be inspired

A huge chain reaction has occurred--I read blogs.  Lots of blogs.  Those people read blogs.  And so on.  I am now hooked on bunches of blogs I found through other blogs.  I found a couple new ones worthy of checking out (NOT scrapbook-y, just all around life inspiring and crafty, too, though one is a Project Lifer) Little Blue Boo and Jenny Meyerson.  In addition to the new found blogs to inspire (like, for real inspire. One is going through chemo now, one went through it). I am reading "The Happiness Project".  Quite frankly, I confess I am having a hard time really getting into the book.  First of all, it's written way too much like a research paper (lots of quoting and referring to other books...I have a hard time not wanting to skip those pages).  And this gal is plenty happy to begin with.  But, she felt she could be even happier.  For a year, she chose things in her life that could use some change, more time, etc.  Each month she tackled one of those things.  She also came up with a list of "commandments" for herself to stay true to.  If you want to know more about the book, see HERE.

SO with that being said, using this concept of each month of having a goal or focus, I've decided to make this the year of trying/doing/(perhaps buying--like a new car for me ) : ) new things.  I was also inspired by Jenny Meyerson's LIST (hers is VERY complete, essentially a 'bucket list').  Each month I would like to "conquer" something.  Maybe literally, like skiing (I'm deathly afraid to try anything adventurous, but a wee part of me really wants to give it a go).  Or finishing a project I've started (HA!  How to choose between the million I've started...).  Or reading a new book (I have a huge list of books I want to read, and add to it weekly).  Now it's all about finding the balance and time.  In January, I started the Project Life scrapbook.  This month, I started a new business venture.  With the recent snow, maybe I can try skiing next month??

five things Friday

1.  Forget apples and bananas, my favorite fruit is honeydew melon.
2.  I must wear socks to bed and sleep with two pillows under my head and one body pillow.
3.  I have always loved the colors orange and yellow best.
4.  I will not step into a bank, unless I absolutely have to.  I'm afraid of a hold-up.  I don't know why.  I don't even watch those kind of movies!!
5.  I was in Civil Air Patrol for years and even got the opportunity to be co-commander of a National Flight Encampment one summer as a Cadet 2nd Lieutenant (a pretty big deal!).  Because of it, I earned one of the top ribbons, the Commander's Commendation.  Those two weeks were SO much fun.  I still have my stack of ribbons that I earned from the years I spent in Civil Air Patrol.  I wish I would've saved my uniforms!!

Hope you enjoyed learning a few new things about me!! Have a great weekend! : )

try new things

A new year for new things.

Trying Project Life.  Sadly I've fallen behind.  I'll blame it on issues I had getting pictures from my camera to my computer.  Uh, I have no idea how all those people stay caught up on it.

Signed up for this:

The Dirty Girl Mud Run.  Oh, yeah.  I'm sort of in shock still myself.  BUT--I also intend on signing up for several more 5K's.  While I have no desire to ever run a marathon, I think doing a half or even a 10K would be pretty cool.

And I also signed up to be a consultant for this newer company:

You can find more information about the company and view the catalog HERE

Since I'm so new to it, I'll be sharing more on that another time :)

New year, new things.  Hopeful and excited for many positive things to come out of all of the new things I'm trying!

love it or list it

So I don't watch a lot of television, but if the t.v. is on at night, and stops at HGTV, look out.  I am hooked.  Property Brothers, House Hunters, & Love It or List It...  I caught Love It or List It for the first time not very long ago, and thought, "Man, we need to get on this show."  The hostess fixes up your current house (whether renovating, decorating, finishing touches) to convince you to stay in your current house.  The host then finds houses to try and make you want to move.  Not saying I want to move, saying I want my very new house to be finished :)   Before building, we searched high and low for an old farm house to gut and renovate, but no such luck, and we decided to build.  So, even still, every other month or so, I take a peek at house listings. I'm not really sure why I do; curious what's out there I suppose, curious at prices.  I found an A.MAZ.ING. house. It's an old stage coach inn...from 1865. 4900sqft. Two outbuildings/barns.  Everything on the property has been completely renovated already. All stone. Seven acres. Swoon. Mike was even so amazed he asked if there was an open house coming up. I don't think we'll actually go to an open house. I don't want to wish to move. But oh man, this house is amazing.

We even did a "drive-by" today we were so curious (Mike suggested it!).  We looked on google maps last night and compared to our house, 150ft off of a quiet road, this house looked about 50ft off of the road (and it's on a busy county road).  Sure enough, it was very close to the road.  But it looked awesome nonetheless.  It's been for sale forever, and has dropped $25,000 since the first of this year alone.  Sigh.  Maybe we can get on one of those shows on HGTV so our current house could at least be finished?!

my *new and improved* scrap space

Okay, it's really not new anymore.  We've lived here for 3 1/2 years.  "My side" of the room above the garage has been finished for a good portion of that.  But yesterday I had had enough.  I don't know what exactly kick started me into move-the-furniture-rearrange-sort-organize-toss-sort kind of day.  But I did just that.  And boy, it feels good!  (Maybe it's the book I'm reading??  I'll leave that for another post...)

The room right after it was drywalled.

The room painted white and with lights

 'My side' of the room after Mike put the laminate wood in, March of 2009

The space itself is nothing to write home about just yet; there's no color anywhere really (though I have these big plans to start framing art that I've saved from the kids' school bins) and most of my stuff is still disorganized.  There aren't any blinds (which I really need to do, because the sunlight has discolored some paper that had been left out) and no trim around the windows.  But what I did do-- was go through (some, not all) boxes of kids' school papers, an armoire full of scrapbooking books and magazines, and another cabinet (my Dad's old stereo cabinet he was going to get rid of, but HELLO!  I can try to find a use for anything.)  Before there were scrapbooking things in almost every room of the house.  Not even exaggerating.  Ask my husband.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to fit 2 tables in an "L" shape up there despite the room being a decent size (14x16).  Side note: My "side" of the room isn't just my scrapbooking stuff; it also currently houses a full sized bed, a twin bed (currently without a mattress because I bought a trundle bed for Maddie and Sadie, legos, & calico critters.  Those little toys are on "my" side because of the laminate wood flooring there (easier for finding the tiny toys that fall) unlike the rest of the room which is carpeted.  I am really happy with the way it turned out.  Someday I'll have nice cabinets and shelving (not anytime soon!).  Someday we'll finish our basement and can move the beds down there (we have guests who do stay now and then, so having the beds up there actually works out very well, when I don't have the beds covered in piles of paper).  

 So here's the after--I have two 6ft tables forming an "L" and then lots of stuff under the tables.

Here is the side that isn't mine.  This side is about 14x30.  This is where a lot of the toys live, including the xbox, air hockey table, and basketball hoops game.

The armoire on the left houses my scrapbooking magazines, projects to do, and envelopes & cards.  The cabinet next to it is all boxes of photos.

Now I just need a good lamp (the lighting is not so good in this room) and I'd like a big comfy rolly chair (like those at The Scrapbook Store ; ).  I am kind of glad there aren't before pictures for evidence of what a disaster it really was (particularly the beds).  Now I just have to use the space.

Disney book--done & ordered. finally.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo books are the perfect gift for any occasion.

confession

There were two Christmas trees still lingering in the house.  One with ornaments yet.  Until today.  I realized you could still see the tree upstairs in the window above the garage when driving past the house.  So I decided it was time to go.  Perhaps I should've just hung hearts on them??

january project life

Sigh.  Okay, so maybe January isn't quite finished yet.  Groan.  I had issues uploading pictures from my camera to computer, so I haven't printed the very end of January.  But I am impressed that I have so many pics printed in the first place.  From one whole month.  Probably the most printed from a month since this era of digital (sadly!).  Perhaps I am feeling some negativity because I spent 12 hours (LATE nights) creating a shutterfly book using a digital version of Project Life for our Disney trip last year.  It turned out awesome, but in my zoned state of mind (lack of sleep I suppose) I didn't look at the expiration date on some coupons I had.  So, alas, the coupons expired and my book is sitting in the "cart" waiting to be ordered.  I can't wait to order it and share it!!

I am loving that I have been really good about uploading pictures(until the issues...), sorting them, deleting bad ones, and uploading to have them printed.  The rest of the project isn't going as smoothly as I had hoped.  I'm not loving it, and I think because it is so simple.  I'm trying to get over that and just put the pictures in the book. I am certain I'll have multiple volumes, since I am sometimes printing several pictures from one day.  But it's supposed to be whatever you want it to be, right??  I'm going to start going through my stash, too, and use more of my own stuff.  The journaling cards are great, but the page protectors that fit them are out of stock online.  I turn them or put them in a 4x6 slot, that doesn't really bother me.  But I am finding the bright colors of the cardstock in this kit are sometimes clashing with my pictures.  Hence the need to use my own stash.  Lord knows I have enough stuff ; )  And finding the space & time is another issue--more so because it involves pulling out tons of stuff and sprawling across the kitchen table (and sometimes a bench and chairs, too!).

So here is some of what I've done with it.  Nothing terribly exciting, but I sure am glad I've been making notes, I had already forgotten a couple of the funny things I wrote down.

The top left card has some journaling and then says, "From basketball to building barbie houses"...bottom right card says "we stay busy seven days a week."  I have to add a pic off of my phone of the barbie house taking up our closet : )

At first I had several pages of Maddie's birthday in the book.  Then I condensed it quite a bit of some of my favorite shots.

I have another picture off of my phone to add to this page.

Here's a stack of little things I have to add to the work in progress...

I included the baby shower invite in one of the 4x6 slots, and a note that was on the table at the baby shower.  This baby shower was a big deal (well, all of them are, but this one was really special).  I have yet to journal about the mom-to-be's journey, but I can do that at any time.  The gals in the photo with me are all wives of college friends of Mike.  The mom-to-be & husband had been trying for 7+ YEARS to conceive with no success.  They went through the whole fertility thing, including in vitro.  They had pretty much lost hope, and began to accept it was just not meant to be.  She signed up for the Chicago Marathon last spring and voila!  Found out she was pregnant.  I love stories with happy endings!!

Thanks for looking!

come visit me in Utah!

 because I plan on winning this ; )