Daddies and Daughters

There is always such a special relationship between most Daddies and daughters. Curtis and Karen are no exception to this. They were best buddies when she was little but then became somewhat wary of each other when she reached those teenage moody years. He didn't understand her need to be so independent and she didn't understand his need to know everything. In addition, they have such similar personalities that discussions would often become heated. There were many young men who thought her Daddy was a very scary man, too. As she became older, though, they began to understand each other better and often found common things to laugh at and enjoy. He is still her protector and her advocate even while sometimes being her biggest critic. A week or so after Christmas, we were sitting around the kitchen table and they had this conversation.

Karen: So, Daddy, are you going to walk me down the aisle?
Curtis: I'm thinking that is up to you.
Karen: I think I'd like that.
Curtis: Then, I guess I will.
Karen: Okay, then.

I almost laughed out loud but didn't. I did have that great big old smile inside my heart, though.

Now, Karen has decided that she wants their father/daughter dance at the wedding to be to a classic rock song since that is the kind of music Curtis listens to and she grew up hearing in his car. (We listen to country in my car) She called and asked me to ask him if he had an idea for a song. His answer? "A short one!"

Here's where you guys come in. I think I like Rod Stewart's "Have I told you lately that I love you? I listened to it on line and read the words and I got teary eyed thinking of them dancing together. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. LOL Do you have any suggestions?

A new puzzle piece and a successful shopping trip

This beautiful piece of art came from my friend Theresa. I wish you could see how sparkly it is. It is really gorgeous. She also sent me some fun goodies, too. Thank you, Theresa.

Today was wedding dress shopping day for Karen. She, Allison, my mother and I went to David's Bridal. The very first one she tried on was absolutely gorgeous. It fit her beautifully and she looked wonderful in it. The next several paled in comparison. I was sure the first one was going to be the winner and then she tried on one more. When she walked out of the fitting room, I started to cry. She looked like a fairy tale princess. She looked at herself in the mirror and she started to cry. When she started crying, so did Allison. The lady helping her went to grab a box of tissues cause we were having an absolute cry fest. That dress was definitely the winner. It is now residing in the spare bedroom closet along with a veil and a tiara. I told Karen she could come visit it any time. LOL

Afterward, the four of us went to Olive Garden for dinner. Three generations of women, we had a good time laughing and talking. It was a very good day.

Quote for the day

The more one worries, the older one gets;
the more one laughs, the younger one feels.
— Chinese Proverb

Did this one in about 20 minutes

Went together really quickly. I got this 3 bugs paper in the mail yesterday that I ordered from Busy Bee. It is much louder and busier than it looked in that little thumbnail so I will be using it in small doses. LOL This cute guy is our nephew Isaac. He is the younger brother of the blue mohawk from a few days ago. I've got a pile of pictures that I've meant to scrap for a long time and they have been calling me the last few days. I'm really on a roll.

And a couple more

The batman logo on this layout is the tag that came off of that cape Seth is wearing. I tried to make the journaling spot and the title look like it. The title on the other layout was done by cutting it on my Cricut and then using the negative space. I think it looks kind of cool. I was going to use this one as my inventive technique in my HOF entry but I had a brainstorm and did something else I like better.

New stuff

Troll in the wind

I found this troll in my house yesterday. I think she belongs to Allison. I have decided that she will be my constant companion this year and will be featured in many of my photos of the day. Don't you love the way her hair is blowing in the wind? I took one picture and she blew out of the tree and I had to rescue her from the ground. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt! She needs a name, though. I will have to think about that. Got any ideas?

How could anyone resist this smile?

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.

— Yiddish Proverb

Been feeling pretty scrappy the last few days

All the way from Scotland!

This sparkly little jewel came from my friend Katy that I know from Scrapbook Playground. Isn't it pretty?

And today I did this one!

Been feeling like using red a lot lately

And this is a layout using some. My sweet and silly Allison. I've used these photos before but they were smaller and in black and white. The flowers and the rub ons are from Me and My Big Ideas. The patterned paper is Scenic Route. I think the dots are MME, not sure. Lots of red, though.

On another note, I have completed all of my HOF assignments and I have about 6 other layouts that I will be narrowing down to 4 for my entry. I am really excited about these pages. I've decided to file electronically so I have a little time to decide.

Soar

I have been very good about my project 365. It is now day 10 and I haven't missed a single day. My biggest problem has been narrowing down which one picture I download to my flicker account each day. On Saturday, Jan 5, I went to a park near my house and took pictures of the birds flying over the pond and landing on the dock. I took almost a 100 pictures and deleted about 3/4 of them. This is one that begged to be made into a piece of art somehow. I googled quotes about the word soar and this is what I came up with. All I did was paint on the cardstock to simulate water and then ran it through my printer. I'm pretty happy with it.

Still trying to give away one of my RAKS

I still have not heard from Deanne. You won the Heidi Swapp family stamp I gave away last week. Since your blog is private, I can't send you a message. Please email me at dettaowens@texasearch.com so I can send it to you. Shutterbug, your primas will go in the mail today.

Isn't this the truth?!

How hard is it to make stuff up? she said. Not hard at all, I said. The real trick is knowing to stop before you get confused.

Brian Andreas, the storypeople

More puzzle pieces

I got these two pieces in the mail yesterday. One is from Marguerite and the other is from Marti. They are some really neat ladies I know from Scrapbook Playground. I am only missing three more and it will be done. I'm really looking forward to being able to show you the whole thing.

The rest of my top ten

7. I wanna talk about me. This page just makes me happy. I like the picture. I love the colors. It is just fun.

8. Karen Remembers. I gave one of the quizzes from Simple Scrapbooks to my daugher, Karen. Her answers are just so great. I laughed and I cried reading them.

9. Santa Baby. Another one that is just plain fun. Isn't he the cutest?

10. Hello, My name is Silly. This page was done as a challenge to use that name tag somehow. It sat on my table for a few weeks before I thought it would go well with this picture of Allison and her co-workers.

let me know if anyone else decides to do this.

Looking back at 2007, My top 10

I saw that Cheryl did this on her blog and I thought it was a very cool idea. What was not very cool was deciding which ones I loved best and counting how many layouts I did last year. I counted 175 layouts including the two page-a-day projects I did, one in January and one in September. I also did pages for two different circle journals, a couple of canvases and altered a box. I did way more than I realized. Here are the first six. If you click on the picture, it will get bigger so you can read the journaling. I will give you the rest tomorrow.

1. Behind this Door. This was my first 6x12 page. I have come to love this size. The journaling on this just came to me while I was taking pictures of my house thinking I would do a layout based on the Brooks and Dunn song, "Proud of the House we Built."
   
2. These are older pictures of Seth. He was still a little guy. This was an experiment with using versamark ink and white ink. I just like the way it looks.
   
3. Pool Fun., Just a really simple page that turned out great to me. It took all of 30 minutes to do. I cut that wave by hand.
   
4. Christmas Morning. This was a scraplift of a digital page in a magazine and I don't remember which one. I just love this picture of me and my siblings back in the days when times were simpler
   
5. Friends. What a fun page this was. I just did what felt fun. I painted and I made some fun flowers. That picture just begged to be scrapped when I first saw it in my daughter folder of pictures on the computer.
   
6. 10 reasons I love you. I did this page for the Memory Makers Masters contest. The journaling and the simplicity of the page make it good for me.

I'm seeing a pattern here. The pages I like the most seem to be simpler ones, don't they?

I've decided on a word

After much thought and some feverish flipping through a dictionary and a thesaurus, I have chosen a word. My word for 2008 is "find." It has many different possibilities. I considered learn and discover and grow but decided that find was the one. Some definitions include:

1. to come upon unexpectedly. Since I have decided to take a picture every day this year, this one has particular significance. I hope to find lots of interesting and beautiful things to photograph and document with my camera and with my scrapping.
2. to recover something lost. I am hoping to find a healthier me this year as I begin walking again. While I am comfortable with my weight, I need to be stronger and more fit.
3. to perceive or discover as by search or experience or examination. I hope to find new knowledge and new skills this year by reading more and taking a photography class.
4. to consider or think. I hope to find the meaning in all that I do
5. to become aware of one's special ability or vocation (find oneself) Although I am fairly confident in myself and comfortable in my skin, I hope to find a better me as I do all of this finding!

I am thinking about doing a mini book with quotes about finding things. Right now, though, I need to find my bed. It is getting late.

This made me cry

With one daughter announcing her engagement and the other going back to college, this past couple of weeks has had me reflecting on how fast the years have flown by. When I heard this song on the radio for the first time Wednesday morning, I just started bawling. I called Curtis and he had to ask me if I needed to pull over and compose myself. Every time I thought about it that day, I'd tear up again. The years go by really fast, folks. Hold those babies tight. Love those teenagers and hug them even when they don't want you to because someday you are going to miss this.

The song is You're gonna miss this by Trace Adkins.

Love my new trimmer

Bluemoon asked about my new trimmer. Here is a link where you can see it in action. This is one of the best purchases I have made in forever. I love it.

http://www.makingmemories.com/videos/cutter.cfm

I just keep smiling

365 day project

My friend, Liz did this last year and I have planned all along to do this when I got a new camera. I decided to start with the new year. I have a pocket camera that I will keep in my purse all the time in case I see something cool during the day at work but I hope to mainly use my SLR to take these. I have opened a flicker account and I have put a link here on my blog. I have already posted two pictures. I have also found a class to take at the local university in February. I am looking forward to it. It is 6 classes with at least one field trip. I also hope to be posting more layouts soon. I have been hoarding all of my layouts getting ready for HOF and all I have left to do is either a mini book or a non layout project. I haven't really decided which. I have ideas for both. I wish everyone a scrappy new year!

And the winners are!

I wrote out everyone's name on two pieces of paper and cut them apart, put them into this cute little Christmas box and drew out two names. The winner of the Heidi Swapp stamp is Deanne and the winner of the flowers is Shutterbug. Here are their answers.

Deanne said...

I made scrappy goals, that's all! No good to make weight loss, or healthy eating goals! I fail miserably!!!

Shutterbug said...

I found your blog through Allison at StampinwhenIcan.blogspot.com. I love visition random sites that she lists and I think your blog is wonderful.

It seems that I owe my sudden rise in hits to Allison who has a wonderful fun blog called Stampin' When I Can. She is a valuable resource. She lists new blogs that she likes as well as contests and tutorials. She listed me under her heading of "newly discovered" on Dec 29. I feel honored. I have added her to my list blogs I visit. Go check her out if you haven't already.

Please email me at dettaowens@texasearch.com and give me your full name and address.

A nice way to start the year!

My first pub! This is in an on line magazine called Scrapstreet.com. Some of you may remember this from my September Layout of the Day project.

http://www.scrapstreet.com/mag08/jan0308/features/just.htm