Tilda Card and Photos of the Day

Hi Friends!! Looks like Blogger is back in working order for me so I am now back in business. I'll stop by your blogs when I have a chance. I decided to take a day off from blogging and blurfing for the past 2 days because well. . .it's pointless if I couldn't get on Blogger anyway. I did switch to Firefox temporarily but looks like everything is back to normal with IE . . .well, on my end anyway.

For the next few days, you'll see at least 2 to 3 postings per day. Why. . .well, I have DT stuff that I need to post and I have a back log of cards. Isn't that amazing or what? I have at least 5 days worth of cards that I have waiting to be posted.

Just a little info on my card. I colored Tilda with my Copic Markers. . .that's about it! LOL!! The rest is self-explanatory.

Scroll down for my "photos of the day". It's a bit lengthy so bear with me. Hope you find time to read it. . .it's me being proud of my daughter! LOL!

Card Details:

Stamps: Magnolia Tilda

Paper: DCWV designer paper, SU Only Orange, Teal (not sure)

Ink: Copic Markers

Accessories: Prima flowers, Coluzzle Oval Template, Joann brads, Making Memories Ribbon, Fiskar Scallop Scissors, Office Depot swirl clip, SU Top Note die, Ticket Corner punch, 5-petal flower punch, Scribbles Iridescent paint

Photos of the Day

Daughter's Scholarship Award Night

***sorry for the blurry pictures***

This will be a long commentary so bear with me. . .LOL!

Today will be a fun day for my daughter. Tonight is her prom but she decided not to attend because the majority of her closer friends are not attending and she really wasn't interested in attending anyway. Instead, her and a few friends decided to have their own prom day by heading out to dinner, see a movie, hang out and later have a slumber party at our house. LOL!

My daughter was never the type to be caught up in the "social" aspect of high school. I think she adopted my husband's philosophy that the "hyped-up" social construct of high school is a negative concept that fosters insecurities, low self-esteem, and low self-confidence in teenagers and ultimately, adults.

My husband feels that high school should be seen as a building block for a child's future rather than a social environment. The need for teenagers to be popular, to dress a certain way, to fit into a clique erodes the true purpose of attending high school resulting in students focusing less on their academics and their development in becoming capable and productive adults that will better our country and the world.

When I was high school, I would have wholeheartedly disagreed. LOL!! Now. . .that I have my own child and I'm a bit more cultured and educated than I was in my younger days. I now see his point.

A part of me wanted my daughter to have "fun". . .to be part of the social aspect of high school but she had told me that she has fun with the community service activities with her friends and that what they do is not only fun but meaningful. She really does feel a sense of self-fulfillment through these activities. That is her idea of "fun" so I conceded and I agree that there are other ways to have fun. There was a one time when my views were more mainstream but now, I see things a bit differently. I've learned a lot from my daughter.

I do agree that the need to be popular and the social aspect of high school erodes teenagers self-esteem. Rather than focusing on becoming better students, especially for girls. . .their primary focus is whether they can fit in, become cheerleaders, and whether they have the latest fashion clothing. . .one-up'ng one another. So, I had to concede and have my daughter focus on building her self esteem in more important ways such as applying her self to her academics and community service activities. I told her to make the "right" friends. . .who have the same values and similar views of the world. And, I'm glad to say that she did.

My daughter was awarded the "Kiwanis" scholarship last week. For those who are not familiar with Kiwanis. . .they are an international organization that focuses on community service and servicing children throughout the world. Click Here for more info on the Kiwanis Organziation. I was so happy for her. She also was awarded her school's PTSA scholarship meaning she was recognized by her school's parent-teacher-student association for her academic and community service efforts.

My daughter is heading out to college this fall. . Although my daughter's major is Biological Science and she is somewhat undecided which direction or career she wants to enter. . .with the Biological Science major, she can later decide on which emphasis or field she wants to enter such as environmental, ecological, wild life, or medicine.

She started off wanting to become a Veterinarian, then she thought maybe she wanted a career in wild life conservation. Later she thought maybe environmental conservation was something she wanted to focus on but also considered entering a career in medicine, either in medical research or MD. I told her to keep her options open and she can decide her Junior year in college which direction she wants to head.

I am a little sad that her father will never see or experience the joy of knowing that his daughter grew up to be a fine lady. I had mentioned that her father in a previous post that her father was murdered when she was 6 years old. I'll discuss it one day.

Anyway. . .not to toot my daughter's horn or anything like that but I'm just extremely proud of her. My only hope for her was that she turned out okay considering her life circumstances but I'm more than happy to realize that she actually turned out to be more than just okay and that, I am extremely grateful for.

Sorry for the long story. Thank you for reading it if you got this far. LOL!

Hope y'all have a fantastic day!!