zauber-a

Friday, March 30, 2007

Thank you for playing!

I hope you had fun! In answer to the much-asked question: what does Harry Potter have to do with anything:

the last 3 harry potter books were published the summers of 2003, 2005 & now 2007, always just in time for me to quickly read it before a baby arrived.

Posted at 07:53 am by zauber-a
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Thursday, March 29, 2007

and today we're orange...

Is orange a bad color for moods or what? Someone is so whiney today I'm ready to bang my head against the wall! nap was interrupted and too short (I had to join her to get her to sleep at all), she keeps throwing down that phone on purpose and won't stop crying, er, whining. grr. and of course the start of amazing weather turned into rain...anyway. if you wanna see cutie-pie whiney baby, click HERE.

Posted at 02:34 pm by zauber-a
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

Thank you, thank you, everyone who took time to comment and let me know that you are here and actually reading. I have a very good reason for asking and wanting to know who is here that has nothing to do with my ego. Like, I'm not going to go bragging about how many blog readers I have, no no, that wasn't the point of my last post.

It was this.

No no, that's too easy. Let's play a game instead.

What happens when you put the following things together:

1. I have been seriously slacking with the updates this year.
2. The newest (and this time last) Harry Potter book is due out this summer.
3. I've been awfully sick this year.
4. It's an odd-numbered year.
5. We have to cancel a much-anticipated trip to Seattle this summer. (which includes missing out on an even more anticipated wedding)

Answer = If you take a guess, (just make one guess) I will Email you a link to the correct answer. If you want to take a guess, but want it to be the RIGHT ANSWER, ask me for more clues. If you are one of the few people who already knows the answer, please please abstain from commenting until further notice.

So, make a guess and let me know.

Posted at 07:18 pm by zauber-a
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Still with me?

Anyone? Anyone at all? If you are, give me a shout-out, pretty please, it only takes a few secs! I no longer have a tracker on my blog and have no idea what kind of hits (or non-hits) I'm getting these days.

So Sven didn't think I should use my blog to share layouts. He couldn't give me a good reason why NOT, he just seemed to think it was a bad idea. Hm. Well, thanks to my sharing the last batch, the very lovely Jessica sent me all the photos she had taken of our trip into Seattle last summer (thank you dear!!) and had I NOT posted that particular layout, she would never have known to send them to me. I'm very happy to have them - not a lot, but more than one blurry photo at Red Robin, and that's what matters!

	What are you doing here?
	I'm just lurking!
	I read, but don't have time to comment!
	I hardly ever find the time to come here anymore, besides, you NEVER update!
	I read and comment every time!

free counter

Posted at 03:53 pm by zauber-a
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Monday, March 26, 2007

Green! Somewhat late...

Posted at 11:56 am by zauber-a
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Friday, March 23, 2007

a little bit of purple

Georgia has this adorable outfit, it's jeans, a onesie and a zip-up sweatervest with faux-fur-lined hood. This is the outfit she was wearing yesterday, at least up until naptime. When I put it on her, she immediately unzipped it (she has discovered and loves zippers) and pulled the vest off. Again and again. I got frustrtated and pulled the purple bolero (seen below) off the 'rack of clothes-still-too-big' and put it on her. I buttoned it all the way down and she thought those fur cuffs were the BOMB. Sven however, thought she looked ridiculous in a little bolero top with her baby belly hanging out something awful (she really does have QUITE a little belly on her), so I took it off and put the vest back on her and then put on her jacket so she couldn't get the vest off.

The point? That little bolero sweater (and i don't know if that's what you call it or not, that is what Sandy called it at playgroup) fit her just barely and I got worried. I thought, maybe the brand 'vitamins' runs small and I'd better hurry up and put that outfit on her tomorrow before it's too small. So I did. and you know what? it's not too small, and if I don't button down the bolero all the way, it fits nicely. What's more, it doesn't look quite as silly when paired with the shirt and skirt it came with, both of which are a tick too big, but nevermind, Georgia is quite a fashion queen today and since we haven't had pictures in ages, i took very quick advantage:

There are some full-body shots with tweed (yes tweed!) skirt, ribbed tights and sandals at flickr.

After I had her dressed, I thought i'd take a shower. I was tired of waiting for Sven to get to work, so I jumped in while he was still here. WHAT a mistake! He left while I was in and Georgia threw a FIT. she spent my whole shower screaming bloody murder. I was so wrecked by the time I was out and dressed, that I packed her with a bottle and her ballerina bear (as seen in the pictures) under my arm and headed down to Andrea's, where I had heard Leon yelling as well. Georgia had a rough time down there as well and at 11 we hurried back up to get lunch ready. I had planned to make potato pancakes, the good kind with the lime-chili sauce...and had peeled and shredded potatoes, chopped green onions and garlic when I read the recipe all the way through. I needed 2 eggs. I used all my eggs on Monday for the nasty make-shift noodle casserole I invented. It was already 11:30. I ran down to Andrea's to see if she had eggs. No luck. So I threw on a jacket and pants, threw a jacket on G., and packed her under a blanket in the stroller and ran off to Rewe for those two stupid eggs and some more milk.

We didn't end up eating until 12:30. And what's worse, the chili I was going to use for the sweet chili sauce had gone bad. It was a chili jelly Kylene had given us some time before and it had a nasty skummy look to it. So we ate the pancakes with quark instead. They were yummy. Would have been yummier with fresh cilantro and the chilisauce, but nevermind!

I've been fiend-scrapping lately. I don't know why. Just had a sudden urge to try and finish up Georgia's first year album and was enjoying pictures from this summer that I hadn't really had time to look at and play with. And then I started playing with fun techniques and well, admitedly, getting caught in the praise-game and hoping for lots of fun comments and confirmations of how wonderful my work is (ha!) and how darling my baby is. Bad, bad habit to get into.


Most recent layout, finished last night. Also a more recent photo of Georgia. Credits HERE.	playing with PS techniques. Very recent photo of Georgia, taken on Saturday, last. Credits HERE	More recent pics of Georgia - outtakes from a failed photoshoot the other day. but they're funny! Credits HERE

Still playing with new techniques. Photos are from this past January. Credits HERE	Just cutie-pie pics from this summer. Credits HERE	The only picture from our trip into Seattle this summer with A&J, and it's not even OF Seattle, or A OR J. Go figure. But a story that was worth recording. Credits HERE

credits HERE	hated this one while working on it - but it has become a favorite. Credits HERE	This was my first attempt playing with extractions. I've been having trouble stopping ever since...Credits HERE

And that is only a small sampling of the insane amount of layouts, both crappy and decent, that I have been doing lately. And someday, SOMEday, I will be able to print them all out and have real albums to flip through, and not just these virtual ones on my computer!

Okay. I've blathered on longer than enough. Georgia should be up from her nap soon and the quiet will be over. Have a wonderfully fabulous weekend!

Posted at 02:15 pm by zauber-a
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Saturday, March 17, 2007

SLACKER!

Okay, okay. I have been seriously slacking off on the blog recently and have no excuse except that I am LAZY. Sleeping when Georgia sleeps (afternoons AND evenings) recently doesn't leave much time for blogging or anything else, really. Thing is, when I do sleep with her, she wakes up in a FABULOUS mood and I just can't resist that! I love it when she wakes up talking to the flowers on my blanket instead of screaming her head off for an hour...

We survived the two weeks on our own. The first week FLEW by thanks to the help of a good friend who literally bussed us around all week with her and her daughter. We nearly had a meltdown over the weekend when our plans all bombed around us and the weather was wet and nasty...but thanks to the timely intervention of our neighbors on Sunday, we survived that as well! And as you know, the 2nd Tuesday of our two-week trial period was the planned arrival of MIL and FIL. They came in late Tuesday, giving me plenty of time to do a mad-dash clean-up of the apartment and from the time they arrived, to the time they left, they cooked for us. Oh, what a wonderful break! Georgia did not spend any time alone with them until Friday, and still had some serious zickig moments...but as soon as her Daddy was home on Sunday, she was an angel, happily playing with everyone, and even staying in the room alone with her Oma and Opa...

Wednesday morning Opa came to the gym with us and played with Georgia as long as she allowed it (which, considering it was only the 2nd day he'd been there, and not even a full day at that, was quite long). And on Thursday, Oma came with us to Playgroup where Georgia managed to jam her thumb in a door. The nailbed is now black and blue, poor baby.

So Sven was home last Sunday afternoon, took the day off Monday and then MIL and FIL left Tuesday morning and we fought our way back to normalcy.

Exciting news for the week? Monday I got THIS SURPRISE

and today THIS SURPRISE!

I joined the community over at Designer Digitals officially in February, though I've been going broke in their store for over a year now...Anyway, joining in for real, means participating in challenges and chatting on the MB...things I have not done in so long, I don't even know most of the people! However, it's a great fun site, and the challenges are true challenges, always pushing me to do more and learn more. I mean, extraction? This die-hard paper scrapper is doing extractions on her pictures? Something that definetly takes digi scrapping out of the paper-look-alike realm and into official, no denying it, digital...but I have to tell the truth, I still prefer those digital layouts that look so real, you have to read the supply list to figure out if it is paper or digital!!

Another surprise last week: my parents, after swearing up and down to never get another house pet...adopted a cat. A mean little Ragdoll who was so beaten up in her previous home, that she has the scars to show for it and scared away all potential adopters! Mom and Dad stuck it through though and are now the proud owners of this little beauty

So, and my one last excuse for my laziness, I have managed to catch yet another cold (seems like you are never well when you've got little kids around you) and am trying to take it easy. We had plans today to meet up with an old friend who is in the country visiting...and I had to back out. I sent Georgia and Sven alone to spend the day with him and his new wife and I am staying at home, updating my blog and hopefully napping (if my nose will cooperate). Oh yah, and I'm planning on a nice, long, hot shower with NO interruptions!

One last quickie: the registration for Scrap-a-ganza 2007 went up a few weeks ago and Cara and I quickly grabbed the classes we wanted, but didn't pay at first. I was waiting for Sven to return from Russia so I could beg him to go...in the meantime we received Emails from the event, that if we didn't put our payment through by the 17th (that's today!) that they would kick us out of our reserved classes to make room for others. I DID sent payment through yesterday (and Cara did on the 14th!) so I am crossing fingers that they don't toss me because I have classes with: KAREN BURNISTON, MELODEE LONGWORTHY and LISA BEARNSON!!!! Those are not classes you want to lose! If I do, I plan on canceling the whole event, although Cara says we have to throw a huge fit and fight for our classes because we DID pay, it is just taking it's sweet time to go through and show up...

Okay. That's it. I'm all updated out, it's lunchtime and that shower is calling my name!

Posted at 12:09 pm by zauber-a
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Updating...

We're surviving! Obviously, my time has been limited and what little I did have, I've been using to scrapbook...and then yesterday I had to clean like crazy for my in-laws who came in after five last night.

A week ago Tuesday, Georgia and I had to go into the city for a doctor's appointment, something I'd been putting off for ages and ages because I was dreading going with her to ANY doctor at all by myself. Oh well, did it and got it over with and it left a very bad taste in my mouth. I felt the need to get the story recorded and here it is for your viewing pleasure:

We had a fairly decent week though - despite two days of missed busses and other small annoyances, Sandy was an angel and dragged us with her all over the place. Monday was playgroup at her house, Tuesday she took us with her to her other playgroup, Wednesday we went to Ikea (this was after a rough day at sport where georgia threw her hat out of her stroller in the mud (it was snow-raining) and made me think someone had stolen it, only to find it lying there on the side of the road on our way to the bus (which we missed). She then proceeded to do the same thing the following day in a windstorm and since then, the darling hat is gone. Very sad about that - it was the most adorable cat hat from her Auntie Kylene. Thank goodness we have pictures!

Anyway, Thursday we were on our own for entertainment, but on Friday, Sandy picked us up and took us shopping for groceries in the morning and we only had to get through the afternoon. We bothered Andrea and Leon...

Saturday was torture, our morning plans were canceled and it rained all day, so we were stuck inside. Plus, Georgia was getting sick...she spent the night screaming so loud and so long, that Andrea almost got up and came to see if we were okay. She did ask the next day...

Sunday plans were canceled as well, but thankfully for us, Andrea came up and invited us to go out with them that afternoon and take advantage of the very spring-like weather, so we did!

Georgia ran a fever Sunday night...

Monday our playgroup got canceled so we spent the day with Andrea and Leon while I avoided housecleaning...!

Tuesday I dumbly dropped a glass down the marble staircase and watched is shatter down three flights of stairs...

And finally, Tuesday evening, Oma and Opa showed up and Georgia cried...She was quickly won over however, by a humongous blue rocking horse...

And now a quick preview of some of the more or less fun layouts I've been doing for ME!

Please take note of the last layout, especially you, Mom! You were right - there weren't 101 layouts of you and Georgia together, just that many pictures! Here's one more for you!

More news on the homefront: our toilet was clogged up again today (probably my fault...) but Ute was a hero and unclogged it by reaching in and well, unclogging it. Gross! How glad am I that that happened while they were here so I didn't have to be the unclogger!

So, I think that's enough for now, I can't think of anything else terribly important. I do have a fun video of Georgia dressed as a zebra with a potato...should upload that and share!

Posted at 01:06 pm by zauber-a
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Sunday, February 25, 2007

Single Parenting...

well, sort of. For the next two weeks at least, and without the annoyance of me having to work, which is either a good thing, or a bad thing (since I'm stuck 24 hours a day, entertaining Georgia). Sven left at noon today, after a flurry of worries and backs and forths and weighings and more weighings. He did take a moment to sit and eat lunch with us, but that was it. You know Sven, why do anything ahead of time when you can leave it to the last minute? So yesterday we were running all over town (not really, we just went to the euro-industrie-park and toys-r-us) to get a sandbox and stock up on some groceries. Okay, and when I saw that they've opened a Subway in a brand new mall-complex right in front of Toys-R-Us, well, you know we had to stop and have lunch...So we got a sandbox, but ran out of time to build it together. So either I will have to do it on my own next week while G plays in the garden (um, sure...) or we'll have to wait until FIL gets here the week after that and get his help while MIL watches G...I might end up doing that anyway, because, as life would have it, the weather has taken a turn for the blahs and it looks like a cold, wet two weeks ahead of us. This is Murphy's Law, right? The weeks where it could have rained and shut us up inside, where it wouldn't have mattered as much because Sven was HOME and could help, it was sunny and beautiful and we went out everyday and the days slipped by faster than fast. Now of course, Sven is gone, the weather turns and we are going to be trapped and both of us are going to go bananas, i just know it. Anyway, so maybe we won't have any need for a sandbox until the weather turns nice again. Yes, I am one big run-on today, and no. I don't care. I'm hoping ot get this typed up while G naps, because I'll be going to bed with her tonight and won't have any more time.

So anyway. We left Toys-R-Us about 100 euros poorer, but rich in a sandbox (with sun protection), sand, sand toys (a bucket, shovel, rake and watering can with winne-the-pooh motives) a nice big, blue ball for G and her very own mop. Why did we get her a Georgie-sized mop? Because Sven said no to the little mini vacuum-cleaner and she was happy as a clam, pushing the mop around the store - and I have to tell you, so far, those five euros were totally worth it!

Okay, so here is why Sven was freaking out about the flight to Russia, did you know that they weigh EVERYTHING you have, hand luggage AND checked baggage and TOGETHER, it may not weigh more than 20 kilos (that's about 44lbs)? They charge 5 euros for every kilo over 20 kilos! So he had two scales out and was weighing, and removing, and weighing and putting back, and deciding and and and and...It wasn't a nice peaceful goodbye. It was rushed and hectic, but it wouldn't be Sven any other way.

Two weeks without him. Wish him luck in Russia, and us luck on our own...

Posted at 12:39 pm by zauber-a
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Thursday, February 22, 2007

got a little surprise

today, been waiting for the digital scrapbook magazine to go online for months now. Well, it went up sometime this week, maybe today? Not sure, but if you get a chance, run over, because my baby is the first featured and I don't know what will happen to her when day 2 hits! Read the ARTICLE HERE.

I don't know why the picture is so teeny - and I couldn't figure out how to make it bigger. a shame really. Oh well. I'm glad to see my babe in print again, she hasn't made it that often...

Posted at 08:33 pm by zauber-a
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