cousin Tom & Madtown fun

Cousin Tom Wopat was in Madison performing in "Chicago" so some of the family decided to go see the show. We enjoy seeing Tom perform, and always hope to see him either pre- or post-performance. Well "Chicago" was definitely not a letdown; the show was great, and we did get to see Tom afterwards, if only for a few moments. Tom signed autographs and chatted, not just with us family, but with anybody who stopped by. How many actors/singers do that nowadays??!! Altho I've never talked with him about this, I'm guessing that Tom is one of the few stars who realizes that it's the public, the fans, that have enabled him to earn money doing what he enjoys.



It was an interesting night in Madison for another reason: the big Halloween bash on State Street. Because the show was at Overture Hall, which is right on State, we were able to see a bit of the madhouse. Greg and I stuck around after the show to people watch, until I got too cold. There was pretty much a constant parade of costumed people up and down State; it was fun to watch. There were a lot of "typical" costumes, and a lot that obviously didn't take much time, but there were a few pretty kewl ones too. Even tho I knew ahead of time that 400 police officers would be patrolling State St and surrounding area, it still blew me away seeing them EVERYwhere, always in groups. Altho I'm sure the police presence prevented a lot of the harmless hijinks, it was comforting to me to see so many officers, considering the problems with rioting in the past.

the fun never ends

This past weekend was Madscrappin' Diva crop weekend. A couple of the girls put together a fantastic crop 2 - 3 times a year. They put a lot of effort into it, making sure that everyone has a really great time. And a great time we have!! We always have a costume contest, usually there's a theme of sorts (ie 70s, western, etc). This time there was no theme, so there was quite the variety of costumes.

I rewore my Provo Scrappin' Biker Babe outfit, with the story being that at a "big event in Provo" I was crowned Scrappin' Biker Babe. I sang a small clip from our cheer/song, but without the music and the other Babes, I pretty much sucked. LOL But apparently it was identifiable, as the rest of the Divas started singing along.

Anyway, I finished 13 pages at the crop. For anyone who knows how SLLLOOOOWWWW I am at scrapping, how much of a perfectionist I am - you know that that's purty darn good for me! I was quite happy. And even more important, I had lots of fun!!!

Arguably the funniest moments - after the three nuns led a heart-wrenching version of the Lord's Prayer (ok, fun scrap version), while the judges were deciding who would win the costume contest, the three nuns were out front smoking, and then were drinking alcohol as the winners were announced!!! ROFLMAO

my kewl studio

I emailed Emily today, a fellow scrappin' biker babe from our great dorm at CKU Provo and someone I consider to be a good friend, because I was all excited about my studio being almost done. yes, that's what I call my scrap/hobby room. After all, I am an artist of sorts! ;-) Anyway, Emily said she wanted to see pictures. So here they are. Now... I am going to hang some of the photos I've taken over the years on that big blank wall... and I'm not completely done organizing yet... so it will look better. But I really LOVE my new setup!!!


The main area is only 10 x 10.5 feet but with the little extra nook and my open closet, the room is big enough. I have a 5 foot table in front of the window where I currently do most of my scrapping. Greg and I built the shelves along the long wall. The long shelves are 8 foot; the top one is at the perfect height for me to stand and work at, and the bottom matches up to my table height, which in effect extends my table and provides a great place for some scrappin' supplies. We put two 3 foot shelves above for more space - got my pretty things up there! And underneath the shelves are sterilite containers for more "stuff." This layout is SO GREAT because pretty much everything I want/need while I scrap is right there, within arms reach!


This shot is to the right of my table. My pretty ribbon hangs below my tv and my CKU Provo clock. :-) My photo albums, cardstock and patterned paper, CDs and projects-in-progress are in the closet, which I took the doors off of. (The door you're seeing a little bit is the door to the room itself.) I figured the closet looks pretty and organized enough I don't need to hide it. Plus everything's within view; I don't have to slide the doors one way, then the other...

And this space is to the left of my shelves. I have a little nook area that has a bookshelf in it. You can also see my "big boy" (the black thing in front of the bookshelf), which is my kewl Menards rolling toolbox that I use for crops - it is AWESOME!! And then I have another matching bookshelf that you can see part of - it is directly on the left when entering the room. That needs to be organized and prettied up yet.

So this is my studio. This is where I spend hours upon hours. Whether I'm working or watching tv, it just doesn't matter. I'm in my own little haven.

cute projects

Had time to scrap this weekend!!! Actually, I MADE time to scrap this weekend. I'm going to a crop this coming weekend, and I needed to do a recipe page (11 of them!). My recipe needed to have chocolate in it. I had a few ideas, then inspiration struck - I have this cute Bo-Bunny paper/sticker set that has a cherry theme. What would be better than using that with a Black Forest recipe?? mmmm.... I used a dark brown paper as the background and a reddish chalk ink to complete the chocolate/cherry combo.



I also worked on finishing some of my cute CKU projects. One that is adorable, but I have absolutely NO idea what to do with it, is the matchbox mini album. Yes, what you are seeing below is a regular-sized matchbox, covered with paper and inked. And yes, that is a tiny little accordion album inside. The accordion mini album has 5 "pages" on each side, all decorated with coordinating papers and inked.

fun fun

Greg's uncle Ned and aunt Chris and cousin Blair were in the area for a brief visit this weekend, so we joined them and Greg's folks at the Milwaukee Art Museum, along with other fun activites. WOW - I had never been to the Art Museum yet - believe that!! A lot of folks call it the Calatrava, because that's the name of the architect - it is a most amazing building. It's right on the lakefront, and it's a fragile-looking building with "wings" that open and shut. We were fortunate to still be there when the museum closed, so we were able to see the wings shut. VERY kewl! And the inside has lots of angles and curves. We saw a short movie clip about the creation of the building, quite interesting. And the artwork was very intriguing too, of course. We all had our favorite parts. And there were some that we just looked at and didn't "get."

this fall weather

has been so absolutely fab! Altho there are many reminders that yes, this IS Wisconsin! Yesterday we reached a record high - 85 degrees! Tomorrow is supposed to be 81, and then Thursday's high is expected to be 54 - yowza, that's a big, quick drop. But that's Wisconsin for ya. Since I just love warm/hot weather, the past couple days have been SO great.

woohoo

I finally finished my A-Z Personal Treasury album from my album track at CKU. OMG - it rawks!! It is such a great "snapshot" of the things that are important to me at this point in my life - both serious and fun. I put a lot of thought into this album, mostly prior to going to CKU, and spent some good quality creative time on it both at CKU and here at home.

I'm also midstream on rearranging and reorganizing my studio. Greg and I are building a counter for me to stand and work at, as well as some shelves. I've been mulling this over for weeks, and I sure hope it works as well as I'm visualizing! Now I can't wait to put those shelves/counter up, so I can finish reorg'ing and CLEAN my studio! It's still a zoo from working on my precious album - altho it's way better than it was a week ago!!! LOL

Yes, right now, scrapping is taking over my life again... I seem to go in phases: motorcycle, scrap, trip, motorcycle, scrap, trip, motorcycle, scrap ... hahahahaha Oh yeah, once in a while I fit other activities in! ;-)

greg

I just gotta say - I have such a great husband! And no, he didn't do anything particularly spectacular today. He was just being himself, taking care of the house, the finances and us. Even though in some ways he grounds me and keeps me in the "real world," he also allows me the time I need to dream and be creative, which keeps me balanced. What a guy! For the many times I neglect to tell you - Thanks, Greg!