Everyday Chatting & Waffling {2026} Let's get to know each other!

I've been in Dayton this past week and am just packing up my hotel room right now to head out on my drive back home. It's 11 hours, so I'm doing half today and half tomorrow. I like road trips to a point, but this long is a bit much for me, especially in big cities with lots of traffic. The trip was for my son so that he could go stay with a friend for a week, so I've been in the hotel by myself this entire time. It's felt extremely strange, and I realized that I've never in my life been alone for more than 2 days. I've been doing trying lots of different restaurants for fun. I miss my family. I also have a dog, Dexter, who is taking it hard. My kids at home said he's depressed, so I can't wait to get back to him. Poor guy.
 
Happy Sunday.
Welcome Adriana. I think your English is wonderful. I wouldn't be brave enough to try in another language.

We leave tomorrow for vacation. I hope to take a lot of photos and then have more to scrap. Of course granddaughter's dance and grandson's baseball still have many many photos left to put on pages and into books.

Have a wonderful week.
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Adriana, you did great! WOW, what a ride. Welcome, so glad you're here with us.
I just retired so I'm hoping to have more time to scrap and make cards. Digi is amazing. I've been scrapping for probably 40-ish years and I make cards to play with real paper and scrap digi to get the pages done quickly.
 
@AJsRandom: Ane, you are always so busy with school and family. I hope you take time for yourself, too. History of Popular Culture sounds so interesting. I wish we could all be there to see you walk in May. I feel as though we have been a part of your classes for such a long time, haha.

@breoni: Shana, I can't imagine dealing with the number of kids you deal with on an ongoing basis. Having dealt with my kids growing up, I would have a meltdown! Are the issues with your colleague sorted out, or is she still causing issues? Of course the office is freezing and the outside is roasting.

@dricamendes: Adriana, I have been loving your work. Your pages are such a treat to look at. You are a very gifted scrapper. I am looking forward to seeing loads of awesome pages :) I am so glad you are chatting with us!

@kelley: Kelley, life does get in the way of creativity. An eleven hour drive is a little long! I could fly to England in that amount of time. That was a lovely thing to do with your son. Poor Dexter!

@msbrad: Michi, I just want to say that your granddaughter's dance pages are so amazing to look at. I love them! She is so talented. I enjoy all your pages, but I have an affinity for dance that I don't have for sports, so the dance ones are easier to fall in love with! Her recital sounds complicated! I love puzzles, 1000 pieces sounds heavenly. I don't really have anywhere to work on one, so I haven't worked on any in quite a while. I am so glad you have graduated from physical therapy.

@IvoryKeys: Susan, congratulations on your 31st! It is lovely that the kids are stepping up to help with your mother. The trips sounds lovely though. I love waterfalls. My son lives in Ingleton, North Yorkshire (UK), which has 13 waterfalls on a trail close to his house. It is an amazing walk. My daughter is the plant person in our family. I have a certificate in horticulture from my early years. Sadly, these days I kill plants more often than raise them.

@Carla minicooper452 : Carla, your stories make me laugh

@honeybee: Melissa, I know about struggling to get a good night's sleep. The grandkids always crawl in with their parents, but when I stay over, they climb in with me. I have a single bed there, so it can be quite a struggle to get some space. I stay over Wednesday and Thursday nights every week. Scarlett always comes in with me. Steven says those are the only nights they get a good night's sleep. The picnic with your oncology center sounds like fun.
 
My life has been particularly complicated in recent months. Sometimes I don't know if I am coming or going. My life is a constant crazy whirlwind. I don't really know how to get off and chill. I did today, but it meant I didn't get a lot done I needed to get done! I am struggling.

At the beginning of May, I went to Branson, Missouri for the National Convention of the Daughters of the British Empire. It was a wonderful trip, but a lot of work.

That was followed by my State Board meeting, which was followed by my regular Chapter meeting of the DBE.

Following that, I had a Meet and Greet to entice new members. It was a wine and cheese event with lots of stuff to prepare.

Then I had the June Faire for the Daughters of the British Empire. I was co-chair for a tea where we served 100 people. I also had a booth where we sold crafts. It was a wonderful event, but I had a ton of stuff to craft. I created a design for the tea and heat pressed it on 12 aprons, then created designs for 50 T-shirts that required cutting vinyl, weeding it and heat pressing it. I did about 300 cards and a bunch of other stuff. We made $799 at the booth and $1500 at the tea. The money goes to support a Home for the Elderly. it is a lovely place. I wouldn't mind living there!!

Yesterday was another state board meeting and Tuesday is my Chapter meeting. Every single event has tons of work associated with it and I am exhausted.
 
Welcome Adriana !!! I remember your designs at Scraps N Pieces when they had their forum. Scrapbooking for me is theraputic and a great way to creatively express myself. So glad you are here with us.

So much has been going on, life has been like a whirlwind. But a good one.

The cancer center picnic was so nice ... I won at Bingo (a littel swag bag) and I won a door prize (a basket with a fluffy blanket, a candle, a search-a-word book, and an off brand-like Stanley cup). Food was great and any day I don't have to cook is a blessing.

My youngest son Nicolas (who is 26 and autistic/Aspbergers) is FINALLY getting services. The previous county we lived in did NOTHING for the 17 years we lived there. Since we have moved we have been flooded with help and opportunities for him. I am totally overwhelmed ... in a good way. My son has his limitations or even his own way of doing things (sometimes it requires 20 extra steps), but he gets there. He even says things in his own way ... he has been like that since he was a small boy. We always said you had to know the NICtionary to understand what he means. LOL !!!

Two of my grandkids are coming over for a sleepover this Saturday. My daughter said they have already started packing their suitcases. I did clarify this was only for ONE night right? LOL !!! Her hubby's workplace are treating them to a night on the Gateway Clipper in Downtown Pittsburgh for dinner and a float up and down the three rivers. They deserve a nice night out. Especially my daughter who is ALWAYS in Mom-Mode. This will be a nice break for her. And we just love having the grandbabies here ... life is never boring whenever they are around.

I was going to try and sneak some scrapbooking in this afternoon, but I have other creative projects I am working on; so I am going to focus on my website building for now.

Here's to a creative week !!!
 
Lynnie, it sounds like you are very busy but looking at the photos on the DBE website it looks like the meetings are worth every moment. How did you get involved with the DBE?

Adriana, scrapbooking for me fits in those moments when I need a break from all the busy. Templates are a tool that helps me get going quickly and gives me a base structure to build off of. I have seasons of life where scrapbooking doesn't happen at all and then seasons where I get to spend more time enjoying this creative outlet. I'm also a person that needs a variety of hobbies so I don't get bored.

Our trip was wonderful. I strangely went from being super brave and willing to hike in less than favorable conditions to having mini-freak out moments. I think by the 7th day I was just ready to be home. The last waterfall we saw was beautiful but I couldn't hike on around the loop/trail. It wasn't well marked and we had left the trekking poles in the vehicle since the trail map guide said it was an "easy" trail. Yeah, no. It was another bluff edge and I wasn't wearing my hiking shoes nor had the pole for stability help. My self-preservation radar was going haywire. We had already walked down to the bottom of the falls which was stunning and the park had made it "easy-ish" to get to, so we went back to the beginning/end of the loop and took the trail backwards to the bridge that went above the waterfall and called it done.

I have a few stories to share from our adventures/mis-adventures that I hope to get into layouts over the next few weeks. I'm meeting up with a friend for lunch in a little bit to catch up on life. Then it's home to stay out of the heat for the rest of the day.
 
@IvoryKeys: Susan, we moved to a retirement village of 18,000 people to encourage my 84 year old mother to retire in 2012. She finally retired at 90 :) We moved here for the clubs. They have over 250 clubs for older people. I was looking through the list and found the Daughters of the British Empire. It was founded in 1909, incorporated in 1920, and is a charitable (501(c)3) organization. I thought it would get her involved. Where she liked it and attended all the meetings, I was the one who became Regent of the local chapter, and eventually on the State board and national committees. It is a true sisterhood of women of British or Commonwealth birth or ancestry. There are 56 commonwealth countries, so you can imagine it appeals to all kinds of people.

Your hikes do sound as though they got more stressful. I used to walk a lot, but my friend moved, so I stopped walking. I miss her and I miss the walks, but it just isn't the same..

@honeybee: Melissa, I am so glad you had a great time at the picnic. I get to do sleepovers with the grands at THEIR house, so no packing necessary for them, haha.

@dricamendes: Adriana, I fit my scrapping between things - it is amazing what you can get done in an hour or two here and there. I took a break last month from challlenges since I had a particularly busy month, but I am back working again. It has been a hectic beginning to June, but it should let up next week. (I say every week!)
 
Hello, everyone! I am back! @kelley I was also in Dayton (well, mostly Fairborn) for the weekend. We went to the annual air show and spent time with the kids and grandkids. If I'd known you were there, we could have met up for lunch or something, darn!

We had a great time, and, as always, it was too short a trip. I got the usual sunburn I get at air shows, but enjoyed it anyway. Lots of cool things to see and do which I have seen and done before, so I parked myself in a spot and read a book I brought along. I did look when the planes flew though, and wore earplugs. But playing with the grandkids was the best. <3
 
AJsRandom said:
Hello, everyone! I am back! @kelley I was also in Dayton (well, mostly Fairborn) for the weekend. We went to the annual air show and spent time with the kids and grandkids. If I'd known you were there, we could have met up for lunch or something, darn!

We had a great time, and, as always, it was too short a trip. I got the usual sunburn I get at air shows, but enjoyed it anyway. Lots of cool things to see and do which I have seen and done before, so I parked myself in a spot and read a book I brought along. I did look when the planes flew though, and wore earplugs. But playing with the grandkids was the best. <3
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Oh wow!! I didn't go to the air show, but did think about it! Instead I just stayed in my hotel room and scrapped haha. Dayton traffic does stress me out a bit, being from north Iowa where there is really not much going on. Maybe next time I'll have to share my travel plans earlier! I've always thought it would be so wonderful to meet a scrapping friend IRL (it's never happened to me before)!
 
Lynnie… the kids were outstanding and we had such a good Youth Tour. The group text is still very active and life-long friendships have been made. One of my chaperones was a stellar photographer and I can’t wait to scrap some of her photos. And yes, the troublesome coworker has ramped up her poor behavior. It was nice to be out of the office for a week, away from toxic coworkers and surrounded by student leaders who soaked up every opportunity I presented to them. <3 Of course, today is my first day back. But I plan to have a "clean up" day. My office is currently full of all the leftover "stuff" after a trip like that, so it all needs to be sorted and put away, thank yous need to be written, receipts need to be tallied and turned in, etc. So that should make today go by quickly.

Adriana… despite hectic schedules, I do try to schedule scrapbooking time every week as a reward to myself. Usually it’s on the weekends in the early mornings when I’m the only one awake and have some quiet time.
 
I try to set aside time for Scrapboking on early Saturday mornings when I have some time to myself. I do have open times in the evenings but sometimes my hubby gets me interested in what he is watching on TV, so I don't go back upstairs to my office to be creative.

Hubby now has me addicted to watching the show "Squatters". I think it is on A&E. It's just crazy though what some of these people do.

The sleepover with the grandkids was awesome --- we had a blast. There was a Toy Story Marathon on so that was fun. I brought them up a tray of snacks, etc while watching TV ... made them soft cozy beds and they were both zonked out pretty quick. Not sure if I am ready for all 6 grandchildren at one time ... my oldest son has 4 kids 12, 10, and two 4 year old twins. I'm already feeling crazy some days .... I don't need help. LOL !!!

It has been a very busy and eye-opening week for me. I finally realized after the Stanford University study came out about how AI ATS resume screeners are ruining the job application process ..... the problem is not me; it is the system. Long and short of it this study says that these AI screeners assign you a number based on your resume. That number sticks with you fro 330 days. No matter what other jobs you apply for or how many times you modify your resume per job application. Many big companies all use the same AI screener.

So now I am looking for other creative ways to get my resume in front of someone's eyes and not just their email. Without having to go physically to a location and handing them one (which by the way some companies can charge you will soliciting for doing so). It's crazy !!!

I did apply for a job today with my local newspaper. They are hiring a graphic designer. I have been working as a graphic designer in different print shops, freelance, and other companies since 2004. I have an associates in graphic design & web. I am just keeping my fingers crossed .... and the office is so close to where I live I could walk to work if I had to. Which would be a great thing because I need the exercise.

I made the choice two weeks ago to go off of all my medications even the one they suggested I stay on for 7 years. I have already had a reoccurance 8 months from the first cancer diagnosis. There is only a 1% difference so I decided to not suffer the side effects anymore. And I feel fantastic. This is the most normal I have felt in a very long time. And my sleep .... after a 3mg melatonin I am out like a rock. I get up every monring at 7 am ready for the day.

I'll try to pop in sooner so my catch up post isn't so long. LOL !!!
 
Good luck with the job hunt, Melissa. And thinking of you with your health challenges. When my mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer (she was already a stage 4 when diagnosed), she did every treatment and medication available. However, it was one of the treatments (radiation) that ended up causing so much damage to her organs, and that is how we lost her. Hind sight is always 20/20, but had she not done the treatments, she would have had a higher quality of life at the end. So having watched her struggles, I completely understand when people opt to not load up on all the meds and take all the treatments. Every single one of us has our own journey and we have to make the choices that are best for us.
 
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