Today I leave for Scrap Palace.  It’s finally retreat time.  This has been in the works since July so I’m happy I has finally come down to the day I get some downtime.  It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.  Seriously, it seems like Denny and I are like two ships passing in the night.  On top of it I haven’t been feeling all that great, which I hope gets resolved soon.  Crossing my fingers on that one.

I did this layout the other day.  It was a challenge for me because I really needed to use red.  In general I really shy away from red because it’s just one of those “funny” colors that never seems to match up just right.  It’s funny because I even try not to buy red clothes for the kids so I don’t have to scrap it, lol.  And if they do wear red I try not to do it on a day I know I’m taking photos.  That being said Dilly really LOVED this shirt, which doesn’t fit this year, and it was his birthday, soooo, I guess letting him pick his clothes was really required.  So red it was and these photos have been sitting here looking at me.  Urgh, red!

My solution was this layout.  Yes it’s red, and it matched pretty well, but not great.  In order to distract from that fact I did a little technique with VersaMark and a mask on the cardstock base and kept the rest of the layout pretty simple.  Take my technique class and you’ll see how to do it.  After class I’ll post a technique sheet in the tips/tricks section so everyone can get in on the action.  Anyway, I think it worked and this red… well I can live with, and dare I say I might actually like it!!  The American Crafts Foam Thickers help a lot.  I loooove Thickers!!

I hired a babysitter for this weekend.  I’ve only had to hire one once really when Ethan was around 2 years old.  It was a friend of mine so I’m not sure how much that counts.  I think I’m ok with it as she was recommended by Pierina, a friend of mine.  And if Pierina trusts her, than I do too.  The going rate for babysitters these days??  $7.00 and up.  I need to start sending Denny a bill, lol.  Add the 24 hour nanny services, the cooking, the personal assistant, housekeeper, laundromat, accountant, and all the other miscellaneous stuff I do around here and I’d be as wealthy as Oprah, and instead of Scrap Palace I’d be headed for a vacation in Hawaii today.  Well maybe Scrap Palace and then Hawaii lol.

Well, I really should get going and get some stuff done before I head out.  Heck, I haven’t even done my hair yet.  :P

Happy Friday!!

~j