anything but ordinary

Public Service Announcement: Common Courtesies

This is a public service announcement for those of you who should know better regarding certain behaviors in publicly shared areas... but seem to ignore the common courtesies that you were supposed to have learned somewhere along the way...

1. MOVIE THEATERS:

Please do not TALK during a movie. Seriously...I would like to actually hear the dialogue on the screen without having to discern the words through YOUR mumblings...if you'd like to carry on a conversation, please spare yourself the $10 a ticket and wait for the movie to come out on dvd so you can watch it and pause it at your liesure in the comfort of your own home. And if, for some reason, you really feel the need to talk (to clarify a plot point, perhaps), please do so in a whisper, and make it brief. If your words are simply the regurgitation of the simple workings of your mind (and I quote from my experience while recently viewing the movie Cloverfield: "wow, it's bright outside," "that's a funny street name," etc...) please keep your inner dialogue to yourself. It is not relevent. And, if you feel the need to discuss the movie in detail, please please PLEASE wait until the movie is OVER and the credits are rolling. Then you can dissect to your heart's content.

2.  THEATRES: (Note: all of the following really happened just the other night while watching Wicked at the Pantages Theatre.)

Please do not talk. This is similar to the item above, with a few expansions. Since the theatre is so large and the music/words are LIVE, they are sometimes even more difficult to discern. Please do NOT talk and realize that even a whisper carries. If you don't understand something in the plot that requires a lengthy explanation, please please PLEASE wait until intermission to ask the questions/carry on the conversation...you will have a full 15 minutes to catch up. And if you are spending this much $$ on a ticket to the show, please have SOME kind of idea of the storyline BEFORE you come to the show...I do not need, nor do I appreciate, a running translation of what I am attempting to watch on the stage before me. Please be aware of when you might be disturbing others. When someone turns around to look at you, that means that you need to be aware that you are drawing attention to yourself and becoming a distraction from the show. And when it finally becomes necessary for someone to ask you (as nicely as possible) to be quiet, please do not act as if you are the affronted party, or become defensive or accusatory. (Sigh.)

No food. Another thing to note: I think it is a particularly sad point we have reached in our society as a whole when there actually has to be not only a printed notification in the playbill but also a verbal reminder given before the performance starts for people to please unwrap any candies before the show begins. Seriously? And yet, a woman behind me (the worst of the "talkers" and the one I had to directly ask to be quiet) proceeded to unwrap her candy midway through the first act. Slowly. Gauging by how long the "crinkling" noise went on, this thing must have been triple-wrapped...really.

3. GYMS:

Please do not talk long distance. (Sense a theme here?) C'mon, really... if you and a friend are working out in the gym together, that's great. And if you are close to one another and are chatting...whatever. I'm talking about the long distance, I-must-be-invisible kind of talking. During the workweek, I take advantage of my office building's gym downstairs. It's a smaller gym, yes, but still large enough that there are usually 4 or 5 of us working out at once. Well, there are 2 people that use machines in OPPOSITE CORNERS of that gym...and proceed to have a conversation. I have been next to one of them before, and it is quite loud. Because, not only are they talking much louder than normal to cover the distance between them, but they also need to raise their voices above the mechanical noises of the elliptical machines and treadmills. So that even when I turn my ipod up as high as I possibly can (without causing hearing loss), it is still not enough to drown them out, and is that much more difficult to get into the "workout zone." And the other day, I actually watched as they carried on their coversation OVE R someone who was trying to work out on a machine in the middle of them. This is not cool, people...

Please USE the machines you are sitting on. I have a problem with people who just sit on the machines and do nothing else. I'm not talking about those who are taking a brief rest between "sets"...I'm talking about those who bring a magazine and just sit there. And it happens all too often. I am a member of a Bally Fitness, where this happened to me last week: there are only 2 "thigh" machines, one to work the inner thighs and one for the outer thighs. So we all have to be patient and take turns on the machine, and sometimes substitute other exercises if the machine is too busy. Well, I was just about to start on one of the machines. A woman sat down next to me at the other one. She jotted something down in a book (maybe keeping track of the weight lifted, etc...). She then picked up her magazine and just sat there, reading. She eventually reached over to adjust the weights, but then didn't LIFT them and just sat there again, reading. seriously. In this whole time, I was able to completely finish exercising on my own machine (3 sets of 10 reps, including brief periods of rest between). So I stood up and stood near her machine, to see if she might make it available. She still just sat there reading. So I politely asked if I might use that machine for a moment. She was startled and said that she was "just about to begin," but guess that she could move to the other one. So I sat down to begin my exercise. She told me "I really wasn't just sitting there reading." Uh-huh...sure.

4. RESTAURANTS:

NOT a playground. If you are visiting a reastaurant with children, please realize that the rest of us are not at the resturant to play "babysitter" and don't particularly enjoy having to dodge your children as they run up and down the aisles. If you think it is perfectly okay for your children to be running around, please visit a resturant with a designated "play area." And for those people who might be thinking "oooh...she must not have children," no, I do not. But I don't see how that makes this behavior acceptable. And when I dine out with my nieces and nephew, I am an active participant in the entertaining/disciplining/meal-time process that occur when you have children, so I know what is involved. If you were wanting to have a nice meal out and not bother with paying any attention to your children, please leave them at home with a babysitter so that the rest of the patrons in the restaurant do not get stuck with that chore.

THANK YOU! 

Ladybugs available at cafepress.com

I added a few new items to my cafepress shop, up at www.cafepress.com/chelbug. And I will be adding even more in the next week or so...

Also, if you like one of my designs but want to see it on an item not currently offered in my store, just let me know and I would be happy to add it for you! Since I am only operating a "free" store at the moment, I am restricted by only being able to place one of each type of item in my store at a time. Which means I can only display ONE design on each type of shirt, etc. Big bummer, but I can easily modify things quickly enough to make what YOU want available. So, don't be afraid to ask!!!

In any case, my most recent design offered is this ladybug, available on several items besides the ones pictured here. Please pop on over to the site and see for yourself!

 

inspiration strikes...

just when i thought i was "stuck"...inspiration to create struck me. it was an in-depth conversation i held with my fiance. we've all been there...it's a bit scary, but necessary. we try to avoid those dreaded words "we need to talk"...but sometimes the outcome brings us closer than we were before. heading toward the beginning of our marriage, we have been having more and more discussions of this kind.

so...i was ready to scrap. just to remember the moment and some of the words that were said. i didn't have any pictures that expressed what i wanted, so i used simple embellishments instead. pretty much nothing but words on this layout,which i feel was effective in conveying the message of the "talk."

digi creation

I've been in a slump lately. Scrapper's block. Feeling stunted. I have the desire to create, but my mojo feels blocked. I have several works-in-progress, but didn't feel inspired to complete them.

I gather my supplies, sit down to work, realize I'm missing something I need...get up, search for it, surround myself with MORE stuff... and by the time I'm ready to start I just feel like I'm sitting in the middle of a big MESS. My creativity feels blocked when things get to this point.

I know, I know...I need to organize my supplies in a better way. I need to clean the house so I can GET to my supplies. Both of those things are on my ever-growing "to-do" list. But in the meantime, I still need to create.

So, I improvised. When writers get writer's block, they are told to just keep writing. About anything. So, as a scrapper, I did the same thing.

The digital format is a wonderful thing when it comes to situations like this. I was able to "grab" a recent photo, "grab" a digital kit (free kit download from Creating Keepakes several months ago, if anyone was wondering) and just GO.

It didn't come out quite as I had originally pictured, and I had to walk away from it at one point. But I just DID it. I let it go. It's not complex, but it's nice.

And I feel better for having finally finished a creation. Here it is:

 

on the backburner...

Well, it's official and has been for a while now. After much discussion, Tony and I have decided to put our fledgling business (Thunkitup Creations) on hold for the moment.  We are really REALLY looking forward to launching our business, but feel it best to wait until we can give it our full attention and start off as strong as possible. So, there will be no CHA Winter for us this year. Hopefully, we will be debuting our scrapbooking products at the  expo in 2009. 

There are just way too many life events happening in 2008, that we needed to alleviate the stress where we could. Between planning a wedding, moving (and maybe even buying a house), and Tony possibly switching jobs, we felt like starting up our business was just a weee bit too much to take on at this time.

But don't worry. We will be launching the business as soon as we can. We have lots of designs finalized that we will be opening with.

And in the meantime, I am still creating my own smaller products that are for sale...I have to do this kind of thing to keep me sane. I NEED to create. Check out my personal stores:

www.chelbug.etsy.com
www.cafepress.com/chelbug

officially open for business!!!

I have opened a cafepress shop of my own, which you can visit by clicking on www.cafepress.com/chelbug. Although I only have one design created so far, it is available on several items. And I will be updating this shop over the next few days, to add a few more products and designs. Come show your support!!!

playing with hair

I went to my mom's house the other night so she could "play" with my hair a bit...I still haven't been able to decide on a hairstyle for the wedding, so my mom offered to test several styles over the course of several days. This was the first attempt. Not bad...who knew that my short hair could be in an up-do?

I love playing with my camera...here is just a random picture I took while trying to document the hairstyle. I love these "accidental" shots.

And here is one more...Tony had to help remove the gazillions of bobbypins my mom had used. Here is the end result...lookd pretty scary to me, so I started striking some "creature" poses.

wedding update

I had never been one of those girls who had planned their dream wedding from age 5. So, I have a lot of catching up to do! Our wedding is mainly a do-it-yourself project; the decorations, floral arrangements, invitations, programs, CAKE and even the DRESS is being made by family. So...there is a LOT to do. Who knew that one day could have so much to coordinate? Seriously.

In any case, I have put together an ongoing page of details for anyone who would like to peek as the day draws closer. You can find it on my sidebar under "pages"...simply called "Wedding Details."

daily journal.

I have decided to take on (what I hope will turn out to be ) an amazing ongoing project for myself this year...

Coinciding with my "NOW" mantra for 2008 (see previous post), I want to keep a daily journal/diary, recording everything from daily thoughts to my to-do lists. Now, I have always kept a calendar of sorts, but I wanted it to be more personal this year. Taking a cue from Ali Edwards, I am trying to record my "mundane..." I thought it would be kinda neat to see my "to-do" lists right along side of in-depth journaling of my feelings or just little quotes or memories for the day.

I found the perfect journal to fit my needs. Quite pretty and very useful. From We R Memory Keepers, as part of the "Memory Dock" series, this is what they call their "Creative Planner." The design is sooo my style. You purchase the inserts to fill your needs; I purchased the calendar section which has a monthly and daily calendar. I also purchased a few other insert packs so that I now have insert which has tabs and papers for journaling, creative sketches, photo planners, shopping lists (scrapbook supplies and grocery store), inspiration, journal cards, and the typical address/phone book section.

My idea is to journal on each calendar page about my day. Whether just a few words or more in-depth, I want to capture my moods. When each month is over, I will transfer those daily pages to a separate notebook for safe keeping. I will be adding in those longer journal pages where they fit in the timeline. And then I can fill in around each day with scrapbook layouts, photo pages, and anything else I see fit to add (epherma such as ticket stubs, brochures, etc.) so that I can work on this album over the course of the entire year. And at the end of 2007 the album will be 100% complete, and in-depth documentation of my year.

word of the year

remember last year, i mentioned how ali edwards said she was picking a word to concentrate on and use as her mantra for the year? mine was "responsible" and tony's was "balance."   

well, it's time for a new word for 2008. i hadn't thought about it too much...was thinking about the word "procrastination" but didn't know how to word it as a GOOD verb, other than "don't procrastinate" which is 2 words, but also has more negative connotations cuz i'm saying i'm NOT going to do something, rather than what i WILL do.

then it came to me:

NOW.

that's gonna be my word. for a few different reasons. i could probably expand on it later, but here are the first things that come to mind:

1. to fight procrastination. i am tired of my "i'll do it later" attitude...whether it be the lottery that i missed out on, scrapbooking publishing deadlines i miss, holding off posting a blog, or even laundry or dishes. if i THINK of it and if it's feasible at the time, i just wanna DO it. i've been trying to do so in the past week or so. (failed with the dishes and the laundry, but did well with my creative stuff...)

2. to live in the moment more. i have been trying to PLAN less and less, and trying to listen to my moods more. not used to it, and sometimes it makes me uncomfortable to NOT have a plan in place. but i have been trying. and i will continue to do so. i know i plan a lot for the future, and talk about it a lot. but i really want to try to just BE. in the here and now. you know?

so...how bout you?

work in progress...

For those of you who visit my blog...you'll notice things look a bit "off"...all my pictures appear to have been replaced with those danged red x's. but, no worries. this is to be expected.

new year, new blog... my address had been my name. but since my name will be changing later this year, i wanted to change my blog to reflect that. so i went with something different... a nickname that has been with me since childhood. SO, here is the new chelbug.typepad.com.

The people at typepad have been very accomodating in helping me make this change. so, now i just need to go back and reconstruct parts of this blog. however, given the fact that this dates back over a year, i will not be fixing each post. instead, i will be hitting the important places (main pic, galleries, etc...) but the old posts will probably remain as-is. i will just be starting fresh and clean with the new year instead.

happy readings!