today

Lavender plant from Trader Joes

Looks like it is going to be an overcast day. Kind of wishing we had some snow! There are some flurries..but not much. Nothing like in D.C. When I lived there for Grad school a few inches would shut down the city...I can't imagine what it is like today! I kind of wish I was there...it was fun to see the capital look like a ghost town. And all the buildings and monuments look stunning with the snowy backdrop. But...I am here...and we just have the dirty snow remnants of weeks ago and the deep cold.

Anyhow...so glad it is the weekend. I have been falling asleep this week at 8:30pm on the couch! I have slept through the better part of two good movies. I just can't stay awake! Today I am excited to be going to lunch with my sister and to the mall. I want to use a coupon I have for Yankee Candle and check out some things in Sephora. Also need to go to Sears for some very exciting.....vacuum cleaner bags. But all-in-all this will be a fun outing. When I get home I'd like to do a little scrapping. I want to try and focus on my 2010 One-Little-Word this weekend...

ENJOY

This is my goal. Just be. Don't feel like I have to accomplish a million things. That is very hard for me. I'm going to do two errands this a.m. but try and make them fun. Get myself a coffee at my favorite coffee shop. Dress nice. Enjoy a great lunch with my sister. Buy myself a treat or two. Just have fun!

Happy Saturday!

bunch of layouts

Happy New Year everyone! We had a quite night at home, ate Chinese food and watched movies. Today I "killed Christmas" as we put it in my family...aka took down the tree and decorations. That tree was a fire waiting to happen it was so dry because this apartment is like a desert. Anyhow...here are some layouts I worked on at the crop this past Wednesday. I got so much done! I wish I could go every week but it's just too hard when I'm working. Some of these layouts aren't quite finished..some need journaling or a few touches. But for the most part they are complete. I also started one other layout I hope to finish today.
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2009 In Review: The first layout is a 2-pager 2009 In Review. It still needs a title and journaling. But I like how the pictures ended up arranged. I used a few different journaling tags and some fun alphas. It still needs a lot to be complete.

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Dress Up: This layout is from the October Girl's Night out. I used some paper from a few Cocoa Daisy kits. The journaling metal files I have had forever and didn't know how I wanted to use. There are 4 tabbed files inside the black/white metal "case." I haven't journaled on them yet but they seemed to fit the layout. In general this was a very simple layout. But fun with it's bright colors to go with the Halloween costume theme. I decided not to go with a traditional Halloween themed page.

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Skating: This layout was very fun for me. I used some patterned paper and matching tags I bought a year or so ago. I knew I wanted to use it for a winter page. I cut out one of the snowflakes on the paper for a jumbo embellishment. I liked that the colors were all cool but relatively non-traditional snow colors. The pictures are of a friend and her daughter learning to skate. The picture of the skates is me. I figure skated for 10+ years as a kid and so it has an important place in my heart. And I hadn't been in so long. The little girl's mom was a close friend of mine in high school who I recently reunited with...she was a hockey lover/player. Her daughter is a natural skater!

Skating closeup: This was the tag quote I based the layout around...and I used a skate embellishment that I have had forever and love the realistic details. It looks just like my Harlick's when they were new.

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Thanksgiving in a farmhouse: The pictures came out reddish and dark. But I tried to work with them. They kind of fit the feel of the house we stayed in. Big old farmhouse in Maine. Cary's sister's and brother-in-laws house. It was my first Thanksgiving away from my family and it was actually really nice. She has four large dogs, lots of antiques and loves to knit. So we had fun. I didn't take any pictures of Thanksgiving dinner so I focused on the "weekend" instead. For example pizza making the day after Thanksgiving.

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2009 One Little Word: I decided to do a layout reviewing my focus on my '09 one little word "simplify" and transition the journaling into my '10 one little word "enjoy." This page was a nice way to focus on how I achieved the goals of that word and what I want for myself in the New Year.

Well I'm off to try and make a few birthday cards and a Thank You note. Anxious to use my new stamps!
Have a Happy New Year Day!

reflections on one little word

one of my favorite photos of 2009 taken on a solo beach walk during a spring sunset.

I went to a crop at my LSS last night. I got SO many layouts done! And I splurged on some cute Valentine stamps and fun card making stuff. I'll post pictures in a bit. I am still on vacation from work but am wondering something. Why do I keep having stress dreams every night? A few nights ago it was a dream that my car got wrecked. Last night it was that I was missing important work deadlines, stressed at work and being disrespected. Why? I am excited for a New Year, new start. I have been organizing and purging junk at home. That usually makes me feel great and in control. Why the dreams?

2009 has been a series of tests and stressful issues that were out of my control. It all started just after New Year's with the apartment issue. That was awful. It forced me to focus on my "one little word" Simplify. I had to get rid of a lot of personal belongings. Organize. I didn't have access to all my art supplies and had to work with simple materials. The positive was that I began to truly appreciate a good night's sleep, I rejuvinated my interest in knitting and met a great group of women doing so and I learned to self advocate.

This summer was a challenge while Cary was gone for military training for 2 months. I re-learned how much I do like my own company though I missed him terribly. I enjoyed simple summer pleasures...sitting on my balcony, taking care of my plants, growing vegetable, reading, going to the beach and doing my art. I was able to again take pride in my home and nest.

This fall has been challenging with some medical issues with no easy solutions. Nothing life changing just frustrating. I learned how to listen to my body and mind. I learned again how to advocate. I learned to simplify my routine.

Now in the New Year I want to lighten up more. I want to worry less and focus more on the positive. Maybe that is what my dream was about? The dreams were kind of more about how I felt a lot in 2009. Stressed, not heard, too much out-of-control junk. I don't want those dreams to be my reality in 2010. I don't want stress and negativity to rent so much space in my mind. Life is short. My "one little word" for 2010 is going to be ENJOY. I want to enjoy my life. There will be frustrations and stress but they don't have to be bigger than my enjoyment of moments. I need to re-adjust the proportions. The glass needs to be half-full.

So here's to ENJOYING 2010!