iPhone Ap (The Bible)

I haven't really tested many of the Bible applications, but I've heard others that say they have tested them indicate that they liked this one the best and it happened to be the free one I had already downloaded.

I find myself using it more and more on my iPhone.

They now have an online version too, although I must say I'm having difficulty staying logged in, as well as having my phone work in conjunction with the website, but I am hoping that over time it will get better as the programers are still working to keep up with the demand of the site. I have tried tagging and other things, but the site seems to just churn and never respond to my requests. At least I can read okay.

You can find the online version at http://www.youversion.com/ and you can find and become my friend there at http://www.youversion.com/users/Hummie . It's a little like any place --useless unless you have friends to make the site come alive for you. So come and be my friend!

There are even groups that can be made and joined.




When I open the application, it goes immediately to the last place where I was reading.
Note the blue arrow in the upper right side. I love that option! Click on it and . . .



. . . you get a screen to scroll through with many various transaltions, including every language you can think of! I like studying a verse and quickly seeing the various translations of that verse.



I find myself turning to my phone during Bible studies, rather than my own Bible because it is so quick to find all those verses that are being looked up. Just click on the second tab at the bottom for "search," type in the verse, and it immediately goes straight to that verse.



The third tab at the bottom is "reading plans" and there are many choices for reading plans to choose from to encourage yourself to read regularly.



The fourth tab is for "live" and I've occassional seen some show up there, but often there is nothing there. I still have to learn more about that, but I do believe that there are churches that utilize this application during worship through that feature.

The last tab is "more." This is where you can find any verses that you've bookmarked; go directly to a verse by first choosing the book, then the chapter, etc.; read information and find websites for the contributors; change settings, and share.



This is a shot of the settings page. I LOVE that I can make the text so large! This is another reason I continue to read on my phone as my eyes are getting worse and I can actually see this itty bitty phone text better than my real Bible. Go figure that!



If you tap down on a verse in the reading pane to highlight the verse, this page pops up. You can tweet the verse by entering your ID and password, e-mail it, or bookmark the verse. However, I like to click on "view contribs" as you can read commentaries about the verse.



This is a screen shot of the many commentaries for available for the verse (John 2) that I happened to be on when grabbing these screen shots.



On the settings page, there is hidden an option to download offline versions. When reading, you are always accessing the internet, so having the ability to read when not online may be important and speed up the page loading.

They Missed Him!

They were looking for a lion,
He came as a Lamb, and they missed Him.

They were looking for a warrior,
He came as a Peacemaker, and they missed Him.

They were looking for a king,
He came as a Servant, and they missed Him.

They were looking for liberation from Rome,
He submitted to the Roman stake, and they missed Him.

They were looking for a fit to their mold,
He was the mould maker, and they missed Him.

What are you looking for? Lion? Warrior? King? Liberator?

They were looking for their temporal needs to be met,
He came to meet their eternal need, and they missed Him.

He came as a Lamb to be sacrificed for your sin
Will you miss Him?

He came to make peace between God and man.
Will you miss Him?

He came to model servant hood for all mankind.
Will you miss Him?

He came that we might have true liberty.
Will you miss Him?

He came to give you eternal life.
Will you miss Him?

When we submit to the Lamb, we will meet the Lion.
Join with the Peacemaker, and we will meet the Warrior.

Work with the Servant, and we will meet the King.
Walk with the Submitted, and we will meet the Liberator.

Concern ourselves with the eternal, and we will have the temporal.

If Jesus is not fitting into the mold you have, then come to the mould maker and get a new one.

Submit to His plan for your life and you will see the eternal need met first; then all the other things you have need of will be taken care of as well.

Author unknown

Photoshop Elements Quick Tip - Alt Visible

Originally posted: 4/19/08

See what happens when you use the alt key on the visibility eye!

Now how cool is this!

NEW! Gallery Hide and Seek Game

We have several new things coming here at Hummie's World for you in the next few days! We are excited about them. This new Gallery Hide and Seek Game that Dawn has arranged is a win/win for all!

Here's what Dawn has to say:
Do you like to play those popular seek and find games on the computer? They are all the rage these days. I remember back when I was a kid that Hide and Go Seek was popular- and it still is! I guess there is something about hunting to find that "treasure."

So- why not use that in scrapland? I got to thinking about it and thought that it would be fun to have a gallery hide and seek game!

The rules are simple. You are given clues and a specific month to look in and off you go to find the layout that matches the clue!

I am excited to announce that this will be a monthly game here at Hummie's World! Beginning Monday, February 1st, you will see more of what I am telling you, but for now, just know that lots of FUN is headed your way! And at the same time, you'll be commenting in the gallery, which leaves warm fuzzies for the layout creator! A win all around!!

Looking forward to seeing YOU participate in the Hummie's World version of Hide and Seek!!

*************
So, the details that will be forthcoming in the next day or so as we get this set up include a preview of the prize kit you will be able to earn, as well as a forum icon in your signature line that you can earn for each month you participate.

In addition to this blog, you can watch for information in the new thread area.

Here are a few videos that Dawn prepared to help those participating to utilize the forums and the gallery.

This video shows you how you will be able to find all those old layouts, plus some other great tips.



This video is something that we encourage all those active in the forum to utilize. How do you know what is going on in the forum? How do you find all those new posts? How do you find topics of interest?



This is a video that extends the know-how for linking from the forum to the gallery in Internet Explorer.

Nothing is Ours

Nothing is ours, but all is God's. Never question the way God takes something back that he has given you, but accept that it was never yours - just lent to you by him.

iPhone ap for Twitter (Tweetie)

Yesterday I began to blog about my favorite iPhone aps and highlighted the Flickr ap. I shared how I use Flickr in conjunction with a twitter application. With this post, I want to share with you Tweetie. Mobile Fotos and Tweetie are probably my two most used applications on my iPhone and two of the very few aps that I have paid for, but the cost was well worth it.




Tweetie allows me to choose more than one Twitter account. I have two which I access, the one you are all familiar with and one for my church.




Scrolling downward with my finger to read all of my tweets is quite easy to do. On this screenshot, you can see the other available tabs at the bottom of the screen.



On the second tab, I can quickly read the @ (at) replies of people talking with me. The third tab allows me to read direct private messages. I can click on any person's account name on a message and be taken to that person's account to view all of their followers, who they are following, all of their recent tweets, and much more.

Clicking on links opens up the Safari browser built into the iPhone.

The fourth tab is for viewing and tweets which you have marked as favorites.



The fifth tab is the "more" tab. I like to find tweets from those nearby me and also check out the trending topics from this tab. This is also where you can find the search option, including saving your searches. In this screenshot, "lutheran" is a saved search.

The square with pen icon on the top right brings up the compose box where you can type a tweet. In addition, you will find retweeting very easy to do.

Currently, I cannot access the new "lists" on Twitter, but I would not doubt the developers are working on those updates. In addition, it is not easy to mention many people in one post with the @ symbol unless you can remember their screen names easy.



I do have the free Tweetdeck ap on my phone, but I can honestly say that Tweetie has always done what I needed it to do and I never really found the time to explore Tweetdeck. I did install the full version on my computer once and checked it out, but it seemed to run RAM heavy. I understand that the desktop Tweetdeck and the ap Tweetdeck access the same account so that your setup carries over from one to the other. I cannot tell you all that it does, but I do understand that it is the other popular option. One of my biggest problems with Tweetdeck is the small print.

I am certain there are a lot of other applications out there, but I am sharing with you mainly what I utilize the most.

Leave us your comments and share what Twitter ap you utilize, whether for an iPhone or an Android phone.

I Know Who I Am

I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt. 5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31-34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Co r. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10 )
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col. 1:14).
I have been adopted as Gods child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know who you are!?

The Maxi! -- Oh, the Potty Mouth Giggles!

We seem to be on a roll lately, first on my blog, and then in the online world, about silly little topics that you might see 5 year olds giggling about because they are "potty" themed. It's good to stay young, isn't it?

The timing of things is cracking me up!

I was sitting on the toilet at work where there is absolutely no reading materials other than the feminine pad boxes. I glanced at the box and it hit me. I'm not sure if I'm weird for laughing at such a thing, but seriously, who chooses the wording for marketing purposes ?

The instructions refer to placing the pads on "panties." Oh wait! And I've been calling them "underwear" all this time! Now WHAT was I thinking! (psst...new to my blog? do a search and read all my posts about underwear and you'll soon be laughing along with us in the forum too.)

So, I suppose it's not marketability to say the word "underwear." What did they do? Did they test a bunch of woman to determine that "panties" was the choice word?

Are the majority of women "girlish" enough to prefer using the word "panties" over "underwear?"



It makes me want to do this and act as a male clothing designer. (ooops....that's gonna get me in trouble...shhh....I didn't say that!)

I'm sorry, but I'm just not the "fluff" kind of woman to wear "panties." I'm just not that delicate. How can I be delicate when I'm a work'n kind of woman trying to raise teen sons!

Next, the instructions tell me not to flush the "napkin" down the toilet. So, when did we start calling feminine pads "napkins." A napkin is something that is placed on my lap and used to clean food drippings off my face. I'm not sure I would ever think about placing a "napkin" in my underwear -- ooops, I mean "panties."

So, right after I took the above photo yesterday, I saw the trending topic on Twitter was "#thoughtsonthetoilet." Seriously! I immediately cracked up! What timing was that! Um, yeah, my thoughts on the toilet are about "panties" and "napkins."

Do you ever wonder why such coincidences happen?

So, I didn't have time to blog about it until now, although I uploaded the photo yesterday.

Then tonight what more happens? More "potty mouth" giggles! Apparently all of the world is currently staying young with the humor of the taboo "potty talk."

Apple released its new iPad today (read about it here on official Apple site) and it didn't take long for Twitter to evolve into a great deposit of humor.

People began tweeting that Apple had overdone the "i" name theme and should have used "MacPad."

It didn't take long before people began seeing "MaxiPad" when quickly glancing at "MacPad," turning us right back into my topic from yesterday with my photo of a maxipad box that I had taken, thoughts on the toilet, and rolls of jokes therefrom.

Here are some of the jokes that I found. Try not to laugh too hard!

What do you call the 64GB iPad? A maxiPad! •snicker• u know for days with heavy data flow

Apple has created a device to facilitate the flow of Media, #iPad for regular flow, and #MaxiPad for heavy flow. ROTFL!

No wings but is to help w/iCramps. Just need suggested amount of iBuprofen.

It gets worse... the one with the bigger hard drive will be the MaxiPad. ROFL

ipad, maxipad -- the bleeding edge of technology, stops the flow of cheap netbooks seen in this last period. ha ha ha!

the larger version is the MAXiPad. It only works every 28 days. rotfl Anyone laughing with me!

I wonder what the discharge rates will be?

New from Apple! The MaxiPad! It can handle lots of work flow for a longer period of time.

Any word if it will come both scented and non scented?

There is a docking station, I think they call it "wings."

Shouldn't it be re-labled as "software" at that point?

Most of the time it will work well, but it gets pretty temperamental for about 5 days each month.


And from my hubby:
iPad in Spanish is Padawan -- or a jedi knight in training -- they both help you learn

iPad-able, youPad-able, everyonePad-able - Shall we meet at your iPad or my iPad or her maxiPad?

To top off the laughs, I was telling my 19 year old son about these MaxiPad jokes on Twitter and realized he didn't know what a maxipad was! He asked me, "Is that some sort of business word?" Well, uh, yeah, depending on what business you are doing! rotfl Oh, I guess my three sons never benefited from having a sister and may be a bit naive. Oh, what their future wives have in store for them! They won't like me for not teaching these boys well enough.

So, will this WEIRD, kind of creepy, trend of potty talk continue? Do you ever wonder if coincidences are someone trying to tell you something? I cannot imagine what this message of coincidences is supposed to mean to me, but the irony of it is making me wince!

Okay, have at it...leave me those comments! You know you want to!

Scrapping is Leading by Example Long After We are Gone

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.
~Clarence Budington Kelland


I found the above quote and thought it thought-provoking as it applies to scrapping ourselves. It makes me think of that saying, "Lead by example."

I know my children do not listen to me, but they watch everything I do and that speaks louder than anything I can say.

Scrapping about ourselves is a way of showing what we have done as an example to anyone of our descendants in the future who might pick up our scrapbook pages, even long after we are gone.

Scrapbooking about ourselves is a way to lead by example forever. What examples are you leaving behind in your layouts?

We welcome you to join the Book of Me class at Hummie's World. It is open to all, even non-paying members, and you can use any products.

This Too Shall Pass

If we can endure for this minute
All that is happening which we see,
No matter how heavy our heart is
Or how dark the moment may be-

If we can remain calm and quiet
With all the world crashing about,
Secure in the knowledge God loves
When everyone else seems to doubt -

If we can but keep on believing
What we know in our heart to be true,
That darkness will fade with the morning
And that this will pass away, too-

Then nothing in life can defeat us
For as long as this knowledge remains
We can suffer whatever is happening
For we know love will break all of the chains

Helen Steiner Rice

Flickr for iPhone

I have been wanting to do this blog post series for a while now, but there is no time like the present to get started!

I am going to be sharing some of my favorite iPhone applications with you, starting with the most used and moving down.

When I first started with Twitter, I considered the any options for sharing photos on Twitter, including TwitPics. However, I just do not like the idea of having my photos all over the internet. I like them all together where I can manage them and remember where they are at! I decided that I would continue using Flickr to tweet images.

Flickr's application is called "Mobile Fotos" and I use it all the time two Tweet photos.

In addition, I can use it as hosting for my blog. For instance, these images were uploaded from my phone and now can easily be embedded in this blog post. (just don't pay attention to the fact that I was up at 12:19 a.m.!)



The application is easy to use. I can click on the "upload" button, navigate to my photos ap, choose my photo, type a quick text about the photo, and upload. Thereafter, I click on "You" which takes me to my photos on Flickr and the newest one at the top is the photo just uploaded.



My "Mobile Fotos" is linked to my Tweetie ap (next ap I will show you). I can easily click and it brings up Tweetie automatically linked to my photo, along with the text I typed when uploading, so I do not have to retype the text. I can add more text if I want or edit the text before sending.

I really do not use many of the other features, but mostly because I do not have the time to do so. Contacts takes me to my Flickr friends where I can browse their photos. Groups takes me to my groups where I can browse the photos in my groups. In addition, I can comment on the photos. Explore allows me to surf for cool photos suggested by Flickr. Nearby finds photos uploaded near my location. Search, of course, allows me to search by topic word.

I can add a photo to my favorites or save the photo to my camera. However, I did find that I could not request friends through the application, nor e-mail them, unless I just missed that. In the alternative, I could favorite the photo and then contact the person once I get to my main computer.

Please leave a comment and share how you upload photos from your phone.

It's a Jungle Out There

As a child I remember the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland. As a youngster, I thought the alligators, hippos, and other animals are real and that it was a good the guide had a gun to be able to scare them off. I was glad the man with the microphone was there to explain what was happening and that we need not fear.

Forty plus years into life in this world, the reality is that it is a jungle out there with many real dangers and snares. Many curves we cannot see around. Countless dangers lurking under the surface. And I am still glad for the tour guide that has passed through these waters before and helps calm us as we make the journey. No, the Lord does not have a microphone to explain the events and dangers, but it is He who chose to be in the boat with us so we need not fear.

For Christ's glory,

Troy
Kartoon Nuggets

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY TO SCRAPBOOK-BYTES

I was so excited today when I realized that it was SBB's 7th birthday! Why am I excited? It is my understanding that Scrapbook-Bytes is the first digital scrapbooking site in digi-history! What does this really mean? It means that digital scrapbooking is also 7 years old!

I know that when I first started scrapping, I found myself reading many of the tutorials available there. Of course, there is always so much to learn and, although I am teaching now at my site, I must say that I will never feel as if I have learned it all. That is what makes this hobby so great for me.

Over the years, I have come to know a great many of the designers through this site, all who have impacted my scrapping in some small way.

We have all seen SO many stores come and go over the years that I think it is something special that the first ever store is still running strong.

I encourage you to head over to the forum and do a few of their challenges in celebration. I am trying to do a few myself. Of course, don't forget the sales! We want to make sure the first store ever stays strong! I won a free kit at a chat and purchased one kit myself.



I asked Amy Edwards, the owner of Scrapbook-bytes, to share a little bit of the history of SBB. She has had a great influence in digital scrapbooking and I want to take a moment to thank her for what she has contributed to this digi-community as a whole.

Read and enjoy!

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY TO SCRAPBOOK-BYTES:

(officially on January 25, 2010)

This weekend kicks off the 7th Birthday of Scrapbook-Bytes (January 22-24th)! Founded in 2003 – digital scrapbooking has certainly grown TONS since then!

I am a mother of two beautiful girls; aged 13 and 9 – and my husband of almost 14 years as well. We live in a tiny little town and prior to the existence of Scrapbook-Bytes; I was an avid Paint Shop Pro junkie and web designer. Working to stay at home with my children. I was always an avid traditional scrapbooker; but with the birth of my second child I had a much harder time keeping up with my pages. It was so difficult for me to get my supplies out and actually complete a page only to pack it all up again – you see I used the dining room table so frequently either was asked that on-going “Are you almost done –where do we eat”… or it my supplied and current page I was working on would lay on the table for days on end. Untouched.

I had seen a few GREAT photo montage layouts created at the Two Peas in a Bucket gallery. One day in some downtime between web design jobs – I decided to give this “digital scrapbooking” a whirl. After all I was pretty versed in Paint Shop Pro already – how hard could it be? Now mind you – there were not designers making kits and items for us at the time; it was scan it on your own – or figure out how to make it if you wanted it on your page! [wow digital has really evolved hasn’t it!!!???] I instantly fell in love with this type of scrapbooking! At the time my youngest (now 9) had just turned 2 and was constantly getting into all my scrap supplies when I left them out to “get back to”. This was perfect for me! No mess, no gathering my supplies and best of all – NO MORE leaving my page and the supplies laying around! I remember my first ever published page – in Making Memories magazine – was nearly fully comprised of scanned Autumn Leaves paper that was from my regular digital scrapbooking supplies b/c I loved their patterns/papers so much!



(my first ever published page; Making Memories; 2004)

Scrapbook-Bytes evolved when, gasp – believe it or now; digi was not quite viewed as “real scrapbooking” by traditional scrapbookers. I felt compelled to create a place where digital scrapbookers could all “meet and learn” together and not feel lost – a place they could openly post and share their digital layouts. Scrapbook-Bytes took off from there! Evolving into an active community of members; sharing and giving input, how-to’s and more! The store at Scrapbook-Bytes is still going strong and has shared in the success of so many GREAT digital designers out there today (some who have sold with us or worked with Scrapbook-Bytes in the past): Jen Wilson, Vera Lim, Maya of Scrapbook Graphics, Katie Pertiet, Anna Aspnes, Michelle
Underwood, Rhonna Farrer, Holly McCaig, Meredith Fenwick, Tracy Ann Robinson; and so many others! I've been so lucky to have worked with so many talented designers through Scrapbook-Bytes!!!!

Digital has come a LONG way and with that too comes along
many great additional pools of talent – of which I am THRILLED to be working
with right now! Our current designers are:

GUEST: Edeline Designs
A+Designs
arti /arti-bytes
danimoy designs
Designs by Helly
Dreamer's Magic Designs
Jeanette Bollinger
Karen Hunt
Kari Hentzelt
Late Night Scraps
Laura James
Nicole Perry
Serena Thomas
teresabelle designs
Terry Maruca
Armina Designs
Christine Nash
Charlize Creations
Creations by Rachael
Diamante Designs
JennCk Designs
Kalo Designs
Laitha
Shawnery Mathis
Silvia Romeo
Verena Designs

DON’T MISS ALL THE $ saving deals at Scrapbook-Bytes during our Birthday Bash weekend!!!! [most sales end 1/24 at midnight est]. View specific sale details here.

I have also, for two years now had the great opportunity to be part of the Shutterfly Scrapbooking Advisory Team! This has been a wonderful opportunity and you would be so surprised to know what goes into quality digital photo and photo book printing! You can view my Shutterfly Share Site here: http://aedwards.shutterfly.com/


Today/Tomorrow’s Schedule of Events:

All events and announcements, etc. are posted here:
http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/chat/sbbs-7th-birthday-event/

Schedule of Events:
http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/chat/sbbs-7th-birthday-event/40316-schedule-birthday-events-weekend.html

There are also TONS of sales going on right now to celebrate our birthday even (through January 24th):
Download the pdf version here to view it all at once (event schedule & sale ads)

All forum challenges:
All will receive a piece of the Scrapbook-Bytes 7th Birthday Bytes Designer collab for completing a forum challenge. All challenge participants are also eligible for prizes (when posting their layout to the gallery/thread). All forum challenges will be completed by 8pm (est) to be eligible for prizes and download links.

All Chats:
All chats will be providing a piece of the Scrapbook-Bytes 7th Birthday Bytes Designer collab for attending. Each chat will contain LOTS of prizes for those in attendance (:

Birthday Bytes Kit:
Preview of the completed kit being given away during chats/challenges:
[which will also be sold after Monday in the store by individual designers]

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Do you run through each day

On the fly?

When you ask How are you?

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done

Do you lie in your bed

With the next hundred chores

Running through your head?

You'd better slow down

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Ever told your child,

We'll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,

Let a good friendship die

Cause you never had time

To call and say,"hi"

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift....

Thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower

Hear the music

Before the song is over.

Tyme Machine

I was on the phone yesterday with a representative as I am beginning the long job of transferring all of my automatic payments to my new bank account.

She asked me if I knew that her company offered banking services and continued to explain how time machines could be used with their services.

I paused for a moment wondering how in the world I could inquire about a "time machine" for banking services.

Apparently, in Wisconsin, they call ATM machines "Tyme Machines." They don't think twice about it when they say it, not realizing that no one else in the country calls them that.

I googled it this morning and, sure enough, found out more information (here and here and photo). "Tyme Machines" was a brand name for "Take Your Money Everywhere."

I asked her if she realized how weird outsiders would think the people in their town were if they overheard this conversation on the street corner. "Hey, do you know where the nearest time machine is?" "Sure, it's right around the corner."

I was totally cracking up at the thought of stumbling upon such a conversation and wondering if people really thought they could go "Back to the Future."

Some days I wish I could really believe in time machines. Okay. Today I wish I could believe in time machines as I really want to go back to bed and start this day over.

Can I Go Back to Bed Now and Start Over?

So, my bowels wake me up again from my deep sleep, this time at 5:30 a.m. and I've already made two ugly trips to the bathroom. This is now into day 6 of having "the poops" and I never knew I could have so much poop inside my body!

So, back to bed to try to go back to sleep and I nudge hubby and say, "You're snoring."
He immediately replies, "Am I doing it right?"

Okay, so, at least hubby has a sense of humor enough to make me laugh in all situations, if only for a brief moment.

I decide I cannot go back to sleep and that I should just get up and get some work done. It's not like I haven't a zillion things on my to-do list, right? I could use the extra hour in my day.

I log my computer on and it immediately tells me it wants to do updates. No sooner than I get all the necessary windows open to begin working than my computer throws up a warning. Halt! You must restart now!



I sure wish I could go back to bed and restart. Can I? Please?
Oh wait. I already tried that. It didn't work. Once I'm awake, I'm awake. I cannot go back to sleep.

But can I just restart my day? It's not starting off too well. Surely it is early enough to just declare that it is a new day and restart it again, right?

So, I click the restart button.

My computer immediately tells me it is shutting down.



And it tells me it is shutting down for at least 15 minutes.

So, here I am, sitting in the dark, watching my computer screen with the little twirly circle going round, wondering "What next?"

I sure wish I could just throw up my hand at any time I want and notify everyone "Oh, sorry, I'm shutting down for right now!" Yep, do you think my boss would like that right in the middle of a hurried project? "Um, yep, I'm sorry, I have to shut down for a while to refresh and update myself so I can come back and work even better. I have no idea how long it will take me to shut down, so please just stand there and be patient. I'll be sure to let you know when I am ready again with a nice 'welcome.' "

Somehow, I don't think that would work to well for me, but my computer seems to get away with it every time.


Can I go back to bed now?
I'm a bit tired.

Thank God it's Friday!

New Journal Challenge

(layout credits in the gallery here)

So, I had an idea hit me tonight, while I wasn't even thinking about scrapping, and so I immediately made it a challenge at my site. Weird how things hit me like that. The journal challenge is to take a lined paper, sit down with a pen, and write the first thought that comes to mind. Thereafter, think about a photo to go with it (don't think about it before), scan the paper, and use it in your layout.

I'm always surprised where my artistic flow will go when I through this scrapping process.

You can use any products, so why not join us? Here's the forum thread.

I hope you've been catching....

It appears that for months now Digifree has not been picking up my blog, so I hope you've been catching all the freebies here anyway if Digifree is the service you had been utilizing. I've tried posting to Maria's Wiki help site many times, but it won't let me. It keeps telling me to insert my name, but there is no place to insert my name.

It's a little sad to see fewer people coming to my blog through the stats though, but I haven't been too concerned about it as I know the loyal readers here are finding what the need.

Remember that, if you do not do so already, you can get my blog posts in your inbox by putting your e-mail in the box on the side of my blog. Thereafter, you will need to click on the link in the confirmation e-mail to confirm that you want to receive the e-mails, so watch for it just in case it goes in your spambox.

NEW! Button Creating Layer Styles (& video)

Download the style here for a limited time (always in Subscriber Area).

There are two layers styles, so I made a quick video to show you how to utilize them. The full length 25 minute video is in the Subscriber Area. Video below:

Your Cross

The young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief. "Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and he did as he was told.

Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large the tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered

And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

When life's problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself far more fortunate than you imagined. YOUR CROSS Whatever your cross, whatever your pain. There will always be sunshine after the rain.

Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall, But God's always there.

The Power of Twitter

I am having some serious issues with Bank of America. Today was the last straw. I have had my account for about 25 years. It started with a small local bank and it has been transferred to at least 5 other banks as it was gobbled up until it was finally owned by Bank of America.

I have put this off as long as possible as it is going to be such a hassle to open all of these new accounts (personal checking for each family member, business account, several savings accounts) and to refinance our mortgage and home equity loans, as well as to move our credit card. I am thinking about all of the automatic withdrawals, e-bills, and direct deposits that will have to be set up, as well as other associations such as Paypal and outside accounts (ie. Amazon) that are set up to work through our debit cards.

This is no quick, impromptu decision, but something that has been held off long enough. I've had more than enough patience with this bank. I will share more below, but first, I want to share with you the power of twitter.



I had heard that businesses follow the twitter search and respond through Twitter. I have read about people who can get answers through Twitter whereas they cannot get help otherwise with their problems. I wanted to test it out and, therefore, yesterday I tweeted and included "Bank of America" in the tweet to see what would happen.

Sure enough, Bank of America has a Twitter "help" account with paid representatives monitoring it. It took no time at all before they responded offering help. I was encouraged to direct message my zip code and telephone number so that they could call to help me. I am not all that comfortable with doing so online. I find it quite odd that I cannot call the 1-800 number to get help, but could possibly get the help I need through Twitter contact. There is just something wrong with that. Wouldn't you agree?

I think that businesses need to be careful with their use of Twitter because, in my case, it actually backfired. I am able to read the entire stream of their conversations to other Twitter users, click on their names, and read their complaints. A few responded a thanks for resolution through the BofA_Help, which was nice to know that the people behind this account were the real thing. However, I was quickly able to see that others were having the same problems I am having. The BofA_Help stream made it easy to find them.

For instance, the above recent tweet by RyanViers confirmed the problem I have had this week. You may recall that I recently had an expensive vehicle repair. I logged online to transfer funds from one account to another to cover that expense. I watched day after day as my transfer transaction indicated "pending." It was "pending" for four days. Meanwhile, my account began bouncing. In addition, I have an overdraft protection account that never kicked in. Thereafter, I was charge four $35 overdraft fees. These fees have now made my account go into the negative again, although my transfer has gone finally gone through. Now I have two more items indicating a bounce to which they will probably deduct two more $35 overdraft fees.

I called Bank of America today and first had problems with the associate finding my account. She confirmed that the overdraft account was in place and active, but then told me that she would have to transfer me to the "overdraft department." What? What is up with all these departments? I was put on hold and after a few minutes, I received an automated message from Bank of America (it was not a cell phone dropped call as I was still active on BOA's line) that said "I'm sorry, but your call could not be transferred. Please hang up and dial the 1-800 number again." What!

This recent tweet was by mothra04 and confirms another problem I have had recently. A few months ago, Bank of America took out an extra $136 as my mortgage payment, without notification. If I had not been logged on to my accounts and discovered it today, the payments would have continued to be that much larger each month.

I went to my local bank for help, only to be told that they could not help me, but that I would have to get help through the 1-800 number.

It took me two weeks any many phone calls to get my $136 returned to me and to get my monthly mortgage payment returned to the amount it has been for the last 13 years. I was passed from one department to another and my calls were continually dropped, causing me to call back again and again. I received no explanation and no apology. I was told that the money was going into my escrow account, but there was no reason for my escrow to be recalculated and adjusted, especially without notification and warning from the bank.

I'm sorry, but this is totally unacceptable. We are a paycheck to paycheck family and I cannot instantaneously make our budge go up by $136 and a random whim of my bank. Fortunately, we were able to ride out that two weeks having "loaned" Bank of America $136.

In addition, one of my son's accounts is continually charged a $20 monthly fee. All of our accounts are supposed to be free due to an "advantage" program linked to our mortgage. However, every month I have to call to get this fee credited back and am promised that the account association is set up and it will not happen the next month. Yet it happens again the next month.

This is more Bank of America just randomly taking my money. If I were not watching the accounts carefully online, who knows how long before I would catch these things.

In addition, when I called the 1-800, I am transferred from department to department until finally someone tells me that they can fix the problem. I have even had them tell me that it cannot be associated and I have to argue with them that this account has been set up this way for the last 8 years this way, so I know that it can be set up this way, making them review the account for previous months to verify that I know what I am talking about.

I have spent countless hours in the recent past months on the telephone with Bank of America. My time is valuable. I do not have time for their random errors that only result in them taking my money.

Who knows what other errors have occurred that I haven't caught. That is scary to think about.

There are recent reports that Bank of America's financial troubles are increasing. With service such as what I have experienced, I can see why. It is time for me to bail out of my association with Bank of America. I do not need a bank that randomly takes my money (account fees, upped mortgage payments, overdraft fees) to their own benefit.

I need a bank where I can walk into the bank and get help, not be tossed about from department to department on the telephone. I need a bank that doesn't randomly take my money all the time.

I am not going to tell you what bank I have gone too as I do not need that vital information out on the web as that would be stupid of me to do. I feel comfortable sharing about Bank of America as my accounts are closed or nearly closed as of today, so the bad guys don't need to waste their time trying to find me there.

In closing, take note at how powerful Twitter has become as a means of communication. I was offered help through the site as well as was able to find the information from others to help me confirm my decision to take action and move my accounts.

Oh, the excuses!

Do you ever find yourself being a kind of person you don't like to be? As I continue through this blog series (#1, #2), I am beginning to see a pattern with my behavior towards those clothes in the back of my closet.

I think I need to give myself an attitude check!

Each time I bring out a shirt I haven't worn in a year, I analyze why it ended up in the back of the closet.


For instance, this blue striped blouse was in the back of my closet was in the back of my closet because I cannot make myself wear it because the collar refuses to act alike on both sides. I remember trying everything way back when, both trying to get one side to lay down or the other one to stand up. Nothing I did mattered and it was like the blouse had a mind of its own.

It fits well otherwise, but because of this one silly thing, it gets rejected. Oh, I'll keep it, but maybe I need to move it to my weekend repertoire and start actually wearing it!

This blouse is red and gold and a bit fancier (bad iPhone photo of it!). I like it a lot and it fits well, but for some reason, I cannot make myself wear it at any other time than December for the holidays. It doesn't have anything holiday about it other than the red and gold, so why do I have this hang-up? I forgot to wear it this holiday season, so I wore it it yesterday, in January, pushing myself outside of my hang-ups.

I should be more grateful for the things I have. What is wrong with me being so picky? I mean really, aren't there starving children in China? (as the old saying goes which is incorrectly demeaning of the country, but carries good meaning) There's a new saying out there now that goes "Finish your homework, there are people in China starving for your job." In other words, there would be other people out there more than thankful to have this clothing, so why aren't I more thankful? I should wear them more to show God how much I appreciate what he's given me. I'm so bad.

It isn't so much that other people have less than I do that bothers me, but more that I am being wasteful.

I am always hard on myself when I waste anything. For instance, sometimes I waste my time. Sometimes I waste my gas. Sometimes I waste my calories.

As a mom of three Eagle scouts, the scouting program would call this "being conservation minded." Taking care of the things we have is conserving them. It is not just a green thing about the environment! It is about showing God that I appreciate what He has given me by taking care of those things and utilizing them to their fullest potential.

1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

I often feel like I am bordering on poverty, always struggling to make ends meet, but if I have so many things that I cannot care for them all properly, such as shirts in the back of my closet, am I really that bad off?

Just giving myself an attitude check today.

How about you? Any thoughts?

Seriously scary!

This is a photo of a reminder card on our refrigerator from the Driver's License Bureau. Apparently, my youngest son's 18th birthday is coming up quicker than I thought!

That is seriously scary!

First, my baby will be 18! All of my babies will officially be adults! That's scary.

Second, he will be allowed to get the last stage of a Missouri driver's license will full driving privileges. That's scary!

Beginning Again

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.

Whoo hoooo!

I am so excited! I finally for the most part (except some in January) have finished catching up on the gallery commenting. I have not been caught up in about a year. You get a little behind and it is hard to catch back up. I've had to tell myself not to do other things until I get caught up. I just needed to remove this burden off my shoulders.

It's kind of disheartening sometimes to think about how many comments I leave compared to how many I receive. In fact, my layout from yesterday sat there for over 24 hours before it received one comment (thanks Michelle). However, it is important to remember that it is better to give than receive and if I am just giving of my time, it isn't costing me too much.

In addition, I feel it is important for me as a teacher to encourage everyone here.

Now I'm going to reward myself by allowing myself to read my RSS feeds again. If you watch Facebook and Twitter, you will be rewarded too! I should be linking you up with good stuff again soon! I haven't read in about 3 weeks because I was going to use that time to gallery comment instead.

I've had the bathroom runs now for over 24 hours. I'm thinking now that my system is getting cleaned out, it might be a good time to start dieting.

TO: GOD: FROM: THE DOG
Dear God: Why do humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell one another?

Dear God: When we get to heaven, can we sit on your couch? Or is it still the same old story?

Dear God: Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar, the mustang, the colt,
the stingray, and the rabbit, but not ONE named for a dog? How often do you see a cougar riding around? We do love a nice ride! Would it be so hard to rename the "Chrysler Eagle"
the " Chrysler Beagle"?

Dear God: If a dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad dog?

Dear God: We dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns,
clickers, beepers, scent ID's, electromagnetic energy fields, and Frisbee flight paths. What do humans understand?

Dear God: More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.
Dear God: Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to apologize?

Dear God: Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a good dog.
1. I will not eat the cats' food before they eat it or after they throw it up.
2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.
3. I will not munch on "leftovers" in the kitty litter box, although they are tasty.
4. The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.
5. The sofa is not a 'face towel'. Neither are Mom and Dad's laps.
6. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.
7. My head does not belong in the refrigerator.
8. I will not bite the officer' s hand when he reaches in for Mom's driver's license and registration.
9. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.
10. Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is an unacceptable way of saying "hello".
11. I don't need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm under the coffee table.
12. I must shake the rainwater out! of my fur before entering the house - not after.
13. I will not throw up in the car.
14. I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt.
15. I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch when we have company.
16. The cat is not a 'squeaky toy' so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing.

Wearing Clothes I Haven't Worn in a Long Time

I actually started this post two days ago and just do not have enough hours in the day!

I am still in the process of trying to either wear all the clothes in the back of my closet that have not been worn in a long time or to put them in the give-away box.

Thursday I was surprised to see this shirt again.

It is actually something that I hand sewed! I used to do a lot of counted cross stick and other hand stitching projects. I have given away everything I have ever made as gifts, except this shirt which I had decided to finally make as I needed to make something for myself.

I remember that this shirt sat in my round sewing box for years, unfinished. It was one of the last hand sewn projects I made and I started it when I was dwindling down on the hobby.

I didn't realize that I had actually finished it. Of course, when I finished it, I had gained so much weight that I could no longer hook the buttons. I can still wear it like a jaket, though, over another shirt.

The sleeves are buttoned and they were driving me nuts, as I wrote about in my recent post. I ended up taking it on and off all day.

So, I cannot throw the shirt away as it is something hand crafted by me, but yet I probably won't wear it much. Maybe some day I'll have a granddaughter who will appreciate it.

Friday, I was pleasantly surprised to see a short sleeve shirt in the back of the closet as the newest "haven't been worn in a long time" shirt. The reason it ended up there was because of the food stain on the front. I must have really worked at it the last time I wore it as the stain was not as bad as I remembered it.

Now, what will be in store for me on Monday from the back of my closet. Only time will tell! It's like a new adventure!

Freebie Template #56

Someone found that I made the same layout into a template twice! So, I am replacing Template #56 with this template.

You may download it here for 24 hours (but it will be in the Subscriber Area forever).

Please, please do share your layouts with me if you use this template. I always see my templates in other galleries and do not understand why people don't upload them here to share also.


I made this layout for the DigiscrapAddicts ScrapOff 2010- Week 1

Mini Kits by: Nikki Epperson, Genia Beana, Sir Scrapalot Designs and Suzy Q Designs

I didn't do to well in the judging though! I only got 4 points (the top people received 9 points for the week)! I stink at the CT stuff. I have a hard time enabling kits. I have a very minimalistic scrapping style.

I just joined the challenge to help me get some pages done and so far I have gotten to pages done, so in my eyes, the challenge is a success so far.

Gallery Spotlight - First of the Year!

The first gallery spotlight of the year is on Janette! Come to the forum and get to know Janette a bit better, leave her some love, and scraplift something from her gallery. It is always an honor to be scraplifted!

You may know Janette by DragonsLair and I can say that she has been around a long time in the digiworld. Her name has been familiar to me for as long as I can remember in digi-history, so she must be one of the original pioneers of this hobby in the generation before me. I usually like to think of myself as the second generation of digital scrapbookers as I came into the hobby fairly early on, but there were a few that were in it a year or two before me when the hobby first became taking off. I'm not sure what generation we would be on now though.

It is great to be able to have her join Hummie's World actively participating.

Big Truck Always Wins!

I had a dental cleaning today and was trying to decide which way to go, whether the main road through town or the back roads. I sat there thinking about how it wouldn't matter which way I went, it would be the wrong way! It always is! And I was right!

I'm driving along and all the sudden a semi comes over the hill and then across the turn lane and into my lane, coming straight head on at me!

I stopped. Of course. And waited as it continued to come at me.

Finally, it stopped right in front of me and began backing up.

What! ! !

Apparently this driver was very familiar with backing into the small parking lot as he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. I'm sitting there, watching the traffic gather behind me into the distance, and wondering how many times this semi driver has freaked someone out just to make a delivery and why he couldn't find a safer way of doing so. Surely this is illegal and he could get a ticket for this reckless driving, right?

So, what was I to do but to sit there and grab my iPhone and snap a photo because surely no one would believe this story without seeing it, right?

It is at times like these when actions of others bring difficulties and delays in my life that bring me to a halt that remind me of the obstacles that God always puts in my way for a purpose. God has a purpose for everything and I may not know what great purpose he had in putting this semi in front of me to slow me down, but I must trust in Him.

It is in times like this where instead of getting exasperated and mad, I merely thank God for slowing me down. Who knows what this delay protected me from.

Psalm 91:14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

It's good to be able to always look at things in a positive way giving God the benefit of the doubt. It sure is a lot less stressful to have this outlook on life.

Trusting God to have a better plan for me than I can ever imagine and realizing that I may never know that plan in its totality is something I am grateful to God for placing on my heart. This attitude often saves me from unwanton worry.

****

PS. I have no idea what unwanton actually means. As I continue to write on my blog, I keep coming forth with all these crazy words that seem to be in my vocabulary and, yet, I'm not sure of their meaning, but seem to use them correctly. I tried looking it up online, but could only find "wanton" and, therefore, could not deduce what the opposite (ie. "un") of wanton really means. (Of course, deduce is another one of those words I use often that sounds like a big fancy word, but I think I actually know what it means.)

I used "barragement" in an earlier post today and it was not at dictionary.com either! I just wanted to spell it right! I did find "barrage" and, therefore, assumed it was spelled correctly. Apparently, as I learned, it is an offensive move rather than a defensive move of the military. Hmmm.

I think I read a bit too much when I was a young girl as there are all these crazy words stuck somewhere in my head which I only know how to use in context as I read them in books way-back-when, but actually really have no idea what they mean!

These words just come out of my fingers and surprise me! Um, where did that come from?

Speed Crop Chat this Friday!

Come join us for a speed scrap chat on Friday! It's gonna be a lot of fun!
Here is the thread where the chat is being discussed.

Time for the chat is as follows:

8 EST
7 CST
6 MST
5 PST

This is a one hour chat. Don't come prepared with a layout in mind.... you will receive an instruction from Hummie every 10 minutes.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Soldier's playing cards

May you never look at a deck of cards the same way...

After heavy fighting, a soldier returned to camp. The next day being Sunday, the Chaplain had set up church service. The men were asked to take out their Bibles or Prayer Books. The Chaplain noticed one soldier looking at a deck of cards. After service, he was taken by the Chaplain to see the Major. The Chaplain explained to the Major what he had seen. The Major told the young soldier he would be punished if he could not explain himself. The young soldier told the Major that during the battle, he had neither a Bible or a Prayer Book so he would use his deck of cards and explained:

"You see, Sir, when I look at the ACE, it tells me that there is one GOD and no other.

When I see the "2," it reminds me that there are two parts the Bible, the OLD TESTAMENT and the NEW TESTAMENT.

The "3" tells me of the TRINITY OF GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON and GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT,which are all one.

The "4" reminds me of the FOUR GOSPELS, MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE and JOHN.

When I see the "5," it tells me of the FIVE UNWISE VIRGINS who were lost and that five were saved.

The "6" makes me mindful that GOD CREATED THE EARTH IN JUST SIX DAYS,and GOD said that it was good.

When I see the "7," it reminds me that GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY.

As I look at the "8," it reminds me that GOD DESTROYED ALL HUMAN LIFE BY WATER EXCEPT FOR EIGHT PEOPLE, Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their three son's wives.

When I see the "9," I think of the NINE LEPERS that GOD healed.

There were ten lepers in all, but only one stopped to thank him.
The "10" reminds me of the TEN COMMANDMENTS carved in stone by the hand of GOD.

The "JACK" makes me remember the Prince of Darkness. Like a roaring lion, he devours those that he can.

When I look at the "QUEEN," I see THE CHURCH, THE BRIDE OF JESUS.

As I look at the last card, "THE KING," it reminds me that JESUS IS LORD OF LORDS and KING OF KINGS."

There are 365 spots on a deck of cards, and that is the number of days in each year.

There are 52 cards to a deck and that is the number of weeks in a year.

There are 12 picture cards and that is the number of months in a year.

There are 4 different suits in a deck and that is the number of seasons in a year..."

And so, the young soldier then said to the Major, "You see, Sir, my intentions were honorable. My deck of cards serves as my BIBLE, my PRAYER BOOK and my ALMANAC. Most importantly, my deck of cards reminds me that need JESUS...
365 days,
52 weeks
and 12 months a year
and that I should always PRAY 4 others."

The Great Cyclical Clothing Event

I am curious as to who else does the great cyclical clothing event in their closet as this super oober organized person does.

When I wash my clothes, the clean items always go to the right of all the other clothes. In this way, I know that the clothes furthest to the left are the ones that have been the longest since I have worn them. In this way, I do not wear the same shirt too often to make people think I do not have any other clothes!

Of course, when I go to clean out my closet, those clothes farthest to the left sometimes have not been worn in over a year and I can easily identify the ones that need to find a new owner.

I rarely wear long sleeve shirts, even in the winter. I rarely wear a coat, even when it is zero degrees! I always keep a jacket and blankets in the vehicle, however, just in case I would be stalled on the side of the road and need them. I just do not get cold in the short walks from parking lots to indoors. Why risk forgetting my coat all together by taking it someplace? It does me better good in the car!

I have to tolerate every year a constant barragement of questioning, "Why don't you have a coat on, you must be freezing?" Uh, no. If I were freezing, I'd have a coat on.

I've even been trying lately to just wear a scarf around my neck hoping it makes as a disguise for a coat so that people won't notice I'm not wearing a coat.

So, what happens? My shirts with long sleeves always end up on the far left of my closet.

This week, I am determined to wear them so that I can say I wore them at least one time during the past year and I can justify keeping them.

Someone, please tell me you are like me and I am not crazy!

I found this really nice shirt with stitching on it in the "back of the closet" today. I realized why it is there when I tried it on. If I button it, it barely buttons. It is the right size, but must be sized incorrectly. It is short sleeve, but that doesn't matter because the only way I can wear it is to layer it over another shirt and leave it unbuttoned. Um, two shirts? It might as well be long sleeve!

The last two days I wore long sleeves, but the first one I rolled up the sleeves as they were cuffed all the way back to my elbows and the second one I pushed up to my elbows. So, what is the purpose of having long sleeves if I cannot stand them being long and push them up?

I also have a problem with purchasing long sleeve shirts. I have such short arms that the long sleeve shirts come way past my fingertips! Three quarter sleeves are almost like long sleeves, so I often shop for them when looking for winter items.

The problem is that the beautiful "winter" themed and colored clothing can never be worn by me because it never fits! Big sigh.

I am wondering what the back of my closet has in store for me tomorrow morning. Suffer I will if i must in the name of frugality.

The Great Vehicle Disruption

Conversations with Teenage Sons:

Mom: You need to come to my work to pick me up so I can take you to your work and drop you off so I can steal your car for the night.

Son: Why me?

Mom: Because you are a good son. Your brother is a patoo-hee.


Oh my, I did feel a little bit bad that he was being punished for being a good child! However, the other son did need his car for school while this one had no where to go until the next night. Sigh.

Vehicle repairs can be such a huge disruption in our lives. Not only is it stressful trying to juggle transportation options, but it is also stressful on the pocket book! This one hit my pocket book for $740 -- and it's not over!

I quickly learned how spoiled I am with my vehicle.

I had to squat down low and slide into a small space finding muscles I rarely use while juggling the stuff in my arms trying to place it on the passenger side seat.

I had to manually turn on the lights and remember to turn them off.

I had to realize that the gear shift was not where it was supposed to be when the windshield wipers kept coming on.

I had to search for my speed which was not conveniently located at the bottom of my windshield, but much lower on the dashboard.

I had to suffer from cold bum-a-nitis when there was no bum warmer to warm my bum.

I had to listen to interesting music coming forth from therein because I did not know how to change the channel.

I had to just shudder a lot to shake off the cold because I could not find how to turn on the heater while driving because I didn't think to do it before I started driving.

I had to remember to stick the key in the lock to lock the vehicle rather than click a button as I rushed away from my vehicle.

YES! I just wanted MY vehicle back!

Then I would yell at myself in my head and tell myself how I should just be thankful that I had a vehicle to steal for a while rather than bumming rides from people or waiting on other people to take me places. I'm such an ungrateful person. Why was I complaining in my head about all these things when at least I was driving around. Shame on myself!

I'm sorry, God, for being so ungrateful. Please forgive me.

Oh, thanks God. You are always so awesome to forgive me of all my stupid little sins, even if they are just my thoughts in my head.

Psalm 139:1-3 O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar, you discern my going out and my lying down, you are familiar with all my ways.

Conversations with Teenage Sons

Mom: Called son. No answer. Called son. No answer. Called son. No answer. Called son. No answer. Called son. No answer. Called son. No answer. Called son. No answer. Oh, why did I have to call 7 times in a row before you would answer the phone. I need you to come and help me to pick up my vehicle.

Son: Why.

Mom: Because your brother is at work and besides, he has been without his car and you didn't have to be.

Son: But I don't have my car with me, I'm with my girlfriend.

Mom: Where are you at.

Son: On Broadway.

Mom: Then have your girlfriend drive you here and ride with me to pick up my car.

Son: Fine. I'll meet you at home.

Mom: Why at home? This is closer.

Son: I'll meet you at home.

Mom: Why should we both drive to the house when this is closer. Just have her drive to this parking lot, get out of her car, and get in my car. You can ride with me to pick up the car, then you can drive his car to him at his work, I will pick you up there and we both can go home. That way we won't have to pick him up from work after midnight tonight.

Son: Fine. Hangs up on mom.

Mom: Thanks for helping me out. It won't take long and you can get back to being with your girlfriend.

Son: I'm not going anywhere else tonight.

Mom: Why. Where is your girlfriend going.

Son: She's going home.



You know. I sure wish life were simpler. It shouldn't have to be this much stress just to get someone to help me and to juggle everything. Don't you agree?

January Designer Challenge Freebies Coming in Fast!

Here are some of the previews of freebies coming in on the January designer challenge! Wow! I was so surprised to see the thread fill up so fast!

You can go through the thread and find the downloads in the forum here.

Thanks to all that are participating! You are making the forums fun!
Anyone can still participate. Even though the challenge says "January" all challenges are always open here at Hummie's World, so if you ever see a palette you like from long ago, feel free to design and resurrect that thread!

Anyone who wants to make quick pages to share with the items they download in this thread, special permission is given to do so, as long as the shares are made in this thread only.