WW & #iPPP { Walk the Bridge }

Saturday morning, I got a text from my best friend asking if I could meet her when she comes into town Sunday morning...for a (((hug))).

And of course I said yes!

It gave me an opportunity to finally walk across a bridge I've driven over thousands of times before.

A li'l change in perspective and the mundane & routine become beautiful.



Would you believe I was oh so not a fan of bridges when I was a kid?!  I wasn't.

Thank goodness that changed!



Don't forget to look up!



And a li'l peek at the water under the bridge.


 

100 Years of Girl Scouts

I'm celebrating today!  Why?  Girl Scouts is celebrating their 100th Birthday!

I was a Girl Scout from Brownies, all the way up to my early adult years.  I was in Girl Scouts on both the East & West coasts, in two states, and three towns.

With my troops, I've crafted, sang more songs that I can count, hiked, participated in community and environmental service projects, learned new skills, and camped.  Camping was a blast and definitely a staple to punctuate every year of Girl Scouting. I've slept on mountains, in tents, on hills, in cabins, in more tents, and even in a big barn.

It was in my last two troops that I took on the camp name Gizmo and still respond to that name today.  Quite honestly, I think my best friend, who was also a Girl Scout, calls me Giz or Gizie more than she calls me Karen!

And I've met some of the most wonderful girls, now women, in my life through Girl Scouts, including my Four Musketeers.  In Gravity, or Instinct, I Just Knew, I shared my first meeting with Snoopy...at her first Girl Scout meeting.  And I'm grateful that thanks to emails & Facebook, I'm able to continue to keep in contact with so many of the women to this day, twenty years later!

So what are Girl Scouts up to today?  Check out http://www.togetherthere.org/ to find out!

Happy 100th Birthday,
Girl Scouts!!!

RemembeRED: When do you want me to come?

Sporting a white polo top, a short straight kelly green skirt, and white Keds, she hobbled up the small hill from the parking lot on crutches with the sun rising behind her.

That was twenty-four years ago that I met the little blonde who would become my best friend and one of my treasured Four Musketeers.  The memory wasn't stored intentionally, but back then I remembered just about every living photograph I saw.  Today, I'm glad the memory is so accessibly stored in my mind.

Looking in from the outside, we probably shouldn't be best friends.  She's blonde, I'm brunette.  She's sporty, I'm not.  She's a joiner, I'm not.  Even though she has two cats, she's a dog person.  Cats are my fur peeps.  They're great listeners, cute, don't stink, and a heck of lot cheaper than therapy.  She follows recipes, I always change things up.  She's fond of measuring, I'm not.  She rocks it in the math department, I party with words.  She checks in on Facebook, you'll more often hear me on Twitter.

And yet, twenty-four years later, whether via phone, Twitter, Facebook, an IM chat, or old school email, we never go long without hearing from the other.

A few years ago, I was more elated than usual to see her name in my email's inbox.

Exhaustion ran through every cell after having my second kidlet, particularly the days immediately following her dramatic entry.

And my husband's best friend was getting married in just a few short weeks, out of town.  He was the Best Man.  He had to be there.

Hesitation tried to hide in his eyes.  I still couldn't drive, I had a preschooler, newborn, was severely anemic, and exhausted.  It was his best friend, he needed to go.  I told him to go.

Attempting to not sound desperate, I sent out emails looking for help.  My inbox held my best friend's reply with only one question, "When do you want me to come?"

Friday, after work, she arrived.  Donning chocolate capris, cream top with coffee tinted trimming at her neck, she walked in my front door, promptly taking my daughter into her arms to meet her for the first time.

Sunshine filled the sky as she drove us out to Mom's the next morning, to drop my son off for an overnight there.  She again climbed behind the wheel to drive my newborn and I around to crafty destinations before we headed back home.

She easily transferred my slumbering daughter to her arms and sent me to my room to take a nap.

A nap?  The concept was foreign to me.  I took all of two twenty minute naps with my first baby in my arms, not because I was SuperMama, but simply because he woke up every other time I had tried.  A nap?  My baby girl was a few weeks old and I had yet to catch some shut eye during the sun's hours.  A nap?  Yes, I needed one.

Without a worry wandering in my head, I not only lay down, but quickly drifted into a dreamless solid sleep.  Waking in a dark room, my nap had lasted much longer than twenty minutes.  Climbing out of bed, I made my way out to check on my friend and my girl.

She was still contentedly in my best friend's arms, waiting quietly, patiently for me to feed her.

My friend's only question, "When do you want me to come?"  Seven simple words were like a choir singing out, filling a room with both joy and peace in the same breath.

This week, Write on Edge (formerly The Red Dress Club) prompted us to "write about a memory of yourself WITH someone else."

And just for the record, I love my husband's best friend & his wife. And yes, they both invited me to join my husband at their wedding, but it was in a very hot area, with little shade and we knew I wouldn't have lasted.  I'm glad Hubs could go, support his friend, and have a great time without worrying about me! :>

i Heart Faces { Friendship }

August snuck up on me!  We're cramming in the last of the summer fun, as well as projects around the house before the kidlets start the school year next week.  And I ended up taking an unintentional online break, all the way around the lovely interwebs.

Breaks can be quite refreshing, but I can't stay away for long!

So, I'm jumping back in with the Friendship themed i Heart Faces photo challenge.

Two of my Four Musketeers were up for my little girl's birthday party a couple months ago (hence the Little Mermaid tiaras) and I just love this pic I snapped of them!

Stop by i Heart Faces and see what Friendship is to other peeps.  That's where I'm heading now!

It's a Birthday Blog Hop!

It's a birthday bloghop for an uber special blogger, my in real life friend, Elise of Mamacow Creations!

She rocks the creative span, ranging from oodles of papercrafts (card making to scrapbooking to home dec to food art...you should see what she does come pumpkin time!) and on down the line, to gorgeous fine art paintings (the first one here is  my current fav).  Elise is known to tickle a funny bone, get silly in the wee hours, write and sing an ode to the creative man, Tim Holtz, and make so many of us smile with her sweet heart.

Thanks to the gals at the Just Us Girls challenge site, I'm thrilled to be able to wish her a Happy Birthday!!!

And the birthday gal needs a birthday card, right?!

Elise had been begging for spring not too long ago and when I walked by a few of my Dew Drop ink pads, they whispered to me.  (No, really, they did!)

Well, their shape awoke some slumbering inky card making mojo and so I had to run with it!  I started with the orchid and then filled in with the purple.

A birthday needs sparkle, so after adding a piece of chunky purple bling for the flower's center, spica glitter pens went to work, laying on oodles of sparkle onto the vine ribbon used for the flower's stem. (It doesn't show fabulously in the photo, but it really does sparkle!)

Happy Happy Birthday, Elise!!

I'm grateful for your friendship and
hope your day is wonderful, launching an awesome new year! :>

I hope you'll hop along, visit the partiers, and most of all, stop by Elise's Mamacow Creations blog and leave her some birthday love (even if you're not a papercrafter, we know how fantastic the community of bloggers can be and would love if you stopped by to wish her Happy Birthday! :>)!!!

Supplies:Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Tsukineko Brilliance Dew Drops
Ribbon: May Arts
Bling: rhinestone - stash;  Spica Glitter Pens - Copic
Other:  FabriTac, foam tape, ScorPal

Bethenny's Mock-A-Mole

Oh wow, Wednesday snuck up on me!  Scooting back a couple of days...

We had a wonderful weekend here! Jenn (that great friend who sews and has given me & wee girl several of her fantatsic tote bags) was up here visiting.

It was a chill weekend, but we played lots of Toy Story Mania! on the wii....I think us grownups had just as much fun, laughing until tears fell, playing at night as the kidlets did during the day!

And I introduced Jenn to one of my favorite guilty pleasures, Bethenny Frankel. I think she's hilarious! We toasted with her Skinnygirl Margaritas and tried out Bethenny's Mock-A-Mole recipe. It came out really tasty, though Jenn said she'd like to kick up the heat the next time she makes it. (I'm sure she kept it tame for my taste buds...not a huge fan of the super spicy. :>)  The best part?  Another delish dish that is already GFCF & needs no converting.  Win!

Can't wait 'til she can come visit us all again!

Do you remember this photo of my sweet girl's sweet lashes I took last month?  I submitted it at i Heart Faces for their February People's Choice Favorite Photo Challenge.

It's my first time clicking along with them and would LOVE it if you would be willing to click over there and vote for us!  We're (my pic, her face) #174 and all you have to do is follow the link over there and click on the little word "Vote" under pic #174.

That's it!  Easy peasy, no signing in or up or anything else. Thank YOU sooooooooo much! :>

Saturday Seven

Prompt:  List some of the people who have really changed your life.

(Listing in order of entry into my life, rather than importance! :>)

1) 4 Musketeers:  I met Fishey first.  I still remember what she was wearing the day I met her in the fall of the eighth grade: skirt, white polo shirt, white Keds, and on crutches.  Next, I met Woodstock at a local Girl Scout meeting.  I was brand new to a troop that had been together since elementary school days.  And lastly, Snoopy.  Woodstock brought her to a Girl Scout meeting one night and I immediately knew we would be friends.  I put my arm through hers and took her away, introducing her to everyone.

These three women are the sisters I don't have.  They are Aunties to my kidlets.  They are there when I need to vent.  They are there when I am smiling.  We've been friends for over twenty years and I'm so looking forward to the next twenty and more.

2) Mac Truck Driver:  While driving on the freeway one morning, I was in a near fatal accident with an 18 wheeler, two trailer big rig.  I was 21 years old.  I sustained multiple injuries and that accident, all those years ago, has forever changed every part of my life.

Every single aspect of my life has changed.  There are more negatives than I would ever want to document here, but I did gain a few things of a more positive nature from that.  I learned patience, tolerance and acceptance (of pain, limitations, changes), and to always try to find that silver lining.  Sometimes, I'm quite surprised at where the smile worthy part is in a challenge, but its almost always there, if I look hard enough.

I don't ride rainbows, but I do try to see those little things that can make me smile.  And for me, life is so much better that way!

3) Hubs:  I was in my early twenties when we began dating, mid twenties when we married, and now in my mid thirties.  And I have changed so much in that time.  While we've grown together, I have also been free to grow as an individual. Giving me that freedom and support has changed who I am. 

4) Kidlets:  Becoming a Mama is a such a major change to both my life and who I am.  They teach me to see life from different perspectives, to see the beauty in the big and small, and as fast as life can move with a couple of energetic kidlets, they also teach me to slow down and see those little moments that often escape our attention.

5) Some new creative friends (you know who you are ;>):  They have changed the way I see myself.  They have given me courage to explore my creativity.  They have changed those limits I set upon myself.  And I'm grateful to them for that.

The list could go on and on, but these ten people (#s 1, 4, 5 are multiple people!) have all changed my life in significant and lasting ways.  Wonder what life has to offer and who I'll meet next?

I'm writing along with Lizz of Am I a Funny Girl? today.  Go see who has changed her life and give her some comment love! :>  If you write along with her, let me know so I can come visit you too!  Happy Saturday! :>

Inspiration Everywhere {Music}

Does music inspire you?  Move you?  Drive you?  Make you laugh?  Sing?  Create?  Smile?

Jessica Sprague had us rockin' it both Old & New school with this Inspiration Everywhere project.

We started by creating a playlist on iTunes and then rocked it Old School, making a Mixed CD (remember the days of Mixed Tapes??  I just came across an old one from my best friend from high school....you might remember her as friend Jenn who sews those fabulous tote bags.....and oh my, did that ever send me back! :>).

And while I got inked & painted up for the Cover & Dedication page, I liked the idea of going digi here and used the pdfs that Jessica provided for the class.

Here's what I'm groovin' to while I'm creating or crafting (often with my wee girl):

1) I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas

2) Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves

3) Black Horse & the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall

4) Jai Ho - A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Vijay Prakash

5) Waiting On the World to Change - John Mayer

6) Time for Miracles - Adam Lambert

7) Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield

8) Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

9) Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield

10) Suddenly I See - KT Tunstall

11) Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap

12) Dance the Night Away - Van Halen

13) Just Dance - Lady Gaga & Colby O'Donis

And to rock it New School, Jessica had us submit our playlists to iTunes as an iMix and Here is mine.  (Though iTunes dropped Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & the Waves from the list....it was probably a version they didn't have for purchase.)

Do you listen to music while you are getting your creative groove on?  I'd love to know what you are tappin' your toes to, come tell me! :>

Worth the Click: Get in the {Pink}

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but you knew that already, right??  My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor.  So, I should know that, right?  Come here, I'll let you in on a little secret.  Come close now.  I didn't realize it was Breast Cancer Awareness Month until yesterday.  Tsk, tsk on me.  But, since it was only the third day of the month, I think I'll forgive myself. 

So, you want to know what blazing pink ribbon reminded me??  Why did I realize it on Sunday?  Can you say FOOTBALL?!  As in the NFL teaming up with the American Cancer Society!!  All the players & even the referees were wearing pink somewhere on them from pink cleats to pink wristbands to pink hand towels.  And it was a pretty cool thing to see!

There's someone I would like you to meet.  Lisa, of Takin' Life One Day at a Time, is a mother, a blogger, and through blogging, has become a friend.  She is fun, witty, comedic, loves life & her grown kids.  And after being recently diagnosed with breast cancer, she is currently undergoing treatment.  Lisa shares her story in her own words here and here.  And this morning, even had a funny story to share, Mom, Is That Mastectomy With An "M"?

Ironically, Lisa held a Squeeze Your Melons giveaway last October, for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and guess who won?!  Yup, I did.  She sent me a pack of the most gorgeous & fun variety of papercrafting goodness (aka paper, trim, flowers, accents, oh my!).  And now, its my turn to ask you to squeeze your melons and perform your own breast self exams and if you haven't before, you can go here for a simple five step set of instructions!

Please do go meet Lisa , say hello, and show her some of that famous blogland love and encouragement!! 

She is oh so Worth the Click! :>

Women who { Inspire } ~ SITS Day Four

Women who inspire us.

A woman who inspires us.

A woman who inspires me.

That's what SITS gals are sharing for day four of the Back 2 Blogging event going on this week.

******************

Initially, I thought of the present...

...and some of the women who inspire me creatively (including Dana of Paper Daydream & Elise of Mamacow Creations).

...and women who inspire me personally through over twenty years of Four Musketeer friendship.

As I kept thinking about the subject of women who inspire us, I reached into my history.  Actually, I reached into all of our history and arrived on the doorstep, quite literally, of a woman who has inspired me since childhood and was inspiring women long before that.

We share a birthday, this woman and I...though many years apart.  I remember meeting her in books as a child and learning of her strength, her fight, and determination to make this world a better and more equal place for women, for all humanity.

                       



Susan B. Anthony was an abolitionist, educational reformer, labor activist, temperance worker, suffragist, and women's rights campaigner.  I highly recommend (when you are done reading here, of course! :>) clicking on her name to learn more about her.  

Those were all her titles, for all the different peoples she fought for.  But, to me, she was was someone who didn't take 'no' for an answer....at least, not when it came to treating people fairly, equally.  As a woman, I owe her (and many other women, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton) my right to vote in this country...my right to have my voice count. 

I can't help but wonder, without the rights that Susan B. Anthony fought for, would so many of us women be blogging today?  Would I?  Could I?

                  

For a time, as a kidlet, I lived near Susan B. Anthony's old stomping grounds, in upstate New York.  And I remember a classmate's birthday party that I went to at her house.  All these years later and I still remember the sort of reverence that a room full of young girls showed while 'partying' there, learning, and celebrating our growth.

One hundred ninety years since her birth, one hundred four years since her death, and she still inspires.

Who inspires you?

********************

Thanks to Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances for sponsoring SITS Back 2 Blogging! 

 
Prompt #2:Describe a woman who inspired YOU.

Are you getting {YOUR} Friday On?

Oh so ready to get my Friday ON!!  How about you??

And this Friday, today, (or I should say, tonight) while the kidlets have their movie night at home & then gently lay their sweet heads on their pillows and wander off to dreamland, I will be having dinner & playing with some creative gals!

I'm bringing this plaque of sorts.

And these wooden letters.

And though I have a general idea of what I'm making, I'm not quite sure exactly which kind of bling I'll want or need, so glitter, rhinestones, sequins, and dew drops will all be tagging along and begging for their turn to swim in some glue!

A chance to be social and creative and out on a Friday night makes for a Fabulous Friday!

What are you doing to get your Friday on??

---------------------------------

To see what's fabulous for other peeps this Friday, I'm linking up with:

   

{Sew} Small, {Sew} Strong

Do you remember the first fabby bag my best friend, Jenn, who works her magic with fabric & thread gave me?  I still use it for shopping, crafty playtime with friends, and even as an overnight bag when I turn in my Grown Up Card for a night.

Wee girl, my Princess, who loves all things creative & crafty (not to mention, anything that even resembles a purse!) mentioned that she would love a bag like Mama's to put her goldfish in when we head out for errands. 

And Auntie Jenn totally came through!  Princess' bags are significantly smaller, measuring (approx.) 9"x9"x4"...the perfect size for her to carry on her arm or shoulder.  And they are just as sturdy as Mama's bag, a la Jenn, with the straps wrapping all the way under the bags.

These bags aren't just for shopping!  Every week when Princess heads out to Grammie's for dance class, she packs her leotard & tights in there.  She's so proud to have her own bags, for her own 'stuff'.

I tried a few times, different locations, different lighting, but it was a challenge to pick up the subtly colored patterns...pale pink & white.  The first bag is a floral pattern, which shows up pretty well.  But, the second one is stars and moons, which I'm sorry that I was not able to capture the best.  (All pictures are clickable to enlarge.)

I must admit, I do love Saturdays!  Its my morning to sleep in....a pattern left over from the days of kidlets being babes and waking all hours of the night (a pattern that I have no intention of breaking anytime soon!).  I feel like Saturday mornings recharge me.  Its not just the bit of extra sleep, its waking to quiet, to no hungry tummies, no school lunch waiting to be made, no clock ticking, urging us out the door.  Its like a deep, fresh breath.

What recharges you?

Are You Ready For Some Football??

**************
"Sit! Sit, Dad!  Watch feetball!  I'm going for the blue team!" my baby brother said many years back, when he was a wee kidlet and we lived in Washington state.  Our Dad told him that was the Seattle Seahawks and he was promptly a fan.

*************

I grew up with football on in the house, but not a whole lot of interest in it.  I went to almost every Friday night home game in high school, in uniform, as a member of the marching band.  And while I could follow along from all those games on at home, I really only knew the basics and still didn't have a huge amount of interest in the game.

When I started dating the man, who is now my husband, over a decade ago, I learned quickly that if I wanted to enjoy my time with him during the football season, I better find a way to like it.  And so I reached back to a set of childhood memories, my brother's love of the Hawks, and claimed the Seahawks as my own.

One morning, Hubby ran a quick errand & since my Hawks were on (which does not happen with nearly enough frequency around here!!), he left me to watch.  I did not realize just how much I had gotten into the game, until he came home from said errand, and told me he could hear me yelling at Ricky Watters to keep his hands on the ball....from around the corner!! 

Yes, that was the moment I realized I had moved from a spectator "forced" to learn to like the game, to an actual fan, a Seattle Seahawks fan!

(Oh yes, don't get me wrong, I like Watters!  It was just a moment, in a game, and I was one of the millions who seem to think screaming at a television will make an ounce of difference in a game! lol)

We're a split house here, as Hubby is a San Francisco 49er's (cough, cough) fan and our teams are division rivals.  And through this uber wonderful blogging experience I've met another 49er fan.  In fact, I've shared her love of those boys here before and she does indeed claim to bleed red and gold (cough, cough). 

Meet Deb, an uber creative scrapbooker and fabulous queen of embellishments, of sPaRkLiNg sCrApBoOkS! 

Deb & I are playing in a Fantasy Football league together this season and since she snagged Drew Brees for our quarterback, I'm hoping we'll do quite nicely!

One of the best bits of having to learned to enjoy the game over a decade ago, our whole family loves watching it....together....as a family.  Our boy has learned enough to be a reliable source (most of the time) to give us an update when we step away and our wee girl gasps & cheers & claps & has more excitement for the game than all of us put together.  With every preseason game we watch, she asks when the "rocket helmets" will be on again.....aka Monday Night Football!

I think its going to be a fun season between this Fantasy team that Deb & I have and the Fantasy team that Hubby & I play in a different league with family friends and watching what happens with my Seahawks & their third new head coach in three years (Pete Carroll from USC) and oh wait, we're not gonna talk about that other team (cough, cough)!

Soooo.....do you watch NFL football?  College ball?  Or another sport altogether?  Who are you cheering on?  Or are you playing?  I'd love to know!

A Special Day...Five Years in the Making

Some time ago, at a regularly scheduled Girl Scout meeting.....four teenage girls, bred, born, lived in different cities, states, families, schools and yet, when the four arrived in the same locale, at the same time, the Four Musketeers were born.

Twenty years later, four women are still known by many as the Four Musketeers, who are still the best of friends, Aunties to each others' kidlets, sistersinlaws to the husbands, family to each other, and respond to the Girl Scout camp names Woodstock, Gizmo, Fishey, & Snoopy.

Today is quite a special day...five years in the making. 

The Four Musketeers are all meeting up, together, at the same time, for the first time in almost five years.

One of them lives on the East Coast these days and what was weekly gatherings during their teens years, quarterly visits during the college years, and at least yearly gatherings during the rest of their twenties, has been reduced to gatherings of two or three whenever they were in the same town at the same time...but, not all four women at the same time...until now! 

Post high school, the Four Musketeers have gathered at some choice Southern California universities for sushi, a party, a concert, or some dorm time;  Tahoe for sushi, cozy fires, skiing, or chill time;  Northern California pads for sushi, pool play, BBQ'ing, or chatty time; a Northern California retreat for seafood, sight seeing, cooking,  or game time; and weddings for celebrating, toasting, dancing, brides maid'ing, giggling, chatting, smiling, and pretty sure they managed to work some sushi in there too!

Oh yes, and their favorite locale to gather, where their names are etched into a brick that thousands' feet step upon...the place where every person can feel like a child, no matter what their age...Disneyland.

A favorite tradition Snoopy started was to take a group pic in front of each of the letters of CALIFORNIA...one letter per visit, in order.  Above, the last complete Four Musketeer gathering, late 2005. 

Gizmo (in blue) was pregnant with her last child and so she did her good Mama duties and rode the cement bench while her favorite roller coaster, Space Mountain, whispered fervently in her ear.  And she told the Four Musketeers to live, love, and enjoy that dark, star lit, whirl air whipping past their faces ride.

However, the Four Musketeer never disappoint each other and they went on as many rides as they could, both big and small.  Woodstock & Fishey smile for Snoopy's camera on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train and Gizmo was smiling too because the wee ride in the bugs' big world was one she could climb aboard for.

Gizmo couldn't be too sad though.  With every step down Main Street, through the happiest place on Earth, she remembered so many other fun filled trips to Disneyland when she could ride those roller coasters....like Splash Mountain with Snoopy braving the front of the log with her.  This is the only time Gizmo has ever ridden in the front seat of the Splash's wild log ride.

And of course, there are more letter group moments of the younger years to enjoy.  The letters "I" & "L" have been brought to you by the year 2004.

Its a bit comical that Fishey & Snoopy are on the bottom here, since they are the ones who would usually climb a letter & get their goofy on for a great shot.  But, its the letter L's turn and the Four Musketeers are, as always, Four.

Each Four Musketeer gathering has an abundance of hugs, smiles, laughter, and of course, some sushi.  The girls, technically women...but, on a Friday night, just hours after gathering, with sushi and maybe a cocktail in their bellies, they feel like girls again, chatting and giggling, maybe even laughing until their eyes tear and sides hurt....began as teenage friends who met in a local elementary school library for a Girl Scout meeting, have grown, and weaved lives with many & mighty stories to tell. 

Wonder what threads Snoopy, Woodstock, Gizmo, & Fisheys' looms will weave in the years to come?  More children?  Career highs?  Home successes?  Creative journeys?  Grandchildren?  Gray hair ladies shuffling around Disneyland, living with the joy they have brought each other throughout their years? 

Maybe.  Probably.  Thankfully.