Been Reading

I have been enjoying a reading binge. So far in the last few weeks I've read:

A couple of Clive Cussler Dirk Pitt Novels (Highly entertaining, and I really recommend them for a fun read. I got into these after seeing "Sahara" with Matthew McConaughy. He will always be Dirk Pitt to my mind's eye when I read. Not so sure about the actors playing Rudi Gunn and Al Giordino though....and the book IS better than the movie!) I honestly will be bummed when I've read all of the books in the Dirk Pitt series.

A couple of Jude Deveraux novels. Specifically, Wild Orchids and The Summerhouse. LOVED The Summerhouse, liked the other. I'm going to put her "Carolina Isle" on hold at the library. I read a lot from the library. It's free--well for most people. I seem to easily collect late fee fines. I tell myself it's my way of supporting the Library.

The Unbidden Truth by Kate Wilhelm. Oh Man! If you haven't read Kate Wilhelm's books about Barbara Holloway--RUN to your library and find them. They are also sold here at Costco pretty regulary, since she now lives in Oregon. The Barbara H. novels are all set in Eugene and thereabouts. I've yet to read such a wonderful female protagonist. Really. Go find these books. Kate Wilhelm's been writing for a looonnng time, and she's really honed her craft. I just finished this book yesterday, and had to go back to the library today for more. I think there are 6 or 8 or so. I have a stack of 3. I can't wait!

I also have the 2 latest Patricia Cornwall books in my bag, as well as The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffigger. I've been seeing this one around a lot, and it intrigues me. This stack of 6 books should keep me for a week or so.

Catch up to you later!

Layout Blueprints

So a friend of mine from my ScrapDivas of Oregon yahoo group is publishing a book titled "Layout Blueprints." Here are a few of my layouts that I submitted for that book. If YOU are interested in submitting--there is still time! You can submit until January 31st. Just go here for more information.

Enjoy!

We are under water...

For those of you on "Flood Watch '06" you should know that the Willamette is about to flood in this area. Highway 34 closed early this morning. Monroe area schools are closed. People in some areas are beginning to commute by boat. You can get more of the story here and here. I'll keep you posted if we have to evacuate. It's really too soon to tell, but we DO live in the hundred year floodplain. Joel may be living with his parents for a few days so he can get to work. Today it took him an hour--it usually takes about 15 minutes. That's because all of the people who usually use Highway 34 had to take Highway 20. My friend Kate was coming for a visit, but had to bail when she realized the usually 15 minute drive was going to take over an hour.

Hopefully we won't float away!

Some Happy

We had a nice weekend here at the Nelson home. We took advantage of the three-day weekend to use our Christmas Gift membership to OMSI (HUGE THANKS to Uncle Jared and Aunt Beth!) and we hosted my cousin Nathan and his girlfriend for part of the weekend.

I've written about my Grandmother before, so I'll skip a lot of the background information. Nathan is also her grandson. Until she started slipping away inside her mind, I really had no relationship at all with my Reese cousins. Not so now. I've had Nathan over twice for some overnight stays, his sister Megan has also been a houseguest of mine, and his sister Kayla and her husband and children have dropped by on the way to other places. I also now get Christmas cards and birth announcements from my cousin Phil. These are choice to me, and I'm glad to have this contact with my cousins.

As one of the oldest cousins in our little family, (I only have one cousin who is older than me...) it's always been important to me to work to keep those family relationships, well, there at least, if not friendly. And I think that if my Grandmother had just died, instead of slipping away into herself, I wouldn't have these friendships with my cousins. I'm grateful for them. I sort of think she'll hang on until more familial relationships are mended or made.

So go find someone you loved once, but haven't talked to in awhile. Reach out. If they rebuff you, at least you tried, and now THEY can own the problem. Find a long-lost cousin. Sometimes, in finding your family, you can find a little bit more of yourself.

And that's the other side

Some Musings on some Shoulds

It's a New Year. A New Year brings new enthusiam for things in our lives. These can be old things (like losing weight/getting in shape) or new things (This year I am going to try/do [fill in the blank]). But it's the enthusiasm that's important!

I've been reading and hearing a lot of talk on different boards and groups and within my circle of friends about the things we SHOULD be doing as women. Working out, caring for our homes, caring for our children, volunteering at school, sewing, home decorating, cleaning, yard work, taking pictures, laundry, shining our sinks, scrapbooking, and maybe, just maybe, caring for ourselves somewhere near the bottom of the list if and when all the other things are finished. Some of my women friends, both in person and online, even feel guilty that the things they should do are undone, or feel guilty if they take a little time for themselves--because that time SHOULD be spent doing the rest of the things on the list--especially the undone things. How enthusiastic can you be about laundry? The boxes of pictures that are tugging at the edges of your mind? Yet another pile of toys to conquer? The guilt and "shoulds" just keep piling up.

I think that's rubbish. I really do. The guilt and "shoulds" will only pile up IF WE LET IT. Who decides what we SHOULD do anyway? Who has the right to suck our enthusiasm for our life right out the window? Who decided this set of "rules" that we have to live our lives by? That is one of the things I like about the FlyLady philosophy: You decide your OWN shoulds, and release yourself from someone else's.

My Grandfather Price felt that all women in the world should be revered and honored JUST BECAUSE they were women. I LOVE that idea. We women keep the world in order. Some of us bear children; ALL of us love and nuture the next generation. We keep our homes in order--some days more than others--and we love our friends, our families, our hobbies. We can take a break if we need one. We can keep working if we feel like it. We make the world a prettier place just with our presence. We sing peace. We make differences around us every day.

So today, I want to leave you with some enthusiasm. Love your life--wherever it is! My best friend and I are supporting each other through a weight loss/exercise regime this year. We've been talking for years about how unhappy we've been with our weight gain and change in size, and this year, we are doing more than talking about it. Our motto is "Face It and Fix It." We've weighed ourselves and taken measurements with the mantra of "No Judgements, No Guilt--Just Face It and Fix It." This has been marvelous for me at least. I enjoy making the changes I need to make to "Fix" what I am working on this year. I want you to have the same enthusiasm in your life. Find something YOU'VE been feeling bad about and tell yourself that IT'S OKAY! And either let it go, or figure out what you need to do to fix it. No Judgements, No Guilt. Just love and support. And it's okay.

And that's the other side

Some Scrapbooking....

Here are some LO's I did tonight....I need to fix the lighting before I take any more LO shots. It's a bit off. I have a true color light bulb ("GE Reveal" style from Costco) on one side and my Ott-lite on the other. One layout is of Cooper's first birthday (in April of 2004--working on getting 2004 done); and the other is Joel's siblings and their wives and children meeting at Mo's Annex at the Devil's Punchbowl on the Oregon Coast in June of 2004. It was good to get back into scrapping after all of that planner making and stuff. And, I was very disciplined and put EVERYTHING away when I was done!

Anyway, enjoy!

Getting Closer to the After!

Well, today I unearthed the homework desk under the pegboard. I've also switched the white dresser with another small desk that was in another part of my Scrap Nook. Now I can have my sewing machine close to my scrap desk. One of the things I want to try this year is sewing on my pages.

Let's have a game! The first three people to comment on my blog and tell me what letter is back on the wall (it was missing in the previous picture of my messy space) will get a package of Bazzill Buttons (colors will vary--but do tell me if you have a preference!). Look closely! (NOTE: this game is separate from the SBT game--please don't post here AND there. Thanks!)

If you really want to work for a prize, tell me what the letters stand for and I'll throw in something else as well!

And that's the other side--cleaned up!

The Great Space Reclaim~~

I've lived with this mess for TOO LONG! This has been typical of our office area looking into my scrapping area (and after several hours, my scrapping desk is pretty clean!). My mission this week is to get a handle on all of it, and work to break the "I'll clean it up later habit." It's been my sad experience that "later" never comes. My DH is pretty bad about this. I have piles of things for him to look at "later." I'll probably just start throwing it all away and hope I don't toss anything important. That way, the piles don't move into boxes (and I have a few of those as well!)

I'm having a good time on the Scrapbook Talk Yahoo group. I'm leading the "Great Space Reclaim" challenge and am really enjoying being involved with this group. I'll add the link to my link section in case you want to check it out!

Go Reclaim some Space that's important to you--whether it's your bedroom, your living room or your kitchen. It'll make you feel better!

And that's the other side.

It's a bit wet...

Well, here in the Rainy Northwest, we are living up to our reputation. This is a local park, and what you are looking at is the top of the picnic table shelter, and if you can make out the green pipe-thingys, that's the top of the play structure. The white squares are the basketball hoops. The river that is flooded is the Calapooia River--which runs into the Willamette River. This park borders the junction of the two rivers. Just a bit wet here....

Sibling Love

She loves to ice skate. He's only tried once before this. She's brimming with natural ability and skill. He hugs the side of the rink and makes it around in about 40 minutes. When he wanted to try the center of the ice with the other less experienced skaters, she stopped her fun and pulled him safely in. That's love for you.