It's been a while...

Christmas 2008... my favorite photos

The holidays always put me in this really weird mood. I want to be around my family but then again I don't. I can't explain it, but I tend to withdraw more and more every year. It's just me, I don't want to be bothered. This year was no different. Too many questions are asked and I just smile and walk away. It's better that way.

On to my silly canvas. I had bought Josh this canvas a while back and it was just sitting in this room collecting dust, so I decided to snatch it away. I just started painting and I really wasn't sure what to do with it. All I knew is that I wanted to put it up in my scraproom but I wasn't sure what I wanted to it to say. Then I looked over at my silly skull and knew I wanted to add it to my canvas. In the end all I wrote on it... i love to be different. In away it really is me. When it comes to scrapbooking I don't want to do what everyone else is doing I want something different. I don't like the traditional I like the funky. Funky different. LOL. Yeah that is me. Speaking of which... I guess that explains the silly gifts I got for Christmas.

I have one more week of vacation left, scrapbooking has been the last thing on my mind. I've been cleaning like a mad woman. I moved my room around, cleaned out my closet (I have way to many clothes), and next week I was going to clean out my hallway closet... was.. but nah. My niece and nephew are visiting so I think we will take some field trips instead. =) Tired of being at home, it's time to get out and enjoy the sunshine.

xoxo, bucket

STM Challenge #66 - All I want for Christmas

Please excuse the picture..it came out really bad. I was too lazy to scan it in.

Journaling reads:
All I want for Christmas is you.....
Boys: Mom, what do you want for Christmas?
Me: Nothing.
Boys: Really mom, tell us.
Me: I have everything I want.

Honestly really, I do have everything I want. All I wanted was to spend the day with them and that is what I got. Now that Johnny is in "College" and such a busy man ...blah blah.. I hardly ever get to see him. So the few hours the three of us got to spend together was like heaven to me. This mom business... don't think I like it. Why do they have to grow up? People say it's part of life, but I don't like it. LOL..so now..I just have to wait for grandchildren.. EICK.. maybe not.

Gifts for my co-workers

Every year for Christmas I make something for my co-workers. Last year it was the tile coasters and domino magnets. This year I 'planned' on making them some bookmarks. I have had no energy to make them, so I figure I can always give it to them when I get back from my time off. I will have plenty of time to work on them then.

So what do you think? Bookmarks with what else? A pen? Maybe a bookmark with an altered composition book? Those are easy huh. (Yes I talk to myself a lot). My co-workers really are the best. I don't like my job, but when it comes to my co-workers they really are the best. They always seem to know when something is wrong. I get really quiet and just tend to hide in my hole. They pull me out, take me for a walk, and always lend a shoulder to cry on.

I'm off.. one more meeting today and then it's our departments holiday lunch event.

=) bucket

Have I got a story for you.

This is actually really funny.

Imagine this... around 4:30 pm yesterday here I am trying to cross the street to get to my car. It was windy and it was raining like you wouldn't believe it, OK well maybe I am exaggerating, but it was raining - enough where I needed an umbrella. So here I am all dressed up really cute in my boots - with heals - trying to cross the street. From one corner to another (the first arrow) there is a wind tunnel. So here I am trying to cross the street and my umbrella almost flies away. The wind was that strong! So I decide to put my hood on and say screw it and tried to push through and cross the street. I can only imagine people looking at me just laughing their asses off - because I would be laughing too... OK so wait there is more to the story.

So once I get from one corner to another I decided to open my umbrella back up. I open it and WOOSH.. it flips in the opposite direction. LOL.. yeah imagine this is happening on a very busy street during rush hour. So I stand there..I start laughing... and try my hardest to flip that B* over. I get it done and now I have to cross the street again - see the 2nd arrow on the picture. So again here I am crossing the street in my cute ass boots that have heals... the wind is blowing, my umbrella is broken... and all I can do is laugh.

I pick up my mom - we carpool - and I proceed to tell her my story. She looks and at me says "Hey what umbrella, you didn't use my new one did you?" We just started laughing. Mom's gotta love them.

So there is my story, I was wet, my favorite umbrella is now broken, but I had a hell of a good time trying to cross the street. If I had to do it again.. I think I would make sure to share the experience with a friend. BREWHAHA

friends-best gift of all

friends-best gift of all, originally uploaded by suzbucket.

I totally forgot to post another Digi Layout of mine.

We (Lisa, Juls, Susie, me, April, and Kari) went out for some chit chatting and drinks. Of course being the scrappers that we are we had to take some pictures together.

I have to say I had a great time. It's great to talk to people who sit back and listen. It's not always about "me, me, me" but we all share in the conservation. I honestly think people don't realize they do that. I do tend to be pretty quiet, so when I can let loose I really appreciate it.

I've got the best secret ever. I can't let the cat out of the bag until Christmas day. FYI...it has nothing to do with me... but it is the best secret ever. So only 9 more days....OK a hint...I'm going to be a godmother... well technically...she doesn't know it yet, but yeah.. I have appointed myself the godmother. LOL. I can't stop smiling from ear to ear.

=) bucket

Credits on the digi kit.. Weeds and Wildflowers.

What I did this weekend

lazydays, originally uploaded by suzbucket.

It was one of those weekends, all I did was lay on my bed and watch movies. Didn't feel like doing anything, didn't want to do anything. I think I must have watched at least 10 movies, if not more. Plus I watched a marathon weekend of "The Real Housewives of Orange County". I'm sad my favorite housewife Lauren is leaving, but you know family first - and that is why she is my favorite. Can't stand Vicki. Reminds me of someone I use to be close to.. ick. My other favorite is Gretchen, one of the newer housewives. Yeah I am an obsessed reality TV junkie, what can I say.

Well that is it. Nothing much else to say. If anyone in my family is reading this.. I need new socks for Christmas. That picture above is a hint. Oh yeah and more lovely scented candles please, and oh... more fire wood. Just love my fireplace.

=) bucket

Scrapping the Music Challenge #65--Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

peace_on_earth, originally uploaded by suzbucket.

It's been a while since I've done a digi layout. I really like how it came out. TFL.
=) bucket

Credits
Digi Kit from Weeds and Wildflowers
Jolly Holiday - Doodles
Jolly Holiday - Papers

So what did you do today?

I'm in one of those moods today. Productive, yet not too productive. Getting all my 'work' done, but there is a lot of 'free' time. I know people find it hard to believe, but it's true. Work is a little slow for me right now so on my free time I decided to play around in PhotoShop. It's been awhile since I've even had the desire to even fool around with it, so of course I am taking full advantage of my free time right now.

1. Here is the Original Picture. What is it of? Well an itty bitty Christmas tree. It's in my cubicle. I think I'll keep it up all year. 2. Playing with filters. I first played around with the curves and lighten up the photo a bit. I then made a copy of the image in a new layer. For fun I decided to add in a cutout filter. Played around with the opacity.. and whalla this is what I got. I like it.

3. OK I for the life of me can't remember the name of that black art paper that I use to play around with as a kid. As a matter of fact I know I have a package of this somewhere at home. This filter I used here was nothing more then the Glowing Edges filter. I love how some images just pop out. I really want to do a layout with a picture like this. Remember that Wham song.. where the group was dancing and all you saw was the glow.. what was that song? OK Yeah me being anal had to go look for the song on Youtube. Check it out -> Wham - Wake me up before you go go. I don't care what anyone says... George Michael looked hot in those dolphin shorts. LOL.

4. This one was fun. I just played around with the filters and added in that skull in Picknik.com Then I brought it back to photoshop and added in the frame.

I'm not an expert in anyway, but I love to play and learn. =)

Annual Office Bake off

OK so now I'm just trying to come up with things to blog about. blah blah blah... LOL.

Our department has an annual bake off every December. Always tons of yummy deserts, and this year was no different. Let me tell you it's a big deal! Some teams get together to bake and others just pick a person to enter this contest. This year my manager baked for our team, it was the most yummy lemon/lime ice box pie.. don't know what's in it but it was good. First prize went to my co-worker Shalondra, she made the most awesome white chocolate raspberry cheese cake. YEAH it was good! My co-worker Lea made a chocolate tart thingie, again YUMMY and she won 2nd place. The 3rd place winners were my old department co-workers.

I'm off ... been playing with PhotoShop all morning. I'm feeling a little creative today. =) Got an idea and think I'll go home and play. *CHEESE*

Did I forget to mention....

I ran another half marathon this weekend? *YES I DID*. Been training a little harder. Attending boot camps and speed training workouts. I must say it has totally made a difference.

<- In this picture here it's me and my friend Erin 'pretending' to do the salt lick. After a race I always taste like salt. Yeah TMI huh.

I did the City of Angels half marathon this past Sunday(12/7/08). It is an amazing race. It starts off at Griffith Park, runs through Silverlake, up the historic Hyperion Bridge, through Echo Park, and then ends in Downtown Los Angeles. We go through this tunnel, I think it's on 4th Street. I always remember this tunnel because my mom would purposely drive through it and tell us that this is the tunnel she and my dad drove through when they got married... so adorable huh.

My next race isn't until February, so well see how that one goes. I'm addicted! I can't explain the feeling, I just love it. *CHEESE*

As far as scrapping... gosh where oh where has my mojo gone? Just not feeling creative lately. I had a lot of goals planned but right now everything is on hold. It's OK, just trying to iron out some wrinkles and get a hold on life.I'm in no hurry, if it's meant to be it will happen. Right... right. =)

20 Keys to Happiness

Found this on another blog...I found it very uplifting. *Enjoy*

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
20. Love as if you’ve never been hurt.

Random stuff

I drove in alone this morning, child is home with pink eye, so when I drive alone I tend to take totally random photos with my cell phone. So this morning I decided.. wouldn't it be fun to document my morning. Yeah it's is pretty boring but bare with me. This is my life.. boring.

Have you ever heard about the busiest freeways in Los Angeles? I drive one of them, the 405 freeway. If you have ever driven that freeway I'm sure you can feel my pain. I only work 12 miles from work, but it takes me 1 hour to get here. Yeah imagine that. The picture below.. the 405/101 interchange. Looks pretty busy right. Here I think I was driving maybe 15 mph or was it 20 mph? I don't know either way it was very slow. LOL

Just for fun I thought I would post a picture of the building I work in. I work in the tall ugly white building.

And for those of you that I haven't seen a while... HERE's BUCKET. haha..

While I am at it, I've also been tagged by the wonderful Sue Fields..MISS YOU SO MUCH!! So lets see what she wants me to do.

The Rules.

1. Link to the person who has tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write 6 random things about yourself.

4. Tag 6 others and let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

6 Random things about me... lets see if I can come up with something totally new that no one knows.

1. OK here is a funny one. I was once a cheerleader for a local football team. Local being in South Carolina. The base put together football teams and one of the girls asked me to cheer with them. I think I cheered maybe 2 games then found out I was pregnant. How is that for totally random?
2. My first car ever was a Jeep CJ7. It was cool! I miss that jeep.

3. I love to climb trees.
4. I love motorcycles, off road type. I use to take off in my cousin's motorcycles. My dad didn't want to get me one because it wasn't very lady like. Whatever.. haha
5. Oh this is a good one, I work right down the street from where Marilyn Monore and Rodney Dangerfield are buried. Seriously. It's a very small cemetary that is hidden between some business.
6. I secretly wish I was Wonder Woman. haha.. Seriously, isn't her outfit the coolest ever! And she has the best toys ever.

Now to tag some people.

Honestly.. I tag you just for reading this. Who are you? I get hits all the time but no comments. So please play along with me and let me know who you are. =)

OH... also.. if you have a few minutes, check out this video. It's of my friend's daughter. The girl is amazing! She had me tears... I wish I could sing like her!

That is it for today.

=) bucket