Sharing My Joy

Robert.
He is my joy.
I adore this man.
There is no other way to describe it.
He has been in my life for almost 15 years and they have been the happiest years I've ever known. He is like a ray of sunshine. He brings out the absolute best in me. He makes me laugh like no one else can. He can cajole me out of a blue mood. He's the one I want to share everything with. It simply isn't as fun or interesting or real or important if I can't share it with Robert. We spend more time together than most couples I know... and still it's not enough. I miss him during the day. We call each other at the office just to say hi. Thirty second conversations that make me smile for the rest of the day. After all these years my heart still beats a little quicker when he comes through the door. Our anniversary is just three days away... on May 1st we will celebrate 7 years of marriage. Seven years of loving him every single day. No, he is not a perfect man... but he is the perfect man for me.
We live our love story every day.
And I adore this man.

Why Do I Scrapbook...

The scrapbooking "community" is a large one. And, like any community, there are cliques and celebrities and playing favorites and trend setters and on and on. And I see people get caught up in it all. Their focus becomes Getting Published. Using only the "hot right now" products. The biggest name brands. Keeping up with the Joneses. Following every trend. They scrap in order to submit... or so it seems. Thankfully, I have avoided that. Yes, I can be a name brand scrapper... yes, I have my favorite product lines... but I know why I scrapbook. And it's not to get recognition or to get published. I scrapbook for sheer enjoyment. For the absolute pleasure of it. I love being creative and this is my outlet. I love presenting photos... visual memories... in a way that's fun and interesting and as simple or as elaborate as I want. How many people see my layouts? Not many. My husband, my sister, the people at my monthly Book of Me class, my online scrappy friends. But that's okay because they are for ME. I do this for ME. Who am I going to leave these scrapbooks to when I am gone? That seems to be a dominating force behind why people scrapbook. "To preserve memories for future generations." Are someone else's memories more important because they have children? Who will I leave these books to? I have no children. To me, it's not about leaving these behind... it's about enjoying it now. And I do. I enjoy every little thing about it.

I Love My Job

I definitely won the job lottery. I'm one of those rare people who loves their job. And, believe me, I appreciate it. I've had bad jobs... worked for bad employers... I know how good I've got it. I simply love what I do and who I work for. How many people get to say that? I've been with the company for more than 14 years (October will be 15 years). I started as the receptionist, did a short stint in HR (enjoyed the work, hated the HR Director), and have worked for my current bosses since escaping from HR - the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Corporate Development Officer. It was like I landed in heaven. =) The four of us work so well together and are such a great group. Yes, they are the executive officers and yes, I am the executive assistant... but we're also friends and socialize outside the office on occasion. Robert is a crew member on Charlie's 30 ft. sailboat (www.libertycall.net). I've been to their homes... Charlie has been to mine (for Robert's 50th birthday party). Life is good!

One day this week is (or was) Administrative Professional Day (not sure when exactly). Even though I am "techinically" not an admin, I was still recognized and appreciated. My three guys took me out to lunch on Tuesday to one of our favorite restuarants, The Brick, even though it is hardly convenient to the office. We ate outside and had a wonderful, unhurried lunch. Later that afternoon I was surprised by a large gift basket that was delivered (pictured above). It was from one of our Directors who I occasionally assist. What a nice thing to do! The basket is filled with fresh fruit, chocolates, cheeses, crackers, nuts, and all sorts of specialty items. We've been noshing on it since then.

These three men never fail to let me know how happy they are with me and the job I do. And I never let them forget how much I love my job and appreciate working for them. We're a perfect fit and I hope that never changes.

Artist at Large *wink*

Last night was my Picture Perfect class at a local scrap store... scrapping on canvas. I must admit I was a little lukewarm about taking the class. I was basically tagging along with my sister. But - wow! - what a class! The techniques were actually rather simple but the results were amazing. I felt like quite the artiste. LOL I plan on hanging the finished product in my scrap room.

My Scrubby

Thought I would share a layout I did a couple weeks ago. It's my current favorite. As a fluke, Robert altered an item (an AOL cd case) for my friend Michelle after a visit with her last month. He must have enjoyed it because shortly after he started an altering frenzy. He even joined my wonderful online scrap group (Scrap101) and has been RAKing his creations to other members... his 'specialties' being ribbon organizer boxes and clipboards. They're quite the hit! =) One afternoon while we were both in the scrap room working away he announced, "Hey, I'm your scrap hubby... that makes me your scrubby!" I loved it and just had to scrap it. =)

My Latest Obsession

Black Cherry Vanilla Diet Coke. It's my latest obsession.

I've always been a sweet iced tea drinker. Have been since I was a child. I was raised on it. Sweet tea is practically a religion in the South. I grade restaurants on their sweet tea and have actually driven out of my way to go somewhere because the sweet tea was better. Fast food tea is the worst (won't even drink it). Barbecue joints have the best (Sonny's in particular). A local sandwich shop chain (The Sheik) has the ultimate sweet tea. They use a simple sugar syrup instead of granulated sugar. It's perfection.

So you see... I'm something of a sweet iced tea connoisseur. And if I wasn't drinking tea (which was rare) I would go for a Coke. Fully leaded, please. None of that diet stuff. Blech. Of course, that was all pre-South Beach. Back in the day. Now sugar is evil and I had to bid a fond farewell to my beloved beverage. I have managed to replace my sweet tea. A friend (a fellow South Beacher) told me that a local grocery store chain carries gallons of pre-made sweet tea that is artificially sweetened... but doesn't taste fake (now that's the clincher). So now I go through about a gallon a week and it's ab-fab and I am in heaven.

But I also got turned on to the new Black Cherry Vanilla Diet Coke. When I started South Beach back in January I did start drinking Diet Coke and while I did get used to it and over time forgot what "real" Coke tasted like... I've never *loved* it. It's good. I like it. I enjoy drinking it. But that's all. Then, about six weeks ago, I gave the Black Cherry Vanilla Diet Coke a try and flipped out. It's fantabulous and I love it. It's to the point that I want to sart hoarding it in case they stop making it. Sad, no? What can I say... it's my latest obsession.

Props

Some people are always so quick to complain about poor customer service but never offer up compliments when they receive really great service service. That bugs me. 'Cause today I'm giving props to Shoebox Trims. They're a great little outfit that offer a good variety of ribbon, fibers and fabric. I love getting the Shoebox Stashes. They're little baggies of coordinating ribbon and fabric strips. (You can get just ribbon, just fabric, add fiber... whatever combination you want.) The prices are right, shipping is cheap (if your order is $15 or over shipping is free), and you get your goodies fast. Always a plus. Just yesterday I received my latest order and the ribbon and fabric are so yummy that I could just eat them with a spoon. I got the January 2006 Fabric Strip Stash (all shades and patterns of pink), the February 2006 Fabric Strip Stash (greens and purples... my two favorite colors), the April Fabric Strip Stash (lovely neutrals in creams and tans and greens) and the April Ribbon Stash (gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous... loopy ribbon, twill, grosgrain, rick rack, solids, check, polka dots, patterns... love it!). If you've got a ribbon fixation (c'mon, raise your hand... you know you love it), check out Shoebox Trims and the monthly Stashes. Love 'em!