In scrapping news

Well, at my new job in the awesome creative space, I haven't had much opportunity to be creative yet. I've been working on pretty standard inside fare, but it's been helping me get used to the new computer program. Good thing I have scrapping to help me be creative!

So I have some good scrappy news! I finished all the challenges at Lily Pad last month and was chosen as Guest Pollywog! I can't wait to start in December! And I've been chosen for Emily Merritt's creative team! So this means lots of new goodies to scrap with! Here's my latest roundup of pages...

Here's my first page as part of Emily Merritt's team and my first Disney page. Credits: Emily Merritt's Simple Scrap Templates No. 11, You Are My Sunshine Elements and Papers, See through strips - Family, Circle Sticker Alpha from Lily Pad, Hot Summer Day Flower; Sahlin Studio's Enjoy the Moment button from Lily Pad; Fonts: Misproject, DBJ Journal Bits, Darcy Baldwin personal handwriting font

 I scrapped my Comic Con-Twitter story for this page. Credits: Jacque Larsen and Lauren Grier's Zero to Hero from Lily Pad; PixelWorks' Geekazoid; Fonts: Misproject and Darcy Baldwin's Personalized Handwriting Font

 I scrapped this page during DSD weekend for a Lily Pad challenge. Credits: Micheline Martin's Mr. Mustachio, Happy DSD Template, Coupon Clipper Alpha, It Girl elements, Togetherness tape all from Lily Pad; Darcy Baldwin's Coffee Shoppe font

 This is a page I did for the Lily Pad project challenge featuring some ghosts hanging out at the Rover. Credits: A Hopping HallOween by the Lily Pad and Oscraps designers - inlcuding the template by Sara Gleason; Rachel Young's Starry Night Alpha from Lily Pad

 My dog does not like her new sweater! Credits: Amy Martin's Nov. challenge template from Lily Pad;
Amber Clegg's Lovin' Fall from Lily Pad; Gina Miller's So Sketchy alpha from Lily Pad; Fonts: DJB Robin, DBJ Laurent, Misproject

 I love this template by Nettio so I wanted to make a page about the states I've been to. I need to get out more! Credits: Nettio's Oh The Places template: Amy Martin and Dani Mogstad's Funky Free; Amy Wolff's All About You paper from Lily Pad; Traci Reed's Dynomite Words, Kate Hadfield's America the Beautiful, Heather Hess's The Teenage Dream font

And here's one I did using the Lily Pad's Nov. BOYC kit. Credits: Amy Wolff's Jot It Down & For the Girls papers from the Nov. BOYC and Remember When Corner at Lily Pad; Jenna Desai's Scrap Essesntials No. 2 from the Nov. BOYC at Lily Pad;  Gina Marie Huff's Sisters word art from Weeds & Wild Flowers; Kim Jensen's October Breeze stitching from Scrapdish

Greetings from Disney World

 I got home on  Monday after five days in Disney World  with my brother, sister-in-law and the kiddos. And while spending so much time with family can be crazy, I had a great time with the kids. There were so many magical moments that just warmed my heart or made me laugh. I took about 2,000 pictures and took notes, so I have lots of ideas for my Disney scrapbook! Here are just a few of my favorite photos and things I loved about Disney.

 

Cheesy character meals: It was hard to eat when you have to stop every few minutes to say hello to Eeyore or Princess Aurora, but the kids were so happy to see these guys! 

 One of my favorite photos of Kylie, who usually doesn't like to pose but was all about pictures during our trip. She cracked me up by quoting the Disney staff, "No flash cartography." (She meant photography!)

 Argh!: The girls joined Capt. Jack Sparrow's crew. A fun little show we saw after the Pirates ride.

 Oooh, the claw: I love these alien guys!!!

 Space Mountain: I was a bit afraid of Space Mountain, unlike Kylie who rode it 4 times!

 All Star Music: Fun decorations at the hotel where we stayed.

 Monkeys on safari: The kids at Animal Kingdom.

 White Rhino: This guy decided to cross the road while we were passing by.

 Turtle Talk with Crush: One of my favorite shows. Crush interacted with the audience, answered Taylor's question and kept an eye on the "little dude" who was menacing the audience.

 Kylie's always hungry. She finished off the rest of the turkey leg. She's always willing to eat! Plus she looked so cute in her mouse ears.

 White Rabbit: I just love Alice in Wonderland and got to see some of the characters in the parade.

 You've Got a Friend in Me: This sign is too awesome.

Taylor time: Since Taylor didn't want to go on some of the rides, I spent some time hanging out with her. So I tied her up to a rocket.

 Buzz Lightyear's twin: Can you see the resemblance?

 Star Tours: Best. Ride. Ever.

 Kermit ears: I love these ears! I came pretty close to buying them but settled for a picture.

 Cinderella's Castle: I took so many pictures of the castle. I love it.

 Cheesy shows: I saw this one - Dream Along with Mickey - about three times. It's so lame, but I still liked it. We also really liked the Festival of the Lion King show, but no so much the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

 Princesses: The girls got princess makeovers and looked so pretty!

Happy boy: Derek is probably too little to remember this trip, but he still had fun. He loved It's a Small World, the safari ride, any chance to run around and the Lion King Show. His reactions were too cute.  He also had big hugs for Mickey & Minnie and he was happy to meet his favorite Buzz Lightyear, even though he wanted to hit him.

I am not used to this!

Don't we look excited! Well, maybe not, but I do! And My hair was looking good. It feels weird to be happy for a change. I'm sleeping better. I'm getting out of bed. My new job is going great so far. I got to see some good friends this weekend. I'm about to go on vacation with my family. I can only be grateful and hope for more good things to come.

I have more than 40 gigs of memory cards for my cameras so I hope that's enough for pictures at Disney World! My bags are packed, well mostly. Still need to finish my carry on bag. I decided against bringing my laptop so it will be weird, but I will have my phone with me so I won't be cut off from the world. 

I am going to miss my Penny! I have never left her for so long! I hope she's not sad, but I know my mom will take good care of her.

I hate flying - and really hate waiting in airports - but as I told my sister-in-law, we need to suck it up and be brave for the kids. They've never flown at all! This is going to be an interesting trip for so many reasons. I will have lots of pictures to share when I get back!

On my bookshelf

My reading has slowed down a bit lately and there are few books in progress on my nightstand. But I think I have found one of my new favorite books ever, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I just finished listening to it for a second time.

I was seriously intrigued from the first line. "The circus arrives without warning." Les Cirque de Reves is a magical and mysterious place filled with impossible acts, stunning sights and delicious treats. It was just described so vividly - I felt jealous of characters who got to go! I think I will be getting a red scarf like the cult-like group of fans who followed the circus - which was a pretty cool network considering most of this book is set more than a century ago! Fueling the circus is a magical competition between two students, who try to outdo each creating even more wondrous additions and spectacles. The book also follows the group of people brought together to create the circus, a pair of red headed twins born the night the circus opened, a clock maker, and a boy who dreams of the circus while facing his family's plans for his future. There are a lot of people - but I thought they were all fascinating and tied together so well. I don't want to give much away, but I will say it is simply magical.

The audiobook was read by Jim Dale, who did all the Harry Potter audiobooks, and was very entertaining.

I'm also reading Mindy Kaling's new book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? She might not be as slapstick as Tina Fey or raunchy as Chelsea Handler, but she is just so funny an adorable. I love Mindy on the Office - where she's also a writer, and love her Twitter posts and talk show stints. I want to be her friend! I'm only halfway through, but have had lots of laugh out loud moments. And while she might be snarky, I don't think she's cynical and that is a pretty rare thing these days. I'm enjoying reading about how she got started in comedy and I'm already hoping there are even bigger things in store for her.

I Am Hit Girl

My first week at the new job has been going well! I've been getting up at 6:30 and getting to work on time, despite a few traffic snafus. I was so tired on Tuesday night that I went to bed without dinner on Tuesday and slept 10 hours!

The computer system I'm learning is very different from Quark, so it's like learning a new language, but I'm getting there. One of the women in training with me is always asking for help, so I think being able to assist her is a sign that things are sinking in.

On the downside, I am falling really behind on my TV shows (mom hogs the tv!) and I don't think I'll be going to karaoke any time soon. And I got pulled over for speeding, but the trooper, who was really mean to me, gave me a lesser ticket.

But there are some nice perks! My new boss threw a mandatory root beer float party yesterday! That was fun and we got to meet some more of our co-workers. And my job is right next to an outlet mall so I had some retail therapy yesterday. Need new clothes for the new job, right?

Another good thing about getting home early and being bored while my mom hogs the TV: Time to scrap!  Mom did help me make my Halloween costume. I was Hit Girl from the movie KickAss. Don't look her up if you are easily offended! My skirt is an awesome plaid flannel fabric and I plan on working it into my wardrobe!

 Here I am on Halloween! :)  Credits: A Hopping HallOween by the Lily Pad and O Scraps designers, Jacque Larsen's My Super Herione and Paper Dolls, Penny Springman's I Am wordstrip

Here's a page about leaving my job. Credits: Amy Wolff's 7 p.m. papers, 7:30 pm elements, One Fine Day tag, Recovery clip, Jot It Down cards, Wicked Smart owl from Lily Pad, Micheline Martin's Junk Mail Alphas from Lily Pad