My life...just not on the road I expected (but it's still dang good).

On tour.

Click here and then come back.

I'm assuming that "Wer ist Karen Russell?" loosely translates to "who in the heck is Karen Russell?".

I don't speak an ounce of German, so I can't tell you exactly what it says - but the basic gist of it is that I'm teaching a bunch of workshops in Germany this Summer!!!!

I don't use exclamation marks very freely, so please understand that when I add 4 of them to the end of a sentence, it means that I am really, really, really excited (and that my favorite number is 4).

And here, where it says "tour dates" or "tour daten" ("touring" sure does sound fancy...maybe I'll have to start using that word when I am teaching anywhere other than my hometown...in fact, I'll be on tour in Eastern, Oregon this weekend at Scrapbooking Outside the Box), it lists the cities I'll be teaching in (and I hate to admit it, but I've only heard of Berlin and Hamberg).

Josh & Annie are going with me to Germany.

Actually, Josh and I had started planning a trip to Germany a few years ago and had planned on going in February 2006. 

Annie was born on Feb. 13th 2006, so she botched our plans a bit.

Back to the trip...

The owner of Living Memories, Heike Lenz contacted me awhile back about this trip and while I was at CHA we had a chance to meet and work out all the details (and after having a chance to meet her, I can tell that this is going to be an amazing experience). 

And it's such a great thing because scrapbooking is really taking off in Germany.

Which makes me even more excited about this whole thing.

So...

Ich bin sehr aufgeregt (thanks Josh and a German dictionary website for help with that translation).

(and that's me and Heike at CHA).

What Josh learned from Dr. Phil yesterday.

Josh and I get along brilliantly well (maybe too good if that's even possible).

And I think it's based on a lot of things...amongst which is the fact that Josh is the biggest "Sally Sunshine" I've ever met.

He's just one of those eternally optimistic people that sees the bright side in everything and chooses to be happy regardless of what is going on around him. 

I however, have been accused of being a bit of a roller-coaster more than once in my life.

And though I have become more even-keeled over the years - I still have a tendency to visit the amusement park every now and then (but in my own defense - I get over it quickly and I apologize quickly).

Needing an example?

Sunday (on our way to church of all places), I was trying to put Annie's bracelet on while we were driving.

And I was already irritated #1 because I was hungry (hunger is the quickest route to sending me over the deep end), #2 because Annie's bracelet had been missing - and I found it inside one of the shoes I was wearing to church (which means one of those stinky little kids of mine took it off of her and decided that my shoe would be the perfect place to hide it) and #3 because as I was facing backwards trying to put the bracelet on her, Josh was purposely swerving the truck all over the road.

So (in typical roller-coaster fashion), I turned around, shouted an obscenity and threw the bracelet up on the dash (again, in my defense, there were no kids in the car other than Annie, and she doesn't even know what that word I used means).

Then the bracelet slid across the dash of the truck...right into a vent.

So I started ranting & raving some more.

And then Sally Sunshine gave me a look like I had just lost my mind.

So we sat in silence for about 60 seconds while I pondered on what a complete and utter jack-ass I had just made of myself and apologized.

Was that a good enough example?

So yesterday morning, I was talking about needing to leave the house by 3pm to make it up to Roseburg in time for my class (which meant that Josh had to leave work early).  I had already mentioned it to him a couple of times last week AND it's on my Google calendar (which he never looks at).

But he didn't remember and we were both a little irritated by it (in general, our crazy schedules are just about the only thing that stirs up an conflict between us...oh ya, and bracelets).

So last night we were in the kitchen talking about it and Josh says, "I learned on Dr. Phil today that we don't have to always agree on things, so long as we both get a chance to be heard...and I'm lucky that you're not an exotic dancer."

Josh thinks he can resolve any conflict with a good joke.

But he's wrong.

So I keep talking, not because I want a resolution (there isn't one), but because I want my frustration on the matter to be heard (yet again).

The conversation was going just fine, until (for some reason), Josh sensed that we were done talking (which we weren't) and started to walk out of the kitchen.

But I hadn't been heard yet (apparently, Dr. Phil's words didn't really sink in for Josh), so I got mad and decided to walk out of the kitchen before him.

As I'm leaving, Ross walks in.

And then I heard Josh say to Ross...

"Dr. Phil is a liar."

That picture was taken right outside of one of the places (here in Grants Pass) we went to on our very first date.

Poor widdle Coley.

99.7 degree temp and he just wants to be loved on.

He took 3 naps yesterday (he never naps).

And he won't eat.

But he did request Macaroni & Cheese for dinner last night after some prompting from Ross (but by the time I cooked it, he wasn't hungry anymore).  FYI...Organic Kraft Mac & Cheese...just not as good as the real thing (apparently preservatives and lots of processing is what makes regular Kraft Mac & Cheese so tasty).

So he's taking advantage of unlimited T.V. and lots of loving today.

On the upside, he is very excited that he got his own bottle of 7-Up (our poor deprived kids don't get soda unless they're sick).

And Ross let Coley sleep in bed with him last night.

The challenge (if you are willing to accept it).

This one's dedicated to the Scrapbook Chalet girls (thanks for a fun chat).

There was a request for a challenge last night...

I talk about challenges a lot in my Scrapbooking Outside the Box class.  But I talk about the true definition of a "challenge" which is:

To arouse or stimulate especially by presenting with difficulties.

There are a lot of fun challenges out there (and I think they're great), but that's not the goal here...

We're going for a real challenge in every sense of the word - and a challenge isn't meant to be easy.  It's meant to push you outside your comfort zone (and that's a good thing). 

If it's easy...well then, it's not a true challenge.

And I think that's where you grow as an artist (through challenging yourself and working outside of your comfort zone).  I think that's how you overcome creative blocks & find your "mojo".  I think it's how you continue to enjoy and feel passionate about scrapbooking.

So here it is, one of my favorite challenges...

Scraplift a layout.

But here's the kicker.  You have to choose a layout from an artist who's style is completely unlike your own (otherwise, it wouldn't much of a challenge, would it?).

It has to be a style that is outside of your comfort zone.

If you're a simple scrapbooker...maybe you're going to pick a collage style artist to lift and vice versa. 

Maybe you're going to pick a really grungy, graphic-based artist.  Maybe you're going pick a shabby-chic style artist.  Maybe you're going to going to choose a more whimsical approach or a more edgy approach. 

Just has to be something completely unlike something you would normally do.

And I think there's a few huge benefits here:

1.  You're challenging yourself (and growing as an artist)

2.  You get to try on someone else's "scrapbooking scissors" for a short while (which is fun and new and challenging and if you're really open to it, you may just find bits & pieces of this artists style that you want to start incorporating into your own work - maybe even with your own unique spin on it).

3.  A challenge serves the dual purpose of both challenging you & giving you direction.  Instead of sitting there looking at a blank sheet of cardstock wondering what in the heck (or hell - whichever you prefer this morning) you're going to do...you've got a starting point, a path, a direction to start working in.

So (until recently), I had it in my head that I didn't scraplift.

Don't get me wrong, I have no moral opposition to scraplifting.

It was just that I had scraplifted a layout a few years back (from the crazy-talented Renee Camacho) and it  didn't go so well.  I copied her layout identically - every element of it.  The only thing different about my layout was the photo. 

I loooooved her layout...hated mine (how can that be if they were the same identical layout?).

So I think that I got it in my head from there on out that I wasn't going to scraplift.

But when I started working on my Scrapbooking Outside the Box class, I wanted to challenge my students to scraplift.

And so I decided that if I was going to challenge them...I had to be willing to challenge myself.

I'm a huge admirer of Candice Stringham's work (even though it is very unlike my own) and so she seemed like the obvious candidate.

And the results?...

Hers:

   

and mine:

So when I look at them side by side - I like hers a lot better.

But you know what?...when I look at mine on it's own, I love it.

And I think that when I get some time, I am going to do this challenge again.  Push myself a little bit further - create a layout that is much more unlike me (even though I tried really hard, this one still ended up looking a little too similar to my own style which would be fine under normal circumstances...but we're talking CHALLENGE here ladies).

Oh, and for the Chalet crowd...that's the Fiskars 3 in 1 border punch that I was talking about (on the corners of my cardstock - can't live without that thing).

Enjoy.

While I'm thinking about it...

I'll be teaching Scrapbooking Outside the Box in Roseburg, OR at Stampers Corner this coming Monday night (541 957 9040).  I think there's still some spots.

And we cancelled last nights class in Grants Pass, OR at the Scrapbook Connection due to snow (sorry), but it's rescheduled for this coming Thursday (541 474 4404).  This one was full last I had heard (but maybe they can squeeze you in if you call).

Then I'm teaching in Bend, OR  at Scrapbooking Outside the Box  (the store I named my class after) all weekend (March 3-4)(541 318 7312).  I think Josh and the kiddos are going to come to with me, so we can make a weekend roadtrip out of it.

In a cleaning mood today... so I'm off to scrub baseboards (I have issues with dirty baseboards).   

Just a couple of things...

I'll be doing an online chat tonight at Scrapbook Chalet (10pm EST...that's 7pm for us West Coast homies).

Looking forward to it.

(I don't really use the word "homies" in my everyday dialogue).

Lots of questions about Annie and the sign language we've been teaching her...

She doesn't have any hearing problems.  It was just something that we decided to do because we had read that it is supposed to help a lot with the frustration that most babies & toddlers feel in having wants and needs that they are unable to verbalize them (so if it spares us a fit or two, it was well worth it).

I love it.  I think everyone in the house loves it.  The kids all know how to do it (it's easy) and so do the grandparents.

We started when she was about 7 months old (that's when they recommend starting) with the basics "milk", "more" and "eat".  By about 9 months, she was starting to mimic the signs.

Then we got a little lazy and didn't teach her any new signs.

So that's all she knows (eat, milk & more).

I think that she loves to communicate with us, so she is constantly doing one of those three signs.  Unfortunately, I can't tell if she is really hungry, or just feels like talking.

So I feed her a lot.

I just brushed up on some of the new words I've been wanting to teach her though and have been signing them to her on a regular basis.  She picked up "night-night" really quick, but the others are taking some time.

But we're working on sit, no, gentle, please, thank you, water, diaper change, finished, book, bath, bedtime, brush teeth, up, help pain and no touch.

I don't "practice" them with her, I simply use the specific signs as they come up in our everyday lives.  I use them as I say the actual word and I make sure that she is paying attention when I do them.

I think it takes a lot of repetition and that you have to do it without having any sort of expectations of if/when they will mimic the sign.

And I don't think that it's every too late to start something like this with your kids if you think they would benefit from it.

We are using sign with your Baby by Joseph Garcia.

Check it out - it's good stuff.

Oh, and Josh took this one of Annie while they were at Wild Life Safari on Monday (if you weren't born and raised in Oregon, you probably don't have a clue what Wild Life Safari is...but it's a drive through wild animal park...so this is Annie, looking out the window at all the "dogs" (she thinks every animal is a dog).

Just in the last couple of days...

She says "baby" while she's hugging and patting the Dora doll that Courtney gave her.

And she waves and says "bye-bye" whenever she crab-crawls out of a room (but sometimes she turns around and comes back making the "mmmwaaaa" sound because she wants a kiss before she goes).

And she says "bottle" while she signs the word "milk".

But she pronounces all three of those words exactly the same ( "ba-ba").

And she points at every picture she sees hanging on the wall and waits for me to tell her who's in each of them.

And she pushes my hands away when she's trying to stand up because she wants to do it on her own.

This morning, she figured out how much fun it is to hear Coley & Courtney holler each time she pushes the "off" button on the T.V. and when I tell her "no" and try to move her hand away from the buttons, she starts swinging and screaming (while I try really hard not to laugh).

She claps when she sees a banana coming her way.

The second I get her out of bed in the morning (even before her eyes are open), she starts signing "eat" & "more".

She's getting a couple more teeth (I hate to admit it, but the poor girls got some serious "bucky-beaver" front teeth going on).

And she figured out how to sign "night-night" the same day we taught it to her.

Josh took the kids to Wild Life Safari on Monday and said that she got excited every single time she saw an animal because she thought they were all "dogs".

And that picture (blurriness and all) just makes my heart race because for some reason, I feel like it portrays her so perfectly right now (at this lovely, funny constantly moving & constantly changing age).

Oh, and that's what the "crab-crawl" looks like.

We're scrapbooking today.

 

Home again.

Another great (crazy) weekend teaching.

I need to focus on my time-management skills a bit though.

I taught in Albany, OR at the Scrap Yard on Friday night (thanks everyone for all the surprises - the soap - the cool star - the birthday presents for Annie).  I think we wrapped up a little after 10 pm and then I got in the car and drove up to Beaverton to stay the night at a friends house (I didn't want to stay in a hotel again).  I got to her house at about 11:45 pm and went straight to bed.

But the pressure of needing to get a good nights sleep kept me up until 2 am.

And I had to be up and on the road by 5:30 am the next morning for class in Warrenton.

I don't do well on little sleep.  I'm one of those people that needs a good 7 hours of sleep to be functioning at peak performance.

And so, the whole drive to Warrenton, I was practicing a little envisioning trick that I heard about on Oprah the other day (it was about envisioning what you wanted out of your life in great detail and that the practice of envisioning would help your vision to become reality). 

I'd have to say that I'm not really an "envisioning" sort of a girl...but with 3.5 hours of sleep the night before and a full day of classes, I was willing to try anything.

And so I envisioned myself teaching and I envisioned the words coming out of my mouth being very clear and profound and I envisioned every joke I told being hysterically funny.

And then I threw in a quick prayer just in case this whole envisioning stuff is really just a bunch of bullshit.

And I have to say that (at least from my perspective), the class was a success.

And then I got in the car again and drove to St. Helens for another class.

And my classes are long.  4 hours long (I've got a lot to say).

And so at 9:28, I'm still feeling good and I still have energy and my class in St. Helens is going beautifully and we're running right on time and scheduled to finish up at 10 pm.

But for some reason, at 9:29...things started to go horribly wrong.

I started feeling a little delirious from the lack of sleep.

In fact (I swore I wouldn't blog about this), but at one point during those last embarrassing 31 minutes of class, I was giving away a really big FontWerks wood mounted stamp as a door prize and as I'm holding the stamp in my hand, I start off on a tangent (imagine that) about how I love wood mounted stamps more than acrylic stamps...

And the words that followed will haunt me forever (Grandfather, if you're reading my blog today, please skip the next paragraph)...

I said (to a class full of students), "There is just something that I love about having a big ole' hunk of wood in my hands" (I hadn't "envisioned" saying those words in class)...

And that's when the ladies broke out in laughter.

Thanks everyone for a great weekend and thanks also to everyone who has witnessed my many, many (many) imperfections and has chosen to like me anyway.

I'm behind on posting all the pictures I've taken from classes in the last few weeks (but it's on my "to-do" list).

Aaaaaand while I was driving home last night on the freeway (going about 70 mph), I heard a loud "POP" and then my drivers side window completely exploded into 14 million little pieces (there was glass in my hair, glass down my shirt...glass everywhere). 

As funny as it may sound, my first thought was that I had been shot at.  Then I called Josh who pointed out that it was more likely that it was a rock than a bullet.

So a really nice gas station attendant fashioned a temporary window for me out of an old car wash sign, a garbage bag and some electrical tape.  Unfortunately, it only covered up about 3/4 of the window, so it was a really cold 4 hour drive home last night.

Oh, and I've gained 5 lbs. in the 3 weeks since Annie quit nursing (lovely).

More classes.

Another one of those ridiculous self-portraits that I feel inclined to take every single time I teach (this one was from last weekend). 

I think it accentuates my nose nicely.

Getting ready for another weekend of classes (at a few more of my favorite stores).

I'll be at the Scrap Yard tonight in Albany, OR (541 917 8995), the Scrapbook Connection II in Warrenton, OR tomorrow morning (503 861 7300) and at Small Town Memories in St. Helens, OR tomorrow night (503 366 2696 - St. Helens is about 25 miles North of Portland).

I'm teaching Scrapbooking Outside the Box at all of those stores (if you are needing a supply list, click here). 

I'm thinking there might be a few seats left at each of those locations (not sure though).

Hoping that I get a little more sleep than I did last weekend.