The funny for today...

So Chris overheard me leave a message at Making Memories, about my awesome wonderful beautiful amazing Slice die-cutting machine... that is suddenly not working properly. I had received a ticket number when I contacted them via the website a few weeks ago, but when I hadn't heard anything, I went to check the status of the number, and it said the ticket number had been completed and closed. 


I was sad about this.


So I called and left them a message explaining the situation. And when I got off the phone, Chris piped up with this:


"You know, I bet it would be really great to work at a scrapbooking company."


To which I replied, "RIGHT?! WOULDN'T IT?! IT'S MY DREAM!!!" Because, see, I didn't realize his statement was a) facetious, and b) leading to something else.


He continues:


"Because all day long you'd get people calling with (switch to girl voice), "Um, hi! So sorry to bother you, and I hope you're having a great day and all, but I have a problem with my scrapbooking machine, and, um, see it won't cut out my star! And really, all I want is to go back to my scrapbooking! And I really, really love your products, so hopefully you can help me fix this star problem please?"


Touche, OSF. Touche.


But, um, seriously, Making Memories? If you end up reading this, I would really love it if I could cut things out again. Pretty please?

One thing off my list...

... and that's updating the blog! Hurray!

I know some of you might not really care. But I write my blog so I can look back and remember someday, and it stinks when I think about all the things I'm forgetting to include, things that are making life just so darn memorable right now!

Okay, we'll start at last Saturday. Lizzie and Brad got hitched, and Lizzie was a beautiful, stunning, calm, picture of elegance kind of bride. You could just tell all day that she was having the best time. So beautiful, Liz. My picture of the day for the fifth is Lizzie getting ready to eat her wedding dinner, with her special Bride apron, and the glowing, floating candles behind her.

I've still got a few more to go through for the actual wedding post, but hopefully soon! I think I've still got a bit of time before she and Brad get back.

Sunday night Ryan came over to Chris' with the best idea: weekend road trip to central California to catch Spring Awakening in San Jose, and a new musical in previews called American Idiot, starring John Gallagher, Jr., who just happens to be an original Spring Awakening cast member himself. Best idea of the year! So far it's Chris and I, Ryan and Sarah, and two of Ryan's other friends. We'll do Spring on Friday night, American Idiot on Saturday afternoon, and then have Saturday evening and Sunday to explore and do touristy things in San Francisco.

We are all very excited about these plans. Too bad we have to wait until the end of October!

Ryan made the picture of the day with his L&L meal. L&L is a Hawaiian barbecue place just down the street from Chris', and the boys love it. Sunday night was my first taste of "Hawaiian cuisine" and sadly I can't say I'm a real fan. It was a lot of food, but I thought it was just too overpriced for not enough yummy goodness.

Ryan and I voted two against one to rent 17 Again. Chris was opposed when he heard the reviews weren't stellar, but it ended up being really cute and funny, and he eventually admitted he liked it. If you haven't seen it yet, go rent it! Definitely a must see fun family flick. (A triple F if you will.)

Oh, White Demon. Why do you insist on being broken? I just want to love you and play with you and show you the sites of San Diego. But you're going to have to start cooperating.

My dad and I took it to the Chevy dealer to run an official diagnostic on it, since my dad was out of ideas of what could possibly be wrong with the thing. The verdict came Tuesday morning: bad fuel pump. Cost: $640 for Chevy to fix it.

My dad said he could do it cheap over the weekend. From what I heard from my sister, he found a great pump at the wrecking yard but the guy somehow broke it when selling it to him.

Sigh.

This is me in the bathroom mirror.

Not everything in my life is as exciting as weddings and babies and demon cars.

And me again. For first official TV Thursday of the season, Chris tried to brand my computer with his Apple sticker. When I wasn't going for that, he branded me instead.

Like my new necklace?
Then he insisted on taking a picture of me like that, and I insisted at the last minute of holding up my beautiful PC. Take that, Mac Boy.

Below are the onesies I made for Mel and Chris Holz, who are expecting at the end of October. Chris Holz is one of the four Chris' that comprise my Chris' inner circle of best friends. We went to their coed baby shower on Saturday (kind of like Justin and Jen's baby barbecue), and had a great time eating yummy appetizers, watching Mel open adorable presents while Holz modeled (or demonstrated how to use), and figured out scrambled words like cinsavtanscoi.
(The scrambled word is vaccinations, by the way. No one got that one during the actual game, and the ones like me who can't go on with life until we know the answers to things took quite awhile figuring that one out.)

Here's one of the reasons I like that OSF boy: we spent our Saturday afternoon with him in the kitchen, baking cookies for a community service project they're doing at work, and me at the table scrapbooking to my heart's content. It was perfect.

Sunday. Yet another reason I like that OSF boy: He made me 'breakfast' at 1:3o in the afternoon! Eggs, bacon, toast, and he even cut open a pomegranate! Then he insisted on taking a picture of me for my picture of the day!

Let the record show: I really like that OSF.

(I'm generally a fan of people who feed me. )

And finally, yesterday's picture: my delightful youth venture thugs.

Okay, they're not really thugs. They're actually very sweet. Especially these four. But for some reason junior highers just won't look normal in pictures, no matter how many you take.

Baby Barbecue

At which we barbecue babies... or at least that's what Justin was telling us. Justin, the guy who's going to be a father in a month.

Details to come!

Details are here!

So on Saturday, Jen and Justin had a family/friends barbeque baby shower, mostly because I think Justin wanted to get presents too. Anyway, it was a great afternoon filled with friends, pink streamers, and babies galore (none of which were harmed in the making of this barbeque).

There were lots of pictures taken between me and Justin's mom. I think every single minute is captured somehow on one of our cameras or another. We've got the pictures of the kids (us kids, I mean), pictures with the parents, pictures of present opening, pictures with the cigars (check out Luke Lumsden with his cigar below!). I chose just a few of my favorites to show off here.

I love this group of pictures- it's Jen opening my present. I ironed on a bunch of cute designs, sayings, birds, and little letter Z's onto newborn onesies and hats. I'm so glad they loved them, because I had a blast making them specific for little Zoey and her bird-loving, camo-crazy parents!

The baby barbeque was also the first time a lot of people got to meet Chris. I'm pleased to say everyone has decided he is just splendid, and he even has an open invitation to go the Deyling's for a cigar anytime he wants. And for the record, I did not tell him he couldn't have a cigar at the party!

Lost

Ryan's Lost surprise extravaganza turned out to be a big hit. Chris and Andy really worked to pull off the perfect Lost party, complete with posters of Ryan as a cast member of Lost, Quarantine signs, Dharma labels on the sodas and beers, and a great photo booth backdrop. That OSF is so talented, I tell you.

Jenna doesn't know what to do on the island!

Ryan's just happy he's got Sarah to keep him company on the island.

Sorry, Ben, no cell phone reception on the island.

Two TGO's stuck on the island! Track 15 for sure!

We even managed to keep it a surprise, so Ryan was a little dumbfounded when he opened the door to find his friends and family waiting for him in what looked like the Lost wilderness island. Of course, it helped that he was just a wee bit tipsy from the fake out bar trip that Beth took him on. 

Read Ryan's thoughts on his surprise party here!

That elusive thing called creativity

Well, fellow bloggers and loyal readers. Here we are. 7am. On a Saturday.

I know, right? What the heck?

I'm not entirely sure what we're doing here either, and yet here we are. I think I'm going to blame it on the sudden surge of creativity I got last night around 2:30am. Somewhere between returning from Ryan's house after a night of Wii Mario Party and feeling very, very sleepy and finishing up the last half of the July issue of Creating Keepsakes (which I have a layout in, if anyone cares and wants to go buy a copy from their local Michael's, FYI). Anyway, as I lay the magazine down and turned to cuddle under my warm down blankets, I was struck with this overwhelming need to Create Something. And then a gazillion desirable projects ran through my head, until my heart was pounding and all I wanted to do was jump out of bed and power up my new laptop (which still needs a name, by the way; any suggestions are welcome) and get to work on all these unfinished, unattempted, things.

I did not do this of course, because it was freaking 2:30 in the morning after all. Nope, I waited it out an entire four and a half hours. Until seven. On Saturday morning. Oh, sleep. I'm sure I'll be meeting you later this afternoon.

So the question is What to work on? Unfinished business, like my novel, blog book, scrapbooks (both paper and digital), picture of the days? Or surge into something new, like a baby shower gift for Justin and Jenafer, or another special Gwen book for her upcoming ninth birthday? There are so many possibilities. And yet I don't have time to do it all.

Whew. 7:24. I guess I better get started on what I can.