Laura's Blog: April 2007

"Life is Crazy!"

10:00 PM | by Laura

I figured I had better update as it has been a few crazy weeks since the last post. As most of you know I am trying to finish a grad dress, work almost full time and lead a somewhat "normal" life. The dress is coming along...with a few minor meltdowns, but we will win! I am a visual learner and I am finding it somwhat challenging to sew this dress without any written instructions, therefore I have to have everything figured out in my head BEFORE I sew the next step. All will be fine I know and a great learning curve for me. I figured instead of uploading pictures of me cutting the pattern out, since the grad is only one week away and you have been so patient up to this point, I would just post a picture of her in her dress. Okay? The finished product will look much, much better anyway (I hope :-)

Tonight was the first night of our Aloha Spring Fling. What a blast we are having! My girls stopped in after my shift was over and I was about to go home with them, when I noticed that Wilna Furstenburg had stopped in. I am always excited to see her, as she is one of the most inspiring, genuine ladies I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I was so happy to be able to introduce her to Rachel and Jenna, when Wilna turned to me with disbelief on her face and said, "You have girls this old?" To which I replied, "Yes, and Rachel is actually graduating next weekend." She then gave one of the best compliments anyone has ever given me when she told me that she thought "you were in your twenties!" To which I promptly threw my arms around her and almost broke her ribs and told her I loved her for life and she was my best friend! She has this way of making you feel like a million dollars! So Wilna, if you read this post, thank you tonight for that compliment!

I had another thing happen earlier this week that I know everyone who knows me wouldn't be surprised and will laugh with me. We had a new customer in the store browsing for a while when she came up to the counter to look at the ribbon. Sharon was teaching a class and it was quite busy and I was alone. (It was in the evening) As we often do when a customer wants to look at ribbon we ask them to come behind the counter. Well, as I was running low on sleep this week, and running in the store, I kinda got my words a little twisted. I was going to ask her if she wanted to take a look and a peek all at the same time and I ended up asking her "If she wanted to come behind the counter to take a leak." Well needless to say I couldn't stop laughing. That was my biggest faux pas in retail history. She has a great sense of humor and has been in the store three times this week, so I have not scared her away. I of course told all my friends and kids because I am a firm believer in laughing at yourself...life is too short. So I hope I made someone laugh because it sure made me and many of my friends and family laugh for days after!

Thank you guys for being patient and faithful and I will have many pages done AFTER grad. You guys have a great weekend and we'll see some of you at the store and if not, we'll see you on the blog! Lord Bless!!!

Update on My Life

8:32 PM | by Laura

Okay. I have received several comments lately on my lack of recent updates on my blog. So I figured I would give you an update on my hectic life.

I have started on the illustrious grad dress. You know that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you cut into your fabric and you have made a wrong cut? Or you think you made a wrong cut and you are just sick? That happened the other night...and my husband Shannon was sitting right there on the couch and I had to pretend that I knew what I was doingand nothing was wrong. Let me tell you, that was not easy. He is the one who would play the part of Chicken Little in the play...you know, "the sky is falling" thingy. So I had to stop cutting until I found out exactly what piece was what (long story) but it all worked out and I didn't have to buy too much more fabric. So, I will get Rachel to take some pictures of me making this dress in progress since I haven't had time to scrapbook at home and work has been crazy busy these last three weeks. So, I don't think there will be any new pages from me until after I am done this grad dress and Rachel's prom is done at the beginning of May. So, if you can be patient a little longer, I'll post pictures until I can post new pages!

Until then, thanks for being faithful and checking on my blog and I'll see a bunch of you in the store!

Getting Ready For Grad

11:42 PM | by Laura

Tonight I finished the mock up of Rachel's grad dress that I am making for her. As she put the bodice on and I pinned the back together, a wave of nostalgia swept over me. Many of you locals already know the lengths I have gone to to find a pattern for her dress, so this one seems a little extra special to me. When I realized there wasn't going to be that much to change (very little in fact), I was elated! Mylyhn is amazing! Where has time gone? Years have sped by and now Rachel is graduating. This, of course isn't anything new to the human race or motherhood...just me! You begin to relive all her firsts, all her accomplishments, all her growths, her mistakes. I have also been reflecting on my role as a mother and wondering if I did enough...did I make the right decision in that particular situation? Time will tell. I am feeling rather vulnerable, somewhat human I guess. I look back and see all my mistakes also and realize that the grace of God really did step in. Where I fell short, He made up the difference. I am thankful that I don't have to face the "empty nest" syndrome right now. She plans on going to school right here in Saskatoon. One less thing to face right now.

So, if I get a chance to do the April challenge, it will reflect somewhat along on these lines. About the changes on the horizon in my life. Me don't like big changes!

First and latest

1:59 PM | by Laura

Okay, so here is one of my first pages I ever scrapbooked. Pretty "scary". Actually, we had a good chuckle today at the store. But in all self defence, I had never taken a Basics class. Had to have every one of those decorative scissors. At least I used the" bat cut" edge around my pictures. I was being consistant. lol Anyway, everyone is welcome to comment on it, I think I get the prize for sticker sneezing. I even put one on the tombstone!

Now this page I finished last night. When you look at these two pages, it makes me realize that I have grown and I am creative. I do have to work at it, I may not be as natural at it as some but the creativity is there. Just giving myself a self-confidence boost. Anyone who knows me well knows I am my worst critic. This page came together yesterday so easy and I did not scraplift any of it. For me, that is big. It is one of my pages that I am totally pleased with.

"I Smile..."

3:31 PM | by Laura

I had to find a way to use this quote in my sister's wedding scrapbook. We had so much fun getting even with her...mean sisters that we were. She had that total horrified look on her face when she saw us walk to the mike. It was so worth it!! Even though the pictures aren't the best quality, you can still dress them up a bit and make your layout look just fine using rub-ons, a little bling and a bit of patterned paper.

This was our February challenge that Pam brought to the staff.

I never thought I would become an "adoptive parent". But it seems like my girls friends have dubbed me "Mamma P", and it has stuck. I kinda like it when I walk into the armouries and some of the kids holler out "Hi, Mamma P!" I really enjoy working with these teenagers, they are a great bunch of cadets trying to do something with their lives. They could be spending it getting into trouble or wasting it in front of a television or computer games, instead, they are doing something productive that will help them in their adult years. A little rub-on corner flourish, chipboard title and heart, no bling ( kind of hard with a cadet theme), ribbon and back to basic patterned paper and cardstock. Again, the hardest thing for me was finding a picture of myself!!! Ididn't have a current one, so Sharon was kind enough to take one of me.