...to go take some pictures of yourself!
I know, I know it's dorky... at least it feels dorky. But it's okay and you don't have to show anyone. I am a pretty self conscious person so it takes me a while to warm up to a camera... even when it's just me...
And just think... someday you might even scrapbook them!
The Scenic Route Online Store has been updated and reorganized! Stop by and check it out!
Use the coupon code BLOG01 at the checkout before June 16, and recieve and additional 10% off your order!
We've added a "$1 bin" including chipboard, rub-ons and die-cuts...
and a "$3 bin" with chipboard alphabets! We'll keep adding new products every week!
...and some new grab bags including Laurel, Metropolis, Loveland, Salem, Roxbury, Ashville and Sumner!
So now not only can you find awesome Scenic Route product, but can get a great deal on it too!
Remember you can still only get Garden Grove at a local or online store, it won't be available on the SR website for a while... so make sure to frequent your favorite local store and ask for Garden Grove if they don't already have it, we've special deals for them too so even smaller and struggling stores can carry Garden Grove!
Stop by and don't forget to use the coupon at checkout!
We have had some pretty amazing storm fronts here, they are beautiful to watch come in. Usually their bark is a lot worse than there bite. It's been pretty feisty looking almost every afternoon for this last week, which is pretty rare here, but has hardly rained at all, at least here in Eagle Mountain.
It doesn't rain that often here but when it does you can smell it coming, that "about to rain" smell is one of my favorite things about summer (along with freshly mown grass). I especially love it when I've had a productive day playing or working outside and then it rains just in time for an afternoon nap... I open the window, listen to the rain and fall asleep to the pitter patter...love it.
Utah is a really beautiful place to live. If you love snow it's fabulous year round, am a more spring-summer-fall myself ans far the outdoors go. I really prefer to be safe and warm inside during the winter.
Provo Canyon is one of my favorite places to hang out for a day. The Provo River Trail goes about 12 miles into the canyon and as a teenager I would rollerblade about 7 miles up and then fly like a bat out of hell down---I would die if my kids tried it, I mean I didn't even wear a helmet! But anyway, that wasn't my point... I still love to go up there. There are nice parks all over the place, a cool waterfall, a beautiful river and shadedcamp grounds. We go up to Nunn's Park which is onlyy 8 or so miles into the canyon and only 35 minutes from home. If I were in any condition to be walking any great distance there is a paved path to Bridal Veil falls that's probably a mile and a half. It's a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.
Because it isn't to far we can stop at the store, pick up hot dogs and marshmallows and stay for a few hours, even on a week night. We often go with our friends, they bring guitars and play around the campfire... to me, that is doing summer right!
...that the aappropriate response to having too many catalogs and too much time on your hands is to make clothes out of said catalogs?
huh, yeah, who knew!
http://en..org/wiki/A_Million_Little_Pieces
Have you read this? I can't necessarily say that you should, the language and content is if-y, raw and disturbing. But an interesting "memoir" (though there is a lot of controversy over whether or not some of any of it is true). It's the story of a 23 year olds 6 weeks in a rehab clinic. Knowing that it may or may not be true doesn't change the fact that it really could be true, and knowing that there are people suffering from addiction and a landslide of other problems that go with it is really sad. He introduces several people that he meets there ranging from an organized crime leader, husbands, fathers, a judge, priest, the list goes on... proving how devastating drug and alcohol can be to ANYONE, I'm sure everyone knows someone that has battled with addiction. There is even a guy in rehab who's wife wanted to know what the big deal was, so she started smoking crack and ended up leaing her kids home alone and disappearing.
James' girlfriend Lilly is especially haunting, the things that her mother did to her as a young girl are horrific, I don't know how a person could recover or learn to live a normal life... I just don't know.
I picked up "A million little pieces" at a yard sale after reading this book "Beautiful boy" which frankly scared me. It's a fathers memoir of his sons meth addiction. It was so frightingng to me because though the father blames himself- how could a parent not? he was a very involved and loving father. It really left me wondering if it is possible to prevent drug addiction. Though so far it seems having alcohol available in your home seems to be a common begining...
I would recommend reading this book, and I would recommend sharing it with friends or family. I would especially recommend sharing with anyone that has had a family member go through it. I don't know that there were a lot of answers, but I think that's kinda the point of the book...
The authors son Nick, whom the book is about, has written a memoir also, which I haven't read yet but intend to... it will be interesting to see how it compares to "a million little pieces"
What are your summer reading plans?
I started quilting about 10 years ago, right after Amelia was born. A neighbor I hardly new made her a beautiful quilt. To this day, it is a special keepsake Amelia won't get it back till she has a baby or is at least old enough to appreciate it :)
I loved it so much that I asked my neighbor, her name was Helen about quilting. Little did I know she had a bit of an obsession... She invited me to come to the quilt guild. I didn't think I ought to since not only did I not quilt, but I didn't even have a sewing machine. She told me there are quilts you don't need a sewing machine to make and convinced me to come anyway. She brought me a hexagon template and showed me what to do with it and the rest was history. I bought a 20 year old refurbished sewing machine, which I still use to this day and have made several quilts since. I have to admit, I really haven't made many in the last few years because we've been so busy with Scenic Route, but my love of quilting, mixing colors and fabrics is patiently waiting for me to have time again.
I started this a few months ago and obviously haven't gotten very far. I love that it's easy to do a little at a time, travels easily and is all hand sewn. The pattern is called Grandmothers flower garden. Here is a hexagon template. There are hundreds of websites that show how to use the pattern, I didn't realize it but I do it completely differently. Many of the sights show making long rows, I make the flowers then piece them together. I guess it doesn' really matter as long as they all fit together in the end. I like to use precut cardstock templates like this, though you can also get a plastic template and cut out your own pieces.
It's a project that moves quickly, would come to the pool, a roadtrip or soccer practice... I'm just saying... if you'd like to try something new...
No this is not the new vintage Pooh Bear, well at least not in the modern sense of vintage... you know brand new, made in china but looks old. It's a true vintage Pooh Bear.
He was Jim's Pooh from when he was a kid. The poor thing has barely and fur left and until recently was missing and eye, his shirt, his eyebrows his nose, and an ear (which Jim's brother Johnny bit off!)
Well... a couple of moths ago Amelia came to me and asked if she could barrow some fabric. I asked why and she said she couldn't tell me, she was making something for daddy. With a promise that she would clean up after herself, I said she could. About a week later she brought in her surprise.
She brought Jim his Pooh bear with a new red shirt, a new eye, nose, and eyebrows. For some reason the thing that really got me was the new ear. It's a yellow paisly fabric and fits him just perfectly.
The silly bear used to get thrown around and stuck up in the closet and ignored. I basically tolerated it becasue it's Jims and it had good childhood memories and all of that... but now I wouldn't get rid of it for anything. Now it isn't just an old keepsake of Jims, but a sweet reminder of just how perfect and thoughtful Amelia is.
I have been collecting andpersands or &'s for several years now. They are particularily hard to find, which I think makes it all the more fun. Finding them is exciting. This particular green one has a bit of a history, even though it's my most recent addition. I saw it for the first time in a photography shop in Gardener Village here in Utah. It was love at first sight so when I asked how much it was I had heart failure when I was told it wasn't for sale. Fast forward about a year... I am in Pottery Barn trying to figure out how to spend a gift card I had received over a year earlier for Christmas and low & behold the green andpersand is sitting on the clearance shelf. I picked it up without hesitation and even thought about buying two of them just because I could. I brought it home and found a perfect shelf for it.
A few months later we were moving furniture around and it got knocked off it's shelf, hit the tile and shattered into hundreds of pieces. Needless to say, I was bummed, but I was a big girl, didn't throw a fit... life went on. Jim collected the pieces and wanted to either fix or replace it, but it was seriously in hundreds of pieces and not available any more.
I din't think much more about it till Amelia came down the stairs with a big smile, hiding something behind her back. She pulled out the green andpersand... I can only imagine how long it must have taken her to find where all the pieces went and glue them back together not to mention care enough to actually do it for me. It went from favorite andpersand to priceless treasure instantly, but my favorite part is on the back... Amelia pointed out that there were a few pieces missing so she had to recreate them with play dough. I couldn't ask for a sweeter more thoughful daughter, I have no idea where she gets it I just love her to pieces.
Here some others I have found over the years...
A few years ago, at a scrapbook convention I picked up these cute wooden birds. Obviously I procrastinated a bit and never did anything with them. At the time, I thought I would get one for each family member and them make a grouping on the wall, but then I though...
Would if I have another baby, Josh was probably 4 so it didn't seem very likely. We haven't had the luxury of planning our children, they come when they are good and ready! But apparently I hadn't given up hope just yet. Now, 7 years after Josh we are expecting a third in just a few weeks.
So Now, I have these 5 darling birds and am feeling pressure to do something with them again...I'm just not sure what yet (Which I hate to admit keeps me from starting and finishing project all the time!) But, I am determined to start these...
Now, I'm just wondering if I should have picked up 2 extras way back then...
