Some Randomy Randomness of Goodness

Never his mind on where he was.  Hmm?  What he was doing.  Hmph.

If only I could float in the clouds.  I've always thought they'd be fluffy and squishy.  Now I know I'd be taking a cloud bath.


Our new comforter from PBTeen.  Well, duvet cover and blankie and pillows.  Not new bed skirt.  I know it does not match.  It was from the last set.  But I love this with the colors and stripes and down blankie inside!  And while we are not teens, I couldn't pass up the fab bed set, it's exactly what I wanted.

Currently reading:

Well, more like this series.  I'm done with the 8th book, and waiting for the bookstore to stock #9.  I've gobbled these faster than the other books I've mentioned.  They're usually done in 2/3 of a day.  Can't get enough.  And, the fabulous thing about it is I'm getting more into the Scriptures.  Such a needed thing!

Project Runway is on tonight! And thus, Project Catwalk from SIStv!  YAY!
Speaking of SIStv, which is short for ScrapInStyletv, I've got a brand new shiny badge on the sidebar to link you up to their boutique!  I must say, they've got some awesome kits, cool exclusive products, such as paper lines, gaffer tape and more!  Check it out, browse, shop, join in! Not only does SIStv have a boutique shop, they've got an online community of scrapbookers!  It's such an awesome site!

Elise Blaha's Craft Olympics

Elise Blaha is hosting a Craft Olympics with three categories:  Best Use of Pattern, Best Use of Text, and Best Use of Paint.
I have chosen to enter two of these, but I suppose one of my entries could be considered for either of two categories.  So, here they are.
First up, Use of Pattern.  (which could also be entered under use of paint.. but I chose pattern.)

I did not create this on the date listed, that's his birthday, I made this today, so it still falls into the time frame for the CO.  I used the foam stamps from Creating Keepsakes' Kit of the Month from December, and tried to find shapes that would lend themselves to repeats.  Hence the category, Use of Pattern. Which to me, is what repetition is. 
When I asked Pete what kind of dessert he wanted, he surprised me by requesting a chocolate-chocolate ice cream cake.  So, I headed to Coldstone Creamery and picked up the smallest chocolate cake they had.  The ganache was still pretty hard when I tried to put the candles in, so instead, he just held one to blow out.  :)
Secondly, Use of Text.  This also falls under the category of Blog Challenges (Scrapjacked - bettiescrapbookjack.) The song is by Coldplay, and for some reason I just really like this song; the background music, the way it's sung, maybe not ALL of the lyrics, but I still really like it.  It calms me sometimes.
I used some packaging plastic that just seemed too cool to get rid of, it was already crumpled and gave such a different texture.  As for my take on the bettiescrapbookjack, I loved how she printed the journaling on her photo, as well as the masking tape and the layers.  I didn't do that many layers, but I still love this LO.
Anyways, I'm off to fix dinner and watch the Closing Ceremonies, as we didn't get to see the Opening Ceremonies, just the march in.  Hopefully the weather is done being rumbly and the satellite won't kick out.
Have a blessed week!

So Fickle.

Is this how it always is?  Someone is in the media's spotlight and suddenly the whole world is an expert on the matter?  Acting like they care?  Like now that it's a hot story and the subject is himself hot, everyone loves him and is buzzing about him?

Photo courtesy of www.telegraph.co.uk

I mean, come on.  Michael Phelps was completely and stupendously awesome before Saturday when he won his 8th Olympic gold medal in a single Olympics...in case you were under a rock for the Games thus far.  (Which by the way was such an amazing thing to witness, I have to say.)  But now everyone thinks they know a thing or two about swimming.
But if that brings attention the the often-ignored sport, then maybe I should be ok with it.
I swam for 9 years.  Age 9 to 18.  I was never good enough to go past the state levels in club or sectionals in high school, but still, I was alright.  I wish I had stuck with it.  While I had talent, which I admit, was probably from my complete immersion in it at an early age; as time went on, I grew a little tired of it.  Some of the people involved were petty and hard to deal with.  And I was getting a little bored.  High school came along which jazzed it up a bit.  But even then, I had a lot of social activities outside of the sport.  It didn't help that my parents were really the only ones who cared (which helped me stick with it as long as I did).  Because I wasn't involved with a "fun", "exciting" or "easy-to-watch" sport, no one would come to see me swim my little heart out.  While I am the first to admit that if you don't know the times someone is swimming, an all-day meet can get exceptionally challenging to sit through.  It's hot, crowded and uncomfortable to sit on the bleachers for the whole day.  But in high school, the meets are only two hours at most.  The pace is faster, there are more teammates cheering, there are team cheers at the beginning, there is a winning and losing team (instead of individual places and times).  But still, it was rare that we had non-parent spectators.  Even my grandparents didn't care much for it.  They were more interested in their local high school volleyball team (with none of their own grandchildren on it) than in my swimming.  My dad was a timer at most of my early meets, then he started running the things, and finally officiating them.  He still does.  He runs the state meets, and sometimes even bigger ones than that.  Swimming is in our family.  I need to get back to it.  Looking back, I think if my focus had been a little different, I could have been something more.  Nothing on the Olympic level.  No no.  But still.

(That's me on the far right.  Laughable if you've seen me anytime recently.  I was thin and had muscles!)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that swimming has been around for a long time and people haven't really cared much about it.  If you only support the Olympians, people may not have the encouragement to get to that level, when you don't pay attention to the little guys.  The eight year-olds bumbling down the pool, as adorable as can be; the eleven, twelve and thirteen year-olds who are uncomfortable with their own bodies in swim suits, but do their best anyways; the first-timer swimming in high school, using all their courage to try out for the team; the senior who may or may not ever swim again.  They all need representation.  Not just the fabulous people in front of the cameras.  Please don't be fickle.

Weekend Blur

Our trip to the homeland was a welcome reminder for why we are moving back there.  And a reminder of how much I hate this place.  Not that I needed a reminding of that.  I'll elaborate more on the trip once I have some more time.  Unpacking and getting back into things after being away always takes awhile. 

The Eleventh Hour

Ok, not really... but eleven hours later.. I'm done...and I'm exhausted.  My brain hurts.

Challenge Blogs and Anticipation

I've been starting to get into reading and participating in scrapbooking challenge blogs.  These are blogs that give you a challenge or a prompt in which to start your scrapbook page from.  They range in visibility as well as style and schedule.  Some operate monthly, bi-monthly or even weekly.  They can be anything from a subject to scrap about, to colors to use, to a sketch to base your layout off of (and more!).  It's not that I can't come up with anything inspiring on my own, but these are just fun to participate in.  There's camaraderie as well as the occasional prize.  I think I'll start sharing some of these layouts as I do them.  Perhaps I'll make a new sidebar list of challenge blogs.
On the Twilight front, I filled out a pre-order slip at the book store a few weeks ago.  While I'm not going out to the festivities tonight, I will be purchasing the much-anticipated Breaking Dawn tomorrow morning.  And will promptly be out of touch with the world for the rest of the day. :)  I've got my t-shirt to wear and everything!  Just a few more hours!  YAY!