Memphis in May Day 2 #bsmf13 #inMemphis

Saturday we got up and had breakfast at our hotel before we headed to get Jon attired for the rainy weather. We found a Tractor Supply Store and got him some rain boots, then headed to Walmart in search of ponchos. They didn’t have any, so we settled for an emergency blanket, which ended up being super warm and got lots of compliments, as it was bright silver and everyone thought it was foil and kept saying we were geniuses. We had barbecue for lunch and got to Beale Street just as a storm blew in. Freezing cold wind was blowing us all over the road, but it only sprinkled. We tried to meet up with Brandon and company, but they’d gone back to their hotel before we got to Beale.

We went to Alfred’s and had a drink, then headed to the festival. We met up with Brandon and Ann for a minute, but they were going to a different show, so we parted ways. Jon and I went and saw Patti Smith, which was pretty awesome. About then I realized I’d lost my ID somewhere on Beale Street, though. But, we were already in so I thought we’d make the most of it while we were there. So we worked our way through the crowd to about the 10th row for Dwight Yoakam, also pretty good, although Jon hates being in the crowd and wasn’t loving it. After that, we stayed put for Black Keys, or did our best. Unfortunately, everyone brought their entitled attitudes, and stood behind us spouting the most arrogant drivel you’ve ever heard. Jon had an even harder time, since everyone was pushing to get up front and we were packed in like crushed pineapple. We stayed up front for the first 7 songs, but then we had to go use the bathroom too bad, as we’d been standing in the same place to keep our spot for the past three hours.

Getting out of the crowd was crazy! We knew there were lots of people pushing up front, but we didn’t realize just how many people were at the show until we tried to get out. I thought we’d just pop out the side of the crowd, but it never ended. We got to the fence at the side of the park, and the crowd was still packed. I’ve never seen so many people at any show at Memphis in May in all the years I’ve gone. It was insane. We finally made it out of the crowd, almost at the next stage. We got some Asian noodles and ate, and sat and waited for ZZ Top. We sat on a poncho (we’d bought one from a guy on Beale) and wrapped up in Jon’s Silver Man Superhero blanket. That was a bit warm, but the wind was punishing. I don’t think I’d gotten that cold all winter. After a few songs, we left. It was just too miserable.

Beale Street Music Festival 2013 #bsmf13 (Day 1)

 My sixth trip to Memphis in May kicked off yesterday, this one being the beginning of our honeymoon. I’ve been meaning to write some about the wedding planning, but the planning itself took so long I haven’t had time to write anything. So, I’ll write about the honeymoon instead.


This trip started off with a bang, as it SNOWED in the morning. That’s right, on May 3, in ARKANSAS, it snowed. For reference, it’s usually about 80 degrees on May 3. Not snowing.

I drove the first three hours to Little Rock by myself, listening to The Odyssey. Jon’s friend had said we could park at his place, but he backed out at the last minute. I managed not to freak out, and a couple other friends came through for us. After parking one of the cars there, we set off on our honeymoon adventure. We only got lost once, and had to backtrack a looong way to get to our hotel in West Memphis. We got settled and took off for Tom Lee Park. About ten minutes after crossing the bridge, I realized I’d left the tickets in the hotel room. So we had to backtrack again, and got off on the wrong exit and took the loooooooong way around to get back to the hotel. We finally got back to the hotel and collected the tickets.

As I was standing in the door of the hotel room folding my tickets, the guy in the next room came out and said, “Oh, I’m glad I saw you doing that or I would’ve left my tickets and not realized until I got all the way to Memphis.” ARRRGGGHHH!

I went to get a jacket, since it was freakishly cold here, too, and when I came back, Jon was chatting to the guy. He said he’d give us $20 if we gave him a ride down to the show. I agreed, and we set off once again. We chatted to Leon on the way over, and about ten minutes past the bridge I said, “I think we were supposed to get off on an exit right after the bridge.” So for the third time, we had to backtrack all the way through Memphis.

We finally got to the park and went in to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, which was the first band on our schedule anyway. We missed eating at a restaurant, but got our customary gyros in the festival. We stood and listened to about half an hour of Sheryl Crow, which was better than I expected. Then we went to ES&MZ, which unfortunately, Jon didn’t like. While we were dancing around in the mud, some girls walked by and one of them totally nabbed my beer! I just stood there like, “OMG! She did not just do that!” For all she new, it could have been someone’s spit can, or someone could have peed in the can to avoid the porta-potty, or…EW EW EW!

Before she could even walk away, Jon retrieved the beer, though, and we continued dancing. After the show, we went to the last stage to see Alice in Chains. They were awesome! I knew almost all their songs, and the few new ones they played were really good, too. Jon loved the show, which was good, because I wasn’t sure he’d enjoy it. The first thing they said when they walked on stage was, “Well, at least we made it on stage this time.” We danced around, and got really close. It was so cold that the crowd was super thin, and we got to about the 10th row without having to push our way through at all. The crowd was pretty sparse, and calm for a rock show. But it was an awesome time all around, and though we froze our butts off the whole time, it didn’t rain on us. We sloshed through the mud to leave the festival, and just as we were walking past another stage, Hall and Oates were playing, “You Make My Dreams Come True.” We stopped and did a swing dance on the muddy sidewalk for the whole song. I dropped my phone in the mud, but otherwise, it was an exciting, fun evening that went off without a hitch. We even got the drive down on the way back, and realized we are staying really close to the festival, if only we don’t get lost getting there again!

Scrappy Sunday: House project

Hey guys,
I meant to post this last week, but I ended up posting a couple pictures of my tag. So...I saved this one for this week, even though it was part of the OWSE January swap. It was part of a swap those ladies have put together called "random acts of art" where we exchange scappy projects. For January, we did a house shaped project. Here is mine.

I cut out the base from cardstock, then covered it with patterned paper (I can't find the pack it came from, but I think it was My Mind's Eye). I cut a little doorway (the paper was great because it had lines on it, so cutting was a snap). I covered the door with wood-patterned thin cardboard from a package of chocolate. What can I say, I love to use random stuff! I cut a chimney from the same patterned paper as the siding and folded it in two to add a little durability. I hand-cut a piece of glittered, self-adhesive paper for the roof and the chimney cover. I used Love, Elsie rub-on letters and tree and a brad from The Paper Studio (for the door knob). The last thing I added was a little chipboard bird circle from ki memories. I covered the back of the whole project with kraft cardstock to reinforce it so it's more sturdy.

Scrappy Sunday: OWSE swaps

Okay, so I've totally failed my NY resolution to blog more...but I'll bring back something I did last year, which was share a little bit of creative scrappiness on Sundays.

This month I joined a couple of swaps over at Outlaw Women's Scrapbook Emporium. I've never done a swap before, so I really hope my swap partner doesn't hate me after this!

I had to make a tag for one of the swaps. The theme was something about resolutions. I started out intending to make it say "Be more me," but I couldn't make up my mind, and nothing seemed to match exactly right, so I decided to just embrace the two things that seemed to be trying to battle it out on the tag. I think most ladies are contradictions, and I decided to just embrace that instead of trying to be one thing or the other. And, my tag kind of reflects that (I hope).

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to decorate the back of the tag as well, but I had a bunch of ugly brad backs showing on the back, so I went ahead with it. I wasn't sure if it had to be along the same lines as the front, but I thought I'd keep the theme and a few elements in common, but I used some different supplies, too. I didn't spend as much time on the back. I was putting my son to bed one evening, and I just thought something about how I don't spend enough time outside really playing anymore. So I went with that for the back, and tried to have another resolution on the back without making it too complicated. Here's the back.

supplies used:

tag, brads, stamps: The Paper Studio

paper: 7 gypsies, ki memories, prima

ink: Ranger Industries

spray ink: sei

letter stickers: making memories, American Crafts

other: flowers, burlap, cardstock, cork, circle sticker, reinforcers

My phone, my life.

Does anyone remember those t-shirts that were popular in the 90s that said, "Basketball is life," or "Golf is life" or "climbing is life" and stuff like that? I think they were popular around the time of "NO FEAR" t-shirts, right after the "Co-ed Naked..." went out of style.

Lately it's more like..."My phone is life." Has anyone else noticed the obscene attachment we have to our phones? As someone who resisted getting a cell phone for years after everyone else (back when they were still called cell phones instead of smart phones or just phones), I never thought I'd be someone to get overly attached to one. I didn't have a smart phone for ages, either. I resisted the same way I resisted the Kindle and other ebook devices. Books should be written on paper, damn it! Phones should be for phone calls, damn it! The computer is for internet!

Flash forward to 2013. Just after Christmas, overjoyed to ridiculous proportions with the 4 inches of snow on the ground (for the record, we only got ONE snow last year, about 1 or 2 inches, that melted in a day, so my excitement was probably warranted), I decided I'd go for a run in the snow and take some pictures. I then stuck my sleek white smartphone in my pocket and took off. Almost back to the house, I reached in my pocket, only to find it empty. The horror! How could I live without a phone?

Several searches of the shoulder of the road on foot, and several drive-bys while hanging out the window of my fiance's truck yielded only frustration and a chapped face. My pearly white phone had disappeared into the snow like a...well...snowflake.

"It's okay," I told my fiance, exhausted from the search and having resigned myself to the fact that all my pictures, texts, phone numbers, and calendar entries for the past year had vanished and were not going to be recovered. Once the despair wore off, I was strangely calm. "I don't need a phone," I said. "It might be nice to be without it for a while." He disagreed heartily, and offered to buy me a new phone, which I refused. I was all prepared to be phone-less. After all, I am not one of those zombies who walk around with their noses glued to their phones all day. I hardly use Facebook anymore. I don't call many people, and I could always use someone else's phone, since all my family was home for Christmas. Right?

Before I go on, I should mention that my internet access also comes through my phone. Which means no phone = no internet. Suddenly I had to rely on my mom and sister to even check my email. Driving the 45 minutes to my fiance's house was both frustrating (how do I know he's home? Am I supposed to pick up some food? I'm running late, but I can't shoot him a text letting him know...) and even made me a bit nervous. What if my car broke down? It was cold, and I wouldn't be able to call anyone for help.

All the appointments on my calendar, also on my phone of course, were missed. I had planned to take at least one picture every day for a year...that was shot to hell in the very first week of the year. I missed important emails from my realtor, texts from friends asking what I was doing for NYE, invitations to events, and worst of all...I couldn't remember anyone's number! I didn't even know my own fiance's phone number, let alone my realtor, chiropractor, or boss. I knew exactly three numbers: my mom's, and two of my sisters', one of whom has had her phone since before I had a cell phone, so I knew it from way back in the day when people either had to memorize phone numbers or carry around an address book. So quaint and primitive it seems absurd to us now, when all the information to be found is at our fingertips, 24/7.

I finally got my phone back, 10 days later, a neighbor having found it on the road, mere inches from a stream of melting snow runoff. My conclusion? My smart phone has made me stupid. I no longer remember anything. My smart phone remembers everything for me, which lets my brain coast through the day emptily. I am a phone zombie. All that important stuff is kept in one place, which is seductively convenient. Unfortunately, when we lose that one place...we're lost. How did we ever live without having all that at our fingertips--calendars, texts, directions when we're lost, restaurant and menu lists when we're hungry, alarms to remind us of important events...not to mention phone numbers. And let's face it, most of us use our phones a lot more often for internet, texts, etc, than we do for making phone calls.

It's a little frightening to learn just how much I rely on my phone. Did I really say, just two weeks ago, that I don't need a phone? What I need is a second phone, as a backup. Just in case.

New Year's Resolutions

Again it is that time of year when we get around to making vows that we usually don't keep, usually aimed at bettering ourselves.
In the spirit of the new year, here goes...Again I will aim high!

Here are 13 goals for 2013...
1. Publish my next book
2. Get married
3. Leave the country
4. Buy a house
5. Write another book or finish one I've started
6. Be more positive
7. Do my chiropractic exercises every day
8. Get a new job
9. Read 100 books
10. Learn the waltz
11. Skip for 1 mile
12. Put in a garden
13. Cook something new every week

Cheers to the New Year!

Scrappy Sunday: Gratitude (November Journal Cover)

Back with another pagemaps challenge. This one was really great.

Here is the sketch:

And here's my take on it. I used it for my November journal cover.