This week's Scrapshare blog challenge was issued by MidnightScrapper in Cali:
Blog Challenge #12 - Getting To Know You
Copy and paste the following section into your blog and answer as best as you can. You can elaborate (I hope you do), you can post pictures, you can be deep, you can be funny. Whatever you choose -just be honest.
Second part of the challenge - post a picture (from this week) of you at your computer. Don't worry about cleaning up - just post and have fun.
1) Right now I want: Have all the family debt magically disappear so DH will quit worrying so much about it.
2) I wish I knew how to: Oh so many things, so little space. I wish I knew how to sew, sing, crochet, teach, keep my house and car spotless.....
3) When I want to indulge myself, I: make a cup of tea and pick up a good book.
4) You’ll never see me: Skiing
5) A childhood memory that I love: I have a lot of happy childhood memories. Some of my favorites involve time spent with my grandparents. I loved the many summer days I spent with them, gardening, playing cards and just hanging out.
6) 2 things I do every single day: Visit Scrapshare and hug my children
7) Happiest moment of 2008, so far: Spending time with all my cousins and my brother for the first time in 6 years despite the sad reason for us all being together.
8) Describe yourself in 3 words: Traditionalist, loud, caring
9) 2 scrap related goals for this year: Get all my digital photos organized, cropped and ready for printing and getting the current, i.e. 2007 and 2008, photos scrapped so I can work on older projects.
10) You have $40 that you MUST spend on yourself – what do you do with it? Get a haircut or a pedicure.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Been a while
Well it has been an eventful week and a half since I last posted. On Friday March 28th we began a journey that would cover miles and a lot of emotion. On that Friday we headed north to LaConnor, Washington for Matt's Grandma's memorial service. We stopped at his sister's in Lynnwood for a short while to visit with them and Matt's parents. After a day of packing and then driving through snow, sleet, rain and wind it was a nice break. We got to play with our nephew and the kids got a chance to unwind a bit before we went to our hotel for the night. The hotel room as typical and rather boring. Luckily there was free wireless available so we were able to get online and check out our favorite internet haunts.
Saturday morning dawned cold and foggy with some snow on the ground. What was with this weather? Snow, even that far north, is extremely unusual for the last days of March! However, by the time we were ready to head over to Grandma's house, where everyone was gathering prior to Mass, the clouds were clearing and the sun was making an appearance. It was nice to gather together as a family to say goodbye to this courageous woman who had fought long and hard against a guaranteed death sentence of lung cancer. It was also gratifying to see how the community gathered to show what she meant to them. The hardest part of the entire week, save the service itself, was Sunday as we cleared out and divided up Grandma's belongings. It is so sad how quickly a life of 82 years can be dismantled and given away. By the time we all left, the house was cleared out.
We arrived home after a long but ultimately uneventful trip and unloaded all our new treasures. We still need to retrieve a wooden rocker that was NOT going in that van anywhere.
Monday morning the girls returned to school for the first day back from spring break while I prepared for our trip south. I ran some errands, got a substitute for our workday at preschool on Tuesday, repacked clothes and made a dinner for the road. After finishing up these chores, making sure the animals were fed and everything turned off and locked up we headed out to meet up with Matt at work. After picking him up, we tuned the radio to the Oregon State baseball game and turned the car toward the south. We arrived in Myrtle Point, Oregon at around 9:30 p.m. The kids were wound up and it took some time to get everyone settled down to sleep. When the alarm went off at 6 it was way too early. We all got up and got ready. This was going to be a hard day so I loaded my pockets with tissue packets. We met my parents and brother at Frazier's in Coquille for breakfast. The morning started out cold and foggy but during the time we were eating it cleared. By the time we headed to the cemetery the sun was shining and it was actually warm enough that I left my coat in the car. We were the first to arrive other than the funeral director. It was very difficult to see that hearse, to know that my grandmother was in there. If I have one regret, it is that I did not call her in those final days and say goodbye but I know in my heart that she knew how much I love her. The arrangements were all Grandma, bright, vibrant and many colors. Grandma loved her flowers and nutured them like her children. It was amazing to see all the people who gathered to say goodbye. The service was short and very Grandma. The hardest moment came when it was time to drive away. As we were the first to arrive, too were we the last to leave.
The reception was held at my Uncle Joe's house. It was the first time in years that all of us cousins, 9 of us, have been together in one place. We shared stories and laughs. A little wine made it easier at first but as the day and evening wore on it was just nice to be together. The trip home was late and long but we made it safely. The girls did well heading back to school and their routine on Wednesday. I spent the day just recovering. Now it is time to scrap the pictures, tell the story one last time and put this time behind me. We will all remember though.
Saturday morning dawned cold and foggy with some snow on the ground. What was with this weather? Snow, even that far north, is extremely unusual for the last days of March! However, by the time we were ready to head over to Grandma's house, where everyone was gathering prior to Mass, the clouds were clearing and the sun was making an appearance. It was nice to gather together as a family to say goodbye to this courageous woman who had fought long and hard against a guaranteed death sentence of lung cancer. It was also gratifying to see how the community gathered to show what she meant to them. The hardest part of the entire week, save the service itself, was Sunday as we cleared out and divided up Grandma's belongings. It is so sad how quickly a life of 82 years can be dismantled and given away. By the time we all left, the house was cleared out.
We arrived home after a long but ultimately uneventful trip and unloaded all our new treasures. We still need to retrieve a wooden rocker that was NOT going in that van anywhere.
Monday morning the girls returned to school for the first day back from spring break while I prepared for our trip south. I ran some errands, got a substitute for our workday at preschool on Tuesday, repacked clothes and made a dinner for the road. After finishing up these chores, making sure the animals were fed and everything turned off and locked up we headed out to meet up with Matt at work. After picking him up, we tuned the radio to the Oregon State baseball game and turned the car toward the south. We arrived in Myrtle Point, Oregon at around 9:30 p.m. The kids were wound up and it took some time to get everyone settled down to sleep. When the alarm went off at 6 it was way too early. We all got up and got ready. This was going to be a hard day so I loaded my pockets with tissue packets. We met my parents and brother at Frazier's in Coquille for breakfast. The morning started out cold and foggy but during the time we were eating it cleared. By the time we headed to the cemetery the sun was shining and it was actually warm enough that I left my coat in the car. We were the first to arrive other than the funeral director. It was very difficult to see that hearse, to know that my grandmother was in there. If I have one regret, it is that I did not call her in those final days and say goodbye but I know in my heart that she knew how much I love her. The arrangements were all Grandma, bright, vibrant and many colors. Grandma loved her flowers and nutured them like her children. It was amazing to see all the people who gathered to say goodbye. The service was short and very Grandma. The hardest moment came when it was time to drive away. As we were the first to arrive, too were we the last to leave.
The reception was held at my Uncle Joe's house. It was the first time in years that all of us cousins, 9 of us, have been together in one place. We shared stories and laughs. A little wine made it easier at first but as the day and evening wore on it was just nice to be together. The trip home was late and long but we made it safely. The girls did well heading back to school and their routine on Wednesday. I spent the day just recovering. Now it is time to scrap the pictures, tell the story one last time and put this time behind me. We will all remember though.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Blog Challenge #10: Photo Savenger Hunt - Bad Habit and Joy
Today I am doubling up because we are leaving tomorrow morning for the weekend. The first picture is joy. The kids returned from my mom's last night to find what the Easter Bunny had left them. These are three joyful kids. They get joy out of little gifts and I get joy from them. Watching their happy smiles and hearing their excited directions to each other as they search for goodies helped to dull the ache of loss that I was dealing with last night with the loss of my grandmother. These three were a source of joy for her as well. Remembering that brings more joy for me.
This is a picture of my bad habits or at least a couple of them. I watch way too much TV. During the day I watch or listen to endless sitcom reruns unless a ball game is on. In the evening more sitcoms or a select few reality tv programs.The other bad habit is piling laundry into baskets and letting them sit. I hate folding laundry. Even more than that, I hate going to all that work only to have that work undone by unthinking or lazy children. Either way, the result is the same, someone ends up living out a clothes basket. Might as well save myself the work of folding them then huh? Seems perfectly reasonable to me today.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Blog Challenge #10: Photo Savenger Hunt - Reflection of You
As noted in the previous post this week's Blog challenge was issued by our famous Cowtown Stacy. Tonight I am posting about my version of a "reflection of you". This post is about my grandmother who we lost tonight. This woman was someone I would consider a reflection of what I want to be. She was smart, compassionate, hardworking and just a wonderful person. I am so privileged to have had her in my life for these 34 years that I have lived. I will forever miss her.
This photo is from July 2007. The family gathered to celebrate my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. The day after the big party we all gathered back at their house and had a little mini family reunion. The day was beautiful and it was so nice to sit and share memories with everyone. We laughed and talked and laughed some more. Grandma presided over this group of people knowing that they were all on this earth because of her.
This photo is from our first visit to Grandma's after our DS, now almost 4, was born. I was so proud to present her with another great-grandchild. She looks pretty happy to see him too, doesn't she?
Okay so how is this woman a reflection of me? She is what I want to be. She was the matriarch of this family. She was a sweet, gentle woman who would protect any of us with the might of an aircraft carrier if she thought one of us was threatened. She was the go to person in my life. I always knew that if I had a problem and went to her I would not get a lecture, just gentle guidance to a solution. I want to be that person for my kids and my eventual grandkids. She nearly made it to her 96th birthday and she did it with grace. She had many, many challenges throughout her life but she overcame them. She raised 3 self-reliant, hardworking children. She is my ideal. She is a reflection of what I want to become, grow to and emulate.
Grandma was a lover of children. She was a farm wife. She was self-reliant. She was instrumental in instilling a love of flowers and gardening in me. She, along with my mother, taught me to grow, can and freeze food we grew. She helped me learn to make jam and juice. She helped make many summer vacations fun by taking my brother and I to her house for several weeks. She would get down on the floor and play with any and all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved playing games, particularly cards.
She shared her birthday with the sailing of the Titanic. She got a real kick out of that. She loved to come and watch my cousins and my brother and I show our 4-H animals. She was fan of Oregon State University. She delighted in attending sporting events there, though she did not get to do that as much as she would have liked.
This is a reflection of what I want to be. Rest in peace Grandma Mary Sinko April 10, 1912 - March 26, 2008. I was so lucky to have you in my life.
This photo is from July 2007. The family gathered to celebrate my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. The day after the big party we all gathered back at their house and had a little mini family reunion. The day was beautiful and it was so nice to sit and share memories with everyone. We laughed and talked and laughed some more. Grandma presided over this group of people knowing that they were all on this earth because of her.
This photo is from our first visit to Grandma's after our DS, now almost 4, was born. I was so proud to present her with another great-grandchild. She looks pretty happy to see him too, doesn't she?
Okay so how is this woman a reflection of me? She is what I want to be. She was the matriarch of this family. She was a sweet, gentle woman who would protect any of us with the might of an aircraft carrier if she thought one of us was threatened. She was the go to person in my life. I always knew that if I had a problem and went to her I would not get a lecture, just gentle guidance to a solution. I want to be that person for my kids and my eventual grandkids. She nearly made it to her 96th birthday and she did it with grace. She had many, many challenges throughout her life but she overcame them. She raised 3 self-reliant, hardworking children. She is my ideal. She is a reflection of what I want to become, grow to and emulate.
Grandma was a lover of children. She was a farm wife. She was self-reliant. She was instrumental in instilling a love of flowers and gardening in me. She, along with my mother, taught me to grow, can and freeze food we grew. She helped me learn to make jam and juice. She helped make many summer vacations fun by taking my brother and I to her house for several weeks. She would get down on the floor and play with any and all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved playing games, particularly cards.
She shared her birthday with the sailing of the Titanic. She got a real kick out of that. She loved to come and watch my cousins and my brother and I show our 4-H animals. She was fan of Oregon State University. She delighted in attending sporting events there, though she did not get to do that as much as she would have liked.
This is a reflection of what I want to be. Rest in peace Grandma Mary Sinko April 10, 1912 - March 26, 2008. I was so lucky to have you in my life.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Blog Challenge #10: Photo Savenger Hunt
As always the blog challenge is issued by one of my wonderful internet friends at Scrapshare, the awesome scrapbooking website I frequent.
This week's challenge is issued by Cowtown Stacy.
This week, get out your cameras and open your eyes!
Share with us a photo for each of the following categories, and tell us about the photo, and/or the story behind it.
1. a sign of spring
2. an image of joy
3. a bad habit
4. a good word
5. a reflection of you
Get as creative or as simple as you want.
Be philosophical, or be silly.
The only rule is to open your eyes, and have fun!
I have been seeing signs of spring showing up regularly for the last few weeks. On a really pretty day in early March the sun was shining and I took the opportunity to play with my camera. This camera is a 7.2 megapixel point and shoot with a 5x zoom by Nikon. I like it well enough but have had a hard time figuring out the settings that I really like. This camera does not handle movement well at all, either that or I suck as a photographer. Anyhow, I had seen my daffodils popping open the day before so with the sun out, it seemed a good day to get out of the house, enjoy the sunshine and snap some shots all at the same time.
Here are a couple of the resulting images.
I will have to do some searching of the photo files to see if I can find some photos that meet the needs of the other categories. For now, enjoy the signs of early spring in the Pacific Northwest.
This week's challenge is issued by Cowtown Stacy.
This week, get out your cameras and open your eyes!
Share with us a photo for each of the following categories, and tell us about the photo, and/or the story behind it.
1. a sign of spring
2. an image of joy
3. a bad habit
4. a good word
5. a reflection of you
Get as creative or as simple as you want.
Be philosophical, or be silly.
The only rule is to open your eyes, and have fun!
I have been seeing signs of spring showing up regularly for the last few weeks. On a really pretty day in early March the sun was shining and I took the opportunity to play with my camera. This camera is a 7.2 megapixel point and shoot with a 5x zoom by Nikon. I like it well enough but have had a hard time figuring out the settings that I really like. This camera does not handle movement well at all, either that or I suck as a photographer. Anyhow, I had seen my daffodils popping open the day before so with the sun out, it seemed a good day to get out of the house, enjoy the sunshine and snap some shots all at the same time.
Here are a couple of the resulting images.
I will have to do some searching of the photo files to see if I can find some photos that meet the needs of the other categories. For now, enjoy the signs of early spring in the Pacific Northwest.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Blog Challenge #9: Good Things
Oops, with the kids home for the rest of the week the internet has fallen to the wayside. I failed to post my good things for a couple of days but I did take note of them.
On Wednesday I smiled as I woke up on my schedule, no alarm, no yelling kids, just a stretch and a smile.
Thursday was errand day. It made me smile to find the perfect grouping of beads so I can finish up my charm sets.
Today I smiled with my middle daughter as we played scientist making homemade Easter egg dyes.
On Wednesday I smiled as I woke up on my schedule, no alarm, no yelling kids, just a stretch and a smile.
Thursday was errand day. It made me smile to find the perfect grouping of beads so I can finish up my charm sets.
Today I smiled with my middle daughter as we played scientist making homemade Easter egg dyes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
