Miscommunication

An interesting by-product of life.
I try really hard to NOT gossip or say mean things to or about others.
When I have things said about me that I find offensive, I try really hard to LET IT GO! That being said, I just found out that something that someone said that may or may not have been heard in context was completely misconstrued to leave that person with hurt feelings. Well it was a while ago, and instead of going to the source and addressing the issue then when it could be solved without guessing, the person waited until there was no way to make it right and then brought it up. How adult is that?
This is very frustrating to me, because it seems like the person who is accused of this can't possibly make it right after all that time. If you are a person of solid character, you might have a chance of someone sticking up for you and saying something along the lines of it must have just been a misunderstanding. But if no one knows you in these circumstances, you are toast. There is no way to make it right and it will leave others thinking that you are unkind or even mean-spirited.
Doesn't this make you a victim of the circumstances as much or more than the person who felt hurt? It is one thing to have your feelings hurt for an afternoon and then get over it, but to have your character permanantly damaged because of this same misunderstanding is just aweful in my opinion.
Come on, we are adults, state the issue ask for clarification. If there is a valid point, it can then be addressed. If it truly was a case of miscommunication, no harm and no foul. Everyone goes on their way and feels better for wearing their big kid underwear!
Why must we assume the worst and then make others prove that they are trust worthy? I think that it is just a few people who do icky things that make others assume the worst and not be trusting.
This just makes me sad.
OK, philosophical thoughts aside. I have had a GREAT tennis week!
I have made some great personal decisions that have left me feeling peaceful and sure of myself. Haven't had that in a while, so it is nice!
Hearing abut changes in the scrapping industry that have me thinking "wow".
That is good and bad. As a person who thinks more globally, I don't like seeing the little shops (manufacturers and retail alike) getting bought, but I know that is the cycle the industry is in right now.
It is also hard for me to see immensely talented people not be able to get a shot. And there are the media darlings that it seems have so much handed to them without the hoops that others have had to jump through.
Sometimes I wish that I could go back a year and not want what it was that I was told that I should want, I think that ignorant, poorly designed, unpublished bliss would be very welcome, LOL!
I have not been scrapping for anything other than design team work and personal for the last few months and it has been great! Wouldn't it be cool if the scrapbooking publishing fairy just came to my house and said "WOW" you are amazing! Would you mind sharing some of your heartfelt and wonderfully designed layouts with others who want to be able to do the same thing for their family?
The great thing is that I am so over worrying about getting published or recognized as a decent artist! I would, for the companies I design for, like to get some work published so they get recognized more. I do submit work on their behalf, and I am trying, but if it ios meant for me to get there, I guess I will, and if not...
So yeah, just about all that I have going on in my head, besides the usual.
Need to go write a talk for my niece's (Tori) and nephew's (Chad) baptism tomorrow.
Need to do some housework and get the kids going on some clean-up.
Need to go to my room and do some fun stuff for Tyler's New York book.
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My little angel!

I poppetized Avalanche, and he is so cute!

I loved doing this project, it is whimsical and just so light-hearted, it let me appreciate the simple beautiful things about the boy that I really miss!

Of course it is minorly annoying to the children because they think that they are way cooler than all that, but that is what makes this so PERFECT!

Find something in your life to poppetize, it will help you appreciate it even more!
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Playing catch-up (usually!)

I have so many pictures! I feel like I can't keep up!
I have taken to making more of these smaller books and projects for the pictures that I just can't seem to find a way to get onto larger pages!


These pictures were from our trip to Disney last year and I am just getting them done. Unfortuantely there are soooo many more cute moments that I really want to do projects with! I am trying! This chipboard book was fun to use, and I covered everything with Lazar paper! Tons of different kinds of chipboard and lots of paint and glitter!



Of course it is much cuter in real life, and the kids think it is hilarious!

Split-step

I really was missing the boy today. I wasn't the only one either. To deal with my sadness I went to the craft room and made a layout from some of his bath pictures. Then Carter came in and we went through the pile of pics to have me make him a special memory book.
On the tennis front, I am really looking forward to this league season. I was recruited early in Jan for the summer season for a 4.0 group of gals that I really enjoy playing with. This is an unusual thing to have happen. I am still technically a 3.5 so for these women to accept me and actually want me as opposed to me wishing that I could be playing up is great! What is even better is that this team is really strong and there is a good chance that we could go into some after season play! I went and played doubles with Ally tonight against Karen V. and Karen T. They absolutely cleaned our clocks! It was nice though, I was able to work on my serve and get it grooved and also to recognize that I need to split step to get a better return of serve. As soon as I get flat-footed my return goes downhill fast! One of my goals this season is to get better at my seve and volley. I am very strong of the baseline, but as the players improve I will be playing against, so will the need to be at the net.
Anyway, just a good analogy for my life right now, hehehehe! When I am flat-footed and not preparing for what is next I tend to get caught unawares. When I split-step and then go and get what I want and make a plan on how to have that happen, even if I am not successful all the time, I at least feel like I am moving forward.
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Monday!

I know I am weird.
This is not a fact that would be disputed by anyone who knows me, some are nice in describing me as unusual, but I enjoy the march to my own drummer!
This being said, I LOVE Mondays.
I feel like it is a chance to get everything started out with fresh energy and to look at things with fresh eyes.
I am watching tennis this morning, the French Open, it is very exciting and educational. But what taught me someting this morning was an ad for a fund management group. The concept behind the ad was that adversity and challenges do not shape your character, they reveal it. This thought just really struck me right this morning. I had a very adverse and challenging weekend, and in spite of my trials, I really enjoyed it.
This ad let me appreciate myself in a whole new way. There are not many people who would do what I did, and do it well.
I received packs of critiques from CK that I went through last night. I was exposed to approximately 200+ people over the weekend in the classes I had taught for Mel. I had received many kind words of appreciation and about 95% of the critiques had given me excellent in the rating. The part that frustrated me was that there was a handful of people who were really disappointed in me and in the project. I feel disappointed for them that I didn't meet their expectations. But in the grand scheme of things, I realy pity that a more advanced person felt the need to attend a beginner level class just to be in the company of a certain instructor. These people were very harsh in their critiques, and then went on to bash me on a message board. The sad part about this is that they have not considered the position Mel must have been in to even ask me in the first place, or the people who would not have had a wonderful experience if no one had been there at all to present the project.
This adversity I believe has helped me to see that in my character, I have some fine points. I am unusual, but I am caring, fun, creative, and willing to endure uncomfortable situations to help my friends. Thanks go to the people who appreciated and enjoyed that I was there, doing the best I could! Patience goes to those who were disappointed.
Through the years, I have learned the very hard way that no one can be all things to all people. But thanks to the ad on the tv I had the realization, I am not sad that these people didn't like me, I am glad that I have the character to take on challenging situations.
Thanks go to the woman who told me I was a ray of sunshine. Thanks go to the woman who stayed in the class even when she figured out she was in the wrong one because she was enoying the class so much. And Thanks go to Mel for believing in me.
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Big Fun in Buffalo!

Things for my travel to Buffalo started of a bit stormy! Literally! I was at the airport in SLC checking in to get on the plane to Chicago where I found out that all the flights in and out of Chicago were cancelled due to huge thunder storms. I went home with new flight arrangements for the following day. The bummer about this was that this was the day we had scheduled for our Little Black Dress team tourist day! So no Niagara falls for me.
I would then get a phone call from a friend who needed a huge favor. There were some personal issues that prevented her from being able to keep her plans to be in Buffalo and would I please fulfill her assignments? Keep in mind that this gal is dynamite and silly good fun, my taking her place was going to be a a small foot trying to walk in a big pair of shoes, especially with no time for prep or coaching on the ups and downs of the projects and what might happen.
I would want someone to do this for me if I ever had the need, so it was easy for me to set my concerns for my own embarassment aside and quickly say OK! Love ya Mel!
Anyway, Thursday we spent the day preparing and setting up the booth for the vendor fair. We had dinner at a cool place called Adam's Rib, and I then worked on making samples for this new assignment until the wee hours! Thank goodness I did not have to come up with a new project, I just needed to put the pre-cut kits together. I didn't have any of the teaching instuctions, just b&w printouts from an email, the instructions and transparencies were being overnighted to me and would hopefully be there in time!
Friday morning came a little too quickly, hehehe! We got ourselves up and out the door and ready to do the days business! The information that I needed for my duties arrived and I taught make n takes all morning to the people who came and visited the booth. I then went and did the assignment that needed done for my friend, and enjoyed meeting and playing with the wonderful and fun scrappers from Buffalo!
When we were done for the day, we went to Le Nova's and had a wonderful pizza and a huge bucket of wings delivered to the hotel room because we were all so tired!
I got a little more rest this time, but you know how women are when they get together, we do tend to visit longer than is maybe practical, LOL!
The next morning I got going with the rest of the assignment, and again loved meeting and having fun with so many wonderful people! I learned that skewompy is NOT a word in New York, the word would be askew! Finished the rest of the day doing make n takes and then got the booth taken down and the products packed up and put away at about 8:00 p.m. We then went out to dinner in the town we had stayed in at a place called the Creekside. It was delish! The bummer about Sat night was that I had wanted to go to a 2peas dinner and hang out with some of the gals! I had big hopes that if I packed fast enough it would happen, but alas, no such luck, we had some parts that went a little slower than usual. Went to bed at about 12:30.
Sunday morning we were up at 4:00 so we could catch our shuttle at 4:30 to make the 6:00 flight. My flight was on time and easy into Dulles. I went from D.C. to Denver in a beautiful and very comfortable 777. Most of my flights are on much smaller planes, so this was delightful! When I got to Denver I had an unexpected gate change and some mechanical difficulites so the flight was about 30 minutes late. The pilot was wonderful and made up 15 of those!
The family picked me up and after about 9 hours of travel, I was really glad to be home!
I really miss my family when I travel, and I love to travel and meet new people, so this always is hard for me to balance between the two! But my family is always going to be my biggest and most fun priority! What else would I have to scrap about if I didn't have such a fun and wild life?
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