I am still PINK!!!!!!!! Hooray! I got the most wonderful message from Deb on my voicemail today inviting me to come back as a Pink Lady! Yay!!!!!!!!!!

I've been blog tagged by Amy Birch!!! I have to name 10 weird things about myself.

1. I have a poster of Captain Hook hanging in my scrapbook area.

2. I can't concentrate on tasks with music on, but I can listening to talk radio. (I love all-talk NPR!)

3. I love children and spend most of my time surrounded by them, but I do not consider myself a kid person.

4. Every winter I get used to not going outside, and start out each Spring having no desire to venture out. I have to spend every day outside for a week before I love it again.

5. I talk to my best friend on the phone for hours every day, no matter how long we talked the day before or what is happening in our lives.

6. I can fall asleep in less than 5 seconds, and can sleep anywhere, including standing up.

7. I have a large collection of tiny Uncle Scrooge figures.

8. I love the Wiggles as much as my daughter does.

9. I hate tomatoes passionately.

10. I must always sleep on the side of the bed away from the door.

I am going to start my blog tags with Sharon whose blog I saw for the first time today!

I just did my first layout for this year's Memory Maker's Masters contest!! Whoo hooo! I am sooo psyched! I love doing this contest. I've entered the last two years and two of the layouts I've entered have been picked up for publication by Making Memories or other books. It really helps me stretch myself creatively and make layouts I'm proud of. I love the satisfaction of having my 5 layouts done!

I've finally completed a layout about why I scrapbook. I was inspired by a challenge and really had to think about the reasons, as they have changed over the last 7 years that I've been scrapping. Journaling reads, "I scrapbook because: I love looking at photos of people I love. It's a way to meet and spend time with friends. Some of my thoughts and feelings can't be expressed through words alone. I love knowing special memories will be recorded. I like having a talent. I love being part of the scrapping community. I enjoy shopping for cool new supplies. I feel good about myself when I create."

I've been a Pink Lady at Scraptalk for approximately 18 months now. I have loved being on this design team so much. If you haven't ever been there, you must check it out. Check out my gallery while you're there too! It is sincerely the nicest scrapbooking message board out there. It's very friend and inviting and everyone is very helpful. There are no hard feelings, and it's very easy to get to know everyone. Deb, the owner, is going to announce the new design team soon. I don't know if I'll be on it or not, so I'm feeling very nostalgic for a time that really hasn't even ended yet. So the next few days I'll be waiting waiting waiting, to find out if my time is over or if I'll have another year.

I just finished reading Treasure Island! After seeing the new Peter Pan, I started reading a book about the legends and real history of pirates called Under the Black Flag. The author asserts that most of our modern images and idea about pirates are based on Captain Hook and Long John Silver. I hadn't read Treasure Island as a child so I had to see what it was all about. I LOVED IT! What an exciting story! Because it was originally published as a serial the end of each chapter is a cliffhanger and I couldn't put it down! Also, I love stories where a child is the narrator in a world of adults, and Jim Hawkins was a great narrator and ultimately the hero of the story. Now I am off to read Robinson Crusoe.

It's taken me a few weeks to get back into the swing of scrapping. But after scrapping with Lisa on Monday I have definitely got the bug again and I super happy to be back in the game! For Lent I gave up buying scrapbooking supplies and it was hard. I didn't even make a purchase when I saw awesome clearance deals at A.C. Moore. The last few days I've allowed myself a small treat or two if I saw excellent deals. Luckily lots of stores are in the midst of their spring clearance sales!

Esme and Irelyn are having a sleepover tonight. Both are famous for their fussies at bedtime, so I'm a bit intimidated. Hopefully the thrill of being together (I'm letting them both sleep in our guest bed) will knock them out. Yeah right. Pray for me!

Speaking of villains, I am so psyched that we are finally going to answer the question this summer: Is Snape on the side of good or evil?!?!

I had given only vague thoughts to Snape before I found out my favorite actor, Alan Rickman, was going to plan him in the first Harry Potter movie. All of a sudden I found him intriguing. The idea of Alan Rickman playing him seemed perfect, and suddenly in my mind he transformed from a terrible, greasy professor to a misunderstood, potential hero. Isn't that why girls love villains? We don't believe they are really bad, they are just misunderstood. Clearly they are from tortured backgrounds, and if only they have found some charming girl to love and be loved by at some point, it would have changed the entire course of their lives. In Captain Hook at Eton, J. M. Barrie even insinuates that love could have changed Hook's life. It may be too late for Jas., but it is not to late for Severus!

I will be one of the first to know, because I am working at the bookstore the night the new book is released! At midnight I will head home with my copy and begin immediately. I must know! I can't wait to have that new book in my hands. Until them, I am holding out for him to be the hero we girls dream him to be!

I can't wait to be out on the water this summer! A few months ago we got this Coleman inflatable boat so we can paddle around on the lakes when we go camping. I should say that so *I* can paddle around the lakes, because Ethan and Esme actually have very little interest in me paddling them around in an inflatable boat. I am still excited though, and I'm really looking forward to being out there with my waterproof camera!

I love holidays!

Yesterday Ethan, Esme, and I picked up my nephew, Dylan, and went to Vicki's house for the festivities. I couldn't believe how into dying eggs Dylan was! Normally Destructo-Boy, he stood there and slowly swirled the eggs around with deep concentration. He did 14 eggs - the most I've ever seen a 2 year old do, and had to be basically dragged away! I was so glad we'd taken him.

Speaking of Hook, if you love him like I do and haven't seen the 2003 live action version of Peter Pan, you MUST. The actor who played him, Jason Isaacs, brought him to life so wonderfully - just as I imagined him when I was a child. The rest of the movies was great too, but Hook was what really brought it to life for me. SEE IT!

Whew! Working full time can really wear you out when you don't do it all the time! I have been working full time the last few weeks - trying to get all our finances in order before summer. Luckily I like my job, but it sure has been cutting into my scrapping time.

We are making the decision tonight whether or not to send Esme back to nursery school in the Fall. I am wracking my brain over this. On one hand I really want her to develop good social skills, and on the other hand I really want to start homeschooling her NOW. We are having a tough time making a final decision. Sometimes I wish Ethan would put his foot down! But thankfully me for me he is not that sort of person.

Pray for me tonight that Esme goes to bed quickly and quietly, and that I will have time to finish reading Peter Pan so I can return it to school tomorrow. (Ahhhh Captain Hook - perhaps my very favorite of all the villains I love.)

I have been sooo neglectful of my poor blog! Getting our apartment ready for our new tenants has been all-consuming the last few weeks. Ethan and I have hardly worked on anything else. The good news though, is that we have someone moving in next weekend.

For now we are digging out of the still-falling snow! The weather this week was just a tease, up into the 60s, and now we are back to our typical Northeast weather again. Shucks - I really enjoyed not wearing a coat for a couple days.

In scrapbooking news, I have had another page picked up for publication! This one will be in the Memory Makers 601 Great Scrapbook Ideas book. I am anxiously awaiting my copy of the Mother Goose Guide to Scrapbooking which will feature my second pub and is due out April 1st. Esme loves seeing herself in print.

Sledding with the Girls

Lisa and the girls came up this past Saturday and we all went sledding! It was Esme's first time. Except for the occasional wipe out and ice cold slush, we all had a great time. Esme wanted to go again the next day!

I am a busy girl! Our church's Search Committee is in the last phases of interviews, so we are VERY close to selecting a candidate. I am so happy, and so ready for this to be done. I will be happy to have my evenings back, especially because Ethan is back on his regular shift.

My biggest news is that I got a gig teaching at Wiggles and Giggles in Connecticut! I am thrilled about this opportunity! It's a big store with a huge variety of supplies so I will have tons of fun designing pages to teach there. Plus so far they've been very flexible which I like also.

I am finally getting moving on scrapping some of our camping pictures. We camped as a family for the first time this July with the Bartholomews, and then we went just the three of us again this October. We had a blast both times. Ethan and I especially enjoyed the serenity of camping at a state forest. Esme had a loved being out of doors and making campfires and sleeping all cuddled up in our tent. We plan to open one of the state forests this April too.

Just a couple pics from Esme's first day of school - so far she is loving it. Her teacher is very nice and she has a new friend that she loves - she holds her hand every day during story time.

I finally finally got the page done for my next class! I have been out of comission due to colds for a couple weeks now. As soon as I got over the first one, I got an especially nasty second one. Hopefully I'm getting them all out of the way in time for the holidays!! 

Esme was so into Halloween this year! This was the first time she remembered it from the year before, and mostly she remembered getting candy! We did some fun activities leading up to the big day and this was one of them. 

I love baking with Esme! Last year we started a new Halloween tradition. We make some kind of special Autumn sweets to bring to our close neighbors and friends while we Trick or Treat. One house down our street always goes all out with decorations for EVERY holiday, so even though we don't know them, we include them on out list. This year we made Pumpkin Whoopie Pies that had a ginger filling. Mmmm they were delicious! I was amazed at how much work Esme put into them. She did all the pouring and stirred the batter constantly. They were a big hit! 

I am really enjoying teaching scrapbook classes! After a long day of subbing I taught a class using this page Friday night. I love these photos of my sweet nephew!