2010: Project 365 (Sort Of)

I've decided not to make any New Year's Resolutions in 2010. The fact is, I never stick to them, and I also never forget them, either. Oh, sure, the details might get obscured somewhat, but in the not-so-far-back reaches of my brain, I am acutely aware of the fact that at one point in the previous decade (somewhere between 2000-2002), I resolved to learn to quilt, bought a sewing machine and everything, and I never so much as completed a stitch, and what with being Catholic and all, the guilt is pretty crushing. Not to mention, I have craft shit all over the house, and we are running out of room to store the reminders of my epic failures and character flaws.

This year I decided to do something different, something more "productive" and less "instructive" and I'm going to be doing it right here, on the riffraff blog: a kind of hybrid "Project 365" type thing, where I will do something creative and post it every day. My inspiration for this was an article from Photojojo, which has been appropriated by other sites and extrapolated into other similar ideas for other media (e.g., digital scrapbooking).

Of course, I have the attention span of a gnat on amphetamines, and this sentence is going to bore me before I finish it, so I already know that I am never going to make it through an entire year of a-photo-a-day kinds of stuff. Plus, there are ideas in my head that I need to express in other ways, ways that passively observing and documenting cannot fully accomplish.

I mulled it all over, and I basically came up with this: even though I am pretty sure I'd never be able to get all the way through a single-medium Project 365, it's better than even money that I'll be able to do it if I allow myself to make this into my own-style thing. So that's what I'm going to do: a hybrid, multi-"media" Project 365.

Basically, every day in 2010, I will post something here. It might be a picture, or a poem, or a drawing, or a recipe, or some other kind of writing. There might be a theme for the week, and there might not. Maybe on Monday I will post a picture, and on Tuesday I will write a poem about it, and on Wednesday I will complete a digital scrapbook page inspired by it, etc., or maybe there will be a whole week of pictures of nothing but flowers. Something like that. I can't see the future, so I don't know what you'll get.

The other "rules" I've decided to set for myself, just to make things interesting: So that there is no overlap and therefore no "cheating," I will not post any pictures on both blogs -- it's either here, or on the 'riffic, but not both. (I'll be putting my Project 365 photos in a separate Flickr photostream.) Also, when I write, I will limit my entries to 365 words per post. I am anticipating writing some original fiction -- i.e., I might come back around to that novel that I was supposed to be working on for NaNoWriMo 2009, and didn't get very far with. 365 words is a manageable bite-size, so I might actually get it done.

So ... good idea? Bad? Terrible? Have I lost my mind? (More than usual, I mean?)

Riffraff Roundup

So. Here is what I've been doing while I was busy off being an incorrigible, degenerate slackass who wasn't regularly updating this blog:

• Scrapbooking: I finished the design work for two different calendars -- the 2010 Cupcake Calendar and the 2010 Cousins Calendar. Praise the Lord and hallelujah! If you click on the links, you'll go right into each set, where you can bring the pages up as a slideshow. I am really proud of all this work (most especially the pictures), but if you held a gun to my head and asked me to choose favorites, I would say that I like April and August best for the Cupcake, and May and September best for the Cousins. Both calendars are now off to the printer, thank goodness, and I am taking a break from digi-design work for a little while, so I can focus on getting other stuff done (like sleeping and eating and watching old holiday specials on TiVo).


• Reading: I finally finished Memories of the Future and all the other books I picked up for our October trip out to Chicago. The Hodgman book wasn't quite what I expected -- it's really more of a "book of facts" rather than something with an actual narrative -- but it's good to keep around for when you need some kind of bullshit answer for your friends and relatives who know eveything else.


• Reading: Now I've moved on to something else -- Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix. To be completely honest, I am not sure why I picked this one out in the first place; when I was reading descriptions of the book, I thought it was about adopted kids with mysterious backgrounds who suddenly started disappearing -- like okay crazy adoptive mother, are you insane? But this book has taken a left turn that I did not expect and it is turning out to be not at all what I expected, in the best possible way. There is another book in the series, Sent, which I will be picking up soon.


• Cooking: Well, I haven't been, not really, unless you count the three-spice dinner from the other night, and unfortunately I don't know that there will be much other cooking going on between now and Christmas, either. There are only two more weekends, and I still haven't finished my shopping, which is quite the embarrassment, believe me. But I get paid again on the 15th, and I have a pretty good idea of what all I still need to get (not too much, thankfully), so I think I will manage to get everything done in time.

Also, somewhere in there I had a nervous breakdown or two, but since that happens all the time these days, what else is new? And apparently Shae has a "monster" living in her room -- in her walls, I think she said -- and we are hoping to get to the bottom of that situation soon. Probably I'll talk about that on the 'riffic.

Saturday Dinner: Only Three Spices

Oh, hi there! Sorry I've neglected this blog a bit, but I'll make it up eventually. Hopefully with this set of recipes here, if you can even call things "recipes" when they involve only three spices total, among four dishes. But trust me: this stuff was good. Like, SERIOUSLY GOOD. We have ZERO leftovers (except Shae's plate, because this is one of those days where she won't eat anything that doesn't involve nuggets and/or peanut butter).

Why we liked this dinner -- it's simple, pretty easy, and perfect for a cold and snowy night. It's comfort food, but not heavy; it's really more of the kind of stuff that my great-grandmother would have made. It was almost like a holiday dinner, without the aggravation of a holiday. So, without further ado, here are what basically amounts to the instructions for our roast pork loin with three vegetables:

• Arrange racks in over to accommodate two casserole dishes and two baking sheets. Preheat to 375°F.
  
• Season an "always tender" pork tenderloin (between 1½-2 lbs.) with kosher salt and pepper. Arrange in a covered roasting pan and set aside.
• Cut 1½ lbs. fingerling potatoes in half on the bias (diagonally). Toss with 1½ Tbsp. olive oil to coat well. Season with kosher salt, pepper, and rosemary to taste. Arrange in a single layer in a shallow covered baking dish and set aside.
• Rinse and pat dry 1½ lbs. fresh Brussels sprouts. Cut off the very ends and remove any yellow or over-tough leaves. Toss with 1½ Tbsp. olive oil to coat well. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet.*
• Put the covered pork loin, the covered potatoes, and the sprouts in the oven all the same time. Do not disturb for 15 minutes. Have a drink. Write a couple Christmas cards. Relax.
• After 15 minutes, cut 1 lb. baby carrots (minus whatever couple you needed to feed to your toddler to get her out of the kitchen for five minutes so you could swing that big Cutco chef's knife around) in half lengthwise. Toss with 1 Tbsp. olive oil to coat well. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
• 20 minutes after the meat, potatoes, and sprouts have been put in the oven, put the carrots in there too. While your head is in the oven, give the potatoes and sprouts a shake, just to keep them from sticking. Continue cooking for another 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, take the covers off the meat and the potatoes. Remove the carrots and sprouts from the oven. Continue cooking the meat and potatoes for another 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, remove the meat and potatoes. Slice the loin into medallions. Plate the vegetables. Serve. Enjoy.

Try this, and let me know what you think! Like I said, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

* If you live in a house like I do where you're the only one who eats Brussels sprouts, you can cut the ingredients by ⅓ and use a toaster-oven-sized pan, but the cook time remains the same.

2010 Cupcake Calendar: January

I was originally thinking about doing a "Happy New Year" thing for this page, and came up with this incidentally, when I saw Shae's snow suit hanging in the foyer. We didn't have very many snowy days last winter, so I'm glad I managed to get a couple of pictures when I had the chance.

2010 Crazymaking Calendars: Nevembuary

Oh dear sweet merciful crap ... next time I decide to do a project like this, remind me to start in like July, okay? Because let me tell you, these calendar projects? I love working on them, but they are making me crazy. Knowing I have virtually impossible deadlines (like, I really need to have these done by like December 15th, so I can get them to the printer's and get them back in time, which means that I have to anticipate Christmas pages without actually having any Christmas pictures!) is not making this easier. Why do I do these things to myself?

Anyway ... since last week I've gotten the following pages done:

Revamp of the previous October "Cousins Calendar" page. At my sister's suggestion, I re-oriented this to horizontal, plus added an extra picture. (I think all the "Cousins Calendar" pages are going to end up with four pictures each -- it's an even number, good for balance.) Not sure why the right-hand margin is off-center. Tried to fix it, blew up the GIMP, leaving it as is.

"Cousins Calendar" November page. This is a lot more simple and muted than the other pages I already have done, but this is one of my favorites so far (out of either projects). And not just because this layout took maybe an hour, tops, to put together (and most of that was spent trying to pick out the background paper). Children + outside + leaves + natural light = much win and awsum. Little kids always look so happy playing in the leaves, don't they? (More pictures of Joey here -- and believe me when I tell you that I desperately wanted to try to work that second picture into this collage.)

March page of the Cupcake Calendar. This page was inspired by both one of my earliest scrapbooking projects from July and (sort of) the page I did for this calendar for August. I really needed to get a picture of Gladys Leibowitz into this calendar somehow. And even so, I completely cheated: these pictures are really from April. (They're actually from later than the pictures that I used for April.) Not that anyone really cares but me, but whatever.

So, at this point: 8 pages of the Cupcake Calendar down, 4 to go (Jan., Feb., Nov., Dec.) and 4 pages of the Cousins Calendar down, 8 to go (Jan. - Jul., Dec.). Plus, I am still working on my other sister's website redesign, which is supposed to be finished by her birthday on December 11th, which ... okay, listen, I just need to lie down for a little while, okay?

Wish me luck! It's going to be a crazy next couple of weeks.

2010 Cousins Calendar: August (& September Edits)

In reverse order.

The only thing I did here was change the picture of Joey in the lower right-hand corner. Bad call on my part in the original -- this picture is much better.

This one turned out pretty surprisingly. I spent about an hour the other night going through Jaime's blog trying to find pictures of Joey that I could use for the calendar, and at the same time I found myself thinking about these pictures of Shae and wondering how I could work them into the Cupcake Calendar. That this concept did not originally occur to me is kind of embarrassing.

Also: holy tomato, was this a difficult spread to put together! All the pieces came from different sources. I got REALLY lucky with the background because none of the football-themed papers I had looked right. Even though it looks perfect here (according to me, anyway), this green background was actually from an Easter kit, I think. The word art and team logos are all custom and I did those myself from Internet images.

Teaching yourself the lasso tool, FTW!

2010 Joezie (Shaey?) Calendar: September

To be perfectly technical, these pictures aren't all from September, but who really cares? They're close enough. (The pictures of Joey are from October, when we went out for the christening.) Certainly they're cute enough.

This layout ended up being both simple and complicated at the same time -- I still need to refer to a tutorial whenever I use photomasks, so when I do that particular effect, it takes me a while. And this may come as a shock (NOT!) but I agonized over the background paper -- I really think that needed to be "right" to work well.

But the rest kind of came together on its own, once I located the three different kinds of bubbles in four different sizes by three different designers. The placement was the hardest part. But I really didn't fart around with much here, because ... this just works, I think.

Put on your fanciest and most couture Nina Garcia caps and tell me: do you like it?

2010 ... Other Calendar: October

This is probably only a first draft. Although I do like the way this turned out so far. The (??) calendar is going to be a little trickier because I need to make sure that both kids are equally represented. I suspect right off the bat that this project (whatever it will end up being called) will be a little more "homey" and a bit less "fancy" than the other calendar -- or, what I guess I mean is, this will look more like a scrapbook and less like an art project. Or something.

The big question is: what in the heck are we going to call this thing? "Cupcake Calendar" was a given because before the adoption, Shae's "nom de blog" was Cupcake. We still call her that sometimes, and it's kind of her trademark. But what about this special joint presentation? I still haven't worked that part out. If I end up using your suggestion, maybe you'll get one of these bad boys as a special prize, assuming you aren't already on the list to get one anyway.

2010 Cupcake Calendar: April

G and I debated over whether to make this a birthday page or an Easter page, since they're both only three days apart next year, but in the end I decided to go with the birthday because I'm going to have to do another Easter page for a different calendar.

And make a note of this, because it's probably the closest I will come to making a "princess page" for quite some time. Or ever, if I can help it.

Edits: May 2010 and October 2010

So: here are the edited versions of the May and October pages. Not much different, but yet I am happy with these changes. You?

2010 Cupcake Calendar: May

Well will you look at that ... nothing for weeks, and then two in one night. (This entry is post-dated.) Isn't it amazing what you can do when you're studiously avoiding the end of the World Series?

By the way: I know these are coming up in a weird order, and I'm sorry about that, but I have to work on these when the spirit moves me, I guess.

EDITED 11/03/09: I am 90% satisfied with this one, but I think I want to change the sizing on the word art and the glitter graphic. Everything else is staying as-is.

2010 Cupcake Calendar: October

I briefly debated making this page "Wizard of Oz" themed, but I decided against it. Primarily because I didn't have any Munchkin graphics.

EDITED 11/03/09: On further consideration ... I am just not sure about this. I love the twig, and I love the background paper, but I don't know how I feel about the frame and the word art. Something is off. The blue frame is definitely wrong, at least in this application; I need more of that color somewhere else to balance it out, I think. And the proportion of the lettering is wrong -- it's just too big. I'm going to try this one again and see what else I can come up with.

What I'm Reading - 10/21 Edition

Previously.

Since last week, I finished The Hunger Games, and right now I'm reading Scat. I have also picked up the following books:

• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
• The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman
• Memories of the Future, Vol. 1 by Wil Wheaton

And before you ask: yes, it is the same John Hodgman who is the "Resident Expert" on The Daily Show and who also stars as "The PC" in those adorable/annoying commercials for Apple (whether you, personally, find them adorable or annoying depends, I suppose, on how much you like John Hodgman, Justin Long, and Apple products); and yes, it is the same Wil Wheaton who was on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" TWENTY FUCKING YEARS AGO OH MY GOD I AM OLD and who has since made a career out of being geeky and all-around awesomesauce in between acting gigs.

Anyway.

As I mentioned last week, I really dug The Hunger Games, even though it is a bit darker and edgier than what I am used to; asking 12- to 16-year-olds to outlast each other in a gladiatorial arena controlled by mysterious Gamemakers who are puppets of a horrifying government in some dystopian future is some heavy shit. But it was well-written, with excellent characters, and so I have also picked up the second book in the series, Catching Fire. I'm also passing these books along to G to read, because I think he will like them.

The other two additions are "grown-up" books that I added because I wanted something a little different. I read mostly fiction, and I make no excuses or apologies for that, but I do like to try some non-fiction now and then. Usually I read what is probably classified as "chick-lit memoirs" to scratch that itch: Laurie Notaro and Hollis Gillespie, mostly. Before the adoption was final I read Dan Savage's excellent The Kid, which was pretty damned awesome (and also, in its own way, convinced me that what we were doing was the right thing, although I could not then and probably still could not now explain to you why or how it did).

I picked Hodgman's and Wheaton's books primarily because they are funny. Hodgman literally just makes shit up and turns it into a book, which is a very powerful and fascinating form of alchemy that I hope to learn someday. And Wheaton's book is a sort-of-memoir-slash-sort-of-snarkfest about his time on "Star Trek: TNG" all those years ago. He does a podcast that goes along with the book, his Memories of the Futurecast, which is outstanding if you like podcasts (and if you would consider this book, I recommend you check out the podcast to see if you would like it).

When I get home tonight, I'll finish packing my bags for the trip to Chicago this weekend, and at this point, I think that Scat from last week and this week's three new books will make the cut. But this is always subject to change at game time, so we'll see.

OH! And also: November is National Novel Writing Month. Over on the 'riffic blog, I have put up a badge indicating that I am going to be participating again this year. Last year I didn't get very far, but I am hoping to do better this year. I have a better idea to work with this time, I think, so we'll see. As always, my goal (as well as the other participants') is to finish a novel in 30 days -- maybe not a good one, but a completed one. You can follow my progress here. I might even post some excerpts, if any of them are worth posting.

2010 Cupcake Calendar: September

OK, so give me your opinion on this one, seriously. Do you like it? I used some different techniques here (photomasks, for starters), and I do like the effect, I think. But I'm not sure if I'm 100% sold. Since I did "fancy" pictures, I went really simple with the other elements: like, yes, that is the same leaf, turned different ways. Thoughts? (G likes it, or he says he does anyway, but he could be lying -- he was in the middle of a Ulduar run when I showed him the final draft.)

What I'm Reading - 10/14 Edition

It's "Wordless Wednesday" over on the 'riffic blog, but this poor little thing is feeling all neglected, so I thought I'd throw her a bone.

So: I'm a voracious reader. Like, I am always reading something. I don't go anywhere that is further than my parents' without taking a book with me (and sometimes, I even have a book with me for that trip). I've always been this way. I love to read just about anything and everything I can get my hands on. If I had a million dollars, I'd probably spend half of it at the bookstore.

We're just about packing for our trip to Chicago next week (9 more days! whoo!) and so last week I ordered some books from Amazon. Picking out books is a process that can take up to 3 hours, even when I do it online -- in fact, when I buy books online, it's even worse than when I'm in the store, because of the research. The internet is dangerous for hypochondriacs and info-holics. In the store, I just pick up what looks good.

Anyway, here is what I ended up ordering:

• Syren by Angie Sage
• Scat by Carl Hiaasen
• The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (which I have already started reading)*
  

SPOILER ALERT! These are all children's books. Well, at least one of them is technically "young adult," but the point is, I am not the target market. Yet, over and over again, I find myself buying books out of this section of the bookstore. And very rarely, in only a tiny fraction of cases, am I ever disappointed with what I select.

I think the reason why is that, as a general rule, kids' books just have better stories. And when you read for enjoyment, for the sheer pleasure of it, the stuff you want to read is the stuff that has the wonderful characters and the delicious flights of fancy. Harry Potter, anyone? Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Stuart Little? The Phantom Tollbooth?

That isn't to say that I don't read "adult" books. Sue Grafton is one of my top-five favorite writers, as is Carl Hiaasen -- I read his YA novels in the first place because I love the rest of his stuff so much. I can't get enough of Laurie Notaro and Hollis Gillespie. There are more than one of Oprah's Book Club selections on my multitude of bookshelves. I love Terry Pratchett, and I will totally cop to owning Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code. And believe me, I have read every single Jackie Collins novel ever written: you can't get more adult than that.

But I keep coming back to the kids' books, which is why Shae already has a bookcase in her room, filled with things she is not "allowed" to touch because she is not ready. These were my books, which I am handing down to her. A complete Series of Unfortunate Events in hardcover. Special edition Winnie-the-Pooh books with color versions of Ernest Shepard's original illustrations. An annotated edition of Charlotte's Web that was a gift to my husband for Christmas 1994, the first year we were dating.

Boy, am I glad she likes to read.

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In case you are interested, here are some of the children's / YA novels that I have read in the past year or so that I have really enjoyed:

• Magyk, Flyte, Physik, and Queste by Angie Sage -- I have also picked up Syren, book 5 in this series, but haven't yet read it. A boy magician and his magical friends, but this is not Harry Potter. It's set in a more medieval place and time. Very charming, and significantly less Messianically and self-importantly written than Rowling. (And bear in mind that I absolutely love Harry Potter, but some of the writing at the end gets ... tortuous.)
  
• Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series -- About a boy who is literally a demigod, with a Greek god for a parent. I have always sort of dug the whole tempestuousness (and incestuousness, strangely) of Greek mythology, and setting these stories in modern times doesn't hurt the fantasy at all. I've read the first four books; just waiting for The Last Olympian to come out in paperback to finish the set.
  
• The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo. Winner of the 2003 Newbery Medal. Such a sweet, sweet story about a ... well, everything you need to know about what the book is about is right there in the title. This was made into a movie in 2008, and one of these days I will get around to seeing it, but I don't feel like I'm in a hurry, because the book was just so fantastic. I can't wait until Shae is old enough and patient enough for chapter books, so I can read this with her.
• 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers. This is one of those books I picked up at the bookstore because the cover intrigued me. Very Dahl-esque. It started a bit slow for me, and I had a hard time reading much at a time in the beginning, but it was such a treat at the end. Haven't picked up anything else by Moers yet, but I have several of his books in my queue.

If you find anything good, let me know! I am always looking for new authors!


* = Haven't finished it yet, still only halfway through, but I am expecting to pick up the second book in this series, Catching Fire, before I leave for Chicago, if that tells you anything at all about how I feel about this particular choice, which I had some reservations about originally. I first heard about this author via this NPR story. This is heavier stuff than I am used to, kind of scary even, but it's kind of ... not refreshing, exactly, but liberating, maybe? Enlightening, definitely.

Diet is "DIE" with a T: Week 1

Oh, God, I started a diet again this week.

You will notice two things about that sentence: the general grumbliness, and my use of the word "again."

I am constantly on a diet. Sometimes they are "real" diets, with the express purpose of losing actual weight. Other times, they are "lifestyle" diets, where I am eating out of the cupboard and packing a lunch to save money or empty out the pantry.

This one is a combination of both: I am trying to drop some poundage while at the same time rack up some extra cash. Christmas is coming fast (as is the company holiday party). Once a week or so, I'll check in here with my successes, failures, ideas, and bitching.

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My biggest problem with diets is the 3:00 hour. I always get hungry at 3:00 or so -- I don't know if it's the after-lunch sugar crash, or a dip in my Circadian rhythms, or what. Since I'm going to be packing my lunch for a little while (at least until I get back into the swing and can better judge what I can and can't eat off the fast food dollar menus), I am trying to plan for that time of day strategically.

Goals for my afternoon snack: no longer be so hungry that anything and everything in the vending machine looks good, including that dusty pack of mixed nuts that has been there since approximately the dawn of time, and also to stay around or under 5 points. (Oh, yeah, I'm doing a sort of modified Weight Watchers, using online tools to calculate points, plus dragging some old guides out of the dingy heretofore uncharted recesses of my bookshelves.)

Here is what I am eating for my 3:00 snack today:

• Town House wheat crackers x5
• Laughing Cow light Swiss cheese x1 wedge
• Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh cracked pepper shaved turkey x3 slices
• Green seedless grapes x½ cup

I'm going to plate this up nicely and have it with some iced tea. A nice balance of carbs, fat, and protein to help me make it until dinnertime. That snack is 4 points. It's small, but surprisingly satisfying.

And because I am an amateur foodie, and also a nice person dammit, let me offer the following alternatives instead: red seedless grapes or ½ cup cantaloupe or honeydew cubes instead of green grapes; shaved ham (if you use a very low fat lunchmeat variety) instead of turkey; light garlic and herb or French onion cheese wedge (if you don't have an important client meeting) instead of the Swiss flavor; nine honey-wheat flavored Club Snack Sticks crackers instead of the Town House.

If you have points to spare and want to "bulk" this up, you can have 6 slices of turkey, or switch to a full-fat wedge of Laughing Cow original, or add a packet of Lipton Spring Vegetable cup-a-soup, for an extra point each. If you need to cut points, eliminate the cheese or the turkey for a 1-point savings.

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Disclosure: I am not being paid to advertise any products. I recommend these particular brands because I already have them in my cabinets, and I know the point values for them. If you like something else, or have a suggestion, let me know!

2010 Cupcake Calendar: June

Some pictures previously blogged here.

So, apparently I am a "grid" scrapper -- everything is pretty much squarish. I think I am okay with that. I keep trying to add more layers, more "stuff," but (especially for this application) it seems so busy if I have more than a couple of layers. I've decided that I want to focus on the pictures, not the fancy designing, when I am making the calendars.

Good think I learned how to work that camera.

EDITED @ 8:02 pm -- picture size.

EDITED 11/03/09: Compared to other months' pages, these pictures are too big. I'm going to be adjusting the sizing and reposting at a later date.

2010 Cupcake Calendar: July

Some pictures previously blogged here and here.

I got on some kind of roll last night, and ended up putting together two pages. (Like I might have said before: feast or famine, people.) I'm not quite as confident about this July page as I am about the August page, but then again, I like it in different ways and for different reasons. I'm at about 95% confidence, so I think I'm going to keep it, but I can be convinced otherwise if you think I should make changes.

2010 Cupcake Calendar: August

Some photos previously blogged here.

Since I started this digital scrapbooking experiment, I have started and abandoned way more projects than I ever finished -- I would guess that I begin at least four pages for every one that I actually complete. Sometimes, it's lack of inspiration, or maybe I can't get everything to turn out the way I pictured it, or perhaps I'm just not as good or as patient or as creative as I thought.

This page, though? This is what I had in mind when I took up this hobby. The pictures are a great foundation, I think -- and even though I bitched about it at the time, sort of, the Anniversary Camera turned out to be absolutely invaluable to me -- and once I found the background paper, this layout virtually assembled itself.

I hope I can manage to get the rest of the 2010 Cupcake Calendar pages to look this good. (And I have to get to work on the Combo Calendar ... oh my head.)

Manicotti Ravioli Lasagna

I made this ... thing ... for dinner yesterday and I'm still not sure what to call it. It was supposed to be a sort of rustic manicotti type thing, but it looked like more of a ravioli, and it totally tasted like a lasagna. In whatever case, it was good, and we'll be having leftovers for dinner. And since I hate leftovers and try to avoid them whenever possible, that is saying something.

Also: this is probably a bit "unusual" in the ingredient selection, but I was trying to make the filling with only two ingredients at first. It didn't work out quite like I had planned. Still turned out delicious with the adjustments, though. (You could probably use plain chopped spinach if you wanted to in this recipe.)

==========

MANICOTTI RAVIOLI LASAGNA
Makes 16 stuffed noodles (about 5 servings)
Prep time: 30 minutes. Cook time: 45 minutes.

8 lasagna noodles
15 ounces ricotta cheese
10 ounce package creamed spinach
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 egg
pasta sauce, to taste (will need at least ½ cup)

• Boil a large pot of salted water (add olive oil, if desired).
• Cook lasagna noodles until done.
• Drain and cool until they are able to be handled.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F.
• Combine ricotta cheese, creamed spinach, ½ cup mozzarella, seasoning, and egg.
• Stir until well-combined.
• Cover the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish with ¼ cup pasta sauce and set aside.
• Cut noodles in half width-wise (to get two noodles about 5" long).
• Place a heaping tablespoon of ricotta mixture in the center of each noodle.
• Fold noodle to make an approximate "ravioli."
• Repeat to make 16 finished "ravioli."
  
• Arrange stuffed noodles in prepared pan -- if you put them in so the ruffled edges face the long way in the pan, you should be able to fit 16 finished "ravioli" in the pan with no overlaps and no gaps.
• Spread finished noodles with sauce (I used about 1 cup) and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Cover pan tightly with foil and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is browned.
• Let sit about 10 minutes before serving with salad and crusty bread.

Possible January Calendar Page

... but I just don't know. It looks ... amateur, no? I mean, the kids are adorable, but the crafting is ... not so much. At least I'm getting back into it, anyway.

Crafty Girls' Night Out 8/20: Bead Class

A group of us ladies at work go out from time to time and do some "art projects" -- we're trying different stuff, because everybody's got their something. Back in June we did a ceramics class, where I made my sister a tea-for-one set that I gave her as a shower gift. This time, we took a class on making beaded necklaces and bracelets at The Potomac Bead Company in Phoenixville.

I admit, I'm not much of a jewelry person, but I do like to work with my hands, and I do like pretty things. Going in, I knew I wasn't going to make anything for myself, but I was thinking about potential Christmas presents. It's always nice to keep your options open, you know? So I decided to start with a matching necklace and bracelet for Shae.

Funny thing: even when I'm not sure what I want to do, I still have ideas in my head. I was thinking about making a cute little rainbow bracelet, with different colored beads or crystals. Except that the materials don't come that way, which I didn't know when I walked through the door. (Research, dammit: look into it!) So I thought I would do something yellow, maybe with ladybugs, but I didn't really find anything that tickled my fancy (or my wallet -- lots of the beads the store had available were stunning, but I wanted to do something lower-end to start with, in case I turned out to be completely inept).

What I ended up with was this color pallette.

I know, I know -- pink. But there's green in there, too, and some cream and coral. My original raw materials for this project were:

• 8mm candy jade beads, 16" strand
  
• Czech glass beads (flat green ovals and pink diamond cubes), 8" strand each
  
• Pink calcite stars and butterflies, 3 each
• Chrysoprase stars and butterflies, 3 each
• 8mm copper beads, one bag of 20
• Small magnetic copper clasps (x2)

I can't really get into the ins-and-outs of the creative process, because there really isn't one -- basically, you lay the beads out on the little measuring board they give you, so you know everything will be long enough, and then you arrange everything, and then string 'em up -- but here is a (not very good) picture of the finished product.

The good news: Shae likes both pieces. She said the necklace makes her feel pretty. But the bad news is that the bracelet is too small and will need to be restrung. That's a blessing in disguise, though, because when the bracelet was originally tied, I wasn't sure how I felt about the lack of "symmetry" -- I think the butterflies and the stars should be alternating. Also, I want to add a clasp to the bracelet, to make it feel more "grown up."

Didn't use everything I originally picked up. The strand of pink beads was returned uncut, and I only used two pink stars and two green butterflies by the time I was done. Including the cost of the class ($12), the entire project cost $34. More than I would have liked to spend (I wanted to keep it under $25, for this first time, anyway), but not unreasonable, I don't think. And next time I am definitely going to make something in yellow, and possibly millefiori beads.

I have a couple of pictures of Shae modeling the necklace but I want to try again when she is in clothes and not pajamas, so hopefully I will have an update soon.

Life Is Good

Picture previously blogged here.

Yes, yes, I know: it's been too long, and you waited all that time for this? Sorry. I found myself in the midst of a dilemma lately -- I have been tired and uninspired. And for some reason, 85% of the papers and elements I have are pink, and a good 75% of the rest are dull. The pictures I have taken this summer are bright, happy, vivid. Life in technicolor.

Plus, I'm out of practice. My goal is to scrap at least twice a week, so I should be back in the swing in no time. I hope. (Also, no credits, because I can't find where any of this stuff came from. I need to Internet search but it's late, and there is water in the basement again.)

Mock Up: Possible 2010 Calendar Page

One picture previously blogged here -- all others are new.
(Hooray for exclusive content!)

This is a mock-up of what may or may not turn out to be the June page of the 2010 Combo Calendar, or whatever I'm going to end up calling it. (Still taking suggestions!) I am pretty happy with this, but unsure about the color scheme -- what do you think? Too much? Not enough? I am thinking it might be too muted for the early summer; maybe it would work better for August? And I know there are no buttons, but I'm trying to step outside my comfort zone a little. Encourage me, OK?

Credits: All elements from "Berry Blue" kit by Babyyaks.

Beach Girl

One picture previously blogged here.

Another attempt at a different layout using the same kit I used for yesterday's layout, but with entirely different pieces (didn't even replicate the papers, yay me!). This time, I wanted to match Shae's orange bathing suit, which I got for our trip to Florida last winter, and which I LOVE. It's my favorite of her swimsuits for this year. Anyway.

Apparently I am a "grid" or "square" scrapper, which means I like things to line up and be orderly and ... well, have you noticed how anal-retentive and butternuts crazy I am? I am hoping that as I do more of this, I'll loosen up some. Or at least get more interestingly uptight.

Credits: Paper and all elements from "Surf's Up" by Dragonfly Designs (soon to be Punky Princess) via Brownie Scraps' July daily downloads.

PS -- This blog also to be redesigned soon; patience, grasshopper.

Making a Splash

Picture originally blogged here.

I have a ton of beach- and water-themed materials that were just begging for the right picture to turn into something. Thanks again, United Airlines!

Credits: Paper and all elements from "Surf's Up" by Dragonfly Designs (soon to be Punky Princess) via Brownie Scraps' July daily downloads.

Happy Heart

Sort of related to this blog post here. From the same day, anyway.

This one is not so great, but I am a little depressed for some reason, and a lot tired, so this is what you get. And you will like it, because I said so.

Credits: Glitter sprinkles, scrollwork and alpha by Studio Flergs. Paper, frame and bow from an autism charity kit that I cannot find (if you know who the designer is, please let me know). Puffy heart by Laura Bozeman Designs. Font is "The Blue Cabin" designed by Amanda Bottoms.

Captain Handsome

One picture previously posted here.

Some more experimenting in GIMP as I try to get familiar with it. I think I'm getting better -- what do you think? And I apologize if these initial layouts are boring, but before I work my way up to the really sophisticated stuff (like this layout by Becca Boo), I need to wrap my head around design software more complicated than Publisher. (Flexible, yes, but more complicated for a neo-Luddite like me.)

Credits: All elements from "Incredi-Boy" add-on sets by GG Digital Designs and Britt-ish Designs except double picture frame; frame from unknown source (let me know if you know where it came from).

Sun Kissed

New and unblogged photos! I KNOW!

Another attempt using GIMP -- I'm getting there. Certainly I have more elements than I had before, which is progress of a sort. Now my problem is that I have SO MUCH STUFF saved to my hard drive (lost of designers give away freebies and starter kits) that I don't know what matches ... which is why many of your digital scrapbooking enthusiasts who have a clue what they're doing use kits, I suppose. Suddenly I'm glad I have eleventy thousand pictures of Shae, because I will need them all. ALL OF THEM. Don't you judge me.

Credits: All elements from "Mango Tango" kit by LLIELLA Designs except word art from "Splash" kit by The Scrapping Sisters.

Sunshine

The photo featured on this page was originally blogged here.

This one is not quite as complex (read: "busy") as some of my earlier pages, because (1) I am trying a new program to create my pages (GIMP 2.6, or GNU Image Manipulation Program, which is basically the open-source equivalent of Photoshop), and (2) I didn't want to "clutter" this picture, because it's one of my favorites. Still haven't learned how to fix "blemishes" in my photos yet, but considering that it took me about two hours and five tantrums to get this far, consider yourself lucky: at least I have learned how to make drop shadows. (You will notice, however, that I managed to make the fonts close in color -- I would not have published this otherwise.)

Credits: Background from "Surf's Up" kit by Dragonfly Designs (via Brownie Scraps). Sun element from "Fly Boy" kit by FreeDigitalScrapbooking.com. Word art created using "Beach Bum" alpha by Digital Blueprint and "Curlz MT" font. Please let me know if I have missed or mis-credited anyone.

Dandelion

Blog post which contains these original pictures can be found here.

For this page I tried layering some elements to get the desired effect(s). The word art is actually two text boxes overlaid with each other -- I did the "underlay" in bold, and when I lined the boxes up, I made them not quite exact. The ribboned flower was made out of four elements in total. And my favorite part, the dandelion graphic, was done by inserting a silver firework element behind the main picture. !!!

Credits: Font is "Unnamed Melody" designed by Amanda Bottoms. Picture frames and bright green button on flower from a kit called "Flourish," designer unknown. Pink and green flower elements by Jeanelle Paige. Yellow ribbon from a kit called "Sticky Kisses," designer unknown. All other elements, source unknown (if you know who created them let me know).

Hat Parade

Related blog post here.

Credits: Background and picture frames are "Tutti-Frutti" by Stacey's Scraps; elements are from "Wonderland" by Miss Erin's Scraps; font is "Chick" (downloadable here); pictures and adorable kid are mine.

4th of July

(Credits: Word Art and Stars by Wild Dandelions "Fun on the 4th" kit. Other items' sources unknown -- please let me know if you are able to identify.)

introductions are in order

Hi there ... you probably already read my "main" blog, rockle-riffic, which is how you ended up here. (If not, I have NO IDEA how you ended up here, and I apologize.) This is going to be the place where I post all my recipes, half-completed (yet still fully terrible) writing projects, and digital scrapbook pages. It's going to take me a while to get everything linked over here I think I've finally linked everything over, but when I'm done and possibly soon, I'll start posting some original content. I figure you'll see new stuff a couple of times a week.

Here is what I have linked so far (in reverse chronological order):

• Bananagate (scrapbook)
• Something Fishy (scrapbook)
• Green Eggs and Ham (recipe)
• Chickety-Split (recipe)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers (recipe)
• Here Comes The Jackpot Question In Advance ... (recipe)
• Recipe: Pumpkin Dip (recipe)
• Savory Sunday: Lazy-Ass Lasagna (recipe)

I think that's everything. If I find anything else, I'll update this post (and if you find anything else over there, please let me know!). Thanks for your patience. And please promise to still love me even when you see the crap I post here and you realize what a gigantic dorkwad I am.

PS -- Everything already on the 'riffic site will stay there. New junk like this will be here. Hope this isn't too confusing! If it is, email me, k?