Week in Review 7/15/10

It was about time for some downright happy moments! After what seemed like FOREVER ... we finally got had all the kidlets under one roof again, well almost. (#2 was still in Wyoming) Hubby and I had been really anxious about how the youngest 3 were, emotionally speaking. We hadn't seen them since D's service and had no idea how they were coping with everything. It was a relief to finally have them walk in the door and know we were going to have them for a whole week.

They were ... just fine. A little tender around the edges, but that was all. We planned an afternoon at the library ... a favorite for everyone. We love the Salt Lake City Main Library. It really is a place you could spend the whole day in. The architecture is amazing and there is always something fun going on there. We split up and each went to find our own treasure trove of books to take home. Saturday was a real treat too! We got to spend the morning at the Jordan River Temple where our niece was sealed to her husband and beautiful wee baby. It was a really emotional day for everyone - but very uplifting. #2 met us at home just after we finished for the day and a smidge after that, #1 left us to go to the Justin Beiber concert. Oy.

It felt so good to get everyone back on track. We played and laughed and ate loads of watermelon. I was also able to make some great headway on a book I was putting together for #3. Since she had suffered two losses so close together, I had all the young women from our ward send me letters, lyrics, scriptures or quotes that would help her find some peace. The leaders all contributed as well and before you knew it I had a whole pile of 'pick-me-ups' for her. I scrounged through all my stashes of paper to get inspired for layout options and finally came up with something that was truly beautiful. I'll post pics of the completed projects in my next week in review. I love how it all turned out!

Loving Shape Collage!

Alright, I admittedly spent too much time in front of the computer today, but I needed a creative diversion before heading back to JetBlue for another 8 hour session of training. Blech. Now, I'm running on very little energy and even less sleep so my new toy offered the most fun with the least effort.

These were all created from the same batch of 200-ish photos of my oldest girly-girl. Processing time wasn't too bad, except for the last one with the background. I'm still deciding if I like the idea of a background or not, there's something about it on a clean white area that I just love. Anyway, I've discovered that you can preview as many times as you want and it will rearrange the photo spacing each time, which is nice. Oh! And plan to walk away from your computer while it's creating. This program definitely takes a lot of juice to run, so hands off is better or everything will slow waaaayy down.

Photojojo Shop-o-rama

Ooh ... these items are all on my wish list this year! I have loved the projects posted in the Photojojo Newsletter, but visiting their store is a whole new kind of medicine for me. Just look at these great finds!The Fuji Instax Instant Camera, the new polaroid phenom, at just $90.The Bad-Ass Bowler Camera Bag is as sexy as a camera bag gets for only $50.The uber cool Monsterpod that sticks to over 1.000 surfaces and is the ultimate other-worldy tripod for your point and shoot.And then, of course, there's the infamous Photojojo book, chalk full of DIY photo project goodness and ringing in at $22. Yay! Where to start? I'll talk one of each please.

Thank Heaven!

We co-hosted a baby shower at our house yesterday. It was beautiful. We were 3 lovely women short due to illness, but all in all I would count it a success. We chose a Sugar n' Spice theme and decked the house out in brown and pink polka dots. It looked just like a Baskin Robbins. The guests played "Name that Spice" (12 tiny champagne cups filled w/ different spices to see and smell). And the mother-to-be played "Name that Sugar". This one was really mean and I hope she won't hold it against me. I put different types of candy and 'sugars' into real baby diapers then rolled them up like a real dirty diaper and tied them with a bright bow. She had to identify all 3 items in each 'dirty diaper'. We had applesauce with Sugar Babies and yellow Sour Patch Kids, Tapioca pudding w/ sliced 100 Grand bars and Lemon Heads and such ... the worst ones had things like chocolate pudding, Tootsie Rolls and Milk Duds, raisins, Whoppers .... You get the idea. Eeeew! It was hilarious and she was a great sport! Thanks for all the giggles ladies.

Lombard Pretties

Wise Guys

I love unexpected pick-me-ups that just happen along my way. Today I received a email newsletter from Mibo Lighting and Homewares. Their fun geometric lampshades look vaguely familiar, but I don't know when or how I would have ever found their website before. Anyway, I'm glad that I did and lucky for us ... the great news today is that they are selling this great little DIY project for just over a dollar to make these adorable little owl friends. I zipped them my payment and within 30 minutes received the PDF file. Sweet fun for the little ones. I'll post the pix of ours in the next few days. Go get yours right from their home page while you can and shop the rest of their great store as long as you're there. Have fun!

Birthday Festivus

The budget conscious birthday fest this year for the big boy consisted of a sundae bar, night games for hours on end, an unexpected fireworks show and s'mores around the fire pit. We did all this at a great local park with supplies we mostly had on hand. Thanks to technology, we didn't even have to buy invites. He whipped up his own info-email and zipped it out to all his buddies. Easy-peasy. The kids all had a blast and had the most fun throwing cups of water at each other towards the end of the night ... go figure. It just goes to show you that you honestly don't have to spend a fortune on these kinds of things. Simple fun goes a long way.

Clean Slate

I've wiped this blog slate clean and am starting fresh again. (sigh) I'm hoping this will be a place where I can ramble a bit and post tidbits of what is going on around the shop and in my life. With 5 kids running me around like a crazy person, there's usually something interesting happening. For the moment I'm gearing up for the American Craft Council show in San Francisco. I was accepted as an AltCraft artist this year and am a little nervous about the whole deal but am so excited to roadtrip there with my buddy Wanja. I've decided to count it as my birthday trip and not put a lot of pressure on myself for big sales dollars. We leave August 13th and will be back the 17th. I can't wait!

I'm also doing my best to keep the kids busy this summer. We've already finished up girls' camp, EFY, and High Adventure camp and 2 of the kids got to visit Washington DC with their grandparents for a couple weeks. We have everyone reading for half an hour in the mornings and then doing worksheets and writing projects until almost noon everyday. It's nice to see the kids work on projects they really enjoy too. I'm having the girls start a life story class that will get some of their creative energy out. Last weekend we secured a slip for our boat up in the canyon so we can run up a couple nights a week when Dad gets home from work. It's so fun to see them out behind the boat. Those are some of my best memories from my childhood.

I LOVE SUMMER!!