Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy (at least I think that's his name)

***I will probably be sharing some deep thoughts in the next few weeks, so if that isn't your type of reading then visit me again in a couple of week. I think I need the therapy that writing brings. I won't be hurt :-) sometimes I just want to read inspirational posts, sometimes I just want visual eye candy, and sometimes I really want to know how people feel deep down. So I understand :-)***

Today well really right now, I am feeling this intense sadness like I want to cry. I don't think it is over walking away from job as much as feeeling empty because I am not sure what to do next. I don't regret my choice, but I also don't know what's next. Not sure if I want to be called brave or if I want to be babied and cajoled. Just not sure. And I think it is the uncertainess that is weighing me down. It is too early to worry about not finding a job, I have only been applying for a week. I know God provides and that he will place something in my path. But I feel anxious as if ready to move forward. But I can't because I don't know what I am moving toward.



This is a sharp contrast to how I started my morning or maybe it was a prelude. But this morning I felt done. I felt like it should be the end of May now. I felt like I was ready to close this part of my life and start on something new. I was ready to move forward. Maybe the quiet time I spent alone this afternoon made me realize that I didn't know where I was going. If it is not obvious, I don't like feeling lost and I don't like living what I can't plan. I am not a control freak, but I do like to see my boundaries. Reach out and touch them every now and then, maybe even cross the line with my toe. But now, but now I can't see the line, don't know that it is there, and feel free and trapped by the unknown at the same time.



Anyway, I guess I will just move on. Here are my deep thoughts like Jack Handy from Saturday Night Live. At least I think that's what his name is :-) I think I just need to get my thoughts out, so I can collect them and rearrange them and find what works for me. But to be honest, I think I wanted to get them down so that when I go to document this life change, I will have the journaling to use on my layout. LOL, always thinking like a scrapper :-)



ciao

On My Mind

“The saddest places on earth are graveyards. Not because people are buried there, but because dreams, talents and purposes that never came to fruition are buried there. Graveyards are filled with books that were never written, songs that were never sung, words that were never spoken, things that were never done.”

.....this quote is on my mind as is this site by Dan Miller and this course by Oprah and Marcus Buckingham. I have decided to resign from my job on Monday and pray that I find a job in a new field that is fullfilling, renewing, and a function of what brings me joy. Pray for me and wish me luck. I am nervous, but honestly also excited by the new possibilities. I pray that what I find is a new career and not just a job and that it has rewarding potential.

200 year occurence

Yesterday we had a cool experience. Living in the midwest, you don't expect to feel or experience an earthquake, but that is what happened. It was around 4:30 am and it woke me up because I heard the glass shower doors moving and for some reason I thought burgler. But then I realized that the bed was shaking also. I woke Rob up and asked if the wind could be that high or did he think it was an earthquake. It didn't last that long, but it was definitely felt. While at work, we experienced after shocks and my computer monitor and desk shook a couple of times. I am glad that there was little to no damage done in this area. Now I can say I have experienced an earthquake (Missouri), flooding rains (Texas) and a hurricane (Florida). And yes, I have moved around a lot in my adult years :-)

Guess Who is Lucky ?????

It's me. I got an e-mail from Archiver's asking if I would be interested in applying for a small group survey. I said yes and luckily I was chosen. I gave up an hour and half of my time to visit an Archiver's store and talk with marketers about my shopping habits, products preferences, store arrangment, likes and dislikes about Archiver's, class offering, product placement and customer service type of stuff. The reward besides possibly shaping how they work the store............. a $50 gift card to Archiver's !!!!! What could be better ???? It really was a good time. I enjoyed hearing others stories and thoughts and I enjoyed sharing my ideas. One thing they said was in the works.............trying to get a German manufacturer to make 12x12 baskets, so your paper doesn't get bent. How cool would that be. SOOOO, what would you buy with your $50????? I am thinking new paper trimmer or the new Crop a Dile, or a boat load of adhesive, an album and some new Basic Grey :-)

Something New

LOOK at what I have....... NEW GLASSES and I LOVE them. They are super different from my old ones. These are fully rimmed, non metal, black (never had this color before) and they are transition lenses tinted gray. They are sooo cool. I feel trendy in them :-) LOL


This is the After photo.This is the Before photo.

Early Riser

Here's the Story of the Day:

Early Life
I try & get a lot of living in early in the morning before everyone else gets up, because after that, it doesn't seem so much like living as it does putting up with stuff.

****Quotes like this make me wish I was a morning person. If I have something to do, I can get up no problem, but to just get up to attempt productivity just seems undoable to me. So I have decided to do more at night i.e pack my lunch, pick my clothes, pack my gym bag, so I don't have to worry about it in the morning, which does help me feel more relaxed. It does take a bit of discipline to take time out of the evening though. I am hoping that I will be able to keep going b/c I feel so positive about it. (I didn't take the pic :-) I wish that i did though LOL)

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***

Absent but not Lazy :-)

Geez, where have I been. Well my life is going along as usual. I guess I just haven't been blogging, but I have been creative. I have even tried out some new art. I decided the other day that i would like to learn jewelry making, so i went to Michaels with a gift card and bought a book and a starter kit. It is much easier than I thought. I am very proud of my first creations. They only took me a couple of hours. I was so excited that I went to Michaels the very next day and bought some more items, so I could try something a little more complicated. I am sad to report that this new hobby is as expensive as scrapbooking :-) (CLICK ON THE PIC FOR A CLOSE-UP)













I also decided to try my hand at some canvas art. I took the one word for the year idea from Ali Edwards. Mine this year is CELEBRATE LIFE. I journaled on the photo what that meant to me. This is not the best pic, but it is what I have taken so far. It was a lot of fun playing with the paint and a lot more intimadating than a 12x12 page. I have another blank canvas and I am toying around with what to do with it. (CLICK ON THE PIC FOR A CLOSE-UP)

I have also been busy scrapbooking as well. It was the first time in months. Decided do do some angles, which I never do. I like things in balance. One is a pic from new years and the other is a collage of photos from like the last three years of me and Rob.

New Banner

Oh my GOODNESS!!! Look up and see what I did. I finally figured out how to do a banner for Blogger. I am extra proud of myself and think it looks good for a first try. Go me and Go Blogger for making some changes, so I could do this without pulling my hair out :-)

I have had a pretty good week. You will be happy to know that I am steadily working on my New Year Life Changes. They have not fallen by the wayside and I am keeping a journal of how I am working toward the changes each day. Holding myself accountable. I did fall off the wagon last week with the health change, but I got back up and implemented some strategies that are working well right now. Go me for problem solving!!!

If you are looking for a great site to learn design software online in a class format, then check out this site: Scott Kelby They are offering free previews of the first 3 weeks of lessons for all courses. I learned a lot watching the previews. I think I may have to do this.

Toodles :-)

Always Learning

Before and After shots playing around with my Adobe Elements. It's amazing what you can do with an ordinary picture. The after photo looks almost surreal. This is a shot of a famous square in France. I have really been spending a lot more time trying to learn more about photography and Adobe. I am enjoying the challenge and I always enjoy learning new things. I figure it's about time I learn what the expensive camera and editing equipment I have can really do :-) NEWS FLASH: I scrapped two layouts this week. First time in almost five months. I will post this weekend once I get a chance to scan or photograph them. I felt a bit rusty, but it was also freeing to just create. I realized how much I miss it. I don't think we are going to sell in this market, so I may just as well unpack my scrap stuff and get back to creating and documenting our family memories.

Surprise Pick

Might seem like an odd post, but here goes. Today I lost the battle against the scale and I was super down. So I curled up on the sofa, said screw the gym for today (counter productive I know, but obviously it wasn't helping anyway) and watched a movie I hadn't seen before. Bridge To Terabithia isn't my normal pick, but I am so glad that I watched it. The story was so real and so inspiring that I cried through like the second half of the movie. It really is about friendship, beauty, inspiration and believing in yourself. It is also about over coming loss and tranforming it into something wonderful. It is also about nurturing your imagination and loving each day for what can unfold. I even downloaded the soudtrack which I found very uplifting and encouraging even if it is a bit popish. So if you need a feel good movie, I say give it a go. You may be pleasantly surprised.

A couple of pics from the holiday party.

New Year

New Years was really nice. It was the first time I actually went out to a formal VIP type party. Free food, drinks and music. My friend's husband plays in a band, so we got free tickets in exchange for me taking a couple of pics. I will try to post a few once I clean them up a bit. We got a room at a downtown hotel and shared breakfast the next morning. Not a bad way to start the new year. Went back to work today and had a decent experience. I brainstormed some active changes to help me meet the goal of rediscovering my passion for my job. I am prayerful that they will lead to a positive year.

At the party, a professional photographer gave me some advice on how to use my Cannon Speedlight. It was a simple correction that made a big difference. It made me realize that online classes are good, but that maybe I need some one on one tutoring. Any suggestions on how to find someone who does one on one lessons. Or how much something like that can go for.

New Year, New Retrospection

The approach of a new year always makes me retrospective. I guess that doesn't make me special, deep, or different from the other millions out there right? Each year I make resolutions and each year I forget them early on. I guess I know when to cut my losses. This year I want it to be different. This year the things I want to work on have been brewing in my mind for a while. I am not quite sure how to document them. I don't want to post them so the whole world can see my failure if I don't reach my goals and I haven't scrapped or created since September, so that process seems daunting as well. Not really sure what to do, but I am convinced they need to be in my face as a constant reminder. Oh well here goes. Win or lose these are my areas of interest in no particular order:

Health (not about being skinny, but that isn't bad either. I have already joined Curves and have been consistently going, now if I could continue to do that and be better about what I put into my body I would be on a roll)

Happiness (I am not unhappy, but I want that Stacy Julian kind of happy that looks like it glows from within and brightens all those around)

Job Satisfaction (I am good at my job, dedicated and consistent in my work, but not enthusiastic or joyful. I want to be passionate and not just efficient)

Financial Security (yes we make over 6 figures, no we don't have kids, or credit cards, or live beyond our means, but I still believe Dave Ramsey when he says being content isn't the same as truly being finanically free. Read the Total Money makeover)

I want to truly SEE (I want to look at life and live life and love life with an artists' eyes, hands and emotions. I want to live and love more authenticly and passionately. I think my husband deserves that, he is a pretty good guy)

Spirituality (I know God, love God and believe in God and yet I feel like I have only scratched the surface of who he wants to be. A better reationship and deeper knowing is what I have been craving lately. We have been going to church regularly again, we are going back to tithing with the new year and I really do feel like I am on the right path)

***who knows... maybe working out the very last thing on my list will have a dominoe effect on the other items on the list as well. so here is my list, pretty deep, pretty honest, pretty intimidating and yet it is a clear picture of who I am today and what I feel I need to be the me I should be tomorrow

***thanks to this blogger today whose honest journaling encouraged me to be honest today as well: Raquita

My 1st Storyboard

So excited to share what I just learned to create. I am going to spend the new year relearning my camera and adobe program and practicing to see with a creative eye. Now if I could just remember to post :-) The first one is the basic attempt. The second one is me learning to use actions and special effects. What I love most about this hobby is the ability to branch out and grow in different areas. Scrapbooking=Photography=Digital Art= A Happy and Creative ME :-)
***Click the link if you want to see them bigger.

Here and There

Geez, I can't seem to keep the blog flow. My job switched over to a new system, so this is the first time I have been able to successfully log on at work. Not sure why it works now, but it does. I have been taking photos for my photo a day, but the photos haven't been everyday. I realized taht my life is a bit of a routine on soem days. I know, I know look for the beauty in your everyday, but pictures of my work space, my girls practicing cheer routines and my husband and I eating dinner can get a little mundane.

We went to see Beowolf in 3D this weekend. It was good. I wouldn't suggest seeing it in a regular theatre, you may focus on the plot holes. But in 3D it is worth the extra ticket price and the two hours of sitting. The graphics are amazing. We also went to a new restaurant called Wapango. It is latin fusion cooking. Whatever that means. They have build your own Mojito happy hour, which was well worth it :-)

I also downloaded the trial version of Elements 6.0 The demo video showed some amazing things you can do with it. I haven't played with it yet, but I can't wait for Thanksgiving break to try it out. If you have it, what are your thoughts????

Hopefully, I can add my pics later today. I do have some to add, I promise :-)

Football Fever

My photo of the day reminds me of Football, Fall, and Snacks......what could be better ?????

:-) I didn't watch the game until after I got married. I decided it was better to learn the game then be a football widow. Now I am as passionate about it as Rob. We bet weekly on the games, which makes it even more exciting. The loser has to cook an extra meal that week, so believe me when I say it gets intense. Currently we are tied. The Cowboys better win tonight :-)