What the ...

So I feel a need to document that today we had an earthquake. And it was no small earthquake. A 5.4 with the epicenter in Chino Hills (aka - right next door to us). I was sitting here at the computer trying to put in for a quote on a bathtub refinisher (anybody know of a good one?) when all of the sudden a rumbling begins. Upon later listening to NPR, I now know this was the P wave. Milliseconds later ... the shaking (the S wave).

I can't explain what physically happens to me during an earthquake but I know I am not alone. It's almost a paralysis. And I am sure that is due to the incredible SURGE of adrenaline that rushes through my system. I HATE earthquakes. The absolute suddenness of them coupled with the inablility to control them or to know when they will end and when they will strike again horrifies me.

I can only thank God that my toddler was away (far away) with the grandparents so that she didn't have to see me freaking out, yelling, "Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!" Yes, sailor mouth comes out in times of fear (and anger and stress ...). And the baby was just drifting off to sleep in her crib. After the shaking ended I ran to her and swooped her up in my arms. Of course I felt guilty because I waited until AFTER the earthquake to get her. Is that wrong? I feel like if I were a good mom I would have rushed to her mid-shake, but I think I have heard it's best to take cover until the EQ is over and then go to the kids. I don't know.

The only damage done was a few things fell from their spots on shelves and mantles. Lost a few glass pieces in the garage. Our mirror above our mantle must have flown off the wall because it now lays 3 feet out on the floor. But it came off because we only had it leaning. Another reason it was good Hannah was out of town because she often sits right where the mirror landed. All I can say for that is lesson learned. The mirror will not be going back up. Can you believe it didn't break? Maybe that's because it's 50+ years old and was made during a time where quality actually meant something. Don't get me started there!

A funny story about this earthquake business: my friend has triplets (2 1/2 year olds - two boys and one girl). The little girl started to cry during the earthquake, one little boy looked at mom and said, "What's that?" and the other little boy said, "A truck fell outside." Isn't that cute?! It sure felt like a truck fell outside I tell ya.

Anyways, despite a few nerves being rattled, we're all OK. A few more things to thank God for tonight and like I said, a few lessons learned.

Little Princess

This was our test run for Hannah's wedding/flower girl hair. My brother got married last Saturday and they were so kind to ask Hannah to be one of their flower girls. This was also the back up dress since the flower girl dresses were rented and we didn't want this wild child ruining it. I will have to post some of the wedding pics soon.

From the mouth of Ali Edwards

I check her blog often. She's so insightful and has a great outlook on life. Not to mention an incredible amount of creative talent. Here's a small piece of what she has to say about taking a break every now and again.

Sometimes we have to set aside pieces of our lives (even those pieces that seem so much a part of ourselves) to be open to something new that will inspire us, challenge us, and take us in a new direction.

I am not a hamster and life is not a wheel!

I saw this quote on some commercial. Sadly I can't remember for what product but nonetheless, it struck me. It's so easy to wake up and just go through the motions all the way until bedtime. And life shouldn't be like that. I am going to try and remember this quote so that at those moments, when I feel like I am doing the same old boring thing for the millionth time, I will snap myself out of it and try to spice things up. Do something crazy! Even if it's just stopping what I am doing, grabbing the girls and have a ticklefest, or a tea party, or going for a walk. A change in pace. Coloring outside the lines if you will.

I can even apply it to my scrapbooking. Try a new technique. Use a new product. Force myself to do a layout WITHOUT my typical tools, embellishments, and techniques. Maybe I'll like it.

Destined to survive!

Yesterday afternoon I forced myself to go outside in the backyard with my toddler while the baby slept. I say forced because sadly, being outdoors isn't my favorite place to be these days. The heat doesn't help but I am not sure it would be any different if it were a nice 75 degrees out as opposed to the 90+ degrees (supposed to get into the 100's soon too). Anyways, we played a little bit and then I began to sweep the patio. Which led to moving around some plants, which finally led to me emptying out a really nice pot I was given almost a year ago so that it could house a plumeria stalk I had. Maybe that's why I don't want to go outside. When I do, I can't sit still because there is so much that needs to be done.

Here's the thing about the stalk. It too was given to me about a year ago. You know the kind that you buy in Hawaii that are in a plastic bag and you bring them home to plant? Yes, I had never gotten around to sticking it in some dirt. Shame on me! What's worse is that in a mad rush to clean clutter quite a while back (we must have been expecting guests), my husband tossed it into a glass jar underneath our kitchen sink. So for heaven knows how many months, this poor plant has been under the sink. Every once in a while I would peek at it and be amazed that it was not completely brown and dead, but yet I never pulled it out from under the sink.

Well, yesterday when I got this nice pot cleaned out and filled with dirt, I went to the sink and pulled out my plumeria stalk. Much to my surprise, the darn thing had started to sprout new stalks!!! I was so amazed. How on earth, with no water and no light, did this thing manage to do that?! You can see the stalk is pretty withered and sad and yet still life managed to sustain itself.

Now it has what I hope it thinks is a new happy home. I am really hoping it will take root and grow into a beautiful scented plant. It would seem this plant was destined to make it. Have you ever smelled plumeria? To die for. Maybe if it does continue to grow, I will post updated pictures of it here.

The pressure is officially on!

Oh my goodness! Two of my friends now know about my blog. This is awesome and scary at the same time. They are SOOOO talented and really good at blogging. Knowing that they will be checking in from time to time means I need to keep this puppy updated.

If you're curious about who the two talented ladies I refer to are, they are PJ and Jennifer. I love checking their blogs daily. Right now they're being really good about posting all the sneak peeks for the upcoming CHA show. This is where all the new scrapbooking product is introduced to the retailers for purchasing. As always there's lots of cute stuff coming.

Life saver!

Wow! My little 2.5 month old can howl! I believe she's a bit collicky. And wouldn't you know it, pediatricians don't really have any remedies. Which left me to the internet. I read about something called Gripe Water. It didn't sound very appealing despite the fact that it's all natural. I held off on buying it. Then a friend recently mentioned to me that she uses it with her son who is about 2 weeks younger than my daughter. Knowing that made me more comfortable. So on Saturday (after spending Friday night saying to my daughter, "What's wrong with you?!"), I caved and went down to my local CVS. I picked up the Little Tummies brand of Gripe Water and went home. That night she started acting up after being fed, changed, and walked and bounced as much my poor back could take. So we gave her a teaspoon of this stuff and it was a miracle. Within minutes, she was relaxed and then asleep. I was so relieved but then a little concerned about what they put in this stuff. Again I went to the internet and was calmed when I found this site. So far I have only used it twice. It's worked both times. My intention is to only use it when nothing else works. Though I can see how tempting it would be to use any time I want to get something done. But that would be wrong. Anyways, I strongly recommend this stuff to anyone with an overly fussy baby.

Sisters Layout

One of the Design Team assignments for Scrappin Good Times is to create a layout following a sketch from PageMaps (a sketch idea book). I took it pretty literally this month. Here's what I came up with.

I used the Sweetwater "Giggle" line and lots of crystals. The green foam flowers are from Petaloo and I just love them! Ever since I found Prima's blog, I am in LOVE with flowers.