::ANNA::

Week in Review 2007

Is finally finished and looks like this. 

I had a been a little stumped on how to introduce the book and what to do with the cover until I read Ali's Weekend Creative this afternoon and stumbled upon this in the DD gallery.  It caught my eye and then I was surprised to learn that I actually designed the word overlay.  Granted it was a while ago, but clearly, I've being doing waaaay to long!

So to cut a long story short, I combined the two and finished it up this evening.

I'm going to be doing a Month by Month one for 2008.  While I love the detail in 2007...It was a LOT of work. 

OK...next?  Florida 2007 :)  I'm only 2 Florida albums behind ;) 

Little Sneak Peek :)

Check out the redesign of the Digital Scrapbooking Mag!

I hear it is HOT off the press and will be shipping SOON.

Along with new look, the one year anniversary April/May 2008 Issue sports new columns, fresh innovative techniques and, of course, only the best in Digi Scrapbooking.

Subscribe here.

Also, check out the call for submissions for a chance to get published.

Noise is....

...sitting on a school bus with a couple of Kindergarten classes.  They say a picture speaks a thousand words but in this case it comes nowhere close.  But look at Ella's face...so thrilled to have me on board.  I joined her and her class yesterday for a performance at the Alaskan Performing Arts Center by the Jabali African Acrobats.  Pretty cool stuff!

And this is what Anchorage looks like at this time of year:

A little on the "icy" side but it's perfect for the Iditarod race that comes through here every year.

After the show I grabbed a Calvin's Choice roll at my fave sushi joint and enjoyed some well earned peace and some alone time with my iphone.

   

Ali makes the art of self portraits look so easy doesn't she?

NAETs Update

We are back into clearing mode....

Luke has 17 yet to go, Ella has 8, I believe, and I have 3....

I would really like to get through them all by the time we leave so the pressure is on.

So going back a bit...

You may remember I had about 5 clearings in succession the week before we left for Florida?

What a nightmare that was.  I arrived in Florida a complete mess.  Granted I had a lot on my mind, but I definitely underestimated the power the of clearings.

Observations so far:

• We are all DEFINITELY a LOT calmer.  I'm less irritable, more relaxed, less volatile and more able to keep my cool.  Luke's daycare provider has noticed he is less violent towards his peers and more likely to use his words in conflicting situations (unless he's being a Jedi Knight as shown below).

• We are no longer sugar junkies.  It used to be a rarity for me to walk out of Starbucks without something sweet to go with my coffee.  No I don't give that baked goods counter a second thought.  The children say no to dessert, rarely ask for candy anymore and Luke now requests water over juice from time to time. 
• Subsequent clearings have been a breeze.  I had to repeat the sugarless diet for my Candida clearing and it was not even a hardship this time around.  The children also breezed through their 2 clearings this week.

• In Florida,  I was still having stomach issues with dairy and gluten.  I've had another couple of clearings then.  The situation has improved but there is more there to figure out.
• Ella is not sleeping as long since her iron clearing (Up to 12 hours instead of her old 14 hours plus +), is easier to wake in the morning.  The dark circles under her eyes have improved.  Academically, she has come on in leaps and bounds.  We have been trying to get her to count to 20 for months, and in a few days she is not only able to count to 100 but is also able to write her numbers.  She is also now a little sassy!  It's almost as if her brain has woken up.  She questioning us for the first time which could be a bad thing depending on how you look at it :)

Impressed at the results so far.  A little daunted by the weeks ahead as the clearings are hard work and require good preparation and organization.  That said, I'm excited to reach the end of this road and hopefully see more results.

New ART

Today. Here. Enjoy!

 

Gadgets

It's no secret that I am NOT very technological.  YES! It is true.  Put me inside Photoshop and I can do my thing but anything outside of that and it takes a while to wrap my brain around it.  It's just the way I am.

That said, I still LOVE gadgets.

copyright Angie Svodoba 2008

Donna introduced me to The Flip when she interviewed us all at our CHA team dinner.  I was intrigued and thought it would be a cool "thing" to have.  Consider having it in your purse and being able to pull it out at a moments notice to capture something fun?  I've been "sleeping" on it for a few weeks and decided that it's a must have, especially with our big move coming up very soon. A very sexy piece of kit don't you think?  She's ordered.

Another gadget I came back from CHA with is the ACDSee Photo Manager.  I've been hearing rave reviews about this software for a long time now but have been telling myself I don't need it without really giving it a second thought.  It's just another software package, right?  Wrong!  Having sat down with the girls at ACDSee at CHA...I realized I clearly DO need this software.  I have to say I was suitably impressed.

I've yet to look at a photo using this software, but I LOVE it's category system combined with all my digi scrapping "Schtuff".  The program allows you to create custom categories and assign all your papers, elements and brushes etc... to create a search-able database.  It takes a little while to go through that process (as I am finding) but OH SO WORTH IT (as I am also finding).  I can now search all my supplies based on color, type of element and even subject matter.  Pretty cool to be able to locate all the bird motifs I have at one easy click don't you think?

ACDSee are also preparing to release a new version of their Photo Editor later this year which could, dare I say it, rival the capabilities of Photoshop Elements. They are looking to the public for beta testers.  Visit www.acdsee.com/photoeditor.com for more information.

Finally, on my wishlist for a while, has been Alien Skin's Blow-Up, which allows you to literally blow up low resolution images to a larger scale while preserving smooth edges within the image.  A new project has made this one a necessity and so "click" and into the cart it has gone.  I'm assured by Pattie that it's simply FABULOUS and that I won't be disappointed. 

 

Just do it + CHA Winter 2008 Recap

Taking a leaf out of my own book.

We arrived back in AK in the early hours of Monday morning, and since then I have been procrastinating on the old blog.  I think the less I post, the more I have to write in each of those posts, meaning more time spent writing those posts, and all of a sudden the blog becomes a huge and daunting task.  Hence, the procrastination.  At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

So going back a bit....Anyone still interested in CHA Winter 2008?

I think the actual show has already been covered really well in "Blogland" (Lain did a really super job if you are pining for more).  Instead, I'm going to share some of my memories from my trip to to sunny and warm California.

I arrived at the airport and met Angie at baggage claim where I was supposed to get my luggage.  I say supposed because it did not arrive...at least on the airplane I arrived on.  Thankfully, it was on the next plane....but no time to wait.  We were heading off right away to Hollywood to watch Wicked.  It was at this point we bumped into Stacy and we all grabbed a cab to the hotel.  My room ironically was ready, while Angie's and Stacy's weren't.  So we dropped all our stuff in my room and ran to meet Lain.

We cruised in style to Hollywood where we met up with the rest of the Simple and Digital Scrapping team.

copyright Angie Svodoba 2008

Check out that traffic.  You don't get jams like that in Anchorage.

And the Hollywood hills in the distance. 

I was 17 years old when I first came to Hollywood.  Dad was got a posting in Toronto for a year and so he took us, the family, on a once in a lifetime trip to Las Vegas, San Diego and Los Angeles for a week.  Who would have thought I would ever be back here again...

The Kodak Theater and surrounding shops where the Oscars take place.

Dinner. Copyright Angie Svodoba 2008.

They say everything is bigger in America.  Stacy shows the salads are of no exception.

And "meeting the Oscars".  This was my absolute favorite.  All those oscars will be given away this coming Sunday.

Copyright Angie Svodoba 2008.

For the record, I was not intending on looking so scruffy.  It was my intent to change into something a little smarter for this occasion, but American Airlines had other plans...

We got a taste of what it's like to be on the red carpet...well, sort of ;)

copyright Angie Svodoba 2008

...and recieve an Oscar.

That's Brad Pitt...

 

Walk the Boulevard some.

To watch the show, which was, by the way, fantastic.  I just which I hadn't had to get up at some ridiculous time that morning and found myself struggling to stay awake towards the latter part of the show.

copyright Angie Svodoba 2008

Standing on the corner of Hollywood + Vine (which is supposed to be famous?) in the early hours, freezing, waiting for the cars to take us back to Anaheim.

In spite of the late night, I was up early (still on Florida time), ordered some room service and tried on the Ali thing of taking a self portrait.

Then it's back to thing called work.

copyright Angie Svodoba 2008

Katie stops by to say "Hi" at our "Meet the Digital Scrapbooking Editors".

 

copyright Kent Pearson 2008

Pre-Seminar "Digital Scrapbooking for Retailers".

More random and fun memories in no apparent order:

 

Kent and Renee helping me shop for gifts for Ella and Luke in Disneyland.

Team dinner with the Simple and Digital Crew.

copyright Caroline Ikeji 2008

Group photo of the Designer Digital girls.

Seriously GOOD times.

From Anaheim

My feet hurt.

Heading back to Orlando tomorrow for a few days before we make our final trek back to Anchorage on Sunday.

Another Week...

...in sunny Florida.

A little work.  A little play...

We kicked of the week with a trip to Seaworld with Auntie Sarah and Uncle Del.

This was the first year in the past 3 years that E & L have been old enough to really enjoy the show.  They were both totally absorbed and totally looking the part with their fun face paintings.  Ella always has and still has a thing for face painting.

We have been totally spoiled with the weather down here this year with temps soaring into the 80's.  A little steamy for those of us used to more temperate climates.

Little Lukee fell asleep "upright" through all the exhaustion.

 

We've also been down to the "Big Poo" as Luke calls it a.k.a the big community pool. 

We enjoyed the lazy river.

Some sisterly banter at the top of the big slide

And our not so elegant descent

The BIGGEST news is that Ella is swimming without wings.  The style needs a little work but she is awesome.  So much more confidence than she has ever had before

Luke on the other hand is a law unto himself and, in spite of Mama's enthusiasm, prefers to be doing this

 

Then there have been days at home finishing a big project and enjoying time by the pool.

Drinking morning coffee in my jammies

...Watching moments like these from a lounger by the pool.

I've been so busy that photo taking has really taken a backseat since the beginning of the New Year.  In a way it's been a relief not to have to many photos to go through each week and the realization that the story can still be told with fewer photos. 

So a new focus with a goal to maintain this frugality on photos without skimping on content.

E & L in my absence have been enjoying the camera with many a surprise.

A few favorites:

Getting ready for the CHA trade show in Anaheim.  Will be flying out early in the a.m.

Looking forward to a few days spent catching up with friends and being inspired. 

Weekend Antics

Quiet weekend with family.

Spent Saturday night over at my sister's boyfriend's place, and Sunday I headed to the mall...No shopping just a look around.  Kicking back a little.

Today it's all about E & L.  We're off to Seaworld!