Scrapbooking my life...one page at a time

I'm in Love ...

I love my phone a couple of weeks ago.  I think I must have sat it down somewhere and someone picked it up.  It was a Blackberry Storm and I loved that fact that I could pick-up my email and browse the web from it (hated everything else about it).

My Blackberry is a perfect example of, 'be careful of what you wish for - cause you just might get it!'. I was jonesing after that darn Blackberry soooo bad last year - had to have it - it was a 'must' have.  Yup, h.a.d to have it and so Mike bought it for me last Christmas.  Day one - Loved it, day two ...still 'little L' loved it but by day four - I was hating it.  Full on hating it. 

 It was nothing like an IPhone, in fact, it wasn't even an itty-bitty semi-sorta IPhone wannabe!

It was incredibly difficult to figure out - touchy & moody - no apps - and was not user friendly by any stretch of the imagination.  I toughed it out for almost year waiting for my contract on it to expire in January so I could pick out a new phone.  

Then ... about 2 weeks ... Hallelujah!   I lost it  (and no, I didn't lose it on purpose)  and I was forced to go out and buy another phone. 

As luck would have it - at lunch I was sitting beside a guy that had been in my training class and we started chatting.  He was very excited because he had just bought a new phone a couple of days earlier and he was raving about it.  I told him I had just lost mine and would be going to buy a new phone soon and he said ...'Get a DROID! - you'll LOVE it'.  He let me play with for a while and within a few minutes I knew that I would be buying this phone. It was the Motorola Droid with Google.  Well, I did buy last week and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

If anyone out there is in the market for a new phone I would heartily recommend this phone.  It's super user-friendly, the browser is lightening fast and there are a ton of apps out there for it already.  

Here are some of the stats on the Droid: 'Under the hood, the Droid comes with an Arm Cortex A8 550MHz processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, CDMA 800/1900, and EV-DO Rev. A connectivity. It also features a 5-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, Google Maps complete with turn-by-turn voice navigation, Exchange support, and Android 2.0 as its OS. The generously-sized 3.7-inch WVGA capacitive display will be a special treat for touchscreen aficionados, but for those who prefer a more conventional way to enter text, the slide-out QWERTY keypad will come in handy.' You can read the full press release here.

I'm in love! 

- N -

Finding some Wonderful ...

Today was such a wonderful day - the kind of day that finds you taking deep breath *sigh* after deep breath  *sigh* - just so you can breathe in as much of the day as possible - filling up on all that wonderfulness in the air I suppose.  

There was nothing special about today really, other than it was Sunday - in fact, it was rainy & cloudy - an umbrella kind of day much like every other day of late.  But it didn't feel dreary or depressing, for the rain, while heavy and cold, was almost refreshing and unnoticeable.  

I  got up this morning like normal, drank some coffee, dressed and went to Church but today's service, for some reason I can't explain, was so Amazing!  It just left me feeling so, well, so wonderful.  

First off - we treated to the incredible sounds of the Chancel Hand-bell Choir - It was magical.  We truly  have a  very special choir at church and they always sound great but the hymns they sang today were some of my favorites and while I know I sing off-key - I sing my heart out nonetheless. 

My favorite hymn - to date, is 'Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness' -  today we ended the service with it. and somewhere between the great Fellowship, the Choir & the sermon I was moved gently towards a very special kind of wonderful ...

After church I went over to Bellevue Square on a 'Secret Christmas' mission for someone and then I met up with Mike (he doesn't attend Church with me) for a yummy lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  We had such a nice relaxing time.  We just chatted & laughed together and it was  ... I hate to say it yet again, but it was wonderful...

While I am not really sure why and probably never will  but suffice it to say that  today was wonderful from the bottom to the top and from the from the inside out ...

And, In the end, that's all that matters I guess - that it was!

I hope you found some wonderful in your day too ...

- N -

 

My Rainbow ...

My Rainbow

I was so happy yesterday morning as I drove to work because it wasn't raining and I was greeted by this beautiful rainbow, which, as far as I'm concerned ^...  was put there just for me!  I think someone must have known that I needed a little glorious this morning. The only thing that might have made it better might have been a Starbucks latte riding shot-gun next to me in my cup holder (but alas, that could not be - more about that later). 

I thought about following it but I decided I would probably have better luck finding the pot of gold somewhere on my desk at work much easier than by looking for the end of the rainbow.  It was a great start to my day even without the cup of coffee or pot of gold.

Speaking of work - every day when Mr. Mike gets home from work he gives me a big kiss, a hug and says, 'How was work today.' and everyday I say ... 'Well, they didn't fire me and I didn't quit so it must have been a good day!'. 

I am definitely not 'Call Center' material - It is what I imagine it would feel like moving to a whole new planet where you are not able to communicate with the other inhabitants.   This is a whole new WORK world for me and I hate to have to tell you all this ... but I'm sure you're going to be hearing a lot about it over the next few months (more about that later).  If you choose to self-disconnect --- I'll totally understand. 

But, for now ...

Mr.SmithisthereanythingelseIcandoforyoutodayMr.SmithummOkayMr.Smith
ThanksforcallingtodayMr.Smithyouhaveagreatday!
- N -

ps: I pulled over safely to take the rainbow picture.  I did not dangle out of my window, swerving and slamming on my brakes ... no matter what the reports say! HAHAHA

Old & Dusty ....

“What we do not see, what most of us never suspect of existing, is the silent but irresistible power which comes to the rescue of those who fight on in the face of discouragement.”

- Napoleon Hill -

 

Old & Dusty - Worn & Musty,

yup - that's how I'm feelin' these days!  While going back to work has been tougher than I thought it would be ... I am actually loving it!

I enjoy being out of the house and having something to do - being productive but I will admit that by the time I get home from work at 6pm - I'm pooped.  I am usually in bed between 7:30 - 9pm and until last night... I was sleeping like a log!

My goal this week is to not only stay up until 10pm every night BUT to actually do something when I get home.  I thought about closing down my blog but after thinking about it this whole weekend I decided that I wanted to keep it up and to start writing on it regularly.

I keep telling myself - I used to work full time, come home, cook dinner, do laundry, take Kate to horse, chat with Jessica on the phone and still have time to watch TV before going to bed ... now I just need to remember how I did it .... what a difference 20 years makes!

I hope everyone had a great weekend

- N -

The Fun Theory ...

I heard about the, 'Fun Theory' a few days ago and became intrigued about the idea that if you take something people Don't want to do and make it 'fun' to do ... you can change people's behavior and motivate them to do it!  Makes sense - right [not sure how to 'fun-up' paying bills though].  

An ad agency in Stockholm, Sweden used this idea to create a series of ads for Volkswagen - the great thing about these ADs is that you only see the VW name pop up for a second at the end - hum ...don't you wish all Ads were this light,easy & FUN!!

Have a FUN day!

- N -

Woopdidoo ...

'The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.'
  - Oscar Wilde -

and speaking of work ...

 

Woopdidoo - I am finally back at work.  I started working on October 12th and it has been a mighty long week!  Not only am I not used to working & paying attention all day but I am missing my naps, and I have had to be at work extra hours this week.   Talk about a Shock to the system - it's all good though and I am excited to be out of the house and busy doing something again. 

I began my 3 weeks of training at a very large call center for a utility company and will wrap up Week One tomorrow and for the 1st time in almost 4 years I am looking forward to the weekend!  I haven't had a weekend in F.O.R.E.V.E.R!   

I have to go now and iron my clothes for work tomorrow and then hit the hay because I must confess that I am very, very tired by the end of each day - I am certainly sleeping better this week !!!  

Woopdidoo ~ A paycheck and some sleep too ....

Until the weekend ...

Happy Fall-idays!
Love N

Loss & Learning ...

Some days - my world just wakes up in a silent and somber mood.  These are not quite sad days - just quiet.  Nor are they looking for solitude, tears or pity.  They are just me - learning to become comfortable with my life & loss  ... 

Loss and Learning

After a While
After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security,

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises

And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open,

With the grace of a woman,
Not the grief of a child

And you learn to build all your roads on today,
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After awhile you learn that even sunshine
Burns if you get too much

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
In stead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers

And you learn that you really can endure...
That you really are strong
And you really do have worth,
and you learn and learn...

With every good bye you learn.

Veronica Shoffstall 1971

You gotta Hand it to him ...

I know, I know - I'll be the first to admit it ... I'm always riding in the caboose, dangling from the tail end of the kite, reading yesterday's news!  I am never on the cutting edge - BUT, I found these images last night while surfing around the internet and had never seen anything like them before ... so I thought I'd share.

'Everything old is new again' right!  So, if you've already seen all these - enjoy the revisit ---- and if they are new to you - I hope you find them as fascinating and beautiful as I did!

You really should click on each individual picture to blow it up and see the incredible detail ...

The giraffe is 'hands down' one of my favorites ...

This first set of images is painted by an Italian artist, Guido Daniele and many of the images were used by the World Wildlife Fund as part of an advertising campaign and others were used in other advertising campaigns around the world.

Love the wrinkly skin on the elephant ...

This last set is also the work of Guido Daniele and were commissioned by AT&T for an ad campaign that ran in different parts of the world.

Cheetahs - Zimbabwe

Mardi Gras - Brazil

Coral Reef - Jamaica

Great Wall of China - China

Elephants - India

Colosseum- Italy

Japan

Egypt

England

Anyway, you get the idea - you should check out Guido Daniele's  website to more of this work.  Canada's moose 'handimal' for AT&T was pretty cute!

Have a great big fat wonderful day!

    - N

Painted House & Sightseeing ...

Some weekends are just made for doing nothing - being lazy for no particular reason.  Plip Plop, plip pop - pure Putter!!  These weekends involve a whole'lotta:  little or no stirring or movement (as in - only occasionally moving from the TV to fridge), random or limited conversation (as in - 'hey, can you bring me a soda while you're up?'), and some good read (as in - 'Eclipse' and / or the Sunday Paper), and it would have to include some good solid napping (as in - one in the morning & another in the early pm).

Well, this weekend wasn't one of those! We had our house painted last week and had to move all the planters, furniture, wind chimes, ornaments etc away from the house.  We ended up with the yard torn apart for a week and this weekend Mike & I swept up the paint scrapping and reassembled the yard.  It took most of the day on Saturday to put everything back together.

All 167 units in our complex used to be painted the same color and I hated it!  It felt like we were living amid an old ratty tatty army compound or HUD housing but now we have about 6 different color schemes mingled throughout the neighborhood.  It looks soooo much better.  You probably can't really tell from these pictures but our color is now 'Seafoam' green.  It is very light, bright  and cottage-y looking and I LOVE it.  I wasn't sure at first but after they painted the trim it really popped!

Jessica didn't have any room for the black coat rack that Dad had made her and I was so excited to inherit it!!  I have always coveted it and while I didn't have room for it inside either I felt that it would look so GREAT out on my back deck (which is covered so the coat rack will not be exposed to the elements). I think it looks amazing against the new paint!   I use the storage seat to house some of my garden & patio supplies.  Mike said he thinks the glass panels look out of place on the deck but I think they help bring some light into the covered area.

On Sunday Mike & I decided we wanted to enjoy to last of our sunny days and get out and so exploring.  After living in Washington for more than 20 years we have come to realize that there are so many areas of this big beautiful state that we have never even seen and we have made it a goal to get out once a month and go exploring.  - so with that in mind we decided to take the ferry over to Vashon Island as we'd never been there before.  

You catch the ferry over to Vashon Island in West Seattle (which I've only been to twice before) at the Fauntleroy dock.  The ride over is short - only about 15 ~ 20 minutes long.   Vashon Island covers about 37.0 sq. miles (vs. Bainbridge Island which covers only 28.0 sq. miles) but is much smaller in population(Vashon Island pop. 10,100 vs. Bainbridge Island pop. 20,3000).  The small downtown, however, does boast 3 bookstores and a movie theater.  The island is still very rural and affords amazing views of Mount Rainer.  There are also many small horse stables, farms and orchards scattered around the island but it is mostly still a pristine forested island (as you can see from the map below - there are not many very many paved roads on the island).

After touring several open houses (just for fun), a drive around the island and lunch at the Quartermaster Inn we decided to check out the Point Robinson Lighthouse - which is actually located on Maury Island.  Maury Island is connected to Vashon via an isthmus (a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land masses - Hey, I didn't know what it was!) built by the US Army Corp. of Engineers.  Prior to the building of the isthmus the island was accessible only at low tide or by boat.

The lighthouse at Point Robinson was built in 1885 as a 'Fog Station' and later became a Fog station and Lighthouse and has an identical twin - Alki Point Lighthouse in West Seattle.  Today, both the light & fog signal are fully automated and have been since the 1970's.  Interestingly, the Point Robinson light signal has rotated but instead is a fixed light that has always flashed on and off.  

While both the light beacon & the fog siren remain fully operational today they were fully automated in the 1970's.  The beacon’s light flashes in a 12 second cycle - on for three seconds, off for one second, on for another three seconds and off for five seconds and the fog horn which is activated by photoelectric cells when visibility is reduced to three miles, sounds one three-second blast every 30 seconds. I would love to visit the island on a foggy day just to hear the horn blasting ...

The last Coast Guardsman to be stationed at the Robinson Point Light Station was in 1989 and today the Light Station buildings are maintained and run by a partnership between the "Keepers of Point Robinson" (a group of volunteers who restored the buildings, maintain them, run the museum and guest houses) and the Vashon-Maury Island Park and Recreation District.  Today, the exterior of the Robinson Point Light Station remains essentially the same as when it was first built in 1915. The lighthouse is painted the traditional white with green trim and has a red roof.

The lighthouse keeper’s quarters have been refurbished by the “Keepers of Point Robinson.” The station's caretakers live in main keeper’s house, while the assistant keeper’s house is available for weekly rentals to the many people who would like to have a “lighthouse experience.” The proceeds from the rental go toward the restoration and maintenance of the buildings. It's not cheap though ... if you want to get that, Romantic Lighthouse feeling while shrouded in the fog by the side of the great Pacific,  it will cost you about $1300.00 a week.  Gorgeous though ... absolutely stunning!

Our walk along the beach was beautiful, very desolate, uncrowded and very unpopulated.  It was nice to see miles of shoreline with very few houses (not none - but very few).   The beaches all had nice white sand and very few rocks ...

But, very drift-woody.  There was a tremendous amount of driftwood piled along the shore.  We came across a very Polynesian looking driftwood structure that someone had built.

As we meandered along the shore Mike suddenly remembered that the dogs had been home all day (it was about 6:30pm at this point) and would be - well, lets just say, pissed!  So we had to scramble off the beach, to the car, to the ferry, wait for the ferry, load the ferry etc ....

I hope everyone had a great weekend

- N -

A Little Country Village...

- Chicken Little -

There is nothing more relaxing or fun than to spend a sunny afternoon wandering & rambling through a great little 'village' which is stuffed full of cute shops, gardens, restaurants & charm.  The  Country Village in Bothell is one of those spots.  It is one of Dana & I's favorite places to get together for an afternoon.

- Artichoke -

The  Country Village in Bothell is what I call a great little 'Used to be' - meaning it 'used to be' something else and now it's been turned into a great touristy spot.  For example, the Country Village 'used to be' a working farm many, many years ago that over the years, one family restored, and have since allowed it to  evolve into what it is today - A shopping / strolling village boosts 40 shops and numerous gardens, restaurants, ponds, coffee shops, antique shops, and now hosts the Bothell Farmers Market once a week.

     

- Belly Dance -

 

- One man's Junk ... -

Another thing that the Country Village in Bothell has a lot of is poultry!  Chickens, ducks, geese, doves & ROOSTERS ...

     

 

 

 

So many different kinds.  They are really quite beautiful, don't you think?  Dana & I had a wonderful time visiting and strolling around the shops & gardens.  Thanks for a great day Dana!

- Smile - 

- N -