best friends

It has been an emotional week for me. It started last Sunday and continues to linger. You see, I said good-bye to one of my best friends in person on Sunday and in Facebook private messages on Thursday. My friend Kristin has been deployed by the U.S. Army for one year. And, while I'm not a spouse, or a child, or a grand child of someone being deployed, the emotions are still there. 

Kristin and I met in second grade. We weren't in the same homeroom, but we had Reading classes together. She sat in front of me. From that day, we were friends. We finally ended up in the same homeroom in 6th grade and then separated to different schools for 7th and 8th grade. We met back up in high school.

Our friends wasn't always filled with sunshine and roses. We've had our ups and downs, our moments of not seeing each other (yes, even on this 32-mile long island), meeting up at local stores and just talking about the superficial stuff. 

But, one night four years ago and another friend later, changed all that. We started meeting up more often for dinner, celebrating birthdays and holidays, just because days, and other made up holidays in between. Dinners that last 4 to 5 hours. Did we seriously have that much to say?

We've known for a year that Kristin would be deploying so it was no surprise when it did actually happen. The closer it got, the sadder I became. I managed to hold it together until she walked out of the building where we had lunch last Sunday. And then I fell apart with my other two best friends there to hold me up and comfort me. You see, we're more than friends. We're sisters of the heart, the sisters God forgot to give me. 

I found the perfect quote on pinterest to make this layout. 

Supplies: Studio Calico February "Front Row" scrapbook kit; "Popcorn" and "Matinee" add on kits; yellow small shipping tag; Silhouette cameo; Bebas and soymilk fonts.

Font frenzy

I downloaded iFont Maker on my iPad today. I first heard about it through Elsie Larsen and Amy Tan. I dowloaded their fonts and forgot all about it. But, today...today I was looking for something in the App Store and stumble across the iFont Maker app. I downloaded it. In the span of an hour, I have created 4 fonts and have 1 in progress. I've become a font creator monster! :) Here are two three fonts for your downloading pleasure...

Vera's Print and Vera's Skinny Print  and Vera's outline font.

Download if you want. If you use it, give credit where credit is due.

In other creative news, I made a card this weekend using the Studio Calico Block Party card kit. I haven't decided whether or not to publish it here on my blog because I'm contemplating this and not quite sure if I can submit if I do put it on the blogosphere. I chose OPEN as my word of the year and trying new things is one of my goals towards being more open. We'll see...I shall ponder a little more.

Have a great week!

A whole month went by...so this post is EPIC

A whole month went by and not one post made it to the blog. The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year...a flurry of activity. I have a whole 4x6 album dedicated to the first 25 days in December so I won't recap EVERYTHING that happened. Just some highlights...

ONE Christmas program instead of 3 different ones since 4 of the 5 little boys I call my nephews go to the same school. The littlest one...his program was during the work day AND on my birthday and I wasn't having any of that "sit-in-a-crowded-hot-room-even-though-the-air-conditioner-is-on" kind of day. 

Our work Christmas party happened on December 14. I treated myself to a night at the Westin so I wouldn't have to drive home at the end of the party. Closed down that event with a few of my favorite people.

I didn't put up the tree until December 16. In years past, the tree went up on December 8. Didn't happen. But, when the tree did finally go up, I sprained the parts of my body connected to my left rotator cuff. The day after I had a really good massage at the spa. Yeah. Still a little sore today.

I completed a whole year of Project Life on my birthday.

We celebrated Christmas in Pago Bay and New Year here at home. Today is the Feast of the Epiphany so the tree came down. 

Besides being busy this holiday season, I managed to see some really, really good friends and spend some time with them. Then someone discovered "What's App" could do group chats...pain in the neck getting all those notifications, but it makes me feel like I really am still a part of the group...not that I ever stopped, but reading and participating in the chat makes me feel like I'm not really missing out. Does that make sense?!?!?

I got to see "Les Miserables" in the theater with one of those good friends. All I did was write that I wanted to see it and someone said they wanted to as well. The joys of being electronically connected. 

One of the things I pondered on for the last month of 2012 was my "one little word" for 2013. I stumbled upon the word "OPEN" and that became my word for 2013. Open means so many things for me this year. Thirteen is supposed to be a lucky number so I'm hoping, praying, crossing my fingers that my word leads me to that luck.

Here's my annual "one little word" layout...

Supplies: Studio Calico "34th Street" kit and "Murray Hill" add on kit, and Mister Huey's Shine; Bic mark it black marker; Zig Millenium .01 pen. 

I also decided to do Project Life for another year, but this time using the Studio Calico Handbook. I like the smaller format...keeps me from feeling like I lead a boring life since it's easy to fill up a two-page spread in the smaller album. 

I spray painted the cover with chalkboard paint. I wasn't sure what else I wanted to do so I left it as is.
 

 I made some cards in Photoshop CS5 (hello 2013 and open)and used printables from the Studio Calico "Day by Day" class for the top right pocket. For the bottom right pocket, I filled a small glassine bag with confetti and sewed the top and bottom to keep the confetti in the middle. The stamp says, "do what you love" from a past SC kit.

 Red thickers came from the SC December Daily kit and the washi tape from the 34th Street card kit. 

 Here's another digital card using the Studio Calico digital products. The stars and "2013" came from the Cyber Monday set. I can't remember which SC digi kit the blocks and dots came from. I used buffet script for "January."

Week 1 left side: SC calendar pocket with a manila tag. Used a scrap of vellum from Kelly Purkey's December kit. Quote card came from Elise Cripe. "Week 1" card stamps from an old SC project life stamp set and the Jenni Bowlin "1" came from the 34th Street kit. Made the random card with SC digi stamps and the project life stamp set and some washi.

  

Two Years

Two years ago today, I began working at Guam CEDDERS. I traded my classroom teacher job for an office job. Say what?? If you had asked my friends if I would ever leave teaching two years ago, they would have all looked at you funny and said, "Heck no!" I'm really not big on change.  

In the last two years, I've:

• traveled 127,000+ miles
• visited Washington D.C., North Carolina, Rhode Island, Indiana, and Hawaii
• had the opportunity to see a college friend when I went to Providence
• gotten up before the sun to listen in on webinars and conference calls
• occupied two different offices
• made eleventy billion power point presentations, not to mention actually presenting them
• read thousands of pages of research and whatnot
• planned three big training events with off-island consultants
• made connections with people all over the U.S.
• been consulted about numerous things (I still can't believe people actually call me for my opinion on something.)

Of course, I've done way more than the list above. My brain is constantly in overdrive. Too much information in there that sometimes I forget to do things like refill my water bottle or what I went looking for when I stepped out of my office (I still need some paper clips). 

It's been an adventure. Don't get me wrong. It isn't always sunshine and roses. I've worked before 8am and after 5pm, on weekends and holidays, on vacation and even when I'm home sick. There are days when my co-workers irritate me (thank goodness I have an office door that closes), my boss is gone and I'm in charge, and all I want to do is crawl under my desk and take a nap. It's stressful, yes. I won't kid you about that. There are a lot more time-sensitive deadlines that I have to meet. But, it all challenges me to think outside the box, to prioritize my work, to meet new people, to dig a little deeper. 

Would I go back to the classroom? The jury is still out on that one. My job is still fun for me. I haven't started dreading waking up in the morning or starting the day looking forward to 5pm. 







So, here's to another year of amazement! Which reminds me...I haven't signed my new contract...and I still need to fill my water bottle!

Wordless Wednesday

Calm status

My trip to Jacksonville was seriously L.O.N.G. I was useless for the first few hours I was there...comatose on the bed. I'm lucky I remembered to take off my shoes. There was nothing much to do in downtown Jacksonville, but my public health counterpart and I managed to find places to shop via expensive cab rides. In a few weeks, the last of the big trainings I've been coordinated will take place. That will be a huge sigh of relief. 

I've noticed that the hectic-ness of my life contributes greatly to the dry spells of my creativity. Now that life is calming down, I can take some time to make a few cards and layouts, read through the classes I've signed up for with Studio Calico, and read the hundreds of books I've downloaded for Kindle and iBooks.  

I used my Roller Rink kit and add ons from Studio Calico to make these cards. Totally contemplating switching my subscription from the scrapbook kit to the card kit since I've been making mostly cards these days.

 This first card is a birthday card for my cousin. The XO tag was one of the stencil tags from SC that I cut with my Silhouette cameo, but is no longer available for sale. 

 This next has a heart cut out from one of the previous SC cut files. I think it was a speech bubble one. The sentiment came from the Hey Day stamp set with the mustache in it.

 I like how this card came together. All scraps that were on my table. I LOVE that stamp and bought the add on just for that stamp...the rest was icing on the cake.

This last card is based on the Sunday Sketch for 10.21. I pretty much stuck to the sketch and added some SC veneer stars from my stash. 

I also made a mini album of stuff from my Jacksonville trip with this kit, but 1) I'm too lazy to take pictures of all the pages and 2) I'm too lazy to take pictures of all the pages. 

I'm still keeping up with my project life album. Doing 1-page spreads has really kept it easy for me. I stopped sharing those pages a long time ago...

Happy Sunday, everyone! Going to take a nap since I didn't sleep well last night...all the excitement and anticipation of getting the add on (poodle skirt) and card kit that I wanted from Studio Calico.

it's been one monkey wrench after another

So, the last time I blogged, I was relaxing in sunny Honolulu on vacation. I went back to work the morning we arrived and life has been non-stop since then. Before I left on vacation, I had been planning 3 events for one of my grants. I wanted all the planning to be done and if possible completed before I left.

But, you know what they say about making plans, right? 

One drama after another ensued for the first training which bled into the next one. I had a few wrenches and screw drivers thrown my way. Wouldn't you know it...my University of Hawaii at Manoa Maternal and Child Health "Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities" class was happening the last weekend of August. Yup, I flew to Honolulu...FOR. THE. WEEKEND. and slept maybe 15 hours in the three and a half days I was there.  And spent all of Labor Day flying home. I'm still in the midst of getting the third event planned and over with. THAT was supposed to happen the middle of October.

Again, you know what they say about making plans???

Through in some more monkey wrenches. Now I get to fly to JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA the middle of October for a conference that we weren't planning on attending. So now that last event??? Pushed to the middle of November. Nice.

Don't get me wrong. Life hasn't been one wrench after another. I get a reprieve every once in a while. The upside to spending 3 1/2 days in Honolulu and subsisting on 15 hours sleep and lots of Korean food? I met a whole lot of people I will get to know better over the course of the next two semesters. The upside of attending the conference in Florida? I get to visit Florida for the first time (even though it isn't Walt Disney World, I'll take it). The event in pushed to November? Upside is no one can say it was all planned at the last minute. If anyone doesn't have their ducks in a row it's their personal problem.

Then there's today...50 lucky people who work on the University of Guam campus (I would be one) got a tour of the USS George Washington this morning. That was AMAZING! Here's a picture from the navigation deck looking down to the flight deck.

Old Friends

This is the part of vacation that I love...meeting up with old friends. Yesterday I had lunch with an old college friend and her kids at Islands at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. We haven't seen each for 3 years, but it's like no time passed. Today I will meet up with two friends from high school. One of them I haven't seen in YEARS. I can't remember how long. The other I saw on my last visit. That's the beauty of having a history with people. A long time can pass and you can pick up where you left off without the awkward pauses. That's how you know your true friends. I am so looking forward to seeing them!

On vacation

After 24 hours of traveling...flying and layovers, Auntie Margaret, Mom and I made it to Minnesota in one piece. Something has to be said for the stellar service we received because of wheelchair requests. Mom stands tall at 4'7" and requires the use of a wheelchair to traverse far distances. From the door of the airplane to the next gate, we were ushered through lines and security without waiting. No long security lines. No long customs and immigration lines. Then add in the business elite or first class service (dependent on the flight and plane), we traveled with no headaches... the only glitch was not having the hotel shuttle phone number saved in my phone. Had to make a quick phone call to get the number and then waited a bit for them to show up. Lucky us, we were meeting up with family and were greeted at the hotel by Uncle Jimmy, Jes and Zach.

We already hit Old Chicago for dinner last night. The stromboli was delicious! We'll be back there for the rehearsal dinner on Friday. Did I mention we were here for a wedding? Jes and Zach tie the knot this weekend! That's the reason we traveled eleventy billion miles by plane to get here.

If I could I would post pictures of the business elite digs we were in. But, for now, picture laying flat on your back to sleep while the plane takes you across the Pacific from Tokyo to LA...

The craziness of working on Saturdays has begun again! Another round of teaching classes to foster parents and childcare workers.

Studio Calico started offering online classes this year. So far, I've bought all five. Maggie Holmes taught a class in March called "Happy Little Moments." I love that the classroom stays open to me forever and that I can complete it at my own pace.







I have more pages to complete, but it's a start!

Project Life Year 38 | Weeks 13-15

These epic posts are getting to be a habit. Everything and nothing has been going on. Make sense?? If it doesn't, I don't know how to explain it.

So, let's catch up with project life, shall we?? You'll only see my beautiful face (HA!) as the rest are blurred out for privacy purposes! I finally figured out how to do it! Thanks to youtube!

Week 13

I got a much needed trim...I can never manage to look my age no matter what hair style I get so I just go with it. Had dinner with a friend at Ruby Tuesday's and managed to try something new. Aiden came for his weekly visit. I caught a sunset at while stopped at the traffic light on my way home one day. supplies: Project Life cobalt core kit, printable from here and here.

Missing a card from this side of the 2-page spread for week 13. I wanted to try creating a spread with one big picture (first saw it being used on KP's blog). I don't have a large format printer so I cropped the photo in pieces in PSE 6.0 for Mac and then cut it apart with my paper trimmer. I plan to scrap a page using part of that photo...I'll get to it one day. And, if you're wondering the water here is THAT blue. Supplies: silhouette cameo to cut the polaroid frame and the number 13 using the budmo jiggler font and the printables from the first page of this spread.

Week 14

Here's where life got kind of...well, life-y. I was stressing out trying to figure out how to fill a two-page spread with photos and words. I didn't take many photos during this particular week and I didn't really have much to say. So, I gave myself permission to do a one-page spread. Stress relieved! During week 14, I finally got a much needed massage using a gift certificate I got for Christmas. Aiden turned one month old so he donned the onesie for some photos. We managed 2 and this was the best one. Dinner with the U's at Keyaki. Sushi heaven! Gas prices went up to $4.97 a gallon and I spent A LOT of money that week. Supplies: Cut "fourteen" with my Cameo using Pacifico font and stamped the background with the Studio Calico Epic stamp set. I put the quote on an Elle Studio printable from here.

Week 15

Another one of those one-page spread kind of weeks. My nephew Nathan had his first high school songfest. I got his class's performance on video on my blackberry and uploaded it to youtube. Then I used a qr code creator and made a journal card with it. I got the idea from here. I made all my journal cards for this spread in Photoshop CS5. I found the youtube and twitter graphics on the internet.

Week 16 is almost, but not quite done. My mom had a doctor's appointment yesterday that took way too long and cut into my Saturday scrapping time.

Stay tuned for some Happy Little Moments pages from Studio Calico's March class taught by Maggie Holmes. That's another work in progress. But, no stress!

Project Life Year 38 | Weeks 11 and 12

I've shocked myself immensely by the fact that I've kept up with Project Life for 12 weeks now. THREE WHOLE MONTHS. My life may not be exciting, but in a few years it will be fun to look back on this year of my life and see what life was like before the big 4 oh. I've blacked out the faces of anyone not me in these pictures. believe me when i say they're cute and lovable.

Week 11
work on a saturday at the mall...oh how i hate the mall. i lasted all of 2 hours and told my co-worker i was DONE. aiden came for a visit. i was amused by my high score on bejeweled blitz.


march began this week so i put in a divider. i actually went back and made dividers for january and february. just a few cuts with the cameo and paper.

the other side of week eleven...something i made with the cameo for a friend. i don't know what the saying means, but i did it anyway. lunch to say good-bye to one of our students. savoring those girl scout cookies and found it ironic the words on the cookies. a picture of my hutch covered with post its...me thinks i need a rolodex.

week 12

aiden was baptized this week. we had family lunch at my house in honor of aiden's baptism. the finding of aiden's pictures all over facebook.
i found that "as seen on facebook" printable here.

another parent training in one of the low-income communities. the pile of giveaway bags slowly dwindles in my office. my secretary went on maternity leave this week and i sat at her work station one day. coveting her shoe tape dispenser. discovering i don't tweet as much after taking a screen shot of my recent tweets. receiving a picture of 6-day-old madden, my secretary's baby. found the "as seen on pinterest" here.

the quotes i use on my pages come from my pins on pinterest. i used the February and March kits from Studio Calico. i also used the SC PL awesome stamps for week 12. Ali Edwards digi brushes and stamps. Old SC die cut tags. some other printables probably linked on my pinterest board for project life.

***

my studio calico february kits sat untouched for a bit. i did use bits and pieces on my PL spreads, but for the most part i was looking for some mojo to come my way. i knew i wanted to use a picture of aiden. i knew i wanted to cut something out with my cameo, but it took a while to figure out how i wanted it all to look.

using the blackout font, i put this sc paper on the mat and went to town. i printed out a picture of aiden with my pivi printer and the layout came together. i used some classic calico and warm calico to make the splatters.

my godsister had worn a dress with a similar print to one of the february papers so i used a picture of her and one of her sister to make this layout. i made pinwheel flowers with that printed paper and some dear lizzy epoxy stickers. i also used the whole package of sequins!

my march kit came this week. kinsey wilson had posted her silhouette triangle cut file on her blog and i wanted to use it on a layout. i also used the stamps from the illustrated and narrative add ons.

Project Life Year 38 | Weeks 7-10

Another epic Project Life Year 38 post. I had intended on posting weeks 7 and 8 last weekend, but I wasn't home long enough to get pictures taken and uploaded. The late nights and busy days started on Wednesday and ended on Sunday night. Five days of getting home late (or not at all as was the case on Thursday). I spent the beginning of this week feeling a little hung over...and I wasn't even drunk!

Week 7...

A successful parent training in one of the southern communities. Evan's 1st birthday and meeting my god sisters for the first time. Setting the calendar from February through August at work. Used my silhouette cameo to cut "Celebrate Life", "Celebrate this" and the circles cutout.

An Erica Hernandez freebie file for the February calendar. Ali Edwards digi brushes and stamps.

Week 8...

Dinner and dessert with Anita. Made diaper tryke #1 for Tam's baby shower later in the week. My to do list. Ali Edwards digi brushes and stamps, Studio Calico Number border stamp.

My washi tape order (10 rolls!). My first visit to Spinn N Play. A pictureless Thursday. The BEST donuts around. Silhouette cameo cutout.

Week 9...

Grocery shopping and dinner with Friends on a Saturday. Lazy Sunday and my view on the way to KFC.

Weights at the gym...being a wuss. Valentine's day and my Studio Calico February kit. Driving home from work close to 8:00pm...more than 12 hours after I left home in the morning. The night that never ended...and a day that began with new life. Happy Birthday, Aiden Seth! Auntie Vera LOVES you! His birth story isn't something I want to share with the world since it's not my story to tell so it's inside the birth stats folder (cut that with my silhouette). Printables from here and here. I used a sketch pen with my silhouette to write the birth stats.

Week 10...

Academy songfest. Parish picnic. Dinner at Teena's. Apple turnovers from Napoleon's Bakery in Honolulu. Printables from here, here and here. I realized after I took the picture that I forgot the date range card. Will put that in later.


A self portrait of me for the month. Three of my co-workers decided to be funny and block my car in. A shocking front page (for our family at least). Diaper tryke #2 for Aiden Seth! I used my February Studio Calico kit as well as the Project Life "Epic" and "Awesome" that they had and sold out of in record time. Also used a few Amy Tangerine stickers, an old Jillibean Soup arrow, a silhouette cameo cut out and Studio Calico Bull's eye stamp from January.

Valentine's Day

I used to be one of those people...you know the kind... the one who disdained Valentine's Day as just another Hallmark holiday highly marketed by Madison Avenue. Some may think it stemmed from bitterness. The bitter taste of not having a significant other with whom to celebrate the day. Maybe so... But, maybe I just didn't get why it took a certain day of the year for significant others to remember to lavish love on their loved one. Shouldn't love be celebrated every day?

As an elementary school teacher, I've been the recipient of many a Valentine. From tear apart cards to well thought out letters to pieces of candy to full on large boxes of that sugary concoction, I've gotten it all. I would don black on February 14 and carry on with my day as if it was just any other day. Until one year...

I was teaching 4th grade at the time. February 14 dawned just like any other day, only I made a conscious effort to remember to wear black. I got the bags full of candy and cards. My family loved holidays like this. But that one year, I got a card from my friend who worked across the hall. Ironically, it was a Hallmark card. Inside contained a lovely sentiment as well as a handwritten note. Basically, my friend told me that Valentine's Day wasn't just for couples. It was also a day to celebrate the love we have for our family and friends. Finally, someone had the guts to tell me to look at it from a different perspective.

Today, I made the conscious effort to wear red. And, when I received an email from a co-worker that someone was wearing black because he didn't have a valentine, it was my turn to share those words of wisdom.

I searched on pinterest for valentine printables and wrote a nice note to my co-worker. While I don't know just how much my words sunk in, at least I got a smile at him. And, before anyone else suggests (someone already beat you to the punch), he's way too young for me!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Year of online classes

When 2012 rolled around, Studio Calico rolled out online classes. So far, I've signed up for photo-a-day with Nicole Samuels, stretch your kit with Amy Tan, and happy little moments with Maggie Holmes. Nic's class is a year-long class and works perfectly with Project Life-Year 38. Amy's class runs for the month of February and teaches us how to stretch our kits using only the main kit. I combined my main and add-ons when I got my January box, so I'm using all of them. I wasn't going to sign up for Maggie's class, but Valerie posted pictures of her class kit and I was hooked.

Aside Studio Calico's classes, I signed up for 2 classes with Big Picture Classes. I am again attempting to complete One Little Word with Ali Edwards. I also signed up for Move More, Eat Well with Cathy Zielske. I will complete those class assignments before the month is up.

The beauty of online classes is that I don't have to be dressed and sitting at a desk to complete the lessons. I can be in my pjs or in bed and still get stuff done. It's refreshing to be on the other side of the desk...not being the one teaching. Of course, this is all fun stuff, but I do learn a lot in the process.

Here's a layout for the first Stretch Your Kit challenge. The challenge was to use a mask on your layout. I cut "enjoy this moment" with my silhouette cameo and used it as a mask with Mister Huey's classic calico.

I met my god sisters/cousins for the first time last weekend. They were living in Colorado and moved home a few months ago. While this island is small, it's still very easy to not see people you know often. I've blocked out their faces for privacy purposes.

Have a great Sunday!

Documenting | A Day in the Life

On Wednesday, I joined Ali Edwards and loads of scrappers in "A Day in the Life." Put simply, you take note and take pictures of the things that happen that day from sun up to lights out. It so happened that I took the day off to be at my mom's oral surgery.

I decided to use an Amy Tangerine Day Book from her inagural line. I had intended to use this particular one on something else, but suffice it to say it wasn't worth the beauty that is this book so I had to do some covering up.

Front cover:

Without the overlay. I misted the cover with Studio Calico Mister Huey's in Barnwood and cut the "Wednesday" word with my Silhouette Cameo. I used Ranger distress ink in Tea Dye on the outline.

Some cover up here... used both sets of the Amy Tangerine washi tapes and the gray asterisk washi tape from an old Studio Calico kit.

Ali shared a freebie file on Wednesday. I used the Silhouette cameo to cut it and used more Amy Tangerine washi tapes.

Used some Amy Tangerine Bits and remarks stickers. I also found old Jillibean Soup arrows and used one here.


Not exactly the breakfast of champions, but I was still half asleep since I was dressed AND ready to go right around the time I usually get out of bed.

More paper surgery here...




I printed a copy of the documentation sheets Ali shared last year for "A Week in the Life" and cut it apart to put into the book. I also used some silhouette cuts to dress up the front of the envelope in the middle of the book.


No pictures for the hours between 12 and 4 pm... I did nothing productive.


At the gym...waiting for Body Combat to begin!

I re-colored and printed a Life Stacks digital brush by Ali and put it in my book.

That's all folks!

Thank you, Ali, for sharing your great ideas with us. It helps me document my life...how ever boring (or not) it may be.

In other news...

My cousin Jamie and her two children are heading back to Sydney, Australia after having been here for two months. I made this card using the January Studio Calico "County Fair" kit. The airplane was cut using an Amy Tangerine shape on my silhouette cameo. I also cut the words "see ya!" with the cameo and used the negative as a mask. Cloud stamps came from an old Studio Calico kit.