So, not sure what it is, but I feel drained. I come home from work and fall asleep - and I have never been a daytime napper. I don't know if it's a combination of the time change and the jet lag from returning from Hawaii, but I just can't seem to find any energy lately. Needless to say, it has affected my blogging lately. I do apologize, and hope to be back on track very soon. In the meantime, here are a few pics from Hawaii that make me happy...
So, our hotel room was a real treat. It was comfortable, clean, and I felt welcomed. The bathroom had a walk-in closet off to the side and a separate area for using the toilet and showering. There was even a close-up mirror to do your make-up with lights all around. Loved it!
Our balcony faced east, so we could watch the sun coming up between the hotels lining the beach. Directly in front of us was the neighbouring hotel, but it did not feel like we were intruding or that we were in the spotlight. Each one of us spent time out on the balcony and enjoyed it. There was a desk area where I sat each night to write a recap of my thoughts and experiences for the day. And of course, the TV was positioned just perfectly for us all to watch as we were falling asleep. Perfect.
So, this is my favorite photo of the entire trip! Drew, my sister's boy had been 'surfing' on the beach and of course I was shooting away, trying not to let him notice me so as to distract him from his fantasy world. Suddenly, he just dropped to the sand and gave me this! How adorable!
So, sometimes booking a hotel can be scary. You can never be too sure what you are getting into until you get there. That is how I felt as our shuttle dropped off person after person at these beautiful hotels and we were moving further and further away from the 'nice' looking ones!
As we pulled up in front of our hotel and heard the driver announce "Outrigger Waikiki", I was feeling optimistic. It didn't look like a hotel, as the main floor was all shops and open to the outdoors, but as I moved further inside and then up one floor to the registration desk, a smile spread across my face. My apprehensions melted away and it felt good.
Love it when things work out in your favor, even when you had no control over anyway!
This page is printed on the back of page 2 from the two-page spread from yesterday's post. It is 8x12. I am really loving working with this size. I used 6x12 pages for my December Daily 2009 album that I created based on the concept from Ali Edwards, and found that sometimes the pages were a bit too skinny for what I wanted to put on them. I am loving the extra 2 inches that I have to work with on these pages.
So, here is the first page of my Hawaii 2010 album! Actually, it is the first 2 pages! It is a full page spread. That is why you can see that my center bottom photo is off a little! When it is printed out and folded down the center, you won't even notice the slight difference.
Yesterday, I did not have a clear picture as to how to format the pages. Today, I played around a little and even though I still don't have it all worked out, I have made some decisions. Here's what I have figured out so far...
So, there you have it! Do you like it?
So, Winners comes through for me again! Just before we left for our trip I was thinking about how I would capture and tell the stories of this little adventure. I was busy doing so many different things before leaving that I had not spent much time deliberating the format. And then I saw this folder. At Winners!
It is made by a company called Semikolon. You can find their website here. It is an expandable folder. As you can see in the lower left photo above, the ribbon slides as the folder is pulled out, exposing the potential for the folder to fold at a preferred position depending on the width of the contents. I liked this idea, since I had no idea how many pics I would take on our trip (too many according to my husband)! On the inside, there are flaps to surround the contents in order to keep them safe. I like that too!
The challenge is that there are no binder rings or anything to hold my scrapped pages. I have been churning this one over in my mind. There are several possibilities that I am considering, but as I do not yet know the layout design for my pages (actually, I don't even know the size of page I am going to use yet!) I have not committed to anything. What would you do if you were me?
Over the next few days, I will be sorting through my pics of Hawaii and deciding on some sort of format. As I complete pages I will most definitely share them! Here is one that my daughter took of us the first night on the beach...
Digital photo frame: Karen Russell
So, we are back from a little family vacation! My family was there for a total of nine days. My parents and my sister & family are staying for another week. Sean and I both had to return to work, but are thankful for the time that we were able to get away. I feel truly blessed to have had this little trip in the midst of spring chasing the winter away. The weather wasn't even that terrible upon our return!
This trip was my mom's wish for her 60th birthday.
In March 2009, we had surprised her by promising her a trip with the whole family. It came as a little note inside of a tiny box which she unwrapped. Of course, she was full of emotion. She even asked at one point, "Is this a joke?"
But no, this was no joke. For almost a year, we searched, compared, saved, waited, planned and counted down the days. Finally, we all met in Honolulu, Hawaii for a week of suntanning, shopping, site-seeing and memory-making. This will be a trip to remember for sure!
Thanks to my family for being so wonderful!
