First things first: I invite you to put on your dancing shoes and join me in a celebration because I've been happy dancing for an entire week, and the party is still not over.
Drum roll please...
... John has returned to school! I can't tell you how thrilled I am. He needed to go back to school. And in spite of the fact that he is not physically as strong as we would like - emotionally, school is the best place for him right now. His world was becoming too small, and he deserves to experience so much more than what I am able to provide within the confines of this home; he needs to be in a classroom instead of with a tutor; he needs to be with his peers; and most of all - he and I need a break from the constant companionship that had become nearly oppressive.
So... we are celebrating! This is such great news, considering that in the past eight months John has only attended four weeks of school. That is a long time to be out of the classroom. It is also a long time for a mother to entertain and care for an almost 17 year old child. Additionally, it is a long time to give up my privacy as I hosted nurses and tutors all day-every day. And, since I'm being honest, I will admit that it is also a very long time to share my space and give up my freedom. Is that selfish of me? Probably. But at least I'm honest. *sigh*
The next "It's about time" item on the agenda: I mentioned in my last post that my husband gave me a wonderful new laptop for Christmas. Come to find out, the Vista program on the laptop was not compatible with the version of Photoshop Elements I was running. What a hassle that turned out to be - and frustrating? Oh my gosh! I was ready to pull my hair out. When we finally realized it was a compatibility issue, we were able to address the problem, which meant installing the new 7.0 trial version of PSE. More happy dancing in my house! I'd heard that 7.0 runs slow... it doesn't! I'd heard that there was a high learning curve for 7.0... there's not! I am in love with this program. It has solved all sorts of issues I've had in the past with the older version of Elements. And slick? Yeah, it's slick. The picture shows my pretty new desktop with the new pse icon (how great is that wallpaper background?). I took a screen shot of my computer screen just to play with the program - that's how happy it makes me. I will be purchasing the 7.0 upgrade before the 30 day trial is done. In my opinion, it is worth its weight in gold.
I have to offer a million thanks to my husband for spending entire days of his time in an attempt to get me up and running at full speed. His ability to find solutions to the problems we've encountered with switching from Explorer to Vista have astounded me. I am so thankful for his calm approach and neverending patience with my [sometimes outrageous] requests and demands. And in case anyone was wondering - I have learned to love Vista! It is way cool.
In celebration of the upgrade changes recently made - I'm going to share a great find with you. For those who are into actions when editing their photos, look what I stumbled across:
Here's the hyper-link to the site: CoffeeShop free downloads. I've played with a few of the actions, and they are fabulous. And free... how can you argue with that? These action programs are compatible with both Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CS - bonus!
Moving on to another "It's about time" subject... we finally got a little bit of snow.
It's about time! Last week the temps were in the single digits. Brrrr. It was so dang cold outside - it even hurt to breathe. And although I despise snow with every fiber of my being, I still feel like snow is part of the winter months, and if the temps are going to be frigid, I wanna see the white stuff. We only saw a few flakes last week - I guess it was too cold to snow. But today we saw the real thing. Snow, snow, snow. Not enough to really do anything with (like mess up the traffic or make a snowman), but just enough to satisfy my desire to watch it fall from the sky. PERFECT!
In other news, tomorrow is the inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama. Living in the region where this will occur is interesting, to say the least. I won't be attending any of the events because 1) I don't like crowds, 2) porta-pottys are gross, 3) it's too cold to endure watching something outside with thousands of strangers, 4) traffic will be a nightmare, 5) security issues (one of my personal phobias), and 6) this is all we have heard about on our local news for a full month - and I've OD'd on the inauguration, the cost, the attendance, the schedule of events, the menu, the attire, the road closings, the school closings (neither of my kids have school on Tuesday due to traffic and security concerns - yep, they even canceled the classes at Alyssa's university), etc., etc., etc. Instead of driving 16 miles to attend the inauguration, I'll be sitting in the warm comfort of my home watching it on the television. I'm looking forward to the changes that have been promised. But more than that, I am anxiously awaiting putting the inauguration behind us and moving ahead.
And finally - about the subject of an Etsy Shop: it's in the works. And because I'm anal about starting something new, I have been doing my research and have decided to build a small inventory before I open the store. I still don't have a name (all suggestions welcome), and I still have not decided on exactly what to put in the shop (again, suggestions are welcome). The first thing necessary was figuring out why my PSE program wasn't working since I can't open a store without being able to take pictures of the items that will be available. Now that I have solved that problem, I am ready to move forward with production. I'm hoping for a late February or early March opening - a lot will depend on whether I can keep John in school, thus freeing up my time for creativity (more happy dancing just thinking about all the things I want to make).
"It's about time". That's where my mind is at today. I'm ready for change - change in my life and change for our country. In the meantime, I will just keep happy dancing because I find it to be such a great way to celebrate the changes that are ahead.
Okay, just getting to the blog reading. I've been so much better with FB communications lately!
So glad that John's in school . . .hoping nothing has changed in the 2 weeks. What a relief for you and him.
And what sorts of issues does PSE7 resolve? I need to know . . . you know, if Andy ever gets a job again and I have money to spend!
Posted by: Heather | January 29, 2009 at 05:39 PM
happy dance! for both of you....
(and thanks for convincing me to upgrade my elements, i am always a software holdout)
Posted by: pcsmart | January 28, 2009 at 07:45 AM
Popping in to say hello!!! Thankful all is well with you and the family!
Posted by: adrienne | January 25, 2009 at 03:19 PM
Hope things keep looking up for all of you! Great photos:).
Posted by: tupoi | January 25, 2009 at 03:39 AM
Thanks Kelly for the link to the actions. Yay for your son being back at school. Hope all goes well!
Posted by: Janine Wahl | January 25, 2009 at 12:30 AM
Being back in school has to be such a relief!! You never know how much you miss something until you can't have it for a long period of time. You now have me very intrigued about PSE 7.0! And what are you going to sell on Etsy? I'll be checking back on this blog to find out! (Wingnut)
Posted by: Joy | January 24, 2009 at 06:46 PM
For me, it doesn't get any better than free actions! Thanks for the link!
Posted by: Lizz | January 24, 2009 at 06:00 PM
Your pictures are just beautiful. you're so talented!!
Posted by: Elizabeth | January 24, 2009 at 05:58 PM
Yay! I hope school goes well for John.
Posted by: Helena | January 22, 2009 at 10:26 PM
I'm so glad for both of you that things are going well. Congrats to John and best of luck to him back at school. Congrats to you on your new computer and the new Etsy venture. So glad to hear you happy again. Hugs of support and love to you, Donna
Posted by: Donna | January 22, 2009 at 09:48 PM
Yay for John! That is such good news - and while some kids do okay at home, I agree about the peer thing. Plus, I'm with you - I treasure those quiet times when I have the house to myself. My own boy is at the inauguration today (well...I think currently he's headed to the airport, trying to get through the traffic and people) what a nightmare. But it sounds like he's been having fun, and luckily my visions of some terrorist attack did not come to fruition. You're right, let's just get past this and hope the change is good.
Posted by: Kirsten | January 20, 2009 at 02:37 PM
I'm doing the happy dance for you, Kelly.
I can't wait to see what you have in your Etsy shop. You have me in such a "fabric" mood that I am going to dig out the fabric I bought last year when you posted one of your quilts and attempt to sew it.
Glad to see you back blogging. Hope all is well with Alyssa in school. Can't believe it's already the 2nd semester! YIKES. Before we know it, they will be moving back home for the summer.
Posted by: Kim | January 20, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Kelly, that is AWESOME news! I am happy for you both!
We had the Vista learning curve here for a few weeks, too. Did you know that Microsoft is now abandoning Vista and developing Windows 7 (I think), so here in another 9 months or so it will be another new learning curve. Yay us!!! ;)
Posted by: Amy Sorensen | January 20, 2009 at 11:45 AM
So glad that John is back in school with his friends and you have some "me" time again!
I second the PW but more for her cooking and her ongoing story of how she met her hubby. The photo stuff is good, too. LOL!
I can't wait to see what you put in your store. Hayley still loves to wear the scarf that you sent her.
And sorry....but you can't call that snow. Snow is what we got here. bwahahahaha!
Posted by: slammie | January 19, 2009 at 07:19 PM
I've read your blog for a while and I am so glad that things are looking up for you and your family!!! I hope that you make some rag quilts for your etsy shop. I love them!!!
Posted by: Lora | January 19, 2009 at 05:06 PM
Glad that John is back in school. A boy needs to have his friends around. As for the inauguration...I can't wait for it to be over either. I'm tired of all the comments concerning his race. We'll just have to wait and see if he comes through with what he says he wants to do..I don't think he will -- it may have to wait for the next President. Randi
Posted by: Randi | January 19, 2009 at 05:02 PM
glad your life is returning to normal. My VERY FAV actions are free at PioneerWomen.com. If you haven't stumbled across her blog before, I promise it will be a regular stop. She has two free sets.
Posted by: ynne | January 19, 2009 at 05:01 PM