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

Some stuff.

 

1. I went to see Mamma Mia the other night and had to stop myself from standing up and cheering several times throughout the movie.  I loved every minute of it.  Any song by ABBA takes me back to college and there isn't a kid in my house that doesn't know the words to Dancing Queen.  I actually cried when Meryl Streep sang it.

2.  I cry really easily lately and it's bugging me.

3. My favorite combination of actions right now are all from Totallyradactions: 25% Oh Snap, 15% Cross Prossessed #2, 30% Boutwell's Magic Glasses and 25% Vignette and Blur.  In Photoshop, I created my own action that applies each of of these four actions at this particular opacity without me having to individually apply them.  I use this combination on a lot of my photos (including the one of Annie on the swing the other day which someone asked about).

4. I don't currently have any plans of teaching a photo editing class (I'm still recuperating from designing the online Photographers' Workshop).

5. I have called Josh, 'Josh Downs' ever since we met.  And because of it, he got in the habit of calling me 'Karen Russell' too.  In fact, I think we had been dating for more than 6 months before Courtney Lee realized that my name was just 'Karen' and not 'Karen Russell'.  It's something I've always done though, but just with certain people (and there's no real rhyme or reason as to who I get in the habit of doing it with...but if I start calling you by your first and last name, I never quit...just ask my friend Dawn Fisk who has been married for years and doesn't even go by that name anymore).  I think it's been a habit of mine since Junior High School.

6. I also have this really annoying habit of saying the same thing three time in a row.  I never realized that I did it until Josh pointed it out to me.  

7. I am really loving the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 lens that I got.  I hadn't shot with a zoom lens in years, so it took some getting used to, but I'm really happy with it.  It doesn't allow me to shoot in as low of light situations as my 50mm does, so I am primarily using it outdoors for 'everyday' shooting.  The (much more affordable) Tamron version of this lens (28-75mm f2.8) was the only lens I owned for 3+ years though and it's a great lens for the price.  And I don't find that Image Stabilization is necessary at this focal length.  The only lens I have with Image Stabilization is the Canon 70-200mm f2.8.

8. I am hoping to have my updated class schedule posted here in the next week or two.

9. Don't forget that registration for my next two Online Photographers' Workshops (there is one starting in Nov. and another starting in Jan.) is on Monday, Sept. 8th at 9:00am PST.  I have no idea how many people are going to try to register this time around, but if it's anything like the first registration day, be prepared to type fast.  The registration page is here on my website.

10. Someone sent me a link (thanks Barbara) to Christine Middlecamp's blog the other day because she's got several posts that include all the pages of a mini album that she made using one of my Easel Albums for her husband who passed away from brain cancer.  What's interesting is that I don't know Christine, but for some reason, her name has come up several times in conversations I have had with people recently and then Barbara sent me a link to her blog yesterday (which I had never seen before).  I'm a person that doesn't believe in coincidence, so I took some time to read her story and am really moved by what she's going through.  I've mentioned before that the fragility of life is something that has been in the forefront of my mind for months lately (maybe because I'm no spring chicken anymore) and her story is just another reminder of that.

11.  You can find the Easel Albums here, here and here.

12. Coley said that he needed to talk to me the other day...he said that he had decided that he thinks Barack Obama is a really nice guy but that if his Dad finds out he'll get kicked out of the house (Josh and I were talking politics the other night and Coley overheard Josh tell me that he was going to kick me out of the house when I started talking about all the things I like about Barack Obama).

13. Barack Obama IS a likable guy.

14. Coley flew out last night to Seattle to stay with my Sister and her husband for a few days.  It's so weird watching your seven year old board a plane without you.  I had to call him this morning though to tell him about McCain's choice for a running mate.

15. And right about now, Courtney Lee is probably eating cotton candy and jumping in a bounce house (it's the last day of her summer camp program and they're having a big carnival).  This day is monumental in her little six year old life...it's all she's talked about for weeks now.

16. I let Annie shoot shoot with my old camera sometimes with the strap secure around her little neck so she doesn't drop it (she's really hard to get pictures of lately, but I've found that if I pose for a few pictures - she'll return the favor).

17. The borderI used on this shot is one I designed for Polkadotpotato.com (I just converted it to greyscale before I used it).

18. Ross is up in Portland with Dillon and Dillon's Grandparents and the highlight of his little life right now is that I finally broke down and got a cell phone family plan, so he is no longer "the only 16 year old in the world without a cell phone."  I set up the plan though so that he only has 500 minutes a month and after he has used his 500 minutes, he is unable to make or receive any calls unless it is to/from me, Josh, my mom or 911.  And he's doing extra chores around the house to pay the $9.95 per month for unlimited texting.  And if he's caught texting during school...he'll be the only 16 year old in the world without a cell phone again.

19. Hopefully I haven't missed any questions...if I did, feel free to post your question again here in the comments section.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Fifteen years.

That's Ross, fifteen years ago out at my Uncle Donnie's (and my superb photographic skills).

Fifteen years later, walking on the same path (makes me sad and happy all at the same time).

Uncle Donnie's.

My Uncle Donnie invited everyone over for a BBQ the other night.

 

That's him in the blue shirt (in case you didn't recognize him without an olive or a finger up his nose).

 

He built a little dam in the creek to make a swimming hole.

I didn't realize it until I was sitting down by the creek yesterday, but I hadn't been to a BBQ out there since my Grandma passed away.

My Grandma loved this place and would have gotten such a kick out of seeing all these great-grandbabies of hers playing in the creek.

My Mom.

Some apples from an apple trees that my Mom planted out there years ago (although Courtney Lee couldn't bite into hers because she's missing her two upper front teeth).

Courtney's still working on that apple.

My Uncle Brad and Aunt Alicia who are still crazy in love after three kids and 20+ years together.

My cousin Jesse who is wrestling up at OSU (Go Beavs) and my Grandpa.

Jess was really happy to see Ross.

 

And the whole gang (including the neighbors kids who joined us).

Annie's a big fan of Grandma Bev.

And Roscoe-T is a big fan of his Grandma too.

Grandmas sure are a wonderful thing. 

Rose Petal Betty.

Jill (Did I ever mention that she's my best friend in the whole-wide-world?) is having a sale over at Rose Petal Betty. 

Those are bath bomb cupcakes (which I'm going to have at Courtney Lee's next birthday).

And if you're a lip balm kind of girl...Plum Apricot is my new favorite.

Such cool stuff.

Klamath.

The kids and I drove over to Klamath yesterday.

Josh Downs was promoted to First Luietenant.

He's been staying at a hotel while he's working at the base (he's working over there for 2 weeks out of every month for 8 months while is boss, Reverend is in Afghanistan) but they just got him set up with quarters on base.  So the kids and I got to see where he's living when he's not at home. 

 

Ross grew some chops.

I love all that's going on in this shot.

Ring-around-the-rosey.

 

And then we grabbed lunch and hit the park on our way out of town.

I wish I had managed to get a better shot of this - but that's Josh, upside-down.

A little football.

And then we headed down to the water.

Josh Downs showing off his amazing rocking skipping skills.

Josh Downs passing along his his amazing rock skipping skills to his offspring (Courtney Lee's been trying to learn to skip rocks for a long time now).

Success.

And then Josh found a bunch of 'whippin sticks' for all the kids (fabulous idea).

Tonight.

I just dropped Ross and Dillon (Ross's best friend) of at the Queensryche concert here in town.

Dillon's parents got them both tickets for Dillon's birthday.

The only way they would agree for me to take pictures was if I parked down the street, walked behind them and used one of my longer telephoto lenses so it wouldn't look like their Mommy was walking them to the concert.

Oh, and I had to agree to not holler anything anything embarrassing like "You big boys have a swell time tonight" or "You little honey bunches of oats better be safe."

I've never actually called them 'little honey bunches of oats'...but I may start.

I'm home.

I went to Texas feeling sick...and came home even sicker. 

But I'm home now and feeling better (and the trip was amazing).

Tara (the owner of the Paper Garden in Amarillo)... you're wonderful and funny and a great personal driver.

And you gals who danced on tables for door prizes...you're wonderful too.

And the indoor baseball facility where the classes were held in Wichita Falls was wonderful (the Photographers' One Day Workshop ran for 9 hours, had 65 students and I loved every single minute of it). 

Terri (the owner of Scrapbook N Such), Misti and Miss Natalie (who was my wonderful door prize assistant)...you already know how wonderful I think you (and your queso dip) are.

And Barbara (who was in my very first 9 week, online Photographers' Workshop and drove 8 hours from Mississippi and spent three days taking classes with me)...you're absolutely, positively beautiful and wonderful.

In fact, all the gals who were in my first online class are so wonderful that they put together an entire album for me with letters and photos and all sorts of wonderful stuff.  Barbara put a ton of work into the album (thanks Barbara) and gave it to me on Saturday.

This shot is so great - it's a picture of one of the gals in my class (Gina) while she was on vacation, reading one of the daily lessons.

Lots and lots of wonderful photos and notes.

I laid in bed Sunday night after class reading every single page.  It made me cry.  Thanks everyone - I can't even begin to explain to you how much it meant to me.

I was actually a big, huge sap all weekend (Texas is a big state, but wherever I go in Texas just reminds me of my Grandfather and losing him last year).  I usually talk about my Grandfather in my 10 Reasons class.  This weekend, I cried every time I mentioned his name.

Lots of stories (from me and from other students) and lots of tissue being passed around this weekend.

I was telling Josh about it all and he said that a room full of 40 women telling stories, crying and passing tissue is his worst nightmare.

I thought it was wonderful though (and for the record...I teach lots of classes without crying). 

Tammy, thanks for the mean margarita.  Jackie, thanks for the cupcakes.  Thanks Cindy and Rebecca for the necklace (and congrats on the baby).  Thanks Helga for the Easy Cheese.  Thanks everyone who drove so far.  Thanks everyone who slept in bunkbeds and spent 3 days listening to me talk.  Thanks everyone who cranked up their thinking caps for all 9 hours of the Photographers' Workshop (and someday, I just might master the PowerPoint remote control).  Thanks everyone who had a smile on their face when I glanced their way.  And thanks everyone listening to my many, many (many) stories and for sharing yours too.

And when I got home a little after midnight on Tuesday, I came home to a welcome note taped to the front door from Josh Downs.

I love the site of that front door when I've been gone for awhile.

And then I crawled in bed with Annie for awhile just to smell her and feel her breathing on me (and was sad that she was the only kiddo at home because I wanted to crawl in bed with every single one of them).

Oh, and all the binders for the online Photographers' Workshop are in the mail thanks to my Mom, Dottie and Bev (oh, and Coley).

I'm hoping to get my class schedule updated here soon, but I did just get things finalized for a few more classes before the end of the year...

I'll be at Scrap Lovers in San Jose, CA in October.  I'll be teaching 10 Reasons on Friday, Oct. 24th and The Photographers' One Day Workshop on Saturday, Oct. 25th.  And I was excited to hear that a bunch of people were already signing up before we even announced what I was teaching (funny).

And I'll be back in Texas and Louisiana in November.  I'll be teaching Interactive Scrapbooking on Friday, Nov. 7th and The Photographers' One Day Workshop on Saturday, Nov. 8th at The Scrapbook Junkie in Webster, TX.  And then I'll head to Treasured Memories in Lafayette, LA to teach The Photographers' One Day Workshop again on Sunday, Nov. 9th.

And lots of emails about my upcoming online Photographers' Workshop (that's the 9 week version of the class).  Just a reminder that I've got two upcoming classes (one that starts in Nov. and another that starts in Jan.).  Registration for both of these classes is at 9:00am PST on Monday, Sept. 8th.  I am still only taking a limited number of students in each class and if the last registration is any indicator of how future registrations will go...be ready to type quickly!

Have a great weekend (and I promise to be a good blogger next week).

This one time...

I was at an airport a few years back (not sure where, as airports have all become a bit of a blur to me) on my way to one of the first trade shows I had ever attended.  I was just hanging out, waiting (like you do at airports) when I happened to glance over to my side and there she was...

Heidi Swapp.

She was just standing there, waiting (like you do in airports) just a couple of feet away from me, looking all cute and put together (like Heidi Swapp always does).  I on the other hand, was in a ponytail and sweat pants, not looking very cute or put together (like I always do).

I kind of gasped a little bit when I saw her because, well...I'm a fan.  Heidi Swapp was the first scrapbooker I had ever put a name and face to after looking at a layout of hers in one of the first issues of Creating Keepsakes I had ever bought back in 2001-ish.  In fact, I was up in Seattle with my best friend in the whole wide world, Jill (we've been best friends for 25 years now, but you probably already knew that because I say it every chance I get) and I distinctly remember Jill and I saying 'That Heidi Swapp girl is the best scrapbooker in the whole wide world!' after looking at a layout she had in the magazine (all I remember is that it was a bathtub layout with a hand-drawn frog in a pocket or something terrifically cool like that).  Jill even scraplifted it (that's how cool it was).

And when Heidi Swapp's work came out in the Designing with Notions and the Designing with Texture books back in 2002, I about lost my mind.  To date, I still don't think that I have every loved or used any scrapbooking books the way I loved and used those two book.  The were just ahead of their time.

I've taught interactive style scrapbooking classes for years now, but Heidi Swapp was doing it with baby bonnets tucked away inside foam board with transparent windows and amazingly cool mini albums built into her layouts long before I ever did it.

So saying that I 'gasped a little bit when I saw her' is actually an understatement because actually, my heart started to race and I thought for a minute that I might actually pee my pants (or more accurately, my sweat pants).  I just remember having a conversation with myself that went something like this...

'Oh my gosh, you're standing next Heidi Swapp!', 'You should go say hi'.  'No, you can't go say hi, you're wearing sweat pants'.  'She won't care if you're wearing sweat pants, you should go say hi'. 'I can't say hi, I'll make an idiot of myself', 'Oh my gosh, I'm standing next to Heidi Swapp'.  'I'm sure people make an idiot of themselves in front of her all the time, you should go say hi', but before I had a chance to carry on my conversation any longer, I looked over and Heidi Swapp was gone.

So a few years later, I was at another trade show (I'm not sure where as those trade shows have all become a bit of a blur to me) and was talking with a friend of mine from Magic Scraps when I spotted Heidi Swapp standing off to the side of me again.  So I interrupted the conversation I was having with my friend from Magic Scraps to say 'Oh my gosh, we're standing next to Heidi Swapp!' and my friend from Magic Scraps said, 'Haven't you met her before, come on, I'll introduce you.'  And then I said 'I don't want to meet her, I'll make an idiot of myself', but before I could say anything else, my friend from Magic Scraps was already standing next to Heidi and starting our introduction.  As I walked towards them, I just kept saying to myself, 'Don't say anything stupid', 'Don't say anything stupid', 'Don't say anything stupid.'

But as I went to shake her hand, the 'stupid' just started spouting from my mouth at 100 mph before I even realized that I was speaking; 'OH MY GOSH, IT'S SO NICE TO MEET YOU HEIDI SWAPP, I'VE LOVED YOU FOR YEARS, IN FACT, THIS ONE TIME I WAS STANDING AT AN AIRPORT NEXT TO YOU AND I ALMOST PEED MYSELF BECAUSE I WAS SO EXCITED, AND I WANTED TO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO YOU BUT I WAS WEARING SWEAT PANTS AND I WAS AFRAID THAT I WOULD MAKE AN IDIOT OF MYSELF'...

She just politely sat and listened until all the 'stupid' was done spouting out of my mouth and then said, 'It's nice to meet you too.'

And then some important business person came over and totally interrupted the amazing conversation we were having.

And as I was walking away with my friend from Magic Scraps, I was thinking to myself 'Did you really just tell Heidi Swapp that you almost peed yourself?'

So that is just about the extent of my conversations with Heidi Swapp other than a brief email a few years back when she worked on a fundraiser that I was doing.

I talked with Jim quite awhile back about teaching on the Ultimate Scrapbooking Cruise this coming January and a few months after we had firmed up our plans, I found out that Heidi Swapp was added to the list of instructors teaching on the cruise (that's what I call 'icing on the cake').

And so, a few weeks back, I see this in my inbox:

hey karen..

just wanted to drop you a note... i love your blog-i don't really read blogs... i am just too crazy busy, but you do a great job...

hks

Yep, that's an email from Heidi Swapp.  It went on to talk about a whole bunch of other business stuff in regards to the cruise, but I just kept coming back to the opening paragraph because...

HEIDI SWAPP READS MY BLOG?!?

So I ran into the living room and said to Josh 'HEIDI SWAPP JUST EMAILED ME!' and Josh said 'I know I've heard the name because you always talk about her, but who is she?'

And then I called my best friend in the whole wide world (we've been best friends for 25 years you know) and said 'HEIDI SWAPP JUST EMAILED ME!'

And then I emailed my friend Donna who I met in a class a few years back to tell her the news because she's the only person that I know who made an even bigger ass of herself when she met Heidi Swapp for the first time.

So there you go...

Heidi Swapp reads my blog (or at the very least, she is nice enough to say that she reads my blog - either of which I am quite happy with) and I am teaching on the Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise with her this coming January too along with a whole group of other amazing instructors (but none of which I have made an ass out of myself in front...yet); Jim West, Donna Downey, Margie Romney-Aslett, Michelle Van Etten and Theresa Collins.

Here's all the details:

Ok, and other than that...I woke up this morning with a big ole' coldsore on my lip, a sore throat and a stomach ache, but I'm heading out to Texas first thing in the morning for a whole weekend of classes regardless.  So all you lovely Texan girls, wish me a speedy recovery and I can't wait to see ya'll.

Me again.

And lest anyone think I am a bad-blogger for not posting yesterday, I will post twice today to make up for it...

1. I don't currently have plans of selling just the binder and lessons for my online Photographers' Workshop.  I will definitely put some thought into it though as I know the fact that the classes have been selling out quickly has been a real drag for those of you who want to take the course but can't get in.

2. I've been getting a lot of emails about when the next registration date will be for the online Photographers' Workshop - registration is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 8th at 9am PST.  Feel free to sign up for the newsletter in the upper right hand corner of my blog here if you want to receive updates (keep in mind that these email newsletters sometimes end up in your junkmail though).

3. I'll be out of town this weekend teaching in Texas.  I'll be at The Paper Garden in Amarillo on the 15th and 16th and at Scrapbook N Such on the 16th-18th.  We rented a bigger space since the classes sold out, so there's still spots of you want to sign up.

4. I promise I'm going to schedule a 10 Reasons class at Scrapbook Fever in Salem, OR...I just haven't had a chance to get something down on my calendar yet.

5. I am behind on emails again.  Working on it though.  I've mentioned this before and it's kind of a hard thing for me to discuss (because I'm a pleaser), but I had to make the decision awhile back to stop answering photography questions for non-registered students via email because it just isn't fair for me to be giving photography information for free to some people, while charging students for the same information.  The pleaser in me hopes that everyone understands. 

6. I'll talk more about this tomorrow, but all the plans for the Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise in January 2009 are coming together.  Had a conference call the other day with all of the instructors; me, Jim West, Heidi Swapp, Donna Downey, Margie Romney-Aslett, Michelle Van Etten and Theresa Collins.  If you are already signed up to go with us or if you are interested, all of the instructors will be on the Ultimate Cruise Yahoo board tonight at 9pm EST.

7. Hope you're having a great day.

This weekend.

Took a couple of much-needed days off this weekend and went to the beach.

Coley, Buster, Grandma Jo, Baby Brooke, Courtney Lee and Roscoe-T.

And a rare sighting of my lily-whites.

And a big thank you to Jenny-from-the-block for documenting the fact that I was actually on this trip (oh, and that's Josh's parents sweet, new RV).

Josh Downs & Jamey Downs.

Yannie's a big fan of strawberries.

Not sure what that is...I'm guessing it's a Metallica symbol though.

Tater-Tot.

Funny how when you're a mom, you're always 'base' for any kid who is being chased.

She was convinced that this deflated tube transformed her into a butterfly.

And this is all I saw while I tried to catch a nap in our tent.

Crabbing on the dock.  That's Annie's Great-Papa.

Courtney Lee measuring one of the crabs.

The crabs just stressed Yannie out, so she sat up on the table and relieved her stress by pinching her neck for a couple of hours.

And no trip would be complete without a little fighting.

This one cracks me up.

That's Josh Downs and Ross trying to stick crabs down eachother's shirts.

And someone turned two.

Camping makes for tired little girls.

I shot everything with my new Canon 24-70mm f2.8.  For the last few years, I've only shot with fixed lenses that don't zoom; primarily a Canon 50mm lens.  So switching over to a zoom lens has been a bit of a transition for me.  I'm loving it though.  It won't let me shoot in as low of light situations as I can with my 50mm, but for outdoor, everyday stuff I'm finding that the ability to zoom is really nice.

For over three years, the only lens I owned was a much cheaper version of my new  zoom lens (it was the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 - a little over 400 bucks - and loved it).

I'm temporarily hooked on a little heavier photo editing than normal too.  Just about every shot had the following combination of actions from Totally Rad Actions:  20% Oh Snap, 25% Boutwell's Magic Glasses, 20% Vignette & Blur and 15% Pross-Crossessed #2.