There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds
~ G.K. Chesterton

Papers: Brittish Designs & Madame Wing

Ribbons: Brittish Designs

Frame: Anna Aspens

Tag: Crystal Hartley

Wordart: Jemenifer

Stitches: AmelieScrap

Farmers Market

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie

~Jim Davis

Credits: Template, frame, paper and alphas: Brittish Designs

Elements: ksharonk designs

Restaurant Reviews: Tidepools

Hunger: One of the few cravings that cannot be appeased with another solution.
~Irwin Van Grove



Credits:
Template: MandaGirl
Papers: A Work in Progress
Frames: Timounette

Restaurant Reviews: Studio Cafe

Worries go down better with soup. ~Jewish Proverb


Credits:
Buttons: Ellie Lash
Tag: Brittish Designs
Frame: ksharonk Designs
Papers: Anna Aspen (yellow). A Work in Progress (brown & green)

The Nightmare before Christmas Holiday

This is one of my favorite rides at Disneyland. I never cared much for the movie until the ride re-introduced me years ago...


"Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems in a place perhaps you've seen in your dreams. For the story you're about to be told began with the holiday worlds of auld. Now you've probably wondered where holidays come from. If you haven't I'd say it's time you begun."
- Santa (from Nightmare Before Christmas)

Credits : All papers and elements by Brittish Designs- Halloween Nightmare Add On, Ribbon Jar and Glam O Rama

Happy Halloween

Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin is an annual tradition to watch on ABC. When I saw the quote below, I had to laugh....

"Charlie Brown is the one person I identify with. C.B. is such a loser. He wasn't even the star of his own Halloween special."
~Chris Rock

Credits:

Paper: Brittish Designs (Wicked)

Ribbon: Brittish Designs

Pumpkins: Simply Sweet Designs

Baseball Season

"Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer. ~Ted Williams"

If only such an average would be exceptional in life as well, then all would be well. One of the greatest things about summer is the traditional visit to the baseball stadiums. This year was no different. The introduction of Manny Ramirez to the Dodger family was a fun and loud one



* Elements: Britt-ish Designs/ Boys of Summer
* Frame: Britt-ish Designs/ Boys of Summer
* Paper: Kristin Aagard Designs/ Just a Boy

The fierce side of the circus

"A cat is a tiger that is fed by hand. ~Proverb"


The elephants contrasted quite a bit to the tigers of the circus. Whereas the elephants were mellow and laid back, the tigers were regimented, fierce and I imagine a bit nerve racking if you're in the cage with them. The tigers took a lot more preparation, with the entire intermission devoted to setting up the cage with a handler at every corner just in case.

* Template: Britt-ish Designs
* Elements: Stolen Moments Design/ Alphabet Soup and MJV Designs
* Alpha: Britt-ish Designs
* Frame: Ellie Lash Designs
* Edging: K Lewis Designs/ Starburst

My life is a circus...

Sometimes it feels like my life is just a circus and I am surrounded by juggling clowns, vicious tigers, lions and bears (oh my!) and things are just flying through the air. The chaos and mayhem that it takes to get through a typical day is just crazy sometimes (and yet it's relatively tame compared to others that I know!). It's amazing that I'm still standing right side up at the end of the day!

Therefore, when the circus came to town last month, I just had to go and see how it compared. Although I live in the midst of a circus, I've never been to one and had so much fun watching through my camera lenses at the spectacle that Ringling Bros. has become from the second row up.

Their elephants were captivating. I have an affinity for these gentle giants and it was so fun to see these majestic creatures up close performing.

Running towards a promise

* Paper: Digi designs by Nicole (Serenity)
* Elements: Britt-ish designs/ The boys of summer and Corina Nielson/ DSD (bracket)

So three years ago, I made a random comment to some friends who were cross country runners that we should run a 5k race when we finally had some spare time. I made a promise back then thinking that no one would remember (since they never remember *anything* and I haven't run a mile since junior high school!). Fast forward three years and apparently someone's been bulking up on their gingko biloba because they remembered.......(despite the fact that they don't remember six million other things!) After several attempts of trying to talk my way out of the promise, I was ready to put on my running shoes and start running towards that promise until I hit a stumbling block- I don't have running shoes! Trying to think optimistically, I viewed it as a good reason to go shopping. Well let's hope that picking out running shoes is the toughest part of this adventure............since it was more thinking than I've done in the past few months and hurt the one brain cell that I still have left.

Winnie the Pooh and friends

In his now world renowned Last Lecture, the late Randy Pausch suggested that we should decide whether or not we were a "Tigger" or an "Eeyore" in life. One that approached life with a spring in their step or one that let life approach them. When I first watched The Last Lecture, I was touched by his analogy of our approach to life utilizing the characters from my favorite Disney franchise.

I grew up on Winnie the Pooh, searching for anything related to the unlikely gang of stuffed animal friends whenever I was out and about. (Note that this is before Disney realized that it should put them on everything and everyone to make lots and lots of money). My penchant for the characters even extended into academics- one of my high school papers senior year was on its creator, A.A. Milne, and the legacy of the stories that were created.

Given the choice between identifying myself as a Tigger or an Eeyore, I've always identified with Pooh bear most: Classic, simple, scared of the unknown (in the heffalumps, woozles and dark forest) and quite a bit clueless at times. Always watching out for his friends and while pondering the simplest of worries (typically the rumbling in his tummy). And the second most popular and profitable character for Disney.

When I stumbled upon this quote/wordart, I had to smile and knew that I had to find a layout to use it on. (Yes, I'm totally guilty of setting up pictures and layouts to match papers and elements that I just *need* to use on that perfectly themed layout! ;))

* Papers: Kimmy's Keepsakes

* Quote: Annie's Little Footsteps

* Stamp: Britt's Designs

* Frame: Karen Russell/ Whirlwind

* Design: Inspired by Sya's blueprints/ The chosen one: set 2

Caution: Food coma ahead

Today's quote:
Sleep 'til you're hungry, eat 'til you're sleepy. ~Author Unknown

Today's quote just seemed so suitable to this layout that I just finished. We were pretty sleepy when we were done with this meal! I think that we surprised ourselves and those in the restaurant when we managed to polish off enough sushi to cover the length of two tables...it was more like sushi for a party of ten!

* Papers: Anna Aspen 7-27-08 Ad Challenge on Designer Digitals (http://www.designerdigitals.com/ddgallery/showphoto.php?photo=69121)

* Elements: ksharonk designs- notebook paper and stitching/ Lindsay Jane Designs- frames

The sweet side of life

Desserts and sweets are a weakness of mine and I always have room for dessert- especially when traveling!

Today's quote:
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz

* Paper: Britt-ish Designs "Mouse in the House"
* Elements: Britt-ish Designs "Mouse in the House" & "Happiest Kit on Earth"

Technology

Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.


~J.K. Rowling








Credits:


* Paper strips- Jardin Rustique/ Polka Dot Plum Designs


* Paper- Designs by Nina


* Elements- Erica Zane (label), Amelie Scraps (stitch) and KSharonK Designs (notebook paper and staples)