Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm feeling better today- although right now, I'm exhausted. It's been a really long day, and I have to wait until the washing machine is done before I can go to bed (gotta make sure that Mike has clean socks for tomorrow. Man, is he picky or what?).

I made a green bean casserole and crab rangoon this morning before heading over to my parents. We stuffed ourselves silly with turkey, ham, the stuff that I made, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, olives, stuffing- all the traditional Thanksgiving food. The boys played, Mom and I talked, Mike and Dad talked, we had fun.

After that, we headed over to the inlaws for dinner (or rather, rolled ourselves over there- we were that stuffed). More turkey, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, corn, stuffing, etc, etc, etc. I'm a beach ball! Look at me roll!

But- there's more. You see, when we got there, MIL had a little scavenger hunt planned for the boys. First up- they had to find a bag of clothes that were in her room, give them to Daddy, and have him put them in the car. Once he did that- then they could have their next clue.

Aunt Sam helped them read the next clue, which was to get 'magic quarters' from three people in the room (Grandpa Thomas, Grandma Thomas, and Aunt Sam). Then- they had to put the 'magic quarters' in the piggy bank in Grandma Vicky's room.

Where they found- another clue.






This clue led them to the closet in the living room, which led them to get their coats on.


From there, they were told to get a message from Aunt Sue's cell phone.







They were told to go out to the shed, and they would get their surprise out there. We all head outside and out back, in the shed we find...





Something behind the door...









Rosie!

Rosie is our Christmas puppy (that we got on Thanksgiving). She's a pedigree beagle- and such a cute little dog. Her full name is Triple Lee's Irish Rose. Dylan's decided that she is HIS DOGGIE and nobody can tell him any different. The boys love her- and she loves them. They played together a lot- running up and down the hallway, chasing each other.

We're home now- and she does not like riding in cars. Oh boy, does she HATE riding in cars! She whined, barked, and paced up and down in her little crate the entire ride home. She was perfectly fine once we stopped the car and let her out- she explored the house, and now she's back in her crate, sleeping.

She's really the sweetest dog- even if she is a bit... frisky. But that's ok- it means that she'll be able to keep up with the boys.

The Day That All Shoppers Dread: Black Friday

It's coming.

That wonderful and horrible day- Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving, where every single store is having a sale. Wake up early! Hit the stores! Get those gifts! Buy! Buy! Buy! Spend! Spend! Spend!

Or- you could do the smart thing. Avoid those crowds. Sleep in. Sit in front of your computer in your cozy pajamas, with a cup of coffee in front of you. And head right on over to The Digi Chick for their Black Friday sale. Save 25-50% on the kits that you need to complete gift albums, holiday cards, or just stock up on new kits that delight your senses and flatter your pictures.

All of my kits will be 50% off. All of them.


Click the picture for a large view of the ad. And don't forget- Friday only, 50% off ALL kits created by me, Tracey Lee.

**If this entry sounds odd or weird or just plain silly, don't mind me- I'm sick. Blame the icky bug that has me down, and not me. I swear- I'll be back to myself soon enough.**

The Incredible Invisible Virgin Mary

About 13 years or so ago, I asked my grandmother for a Precious Moments nativity. My grandmother had the hardest time finding one- I mean, a REALLY hard time finding it. It took her about 3 years to find one. I was so excited when I opened the box. I love this nativity- and for years, had it displayed year round. I boxed it up earlier this year, because we were moving. I wrapped each piece in newspaper, put them on the top of the box, and put the box in my parents' garage.

Sunday, I went to get the tree and ornaments out of the garage. The tree was easy to reach- right there, in front. I couldn't reach the ornaments- they were buried in the back of the garage- so I left them there, and figured that I'd ask Mike to help me get them out yesterday. While I was in the garage, I found a box of yarn, and the box that I had put my nativity in earlier this year. I got those boxes inside, and began unpacking them.

I found shepherds. Joseph. The baby Jesus. My sister's flute (why it was in the box of yarn, I have no idea). A really cute crocheted shawl. Lots of pretty yarn.

No Virgin Mary.

So I have a few theories here.

1. Someone broke into our garage, found just that box, opened it up, removed Mary, closed the box and restacked it neatly.
   
2. Mary is now invisible.
3. I have another box of Christmas stuff buried in the garage somewhere.
   

Number one is unlikely- there are two sets of expensive golf clubs in the garage, a propane heater, lawn mower, etc, and someone stole my Virgin Mary? Number 3 is believable- but why would I pack Mary in another box and the rest of the nativity in that one? Number 2- well, I doubt that she's invisible.

Normally, this wouldn't bother me. Any other set, and I'd just replace her. But not this set. Remember me saying that it took my grandmother 3 YEARS to find it? Well- I haven't been able to find the rest of the set since then. I want the angels and the wisemen, but haven't been able to find them anywhere. And I've looked. I think that my set has been retired- which means that I have a snowball's chance in hell of finding affordable pieces for it.

I want to get a new nativity- because I have three boys, and if a miracle does happen and I do find the rest of the pieces to my set, I don't want them to get broken. I have three boys- and I can just see them getting wild, throwing a ball in the house (not allowed- but they don't always listen), and knocking the pieces over and quite possibly off my curio cabinet. Yeah- not good. The one that I really like is the Willow Tree nativity.

It's pretty.

It's cool.

It's also wood.

I'm so tempted to wrap my house in bubblewrap.

Swamp Water

Swamp water. Just the sound of it conjures up images of dark green smelly water with something funky and slimy growing on top.

And this is what my son said that the hollandaise sauce that I made last night was made out of.

First of all- the nearest water that could even remotely be called 'swamp water' is 20 miles away. Since I have no car, and Mike was at work- I'm pretty sure that I didn't get an 'swamp water' with which to make my hollandaise sauce yesterday.

Second- my hollandaise sauce was *yellow*, not green.

Cody's imagination is huge. And wild. And just a teeny tiny bit out there. He believes that one of Rudolph's jobs is to light Santa's way IN the house. He believes that tortellini are belly buttons. He believes that turkeys are chickens, and no amount of us correcting him will change his story.

He's also stubborn. I think that's where the 'swamp water' thing came from. And the thing is- he's not a picky eater. Never has been. This child ate horseradish sauce on his fries at eighteen months. He ate jalopenos at 2. Put it on his plate- and he'll eat it.

Except for my hollandaise sauce. A few weeks ago, Mike was making something with garlic. (BTW- Mike thinks that there are only two food groups: spicy hot and garlic. Since I don't like spicy hot, he tends to make a lot of stuff with garlic. He gave Cody a little tiny piece of raw garlic. Cody decided that he didn't like that- and refused, and I mean REFUSED, to eat anything with garlic in it. Including garlic bread (which he previously loved). Earlier this week, I made belly buttons (tortellini) with a garlic alfredo sauce. He ate the belly buttons, because he didn't know that the sauce had garlic in it (and I didn't tell him). An hour later, he walks up to me, garlic bread in hand, and says 'Ya know what, Mommy? I like this.' 'Really? It's garlic bread, ya know.' 'Yeah, I know.' And he just walks off, eating it.

I don't know what changed his mind- probably watching Dylan scarf down FOUR pieces of garlic bread and realizing that he was missing out on something. Whatever it was, it worked. He's back to eating garlic bread (but he still won't touch raw garlic. Frankly, I don't blame him).

So- I think that the whole 'swamp water' hollandaise sauce thing is him being stubborn. He feels that he has to have something that he just doesn't like. So he picked the one thing that he did not recognize at last night's meal- and decided that he didn't like it. Now, I won't confess to being the world's best cook. I'm better at baking, and I'm told that I make a mean mac and cheese (out of a box). But I was damn proud of that sauce. When Mike made it last month, his sauce was too thick, even a little bit lumpy (don't tell him that I said that- he takes his cooking seriously, and somewhere I have black mail pictures of him holding a pan of burnt belly buttons). It was good- but not perfect. Now- my hollandaise sauce was perfect. Thick, but not too thick. No lumps. *Sigh* At least I liked it.

Thanksgiving is this week. Tomorrow, I'm heading to Walmart to pick up the stuff that I need to make crab rangoon and green bean casserole. I'm also going to be picking up my christmas stuff from my parents' house, and getting a new crochet hooking (since I still can't seem to find mine). I think that we might also have to get dog food. Now that will be interesting! How to buy dog food without the kids finding out that I'm buying dog food. Because we will get the dog on Thursday.

Oh- gotta remember batteries. I need pictures of the kids' faces when they see Rosie and realize that she is their dog.

Still In The Mood

I'm tempted to call my parents and have them bring my christmas decorations by. I forgot- they aren't in our garage, they are in my van, which is currently sitting in my parents' driveway.

*Sigh* But I did manage to complete a christmas layout yesterday. The pictures were taken last christmas- amazing how fast kids grow! In the pictures, Evan still looks like a baby- now he looks like a child.

I used a kit that I just finished making for this layout. I'm uploading it as I write this, and it will be available later this week. The kit is titled 'Gingerbread Christmas'. Now that I think about it, this could be why I'm in such a Christmas-y mood lately. Hmm...

So- last night, we made cookies. The gingerbread cookies didn't turn out like they should (probably because I couldn't find any cookie cutters. The sugar cookies turned out perfect. The kids had a ball, loved helping make the cookies, and were covered in flour from head to toe by the time that they were done. Cody got creative with the chocolate chips.

This is me, in chocolate and cinnamon chips. Notice the ponytail. And boobs. Yes- my five year old son made sure to remember that Mommy has boobs. Of course, this is the child who draws nipples on all of his people drawings before putting clothes on them.

He also got creative with Santa yesterday. Lately, Santa seems to be the conversation topic of choice for our walk home from school. Yesterday's Santa related topic: How Will Santa Get In Our House Without A Fireplace?

This is what we came up with: He'll have to use one of the doors, but not the front door, because then we'll hear him come inside. Cody decided that in order to 'make sure' that Santa uses the back door, we'll have to stay up and wait for him on Christmas Eve. I told him that won't work, because Santa won't show up until he's asleep. We compromised- we'll leave the front door locked and unlock the back door.

That led us to another conversation: Does Rudolph's Nose Really Glow? I'm not sure on this- I told Cody that I'm sure that some reindeer have red noses, but I don't know if it really glows or if it's just shiny. Cody thought about it- and he's decided that Rudolph's nose does, indeed, glow. And Rudolph goes in the houses with Santa, in order to light his way around, because it's dark inside houses at night.

I think that Cody might be a writer when he grows up. He's got the imagination of one, that's for sure.

Ha! Christmas Music!

See? Changed the video today. As sad as I am to see JD Fortune go (man, is he HOT or what?), I'm a little bit happier to have Christmas music.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

I'm in a baking mood. It always happens right around this time of year. Something about the holiday season that just puts me in the mood to bake cookies. Lots of cookies.

I made peanut butter cookies a couple days ago and did something that I've never done before. I forgot the vanilla. Luckily 'no vanilla' is much better than 'too much vanilla'. At least they were still edible. Last night, I decided that I wanted to make some gingerbread cookies. But we didn't have any butter.

Damn. I went to the store this morning to get butter. While there- I noticed that they're playing Christmas music. John Lennon was playing (So This Is Christmas), and I joked with the cashier that it was a little early for Christmas music.

I wonder if she realized my true feelings? I'm am so totally ready for the holiday season. I love Christmas music. I'm tempted to break out my Mannheim Steamroller CD and listen to it today. I'm actually considering getting my Christmas decorations out. I know that my husband would kill me- KILL ME- if I put the decorations up too early. Right now, I'm to be content with the nesting dolls that his aunt bought us last Christmas. It's hard, I tell you- HARD.

So I'm going to satiate this desire to decorate for Christmas already with a good festive round of baking cookies. I'm going to make a couple batches of gingerbread cookies today. This weekend, I plan on baking a couple batches of sugar cookies.

Oh- and I'll break out the Mannheim Steamroller CD, as well as those old CDs of 'once famous pop artists singing christmas music from the 80s'. This is the Christmas music that I grew up with. My mom listened to pop/rock music, and she had all of those CDs. Man, I wish I knew what they were called. They had some funky little guy dancing on the covers and a new one came out every year. I think that they still make them, only it's just not the same with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilara. I want the cheesy 80s Christmas musis. I want The Pointer Sisters! And Bon Jovi! And Madonna! Pre-Bobby Brown Whitney Huston!

*Sigh*

I love Christmas. The whole season is so warm and cozy. The colors are beautiful- blue and silver, red and green, lots of gold. Candle light, spiced scents, peppermint.

I will be putting the tree up before Christmas. In less than a week, we'll become the parents of one very fiesty little beagle puppy named Irish Rose (Rosie, for short). This should be interesting.

The End Of The First Year

Five days ago, I passed my one year anniversary of being a SAHM. Today, while reading at another site, someone posted this want ad.

Let me just say that I'm jealous. Because number one- there's no way in hell my husband would allow me to hire a sitter for three days a week just so that I could have a 'break', especially if I'm going to be home. And number two- this guy is getting a break. An almost guaranteed break.

I woke up this morning to snow. Yes- snow. It's not sticking, it's just flying around out there- but still. It's snow. Yesterday, it's in the 50s all day, the day before I think we actually hit 70. Today? It's 30.

In the year since I became a SAHM, I have rediscovered childhood loves. Like snow. No longer is snow something that I worry about- no longer do I dread winter, because 'snow' means 'idiot drivers in SUVs who think that just because they have four wheel drive that everyone else on the road does as well.' Now- snow is something fun. It's for playing. It changes the world into this magical place. I even find myself a little bit sad this morning- because the snow isn't sticking. No watching the world turn into this magical white wonderland- just snow flying around, being blown by the wind.

Another childhood love- rainy days. Instead of rushing around, trying to find my umbrella, worrying about parking in the muddy spot in the driveway (and taking along a second pair of shoes), making sure that I have enough time to dry once I get to work... I can sit on the couch, all cozy like, with a cup of coffee and a good book.

Another childhood love- the after school snack. When I worked, the snack was 'on the go', as I drove the boys to their grandmother's house. They ate it in the car, instead of at the dining room table. The talk after school was more along the lines of 'be good for your grandmother' and 'don't lose your socks, you know that your father always forgets to grab them when he picks you up.' Now, we can sit and chat. After school snack isn't rushed- it's us, chatting about what happened at school, what happened at home, what we're having for supper.

This year has seen so many changes. My fil has moved out (hallelujah). We've moved into an actual house. My grandfather passed away. I've discovered that I'm pretty resourceful when it comes to keeping three boys busy. Cody is learning to read. Evan is one smart cookie- he already knows his shapes. I've discovered that I really enjoy doing laundry. Oh- and I love watching Corneil and Bernie.

Sharing...

It's been awhile since I've shared what I've been working on. I won't share my two latest uploads until they hit the store on Thursday, but I can share the two kits that I uploaded last week.

First up- Rainy Day. Yeah, not exactly 'seasonal', but a little appropriate for what is going on here today (rain, rain, and more rain). I think that I'm moving away from paisleys. Not that I don't like them, just that everyone and their mother is using them now. I'm really proud of those paper flowers. I think that they look neat. :)






Also new- Snowy Fields. Funny- my latest uploads are weather related, lol! This is what I wish we had- I love snow. Especially now that I'm not working. I can just sit at home, all cozy like, and watch the snow fall.

I'm also loving glass/acrylic elements right now. They're so fun to make- plus, they look neat on paper. I'm also sketching more for my kits. The floral bouquet brush/overlay and paper in the Snowy Fields kit was hand drawn by me- it has a sketch feel to it. ((And yes, I know- flowers and snow don't exactly go together.))

Last week was a blue week- this week is a pink week. I'm holding off on creating christmasy kits until after Thanksgiving (even though I'm dying to get to work on them). Both of these kits are available at The Digi Chick.

Have You Seen This?

Best and Brightest

How cool is that? I'm planning on entering- already have assignment one done, and am working on assignment two. That's a hard one for me- as much as I love to manipulate photos, I've found myself staying away from it with my scrapping (other than changing color photos to black and white). I have an idea for this, but am currently looking for a kit to use with it.

Assignment three is going to be fun- all those fun little things that digital scrappers like to do in one assignment.

Did you see the inspiration for assignment five? Wow. Just- wow. I love the pieces that they've chosen for this and it's going to be so freaking hard to choose which one I want to do.

I've toyed around with the idea of entering HOF and other things like that before. But the thought of having to print everything and get it all ready has been keeping me from entering. I really think that this one is right up my alley, so to speak.

Other non scrapping related stuff:

Cody told me the other day that when he's in first grade, he'll be able to drive. Poor kid- he looked so forlorn when I told him that no, he won't be driving when he's six- he'll have to wait another ten years before that happens.

Cody didn't believe me when I told him that Santa does go shopping. He told me (all smug like) that the elves made all the toys. My response? The elves do make most of the toys, but come November, they are usually behind, because there are soooo many good little boys and girls in the world that they just can't keep up. So- Santa has to go shopping. But whenever he goes, he's always surrounded by kids telling him what they want. It's why we see Santa in stores and shopping malls at Christmas time- he's not there to find out what the kids want, he's there to shop for gifts. Now- just wait. Cody will ask Santa if he's there to buy gifts when we take the kids to see him.

He's growing up so fast. He loves to help me make the beds. Which is a good thing, because I need his help. With two sets of bunk beds, they aren't easy to make. So- he helps. He gets up on the top bunk and helps straighten the blankets and sheets out. He asks me every morning if I'm ready to make the beds. I just wish he'd ask me every day if he could pick up his toys...

I found yet another use for Photoshop. Evan is such a smart kid- he knows his shapes. When I'm working, and he wants to sit on my lap, I'll open up a new image and using the shape tool, draw shapes. We can spend hours pointing out the different shapes. Stars, circles and squares- he knows them all. Makes working rather interesting- he'll stand there beside me, shouting 'tar, mommy! mommy! tar!' Or 'kurkle! kurkle!' (translation: tar=star, kurkle=circle)

It's now November 14th- it's been two weeks since Halloween. And Dylan is still wearing his Spongebob costume. I woke up this morning to one child in a pair of jeans (Cody), one in a pull up (Evan), and one wearing a pull up and his Spongebob costume.

Random thought- my house smells like apples. Yummy! I bought a candle from an online company a few months ago, and they sent some sample break apart tarts for me to try. I burned the candle a long time ago (it was yummy, too), and while cleaning off my desk yesterday, I came across the tarts. Yesterday- the house smelled Creme de le Creme (yummy- but the scent didn't travel as well as the apples), today- baked apple crisp. I must- MUST- buy more of these tarts. And a warmer. Right now, they're in an old saucepan on the stove. But still- yummy.

Who Defines Art?

In high school, my art teacher used to tell us a story about the artist Duchamp. During an open call for art work way back in 1917, Duchamp sent in 'Fountain'. 'Fountain' was actually a urinal.

Yep- a urinal. I think that he signed it using a fake name. Either way- the gallery thought that it was trash, not 'art', and threw it away. A piece of art- gone. Because someone decided that urinals are not art.

My teacher used it to explain that just because *we* don't like something, does not mean it's not art. There is a lot of artwork that I can appreciate- but frankly, it's not my style. I love Monet's work- I love the colors, the fact that he didn't use black, the way that he would paint the same scene, over and over again, playing with the light. Years ago, I saw the Monet exhibit at The Art Institute of Chicago- breathtaking. I think that I sat in front of the Waterlilies paintings the longest.

But- there are just some artists that I really don't gravitate towards. The surrealists- not exactly my style. The interactive art pieces that just leave me wondering 'what the?' That's not to say that I don't consider them art- they just aren't my style.

I love art. I love to look at it, and I love to make it. I'm crafty- to me, that's art. I love to paint, to photograph things, to draw, to sketch, to manipulate photos... In high school, I had my art teacher take digital photos of myself for me to play around with. I cloned my nose over my eyes, cloned my mouth over my eyes, and just had fun. Those pieces hung in the school's art show that year- my mother said it was 'disturbing' (and what, a two headed cat trying to break into two cats isn't disturbing? (I sculpted that one sophomore year)).

You can't claim that something isn't art because you don't understand it or you don't think the medium is acceptable. Digital art is still art. Digital scrapbooking is still scrapbooking. Artists try to stretch the boundaries of art all the time. Look at Monet- he actually went so far as to completely and totally eliminate a color from his palette. Look at his later works- there is no black. Look at Duchamp. He took something that is merely 'everyday', turned it on it's side (or was it upside down? Can't remember anymore and am too lazy to look it up). It's art- but it is art that was thrown away by the gallery that he sent it to.

It doesn't matter what other people think of digital scrapbooking. As long as you are happy, and you consider it art, then that is what it will be.

Art.

Hell Yeah, I'm Greedy

Apparently, because I'm a designer, I'm greedy.

If enjoying creating new kits makes me greedy, then hell yeah- I'm greedy.

If kicking the biggest kick out of seeing what someone else does with my designs makes me greedy, then hell yeah- I'm greedy.

If making less than minimum wage makes me greedy, then hell yeah- I'm greedy.

What I find oddly amusing about this whole thing is that I don't think most designers are greedy. Sure- there are a few that might be, but most of them- especially those that are considered 'hot' right now- aren't. If designers were truly greedy, the average kit price would be a lot more than $4-7. Many designers are UNDERPAID.

What prompted this? Someone (who shall not be named) informing her little 'club' that she's not wrong for giving away designers' kits for free... because designers are 'greedy'. It's a Robin Hood complex... except that designers aren't rich.

Most customers are completely innocent- they just have no idea that this type of sharing happens or that it's illegal to share someone else's kits this way. So- for those of you who happen to join Yahoo or Google or MSN groups, or forums for sharing, here's some things that you need to know.

1. Beware ANYTHING that says 'Snag.' This means that the person sharing it snagged it from someone else. Chances are- they are sharing something that they shouldn't be sharing. Designers do not care if someone snagged it from someone else- ignorance isn't a reason, it's an excuse.
   
2. Most designers put their intials or full name in their file names. If you see someone sharing something that doesn't include their own initials or name, chances are- they aren't supposed to be sharing it.
   
3. Download freebies only from reputable sites and groups, like stores, SBB, DSP, RAKScraps, and ComputerElements2 mailing list at Yahoo etc. Often, the stuff being shared there is stuff that was made by the person sharing it. This is the ONLY way that sharing should be done- period.

Before you share anything- ask yourself how you would feel if the tables were turned. This isn't a game.

PIRACY IS ILLEGAL.

Hilarious!

This thread at 2Peas gave me a giggle this morning. Most of us have had someone criticize our hobby- doesn't matter if you are digital or paper. My new favorite line of all time comes from that thread: "If you are so danged devoted to surgical-grade preservation of photos, then why in the name of all that is holy do you persist in chopping your precious, precious pictures into such ugly-ass shapes?"

Yep, hilarious stuff. No, I don't use my own handwriting on my layouts (would like to, but I'm still working on writing with my tablet. I'm practicing by doodling- check out my new profile pic. She started off as a doodle). I don't think that is what is important, anyway. I have a recipe box, with handwritten recipes. When I'm gone, my family will have that to remember my handwriting. Or my address book. Or my handwritten journals.

What's important is our reason for scrapping- whether that reason is to preserve memories or as a crative outlet or simply because we have folders of pictures that we need to do something with. Who cares if you hand write your journaling or use everything including the kitchen sink or create your own elements in Photoshop?

Gah, I'm tired right now. I was going somewhere with this... I think that my point is it doesn't matter HOW you scrapbook. Because HOW you scrapbook is going to tell the people looking at them after you are gone a hell of a lot more than WHAT you scrapbooked about will. Think about it. Looking at my layouts, someone who did not know me might assume that I enjoy working on the computer, that I'm creative, that I love my family, that I have a sense of humor, etc, etc, etc. I don't think that we should do things just because someone else told us to, because they think it's 'better'. If you like gluing pictures to construction paper, doodling cute little flowers in Crayola markers, and sneezing stickers all over the place, then go for it. Ignore those who laugh and point and say 'sticker sneeze!'. Just like I ignore those who look at my layouts and say that I'm missing out on the tactile feeling of scrapping. Trust me- I'm not.

The Day Has Finally Arrived!

Check it out! My first kits are up! This is so exciting!

Don't forget that this coming Saturday the new designers at TDC are hosting an event. There's a free kit, plenty of challenges, and a chat. Stop by and meet some of the new designers!

In other news- I'm sick. I blame my three year old for this. He was sick yesterday, and now I'm sick. Ugh. That's the price that I pay for spending yesterday cuddling him when he needed it the most. Luckily, it's not a stomach bug. But I don't really feel like doing anything. Except sitting on my butt, doing nothing.

Blah.