Two more before I head to bed...

Here are two more that I did tonight. I really need to figure out this scanner! Ugh!

Two more pages...

We had a great time at the wedding. It was nice to hang out with some friends from work. Part of me wishes that we would have thought ahead and made a weekend out of it. I really love the Grand Geneva resort. It's pricey, but it is a nice little treat once in awhile! For some reason I really wasn't in the mood for photos... so I only have one from the wedding itself. We also had quite the snow storm yesterday and I took some shots of the snow at the resort. It was really beautiful!

I did these two pages while Chris was off doing private lessons this afternoon. I don't love either one, but I am happy that they are done. I would like to get a total of 25 pages done. I know that whatever I get done before going back to school is all that will get done. Last year I stopped at Day 16... so here is to getting at least past that!

I love how this patterned paper mimics my wrapping paper this year... almost like I planned it that way! :-)

Days 13 & 14:




Chris bought me a new printer/scanner for Christmas. My old one was a pain, but this new one is also making me a little crazy. I am really not happy with the quality of the scans so far. I will have to play with it more until I get it to work the way I think it should. Oh well!

4 More pages

So I didn't get all the way caught up, but I did get four more pages done. I would have gotten more done but I realized that I didn't have anything to wear to the wedding we are going to tonight and lost 4 hours at the mall trying to find something. Everything is on sale which is great, but nothing is left in the size or style I need! Since I lost some weight when training for the 5k, I am having a really hard time finding things that fit well. I suppose that is a good problem to have, right? :-) I ended up with a new pair of palazzo pants. They are really comfortable and I think they will be great as the night wears on and I have had some beverages. :-)

Ok... back to the pages. Here are pages 9 &10:



I didn't save any wrapping paper for this page.... so this paper was actually used to wrap a present... very authentic, don't you think? (Thus the creases and "weathered" look to the page!)

Days 11 and 12:


I am not really crazy about Day 12, but hey it's done! I am hoping to work on it some more today but I don't think it will happen. I need to make a gift for the wedding we are going to and also hope to get my eyebrows done as well as maybe a manicure. All before a wedding at 4.... LOL. We'll see. It's early still.

Christmas Journal Catch Up

I had great intentions this year... but fell hopelessly behind with my journal. I am now done through day 8 and have the journaling and photos for day 9 done as well. I am planning to work on this today and see how far I get. I'd like to get father than last year... last year I made it to day 16. :-)

Here are some photos of the SIMPLE pages I did for this project. This project is more about the emotion and words than the design. I am struggling with that... but I want to get the story down and not worry so much about the design this year. We'll see how I do as the day goes on.


Days 3 and 4 are above.

Here are days 5 & 6:
And finally day 7 & 8:

Christmas Journal 2007

Last year I took part in Shimelle's Christmas Journal class. It was amazing. Once you purchase the class, you are in for life, so I was so excited to get the email from her this fall. I am also very lucky to have some of my "virtual" sisters taking the journey with me this year. I am hoping to finish this year and not stop at day 16 like last year. This year the focus is on the words... not just the creativity. So I am trying really hard to keep the pages simple. I decided to go with the 6 x 12 size. I think I will bind it all when I am done with rings like I did last year. We'll see.

So here are the first two pages:
The journaling on the first page:

This is my second Christmas Journal. The process of creating this journal will help me to embrace the joy of the season. Although we have not resolved our infertility and remain childless this Christmas, I will enjoy everything the season has to offer.

This year it will be more about journaling… more about getting my thoughts on paper. I want to remember and reflect. I will write every day, even if I don’t get to create the page. I will allow myself to be free to create, but keep the emphasis on the words.

I will write each evening after Chris heads to work. If I don’t get to my entry, I will forgive myself and move on. I will not punish myself. However, I realize that daily creative time is vital to my happiness.

I enjoyed looking back at last year’s entries and remembering what last year’s season brought. I am creating this journal to create a permanent reminder of what Christmas 2007 was like.

I am also fortunate to be sharing this journey with my “virtual” sisters, girls I had the amazing opportunity to meet this past summer. I hope that this journey will allow us to become closer and share in a “virtual” holiday season

December 1, 2007
Day 2 Journaling:
I really do love the changing seasons we have here in the Midwest. I love winter… I love the pretty snow and even the brisk air. What I don’t love is slush… and that is exactly what we have right now… a big slushy mess. YUCK! Last year we had a blizzard on December 1st. This year the snow came, but it was followed by freezing rain and then just plan rain. It has rained on and off most of the day today too. It is just a mess outside. Every time the dogs go out I just cringe at what their paws will bring in!

I love new mittens… I buy a new pair every year. This year was no different. I bought these rainbow ones on a whim last week. They are really warm and toasty. Now I just need to find a new scarf for the year. I might just have to give up on the idea of having things match, though!

I am fortunate to have a car with 4 wheel drive so I usually feel safe outside in the snow. I do love cuddling up on the couch just as much, though! As a teacher, I also look forward to having a snow day here and there. They are pretty rare, though since we are pretty accustomed to the weather. Since we had one last year, I am not holding my breath for one this year!

December 2, 2007

I am crazy busy this week... so it will be tough to get pages done. I am having my girlfriends from work over on Sunday. Still have lots to do around the house. Grades are due at 8 on Tuesday. I didn't do the grading I should have done this weekend... Oh well! Tomorrow is a new day, right?

Maybe once a week....

So maybe I will only get around to posting once a week... LOL

It's been a stressful week here. We had the mandated state testing thanks to the good old No Child Left Behind Act. In theory, the law is great. In actuality, it is a NIGHTMARE for teachers and children alike. It is my sincere hope that it will be drastically changed with the new congress and hopefully even more drastically once Bush is out of office. (Now you know my political views... oops!)

It just isn't fair. My students have identified learning disabilities. They are not at grade level, and won't be there any time soon, no matter how much I work with them. They have a DISABILITY that makes this difficult. I spend my year working with these kids on their academic skills. However, a great deal of my time is spent building their self esteem and making them realize that they are NOT STUPID. Then comes this dreaded week... where I have to put a grade level test in front of them and force them to do it all on their own. I can't read to them. They are forced to write an extended written response to a reading selection... too bad they can't read it! By the end of the week, they just look defeated. I feel defeated. My heart breaks for them.

So now I will spend the rest of the year rebuilding their trust in me and the education system. I am glad the tests are over, so now I can teach the things that they really need to know to be good human beings. Things like thinking for yourself, enjoying a piece of literature just as entertainment, creating a budget, etc... I could go on and on about this. But I am done... the tests will soon be on their way to the state for grading. The other great side to this testing... we only got the results from LAST YEAR a few weeks ago. Too bad we had no idea what areas we needed to address. Love it when politicians get involved in education.... OK, vent really over now!
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On a scrapbooking note, I have been busy. I have so much other stuff that I need to do, but scrapbooking is my creative outlet that helps to keep my sanity. Here are some of my recent projects.

This is a centerpiece I made for a co-workers shower. She is getting married on St. Patrick's day (which is a great day, of course!)

I was also asked by another co-worker to create a shower gift for her to give. She is hosting the shower today and wanted a way for people to leave a message for the bride to be. I created two envelope albums that have cards inside for people to leave a message. I can't wait to hear how it worked at the shower today!

This is one of the books closed

These are two of my favorite pages.

My friend Megan came over last night to work on another shower gift for one of her best friends. We made a cute chipboard album. I wish I had thought to take a picture of it, but it was after midnight by the time she left. :-) While she worked on that, I finally covered the "CREATE" letters I have had forever. The new BG papers from the Phoebe line are perfect for my studio. They are covered in paper, but I think I might want to add some more detail. They are sitting here next to me staring at me! :)

Chris is at the State Meet... I miss him lots! I just got the photos from the Marathon printed at Wal-Mart. I think I might try to put together a little mini book tonight so he knows how much I missed him! :) I "borrowed" some coasters from Outback when we went to dinner and I had the pictures printed at wallet size. We'll see!

Have a great week!

Feeling some Creative MoJo!

I have finally felt some creative flow and have been creating this weekend. There are many other chores that I could be doing... BUT I need this time to refuel. I have learned that if I don't take the time to create, it makes me cranky and I have a hard time getting other things done.

So, here are a few of my creations. The first is part of a class that I am taking at Big Picture Scrapbooking. It is taught by Kolette Hall. It is called Choosing Joy and I am loving every moment. It is not so much a scrapbooking class, but a LIFE class too.

Here is my latest entry into my "joy notebook" It includes a list of 100 things I am grateful for.

The right side comes open to reveal my list.

I have also been working on some challenges posted by other creative team members at http://www.susansscrapbookshack.com. The first was to create a LO with no photo in mind. I did it, but then had to go and add the photo. I couldn't stand the "naked" LO staring at me! LOL.

The final LO I did this morning. The challenge was to cut up a piece of patterned paper to create accents. The photo I found is from my freshman year in college. I had a great group of girls that I lived with in the Honor's dorm. We took floor photos each year. I haven't looked at this photo in years.



I really should go get something productive done. We'll see! LOL.

Essentials for Happiness

I need to get better about posting here! One of the other Creative Team Members at Susan's Scrapbook Shack has posted a blog challenge and plans to do so each Tues and Thurs. I am hoping to keep up. Thanks Janie!

Thursday's Challenge was to list 10 things that are essential for your happiness. Here is my take:

10 things essential for my HAPPINESS:

1. My husband
2. My furbabies
3. Creative Time
4. Books
5. Quiet Time
6. Chocolate
7. Clean Sheets! (it is a little obcession of mine!)
8. Clean House
9. Burt's Bees Chapstick (another addiction)
10. Friends and Family

Need to go get some more cleaning done for now... :)