Happily Frosted (Hodge Podge)

Click photo to visit "Recipes, Recipes, Recipes" blog for the original post and recipe!

1. What's the best thing about growing older?

It’s better than NOT growing older.

Every year I have more knowledge, more experience and more people in my world. I can look back every day and realize I am richer for every year, every day that I have added to my life.


2. When did you first feel like a grown up?

That assumes I already feel like a grownup. ;)

Really, I’d have to say out was the day Grandma died. She was my last grandparent and there was no one left to cherish me like a grandchild, nowhere to run to and shed my adult side. I’m the matriarch on Mom’s side of the family now.


3. Chocolate cake with white icing or white cake with chocolate icing?

Chocolate cake with white (buttercream) frosting!

What made our wedding cake so perfect; David had his chocolate frosting on the bottom (With chocolate cake) and I got my white buttercream on top (with cappuccino cake) The cake flavor wasn’t the big thing. David and I agree that cake is just a frosting delivery system. But a quality cake with the same quality frosting is THE BEST! Our wedding cake was divine, even after we cut it!

4. What's the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

As a disabled person, strangers do nice things for me all the time. From the little girl who stayed in the bathroom so she could hold the door for me when I left to the fellow customer who threw my garbage out for me at Panera, I don’t weigh one deed from a stranger against another. They don’t have to but they are all part of making me a little less disabled.


5. What's something you learned from your grandparents?

Hehe.. From Noni (paternal grandmother); “Don’t show too much bosom,” as she buttoned one more button on my shirt. From Mums (maternal-maternal great grandmother): “You have to leave the boys just a little ‘to think about’” as she Unbuttoned TWO buttons on the same shirt that same day.

I think they taught me that I’d learned a lot about balance from them. In between the “suggestions” from Noni and Mums was where I’d buttoned my blouse to anyway!

I was blessed to have known all four of my grandparents, two of my greats and one great-great. To say I learned a TON from them is still an understatement.


6. Wednesday marks a sad day in the history of planet earth-9/11...what's something you do (or can do) to bring peace to your little corner of the world?

Never really thought about it. I try to be kind to everyone and not take advantage of people; I really do think that world peace starts with mutual neighborhood respect and grows out from there. Yes, that’s a bit pollyanna-altruistic and we have a LONG way to go to even get started, but I try to do my part every day.


7. Share a favorite quote, scripture, or song containing the word peace.

Let There Be Peace on Earth

I don’t know why it’s considered a Christmas song now; it was an everyday church hymn when I was a kid.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

It’s anniversary time at The Studio again and I’m playing along with the Layout Artist Challenge. Each week we get a full kit and instructions for creating 2 different layouts with it. In addition to the four free kits during the contest, there is a bonus for completing all four weeks and a random drawing from those who do all four for an EHD. I need to buy a new extended hard drive, but I am putting that off until the beginning of next month, y’know, just in case.

Here are a couple of the layouts I’ve done for weeks one and two:

Credits: Morning Memories Collaboration by Nibbles Skribbles, 

The Urban Fairy and Jilbert’s Bits of Bytes

Credits: Holiday Hoopla by Snickerdoodle Designs and Kimberkatt Scraps.

Journaling:

She’s a CAT TV addict! When she hears the squeak of the door in the morning that means her Daddy had turned on the tall screen in the front room, she rushes to sit right in front and wait for her favorite show, Chipmunk.

She loves all the shows; Wild Birds of Ohio, Robin Fights, the Falling Leaves Special and she even watches when the screen looks black to catch Midnight Bunny. But she doesn’t watch alone, that one, she’s an enabler! She wakes her sister up to watch Nut Wars, starring the Squirrely Brothers. She’s even taken to introducing her baby brother to Kitten’s Programming, although he didn't quite get the point of the show Patience which promised a guest appearance from Chipmunk at the end.

It could be worse than a CAT TV addiction though. She uses catnip in moderation and isn’t beating anyone up for their tuna.

I do wish it hadn’t been called a challenge, because it’s a competition. One layout artist for each week is going to be asked to join the Studio's store creative team. I didn’t realize that until the contest had already started. I really don’t have the time to be on a site creative team, but I also don’t ever do well in contests where your layouts are “judged” against others.

I am NOT dissing my own work by any means! I think my pages are great; they are personal and I spend time working on them. I’ve also been digi-scrapping for 6 years and that experience shows, but for store CTs they want layouts that focus more on the kit, after all, you get the kits to add to the advertising value, not just for your own personal layouts. I don’t have time to NOT be scrapbooking for me right now. Maybe next year when I’m more caught up. Anyway, a simpler layout with a small nice cluster might sell ME a kit, but they generally want more of a kit focus on the layouts for CT work.So, I really am doing it for fun, but if you visit the Studio there are some really great professional-looking layouts with these kits!