12.31.2007

Looking back, moving forward

SCRAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I was going to start this entry by saying good riddance to 2007. But after reflecting, and taking into account my new resolution to be positive, I've decided that with the bad comes good. Sometimes you just have to dig for it!

My resolution for 2007 was to work towards being debt free.

Glen closed his office and moved it back home in April. The office was an unnecessary financial burden, and while its not always easy having everyone home every day, we were lucky to get out of the office lease like we did. By, August, we were merging our company with another. I didn't like the idea at first, but again, it did have its advantages, namely, health insurance. Glen was spending way too much tme away from home. Didn't like that, but regular checks were nice. But by November, the merger fell through, so Glen is back home again. I now share my scrap room with him. He likes working in there because it's clean, and quiet. Same reasons I like it. LOL He really does try to be considerate if I'm in there trying to be creative. The upside to him being home again is that I have cooked exactly ONE MEAL in 2 months! Gotta love a man that loves to cook! LOL

Megan is doing well in school. She managed to wise up and crack down during her sophomore year at college. This is a blessing.

Ethan got his G.E.D right after his 17th birthday and joined the Army. He was medically discharged after 5 weeks. I'm thinking this is a blessing.

Caitlyn made her move into the modeling world. She is pursuing her dream. This is a blessing.

Peyton, well, she is 11 years old. She's a blessing, just cuz I say so. :-)

Our health has been good. This most definitely is a blessing. Our family is together. This is a blessing.

So, in hindsight, 2007 wasn't a terrible year. We did manage to pay off several of our debts, including an expensive truck payment.

Looking forward into 2008, the resolution is a little broader... Create, Simplify, Be Positive.

Create: I am going to schedule time for myself. Here is a sign that my daughter made for my scrap room door.



Simplify: Still working on paying off debt. Also, just say NO. I don't need to fill every square on my calendar.

Be positive: Just like it sounds. Don't dwell on the negative, find the silver lining. There almost always is one if you look hard enough. :-)

Some scrappy challenges that I'm excited about this year:

The blog challenge, right HERE! I've got them all lined up for the year and I think y'all will love it!

The Year in the Life challenge, right HERE! I'll be posting one word each week and altering playing cards. (I posted the box I made to keep them last week, just scroll down to see it.)

The Photo a Week challenge on 123-Scrap.

The Book of Us and the Kitchen Keepsakes challenges on Feeling Scrappy. LOVE these challenges!

I don't know what else I'll do, but this is a good start.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year! I will see you right here Wednesday morning with our first blog challenge! :-)

12.30.2007

Last layout of 2007

I know, silly me, because I'll be scrapping again day after tomorrow! LOL But thought I'd share anyway. :-)

12.29.2007

Photo for 12/28

I've been trying to learn a little more about how to use my camera to its fullest. I played around with the macro yesterday in between rain showers. I was trying to catch a mid drip photo, but these turned turned out pretty cool I thought. :-)



12.28.2007

Blog challenge sneaky peek!

I am SO excited that so many of my scrappy friends will be blogging with me next year! I've gotten the first several ready to go and it will be FUN getting to know y'all a little bit better! Ready for a warm up? :-)

If you haven't done so already, you really should set up your Google Reader. It will help you keep track of your friends and their blog updates. Don't forget to add ME! :-)

When you’re finished, post to your blog and let your friends know what you're up to. Feel free to invite them to participate! Name a few of your friends by name. Everyone loves to see their name in lights! Leave a comment on at least 3 of your friends blogs. Everyone LOVES comments!

I'm specifically calling out my best friend Tams! She started her blog early this year and has updated only a handful of times. I know first hand that she's an excellent writer, so I have invited her to join and she has accepted. YAY!

I've also invited all my friends from 123-Scrap to join in and many of them have accepted as well! YAY again! Well, Rach, Pam, Karen, Tammy and Lisa didn't really NEED me to challenge them, as they all do an awesome job updating their blogs already. But they are sweet to support me! :-) And if you love challenges like I do, you need to check out 123-Scrap! New challenges will be posted in a few days! One that I'm super excited about is called Photo a Week. I don't know about you, but I sometimes "forget" to take photos of the every day blessings. So what I end up with is hundreds of photos of holidays, birthdays and Disney, but tend to leave out the beauty and wonder of the every day.

Have fun and I'll be posting the first official challenge next Wednesday! :-)

12.27.2007

Blog challenge!

Okay, I'm going to do it! I'm going to start posting blog challenges each week, right here, starting next week. My plan is to go through the year, but I'll see what kind of a response I get before committing. :-D

So, for now, if you're interested, please comment here and/or email me with your blog addy and I'll add you to my Google Reader. :-)

Spam commenter

Thanks to Adam, who replied to my last entry, my blog comments are now moderated. And since I'm apparently not nearly as saavy as Adam and can't figure out how to delete his comment, I will just tell you... DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK IN HIS COMMENT. I have no idea what it is or who he is, but no matter. If one of my real friends has a clue on how to delete comments, please tell me! Thanks in advance!

ETA: I figured it out! Under each comment is a little icon that looks like a trash can. Click on it and is asks if you're sure you want to delete it. YEA, BABY! DELETE!!! Off to turn off the moderation! :-)

12.26.2007

Scrappy resolutions anyone?

I have always set page goals, but 2008 will be a year of firsts for me. Instead of setting a goal, I'm just going to track what I've done. That way, I won't feel as if I have to rush through a project, kwim? Creative destressing!

I'll be doing a lot more altering this year. Here is a CD tin (thanks Colleen!) that I'll be keeping track of all the new creative ventures I accomplish.



I'll also be working on a weekly card challenge. Not card, as in greeting card, but rather card, as in altered playing card. Here is the altered box I made to keep them in, until the end of the year, when I attach all the completed cards to a cornice to attach over the window in my scrap room! I'm super excited about it!



I will also be expanding my horizons as it relates to photography, which is always good to keep me in scrappy projects! LOL

I would love to hear what your scrappy goals are for the new year! :-)

12.25.2007

Pogo sticks aren't for old people

Well, old being older than 12. Our daughter got a pogo stick for Christmas and of COURSE, everyone had to try their hand at it. Insert major eye roll here, because there was no WAY "I" was doing it! I know my limitations! LOL

First, the 19 year old sister gave it a whirl.



Maybe she'll have better luck if she leans against a door...



Or not. LOL

Then, you've got the 44 year old dad. NOT a pretty sight. LOL



Finally, they let the kid have her turn. :-)



I hope y'all are having a fun day and that Santa brought everything you wished for! :-)

12.24.2007

White Christmas

HA! Even in the heart of dixie! It is super cold today and for you naysayers, here's my photo a day for Christmas Eve! :-D





I'm wishing all my scrappy friends a very merry Christmas and hope that Santa brings you everything you wish for. ;-)

12.21.2007

After the storm

As you saw in yesterdays photo, it was a rainy, gloomy day. Soon after that photo was taken, a major storm rolled through. We lost power for 2 hours and it made quite the mess with it's 60 mph winds.

But today dawned a new day, bright and warm. This is a photo of the sweet gum tree in our backyard. I just love how all the gumballs managed to stay on the tree in spite of the high winds. :-)

12.20.2007

Photo a day

Okay, so I committed to it, then flaked out. Some friends of mine are doing a photo a day and they have been taking the coolest photos! I was feeling pretty crummy about ditching the project when all of a sudden, I had a photo op! So, I still flaked out, but I'm going to share my first PAD today, the 20th of December.

It's rainy and gloomy and cold and I walked out on the front porch and this is what I saw. Lovely for the challenge, I thought! :-)

12.18.2007

Traditions

Being as how I am Jewish and dh is not, we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas and have beautiful traditions for both. I thought I would share a couple of layouts that I've done recently. Blessings for a happy and safe holiday, no matter what you celebrate. :-)


12.16.2007

Last minute gift idea

Are there still scrappy people on your list to buy for? How about a gift certificate to one of Feeling Scrappy's classes! Your friend gets to pick the class they want and you can buy and deliver from the comfort of your computer. Good thinking, huh? :-D

Here's a layout I did from the last class. I printed a photo onto a transparency for the dedication page of my daughters modeling album.



The next class is in January and is all about painting! I'm so excited! I have tons of paint and love using it, but could really use some inspiration on how to use it in new ways! Hope to see you there! :-)

12.04.2007

Member of the Month!

Feeling Scrappy has a new thing called Member of the Month. This is to recognize talented ladies who share and participate on the message board each month. There are lots of fun perks, so come check it out!

Our first Member of the Month is Colleen! She is well deserving of the title! Check out this layout she did. It's one of my favorites of hers, but all of her layouts are amazing. She teaches me cool things all the time! I'm proud to call her friend! Congratulations Colleen! :-)

12.02.2007

245 down, 91 to go

Only 91 layouts left to do to reach my 2007 page goal. What was I thinking!!! I managed to get many completed during Feeling Scrappy's Jingle Bell Crop, which I'm thankful for. Unfortunately, the January paint class comes too late to help me with this year, but I haven't given up! Here are a few that I got done today. So fun and easy to scrap the photos of Caitlyns photo shoot! :-)