back from the world

i'm back from walt disney world. gosh, how i love going to the "not so scary halloween party!" we went twice this time and i thoroughly enjoyed both nights. we really missed staying at the swan - it is much more relaxing there than at the pop century, which is where we stayed this time. that place is as busy a the day after christmas sale - and this is their slow season!

even though walt disney world is known as the happiest place on earth, there is no place like home! i'm getting ready for work this morning, but looking forward to working on new projects and finishing up works in process. i went to artist and display yesterday and got a paper mache' jack o'lantern to decorate. i also got bethany lowe's new book: folk art halloween. she will be at artist and display on october 3rd for a book signing. i'm not always into the folk art thing, but i do like her halloween items laid out in the book. she uses a lot of polymer clay and paper clay in her projects. while at the art store yesterday, i also got some arches water color paper which was on sale half price. i also found a wonder stamp by magenta of a wren. i'd been looking for a wren stamp. 

once again i'm inspired by the patterns of the land i saw while flying. also many of the designs of disney are artistically inspiring. i think it would be so much fun to be a designer at disney. i've got to run now. work is calling me... 

meet the mouse!

one more day before i'm off to meet the mouse! walt disney world, here i come. tomorrow i've got a lot to do. packing, taking the doggies to my friend julie's house, getting my eyes examined... yes, i made an eye doctor appointment. i used my last pair of contact lenses some time ago and since it's been almost two years since i've had an exam, i'm going tomorrow. so much to do tomorrow. i'll post again when i get back. bye for now!

egads!

tgif. all i can say is that i am SO absolutely glad that i did not book my trip to disney for this week! i considered booking it for then, as it was marc's birthday this week. i do like to go there when the kids are (supposed to be) in school. i must say, i am always amazed at the number of kids there who are not in school. that's why we're going the second week of september. i feel so sorry for anyone there for a dream vacation right now. i so hope the weather is more hospitable while we are there, just three weeks from tomorrow. whatever the weather, i will try and make the best of it. this vacation has make due for some time - next year even. 

we should hear sunday if we will be getting a new roof this coming week. i am anxious for it to be over and done with. the new roof should end winter/spring worries about leaks. the cost is my main concern right now. it is very expensive. necessary evil. 

tomorrow i will have a diversion - my friend Julie has invited marc & i out to her lake home to go out on the boat and have a barbeque at the house. sounds nice. i had hoped to stay home all weekend and work on projects (does this ever happen?) but i will take this fun when i can get it. besides, it is working out very well with the studio upstairs and sharing the office. i find myself working in there for about an hour or so in the morning, and sometimes, like tonight for at least half an hour. also, marc can be on the mac while i work on my projects & we can chat a bit. i got my stampin' up punch today that i had to purchase on ebay. it is retired and my SU demonstrator couldn't find one anywhere for me. i just love the little flowers it punches out. i am painting pages in my newest journal - it is a smaller, more travel sized one that i plan on taking to florida with me. not sure how i'll be able to make time for art - but i will do my best. i was inspired by pam carriker's blog post about taking art supplies with her on her latest flight. i hope they do not give me a hard time. what would happen to this world if art supplies were banned? it would be a very dark place, that is for sure. 

rainy spring days

good news is that it's spring. bad news is that it's raining. pouring actually. its muddy messy outside. the daffodils are sprouting up several inches just today. didn't see many birds. too cold, windy wet outside. pour things. when it does warm up and get sunny everything is going to start blooming. can't wait.

i also can't wait for september. i am going to walt disney world after all. they have the free dining plan going on and its such a deal we could not pass it up. we are going on the cheap this time. staying at the pop century. this is my first time there going with the disney package. i hope it is an enjoyable trip. problem is, with the dining plan being free at that time, every restaurant is booked! i did manage to make all but one reservation. we are going to get to eat at the california grill and artist point. very nice! i'm not booking any tours this time, but we will definitely go to the not so scary halloween party. that was so much fun when we went two years ago. i'm a big disney villain fan and that is too much fun. i love the fireworks. they were set to the music of the nightmare before christmas. my all time favorite. i never get tired of that movie. 

i did get sweeney todd, barber of seville, but haven't watched it yet. maybe this weekend. i have a stampin' up party to go to on saturday. i'm looking forward to that. not spending the money, but getting more stuff! i've got to make the time this weekend to work on my projects. still torn between my stamping, quilting, and working on my digital projects. now that i've reinstalled adobe elements 6 it is working much better. i also want to work on iweb to get my dot mac site set up. my playtime is never long enough. it is my last photoshop elements class coming up on monday night. one of the other students wants me to bring in some of my digital work to show her. i'd better do up some more pages so i can put them into a book to show. it takes me about an hour or more to make one page. just think, after my next trip i'll have more photos to play with! working with the photos gives me ideas of what to take photos of in the future. you know, what works and what doesn't. 

iMac Saga Continues

last night we went to pick up the imacs. old & new. luckily, at the apple store they suggested we try it out while we were there to make sure it was properly set up. It was not. again, things not right - e-mail, itunes, safari bookmarks. anyway, they had one of their mac experts sit with us and go through to set up the machine properly. the .mac e-mail account he was unable to get squared away, so i'm going back in saturday morning to meet with the same mac expert so he can get it fixed. i can say that although they botched up the initial set up, the management at the store has worked to resolve the situation. there main problem is that they are just SO busy there - just about too busy to give the attention to the customer that at least i have come to expect from the apple store. as the hardware & software gets more complicated, either due to set up, or just because of the complex nature of it all, you've got to give the customer the attention to be able to use & fully enjoy this very expensive toy! 

in the meantime, here i sit, typing on my beautiful new imac and yes, i am enjoying it! once i take my digital scrapbooking class in a few weeks and begin to utilize photoshop elements, i'll enjoy it all the more. i did finally get to load my photos & movies from our vacation to walt disney world in december. OH - they turned out so beautiful. the color is so right, the depth of the resolution between the new 8 mp Panasonic camera and then the monitor on this imac - it's utterly breathtaking. in my usual style, i'm including a snapshot taken from the plane. on the return flight home as we flew over the golf of mexico. 

if i only had more time to stay here & enjoy my new toy - but alas, i need to go off to work in order to pay for all this fun. besides, i wouldn't be able to purchase more art supplies without an income. not a busy day today at work, so it won't be too bad. and next week i'm off to florida again only this time for work. that means more clouds & sky shots from the airplane. good day to you!