New me, but the same me (with the camera) that everyone knows

Okay, so you've probably (hopefully) noticed me looking back at you with my camera . . . the same "face" that my kids see all the time ;c) I kinda liked that picture, so much that it inspired me to revamp a new header today. (Like I have time. But I still did.) So yeah, it's a new Purple Valley over here. You like?

Now please go down and read my post about the upcoming wedding of 2008 . . . Heather's. We need some planning advice! I know if you're like me, anything weddings is so fun, especially when you're not the stressed-out bride. My goal, for Heather not to be stressed out. So I hope you can help.

Off to really work my buns off. My goal tonight -- a wedding album and all kinds of orders. Wish me luck.

** coming back in to say that the job offer . . . a few posts below . . . still stands. While I have some awesome volunteers coming to help in the next week, I am still interested in possibly hiring someone. Anyone?

New designed header

I know you've seen my new header, it's no surprise. I decided to change it the other day when going through my grandparents old things. I think I've mentioned that they kept everything? Well, there was a box full full full of old cards from people over the years. Hundreds. Yes, they kept everything.

I found cards from my dad to my grandparents when he was 3, ones from friends when my grandma had her hysterctomy in the early 1970's, a card from my mom, dad and myself the Easter of 1976, which would have been when I was only a month old. It would have been probably my parents first card that they signed after I was born and that makes me think of signing our own first cards "Neil, Valerie and Noah". In a new parents life, it's pretty exciting to write a new person's name who is your own child attached to your own, especially when you never ever thought there you would be a family of 3. I still remember signing our names for the first time.

Then there were also cards from grandma and grandpa to each other during a 45 year time span, each seemed to be signed differently, "Honey, I'll always love you", "To many more beautiful years", "I love you more and more every year", and so on. There were hundreds of cards. While I pitched over half of them, I could not fathom throwing them all out. They were a piece of my family's history. And some of my favorites were the ones from the early 50's. Some had sparkles on them, some were very thin waxy tissue, some had the ugliest designs on the front, but some were just so . . . what's the word . . . retro . . . timeless? And the things the cards themselves said - even better - funny in most cases. I had a ball looking through them. And they inspired me to change my header.

This header I designed was using a card that I found from my dad and his siblings to their mom for Mother's Day. If only there was a frame on it with a woman taking pictures or a woman on her computer. Then that would be me to a "t". Here's another one that I really loved. I just adore vintage things. Aren't they great? Hope you're enjoying my new Purple Valley "look".