Getting caught up

It's amazing that it has taken me almost a week to fall back into my regular routine. I got back home Friday evening from LA, so I didn't do much other than family stuff over the weekend. That left lots of laundry, mopping, etc for the week. I really felt like I was missed though!

The Dr. Phil show was awesome! It's so neat to see all of the elements that it takes to film a TV show. There were probably about 10 cameras floating around at all times (which meant no nose picking!). We were fortunate enough to see two back-to-back tapings (the 2nd show was not sold out). The first episode was "Revenge of the Ex's". Very cool! I love hearing the drama behind cheaters. The main guests were the people involved in a lawsuit regarding the website www.dontdatehimgirl.com. Which was interesting because I read an article in People magazine about this while we were on the flight out there! They couldn't give us a date for when that show would air, but I'll keep checking the website.

The second taping was about Dr. Phil's wife Robin. She has a new book coming out September 12th (and a very good book at that). That's also when the show will air, so look for me about 4 rows back from the stage (on the left side of the television).

I'll leave you with a quote from Robin's book. This really hit home with me.

"You can't control other people. You can't control what they say, what they think, or what they do. People have the right to say and think whatever they want to. But you have the right not to take it to heart, and not to react."

California Pictures

A little on the down side

"Life comes at you fast"

Have you ever seen that Nationwide commercial? That's totally how I've been feeling lately. Between work, home, family and tons of other commitments I've made, I seem to barely keep my head above water. Just when I seem to get caught up on things, I'm suddenly behind the next day.

I'm really unhappy with my job these days. I love the paychecks, but what good is it to have your "days" off if you're too tired to ever do anything? Not to mention I've been an ill little hornet. So don't ask me for any favors for about a week..okay? Just kidding. My trip to LA is next week and it's well needed!

I've decided to jump out of the fast lane for today and chill out with Bryce. I'm going to work out today (which will hopefully make me feel better), go get Bryce some flashcards (the boy's a SPONGE lately), and maybe blow up the waterslide for him. I'm planning on a fun, yet lazy day!

:me:

I am trying to become less involved in problems that are not mine.
I need reminders constantly that I don't have control over what anyone does.
I can control myself and that is all.
The energy I waste worrying about other people is too much. I need to let it go.
A constant struggle of mine.
Let. It. Go.

Last scrapper standing contest (or LSS for short)

I again signed up for another contest/challenge. I've needed a creative punch lately and when I stumbled upon this contest I decided to jump on it. This is a weekly scrap-related "dare" that must be completed on Wednesday of each week. This layout is week one's entry. The challenge: Journaling. You must create a layout that has all of your journaling on top of your photo. All of it. And it has to be a decent chunk of story...not just a sentence. We want to see you creatively include a sizable story on your photo (or photos). You may add a title, embellishments and whatever you like to the rest of your page, but all the journaling MUST be on your photo. Hmm, thank goodness for digital pictures!

lake fun

we spent our Saturday with my parents on their boat. we had been planning this day for awhile, and i was very upset when i woke up to a gloomy day. we sucked it up and went anyway, and a good thing we did because it turned out to be beautiful!

i have about a gazillion things to do this week. tons of deadlines that i'm slacking on...things have been piling up again. i swear i get this way about once every two or three months. i chalk it up to anxiety. i just feel panicky and stressed...like i never have enough time to do everything i need to do (but there's really nothing serious that i have to do!) well, i'm off to tackle a "to-do" list. have a great one!

18 days and counting!!!!

Until I'm heading out to LA to see the Dr. Phil show!!! This will be my first trip ever to Cali and I'm so excited! It will also be my first talk show experience (I will be in the audience...not a guest...LOL!). I didn't realize how picky they were about dress code, etc. These are a few "guidelines" that we got:

What do I wear?
We ask that everyone dress in business attire. A pants suit and blazer is appropriate, as it does get chilly in the studio (65 degrees!). Please DO NOT wear any white or beige clothing, elaborate patterns or jeans, as they are not preferred for the camera.

Can I take a picture or get Dr. Phil's autograph?
No cameras, recorders, cell phones, pagers, books, food, etc. will be allowed in the studio. If you bring these or any similar items, we will check them and return them to you upon leaving the studio. Unfortunately, we do not have time to sign autographs. Please do not bring Dr. Phil's books with you.

We have VIP passes, so we don't have to park 17 blocks away thank goodness. I have no idea what the topic of the show will be, but I hope we get some freebies while we're there.

Okay, now I'm excited!

I've been on this mission the past month or so to really get my house lookin' good! We've been here for a year now, and at first I was totally clueless to what I wanted to do in the house...but now I'm getting really inspired.

We painted and rearranged the living room last month. I'm so happy with that! I'm in the process of painting the master bath. So far it's been quite tedious due to the faux painting techinque that I chose, but it's halfway finished!

But what's really making me happy is the hall bathroom. I have always been unhappy with the boring way it looks. See pics:

I had someone come out on Wednesday and give me an estimate to do a wall mural on this big wall (where the towel rack is). I was pleased with the price! She's coming out next week to get started. We picked out a bunch of bright, bold colors to really liven it up. This is a picture of what I would like to have painted:

I'm opting out the palm trees in the background. I just don't know how realistic they would look. Anyhow, I've also started another project in the bathroom. I purchased some mosaic tiles from e-bay to make a border around the mirror. So far it's pretty tedious but I'm liking the results. Here's about 1/2 of one side finished:

Patterned Paper Challenge Layout

This book is...WOW! Very inspiring! In the back, there are several challenges to help overcome fears of mixing patterned papers (I'm not usually scared of that though).This layout is of Challenge #1. Go into your stack of scrap patterned papers (of which I have tons) and blindly choose 6 (no peeking). Punch a square from each of the six patterned papers, and then punch three photos with the same punch. Assemble your page. VOILA! I never, ever, ever would've put these papers together on ANY layout, but I think it looks cool in small doses. Thank you Sonia for inspiring me to get up off my rumpus and do this. It was the quickest layout I've evah done!