Taking a little blog vacation

I'm going to be taking a little break for a couple of weeks from the ol' blog here.  I might still have Accountability Wednesday posts; I haven't decided yet.  I haven't been scrapping lately, so I just don't have a lot to share right now.  Summer is a tough time for hobbies, I guess.  Don't worry, though, I'll be back with some scrappy goodness very very soon!

Saturday at the Lake

Last Saturday was Mark's mother and nephew's birthday party.  His brother just bought some property on Lake Gantt a couple of hours north of here.  There's no house, but a really nice boat house.  We spent the day there with them, eating watermelon and toodling around in the boat.

(pardon the finger)

Makes me miss our beach house.

This is what summer is all about.

**LOVING the camera on my iphone 4G!

Accountability Wednesday

Ahhh, new running shoes = less knee pain.  My #newtonrunning shoes make me feel like I can fly!  Runs are a little tougher since my knee ligaments are weak, so they give out after about 10 minutes because they are working harder now.  Still waiting for the weight to magically melt away, though.

Weight: 145 (-1.0)
53,558 steps, 22.98 miles, 34 floors

Dance of the Bored

Now, I'm no dancer, but like most girls, I took my share of dance classes in my day.  And I still appreciate the art form.  So I jumped at the chance to go to see the Hungarian National Ballet while we were in Budapest, especially since Mark would be going to the ballet for the very first time.  I should have rethought my plans when I saw they would be performing "A Midsummer's Night's Dream," which isn't very much a traditional ballet like "Swan Lake."  Needless to say, I will be hard pressed to get Mark to another performance any time soon.

Just Beautiful

Supplies: 7 gypsies Olana; Scenic Route Paper; American Crafts cardstock; Art-C Silver glitter mist; Studio Calico Mr. Huey Calico Cream; Daisy D's Beautiful rubon; Elle's Studio Collected cutouts, red banners, little tags (Handmade); K & Co Juliene Vintage label diecuts; Recollections Transparency Embellishments; Jolee's boutique stickers

Incorporating Ephemera: Part II

So I guess I'm not done talking about ephemera in our scrapbooking.  I really like being able to keep business cards or brochures with the names of hotels, restaurants, and businesses that we visited on our trips, in case we want to go back to them in the future, or so I can recommend them to friends.  It's almost like having a gigantic Rolodex with photos and notes included!

Here I incorporated the business card from our Prague hotel into an embellishment cluster.  Even though the colors don't go with the layout too well, because its part of the embellishment it doesn't stand out too much on the layout.

Disclaimer: I know ephemera isn't acid free.  Because I'm using prints of digital photos, I'm not worried about the prints getting damaged over time.  The digital photos will persist.

We Slept Here

Sketch: Shimelle Laine

Supplies: Harmonie Rococo (Broderie Paisley); Hambly Studios Grandma's Wallpaper; Basic Grey Junebug (Crazy Quilt), rubons; Making Memories Noteworthy spiral journaling book; October Afternoon Word stickers Fly a Kite, Togetherness ready set chip, Thrift shop word stickers; Fancy Pants rubons, Little Yellow Bicycle Clothesline epoxy stickers, flower stick pin; K & Co Engraved Garden grand adhesions; Lilly bee letter stickers; American Crafts Thickers

Incorporating Ephemera

Every time we go on vacation, I come back with tons of maps and tickets and brochures, and I'm always trying to find a way to work them in to my scrapbook pages.  Our tour guide in Budapest gave us this large post card of the Hungarian crown.  I could have slipped it into a 6x12 page protector next to this completed page, but while I was looking at my inspiration page, I realized that the domed shape of the crown mimicked the round center shape, so I replaced the patterned paper with the post card.  I know that its not acid free, and that might not appeal to some people, but my photos are all digital now and backed up in a million places, so I'm not too worried about ruining the prints.  Plus I think it adds to the story.

Crown Jewels

Inspiration

http://scrappinworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/scrappiest-100th-sketch-celebration.html

Supplies: Tim Holtz Kraft Resist paper, Distress Ink, alcohol ink; American Crafts cardstock, Thickers Cream Soda; Basic Grey Infuse (Extract), Boxer (Slim Fit), rubons, Heritage border sticker; Crafter's Workshop template; Glimmer Mist Chalkboard Ink; Chatter Box alpha stickers; Pink Paislee 6x6 pad; Scenic Route chipboard; VersaMagic Night Sky; KaiserCraft bling and pearl; Studio AE for Technique Tuesday (Are We There Yet?)

Christmas in July

Last winter, my sister and I went to a photography workshop at the Christmas in Lights display at Bellingrath Gardens.  I din't want this page to look too Christmas-y, because it wasn't really a Christmas story.  I think the bright paper reflects the bright colored lights.

Photo Fun

The Girls Paperie On holiday (Travel Ticking, Travel Skirt), chipboard alphabet; Echo Park Dots and Stripes (Metropolitan Navy small dot); K & Co Smash Pad (Special occasions); EK Success punch; Bahama Blue Glimmer Mist; Jenni Bowlin Ink; Recollections flowers; Sassafrass Cherry Sweet Treats stickers

Accountability Wednesday

It's been a couple of weeks since I've written an Accountability Wednesday post, thanks to the holiday and my crazy traveling.  I'm in the middle of week 4 of the Couch to 5 K program, and I'm proud of myself that I haven't given up yet.  I'm not going to sugar coat it: running is tough!  But Mark and I signed up for the Disney Haunted Trail 5K in September, which coincided with our vacation, so I just keep picturing myself crossing that finish line.  I'm still waiting for the pounds to start melting away, though.

Weight: 146 (+.4)

Activity this week:  50201 steps, 21.22 miles, 39 floors (I think my new FitBit is a little off on the stair climbs!)

I Never Win Nothin'

Some people are lucky.  My husband can win $300 at a slot machine before I can get back from the bathroom. I don't bother to buy lottery tickets any more because my luck stinks.  On the rare occaison I do win something, it makes me even more grateful for it.  I won a cruise once.  My sister claims it because she actually filled out my ticket, but I'm the one who got the phone call.

Recently, though, I've been on a little streak. The folks at Lensbaby sent me this awesome book:

Yay!  Then, a couple of days later, I won one of the prizes during Ella Publishing's awesome Spring Training event, I won one of the daily prizes!  So not only did I get 2 week's worth of awesome scrap content, I also got a prize?  Who is this girl?

I won a $50 gift card to Ormolu.  I've been wanting to try this company for a while, and well, now I have.  It's great quality, beautiful stuff, and let me tell you, $50 will go a long way in her shop!  And Kaitlin provided fantastic customer service.  So here is everything I got:

Bungalow Fabric strips, Tag Sale fabric tag sheet, Bungalow snapshots

Fact or Fiction flappers and flair buttons, dots n spots, and fabric swatches

Isn't this camera flair so stinkin' cute?

Go negative package tags, Little Labels from Bungalow and Tag Sale

Of course I couldn't wait to break open those packages and use some labels and flair.  I just love the bright colors and the clean look, and I'm going to be placing more orders of Ormolu.

American Idol

Sketch: Sketches for Scrapbooking vol. 5


Supplies: Studio Calico 6x6 pad, Mister Huey Calico White, Wood Veneers, Badges; Basic Grey Sweet Threads (Must Have),  Hello Luscious stitched brads; Scenic Route cardstock; Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Stain, Tiny Attacher; Pink Paislee Expressions Cushies; American Crafts Remarks; K & Co Smash tabs; Martha Stewart for Avery labels; Elle's Studio cut outs; Jolee's Boutique French General stickers; Ormolu Fact or Fiction flappers, flair buttons, fabric swatches; Queen and Co twine; My Minds Eye Miss Caroline brads

Accountability Wednesday: I'm Doing WHAT?!

For the last 36 years, I've had a life motto: I don't run. Period. I've always said it was because running is bad for you, hurts your knees, and I've known people who have actually DIED running. I don't want any part of that!

But the truth is that I was scared. Scared that it would hurt, that it would send my back into spasms. Well folks, Hell has finally frozen over. By the time you read this, I will be on Week 2 of the Couch to 5K program.  And believe it or not, I'm kind of enjoying it.  I look forward to my running days.  Keep in mind I'm only running 90 second stretches at this point, but it's been a lot easier than I expected, and I feel GREAT afterwards.

Why did I start running?  Partly because having a goal like running a 5K motivates me, but mostly because that scale is just not moving and I need to do more in my fitness.  Because its so hot here this summer we joined the Y, which is only about 10 minutes from my house.  There is an indoor track, a pool and a weight area, so I've been doing some weight training as well.

No real report on my activity this week because my FitBit died, but they are replacing it for me.  Just know I ran/walked 3 times last week, plus three bike/treadmill 15 minute warmups before a little weight training.

Weight: 145.6 (+2 lbs)

**Just a note: there won't be a post on Friday.  I have to get caught up taking layout photos.**