Scrapbook Update - For Real!

I did it! I managed to finish those 2 layouts from 2 weekends ago. I got the journaling done this morning. Of course I used that as an excuse not to workout! This layout details the ceremony and includes the invitation. The flowers and embellishments are pretty much the same as the last wedding layout. In the August kit I got these Heidi Swapp journaling squares that were really cute but I didn't know how to use them since I don't do much hand journaling. I tried to run them through my printer and that didn't work. Well I used them to make the bottom border. I added some more flowers and rub-on words. I have a detail shot here so hopefully you can see that they are little white pieces of shaped paper with light pink borders.
This next layout shows some of the posed family shots that were taken. Another really simple layout of cardstock, a metal frame, flowers, and more pearl brads.
In the September kit a piece of scalloped edge cardstock was included. I loved it but it was black and too dark for this layout (everyone is already wearing black) so I traced it onto a piece of ivory paper and cut out some scallops of my own. I think it is so pretty. As I look at this photo I realize that I seem to REALLY like symmetrical pages. Hmmmmm....

These layouts bring my total to 49 layouts! Wow! Only 3 to go and I have met my goal!

Garden Update

It looks like our yellow squash has recovered from the harsh summer and our neglect. We harvested this little yellow squash yesterday and it looks like there may be a couple more coming. Tomatoes are still going strong and one of the other gourd plants that looked dead seems to be enjoying the cooler weather and is growing steadily. I don't know what Greg was thinking when he composed this photo of the squash. Perhaps he wanted the weiner dog placemat to give you a sense of the size? Hmmm?

I am hoping to scrapbook a little tonight since Greg was a sweety and got the veggie "meat" loaf prepped last night while I was at BSF. We are going to have some mashed potatoes and gravy to go with it but that shouldn't take much time to whip up. Yum!

Monday

I didn't get any scrapbooking done this weekend. I finally got the my printer ink changed on Sunday night because I had to print out a new chart for my fridge (where I record my daily exercise). It kills me a little because I got such a great kit in the mail this month:The paper in this kit is so divine that I love BOTH sides of the double sided paper. I can't decide how best to use it! There are little felt flowers and big newspaper flowers and interesting journaling cards (in the black spiral bound notebook). I love it is all but I am still working in pink wedding pages. I suppose I could put them aside and work on this but I have so much wedding related stuff out that it would be a lot of work to set it all aside and change gears now. I must plow ahead. I am going to try and do a little work this week. Back to my old method, just a few minutes a day.

I am lame!

Since no one really wants to read blogs about what I ate for dinner or watched on tv I really have nothing to say!

I did catch the season premiere of The Office last night and laughed my butt off. Otherwise I haven't have done much else.

This weekend I need to pick up a birthday gift for little guy who is turning one on Sunday so that should be fun. I of course want to finish those wedding pages and clean the house a little. Then I am helping with the volunteer fair at church on Sunday after the birthday party.

Greg will of course be at school at least part of the weekend. He has had a tough week. We received a check in the mail from his school this week quite unexpectedly. When he investigated it turns out they dropped one of his classes and refunded his money. Why? Well we would like to know too! They claim it was a strange random fluke and now he has to run all over creation to get it fixed. I love when an institution makes a mistake and then make the victim run all over the rectify it. Poor guy! He is going to try and get it resolved after work today. I am just sad because he wasn't planning to go to school tonight and I was going to get to spend some time with him. Maybe this weekend!

Have a wonderful weekend. Fall begins on Saturday so you have one night to live it up summer style!

Scrapbook Update?

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! The sun is shining today and I love it!

I did work on a couple more wedding layouts over the weekend but my printer ran out of ink so I couldn't do the journalling and finish them. I finally got the ink last night so hopefully soon I will have something to show you. They look VERY similar to the last wedding layout.

I haven't had much time at home these days. I have been trying to workout each day and it has really been dominating my mornings. I can't manage to do much else. And then in the evenings I have been trying to make a home cooked meal every night to ensure we are eating right and saving money so that has been taking up my evenings. Combine that with BSF back in full swing and television premiers I don't have a lot of free time.

Speaking of premiers, The Office premiers this Thursday and the first episode is supposed to answer all our questions about Jim and Pam. I can't wait! I will be watching alone unfortunately since Greg has class so no one will be around to hear me squeal.

I hope to have more to report soon!

Weekend Goals!

It has been raining here for 2 (or more) days so I imagine I will be spending a great deal of my weekend indoors unless the weather takes a turn for the better. I am hoping to get some scrapbooking done. I haven't had a lot of extra time lately and have fallen behind slightly in my productivity when it comes to hobbies. I am so close to completing my goal that I can't give up now! I got my September scrapbook club kit in the mail last night and am really excited to use it. I think it may be my favorite so far. I was going to take a photo this morning but with all the rain it was so dark and gloomy I couldn't get a good shot.

Have a great weekend!

I'm In Heaven

I got this in the mail last night. If you don't already watch this show, please give it a chance. It is only 30min on Thursdays but it is HILARIOUS!! I am so addicted to the office that I watch is on the train on my video ipod and have to force myself not to laugh out loud (so people won't stare). Greg and I watched the blooper reel last night and we were both laughing so hard I almost peed my pants. I hope that season 3 is just as good as season 2! A lot of the extra footage is available at nbc.com for free if you want to take a peek.

And for you BBC Office lovers, give the US version a try. They really came into their own in season 2. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Tomatoes will survive the apocalypse!

The tomatoes were the only thing in the garden that survived this summer. Greg and I picked these over the weekend and turned them into a yummy spaghetti sauce. They were really delicious. We tried to harvest the beets but in our neglect they had become uncovered by the soil and were growing completely on the surface of the ground. Because of that they were really hard and dried out. So much for beets.

So we moved on to carrots. This is what we found. Warning! When you neglect your carrots they grow into each other and meld in to giant mutant carrots. When I cleaned and cut these up one was completely hollow inside and had to be pitched. There are a few more mutant carrots out there but that is about it. Just tons of tomatoes. I plan to make some more sauce and freeze it for the winter. I am sad that not one pumpkin or gourd survived. I love to use them as decorations in the fall. I guess I will have to visit the farmers market this year for my decorations!

Now we are trying to plan a garden clean-up day to get all the beds cleared and mulched for winter. We have new neighbors next door and I am sure they are wondering what is up with the weed patch out back!

It begins again.

Tonight is the first night of BSF. Over the weekend I didn't get much scrapbooking done but I did manage to make a new cover for my binder this year. Since I work with kids I try to do something fun. Last year I had 4 girls in my class so I did all pink with flowers and ribbon. This year I am teaching 6-7 year olds and I have 2 boys and 2 girls so I went with something colorful but not too girly (except for the big flower!). I think it counts as a layout toward my goal.
Today also happens to be the 5th anniversary of 9-11. Last night Greg and I reflected on our experience in the city on that day and were more moved than we thought we would be bringing up those old memories. Luckily we were fresh home from church and an awesome sermon on Mark 13:24-37. The passage reminded us of Christ's impending return and 9-11 reminds us how desperately we need Him when we recognize our capacity for evil. Christ is returning to right all wrongs and redeem and renew His creation. Knowing this we are able to LIVE in light of this hope (that was the sermon challenge). It was a great comfort as we watched the news last night and those images we hadn't seen in 5 years.

More Scrapbook Stuff

Sorry I don't have a new topic today. All I have been doing is washing clothes most days. I loving Rosie SOOOO much! I have her set to run a load today so that when I get home the drying will be almost done. Gotta love doing laundry while I'm at work. BSF starts in a few days and I haven't even begun planning my lesson! Oy!

Rachel and Chris just celebrated their second anniversary yesterday so it is fitting that I post this layout which I finished last weekend. I am not thrilled with the dead space on the right but I love the detail around the focal photo. Please excuse the color differences. They are the same pale pink paper on both halves. The lighting was just kind of bad. The detail work:
Pearl brads, paper flowers, rhinestones, and white brads too. I copied this right off the cover of CKs Special Wedding Issue. I loved it so much and I think it worked really nicely on my layout. I have lots of wedding photos left so I think there will be 2-3 more wedding layouts.

Scrapbook Update

My photos arrived from www.scrapbookpictures.com and I was very happy with my order. As you can see the photos were all different sizes and most were pre-cut for me. All I had to do was trim and add them to my prepared mini-book. I added a few more embellishments and I was done. I will definitly use this company again. They have so many more options than the other places I was using to develop my pictures.

Most of my photos were 2x2 inch. Having them printed at that size was much better than what I usually do which is attempt to crop them myself.My mom found some dies for my Quikutz that are of punctuation () {} [] * etc. I used them in this little book (thanks mom!). Most of the other supplies came from the August scrapbook kit. It was so nice to have everything coordinated for me. It made it really easy.

These are just 3 of the 8 layouts that highlighted my experience in San Antonio. So far people have enjoyed looking through it.

Our baby!

We are pleased to announce a new addition to the Cruikshank household. Meet Rosie!

We decided after much deliberation and planning to purchase this little washer/drier combo. That's right, she washes and dries all in the same machine.

Now for you non-New Yorkers I know you are wondering why on earth I would even care to post this. BUT having a washer of your own is UNHEARD of in this city. I recently read a New York Times article about how washing machines are a great equalizer. Neither the rich nor the poor have laundry capabilities in their homes. It just doesn't happen. Well one of the perks of living so far up in the Bronx is that out apartment has always had washing machine hook-ups in the kitchen. Our lease has a clause that doesn't allow driers but Rosie here doesn't work like a regular drier and requires no special pluming, venting, or an additional outlet (none of which we have). So she was allowed in.

I am on my 5th load (we had quite the back up of laundry and she doesn't hold very much) and I am loving her. Welcome Rosie!

Camping

Over the weekend I went cabin camping with my friends Suzan and Shelly. Suzan had never been camping before and really wanted to stay in a cabin in the woods. Well she found one in the Taconic State Park and invited me along.

We enjoyed a hike up to Bash Bish Falls which involved crossing the border from NY State to Massachusetts. The falls were very pretty.

We also built a campfire and introduced Suzan to smores which she had never experienced before. I was very proud of myself for building a fire (plus a second one indoors in the fireplace!). Watching Greg all these years must have rubbed off on me.

Suzan shares my love of jigsaw puzzles and brought along a 3D puzzle for us to work on. We stayed up till 2am the first night putting it together and managed to complete it by lunch the next day. We left it behind for some other campers to try. I never do the same puzzle twice!

It was a quick little trip. We went up on Friday night and were back by Sunday afternoon. It reminded me a lot of camping in the northwest because it was really overcast and rainy the whole time and kind of chilly. Plus I don't see a lot of forests in my day to day activities in NYC so that reminded me of the PacNW too. We had lots of fun!

Garden Update

When we had the heat wave her in NYC a few weeks ago we lost a great deal of our garden. Several days over 100 degrees was just too much for some things to take, even with lots of watering. We lost most of our cucumbers, watermelon, bowl gourd, zucchini (though it was almost dead from pests), pumpkin, and and some other vines. Not much is left.
One thing that did make it was a warted gourd that Greg planted. This morning I came down to these giant blooms. It has just rained and they looked so fresh and pretty. Unfortunately we can't eat warted guards but they make pretty decorations at Halloween.

Another thing that not only withstood the heat but is doing great are the tomatoes. Greg is delighted. I don't really like raw tomatoes but I planted Romas this year in hopes of making some sauce with them (I love cooked tomatoes!). These beauties came off the vine this morning and are coming camping with me. Don't tell them we are eating them on our tacos!

Lastly are the yellow squash or summer squash. This one ended up getting a little too big and may not steam up as nice as a small one would. So far this is the only fruit from this vine but it has a few blooms and may produce something else.

The morning glory was blooming this morning too. Unfortunately its beauty is tainted by the fact that it is such a nasty weed. We also have lots of big carrots and beets which I will photograph soon when we pull them up and eat them.

Have a great weekend!

Scrapbook Update - August Kit

I received my August kit last week in the mail. It was a little late because I had to pick it up at the post office. I was a little disappointed that the color were orange and pink. What am I going to do with this? Then I got a brainstorm. I am using this kit to make a mini-album of my trip to BSF headquarters. I know you are sick of hearing about BSF but I have a workshop next week and I thought taking a mini-book would be a great way to show people the trip and even drum up some more volunteers for next year.

I don't have any photos of the book because I am doing it a little bit backwards. I am using a new-ish photo service called www.scrapbookphotos.com which is a lot like other online photo developers except that they have tons of photo sizes to choose from, artsy borders, even color spot treatments. This mini book is 6 x 6 so all my photos are 2x2 or 2x3 in size. And they are coming to me pre-cropped. I am really excited about this but it took a ton more work than I usually do. I had to sketch out each page in advance to figure out how the photos would all fit and to pick the sizes. I was hoping the photos would arrive before this blog entry but I am still waiting.

I am going camping this weekend with some girlfriends so I probably won't get to scrap again until next week. I will be taking some vacation days and hope to spend one whole day scrapbooking. I may even meet my goal next week since I will only need 7 more layouts to make it to my goal total! How cool is that!

Rafiki Foundation

One of the perks of visiting BSF headquarters is that the Rafiki Foundation also has their headquarters on campus there too, as well as a store.

The Rafiki Foundation is a non-profit that's aim is to:
"help orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa to become godly contributors to their communities and the world"
They do this through specially designed orphanages and girls training centers.

The orphanages are cool. There is a village with a main center building and then small cottages around the perimeter. In each cottage live 10 orphans and one woman who is designated their permanent mother. Siblings are kept together and the cottage does everything together as a "family". They receive food, clothing, medicine, education and some kind of marketable skill training within the little village. I just think it is such a cool concept.

The training centers specifically target girls in developing countries who would not be able to attend school or are too young to find jobs. They receive an education and are taught a skill that results in a product. The products are sold in the US and all proceeds go directly back to the training centers. The photo shows the items I picked up at the Rafiki store.

Carved wooden ark - Malawi
Trees - Tanzania
Soaps - Cape Town
Quilted bag - Nigeria
Earrings- Can't remember

They had so many wonderful things and they were all very inexpensive. It is so nice shopping with the assurance that the products are helping children. Please check out their website and if you are in San Antonio definitely swing by the store. They do have a child sponsorship program too.

Super Nanny Alexis!

While my friend Karen is away on vacation I have been feeding her cats twice a day for the past few days. The only way to get them to hold still for a photo was to feed them. I have been calling them "Fat Buster and Mini Meow". If you know Austin Powers you will get it. The older cat is Buster and he is a little, well how should I put it....big boned. And then there is the new kitten Margarita. They look like twins but Margarita is from totally different stock.

This morning I went to feed them and I poured out their water and went to refill the bowls but there was no water coming from the faucet! I forgot that Karen got a note on Sunday that the water was going to be shut off for a day. I couldn't leave them with no water so the kitties are drinking Evian today. It's all I could find besides Diet Coke and OJ. For one day they can live the high life!

In the evenings I play with them a little.
Mini Meow is easily entertained. Greg came with me over the weekend and found this elastic ball thing to hang from the door. She loves it and it keeps her entertained for a while.

This is the extent of Buster playing. Mostly he flops his big belly out on the coffee table and lets me brush him. He is a real sweetie.

Occasionally I think about getting a cat. I am really allergic but we aren't allowed to have a dog in our building but cats are ok (so unfair I know!). Cat sitting has cured me of the desire. Cleaning out the litter box and dishing up the nasty smelling wet food is a little much for me. Oh and did I mention that Buster vomits if he eats too fast. Yeah, that was fun to clean-up too. I will just settle for visiting them when I hang out with Karen.

Have a good weekend!

Greg is here to pick me up so I have to run. I am hoping to get lots of fun projects done this weekend and will post about them next week. I leave you with a photo collage of my BSF trip that wouldn't post yesterday.

Have a great weekend!

Sorry! BSF trip update.

I have been a REALLY bad blogger. It has been almost a week since I posted. When I started this blog things were really slow at home and work so I had plenty of time to post but lately it has been go, go, go. I will try harder!
We made it home safe and sound from Texas (eventually!). It was a great trip and we especially loved working at BSF headquarters for a couple of days. In the above photo Alice and I are on a tour of the facility and got this photo in the library where the BSF staff meet each morning for their devotional time. It was fun hearing a little more of the story of BSF's founder. The facilities were wonderful and so well kept and run. The volunteer coordination staff couldn't have been more friendly or more accommodating. They made sure that we took lots of breaks and they were constantly feeding us! That may be a Texas thing.

When you volunteer you do whatever they need that day but most of the work is done in the warehouse sorting, packing, weighing, and organizing the materials that are printed in-house. Alice and I spent half our time sorting and organizing packing slips and letters and half our time weighing out Home Training Pages into 100 sheet bundles so they could be shipped off to classes around the world. It was very cool to see the process it takes to get materials to the classes, the materials we enjoy using each week. It is truly an opportunity to see the BIG PICTURE!

We met lots of great people and got to rub elbows with some of the executive staff (or BSF celebrities as I like to call them) and we were kind of like little celebrities too since we were from the NYC class. Everyone wanted to ask us about it. Alice is already organizing a trip for next year (we hope to get into on-campus housing for $10 a day! You can't beat that!) so if you are interested drop me a line and I will forward you on to her.

OOPS!!

I am in San Antonio right now with my friend Alice. We are SUPPOSED to be on a plane right now but we missed our flight!!! Mom, you aren't the only one who has trouble in airports I guess! With the recent problems with air travel we were extra careful to be at the airport 2 hours early sans viscous liquids. Only problem was we thought our flight was at 7pm but in fact it had been at 5pm! We had misread the itinerary. Or rather Alice mis-read it and I was too lazy to check it at all. We make such a great team!!!!!

Anyway, we are staying in a hotel tonight by the airport until our flight first thing in the morning. We had a great time volunteering at BSF headquarters on Thursday and Friday and met so many wonderful and fun people. We ate our way through Texas and it is true, everything is bigger here including the portions. We visited the Alamo and the Riverwalk, Market Square and did lots of shopping. We are looking forward to getting home but are enjoying this evening to take a break and relax. We have been working on some knitting projects and I am currently washing laundry since I was out of clean clothes after today.

I have tons of photos to share soon. Have a wonderful Sunday!