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.

Journey

One of my favorite quotes is a Chinese proverb that reminds us that

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step"

But no one ever told me that the first 1.5 mile run in about fifteen years would probably be the toughest....

More to come when I'm more recovered.....

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"

Where to begin?

I thought that I would kickoff my blog with a quote from The Quote Garden (http://quotegarden.com/). If you ever need a quote, this is the place to go! I recently needed 30 different and unique quotes for a friend's 30th birthday layout and I found too many to choose from! Better yet, they even have a section for quotes related to scrapbooking!

Today's quote is:
Scrapbooking is cheaper than a therapist. ~Author Unknown

I'm not quite sure how true that statement is although I suppose that the hobby of scrapbooking (the act of creating layouts with scrapbooking supplies) must be cheaper than the hobby of hoarding (the act of collecting scrapbooking supplies with the best of intentions to use them in scrapbooking one day)...too bad I seem to engage in more hoarding these days than scrapping.. ;)