Scrapbooking (and life) resumes ...

My scrapbooking is resuming, so hopefully that means that life is getting "back to normal", whatever that might be. I had to dig out everything on my desk & in various cubby-holes to try and figure out just what the hell I was trying to do when I left off. When I got around to putting completed layouts into albums, I found out, I did a page about her first time in the pool  .... and that I had already done a page on the subject. *face palm* So, past time to be more organized. Then again, I managed to lose track of the 8x8 page protectors I had in plain sight for months ... and I promptly spent a half an hour trying to find them today. So, organizing's not all it's cracked up to be. So, here are a few pages I've done in the last month or so.

NOT the first time in the pool ... but it can't hurt to document her love of water, can it?


t i double g r


Cute girl going Christmas tree shopping


[Cookies] mmm


Doing this page reminded me of how tacky I feel bright colors look. I won't do it again for a while.

Why yes, we had a fantastic time on vacation

We had a fantastic time on vacation. I absorbed it through my pores. We now know that we were all suffering with bronchitis while we were down there, but being ill did little to diminish our enthusiasm for this tropical paradise. Some people come back from vacation & just 48 hours say "wow, it feels like I never went on vacation." I am not those people.

My skin is partially tan, which is a rarity to me. We are awash in lovely photos of our journey, including some taken by many family members. We can see the experience through a variety of perspectives, which is extra special.

Do I want to plan our next vacation? Hells yeah. (I didn't used to say that until I watched an episode of  Common Law, and now I am using it all the time. Go figure.) Do I feel pretty damned rested & content? Yup. I am looking forward to my health being at 100%, but in the meantime, I'll take a wonderful week with family in a place that is not only special to my heart, but just breathtakingly beautiful to boot.

Aaahhh.

Vacation, courtesy of Dad

Back from a delightful vacation, courtesy of my fantastic dad, who you see above. Dad has some major problems with his eyes, which means he spends a large portion of the day with his eyes patched, and he wears dark glasses very frequently as well. He had a heart attack last July and "coded," which I think, in part, prompted him to want us to all get together at one of our favorite vacation spots in the world, down in the US Virgin Islands. He had hernia surgery in May, but was a real trooper & healed up well enough to go. His idea started with 9 of us -- the 5 you see above, plus my brother's family of 4. It expanded to include many extended family & our group ballooned to 25 people!

As many of you know, my daughter is a water baby, so she was delighted to experience the ocean. My dad has, because of his eye issues, been cautioned against getting pool or ocean water splashed into his eyes, so he's never been in the water with her, just watched from the sidelines. Add in the fact that his eyesight is poor & his core muscles are weak from surgery ... and enjoy the photo below. I sure do.

I need me some vacation.

Ups and downs. But mostly ups.

Alexandra's been teething all day. That means she's been clingy & subdued, easily brought to tears. Still, on a scale of 1-100, with 1 being totally chill and 100 being freaked out to the max, she's at about a 20. So, there's that.

Hot water heater has been replaced. Carpet downstairs was steam-cleaned while my sweetie was off work because of his cough (sent home because his cough was annoying, not because he's infectious ... which I think is crazy). The spot the tree punched through has been thoroughly fixed, and our walls are now Tide Pools pale-blue-green, which is very calming and satisfying.

I am still horrendously behind, but at least I can sleep a little bit better. Yay for improvements. I am going to read a chapter in my book & then hopefully slip into blissful unconsciousness. Yay for unconsciousness.