Leap Frog Through the Years

20 Years Ago:
I don't clearly remember but i'm sure playing with my older sister and younger brother. Maybe starting my first year being taught at home. Met for the first time a neighbor girl that would be my best friend for the next 15 years and thankfully a good friend after that.

15 Years Ago:
I clearly remember my tenth birthday party with family members. My mom made an ice cream cake. I was wearing this one piece jumpsuit that was pink with white dots - turns out my aunt had purchased the same outfit but purple - i had no qualms about having both colors in my wardrobe.

This was also when things started noticing things not being so great between my parents.

10 Years Ago:
My parents had been divorced a few years and i was living with my mom.
I started dating in jnr high and it was fun but of course drama filled.
My sister got engaged - very exciting.

5 Years Ago:
- I was living with my dad and his wife, her daughter and my brother.
- Getting over my first real heart break. If i think about him too much it still stings a little which makes me irritated because i should be way over it.
- Finish school to graduate summer of 2003 with my associates in graphic design and lovin' it.
- Plotting and planning my great escape to Oregon for more school but this time for a b.s. That includes a great road trip that i still need to write about.

3 Years Ago:

This year was all about family and growth and changes:

- I was living in Oregon and more college - lovin' oregon more than school.
- I got engaged!
- My mom and step-dad moved up to Oregon and in with me.
- Got 2 crazy cattle dogs
- My step-sister got married and i got to go back to be a bridesmaid
- My brother got engaged
- My cousin passed away suddenly and rocked the family hard {this cousin was the same age as me}

1 Year Ago:
- Celebrated my 1 year anniversary with my husband at the ocean (my fav. place).
- Danced, jumped up and down, celebrated with the news of my older sister's first pregnancy.
- Cut the top of my left foot that gave me a quarter inch scar - i'm thinking of getting a tattoo over it if i can {it's close to a big vain} and if i get the nerve up.

Yesterday I:
- Tried to go to work in my car but it wouldn't start. The tumblers inside the ignition wouldn't catch with the key.
- Talked to my sister and heard my tiny niece scream in the background that ended the conversation, lol.
- Observed my 2nd year anniversary by waiting up for my husband to come from work before i fell asleep. Thankfully, we're going away this weekend. I did receive some beautiful roses and the sweetest card.

Today I:
- Doddle at work
- Finished a zine page for a group project
- Geeked out when i remembered some html code for tweaking a blog

Tomorrow I Will:
- Go try to get my car fixed
- Work on a different project that's on my plate
- Read blogs

In the next 5 years:
I will own a house, have a career i enjoy, still be living in oregon and have a closer relationship with my husband.

***
I should add that i picked up this meme from Daisies

Happy Anniversary

Here's to two completed years and may the third be better yet.

Banner

I made the background for my new banner at this fun website: BG Patterns
You can make lots of color and pattern combos.

Sign Up Addict

I love signing up for new online programs plus i'm sucker for making lists. I don't use them all equally but at one point i have used it. If i run across several sites that offer similar services, i will go with the better design (visuals or layout/navigation). The hardest part is keeping all the passwords straight and which email address i registered with - i have yet to make this into a list for fear it will fall into the wrong hands and suddenly people can sign in and create lists of things i would never do... or just lock me out of my account.

Here is just off the top of my head places i'm at:

• Squirl.info - lets you record all your collections online - latest sign up
  
• GoodReads - Lets you list all things having to do with books
  
• Listography - Lets you list all things related to anything in your life - very simple site
  
• Flixster - Keeps track of all those movies i watch and lets me create lists to further categorize them (seen in theaters, rented, own, chick flicks...)
  
• Del.icio.us - lists links and organizes by tags that you can further organize into groups
  
• Flickr - organize your photos and now short movies
  
• Google Video - only because i can't get youtube to work with the screen name i want
  
• Blogger - list my thoughts
  
• Facebook - those little aps are addicting plus i'm staying in touch with old friends i had previously lost touch with.
  
• MindMeister - cool interactive way to create mind maps - start with one word/topic in the middle and branch out from there and then branch out from the second words...
  
• Spark People - online community for health and weight loss - i get their emails and occasionally sign in - it seems like a great site if i would use it

A few I know about but haven't used:

Remember The Milk - Easy way to keep track of all your tasks, to do lists, meetings...

43Things - similar to Listography, it lets you list anything but with a better design

All Consuming - like Squirl it lets you catalog lots of things but i think i prefer goodreads/flixster/squirl's layouts better.

Happy Exploring!

P.S. Thought I'd add things i'm avoiding:

Twitter - mostly because i already slack on keeping up with this blog and facebook, why do i need to sign up for something else i'd neglect?

Second Life - i think i'm only avoiding it at this point because i don't have the computer power to run the site. Marillaanne is quite involved with it and teases me with shots of what she's doing. The possibilities with it are huge but time consuming almost addicting some would say.

Niece Update - 7 weeks

Look at her belly!


I purchased these for her - my sister did register for them, couldn't turn down the chance to buy wanted clothing!


Her daddy slipped in at nap time to arrange pooh & friends.



She's so precious! The nursery is pink, white and classic pooh.

Run Down

Here's a run down of things in my brain:

Projects to be completed & or in the mail by the 18th:
- sister's birth announcements {the baby will be 2 months - that's not too bad right?}
- zine pages {phobias is the theme - got my idea - execution time}
- sketch of picture to go with a story for a collaborative project {again, have idea just gotta get it down!}
- notes/handout on how to use a blog {i'm leading a small blogging 101 type class for the art group i'm part of}

Projects I'd like to do soon:
- Catch up on my block prints - i'm supposed to have 6 by now but only really have 3.
- Make glass coasters for house warming gift to s-i-l {don't worry she doesn't read the blog}
- Start scanning in documents i want to keep but don't want the physical copies of

***
Where are we going to live?! We have to give notice by Aug. 1st if we're renewing our apt. lease or moving. We're toying, a little, with moving downtown {gasp!} Or we might rent a house Or we might stay where we are and try to buy in 6 months.

***
Cleared out 1 more box from the closet. Found my birth certificate, old stamps i'd been searching for for months and varies nick-knacks that i forgot about but now fond of again that i found them. They went back into a box, i don't know what to do with them yet. I did not find: car title or original packaging for my MS Office 2000, I still need the key code for reinstall. {side rant: my usb ports are not working on my computer! I can't access old files on a external hd and i can't unload my camera card. I hate reloading my computer. I'd love hmm, i don't know $5,000 to start over with all the programs i want}

I also went through a box of old journals/sketch books. O.M.G. i tossed several journals filled to the brim with teenage drama. Some people like to hold on to their journals or reread them. I find it painful to go back through them. Painful in the way that i'll catch a line and think "wow i still struggle with that insecurity" or i'll find pages filled about some emotional upheaval i was having over a guy that at the time matter a lot but now i have no clue where he is {nor do i care}. I'd rather just chuck the journal then carry around all that muck.

The other thing about going through all these boxes that have been stashed is how much crap i have. The past 4 years i have been slowly chipping away at all i brought with me to Portland. Still have no clue how it all fit in a 10ft x 10ft room in Texas. I still need to developed that callousness to just toss anything i'm not using because no one really wants it either. I did, finally, go through a few old {2003} Real Simple magazines and pulled out articles and a few receipts i wanted. It's kind of surprising how similar Real Simple issues are from one year to the next. Still love the layout of the mag though and those little inspirational pages in the front.

Ah, the woes of a pack-rat.

***
When a prayer request is voiced don't confuse it with a request for human advice. If you're offering unsolicited advice don't be offended if the intended receiver disagrees with you and don't try to explain the advice again in an attempted to persuade them. No need to over explain and only explain a point if the person requests it {this is really good with anything not just advice}.

So, there's my unsolicited advice to you.

***

Happy Fourth of July!

July - a year half full - already!

I hope everyone had a pleasant day. Mine was filled with sleeping in late, a church picnic, getting sunburned even though it was really cloudy, and seeing a movie. That's right, this year we broke with tradition and saw a movie instead of fireworks. Neither of us were feeling the need to mess with traffic to go see any. Instead we saw Wall-e, very good movie! Who knew you could make a little cartoon roach likable! Also impressed with the personality the animators were able to put into the robots. I recommend you go see it, not that you probably needed a recommendations.

Movies still to see:
Hancock {think i can wait till dvd though}
Wanted
Hellboy 2 {out next weekend}

On a complete random side note, never format your hard drive and then realize that you don't have your install key for Window's Office that could have been recovered from the HD that was just wiped. It causes a lot of headaches!

4:00 AM

I was so pleasantly asleep until 4:00 AM when this HUGE rumble sound echos in the bedroom. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised that not only did we get not 1 but 2 thunderstorms in a week!

When we were heading out to bed around 11, there was far away lightening and thunder. Couldn't see the lightening streaks just that it would light up the cloudy sky. A tiny soft rumble would happen next.

By 4:00 it was in full force right over the apartment. The lightening was so bright that even with my eyes closed i could tell when it went off. I guess i should explain that because we have no a/c we have our windows and blinds open for air circulation from fans.

The rain was pouring down but great sounding. It's not often you hear hard rain here but i love it when i do! The loud thunder didn't last but for about 4 rumbles and then it quieted it self down just a little.

It was a little distracting to go back to sleep but at the same time perfect weather to stay cozy in bed. I should report that our dogs handled it beautifully, no barking or going crazy.