Highly Entertaining....

r.i.p.

 

Me. 1984. My "Michael Jackson" jacket.

Yes, I'm sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap.

Yes, the jacket is purple, and was probably purchased from Bradlees, a far cry from the red leather glory that Mr. Jackson donned for the Thriller video.

But this was MY Michael Jackson jacket. It had cool little straps on the shoulder, and a mesh pocket on the right side. I think I probably wore it every day.

In preschool, while the other children were bringing things like dolls and trucks for show and tell, I brought my Michael Jackson record. Mrs. Giardi even let us listen to it. I remember sitting on her lap in a bean bag chair, holding the record sleeve while showing-and-telling about my prized posession.

My first "date" was in kindergarten. I'm not going to name names, but a certain boy-friend of mine came over after school one afternoon, and my mom made us popcorn while we sat on the livingroom floor watching the making of Thriller that she had rented from Video Paradise for me.

This friend was probably unaware that we were on a "date", but I wasn't. Everyone knows popcorn and a movie constitutes a date ;)

When I was in preschool, I began to develop white "spots" on my left arm. By the time kindergarten hit, the "spots" had spread. I was diagnosed with a hereditary skin condition called Vitiligo. At first I didn't understand it. Once I entered kindergarten and the other kids started to notice my skin was different from theirs, the "issue" became more apparent. The other kids didn't understand what was "wrong" with my skin. Some were very cruel and others not to play with me or their skin would "fall off", too. Not a fun time.

But guess what? During one of my early doctor visits, I was reassured that I was NOT alone. Guess what famous person also had the same condition that I did? Yep, Michael Jackson. Well, now, that changed things for  me a little bit :)

I began to tell the "haters" about my Michael Jackson story. Some cared, some didn't. That was fine with me. I just knew that I wasn't the only freak out there. I even told my music teacher about the "conenction" I had with MJ. The only issue? She didn't believe me, called me a liar in front of the whole class. Said there was no such ting as this crazy skin disease. I was devistated.

Until my mom found out about it.

Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned!!

She marched herself up to the Music teacher and GAVE HER AN EARFULL.

Thanks, mom!!

As time progressed, my love for the King of Pop waned. I moved on to other infamous artists like Debbie Gibson, NKOTB, Guns N' Roses, U2, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos (pretty much in that order).

I did, however, request that Billie Jean be played at my own wedding.

Last night at approximately 5:44, I received the earth shattering text message from a most reliable source, informing me that MJ had suffered a heart attack, soon followed by the news of his death. This was all before it had hit the news outlets (CNN took forever to get their act together). I was at work at teh BBC, and spread the word to my fellow employees. The manager even Twittered the news from the Falmouth BBC Twitter account (which I didn't even know existed until last night). The patrons of the restaurant were all a-buzz about the news on the TVs.

And here I am, Friday morning, blogging about Michael Jackson. My own little tribute, I guess.

Thanks for being my companion in the early years, Michael. Even though you got a *little* odd in your later years, you really were a pretty great part of this girl's early years :)

As a parting note, some of my favorite MJ jams....

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Rock With You

I Want You Back

because she told me to

I was catching up on Ali's blog and she told me to grab my camera and take a picture of whats happening right now. So I did.

 

Hmmmmmmmm... lets see what we have here. A cup of decaf tea (one splenda). A card I'm working on (but can't find time to finish). A stack of Cuttlebug embossing folders that arrived in the mail a few days ago. My snazzy new paper crimper. My tonic trimmer.  A small portion of my DYMO labler.

What do you see RIGHT NOW?

because he'll be 12 in less than a month

... I thought it would be a good idea to actually scrap a picture from his 11th birthday ;)

 

Griffin and his little brother, Malachi, enjoying some mellow time in the pool before we dug in to the cake and ice cream :)

a little bit about the page:

The background "wave" effect was very simple to achieve with a few easy steps. I grabbed a Fiskars wavy ruler and placed it behind my background paper then sanded it repeatedly, each time moving the ruler further down the paper to get that sweet wave look. Of course I used Core'dinations cardstock, which allowed for the distressed look once the paper was sanded (Black Magic Mermaid). There is also some paper crimper action as well as some Cuttlebug embossing folder texture happening on the page.

We'll be celebrating Griff's 12th birthday in about a month. Every day I see him growing a little bit more, and I am SO appreciating the time I will be able to spend with him this Summer. He has kicked the stomach bug from Monday, and we were able to enjoy a little lunch date yesterday afternoon. He has become quite the gentleman, holding doors for me, waiting until we are all seated before starting him meal, offering to carry laundry up or down the stairs. I am hopeful that there will be LOTS of self-confidence building this summer as he gets ready to enter Junior High in the fall. We'll work on it.

He is also super excited about welcoming a baby sister in just a few months. He loves his (half) brothers, and is always full of Sam-and-Malachi stories when he returns from time at his dad's. It will be a new and fantastic experience for me to watch him interact with our own little Bean on a daily basis. The thought of it makes me feel all squishy and sentimental, and it hasn't even happened yet :)

25 weeks

(a few days late)

Photo credit: Griffin W. Robbins ;)

Here I am, with the growing Bean at 25 weeks pregnant.

Sometimes I feel HUGE, other times I feel like I should have more of a *bump at  six months pregnant. Sometimes I feel as though I look like I hit up the Old Cuntry Buffet, followed by a kegger at the Horgan residence. Gotta love the end-of-the-day bloat...

She's definitely growing. She's moving and grooving, sometimes enough to freak Bob out completely. When he thinks about it too much, he gets a little creeped out knowing that there is a growing thing inside me.

He watches too much Start Trek ;)

I'm feeling fantastic. My new vitamins don't make me nautious at all. No specific cravings. No real aches and pains unless I've been at work all day. I'm generally in a pretty good mood and looking on the bright side of things. I feel mostly relaxed and prepared to move forward with this next phase of my life. Which, by the way, is a pretty great one.

*another* case of the mondays....

Another Monday, another house full of sickness.

Today is the first day of "Summer" vacation for Griffin, and he has been struck with a not-so-hot stomach bug. This means that there is a great amount of moaning and groaning transpiring from whatever room he has currently taken residence in. There is also a lot of dramatic running to the bathroom, just making it to the toilet in time, and telling me mid-vomit "mom, I just can't DO this anymore!!".

He has been ill for approximately three hours. What am I going to do if it lasts all day? ;)

To make things even better, the dog is sick also (which is slightly more concerning to me). She has some sort of a little rash under her chin. She's NOT her usual self. I made myself a bagel with peanut butter for breasfast, and she didn't budge off the couch to "help" me. If you have ever been to my house, you know the nano-second a cupboard or refrigerator door is opened the girla-girl is INSTANTLY under your feet. Not so today. She's even laying down in a funny position... more sprawled out on her side than curled up in a little ball like she typically does. I'm more concerned about my baby-girl dog being ill than the child I birthed almost 12 years ago because, obviously, the dog can't tell me whats wrong. *sigh* I just don't like it.

Needless to say, I was on the phone with the Vet the instant the clock hit 9:00 am. She has a 10:45 appointment. I'm sure at approximately 10:30, she will be back to her typical mischievious self, and everyone at the Vet clinic will think I'm insane.

My mom will be heading over in a while to hang out with the G Man while I take Miss Buttons to the Vet... this will be the true test as to whether or not there is acutally something wrong with the dog. She absolutely FREAKS OUT when my mother comes over. One mention of the word "Nan", and she's a twitching ball of fur waiting at the big front window. Nan gives her treats and love and attention. Thats what Nan's are for ;)

Lets hope that NEXT monday will be a little less-sickly, huh?

i will not be bitter... i will not be bitter...

... i will not be bitter...

I feel like repeating this mantra over and over, I will ignore the fact that the last four days off have been restful, but accompanied by mostly-blah weather.

... i will not be bitter....

Today I return for a full day at the store followed by a class tonight.

... i will NOT be bitter...

AND THE WEATHER IS FREAKING FANTASTIC TODAY.

.... I WILL NOT BE BITTER....

So today I will savor the sunshine and vitamin D from the inside out, I guess.

*le sigh*

I do have to say that I am SO looking forward to getting through the next three days, though. Kid's Night is tomorrow evening (an annual event at the Falmouth Rod & Gun Club that we enjoy every year). The last day of school for Griff is on Friday. Friday night KP and Natasha are coming for a weekend visit, and staying in the pop-up in the back yard ;). We have tentative plans to go see "Year One" on Saturday... SSSSOOOOOO excited for that. Father's Day is on Saturday, and I will be spending the day with eronious at our place of employment, watching the classic car show from inside the store. Sunday is ALSO the official first day of summer. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for sunshine and 80-degree weather for 3 weeks straight....

I'm finishing up my morning cup of tea while the Bean is doing her alley-oops in my belly. I love that feeling SO much :)

OK, so I guess I've talked myself out of the bitter mood I had anticipated. This will probably last until I head out the door for work, realizing AGAIN how lovely the day is.

I'll send you off with a fantastic photo:

Strawberries from my parents' garden. Seriously deliscious. Seriously Summer. Seriously making my mouth water.

Happy sunny Wednesday :)

monday blahhhhhhhhhhhhs

I've got two sick 'uns on the recliner...

 

Poor Bobio is battling another round of *kidney stones*, and Miss Buttons had her annual vet ($123.00) appointment where she had two shots and a little bit of blood drawn for a heartworm screening. These two are on the injured list, for sure.

My baby camera is NOT my bff. The battery needs to be charged, the lens is smudgy, and it won't let me upload pictures properly. grrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

The computer keeps freezing up on me. Funny that this happens a few days AFTER I updated my spyware. hmmmmmmmmm...

The grey skies. Again. Seriously. See the photo up there? I took that TODAY, JUNE 15th. My husband is taking a coma underneath a freaking down quilt. What is wrong with this picture???!!!

My gas tank is nearly empty and I forgot to deposit moolah at the bank this morning.

My favorite pair of early-pregnancy capris is getting too tight around the belly area. This caused MAJOR discomfort and irritation yesterday while running errands with Griff, PLUS now I'm out a pair of pants from the prego-rotation.

Laundry in the washer/dryer, and more waiting in the wings. The never ending story....

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of rearranging/sorting/moving that has to go on within the next few weeks in our bedroom to make room for the Bean. I KNOW this will be better done sooner than later, but I just can't seem to work up the enthusiasm to get it done.

*humph*

On the brighter side:

I remembered that I had written important instructions that needed to be emailed today in my new don't-leave-home-without-it notebook. This saved me one long and irritating trip to Hy-town. (still angry at the baby camera, though... the pics I have somewhere on there would have been majorly helpful in the direction-writing process)

I painted my toes blue, and my fingernails light pink :) Now if I can just let them dry long enough NOT to smudge them...

I finally finished a page that has been partially assembled for weeks now:

 

(LOVING the freaking glare on the lower left portion of the page. grumble.)

And I stitched up a little lovey blanket yesterday, too. It's a cozy little number that will be perfect for snuggling with a soft chenille backing. I think this one might be ETSY bound...

 

The fabric I used is a fun mixture of random goodness from a fabric swap I participated in ages ago. I'm happy with the way this cutie turned out :)

It's Griffin's last week of school. FINALLY. I am sad that he is leaving behind a big part of his childhood years and heading to Junior High in September, but it's been a loooooooong year. Looking forward to some chillin' time with my favorite boy this summer :)

Making Pasta for dinner.I find myself thinking about food ALL.DAY.LONG. This is a huge departure from the earlier stages of my pregnancy when I didn't want to eat a thing. Lets try NOT to pack on too many pounds, though..... so far I'm six months along and am only up about 4 lbs from my pre-prego weight. Go me :)

ho-ho-holiday planner '09

Sooooooooo... I know it is June, but certainly the weather here in the north east has absolutely NO idea that the official start to the summer season is exactly one week from today. That is why I don't feel one tiny bit awkward about posting one of the upcoming class samples that I am SUPER excited about.... the 2009 Holiday Planner!

 

These are just some sneak peeks of the *guts* of the book. The concept is that you will build the framework for the planner during the class, and it will be ready for you to add billions of personal touches throughout the holiday season. I'm expecting these to be overflowing with greeting cards, holiday ephemera, calendar dates, little notes and reminders, bits of wrapping paper and ribbons... I can't WAIT to see what they will eventually evolve into :)

The class is scheduled for July 18th from 10 am-1 pm, and has VERY limited seats available due to product restrictions. If you are at all interested in hanging out with me for a couple of hours and whipping up this chunky darling, call Colorful Creations TODAY to book your seat! 508.790.7676

waiting for the ark

Another rainy day here on the Cape. Looking at EVERYONE'S facebook status', I'm the ONLY one who doesn't mind it... as long as it's gone by tomorrow and I have four DRY days off in a row :)

To get us out of the miserable weather funk we're all in, I thought I would re-post the Summer Mini Book sample for the class I'm teaching on Wednesday, June 16th (thats next week!). There are still a few seats left for the class, so shake off your raincoats and join me for a little bit of sunshine :)

 

 

 

If this super-summer-sample doesn't break you out of the rainy day funk, I don't know what will :)

I'm heading off to the store today for a fun-filled day of work work work with JI and e-ho (who has resumed blogging!). I'll be hanging out at the store after work to work on my *Holiday Planner* sample for our fun Christmas-in-July schedule at the store. I have high hopes that it will be chunky and delicious and oh so fabulous. If all goes well, there will be a sneak peek of the new creation over the weekend :)

FYI

OK. I've decided that I need to transplant Tara Whitney from California to Cape Cod and have her follow my family around with a camera, capturing our little moments. I also need one of the fantastical videos that she and her friend Michael collaborate on. Check out her blog and peep the video to see why. Seriously. The vid they shot of Emily Falconbridge's family made me cry when she initially posted it. Part of me wonders, though, "what would she find even remotely interesting about my little family to capture on film?" Hmmmmmmmmm...