Happy Birthday Amy!

I hope it's a great one. My sister Amy celebrates today along with my niece, Shannen, who is turning 4. :)

Amy has had a brilliant year. It all started with last year's proposal. So much more on the horizon for her this year and I can't wait to cheer her on.

My sister Amy is the most brilliant and beautiful person I know. Today I am celebrating her and all the things that make her so special to me. How about 38 reasons why? Here goes:

1. She's my older sister and who doesn't adore their older siblings?

2. I have many memories that I keep from my childhood and file under her name. Like the one about how we used to listen to the Top 40 countdown every Sunday morning and write down the top 10 as Casey Kasem announced them one by one. We'd try to guess which one would stay in the top spot, or would our newest favorite knock out the previous week's and claim the title? It was rare that we'd root for the same one. Maybe "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper.

3. She knits things for my daughters and recently for me. :)

4. She is a very loving Aunt to my girls.

5. She and I have the same laugh. The kind that bursts out when something is really hilarious and is followed by a crazy round of giggles. Contagious, really.

6. She always seems to pick out the perfect gifts. She's deeply sentimental with many and thoughtful with all. Like, the set of bowls that we remember making cakes with as kids and fighting over the batter on the sides that we would scoop onto our fingers and lick clean.

7. She is a wonderfully creative writer. Her poems are soulful that require thoughtfulness and reflection to appreciate.

8. She is so gorgeous, especially with joy around her. (Thanks Mark!)

9. She loves ice cream - the creamier the better.

10. She cooks lovely dishes that I have to open a cookbook to find even the mere mention of. Yep, she totally rocks an apron and a stove.

11. She bakes the best shortbread. Mmmm.

12. She inspires me to be a sincere person and to truly be honest with what I embrace in life.

13. She is very resourceful. Seriously, who just moves across the country like 5 times just because they want to make a fresh start?

14. Amy says what she wants to me because she knows I will forgive her. Like the time she made a crack about my ratted up hair in the late 80's before she even said hello when I went to visit her in college.

15. She used to let me hang out with her and her friends when she was at college. Is that love or what?

16. Amy has the most porcelain skin tone. I'm starting to look older than she does and that's totally unfair. I'll work on forgiving her for that...

17. She introduced me to bands like the Violent Femmes before anyone my age could even comprehend music outside of Duran Duran, Van Halen, and Huey Lewis and the News.

18. The countless hours of playing Clue, Sorry, and Life.

19. She pretends not to be hurt when I don't call first or if it's been a bit. Still working on getting better with that.

20. She tried scrapbooking for the first time ever and I think I may have slightly influenced that decision. ;)

21. She makes and keeps her friends for life. She has an amazing way of allowing people to trust her.

22. She's like M&Ms. Colorful shell with a totally irresistable inside that no one can help but love. And she's fun to bring to the movies. ;)

23. Amy never does anything half-way. She puts her all into anything she decides to write as part of her story.

24. She's the only person alive that understands experiencing both my Mother and my Father.

25. Amy totally gets being silly.

26. She taught me how to be ok with appreciating the differences in others' opinions. (Just picture Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Michael Jackson posters hanging in the same room. That was us!)

27. Whenever I hear the terms 'Motivated' and 'Successful', I think of my sister.

28. I swear I'm smarter just from being around her. I was learning her vocabulary while helping her study. Who learns the meaning of voracious in the fifth grade? I did! And, we must have been to the library a hundred times over as kids. Too bad I can't have my library cards and laminate them. I'm sure Amy would win some kind of Bacon Memorial Library award.

29. I can honestly say I have been to see many, many Orchestra concerts play. I'll leave out the other stuff I may want to add to that. ;)

30. All the miles between California and Michigan got nothin' on us.

31. She has a sarcastic sense of humor. Gotta love that!

32. We may not be alike in a lot of ways but if we both were to paint a picture of what we want from our lives - our hearts would draw the same rainbow in our skies. We both are strong, vulnerable, determined and meaningful women. I truly believe it's because we've had each other for part of the way.

33. Amy is a great teacher. I don't have to be in her class to know, I have been a student all my life. I could list at least 38 things I've learned from her, but that's another blog entry...

34. Amy is like Audrey Hepburn with classic and timeless beauty, style and grace.

35. I am also reminded of how much my sister means to me with watching my own two daughters. They fight, make up, experience the same situations, and bring their own unique personalities to each other. Having a sister is something to treasure.

36. Now that we are adults, we get to continue to celebrate our experiences even if they happen to the youngest first. Who says the oldest gets to do all the milestones before her sister? I think it's a good way to stir things up and keep things exciting. :)

37. I hope to always appreciate the new things I learn about my sister as well as the stuff that I keep in that childhood file cabinet in my head.

38. I love you, Amy!

Totally Random Tuesday

Few things for this lovely Tuesday:

~ More snow as we wake up here in Michigan. Almost two inches. The commute should be interesting.

~Megan was chosen by her art teacher to be the school's artist of the month for November!! It's that the best?! Look at the display that she has on the wall across from the office. What a proud Mommy I am. :)

~ I finally got my hair "did" at the salon. Not great, not too shabby. Just thankful that I was able to go.

~ My house is in shambles so I am glad that I have a four day weekend. I can clean, do extra stuff I've been putting off, get some gifts complete, and hang with the family. Now THAT's what I call a weekend!

~ I've got some good news to share in the scrappy world but will need to edit later when I can share.

~ I met a friend from Canada over the weekend that I normally just chat with on The Scrap-Room message boards. Julie was so lovely in person and I enjoyed hanging out all day Sunday with her at Archiver's. I got some layouts done.

~Don't forget to donate your canned goods today!! If you don't know a good place - check out your local grocery, library, post office, fire dept, elementary schools, churches, etc. for a start. Oh, and don't shop this Friday and ignore the red bucket. That bell ringer volunteers for a good cause!

~Much love today - spread your inner wealth. :)

Wowza Wednesday

There are things in life that just make you say WOW. I like to take it a bit further and say WOWZA. The class I'm taking with Jessica Sprague right now has got me saying that. I have been so inspired to write. It's awesome. Many, many stories that I'd forgotten about that need to be told. They've been living tucked inside my head and I'm starting the process of remembering and telling. I can't wait to share - just fine tuning some right now. Seriously, this class has "rocked my world". In ode to that, my girls did some rockin'. LOL

Also - WOW is November going by fast!

In the mean time, I'd love to hear what's wowing you right now. Post a comment!

Hello Snow

It's that time of year again. Snow. It's the beginning of the next 6 months. *Sigh* I like snow better than the rain, though. I went grocery shopping yesterday morning and it was 38 degrees with steady rain. Now that makes you freeze to the core. Standing in the parking lot, loading 10 bags and cases of pop & water while getting cold & wet really is NOT a good time. Remember when I said I didn't like November? Precisely!

Megan got her hair cut into a cute short bob again. She is so stinkin' adorable.
Michaela comes home tomorrow. I will say she was missed this week. Deeply.

Good things - I bought the next book in the Twilight series, New Moon. I can't wait for the movie - it comes out this week!!

Also, the free class I'm taking with Jessica Sprague is awesome. I have several stories to write and will start sharing them here. Sometimes I'll add to scrapbooks, too. I'm looking forward to having writing + photos being a focus for 2009.

Toodles - see you this week. I'll be playing with my camera and hoping to get some good shots. ~

Stories in Hand & other random stuff

The semi-permanent cover

My random shot that turned magnificent of Megan, Nov. 9th

The inside of the binder, this is one of the 6 sections with tabs. I just realized these were out of order. Oh, this is such the way today. LOL

Megan's shot of me sitting with our puppy doggies. Not bad for a 6 year old, eh?

I'm taking Jessica Sprague's free online class for creating a Stories in Hand binder. It's so fun already! It's more like a complete guide to journaling and telling your stories. Sharing your soul. Telling your tune to all that wants to hear your sweet song. I have shared the beginning pages and it is truly still a work in progress. I have core question pages to print and add today but I like how this has really got me excited to create like nothing ever before! I will buy a small binder and convert this design into that but for now, I will work with this. The hole punching is the hardest part. *Sigh* I'm just not a total perfectionist when it comes to this and it's really something I should want to finish perfectly. I'm sure I'll get it soon. So, I can't wait until it's time to start telling my stories and getting down on paper all those things that make me, well, me.

Oh yeah, we saw our first flutters of snow this Sunday & Monday. Yikes. It stuck around for a bit Sunday evening. Megan was SO excited. She has always loved the snow. She wanted to go out right then and buy a sled - ha! Hmmm, holiday gift perhaps?

Also, I took a gorgeous photo of Megan and it was by just goofing around with the camera. I wanted to get a photo on a tilt. I recommend this! Sometimes those make the best shots. Oh, and my little creative camera girl took one of me, too. She really is a shutterfly. Hmmm, holiday gift idea, perhaps?

I have holidays on the brain. I've been making gifts and listening to Christmas music. Ahem, yes, I said Christmas music. I'm a total dork when it comes to the holidays. Love it all! Nothing like a good Carpenter's rendition of a classic tune. hehe

Another random thought before I'm done rattling today. My car officially has over 100,000 miles on its odometer. WOW All those miles to and from work really tack it on thick. I have this OCD thing, too, when it comes to my odometer. I love number patterns. I totally freaked when it read 99,999.

Have a great day everyone! If you didn't already think I was a dork, you will now!

If you want to share today, leave a comment. I'm curious on anything sweet that has come your way that either inspires you, came for free, was unexpected, or random, etc.

Here's a letter from one of my far away friends that I haven't seen since 1998 but feel so strongly in my heart. Shannon continues to share her life with me through pictures and updates. When I get an email -I feel like I am right there with her. I want to share her family's personal story and bring some light to something that touches so many families and children every day.

Hi all! To those of you who know our son Parker’s story and have supported us and walked with us over the past 4 years –THANK YOU! We hope that you will forward this to anyone and everyone and let this letter be heard- and help find a CURE! Our letter this year is intended to inform those who don’t know about Parker and type 1 diabetes, as well as bringing as many people as we can to walk and support us. As many of you know, our little guy Parker is almost 6 years old with type 1 diabetes and has been a type 1 diabetic since the young age of 15 months. Parker is insulin controlled and given several shots daily as well as several finger pricks a day. We have to watch Parker’s food intake and exercise every second of the day. This has become much more challenging for us now that Parker is in school all day long in the 1st grade. We do not have a full time nurse at school so you can imagine the struggles much less the stress we go through everyday. We have had to educate his Teacher (which she is awesome), but she is still very fearful of what can happen to him being under her care. Lunch time is our biggest struggle just making sure he is watched like a hawk and has eaten everything he has been given. We still wait everyday for a cure to be found for our little dude. There is NOTHING worse than having your son break down and tell you that he hates having diabetes and why does he have it. He will require shots and blood testing for the rest of his life.
This is a disease that he will NEVER outgrow and is why we HAVE to find a cure for Parker and all these kids!

Shannon, Parker, his sister Sydnie, Dad (Mike) and the whole family along with many, many friends get together this time every year to participate in a walk that raises money to help find a cure for this disease. During this time of year, many of you make donations to causes that you feel strongly about. This is one that could use your help, no matter how small. It all adds up! Consider this foundation this year for a donation and you wil be helping many kids like Parker. Make donations online at
http://www.jdrf.org/. All major credit cards are accepted on the secured web page. All donations are TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.

Thank you and much love to all of you!!

New leadership

"A new dawn of American leadership is at hand." ~ Barack Obama

"Look over your shoulder now and then to be sure someone's following you." ~ Henry Gilmer

I'm behind you.

Election Day!!

Every four years we are fortunate to stand in line to cast our vote for the President of the Unites States. The highest executive office. WOW.
Today was great - I got up, went to Precinct 1 that is literally the driveway next to our neighborhood to the church that occupies the voting polls, and cast my votes. I spent exactly one hour doing my civic duty. That felt great. Bummer thing is, they didn't have any of those "I voted!" stickers. No free Starbucks for me. :( It's the one day that we as adults can get away with wearing a sticker that doesn't say, "Hello, my name is..."
I do think it's interesting that I step through church doors to vote, though. Isn't there separation of church and state? Doesn't this violate some crazy rule? Not that I care but it does ring ironic.
I will share my views on my political soapbox for today, because it doesn't happen very often. If everyone turned out this much for every election, we'd sure have a big say in what goes on in our own neighborhoods. It would create much more responsibility for those elected to the local, county, and state civic offices. Why can't we? Not only did I fill in a circle for whom I feel is best suited for President, I filled in circles for county sheriff, county executive, school board members, and judicial seats. I did research on who's names I would see there to make sure I could fill in those circles, proudly and responsibly for those that make decisions every day for my kids, my neighbors, my community. So, cast your votes today and be proud that you made them count. Not just for Obama or McCain, but for your choices for your communities. And make sure you show up for the next one, and the one after that - not just again in 2012. Ok, I'm climbing down now.
Have a wonderful day everyone! I'll be tired tomorrow for staying up to watch history unfold.
~ Emily

Halloween fun

Kevin as a gorilla. LOL

The giveaway loot. I still have the best candy leftover. ;)

The costumed girls.

Back with all their new goodies!

A shot of the kids across the street. (Nevermind the ugly house)

Michaela the mime.

Megan the goth witch.

Oh, Halloween was a blast, as usual. Michaela made her own costume and with a little help from white & black make-up, became a mime. She had a dry erase baord with the phrase, "Don't mime me, have a happy Halloween" - too cute! Megan dressed as a red witch (which was very gothic) and had very cool face paint designs. Her hair was sprayed with a touch of red but my photos came out as pinkish. They t & t'd around the neighborhood and got lots of treats! The kids were out and having fun because we had a surprise blast of warm temps - it got to 72 degrees yesterday! Woo hoo! Then we went to our friends' (the Pattersons) and hung out around a fire for a while. Kevin decided to wear his gorilla costume. HAHA it was hilarious. It was a great night!

Oh, and I want to mention that the best monthly forecasts will be posted today from awesome astrologer Susan Miller. Make sure you check out http://www.astrologyzone.com/ for yours! You will not be disappointed.

And the Scrap-Room has the best kit ever this month - check it out here http://www.scrap-room.com/

Happy first day of November. I hate November. Its only redeeming qualities is Thanksgiving and my sister's & niece's birthdays. It's always rainy and cold and ugly. I'm hoping for some good hermit time in the house getting ready for the holidays.

How was your Halloween? Do you like November? Don't forget to post a comment!