New Beginnings!

     Ok, now I'm retired...I used to think that's just what old people. But for me, it's the beginning of my new life! I don't feel old at all, in fact I'm only 60. I am fortunate enough to have been a teacher for 30 years and my husband a teacher for 39 years!  Between us we'll get a decent pension and live happily. Ready to explore and have the time to do it!

     So, that being said, I'm now ready to persue all my passions. Scrapbooking, journaling, planners, knitting, blogging, vlogging, and You Tubeing, etc. etc. 

     The video below is my reintroduction to You tube after several months away. I have quite a few new subscribers along with my lovely regulars so I don't want to let you guys down. I want to share what I'm passionate about and hope you'll enjoy and maybe even find some inspiration along the way.

Welcome back!

     

          Aimee

This Week on my Desk - mixed Media!

OK, so you could say I'm a newbie to this. Mixed Media. I've been an artist my whole life but...this is different. Messy. Fun. Carefree. Here's what I've been up to:

This is Week #4 from DLP (Documented Life Project). It's incorporating one little word. Butter.
It's kind of a spoof for all those good New Year's intentions. But, remember, life is good with a liddle bit of butter. Lol.

Here's Week #3 where we had to incorporate an envelope from our mail.

So, my desk is a little bit messier, my fingers a little more stained, but I'm having fun. And that's what matters.

Another Art Journal Day!

     Yes, today is Sunday and I made a point of getting things done before the weekend. I made this Sat. and Sun. my art journal weekend! And...what fun I had.  I completed my journal covers and they should be dry by tomorrow. I'l post a pic of the journal coming soon. Meanwhile, I completed the 2nd challenge: To include a selfie in my art. So, here's my creation titled "Change is in the air..."
More to come... Stay creative, friends.

Moving Ahead

     Made some changes in my craft room today. LOVE my Raskog cart! Put all of my Project Life supplies in it and now I have space for other projects. One such project is my Life Documented project. It is a planner and art journal all in one. I prepared all the pages, adding watercolor paper to each week.

I had 2 challenges so far. Opening the New Year, we had to incorporate a door into our art work. My door represents new possibilities for this year.

  

     So, it has been fun. I also completed last weeks challenge which was to add a selfie to my work. I wanted a different picture but could not quite get it to print on my Selphy printer. So this one was taken this past summer.  

     I'll include a picture of my planner and my latest challenge in the next post. Finally,
I want to share my cart. It will be a lifesaver for stuff that I want to roll away when I want to. I have so much more desk space. 

     So, here's to another weekend of creativity! 

Happy 2014 !

     Happy New Year to all!  I'm going through my Filos from the past year and looking at past happenings. I'm also putting all future appts. into my A5. I find that I like the larger size for home use. I'll be using an early birthday present from my brother, a new Cross pen! Along with my Lamy Safari in white, it will be a hard decision which to use.

     Yesterday, I packed away all the Christmas decorations and cleaned up a bit. I left the Christmas tree up (lights only) for New Year's Eve. These pics were from last night. Today, we will pack away our tree. Yes, pack away! It is our first fake tree...and we've been extremely happy with it. Ordered it from QVC and it's beautiful!  Although a bit blurry!!

Cheers to 2014!

Wonderful Christmas - full of gratitude!

What can I say about this amazing vacation? I have had some amazing times with my family, taken lots of photos, uploaded You Tube videos, read, and simply relaxed!!

In this You Tube tutorial I share how I print photos from my phone to my Canon Selphy wireless printer. I have uploaded 2 other videos this vacation so check them out!

Here are a couple of highlights from Christmas:

Til later!  Thanks for stopping by!

Late Summer is Here

     The first 3 days of school has passed. Just meetings, etc.  No kids yet. Today is Friday and I also have Monday off. Larry is up and Dick came over with lobsters for dinner. Yum! 

Larry picked up these flowers from the Spiderweb stand, along with some corn. The weather is beautiful and the humidity has finally subsided. It is clear and breezy today.

    

Another Camping Trip

     We went camping the last 3 days at Recompence Shore Campground in Freeport, Maine.  Just 4 miles from the hubub of outlet shopping is a beautiful farm called Wolfe's Neck Farm. Lots of land where they have many campsites along Casco Bay.  Dave didn't get too much fishing in but it was nice to smell the salty air and water all the same. There was a playground nearby and you know what that means...KIDS...very loud kids! Just what we don't want on our too short summer vacation.
     We DID have a good time but will plan on a different site next time we go!

     So, we left on a rainy, dreary Friday and if we were there right now, we'd be getting ready for their Maine clambake.
     Oh, and just remember how useful duct tape can be!  The kayak went right through the front covering and window of the trailer on our way out the driveway. Haven't seen Dave that mad in a LONG time!!  I suggested a little duct tape and some screening and we were on our way again...
I would never miss a camping trip!

Extreme Fun We Had

     What a light show we had last night. I've never seen so much lightening around in the sky all at once. It lit up the ground light daylight and of course Cinder was hiding and shaking in some obscure corner of the basement. Getting her white paws dirty as she does only during storms. Decided to take a break from the hot kitchen and post here. Looks like the clouds are coming back in for another storm? (But the breeze is so nice!)

Camping up in the west branch of the Penobscot was a blast! Went with the whole fam and "A". No cell phones, computers, news, robbers or rapists. Didn't even see a moose! Well, that's not fair! Just one deer and 2 speckled fawns. In fact I didn't even get a close up at that!

 There were constant buses going by on Golden Road to carry the rafters to their starting point. At one time I saw 12 rafts in front of the Big Eddy with about 9 rafters on each. That's 109 people! Whenever they went over some rapids it sounded just like an amusement park when you hear people on the roller coaster ride!

 The majestic Mount Kardigan in the background. (Hope I spelled that correctly).

               

 Rick just had to play Cousin Eddie from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation when he saw his wading boots!  Grabbed a stick for a cigar, the shitter hose, and, well, he already had the beer. (Ahem.)  "Shitter's full." 
What a guy!

     The biggest fish was actually caught by Chris around 9 pm. Didn't measure the length exactly but I'm sure that will grow with time... oh, my. Don't they usually?

     
                                   

                                         And, just like a Boy Scout...Always Be Prepared!
                                                (you can never have too many rods)

     So, all in all, these pics sum it up. 

EXCEPT... when Rick was washed away on Saturday! Hailey comes running thru our site looking for her Mom. "Help! Daddy's been washed away down the river!" Kaylan and I quickly figured that Chris and Pops went downriver to rescue him while we jumped into the truck, adrenaline pumping...We sped down the road, gravel flying, looking for a break in the woods so we could see the river. No sign of anything! I'm sure we were thinking the worst since there are some substantial rapids in the area. Kaylan's knuckles were white on the steering wheel and I would have slid down ANY steep embankment to save my (@w3!&*%$) son-in-law. We look in the rearview and see Tammy pull up in Pops' truck. What the ... ! 

    "They just came outta the woods, they're all ok!" says Tammy. "I tried to stop you as you sped out but missed you!"

     Needless to say, Rick climbed into the truck with Kaylan and Hailey and we all drove back to the site. As Kaylan's adrenaline wore off (and I'm sure a few tears), she just got angry. If she was a volcano at that moment, she would have erupted!  But, we all came around and chalked it up as a memorable experience. 

     So Rick, if you're reading this, Don't Mess with The Penobscot!!

     

Crazy, crazy Summer

     Well, how many sunny days have we had so far this summer? I think I can count them on my 2 hands. Definitely a lot of wet, damp, humid, & hot days. Air conditioner has been on many nights.

The last week of June, Lauren, Larry, Sean and cute James were here for a quick weekend. We had a wonderful time and Chris, Tam & Ella were able to make it and Rick, Kaylan and Hailey also joined us! What a big group!  Ella is enjoying a s'more in the pic below. I wonder if this was her first one?

 Dad is enjoying his visitors! 

                                              Grandpa Larry is enjoying his role as a new grandpa.

 Lauren is such a good Mom and James is a real cutie-pie.

 Ella just loved James and wanted to constantly hug him and pick him up. Can't wait to see her with her new little brother who's to arrive at the end of September!

My New Organization

     OK, so here I am with my new Filofax. I've had it for about a month and have made many changes. Page design, what I want to record, how to organize it, embellies to make it fun. I'm learning more every day, especially over this April vacation. I found I wasn't checking it regularly during my work week so I had to make some changes...and vacation is a great time to accomplish that. I want a Filofax that I will check every morning and every evening before bed. I want it accessible without taking up too much time, yet, I want it FUN!
     I've started (thanks to Nadinetx) a financial side to my filo. I'll be including envelopes for current bank account amounts as well as daily expenses. I will not make a budget as of yet...until I track at least 1 month of regular expenditure. This will give me a huge picture of where my money is actually going.

     And, Yes, I need more WASHI!!!

Spring Cleaning !!

     OK, so I said that during this spring vacation I would spend the morning spring cleaning and then the afternoon for play. So far so good... except cleaning takes planning AND purchasing the newest products!! I went to Target and did just that!! over $300.00 worth! Is that going to make a clean house??  HELL, yes.
    I started in my bathroom (which is small) and washed it from ceiling to floor.  Dave painted the ceilings while I washed everything else. There is so much to cover in a little bathroom and it took several hours removing stuff then after cleaning putting it all back in. We spent the night with the bathroom completely empty. But I can say that the bath is completely clean!
 

So, this last picture is what I had waiting for me after I finished my cleaning... I worked steadily until 12:00 then put stuff away. After a half tuna sandwich, I put on the sunscreen and enjoyed the sun!!
Thanks for my followers...I'm trying to be more up to date. I love you for checking in!  :0) Aimee

 

Goodbye "ol Boy...

Well, Jagger...you have inspired me to post on my blog!  I have not been here since last summer! I will lose ALL my followers if I'm not more up-to-date. So, here I am.
      It's Easter Sunday and you've been gone since Saturday morning. You were the sweetest cat, never put a claw towards anyone! Kids could crawl all over you and you put up with it! You had the best disposition and you were a regular in the house when the kids were growing up.
I remember Chris putting you in a Shaw's shopping bag, twirling you around in circles, then letting you try to walk across the floor. You always came back for more. AND the time you were IN the birdcage and the bird was on the OUTSIDE looking in at you. I'll try to find that pic to give to the vet.
You did spend alot of time at the vet. With you heart medicine and hyperthyroidism pills. Then came the day when you just didn't find food appealing any more. I think you just met Poppie in the kitchen in the morning out of habit. Looked at your water, then walked back to bed. So, that's where you stayed until that last breath. We watched over you that last night...played some good oldies on the stereo for you and I sang you songs. We decided not to go out to dinner that night so we could be by your side.
You are loved!  Here's to you, Jags.

Aimee