Hello, Handsome!

And hello, again! If for no other reason, these extra off weeks sure have been productive for me. I wandered around the blogosphere more than I've been able to do for the past couple months. When I took a moment to stop in at Sketches In Thyme, I noticed something special. They now design their own sketches for use. How awesome is that? How fun does this sketch look?



I like the cute colors, and it seems I've had a thing for the simplicity of circles lately:


One of the many things I love about my husband is his smile. He has a couple of them, at least. Normally, his loved ones get the cheesy grin that follows a remark showing off his smart-mouthed charm. When you actually try to get him to smile for a photograph, it will look like he's under duress. And sometimes.... Sometimes if you look fast enough and have been blessed, you'll see him really smile. He has one of those "light up the room and twenty feet around you" smiles when it's real like that. There's a sparkle in his eyes. There's honesty and hope. It's as hard to capture that smile with a camera as getting a butterfly to stay put for the same reason. I know it's hard to see all of that in this photo, with his sunglasses on, but I know that was the kind of smile I got in that moment.



I don't know if it was the act of watching Elizabeth Town while pondering this page...or hormones because, I did bawl (and wish for a very special road map all my own)... or just simply noticing I do A LOT of blue/green pages lately... but I felt compelled to keep this page as green as possible. The chipboard circle (Technique Tuesday) is coated generously in Distress Ink and Distress Stickles. I like how the Stickles somehow lubricates the ink to truely go every where because there were spots that were still white before adding the the pretty sparkles.



The bingo card behind the photo is from Tattered Angels. I've hung onto it for quite some time and swore I was going to use it. Well, it took over a year, but tada! The original title on the card is Family, but I had wanted a more accurate title. Luckily, I recalled a few sheets of Scrabble tiles I had printed (and found on the blog of Scrapperlicious). It was a bit bigger than the card, but I like it. Above my husband's head is his age. I decided to coat it with glossy accents and frame it with some more of the Distressed Stickles.

OH! Speaking of Scrapperlicious (and all the cool things that can be found on her blog), she is celebrating her millionth hit this month. Click on this link to see how she's chosen to celebrate!

Hmm, I guess I'm feeling a little tired, but good....And, I'm wondering what my little boy is up to right about now. Thanks for stopping by! One more project I'm working on, some cards that are looking kinda cute, too! Think I'll get a chance to share?

Dude!

Dude!

I use that word more than I care to admit. Usually, it's when I'm in shock. More to the point, it's when I've let myself dabble in my imagination a little too long and am quickly brought back to reality...by peanut butter smeared into my couch...or my arm being flung at my side as a call to attention. Often, it's along the lines of, "Dude! I'm a Mom." Then I happily frolic in that reality...and returning my couch to it's... well, I suppose pre-peanut butter splendor doesn't fit as a description. It's a Lazy Boy that became a Lazy Man a long time ago. By the end of this July, I will have owned that couch outright for ten years.

Today, however, I will have owned my husband outright (for as loosely as you can take that) for eight years. Today, we celebrate our Wedding Anniversary. Compared to some marriages, that's a lifetime. Compared to the average, we need to hang for another 16 and beyond. According to my husband, we'll be going strong for another 200 years...Because he's a dreamer like that. According to me, I'm more than happy to take it day by day.

That's not a negative statement in the least. It's a realistic statement. Like anyone else who's been married longer than the honeymoon -- or even been committed to one person for longer than a month (give or take) -- marriage is work. It's a challenge to be relished every day. It's something you live in the moment. It takes practice; even for the most romantic among us. As a college acquaintance once put it, in marriage, you basically make a new decision every day to stay with this one person no matter what. Prince Charming wafts away in the breeze. Cinderella gets back to the laundry. In marriage, you learn what it means to walk in love and faith.

Maybe I was a slow learner, but those were lessons that I didn't acquire over night. I started to finally grasp them after many years and many tries. Even now, I'm not certain that I've totally learned the lessons well, but I do a whole lot better at living out what I've grasped so far.

...And so, in the light of the day after I forgot to put the remaining spaghetti sauce in the freezer; leaving it instead to spoil overnight, I try to be a good wife. I try to be the partner I know he deserves and remember he's just as human as I am.

Happy eight years, Snickerdoodle! I lu' ya and thank you for decided to be with me every single day!

Happy Pop's Day, Dudes!

There are likely a gajillion and four posts today that somehow relate to Father's Day. Thank goodness it's not my job to read them all! I'd be stuck in this chair until next Father's Day; only to do it all over again.

Today, I'm not going to reminisce about my own Dad. He's awesome, he's infuriating, he's embarrassing and a reason to hold my head high. I love him; and as crazy as he drives me, I wouldn't have him any other way.

This MIGHT, however, go into a little bit of mush wherein I talk about my husband as Dad. Likely that's going to happen because I made a little scrappy page about he and my son recently; I feel like sharing that page today.

He's a pretty good Dad, really. I admit I had my doubts about either of our skills before we brought our Little Wonder home. He can be gruff. He has a quick temper (even if it does fade as fast as it emerges); and Heaven help you if you're near him while waiting in a grocery line. His vocabulary isn't nearly as colorful as mine can be; yet he uses the "fun" words more often than I do. He can tire easily and is prone to migraines. He likes everything in like exactly his way; though he'll swear he's flexible. Not so much. He has some odd ideas of appropriate television viewing for children. Sponge Bob is about as innocent as we can agree on in that department.

And yet.... He's present with our son every day. He has no problems digging into the less-savory parts of parenting without looking back. Somehow, he is patient. He is teaching our son to appreciate nature, science, art and the craft of creating highly-detailed masterpieces (he is incredible at painting Warmachine models). Our son is constantly interested in whatever Daddy does and my husband has no problem teaching him as he goes along. My husband and my son are getting to know each other better every day. They love each other like parents and children are supposed to. They're setting the groundwork to respect each other as they grow.

THAT's why I felt so privileged to get this photo of them earlier this weekend:



And made this page, with the help of the Thursday Sketch at Pages In Time:



I added a few details to the sketch supplied, like stitching triangles around the title area, having peek-a-boo torn paper here and there, buttons that just insisted on being used... I also used a recent gift of crackle paint to make the title area brighter.

And just for kicks and giggles, this is another page I made in December that I just love:




Happy Father's Day!

Sorry Sweetie!

There's been a bit of excitement in my house this past week. Our son has made another tiny stride toward complete potty proficiency. There's been enough rain to get the "splashies" out of any puddle-jumper's system. I got my hair cut.

Evidently, getting my hair cut was the most exciting event of all. My mother was geeked because she's maintained super-short hair for most of her life. For as long as she could, she kept my hair about a couple inches long and permed the hey-diddle-diddle out of it. Of course, for the longest time her mother kept her hair in long braids, so all that makes sense, in a weird kind of way.

My son was pretty sure that this meant he'd get his hair trimmed, too. For several months now, whenever Daddy goes to get his hair cut, our son is getting the same. Why should Mommy's 'do day be any different?

The hubberband, on the other hand, was.... a little more toward luke-warm on the whole idea. When we met, so so many moons ago, my hair tickled my waist. He loved my long hair and all the goofy college-girl things I'd do to it. He loved the pony-tails and braids. He thought the buns and up-do's were amusing. He thought the long-flowing look was cozy....and aside from all that, he just really liked the femininity of long hair. It remained about that long for the next four years...when I graduated and got a real job....with a real paycheck.... and REALLY wanted my hair out of my way as I ran after first-graders all day.

I wanted a break from the length...and the maintenance! Spending an hour brushing tangles out of my hair was just not on my to-do list. Buying a new bottle of conditioner every week wasn't all that great, either. Always having ties and barrettes on hand?! It was time for a change. Since that first major cut, I've gone back and forth between hair that ends at my earlobes and hair that drops just past my shoulders. Every time I get it cut, he pouts for a few minutes and mourns the loss of a detail he holds so dear. I feel bad every time; really I do! But when the temperatures rise and humidity graces my skin, I choose comfort over beauty.

I created a page for my husband's album (100 reasons why I love him) so he could go back and look at the longer hair until it grows again. Mainly, it's a tongue-in-cheek kind of thing. The design is based on the . Again, if you're the crafty type, I recommend you check them out.

Just Like Daddy

I have one of those things most like to call a "husband." Often, I prefer to call him my home. I also have one of those things most like to call a "son." Often I prefer to call him... Well, I often call him screwier than a a ten-penny nail. Oh, I'm aware that a ten-penny nail doesn't have screw threads...but my son is three and frequently makes about as much sense as my analogy. Regardless and obviously, I love them both. I wouldn't trade either for all the glimmer chalk in the world...(Psst! BTW, if your a Glimmer Mist fan, I just found a site selling the chalk! Squeal!)

My husband is a fan of bonsai; so much so that he can be found easily at a nursery or out in a wooded area looking for saplings to bend to his own will. Those close to him might also spy him perusing the internet for tips, tricks and more trees and seeds to aid in his cultivating ways. I've made the joke before that when he comes through the door with a new potted tree, he reminds me of a little kid with a stray dog -- the kind that asks, "Can we keep him?"...Only my husband doesn't ask permission to keep the tree. We just do.

Our son has sensed my husband's passion for growing trees and understands this MUST mean it is quite a special job to undergo. Now, whenever he sees his father heading toward the trees to either water or prune or repot or just generally examine for infestation -- half the trees are outdoor dogs, err, trees -- he simply MUST follow along and help whenever possible. Our son is so intent on helping that he has also been given the gift of his very own watering can.

This past week, my husband came home with a cold...and then was sweet enough to share it with us, but I digress. Because of this cold, he was unable to care for his trees as he would normally do and gave our son special permission to water his trees with any help. Sure enough, our son jumped at the opportunity. Sure enough, I snapped a few pictures while he did.

He was so happy to be "just like Daddy."



...until he was only half-way done with the job. Then he took off for the swing set.

The overall design of this page was inspired by a sketch posted on the Pages In Time site. Here's a link if you'd like to see the sketch and join the fun:

Pages In Time Weekly Sketch Challenge