Updates, Kits, Ornaments

Blogging just has not been my forte' this year. Which doesn't mean that I haven't been creative in some form or another; life has been very busy.

A few updates. I finally graduated from Arizona State. That took up a lot of my time from February to May. My son, Cassius, graduated Kindergarten and I enrolled him in summer school to help him retain all of his literacy skills. He worked so hard to catch up to CA standards after having transferring into Menlo Park schools mid-school year.  It was a big change for him because Montana's requirements were a little more relaxed for Kinders. He had a small break this month (July) but has now returned to his studies with a new teacher who tutors him for reading. His tutoring will last until school starts in September. So, as you can see, very busy.

Anyway, in between these busy moments, I have tried to squeeze in some crafting time with either layouts , altered projects, or sewing. I have come to the realization that I have too much crafting stuff that it is overwhelming and when I want to start a new project, I see all these endless possibilities and then get stuck and never start anything! So, I've decided to purge a lot of my things. It was hard to come to this decision because I think I'm a closet craft hoarder. I could probably prove this by taking a photo of my desk and closet.. but I won't because its really embarrassing (lol).

Anyway, I'm not sure how I'm going to go about this. I think I will first try to sell the kits via facebook and see how that goes for a week and then maybe moving everything to my etsy store. So, if you're not a friend on facebook, add me: www.facebook.com/celestewyrick

I'm also putting up for sale "custom" ornaments which were a favorite among some of my crafting friends awhile ago. These will likely follow suit w/ the scrapbook kits that I'm going to list. There is going to be A LOT of items up for grabs. My goal is to get my craft stash to at least 1/3 of what it currently is so I can have some sense of organization and the ability to complete more projects.

Sorry for all the grey matter (text) in this blog post. Give your eyes a break and check out some of the layouts I've completed since my last entry.

Glacier National Park: Lake Mary at sunset.

Kindergarten 2012 Valentine's layout.

Aria at Whitefish City Beach.

Newborn Aria, nicknamed Baby Miss.

Happiest day - Finding out we were officially pregnant (lol).

Cassius: Slaying monsters and taking names.

Thanks for stopping by!

32 Week Prenatal Appointment

I had my 32-week prenatal appointment today with my doctor here in Montana. She's so wonderful.

So far, things with this pregnancy are looking good. I gained four pounds since my last visit.. which I think is mostly a growth spurt on part of little miss in my tummy. She's moving around a lot and her heartbeat is still nice and strong. I didn't get the exact measurements but the bump is measuring just right.

The nurses took my vitals today and I am happy to say that there is no sign of high blood pressure and the rest of my vitals were good. Since I have a history if pre-eclampsia with my prior pregnancies, its important for me to keep on top of this stuff. Its scary sometimes because I'll freak out over any little thing. Like my dizzy spells this time around, which were later attributed to me inadvertently sleeping on my back. And the sometimes lower back pain or the sometimes upper stomach pain. But, I haven't had any swelling (yet) which is a good sign.

Before I get too gigantic, I will need to take another pregnancy bump photo. I picked up some cute ideas the last few weeks so I will be excited to share them once I get around to setting up my studio lights.

New Layout - I Spy

Its been a busy last couple of weeks.Work has had its obstacles and school has been a little more challenging with each assignment. I did, however, complete my art course. I had a lot of fun in that class and learned a lot about the more modern works, thanks to my professor. She added some information that she had written and substituted her knowledge with a few chapters in the textbook. I really admire that she included other pieces of information and discussed some of my other favorite photographers when teaching about new media.

In any case, I did get some free time and was able to create t his layout for Challenge #43 at SD4U. This is James and Cassius on the Queen Mary deck using a telescope to view Long Beach. It was a sunny day and the ocean breeze felt fantastic on deck.