Some call it a Comeback

I actually started this post last night but without warning we had a terrible thunder and lightning storm. My dog was running around hysterically (she is afraid of loud noises) and my daughter could not sleep. I got off of the computer because if I got hit with a power surge - well I would just die. I got tagged by Tiffany(thanks Tiffany:) - this was a hard one) and answered all of my questions, listed below. But first I have to shout out Stephanie. I got a chance to participate in a crop with her and a group of other talented ladies and it was such a boost to my spirit and mojo. I have been on a scrapping roll ever since. I am making a dent in my pictures and hopefully I will be able to complete a few albums, just like I resolved to this year. Okay so without further delay here are my responses -
1. First time you got kissed. How was it? I was about twelve years old and the boy's name was Gregory Jackson. He was my neighbor and we were the same age so he was my boyfriend as far back as I can remember. I think it was a good kiss because I remember him still being my boyfriend afterwards.

2. First time you drove a car. What kind of car was it? I am a late bloomer; I did not get behind the wheel of a car until I was 26 years old. My co-worker Gina was brave enough to teach me to drive in her Volvo. God bless her.

3. First time you scrapbooked. When you look at your page, do you love it? I still like (not love) my first page. I did it about nine years ago when I had a subscription to a mail order scrapbooking company called Oxmoor House. You definitely can tell it was earlier than my current pages but it tells the story. I thought about changing it but I like seeing how far I have come.

4. First time you went on a date. Where did you go? Who with? The first time I went on a date was a double date with my girlfriend Emily in the eighth grade. She set me up with her boyfriend's friend. She was a wild child and gave "making out"in the movie theater a new definition. I did not like my date (his breath was a little on the tart side) so needless to say I watched the movie from beginning to end.

5. First time you fell in love. How did you know? The first time I fell in love was with my high school sweetheart James. He was definitely the one who got away. We were dancing to "If Only for One Night" by Luther Vandross (who doesn't have a Luther story) at my prom and we kissed. For the first time I understood what it meant to feel like you were floating on air. I still love him and would love a second chance with him in the future.

6. First time you cooked for someone. Was it yummy? What did you make? My mother let me cook thanksgiving dinner when I was about 15 years old. I had been cooking for years but not a major meal by myself. The turkey was a golden brown and smelled good except one BIG mistake. No one told me about the bag of giblets inside - ugggh gross. My mother somehow fixed it and we had a good dinner in spite of.

7. First time you got on a plane. Where did you go? Were you scared? Okay scared doesn't define it; I was-is-am-will be petrified. I do not like airplanes, it is too confining for me. My oldest daughter and I took the plane from Philly to Detroit for a family reunion. The flight was only about 1 hour and fifteen minutes but I thought it was horrible. Outside of my fears the flight was uneventful -no delays or turbulence, but I was happier once we landed.

8. First time you shaved your legs. Did you cut yourself? I do not have much hair on my legs so I've gone through most of my life without shaving them. Now that I am older I use Nair once every few months and I am done!

9. First time you put on makeup. Looking back, how did you look? Did you look good or like a clown? The first time I wore makeup is when I went to junior high school. I loved eyeliner and lipstick and since it was the eighties my eye liner was always thick. I loved it; my mother was not too fond of it. She must have known it was only a fad because she didn't fuss too much and I got tired of it quickly.

10. First time you moved out of your (parents) home. Was it to an apartment or house? I moved out of the house when I was 17 years old my mother just passed away and my sisters didn't understand that I was now "grown" or so I thought. I moved into a room in lets say not so great section of Philly. It motivated me to quickly save up and get an apartment.

I double tag Stephanie - Adrienne already tagged her but she didn't post yet. Come on Stephanie join the fun!

Much Needed Day Off

I knew I would not feel like going to work today so I took a vacation day. My daughters had off from school for a professional development day. We spent the day relaxing and cleaning. I spent two hours blow drying my daughter's hair - she is going to the hairdresser's at the end of the week, I can't take it anymore. I did manage to complete one layout of my daughter and her father. Even though we are no longer together this picture evokes the same feelings today as it did twelve years ago.

The Long Ride Home

I visited my Aunt Bert this weekend, who also happens to be my oldest living relative that I am close to who I can talk to about anything. I told her my daughters were asking me about the civil rights movement and since I am too young to remember what it was like, could she talk to them. She told me everything you hear is just what it was and everything good said about Dr. King is exactly what is was. My Aunt grew up in South Carolina and at 80 years old she remembers segregation. She said they would go to the five & dime to buy ice cream and they would have to stand at the side window and pay for their cone while the clerk passed it through the window, careful not to touch them while the white patrons sat at tables laughing and talking while eating their ice cream. It wasn't until years later after the civil rights movement, when she and her daughter went back could she enjoy sitting at a table. She told me how she and my mother would go to the movies in SC and had to go in a separate entrance and pay a separate ticket taker and sit in the balcony and look down to see the same movies as whites. A lot of people like to bring up negative things about Dr. King to prove that he was not perfect, no man is, but no matter what they can't take away all of the good things he did. My Aunt has nothing but admiration for Dr. King and thanks for what he did not only for black people but the awakening of race relationships around the world. He gave voice to the suffering in silence of a race of people. Lastly she told me how people talk about sitting on the back of the bus, but don't mention how trains were segregated too. She and most of my family migrated to Philly, but would still go to SC to visit. If the train became full with white people the black people had to give up their seat on the train too. I don't know what kind of memories this evoked for her, because my aunt is solid as a rock ( I've only seen her cry a few times in my life like when my mother died) but her eyes welled up a little as she said, "That made for a long ride home".
Thank you Dr. King.

I gave in to temptation

I must confess, I gave in. I tried, Lord knows I tried but I just couldn't resist.....joining a monthly scrapbooking kit club! I am now an official member of The Red Lily. Thanks to Adrianne and Stephanie.It started out so innocently. I just visited the site and looked around. I saw the December kit and was tempted, but my credit card said, "Are you kidding, you haven't finished Christmas shopping!", so I resisted. Then I wanted to go into the gallery,but you have to sign up. Sign up..Oh No!! I felt my defenses weakening. I was a member but no kit - what kind of logic was that. Yet I signed up anyway, I started reading all of the comments and looking in the gallery, wanting to join but not succumb to peer pressure. But it finally happened, I was broken when I saw the January Kit. The pinks and the swirls just drew me in!! I snatched my credit card out of my purse, rationalized why I needed to spend money and signed up today. I can't wait until my kit arrives.

Unbreakable

I was feeling a little down at lunch today until I remembered I had some pictures to pick up from the processessor. I knew that would cheer me up because my girls and I were having some fun with the camera. My oldest, Jazz, has always been a ham. She loves being photographed. Now that she is twelve she is more critical of herself but still knows that she is "the bomb". My younger daughter is a little more reserved, but still a ham. She chose this hairstyle herself because she said it was cute. I love their personalitites, never a dull moment.

Pet Peeves

Have you ever met someone who will ask you for your opinion and then argue you up, down and sideways about what you think? Is that not the craziest concept or what? The crazy thing about it that I am truly okay with keeping my opinion to myself. I don't need to be right, I just like being me - so why the drama? Needless to say that I am talking about a man, although I know women do it too. Now that I got that off of my chest check out the few scrap goods I found at the Dollar Tree this weekend. Every once in a while I find something scrapable (is that a word) that is definitely worth a dollar. I wonder who thought of the dollar store concept, they must be a billionaire by now, I wish it was me.

You know you are a scrapbooker when...........

My sister and I love living in a major city. It is full of culture, opportunities and craziness. We play a game, kind of like I Spy, that we call you know your ghetto when...and then we add the ending. Like she called me when she saw someone eating a full chicken dinner on the elevated train. That is definitely ghetto. I topped her because my boyfriend saw someone eating a large can of canned peaches out of the can on the bus - too ghetto. So I decided to put a spin on it about scrapbooking. You know you are a scrapbooker when................

* there is no such thing as junk mail - everything can be altered.
* Every moment, including your kids playing in dirt, is a photo-op.
* Having five pairs of scissors and ten different kinds of glue actually makes sense.
* You spend more time cleaning your scrapping area than your house.
* The UPS man starts to wonder what is really in those pizza boxes.
* You compliment someone's outfit because you have similar patterned paper at home.
* You make your children get dressed before they open their Christmas presents - the pictures will look better.
* You have more art supplies than your children.
* People like the handmade card you gave them better than their gift.
* A good weekend means you completed five layouts and did laundry.
* Words like Xyron, deboss, and Clickit mean something to you.
* Your family feels honored to even be allowed in your scrapping space (they still can't touch anything though)
* tearing paper is a good thing.
* You struggle to figure out what to do with that last little piece of your favorite paper - it is definitely not trash.

That's all for me - what can you come up with?
Thank you everyone for participating...it is good when we can laugh at ourselves. I am thinking about submitting our ideas to a magazine, I think it would make a great article. I came up with one more - You know you are a scrapbooker when purchasing supplies fall after paying utilities but come before paying the cable bill on your household budget. We all have our priorities.

I'm your #1 Fan!

My daughters and I went to kwanzaa celebration during the holiday break at the main library in center city. This group of gorgeous young men performed called Ju-Taun. They performed two originals songs and did a medley of songs acapella. They had everyone screaming when they did "Shout". They are on an independent label so after the show they sell their cds out of a box. My daughter and I bought a cd and each of the members signed it for her and posed for this picture. I got a chance to talk to them briefly and they were so nice. I checked out the cd and I am pleasantly surprised. I have it in rotation at home, work and in the car. This was my daughter's first time meeting "celebrities" so she was excited, plus they are just too cute!

Next Major Holiday

My niece and I have a running joke that the next holiday is "Income Tax Day". That is the day I get to treat myself to something that I would not normally put into my budget. I started making my wish list today, it includes -
the wishblade cutter
a new monitor
an ipod (I bought my daughter a mp3 for Christmas and fell in love)
scrapbooking shopping spree (I have been on a tight budget, I need to catch up on my spending)
clothes shopping spree (depending on if and how much weight I lose)
I will be adding more things as I think of them. I feel like it is my personal Christmas holiday.

Firsts

Today is full of firsts for me. It is obviously the first of the month, but it is also my first child's birthday. She has been a constant joy in my life. Her smile is infectious and her confidence is admirable. This layout of her is my first for 2006. I finished it in record time, probably because I have been off of work all week.

first layout 
I did my first altered paint can this Christmas as a present for my best friend. I think it came out well. I love the colors. I got this paper when I was a member of a monthly kit club. There are so many clubs out there now I don't know which one to choose. Unfortunately I can only subscribe to one at a time - any suggestions?

altered can lid 

altered can 

A New Year

I know it has been said before, but I can't believe another year has passed. It's seems like not too long ago we were in a y2k bug panic, not knowing what to expect and now in 2006 we use technology more and more to keep in touch with one another. To all of my family and friends that keep up with my blog I love you and appreciate the value you give my existence. To those I have yet to meet - 2006 is my chance to shine and grow...Watch out der now! My resolutions include - a healthier me (including regular doctor's visits), both mentally and physically. A year of growth in my crafts - both photography and scrapbooking, maintain my role as a loving mother and mentor for my daughters, figuring out this whole love and relationship thing (I have to laugh at that one myself) and above all letting those in my life know as often as I can that I love them.
Happy New Year's everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!