Unwritten

I asked Thumper to take this picture of me framed in our front door to use on a layout for a song that has been burning a hole in my heart.

He did a stand up job in my mind, but my layout fell far short of MY mark.

The lyrics of the song? They still burn


Unwritten

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand,
ending unplanned

Staring
at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate
the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Rust on the wheels goes

round and round, round and round...OUCH!

Dang

I really haven't been in a creative groove for over two years.

Sure I take pixs. And I try to put them on a page. About the only success I have is in telling the story.

Otherwise..blech

And if that isin't bad enough I have two highly opinionated boys who have two diametrically opposed views of what they like on their pages.

One wants it clean and simple, a big photo and the whole story

The other wants all the layers and texture and artsy stuff with the story hidden

So the two layouts above?

BLECH

So for the first one. I tried to get clean, but didn't put my journaling soul in (ok I have somewhat of an excue. I need to reinstall WORD on my system)

Number 2. I tried to get artsy, but didn't push myself and got all lazy.

But it's all good. The wheels on the bus are FINALLY going round and round and it takes a while to knock to years of rust off the old gals!

Take your camera to work week continues

what? you want daily updates?

Pfffpht. My husband doesn't get daily updates!

But without further ado....I give you further sneak peeks into my Monday to Friday work routine.

If you're bored...you really have no one to blame but yourselves.

Well. or me. Seeing I'm the one posting and all



Free soft drinks! My kids think I work in heaven.



Your own 6 x 6 office with a door!



Dining for two with a view!

Take your camera to work - Day 1

The first in a series this week

featuring my

pseudo uber cool gingham lined tote/suitcase
cheesy People mag left in the lunch room for brain down time
blue giveaway insulated lunch sack with healthy stuff for breakfast and lunch
piles of medical records awaiting my expert analysis

sidenote

I've been summarizing medical records for over 20 years. 20 years before THAT I listened to my dad recount in excruciating detail all manner of physical ailments from his years as a M*A*S*H medi.

So this afternoon...my secretary called me from her kiddos pediatrician.

She says I need to quit my day job and go to med school.

Because she was freaking over lumps in the back of her kid's head this morning and I told her it was probably infected lymph nodes

Turns out, I was right. But then again I also knew the entire history of her kid's complaints for the past few weeks. Which makes an educated guess that much easier. John Hopkins will have to wait..DOH!

stay tuned folks....the wow factor can only go up from here!

The letter

He is home.

Bambam arrived back from BSA camp this morning...all 1.5 lbs lighter, slightly smelly, tired and infinitely more appreciative of my cooking!

And he had presents. For all of us. Purchased with the money he took with him to camp for treats and advancement suppplies. Somehow he managed to discipline himself to stretch it out beyond his own needs and wants and we are all now the proud owners of:

1) a coffee mug with the camp's logo (for his Dad)
2) a stuffed animal, a beaver to be exact. Wearing a pink camp logo emblazoned T-shirt...because that's what ALL the fashionable beavers are wearing (for me...but I'm not even going to go down the road of why they are offering up stuffed plush toy beavers in pink t-shirts. nope. nope I am not.)
3) a lightweight dogwood walking stick (for his brother. He is determined to make sure his brother has incentive to stay on the scouting trail)

On a scale of 1 to 10 how awesome do I think my child is? Oh.... at least an 11.

I also sent him to camp with a disposable camera BUT he didn't get off a single shot.

He was too busy he told me.

Which means he was doing EXACTLY what an 11 year old boy on his first week long campout should be doing. Living. IN the moment. Having a blast!

But his stories....oh my his stories.

He may not have inherited my photo bug DNA but the kid definitely has the storyteller gene in spades.

Sidenote

I mailed him a care package on Monday with Skittles and gum. He loved the treats. But my note to him with the package? He told me he read over and over.. everyday. (note the multiple creases)

"Hi BamBam. I hope you are having a GREAT time at camp. Here are some treats for you to enjoy and share! Love you lots and lots (infinity plus one!) Love Mom"

Funny how something I dashed off in a hurry at work made such an impact.

Little things mean a lot

And cliches are what they are for a reason!

Don't Blink

I swear...it was just yesterday

Bambam was teething and crashing into walls and then plopping into my lap with 10 picture books for an extended read-a-thon.

He was 2 years old and logging in height and weight wise at a whopping 110% percentile. The plop on the lap? It registered an 8 on MY Richter scale...just sayin.

Seque
DH got Kenny Chesney's newest CD at Thanksgiving and this song has been sticking at the back of my mind ever since

Don't Blink

Because 12 years ago.......I sort of, kind of blinked.

and well....here's where we are now



I chalk it up to sleep deprivation.

Oh and as if I haven't had enough of a freak out moment...I just did the math and realized that two-thirds of his life under our roof has passed. Only another third left to savor before he heads off to college.

Seriously I REALLY need to not blink again. But I do plan on kicking back and enjoying the ride.

I've already paid the price of admission!

My world in a nutshell

This is my desk

The place where I

telecommute every afternoon
pay bills
talk to my peeps
create fun stuff
help with homework
plan grocery lists
manage my family's calendars
waste enormous amounts of time
etc, ad nauseum, blah, blah, blah

Which in a nutshell, is to say, it is where I live

I'm thinking where I LIVE needs some sprucing up. Paint, art (oh wait...I HAVE that...from the loverly Miss Kimberly)

And just for fun and giggles you can ask me about any three things you see on my desk and I will give you the deets!

Post away my loyal following of TWO!

The information age

We have seen the enemy and for recon purposes it is/has

red
shiny
games
music
camcorder
camera
texting
IM
internet access
voice mail
calendar
address book
etc, etc, etc, etc

It cost 19.99 after a rebate and has more processing power than what sent the Saturn rocket into space in one gazillioneth of the space. I think that's an inverse ratio thingy.

Saturn rocket...costs a bazillion dollars, takes up a bazillion cubic meters in processing space

THE Slider? Cheap, fast and compact...kind of like it's mini burger namesake.

BUT!!!

It also connected BamBam with

His grandmother on a misson trip in Zambia (You got Grandma? In Zambia? Me to DH: maybe since he dialed a local number, hopefully we don't have an international charge!)

His beloved Auntie D who called me back on MY cellie and sniffled for a good 5 minutes of our 10 minute conversation about how grown up and mature my boy has become.

and then there was this sweet text I got this morning at work

"Hi Mommy! It's "BamBam". I luv U! When R U coming home?"

Lord have mercy.....he breaks my heart and cracks me up (with his newly acquired text speak)all at the same gosh darn time.

New Month

new look, new post!

Can we say "Welcome Lisa to the 21st Century of technology"

Uh huh. DH went out and picked up a flat screen monitor and Vista yesterday.

Not only do I have more room on my desk, but I can actually SEE the screen. And I can print! And I can upload pixs directly from my camera!

Need a new photo for my masthead...run to garden take pixs of hydrangeas. upload. link. done.

Need new screensaver? Take cute pix of one well child and one sort of well child together on deck. upload. Save. (note to self, take another picture when sick child is well. he looks a little spacey0

I tell you peeps I am absolutely giddy with power.

And so in love with DH's stud muffin techie prowess that I'd marry the guy all over again...bwa!

Obviously I need to get a life and get out of the house.

A trip to the grocery store would be a good start.

Although I think I want to play "What can I make for dinner every day with what's in our pantry" this week!

Brilliant! I'm off to check out the contents of the pantry/fridge/freezer. Tally-ho!