Thoughts of a Grasshopper

I've done a handful of pages over the last 10 months but nothing really to speak of. I have continued to buy kits that I like and now have 160+ but not that many pages. Hopefully I will get a page done here and there, but I thought I would share some as I go along. The top page is from our trip to the Grand Canyon this weekend (Indian Summer kit) and the one below is a close-up picture that I took and really liked (Lynn Griffin's Deja Vu kit). I decided to go ahead and make a page with it. That is one thing I like about digital scrapbooking is that I am more likely to use photos I wouldn't normally do a page for. Why it is, I don't really know, but this is how I am.

All those little squares remind of the serendipity technique, although I don't recall what it was only that I did it 7 or 8 years ago for a swap. I like the way this turned out but it seems the photo doesn't quite do it justice as far as color goes. Stamps: Soft as a Feather CS: Kraft, VV, Cranberry Crisp, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Blue Bayou Ink: Marigold Morning, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Crisp, Blue Bayou Misc: Blender Pen

We went to Las Vegas for a family reunion. On the way we stopped at the Grand Canyon and decided to go back on the way home because of the hail and how cold it was. I wanted to go back later, hoping for the sun to be out, because the colors are amazing there. I took a couple of family pictures at the Desert Trail pullout. I set up the tripod on a trail down and learned it was a 3-mile hike down and I decided to snap a photo and head back up. That was toward the end of the day and the kids were ready to call it a day. The cool thing was it was our anniversary this weekend and when we got married we had gone to the Grand Canyon and several other national parks as our honeymoon. We ended up back where we began. Kind of fun.

I picked this book up at Costco for a quick read. I could relate to several aspects of the book. The main theme of the book is being a first time mother. I loved as she would remind other adults to look both ways when they crossed the street with her baby. I identified with the frustration of breast feeding, not having time for a shower, holding the child all the time, grabbing quick food to eat instead of a meal. The book also is about relationships with family, friends and romance. I couldn't really identify with the family end because we haven't really been around family being military when we have kids. I could relate to the friends because sometimes as we move on to a new phase and a friend doesn't the ties break for a while only to be renewed at later time. I like the way she wrote of the interest in her ex-boyfriend and her neighbor. By the time I neared the end of the book, I thought all was lost but within the last two pages everything is right with the wo...

This was the book for this month's book club and I was excited that it was chosen because it has been on my list of books I want to read for probably a year. Of course, I couldn't remember why I wanted to read it just that I did. I read this every chance I had: waiting outside school, while dinner cooked, before bed, etc. It is a quick read just because you want to know what she going to deal with next. The events of her life were something else and while it wasn't anything I've experienced, I'm sad to say that I could identify various events with various people I've become acquainted with. For all that she and her siblings dealt with as children, I would like to believe that something like that wouldn't happen today, that CPS would be there. The sad truth is that it does happen. There are too many kids that face these types of situations and they fall through the cracks or the system is too busy to pay any attention, or perhaps someone else will do so...

We were discussing our upcoming trip this summer and I suggested we rent a van. This didn't go over incredibly well but a good argument was it will be incredibly hot traveling and at our destination and it won't be pleasant without air conditioning. I will be a grumpy bear without a doubt. My wonderful husband suggests the van go into the shop to have it looked at. Looked at. It hasn't worked since we moved here. He has always claimed it is because it is so dry here but I'll tell you I don't buy that because enough other people have air conditioning that works. Then he informs me they have never been asked to check out the AC. You've got to be kidding. It has been miserable here for 3 summers and it has never been mentioned when he drops it off. It is at the shop now and here's hoping that it won't be there for too many days and cost an arm and a leg. This is the sketch challenge on SCS today. I chose the stamp set because the van might end up...

A friend asked me to make these for a baby shower that is this weekend to be used as a favor. I had never seen anything like this but what a cute idea. She received one years ago at a shower she had attended. I was worried the hot glue would melt the plastic casing of the candle but it was fine. I used PartyLite candles because they have the clear holder and I thought that would look better. Stamps: Little Layers, Curvy Verses CS: Confetti White, Pretty in Pink, Candy DP Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose Misc: Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon