so cranky

My work schedule changed a little bit, starting this week. I go in an hour earlier and my lunch is a half-hour later. Not a big deal, right?!

Wrong.

I got SUPER cranky today because I was hungry. LOL. I was answering a question and another kid said "Amy! I have a question!" I wanted to keep walking, but I spun around and said "Do you mean EMILY?" He apologized and I fought the urge to rip his freaking face off. I did answer his question politely, though.

I rarely get called by my own name. No biggie. My job keeps me in contact with literally hundreds of people on a daily basis and a lot of them don't know my name. I don't know all of theirs. It works. My sister and I get called by each other's names all the time. Even my own mom resorted to "Stem" a long time ago rather than Stephanie or Emily. Today, "Amy" rubbed me wrong.

My friend, Brad, thought it was funny and suggested I not be around people the rest of the day. I went to lunch soon after and my mood was great the rest of the day.

Lesson learned: Eat a BIG breakfast and take a break before lunch. LOL

recovering

We're home now, but I'm in definite need of a vacation to recover from vacation. The passports were a big hit and the quilt book I made was very well received. We stayed at Ruby's Inn right outside Bryce Canyon and the family campsite was fairly close by. There were about 130 people in attendance for the reunion and that was actually a small turnout. The weather was good, although we did have some rain every day. There were a lot of activities available for us to do... hiking, biking, swimming, atv rides, etc. We went into to Bryce Canyon with my uncle, Les, who is a National Parks buff and he was a great tour guide. There were some frustrating things as well. I'm only going to mention one because I don't want to complain, and because things worked out really well in the end... We were cruising along on our way home when the tread blew off one of the tires. Scary! The tire didn't lose any air though and my mom was able to move the car to the side of the road. My sister and I hopped out to get all our bags out of the trunk so that we could get the spare. Blanche and Brad (my aunt and uncle) happened to pass at just that moment, so they pulled over and helped us get the tire changed. Dan and Warren (my mom's cousin and his friend) stopped just as we were finishing to make sure everything was okay. We have an awesome family. Anyway, we had about 5 more hours to drive and knew that driving that long on the spare wouldn't be a good idea. Have you ever been in the middle of nowhere (rural Utah) on a Sunday afternoon? There's nothing out there, let alone something that would be open. We saw a billboard for a tire place that was open 24 hours so we pulled off in Fillmore to find that they're open 24 hours Mon-Sat. Luckily, there was another tire place across the street that was actually open. Less than an hour later, we were cruising along with 4 complete tires again. We stopped in Orem at my grandparents' house (they fixed dinner for everyone in our branch of the family tree that was traveling north), but didn't stay long. It was getting late and we still had a few hours of driving to do. We got back to my parents' house just after 10:00 and then Steph and I got all our stuff loaded into our own car and drove back to Logan. Coming home from vacation is the BEST feeling in the whole world. I think that's why we go on vacation - to have a renewed love for our own familiar surroundings. Logan was sure a welcome sight for us!

Favorite Moments from our vacation:
Mom wished that we had cones to put out on the road while the tire was being changed. She and I were wearing orange. I reminded her that there were four orange cones on the road already...

My uncles, Les and Josh, posed like fairies in front of the Fairyland Canyon sign.




The bananas, that one particular tree, and the re-created lyrics to a song courtesy of Uncle Les.

Skipping Sunday School with Christy, Tim, Bryce, and Stephanie.

Europeans. Honestly, there were a ton of them. It was cool to hear all their different languages and see all the different styles of clothing and such.

"Firetruck candy" what Victoria calls salt water taffy.

Winning the grand prize for the family trivia contest ($25 GC to the gift shop) which I used to buy a snuggly sweatshirt.

Seeing my extended family. 75% of the people there anyway. LOL

Planning special items for next year's auction...

The sweet smelling trees. Literally. The bark smells like caramel or something.

2 water bottles and 6 milkjugs in the backseat, when Grandma rode with us into the canyon.

Fireworks! I'm not even a big fan of fireworks, but it was a lot of fun. The town of Tropic had their 24th of July (Utah's pioneer/state celebration day) festival and we were able to see the fireworks from the lot of our motel. Not just see, experience. They were right overhead. It was awesome!

busy busy!

We're headed out to our family reunion in Bryce Canyon tomorrow morning, so I've been scrambling to get crap done all week. Oddly enough, I'm not packed yet.

Stephanie and I had pedicures on Monday (part of my birthday gift from my mom) and they were nice, but I could happily continue being LOW maintenance. I can paint my own toenails and my mom gives a better foot rub. I did enjoy it, though.

One of the projects I've been working on is a passport... My mom's family holds a reunion every summer and the location changes most years too. She has mentioned in years past that she always thought it would be fun to have a passport and get a stamp for each 'destination.' I took on the task this year.

I designed what I wanted in photoshop and had custom clear stamps created by ImagineStamps. I was then able to easily stamp and emboss the covers. (They look so awesome in person!)
The logo or seal or whatever you want to call it represents a tradition the family has of making having all the people in each of the different generations stand in a circle and have photos taken. It's called "Cousins Circle." And rather than having a country of origin listed, I chose to list our common ancestors as our origin.
The first page has a spot for a photo and some simple information to identify the passport holder.

I did create a destination stamp for Bryce Canyon too, but my photo wasn't great and I've been up for WAY too many hours at this point to go take another. Clear photos are starting to look blurry anyhow...

so. much. to. do.

• Clean the kitchen
• Finish the laundry
• Go to the bank (will do this after vaca!)
• Organize projects to take on the trip
• Buy any needed supplies for said projects
• Fill the gas tank
• Pay bills
• Pack my bags
• Finish the “passport” project
• Bake cookies (will do this after vaca, too!)
• Run any last-minute errands
• Call mom to coordinate travel plans

And I’ve got VERY limited time to get this crap done! Sigh.

Dear Universe,

I got your message. Loud and clear.
I'll act when the time is right.
Please share the message with the other necessary parties.

Thanks,
Emily

if I were an alphabet...

A-Attached or Single: Single.
B-Best Friend: My sister, Stephanie. We share EVERYTHING.
C-Cake or Pie: Lemon Pie (NO meringue *shudders*) Cake is yummy too.
D-Day: Monday. It's my day off work. I love getting up early and getting stuff done.
E-Essential Item: My computer. Burt's Bees chap stick. Not together.
F-Favorite Color: I truly like most colors. My 'favorite' depends upon the application, the intended use, and the other colors available.
G-Gummy Bears or Worms: Ick! Neither.
H-Home Town: Born in Rexburg, Idaho.
I-Indulgences: I don't really "indulge" in anything.
J-January or July: October. This is me being rebellious!
K-Kids: Someday.
L-Life is incomplete without: Creativity and humor.
M-Marriage Date: A year or two before Someday (see K).
N-Number of Siblings: 3. One sister and two brothers.
O-Oranges or Apples: Depends on my mood. Fuji and Granny Smith are the only apples I'll eat though.
P-Phobias or Fears: I don't like heights or tight spaces.
Q-Quote: You're twisted, depraved, and rotten to the core. I like that in a person.
R-Reason to Smile: Why not? Life's too short to be bitchy all the time.
S-Season: Late Summer/Early Fall when there are lots of thunderstorms!!
T-Today, I...: Cried in the grocery store for no reason.
U-Unknown Fact About Me: I write in my journal every day.
V-Vegetarian or Meat Eater: Steak = yummy, tofu = not so much!
W-Worst Habit: I have a dirty mind. I filter my thoughts a lot, but I often say dirty things anyway.
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Never had either. What a weird question anyway.
Y-Your Favorite Food: I love veggies, actually!
Z-Zodiac Sign: Cancer.

blurb

Let me preface this by saying it's difficult to take photos while holding a book and eating an ice cream cone. Yes, I'm a multi-tasker extraordinaire. LOL

Just over a week ago, I blogged that I'd compiled a photo book and uploaded everything to Blurb for printing/binding. The books came today and I was so excited to see them that I left work 12 minutes early. That's right, 12 minutes.

I've gotta say, I'm 97% satisfied. Here are my complaints: the cover (hardcover, imagewrap) shows fingerprints really easily, the barcode on the back of the book covers a line of text, the back cover is not centered, and there's a typo on one of the pages (but that's my fault). It seems most of my complaints are about the cover. Interesting. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how they came out and I will definitely make more photo books in the future!

Here are some photos to give you an idea:

this is a jpeg of the page I designed and then uploaded to Blurb.

and this is the same page from the book itself.

The photos are clear and look good. I did find that they are a little brighter in photoshop than they were once they were printed. Something to keep in mind if you're making a photobook of your own.

public nakedness

My mom called me on my birthday and asked if I'd be willing to drive to Brigham City for my gift (about 25 miles away). Without missing a beat, I told her I don't like for strangers to touch me, nor do I like to be naked in public. She was surprised that I guessed "massage" without any clues. My mom thinks I'm silly. She knows that I love to be touched. I guess she didn't realize that I'm selective about who does the touching. LOL She suggested I get a facial instead.

I drove over today and filled out my "first-time client" questionnaire. They handed me a sheet and told me to take off everything from the waist up. Nice. This is what I was trying to avoid. Call me crazy, but I'm hyper-modest. The facial was nice and helped me temporarily forget about the migraine I had. I also have a pedicure scheduled for next week. I already know what that entails, so they'd better not expect me to take my top off. LOL

black or white?

I plan to update all the photos in my shop in the near future, but I want to figure out what I want before I sit down to take a crapload of photos. I took a couple shots this morning...

So, which do you prefer? Black or white? Does one show color and detail better than the other?

twenty-seven

My day started out like this:
which made me cry. Well, that and the sweet note that was tucked in the flowers. I've never been surprised with flowers until now. It was so sweet!

On this, my twenty-seventh birthday, I thought I'd share 27 things about me...

1. I am the oldest of four children.
2. I run a cool-air humidifier every night for the white noise.
3. I can't stand to watch buildings be demolished. It's maybe the weirdest thing about me, but I get crazy-emotional when I see a building being torn down.
4. I am allergic to bandaids and black leather sandals and latex.
5. I've never been kissed.
6. I share my home, car, clothing, and bank account with my sister.
7. My coworkers call me Evily. Sometimes abbreviated to Evil or Eve.
8. I've had scrapbook pages published in Scrapbooks Etc. and Creating Keepsakes.
9. I can't relax in a messy house and I actually enjoy cleaning. Usually. This week certainly doesn't reflect that.
10. I make my bed first thing every morning.
11. I detest having colored polish on my fingernails. Toenails are okay though.
12. I really don't like going out to eat. Or to the movies.
13. I've lived in my apartment for 6 years. It's the longest I've lived anywhere. I moved 21 times in my first 21 years.
14. I rarely cry.
15. I only watch TV when my favorite shows come out on DVD. (The Office and Bones are my current favorites).
16. I fall asleep when I read out loud. Maybe the sound of my own voice is soothing. LOL.
17. I do something creative everyday: beading, scrapbooking, sewing, etc.
18. I am a fast learner and have taught myself most of the things I know.
19. I love getting a good deal. I keep a wish list and wait for the things I want to go on sale.
20. I'm obsessively punctual. I'd rather miss something than show up late.
21. I sometimes joke that my life's mascot is a chicken. It's not really a joke. I let fear hold me back a lot.
22. My favorite hobby is decorating my home, but it's also the most expensive and there are only so many rooms to decorate, so I rarely let myself do it.
23. I like animals from a distance. I once had a panic attack because a playful puppy wanted to lick me.
24. I'm definitely a morning person. I have a hard time staying up past 11:00pm.
25. I don't really get 'into' holidays and I dislike Christmas.
26. I won't do something unless I can do it with sincerity.
27. I've never gotten what I wish for when blowing out my candles, but I know I will one day :)

proof...

that I don't just sit around all afternoon. LOL. I did today, but that was different. I had a movie here that I've wanted to watch for a while that finally came up in our Netflix queue. And I actually wanted to see it - not just ahve it playing in the background while I did something else. Anyway, here's the proof of yesterday's activity...

I love teal/orange and teal/red color combos lately. And I definitely found myself having a paper-crush on this teal dot by October Afternoon.

It was SO fantastic to go to a "real" scrapbook store when we were in SLC two weekends ago. We have one store in Logan that has a decent selection, but doesn't have what I want still. LOL. I'm impossible to please when it comes to scrapbook, fabric, and bead shopping. I want the stores to have exactly what I'm looking for.

supplies used: patterned paper-October Afternoon, paper lace-KI Memories, chipboard letters-Heidi Swapp, random acrylic paint and ribbon. P.S. the letters and the ribbon match in person, but took the light very differently for photos.

unproductive

Thus far, July has been an unproductive month. I hate that. I like to keep myself busy and have a lot to show for my time/effort. I even left work early yesterday and didn't do anything (well, a load of laundry, but that doesn't count). I'm busy making a plan so that I can tackle a bunch of projects tonight. I really don't want the month to continue this way!

monday

I did get some shots of the new baby this weekend. This one is of baby Mason and one of his brothers. So sweet!

Today hasn't been good or bad. Kinda blah, to be honest. I'm having an inconvenience with my computer. It doesn't seem to recognize my camera (it worked fine Saturday night). The stupid "organizer" that comes with Photoshop will still load the photos, but I think that takes too much time and effort. I don't feel like investigating the inner workings of my computer tonight, so I'll have to find something else to do (not that there's any shortage of things I want or need to do. LOL)

whew!

I have a family reunion coming up at the end of the month. Each year, family members create quilt squares and send them to my aunt. She sews them all together and brings it to reunion to be quilted while we sit around and chat. Honestly, it hurts my hands to quilt, so I don't do it. My role comes into play weeks before reunion time....

Many years ago, I was chosen to make the scrapbook for the quilt. The first year, I threw it together on a picnic table while I was at reunion. The next time, I was just learning to scrapbook digitally and gave that a try. It was incredibly frustrating and time consuming. I had to take time off work and I was pretty stressed out. This year, my aunt asked if I'd be willing to make the scrapbook again.

I must like pain, because I agreed to do it. LOL. I went digital with it again, but I designed a 'quick fill' page that I used for every page. It made the whole process so much easier!! I've spent about a day working on it and I just placed my order with Blurb. This year it's going to be professionally printed and hardbound and I'm really excited to see it. Photo books could definitely be addicting.

This is an example of the left-hand side of the quick fill. I designed it for a Q&A type layout, year in review, etc. I was just playing with this one, so there's no right-hand side created yet. The polka dots and stripes carry across to the second page. There's also a large area for journaling. Here's another look at the quickfill:

You can download it here! It's designed as an 8"x8" but can easily be adapted to other sizes.

so far...

July has been crazy, busy, stressful, and HOT. UGH. We're only three days into the month, so I've got my hopes set high that this theme will change in a hurry! I like to approach life in an easy, laid-back fashion, so this just isn't working for me. LOL

I have so many things I want to do (create, play, shop, sleep, clean, etc.) and just as many things that I HAVE to do (work, work, work, work, clean, etc.) and I'm not finding a balance. I usually have that figured out. I know this is temporary. My routine this week has been way off, and that's the biggest factor.

Oh, there was a funny situation at work today. My coworkers were voting to determine whether I was pissy or not... only one person thought I was being pissy. He was trying to convince the others that it was true. LOL (and he was probably teasing me anyway)

happy day!

My brother and sister-in-law are having a baby... right now! I'm busy watching my niece and three nephews while Steve and Jen are at the hospital. I'm also taking today off work, obviously, so that's a 4.5 day weekend!! WAHOO!!

**Update**
Mason was born at 4:03 today. He weighs 9lbs, 11oz and is 21" long. Both mom and baby are doing great. Auntie Em is not so much... It was VERY hot today and my brother's air conditioner broke, so I am cranky and exhausted. I just do not tolerate heat well at all! The kids were good, despite their routine being WAY off. They were up early to see Jen and and Steve before they left for the hospital. Two of the kids were pretty stressed about Jen being in the hospital today too.

I don't have any photos yet. I just couldn't find the energy to get the camera out of the bag. Plus, newborns aren't cute. Mason is adorable, but I know to look past the baby acne and the chinless face. Give him a week or two and we'll be able to catch his cute face in a photo. He really seems to favor his brother, Porter, as far as looks go at this point, and Porter is a cutie pie!