Pasco School District #1

Last night Anderson went with John to the School Board Meeting and then on to Priesthood Leadership meeting. Tonight we heard that he was front page news on the school district's website.

P.S. Just shipped my computer off today! Do I seriously have to wait two more weeks?

Earth to Motherboard...Can You Hear Me?

So the motherboard on my PC is faulty and I will be sending my beloved computer away for over two weeks. I won't have to pay for it at all but I don't know how I will survive. It is amazing to me how much I rely on it. Bills, projects for John's work, homework for the kids, blogging, email for my Cub Scout Day Camp calling and 100 other things, scrapbooking...the list goes on and on.

I am currently on my mother-in-law's dinosaur and sadly it is slower than the beast I got rid of. Her printer is so old that most of the time all you get is *Y&^%*( &@*the entire sheet. On Friday I had to go to my mom's house to print out a February calendar for the middle school where John is Assistant Principal. I was able to get the Spanish translation from my email and luckily I had emailed myself the English version as well. (I had always wondered why I did that) I spent an hour adding clip art, juggling Branson on my lap, and printing out the final copies so they could be sent to the School District Print Shop. After I got home John came by to pick up the originals and I kid you not, he spilled water on them. So back to my mom's house we went to print another copy. I really hope this is not a sign of what my weeks without my PC will be like.

Until I can get to a computer that opens blogs faster I will have to take a vacation. Wish me luck.

Not Again!!!!!

Last night my computer stopped working. Yes, my 3 month old, brand spankin' new computer. I had to shut it down and when I tried to restart it all I get is a pretty blue HP screen. Tech support for Costco is calling me back this afternoon with HP tech support. But I have no computer connection unless I visit someone else's working computer. I am NOT happy, not happy at all.

Why is it...

that all babies think kisses have to be given with a BIG open mouth?

that whenever the house is finally spotless I notice all my windows are filthy?

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that I don't like oranges but I love the smell of an orange getting chewed up in the garbage disposal?

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that you can picture exactly what a diaper is going to look like on the inside just by the smell?

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that whenever the phone rings the kids are racing to beat one another to answer it, but when I am in the shower nobody picks it up?

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that my boys have to wait for their dad to get home to get help with their 5th grade and 7th grade math homework?

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that all my amazing photos are of Branson and the rest of the kids pictures are just so-so?
that on the day that I am most busy, most crazy, most stressed, I get thrown up on three times and end up doing all my work on the computer one handed with a sick little boy in my other free arm?

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that I was able to get all my Christmas "Thank You" cards sent within a week of the Holiday's when last year they didn't go out until June...I kid you not.

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that this picture is my absolute favorite?

Digital Scrapbooking

I use Adobe Elements 7. I purchase it at Costco each year before Christmas when they offer a coupon that lets me purchase the program for around $40. I would recommend this photoshop to anyone, even at the usual $80 price. It isn't necessary to update Adobe every year but it makes for a good birthday gift so I'll take the upgrades.My mom HATES Adobe Elements but let me tell you why...she doesn't know how to use it so she claims it is not user friendly. But really it is so user friendly if you get a few pointers. My sister Alison hadn't ever used it before and after a 45 minute tutorial she was ready to go. It really is easy to learn.
I would highly recommend any class offered by Jessica Sprague. I had used Elements for years and after even her first class I had learned enough to make it worth the cost of the class. Her beginning class is great for both those who have never used Adobe photoshop and people like me who have used it forever but still have tons to learn. Basically if you have purchased Adobe and you take her class...you will be set. I really don't mind giving tutorials either...just so long as you bring me a Diet Cherry Coke.
I don't pay anything for my digital scrapbooking materials. There are so many freebies available on line that I haven't needed to spend any money. I have several places that I go regularly to find the free stuff but my favorite is Scrappin with Ikeagoddess. Everyday she posts tons of freebies on her blog. It's seriously like a huge treasure hunt and you are always the winner.

You can get everything on line...paper (both solids and pattern), buttons, ribbons, overlays, word art, templates, quickpages and so much more. Any of these items can be manipulated in Adobe to match the photos you are working with. Have the perfect polka dots paper but it's not the right color...simple adjust it until the color is just what you need.
For those of you who are familiar with Becky Higgins sketches, that is what a template is like. It is so versatile. You simply add your photos and papers and anything else you want to complete the page. If you don't like the size, shape or number of photos on the template you can add or remove any of the elements you want. (Jessica Sprague's class will guide you through easy steps toward using templates.)

A quickpage is just what it says. Someone else has created a completed scrapbook page and left an opening for you to throw your photo in. It's that easy. But I tend to also manipulate these pages to fit my needs.

You can create pages with one photo or 100...it's totally up to you. Your options are endless and it is so much fun.

I use ACDSee to organize my digital supplies. What I love about ACDSee is that it doesn't actually store the items in the program but it simply tags my materials and then when I click on the tag it will find the materials for me in my external hard drive. They offer a 30 day free trial and then a discount if you choose to purchase it if you mention Jessica Sprague's class.
As for printing pages...well, I haven't yet. I'm not sure which route I will take. I don't have a 12x12 printer so printing at home is out of the question. At Costco you can print out a 12x12 photo for $2.99 or you can print out a 12x18 for $2.99. The option with the 12x18 is that for the same price as the 12x12 you can print one 12x12 and two 6x6's. You can either print 3 of the same layout on one sheet and use the 6x6 size for gifts or small albums for your children. Or you can print out 3 different layouts on one sheet and have several different sizes of albums in your home.

My other thought is to print them out in a book. At Christmas I printed out a 33 page 8x8 hardback book for $30 total. Like I mentioned in my earlier post I used the company Viovio.
While this may sound spendy my thoughts are this. When I created my scrapbooks non digitally I had to pay for the following...developing or printing of the photos, paper and all embellishments, adhesive, album to put them in, magazines for ideas on scrapbooking and as you know the list goes on and on.


Well, if you have any other questions just let me know. I think I am most loving that there is NO MESS!!! It's all here, right in my computer, ready to go!!!

When you're a Big Sister...

When you're a good big sister and your little brother keeps crawling onto your High School Musical Dance Mat there is only one thing you can do...

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Family of Winners...

OK so practically everyone who won my little contest is my cousin. And the only person who isn't related to me I would adopt in a heartbeat!



#1 I am reading The Alchemyst although I have not been able to sit down with it all week!



#2 Branson likes to pull books down off the shelf, eat them and rip them to shreds. If the book doesn't make noise then he doesn't want me to read it to him. So yes, 100% of you got it right, his favorite this week is The Forgetful Elephant.



#3 Anderson, who likes all things weird and a bit creepy, is ready the Storm Thief.



#4 John read a good book by Bill O'Riley over the Christmas vacation and wanted to continue reading even after work started up again. His pick at Barnes and Noble was Glenn Beck the Real America, and I think he is almost done with it.



#5 Sydney drives me bonkers, as she always has 2-3 books going at a time. Besides The Prince and The Pauper she is also reading an American Girl Book and some book about a cat.



#6 Cayden LOVES the Fablehaven series. He has always been a good reader but needs tons of encouragement to stick with a book. He has not needed any encouragement as he has whipped through the second book in between all his hours of basketball.



So will the following people please stand up and take a bow, then sit back down and email me your address...



Polka Dots aka Kristen (my non-cousin that I would love to claim as my own)

Noelle

Ashley H

Ashley C

Jessica

What the Cazier's are Reading

Since the beginning of Christmas break the whole family has been in a reading frenzy. I am participating in the Project 365, where you take a photo each day for one year to document your life. This is a picture showing what our family is currently reading.

So who is reading what? Those who get it right are in for a little treat...

THE BOOKS
1. The Alchemyst
2. The Forgetful Elephant
3. Storm Thief
4. Glenn Beck: Real America
5.The Prince and the Pauper
6.Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star

POSSIBLE READERS
John
Amy
Anderson
Cayden
Sydney
Branson

**Stay Tuned: I received a ton of questions about digital scrapbooking. I am putting my thoughts and answers together and will have a follow-up post later this week.

A Few of the Reasons I love Digital Scrapbooking

I am completely hooked and here are just a few of the reasons why...

#1 NO MESS

#2 Free supplies on line, everyday. It's like a treasure hunt! I haven't paid a cent on supplies.

#3 I can print as I please...12x12, 8x8/Costco, Shutterfly/in a book, on photo paper...

#4 I can create one page with all 4 of my kids. I can print out one for each of them or just one for the family and since all my pages are saved they can print them out later if they want.

#4 One of my favorite things about digital scrapbooking is that I can take a page that I create (or a page that I get online) and change that page so that it works for four different layouts for each of my kids!

Branson's Page with my Dad

Anderson's Page with our dog Belle (if you want her you can have her...really)

Sydney's page playing chess with Cayden

Cayden's page playing chess with Sydney

#5 I am actually getting to spend time doing my hobby. I hadn't been able to scrapbook in years and I love it just as much as the day I started.

So yes, I said that I would never become a digital scrapbooker and I really don't mind saying that I was so very wrong!

What a Pain in the Neck!

OK so I have had a headache/migraine for over a week now. The severity has changed from day to day but each and every single day I have had one! Normally if I take some medication and then continue on with my day my headache will disappear. (Strangely enough, if I lay down and take a nap after taking medicine, I will wake up and the headache will still be there.)

If the medicine doesn't work I take a very hot shower (or two) and that will often melt the pain away. If the migraine is too far gone I become nauseous and more often than not if I do throw up the pain goes away.

I have done all of the above and nothing has taken this cursed thing away!

I went to a massage therapist today and she couldn't believe the knots that I had in my shoulders and neck. She spent an extra 1/2 hour on my already one hour massage and she only got to my right shoulder blade and some on my neck. Needless to say I have another appointment in two days.

So why am I bothering to bore you with my medical woes? When I have a headache over a long period of time I get loopy. My sister-in-law Danyelle says that I act like I am drunk. Driving is actually scary so I avoid it at all costs. I feel constantly drowsy, but not tired, if that makes any sense at all. I can only think about one thing at a time and even that is often too difficult. I am a HUGE multi tasker and I swear that this headache has denied me of my gift. I feel stupid and sluggish and now my house is falling apart at the seams. (Which I don't really care about cause I don't have the sense to realize that it is such a mess.)

Is there a point to this long, pictureless post? No...I just got done explaining how I am pretty much delusional right now and I am actually wondering why, with this headache, I am staring at tiny words on a bright computer screen at midnight.

WOW...

"Sink" Into a Good Book

Every year I put on my kids elementary school book fair.

I LOVE IT!

It is Trash to Treasure style with the fair being made up entirely of used books. (And you wondered why I love it) I sell them to the kids, teachers, and parents at $1 and $2 each.The fair is March 2nd through the 6th but I will be collecting age appropriate books from now until the end of the fair. If you have any children's or young adult books collecting dust I would be glad to take them off your hands! Come March you can drop by and pick up some "new" reading material at the fair...I promise you won't be dissapointed.

Too Cute Not to Share

I just had to share this Christmas Day photo of my little niece Audrey... A true Christmas Angel.

Fun Vacation!

I love Christmas Vacation!

We had a great holiday. We Played in the Snow!(Can you believe that it is actually illegal to pull an inner tube behind a 4-wheeler!? BAH-HUMBUG)
We saw Santa.
(I guess Anderson thought he was a bit too old at 13 to sit on Santa's lap. Cayden claimed he did it only for the candy)
We played games...Blokus, a family favorite.
(If you are losing pretty bad you can still create a very cool cat creature with your game pieces.)

We Played lots of Christmas music.
We slept by the fire.We read a lot of books! I had gathered so many books for the kids for Christmas that I ended up wrapping them up and the 12 days before Christmas they each got to open a book. They loved it and we found some new favorites. (I will have to share later.)
Happy New Year!