Here's a couple more New Orleans layouts.

Things are pretty quiet here this weekend. It was a bit cooler this morning so I mowed the lawn--or should I say weeds since they are the only thing that's grown this summer. Horrible weather...hot and very dry. It's rained just enough to keep things alive but just barely. The only place anything looks decent is next to the central a/c units where the water runs off and that's out in the back corner not visible to anybody but us.

Alex went with a group of friends to see Snakes again so now Michael is bugging me to take him again. He can't go alone because he's not old enough. Is it just in Chattanooga or does other parts of the country not allow under 18 for rated R. According to the official movie rating people, R rated movies are under 17 not allowed. Anyone know why the discrepency?

Okay, I admit it! The kids and I went last night to see Snakes on a Plane.

All I can say is...GO SEE IT!!! Just don't take it seriously! The filmmakers sure didn't and that's why (IMHO) it worked. I can't remember when I've laughed so much during a movie...even Talladega Nights wasn't this funny or as much fun and it's a comedy.

I feel compelled to put up some sort of SPOILER WARNING although I'm not really revealing any plot twists or anything because there really isn't any. It's pretty straightforward--there's Samuel L. Jackson, a plane and some snakes.

At first I was worried. I was afraid it would turn out to be another 15-18 year old boy movie like Silent Hill and my kids would love it and I would be wishing I could get a refund. Or, I would end up falling asleep since it was a work/school night and it was the 10 PM showing -- nearly past my bed time. Both fears proved unfounded. I still laugh thinking about some of the dialogue. Of course everyone was waiting for Samuel L. Jackson to say the now famous, "I'm sick of these bleep snakes on this bleep plane." and the theater errupted with cheering, clapping and laughter but I thought it felt like it was just tacked on. And if the internet rumors are true, it was added on later. But that doesn't matter when there's other gems like when the co-pilot tells Jackson that such and such on the plane isn't working and Jackson asked what will happen if they can't fix it. The co-pilot replies, and I have to paraphrase since I don't have perfect recall. He said something like "we're in a metal tube 10,000 feet in the air--she'll go down quicker than a Thai hooker." Or when the stewardess heaves a big sigh and says, "I don't believe I'm saying this but ... can anyone here fly a plane?"

I admit the first 5-10 minutes I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. I mentioned it to Michael and he said, "Yeah, I thought maybe they were showing the wrong movie." All I could think of was that old tv show CHiPS. It was endless scenes of a guy riding his dirt bike with music blaring in the background. But as soon as Sam showed it was like he was saying "I'm here now. Let's start having some fun with this movie!"

I don't know yet what the critics will be saying but if they understand that this isn't serious filmmaking, I think they'll like it. There's a very high cheese factor...but in a good way.

Well, that's my take on the movie. Would love to hear what others think.

Oops, I forgot to put the link in for the credits on yesterdays layout. You can go here for credits.

A layout for another sketch challenge. I'm hoping to create an album of some of our New Orleans trips. For credits go here.

Remind me again why I get teary eyed thinking about Alex going off to college? Yesterday, I rushed home after work so Alex could get some shopping done for his dorm room. When I got home we had about an hour and 45 minutes before I had to pick Michael up from school. Of course Alex was still sleeping (it was 12:45 PM) but he did get up and took a quick (for him!) shower. Okay, we still had an hour and a half. He's out of the shower but why isn't he coming? Well, before he can leave the house he has to convert some songs he's got on his computer so he can put them on his PSP. Twenty-five minutes later the songs are ready. Five minutes to put onto PSP. I guess we still have enough time. But before we can get out the door he has to hunt for his glasses. Finds glasses but before he can go out the door he needs to go back upstairs and look for his wallet. Are we ready to go out the door? As soon as he finishes getting his PSP headphone wires untangled. Okay we make it to the car! Yippee! We went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to look for sheets, etc. We go in and find some sheets. Do you like these? What? I can't hear you, Mom, I still have my headphones on. We finally establish that he likes those but the paper that tells the mattress size is in the car. No problem, I tell him, I'll run and get it. I ran to the car and grabbed it and went back into the store. Where is Alex. He's not where I left him. I look around. No Alex. It won't do any good to call him because he's got the headphones on. I circled the store three times and had a clerk searching for him. I'm ready to give up when he finally appears. Now we have to rush to pay for the sheets so I can pick Michael up.

That hour and 45 minutes I had...I think in the end we had about 8 minutes to actually shop. And that was only 1 item!! He still has a list of things he needs.

I did this layout for the August song lryics challenge at RAKScraps. For credits go here.

Well, we survived first day of school yesterday. 3 out 0f the 4 teachers Michael has this semester had Alex as a student. Michael said that worked out good because they automatically liked him because of Alex. Michael said good thing they don't really know me yet!

Recently Budd was talking about "Evil Genius" on his blog. An incident yesterday made me think of that--only I don't know if it's a case of evil genius or complete idiocy. As I said, yesterday was the first day of school and someone chose that day to close the road and dig up the railroad tracks on the main route between the middle school and the high school (and between my house and the high school). There are other ways to get from one to the other but you have to go all the way around. No to mention that the buses take that route. They had to go around and tie up traffic especially since there are a lot more sharp turns and the buses have to wait for the oncoming cars to pull out so they can make the turn.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Several years ago they talked and talked about extending the sidewalks in front of the middle school. They talked about it all summer. When did they start? You guessed it! The first day of school. Talk about a mess! Half the road was closed for several weeks.

Who in the world makes these decisions?

Back to school tomorrow! Unfortunately, that also means I have to get up at least 1 hour earlier. Two more weeks and Alex heads off to college. Feeling nostalgic I did a layout of his first grade picture. I love the gap tooth grin. I used Kathryn Balint's The Alphabet Book Kit.

Not too much else happening this weekend. We went to the local Chinese buffet last night and got another questinable fortune cookie. The first time it happened I got one that said "Enjoy life while you can." Maybe it's just me, but that sounded more like a threat than a fortune. Last night Michael got one that said something like "You're creative and personable. Prove it." What happened to "Help! I'm trapped in a Chinese fortune cookie factory."

I was going to upload a layout but Blogger won't let me. I hate when that happens. I finally learned how to properly save my layouts for the web. Thanks to Kelly at Kathryn Balint my layouts will look better when I upload them. If Blogger lets me....

We went to see Talladega Nights yesterday and I have to say I liked it. It was typical Will Ferrell --sophomoric humor and Will running around in his undies-- but it was fun, funny and entertaining. Not all the jokes/gags worked but enough did so I'm not complaining.

After the movie we went to pick up Michael's schedule for school. He's got English the first semester so we also had to pick up a summer reading list. He was hoping he'd get it 2nd semester and could put it off even longer. No such luck! He has to read Farenheit 451 but we told him since he liked Animal Farm he'll probably like it too. He can also read either a Grisham or a Mary Higgins Clark. I have some of each so he can pick what he wants.

Alex had good news from MTSU--they're changing his roommate assignment and putting him with his friend from high school. The other kid called yesterday before he knew about the switch but Alex told him he might be switching. I told Alex he'll probably run into that other kid and he'll be like "so you're the one who didn't want to be my roommate!"

Another Animal Kingdom layout. I love looking at the tigers. I think they're so beautiful.

Tennessee is having Tax Free days (Fri-Sun) this weekend so I've been shopping and taking advantage. Tax free is for clothes, school supplies and computers. With sales tax at 9.25%, it's definitely a savings. Alex has been working lots of extra hours this weekend. The money will come in handy since he'll be leaving for school in about 3 weeks.

The kids and I are planning to go see the new Will Ferrell movie tomorrow. Talladega Nights. Not my first choice but they really want to see it so I figure I'll tag along.

Back from vacation!

Despite some bumps in the road, we had a great time at Disney World and now I'm trying to catch up on everything plus get ready for the new school year. Michael picks up his schedule this Monday and starts the following Monday (8/14). Alex will be going soon after.

Disney was hot and crowded but that's summer at WDW. Didn't expect anything different. What I didn't expect--and this is totally naive on my part--was that someone would try to snatch my camera from around my neck. We were in Epcot heading for the exit after the nightly fireworks and someone came running by me and bumped into me. I felt a tug and next thing I knew my camera was gone--all I had left was the strap it had been hanging from. I yelled and ran after her. Some guy saw it and yelled too. I ran after her and she either dropped or threw the camera down. I got my camera back but the way it hit the ground I seriously thought it was ruined. To my surprise and relief it still works. Park employees asked if we wanted them to call security and fill out a police report but I honestly couldn't describe the person who did it except she was female. It's true what they say about witnesses. Michael thought she was wearing a red shirt and I thought she had on blue and the guy who yelled was wearing red. I was super careful with everything after that.

Unfortunately Alex had bad news from MTSU when we got back. He and his friend thought they were going to be roommates but when they got their letters they were assigned to different people. They've been making plans for the past 3 months and coordinating what each one would buy and bring for the room, etc. With such limited space, no sense in having 2 of everything. The part that makes me mad is that we asked--repeatedly--about roommate assignments and were reassured each time. If we had been given correct info to begin with we could have been working to correct it. Now they're saying it's probably too late. Grrr.

I fired off an e-mail to the people running the orientation and told them they need to give correct info and not paint a rosey picture if it's not true. It would have been better to receive dissappointing news back then. What they told us (at orientation) and what people in the housing dept. told us when we called were totally opposite. Alex and his friend are trying to get their assignments changed but don't know if it's futile or not.

One of the admin staff gave a speech at orientation and basically said if a student (or parent) came to him with a problem he would make it his problem until it was solved even if it wasn't his department. I told Alex we need to make this his problem! LOL! Of course he could have been just blowing smoke too.

A layout I did for the July sketch challenge at RAKScraps. I used papers and elements from the RAKS July MegaKit.

Today was Alex's 18th birthday. My baby is growing up. He has to register for the draft and he can now vote. Where does the time go?

Not much else happening around here. School is just around the corner. Even though the temps will still stay it's summer, once the kids start school the summer is over in my mind.

We're officially a Blue Raider family!

Alex and I got back last night and before I could get caught up with anything we had a big storm and the electricity went out and didn't come back until the wee hours of the morning.

The college orientation was educational, exciting, emotional and most of all exhausting. Alex said when he was filling out all the college apps and FAFSA stuff and all the other stuff he was feeling overwhelmed and wishing he was still going to high school but now he's excited and can't wait for summer to end so he can start school. Haven't heard sentiments like that since kindergarten! LOL! He got most of the classes he wanted except for astronomy. He said he'll try to pick it up on August 18th if he can. The people who haven't paid by August 17th get cut and all those classes are up for grabs at 6AM on August 18th so he said he'll be ready to see what he can pick up or switch.

Even if he doesn't switch, he's very happy with his schedule...his earliest class starts at 1:50 PM and some days he'll be in class till 9PM. I wouldn't like it, but he's pretty happy. I told him he better not call and say he missed class because he overslept!!! LOL!

I'm still coming to terms with this whole thing. I was pretty good up until the parents' session on the transition parents have to make. One dad got up and said he's been through it once already and talked about the transition. He said when his first child went off to college she was just "away at school". Then during that time he came to the realization that she had moved out. Most children don't move back home after college. When he said that the tears really welled up but I looked around at the other mothers sitting at the table and they were wiping away tears too. What that father said got to me more than anything.

I guess I just have to keep telling myself that I'll finally have a craft/sewing/computer room all to myself!! When he comes home for breaks, he'll be in my room not me in his room. LOL!

The magazines are now back where they belong!

I'll be away for the next couple of days. I'm taking my son to Middle TN State Univ. for new student/parent orientation. I did have one bit of good news. I was telling my husband Alex and I would have to leave at 5 or 5:30 AM because registration was at 7:30 AM when he reminded me that it was 7:30 AM central time! Whew. I get to sleep in a whole hour later. Yippee!!

I'll leave you with a couple of new layouts.

Whatever happened to common politeness?

Whenever I'm in a situation where I have to walk in front of someone like at the bookstore or video store when they're looking at stuff on the shelves I always say excuse me. I must have been well trained because I can't not do it. I can't remember the last time someone said it to me as they walked in front of me as I was scanning the shelves for books or movies.

What brought this on? Maybe you heard about the big library heist today in Chattanooga? A woman stole two Consumer Reports magazines. What does this have to do with politeness? Let me 'splain.

My husband has started shopping for a new car so I stopped at the library today to look at Consumer Reports. Our library won't let you check them out but they have a copy machine in the lobby (10 cents a copy) and you're welcome to photocopy any page you want which is what I usually do. Today when I went in some old geezer was using it. I went and got the magazines I wanted and he was still using it. So I went to the desk and got change for the machine and went to stand near the machine to show I was next. After standing there for 15 minutes I started making impatient movements. The man then asked if I wanted to make copies and I said yes please. (I WANTED to say Duh!!) He said, "Well, you'll have to wait because I have at least another 30 minutes worth of copies to make." I told him I only had a couple and perhaps I could make mine. He said no he had to get his done first. I went to the desk and complained. The woman said it was a shame he was taking so long and that was all. She wouldn't do anything about it. I slap the magazines down and left. I went and ran my errands and decided despite my annoyance, I'd go back to the library. It had been 40 minutes since I'd left. Surely, he'd be done by now. I walked into the library and he was still at the machine and he still had a stack of papers left and wasn't letting anyone else use the machine.

I walked over to the 2 magazines I wanted, stuck them under my arm and left. When I got home I told my family that if Bookman or any other library cops (Seinfeld fans will get this) came looking for me I fled to Canada. Michael said he heard they don't charge library fines in Canada so they wouldn't extradite me!

My husband said he'll use gloves to read the magazines just in case. LOL!

I fully intend to return the magazines but in the meantime I'll be on the lam...

I won the weekly contest at R U Square with this layout!

This picture was one lucky shot. The giraffe came really close to the truck during the safari ride at Animal Kingdom and I grabbed the shot. Usually the digital camera hesitates and the animal moves away and I get a picture of a retreating animal or just trees but this time everything worked out. Makes up for all the bad pictures I took. LOL!

I have also been working on several other layouts and will post those soon. Not too much else going on here except for the heat. Ugh. Our a/c has been chugging away almost non-stop. Thank goodness for TVA and some of the country's lowest electricity rates. I would hate to see how much non-stop central a/c would cost in Massachusetts. Yikes! I laugh when people around here complain about their electric bills. They have no idea.

Off to work on more layouts.

Ping's favorite movie is Eight Below! LOL! He sat and watched it for quite some time.

Michael's computer desk chair broke so I took him to Office Depot and Staples looking at new ones tonight. He's having a fit because he's saving his money for a new monitor. He wants a new chair but doesn't want to spend the money. I told him welcome to the club! I told him that's the way I feel when he needs new school clothes or shoes or the millions of other things he's always needing. He'll be 16 in December and we'll both be very happy when he gets a job! He was telling us all the computer stuff he wants when he gets a job and gets some money. Alex laughed and told him not to count on getting much of that stuff. Michael wanted to know why. Alex told him that money doesn't stretch as far as you think. He said there's always something that you need to spend the money on first. Alex has been working for about a year now and I have to say that his attitude toward money has certainly changed. He gets to spend money on video games and such but I also make him pay for haircuts and shoes and clothes. I hope that helps prepare him for when he has to pay for living expenses. His dad and I are paying for his college tuition but he's going to have to pay for some of the stuff he'll need for his dorm room. As soon as Michael gets a job I'll make him buy clothes and such too. He won't like it but thats life!!

I did another layout. This was for another challenge at RAKScraps. The July sketch challenge. I used the elements from the May mega kit.

We'll be taking Alex to MTSU soon for orientation. My husband found this article in the Boston Globe about how colleges are having to expand their orientations to include more and more stuff to warn students about. Sounds like they warn them about one thing and students find two more things to get them into trouble. I know thye have to make their own mistakes and learn from them but it's hard to let go.

Well, there's a thunderstorm brewing so I'll post this before it gets worse or the electricity goes out. The satellite is already going out.

A couple of layouts I did this weekend. The Cat Naps was a sketch challenge at Ginger Thibodeau's blog, R U Square. I used Ginger's Phat Cat kit. Available at Scap Outside the Box.

The next one is an ad challenge at RAKScraps.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. We saw the Space Shuttle linked to the Space Station go over again tonight. We also saw it Thursday night. It's just a bright dot traveling across the sky but it's still neat to realize what it is and to be able to see it as it travels in its orbit.

Wish I had something fun or exciting to report but not much is going on right now. Nor do I have any stimulating philisophical questions to pose. Maybe tomorrow! LOL!

We went to see Pirates 2 this afternoon. The best word to describe the movie would be--fun! I have read the reviews by the critics--both good and bad and I agree to some extent with both. But, I really enjoyed the movie and moreover, I had fun. What more can I ask from a movie? I didn't go to be educated or informed or anything highbrow. I went to be entertained and I was. So I give it a thumbs up.

There was one kinda weird thing about it. Tom Hollander was in this movie. Pride and Prejudice fans will remember him as Mr. Collins so it was weird seeing him doing scenes with Keira Knightly. I kept thinking of P&P.

And tonight was the season premire of Monk! What fun. I loved watching Stanley Tucci doing Monk. I hope they're planning at least one show with Ambrose this season. I have to admit I still miss Sharona. The show can still be successful without her but I really do miss her especially when I watch an older episode with her in it.

Can't say the same about NCIS. I really thought I'd miss Kate but I love Ziva. Now, I can't imagine the show without her!

I'm working on some layouts and hope to post some this weekend!

Hope everyone had a great 4th! We had a great cookout with several of the neighbors and then had a fun fireworks show with 3 different groups setting off fireworks on the street.

Tthe boys and I went to see Superman Returns. We all liked it very much. It had enough character development and attention to the love story to keep me happy and enough action to keep the kids satisfied. Tomorrow, we're looking forward to Pirates (and Johnny Depp!!) LOL!

They're bugging me to go to the midnight show for Pirates but I refused...I'm too old to stay up till 2 or 3 and make it to work the next day. We're going to the matinee as planned!

I'll be sure to post a review here.

Another Disney layout.

Here's another layout for my Annual Pass Disney Album. The layout was inspired by Ginger Thibodeau's weekly sketch challenge on her blog, RU Square. This one is a rectangular (8 1/2 x 11) album. I guess I'll also be doing a square 8x8 one. I bought a really nice 8x8 album at Hobby Lobby with Mickey Mouse on the cover. We have tons of Disney World pics so it will be easy to fill it up. I just have to find the time to do all the layouts! LOL!! Here's the album cover.

Oh, I should add that the picture in this particular layout was taken by my younger son, Michael. Hence, the copyright by "The One Vader". If you ever run into "the one vader" on the web, that's him! Although I maybe shouldn't be admitting that. LOL!! I still get "oh, so you're Michael's mom" when I meet people. They claim that it's good but I sometimes doubt them. When people talk to me about Alex they always say things like he's such a nice young man, thoughtful, helpful--things like that. Then, regarding Michael I usually get, he's....um, Michael.

We're having our annual July 4th neighborhood fireworks party. It's been evolving over the years. This year we're going to grill some hot dogs and hamburgs first followed by s'mores. And everyone wants me to make pineapple Dole whip again. Then after dark at least 3 or 4 families on the street have fireworks.

Alex has to work but will be home before the fireworks. He said not to feel bad--he's getting time and a half!! And he got his raise so that makes it even better. LOL!!

I'll be sure to take some pictures and post the pics or some layouts. I need to take pictures of my homemade Dole whip for the recipe album I keep saying I'm going to make. Does anyone else out there like Dole whip? It's pineapple soft serve. Yum! They sell it at the Dole place in Hawaii of course and also at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Michael got the recipe from one of his Disney connections. I don't know if it's "the" recipe but it's close enough for me! And my neighbors!