The Change...

I know, most of you are tired of hearing me drone on and on about this. Believe me, I am so grateful for your patience because I'm tired to hearing me drone on and on... So I thought I'd try and purge myself for good and get it all out!

I'm going through "The Change" or as it's more commonly known, menopause. I call it the ordeal. It's not even menopause yet - I'm pre-menopausal! You thought PMS was bad - wait til you get a load of this!

The older I got and the farther away from childbearing age I got (not that that was any great success either) the more I looked forward to the freedom of "the change". What a great deal I thought! No worrying about getting pregnant, no more "monthly friend" (who's idea was that euphemism anyway!) Liberation! Freedom! Everything wonderful Oprah kept telling me turning 50 meant! WRONG! THEY LIED!!

Welcome to 24/7 hot flashes, insomnia, weight gain, lack of focus, memory loss, fatigue, hormonal imbalances that bring on mood changes, crankiness and the ultimate desire to join Thelma and Louise and drive right off that cliff!

Not only do the hot flashes drive me crazy, they drive everyone around me crazy. AC ON! that's me! Turn the heat OFF! Screw the 75 degree weather we're having here in Buffalo, I want COLD! Weight gain - that's a whole 'nother entry and I'm NOT going there. Lack of focus - I've got lists to remember my lists. Insomnia and fatigue - I'm up at 3:00 a.m. writing this, I'll go to bed shortly, get up at 8:00 to get Alexa on the bus and if I didn't have a dentist appt. I'd go back to bed and maybe, maybe get up around noon or 1:00 p.m.

Mood changes and crankiness - "If Momma ain't happy, nobody is happy", takes on new meaning in my house and driving off that cliff - if I wasn't such a gutless wonder at least one person in my household would be dead by now and I'd be on beach in Tahiti, or at least in a rental car heading for Canada or Nevada or Maine or Wisconsin or, can you drive to Hawaii? I can't remember...

Anyway, I saw the stamps above at the store and I thought, "that's me, that's my life..." Oprah LIES!!!

Yes, I still REALLY do scrapbook, but...

It's been a long time since I have given ocular proof that I really still do scrapbook. These days many of my projects are directly related to my work at Buffalo Stamps and Stuff. I like to do altered items the most. Sharon, my boss, is very generous in letting me take on some of these projects. I like to bring ideas to her and sometimes she shows up with a bag with some little treasure inside and gives it to me to see what I can do.

As many of you know I'm a slow, slow, slow, s...l...o...w...scrapbooker. I usually cringe when Sharon askes me to do a layout in the store, that day, without any preparation. I like to ponder, look at the picture, study what paper I want to use, get an idea for a layout, look at my paper options again, sleep on it, study it again, move the paper around, dig out some embellishments, sketch an idea, sleep on it, think about it over the weekend -- well, you get the idea, nothing comes quickly or easily. I'm also way more comfortable working at home until I get the project really rolling. However, I like to finish the project at work if I'm stuck on the final right "it" that it takes to make it complete.

I thought I'd post a couple of photos of two projects I've worked on for the store lately. Let me know what you think. I've got a few more in mind and hope to get them done soon.

Both of these are Making Memories Halloween chipboard ghosts. They are covered in paper and embellished.

It may be hard to see, but at the top of the pumpkin is small, black crow, sitting in the mums!

This altered pumpkin was inspired by an altered project Judi VanValkinburg did. In Judi's project she took a child's globe of the world and covered it in paper. It's one of the most original ideas I've ever seen. I look to Judi for much of my inspiration. She does fabulous work!

Coming up I've got a full day crop next Sunday for Hillside Children's Services in Rochester, NY. In early November I'll be joining my pals from the 'Sweatshoppe' (don't ask, I'm still not sure how we came up with that name!) for our semi-annual weekend retreat to crop til we drop! This year we have the option to go from Thursday through the following Monday! For these two crops I'm hoping to finish - my 'Love' mini album, the NYC paperbag album, and more pages for my Disney album. I'm also hoping to do two mini albums for Alexa - one about her friends and another from her birthday last year.

I've also got a Christmas album in mind for the newest member of the Kenzie family, and at least three projects for the store, two for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. I think I've got enough to keep me busy for a long, long, time!