House Of Scrap

All Things Unity Challenge #34 - Butterflies

2011-07-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

I made this card for the ATU Challenge #34. It's pretty simple, but I like it.
Basic Grey paper, Vivid Dye Ink, misc. scraps of paper, doodlebug designs rub ons and small brads.
The card size is 4.25" x 5.5"

She's back in BLOGLAND....

2011-06-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

Hey gang, I'm back. I took a hiatus, but decided I should get back to my recording of my days and nights...

It's gonna start off kinda boring. I apologize for this now and hope it will get more exciting over time.

I'm a creature of routine at heart. In my opinion, this makes me boring (and easy to stalk, if someone wanted to do that). I do the same things on the same days. I walk the same way to work everyday and the same way back home. I go to the same stores (this is mainly because I know where everything is and HATE wandering down EVERY aisle. I even drive the same way.

I am not going to sum up the last year and a half, but let's just say things are much different and I've had kind of a rough year. I am finally at a *semi-happy* place in my life. I feel I am heading in the right direction (or many right directions).

Last week was a typical week, I worked my day job, my night job, made cards and reorganized my scrap table. This weekend I worked on my mom's birthday card, my cousin's birthday card and some other random card projects. I also cleaned up my scrap mess that I made while creating graduation and father's day cards. I also

Father's Day was kind of a bust when it came to selling my cards. I had a bunch of custom orders and made a few generic Father's Day cards. I was proud of the generic father's day cards, but only a couple sold.

Graduation cards are clearly what I should have concentrated on this time around. I couldn't keep those in stock. Notes to self for next year!

My day job is challenging, but I'm very happy to be employed and like my boss and coworkers! I feel like I just started there and in August I will be celebrating my third year at the same company! Time flies... tough to keep up with it sometimes!

Because I have a tendency to be long-winded, I put a time limit on this post. I have to stop in three minutes.

I'll leave with a photo of my fridge for your amusement. :)

The wine is not for me. One bottle was left when a friend visited. The second is for guests when they visit and want to drink wine. I currently have one wine glass and one martini glass (for guests since I only drink beer).

The Cool whip container is actually full of thawing chicken.

Time's up, I'll return again with more words and photos later.

Ugh... time flies....

2010-01-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

So I've been spending a significant amount of time at tumblr.com posting on my two new blogs.

http://bringonbringon.tumblr.com/

http://live365.tumblr.com/

been a minute since I posted.....

2009-11-30T15:01:00.000-08:00

...have no fear, I'm still here.... pulling my head out of the books long enough to say hello to my readers in blogland...
*waves*

Here is my horoscope for today:

Although your mind is firmly tethered to your future, today's steady Taurus Moon in your hidden 4th House of Early Childhood reveals your desire to stay right where you are. You are more interested not in holding on to the status quo rather than risking what you have for an unknown reward. But looking back will only make you nostalgic or fearful. Be brave and face the unfamiliar that's right around the corner.

I have been thinking/dreaming about J for a while now. It's silly. No, worse than silly, it's stupid and unrealistic and a waste. I know this, but how do I stop the thoughts from crossing through my mind. I need a distraction in the form of a boy.

Okay, maybe that isn't the solution either...

It's all I got for now.

In happy news, I finished my holiday greeting cards. I have to do the inside message, but then I decorate envelopes and they are outta here!
:)

I will post pics after everyone receives their card in the mail.

... and I'm gonna be.....

2009-10-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

... In Seattle to see Kevin Smith, LIVE AND IN PERSON.... TOMORROW! (Saturday 10/17)

can't even tell you how excited I am....

In addition to that.... I believe I'll be single again.... um, very soon.

The metal dude is nice, but I think I'm just better solo. Especially when I'm too busy for words between work and school!!
Listen, I'm not giving up on dudes completely, but waiting for one of two things: my equal (meet my list of minimum requirements) or Silent Bob.

:D

Wish me luck on good driving and good parking karma and finding the place easily!
Have a good weekend, everyone!!!
xoxo
rachael

Um, how do I say this....

2009-09-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

... oh, I'm no longer single.

Whew! There. I said it.
So I happened to meet this guy online at the end of July and we just HIT it off for some reason. We chatted online everyday (still do, in fact) then we decided to meet IRL. The first meeting happened over Labor Day weekend.

We had fun watching movies, listening to music and getting to know each other in real life.

Despite my frazzled nerves, there was still a connection with our face to face meeting, and after some discussion, we decided to date each other exclusively.

I'm still taking it slow, because I have A LOT of fear when it comes to relationships. Fear of getting hurt, fear of hurting someone else, fear of abandonment, etc... Let's just sum it up by saying I have issues. Gah, I hate admitting things like that.... makes me feel so, um, human.

Anyway, school is about to start in just over a week. Still gotta iron out my schedule and figure out the book situation. Oh, and mentally prepare for giving up the sad little social life that I've celebrated over the past few months.

Oh, you want to know about my boyfriend? His name is Matt, he's two years younger than me, he is into metal, playing guitar, video games, movies... oh, and me. :D He lives in Vancouver, WA.

He and I are crazy in sync and often say the same things at the same time. We are close in age which makes it fun when we make pop culture references. :D

Most importantly, he gets me. Oh, and I get him, too. That part of this whole this is really new, different, mindblowing, astonishing and well, pretty stellar.

We are in the relationship infancy where everything is so sweet and sappy. We already have lots of inside jokes... just between us. :D

So anyway, just wish me (us) luck.

Love is a battlefield....

Ten Songs I Love

2009-08-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

Ten Songs I Love:

Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' Bout Love
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Alice In Chains - Don't Follow
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Frank Black - I Burn Today
Smashing Pumpkins - 33
Offspring - Stuff Is Messed Up
Seether - Fake It
Drowning Pool - 37 Stitches
Beck - Cold Brains

Another reason I'm single...

2009-08-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Like I needed another reason NOT to get involved with someone:

So a while ago, this guy and I were exchanging emails on POF (dating website). He was all about the phone and I'm just not that into chatting with some complete stranger (I'm shy). He said, "well, you can text if you want." So cool, I don't really want to randomly text or chat on the phone with anyone, with one exception: if they can carry on an interesting conversation. If it's lame or boring, I don't really want to waste my texts.

So I get a message from him this morning. He sent it at 1am, so of course, even though I was up at that time (trying to fall asleep), I didn't get the text until this morning. I'll disguise his identity a bit:

I check my phone text messages and it just says: "Its b***y how r u doing?" (keep in mind he hasn't messaged me on POF for over 1 week)
I respond: "hi there, b***y. it's rachael. i'm fine, how are you?"
His response: "Im doing fine myself u should send me some pics."
My response: "I should send some pics? pics of what?"
His response: "Pics of u."
I don't respond, but after a while he does: "So that's a no."
My response: "Why do you need pics of me? U know what I look like, right? I have pics online. I don't much feel like being photographed 2day." (The online pics I'm referring to are my POF profile pics)
Hi response: "it's nothing wrong wtih having pics of a person." (this just doesn't even make sense!)
My response: "I understand what u r saying." (This is a lie, I do not understand what he is saying.)
His response: "Ok, it's cool" (I did not respond to this.)

You can't break a heart and have it

2009-08-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

Wow. I was really getting good at blogging there for like, a minute. Oh well, reality sets in and you have to get back to real life. Which for me means, work, playing in my scrap stuff and doing stuff with my friends. Oh, and walking... lots of walking. I do feel the need to cram as much fun stuff into my summer as possible. I know it's gonna end soon and I'll be back to my previous work-and- school-work-and-no-fun-stuff routine.

Last night my friends and I checked out Black Francis (AKA Frank Black) at the Aladdin Theater. It's a sweet venue, because it's tiny and intimate. Jen and I arrived early and saved seats for our friends. I swear we were about 20 feet from Frank. A few rows from the front, right in the center.

The show was good. I'm glad I went. I had camera phone envy because the boys in front of us had really cool phones that took really good photos. I did take a pic with my phone, but I can't find my micro SD card adapter. Oh well... the pic might not have been good anyway.

So, I'm back on the blog for now. We'll see how long this episode lasts.

More books...

2009-07-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading The Wedding, by Nicholas Sparks. I was loaned this book by my boss. She wants it returned, so against my better judgement, I read it. I say, "against my better judgement" becasue I have read Sparks' books before. They are pure works of fiction. In my experience, real life doesn't happen at all the way his books are written. I think I like real life, but I do take something from his books. I do like a little bit of fantasy in my life...

I did find a couple of quotes that I really liked from this book.

"But love, I've discovered, is more than three words mumbled before bedtime. Love is sustained by action, a pattern of devotion in the things we do for each other every day."

"Yes, I decided, a man can truly change."

Death...

2009-07-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

This past week, I got news that a woman at work suffered an incredible loss on the 4th of July. Wendy is my coworker, Max is her grandson. In september, Max's parent's (Wendy's son and daughter-in-law) took him to the doctor, to get him checked out after noticing something was off about him. After extensive testing, they found out he had brainstem glioma (Information I found on the interwebs about this: Brainstem gliomas are tumors that occur in the region of the brain referred to as the brain stem, which is the area between the aqueduct of Sylvius and the fourth ventricle.) He underwent treatment, and there was hope for a short while. However, on the fourth of July, Max passed away. Six years old. I don't know Max or his family personally, but I do know Wendy. Wendy approached me this past spring and asked me to create two scrapbooks for her to give as gifts to Leanne, her daughter-in-law.. One for Max's sister, Addie, and one for Max. I worked my tail off creating these albums. I created pages and left spaces for journaling and photos. It was a fun project. Except I admit, I struggled while making Max's pages. I knew he was sick and this affected my creativity. I powered through, which is what I do. At the last minute, I finished the books and delivered them to Wendy who carried them with her on the plane to visit Max and his family. Leanne loved the books and said "they are beautiful and perfect" and also asked if I could make more for her to give others as gifts. Of course, I can. It's what I do, after all.

I'm going to post a couple of my faves from Addie and Max's albums:

reading and life...

2009-07-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished this book. I really like it. I always find quotes in everything I read. Here are my favorites from this Good In Bed:

"You don't have to do everything alone," he said. "There are people who care about you. You just have to let them help."

"Help," I said again, as if I were a baby, as if this was a word I'd just learned and could not stop repeating. "Help me. Help."

These quotes remind me so much of what someone might say to me. I never let anyone help me, I have resigned myself to doing everything alone.

This grand jury experience has been frightening. It's truly opened my eyes to so much. I am disbelieving at the amount of crime that happens in my city... when the DA says that the crime rate is down, I don't see how. My response has been to hang out at home much more than I used to. Opting for doing something at home rather than going out somewhere public.

Anyway, that's enough depressive chatter, but that gives you an insight to what's been running through my brain these days. I can't wait until I can return to work. I only have one week left of grand jury duty. Woohoo!

I've been scrapping a bit and have to scan some pages, but will wait till I'm all the way done (some of the pages need finishing touches). Will post them later.

I skipped out on July 4th celebrations this year. I scrapped at home instead. I was invited to a couple of celebrations, but don't want to do stuff alone lately (so OVER being "that" girl).

I have recently started two new "online dating" profiles, but am too chicken to meet anyone IRL. Which is no big deal, because no one has approached me or messaged me or anything. I will only have time for "dating" over the summer, but looks like that's not really going to happen, so I'll just use that time to scrap instead. :D

Mish mash of randomness....

2009-06-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading this book. It was really good. I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for the coming-of-age stories (mostly of teen girls). I suppose I really dig them because I can think back to my youth and identify with similar feelings, emotions, thoughts... I have a lot of favorite quotes from the book, but I like this one most of all:

"...It's an old story, the oldest, but there is comfort in love. I am still an escapist at heart."

Oh, I can't even begin to explain how indulgent/gratifying/luxurious it feels to read a book for pleasure, rather than an assignment for school.

I just got the new Wally Lamb book, The Hour I First Believed. I think I will start that next. I loved "She's Come Undone" and "I Know This Much Is True", which are his first two books. He's an amazing writer.

Stef loaned me her Black Francis album. Svn Fngrs. I'm checking it out now. Black Francis will be in town this summer. Stef and I are going. We are also trying to see Ween in Bend in August.

I need a new car battery. On a car-related note, I passed 100,000 miles on my car recently. :) There was 60,000 miles on it when I got it three years ago. Woohoo!! Uh, I drive a lot.

I have to get my last bit of spring term homework and projects done. I'm giving myself till tomorrow night to get the homework done and will print the portfolio next week.

Let's see.... what else is going on? I'm still on grand jury duty. It's pretty intense and I'd much rather be at work. It does, however, make me thankful for not choosing a life of crime, drug addiction, general jackassery.... ALSO extra thankful for not getting involved with someone who did choose a life of crime. I only missed out on this last part by some guardian angel's re-direction in the form of the ex-con*rejecting* me (!!). This life works in mysterious ways, I tell you.

Well, I have one other blog post to finish up, then I must get to work on accomplishing something and being productive and cleaning this disaster of an apartment.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone.

I leave you with some pictures I took this week. One of the good things about being downtown everyday is that I can usually find something to take pictures of.

Longest day of the year:

She's a shutterbug:What a couple of hams:

From the Pride Parade/Pride Festival:

Some random waterfront/downtown photos:

Civic duty....

2009-06-18T23:09:00.001-07:00

Hey all, I'm going to be on grand jury duty for the next month.

Other than that, school's out for summer, so I must get my scrap stuff organized and begin being crafty.

I will be around more, even with jury duty and hope to see all of my friends a lot more often!!

Of course, I'll try to blog more often, as well, but I'm kind of a slacker at this blogging thing.

I also have a goal to take more photos, so I'll try to post as I achieve that goal.

These fireworks are on fire....

2009-05-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Friday night was spent wandering around the carnival and watching fireworks down at Waterfront park. It was the kick-off of the Portland Rose Festival, which is a pretty big deal here in our fair city. It starts Memorial Day weekend and then continues on most of the month of June.

Jen and I planned on going down to watch the fireworks and, thinking along the lines of "the more, the merrier", I invited almost everyone I know... Stef decided to bring Luke down and meet up with us and Jen's friend, Richard, also met us downtown. It was nice to hang out with everyone and chat and oooh and ahhh at the fireworks. I took tons of pictures. After the fireworks, Stef and Luke parted ways and headed home, while Jen, Richard and I drove across the river and stopped at Suki's. It's a cool Karaoke bar. We drank, listened to people sing karaoke and people watched. Richard sang a song and there were many rounds of "happy birthday" between songs. Guess quite a few people were born on 5/22 or something. After that, we went to Victory and drank. I was the designated driver, so I didn't drink much and just enjoyed getting out, since my Friday nights are usually full of homework these days.... and will be for the next two weeks.

While I should be working on schoolwork, (right now and this whole weekend), I decided to crop with Heidi and a few of the other ladies last night. I got quite a bit done and started some layouts. When I've completed them, I'll post 'em.

Here are the photos from the Rose Festival Kick Off Festivities....

2009-05-16T00:13:00.000-07:00

We got a first timer here... :)

Matchmaking in the air....

2009-05-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090513006276&newsLang=en

interesting concept. As a single lady, I can honestly say, this is intriguing. I love a boy with an accent, so I'd love to meet some super fantastic dude in New Zealand, but I'm not the best with matchmaking type stuff, so I'm not sure I'd enjoy the flight over. I think I'd have too much pressure on to find a match.

I'm not that into finding my match right now, anyway. I do have a nagging urge to hurry up and find someone to share my life with, but realistically, I have no time to add another person to my life. It's sad. I know. boohoo... Oh, I also have notoriously bad taste in men. Clearly, that is motivation for me to enjoy the single life and celebrate my freedom!!!

Have a fantastic weekend!!

Shameless self-promotion....

2009-04-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

I'm so not the type to whore myself out and try to get folks to buy my work, but I am posting here that I have a new etsy store to sell my handmade cards. It's not fancy and I don't have much stuff up there, but it's good quality crafty goodness, so check it out if you have some time to kill.

To the right of this post, you can click under "buy my stuff".

Give me some feedback if you don't mind. I have no idea how to do this type of thing. I usually just sell my stuff through word of mouth.

2009-04-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

Friday night:

Here's Jen, myself and two of the Toadies at the end of their set at Hawthorne Theater. Those are not cigarettes in their hands... they are sharpies. People wanted stuff signed. We got nothing signed.

One is for envy and one just for spite....

2009-04-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

Even though I'm posting a blog, I shouldn't.
I should be reading my business 101 textbook or doing my Accounting homework. I had an all right weekend, but wasn't as productive as I could have been.

I did finish this page for my friend Mandi. I am going to put it into a frame so she can put it up in her hairdressing station at the salon she works at. There is enough space for a 5x7 photo and my hope is that Mandi will find a cute one of her little family (hubby and toddler daughter). Mandi really likes the color yellow, daisies and ladybugs, so I tried to incorporate those elements into the layout. I really like the result:

Survival instinct dwells in a past that is inhabitable....

2009-04-07T22:33:00.000-07:00

For those playing the at-home version, Mr. Random texted me tonight. Like usual, out of the blue. Nothing significant to report from the back and forth. I did learn that I could talk on my phone and text at the same time. It was weird.

The weather was fan-freakin'-tastic this past weekend. I managed to walk after work on Friday and Jen and I wandered downtown and walked all the way around the esplanade Saturday afternoon. We people-watched and snapped a ton of photos. I'm sharing some here:

I've always liked how people name their boats...

These fluffy cotton candy-like blossoms are soooo beautiful:

Even though there are those amazing blossoms blooming, there are still some bare trees down by the waterfront... we'll call these late bloomers. Check out the sky.... it was sooooo amazing in real life:

This is a Portland landmark:

This guy was flying a kite right down by the Willamette, who knew it was windy enough to fly a kite?:

Miss Jenni ate one of these, she got the last one and for only a buck!! Lucky girl. I watched her eat it..... and even photographed it so I'd be able to live vicariously through her. Mmmm... elephant ears.... cinnamon, sugary, doughy, fried goodness.:

I kick the dirt, for what it's worth, listening to birds chirp

2009-04-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay.... the ladies are calling me out on my sh**. Yeah, yeah.... I hear you. I really did want to blog last week, but I took on a project consisting of two 12x12 scrapbooks. I knew I wouldn't have time to work on them after spring break (I work full time and take a full time course load at junior college during the regular school year: September - June), so I was trying to work on them each night. Much to my dismay, I wasn't able to complete them. I will continue working on them in any spare time I can find this term.

I did make some cards around the Valentine's day "holiday".

Jose's little girl had a birthday in February, so I made her this:

I also made a card for my friend, Jose's birthday.

At some point, I will be scanning and posting the scrapbooks I've completed over the year. I may not get around to posting until the summertime. It is a time consuming project and I'll have the summer off from school which will free up some time to get caught up on everything.

On the romance front, there's nothing really new to report. Here's a rundown of the past few years: 2006 - reconnected with a dude from high school [oh, his birthday is today, happy birthday _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _] , at one point he just started calling me his girlfriend (never once ASKED me to be his girlfriend, just referred to me as such), by the beginning of 2007 he said goodbye and vanished from my life. December '07 much younger dude who I'd been dating for six months or so busted my heart in half, handed it back to me and walked out of my life [all the while claiming to be my friend]. This episode spun me into a shame spiral, filled with depression and hate. 2008 - I had a friend tell me that he was "crushin' on me" (literally, that's what he said, word for word). When I asked him what that means, he said "I don't know." I simply let it go and told him to let me know when he figured it out. I mean, I can't figure this sh** out for him. Six months ago, I had a man tell me he was going to marry me. Not ASK me, TELL me. Oh, he also said I was going to have his children!?!? Oh and if anyone knows me, they've probably heard me talk about my Mr. Random story. This guy has randomly texted me over the course of 5 years (!) (I've seen him a few times over that period) and about a month ago, out of the blue, he asked me to be his girlfriend VIA TEXT MESSAGE. Seriously?!?! I'm sorry, but as a grown up, I really can't take that sh** seriously.

I've been a wreck when it comes to dudes since I left and divorced my husband and if I really look back on my experiences, I can see why.

Last week, I had a nice interaction with a guy friend. It kind of gives a girl hope, but part of me (the cynical) is like "mmhmm.... he's just like the rest." riiight....

I've been listening to Adam Carolla's podcasts and I can't recommend these to everyone enough. I am a big fan of his and have been since the Loveline days.

I also have a new morning show obsession. Rick Emerson moved to FM radio (101.1 here in Portland) from the AM dial. I have listened to his talk radio show(s) since 2000. I'm a huge fan and of course, can't recommend his show enough.

I really love my roomie's kitties, but have been missing this one lately:

Anyway, I'm rambling on now and should get this published before the clock strikes midnight and I turn into a pumpkin (and it stops being that one guy's birthday).

Living up to my reputation.....

2009-03-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

....as worst blogger ever!

Just been super busy with work and school. No real time to blog or scrap (two of my favorite things to do). The end of the month is spring break, so expect an update then.

I haven't been taking many photos lately either. The girl who always has her camera attached to her has been a complete slacker. So not even any fun photos to post.

Will make up for it over summer break..... I promise.

Thanks for understanding!

why?

2009-02-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

Boomtown Rats I Don't Like Mondays Lyrics Songwriters: N/A

The silicon chip inside her head Gets switched to overload.
And nobody's gonna go to school today, She's going to make them stay at home.
And daddy doesn't understand it, He always said she was as good as gold.
And he can see no reason 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be shown? Tell me why? I don't like Mondays. Tell me why? I don't like Mondays. Tell me why? I don't like Mondays. I want to shoot The whole day down. The telex machine is kept so clean As it types to a waiting world. And mother feels so shocked, Father's world is rocked, And their thoughts turn to Their own little girl. Sweet 16 ain't so peachy keen, No, it ain't so neat to admit defeat. They can see no reasons 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be shown? Tell me why? I don't like Mondays. Tell me why? I don't like Mondays. Tell me why? I don't like Mondays. I want to shoot The whole day down. All the playing's stopped in the playground now She wants to play with her toys a while. And school's out early and soon we'll be learning And the lesson today is how to die. And then the bullhorn crackles, And the captain crackles, With the problems and the how's and why's. And he can see no reasons 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to die? Tell me why? I don't like Mondays. Tell me why? I don't like Mondays. Tell me why? I don't like Mondays. I want to shoot The whole day down.

Ever get that funny feeling that your future's not gonna be legit...

2009-01-11T18:36:00.000-08:00

One quick post before I buckle down and do my math homework.... that I put off until the last minute. Ugh...

I've had a busy first week of school. Math is my most difficult class. I also have a four week 10 key class, an Intro Accounting Class, a College Survival class and a Painting class this term. It's going to be hectic balancing school and work for Winter term, but it's going to pay off, I'm sure.

Today I went to breakfast with one of my favorite couples, Stef and Nicholas. I LOVE breakfast and I love to eat it any time of the day or night. So I jumped at the invitation to go eat breakfast with Stef and her man.

After that I picked up the ingredients for apple crisp and apple pie. Then I went home and put on my apron and went to work.

Over the snowy winter break, I had lots of indoors time. I actually worked on card sets as gifts for my family. I forgot to scan one set and then I forgot to scan the other, but I did remember at one point, so I have some to share:

A short blog with a video link and some song lyrics, oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2009-01-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCZfJ5ai07U

Click the above link for Kings of Leon - Use Somebody video

I just acquired this CD from a friend. I am in love with this song.

Lyrics:

I've been roaming around always looking down
At all I see
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach

You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you and all you know and how you speak
Countless lovers under cover of the street

you know that Icould use somebody
You know that Icould use somebody
Someone like you

Off in the night
While you live it up I'm off to sleep
Waging war to shake the poet and the beat
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope it's gonna make you notice

Someone like me
Someone like me
Someone like me, somebody

(I'm waiting)

Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody

I've been roaming around always looking down
At all I see

Guilty feet do have rhythm...

2008-12-25T15:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

I tried to blog a couple months ago but blogger lost a four page blog after I spent a shit ton of time typing it.... I was much too bummed out to retype it.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, all your wishes came true, you ate well and are in excellent health. I kind of bowed out of a traditional "Christmas" celebration this year. My siblings all flew up to my mom's and I didn't have my passport in time, so I couldn't go (not to mention, I have no paid time off work). We are spending a lot of time video chatting. It's cool to see them even if it is via the interwebs. Everyone looks absolutely fabulous; that's totally awesome. I'm glad they are all healthy and able to be together over the holidays. Someday I will make it up to spend time with them.

So I am finally done with my first term of community college. I passed all my classes and am signed up for next term (which starts on Jan 5th). All I have to do now is pick up my books. I decided to work on a two year degree in Accounting from Portland Community College. It's really the only thing I like doing besides making cards and scrapbooking and my current job is an accounting assistant (and I completely adore it), so it all makes sense. :)

Despite the hectic schedule I have, I was able to do some cool shit this term. Jen and I got into Fishbone at the Hawthorne Theater (for free). It was my first time seeing them. The show was high energy and the guys really rocked the house. The drummer is hot.... shirtless and tattooed -- and for some reason, Jen was shoving me toward him at the end of the show (when the band came out to greet fans). I hightailed it outta there as fast as possible (I mean, what am I going to say to a traveling musician that is really going to be memorable.... "nice pecs"). I dragged Jen to see Mac Lethal at Berbati's Pan. That show was during the week, so not a big turnout of people. It was all right. Unknowingly, we hung out on the "all ages" side of the show. Neither of us were up for drinking on a weeknight. I noticed a lot of flannel in the tiny crowd. I don't recall hearing about the resurgence of flannel in the fashion world. Not that I'm into following trends or anything. Just have been noticing the flannel of late. It makes me think of high school in the early nineties and Nirvana's hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit". I feel like there is a time and a place for flannel. It's the woods when you are hunting, on your bed in the form of sheets or as pajamas. :P I don't have anything against flannel or fans of the warm, fuzzy material. I just feel like the fashion world saw enough of the stuff in the early 90s. That is just my opinion!

Worst blogger ever?!

2008-11-02T01:04:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I suppose I am. Chez is right!! Thank you to Kel for welcoming me back. :)

Well, we have finally wrapped up my favorite holiday; halloween. Jen and I had way to much fun making our costumes and dressing up this year. I will post pics as soon as I can.

I'm trying to fit in some card and other crafty projects, but time is short for fun these days.

Stef turned another year older last week. Here's the card I made for her:

I'm working on Carrie's birthday card. :) It's cute. I'll post after her birthday.

Back in May or so (could have been June, though) I made my mom this little mini book of her kids. My mom likes monkeys, that's why I used a cute little monkey sticker on the front. We are a wild bunch, so the title I chose is appropriate.

honest to blog?

2008-10-18T01:20:00.000-07:00

Jeepers, has it really been nearly four months since I posted anything. WOW! Needless to say, I've been busy.

I recently moved and am getting settled into my new place. I have a new roommate who has two furry kitties. It's a new living environment, but not bad so far. Not that I expect it to be bad at any point. We are two single thirtysomething chicks and are very similar in many ways. Half of our living room is made up of two tables for crafting! I have been too busy to actually put my side to good use, but my roomies side is getting some use with all our costume preparation in honor of the upcoming holiday. I get more excited for halloween than I do for any other holiday. It's so fun to decide on a costume. The options are endless and you can get as dramatic or simple as possible.

I started a new job in August. I love it. It's perfect for me.

I started college on Sept. 22nd. I have a full course load... writing 121, math 60, computer accounting applications and college survival....

So far, I feel overwhelmed with the amount of homework assigned. I don't think the faculty at my community college understand what it's like to work two jobs and attend night classes. It's frustrating, but I have faith that I will be able to survive and come out a better person for it.

It's kind of weird. I've become this person who does homework at lunch and where I used to write notes of things I have to do, I now write algebraic formulas on post its and tuck them into my purse or pocket. I think I'm hoping math will miraculously absorb in my brain. So far I've been struggling. It's not easy. I expect perfection from everything I do. I know it's unrealistic, but it's such a hard habit to break. I'm so hard on myself. I wish I could change that. After beating myself up, I feel worse than before. It's a shame spiral that I get sucked into easily. Not fun!

So yeah, I've been in a weird phase of my life lately. I would give almost anything for about 10 more hours in a day. I have so many things I have to do. If I'm not getting them done, I'm thinking about doing them....

Anyway, I'm back online, so that's a good thing. I will try to blog more often. I will even post some of my cards or scrap pages when I get them completed.

Ground Control to Lost Soul....

2008-06-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

Been crazy busy lately, working two, sometimes three, jobs.... I keep thinking that things will settle down soon, but who knows?!

Haven't had time to scrap much.... still working on the baby book... other than that, getting sleep when I can and gearing up to start school in late September.

I'll update more later, I'm kind of tired and have to babysit tomorrow.

Life is a garden, dig it....

2008-05-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

Do you ever just go about your daily life and all of a sudden... BAM! Someone throws you for a loop? It happens to me from time to time... This life is never boring, I can tell you that... there's always something new to learn, someone new to meet, something fun to do and someone to talk to. Sometimes, there is even a new possibility standing right in front of me and I don't even notice it until it hits me like a ton of bricks.

I've been busy lately... doing some odd jobs and interviewing. I am learning how to build guitar pedals. I know... so far out of the norm for me, but it's interesting and fun and I love the people I get to work with. I'm also helping a friend organize her home. It's been a fun experience. I've learned a lot.

I have an interview tomorrow. I really hope I get the job. I'm tired of interviewing and "selling" myself to prospective employers. It's a true weakness for me... I'm just not very good at it.

I did make my mom a kick ass mother's day gift and will scan it asap and post. I have a few finishing touches and yes, moms will get it late this year. :) She forgives me for my lateness (as I suspect it's something I inherited from her.

I also made my friend Adam a cool card. I had fun with it and played with embossing, a (super messy, but cool) technique I've been using a lot lately.

Other than that, I've been working on the baby book when I can. Time just seems to be short these days.

Will post more when I can....

planning to be surprised....

2008-05-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

Wow.... so I googled "giving up on dating in your 30s" and this article popped up.... I read it and it was pretty good.... being single in your 30s

it's kind of a cool website... about being single.... check it out....

and for a laugh... here's a hilarious picture of me from my birthday celebration this past february....

2008-04-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

So I've been trying to post a blog for a bit now, but just haven't been feeling like sitting in front of the computer when I come home at night. I will post some stuff I've been working on soon. I've been trying to work on the baby book when I come home. I've just been sort of blocked lately. I think I'm depressed. In December, I had something come up in my life and it spiraled me into a pretty deep depression. I scrapped a lot during December thru February and completed some projects. That was a good feeling. I think I've managed to come out of the deep part of the depression, but I think I'm still slightly depressed. I'm not sure how to get myself out of it completely.
It's a beautiful day outside and I feel guilty staying in, but have no idea what to go out and do, besides take a walk downtown, perhaps.

My temp position ended on Friday. I let my agency know that it ended and asked them to call me back, so we could figure out what I'm gonna do on Monday. They didn't call me back. I guess that kind of makes me nervous. I did sign up with another agency. I have an appointment on Wednesday. It sounds like that will be a good deal if I can get into something awesome. Part of the problem is I have no clue what I want to do for a "day job". I can do lots of different things and am a good employee, but I am not one of those people who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. At some point.... I distinctly remember listing the three things I wanted to be when I grew up. They were: a) doctor, b) dentist, c) fashion designer. It's much to late for me to go to school for any of these things, so that's kind of lame.

Anyway, I won't go on about that stuff right now.

I also had some interesting interactions with men over the past couple weeks. I'll spare the details, but will tell one story. I was talking to a friend (who I dated a while back)
Our conversation went sort of like this:
He asked "do you miss me? yes or no?"
I said "sometimes."
He said "it's a yes or no answer."
I said "no, it's not. sometimes I miss you. Usually when I'm going to sleep at night."
He said "oh, I see how it is."
Then he said (and this caught me off guard) "do you love me?"
I said nothing as I was pondering this.... I started to answer "sometimes." but before I could get that out....
He said "I mean, I know you're in love with me, but do you love me."
I didn't know what to say. My initial reaction is ... "I don't know." Then I get sort of defiant.... like, "Who are you to tell me who I am in love with or who I love?"
We chatted for a while after that. I should say, I think he'd been out drinking, so this isn't a typical conversation for us....

The honest answer is, I have no idea what love is (how sad is that?). I mean, I do love my family. I love my friends... but when it comes to "romantic" relationships with the opposite sex, I have no clue what it means to be in love. I think I gave up on romantic love long ago.
I was married when I was 22. I stayed with him for 6 years, but at some point we grew in two different directions. I moved out and we separated and two years later finalized our divorce.
I remain friends with him to this day. I honestly don't know if we were in love. I mean, true love (how could I just simply walk away if we were in love?). I will say he is one of my best friends. I do know him very well, though and appreciate having his friendship. In the four years since I left my ex-husband, I've been kind of anti-relationship. I did date a boy steadily for almost a year during that time. I knew I wasn't in love, though. It seems cruel to say, but I don't mean it in a cruel way. I just simply knew we weren't a good match. Although, we did have lots of fun and it was an exciting time in my life. I actually was at the store with my neighbor the other night and randomly bumped into this particular ex (we live in the same neighborhood).
It was nice to chat with him for a few. We talked about music and life and what's
going on with us. I said that to say, I always try to stay on good terms with my exes. I always want their friendship even if the "love" part of the relationship ends.

Guess that I don't really have a point for this blog.... it's just a bunch of random blurbs.

I'll try and make more sense later.

Pretty pics and Atmosphere....

2008-04-02T22:39:00.001-07:00

So, I took these pics yesterday when I got to work... the sky and the river and the puddles just caught myeye when I pulled into the parking lot..... It's interesting how the pics came out different hues. These are unedited shots. The first one, I zoomed in a little.

Also, I've been listening to this song a lot lately....

Atmosphere - Lyndale Avenue User's Manual

"We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

Hey Mother, Don't Let Them Know You
They Hunger To Hold You Down And Control You.
Hey Lover, Don't Let 'em Love You
They'll Lay On Top Of You To Stay Above You.

We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

We All Need Something We Can Stake The Blame On.
It Cant Be Your Dance That Made This Rain Storm.
It Must Be The Alcohol,
And You Hate This Place 'cuz The Town's Too Small.
And Everybody There's So Fake,
Be A Brand New Day If They Was Half Awake.
Smile'n Your Face Like Yes Sir,
Waitin Til Ya Turn Your Back So They Can Whisper.
And You Aint Tryin To Love None Of 'em
Na, Ya Know Better Right? Ya Learned Something.
But Even If The First Few Burst Through
They Only Pursue Cause They Wanna Hurt You.
It Comes With A Smokers Cough
Gonna Turn It On Until Its Broken Off.
Cause Suffered And Crushed Is Just Not Enough
They Wanna Hold You Down Until They Lock You Up.

We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

We Could Try To Change To Make A New Life
Don't Mean We Gon' Do Right Tonight.

Hey Sister, Don't Let Them Touch You,
So Friendly When They're Close Enough To Cut You.

Hey Mister, Don't Let Them Break You."

And yes, I did get a ticket to see Atmosphere at the Crystal Ballroom on May 12th. I can't wait. I didn't think I was gonna be able to afford to go, but I worked it out so I could go... woohoo!

It'll be the 3rd or 4th time I've seen 'em perform. It's gonna be rad.....

cards I've made lately.

2008-03-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

So, I'm bummed, I didn't get that job I really wanted. Now I have to stay at the suckfest temp job for the next couple (maybe few) weeks. What a bummer. I'll be applying to any and every job I can from now on, though. Wish me luck.
I will participate in a lot of scrap therapy these next few weeks.... I also got another baby book job.
Kind of like the one I did a couple months ago.
It will be fun. Back to baby stuff for a while.

I gave my friend, Jose, a card on Saturday, for his birthday:

Here's a card I made for my friend, Tobe.

Here's my big sister's birthday card:

This is a 1st birthday card I made for my friend's little one:

some more pages..... (blanking on a clever blog title!)

2008-03-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

So.... I've got to get better at creating catchy titles for my posts.

I created a couple pages for my 2007 scrapbook.

I'm in LOVE with this one:

This one is a pocket page. I have to find the other invitation to go in the pocket.

This one's fun. I LOVE pink and brown and white. Makes me think of neopolitan ice cream.

This page was fun. The pictures are too cute!

after a short leave of absence.....

2008-03-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hey there,
I am finally back online at home. I started a new temp job on Feb 25th. It will end around the 15th of April (if not sooner). I interviewed for this other job last week. I really really want it. It's perfect for me in so many ways. I find out around Monday if I get it or not. Wish me luck and send your good positive vibes my way.

I finished the hawaii album and it will be delivered to my friend's mom on Sunday.
Here are the rest of the pages:

I've even made some pages for my 2007 album:

latest work...

2008-02-16T23:16:00.000-08:00

I've been busy creating scrapbook pages and looking for a new job.

Here are some pages I've completed lately:

A few things to note: All these pages are 12"x12" (except for the last one - 9"x9.5") and the corners are rounded (you can't tell this by the scans). I am almost done the hawaii album I am doing for my friend's parents. The felt bird on the "hawaiian sunsets" layout is actually green. I have no idea why it scanned a brownish color. I used Becky Higgin's sketches for most of these. They are super helpful if you get stuck or need some inspiration. I find this happens to me a lot.

biggity bam.....

2008-02-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

I created a couple more pages and a card (which will be revealed later after the recipient gets it). Once again these are for challenges on my "whores"
group on myspace.
They are lifts of someone else's designs.

This one is from a couple years ago, when I took a road trip from California to Oregon with my dad.

This one is for my friend's wedding album that I started a couple years ago. I'm almost done... boy can I procrastinate.

I went to the DMV today to get my license renewed. It was quick and I just have to wait for a week to get my new license. They gave me this temporary one till then.

I had lunch with a couple of old friends today. It was nice to catch up with them.

Other than that, not much is going on. I'm kind of in "hermit mode". Hibernating for the winter or something.

TV, Layouts and life....

2008-01-29T22:24:00.001-08:00

Well, I've been watching Mr. Show through my netflix and I've really enjoyed it so far. Bob and David are freakin' hilarious. If you haven't seen it, it's kind of a sketch type show. Quite funny and it was on HBO when it first started (in the late 90s) so you know what that means. Yep, lots of cursing. I find myself laughing out loud in my apartment alone. :)

Anyway, other than that, not much is going on. Just scrapping... here are two pages I finished today. The scans aren't the best, but hopefully they will give you an idea. The pages look much better IRL.

I have to say, I'm in love with these angel wing stamps I picked up a while ago. They are soooo awesome and I've used them on three layouts in the past week. Craziness. Another item I've been using a lot lately is chipboard letters. Not sure why I just started this recently.... I've had chipboard alphabets for a while.... but I've been using a lot of my supplies lately, instead of collecting stuff to use. I have an organization problem, which I am noticing when I look for things to scrap with from my stash. I don't always know what I have and through my organization, I've found a few duplicates. Paper, stickers, etc. Luckily, not high dollar items, but still. It's frustrating to have too much stuff and feel like I never will use it all up! grr....

I'm gonna have to get a better organization system down. It takes too long to decide what paper to use for each page. I also don't realize what I have and get ideas for other projects while I'm looking for something else. Ugh...

New pages and some therapy...

2008-01-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

I made a couple layouts and one of them was an emotional roller coaster. It was a good exercise for me, though. Helped me to sit down, think about the good and bad about a situation and journal and create (the therapeutic part).

I've been scrapbooking a lot these days.... cards are kind of taking a backseat (though, they are still my first LOVE). Most of the layouts I've been doing are challenges from the ladies on my myspace group. It's been great motivation!

more stuff I've finished....

2008-01-27T18:15:00.001-08:00

productive.... yep, that's me....

2008-01-25T21:23:00.000-08:00

Busy week.....

2008-01-24T01:17:00.001-08:00

So this week hasn't been busy in the sense of me having a lot of things to leave the house for, but definitely busy around the house. Mainly in my scraproom.

I've been creating as much as possible. Here are few pages I've finished:

Okay, so I should get some rest. I'm excited for tomorrow's projects. :)

I found an awesome quote today.... I really really love this one.....

I read and walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me.
Anna Quindlen

Some of my latest projects...

2008-01-21T23:58:00.000-08:00

I've been scrapping up a storm lately....

Here are some of my recent pages:

Woohoo! My second post.....

2007-12-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know this has been a long time coming, but I am a master procrastinator and guess I've just made peace with that.

                                             cool paper @ flutter

So the holidays whizzed by in a blur. I had a lot of fun. I managed to get together with old friends before going out of town for Christmas. Erica, Kerri and I went out to grab lunch and stopped off to browse in the Mississippi district. The shops there are super cool. A little on the spendy side for this cheapskate... oh well, still lots of fun to window shop. I took a bunch of pictures with my camera phone. They didn't come out super awesome, but they'll do.

           neat box cards... i fell in love with these

good christ, this place made me want to have a baby to dress in all these cutie pie items.....

My dear friend, Kerri modeling wedding dresses (i agreed to crop the photo before using it here). The lucky girl is getting married in 2009 in Hawaii. Congrats to her and Mark!

some cool glasses... they'd be perfect for my big sis

                  omg.... how cute is this ornament....

ANYWAY, i'm easily distracted.... so, yeah there were some sweet pics from Christmas in Vancouver, BC.

                                                       me and my sis

        a very cool shop in Vancouver

                                                 the adorable Lola

                              the itty bitty Christmas tree

I went to zoo lights before I left. I had planned on going with friends and the weather was iffy and they bailed. I knew I wouldn't get a chance to go again before I left, so I went by myself. I never really do that, but had a good time. I wandered around in the dark, looking at all the cool lights and listening to my ipod (Less than Jake, of course).   Unfortunately most of my pics from the zoolights excursion didn't turn out very well. Kind of a bummer, really, but that's how it is sometimes.

I have a new "hangout" these days, Tugboat Brewing Co. It's right downtown, like, a door down from Mary's Club.  I met the bartender on a pub crawl early in December and
have made visiting once a week or so a part of my routine. It's a fun place to take pictures from the bar. For those of you who know me, hanging out at a bar is really not something I do often, so it's been interesting becoming a "regular".

                             my favorite bartender, Linsel

                                        after hours @ Tugboat

SO... I've been meaning to post this for a while now.... just kept putting it off.

I've been home a lot lately, not really going out much. I've been broke (a normal
"after-holidays" state for me) and I have a few projects I've been working on.
I'll scan them soon and post some up here. In case anyone's been wondering,
I have been productive, just not taking as many photos as I usually do.
I'll try and post blogs here more often. Just a slacker that way, I guess.

I have about a million thoughts a day that I truly think about posting,
but most of that is just fluff, so it's probably best that I don't post EVERYTHING
I think about.....

Tonight, I caught Family Guy.... it was a good episode. I laughed out loud while working on the Dusty's project.

I also watched the news, which I never do.... and there was an adorable story about a baby polar bear that was rescued (in Germany, I think) from it's mother (who had killed another of her cubs
**sad**).
OMG... the pictures were sooooo cute.  Of course, I love any baby animals,
but polar bear babies are extra cute.  I found a cute picture of the baby
online. They don't know the sex yet, because the sexual organs haven't
developed yet and they don't have a name for the little one yet.

My official "Creative/Business Blog"...

2007-11-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
Yep, this is my "official" creative business blog.

I will use this blog to keep everyone posted of my creative stuff.

I have made cards and scrapbooked for at least ten years and have recently taken the step to have a website (that my dear sister built for me) and offer my services to the general public. My hope is to have a little side business doing what I LOVE. I'm in between day jobs right now. I usually work in an office environment.

Of course, I will try and update this often, but I will be the first to admit I am horrible at consistently updating my blog. Well, I'm going to make a concerted effort to change that about myself. I'm getting motivated and hopefully that motivation will give me the "boost" I need to add creations and updates on a regular basis.

Any feedback is appreciated (re: blogging, business, my work, whatever). I've started a blog more than once over the years and just haven't really kept it up.

Of course, when I'm not busy being a social butterfly or creating, I will add blurbs about what's going on with "House of Scrap" and post pictures of my work.

-Rachael