New Career ??? Maybe ???

I am thinking about starting a new career. I am totally afraid though. Afraid I might not find a job, afraid that I won't like it after all the schooling, afraid of failure I guess is the truth. I want to go back to school to get a degree in graphic design. Actually, I wanted to get a certificate in it, but found through research that I need at least 48-60 class hours, which means a bachelors minus the gen ed requirements b/c I already have two degrees or I can do an Associate degree program. That's a lot of school. That means at least 3-4 years part time or 2 years full time, which means quitting my job. And what if it doesn't pan out for me. I know lots of people in marketing and advertising having a hard time finding a job. Rob's positive response was that, "at least you will have amazing scrapbooking pages b/c you will be a professional designer." Thanks Honey :-)

I also have to figure out where having kids will fit in. I planned to quit and stay home in another year or two, so maybe I can use that time to take classes, or maybe I will be so busy being a full time mom and homemaker that I won't have the time. Plus is it wise to start a new career at 30 and try to start a family? Who knows? Really, does anyone know, I would LOVE to talk with them :-) I have been reading this blog: 48 Days Blog by this man who wrote No More Mondays and he encourages you to break out and find the job you want to go to everyday. He says life is too short to live conviently, you have to live it passionately (my phrasing his ideology). So who knows, this may be the start of something new. Everything starts small and can snowball at any moment. I just have to be brave enough to put forth the time to change my life situation.

Newly Redecorated Scraproom

So here are some of the pics of my new room :-) I didn't make the pics fancy, I am being a bit lazy. I just wanted to post them. I still have one blank wall. I think I may do some canvas paintings of quotes to put up there. I like the new organization. I divided the paper up by color family. It took me two hours to sort through the pp. I am not as much a hoarder as I thought. Although, I did find some pretty pieces I forgot about. I have individual containers for the alphas, chipboard, stickers, rub ons, 3D embellishments, and sparkly items. The ribbon, brads, and buttons are in jars. The colorful magazine holders are from the same store and hold the last two years from four different scrap mags.
The 12x12 plastic bins came from good ole Wally Mart. Cheap and functional.
The colorful magnetic strips came from the Container Store (link in previous post). They were $5 each and worth the money in my opinion. I am going out to buy five more to do the whole wall.
I love seeign my stuff on display. It is inspiring and it acts as decoration :-)
Blogger is being STUPID, so I will post more pics later.

Art is Happiness in a Visual Form :-)

Deep Quote

Came across this quote today on Ali's Blog and thought WOW. It really just touched something inside of me.

Howard Thurman : Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

side note: I just redecorated my scrap room and I am so excited :-) Gotta love the Container Store :-) They have everything you need. I will post pics as soon as Rob hangs up my magnetic strips, so I can hang my layouts on the wall. I got them in lime green, orange, and sky blue. So much color in my room now.

Once You Start...You Can't Stop

Once you start you just can't stop. So I guess scrapbooking is just like eating Lays potato chips :-) I have done three layouts in less than a week. And I really like them :-) LOL All the items are from my personal stash, which I guess is considerable since I have the kit club business and I always order a little extra for myself :-) Daisy D's, American Crafts, 7 Gypsies and Heidi Swapp for all the pages.

This first layout is one of the first pics I think I have scrapped from our Europe trip last summer. I must admit that it is a bit unorthodox. No glorious monuments, no castles, no gardens. You get a pic of my back side. You must read the journaling to get the full effect. I swear this was an integral part of my trip :-) LOL

The journaling is: Never go on a walking tour of Europe with teenagers unless you are in good shape. Rob and I toured Tuscany looking for a pharmacy. With no walgreens in sight, we spotted the universal sign for medicine. None of the workers spoke English, so I had to point to my back and wiggle in pain. They smiled and gave me a sticky heat pad which saved my life.

This is also one of the first pics I have scrapped of this past Christmas when my whole family was together at my moms. We live in three different states hundreds of miles apart, so this was a special occasion. My mom asked for a whole album of the pics I took. I don't think she realizes that I am a moment and not an event scrapper :-) and I don't think she realizes how hard it is for me to scrap traditional holiday pics. But I did promise, so I may have to find a crafty way to do it. Maybe a mini album or something.

The journaling is: This photo makes me HAPPY. I love seeing Tiffany, Karrie, Mom and myself in the kitchen together. This Christmas was nice because we were all together. When you get older, move away and have families, it gets harder and harder to be together all at the same time. However, this year we made it possible. There is something very cathargic about surrounding yourself with FAMILY and good food. It is food for the SOUL and the body. I don’t remember what we really ate, and Rob and I had to get on the road shortly after, but I will always REMEMBER feeling LOVED, feeling at HOME, and feeling at PEACE in my mom’s kitchen with my sisters by my side. And last but not least, I did a layout about our house selling ordeal. I think I am still trying to process it all. For everyone that wanted to know how its going, well it is gone. Side note: I used a shaped journaling template for Elements users. Free from Jessica Spague on the CK site. I also used Ali Edwards font. Free on the CK site as well.

The journaling is: Last August, Rob and I got house fever. We came across a newly built home that was deeply discounted and had many of teh amenities we were looking for in our next home. We put our current home on the market and hoped it would sell before someone else came and made an immediate offer. Unfortunately, the home was sold three weeks later. With house fever stillin our veins, we decided to build new and pray that our currenthome would sell bythe time the new home was built. We spenmt weeks visiting new builders and looking at home models. We found what we thought was our dream home and signed a contract. It was hard to keep our home in show condition seven days a week, but we did our best. It wasn't enough. We had many lookers, but only one offer, which was too low. Three weeks before we were to close on our new home we released it back to the builder. Needless to say it was a hard and disappointing outcome. Rob says maybe it is a blessing, while part of me feels that we failed. Either way God's will be done and now I have to learn to love our current home again. SIDE NOTE: Our current home is only 4 years old, so don't feel too bad for me. We still have an empty bedroom, a guest bedroom and my craft room. But this other home had surround sound, 14x14 kid bedrooms, glass door cabinets in the kitchen, a mudroom, and other really nice touches :-) Oh well maybe in the future when the housing market gets better.

***I hope everyone has a CREATIVE and CRAFTY week***