Journey

Happiness is a Journey, not a destination.


Namaste.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Scouts and Scrapbooking...

We finally got on the ball with Alec's scouts, and he received his Bobcat badge last week. 

He got his face painted with a traditional scout design...
From January 2011

From January 2011


Pinning the mother's pin on me...
From January 2011


And then, I've been busy playing with my newfound hobby of digiscrapbooking...
From Digi-Scrapbook Pages

From Digi-Scrapbook Pages


From Digi-Scrapbook Pages


From Digi-Scrapbook Pages

From Digi-Scrapbook Pages


From Digi-Scrapbook Pages

From Digi-Scrapbook Pages


I spent a long time yesterday trying to organize all my digital scrapbook stuff into more maneageable categories.  I spent about 3 hours, and only got to the letter F in my file, so I have a lot more to do, but I'm floored by the amount of stuff I have. 

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A New Skill

I have loved scrapbooking for many years.  Lately, however, I have been unable to find the motivation.  I'm not one of those people who can just sit down, have a page in mind, and complete it quickly.  Traditional Scrapbooking takes me a lot of time to get an idea, gather the supplies, design my page, etc.  Time that right now, I just don't have.  I can't get my supplies out because my sweet, NOSY, almost 4 year old won't leave them alone.  She doesn't take long naps anymore (and to be honest, I'm just grateful that she will still take a nap at all), so I don't have time to even complete a layout while she's sleeping.  I've also developed other interests...my photography/photo editing, beading, and other crafty type projects.  Somewhere in all this, my house needs to be cleaned, homework supervised, dance classes, scouts, young men's activities, meals prepared, etc...all on top of working full time.  I always feel like there's not enough hours in the day or days in the week for me to do all the things I NEED to do, much less all the things I WANT to do.  Plus, I have this fussy issue with traditional scrapbooking...I need to do it in chronological order.  So, I've lacked in motivation. 

I've been playing around with the idea of digital scrapbooking for awhile.  Since I decided to buy Photoshop Elements last spring.  Yesterday, some girls from work and I got together for a digital scrapbooking day.  Those who were "well versed" in the process helped those of us who weren't, and we had a really fun day.  I learned a lot as well.  Here are my first 2 digi pages ever!!!

From Digi-Scrapbook Pages


From Digi-Scrapbook Pages


I was really happy with how they turned out...they didn't take me that long to create, and I feel like I can still scrapbook in my personal "style", even on the computer. 

I will eventually do some traditional scrapbooking again, but for right now, digi-scrapbooking is perfect for me.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

January Doldrums

Ahh...January.  I actually really love this month.  I love the cold, the snow, and the quiet.  Historically, NOTHING really happens in January for our family.  If you look back at all my years of digital pictures, January has the least.  It's quite a comedown from the 300ish pictures I usually take in December.  That's why I haven't posted...nothing terribly important or interesting to report. 

It was a long weekend at our house.  By the time yesterday rolled around, all the kids were sick of each other and being housebound.  I was supposed to work, so I couldn't even get them out of the house.  By the time Cole got home from work, they were all trying to kill each other, and I had a splitting headache.  Plus, the fact that our internet doesn't work consistently, and I spent another 30 minutes on the phone with Qwest only to have them tell me(yet again) that the internet in my area is "being fixed".  SURE, but that doesn't help the fact that I pay almost $60 a month for high speed internet that doesn't work very well after 5pm every night.  Then, the comcast guy showed up at the door...with a 30 money back offer, plus half the price for the first year.  As I'm starting to think Qwest doesn't really care if I have internet that works or not, we're jumping on the free trial.  To my mind, Cole and I should both be able to be on the internet at the same time and load pages.  You'd think, anyway.  We'll see. 

A couple of the (very few) pictures I've taken since my last post....
From January 2011

(I'm dead, Mommy!)
From January 2011

Princess Belle in all her winter finery...(thanks Nana and Papa!!!)

Check out my picture blog for the results of our Christmas Photo shoot with Cole's family....and please, critique my photoshop editing if you see anything amiss...

Also, here's an article I found really fascinating....

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Solitary Ski Day

I was dying to try out my new ski equipment, so despite the fact that no one else could go, I headed up to Snowbasin yesterday.  It doesn't bother me to ski alone.  A sweet playlist on my iPod, beautiful weather, and great snow contributed to a very phyically active yet mentally relaxing day. 

From January 2011


I bought K2 "Inspired Luv" skis, Salomon "Irony Breeze" boots, and cheap poles.  I wasn't intending to buy boots, but they were on sale for a great price.  At that point I was stuck buying poles too, so I bought the least expensive option, figuring I can upgrade later if I want.  I was excited about the ski's, all my research told me that I would most likely be happy with them.  I was a little more hesitant about the boots.  Despite the salesperson's assurance that Salomon boots are built for warmth and comfort, I was a little worried about the price point.  My boots (before the sale) were around $300.  There are boots on the market for twice that and up, would I be happy with a less expensive model?  The only other ski boots I have ever owned were a Christmas gift when I was a junior in High School.  I HATED them.  After even one run, my toes and then my feet would be numb.  Painfully numb.  I now know that they probably weren't fitted properly, but I never wanted to tell my parents that I hated them after they spent so much money.  I really think those boots were the reason I stopped loving skiing in those days. 

I LOVED my new ski's.  I could tell from the moment I started down my first run of the day.  They are a "mock" twin tip, so I was worried about weather or not I'd be able to manage them.  I shouldn't of been, I guess that's what happens when you rent equipment for 3 years.  With good ski's, my body remembered that it was a good skier.  I had absolutely no problems, and felt confidence to attempt more difficult runs that I wouldn't have attempted in rental ski's. 

I also loved my new boots.  They were very comfortable, easy to get on and off, and my feet stayed nice and warm.  Even after my toe warmers stopped working, my feet stayed warm through the afternoon.  I'm so glad I took advantage of the sale. 

It was a beautiful, sunny day up on the slopes. 
From January 2011

Up above the icky inversion that is settled in the valley right now, the air was clear and relatively warm.
From January 2011

From January 2011

From January 2011


As always, the scenery does not disappoint....
From January 2011


I spent the morning over on the Strawberry Gondola side, headed back over to the Needles Lodge for a yummy lunch of pizza and a Cream Cheese Danish (I've decided, I really need to learn how to make that particular yummy treat), and skied most of the afternoon over at Strawberry as well.  Around 2, I decided to head over to the Porcupine side of the mountain.  I rode that lift to the top, I wanted to see what the snow was like over there.  I could not find bad snow yesterday.  Despite the fact that it's been a bit since the last storm, the snow still had a packed powder consistency on the groomed runs.  Even in places out of my comfort zone, the snow wasn't bad, just unfamiliar.  I still managed just fine.  I spent the day practicing Carving, taking a few risks, and remembering  not to be lazy with my poles.  By the time my last run of the day came, I knew my body was tired.  My mind, however, was elated at the amazing day I'd had. 

From January 2011

How could it not be, surrounded by great snow and images like this? 

I'm already looking forward to another ski day...I'll be planning it as soon as my schedule comes out. 

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Kyle's Country Report

Kyle is in 6th grade this year, and is required to do a country report.  Out of his top 3 choices, Ireland was the country we ended up with. 

One of the reasons we wanted Ireland is because of my Great Grandma Coop...she was first generation Irish-American.  I thought it would be fun for Kyle to learn about the history...after all, his name is Irish too. 

From January 2011


They were required to talk for about 45 minutes, including a Power Point presentation.  Most adults can't speak for that long, so I thought it was a little excessive, but we tried. 

From January 2011


From January 2011


He got a little nervous, and forgot some of the more minor details, so we ended up about 10 minutes short on time.  Otherwise, he did a great job, and now all our major projects for the year are done...hopefully it will be smooth sailing now!