My Digital Scrapbooks--So Far.

So my friend Lisa posted some of her digi-scrap pages on her blog, and I thought I'd do the same. It made me very excited to share what I've been working on! This year has been harder, because I'm working on TWO books instead of one. I'm doing my yearbook, as always, for the year 2009. Which, sad to say, I'm a little behind on. Not too bad, but still behind. And then I'm doing Afton's first year book, which is getting ridiculously long. It's already 60 pages, and I'm only on her 6th month. It's gonna COST ME to get it printed! Well, it'll be around $120 is my guess, maybe more. Not too bad, really. Anyway, for Afton's book I couldn't find a digi-kit that suited my baby girl, so I made my own! My first kit! It's kinda primitive-there's a lot of stuff people do in digital kits that amaze me and I have no idea how they do it. But what I've got works! I print my books from a company called Cherishbound, which binds them in a regular 8 1/2 x 11 size. So these are the two pages together.

Here are some pages from Afton's book:







And here are a few pages from my regular yearbook:



The pioneer day one is the last page I did--so I'm still behind by several months! How am I going to do this with multiple children???
Anyway, it's an awesome hobby to have and I love it. It's still a lot easier than regular scrapping. I just hate how I cut up all my pictures back in the olden days. I have a post all about it if you care to read it.

The Saga of Titus

This is my cat, Titus.

He's a very frustrating cat. Last year I desperately wanted a second cat, because our current cat, Tarzan, only loved my husband and not me. I wanted a cat to love ME. I was five months pregnant, and I was very stupid. If I had just waited a few months, I would have realized that once the baby came, I could care less about any cats.

Regardless, we got a cat. He lived next door to my mom, and every time we came over he was so friendly and sweet. One time Tarzan stayed over there for a weekend while we were on vacation, and the two of them played and played. We thought, "wow! A cat Tarzan likes and gets along with! Wish he were ours!" When they neighbors found out we felt that way, they offered him to us. Said that it was their daughter's cat and she was getting married to an allergic guy. So after a week of Trevor ho-humming, not sure (I was totally sure) we brought him home.

Big Mistake.

Now I'm going to take a page out of Leslie's book and just list it all out.

Why I love this cat:

• He's super friendly. All the neighbors know and like him. He goes into their houses. Sometimes in the middle of the night through the dog door.
• He's NICE. He never scratches unless seriously provoked. When kids come over, we tell them to pet Titus, not Tarzan--who would as soon kill them and bury them in the backyard.
• He has some funny habits. Like he goes on walks with us. (Well, Tarzan does too...) He does some pretty funny things. He likes dogs, and he likes other cats too.
• He's cuddly. He will always let you pet him, likes to jump up on your chest and lay there, and will sleep with you--though he tends to lay down in weird places, or just wants to sleep on your chest or your side.

Why this cat is sometimes a demon from hell:

• He sheds like no other. His fur is everywhere. The stairs are COVERED in it. He's way worse than Tarzan. Drives me crazy.
• HE NEVER SHUTS UP. This cat meows constantly. I mean ALL THE TIME. In the middle of the night especially. And he doesn't want anything--he just wakes you up and meows and meows, and he doesn't want you to pet him or feed him or let him out. He just wants to be annoying.
• He's not bright. At all. The cat is incapable of learning anything. All attempts to train him have failed. When you squirt water at him, he just looks at you like "what?"
• He TERRORIZES Tarzan. They used to play all the time. Then Afton came and Tarzan decided he was done being friends. Hates him. But Titus doesn't care. He still attacks him at every opportunity, which results in huge cat fights in the middle of the house. I mean, screaming yowling cat fights from one room to the next.

So what do you do? Do you put up with this for the next fifteen years until one of them croaks? Honestly, since having a baby--I could care less about having cats at all. If they were both gone tomorrow I'd jump for joy. It's amazing how little pets can mean to you after you have a family. And we realized pretty quick that the family we got him from was just trying to get rid of him. Their daughter actually got ANOTHER cat after we took Titus!! Can you believe that??

So yesterday, I got desperate. I have begged Trevor to let me put Titus up on KSL. He IS a good pet, and would be great for another family. One with kids, or dogs, or a house full of deaf people. He's been pretty adamant about me not doing it. I don't see why--I mean, it's not like we're taking him to the humane society where he might get put down! We're finding a home for him that will be a better fit!

So I just DID IT. I put up an ad yesterday morning. I even mentioned that he's not bright and that he's very vocal. I really didn't think anyone would call. I planned on telling Trevor as soon as he called on his way home from work. But then things got crazy and I totally forgot.

So how does he find out? Yikes. We're at the store, with Henry and the baby, and my phone rings. I'm paying for the items so I hand my phone to Trevor. He answers it, then looks at me with this betrayed look on his face and says, "You put Titus on KSL?" AHH!!!! He plays it totally cool and talks to the guy, who says he'll talk to his wife and call us back.

We get in the car, and I say, "On a scale of one to ten, how made are you?" He says "10." OUCH.

I see now that I really should not have done this.

So when the guy calls back, I just tell him that my husband didn't know I put him up and isn't ready to give him up. I mean, he was gonna come from ROY to see him. I felt so bad being an Indian-giver like that. AND I CAME THIS CLOSE TO GETTING RID OF HIM!!! DAMNIT!!!!

So now we're back to square one. Still have Titus. Trevor forgave me, because he's amazing that way, but I really don't think he'll let me put him on KSL again. But it's good to know that if we ever DO decide to get rid of him, it won't be hard to find him a good family. Am I a jerk? Please! Tell me what you think!(If you've gotten this far. This post is a novel...) What would YOU do?

Guilt

So, there's a lot to feel guilty about in this life. Guilty for every naughty, sweet-tasting thing you put in your mouth. Guilty for every minute you spend on the computer or watching TV instead of doing laundry or the dishes. Guilty for the moment you realize your husband came home after a long day and it never even OCCURRED to you to make dinner. And then there's mom-guilt. My sister Cindy once said that Guilt is the Wal-Mart Greeter of Motherhood--it's there to meet you the moment you enter. And it's very true. I feel guilty for every moment I don't cherish, or get distracted, or spend away from her, or foist her on to Trevor so I can get something done.

Oh! And we haven't even gotten to CHURCH guilt. There's always that. I mean, there's real guilty for real sins--which is necessary and an important step. But it always seems like you are missing something. I feel guitly when I don't read my scriptures (though, strangely, not guilty enough to actually pick them up and read them regularly...hense, more guilt) I feel guilty if I'm not praying often, or I skip an hour of church, or I remember that not only did I not do my visiting teaching this month but--oh yeah. I NEVER do. And there's food storage guilt. Not a very strong guilt, but it does tend to nag.

So I ask myself--with all this guilt around my neck, do I really need to feel guilty about one more thing? Namely, "I haven't updated my blog in forever!!" I say unto you, nay.

That is all.

The Turtle Hurdle

ACK! I hate the pressure of coming up with cute and original titles for my blog posts! It's killing me! Darn you Cindy! It's all your fault--you're so good at it!

That said, we do have a turtle. And we are not sure what to do about it. I suppose that's where the hurdle come in.

Trevor calls me down to come out to the backyard to see something. I see something moving over by the shed. I say, "Is it a rat?" no, it moves to slow. Phew. I say, "Is it a kitten?" this time much more excited. But then if it were a kitten it would be hiding somewhere. No, it's a turtle. THIS turtle.




















What does one do with a wild turtle? Or IS it wild? Is it some cast-off pet that has been living in the backyard for a hundred years? (Well, they say turtles live a long time...)

We call him Snaps.

So what is Snaps' story? Was he once spied in the window of a pet shop, catching the eye of a little boy who begged to take Snaps home? And was he then ripped from said home when the little boy moved, forced into the unfriendly wilderness of the backyard, to live on nothing but grass and snails and pork. Ok, not pork. But grass and snails. Do turtles eat snails?

Anyway, we aren't sure how Snaps came to be in our backyard, and we are even less sure what to do about him. So we googled it. Apparently he can live on his own back there very well, and can burrow down in the winter to keep warm. Well, to keep cold actually. He is a reptile, after all. So after "snapping" some pictures and making sure Afton got a peep (but not a touch--we aren't THAT stupid) we put snaps back where we found him.

I don't know if I will ever see Snaps again. But I'll know--he's out there...somewhere...lurking, burrowing, living...it will take him a lifetime just to get from the shed to the front lawn, so I'm pretty sure Snaps will always be with us, whether we see him or not. You fine, brave, lonely survivor. You are an inspiration to us all. Here's to you, Snaps.

The First Week Back

I love the first week back at school. I do. Even though it's hard to say goodbye to summer, there is something exciting about new studets, a new year, with so many new things to try and new experiences ahead of you. I get a thrill walking down the hallways, seeing the 7th graders looking lost and terrified and excited. I even like to see the 8th and 9th graders back from the summer looking sometimes so much older than the last time I saw them.

This year, of course, has been a bit harder because of Afton. Usually I get bored about mid-July and I'm totally ready to be back. But this year it was a real stretch to leave her. Thank goodness I love my job and am so busy there I don't think about much else. The first day I showed a power point introducing my class, and I added a few family photos to introduce myself. Never done that before. I guess I just wanted to show Afton off. I had to show them THIS. How could I not? And each period I showed it, when her picture came up, I had a little lump in my throat.

So I thought I'd just post my thoughts from the first week. It's been a tough start--we have a new principal, new VP, new office sectretaries, plus the split has made things a little uncertain as far as funding and money and pay. Everyone is on edge, nervous, and even angry. We are all making less money--even the administrators--and yet the work stays the same. Plus we've added late-start Fridays. It was pretty crazy today. The kids don't come until 10:00, so when lunch hit no one was sure where to go. But it was nice being able to have collaborative time with my teams.

I find myself feeling renewed and excited, though. I am loving teaching my classes. I am taking greater pleasure in it than I have in a long time. Maybe it's because my neice and nephew are now in junior high, and I can picture each student as if they are THEM. I want to treat my students the way I want their teachers to treat them. I just hope I can hold on to my new-found enthusiasm. Sometimes it feels like the powers that be are trying to suck everything fun and worthwhile out of my job. But when I stand up in front of those kids--it's almost like I'm home. It's where I belong. How lucky I am to have a job I love so much. And I have to admit--I'm pretty damn good at it!

What Little Girls are Made Of

So it's here! Afton has her petti skirt at last! As you may or not know, my brilliant sister Cindy has learned this new skill of creating these skirts, and she has made one for every single grand daughter--and seeing as the way we produce granddaughters in this family, that's no small feat! Now Afton's is finished, and it's the last of them--though apparently Cindy will be making many more. Read about it here on her blog.
So here it is! I dressed Afton up and took a bunch of pictures outside. Unfortunatly I chose to do this right before her nap so she wasn't really in the mood for it.

He's a Workin' Man

So I'm sure by now you've all heard the big news that TREVOR HAS A JOB. We are so excited, and I are so proud of him! He will be working at the University hospital, in the post anesthesiology unit. It's pretty cushy in both the job and hours he's required to work, and they will work with his school schedule and pay half-tuition after he's been there six months. Apparently a lot of people tried for it, and I'm so proud of Trevor getting it! Getting on at a hospital when you are a first-time CNA is pretty hard, I guess. And he did it all on his own--he didn't use any contacts or pull any strings--he got this all by himself. The pay is crap--really crap--but we knew that. Let's just hope that my job will let me work a 7th period next semester--that will save our bacon.

As for me, school is drawing closer and closer, and each day that goes by is so precious and fast. Soon I'll be leaving my baby girl with other people, and no matter how much they love her, they aren't ME. It's going to be so hard. I keep telling myself that at least I love my job--at least once I get to work I am so busy and engaged in what I do that I won't have time to pine. At least--that's how it was when I went back for four weeks at the end of the school year. But I knew, then, that it was only four weeks and I'd be home again. Now it will be nine months. My poor baby girl--she's had both her Daddy and her Mommy home with her every day since she was born. I hope she doesn't have too hard a time adjusting!

I am pretty nervous for school this year. So many changes at Elk Ridge. New principal, new vice principal, new head secretaries in attendance and the main office, a split district and probably a huge pay cut for me as well as a tax increase. Plus I'll be teaching extra classes, doing ballroom after school, all the responsibilities with being Department Chair, and I'm starting a new massive unit this year that will take a lot of planning and testing. And then of course, trying to make ends meet--which isn't looking too possible right now. Urg. Trevor and I have been in a happy little bubble for a very long time, and now we are back to reality. It sucks. Still, I've spent more time with him over the past few months than a woman spends with her husband in a year, and we still love each other, so that's got to be a good sign, right?

Oh--and here's the update on Twilight. Finished it--took me forever. Saw the movie--and liked it MUCH BETTER. Mainly because it just told the story without all the fluff about Edward's looks and Bella's clumsiness. And they stuck to the book pretty close, I was impressed. Edward wasn't good looking enough, but no one can be "adonis" and "an angel" and all the other things she called him. Jasper's wig was AWFUL. All in all, it was a decent book that I'll never read again, and I have no intention of reading the sequels. I asked Jill if Bella becomes a vampire at some point. That was all I really cared to know.

I want to apologize to Jill for my flippant comments on this blog about her love of Twilight and my lack of faith in her reading Gone with the Wind. She is proving me wrong as we speak. And I do hope that she is kinder about the book I gave her than I was about the one she gave me! I'm still glad I read Twilight--now I can have a real opinion of it instead of a borrowed one, and it DOES bother me when people say they hate a book (like Harry Potter) and haven't even tried to read it. If you tried and hated it, well, you have a right to hate it. So now I guess I have the right to hate Twilight. Man, what a long, stupid entry! I am in the habit of writing a journal--anyone who knows me knows this--and I have a hard time differentiating from my journal and my blog. Not too insightful on here, huh? Well! That's it!

P.S. Do you like my new background? I MADE IT MYSELF! It's not all that detailed--I just wanted to see if I could figure out how to upload it. So maybe I'll keep playing with it.