Just got back from Spring Break in Florida with my son, and who knew? Other people like to go there for Spring Break too. Lordy, nine hours between Atlanta and Tampa is just not fun times, trust me. But it was worth it! We got to see all my family and all my husband’s family in the area; quite a feat, I tell ya. And being away does make you appreciate home even more. A special thanks to my Mom and Richard for playing such fantastic hosts — love you guys! Side note: Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D is totally worth it. I didn’t realize a full-length 3D movie would look that good.

Something dawned on me today. I have a lot of women in my life that are amazing. Some are family, some are friends, and some are even strangers that have enriched my life. In no particular order, I am very appreciative of the following women:

My mom, for being a raging Democrat who is always in the know about current affairs. She definitely keeps me on my toes.

My sister, for her envy-producing self-growth. She is constantly pushing herself to new goals.

My aunt, for her strength and perseverance. She is willing to move mountain and oceans to help her family; lord help the mountains and oceans.

My friend Sharon Linne Faulk, for her understanding and support. She tolerates my crappy attentiveness, and always welcomes me back when I’m ready.

My brother’s friend, Tracy Winter, for her talent and work ethic. She is a fabulous artist and graphic designer, and is probably one of the hardest workers I know.

My guild co-leader, Jen, for her patience and kind nature. She has tackled a difficult job with grace and humor.

My favorite blogger, Janet Phillips, for creating an amazing website and resource for digital scrapping. She saw a need and has exceeded all my expectations.

My favorite media personality, Rachel Maddow, for her intelligence and insight. She makes the hardest subject seem interesting, and actually makes news enjoyable.

I’m sure there are more, but those came immediately to mind. Phew! I’m lucky to have all these ladies adding to my life.

One of my favorite sources for Adobe product tips is hosting a FREE 10-week Photoshop course starting February 26. Go to the CreativeTech Tips blog for more information. They need at least 1000 people to sign up to make the course viable, so spread the word!

There has been a lot of talk recently about the excessive compensation that was rampant in Wall Street. The stories of million dollar bonuses and extravagant office remodels, in the midst of an acute financial crisis and government intervention, seem to point to an industry severely out-of-touch with average-America and demonstrating an inability to self-regulate. But I’m not naive enough to think there is only one side to this story, so I’ve been trying to read opinion pieces that tell a little more of the story. Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial about this subject. They noted that the New York comptroller’s estimate of $18 billion dollars of Wall Street bonuses in 2008 included everyone, from secretaries to CEOs. They further stated this represented a decrease of 44% from the previous year, “the largest percentage decline in 30 years.” Well, they satisfied me a little bit, until I realized that most executives weren’t seeing a 44% decrease. Guess that means the little guys got hit the hardest.

This weekend, Roy Smith had a piece in the WSJ entitled “Greed is Good.” While I don’t like the title, he made some good points about the pay for performance model that was originally implemented among Wall Street firms back in the day of partnerships. He wove an interesting tale of changes that occurred as private partnerships became public corporations, and as strict performance-based bonuses became guarantees in order to attract the stars. Both of these pieces are well-written and provide additional facts that paint a more robust picture of the capital-markets industry, and the necessity for a compensation model that may seem unusual in other industries. I guess I’ve had a few points reinforced here:

1. Perception is very important. I don’t care what the reason, but a million dollar office remodel in this environment is CLUELESS. Seriously. I wouldn’t trust Mr. Thaine with my son’s piggy bank.

2. Luring a top-performer by offering obscene incentives does not guarantee you will see the same performance. This goes in sports and well as corporate life. There will always be star performers but they aren’t always the same from year to year.

3. Getting mad and trying to impose restrictions against an industry that no longer exists is fruitless. By the same token, let the light shine on those who make horrendous decisions and then don’t reward them further.

And on a totally different note, here is another of the old photographs I am scrapping for Sherman:

I logged onto my computer this morning and was greeted with, da-da-da-dum, a lovely trojan virus on my system. Blech. I think I’ve got it purged now, but dang, those things are pesky. So this is just a happy little reminder to arm yourself with a good virus/spyware/malware protection, and keep the definitions updated. It also got me thinking about other possible computer disasters, like a hard-drive failure. Sherman has an extra hard drive we have been using for backups, but we probably aren’t regular enough about it. Also, if the house caught fire or there was a computer theft, our backups would be wiped out too. So I am researching some online backup options. The two that I’m considering most seriously are Carbonite and Mozy. This could definitely be worth the $50-$60 year cost.

On a different subject, here is another one of the old pictures I have been scrapping:

I’m not talking about the big picture of world peace and economic stability. I mean YOU; how is your 2009? Stick to those resolutions? Honestly, I made a conscious effort NOT to make resolutions at the beginning of the year. It’s too easy for me to get swept up in mob-mentality. But now that January is over, I think it was a decent start. I’m currently in a decluttering mood, spurred by Sherman’s cleaning of the garage in anticipation of a new elliptical machine. Don’t look at me! I’m a gym-class kind of girl. But he prefers working out at home, and he really needed something low-impact for cardio; thus, the elliptical machine.

My first decluttering task was to reduce junk mail. I registered with the Direct Marketing Association to get my name off some mailing lists. You can choose individual companies or opt out of whole categories. To reduce credit offers, it directs you to a separate opt-out site. I know this won’t eliminate junk mail, but anything to reduce it would be helpful. Need some motivation? Here are 100 Reasons to Get Rid of It, and here is a simple guide to decluttering. Of course, if you want constant reminders, you can always join FlyLady.

To start off 2009, I have also been scrapping some old photos Sherman had boxed away. They must have spent a fair sum on professional photos, so I thought they deserved better than a cardboard box!

I was just going through some old photo archives, and I ran across some pictures of Devin at age 3. What an absolutely darling age! He still had the chubby cheeks of post-toddlerdom. Boy, really makes me realize how grown-up he looks now.

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope your weekend has been as fantastic as mine.

I was just thinking this morning about what a lucky girl I am. My in-laws visited earlier this month, and although it was short, it was lots of fun. They are a witty, intelligent, caring couple and I definitely lucked out getting them along with my fantastic hubby. This week my mom and stepdad are coming; I love it when they visit! I wish Jack could understand human-talk because he would be so excited about seeing Richard. I’m even lucky with my extended family. My cousin Kyle married this wonderful lady and they have a beautiful daughter. This layout is for you Jerrie. <3

Gotta love Mondays; fresh off a weekend of play and relaxation, ready to tackle the new, totally forgetting to post a new blog entry…..

Ah, Tuesday. Oh well. Anyway, we had a great Easter weekend. Egghunt on Saturday, dyeing eggs on Sunday, playing with Transformer gift from Grandmommy & Pawpaw. And Sherman & I even went for an adult evening on Friday night, with Zack & Margaret. We went to Blue Pointe in Buckhead, and the sea scallops were a solid 9 (BTW, I am a very picky rater!). I rented a movie for Devin to watch while were gone. Two notes here. 1) Enchanted is a darling movie and 2) Redbox is a great video rental concept. It was $1 per night (not 24 hours, but up 7 p.m. the following night; sweet), you can return it an ANY Redbox machine, and you can even go online in advance to reserve a movie. Who needs Blockbuster? And since I don’t rent enough videos to justify NetFlix, this is the sweet-spot for me.

Okay, so I haven’t processed pictures from this weekend yet, but here is a layout with a pic from last Easter.

Okay, I admit it. I love sucking people into my hobbies. But really, I do it with the best of intentions! For instance, I am trying to get the mother of one of Devin’s friends interested in scrapbooking. I’ve had her look at a couple of albums and she has expressed interest. Now, for the final blow, a sample layout (albeit digital). As much as I love scrapping our life, it would be fun to help with some girly pages.