Could this be true?

So, many times in class, we discuss what it takes to truly forgive someone.  There's debate over whether there has to be something active involved or whatever.  I find that I don't totally disagree with this picture.  It makes me laugh just a little bit.

Everyday Life

I'm finding reference to forgiveness in everyday life now. It's come up at work a lot lately. A coworker that you have to see every day (provided that person deigns to bless us with their presence for a full work day/week) who has little regard for how their selfish actions affect others is hard to deal with and even to forgive. Seniority has its place and its advantages but don't abuse it. Teamwork is the key and you're not being a team player. Yes, I have a ways to go before forgiveness can be achieved.

What is Forgiveness? (and, back in the saddle)

So, I'm back - again.  This time it's in order to actually be accountable in my Capstone class for school.  This is my last semester...my last three classes...the end.  As the professor for this class said, I'm on the 23 year plan.  Yes, it has taken me 23 years to get my degree.  For a while, I really had no intention of finishing.  But thanks to my wonderful boss, he told me it would be in my best interest to have my degree for advancement purposes.  Well, who can argue with that?  So now, 9 full classes later (including the dreaded dummy math and the loathsomely unnecessary music appreciation [because my 30 credit hours of music performance apparently don't count]), I'm at the end.  And boy, what a doozy of a semester this is likely to be.  Very, very labor and time intensive.  But I can do it.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, to get this started, Dr. Lewis has posed the question:  What is forgiveness?

Forgiveness is letting go of a real or perceived wrong done to you.  I say real or perceived because there are times when one THINKS they've been wronged but they really weren't.  And, of course, there are times when the wrong is really real.  How does one let go?  Do they have to physically/verbally tell the wrongdoer that they're forgiven?  Does forgetfulness of the wrong count as forgiveness of the wrong?  I don't think so.  The wrongdoer doesn't know you've forgotten about the wrong.  They can assume, but they can't know.

I'll probably expound upon this more in coming weeks.  This is what I have for now.

Dreamy Whites Giveaway

I'm just now getting into wanting to do some kind of decorating in my house (the kind that doesn't involve stinky post-football practice socks, honey buns wrappers, and dead batteries lying around).  One place I'm dying to get to shop from is Dreamy Whites.  Today she's giving away a $250 gift certificate to her store Dreamy Whites Online!  Hooey!  I want this!  Badly!  So go shop!

Some Giveaways around the Web

First up is Rhoda from Southern Hospitality.  If you like shopping at HomeGoods, this is the giveaway for you!  Southern Hospitality

Another great giveaway is from a new blog I found (the blog isn't new, but I'm new to it) called Blue Creek Home.  She's in Alabama so it's always great to find local bloggers!




And a third giveaway is happening over at Molly Susan Strong for some fabulous Annie Sloan Chalkpaint.  I'm not really sure how all of this "adding buttons" thing works, but it appears the button has appeared.  That's good, right?
 

 

Memorial Day Weekend (AKA how to make lobster)

Yeah, I'm one of those moms who laughs at my kids' pain and anguish.  But they did it to themselves.  See?

THIS is why we only go one day a year.  Now, I did put sunscreen on them but all of this rolling around in the sand was counterproductive.  The one of the right?  He just needed some butter poured on him right then and there.  And he's supposed to go to Gulf Shores in 2 weeks with the youth at church.  Uh, yeah, right.  My baby up there at the top was M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E.  :(  They're all in much better spirits now. 

Memorial Day

So I've never been one to be overly sentimental about things like today.  But after seeing all of the tributes, I feel I should at least acknowledge the day.

This is a scrapbook page I made about 4 years ago (I can't find the pictures on my computer.).  In 2004 when we lived in Germany, Jason, Jacob, and Carson went with the scouts to Normandy, France to camp and have a wreath-laying ceremony at the American Cemetery.  Jason's grandfather and uncle are both buried there.

I know the past 10 years haven't been easy with Jason being in the Army, but we made it and I'm grateful for him, for our friends who are no longer active duty, and especially for our friends who are.



Post Beach

Um, ow.  Yeah, I've got a little bit of a sunburn.  The boys all look like lobsters and it makes me want to melt some butter.  :)  I took a lot of pictures but I'm having trouble with my card reader at the moment.
:(  I was really wanting to get some scrapping done today but we're rearranging bedrooms and such - and we're all in pain.

Need to Update/Revamp and a Giveaway

So, um, yeah, I see I still have a Christmas-themed blog header. I need to get busy with the old Photoshop. *blush* I also need to go through the house and take a bunch of before and during pictures of some of the things we're painting and stuff. And I need to figure out why my paper trimmer is all gummy and sticky!!!

And a beautiful blog that I follow, http://arosynote.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-firstgiveaway.html , is having a giveaway of some lovely vintage-inspired things. (And I must find my notes to remember how to put hyperlinks in with just the blog name!!! Sorry Tricia!)

Headed to the beach tomorrow for a short but fun trip with the family. The boys have no idea we're going but they LOVE it!

Time to Start Again

Wow. I looked at the last time I posted and it was in January 2009! What in the world have I been doing the past 2+ years?? Obviously busy. Clearly not scrapping. *sigh* Ok, it's time to start anew. Well, not really "anew" since this isn't exactly a "new" blog. But it's time to kick it in again. Not that I anticipate having any more time than I have the past 2 years. But we're redecorating the house, I hope to be starting back to school in the fall, football season will be starting soon, I'll have a high schooler, and still working. I also want to start scrapping again. So maybe this will keep me a tiny bit accountable for all of that. (?)

OK, so I've been completely distracted this year. Jason deployed again and I've just been in a whirlwind for the past few weeks. But thanks to a great friend, I've gathered my focus and I'm ready to start creating and chatting again.

So watch out! I've got the February A Kiss on the Chic kit on my desk and I'll be posting some stuff with in over the next week. Go check out the peeks on the blog (look over to the right and click on Laura's blog)!

Dude, seriously? I've already mangled a resolution? I can't even keep up with a stupid blog? Of course, when I'm not scrapping much, there's not as much to share.

I will get back to scrapping shortly. I took a much needed and appreciated holiday break. But I miss it.

Resolutions

OK, so I know I should have done this on the 1st but this has been an unusually busy holiday season. Jason was home on leave as he was getting ready to leave again. The holidays are always busy anyway.

So onto resolutions.

One should be to blog more/better. Is that a correct sentence? Anyway, I need to update at least once a week. That should be easy. And with doing A Kiss on the Chic designs, it should be automatic!

Another will be to sleep more. I know, you're thinking what kind of resolution is that? But I truly do not get enough sleep and it's my own fault. So I resolve to get more sleep.

Another is to get back to drinking water more often. That also should be easy as I have plenty here at work.

Another will be to be better at household upkeep. I can't let it get into a sty as often. It takes too long to clean it up.

And last is the Project 365. I have to take a picture and jot a note EVERY DAY. I'm determined to keep up with this...now I just need a camera. :)

Oh good grief!

Man, has it really been that long since I posted? I get into these grooves where I'm posting frequently and doing all the stuff I'm supposed to do. And then I get distracted and forget the other things.

What distracted me? FACEBOOK! Thanks, Laura. *roll eyes*

So, I hope you had a Merry Christmas. Santa was good to us. We've got LOTS of video games to play now. I got some scrappy goodness and several cool cookbooks.

The holidays are about over and it's time to get back to scrapping. A Kiss on the Chic won't be having a January kit but we'll all be back at it in February! I can't wait!

Elf

So, my 8 year old still believes in Santa. He came home yesterday with "instructions" on how to attract an elf. He put out crackers and water and wrote a note to the elf. All together now...AWWWW......

I guess I need to find an elf...and eat a cracker or two.

Does anyone know what language elves speak?

Merry & Bright and Very Vintage Christmas

The December kits for http://www.akissonthechic.com/ are officially up and for sale and ready to find a great home with you! Check these out!

This is the Merry & Bright kit. It features new papers from Webster's Pages, Prima, and Making Memories. And girls, the embellies are out of this world!!!
And here's the Very Vintage Christmas. It features Jenni Bowlin papers and a lot of fun vintage finds.

You can find lots of ideas from the design team on the site!

And I'll be back later to post some of what I've done!

The Monster is Born

I did it. I'm not quite sure how it happened. I was at my usual haunts, posting snide comments and giving joy to people. When all of a sudden, without warning, without any kind of preparation whatsoever - I found myself joining Facebook. Within 30 minutes I had a profile, and album, a bunch of friends requested, several already accepted, and notes on my "wall". What the heck is a wall? Why didn't anyone tell me how friggin' addictive this place was???? I can't leave! I might miss something! I've got friends in Europe and Hawaii! How can I sleep when I've got 1/2 the timezones on the planet covered???

*thud*

Duh! Pictures!

I realized I forgot to post pictures of our "Turkey Bowl". Hunh? Well, Jason decided since the NFL plays football all day, that the boys should, too. It had it's moments:

Here is how a typical play looked. Jason was quarterback for both teams and two were defense and two were offense. One had to touch the fence while holding the ball in order to score. There were no PAT.

Occasionally, Jason would mix things up with a pass play. This is called "great coverage" by the defense. Don't ask me who is the defense.

I love this shot of Carson giving Eli a play:

And not to be outdone is Jacob giving Ian a play (or he's looking for snot):

And here is how most plays ended up looking - Eli crying. Sometimes it was because he didn't get the ball, sometimes it was because he didn't score, sometimes it was because he got "tackled", but most times it was because he got hurt. I think this shot was before he got smacked in the forehead with the football. *sigh*

Man, I'm so lame

I realized I posted ON Thanksgiving but didn't post anything I was thankful for! Most of you who know me know that I am NOT a mushy type of person. So really, it's hard for me to make this long dramatic post about how I'm thankful we're all alive, thankful we have a home and food, etc. So, in the spirit of my non-traditional, non-mushy way, here's my thankful list:

Scrapbook supplies - without these, I would be a bigger blob spending more time in front of the tv. Or I'd be a big blob gamer in front of the computer
Scrappy friends - without these I might be a tad insane
DVR - dude, whoever came up with this idea is a GENIUS!
Pioneer Woman, Rocco DiSpirito, Nigella Lawson, et al - I *heart* cooking and they've got great recipes!

OK, that's my list for now!

I think today we're going to put up the Christmas stuff so I'll try to come back with pics tonight or tomorrow!

The Scrapping Spot

Here are some pages I did with the December Prudence kit from www.thescrappingspot.com. I love this kit!!!! Jill & Cathy also did a beautiful Christmas kit with Harmonie papers.