Stolen straight from LaRelle

Yep, while I figure out which of my 17 totally blog-worthy topics to blog about, you get to read my answers to LaRelle's boredom post. Or you could just read hers, the answers are strangely similar... {insert twilight zome music here..}

	Playing favorites
	Favorite color?	Purple
	...Band?	ever? Eagles
	...Taco Bell menu item?	Enchirito
	...Candy bar?	Almond Joy
	...Concert?	Yikes. Uh, Jeez. Eagles, but the first tour I went to and the second night I went. I guess.
	...Movie quote?	"But why is the rum gone?"
	...Monopoly game piece?	I don't know....the thimble
	...Nickname?	Well, people call me things, but they aren't nice. My brother calls me sister. And I call him brother. Not a creative bunch, I guess.
	...Pizza toppings?	Sausage and mushroom
	...cell phone service provider?	What a dumb question, really, does anyone walk around telling people their favorite cell service? I'll go with T-Mobile, see my answer to the "a little gay" question below.
	restaurant?	Eh, if there is steak, I'm in.
	....breakfast cereal?	Lucky Charms
	...website? (other than Myspace you nerd=)	huh, lately I spend a lot of time at ScrappyPrincess and DigiChick.
	....roadtrip?	Everyone say it with me now... DISNEYLAND!
	....beer?	Sam Adams White Ale, I am so sad it's seasonal.
	This or That
	Britney or Christina?	Britney
	Own a pet monkey or take part in a "heist"?	I want to take part in a heist where I steal LaRelle's monkey. then I get both.
	Team Jolie or Team Aniston?	Team Wallace, it could happen. :)
	Paris or Nicole?	Paris rocks... who else could get so rich off being so stupid? then again, Nicole got rich off Paris being stupid, and she didn't have to be stupid. a conundrum.
	Firefighters or police officers?	Firefighters
	Silver or gold?	Silver
	Internet Explorer or Netscape?	Firefox
	Fly or drive?	drive
	Night or day?	Night
	Beer or liquor?	either, both, whatever.
	Law & Order or CSI?	LOST ;)
	Glasses or contacts?	I got glasses, I don't wear them.
	Martha Stewart: Domestic goddess or Satan's spawn?	Domestic goddess
	Godfather or Goodfellas?	Godfather
	Backstage or front row?	Backstage
	Keep Dreamin'
	If you could marry any celebrity, who would it be?	hello? Johnny Depp!
	If you won the lottery today, what's the first thing you would buy?	A house
	You're on death row - what's your last meal?	mom's chicken and noodles.
	If you bought a puppy today, what would you name it?	Fred
	What is your dream job?	something that involves me getting paid tons of cash to do nothing all day.
	If you could travel anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would it be?	Italy
	If you magically had a kid tomorrow, what would you name it?	Jack if it's a boy.....Tricia if it's a girl
	If you could live anywhere on the planet, where would it be?	Italy, on the coast, of course.
	Who would you "be a little gay" for?	ROFL. Catherine Zeta-Jones
	What is your dream motor vehicle?	Hummer
	If you could go back in time, what historical period/event would you time travel to?	I think I could burn Panama City with the rest of the scurvy dogs.
	If you could star in any movie, what would it be?	Pirates of the Carribean :)
	You're stranded on a desert island - what five members of the opposite sex (or same sex, if you so choose) would you want with you?	Only 5? ;) Johnny Depp, Vin Diesel, Josh Holloway, Jon Bon Jovi, and Toby Keith.
	If you were having a dinner party, what four people (living or dead) would you invite?	Ellen Degeneres, Walt Disney, and since I like a sandwich every now and then (this IS dinner, yes?) Johnny Depp and Josh Holloway. You may now pause for visual, I sure am.
	If you could get rid of one celebrity that annoys you, who would it be?	KELLIE PICKLER.
	Randomness
	What animal represents you best?	You know that Antonio Banderas cat on Shrek 2, the one that looked all cute and then suddenly turned on everyone, and then turned out to be cool. Yeah, that.
	Ever seen a pedestrian get hit by a car?	Just the one I hit myself.
	Where was the last place you went to on an airplane?	Orlando
	What is your most cherished old school Nintendo game?	I'm too old for Nintendo. On Atari we had Frogger. :)
	How many times have you been out of the United States?	2ish?
	What food do you refuse to try?	anything they make people eat on Fear Factor
	What's your middle name?	Ann
	What is the coolest city you have ever been to?	San Diego
	Who do you IM with the most?	during the day, Kerri, and at night Nanny Jen.
	McDonald's Chicken McNuggets: yay or nay?	McDonald's: yay or nay: NAY! ugh, didn't anyone but me see Supersize Me?
	Ever posted a glittery/animated comment on someone's Myspace page?	wha?
	Do you know who Glenn Coco is?	wha?
	What television channel do you watch the most?	Honestly? I don't know, I tivo everything. is the now playing list a channel?
	What perfume/cologne are you wearing right now?	you people are funny. It's almost 9 pm and I haven't had time to shower today, what the hell is perfume?
	What is your Starbucks beverage of choice?	Caramel Frappuchino... unless it's fall and there's pumpkin spice ones.

The post I didn't want to make

I seem to have hideous problems every time I try to post pictures here, so I have been putting off posting these entries to the big scrap contest. But, I said I would do it, and I have nothing better to do really, so here they are.

This first one was for the assignment: Use your best candid photo in a layout. She still steals sunglasses right off people's heads, by the way.

This was one of the freebies - basically it said send us 4 of your favorite layouts. So, favorite number one. The journaling is a true story, too. She's funny. In that scary kind of way.

Favorite number 2 - can you tell I like this picture some? I seem to have made like 14 different pages with it so far. I can't help it, he never holds still for the camera, let alone smiles. I have to take what I can get and run with it.

This was for the assignment: Use something non-scrap related for inspiration to make a page. Here is the photo I used for inspiration:

This one said something like use patterned paper, rub-ons, and ribbon on a page. So I did.


Favorite number 3. This thing took forever, and would have taken me like an hour instead of 20 had I done it digitally. Live and learn.

This was for the journaling assignment, which was meant for us to all make a page about something we didn't want to make a page about, I think. This one was digital.

Favorite number 4. This one was really fast.

This one I didn't actually send in, although I made it for the assignment of using 10 or more pictures, journaling, and a title on one layout. I didn't send it in because I didn't take any of these pictures (maybe the one of Traci, not sure) and they were pretty specific about using pictures you had taken yourself. Unless they were of yourself. Anyway. I just put it here so y'all could see it. It's digital too.

This is the one I sent in instead, except I outlined all the pictures in red, and changed the big silver ribbon to a smaller red one. For some reason I can't find the scan of the improved page, but you get the idea.

The last one was to make something that wasn't a page using scrap supplies, which I did, and did really well, if I do say so myself. I am not posting those pictures because it was meant to be a present for my stepmom, and I haven't mailed it yet, so I don't want her to see it here before she sees it live. So I'll post those sometime after I actually mail it to her. :)

Other stuff...
I seem to be having issues with getting songs stuck in my head lately. This generally only happens to me during American Idol season, and is usually some horrible rendition of a song I like that some horrible contestant mangled on the show. So, in the interest of fun games to play, I've decided to make you all post comments about your favorite music stuff, and use the American Idol themes of the week for it. If you read and don't post, buck up and register, it only takes a second and you don't really have to make your own blog. Then post, cause I said so. ;) SO this week we have 2 topics since I am starting 2 weeks into the show. The first week was Stevie Wonder songs - what's your favorite? I love Stevie Wonder, so I have a hard time deciding, but I think mine is Overjoyed. Which is a really hard song to sing, and if you don't think so, just try it next time you hit karaoke. Last week was songs from the 50's - I don't feel like looking things up to see when some songs first came out, so I will use one that was on the show that is one of my favorites - In the Still of the Night. Next week is songs from the 21st century, so get thinkin' about your favorites from the last 5 years and 3 months.

If you like American Idol (and who doesn't?) and country music check out Nashville Star on the USA network. Hosted by Wynnona, it's like Country Idol, but as an added twist, these people are expected to write their own music too. Which means a bit higher class of performers.

Anyone who wants 10 years and 5 cabinets worth of scrapping supplies, make me an offer. Most of my stuff is getting scanned and sold in the next few months, hopefully before I move so I don't have to move it. I have tons, and no list to speak of so if there is something in particular you need, email me and I probably have it. (Monica, you are still getting the stuff promised you for the cost of shipping only, I am waiting on some boxes to put it in.) The only things I am keeping are my basic tools and probably some of the stamps, although I don't use those much anymore anyway. I am officially going digital. First come first served, if you want to wait until I get it up on ebay with pictures, let me know and I'll email you when it happens.

Seems like there was something else, but I don't know what, so I will post it next time assuming I remember.

Guess what?

My kid's autistic. ;) Yep, we have an official medical diagnosis now. It says like this: He meets the criteria for autism and has made good academic and language progress in the last couple of years. He continues to have poor social skills and eye contact. He is hyperlexic and likes numbers. Also has continued motor delays and incoordination, including articulation. Sensory modulation issues remain and he is quite active, and has a sleeping disorder. Gee, who woulda guessed? :) That there took 6 pages to say, and there are some reccomendations including going back to normal school, getting an extra 200 calories into him a day, trying melatonin for sleeping, and some lab tests for fragile x and various amino acids or something. So there ya go. I'll keep you updated on all that as it happens. Right now both kids are at grandma's for spring break, so I can't implement any of the above. Yay me! ;)

Other news: I did not win the big scrap contest. Nor did I get honorable mention. However, this is just fine with me. I was, however, chosen as "layout of the day" at www.createmykeepsake.com for the stunning crazy cute digital layout of Kayla, which I am pretty sure y'all have already seen. I'll post up my entry from the big contest soon, now that I can, in the meantime here is my latest digital creation. In other other news, I have the "Della and the Dealer" song playing on Fred right now and I have just realized that it has played about 17 times in a row, because I have been typing and not paying attention. Which means my "most played" thingy is gonna be kinda messed up, but oh well. It's a groovy song, at least.

I really don't have a bunch to say, which is odd since it has been a while since I posted. I'm gonna go play some online poker now, in preparation for playing a live game later. See how effectively and productively I am using my time without children? ;)

Cool Computer Stuff

I'm taking a class online, a free class from iVillage, on digital scrapbooking. This is where you make your pages completely online, and then just print them out. There is an amazing amount of stuff you can do with the right program. (My choice is Photoshop Elements - try free for 30 days here) Plus, I have my super duper (almost) new tablet that just rocks when it comes to stuff like this. (a tablet for the computer is just like one in real life, it comes with a pen, and you can "draw" on it. Or color. Or write. Try it, you'll like it. You can also use it with a mouse, or use the pen like a mouse, which is nice for those of you developing carpal tunnel.) Anyway, to get back on topic, this class is so very cool. There are things that you can do with shadows and everything that make your digital pages look just like your paper pages, and it's a lot cheaper. And you can match colors to your picture. Or make a patterned paper that is perfect for your picture. Or you could make paper or embellishments and print them out to use on paper pages, even, if you weren't up for converting entirely. I am currently working on lesson 3 on this class, which is backgrounds. Lesson 2 was simple layouts just so we all could figure out how our software works for this sort of thing. Lesson 1 pretty much said "hey, make sure you HAVE some software before you try this class, and a computer would be helpful, and maybe some digital photos." I'm having a blast with it. I got so into making backgrounds to match my pics tonight that after 2 hours of playing I realized I should probably put them in an actual page. Then I didn't do it. :) So, here are my layouts from lesson 2. Enjoy.

















This was my first one. The instructor commented that my journaling might be a bit big once I printed it out. I printed it, liked it, didn't change it. Rebel that I am.



















The second one. Instructor said maybe change the sorta distracting background of the picture to black and white, so....

















Boom, not so distracting. But then I thought, hey if we are messing with that background, why not make it look like you are looking through Charlies goggles?


















And there we go, orangeriffic. Now, I put all 3 versions of that one up so that I could make this point. Changing from version 1 to version 2 to version 3 took me less time than it would have taken me to find the box of photo paper to reprint the picture once if I was doing it on paper. And didn't use any ink in the process. That's probably enough of me and my cool digiscrapping class, a lot of you were probably sick of me talking about it so much before you started reading this.

In other news, we have moved the computer from the dark, messy, unfinished basement into the light, clean, and complete-with-drywall-and-ceilings kitchen, which is making me happy and is much more convenient for me. We'll see how it works for Todd, but we're moving soon anyways, so if he doesn't like it, he won't have to deal with it for long.

In other other news, I have discovered heads up poker tournaments, which are dangerously addicting. Luckily I seem to be quite good at heads up play, so I am not broke yet. Anyone wanting a piece of my winnings, send money so I can play for bigger stakes, please. ;)

Why are people so rude?

Two things happened yesterday that make me ask this question.

First, I went shopping at Hobby Lobby. Let me tell you that I was looking for a certain scrapbook magazine I have not ever seen, and since my LSS is really just a larger version of the sunday school craft closet, the lady that works there sent me to Hobby Lobby to find it. And then I got distracted and ended up buying other stuff, like I usually do. But, as I went to the checkout, lo and behold, there is a big bin with bunches of issues of this magazine in it. They are all over a year old, and really beat up, but I figure since I haven't seen this mag before and may not like it, why not buy the beat up old ones, I mean, they MUST be discounted pretty good, right? I asked the checkout lady what the dscount was on the magazines. Her response: "There is no discount, we aren't here to help you out, we have to make money, you know". Um, WHAT?!? I calmly pointed out to her that these magazines were over a year old, and beat to shit. Her response: "There IS NO DISCOUNT. Do you want one, or not?" Well, no, I want to see a manager, thanks. The manager came out, fired the chick in front of me (I got the impression it wasn't the first incident of this nature) and gave me 3 of the old magazines and the newest issue FOR FREE. That turned out just fine for me, but really, why are people so rude?

The second thing is something that actually has been going on for some time now. I am going to try to approach this in some manner that doesn't hurt any feelings or make anyone mad, because enough of that has happened already. However, tact is not my strong point, so what I am going to ask is that anyone who gets hurt or mad take it out on me, as I (and only I) am the one saying these things. I have a group of friends online that I am very close with. We are going to call them T1, T2, T3, C, L1, L2, K1, K2, and A. (subtle, eh?) T1 and C were friends for a very long time, but something happened between THEM and they aren't any more. T3, L2, K1, and A have done a marvelous job of keeping out of this situation, you all may go on with your day knowing Holly is not unhappy with you. :) For the rest of you... especially T2 and C - knock it off. If you have something bad to say about anyone, or snide comments to make, or inside jokes that aren't really so inside because you are so very rude about it, keep it in the email or the instant messaging. I enjoy the online "hangouts" we all frequent, both of them, and I really appreciate and love ALL of you... but if I have to put up with reading something rude and immature in every other thread, it's not enjoyable for me anymore. So you ALL know... if the people in this situation were reversed, or for that matter, if anyone anywhere was treating any of you in this manner, I would immediately call them out on it just as I am doing now. I have nothing against anyone personally - you ALL are my friends. I understand if that's not true for everyone in the group. All I am asking is that you keep your rude, immature, highschool behavior in private, as I think that is common courtesy, and I know that all of you are capable of being courteous, because you are all good people. To prove how easy this is, I am going to make a comment about each of you right here. Are you scared? You shouldn't be, I am a good person too. :)

T1 - YOU are MY hero. You are one of the most together people I have ever known, and I admire the way you have recently purged negativity from your life and your thoughts. Love you.

T2 - You are one of the most talented people I have ever known. You are a wonderful mother and grandmother and very giving.

T3 - You are just downright cool. I know this isn't the best time of your life and that you have some issues right now, but you handle them with humor and, well, coolness. Nothing can be done about your NFL affiliation, but really, that's the only bad thing I can think of about you. ;)

C - You are the hardest working person I have ever met, outside of my grandfather. You had the patience to wait for love and found it, and are going into not just a new chapter of your life but a whole new book - with no fear and an admirable sense of adventure and loyalty.

L1 - You go in the downright cool category too. I am just recently discovering that you and I have so much in common that if we lived anywhere near each other, we would probably be constantly together - you know, stalking Johnny, watching LOST, checking out new music.. something. ;)

L2 - What's the definition of sweet? L2 is. Both in the "aw, she's so sweet" sense and the "Sweet!" sense, if ya know what I mean.

K1 - T1 is my hero, but you are my role model. L1 and I would be constantly hanging out if we lived in the same town, but you and I would be best friends forever. We share Schmolland, which is not a nice thing to have to share, but I for one am really, really, REALLY glad you are there with me, sister.

K2 - I don't really know you that well, now that I think of it, but from what I do know, you are a very intelligent woman with strong ties to your kids, and there ain't nothing wrong with that fo' sho'.

A - You're in that cool category too, dang I have a lot of cool friends. Rock on like always.

Okey dokey - if you have comments on the situation above, or want to yell at me, have at it. Like I said, I don't mean to be hurtful or make anyone angry... but I do think this has been going on long enough that it's time for someone to say something. So I did. Hopefully I will still be welcome at both our online hangouts... cause I don't want to lose either one. Well, one I can't lose unless I piss someone off that isn't even mentioned here, but I'm sure you all know what I am talking about. :)

Some reviews

I got some new stuff, and I tried some stuff I had but hadn't used/watched/played yet, so I shall review them for you. :)

March issue of Creating Keepsakes - never in my life have a seen an issue of any scrap magazine that had so many layouts that made me think the editors had lost their minds. There were some downright fugly pages in there. Like YIKES kind of fugly even. No offense to anyone who had a layout in that issue, just my opinion. Very cool and interesting article about Fibonnacci in scrapping though, if anyone wants that it's short enough that I will type it in an email for you so as to save you from spending the $6 to see the fugly layouts. :)

Scrapbook Answers - this is a relatively (I think) new scrap magazine that I signed up to get a free issue of. Free issue came. Yummy. I LOVE this one and subscribed right away. Lots of things that have that "percieved value" going on, where it looks ever so cool on the page, but is easy and usually cheap to do. Good step by step directions, and every issue comes with a CD-ROM with coolio stuffs on it. Well, I assume. I haven't actually played with the CD yet, but it says it has 44 fonts on it, and that's coolio enough for me. :)

The Bo Bice CD - man, that guy can sing. I really love his voice, and all of the songs on there are pleasant, but I do have to say they all sound a bit alike to me. Granted, I have only listened to it once, but that's my first impression. Not that I think that is really a bad thing though. :)

10 Minute Solutions workout DVDs. I bought the Pilates and the Kickboxing ones. The kickboxing is really fun and the ten minutes go pretty fast. The Pilates one has me convinced that "Pilates" is not some guys name, but code for "self-torture for masochists". Both of them seem to make me sore, so I'm gonna take that as evidence that they are doing SOMETHING. I'll let you know more in a month or so. I'm really just in the market for toning, so if you're looking to see how fast I lose weight or anything, you came to the wrong place. It's nice to have something that only takes 10 minutes and is an actual workout, though. At least it is for me, but I am in nothing like good shape.

A book by Steve Berry called The Third Secret - I'm about 80 pages into it and not quite sure exactly where it is going, but it's damned interesting so I'll keep going till I find out. Note to Kerri - you will want to just pass this one up. As a hint, I bought it because it was on an endcap with a big sign that said "If you are bored waiting for the Da Vinci Code movie, read this!" :) So far the whole thing has taken place at the Vatican, and a priest has already been excommunicated from the church for not only having an affair with some chick but then absolving them both of sin in front of his congregation. And the pope (is that to be capitalized?) is freaking out about something and no one knows quite what. I also bought the new(?) Stephen King, but since I have yet to read it I can't say much except the cover has his name on it. Which, me being me, means I can say it's really very good and everyone should have it, because Stephen King is genius like Tim Burton and Johnny Depp and Carlos Santana and Salvador Dali.

Sly Cooper 2 - Band of Thieves - (it's a PS2 game) addicting. I have had this for probably a year and a half and finally started playing it. While the first Sly Cooper was in the format of "go through here, collect the key, when you have 7 of them beat the bad guy boss and then you can go to the next level where you do it all again" kind of thing, on this one you have a list on each level of "jobs" you have to complete before making the big heist for that level and going to the next one. Also you can play as different characters this time, which is kind of fun. If you have a PS2 and like the "kiddie" kind of games like Spyro or Crash, I highly reccommend the Sly games as well, they are my favorite. Charlie got the Sly 3 for Christmas and is halfway through it, maybe in another year and a half I will play that one too.

Last weeks episode of LOST - good grief, how very confusing. Far too much for me to get through in one week, I mean I haven't even consulted the freaky people websites as of yet. So I hope there are some repeats now. BTW, still confused on the Eko/Gale thing, I don't buy LaRelle's explanation and that whole cutting pieces off the beard thing was just plain odd. I think it all means something, I'm just not sure what. Maybe Eko is really an Other - since I DO agree with LaRelle that there are 2 different groups of Others.

Amazing Race - I am soooo happy this is on again. How fun are BJ and Tyler? And the racist redneck dentist (did I get that right? lol) cracks me up really, who says dadgummit? Just that guy and Bucky on American Idol. They shouldn't let Bucky talk, just make him sing, but since he does, he really should end every sentence with "Itellyawhut" like that guy on King of the Hill, cause that is what he sounds like. Also, getting back on topic, I adore those 2 kids that came in first this week, gotta love someone who will admit that "we want to be millionaires, but we don't want to work". And my condolences to everyone, who had to run at full sprint up the seats at Red Rocks. As someone who went to plenty of concerts there when it was GA seating in the front and back and reserved in the middle, I have run up the outside of the mountain and back down the seats to get up front many many times, often drunk and heatstroked, so I feel for those poor people. Especially since most of them weren't used to the altitude to begin with. And in case anyone was wondering, where they got in their cars is where the tour bus parks during the concert, so now you know what to look for if you are celebrity stalking in Colorado. Just don't ask how I know that. ;)

K, that's really all I have for now... Kayla's birthday was fun, once I get back on track here I'll post some pictures or something.