May 19, 1999.

Ten years ago this week, my friends and I (Sarah is on the left, Jen is on the right, and I'm in the middle) were piled into a packed movie theater to see Episode I of Star Wars - The Phantom Menace. Good times. :)

And, just for kicks, my scrapbook page about the event. My, how techniques and products have changed, but I have to admit that I still love this page.

I can't believe that movie is 10 years old. Perhaps I will celebrate by burning Jar-Jar in effigy. :)

Some actual scrapbooking!!

It's been quite a while since I got any actual scrapbooking done. First I was busy editing and uploading photos to be printed (I had coupon codes for 330 free 4x6 prints and wanted to take advantage of them), and now I'm busy getting one rental house ready for renters to move into, my current house ready to sell, and waiting for the renters to move out of my other rental house so I can move into it.

Confusing? Maybe just a little. :)


Somewhere in the middle of it all I've been able to do a bit of an online class I wanted to take- Christy Tomlinson's Eye for Design- Color Creative. Luckily it's a self-paced, online class with downloadable PDF content- basically a series of color combinations and some tips on how to pull elements together. I have some trouble combinding patterned papers if they aren't all from the same line, and this has really helped me figure out how to mix and match paper between lines and manufacturers. And it's actually got me scrapping, so that in and of itself is worth it!

I have several more pages that I've started that are half-finished (meaning paper and photos but no embellishments yet). Hopefully I'll get some time to finish those next week.

Mom's Spring Flowers

My Mom (with lots of help from Dad) has worked for years and years on the gardens all around their house. The place is just spectacular to walk around- I think they could probably charge admission and take photography tours through the place!!

When I was in town for my cousin's birthday, Dad and I got out with the cameras (which we do practically every time I'm there) and took some pictures of the new blooming beauties that had come in since the last time I visited.

I seriously just went nuts with some macro photography- most of these were taken with my 105mm f/2.8.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Saturday was a day that made me feel kind of old, at least for a little bit. I remember when this guy, my cousin, Jake, was born, and now he's 15!

I'm not sure if it made my brother feel old or not- he "attended" via a phone call from Baghdad (2 more months and he's home!!).

This is Michelle, Jake's younger sister (though not younger by very much!). I remember when she was born, too...

Jake's big gift was a cell phone- he'd been bugging his parents for one forever, so they bought him a nifty Samsung Alias (I have one and love it). I *think* I got the first text message in to it. :)

Some of my family members don't like to be photographed, so this plate mask got passed around. This is actually my aunt Tina. If nothing else, the plate serves as a great spot to check white balance. :)

And Dad, who was actually the first to use the mask. :)

Okay, so this is the part where I didn't feel so old anymore. But, ugh, what bad form!! What happened to knees together, toes pointed, and arms under control? I must have been trying not to bounce the kids too much.

Rockin' Out at the Hard Dock

On Friday I had a chance to do something I've been wanting to do for a long, long time now. I got to hear Bobby's band, Juice, play at the Hard Dock Cafe! Bobby is the drummer in our church orchestra (where I play auxiliary percussion) and is also the lead singer of his band.

It was a crazy, fun, crowded place and a really good time. Beth went with me so I wouldn't have to go alone, and I think she had a good time, too- we were both laughing ourselves silly when they started playing "Baby Got Back."

I must have been having fun- we didn't get home until 2 in the morning. :)

Cherry Blossom Festival

I finally have Cherry Blossom Festival photos ready to share! I took more than a thousand pictures over the weekend, and it took forever to get through them. I still haven't gone through all of the ones from the Smithsonian Museums, so I'll post those later.

I didn't want to put all 60 or so photos I selected into a single post, so if you scroll to the bottom of this one there's a link to an online album where you can see the rest of them.

The weekend was absolutely gorgeous- sunny and warm and not a cloud in the sky.

But there were lots and lots and lots of people there- a lot more than I expected. It wasn't bad, just kind of a shock.

This absolutely gorgeous building houses the EPA, of all things!

Darren's brother and sister-in-law were very kind to let us stay with them (in fact, they insisted on it!). We were hoping it wouldn't be too much trouble for them since Huong had *just* had their second baby barely a week before we got there. Everything worked out very well, though, and I got to see my brand new niece, Natalie, and her older brother, Matt.

Natalie was just about the most photogenic baby ever- I don't think that you could possibly take a bad photo of her!

And here's a link to the album where you can see about 50 more photos. :)