Flashback Fridays

Today's Flashback Friday is for my own amusement, well, some might say embarrassment. I will be going back to see what I wore to each of the proms and balls I attended in high school and college. I wanted to post this a few weeks ago, closer to when these dances occur, but this will have to do. Better late than never, right?

A few of the photos I needed to edit out the fella, but thankfully for most of the years, I took pictures with more than just the guy. Even though the relationships I was in when I went to these events didn't work out, I am thankful that I was able to go with someone I cared about. And I always had great friends to hang out with too. I had a lot of fun at each one. I really love dressing up and I love dancing even more, so of course I'd have fun!

First up is my junior prom. This isn't the best picture, but with the editing it's the best I can do. I wore a fairly simple black dress, but the back was the best part. The back had a see through, black mesh. I thought it was so sexy. For the proms in high school, I wore flashy, fake diamond jewelry and of course a corsage.

Next up, my senior prom. This year, I decided to take pictures with my parents. What a great idea! Of all the dresses you'll see on this post, I have two favorites, and this is one of them. I love the bright color and the way it fit and all that bling. I had my shoes dyed to match the dress. Classy. But boy did I feel like an adult. One thing you'll notice that's the same on most of the pictures is how I did my hair. I never knew what to do with it, so I curled it. This year was particularly curly. I also went tanning a few times (shocker!). Not that you can tell, unfortunately.

My third dance was in college, the President's Ball. I'm here with my roommate of four years. Love her! We're standing in front of a mural that she and others from our floor painted. This was the year of the short dress, look at all that leg! I don't particularly like this dress, but I like that it's different from the other years. I also like my hair in this one, swept back. Nice, classic. My jewelry is toned down considerably. Also nice.

Next up, another President's Ball. Again, not a great picture. I don't recall this dress all that well. I remember it was comfortable, which is always a plus, but otherwise it was quite unremarkable. It was the year of the black dress as the other women I went with all wore black as well. See the curly hair? Ugh.

And lastly, my other favorite dress. I loved this dress. It had an overlay with flowers and rhinestones over the top of the dress. It was flowy and feminine and just plan awesome. I felt great in it. Although I wore fake jewelry, they were simple, pretty earrings and a delicate bracelet. I'm here again with my friend three years later. I was with a different guy, but our friendship remained. Still to this day. The saying is true, men will come and go, but your friends will always be there.

Thanks for not laughing too much (I hope). Looking back at the photos from these events put a smile on my face. I enjoyed remembering how much fun I had. I'm glad I was able to have these memories. I dare you all to go back and see if you can find a photo of yourself at a high school or college dance. If you find one, send it to me. I'd love to see it.

American Crafts Challenge

Up today is another American Crafts challenge: To create a spring themed layout. What a great challenge. Even though my allergies go crazy, I do love spring. All the newness and freshness. So many possibilities.

It's a simple, symmetrical layout. I like the focus on the photos and the words. I also like the pop of the red and yellow on the white paper. I really love using the old typewriter for my journaling too. The journaling reads:

hello lilacs

hello warmth

hello green grass

hello color

hello spring, glad you're here

And a close-up. I love the crocheted flowers from the Dear Lizzy line!

Product used:

Patterned paper: Dear Lizzy and Abode

Tickers: Apartment and Rockabye

Crocheted Flowers from Dear Lizzy

Special Ten on Tuesday

Today's Ten on Tuesday is dedicated to my sister-in-law Marjorie. It's her birthday today! Here are 10 wishes I wish for her this year.

1) May your garden grow tall and beautiful.

2) May your professional successes continue.

3) May you get as many pedicures as you want.

4) May you get many hugs and kisses from those you love.

5) May you savor the joy of having your Mom so close.

6) May your marriage continue to strengthen and grow in love and faith.

7) May you read nothing but wonderful books.

8) May you continue to raise thoughtful, creative, generous, wonderful children.

9) May you and your family have many adventures traveling the world together.

10) May you continue to be the special, amazing person you are.

Happy Birthday!

Crate Paper Sketch Challenge

I'm back already with a Crate Paper sketch challenge. The challenge is geared toward card makers, but they encouraged scrappers to try it too. I love a good sketch challenge. I turned the sketch one time counter clock wise. (You can see the sketch here) I used the Brook collection and I love it. So versatile!

I scrapped about my love of playing 4 square with my family. We always laugh a lot when we play and I admit, I still love being in the A square. Before the summer season starts we need to get a proper 4 square ball. No more of these weak plastic balls. Rubber is what we need. Rubber is what we had as kids. Going old school never fails.

A Flurry of Layouts

Hello my blog. Hello my blog readers. Thanks for staying around while I was busy, busy with work. Now, that things have quieted down, I plan to start blogging regularly again.

I haven't shared any layouts in awhile, so here are a few I've created using Crate Paper products. I recently found Crate Paper and I love their collections! I love the coordinating papers and the colors they choose for each collection. I can always create a layout very easily using these products. They are so fun!

Crate Paper also has a great blog, full of inspiration. They are just beginning to have challenges, which I'm certain I'll be participating in.

So, first up is a layout from Thanksgiving a few years ago. These flowers were really fun to make. I got help from a tutorial in the Scrapbooks Etc. magazine. I used the Lemongrass and Cottage collections.

Second up is a layout without a picture. This is fun to do every once in awhile. This layout is about what TV shows I've been watching this year. This is one of my favorite layouts I've made. I used the Brook Collection.

Next up is a layout about my youngest niece and a conversation she had with my brother. When he emailed it to me, I laughed out loud and knew I would create a page about it. I used the Paper Doll collection, which is one of my favorite collections. I also used brown mist on the background and I inked up the paper edges. I like both of these effects.

And finally is a layout about my oldest niece and I going to MagiQuest again and finally becoming Master Magis. We had such a good time casting our wands at everything. I used Paper Doll and Cottage collections on this one. I also misted. It's quite addicting, but can get over everything if you're not careful!

Thanks so much for reading through this long post! I hope you've enjoyed seeing what I've been creating lately.

Ten on Tuesday

1) Hello blog. I've missed you. I'm hoping to get back to regular blogging.

2) This is going to be a glorious weather week. I finally get to show off my pedicure.

3) I got to exercise this last week. Yay!

4) My busy time at work is over, so I'm looking forward to having some fun. Hopefully, I remember what that is.

5) I want to spend a day just catching up on reading blogs.

6) The Lost series finale is this week. Will it at last reveal any answers?!!

7) I want to spend a day just scrapping. I need to order some photos first.

8) I bought a cute red teakettle. Now I can make tea like a grownup.

9) I want to see Iron Man 2 and Sex and the City 2. Interesting combo.

10) I have a slight obsession with Punch Pizza.

Ten on Tuesday

You're in for a treat today. Well, if you like Ten on Tuesday, you're in for a treat. I'm posting two Ten on Tuesdays this week! The first one is a regular Ten on Tuesday. I didn't have time to post this weekend, so the second one below is dedicated to my Mom for Mother's Day.

1) I've been in a grumpy slump. I need a change of pace, a change in conversation.

2) I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to post here on my blog or to create as much as I'd like. I need to find time to play with paper and photos.

3) You just never know what kind of pain people are carrying with them.

4) I wish my family would stop using bottled water.

5) May is April. Rain and cold go away.

6) I was lucky enough to win a challenge on Two Peas for this layout. The challenge was to not use a photo. Thanks to Two Peas and Basic Grey for the fun challenge and fun product!

7) I like the idea of making a list like this.

8) Writing this post makes me happy.

9) I just think this is the cutest photo. I still need to blog about my trip to see her and S.

10) Thanks to my mom and sister for going for pedicures for Mother's Day. I love pedicures. Why did I wait for my 30s to start getting them?

Ten on Tuesday (Mother's Day version)

Ten reasons I love my Mom. (Just for the record, there are more than 10 reasons!)

1) I love that even though she hates garage sales, she still allows me to have a garage sale in my parent's garage.

2) I love that she (and my Dad) have been my travel partners.

3) I love that she shared a love of reading with me and that we share books and talk about them.

4) I love that she loves naps too. (No guilt!)

5) I love that when I was in high school she always stayed up to wait for me to come home.

6) I love that she listens....and listens...and listens.

7) I love that she has always believed in me, even when I haven't believed in myself.

8) I love her cooking and have enjoyed learning new recipes from her recently.

9) I love that when I was a kid she played Sorry with me on days I stayed home sick.

10) I love that she reminds me to keep perspective.

I love you Mom!

Happy Birthday Tim!

A very happy birthday to my favorite brother-in-law! Wishing you the happiest of birthdays and a year full of blessings!

Ten on Tuesday

1) My niece, M, and I returned to MagiQuest and became Master Magis. Now, we can conquer anything. She was also nice enough to go to Limited with me. It was fun shopping with her. She said what looked good and we laughed about how heavy all the jewelry was. We should do that more often.

2) I'm trying to get through Owen Meany by John Irving. It's taking me forever.

3) I got tons done on my to do list this weekend. My list is markably smaller. Love it.

4) Started to wear flip flops. I think these are so cute.

5) I attended D's school performance. She did an excellent job. We had her write her autograph on the program afterwards. Definitely a new tradition.

6) I ordered the 2nd Glee soundtrack. Can't wait to listen to it!

7) I'm enjoying cooking more.

8) I love this quote. "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense" --Ralph Waldo Emerson

9) I need to get back into a work out groove. I got off track when I was sick.

10) My very good friend and roommate for all four years of college just became a mother. I'm so, so happy for her. I get to meet her new baby girl in less than a month. I can't wait! She is also moving back to the Upper Midwest soon. I can't contain my excitement! Here is a picture of us a few months after we met, 10 years ago this year. We knew how to have a good time, can't you tell?!

Flashback Fridays

Flashback Fridays is back, albeit on Saturday. This week is going to be a bit different. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my Grandmas. This week and next will be about my Grandpas. My Mom's Dad very sadly passed away before I was born, before my Mom even got married, so I, unfortunately, never got to know him.

Today's post is brought to you from my Mom, in her own words. Thanks Mom for sharing your Dad with us.

One thing I remember most about my Dad was his complete devotion to my Mom. I always knew that they were the loves of each others' lives.

Another thing was his wonderful sense of humor. He loved a good joke or a funny situation. I can still hear his wonderful laugh.

He was a lifelong resident of a small farm in NW Iowa. I don't think he went more than 75 miles from there his whole life but he had a very broad view of the world.

He became very sick one fall with sleeping sickness and was unable to complete his farm work. One of my most vivid memories of childhood was standing in the yard with my hand in his and all the neighbors pulling into the yard to harvest the crops. I looked up at him and tears were running down his face. He and my Mom had three sons die very early in life including Johnny who died when I was about nine. I remember my Dad crying then too.

I still find myself quoting something he "always said." One of my favorites is "He would complain if he was hung with a new rope". My Dad never met a stranger. We would go to a town with him and plan to meet up after shopping. We would arrive at the meeting place to find him visiting with some guy. They would say warm good-byes and we would leave. We would ask him who it was and he would say, "Oh, I don't know. Never saw him before". His funeral included lots of people we didn't know.

Dad was very strong physically although he wasn't very tall. I severely sprained my ankle in the 8th grade and Dad came to get me to take me to the doctor. He strode onto the playground, bent over and picked me up to carry me to the car. One of the teachers objected saying I was too heavy but Dad proceeded without seeming to strain. He and Bud, our neighbor, used to come to school to get us if a winter storm threatened. I always felt very safe with him.

He smoked a pipe (which probably contributed to his heart attack) but the smell of pipe smoke still brings him vividly to me. Another thing about Dad was that he didn't suffer fools gladly. There were neighbors and members of the parish whom he loved to mimic. He was hilarious.

I wish you and your siblings, as well as your Dad, could have known him.