That summer created a lasting bond and friendship with her that has lasted until today. Granted we no longer write to one another, but we do speak on occasion on the phone and I make sure to send her photos of my son as he grows up.

Oh yes, the point. I found some of my letters. I am almost brought to tears when I think about them. I haven't even touched them yet. I am just happy to have them. It's not all of them. Most are lost. But even if I only find one or 2 in tact, that's enough for me. Having them as a sample means I'll never forget.

So the enxt time you walk by that basement door or that attic staircase or your storage unit, think about making an appointment for yourself to go down/up/in there to find what is really never been lost.

Embrace Imperfection

2011-02-21T23:16:00.001-05:00

That has got to be one of the scariest statements I've ever heard. I've never thought of myself as a perfectionist but in the end I think I truly am. It keeps me from doing many things. And while I think I do a good job trying to embrace imperfection, I think perfectionism has kept me from accomplishing a few big goals. But baby steps right?

Big Picture Classes hosted a 2 week class with just that title taught Karen Grunberg. With LOAD 211, I have to admit, I didn't pay much attention to the class until today. It was almost a therapy session. Granted, the topic was scrapbooking not world peace, but the life lessons are the same. At least I like to think so. Maybe if more people scrapbook and embraced the world's imperfections, then maybe we would be closer to world peace.

The project for the class was a mini book that would help us embrace imperfection using some quotes. I got the mini book done in a couple of hours and even though it was one of the simplest projects I have taken on, I really like how it turned out. Karen's sample project didn't have any photos. The quotes were the center pieces of each page. I found photos that allowed me to embrace imperfection. They were either photos of things that illustrated the need for perfection that were just never realized OR photos that were so imperfect that I would never have used them in any project, until now.

This could have been a great photo but it was completely blurry. I assure you my photography has greatly improved. Quote: Once you accept the fact that you're not perfect, then you develop some confidence. --- Rosalynn Carter

Circa 1970. This is my own personal quote: What is more Perfectly Imperfect than FAMILY?

Here is my husband and my attempt at renovating our 1st floor apartment including some French Doors. Needless to say, there is nothing perfect about the paint stripping. The project is now in the hands of a contractor.

I thought this was perfect statement for this project. Letting go of perfectionism provides a level of freedom!

I don't need to say much here, right? Gotta love a good tantrum to really
make you feel like your doing a bang up parenting job.

Not the normal New Year's Resolution, but I think it's a good one to aim for. Who needs all the pressure?

Thank you Karen and BPC. I can assure you I have embraced imperfection. And that's a great thing!

LOAD Creations

2011-02-11T21:50:00.000-05:00

More Vintage Photos

2011-02-06T19:39:00.000-05:00

Vintage Photos

2011-02-05T22:26:00.000-05:00

LOAD Day 4

2011-02-04T22:40:00.001-05:00

Before I begin, I just want to say THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY! Sometimes I get the urge to write an ode to Friday or something. Roses are red. Violets are blue. Friday is great. Woo Hoo Hoo! It's like a great weight is off my shoulder even if only for 48 hours before the weight returns.

Anyway, that's why I scrap. It is my art therapy if you will. The layout a day challenge continues in ernest and I really liked what I came up with today. I think it was more about the story that the photos compelled me to journal about. Or perhaps the fact that the story was so compelling helps me enjoy the layout that much more.

The challenge was to use only 5 items: 2 pieces of patterned paper, up to 18" of ribbon, some bling, and one set of letters for the title. Check, check and triple check. Cardstock, adhesive and the black pen were freebies. I actually took these photos this morning on my iPhone. It suddenly hit me how fast this kids was growing and how independent he was getting. He knows how to get out of his car seat on his own, climb into the front and then exit the car by himself. He closes the door, waves again and then joins the rest of the classes on the steps, waiting for someone to open up.

Another Snow Day - Creative Opportunity

2011-02-02T17:23:00.002-05:00

Sigh. It's another snow day here in lovely NYC. My son's school is closed and my job had a 2 hour delay. In the end, I didn't make it in to work. One might think that this is great. Once in a while it is. But the reality is that snow days are double work. I am working at home trying to keep my son busy and fed but I am also available to my job by phone and email. On top of that, not going in today, means the possibility of more work tomorrow.

With that said, I took advantage of the time to get a little creative. LOAD 211 is well on its way. Today's prompt was really interesting. I searched my name, Rosann, on Ebay, and found inspiration in a doll with the same name and same spelling (which is rare) and the color palette on the cover of business book whose author has my name as well. It took some time to think it through and then eventually execute, but I am happy with my busy, yet artsy for me, layout. It is so true that inspiration can come from ANYWHERE or ANYTHING.

Here's what I came up with. It's a little busy but I like it. Since the prompt was about my name, I thought why not scrapbook myself. It reads...Know Thyself. Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look. --- Marcus Aurelius.

This is special resist paper from Stampin' Up. It comes completely white with a resist pattern. Using inks (fluid or pads) you use whatever color combos you want to bring out the design...very cool! All the flowers are from Prima. The butterflies are made of nylon and wire but I have no idea who makes them. The bling is from want2scrap.com.

Here was yesterday's layout. My son is a constant source of laughter and inspiration. I am sure you can see why. The bulk of the paper and elements are from Memory Works Elementary line. The mat behind the photo is from Project life and I don't know who makes the stickers knobs and wire.

Project Life - I gave in!

2011-01-31T23:24:00.001-05:00

Last year I went back and forth about getting into Project Life. It seemed intimidating and while reasonably priced, it would end up being expensive if I didn't use it. By the time I decided to bite the bullet, it was sold out for good. There goes that. Then I decided to look into Memory Works' Simple Stories. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. I enjoy the flexibility of mixing in a 12x12 layout with a 12x12 pocketed sheets of varying sizes that support the 12x12 layout (or not). In that way it seemed similar to Project Life. So I am a Memory Works Consultant as a result and have really enjoyed the Simple Stories system immensely.

2011 comes along and Project Life is all over the airways. This time there is a Turquoise edition which was much for male friendly in its design. I have boys...well, a boy, a man and a dog! I hemmed and hawed again...should I or shouldn't I? I've already joined LOAD 211. I'm enrolled in a couple Big Picture Classes; One Little Word with Ali Edwards and I enrolled in Karen Grunberg's class, Embrace Imperfection. Let's not forget I am trying out some Art Journaling Everyday with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. Only 24 hours in the day - so what! LOL. Ok. I decided to bite the bullet again and went to Amazon.com. WHAT? SOLD OUT? Sigh. Wait, finally back in stock and click, I purchased the Turquoise edition. Well I have to say, it's been a few hours and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. That doesn't replace my love of Simple Stories...au contraire! There is plenty of love to go around.

February is Coming! February is Coming!

2011-01-29T22:38:00.003-05:00

Can you believe February is almost here? It was a snowy start to the new year but without January there would be no February...no Valentine's Day and OMG no LOAD 211. Perish the thought. So thank goodness for January and thank goodness it's almost over. Now on to the LOAD blog hop random drawing:

Lee Currie said...

Such a good idea to filter your e-mail! Looking forward to seeing you over in the group :)

January 24, 2011 10:25 AM

Congratulations Lee. Thank you for your post. Please contact me with your mailing information so that I can send you your goodies.

I've managed to (de)clutter (my one little word) my scrapbook space in anticipation of LOAD. A (de)cluttered work space will hopefully mean a (de)cluttered mind open for all kinds of inspiration. It's still got some stuff but it's as clear as it's going to get at this point. (Please ignore the Kit Kat. I haven't been so successful in (de)cluttering my body. But I'm ready for LOAD 211. Adhesive? check! Magazines and sample layouts for ideas? check. Clear work space? double check.

I've also been sharpening my scrapping chops in order to get my groove back. I haven't done a ton of scrapping since right before the holidays (October LOAD) and I was finally able to complete a project I've been wanting to do since the end of the summer. It was a digital download from Elle's Studio called Summer 2010 Documented. I just really loved the palette and it fit in perfectly with all my summer photos.

I was even able to get a layout done for the Sketch Inspiration challenge site.

And I am sure that Lain's daily prompts will be all the inspiration I'll need to complete my layouts. But just in case, I am prepared with my secret weapon.

That was easy!

Gimme an L. Gimme an O. Gimme an A. Gimme a D

2011-01-23T23:30:00.003-05:00

WHAT DOES IT SPELL?

LOAD, LOAD, LOAD! Yes, you heard it here. I LOVE blog hops and I was so excited when I read the email call for blog hop participants for LOAD. So start with Lain Ehmann's Layout a Day blog first, if you haven't already and make your way through the list. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome!

LOAD 211 is only a week away and I started getting my foundation ready early. Knowing that LOAD was quickly approaching, I took advantage of a 99 photos for 99 cents sale at snapfish.com at the beginning of the year. So keep an eye out for sales like that on the many photo sites. I always start with the pics. Don't have your photos yet? That's ok. Take the time to get some real journaling down. Who says you need a photo to scrapbook a page? Not me!

Even Ethan is excited!

Next I shop my stash. I have so many great papers and kits that I have no need get new stuff. The only thing I plan to buy is adhesive. I think I have enough already, but better safe than sorry. I would rather have a little more than not enough. And glue never goes out of style! I have my Michael's coupons and heading over this week.

Finally, I surround myself with my various magazines and memory-keeping books for a little help. I will anxiously await the daily prompts and emails from Lain Ehmann on the shiny new iPad I got for Christmas. In fact, I created an email filter just for my LOAD emails so I don't miss any of them. Oh and don't forget to sign up for the Flickr group so we can send you some virtual love. See you on the other side.

Leave a comment and be entered to win a Memory Works Ele.men.tary kit by yours truly. Interested in more Memory Works products? Send me an email and let me be your consultant. Enjoy LOAD and now head on over to Gayle's blog to continue the hop.

START HERE: Lain http://www.layoutaday.com
Danielle H. http://scrappindanielle.blogspot.com
Margie http://www.xnomads.typepad.com
S http://snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com
Lisa http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com
Laura http://www.mom2nick.typepad.com
YOU ARE HERE: Rosann http://brooklyngirlnextdoor.blogspot.com
GO HERE NEXT: Gayle http://lifeonlilypadlane.blogspot.com
Jennifer http://atthebluebarn.blogspot.com
Heather http://www.heathersdragonsden.blogspot.co
Tere http://terecontodomicorazon.blogspot.com/
Niki http://thepaperpeddler.blogspot.com/
Janet www.khashabfamilymusings.blogspot.com
Lee http://thelinarstudio.typepad.com/embracelife
Danielle T. http://dani-adayinthelifeofacoffeeaddict.blogspot.com/
Junelle http://www.yes-and-amen.com/
Julie Http://www.juleshollis.com

Baby Steps

2011-01-17T20:14:00.000-05:00

The (de)cluttering saga continues. It's only Day 17 of this 365 day journey and beyond. So I continue to take baby steps.

BEFORE

AFTER

Life's More Fun When You're Organized

2011-01-13T20:46:00.000-05:00

is the motto for The Container Store. Well my goal is to find out. I already took a leap in the right direction at my office. The place is close to pristine and you know what? i've been more productive. So now I have moved on to the house. We have a reconstruction going on in the 1st floor apartment that will eventually double our square footage. In the meantime, I need to find some sanity in balance in our one-bedroom.

I started simply with the tupperware cabinet. It's in good shape and it's been that way for over a month. It's like keeping the weight off. Yesterday was a snow day and I decided to take my (de)cluttering to another level. I have been very unhappy with the configuration in the living room/ Everyone sings the praises of the open floor plan. Personally, I like to have rooms that let you close a door. It's kind of like the junk drawer. You need a place where mess is irrelevant and unseen. Well not in an open floor plan. Our living room is the dumping ground. It's sort of divided into 3 areas. Ethan's play area. My scrap area and then the traditional TV/living room/family room area. Then there's the laundry area, the shoe area, the coat rack and on and on. Admittedly, on some level, the clutter has just been moved around. So the mess is only going to get worse before it gets better. But prior to moving all the furniture around, I did throw away a lot of stuff. So it was a start.

I can't even believe I'm sharing this photo on line. It's so embarrassing. But this house has hit clutter rock bottom and it's time for an intervention. Maybe a little online in embarrassment will help me get this house into shape. If only my husband read my blog. :)

Here's the before scrap corner at the other side of the room.

Here's a small peak at a somewhat recovered scrapbook corner moved to the opposite side of the room. Again, it's a work in progress. Stay tuned for more over time.

Once I get the multi-purpose living room together, the next goal is to follow Peter Walsh's advice. Flat spaces need to stay clear. We're doing ok with the kitchen counter tops. More to come.

(de)cluttering

2011-01-06T21:42:00.000-05:00

So now that I have chosen my one little word for the year, of course I see it EVERYWHERE. Or maybe it's because it fits in with resolutions. Either way, I am committed to the word. To the actions that is its meaning.

When i went to read Becky Higgin's blog today, what did I see? A post about decluttering titled, what else, "decluttering (and other stuff).

Here's my post to her blog:

OMG decluttering is my one little word. So i am all over decluttering this year. I actually started with my office at work. It’s in great shape. I’m now moving on to the house. I haven’t done big things yet but I did organize my tupperware cabinet.Have you ever noticed that tupperware lids are like socks after you do laundry? MISSING? LOL.

Everyone's is busy. I'm no different. So I'll be taking baby steps as I declutter during the year.

BEFORE - MY CHRISTMAS SCRAPPING SUPPLIES

AFTER - THE BOX FINALLY CLOSES

Finally - My One Little Word

2011-01-04T20:43:00.001-05:00

I finally decided on my one little word. I wasn't sure if I would participate in this "call" because I just couldn't click with any one word. Adventure? Nah! Try? Eh! Then today it hit me. I've been working on this my whole life but have made some strides in 2010. AND I have some things happening in 2011 that will really push me further toward this. DECLUTTER! I am striving to declutter and not just in the traditional way. Yes, the first and primary decluttering goal is the real way to declutter - organize the house, the closet, my office, my files, etc. Great. We're getting there. We, meaning ME! Hubby ain't on board. But I also want to declutter my body. So yes, it's a round about way of saying I want to get healthy, but hey it's my one little word right! So in ernest I have already begun the decluttering physically and spatially. Wish me luck.

START HERE: http://www.oprah.com/home/Peter-Walshs-10-Tips-to-De-Clutter-Your-Home

Love at First Sight

2010-12-30T21:08:00.000-05:00

Snow, Snow Everywhere

2010-12-29T18:49:00.001-05:00

I hate to sound so negative, but what a waste of a perfectly good vacation week. Fine, Mother Nature is unpredictable and untamable. But calling a snow emergency for the 5th largest snow fall on record seems like a predictable decision Apparently not for our billionaire mayor, Michael Bloomberg. His idea of taking responsibility and examining what went wrong is always coupled with a "but"....but people should not have been on the roads.....but, mass transit did it's best and got stuck. It's easy for someone who doesn't have to work to tell those who have to work to stay home and extra day or two. It's not right.

So ok, it's not the end of the world that all of my errands for the week have to wait. But I must get out of here tomorrow. Not only do I have cabin fever, but I have PLANS. Hello, it's my vacation. I have a lunch date with a long lost friend and 4pm dinner with my staff in Queens. I did my best to shovel my drive but you can judge for your self.

BEFORE

AFTER

AND I DID IT ALL BY MYSELF!

WHY? Because this is what I found when I walked in the door after close to 2 hours of shoveling.

Nice life huh?!?

Monday already?!

2010-12-27T01:39:00.001-05:00

Well it's the Monday after Christmas and for about the 15th year in a row, I don't work this week. Love higher ed! What I loved about this Christmas was really it's simplicity. (See the last post for my little Charlie Brown-esque tree and minimal decorations.) We spent Christmas eve at my parent's house in the Bronx, as usual, but not before visiting the NY Botanical Garden for the annual train show and Gingerbread Adventures. Oh, and not to be outdone, hubby's bday is Christmas eve, every year!

Of course he gets his gifts from Abuelo and Abuela and Tio Eric on Christmas Eve.

What's Christmas Eve dinner without FAMILY?

Christmas Day are gifts from Mommy, Daddy and Grandma and Papa.

Here's a layout of Ethan's first Christmas Pageant

What is Christmas supposed to "feel" like?

2010-12-21T20:31:00.001-05:00

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Maybe. What does it feel like? I don't have that feeling that kid's have anymore. Santa who? I find myself so busy and so involved in making the everyday work that I haven't found that feeling quite like I used to. I am in the spirit but less enthusiastically, though that's not really a bad thing. I'm certainly no scrooge or grinch. I do think it has a lot to do with the house renovations. They are on hold for the holidays and a little more mulah AND I was so hoping to be in the new apartment by this holiday season. Because of the mess the renovations have generated I was not in the mood to decorate. I almost didn't put up a tree. GASP! But as the middle of December came and went, I started to feel bad. So I pulled out table top, pre-lit, fake tree that I had from my single, ready to mingle days and set it up with minimal ornaments....Very minimal. I bought some fake floral pointsettias and decorated my window boxes. I put up 2 stockings and called it a day. The star is lopsided and the ornaments lacking. The winter wind has knocked them about and they are a mess now.

Christmas has changed so much for me over the years. I'm not interested in gift giving. I'm not interested in the perfection of the whole thing. I want to teach my son that Christmas is more than just how many presents he gets. But I also am not the most religious of people either. I am an occasionally-practicing Catholic. I actually work for a Catholic institution and my son attends a Catholic school. For me a relationship with God is about spirituality and not institutions like and tithing. But I do value what religions stand for, most of the time. I'm just not always in agreement with how those values are manifested. So I stick to the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That seems to be pretty standard no matter what you believe. If I walk into life with that mantra, I think I'll be ok and my son will be too.

With that said, MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, HAPPY KWANZAA, HAPPY EVERYTHING. I guess this is what Christmas feels like this year. Maybe it will be something else next year.

Art Journaling Class

2010-12-19T20:36:00.002-05:00

I just got back from an incredible "Intro to Art Journaling" class at Portrait Bug in Manhattan. Julie Fei-Fan Balzer was the instructor and she is a great teacher. She has a laid back, patient and non-intimidating teaching style that even the person who can barely draw a stick figure would feel comfortable with. Julie said she's going to be starting a daily series on her blog encouraging everyone to do a little art journaling everyday. I am looking forward to January 1st already.

There was also a great group of ladies taking the class. Everyone brought something unique to the table and we all agreed it was great to get out of the house and spend a little creative time with one another.

Here are some examples of the fabulous work my fellow classmates created.

December 19

2010-12-19T01:35:00.000-05:00

WOOT! WOOT! I am officially an iPad owner. I've very hard to surprise and hubby came close this year but alas, he was unsuccessful. I walked into the house with my son and there he was wrapping it up. I don't know how he didn't hear a 3 year old and me, practically a bag lady, storming into the apartment. In any case, I could tell he felt kind of bad. But he seems to have gotten over it and I've been using my iPad ever since. No sense wrapping it now!

Today, I got to a much anticipated class. I am taking Introduction to Art Journaling with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer at Portrait Bug. I packed up my scrapbook rollaway bag and I'm ready to get my fingers dirty.

December 14

2010-12-14T13:45:00.001-05:00

Today's Reverb10 prompt is so timely. Appreciate. What's the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

You know I have been a little unhappy at work lately. I suppose we all are at some time or another right? But in spite of that, I am extremely appreciative and thankful for my job, my career. I work at a wonderful place with mostly wonderful people. Nothing is perfect so I had to say mostly. I am consistently supported and when I am not, I almost always walk away understanding why the answer was no or the decision was different. So the one thing that I have come to appreciate this year, though it has been quite challengeing to do so, is my job and my place of employment. Thanks for not downsizing.

I like to think I express my gratitude daily in just how I do my job. I don't take many days off and I have to be really, really sick to call in. It's easy to call out sick when you are unhappy somewhere but I have too many people depending on me and too many responsibilities. I end up feeling guilty. I do however resist the temptation to become a workaholic. I think it's the worse thing that anyone can do to themselves. Life is about balance. Without that, no matter how much we make or how much we love our jobs, eventually the scales will tip against us and we'll fall. So stay balanced so that others can appreciate you.

Tim Holtz Tags

2010-12-13T22:41:00.004-05:00

Well I was able to accomplish 9 of the 12 tags of Christmas. Not too bad. I wasn't too successful with Tag 1 but I think I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I'll get the other three done some time this week.

December 13

2010-12-13T17:13:00.001-05:00

As I've already mentioned, keeping up with the December Daily has been a challenge especially on the weekdays. But no worries, with the Reverb10 prompts I have something to journal regularly.

Today I got 2 really great Christmas cards and they were great for different reasons. The first one was great because it was this vintage looking post card and I love all things vintage. The adorable baby on the card was a bonus. This has got to be one of the cutest cards I have received in a long time, next to mine of course.

The second card wasn't a particularly different or cool card. It was your everyday Christmas card. What made it great was who it was from. It was from my high school buddy who I lost touch with for close to 20 years. We were VERY good friends and I thought the friendship would last throughout college and beyond. But alas, life gets in the way. She married right out of high school. I went 5 hours away to college and then almost immediately to graduate school. We finally reconnected again about 2 or 3 years ago only to quickly lose touch again. At that point, I thought it was not meant to be. Our lives were, are, so different. I had reconnected successfully with my best friend from 3rd grade and she and I were great friends right through college. We lost touch for a bit, but reconnected 3 years ago and are still in touch. When I saw the return address on that card today, I almost didn't want to open it. Not sure why. Perhaps I thought it would be another false start. But I quickly got over that, opened the card and was happy to read her note, have her email, phone and mailing address all at my fingertips. No excuses now. I plan to quickly respond to her with all of my information and hopefully we can get together in this holiday season.

In that vain, I have created another set of Christmas cards for the Memory Works consultant website using Cosmo Cricket's Oh Joy paper line and Buck Naked Chipboard.

December 8th

2010-12-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

Falling behind already, yes I am. But in all fairness, I just don't have the materials that Tim Holtz's tags require. I am going to make a quick trip to Michael's and see what I can find to make a knock off, but really Michael's doesn't carry the good stuff from his line. You mostly have to order stuff on line and I wont' get it now.

As for the December Daily. I am a little behind on that too but I will easily catch up on the weekend. I am not worried. I have been collecting what I need for each day.

Decmeber 3

2010-12-03T21:05:00.000-05:00

Reverb10.com
Prompt: Moment.
Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

Hmmm. I really had to think this one through. There hasn't been any one special moment. Instead my daily moments with my son have been so much fun. From the way he hugs and kisses me to the how soft his skin his, even when he has a stinky day the way boys have stinky days. And he's loud and boisterous and highly energetic. He's 3 and watching him transition from a young 2 to an older to2 and now to 3 and half has been so exciting. Right at this moment his little imagination is just so fun to listen to. He's at his toy chest making up a story with his toy train and telling friends to get on board and to hurry up. Children change so quickly in these early years and I try to catch every MOMENT all the time.

December 2

2010-12-02T23:22:00.002-05:00

Let's start with REVERB10.
December 2 Writing.
What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta)

This one is easy. My commute is the bain of my existence right now. I have to drive because taking public transportation to and from work would be 2 hours each way. It's just not practical. But when you drive you can't do anything. Thank goodness for my favorite podcasts - Paperclipping Roundtable and Digi Show, Manic Mommies and Photo Focus. Can I eliminate it? Only if I get a new job that's easier and/or faster to get to.

I started following Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas. My version of yesterday's tag was a disaster. The stamp I used was just too small and I hate it. But I'm still going to keep it and share it. There has to be a first time for everything. My version of Day 2 was a much better result, but it took me hours. There were so many steps. But I loved every moment of the process and was very happy with the result. It went into the December 2nd page of my December Daily album.

Here's my December Daily page for today.

It's December 1st. Excitement!

2010-12-01T22:45:00.002-05:00

You might be thinking, December 1st - Big Deal. I say YES, BIG DEAL. What December 1st means to me? ALOT, MUCHO!

1. It's my sorority's anniversary (23 years to be exact).
2. The December Daily Project starts today and I've been looking forward to it for weeks. And Ali Edward's blog post today referred her readers to Reverb10 which also starts today. So more excitement.
3. I sent out my Christmas cards today. I love sending out my Christmas cards. I make photo cards from our Fall Family Photo Shoot and they always come out great. Jackie Weisberg is a hell of a photographer.
4. December 1 is one day closer to Christmas. Woot Woot!

I had no idea what I was going to "December Daily" about today. But 9:30pm rolled around and my son gets his second wind after his bedtime. We visited the National Harbor in DC during Thanksgiving weekend and there is a Peeps Store there...yes peeps, those yucky marshmallow, chick shaped sweets. Who knew they had a store? And they make Mike and Ike's and Peanut Chews. I'm more of a Hershey's girl myself. Anyway, I digress. They gave us these weird foam hats as we walked out. I came very close to throwing them out last night. Glad I didn't because my son insisted that we we all put them on and take photos.

MY 3 YEAR OLD ACTUALLY TOOK THIS PICTURE WITH OUR CANON SLR. NOT BAD! WE LOOK TERRIBLE, BUT WHO CARES. WE CLEAN UP NICE.

MY 3 YEAR OLD.

So let's get to Reverb10. I learned about it 30 minutes ago and am so excited about what it is all about that I am wasting no time to get into it. Today's Prompt:

December 1 One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

CHALLENGING is my word.
Why? Why the hek not? It's been a crazy year on a host of levels - professional, personal, emotional. On the bright side, challenges always come with opportunities to make things better and to learn about ourselves, our jobs, the people we love. Challenges come with opportunities to change for the better even though change is scary.
My 2011 word: CHANGE - something's gotta give, right?!?

Christmas Cards

2010-11-28T19:43:00.000-05:00

I already have my pre-made, Snapfish.com Christmas cards stuffed and ready to go. All I need are the stamps. But, I spent today making a bunch of Christmas cards for the elderly. The Campus Ministry office at my job is going to help make Christmas brighter for some folks in our community and I wanted to make sure I contributed a little something. I was on a roll and no two cards are alike, even though my original intention was to make a collection of cards. It was fun and highly therapeutic.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T19:20:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone and the big Christmas Season has begun. Well, actually, it began right after Halloween since I saw homes already decorated and Christmas sales already in stores. My pumpkins are still gracing the front yard, along with the hay bale and scarecrows...at least for one more night.

But back to Thanksgiving. This year I spent it away from my parents, probably the first time ever. My family and I hit the road to Alexandria, VA to visit my girl, her husband and their new baby. Unlike the rest of the country, we left on Thanksgiving morning, which was the best thing we did. I also thought leaving Saturday at noon was a good idea. Not so much. Better than leaving Sunday? Yes, but there was still a lot of traffic on Saturday. It took us 6 hours to get home.

So what am I thankful for? It's been a challenging few months for me, but I still have a lot to be thankful for. I have a great husband and adorable kid. My parents love me. I have great friends. I have a job, a roof over my head and food on the table. Too much food on the table this weekend perhaps! Thank you to Norma, Clif and Giselle for opening their home to us.

As usual, I got a ton of photos to share.

Somerset Publications

2010-11-21T18:34:00.004-05:00

I have to say I really love browsing the Somerset Series of publications. They are so artistic and beautiful to look at. They make me feel nostalgic for some simpler place and time that I have never known, yet the work pulls in digital art. It's nostalgic meets modern media.

I took a walk over to the Park Slope Barnes and Noble yesterday and it was hopping in there. 7th Avenue in Brooklyn is such a cool, family-oriented neighborhood. Coffee shops, pastry shops, bookstores and independent toy stores and boutiques line the streets and make shopping at the local mall seem so boring and un-chic. I have to say I am not yet used to living in Brooklyn, even though it's been 3 years, but it's little walks like the one on 7th Avenue that endears me to the largest of the 5 boroughs - slowly but surely.

A cupcake truck outside Barnes and Noble. Who needs Mr. Softee?

King of cupcakes bakery on 7th Avenue, Brooklyn. It's been open 3 weeks and their red velvet and pear dulce de leche cupcakes are to die for. Check out that King Cupcake - $34.99 and it supposedly feeds 30. I don't know about that. It's big, but not that big!

The finishing touches

2010-11-18T21:48:00.000-05:00

I finally completed my December Daily and now I can't wait to get started. I used a number pack from Elle's Studio that I was hoarding from last year. I love how my book turned out.

I'm "signing up" for Ali Edwards' December Daily project

2010-11-14T22:07:00.001-05:00

November is half over and our plans for Thanksgiving are all set. Now it's time to start thinking about the last month of the year. My son is old enough to enjoy all that this city has to offer - the tree at Rockefeller Center; the Train Show at the Botanical Garden; and maybe even a Christmas movie at the theater. All of this just fuels my crafting fire. What better way to record December 2010 than by Ali Edwards' December Daily? I've already created my journal and just have to do some finishing touches. But overall, it's ready and so am I.

Front Cover

A couple of the inside pages

Fall Continues to Be BUSY

2010-11-08T20:08:00.040-05:00

I love my blog but I continue to be uber busy at work, that by the time I get home, the idea of getting on the computer is not even an option. Who knows what inspired me today? I also took a short break from scrapping. I was part of Lain Ehmann's Layout a Day and yes I did 31 layouts in 31 days. Actually a little more. There was a day or two in there where I actually got 2 or 3 layouts done in one day. So LOAD 10/10 was really great. It let me explore story telling techniques and it let me scrap about me too, which I rarely do.

On another note, I saw 2 homes today in 2 totally different neighborhoods (Bronx and Brooklyn), that were already fully decorated for Christmas. Thanksgiving is not even a glimmer in our eyes. I am so not ready.

Here are some more of my LOAD creations.

This two page layout is one of my favorites. I love the way these photos came out and he was genuinely into his blow up guitar.

Fall is great but busy

2010-10-13T21:58:00.002-04:00

I've been slacking on my blogging. I am usually pretty good about keeping up. Now that I am a parent, Fall is nutty, especially b/c daycare is not part of the routine anymore. My son is in a real school now. It's only PreK, but the school goes up to 8th grade. But he loves it. And I love it. He is learning by leaps and bound and he is so much more verbal than he was just 3 months ago. That's one reason why the fall is hectic.

I work at a college, so of course Fall is major. Everyone's coming back. New students are coming in. People are acclimating and re-acclimating and several weekend events that require my presence. Oh yeah, and I have a new boss. Change is good and challenging at the same time. So that's number two.

Problem number 3 is the 3 year old with a social calendar. Birthday parties, swim classes, apple picking, homework, ay ya yai! I love that stuff, because I'm equally social. I love that stuff, because it gives me more photo opportunities to scrapbook. I love that stuff because I want him to have every opportunity I can possibly provide for him. It wears me out and weekends become glimmers of the past. I need my housekeeper back.

There's a lot going on with my scrapping too. I was invited to be the October Guest Designer for Memory Works, which was really nice. Oh and did I mention I joined LOAD 10/10. Yes. Well I did and I love it. A layout a day; 13 so far. It's the only thing that's letting me unwind each night. I need to get quicker but the creative process whether 30 minutes or 3 hours is what does it for me. Go figure! Here are some of my favorite LOAD submissions.

Here is a montage of the projects I did for the Memory Works Guest Designer Gig using their Halloween express kit. I made a mini album out of paper bags and put all my childhood Halloween pics in it. The album is called Vintage Halloween. I love it.

I also used their new Ele.men.tary line to showcase some of my favorite photos.

Here are some of my LOAD submissions, both Digital and Paper.

Pictures of the Week

2010-09-28T21:04:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Michele from Timeless Daydreams. She won a prize for commenting on Lain Ehmann's post. Now on to my pictures of the week.

NYC Skyline...the lighting was just right.

San Gennaro...San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy - Great street food!

Guest Post by Lain Ehmann

2010-09-13T00:00:00.002-04:00

Lain Ehmann from the Layout a Day site has graciously agreed to do a guest post on my blog. HOW EXCITING. When she asked me what I'd like her to write about, I knew right away - scrapping boys and men in a world of pink and cutsie. Thank you Lain for your response and for agreeing to be a guest on my blog.

Don't forget to leave a comment and be entered into a random drawing for a fabulous prize!

Imagine you're sitting down at your craft table, just minding your own business, when all of the sudden, a genie appears in front of you. He is wearing the typical garb of MC Hammer pants and bare chest, and once you get over your shock at seeing this large half-naked being in front of you, putting footprints on your Tim Holtz stamp pads, he issues you a challenge. You are to use pink, polka dots, rhinestones, and flowers on a layout… for BOYS.

If you can do it and like the results, he'll give you a week on a desert island with Hugh Jackman. If you can't, you must forfeit your entire stock of Cosmo Cricket papers and embellishments. Can you do it? Do you dare try?

C'mon, woman! Hugh is at risk here – of COURSE you do it!

After all, you're a scrapbooker. You can do anything!

Now, granted, you probably won't face a situation like this (if you do, I want you to call me – or your doctor -- IMMEDIATELY.) But still, we often face similar challenges. In a world that seems to be overrun with pink, frilly, cutesy, princess-themed scrapbook supplies, we need to eke out a space for our X-Y chromosomed offspring and relations. It IS possible to use "girl" stuff on "boy" pages.

Here are a few tips to help you out:

Choose your pinks carefully. You're better off with a bubblegum (i.e., stronger) pink than a really soft, baby one.
Use hard lines. You're going for a more masculine look, so opt for straight lines and edges, and a more linear approach to your page. This will counteract the other "feminine" elements.
Select embellishments in "man" or "neutral" colors. Notice the flowers on my layout? They're brown. Cool, huh?
Contrast is great. The strips of patterned paper and the brown background balance the pink and the polka dots.
Don't worry so much. Sure, you probably wouldn't put your son in pink polka dots, but if you put his picture on a pink page? No biggie. He'll get over it – and so will you.

Remember that what is "boy" and "girl" is often a matter of interpretation and not an absolute. And if a week with Hugh hangs in the balance? I'm sure you'll do just fine. J

About the author: Lain Ehmann inspires, entertains, and educates her readers (and drools over Hugh) at www.layoutaday.com. Stop by to learn how to make your scrapbooking fun, fast, and fabulous!

Here's my take on Lain's post.

Back to the Grind

2010-09-09T23:01:00.000-04:00

What a week! September has got to be the craziest month on record for the world. Between the temperature changes (at least in the north east), back to school and increased traffic (yellow school buses everywhere), the days are getting busier and shorter at the same time. Have you noticed it's getting darker earlier already? My life is no different. I work at a college so of course August through September is very busy. This year is no different. It's perhaps one of the busiest and most stressful on record - my records anyway! My son starts a full day PreK program at a local parochial school. I mean, he's been in daycare for a while, but there is a different feel to this. It's actually a school with children from preK to 8th grade - TEAR. But it provides plenty of photo ops and I can't wait to scrap the memories to come.

On that note, don't forget to check out Memory Works latest life documented line - El.e.men.tary! Such a great collection. Interested? Let me, your friendly neighborhood Memory Works Consultant, know!

But back to the stresses of life. Thankfully, I'm a scrapper. It makes me happy. It helps me relieve stress. It relaxes me. In spite of how busy I've been, I've managed to scrap by buns off. Like I said, it relaxes me. Or maybe I'm just subconsciously getting ready for Lain Ehmann's Layout a Day in October.

Speaking of Lain, she is going to be a guest blogger on Brooklyn Girl Next Door next week. Stop by to read her post on Monday. Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a cool prize. I haven't decided what that prize is going to be, but I'll make a decision by the time her post is live. See you then.

These layouts were inspired by Big Picture Scrapbooking's Big Idea Festival. Karen Grunberg's contribution really inspired me. I loved how she use small photos (1x1.5) in a grid format to show the happiness of her family right now. I chose to document Summer 2010.

Here I finally made some time to scrap some of this summer's birthday parties, using Memory Works Simple Stories line. Love it!

These next few layouts finally got me to use my stash. I've had most of these papers for quite some time and rediscovered them. The newer products are on the "Red Carpet Shower" layout are from My Mindy's Eye So Sophie Line.

I made it my business to do lots of journaling in these layouts; beyond the date, place and event! It was certainly therapeutic and I'm happy to add thoughtful words to my layouts.

Did someone say Holidays?

2010-09-06T01:34:00.000-04:00

I'm definitely not ready for Christmas, but this is the Labor Day holiday weekend and next month IS Halloween. So I thought I'd get my holiday mojo started with some Halloween Cards that will be donated to the troops. Check out the Card Making crop over at Serenity in Him.

I had a lot of fun making these. I don't usually send out Halloween cards, but like I said, they are going to the troops. Hopefully, they'll enjoy receiving them as much as I enjoyed making them.

This last one was my favorite. The front says, Witch Way...

The inside says, to the TREATS? Loving the Wizard of Oz witchy boots rub-on.

Gatefold Album

2010-08-24T21:40:00.000-04:00

I got this album idea from Lain Ehmann's Scraphappy.org site. She used a 9.5 by 20 cardboard piece but I just couldn't find a piece of cardboard that big. So the creative juices got flowing (probably because of a less than stellar work day). I pieced together 2 10x6.5 patterned paper pieces using a corset look. Lain's book also only has the smaller booklets in the middle. I decided to add some more patterned paper to the inside and outside covers of the album and inked any areas that were too white to better match the black and white patterned paper (MME Meadowlark).

It was a fun and easy album to put together.

Pictures of the Week

2010-08-20T20:27:00.000-04:00

My son is just naturally silly and comedic and attention seeking. He also loves to spread his toys out everywhere.

Ok, so this is just my new shower curtain. But I absolutely LOVE the pattern and color scheme. Looks like patterned paper, NO?

What is with the tongue?

Serenity Created with Christine - Card Challenge

2010-08-19T01:56:00.001-04:00

My friend and fellow cropper, Christine, is hosting her first challenge over at Serenity Created. I wanted to support her and here's my creation. The challenge:

to create a card using some kind of embellishment you purchased over a month ago but have yet to use. We all have purchased something we "had to have" then watched it for a week then two, meaning to use it but just somehow can't.

Everything I used on my card was purchased over a month ago AND I've been wanting to use it. It took Christine's challenge to get me using my stash. Thanks Christine. The card foundation is basic Kraft paper. The patterned paper is Daisy D that was sitting in my scraps basket. I was happy to finally use it b/c I love the look of it. The white ribbon is from Michael's. The green ribbon I received from a ribbon swap among Memory Works consultants. The flowers are prima and the Happy Birthday tag which is probably what I've wanted to use the most and felt was a must-have at the time is from Elle's Studio online shop. Not sure who makes the nylon butterflies. I got those at the Scrapbook Expo in Somerset, NJ. You can't tell in the photo but I spritzed the flower with some clear, but shiny Iridescent Gold glimmer mist. The inside of the card is blank. I hope you like it.

All over the internet

2010-08-15T00:39:00.004-04:00

I am all over the web lately. I'm participating in all kinds of challenges and taking classes here and there. I can't even keep it all straight. Memory Works has just launched it's new Simple Stories kit called El.e.men.tary. It's gorgeous and I can't wait to get my hands on it. My son is going to parochial school PreK starting in September and I know I am going to go nuts taking photos of him in his little uniform. I am so excited for him to be in school officially. Memory Works is having a great sale going on. Just email me if you are interested in any product or having a party. They're doing great things over there.

I've been participating in Lain Ehmann's Scraphappy "club."I really like it. She had a special offer for LOAD alums and I took advantage of it. But once that offer is over, I'll need to make a decision. But so far so good. If you know Lain or checked out any of her web pages or blogs, you know that lady really loves Hugh Jackman. LOL!

I'm also playing along with Big Picture Scrapbooking's BIG IDEA FESTIVAL. That's been really cool and the projects and layout ideas, along with the prompts, are awesome.

Ohh and after listening to the last Paperclipping Roundtable I checked out Dedra Long's blog and joined her "One Weekend 2 Shots" flickr group. It started back in June, but I'm sure I'll catch up soon enough. If I look hard enough, I'll probably find photos I shot from the weekends I missed. Hmmm.

Here's my first installation of Dedra's flicker group:
King of the Toy Explosion.

Of course, Paperclipping is one of my fave scrapping sites. Noell Hyman has a great video out, her latest, on her system of creating mini books which works on both traditional and digital. I also participated in the August Challenge. I am getting a lot of mileage on the wedding album i just completed. Check out my last post for a slide show of the mini book and layouts.

Elle's Studio is hosting a free Journaling class and that has been really interesting. Seeing how other folks process the idea of journaling is encouraging and helpful. The ideas are all over the map, but the key is to get something down. Write the basics - date, time, location, event. Write the emotion - what feelings does the photo or event conjur for you? Record words - did anyone in the photo say anything of interest or fun that could be included. Every once in a while, I even refer to a quote book or idea book to really capture the story. Anything goes!

This weekend, I got my very own copies of Photo Focus and The Big Picture by Stacy Julian. I am absolutely loving those reads. I have been wanting to take her BPS class called Library of Memories, but now I may not have to b/c I own Photo Focus. I'll be finished with it by the weekend and ready to implement some of her great organizational techniques.

I love scrapbooking and wish I could make a living out of it. For now it's just a hobby that I love. That is certainly good enough for me.