Rest in Peace, David...

February 29, 2012 my world changed. Laugh if you must, but the news about Davy Jones' passing has made me profoundly sad. I refused to believe it at first.  I saw a blurb run across my Facebook wall.  "Davy Jones of The Monkees dead."  My breath caught.  I immediately googled, hoping to find it was another of these celebrity death hoaxes.  Sadly, it was not.  My heart broke.

My love for The Monkees is something I have never apologized for. From the moment I heard them on the 5th grade playground in 1986 I have been smitten.  And Davy Jones is the one who stole my little girl heart.  I have loved him with all the passion and fervor an 11 year old girl has for her first crush.  That innocence and love has stayed with me all these years.  Concerts, meet and greets, book signings, traveling the East Coast with my best friend, listening endlessly to their music on both record and cassette, The Monkees have been a huge part of my life and have brought me endless amounts of joy.  And the butterflies in my stomach never subsided no matter how many times I encountered a Monkee.  Sheer, unabashed adulation and joy.

Davy has always been a showman, an amazing entertainer, so sweet and kind with fans.  Having interacted with him after shows and during Learning Annex and book signing events, I have always felt like a million bucks after every meeting.  Davy was nothing if not a gentleman. He took time with each person, he listened to ridiculous prattle, and he always, always smiled.  And every time I saw him, my heart would race and I would often not be able to find my voice.  I would shake and sometimes cry.  That 11 year old little girl would come out in full-force.  And yet he smiled.  The very first time I met him, he walked me through the entire experience.  "Do you want me to sign your book?" Silence, nodding through happy tears.  "Do you want a hug?"  More nodding.  "Do you want a picture with me?"  Carrie, find your voice!  Nothing.  Just a nod.  And then he ended with, "It was nice to meet you, Love."  Sweetness.  Kindness.  And my heart soared.  I don't believe I uttered a single word to him, but I walked away on cloud nine.  I had met Davy Jones.  I could die happy.  I was 13.

Every concert experience was worth its weight in gold.  David never missed a beat. He was charming and entertaining.  He was funny and ridiculous.  He loved the spotlight.  He came alive the moment the stage lights came on.  You never left a concert disappointed.  And Mara and I always cried when he sang "I Wanna Be Free."  And "Girl."  And "It's Nice to Be with You." And...and...and...and...

In many ways, Davy was the face of The Monkees, the number one Monkee.  He embraced that role, and though he always enjoyed talking about Broadway and horses and his other interests in life and performance, he never hesitated to embrace his role as Davy, The Monkee. 

How can he be gone?  3 days later I'm still in shock. 66 was too young.  I dreamed of seeing The Monkees performing until they no longer remembered where they were!  I dreamed of seeing silly old men.  I never, ever dreamed he would be gone so soon.  He had at least another 20 years left to keep the world entertained!  I miss him.  I miss knowing that he's alive, making someone else happy somewhere in this world. We lost an amazing entertainer and a kind, loving person. My world will never be the same.  I can't stop crying.  The Monkees have always been my escape, my fun.  Life gets stressful? The Monkees make em smile. Now, there is melancholy where there was joy. The beginning strains of Daydream Believer will forever echo hollow in my ear.  David's light in this world has dimmed.  Rest in peace, David.  You are much loved and will be greatly missed.  Thanks for all the smiles....

Things that make me LAUGH!

It is no secret that I spend a significant amount of time laughing!  I laugh at silly things and often I laugh at inappropriate times.  It's my way to ease the tension and I don't apologize for it!  I have people tell me I laugh to loudly or that my laugh is obnoxious.  Maybe I should be embarrassed, but I am not.  I am me.  And I love to guffaw!  So, yesterday I discovered a blog via a friend's facebook post.  This blog made me laugh.  Laugh until my sides hurt!  I couldn't stop laughing!  The blog?  Food on my Dog.  The premise? A guy sticks food items on his dog's head and takes pictures.  No funny quips, so witty captions.  Just pictures of a sweet, adorably pathetic dog with food on her head.

I roared with laughter!  Perhaps this means that I need a break!  The stress is getting to me?  Maybe.  But this blog is FUNNY!  You must check it out!

http://foodonmydog.tumblr.com/

Next, I've got a layout that makes me smile!  This kit is so full of cuteness!  I just love it!  These are some pictures from Georgia Kate's 6th birthday back in October.  The kit is Hello Birthday and Hello Birthday Bits by Faith True Originals, and the templates are Fuss Free: Like Totally 2 and Fuss Free: Square Pegs, both by Fiddle Dee Dee Designs.  This was a fun 2 page layout to create!



So, if you want to laugh, I'm your gal!  Even if others accuse us of being obnoxious or immature and just plain stupid, I am not afraid to enjoy a laugh.  Wild, uproarous laughter is one of the most fun things in life!  If you haven't let loose and just laughed as loudly and as long as you can, then you're missing out!  Laughter really is the best medicine.  Now I'm going to look at some more pictures of Tiger with food on her head.  ;)

So much lost so quickly...

Yesterday I got a phone call just before picking my kids up from school.  Don't go home to Ramallah, my friend said.  There's been a tragic bus accident on the road.

She had heard from a coworker who had heard it on the news.  A school bus full of preschool age children collided head-on with a semi-truck.  The bus flipped over and caught fire.  I've heard conflicting reports about the number of children who have died, anywhere from 5-9 and teachers, too.  And the children were between the ages of 4-6. This happened on a stretch of road we travel almost daily. According to witnesses, it happened so quickly.  Passers-by attempted to help pull children from the burning bus before emergency crews even arrived.  Many remain in critical condition.

It broke my heart.  So many lives lost.  And others affected forever.  The trauma suffered by those who survived.  It's just so sad.

So that is my blog post for today.  Life can change in the blink of an eye.  As a result of an accident, our entire world can crumble around us. Be thankful for the life you have.  Kiss your husband, your kids. Call your mom and tell her you love her.  Honor those little ones who have died far too young by living your life to the fullest.

Super Hero!

What super power would you choose if you could choose any?  That was the question The True Team asked this week for the Rumble in the Orchard challenge. The challenge was simply "Four."  We decided we would be Faith's Fabulous Four. we had to choose a hero and power.  Here's what I came up with:

All the goodies are from Faith True Originals, including the FUN kit Kapow (a collab) and Master of Disguise.  The template is from Captivated Visions.  Here's the final layout with all four parts together:

You can vote for The True Team here:

http://www.esurveyspro.com/App/Polls/DirectPoll.aspx?id=11358

Finally, I scrapped a difficult page this past week.  We lost a baby early in a very surprise pregnancy back in September.  I have held onto the pregnancy test.  I can't let it go, because it's all that remains of our little one.  I decided to photograph it and scrapbook about it.  The journaling was difficult, but healing in many ways.  The kit is Snapshots of the Heart by Jennifer Labre Designs and KimB.  The template is from Fuss Free: Key to my Heart by Fiddle Dee Dee Designs.

 

 The journaling reads:

"You were real. You were created. You were alive. And you were 100% human and 100% mine. The loss is real. The grief is real. In a world where life is cheap and the life of unborn babies perhaps the least valued of all, I will declare that you were real, my precious little one. I did not expect you, didn’t even know I wanted you. Yet, there you were, growing inside of me. I saw the place where your tiny heart was forming. But something was wrong, and callously the doctor told me that my pregnancy might not be viable, that I might be losing you. I wept. Even though I didn’t expect you, I wanted you and loved you with all my heart. It was agony losing you. It was devastating. The sadness felt overwhelming. I mourned the loss of your life and the loss of our baby. I mourned for the hugs and kisses I would never get to shower you with, for the dreams I had in my heart for you. You were real. You are real, and being held in the arms of a loving God. I am thankful that you were knit together in my womb by the creator. For whatever reason, you did not grow and thrive like your brothers and sisters. I may never know why. But I do know that I loved you and that I grieve your loss. The pain is still raw and real all these months later. I miss you…journaled February 7, 2012"

We've had an eventful week or so.  Work has been stressful.  My insomnia is back with a vengeance.  And  I have to release an employee from her position this week, too.  Prayers for me and my family are always appreciated!

The Rumble in the Orchard is over, so it will be back to my normal scrapping schedule soon!  The Rumble layouts were challenging to me and took more time than I usually spend on a layout!  But is sure was fun!

Until next time...

Slow scrapper!

I've been AWOL this past week, and for that I'm sorry!  I know so many of you just can't sleep without at least a weekly blog post from me.  I'm sorry to have put you through that agony!  :P  I don't know why I didn't post last week.  We were busy.  I was lazy.  Take your pick!

But Monday was my birthday, and anyone who knows me knows I love my birthday! So, I thought I'd post a few pictures from the festivities!

Also, last week The True Team created a lovely layout for the Rumble in the Orchard.  It wasn't an easy layout for me to create for some reason.  As a result, I didn't get any other scrapbooking done last week!  But I'm on a roll this week!  I'll have some layouts to share this weekend, for sure!

But here is the layout from The True Team.  The challenge was to create 4 layouts all about the designer we create for, so this layout is all about the lovely Faith True!





A short post for today!  But more to come soon. Promise.

What's Brewing and some pesky little critters

So, Scot came home last Friday.  That was awesome!  Then, just a few days later, I discovered a louse on Georgia Kate's head.  Yes, just one louse.  No evidence of any other critters on anyone in the family, but we chose to treat it as an infestation.  No sense taking a chance on having a really big problem. So, we washed and washed and washed.  Found nothing else, but in the battle with this insidious little creatures, I feel power when I wash.  And wash some more.  Hopefully we have seen the last of them.  Gah.

On to more pleasant topics!  Jennifer Labre Designs has got a kit out this week that made me swoon.  Seriously.  When I saw it, I hit the floor.  And she took Scot's suggestion for the title, which made me even happier!  :D  If you love coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, you MUST have this kit!  What's Brewing is new today at OScraps.  RUN!  Run, I tell you!  You will love what you find!  Here's a layout I created using the kit:

Elise's Pieces gave us an adorable kit this week, too!  We Are In Love is full of pretty, rich colors and lovely elements as sweet as Elise can make them!  I added this kit to Fiddle Dee Dee Designs' latest template offering, Fuss Free: A Meaningful Life.  Add to it a super sweet picture of Maggie from 2003 and you have this:

And in a final digital moment for the day, I have been hard at work with the True Team, battling it out in the Rumble in the Orchard at Scrap Orchard!  This week's challenge was Yin and Yang.  We went with it!  This is our team layout with all 4 of our parts together:

And these are two versions of my portion, one with the scallop and one without. I kind of preferred it without, but with went better in the group shot! You be the judge! :D

Everything you see here is from Faith True Originals' store at Scrap Orchard!

I suppose that is all.  It is cold and rainy.  And foggy!  I can't see but a few feet out my living room window!  Praise God because we are desperate for rain in this dry land!  And I'm thanking him for this tiny little gas heater which is keeping at least half of my body warm right now!  :D
 

Until next time, my faithful readers...

One Day More!

So, who is now singing Les Mis with me????  :D  Scot comes home tomorrow.  In just over 24 hours he'll be back with us and all will be right in our world.  I can NOT wait!

There is a Rumble in the Orchard and it's super FUN!  It's a Creative Team contest for the designers who sell in the Scrap Orchard store.  We're 4 member teams and we have to create a layout or series of layouts following certain requirements.  The layouts have to fit together somehow to create a whole.  Round 1 results are due today and have started trickling in.  You can see the layouts here!  I'm part of The True Team for Faith True Originals.  Here's my part of our team layout!  We went in a little different direction than the majority of other teams.  We've created a single layout using one of Faith's templates.  To create the kit we used Faith's A Mother's Joy kit.  It's pretty cool to see the completed layout, which should be posted in our thread sometime later today!

I have no idea how this all works, but it's just fun to play along!

I worked on this layout a few weeks ago, using Faith True Originals and mle Card's Made Anew kit and Fiddle Dee Dee Designs Fuss Free: Shake It 2 templates!  Here's my sweet Georgia Kate and all her personality!

I hope to get more scrapping done today...after I get some real work done, that is!  :D


Until next time, my dear readers...

Alone? Never!

Well, I'm doing the single parent thing for about 2 weeks (give or take a day!).  Props to all of your ladies (and gents) who say goodbye to your spouses for long periods of time!  I couldn't survive it.  Honestly.  I miss Scot, my constant companion, conversation partner, and rock.  But the kids and I are surviving.  2 have been a little under the weather.  But we're trying to do fun things like try out a new shwarma place and play some games together.  It helps the time to go faster and I love family bonding.  I.E. Family LAUGHING!  :D

There's a RUMBLE going on at Scrap Orchard!  It's a battle of the creative teams, and it's proving to be tons of fun!  Even if you aren't part of the rumble, you can check out the fun here!

I've started a new novel the other night:  Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa.  I can't put it down.  It's not a light read, but does give some perspective to the way Palestinians see the world, the things that they have suffered, and gives the Palestinian refugees a voice.  It's moving and sad and funny.  An extremely well-written book, I highly recommend it.  But it is not for the faint of heart.  I've have wept while reading it.

And I've been trying to scrapbook some, too.  I created another Facebook Timeline coverphoto using Fiddle Dee Dee's awesome template sat, Fuss Free: So Timely.  This time I used Elise's Pieces newest kit, Affirmation.  I love these templates and how they look at the top of my FB wall!

I'm offering my services to anyone who would like me to create one of these awesome pictures for your FB wall!  Just comment here or send me an e-mail.  The templates use anywhere from this many pictures to just 3.  You send me the pictures and give me an idea of color scheme and I create something using the kits I've got.  Honestly, I love doing it, so just let me know!

I plan to scrapbook more today.  I've got some kits to use for the designers I create for as well as the RUMBLE at Scrap Orchard!  I also have to get my workout in.  And maybe a mad game of charades!  And cooking some Palestinian rice that we all love.  And today I begin my official countdown until Scot comes home.  It's down to just a week today.  Before today the time felt waaaay too long for me to start counting, so I just ambiguously thought that he'll be home soon.  Let the countdown begin!

Been reading through the book of Matthew in my devotions.  That Sermon on the Mount is radical stuff!  I love following Jesus!  And he's the reason why I am never, ever alone.  What an awesome feeling!

Okay, blog readers, maybe I'll be back later today with some scrapbooking goodness!  Until next time...bye!  :D

Happy New Year 2012!!!

It's always crazy when a year passes and a new year begins, isn't it? How did an entire year fly by without me noticing? I hope that my scrapbooking and obsessively taking pictures helps my family remember the good times (and the bad) and helps us all to pause for just a moment to thank God for all of his blessings. I have so much to be thankful for, and I stand at the beginning of 2012, I just know it's going to be a year of blessings! Challenges, of course, but blessings, still!

Scot left today for a nearly 2 week stint in Nyack. Back to our old stomping grounds. I'm feeling a little sorry for myself for having been left behind. Though he knows I'm his biggest cheerleader and support his doctoral studies 100%! I'm just jealous that he's with our families and back to the life that is familiar and somewhat easier than our life here. But mostly that he's eating New York bagels and pizza! Just kidding. I really am most sad that he's with loved ones! But he's excited about his studies and I know he's going to be stretched and challenged and he's going to come out on the other side of his doctoral work a stronger person and leader.

What will I be doing? Well, I decided that today was a lounge in the house kind of day. I did wash all of our bedsheets (YEAH, ME!) and cook a good lunch (can someone say Mjuddara???), and put 99% of the Christmas decorations away (the nativity and the Advent Calendar are both still out). But I didn't actually "work." But the coming 2 weeks will be business as usual for me and the kids. They return to school on Monday after a 3 week vacation and my schedule presses on. Hopefully we'll have time to enjoy each other, too!

I have been scrapbooking! I'll share a few layouts! :D

First, using Winter Wonderland by Jennifer Labre Designs, I created this beauty, featuring Mam-mam's tinsel tree! As a child I loved that ridiculous, tacky tree! The template I used is another great one by Fiddle Dee Dee Designs from her Fuss Free: Daily Goodness collection.


Next is a little something I created for Cheryl's feature at The Daily Digi.  I used a retired Nikki Epperson Christmas kit and one of Cheryl's templates from the same pack: Fuss Free: Daily Goodness!


Finally, Cheryl created this awesome templates, Fuss Free: So Timely, to create fun coverphotos for your Facebook timeline!  I came up with one for myself and then I did one for my mom and BFF, Mara!  LOVE the results!
This one uses Jennifer Labre Designs' Holly Jolly kit:


Faith True Originals The Sweet Life


I am anticipating an amazing year full of JOY and happiness!  I hope and pray the same for you, my faithful blog readers!  Happy 2012!!!

Scrapbooking goodness!

Like I said yesterday, I've been busy...busy scrapbooking! :D No, seriously, we've been insanely busy, but I have managed to squeak out more than a few pages in the last few weeks! Enjoy!

First up? A gorgeous collab by Designs by Kat and Faith True Originals, Glad Tidings. I combined it with a template by Fiddle Dee Dee Designs, Fuss Free: You Spin Me (tell me you aren't singing the song right now!)

Next up is another Faith True Originals/Fiddle Dee Dee combo, this time using Faiths newest kit, Winter Folly and Snow Wordart and Cheryl's template pack, Fuss Free: Like, Totally!

Nowe we're jumped to this adorable kit by Elise's Pieces, The Merriest Collection (linked to just the papers...but all parts of the kit are there!). Tell me those cheeks don't make you giggle! My sweet GK!

And here's GK all grown up and with no front teeth! This stunningly beautiful MUST HAVE Christmas kit is Holly Jolly by Jennifer Labre Designs. I can not sing the praises of this kit enough! WOW!
And this kit is just full of Christmas Cookie sweetness! Another winner by Jennifer Labre Designs, Sugar and Spice is perfect for all of your holiday (and everyday) baking! These elements are so yummy!
Last but definitely NOT least, a combination of Jennifer Labre Designs' gorgeous Christmas kit from last year, Joyful (still availalbe at OScraps!) and a stunning template by Fiddle Dee Dee Designs for Cheryl's feature at the Daily Digi:
I hope that you feel inspired to create when you see some of my layouts! Digital scrapbooking has been such a joy in my life over the last 2 years! I'm so thankful I discovered it and all it's flexibility and FUN! I've got a few more layouts, but those will have to wait for another day! Merry Christmas to all my blog reading friends...all 2 or 3 of you! :D