Small Pond, Big Fish

So I forgot to tell everyone that we went to the Santa Cruz County Fair a few weeks ago. We love the fair. It's such a tradition for us now to go. We usually go with our friends Cindy, Mary and Lilly. We watch the Pig Races, visit the Petting Zoo, the kids ride the Carnival Rides, and Mary gets hypnotized by the Hypnotist Mezmer. The highlight, however (at least for Cindy and I) are the exhibits. A few years ago Cindy and I started entering stuff in the fair. We enter in baked goods, candy, poetry, and more recently collections and scrapbook pages. Cindy always blasts the competition with her candy and her brownies. I never place higher than 3rd with my cookies. And poetry is unfortunately a joke. Every year I have entered in 2 poems - one I worked hard on and one I literally do in half an hour about the fair theme. The fair theme poems are so cheesy, I think my Creative Writing would revoke my evaluations at U.C.S.C.! Nevertheless, I usually win something for the Fair Theme poem whereas the regular poem has gotten me zero. Not, that the prize money is that big of a deal anyway.

Last year, my sister Charlotte entered in a scrapbook page about our parents working in the fields of Watsonville. She won first place. Lucky for me she was too busy to enter. I entered in three categories this year - Individual Scrabook Page, Indiv. Stamped Scrapbook Page, and Scrapbook. I got First Place for two out of the three!!. My Scrapbook, a Small Zoo Scrapbook, garnered me a Special Award !. The thing is, when you place in any of these competitions you don't get a rosette - you just get a plain straight ribbon, even when you win first prize. The only time you get a nice lovely big rosette is if you are "Best of Division" or the most coveted "Best in Show." Or so we thought, until now. I guess they decided to start giving out these "Special Awards" too. Anyway, I am so proud of it. I didn't even feel that bad that once again Cindy smoked me in the one category she and I were both competing in - Ind. Scrapbook Page. She got 2nd and I got 3rd.

Anyway, the rosette I got helped me feel a little bit better when in the following week I was rejected by Memory Makers Magazine. They hold this contest every year for inclusion in a group called Memory Makers Masters. The 10 chosen ones basically work for the publication for an entire year, doing scrapbook layouts for the magazine and getting paid for them. There are also 10 Runner Ups and 20 Finalists. The critera is to send in 4 layouts of your best work and 1 with a specific theme. I thought mine were pretty good but, I didn't even make it to the Finalists list. I know there were probably a couple hundred who did apply but, I worked so hard on those layouts. Matt can attest to how much of a wreck I was when, on the eve of due day, I found out that the Kinkos here wasn't 24 hours anymore.

I don't know what it is. I really want to be published. I remember trying to get my poems out a long time ago. I gave up a few months after I started submitting. I don't know what it is about scrapbooking, I've been submitting for almost a year now and nothing. I have even less time now than when I did without the kids but, I still scrap every chance I get. I still think about what magazine each layout would be good for. I'm still trying. But, unlike the Fair, this is a huge body of water I'm trying to swim in. It's overwhelming sometimes. At least I have the consolation that even if I never get the "glory", at least the boys will benefit from these bits and pieces of our past someday. Have a good week everyone.