Goodbye, ScrapRoom...

See ya in a week or so.


In case you're wondering what happens around here this time of year... we're gearing up for our free vbs, which we call SummerQuest - I have the delightful opportunity to co-lead a week again this year. We've been prepping and planning for months, but it's always the last week that brings so much work, leaving little time for anything else at all. 


This year, I did learn to leave evenings and a weekend day with family - Tuesday evening we caught fireflies. Thursday we saw Cars 2 with friends. Friday/last night, we had our 2nd annual 4th-of-July party at Pop's shop with neighbors, family and friends. And today, the official day off, we're on our way to my mom's neighbors' house for some Fourth fun the Latin way: loud music, clowns, free ice cream truch, swimming, bouncing, volleyball, a live band, dancing, red, white, blue and LOTS of good food. Later tonight is more fireworks (I can't get enough) on the boat with my parents. 


Tomorrow marks the start to SummerQuest, 75 or so volunteers show up to learn, run thru and setup for this week's - Backstage with the Bible by the Go Fish Guys. After using one of their songs to lead Sunday large group this year, I stumbled upon and fell in love with their music and vbs's. 


Monday morning, 225 little ones show up on GraceOC's campus to live, learn and love Jesus. Prayers welcome! 


So I gladly say goodbye to the scraproom for a full week, can't say I'll miss ya. 


Oh! that's a LSS sneak peek. (= Full post on Sunday over there. 

Creative Peace

Aaah, bliss.

My scrap room is in complete disarray. My fingers are marked with blue ink. I didn't get enough sleep.

But what is that feeling? Ahhh, it's my creative soul at peace.

When I started my pages last night, my husband came home and came in to say hello. I told him I didn't even think I could do this anymore - to scrapbook successfully, that is. Too much stuff and not enough inspiration.

What was borne from that is a simple two-pager. It's not ground-breaking. It's not state-of-the-art. It's not even all that current. But when my four-year-old picked up the pages to take a look (okay, downright pushed me out of the way of photographing them!), it made my heart beat a little warmer.

After all, that's what counts, right?

If you're coming here from the ScrapStreet blog, hello, welcome! Here are the pages that used my shadowboxing technique and calmed my creative being. =) If you're here visiting me, visit the ScrapStreet blog to read more about how I framed my photo and treated my corners.

Thanks for visiting. Enjoy. I did!

choreographed

cho·re·o·graph

   [kawr-ee-uh-graf, -grahf, kohr-]  Show IPA

–verb (used with object)

1.

to provide the choreography for: to choreograph a musicalcomedy.

2.

to manage, maneuver, or direct: The author is a genius atchoreographing a large cast of characters.

(thank you dictionary.com)

A discovery. Not another reinvention of myself (laughing out loud). But a discovery (realization, comprehension, awareness, cognizance, consciousness, grasp, recognition, understanding, thank you thesaurus.com).

That's who I am. I love to be choreographed.

See, there was this article in September's ScrapStreet titled "My Style". But I think I was pouty from the beginning because we had to define ourselves with stamps and stamps are literally the last supply I use. Doesn't matter how super cute stamps are (and those digital stamps by Phindy's Place were super cute!) they just don't agree with me. And I don't like the way I sounded when typing, nor did I love my projects. Chip-on-my-shoulder scrapbooking, if you will.

Now, I don't mind the page I wrote. I even had opportunity to read it a month or so after I wrote it and I still didn't mind the article. My favorite part is in the design notes of the second project that says: "I found this project much like myself: imperfect, challenging, and sometimes better on the second try."

I've had very little scrapping time lately, but very much time to really think about myself, my life, where I am and where I'm going. As the kids get older and define me less, I guess I'm in a state of rediscovery. I'm not sure what started my train of thought, but it went something like this:

In music, I played piano, but I had to be extremely practiced and was only a concert pianist. I couldn't play from mere chords. I needed pages and notes and lots and lots of practice time. I still sing the same way.

When acting on stage, I have to work very, very hard at memorizing my script (and still usually forgot plenty). Forget improvisation - it wasn't for me and I usually made an ass out of myself. I needed to be first scripted and then extra rehearsed.

In gymnastics, I didn't get good at covering mistakes until I was late in college. As the sport went, I did better when I was choreographed, practiced and in control. In control enough to go out on autopilot or, as we liked to call it "Going Brainless". Perhaps that's why my best event became floor, where I could perform but only when extremely disciplined.


My favorite way to be led is by the Bible. (= Certainly don't mind following there!

Seeing where I'm going here?

Well, heck then, doesn't that explain a lot when it comes to scrapbooking? My favorite layouts come from sketches. See the similarity? The basic groundwork is laid and then I get to elaborate. The only things I like better than scrapping from sketches are scraplifts - using others' pages as inspiration. I've tried not to make this habit, I've only done less than a handful; but the pages that result are, by far, my favorite pages. Again, it's because I got to turn something scripted into my own. 

I guess I originally had trouble with this realization because I remember growing up being told 'be a leader'. 'Be a leader'. 'Be a leader'. But I never was. I was always better on a team. It  wasn't until lately that I realized that I need to teach my kids not necessarily to be a leader, but to have a mind of your own. Make your own decisions. Follow what you think and know to be right. Not what the crowd is doing and certainly not what any ol' leader is doing. 

Wait? What does that have to do with being better off as choreographed? Oh yeah, back on track. I constantly feel bad about not being innovative. About not being unique. About not having a style. About not being the first to do this. Or not being the one that thought up to do that. 

Choreographed. That is me. Practiced. That is me. Scripted. That is me. Sketched. That, too, is me. 

You're about to see my blog title changed. I'm still me, just morphing and getting to know myself better. And finally coming to terms and being happy with the fact that I live and create better...

when choreographed.

I have a plan, really I do...

It's mid-summer here in gorgeous New York. VBS completed. Got a couple trips to the beach in. Went on our annual 2-week camping trip. Still have twenty-four lazy days left.

And as much as I don't want summer to end, I'm looking forward to a new beginning. And herein lies my plan. You see, Matthew gets back on the bus this year, for second grade and to his new school. He gets on super early, near eight o'clock (yes, that's early for me!) Now McKenna has school at about nine pretty close in town. Figuring I'll have both kids dressed, fed and packed up by eight o'clock, that leaves one whole hour.

Here's my plan.

As soon as Matthew's on the bus, I'll let McKenna have an activity of her choice. Either it's tv time, puzzles, my dsi or whatever. Some alone time for her. What I'd like to do is hop on the computer with a bowl of cereal and a hot cup of tea every morning and spend a good forty-five minutes with my ScrapStreet girls and this thing that's been long-called the "breakfast club". You see, even though I'm one of the first North Americans awake on ScrapStreet, I'm rarely there early. Ok, so lately, I'm rarely there at all.

But that's not it. If I can find a way to scrap without chatting (fat chance), I can also use this forty-five minutes in other ways in my scraproom during the week. Actually scrapbook, perhaps? Clean? Chat? Sketch? Whatever my scrappy heart desires.

The thing is...
It seems whenever I make a plan and say "definitely", it never happens. Ever.

However, I miss scrapbooking so. Just for the pure joy of recapturing memories and chatting with cyber-friends. Just for the feel of photo and paper. I mean, look! I designed one - yes, just ONE, scrapbook completely by and for myself this summer. And it was back in June. And I *love* it. I can do this. I need to do this.

Little Sunflower by Lindsey Krauss. 

Supplies: Paper: Basic Grey, Lily Bee Design, 

Tags, button: Basic Grey, Rhinestones: Recollections.

So, on school days, I'm putting off the toilet-cleaning and house-tidying and meal-planning till after the kids are gone and I'm taking some time for myself. And that's the way it's going to be.

And now, I'll take bets from y'all - who's betting with me (that I can make this work) and who's betting against? *sigh*

that's not funny

Well, to start, my month-plus long stint with the kidney stone is finally {almost} over. I had surgery last Wednesday and all went well, according to plan. I still don't know the exact term for what they did but basically, in Lindsey terms, they put me out, went internally and "blasted" the stone with a laser, I think. I wasn't passing it and ultrasound wasn't an option for young women, according to my doc. (Young women = :-D )

Soooo, I succumbed to surgery on what would have been one of the busiest day of the year, as we were in the middle of a week-long snow storm, had vet appointments, teacher's conferences and so much more in regular busy life. I'll have to show ya those pictures later. Pictures not taken by me, incidentally, as I haven't been able to enjoy one inch of these three feet of snow we got!! And if ya know me, you know how much I love snow.

So what I didn't know, post-op, is what a stent really is. I linked ya up with Wikipedia to spare you details. Kinda turns my stomach and I'm living with it! Anyhow, this stupid thing (and I've been waiting days and days and days to use the word stupid - all I can think about from stone to surgery to stent) is keeping me from sitting upright at all. Been laying around since Wednesday with no where to go. Pain and discomfort are decreasing, but I haven't gained the full ability to sit yet. And for some reason, I still get very tired after being on my feet for more than 15 minutes.

Alas, relief is on the way. All Ihave to do is hold out till Thursday when the thing is removed in office and I can't wait. Meanwhile, we had Chinese last night and look what word I learned to say in Chinese! Really, that wasn't nice. >:-(

No, I did not forget

I did not forget that I have a blog. Sometimes I just feel that things I have to post are inferior; like, who would want to read that? Especially compared to other things and people out there.

So I'm turning my blog-for-others into a blog-for-me. Random thoughts in Lindsey's head. Going to get this blog thing moving again. Think I can do it?

making a comeback...

or at the very least, just trying to come back at all! I looked today and my last paper page I completed was in August! After some disappointment in the scrap world, life took over and we finally sold our house. This year has picked up in great Godly amounts since last year's problems. For that, we're truly thankful. When it seemed we were finally moving, I packed boxes after boxes after boxes out of that scrap room - some to keep, some to donate, some to recycle. I kept a small amount in our temporary residence and it looks so fine and pretty, I'm kinda getting antsy to touch some of it. :) I'm going to find a good sketch (that always jump starts my blocks) and see what comes of it. Maybe this month I can do more than just talk and write about scrapbooking. Maybe I can actually put some paper where my mouth is! More to come...