Back to the old grind

Ugh...is it Friday yet? Jake started school today and I headed back to work after almost 2 weeks off.....and work was the last place I wanted to be. It was sooooo hard going back & trying to get back in the swing of things. At least it's only a 3 day work week. I really wish I could scrapbook all day instead & still be able to pay the bills.

I did start a page yesterday that I had hoped to finish but I just didn't have the energy. So instead I'll just share a few pages of my daughter that were done a while ago that make me smile & then head off to bed. Some of these you may have seen here before when I tried to add a slide into my blog. I still have not figured out how to get it in the side column rather than appearing as a post. If any of you other blogspot bloggers have any tips to share with me on that I'd be very grateful.

The layout below was taken about 6 years ago when Mand was 16. (the day after her birthday actually) We were on vacation driving the west coast...this picture was taken on a beach in Oregon. We call this the "Amanda pose". I can't even remember where it started...but we have so many pictures of this pose from all of our travels...it's become a tradition of sorts to take a shot of the Amanda pose on every trip we take. The background of this page was created by dragging various ink pads lightly across cream colored cardstock in different directions & colors. I really liked how it turned out. Need to do this again sometime...

This layout was created with a photo I took less than a week before Amanda left for boot camp. We had taken a trip to Cape Cod together that was partly a celebration of her 21st birthday & partly a goodbye. Thats me with the big old beach bag reflected in her sunglasses. This picture makes me sad because she's not nearby and we can't do these girls days & weekends together anymore. I miss the girl so much but am so proud of her for her bravery, determination & comittment this past year.

This layout makes me smile with warm memories of Amanda's trip home for the holidays last winter. She had to return to her duties with the Navy much too quickly for me but it was so nice to have her here to visit. I haven't seen her since April...and won't see her again till the holidays. But we talk often & she is doing so well. Its nice to see her so happy.

This layout is also from last winter, created with a photo from Amanda's trip home for the holidays. I love this picture of Amanda and her old room mate Megan. This was the first time they had seen each other since Mand left for boot camp in July of 2007. As soon as they stopped hugging the heck out of each otehr I snapped this picture. They were both crying but so happy to see each other. I like the simplicity of this layout and how well the cardstock & Basic Grey paper complement the photo. This layout took less than 10 minutes to create...whats not to love about that?