My finished project

So here are the results of my messy sewing/scrapbook room from last week. Despite the chaos and clutter I'm really happy with how it all came together. Thought you might like an inside view and thanks to Katie's amazing computer skills we actually ended up with a slide show version this time. I'm excited for my next trip (none in the works right now, however) knowing that I can come home and put together another memory keeper/sharer like this one.

Whew... back to normal

You know the saying, "you don't really appreciate something until you don't have it anymore" -- or something close to that -- well, I am in total agreement! Yesterday morning our internet service went off and it has been a frustrating and annoying 30 or so hours.

Last week I called Qwest, our phone and internet provider, to cancel a service on our phone side that we never use and it costs us $4 a month so I decided if we don't use it I didn't want to pay for it any more. After the Qwest rep took care of that request he informed me that Qwest would like to give us 2 months of free internet service ... because we have been such loyal customers. I immediately was suspicious of what "free" meant so I quizzed him whether or not this would change anything about our service or our commitment. He guaranteed me that No, nothing would change... they just want to "thank" us for our business. So I agreed. (SUCKER!!!!) The next day I got a UPS envelope delivered to my house with a instructional CD and a user manual for upgrading to 20 M internet service! I just kind of set everything aside until yesterday morning when suddenly and unexpectedly our internet shut down. This triggered multiple calls to Qwest where I was traded back and forth between the "business" people and the "technical" people with lengthy "on hold" waits in between. Every time, I was transferred to a different person and I would have to explain the whole situation over and over. Finally, I got a rep who really did represent customer service and she put me on the right path and got the Qwest people lined up correctly too. She has even called 3 times to see if everything is working again.

So long story short... "all's well that ends well" but don't fall for "free" offers. Nothing is ever FREE.

Creating (a mess!)

 

 

Since I have had so much fun lately creating some special scrapbookish things, it has inspired me to keep going. While I was on the "scrapbook cruise" with Heidi back in January, I got to take classes from other talented teachers as well. I showed you the project from Teresa Collin's class that I made for Paul for Valentines. Now I am putting together an album book of the cruise experience itself and I am using the project from Margie Romney-Aslett's class. Her class was a riot! She is a riot! One of the funniest, entertainingest, super creative people you will ever meet. I fell in love with her style of collecting memorabilia from her trips and adventures and how she puts EVERYTHING in her memory book. And I mean everything: photos, post cards, room keys, menus, business cards, stamps, receipts, ticket stubs... to her they all spark memories and have their own stories to contibute to the whole, overall experience. I have really enjoyed putting this book together; sifting through all the memorabilia and souvenirs had brought back the feelings of each activity and event for that wonderful week. I'm not quite done... it seems to have taken on a life of it's own. I'll post pics when I get it completed.

My poor sewing room is wondering what has happened inside it. Even the ironing board has a new purpose. I hope Paul doesn't expect anything to get ironed for a while! This illustrates why I don't scrapbook very much because I am the kind of person that need to see every paper or embellishment or option I might have to design my pages. Oh well, the results are worth the process!

We are Family!

 

Smile Everyone! or just someone! Seriously, why do we even try? Our little ones never seem to be in the mood for a precious moment captured on film for posterity!

Yesterday was Bryson's baby blessing. That is always such a wonderful event. Katie had invited lots of friends and family and it was a really enjoyable afternoon... until we wanted to take a picture. That was probably our downfall... waiting until the end of the party when the kids were ready for naps and had been over stimulated for a couple of hours.

 

Oh well, most of the adults look nice and were able to pull out a "happy face" despite the tantrums that were occurring. I know the Swapps were sad that they missed out of this momentous occasion. Just think what the pictures would have looked like with 7 more loved ones! (don't you love Aspen's choice of shoes for the photo shot!)