Katie the Scrapbook Lady

Random bits of stuff

I have several things on my mind to share with you as we head into the weekend…

I’m happy to say that I finally have some blossoms on my trees! Spring has been late this year, just like Easter!

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I redesigned my left sidebar because I had a lot of links I wanted to include. Have you checked all of these out?

• BIG PICTURE TEACHER
• CONTRIBUTING WRITER AT THE DAILY DIGI
• REGULAR GUEST PAPERCLIPPING DIGI SHOW PODCAST
• FOLLOW ON TWITTER
• FOLLOW ON PINTEREST
• FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK
• FOLLOW ON FLICKR
• FREE NEWSLETTER
• SHABBY SHOPPE TEAM MEMBER
• RSS FEED
• CONTACT INFO
• TOY TO THE WORLD

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About my newsletter… I know it has NOT been happening over the last year, but I have a whole new game plan. I’ve been unhappy with the yahoo group approach for awhile now, but I haven’t wanted to pay for an expensive mailing list. I found a great solution that I’m excited to try out. I plan to send out no more than one message per month so don’t worry about being inundated with emails from me. I hope you will sign up! (I’ll have some good stuff for you to make it worth your while )

If you were on my old mailing list, you should already be on this one as I was able to transfer everything over, but it’s a good idea to double check since my list might be outdated. I will be closing down the old yahoo group in the next few days so don’t worry about needing to unsubscribe there.

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Finally, I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend! I’m especially grateful that Spring Break has finally arrived!

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30 day photo challenge

I’m having fun working on this 30 day photo challenge list, and I decided to find a photo for Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.  I’m not going in order, can you believe what a rebel I am? lol!

I have a lot of pictures that make me smile, that’s why I love photos so much! This one never fails to make me giggle a bit though – it’s one of my all time favorites. This is my brother Mike when he was about 4 or 5 doing his “scary broom face” impression.

The “scary broom” was a decoration in the entryway of our house that apparently scared the living daylights out of the little guy. It was a straw broom with a ribbon and dried flowers on it. He would always run by the broom at full speed and it took us awhile to figure out the issue. When we asked him what the problem was, he told us about the “scary broom” while making this very dramatic face. It became forever known as “the scary broom face” in our family and I love that we have photo documentation of it!

What’s a picture that always makes you smile? Find it and write about why it’s a favorite. I’m having fun working through this 30 day photo challenge list!

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3 more 52s

More New 52 posts from me – feels good to catch up on the blogging of these new things I’ve been trying!

 

Week 14 Landscape in Albuquerque

I’ve been to Albuquerque, New Mexico many times to visit my parents, but on this particular trip I played around with landscape photography thanks to some new scenic spots my Mom shared with us.

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Week 15 Humanitarian Kits for Japan

An iPhone photo in Target of 20 toothbrushes + 20 combs that I bought to donate for humanitarian kits to be sent to the people of Japan. I got together with about 40 other women from my neighborhood and we put these into kits that also contained toothpaste, hand towels, and soap. It’s not much compared to what the needs are in emergency situations, but it felt good to do something and to help in some small way.

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Week 16 Electroplating

Electroplating is not something I would have thought of to add to my “new things to try” list, but it’s something I had to do with my son for his online Chemistry class so I decided to count it. As someone who never took Chemistry in high school or college (that’s why I was an English major!) I’ve been impressed with myself for actually surviving this year of homeschooling my son while he’s been taking Chemistry. I have to give him almost all of the credit though because he’s been smart enough to figure it out even when it makes no sense to me.

For this lab we transferred copper from a copper strip to a quarter and also to non-galvanized nail. Pretty neat!

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If I wasn’t doing this New52 challenge, I would have probably not documented any of these experiences. I’m so glad I am participating!

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Memory Monday–Siblings

It’s not too often that I get to see my two brothers since they both live in New Mexico and I live in Utah. I’m also a lot older than both of them. Mike (on the right) is 12 years younger than me and Zach (in the middle) is 19 years younger than me. We were very spread out in our family, which is not how my parents originally planned things to be. Somehow, it is what was meant to be for our family though and I can’t imagine it any other way.

There are many blessings from the way we were all spaced out. We each got a lot of individual attention from our parents, and I can’t remember ever fighting with my brothers or ever not getting along with them. Even now I feel like we have a great relationship. I talk to them both on the phone every Sunday night (except I missed Mike last night so we chatted on facebook) and they always tell me they love me. I always tell them I love them, and I truly do. More than I could ever express in words.

You might notice that Zach looks a little different than me and Mike - that’s because he happened to be born across the world from us. He was born in Korea and joined our family through adoption at the age of 4 months. My Dad got to go and pick him up and he likes to brag that he was the one who delivered Zach!

They are both amazing men and I’m so happy to be their sister and friend. Siblings are such a big part of your childhood and if you’re lucky, they are also a great part of your adult life. I know not everyone has that experience though. Some sibling relationships are strained from the beginning. Others drift (or are torn) apart by life’s events.

I’ve recently realized that I want to do more to document the relationships I have with my brothers. I’ve included them in my scrapbooks of course, but there is so much more story to tell about both of them. I think a “Memory Monday” is the perfect time to jot down some thoughts about siblings. How about a few prompts to get us started?

• How many siblings do you have?
• Explain the birth order in your family
• Which siblings are/were you closest to in age? Closest to in friendship?
• What memories do you have of your siblings in childhood?
• What memories do you have of your siblings in adulthood?
• What characteristics and traits (genetic, personality, etc) do you share?
• What do they know or understand about you that other people don’t?

Great things to ponder for a Memory Monday.

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It’s not always easy to be in a family

These two get along really well, especially considering how much time they spend together. They have a wonderful relationship and almost always get along. But, there are times when they do drive each other a bit crazy.

Like a few weeks ago on a Sunday night, when Riley was asking Alex about different websites she could go to for good games. He was in the middle of an intense Lego Star Wars game online (maybe clone wars?) and he didn’t want to be bothered. She asked him for a website address and he said to try “http – slash – stopbuggingme.org” We laughed pretty hard over that one. I asked why it would be a .org and not a .com and he replied that she had made such a career out of it that it should be an organization. LOL!

Good thing we are so forgiving in our family. It’s hard to live together sometimes, even in the best of circumstances, so patience is important.

Sure do love my kids!

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