Cathy Zielske's Blog, page 235

Generation Gap

On Sunday, Aidan was explaining to me how Justin Bieber was hosting SNL the previous night and that he was in the skit with that preacher, who is actually a man, but is pretending to be a woman, and you know, it was really funny.

So I go to Hulu on Monday morning, and search SNL for Justin Bieber as host. Nothing.

Then I check the most recent episode only to find it was Dana Carvey. NOT the Bieber.

Then it clicks: Ohhhhh! The preacher woman played by a man was the iconic Church Lady. Doh.

Turns out Justin Bieber was only on the show for a few sketches, but in her telling of the events, he was the celebrated host.

And I'm not sure why but I suddenly felt like I came from a completely different planet known as the late 80s, and that all communications with 1-4 from here on out are going to be a crap shoot.

Then I came down with a severe case of Bieber Fever.

The end.

 

Out with the old…and the old was pretty awesome

Meet my dying Dirt Devil. Dirt Devil, blog readers. Blog readers, Dirt Devil.

I bought this shimmering example of cleaning efficiency in 1990, the year I moved to Minnesota to shack up with an ambitious coffee shop upstart by the name of Daniel Ezekiel Zielske, Jr. Moving in with a member of the opposite sex was bound to bring many changes, but regardless of how different things were going to be in my life, dust bunnies still had no business occupying the various living spaces of the 1880s duplex we were sharing in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul.

This Dirt Devil has seen every single momumental mess  or crumb pile of my entire adult life.

It was there to suck up many fur balls from my now deceased and much loved pets.

It was there to vacuum up countless Cheerios flung callously from high chairs by the two Zielske toddlers.

It was there to clean every single nook and cranny that the large vacuum simply couldn't reach.

And it did this, without so much as a thank you, for 21 years.

Think about this: 21 years, people. 21 years of weekly use and not once did it break down or stop working. (Okay, so the on/off switch died about 10 years ago, but that, friends, is what packing tape is for.)

I loved this thing so much, I wrote about it in one of my "Me: The Abridged Version" albums. Here's what I said a few years ago, under "V" for "Vacuums that get their money's worth":

  I've had the same, red, Dirt Devil can vac since 1990. That is 19 years for anyone who's counting. NINETEEN YEARS! I'm sorry, but I love this portable can vac. Sure, the little guy has seen it's better days. The on/off button hasn't worked in years and I simply plug it in to hear the lovely roar of the suction begin, but I have to say, it still works as well as the day I brought it into Dan and my's relationship. That's what is wild: the vacuum has lasted as long as our relationship. Dan doesn't love this little vac the way I do. He chooses to put the attachment hoses on our upright whenever he's tackling a vacuuming task. He doesn't realize the superior suction power and the easy of mobility afforded by the Dirt Devil. What is sad to me is that Dirt Devil no longer makes the same model. Sure, they have something similar, but all the online reviews I've read say over and over: it's not like the original. I feel like every time I'm cleaning, I'm using a family heirloom—a precious family heirloom. And that's okay by me. I heart you, Dirt Devil. Please don't die on me anytime soon.

But like many relationships in life, sometimes they simply run their course.

The suction has been slowly lessening over the past 6 months and I was beginning to realize that my time with this beloved little tool was coming to an end. All the fresh replacement bags in the world weren't helping it to pick up even the simplest of random crumb piles. While I did do a modest amount of research, looking at higher end can vacs from companies like Dyson and Miele, in the end, I just decided to stay true to a brand that has served me so loyally over the years, and I bought this:

Another reason I picked up this model? The prices on the Dysons and the Mieles made the large vein in Dan's forehead throb uncontrollably.

Will it be a relationship for the ages, me and the new Dirt Devil Vision?

I can say this as of today: it totally sucks, as in a good suction way, which is already an improvement over the current state of its predecessor.

Long live the Dirt Devil.

Amen.

 

 

 

Make a journaling-rich hybrid scrapbook page

Last week, I was going through scans of old pages on my hard drive and making back up copies of  them, and I came across a page from 2005 that I absolutely loved. I can't remember where it might have shown up—possibly for an article in Simple Scrapbooks magazine or maybe for a class I was teaching—but it featured a rockin' picture of me taken by the one and only Tara Whitney, and I looked like a complete and total badass.

I didn't even need glasses back then. Dang!

The thing I loved most about the page is that it was a chance to give some much needed advice to my then much more uptight self. You guys know I'm all about the self pages. I think we as story tellers belong in our albums right along side every one else we're scrapbooking about. You know the drill: if you don't tell your story, who will?

I decided to revisit this page and turned the design into a layered template to put into my Designer Digitials collection.

Here are the two new journaling-driven hybrid pages I made:

Today I have a short tutorial for working with a digital template to create a hybrid scrapbook page. I love the idea of writing notes to yourself, or notes to someone in your life. This template is designed to do just that, with the design work all taken care of for you.

Hybrid Scrapbooking Tutorial from Cathy Zielske on Vimeo. 

STEP-BY-STEP: Here are the basic steps for working with the template using Photoshop Elements 8. Note: this template was designed using a free font called District Thin, available at fontsquirrel.com. You will need to download this font, and activate it on your computer before beginning this process. Or, you can change the fonts to any you currently have on your system.

WORKING WITH THE PHOTO:
1. Open the template and then open the photo you want to use. Copy the photo (Select > All, or Command or Control + A, then Edit > Copy, or Command or Control + C). Close the photo.

2. On the template, click on the PHOTO layer, then Paste your photo into the document (Edit > Paste, or Command or Control + V.) The photo should pop right into the green template rectangle shape.

3. To size your photo down, click on the Move Tool, and then click and drag on any of the 4 corner handles. (Be sure Show Bounding Box is checked in the upper tool bar.)

4. Once you're happy with the photo placement, you can then modify your title to whatever you would like it to say by using the Type Tool and highlighting the title words.

5. Turn off ALL layers except the photo, the PHOTO mask, and the title. Then send photo to print onto 8.5 x 11 cardstock with a full bleed setting. Trim photo and set aside.

WORKING WITH THE JOURNALING:
1. There are 6 separate type layers containing the journaling placeholders. Start with the first one.

2. Using the Text Tool, highlight the journaling subhead area and type your new words. Do the same for the body of the journaling entries. Highlight, and type over. Try to keep the same  number of lines on each block of journaling.

3. To change the color of the journaling subheads, click once on the Set Foreground Color icon at the bottom of the Tool Palette to bring up the Color Picker. Move your mouse around to find different colors to try. Once you find a color, click OK.

4. Highlight the subhead again, go back to the Set Foreground Color icon, click once to bring up the Picker (which will already show the last color you picked) and click OK. The color will apply to your subhead.

5. Once all of your journaling is done, turn off the PHOTO layer, and send the file to print onto 8.5 x 11 cardstock. Adhere photo onto cardstock.

Note: 12 x 12 scrapbookers can create this page, and mount it on coordinating 12 x 12 cardstock. It creates a really nice area of framing white space around the core content of the hybrid 8.5 x 11 design.

LAYOUT SUPPLIES: Layered Template No. 79 (Cathy Zielske) • white cardstock (Bazzill Orange Peel Texture) • District Thin font (template is designed using this free downloadable font)

Questions? Leave me any  you have in the comments today. Good luck making a journaling rich hybrid page!

What made you love it?

I've decided to start using my public Facebook page to ask a few questions here and there as it relates to none other than scrapbooking. It's interesting to me to see how other scrapbookers think about things like, how often they actually manage to print digital photos, or how often they sit down to document their lives with paper, glue or pixels (or all three.)

I've been spending time with older layouts, flipping through albums, looking at scans, trying to decided how I want to spend the year documenting life without going overboard and without missing too much. In other words, I'm looking for my scrap balance.

I love coming across pages that remind me of when the paint was still fresh on this little hobby of mine. Of when the idea of a trip to Archiver's was better than inhaling a bag of Lay's potato chips. I remember making this page in 2002 and thinking, "I am SERIOUSLY good!"

There was something about scrapbooking that made me feel uber-creative and smart. It was as if I'd found the golden ticket to the crafting world that finally had a seat at the table for me.

What made me love it was the chance to showcase my photos and tell stories. I never really did get caught up in products or experimentation. Little art journal ventures always made me feel like I was wearing a dress that was about two decades out of style. Me and UTEE always made for strange bedfellows if you catch my drift.

Sometimes, when you work in the scrapbooking world, you get hung up on thinking you need to always think of a new angle, or a new idea, or a new product. I know I've taken a dip in that pool from time to time, only to emerge a bit more stressed out and a lot less inspired.

But the thing that made me love it always returns me to the basics. Telling stories to go with my pictures in a way that feels right to me.

What about you? What made you love it, and what keeps you coming back for more?

 

And the giveaway winners are…

The winner of the new collection from Scotty Girl Design is:

The winner of a seat in Illustrator 2 with the talented Laura Coyle from ReneePearson.com is:

The winner of a seat in Mouse, Paper, Scissors, a new hybrid workshop from JessicaSprague.com and Heidi Swapp is:

Ladies, congratulations! Email me at czdesign@comcast.net to claim your prizes.

Chicken soup for the stomach

Today on my stove there will be a pot simmering that looks much like this photo above. Mmmm. Chicken soup. Does it get any better? (Save for those who are vegetarians, of course.)

My neighbor Angela made this delicious soup over Christmas, and having had a bowl or three of it, I had to come home and recreate. I've done so twice, and I will be honest with you: I could live on this. Just ask Dan when we hit Day 4 of leftovers.

The kids won't touch it. The girl is a vegetarian. The boy is selective. But me? I could swim laps in the stuff.

It's very, very basic and you can zooch it up any way you like, but here's my favorite (and pretty dang healthy) chicken soup recipe.

Sheldon Street Chicken Soup

THE BROTH
1 whole chicken + one chicken breast (I get mine from Whole Foods)

4-5 stalks of celery, cut up, tops included

4 carrots, cut up

1 large yellow onion, cut up, with skins on

4-5 cloves garlic, smashed

8 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS: Put everything in an 8-quart stock pot, cover with water, bring to boil and then down to a simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Skim off fat if you like (I generally don't.) Remove the chicken, pull off all the white meat and shred. Shred extra breast meat as well. Set shredded chicken aside.

Return as many bones as possible to the pot, and simmer another 30 minutes to an hour. Note: I discard the dark meat but if you're a fan, by all means, use it. However, it will add a little to the calorie/point content.

Strain broth and set aside. You can place the broth in the fridge to let the fat harden on the surface and skim off. I leave it as is and set it on the counter while prepping the other ingredients for the soup.

THE SOUP
2 cups chopped yellow onion

2 cups chopped celery

1 cup diced carrots

2 T butter

3 cups shredded chicken breast

2 to 3 cups of cooked wild rice (I used the Broken Bits rice from Whole Foods, from the bulk section)

10 cups of chicken stock

chopped fresh thyme

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS: Heat butter in a large dutch oven or stock pot and sauté onions and celery until wilted, then add carrots and sauté another 3 to 5 minutes until softened. Add chicken stock, chicken, wild rice, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Enjoy this simple goodness!

1 cup of the soup equals 5 points on the new Weight Watchers Points Plus system.

And if you have a cold, it just might make you feel better.

Enjoy!

Thanks again to Angela, my neighborhood food muse and running partner extraordinaire for the recipe.

Move More Eat Less February 2011

Hello all who seek to Move More and Eat Less!

It is I, Cathy Z., your fearless reporter coming to you from the front lines with the latest installment of, "Hey, so how's the chub reduction going anyhoo?" And the word on the street is… not as expected.

Another word I could use is 'sucky.'

This month has been both frustrating and informative. I end the month having lost zero poundage. This month has seen a small gain, which has been a pattern that began in November and if that pattern had it's own Facebook page, let's just say I would not be clicking the 'Like' button for it.

Let me start with the high points.

High Point Number One: I am whole-heartedly connected to Moving More. Despite kicking off the first week of the new year sick on the couch where my only movement involved nose blowing and clicking the remote control, I was really amazed at how depressed I felt, not just because I was miserable and achey, but because I couldn't exercise. Initially, I was fearful: Oh man, this is IT! The decline of fitness is beginning! I thought that a week off was going to set that ball in motion, the one that spirals down to complete inertia and my old inactive ways. But as soon as I came around to better health, I got back on the treadmill and rode.

I Move More six days a week, almost without fail. Exercise has become a part of my life. And actually a good part of it. One I feel I need to maintain a sense of mental peace. One I actually desire.

I run four days a week; I swim or do the elliptical on two others; and on Sundays I rest. I have slacked off on the weight training this month, but I'm looking ahead this month to getting two days of that back into the rotation.

When I run, I'm not running as fast as humanly possible to the point of exhaustion. I'm not fast and very likely never will be. But then I press stop on the old iPod, it's with sweaty hands. When I swim, same deal. I'm not doing sprint intervals in the pool. But I just keep on going for 40 minutes until my body says, "Okay, you're good."

High Point Number Two: I did not gain more weight than I did.

And that's about it.

I'm not saying there were tons of low points this month but what I am saying is that for now, I've got this Moving More thing down to something that clicks with me and my lifestyle. But the Eat Less thing? Now that's a whole 'nother story.

I rejoined Weight Watchers Online in December, after taking about a two month leave from the program last Fall. Not a leave from watching my diet, but a leave from the Weight Watcher's approach. I realized pretty quickly as I started to gain a bit in October and November, that maybe WW was the best approach for my particular needs.

Then Weight Watchers introduced their new Points Plus program and I thought, "Cool! A new plan for new inspiration."

But so far, I don't know if this new plan is going to work for me. Part of the reason why I don't know yet is that I've only managed to stick to the plan one week out of four in January. Part of it was being sick; part of it was being sick of dieting.

I want to believe that the new Zero Points fruit will work for me. I want to believe that having 3 servings of fruit a day (grapes, apples, pineapples) will work with my body chemistry and metabolism. As it stands this month, I can't say either way if this is going to work. If you're not following the plan accordingly, how will you know?

So as February begins, I'm tightening my belt, so to speak, on following the Eat Less plan. As you all know, this isn't about NOT eating. This is about learning how to eat well and balanced for your body without overdoing it. It's about eating LESS crap and more good stuff.

It isn't easy.

There are still days, though not as many, where I feel pissy and mad that I'm basically never going to be able to sit and eat what I want all day long…at least not as long as I want to maintain a healthy weight.

There are days where I want to throw the baby out with the bathwater and down an entire bag of Lays Potato Chips, and chase it with handfuls of Hershey's Kisses. That's just life.

But rather than feeling sorry for myself and being discouraged that those numbers seem to keep inching up, I'm identifying the reasons and coming up with solutions. I'm up from a low of 141 last October. Gaining 12 pounds is a big deal because it's telling me that I'm playing around with self-sabotage to see if some of my old crap-eating ways can still find a place in my healthy lifestyle.

The answer seems to be staring me straight in the eye.

I know that getting into shape and maintaining it is a choice I make every day. The rewards of feeling better, having more energy, and having a clearer mind are powerful motivators. I also know the feeling of downing that bag of chips is a whole different kind of reward, but one that only feels good initially. Then, not so good at all.

I guess I'm trying to process that for a year, the numbers kept going down, and now they're going the other way. And some days, I feel just a bit sorry for myself. And then, I snap out of it and take action.

There's so much more tied into this than just the numbers though, isn't there?

Here's my page for the month:

LAYOUT SUPPLIES: Move More Eat Less 8.5 x 11 template (Cathy Zielske) • Just Linens No. 1 Paper Pack (Michelle Martin) • a scan of kraft cardstock • Avenir font

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Want to learn more about Move More Eat Less 2011? Click here to learn more about the concept.

I've also started a flickr group for Move More Eat Less. Feel free to start sharing your pages. You will find the group by clicking here.

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So how are you doing in your journey? I really love to hear the discussion and all the highs and lows and in-betweens. By all means, the floor is  yours…

Sponsor Giveaway: Scotty Girl Design, ReneePearson.com and JessicaSprague.com

Get in the mood for love with this new collection from Scotty Girl Design. One blog reader will win the Be My Valentine digital pack.

ABOUT SCOTTY GIRL DESIGN: Scotty Girl Design is an online digital scrapbooking boutique full of colorful, modern and unique papers and embellishments. Graphic designer and avid pattern designer, Shannon Hegarty, started the shop as a hobby which quickly flourished into a business. She is the sole owner and operator of Scotty Girl Design.

Be sure to check out Scotty Girl Design's blog, Facebook page and Twitter page for the latest information from this talented designer.

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One blog reader will win a seat in Illustrator 2 with the talented Laura Coyle from ReneePearson.com.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP: Want to take your creations to the next level in Adobe Illustrator? Join Laura Coyle in the follow-up to her popular "Step by Step" beginning Illustrator class. In Illustrator 2 you'll learn techniques to take your work to new dimensions and have fun exploring all you can do with this amazing vector program. Learn more by clicking here.

I have to say I'm very impressed with Laura's style, having taken one of her classes this year. Very clear, concise approach and I learned things about Illustrator I never knew.

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One blog reader will win a seat in Mouse, Paper, Scissors, a cool new hybrid workshop from JessicaSprague.com and Heidi Swapp.

ABOUT MOUSE, PAPER, SCISSORS: In this FOUR WEEK, four-lesson instructor-led class, world-renowned crafters Heidi Swapp and Jessica Sprague will PERSONALLY guide you from start-to-finish in the intricacies of crafting using Photoshop and your printer. This class is the "paper" version of the all-digital Up & Running with Photoshop class, and therefore covers ALL the basics you need to know to get started using your computer as a crafting tool to tell the stories of your life. In our four-week class we'll work on FOUR main projects, and FIVE smaller projects that will not only teach you the skills and knowledge to last a lifetime, but beautify your home and your life! This class INCLUDES Photoshop instructional screencasts, instructional videos from Heidi on completing the projects after they're created and printed, AND it includes the kit shipped to your house (a $35 retail value)!

Registration for this workshop ends on Feb. 2 at midnight E.S.T.

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TO ENTER: Leave me a comment today and tell me what kind of mood you're in today.

Me? I'm alright.

 

Are you there winter? It's me, Cathy.

After spending the past two-and-a-half months periodically connected to the treadmill in my basement, yesterday I finally decided to make nice with Old Man Winter and run outside.

It's not easy when you walk out the front door to this:

And this:

Every. Single. Day.

Don't get me wrong, it's pretty and all. But underneath all that pretty are patches of ice and potholes and other slick lovelies that are just waiting to put you on your tushka with all manner of sprained body parts resulting.

That, and it's cold. Really cold.

I've lived in Minnesota since 1990 and yesterday marked the first day in all these years that saw me embrace winter via exercising outside in it.

[cue choir of angels now]

When I started the whole Move More Eat Less thing a year ago this month, my moving more involved walking and jogging on my nuts-and-bolts basement treadmill. During the first quarter of last year, I worked my way up to running nonstop for 30 minutes (and I upgraded my treadmill along the way). I was so thrilled with my cardiovascular efforts, the idea of running outside never even crossed my mind.

Why would I? I mean, there are bugs and nature sounds and very likely perverts hiding in the bushes. No thank you. I'll keep my climate controlled enviroment and water bottle holder at the ready.

But in April 2010, when I finally decided, just for kicks, to see what it would be like to run around the lake by my house, I honestly didn't think it would stick.

I didn't set foot on my treadmill again from May through November. I guess you could say I finally got that Moving More in a natural setting would have benefits far beyond keeping the chub factor in check.

But once it snowed and the temperature started dropping into the single digits, I wussed out. Completely. I ran outside in November at 25 degrees and thought, "Chilly, but do-able." Then the typical Minnesota winter ensued and I returned to the basement from whence I came.

People—or more specifically runners—call it the Dreadmill. Even though I understand it, the way I've looked at it is you make your workout what it is. No, it's not going to feed your soul like running through a grove of trees on a 60-degree spring day will, but if you've got the right tunes and the right attitude, the sweat will run.

That said, yesterday morning when I walked Cole to the bus stop, I thought, "Okay, today's the day. I'm doing the lake route." And I almost talked myself out of it. Almost.

I bundled up (tights and running pants, two layers on top, hat and gloves) and crossed my fingers that I didn't slip and break something.

45 minutes later, I was so incredibly glad that I did.

19 degrees felt better than I imagined it could, even if the chubby part of my tummy was as rosy as a lobster and completely numb to the touch. And I hardly slipped at all.

Next week, it's going to drop back into the single digits which means next week, I'll very likely drop right back into the basement for a bit longer.

But I guess it's nice to know that I have options.

Expecto Day-Latum-and-a-Dollar-Shortum?

I may be a little late to the party, but I've recently discovered the magical joys and wonders of the Harry Potter book series.

I know, I know. Cathy, have you been near a book store in at any point since the late '90s?

Yes, I've seen a few of the earlier movies, of course, but I never really delved into the whole book phenomenon until a few weeks ago.

I blame it all on Twilight. I mean, without Twilight, I would have never read any teen lit books. And without that series, I would have never read The Hunger Games trilogy. And those led me to finally say, "It's time to read Potter."

I also blame it on my kids. Aidan has been into Harry since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. I remember posting this photo back in 2007, when she read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in one sitting, pausing only to eat and use the restroom.

Aidan is now re-reading the Potter series for the third time. Just last weekend, she invited some of her girlfriends over for an art party, and they made these:

Cole is re-reading the series for the second time. Whenever I put Cole's socks away, I see Ron and Harry on his chest of drawers, conversing over a cup of what I assume is a nice chalice of iced pumpkin juice:

I think the other thing that got me curious to read the stories was seeing Oprah's interview with J.K. Rowling. Her story is truly remarkable and her passion for these characters runs so deep. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.

The only downside of this new thing I've got going on? The big chenille throw on my couch is constantly calling for me to blow off any work, make another cup of chai and curl up with Harry and his friends for 15 minutes. Or 30. Or an hour.

I just realized how much I love being a day late and a dollar short to certain trends. For me, there'll be no waiting for the next book to come out.