I think most days I forget I have a blog! Since the last post, we moved to Alabama and now Virginia so I probably should change the name. I also recently went back to school full-time to pursue a degree in nursing. Instagram has become my favorite place to post pictures and connect with folks. I'm glad this blog is here because, even though I posted infrequently, I documented moments I would have otherwise forgotten. Perhaps one day I'll revive this space.

I DID IT!!

Yes, it's all caps because I'm so stinking happy! I DID IT!! I completed all 28 days of Lain Ehmann's layout a day challenge!! It got hard towards the end but I'm elated today. Here are the layouts I did. I learned that I can challenge myself to stick with a goal and with effort, dedication and follow through, I can do it. I usually scrapped during nap time but I wasn't afraid to take time for myself at night either. I'm so very happy that I've gotten my scrappin mojo back! Looking forward to May's Layout a Day (LOAD) challenge. Thanks Lain!!

LOAD 214

LOAD stands for Layout a Day and 214 is because it's February 2014. It's hosted by Lain Ehmann and I'm thrilled to be participating this year. Not just observing like I did for The Mother LOAD at Big Picture Classes in 2011, but no kidding participating. Like, making layouts and posting them. I'm giddy!! So here are the first two I've done. One paper and one digi. The digital layout is my first in PSE11 and yes, in reference to my last post, I did get a little teary over that too. I'm taking the plunge and learning new things! I'm making progress towards my goals and it feels good!!

Maybe I do need more sleep

I've been all sorts of weepy the past few days. My husband thinks I need more sleep. I think it's because I've had lots of very touching, deep moments recently.

Thursday at Community Bible Study I was able to connect with a little boy. He's had a history of abuse in his short 3 years, but his new adoptive family has really loved on him and allowed him to blossom. Because of his past, trust and transition are two things he has big problems with. I was able to gain his trust on Thursday after he'd been in our classroom for a few weeks. It was a precious moment and deeply moving for me. Those times when we clearly see how a child has been transformed is why I keep going back and volunteering.

So Friday at my Good and Beautiful Life Bible Study, I shared the story as a joy and got all teary eyed. I really do feel privileged to be a part of his transformation. It shows me a bit more about being adopted into God's family and how broken and desperate we are for love and then how renewed and cared for we are by God. That love allows us to better than we ever could have been on our own. But I digress ...

After study ended, I drove to base to drop a few forgotten items off to Mike. I got there as he was getting ready to take off. Parked just outside the gate, I watched him taxi to EOR and then take off. I burst into unexpected tears. I can barely put into words why. But to see, hear, feel the takeoff and know that he's in that jet? Well, I'm extraordinarily proud of him and I profoundly love him.

Later that night, a month-long challenge began of making one scrapbook page a day. It felt so very good to be creative and to document my photos. I can't remember the last time I made one! So of course, I cried a little :) As I was catching up on email, a post by Emily Freeman summed up what I was feeling. We cry when something is deeply meaningful to us. And so while I do need lots more sleep (I'm scrapbooking into the wee hours!) I also know that these have been blessed days and I'm grateful for eyes to see that.

Organizing FUNdamentals

I just made this post on a message board for a class I'm taking called Organizing FUNdamentals at Big Picture Classes. Getting my craft room in order is a big piece of meeting my goals this year so that's what I've been doing for the last week or so. The original post was asking if anyone had taken the class before.

At the end is a picture of an empty bin from my purging session today. For years random bits and pieces were dumped in that bin. Today I sorted and purged it. It's nice to reclaim that space!

 I'm not a true second timer but I did go through a major overhaul two years ago. I was fortunate enough to have a professional organizer come help me go through several rooms including my craft room. She helped me through the dumping and purging part (questioning my decisons so that I could make good choices, encouraging me to stay on task, etc.) and then helped put away. 

It was a very emotional process for me. I was pregnant so that added to it, but I did go through a bit of a grieving process over the good intentions and ideas that I didn't follow through on. It was hard but cathartic. I can only think of one thing that I purged that I should have kept but since it's gone, I'm moving on.

In the years since I had a newborn and now toddler in addition to my older kids. I'm just now feeling creative again and digging my craft room out. I have done small projects here and there but a lot has piled up for "someday". So someday is now TODAY and each day for the next few weeks to come.

After the organizer left, I had stacks of paper (school, memorabilia, ephemera, etc) that I was tasked to purge, sort and deal with. I did a good job with about 75% of it and now it's time to tackle the rest. I feel so close to being able to document those times and make progress with the ideas in my head - I could cry all over again! It's so liberating to be able to achieve what I once thought was a long, long way off. 

Thanks for being my therapist and sounding board!! It's nice to be among others who are in the same purging, organizing, mindset.

Day 2

When I was in therapy years ago, there were 6 areas the therapist highlighted to keep mental well-being. They were Hobbies, Exercise, Spiritual, Relaxation/Meditation, Nutrition and Socializing. I'm using those areas to help organize my goals for the new year.

So keeping on the theme of goals ...

Fitness is a big one for me this year. I mentioned trying to do a mile a day or just a walk at all. I'm excited about moving more and getting back in shape. I got a FitBit for Christmas so I've been wearing it for about a week now and I like being able to keep track of my activity. It's a high tech pedometer but it's a great motivator so far. I'm also getting back into CrossFit. I'm starting with just the warm-up right now and I'll progress to bigger and better when I get more form and endurance up. My biggest wish is to lose weight and tone

I'm sticking with my Community Bible Study and I'm looking forward to that. It's a great way to keep me in the Bible and learning. Nurturing my spiritual side is important and this is a great way to do that. I'm also continuing "The Good and Beautiful" study at my church. We did "The Good and Beautiful God" in the fall and we'll continue with "The Good and Beautiful Life" this spring. Finally, I'll work towards establishing a daily morning routine of reading and studying. It's so much easier to get it done first thing in the morning (just like exercise) but I'm not a great morning person. The kids have to be at school by 7:30 so sometimes my goal is to do it after they're gone but that doesn't always work either.

So that covers exercise and spirituality. Nutrition - basically just tracking my food intake (food log) like I've been doing for several months (except for Thanksgiving to Christmas). Logging my food has helped me from eating things I shouldn't, say, raw cookie dough. Who wants to look back and see that written down?? I'm going to keep drinking lots of water and work on cleaner eating, or less processed foods. Nothing revolutionary but I certainly don't want to undo whatever progress I make with my exercise.

Hobbies. I could fill my days for the next few decades with all that I want to get done. Keeping it manageable is hard! But I certainly don't want to delay making cute baby things when the baby is only small so long. So knitting, sewing and scrapbooking are my craft trifecta. Knitting - more socks and cardigans, more for me, more practical & wearable items. Sewing - not sure. I need to reenter my craft room and see what's unfinished and then get to work. I have more than a few t-shirt quilts that I could make. Scrapbooking - just as I mentioned yesterday, organizing photos and scrapping more. I'm doing the photo-a-day project with my son, taking a few classes, and then hopefully creating lots of photobooks. I'm thinking of making yearbooks of our early years just to get the photos into the hands of my kids. I find them often looking at the 8x8 photobooks I've made and I would love to give them more.

Relaxation/Meditation. This blends into spirituality for me. I also see it as a recharging time. I like baths, reading, walking and I need to journal more.

Socializing. This is tough. I really enjoy my solitary time. But I certainly need to foster the relationships in my family so date night will be big, along with journaling & one-on-one time with the kids. I'm heading up Vacation Bible School at my church which will entail a lot of working with others. I joined Lain Ehmann's Scrap Happy community so I can meet like-minded scrapbookers, create relationships and find inspiration. And I'll continue to take classes at Big Picture Classes. Uploading layouts and being active in the forums will be the key to taking both ScrapHappy and BPC to the next level. It's easy to lurk but putting in the effort to connect will pay dividends.

OK. Most boring post ever, but for me, a great way to organize my thoughts and stay focused. Happy 2014!

Happy 2014!

I'm setting a bunch of goals this year and working hard to establish new habits. Today I'm going to list a few of the things I've started and as the days go on I may or may not post more. This is mostly for my own reference and accountability - I need someplace to keep track of it all!

Two photo-a-day projects (CY365). One is of MTN (I did one with his oldest sister in 2009) and one of my walks. I hope for a mile-a-day but we'll see how it goes. As long as I get moving, it all counts.

I'm taking a few scrapbooking classes but my biggest project will be organizing my photos. I have to ditch my Creative Memories software now that they've changed their focus. I could have kept the software under a new provider but .... I made a different choice. I decided to go with PSE11 and I'll initially start organizing photos in there and also creating layouts. Yes, I'd like to get to scrapping with all my great photos too.

My One Little Word (OLW) for 2014 is CREATE. Creating new habits, creating a more fit body, creating more knitwear, creating relationships, etc. It implies there is action required on my part because, well, that's the only way anything gets done!

So, this is where I'm starting and I'll add posts as I get more concrete ideas about the other stuff. This is the wallpaper on my phone and laptop.