Altogether Too Happy

Target tomatoes and Shutterfly

so, trey is helping me prep (putting cherry tomatoes and mozeralla balls on toothpicks) for our little party last night and says ...

"ok mom, you're gonna like this. I made you a Target sign"

such a funny boy.

you're assignment this weekend is to go get an account at Shutterfly.
If you already have one (very smart) if not ... then trust me it's time. Go sign up. Yes, you can still do the "but I need these pictures in an hour" photo printing at wherever, and if you have a decent printer at home, you can print from time to time at 2:00 a.m. (I do) but if you are serious about sustaining yourself in this digital age of scrapbooking and wrapping your head around this whole "Photo Freedom" thing, then you need to get serious about setting up a reliable system and processes for sorting, uploading, storing, printing and using your photographs. I've said it many times, but it bears repeating ...

YOU CAN ONLY SCRAPBOOK IN THE WAY YOU ARE ORGANIZED

not organized? not gonna happen (at least not long term)

organized only chronologicallly? you're missing out on the best source of inspiration there is (your photos) and you are totally limited in the stories you can tell.

my honest and sincere suggestion? start setting up folders on your computer and get them uploaded into albums at Shutterfly, so you can begin to really manage and share and take full advantage of all the fun and amazing things there are to do when you embrace a wider definition of scrapbooking.

why Shutterfly (and no, I'm not getting paid to say this)

Shutterfly, should be renamed Shutter-SOAR, I cannot tell you how cool and visionary this company is. Seriously, I really can't tell you all that they have planned, but I will say that they "get it." They understand us (meaning memory-loving, busy-with-life-and-family women) and they understand where this whole global socially-connected economy is headed. They are investing in growth and partnerships and they are running a top-notch, customer-centric gig and I am super impressed. I mentioned I was invited to sit on their SAT (scrapbook advisory team) and attend an annual meeting this week and I promised I'd tell you more, so here goes ...

Bourne Again and Jack

So, tonight we're having a Bourne Again party for Geof. Yesterday was his birthday and I was gone. In case you are curious, a Bourne Again party is where you gather friends, supply lots of food (including lettuce wraps and Jell-o cheesecake from a box) and watch Jason Bourne again and again and again. Concerning the play on words, this is pretty much my limit for irreverence, so if you like irreverence, please pause for a moment here and take it all in.

And then there's Jack. Have I told you lately how much I love Jack. Geof will always come first and I doubt that I could ever love Jack as much as Cathy loves Neil (or several others) but my affection for Jack is deepening each time I make one of his songs my own ...

I have two recent favorites. Please note this are not necessarily recent for Jack, just recently gaining relevance for me

Breakdown and Never Know from the album In Between Dreams. Seriously, take a minute and click on track 2 and 11. You could even watch the video for Breakdown, which makes me want to learn to surf (really bad) and has some amazing film imagery.

and here's the thing about Geof and Matt and Jason. They are just really good guys. They are doing what they love and they are loyal to their friends and their wives and that is just about the most attractive thing in the world.

I already have several scrapbook pages about Geof.
Note to self: Add Matt and Jack to the People We Love album.

Enjoy your friday.
I'm off to yoga in the sunshine on my scooter.

(I know I'm spoiled)

Photo Freedom

Ok, I hate it when this happens. I accidently set the blog to post something on a certain date, forget about it and then it posts without much of an explanation -- so bugs. Anyway ... this little email story was sent to me from my friend Toni -- and it cracks me up.

   

Well, today is Sunday and when I was in church, well,...I'm pretty sure God told me that SJ's Photo Freedom is biblical.    Okay, not literally. Not audibly. And not even the book itself (though it is a must read, imho). But the philosophy; to scrap out of order. I think He said it's okay.

See, here's the thing. I was sitting there reading along with my pastor in Matthew when he mentioned the fact that Matthew captured the life and ministry of Jesus topically and not chronologically. And I kid you not, I thought, "It's O.K. if I don't scrap chronologically? Whoa, it's really, really okay."

That's why I bought Stacy's book.

I needed to hear it and I needed to know how to do it.

I thought, "And look, there's Matthew recording history for Jesus and he's not doing it chronologically. Surely then, it's okay for me to document my family's life and history out of order. SWEET!"      

Now just in case I'm taken too seriously here , I did see the humor in thinking this (especially in the middle of service, mind you). But honestly, it really was somehow freeing for me to hear that today.

Matthew. And God.

On my side. Scrappagorically speaking.

Who knew?

I'm in Seattle ...

On my way to attend a Shutterfly meeting in San Francisco (or close to it) with 9 or so other board members and I'm excited, but I'm really TIRED --slept for one hour last night (not a good idea.) For some reason, I'm buried lately in seriously long to-do lists. I did spend some money at Fireworks store here in the SeaTac airport (a happy place) so the retail therapy is kicking in and I'm feeling a bit more alert as the day goes by ...

Happy belated Mother's Day to all -- I was greeted by yesterday morning by this ...

it's a good thing I got breakfast and dinner on Sunday (and a nap!) Such a good day, filled with homemade cards, poetry, love coupons, Reeses Peanut Butter bars and "hands" that will never grow (love those).

I actually rather look forward to opening this cupboard/chute on Monday mornings -- it just makes me laugh that we generate so much laundry! It's falls all over the place and then I sort it into piles and add to it the dirties already in the laundry room and then start processing (Jenna helps) and it's surprising how quickly it all goes. I cut off three  pair of jeans (one of our favorite things to do this time of year) and forced Trey to retire his sweatshirt -- I've been bugging him about it for a month at least. We "save" some of our favorites, by cutting out the front for our "someday" t-shirt quilt. I have a big, overflowing drawer in the basement with the remains of beloved screen printed and logo wear -- and it will tell a great story (someday.)

I just had to capture this -- I mean come on ... who does this to their shirts?
What a great kid.

Saturday 8:45 am

I'm home. rested and ready for a Saturday!

For all the photos I take, I sometimes have a palpable ache in my heart when I can't photograph something. Like just now, I was holding Taft on my lap. He needed mommy hugs and we sat on the couch together for at least 10 minutes and I wished that someone could come along and capture a really cool interpretive image to remind me of what I was experiencing -- the feel of his curls and smell of his hair, the way his body all curled up fits perfectly on my lap, the way my arms wrap around him and the way he still holds my hand and so many other little things.

As I sat there I remembered my opportunity to take a picture with my heart -- to very deliberating notice and mentally imprint on my brain each sense and the yearning in my soul to hold onto this moment. He's upstairs now and I was left to hope that I would make time today to write about this moment -- and then it dawned on my that I could share this with you, hoping that maybe today we can all be a bit more conscious of immersing ourselves in unphotographable moments.

And by the way, there is a really cool blog/website that has for its aim this very thing. If you haven't yet, please visit unphotographable.com -- it's cool.

Good things happening today. Registration for Barbara Carroll's very popular Photography 101 workshop opens at 9:00 am -- it will fill fast. Barbara is so good at what she does and so eager to share her talents and empower us all with better photography skills -- don't miss this chance to experience this class. Check out the photo she sent my for my birthday this week ...

hello?  Wouldn't you love to get even a little closer to being able to do this?

We just launched the first of three project now classes by the ever-talented and adorable Nic Howard. I had  "watched" her from afar and had the opportunity of getting to know her a bit better last fall when we traveled to New Zealand. I'm thrilled to bring you her perspective on this great hobby of ours. This first class is called Conversations and it's FAB. And the really cool thing? We are working with David Roberts and Kiwi-Scraps to provide a "down under" resource for supplies in Nic's classes. Please let us know how this works for you and if it is something we should pursue for other classes as well. We love our Aussie and Kiwi students -- so let us know!!

and finally, a BIG thanks to all the gals at Mega Meet. Kayce and I had a wonderful time in Novi and LOVED meeting a handful of LOMers and so many more. Thank you, thank you for the chance to come and experience your corner of the world.

And, thank YOU for all the nice birthday wishes. In honor my 43rd year, I'm going to be exploring the site 43Things (based out of Seattle -- so it has to be good!) There is also 43People and 43Places -- sounds like something I could get into. Check it out and tell me what you think -- this whole social networking thing is quite amazing!!

Winners!

Thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes! This is the one that greeted me upon entering the hotel room last night. These girls ...

Cara, Lisa, Kate, Barb and Tara (Mega Meet team) found out yesterday (reading my blog) that it was my birthday and somehow, amidst everything else on their "last minute" to-do list managed to bake brownies, buy 1% milk and decorate my room -- thanks girls!

Every time I do this (ask for insightful comments in reponse to a blog post) I think to myself, why do I do this? How on earth am I supposed to pick just five, or however many, and so I resort to random measures. But seriously, If you have fifteen extra minutes in the next day or two, PLEASE read through some of your posts. Your thoughts and ideas regarding scrapbook topics that matter and layouts that would float to the top, so to speak are phenomenal. They are phenomenal and they are universal in the themes they underscore -- themes of people and personality and relationships and everyday life and change. Almost all of you spoke to some element or another of these basic themes.

I actually discovered in reading through most of your comments that four of you share my birthday and so, I've chosen to give Lisa's book to you -- Happy Birthday right back at ya!

btw ... I grossly underestimated by ability to fly across the country and create and post a scrapbook page by end of day. I did make my list of 43 things that made me happy yesterday and I am working on my page in my hotel room, so if I get it done, I will take a quick pic and post it!

keep reading for the winners ...

happy birthday to me ...

can you believe I'm 43.

I'm printed this picture this morning and I'm going to record, throughout my day, 43 things to be happy about. First of which is a little girl to wear pig tails with. There are many, many more than 43, but 43 will be frozen in time today and that is just such a cool thing -- that I'm a 43 year old scrapbooking fool, having the time of her life and able to capture and celebrate all the good that is around me.

To further celebrate I'm giving away presents. I have FIVE copies of Lisa Bearnson's new book ...

and I might add, it is a very worth gift. It is filled with pages by Lisa and others, pages that make you nod your head in agreement or have the sudden urge to jump up and get sticky notes and a pencil. This book will make you want to sit down with your scrapbooks and evaluate the topics/events you have recorded and help you realize what moments/stories you still need to celebrate with pictures and your perspective. All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me about a moment or topic that would make your personal list of 50 Scrapbook Pages That Matter Most. Seriously, if you were the list maker, or editor -- what would your table of contents look like?

and check this out ...

This is what Stephanie created with the Helen Keller quote
from yesterday. Stephanie is vowing to move onwards and upwards following what is a disappointing decision and reality regarding a project she put her entire HEART into. I'm so proud of her for it!

Come back tonight to see who wins and to see my birthday page!

who said it?

so yesterday morning, I went on a little walk to the top of a hill and wrote in my favorite journal (it's from Compendium -- big surprise) that has a quote on each page. I don't let myself read the quotes until I write on each page -- weird, but true. Anyway, this was the quote I read yesterday ...

"So much has been given to me I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied."

So, who do you think said this? Your clue -- a famous woman, but I think you might be surprised, as I was. Before you google it, just spend a few minutes thinking/wondering about these words.

Would you be able to say this?
If not, why not?

scenes from my weekend:

exactly what two 15-year boys should be doing on a Friday night -- sleeping under the stars!

A walk along the river (at Taft's request)


Krispy Kreme is at the end of the trail (so, it's not about the walking!)

my favorite.

spring, at last!

happy Monday.

National Scrapbook Day ...

Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy ...
 

I hope you're planning to celebrate your passion for our amazing hobby today -- get involved with some of the many FUN scrapbooking activities happening all over. I got to record a fun little podcast that you can listen to over on the Simple home page. There's also a SCAVENGER HUNT SWEEPSTAKES you can take part in -- and Big Picture is one of the sponsors. You'll need to collect some "key words" and enter them for a chance to win 8 prizes worth more than $150 each. We are giving away FREE passes to Gretchen Schmidt's 28 Days daily download workshop starting on May 8th. We're also giving away 25 passes to my Have More FUN class coming this summer -- all you have to do to enter is purchase any class at BPS and use the code "havefun" at checkout. You'll save $5 and possibly win this class, priced at $85 dollars!
Read more on the BPS Blog.

If I were you, I'd use my coupon to join in on the life-enhancing experience that is Kolette Hall's workshop, The ART of Becoming More. Kolette's classes are so awesome -- I was poking around her classroom yesterday and am once again blown away.

If you haven't taken the "handmade book" plunge with Tena yet, this is also a worthy option -- Tena is so fun and her monthly installments will teach you so many cool techniques and tips and build your creative confidence while turning out a memorable project -- read all about May's book here. Tena is also bringing back her FAB 52 Card Pick Up this summer ...

and, if this isn't enough, we have a brand NEW, delightfully and surprisingly productive workshop taught by my cute sister, Darci. A Baker's Dozen starts with an empty egg carton and daily emails that will direct you to collect and create 13 layouts and a bunch of "eggstra" projects too!

So many ways to celebrate memories and creativity.

And finally, I received an email earlier this week, that to me is a perfect reminder of what scrapbooking can be and I can't think of a better message to post today.

put some flowers on someone's porch ...

today.

No matter what, promise me you'll do this. The flowers can purchased or picked from your yard, it does not matter. Today is May Day and my mother taught me that on the 1st day of May, you drop whatever else you think is most important to do and you share some flowers with a friend. I got up early this morning and visited a few porches myself and it was the perfect start to what will otherwise be a crazy day!

NEW Podcast Interview: I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down (about a month ago) with Deann McDaniel at Dishin' The Digi and talk about life and Photo Freedom. Once again I was reminded  how many awesome women there are in this industry doing their part to grow and promote this amazing hobby of ours --thanks for the great chat Deann. Stop by for a listen.

I told Jenna I had a meeting at 8:00 this morning and that I needed her to come early and then guess what ...