About Memories & More

Halloween

It's my favorite "holiday" ever!  Seriously.  I love the costumes...I love the little kids...I love the spirit of the day...it's just good, clean fun!  That said, I don't particularly like to dress up...I'm a little shy for that.  But this year I threw caution to the wind & dressed up for the Halloween Festival that was sponsored by the City of Flagstaff in Heritage Square.

Don't we make a handsome couple?  (that's really my husband's letterman's jacket from high school...he went to Coconino)  We think we were zombies.  Not quite sure.  I had a little boy tell me he was sure I was a vampire & then tossed me a pair of teeth to wear.  Very cute!

I've started volunteering to do the kids crafts for the City.  I've done the Christmas tree lighting & now two Halloweens.  And I LOVE it!  I love the kids, I really do!  When kids are young, they are SO creative...SO free...and so darn cute!  And I volunteer my husband (who's thrilled to help) and daughter (who's not so thrilled to help).  It's just good karma.

We were so darn busy, that we didn't have much time to take photos, so forgive the lack of them...these are not the best.  But if Mindy from Georgia is reading this, the painting behind me on the left is a Joe Sorren (if you want a photo of it, let me know!)

A sweet little Dorothy...

And a very patient dad who let his family dress him for Halloween.

 

It was a GREAT Halloween!

Oregon

Had the most amazing time in Oregon!  Thought I was going to take very specific classes & instead I learned a whole lot about myself (& took fabulous classes).  I made some new friends...laughed a lot!  And I made some fantastic art.  I'll share more with you over time, but right now, I'm just sorta mulling the whole experience over in my mind.

Look closely at this sign. I think I'm the only one who noticed...not sure what that says about me...but it just cracks me up!  Any idea what I'm talking about?

Have a beautiful day!
 
 
 

The Weekend

Friday marked my first time ever teaching at a Creating Keepsakes Convention (CKC).  Strangely, I wasn't nervous at all.  Mostly I was excited.  I was teaching the "Little Things That Bring Me Joy" book...which, if you know me, I'm pretty passionate about. 

 

I just love that you can make a mini book out of cardstock, add photos & a little flair & be done in about 2 hours from start to finish.  With the whole book.  The class was only an hour, but we'd prepared the kits so the stuff that takes time was already done.  (We have some kits for sale in the store...$22 & includes a 1 oz bottle of Art Institute Glue...which is another subject I'm passionate about).

There was a funny thing that happened in the Saturday morning class.  Something that's never happened to me before...but it was hilarious!  I was explaining to the students what tools they needed to pull out for class:  an ink pad, a bone folder, scissors & a corner rounder...and these two gals were laughing hysterically.  Certainly supplies couldn't be that funny.  One of them raised their hand & between gasps of laughter asked me what a bone folder was.  I explained that it was plastic tool  used to create crisp creases in the folds of your project.  Now the ladies were laughing even harder.  OK... Next thing I know, they're holding up a manila folder & between gasps of laughter they said "We thought you wanted these!  We looked all over for bone colored folders!"  (manila folders are bone colored...get it?)  You probably had to be there to get the true sense of the hysterical-ness...but it was so funny!  The whole class was near tears!  And they were such good sports about it, too!  (Told they I'm likely blog about it...they were ok with that).  The rest of the class went off without a hitch!

Then my cousin Jen & I went through the CKC vendor fair.  I haven't been through one of those in years.  It was fun to see what people were swooping in to purchase...and what they weren't.  I bought a film strip looking transparency with Kendall's name on it.  She was thrilled!  And a Cardinals banner for a future scrapbook page for my husband.  And I picked up a t-shirt with picture of a camera on it that said "just shoot me now".  Love it!  It was fun & I'm so glad I went!

Then Jen & I headed to Pei Wei.  My most favorite treat in Phoenix right now. 

Poor Jen, every time I come down we end up here.  That's Pad Thai with Tofu & Mandarin Iced Tea with an orange wedge inside.  It's soooo good!  Wish I had more now...

That's Jen with her delightful dish.  You might recognize her from the 10/30 page .  In the past 2 months she's lost 25 lbs...I'm so proud of her!  And a little jealous :)  She uses an online food journal at livestrong.com called The Daily Plate (it's free).  I tried it out yesterday...it's pretty darn cool...almost cool enough to make me want to track what I eat...almost.

Well, that's all the photos from the weekend.  You'd think an obsessed photographer like myself would have tons...but you know, I just relaxed & didn't take any.  Maybe tomorrow. 

Have yourself a fantastic Monday!

"Please won't you be...my neighbor"

Getting ready to write this post & what pops into my head but Mister Rogers "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood".  Oh, how I wish life were that simple again...

ANYWAY, the whole point of this post is to ask you to be an About Memories and More fan on Facebook.  Just go to the little box on the right upper corner in Facebook & search for About Memories and More.  Then click the little "fan" box.  It's that simple.  Just trying to see how many fans we can generate...it's kinda fun! 

(Is the song stuck in your head now? It is mine!)

Edited to add:  apparently, it's not as easy to find us as I would have hoped.  But I think I have it figured out!  Search for About Memories and More.  When the search screen comes up, on the left hand side is a tab that says pages.  Click on that & wahlah, we're there!  Thanks!

From the Garden

We enjoyed our first ripe tomato from our garden last night.  It was the best tomato I've ever eaten.  Seriously.  And the first one I've ever grown.  A little deformed...but it was yummy! 

My garden is off to a very slow start this year....how's your garden doing?

Today...

I'm feeling a little melancholy today.  And I'm not sure why.  The more I think about it, the worse it's getting.  It could be because Kendall is starting 9th grade this week.  Or maybe that she's turning 15 in less that a month...AND she doesn't want to have a birthday party.  With her friends or with her family.  It's so shocking to me that she doesn't want to have a party that now I'm obsessed with it.  This is the girl who would start planning her next years birthday party when all the guests from this years party were leaving...so why suddenly no party?  Somehow I feel like I've failed as a parent.  I know, ridiculous, right?

10:10 am edited to add:  she doesn't want presents either....no party...no presents...what's up with that kid of mine?

On a happier note, I went to see Julie & Julia yesterday. 

I loved it!  Great movie!  I'm so glad that I read "My Life In Paris" prior to seeing the movie.  Not a typical book for me...I don't usually read non-fiction.  I'm more of a murder/mystery/smut kinda girl (mix all 3 & you have the perfect book!).  But I really enjoyed both the book & the movie.  So much so that now I want this:

I'm a little afraid of it.  Reading "My Life in Paris" was eye opening.  The things they ate.  Lots of fish...which isn't bad, but they cooked it with the head & skin on...which completely grosses me out.  And when you went to the market to get meat, it still had fur on it...even hoofs attached.  Just typing that inched me that much closer to being vegetarian.  Not there yet, but ewwwww!  The funny thing about me wanting this 700 page cookbook is that I hate to cook.  Maybe it's because I don't get home until almost 7 every night...or that I suspect I may be ADD (which is totally not a joke...I start reading a recipe & think "Oh, I can do this!" and then improvise the rest of the recipe & wonder why it sucks.  If I'd just followed the directions it might turn out better).  Whatever the reason I just don't enjoy it.  But now I'm obsessed with this book & for some reason think it will make me love cooking.  Um, maybe I should start on a smaller scale....  Maybe if I cook from it I will find that I really am passionate about cooking (that just made me laugh out loud!).  Still....

The deadline for the "Paint The Town Red" window display was extended to Friday.  We hope to have ours up sometime Tuesday.  I have to say, my mom crafted the most excellent paper items for our display.  They are so good that a customer thought we had purchased the items she made.  Nope.  Wait til you see!  I promise to post photos, but really, you should come check it out...every single thing is fabulous!  Even the charcoal briquettes!  The detail is AMAZING!  (the lettuce is my favorite!)

After the "Paint The Town Red" display goes up we'll be working on back to school.  I know.  Should have already done that.  But we got so wrapped up in the Cardinals contest that it got put on the back burner.  I've grabbed a stack of Kendall's school photos & the plan is to make some page using them this week.  I have some great ideas & we have some great school paper in the store that should make it a breeze! 

Random Monday Musings

Lots of random things that really have nothing to do with each other, but fun, none the less.

My friend Debra is a super talented card maker...if she's weren't so dang busy running her husbands real estate office, I'd have her teach classes.  Isn't this a cute birthday card?

Lately, my mom has been helping some home schooler moms make posters of their kids for the 8th grade graduation that's being held in the valley.  It wasn't until these gals that I actually remembered to take photos of their projects:

That's Julie & Willow Smith.  Willow should be a model, don't you think?  They were thrilled with their project!  So were' these gals:

It's funny, but after they completed their projects, they weren't real keen on hanging them at the graduation.  They thought they turned out too nice...they'll look lovely in a frame when they get home!

Zucchini in my garden...finally!  Seems like my garden is taking forever to grow this year...

Look how tiny my pepper plant is...the jalapeno is almost as big as the whole plant!  Is that normal??  And there is another little baby jalapeno at the top...go figure!

My husband & I went to see Harry Potter in Phoenix Saturday...had to get out of the heat!  And it was pretty good!  I didn't like the last movie much...moody teenage angst...but this one was light & fun.  I did not read the books, so I was simply entertained.  I have a bad habit of reading the books first & then picking the movies apart (Twilight, anyone?)  So I decided not to read these...yet.  Kendall is currently obsessed with the books & says they're so much better than the movie...which for her is a switch.  She likes to tell me the movies are better than the books...

I hope you have the most fabulous of Mondays!  Stop by the store & have a cupcake with me!

Happy Birthday to me!

Well, actually, my birthday is Monday, July 20th.  I've been here 41 years, 361 days as of right now.  Not calling myself 42 yet...just sounds so, well, old.  Funny thing is, I don't feel any older...maybe a little wiser, but not older.  And I bet you didn't know, but the first man landed on the moon during my second birthday party.  My mom said my Uncle Les set up his camera in front of the tv & took photos of the whole thing.  I just sat in my high chair & shoved ice cream & cake in my face...perfectly content.  (not much has changed about me...except I don't love ice cream...now cake?  That I could eat every day...yum!)

Anyway, since Monday is my birthday, I thought I'd bring in cupcakes to share with you all.  And I do love cupcakes!  Chocolate are my favorite...but we'll see what kind I decide to make (or buy...you know, in case I'm running late...which is what usually happens). 

So come on by the store & share a cupcake with me on my birthday (Monday).  And if you bring me a birthday card, I'll give you a 10% discount on your purchase Monday.  (that's one way to get a bunch of cards!)  You get bonus points if you make it :)  Not that I'm giving points or anything...

Stone Soup

It's my favorite comic to read every day.  It just speaks to me.  Here are the last two days:

 

Does the artist happen to live in my house?  Holy cow!  Sometimes the conversations are so close to home it's eerie...

The 4th of July...in pictures

We've watched the 4th of July parade every year from this same spot...since Kendall was a baby.  (it's a great spot!)  And because of that, I could post photos of the parade from, say 3 years ago & they would look exactly the same.  But I promise, these photos are from this year :)  The guy holding the US flag is our good friend Dave Saurer.  We sat with his family during the parade.

I'm enthralled with the Hopi dancers.  I love their traditional dress & costumes...well, except those flip flops that I just noticed.

As scrapbookers, we document the history we make.  How cool is that?

The little boy in this sailor suit just melted my heart.  He was SO cute!

Very clever demolition derby car!  I was struck by how all those "portholes" were perfectly lined up.  Someone takes great pride in the cars they're about to demolish.  Impressive!

These horses were stunning.  HUGE, too.

Using an old lens (that I don't love) but I love this photo!

Kendall & Kelsey, enjoying the parade.  The best part of the parade?  The guys standing behind us would suddenly burst into song & sing "I love a parade!" and after a few times, the guys across the street would sing back to them "We love a parade!"  I have to say, I loved this year's parade...really & truly enjoyed it!

I have no idea who this little girl is.  But I can honestly say, she is the most beautiful child I've ever seen. 

I have a challenge for you:  print out your 10 favorite photos from the weekend and create a 1 or 2 page layout and journal (it doesn't have to be deep...just list your favorite parts of the weekend).  Lets knock it out now, while it's fresh in your mind.  Email me your pages & I'll post them.  Or post a comment linking your page to your blog.   Come on now, it'll be fun!  Promise! 

What was my favorite part of the weekend?  Well, I didn't take my camera (imagine that!), but we went on a 4 hour bike ride.  Audra, Don & I rode from around Foxglenn Park, down the Urban Trail to Ft. Tuthill then to Ponderosa Trials, where we picked up MacKenzie, over to Campus Coffee Bean for coffee & 9 grain toast (a little bit of heaven, let me tell you!) & back home on the Urban Trail.  I hesitate to tell you how beautiful it was...only because it was also deserted & simply breathtaking.  Would want it to get all congested now, would we?  Here's a link to the map.