Write My Life

From the Weather Channel:

...POSSIBLE RECORD BREAKING TEMPERATURES ON TAP FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO AND
MONTEREY BAY AREAS THROUGH SATURDAY...

THE COMBINATION OF STRONG HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT AND OFFSHORE FLOW
WILL USHER IN VERY WARM TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES MAY APPROACH RECORD
LEVELS IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY. HIGH TEMPERATURES COULD REACH THE UPPER 70S TO MIDDLE
80S...EVEN ALONG THE COAST. THESE TEMPERATURES ARE 10 TO 20
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR MID NOVEMBER. TEMPERATURES WILL BEGIN TO
COOL ON SUNDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE WEAKENS AND A SEA BREEZE DEVELOPS.

PEOPLE PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES THROUGH THE WEEKEND SHOULD
TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE VERY WARM TEMPERATURES AND ADJUST
ACTIVITIES ACCORDINGLY. WEAR LOOSE FITTING LIGHT WEIGHT CLOTHING
AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SHADE AND AIR
CONDITIONING IF AVAILABLE.

I guess we’ll have to be very careful of the SEVERE weather around here at Jennifer’s Saturday soccer game.

I love California weather…

Sunday: Beef Stroganof with noodles, corn and grapes

Monday: Corned Beef with cabbage, red potatoes & carrots and cantaloupe

Tuesday: Manicotti, garlic bread and salad

Wednesday: Dinner at PACC plus a treat for Mike’s birthday - Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake

Thursday: Restaurant of Mike’s choice

Friday: Submarine Sandwiches

Saturday: Pad Thai, Thai Chili Beef, pineapple, kiwi and white rice

Today I have two layouts. One is from week #6 of class.

This week Cathy discussed Unity and how all the pieces we have been discussing work together to create one unified scrapbook page. She discussed Gestalt Principles and how when we first look at a page we see it (if it is designed well) as one unit, then start looking at its parts. She emphasised proximity as a way to keep a layout unified.

The following layout is a tribute to my dog who just turned 15 yesterday. I wrote the journaling a few weeks ago and included it here. The bottom portion of the layout is an 8 1/2 X 11 Cathy sketch for week #6 that has been flipped and placed on 12 X 12  “paper.” For the class you can see the proximity of the photos and the swatches of paper that create a unified look to the layout. Do you notice other things in this layout that have been emphasized in other weeks of the class?

Merlin is Back.

Journaling:  I had given up hope that Merlin would ever fetch again. Ever since his dental issues this summer and the subsequent lip fold infection, he would no longer play fetch. This is the dog that was practically addicted to playing fetch.

I had given up. I had put the balls away. I had just resigned myself to the fact that he didn’t want to play anymore.

Yesterday I was sitting on the porch swing and he was circling in front of me like he always did when he wanted to play fetch. I smiled at the memory of those fetching days. He continued circling. I said to Jackie, “Look at him act like he wants to play but he won’t play.” He continued circling. “Okay,” I said and I got his favorite red ball. I threw it. He ran, struggled to pick it up, then brought it back to me. “How about that?” I said. I threw again and he fetched. I smiled so big. He may be be turning 15 in 10 days but I felt like I got my dog “back.”

Jesse Edwards: Clean and Serene Solids, All Natural paper, Title Lines No. 2

Pattie Knox: Brad Bonanza and Coffee with Cream Alpha

Font: CK Cosmopolitan and Century Gothic

PLUS. Here’s another layout I did this week but not for the class. I did use a lot of things I have learned in the class to put this together.

October 2008 Halloween.

Journaling: Jackie and Jennifer love Halloween but not for the holiday itself. There are no scary creatures at our house or ghoulish decorations outside. What they love is the fact that they get to dress up in public without looking very odd. So this Halloween they had fun creating the look of a Japanese girl and the Pirate captain Jackie. 

Kellie Mize: Extra Long Dates and Softly Patterned Autumn paper
Katie Pertiet: My Country paper and Play Layered Template
Jesse Edwards: Happy Harvest Solids, Title Lines 2, and Clean and Serene Solids
Pattie Knox: Have a Heart Felt Vol. 02

All Digital Products from http://www.designerdigitals.com

Here’s a quick layout to record our family’s feelings about the election of Barack Obama.  The title and red quote comes from one of my all-time favorite songs, The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby. By total coincidence, Hornsby is my maiden last name.

Journaling:

That’s just the way it is; Some things will never change.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008. It was history in the making. We played our small part. We prayed. We voted. We waited. I camped out in front of the TV sorting laundry and ironing while waiting for the election results. Mike and Jaclyn walked through the front door, coming home from her soccer game, and sat down. Right after the polls in CA closed, it was announced that Barack Obama had enough electoral votes to win the presidency. Celebrations erupted all around the country. John McCain followed with a classy and gracious concession speech.
It was getting late for the girls but they pressed us to let them watch Barack Obama’s speech. We agreed. All eyes fixed on Grant Park in Chicago. I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgia for Chicago at that moment. I couldn’t help but feel the unity among all Americans at that moment. I couldn’t help but think that something special was happening here in our country.
Barack Obama appeared on the stage and spoke like a leader with intelligence, gentleness and humility yet firm and full of belief in the people of our beautiful country. The girls listened. My heart felt joy. Tears formed in Mike’s eyes.
“And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.”
Change has indeed come to America.

That’s just the way it is; But don’t you believe them.

Digital products from: http://www.designerdigitals.com

Katie Pertiet: Playtime Layered Template
Jesse Edwards: Happy Harvest Solids, Clean and Serene Solids and Fabric Overlays
Fonts: You Are Loved and Garamond. Images and logo from the internet.

Week #5 of class considered one classic component of Cathy’s style - white space. In our chaotic world, the use of white space is a welcoming thing for the eye. The space does not need to be white (it could even be pattern paper) but it needs to be empty - empty of information that will compete with the rest of the layout.

I am a big fan of white space on layouts so I loved these sketches!

Change is Here.

Journaling: As we drove into the farm where we have picked pumpkins for year after year we quickly realized something was wrong. The signs directed us to a new patch site. We pulled into the parking lot, but I could see the sadness creep through Jennifer’s face. It wasn’t the same.
We walked into the small, confined pumpkin patch. Pumpkins were laying next to each other inches apart. It wouldn’t take long to look through this pumpkin selection.
This was a change. The former field was large with room to roam, even room to run. The former field had stacks of hay forming a pyramid for climbing and jumping. The former field had a maze constructed from hay stacks. It was all gone.
Jennifer looked and searched for a pumpkin but with a bit less spring in her step. And she fondly recalled the days of fun in the former pumpkin field.

Katie Pertiet: All You Need Overlays, www.designerdigitals.com
Art Warehouse: Memories Circles No. 6, www.designerdigitals.com
Fonts: Garamond and You Are Loved

For this layout, I flipped the sketch. The large photo was suppose to be pattern paper but I put in a photo. I also used the little photos to show a series of photographs of Jennifer through the years.

For the Love of Pumpkins.

Journaling: Although it wasn’t our traditional pumpkin patch, there were lots of fine pumpkins of which to choose one to take home.
After searching the small pumpkin area, we agreed on a large one. Our pumpkin had a great unblemished flat side for carving.
Jennifer was also attracted to the small pumpkins. She eyed them but didn’t want to ask for one in addition to the large pumpkin. Since the large one was less expensive than I had anticipated I allowed her to take one of the small ones home as well.

Jesse Edwards: Happy Harvest Paper Pack, Clean and Serene Solids
Katie Pertiet: Graphic Pop Postage Strips, Basic Bare Chipboard Alphabet
Ali Edwards: Stacked Dates
All www.designerdigitals.com
Font: Garamond and CK Ali’s Handwriting

Pumpkin Carving 08.

Jesse Edwards: Clean and Serene Solids
Katie Pertiet: Basic Bare Chipboard Alphabet, Simply Ledger paper, Fabulous Fall Flourishes brushes, Drop Shadow Styles Collection
Dana Zarling: Falling Leaves paper (clipped with the flourishes)
Ali Edwards: Stacked Dates

Font: Garamond and American Typewriter

All digital supplies from www.designerdigitals.com . Layouts and concept provided by Cathy Zielske’s Design Your Life workshop at Big Picture Scrapbooking

Sunday: Rib-eye steak with Cream Biscuits and Pineapple Chunks

Monday: Tacos with Guacamole, Tomatillo Salsa and Refried Beans

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes with Cauliflower Gratin and a mix of Blackberries and Raspberries

Wednesday: Pizza Night at PACC

Thursday: Manicotti with Green Salad and Garlic Bread

Friday: Chicken Breasts and Mushroom Sauce with Roasted Beets and Celery Sticks

Saturday: Chicken and Apple Sausage with Green Salad, Glazed Carrots and Apple Slices

Jackie and Jennifer love Halloween not for the holiday itself but because they get to dress up in public without looking very odd. Here is my Japanese girl and my Pirate girl.