every time

Every time he sees a cool car, he wants his photo next to it.

Sad that I didn't get the full shot otherwise I'd be able to remember what this car is.

CKC Charlotte

After leaving Asheville, we drove about 2 hours to Charlotte where the Creating Keepsakes Convention would be held. That night we met some friends for dinner then crashed at the hotel.

The next day, I was well-rested and less swollen than the day before, so I was ready to teach. The class size was smaller in Charlotte than I was used to, but I LOVED IT! Every student received a door prize. Plus, there were lots of Studio Calico members as my students. I met and got to talk with most of them for at least a few minutes, which is more than I usually get considering the classes are typically crammed and there's not much time in between. By far, Charlotte has been my favorite location to teach at, so I definitely want to return next year.

After my classes, I propped my feet up so they would be ready for dinner with Kelly Purkey & Megan Hoeppner. We ate at Enso's at the CityCentre and it was delicious. They even rolled out the red carpet for us when they found out how important we were :) ha!



Then, we decided we had time for bowling at this cool alley just steps away.

Too bad we didn't plan ahead more, because at this swanky place, you actually have to have reservations to bowl. This is MUCH different than the bowling lanes in Kentucky. craziness!

So, Greg and Megan opted for an arcade shooting game.


They were just entering their names here...hence the non-serious faces.

And, my sharp-shooting husband.

I wish he were that sharp of a shooter for the skunk that likes to hang around the farm.....


And, Megan having some fun after her loss :)

We opted for some ice cream as a consolation prize for not being able to bowl, then it was off to bed so we would be well-rested for the drive home the next day.

See you next year, Charlotte!

the biltmore

As I'm typing this, I think it's pertinent to note these things:

1. My feet are absolutely humongous. I had no idea peripheral edema could be this bad or I never would have made "cankle" comments so flippantly. So, I'm propped in my bedroom with an icepack which is doing nothing, but there nonetheless.
2. I just saw a mouse crawl from my bedroom door to my bathroom.
3. I freaked just a bit.
4. I set my first mouse-trap without amputating any phalanges.
5. I'm now waiting for said trap to snap so I can sleep tonight.
6. I didn't see a single mouse at the Biltmore.

Per my last post, Greg and I stayed one night at the Biltmore Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. One of the reasons we stayed there was because they run specials (I'm always looking for a deal) and part of the stay included tickets to tour the mansion.

Just a little bit about the Biltmore, per our retired-science-teacher shuttle driver, who was way more informative than the headphones we listened to as we walked through the mansion.

• The Biltmore was built in 3 years by George Vanderbilt. Makes me feel silly to say our farmhouse renovation took a year.
  
• It's the largest private residence in the country.
• He was a bit eccentric, and was the youngest of his siblings. He didn't care to go into business as his father had, but liked art and architecture much more.
  
• He built this with his inheritance of $100 million. That was before income tax or inheritance tax (oh to live in that time, not that I stand to inherit anything, I'd just like to keep what I make).
  
• Originally, the property was 125,000 acres, the size of a county, but now it is about 9,000.
• There are 1200 staff on property, and more when it's time to harvest the grapes.
• It's owned and operated by George's grandson. He takes great pride in keeping the place restored and making sure it stays in the condition his grandfather would have approved.
  
• You have to see this place to believe it!
  

The mouse just exited the room without taking the bait. Crud!

i think i'll be relocating to asheville, nc

Specifically, I'll be relocating to the Biltmore Inn.

Greg and I were treated like the Vanderbilts themselves during our one-night stay and we quite liked it. We ate delicious food (oh my it was good...have you ever had calamari with hot-wing sauce?), we had a comfortable room, and a shuttle service with a driver Greg could pester with questions.

On our way to Charlotte, we (I) decided we should stop in Asheville to visit the Biltmore mansion. Greg had never seen it before and I was 10 at the time my family went, so it was high-time we visited this landmark just 6 hours from Bowling Green.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon with swollen feet, well 2 of the 4 feet were swollen, and were instantly greeted by the valet which was included with our room. They took care of our luggage and didn't complain a bit about unloading and storing all my boxes of scrapbooking stuff for class so it wouldn't ruin in the hot sun. Upon entering the Inn, we were given our room, which was an upgrade...SWEET - a suite! Compliments of the Biltmore. That's the first time we've ever had that happen, so let me give you a tour:
The view outside our room.

Our foyer.

Our wet-bar, which was only ever looked at.

Our living room, which was never sat in.


And, our bathroom, which had a nice walk-in shower. Even had one of the shower heads just like in our bathroom at home, which made me feel right at home.

More about our trip on the next post, but just so you know, I highly recommend this trip!

progress in the baby room

So proud to take these photos.

And, every time I look at them, they make me smile.



We chose (okay, I chose) the Jenny Lind crib.

It's a classic.
It's inexpensive (aka: cheap).
It's just like the one I had as a baby and I turned out pretty well.

But, seriously, I love it and hope Claire does, too.
Because that's where she'll be 8 hours every night. Solid. Hopefully.

don't you love old photos?

A few weeks ago, my dad went to Texas to visit his mother and I put him on a mission:

GET OLD PHOTOS

The mission was selfish on my part. I had some gallery frames to fill (more on this later) and I wanted a mixture of old and new photos for them. I wanted photos with meaning that I could tell Claire about. I want her to know where she came from.

My Papa (dad's dad) was always telling me: "Work on our family genealogy. I want to know where I came from before I die." I've always regretted not doing that, but more than knowing the names, dates, places of my ancestors, I want to know their stories. The funny anecdotes and interesting tales. I want Claire to know their stories. And, since she'll likely not meet many of my grandparents or any of my great-grandparents, I want her to have photos to remember the stories.

Hence, my dad was on my selfish mission, which he succeeded in.

One day, we'll sit together and he can tell me about each photo in the plastic Wal-Mart bag he brought back, but before he could do that, I had wrangled through and begun my scanning-editing-printing process.


My great-grandfather owned a sawmill & lumber-yard in Mississippi. I'm assuming these are logs they received in and can't wait to hear the full story from my grandmother.

My grandmother is in the middle. The thing I'll always remember is that she was always considered large. That's how she described herself and how others always described her. My how standards have changed!

And who's that cute girl painting a fence?

My dad to the far right with his two brothers. He hasn't changed a bit.

My great-grandfather started a lumber-yard in south-Texas after the one in Mississippi burned. Later, my grandfather returned from WW2 to run the business, to which he added a home center that sold appliances. He was a smart man and hard worker with no more than a middle-school education, and was able to build a thriving business in a small town.

Many of the photos my dad brought back did not picture him as a child (he was the 3rd of 3 boys), so I asked him why he chose to bring back the photos he did. He said it was what was in the background of many of the photos. He remembered the house in the background, or the toys around the Christmas tree, or the couch he sat in. Those memories are all near to his heart.

Just a reminder to myself that it's not necessarily the exposure, or the focus, or the rule-of-thirds that will make a photo treasurable in the years to come.

making decisions

Am I at all wrong to say that when you're having your first baby, you want everything to be perfect?

Because of that, it's hard for me to make decisions. I want to do everything right from the start. Choose the right fabrics for her quilt, choose the right paint color, even down to choosing the right baby book.

I've been on the prowl for the perfect baby book for quite some time. 3 reasons:

1. Because I'm a memory-keeper / scrapbooker at heart and I wanted a book with lots of nice prompts. As a twin, you might think my mom didn't keep up with my baby book, but you'd be wrong. I know what I weighed practically every month of my life up until 1st grade (32 lbs, I was a scrawny thing) and when I cut and lost all my baby teeth, even up to age 16 when I lost my last molar. As a child, I would pour over my baby book and I loved reading about myself. I think it helped me remember and love my childhood because all those memories were constantly fresh to me.
   
2. Because I'm a snob when it comes to the baby book not being cheesy. Sorry, no Winnie-the-Pooh baby book for me. I want artistic merit.
3. Because I know I'll want all my children's baby books to match and I'll be buying this one again.

I chose Sara Midda's Baby Book.

What's pictured here is the outside sleeve.

Inside is a post-bound book, which is filled with page after page of amazing illustrations, nice prompts, and beautiful type.

I love it.

So, it wasn't difficult to grab it up and make my purchase a few months back.

What was difficult was writing inside. It just seemed so permanent. Like I had engraved in stone the rest of my life.

My decision...sorry, OUR decision is now and forever etched and will be the first thing our child sees when she opens her book time and time again.

The next page is dedicated to the reason we chose her name, so here is what I wrote:

For many months, your dad and I were convinced we were having a boy. Your heartbeat was on the low side of normal, which indicated boy, so all the doctors at the fertility clinic and the regular OB thought 'boy'. Dr. Dobson even wrote his "official" guess in my chart as "boy." So, your dad and I had long discussions about boy names. We mainly talked while we drove to and from church or on longer car rides. We'd debate back and forth and nothing seemed to fit. At one point, I exclaimed, "If only it were a girl and we'd have a name for sure: Claire Thomas." And your dad agreed.

At our 20-week appointment, Dr. Beverly surprised us by telling us you were a girl. We sat there shocked for about 45 minutes in disbelief, but we managed to send out a few texts to our friends letting them know the good news. As we waited to see Dr. Dobson for our consult, I looked at your dad and said, "So, I suppose it's 'Claire Thomas', right?"

But, he wasn't convinced.

We knew Claire would be your first name because it's classic, easy to spell, and flows well with your last name. But, your dad didn't want to commit to 'Thomas' as a middle name for fear you wouldn't like it.

Your great-granddaddy's name was Thomas Foster, whom everyone referred to as "Tom" or "Bo." He was the one who taught your dad how to make beautiful furniture. He would spend hours in the shop teaching him how to plane and join. Not only that, but he was a man known for his character. He and your great-grandmomma raised 3 boys. They instilled in them a love for family, a sacrifice of self, and a good work ethic. Because of that, I wanted your dad to be able to pass that wonderful name on to you.

And, it's with Tom's typewriter that your name is written in this book. May you never forget that you are a classy girl with a name to live up to.

sneak peeks :)

The moment I laid eyes on the September kit, BACK 40, I loved it. Some colors were muted, some vibrant, some warm, some cool. I just knew my pages would fall together.

Then, I brought out my photos and sat and stared. The only action taking place was the water pooling in my swollen feet. But, after I finally finished my first layout, the inspiration flowed and thankfully, I love the end result of my layouts. All 3 are meaningful in their own way. I wish I had time to do one more (there's a photo on my desk that is begging to be scrapped), but instead, I must get started on my baby quilt today. must.


This sneak uses items from the main kit + Fresh Cut + More Color. Love the pinks in that kit and I was able to create a whole layout without any blue. I should mention that if you're not in the habit of purchasing the More Color add-on, I now believe it's imperative. For $3.50 you get so many more options to work with and I love all the color choices. I used to not ever use More Color, but lately I've been getting it and I think my layouts have turned out more to my liking for sure.


This is my favorite layout in terms of design. I used a sketch seen in a magazine a while back and modified it so much that it really doesn't look like the sketch any more. The element I most like are the circles here. I had punched several circles from this piece of Sassafras paper, used them on a different layout, then decided to use the leftover strip on this layout. This layout again uses the main kit + Fresh Cut. I also used the iTop tool and small brad daddies to create the brads.
Last, is my layout using items again from the main kit + Fresh Cut. I'm really not a butterfly person, so I was surprised those ended up on 2 of my layouts this time.

23 weeks

A couple days ago, I posted about our visit to Gardencourt, where Greg and I were married 9 years ago.

I had just reached 23 weeks pregnant, so we took some photos. Funny how the two times I've been here, we've been at two major milestones in our lives. Two wonderful milestones.

So, here I am with my 23-week belly.

Which Greg kept saying "stick it out further."

As if.

Then, he said I needed new earrings because I had worn these in Cabo a couple years ago.

Not going to argue with that.

april foster, nature photographer

In the blistering heat of the hot Kentucky sun (yes, it really was about 93 degrees), I braved the elements in search of nature.

Actually, I was just walking from the house to the barn and noticed the hundreds of butterflies flitting about. And, since I had gone to the house to get my camera in the first place, I thought "why not snap a few photos?"

So there I was bent down, pregnant belly and all, snapping (and sweating) away, when Greg rushed up behind me, "Are you alright?!"

I think he thought I was either (a) sick or (b) hurt.

Of course I was alright, so at that point he began making fun of me for taking my nature photos....which is so out of character for me. It's kind of a "Greg" thing to do, so now he really thinks my brain is gone.

But, seriously, I'm proud of my 100mm 2.8 lens.