I'm so jazzed! I found a link on Donna Salazar's website to a scrapbook store down the street from me. That means I'm right smack in the middle of two LSS...the first one being the one I used to go to before I moved to the desert, and the second being this new one. This is SO COOL! They both have crops and classes, and I've really missed having all that fun when I was gone. Today I signed up for three classes and the first one is Saturday. I think Donna's class is in November. Definitely worth taking just to meet her.

Okay, Erika, the blogging begins!

I'm back! Yay!!! Would you believe I'm still putting things away? Depending on which door/drawer you open, you'll find that I'm extremely organized or a terrrible mess. But I'm getting there, and I'm working on organizing my scrapcrap. Since I moved into a unit with a different floor plan than I had previously seen, my options for a scrap area changed drastically. I had to choose between a balcony or a wall to build a scrap area on...ack! I chose the balcony, and that was the first thing I set up to make my new place feel like home.


Just a small start to see how things grow here. I'm facing West....ugh. Shade all day until the afternoon when the sun beats down with the intensity of the desert heat...heat that I just moved away from. Unbelievable.

I'm used to having my scrapcrap crammed into small spaces so a scrap closet will work fine for me. Will I miss the scrapwall I had built in my mind's eye? Yep, but I'll get over it. I bought a nice kitchen island from Penney's that holds a ton of stuff. It has a drop leaf that extends the counter top to 25", I love it!

My nephew put this together for me yesterday and I'll be loading it with supplies today. Not a bad deal for $199.

I've been catching up on my blog reading this week. You guys have been busy!!!
It's good to see that everyone is still out there. I get so attached to the people that I think they're family. I mean, Ali Edwards' baby is 7 months old already....where'd the time go? (Gosh, have you seen how cute she is? And Simon is so adorable, he's going to be one handsome guy.)

Be back later, I'm off to conquer the scrapcrap!

It's been a while. I've moved, but I'm surrounded by boxes and don't know where to put anything. My cable was to be hooked up on Saturday but the cable guy couldn't get into the electrical room....had to reschedule for Tuesday. My internet was supposed to be working when I moved in but it wasn't...got that going tonight and thought I'd watch some internet tv, but I can't find my speakers. Then I realized I could use my laptop but the network connection isn't working....sigh. I hate moving.

I never would have thought that NOT working would create so much WORK! I've been so busy taking care of business that the days are just flying by. Now that my life is changing and taking on a new direction, I'm making major decisions about my finances, health insurance, living arrangements, etc. It all seems so simple when you think about it....retiring and making it happen though.....not so simple. You can't decide this until you know the outcome of that, and you can't move forward with that until you're finished with this. It would have been so much easier four months from now, but I'm glad it's happening....I can't wait to move.

I'm already packing and I'm not moving for another 30 days. But in my mind, I'm planning where my furniture will go and how my scrap area will be set up. I plan on spending a lot of time in my scrap area. I plan on spending more time tending to my little balcony garden, shopping with my sister, enjoying my cats and being as domestic as possible.

Tomorrow, I'm finalizing the deal on my apartment and have to go into the OC again. It'll be nice to get out of this 108 degree heat for a while. Did I mention that I can't wait to move?

See ya later, folks. Doesn't look like I'll be doing any scrapping until I move. But I AM following the blogs and message boards so keep me updated!

You in 52

I'm amazed at how bad this layout looks. It looks fantastic in person! Sheesh!

This is for the question..."Who is your best adult friend?" The answer is "my sister, of course". The one who's always been there since memory began. The one who has stood by me, behind me, next to me, in front of me, wherever she needed to be at any given moment. My sister is 12 years older than me, and I can't remember a time when she treated me as anything other than someone special. I never felt like a pest, or the little kid she wanted to lose. I adored her when I was a child, and I adore her now. My sister, my very best friend.

I'm really out of the (scrap)loop right now. I've been SO BUSY since I was laid off. Honestly, I'm trying to figure out where I'm going, and when I'm going there. It looks like I'll be leaving the desert, all of this beautiful sunshine, blue sky and warm days, and move back to the OC where my family is.
It's just so beautiful here...but lonely without the family. I don't think I'll be doing much until things are squared away...I have a l/o to put up for 'You in 52', I'll take pics tomorrow. In the meantime, I miss reading everyone's blogs and viewing your work. I'll definitely catch up later!

Wow....laid off

Be careful what you wish for. I wanted to retire so bad...and now I'm forced into it. Just like that....poof! My job is up in smoke, my substantial paycheck is gone, my life will never be the same...JUST LIKE THAT.

I'd pretty much decided I was going to do it anyway...but that would have been four months from now...maybe even six. Four months of paychecks would make me debt free and able to retire without too much pain in the pocketbook. So I can't collect social security for 4 months....I'll survive.

I wasn't the least bit surprised when I saw my boss walking across the parking lot. There was no reason for him to be there...two hours from his homebase. Things have been really slow, I've been really bored....one of the reasons why I've been contemplating retirement. I even told him why he was there..."you're letting me go"...so incredibly sad....so final. The shock of it all. What will I do with this phase of my life now? I don't have to go to work tomorrow. Or the next day. Or ever.

Maybe I'll scrap.