Hillary Heidelberg's Blog

Ugh, my notebook cord died

So I have been doing more digi scrapping, and wouldn't you know it, my notebook cord died on Friday, the day before NSD. And I was even going to scrap for a few hours on Saturday after downloading some goodies from Designer Digitals awesome sale...but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Luckily, I ordered a replacement cord immediately and it should arrive early next week, and the truth is, would I have really found the time to scrap during our busy weekend? Probably not.

Saturday Luca performed at the Tribeca Film Festival Fair with his Tae Kwon Do class, and I did get some great photos (and video!) but, alas. Can't share those either. Darn computer (I am using my son's school computer as we speak...) Then we walked around the fair a bit, and even though it was cloudy it was still enjoyable. Speaking of Tribeca, the other day I saw Leonardo di Caprio RIGHT in front of the Battery Park City Pharmacy near our house. TUrns out he's bought an apartment at the ritzy, environmentally-sound River House down the street, and I guess he was checking out the 'hood. He was on his bike, cuz, you know, he's environmental and all.

Speaking of environmental, I have officially made the switch from plastic bags. Got me a nice (cheap!) tote at Whole Foods on Union Square and am trying hard to not use plastic. Luckily, the tote squishes up really small so when I get those urges to shop (you know those urges) I can still do so. I am still sticking with the raw food diet...day 13 today. I am about 90% raw right now, my only non-raw stuff is my morning cup of coffee with milk (down from 3 cups!) and an occasional slice of Ezekial whole grain bread. I have found some incredible recipes on goneraw.com and also in a book called RAWvolution...and Michael is SO happy to eat this way. He's like "and why didn't we always eat this way?" I am not quite sure how this diet works come winter...I mean, there's only so many raw rutabagas I can eat, kwim? And besides, unless I live in a warmer climate (asheville here I come!!!) i can't imagine not eating warm soup in the winter. But that's a way's off, so we'll see. Oh, and let me just tell you, this "detox" phase of raw foods better end soon, because I am SERIOUSLY breaking out. I haven't had zits this bad since I was 24 and had yet to go on Accutane. Blech.

In the middle of making a great digital layout about our recent outing to Connecticut.We ostensibly went there for a party that a friend of Michael's was hosting at his swank and enormous pad in Stamford, but we made an awesome detour to Greenwich and stopped by Babcock Preserve, which I used to visit when I lived in Greenwich with an old boyfriend (long story, and since this is already a long sentence, I'll leave it at that). It was SO BEAUTIFUL. Oh my gosh. We went on a two-mile mini hike, and the boys were so good, although they both collapsed immediately in their car seats when we got back on the road.

This weekend we're headed out to East Hampton for a long weekend at my mom's house. She's not there, but it will be fun for the boys regardless, assuming it's warm. We're going to be spending August out there and Luca will be attending tennis camp...Julian will go to a morning camp assuming he's potty-trained...and OH! I knew I forgot to mention something! Julian is on his way to being potty trained--woohoo!! We're using our tried and true "get an m&m for peeing on the potty" trick and it's working. Although I have to say, some part of me feels Julian is pulling a fast one on me and holding in some of his pee so 10 minutes later he can go back on the potty and "Get another m&m!!"....

My book sales are going well...if you haven't bought yourself a copy of Scrap Simple yet, well, shame on you...I need that dollar!!!! It's weird, cuz I've been selling a lot of my paper supplies (not all, not yet) and I am seeing paper that I worked so hard to collect just disappearing at a very fast rate (I'm selling at rock bottom prices) and it kinda makes me sad, but it also feels liberating in a way. I mean, i CAN scrap with just some white cardstock, a few pens, and some brads, and it DOES make me happy. I can't tell you how important the memories are to me looking back on my old albums, but particularly the JOURNALING. Man, if you don't journal on your layouts, please start.

okay, ta ta for now. I am going to eat some more kale and finish knitting my socks that I've been working on. I am totally addicted to knitting socks. Addicted, I tell you.

I am back!!!

I have been a bad blogger--thank you to all the wonderful people who emailed me asking 'what's up??" It makes a girl feel loved :)...Seriously, life has just gotten some much-needed attention: I've cleaned out most of the closets, gone through a huge stash of old paperwork, knitted up some gift-y items, and I've even started exercising regularly. Imagine that!! I am using the Jump Snap (don't laugh) about 4 times a week, and also lifting light weights. On Monday, I began a raw food detox as well, and let me tell you, I feel GREAT. I am down to my pre-Luca weight for the first time since, well, pre-Luca. I feel healthy and it's great to get one's life in order, I have to say.

I have been digital scrapbooking more than paper, and even (gasp) sold about 1/2 of my paper supplies, maybe more, to make room for yarn. Yes, yarn. It's amazing how quickly one can amass a stash of yarn, even as a beginner knitter. Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised--my scrapbook stash had gotten WAY out of control. Today someone came by and bought my Wishblade, 5 inches of Bazzill, and a large number of embellies. The scrap armoire is significantly emptier, which is scary but also strangely liberating. I am keeping my basics that I emphasized so strongly in Scrap Simple, and most of my go-to items like American Crafts rubons, alphas, and my brads and flourishes. And of course, black, kraft and white Bazzill and a bunch of AC pp. Gotta keep the AC.

I have been spending my scrappy time either doing digi layouts or shopping at Designer Digitals. Their stuff is simply amazing, and I have to say it's a relief to not have to "set up" and then "clean up" like you do with paper scrapping. On the knitty front, I am almost done with a gift for my sister's long-passed birthday--I won't mention what it is here in case she stops by, and am about half-way done with a super Ribby from chicknits.com. I am also knitting a pair of Retro Rib socks and will post pics when I am done--almost there!!!

Last week, I took the boys to Florida to visit my mother--they had such a great time, and my mom took over the majority of "kid care" responsibilities so I got a true break. The weather was wonderful, and I even got to stop by a 40% off sale at the Jensen Beach Great Balls of Yarn. They're going out of business, which is a true shame, but I bought some fantastic sock yarn: Koigu and Lorna's Laces...yum. I am planning on knitting some Monkey socks next. 

Homeschooling Luca is going so well. It was definitely nice to have a little break next week, but we're back in full swing now. I hope to have completed Kindergarten Science and History by August, and 1st Grade Math and Phonics/Language Arts by October. I told Luca that if he finished Science and History by August, he could go to tennis camp in Long Island without homeschooling for the whole month. (I wasn't really planning on homeschooling that month, but it does provide him with an incentive to focus!)

Anyway, that's my life in a nutshell!! I am including some layouts I created over the last month. Thanks for stopping by!

That speech

So this morning I finally got through the stack of New York Times that were sitting on the couch, and had a chance to read the speech Obama gave on race. Wow. Just wow. If you haven't read it, you can read the whole thing right here. It was probably one of the more incisive, heartfelt and eloquent speeches I have heard from a politician in modern times. It was also risky for Obama, in the sense that he didn't bullsh*t people, he didn't mince words and he didn't shy away from a difficult issue. For me, the most moving part of his speech was when he said:

 

 

"For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies. We can do that. But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change."

Powerful stuff.

In other news, it's EASTER!! Happy Easter everyone!! Michael and I have been contemplating the theme of renewal, in our own way, by thinking about where we might like to move in 3 years when Michael's lease is up on his office space. We're thinking simultaneouly about somewhere close to NYC and somewhere warm. Obviously, the two don't go together so we have to make a choice. Asheville, NC looks wonderful to me, as does Charleston, NC. I also like parts of Connecticut, if we go that route. Of course, it gets cold in Conn, which both Michael and Luca can't bear. But we're open to advice and opinions. Here are our requirements:

1. Must be reasonably close to a major airport (M travels to Europe a lot)
2. Must be warm OR close to NYC. Right now we're leaning towards warm. When I say warm, I basically mean no awful, bitter winters.
3. close to nature, but also close to a vibrant community that has coffeeshops, bookstores, some cultural scene.
4. good homeschooling community
5. near a beach would be great, but not a requirement.

Any thoughts, oh internet readers?

Oh the hell that is...

feeding toddlers/young kids/crazy anorexic children (i kid, i kid). Here's how dinner tonight went down:

6:00 pm: Me: "Boys! It's dinner time! Please come to the table."

(a few minutes pass. No children have appeared at the table.)

6:05 pm "Luca and Julian, please come to the table now!"

(boys straggle in and half-heartedly approach the dinner table)

6:10 pm Luca: "what's for dinner?"
Me: "Chicken, apples and peas."
Julian: "Peas, I hate peas, they're disgusting."
Luca: "Julian, that's not polite. Mom, I hate the skin on the apples. It's so gross."
Me: "Please just start eating. I am going to get you both some milk."
Julian: "NO MILK!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WANT APPLE JUICE!!!!"
Luca: "I want orange juice."
Me: "You can have juice after your milk."

(The boys look dejected over the no-juice dictum. 15 minutes pass, during which both boys poke at their chicken as though it were an piece of seaweed encountered at the beach.)

Me: "Luca and Julian, please put food in your mouth and chew. You've been sitting at the table for 15 minutes and none of your food is gone."

(Luca takes a bite the size of an atom.)

Me: Luca, if you take such small bites you won't finish your meal til next year. Please take a larger bite."
Luca (a sound a bit like a drowning victim and a small whiny dog at the same time emerges from his mouth) "Mom, I can't take a bigger BITE! I have a small MOUTH!!! It's so unfair!! You make me eat SO MUCH!!!!"

(Julian, meanwhile, is sucking his thumb and staring out the window.)

Me: "Julian, please turn around in your chair and eat your meal."
Julian: "But Mo---om [oh, yes, you know that long drawn out Mooooom sound, don't you?] I don't want chicken. I want apple!"
Me: "Julian, you can eat your apple after you eat some chicken. Please take a bite of your dinner before I start to get annoyed."
Luca: "Yea Julian, don't you want to be big and strong like me?" (keep in mind, dear reader, that Luca has had about .25 ounces of chicken thus far, and he's been sitting there..let's see....25 minutes or so....)
Julian: "Luca, don't tell me what to do!!!!!!!"

(Luca, in what he thinks is a surreptitious fashion, sticks his tongue out at Julian.)

Julian: (screeching so loudly I am quite sure the neighbors are going to get involved) "LUCA DON'T STICK YOUR TONGUE OUT AT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Me: "Okay, both of you. You each have 5 minutes to finish your meal. If you don't, you're going straight to bed with no book."
Julian (looking up at me expectantly) "I'll go to bed right now!" (He then smiles and hops off his chair and heads towards his bedroom. I don't go after him. I know a stronger opponent when I encounter one.)
Me: "Okay, Luca, I'd like to see you eat half of what's on your plate."
Luca: "But I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan't. I am SOOO FULL. I can't eat anymore or I will get sick."

(I look at his plate. It looks untouched to me.)

Me: (resignedly) "Fine, Luca. Go and brush your teeth and get into bed. I'll come and tuck you in."

Ending time: 7:10 pm. One hour of my life has just disappeared. Okay, more, since I did have to nuke the chicken. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing. Absolutely nuttin'. Sigh.

Sharing from my online class

Okay, so my February One-in-48 is nearing the end. For those of you who don't know about this class, I run it through my site nycscraps.com. Basically, I give a sketch and a prompt every 48 hours, and students are supposed to complete a layout in that period of time and post it, based on the sketch. It's fun, the community is supportive, and it's wonderful to see all the different sketch interpretations.

Sigh. I love these classes. The women are so very inspirational: their stories, their photos, and their just plain ol' scrapping-because-I-love-it attitude. I hope to share some more over the coming days...here's just a few that I love:

Yggdrasil's layouts always captivate me. Here she really recreated the "wave" in the sketch beautifully, and if my eye is right, she also matted it! Wow!

 

This one is just plain pretty. Tina captured that light, girly feeling in her layout with it's airy bubbles and pretty pink flowered paper. Great job, Tina:

 

 

 

Larken's Nanny posted this wonderful layout. Notice all the memorable detail her photos capture. This is a layout truly full of memories.

Check out this layout from JodeG. Man, i find it hard to scrap Christmas photos, so this one is very inspiring to me:

 

One by g-grammy--as a mother to boys, I don't get to use a lot of pink sparkly stuff on my layouts, so it's fun to see someone use it with gusto. Love it!:

Here's one by Amberhelga. I love the way she interpreted the sketch and made it her own:

Back from the dead...sorta

Ugh...has this flu hit just about EVERYONE? well, it's hit me and mine, and let me tell you, it's been hanging on a week and will NOT let go. I went to Scrap Bowl 08 last weekend and it was a BLAST, but it would have been even better if  I hadn't been so darn sick. In any case, of COURSE (we scrappers are nothing if not committed) I managed to complete a bunch of layouts, and lots of 2 pagers also, so I am happy.

I took Stacy Julian's class, and while I have to admit I was chagrined to meet someone who could talk faster (and more) than me, her class was good. It was called Finish Line and it was all about "completing a mini book" in under 3 hours. And for those of you who have taken my classes at nycscraps.com, you know I am ALL about the "glue it down" philosophy, so I actually put this to the test. I completed a 20 page 6x6 album of our trip to Disney in January, and I like it! And more importantly, the boys LOVE it. It's all about the photos and the memories for kids. They really don't care that I used pink Scenic Route on their Star Wars photos. Although I do have to admit it still niggles at me just a little....

Okay, now to share some layouts..and some knitty goodness :)

Some layouts that I made for scrapbooks.com!!

I also have some cool before/after pics to share of my boys' toy organization (or lack thereof) which i will try and post tonight...for now, this will have to hold you!!!!!

Full Size Goofy (and yes I realize it's pluto...)

Full sized Homeschooling in Starbucks

Full sized Zig-Zag Fun

Full Sized SImple Things

Full sized Magical

One-in-48 Sketch Challenge Class starts tomorrow!!!!

Come on over and join in the fun!!!!! Click here to learn more!

Posting some photos of Luca (and Julian, and Luca's friend L) homeschooling...in the first shot  Luca and his friend L answering questions for a mini math quiz I gave them...then we have Luca making clay to make his cuneiform tablet...it says "LUCA" in cuneiform and we plan on hanging it on his door...the bottom shot is we have Luca and Julian as the kings of Upper and Lower Egypt (Luca of course was King Narmer of Upper Egypt--he "won" the battle with the king of Lower Egypyt).....

Have I mentioned I love homeschooling?

Is it better to have loved and lost.....

So, the housecleaner quit. After 2 days. She says it's because another family in the other building she works in wants her, and it's just easier. But really, I think it was the poopy diaper in the bathroom that did her in. Sigh.

In good news, however, check THIS puppy out:

Yep, 8 lbs lost since 1/9/08....5 more pounds til goal weight! GO ME!!! I have cheekbones!

And the winner is....

Linda Peterson!! come on down.......you've won a copy of Scrap Simple!!! Please email me your address and I will get it out to you asap!!!! Thanks everyone for commenting, and keep stopping by, as I will be giving away a few more copies over the coming weeks!

Okay, so I finally relented and hired a housecleaner. In NYC at least, they're de rigeur. Most moms have them, even if they have to scrape and scrimp to pay for them, because due to the tight confines of most apartments, they get dirty REALLY fast and REALLY easily. I know people who forgo date nights, dinners out and more just to pay for their housecleaner (I've heard it decreases the dirty-looks-from-hubby percentage as well). So anyway, we had our apartment "professionally" cleaned today for the first time, in ohhhhh a year? and let me tell you, it feels GOOD!!!! I don't have to clean tonight! i don't have to scrub the tub, do the laundry, or wash leftover dishes!!!! I am FREE, FREE I tell you!!!

Can you tell I'm psyched?  She did a good job, so I foresee her coming back again...soon....like tomorrow. I kid, I kid.

Can you believe Heath Ledger died? Unbelievable. He only lived a short way from our apartment, and I kind of felt like he was "our" celebrity....lived in Brooklyn with Michelle and his 2 year old (well, until recently)..didn't put on airs...hung out in the hood. I actually saw him just a couple of weeks ago in front of Fez (well, where the old Fez was, and is now some weird Pan-Asian restaurant) on Lafayette. Ugh. I feel so sad for Michelle and his daughter. I think it's because I have a son about the same age as her, so it hits home. 

In other vaguely Hollywood news, have you guys seen "Juno"? If you haven't, go. It's totally wonderful. That's my movie plug for the night. G'night.