Karen's 15 Minutes

Meet this week's famer: Karen Mataraza

Blog: view from home

Bio:
I’m just over 30 and I dislike it more with each hair that falls out of my head (good thing I have thick hair to start). What’s that all about? Is it because of my 5 year old or my 3 month old? Two boys—who’da thunk it? Me? That’s so not me. Maybe it’s our Korean dog who whines all day long to go outside to sniff the air? Maybe it’s the hubby, Mike, who still, after seven years, does not understand what a laundry basket does. Maybe it’s the little bit of what’s left of my New York accent that throws him off. He is, after all a native Texan.

But Mike’s accent didn’t show through when I first met him back in 2000. He had just returned to Ft. Campbell after duty in Egypt and our mutual friends didn’t even introduce us. And he didn’t say hello and would not even take his nose out of that menu! I mean, how many things can you order at Outback? I figured he was just another jerk, one of the 80 gazillion I met during my seven years in the Army as a Korean Linguist.

I guess his charm or his like-minded politics worked, because here I am in Texas, where his accent is back and I find myself looking for a safety or straight pin every time he asks for a PEN. I’m 20 hours from a B.S. in Biology and out of dough for school but it’s OK here. Mike has a good job and life is good. But I miss snow, the fall colors, miss my family. Mike’s family is so not the picture-taking/scrapbooking kind.

Yes, I have friends from the scrapbook store where I work two days a week, but no one (my age) to hang out with, go shopping, etc. I need my Mom and my sisters—and my brother (but he’s a boy!) I always had everyone around growing up, now there’s no one; nobody's ear for me to talk off. (And they don’t have a real deli or real hard rolls down here either—don’t even get me started on the Italian food.)

Maybe that’s why I scrapbook? So that Michael and Owen will both know how important they are to me, I spend my whole day taking pictures of us and the silly things we do. Wherever life takes them, they’ll have a part of me and will always know who I am. I have much to tell, or so I think, and they don't know any of it because they don't even know my family.

While I’m the farthest thing from a photographer, I take my ‘best shot’ with a layout in mind. Sometimes I think I spend more time photographing and scrapbooking the memory than enjoying the event itself! Or maybe I just like paper and collecting things? I mean, I was the youngest sister who would steal my eldest sister’s school notebooks just to have the clean, white paper to run my hands over.

Or maybe I just want my kids to know that, at one time, I had a full head of hair!

Karen's Favorite Layout:



Here are our takes on Karen's favorite layout.

Carla Chrissy

Corey

Jude

Kim

Melanie


Melissa



Ronda


Post a link to your take here by June 5 for your shot as a future Famer.