figuring out 40

visions of...

I've been wanting to create a visual reminder of my one little word for this year. I've also been wanting to create a vision board for my scraproom/home office. Since it was well below zero (with the windchill) today, it was the perfect day to accomplish both creative tasks. Here's what I came up with...

I'd been holding onto this fabulous American Crafts patterned paper, and am giddy about finally using it! I dug through my embellishment drawers & ended up with a bit of this, a bit of that. And I looove how it turned out (which is good, since I'll be looking at it all year). 

supplies: cardstock (american crafts), patterned paper (american crafts, october afternoon, scenic route, amy butler), bingo card (october afternoon), foam thickers (american crafts), chipboard frame (american crafts), suede flower (maya road)...and a few misc things that are really old!

The full vision board will be a work in progress. I plan to add to it throughout the year - photos, words, quotes....

Hope you're having a warm weekend!  

took my breath away.

simply amazing. simply beautiful. courtesy of katherine found via karen

elephants & frogs (aka my mantras this week)

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.  - this saying has been on my mind lately. I have several big projects that feel overwhelming at times...some are work related, some are kid related (FAFSA anyone?), some are self-improvement related. I'm trying to remind myself that each little step makes a difference. I know all the tips & tricks...break it down into smaller pieces, set milestone goals, etc. I'm a project manager...I know how to do this. Doesn't make it any easier. One of my "elephants" is now a 1/2 marathon - I'm registered to complete a local event on April 10th. You'll notice that I didn't say "run in a local event"...I don't run. I'll walk, jog, maybe even skip...I'll complete it. 

"Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." - Mark Twain. Simple Mom wrote an awesome blog post about this earlier in the week. I'm being mindful about picking a frog each day. Today, I ate my frog at 6:30am....finally writing up an invoice that has been giving me an ulcer. What's your frog? (vegetarians can pick a tofu frog...tofrog?)

be good.

(photo source)

the show must go on.

Sadly, I haven't attended the last several Craft & Hobby Association trade shows. I'd certainly loooove to be at the winter show right now...being held in Anaheim. I did a few projects for the October Afternoon booth...the cards that I posted recently, and a couple of 8x8 layouts...

 

{October Afternoon Good Cheer collection}

 

{October Afternoon Report Card collection}

I'm anxious to see the two new collections - rumored to be called Fly a Kite and Thrift Shop. 

The new collections from American Crafts are wicked fun (of course!) - check them out here.

I browsed blogs & boards a bit today, looking for sneaks. What have you found? What are you excited about?
  

you're so vain.

Last night, as I decided to end my gym time on the stationary bike...mostly so I could leaf through a trashy magazine. I picked up one with Heidi Montag on the front, and proceeded to read all the gory details about her recent plastic surgery binge. $30K, 10 procedures, and boom...she's on the cover again. Obsession or investment? I'd say both. 

I'd also say that while we all shake our head over her actions...there's plenty of women who secretly ponder/wish/contemplate getting a little something done. C'mon, admit it! 

I vividly remember the first time someone (a boy, of course) made a rude comment about my body. Eighth grade, Tioga Middle School...some kid made an insulting remark about the size of my butt. As if having glasses, frizzy hair, and no fashion sense wasn't enough...now I was saddled (hee hee) with the horror of having a fat ass. Awesome. So, if someone handed me a gift card for a little lipo? I might do it just to prove that eighth grade punk wrong.

Fess up...would you go under the knife? I promise not to tell anyone....

pedestrian.

That would really be the best way to describe my weekend...merely pedestrian. Nothing spectacular. Nothing tragic. Just, y'know...a weekend. A few tidbits...

*Wandered around Lowe's for a bit, looking at flooring for the kitchen, fixtures for the downstairs bathroom, paint for various rooms, storage/organizing stuff for the upstairs bathroom

*Stopped by Borders to use a coupon on The Eat-Clean Diet and The Eat-Clean Cookbook. This "diet" doesn't tell me anything that I don't already know...but I like the organization, meal plans, and recipes.

*Saw The Lovely Bones. Haunting, unsettling...but good. 

*Had a mediocre coupon weekend - picked up a few good deals, but also reminded myself that it's not a "deal" if it's something that we don't need ("look! Scope is on sale for $2.99 and I have a $1.00 coupon! Great deal! Except, uhm, we don't use Scope...")

*Went to the gym, decided to go straight to grocery shopping b/c really, who am I going to run into with my hair in a braid, sweats on over my workout clothes, all sweaty? Five people, that's who.

*Decided that, between Costco & the market, clean eating was going to wipe my checking account clean. (note: no regrets.)

And that, my friends, is about it. 

PS. THANK YOU so much for a terrific response to Taylor's project! She's collected 41 blankets so far. I'm trying to figure out how to do a little widget-thingy to keep track. If you know how, please share!

and...babies get cold, too!

Seems like a fitting follow up from my last post! My niece, Taylor, has embarked on an awesome mission - to collect 365 blankets for the babies in her community. You can read about her inspiration & project in this letter (click to make it larger):

 

I've removed Taylor's contact information from the letter, but please comment or email me if you'd like to get in touch with her. I plan to make a couple of fleece blankets to contribute to her cause. You can find simple directions for a no-sew fleece blanket in this Fiskars project.  

(and, uhm, yeah...my niece kind of rocks.)

baby, it's cold outside.

Northeast winters bring a cold that is hard to describe to anyone who hasn't experienced it. It takes your breath away. I think that if you're born here, your body adapts from the start. If you're not? Well, I'm not sure that you ever adapt. After almost 15 years here, I still approach winter with fear & loathing. This year, however, I'm armed with a few new tricks...

*This little light of mine - A Philips BriteLite 6, to be exact. It sits next to my computer, and bathes me in simulated sunlight each & every morning. It's bliss....pure & simple. 

*These boots were made for walking - call them ugly if you will, but they are WARM. Hope wears Uggs...I wear Emus. I sometimes wear mine with ski socks. I'm determined not to have cold feet. 

*Happy Birthday to me - I had a silly "aha" moment a couple of weeks ago...all of my coats were too short. So today, armed with a little b-day $$, I bought myself this long down coat. It hangs down past my knees, and is rated to -30°. 

 

*I'm a little teapot - I have been known to let my coffee consumption creep up past 10 cups a day in the winter. Even as an addict, I can recognize that 10 cups is, well...a lot. This winter, I've started drinking more tea. Honey Vanilla Bliss is a current fave. 

What are you doing to survive winter?
   

a few cute cards.

I know, I know...you're shocked that I still know how to wield the scissors. It comes & goes, folks...it comes & goes. Sharing a few cards for October Afternoon...new projects from older lines to spruce up the Winter CHA booth. 

October Afternoon...Farm Fresh collection. 

October Afternoon...Ducks in a Row collection.  

October Afternoon...Road Maps collection. 

mindful.

I've been mulling over my one little word for 2010. On many days, the word that is front of mind at the end of the day is likely to a) contain only 4 letters b) garner a disapproving look from my mother or c) be the name of whatever wine variety I happen to be drinking. Not this year, peeps.

It's 2010 (twenty ten? it's that what we're saying?). It's the last year that I'll be thirty-something. It's likely the last year that I'll have 2 children under one roof. It's the year that I'll probably give up on Grey's Anatomy (seriously. it's just mc-over.). It's yet another year that I'll try to figure out how to be a grown-up. It's a year that deserves a good word. So, I'm choosing...

mindful.

It's how...and who...I want to be. I want to be mindful of my actions - mindful eating, mindful spending, mindful activities. I want to be mindful of my own needs as well as those around me. I want to be mindful about the work that I'm doing...and mindful about what I choose not to do. I want to be mindful about relationships. 

What's your word?