don’t leave your destiny to chance, what are you waiting for…
you’ve got to find a way, say what you want to say… breakout!
there’s no one but you on my mind, searching for the perfect ending that we’ll never find
if we could make it work this time, there’d be no sense in asking why…
make up your mind while there’s still time to turn around
fooled by a smile: you’ll regret, won’t forget what you’ve left behind
i’m the one you hurt and i’m the one you need
i’m the one who cried and i’m the one you used to meet
but you are pretending you don’t care but the fire is still there…
you ever stop and wonder what it is you’re searching for?
you pushed your luck too far with me but if you push it any further, you won’t have any…
in this world, nothing lasts forever (was it you who changed or me?)
should we go our separate ways or stay together?
i’m notgonnachange… if you walk away, there’s no turning back now
if you should ever change your mind, i’ll be there just call my name
until then i’ll be playing the waiting game
La la la la…
PS. I can’t even remember who sent the email where this came from, but i thought it was a hilarious visual on the basic difference between a man and a woman:
I kinda think more buttons = more interesting and fun, don’t you?
Some days just turn out to be serendipitously happy ones, for no particular reason except that … it’s a happy day!
Am celebrating it with this song!
And this!
And this!
And this!
Dance with me?
Today’s Funny
As my son J and I were riding home from school today, he was (as usual) telling me about his day in school. Our discussion revolved around a classmate who probably had a bad day and ended up dealing a few punches and a kick to my son. (Ah, boys!)
So naturally, mama took the opportunity to talk about the importance of using words, not hands or feet, to express oneself.
Me: Maybe you can tell your friend to use words next time he’s upset. Only babies use their hands and feet because they don’t have words to express themselves. Grown-ups use words.
J: I know, Mama! I used words today! (said proudly)
Me: Really?
J: Yes. Someone told me “Hey, you, poopy-head!” So I said, “Hey… you! Back at you… poopies!”
ROFL. I think this kind of boy-talk I can tolerate.
Today’s Freebie!
And because it’s a happy day for me, and happiness is meant to be shared, here’s a freebie for you!
This large (approximately 6×8 inches) grungy frame brush can easily be resized if you need a smaller frame. It comes in .abr format and .png format (so if you use a program other than Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, you can still use the frame! Yay!)
Preview Stock Photo Credit: Ayla87 at stock.xchng
{ Click on image to download. Please see Terms of Use included in zip file. }
Here’s how I used my frame on one of our class projects done for my dear friend Jessica’s awesome Photo-Editing 2 course at jessicasprague.com!
Spraground Shoppe: My Newest Baby
I’ve got a new product up in our shoppe! YAY!
(Image is linked to the Spraground Shoppe. Click on it and find yourself in our awesome Spraground candy store! )
My Storyboard Album Template Pack will help you create your own album with a graphic, storyboard look in a jiffy! It comes with twenty-one 12×12 layered templates (in .psd format), including a title page (with optional text path included), filler template pages which work well if you use them side by side in order (or you can also jumble them up and mix and match them), and a special template page for the last page of your album. I’ve included text boxes and text paths which you can use as is, or you can also opt to replace these with your own.
Because the Storyboard Album Template Pack is done in graphic style, you can use it for virtually any album theme you want! Use clipping masks in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to clip your own papers and photos of choice. You can choose to use all the masks for photos, or if you’d rather clip patterned paper on some of the masks, that’s totally fine too! Add a bunch of your embellishments if that’s the look you want, or use just a few if you prefer the clean and simple, minimalist look. Don’t you just love all the freedom you have at your fingertips?
Best of all, you can use it again and again for as many albums as you wish to make!
And… that’s it for today, folks! It’s back to the drawing board to create more stuff for you!
Oh my. I finally gave in and tried out Stumble. Man, can it really eat your time. I feel like a kid in a virtual museum, oohing and aahing at everything around me… except this time, when I get bored, I don’t even have to shuffle my feet as I walk to the next exhibit room… all I have to do is hit the Stumble button and I’m in another world! How awesome is that!
Given my love for photos and words, it’s no surprise I suppose that some of the sites that amazed me most were those that combined photos and text… and not only were these visually interesting, I also thought that the messages in them were brave, raw, insightful, deep. (I know I probably would not have the courage to lay the contents of my heart out in the open the way others do, so I appreciate their courage to speak out, and I wonder if they realize that in doing so, they have given voice to the secrets that lie within the hearts of many others who may not be as brave as they are).
Here’s just some of the amazing stuff I found here at littlemiss and icanread and some other places that I can’t even recall anymore (lol!):
Funny how one word can say so much:
(and okay, maybe i’m biased because the letters make up my name, hehe)
Sometimes, the power in the words is so great that text alone is enough:
And other times, the image alone is enough to send a message:
Then again, sometimes having a bit of illustration adds to the appeal:
And then there are images, like this one, that quietly give hope to those who need it:
This one, I especially love (plus you just gotta love the way that font works perfectly with the image):
and speaking of music, here’s a sampling of what’s on my itunes “most played” playlist this week:
Eyeszzzzzzzzz closzzzzzzzzzzzing… enjoy the music while I go meet McDreamy (right, in my dreams! ) Good night! Will be back soon!
So while celebrating our Birthday Bash (2 years old, yay!) at the Spraground, my dear friend Jessica Sprague the Digital Scrapbooking Queen (giggle) * challenged us to recall our digital scrapbooking journey, and knowing how I sometimes get so excited with trips that I travel way past the end of the road, guess where this reminiscing journey took me?
All the way back to the days (and songs) of my childhood!
Enjoy!
My favorite, favorite, F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E song of all time!
Break out the fruit shakes and spread the beach blankies!
This one somehow seems to be forever tied to an image of my eldest brother in his pageboy haircut.
And this one is linked to an image of my sister in her straight long hair.
This song… oh man, what memories.
Can’t help singing along with this one, to this day!
What would the seventies be without Rupert Holmes?
Two of my favorite things in life: laughter and rain.
Don’t think I’ll ever stop loving this song:
Oh yeah. But Warren Beatty, I thought you had every right to be vain.
I have a special affection for the piano and believe that no home of mine would be complete without it (having had a childhood where the piano was often the center of impromptu sibling singing, very much Waltons-style ). I think pianos are great therapists (Feeling happy? Let your fingers play on the keys! Feeling angry? Let your fingers bang on them… just not too strongly, haha!)
But guitars! Guitars, I love because they remind me of my brothers. Guitars bring back such fond memories.
My eldest brother would play the guitar most afternoons in his teenage years, and girls would swoon. I can still recall very clearly the time that he had to perform in front of a crowd, and to everyone’s surprise, he played with his back turned on the audience (I think stage fright is genetic).
My other brother, 2 years older than me, played lead guitar in a band that toured (yep, they made it to the US too, haha!) back in his teenage years as well. He used to compose songs that I loved because they were so real. I may be in the minority, but I used to think it was so cool when he’d play his electric guitar in his room (I don’t think our dad shared my point of view. And now that I’m a parent myself, I’m thinking I’m probably blessed that my sons play the piano instead of the electric guitar. ).
My youngest brother played the bass in three different bands before he grew up and joined the workforce. He’s amazing with the bass too. Ahem. Maybe stage fright afflicts only the eldest boy and the youngest girl (me)?
Ah. Guitars and boys.
And swooning girls. (Count me in this latter group).
So. It was with delight that I spent the afternoon listening to these while multitasking on … schtuff. More on that soon. But for now… ear-candy time!
Love the last lines of this song… and the guitar picking (did I just invent that word? ) is awesome.
Nothing beats a great beat… and amazing fingers. This Andy dude is amazing.
Every guitar lover knows the Boss. (This song was one of my favorites to play while driving long distance. Hot!)
Newton Faulkner. Introduced to me by my 16-year-old son. Cool dude.
And of course, this post cannot end without the coolest pairing of all: Bono and the Boss.
Happy strummin’ along, sweeties! It’s back to the salt mines for me!
On my list of favorites in life, few things are more romantic than sitting by my window pane (fingers on my keyboard, of course ) and watching rain fall while listening to really cool music.
It’s raining now. Yum! Sit with me and enjoy?
I think part of what makes rain so mysterious to me is that it reminds me of tears.
Ever wonder how one thing is always so closely related to its opposite?
Another mystery, with all the secrets it keeps: night.
Bliss!
And my longest-favorite song (from way back when I was 3 years old and Michel Legrand’s version played on my dad’s …uh, what do you call those things that have huge wheels and tape? )
I love this version more (and watching Pierce Brosnan makes it even more delish! Mmmmmmm )
I was chatting with a good friend of mine, and the topic of multitasking came up (possibly due to the fact that it’s my constant status message on gmail when I’m online ). My friend said that the constant shifting of tasks involves more mobilization time and therefore less efficiency (to which I replied, “Think young, my friend.” )
Because one can only defend something that one knows completely, I did a little research (care of my good friend, Google). Wikipedia told me that multitasking refers to any of the following:
Computer multitasking – the apparent simultaneous performance of two or more tasks by a computer’s central processing unit
Media multitasking – could involve using a computer, mp3, or any other multimedia in conjunction with another
Human multitasking – the ability of a person to perform more than one task at a time
Me? I have two simple definitions for multitasking:
multiּtaskּing (noun):
the state of having more than 10 Firefox tabs open at any one time
a way of life, specifically, mine
It is not a strange thing for me to have 10 Firefox tabs open while I work, and I have often found myself in situations where I have to give instructions to someone while walking, or take down a message while cradling a phone in my ear and listening to the person on the other end of the line speak… in fact, I think many moms manage to get their mommy-jobs done through the sheer ability to multitask!
So I stand in defense of the awesome stuff one can accomplish while multitasking.
But then, because I like to ponder on things, I ended up thinking about it some more.
I thought about how multitasking is something that comes really easy to the young (and restless?). You know how they say you understand things better if you put yourself in someone else’s shoes? Well, I decided to put myself in the hypothetical multitasking shoes of one of my teenage sons. Say, my mom was in the middle of explaining to me why the performance of my chores is of ultimate benefit of not only the people that I live with but myself as well… can I possibly tell her that I can pay attention to her worthy advice and simultaneously tap my toes and fingers in time to the tunes playing on my iTouch? Could I argue this case successfully in the Multitasking court and stand a chance of winning if the jury was made up of moms and dads?
No. I didn’t think so either.
Then again (says the devil’s advocate sitting on my shoulder), maybe multitasking doesn’t work only when it involves using one sense in several activities (After all, how can you concentrate on listening to two things at the same time if you only have one pair of ears?) but it can actually work if you’re using two or more different senses? Case in point: consider all those experts who profess that studying with classical music playing in the background is of ultimate benefit to students. Surely that would make a pretty good case in favor of multitasking?
Hmmm. Good point.
But see, as I write this, I’ve got two little boys jumping on the bed and another teenage boy listening to loud music, and I find that I have to pause and collect my thoughts because they’re running away from me! I can’t concentrate!
What were we talking about?
Right. Multitasking.
So. Do I defend multitasking?
Let’s see. I know I can’t dig deep into my brain and produce great fruits if my mind is traveling elsewhere. (Multitasking naysayers: 1pt.)
I can shift from tab to Firefox tab with great efficiency and negligible time lag, and with no detriment to the work I do on each tab. ( Multitasking ayesayers: 1 pt.)
I know I can’t pray unless I’m in a really quiet place and I shut down all the rest of my senses. (Multitasking? Nah!: 1 pt.)
I know I can move my fingers and my mouth at the same time when I pray the Rosary. (Multitasking: Yes!: 1 pt.)
I know I can’t write and edit articles if music, especially music that I love, is playing in the background: I’m likely to sing more and write less (and let me tell you, that’s not a pretty sight). (No to Multitasking: 1 pt. But this discussion is getting to be incriminating. LOL!)
I can download multiple goodies at the same time! That’s the whole reason for DSL right? (Yes to Multitasking: 1 pt.)
I could go on and on, but let’s cut it short with this: I admit I am tempted now to add certain qualifications to my YEA vote. Within certain boundaries, yes, multitasking works. But not when the activity at hand requires high levels of concentration or involves any kind of interaction with a loved one. (So if any husbands are reading this, which is highly unlikely anyway , no, you cannot employ me as your defense lawyer when your wife complains that you’re not listening to her fully).
So… does multitasking make one more efficient, or less? What do you think?
Let’s ponder further the answer to that while we listen to this. HAHAHAHA!
Confession: I really just wanted you to listen to this great song, whatever it is you’re doing right now. hehehe. More exciting news coming up soon!
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I was chatting with a good friend of mine, and the topic of multitasking came up (possibly due to the fact that it’s my constant status message on gmail when I’m online 
