An Update
Wow. I'm so behind on this blog. Lots of stuff going on, lots of GOOD stuff, lots of organizing. Where to begin?
First, I am no longer designing digital scrapbook kits for sale. After Pixel Gypsy Designs announced it was closing, I applied and was accepted at two stores. I was very excited. But after a couple of weeks, when I realized I had really done nothing to start the transition, I realized that perhaps I had been hasty. I did some deep soul-searching, okay, that's funny, none of this is deep. Anyhoo, I thought about it and discovered that although it felt really GREAT to be accepted into the new stores, that was the only part I was excited about. And from my previous post, I'm sure you can tell that I am/was feeling a bit crowded, too busy, out of balance. So I decided to stop designing products for sale. What that means for my dear readers who love digi is that I will be occasionally sharing freebies here on my blog. When I design something for myself, I will share it with you. I don't know how often that will be and when the first freebie will arrive here, but they will eventually show up. I promise.
In the meantime, I am VERY excited to be on the creative team for two of my fave designers from Pixel Gypsy Designs. I will be creating products with their designs and am looking forward to scrapping again for FUN. I miss it. And I am still on the Scrap N'Art team as a digi designer and paper crafter. I LOVE working with Scrap N'Art and knew I had to keep that in the whole work/life/craft balance. No way I was giving that up!
So, I've got a couple of busy weeks in front of me, clearing some things off my desk, getting a new schedule set up with new priorities here at home, but I'm here, I'm good, all is well. I hope you will stick with me while I head down this new little path on my creative journey.
What’s Going On… otherwise known as. I’m Nuts.
Sometimes, I feel like I'm barreling down a highway top speed in a really fast car. Without the really cool fun part. Yeah. That would be now. Not so much in an "every given moment is a whirlwind" kinda way, more like "time is passing really fast and I keep thinking I need to figure out what the hell I'm doing here". So to remind myself of what is all good:
- Awesome husband. Check.
- Amazing daughter. Check.
- Two jobs to help pay the bills. Check. Granted, combined they aren't doing what one of them used to do, but its helping pay the bills. So I'm not complaining. Well, not so much anyway.
- Scott is now a full-time employee for the county. Check. Which is funny in so many ways. Living in Texas. Government employee. But I digress. Its a fantastic thing for our family as it provides healthcare, job stability (somewhat), and some potential benefits down the road when we get ready to hit the road.
- We have a lovely home. Check. Albeit really too big for us and requiring upkeep that neither of us feel like doing. Home ownership can be smart but not always what its cracked up to be.
- I'm healthy. And so are Scott and Isabella. Check. Well, as for me, I'm as healthy as a 50 pound overweight person can be. Really, if I could just lose the weight, all would be well. Or that's what I've been saying since the first 5 pounds hit my ass.
So, what the hell am I complaining about? Well, to be frank, I'm not complaining. I'm thinking out loud and this blog is where I have to do that. I set an intention, so to speak, to look after my health this year. I'm working on the weight and I'm pretending to think about possibly maybe doing a bit of exercise. But mental health seems to be what keeps throwing in a kink. I'm overextended, despite giving up A responsibility. I'm still overextended. I need to focus more on homework (Isabella would be thrilled to read that), I need to focus more on the house (oh god. here I go talking about laundry again). And I need to focus on cooking which leads back to the healthy thing as well as a time thing.
When I worked corporate, which is not like now when I go to a corporate office but get to surf the internet a bit, when I REALLY worked corporate, like 9 hours a day + another 1.5 hrs of commuting and picking up Isabella from daycare, I got a LOT done. I have to say, although my memory may be off a bit, I was a machine. We didn't have dirty laundry. Our house was always mostly clean. We ate dinner every evening (not popcorn and ice cream, not that we eat that. ever. for dinner. uh uh. just sayin). The big differences between now and then are:
- Isabella is now older, in school, needs me more for school and less for everything else. Well, that's not entirely true, but its the general idea. I don't have to bathe her, change her clothes, etc.
- I work two jobs but they are both part-time so I have MORE time on my hands.
- I craft. A lot. I mean, a whole lot. I don't always get a lot done, but hanging out on the internet with crafty gals, reading blogs, chatting in forums, that all counts as crafting to me. And I love it. I love it a lot. It keeps me sane.
But.
Its getting in the way. Of my responsibilities. Of laundry. Of homework.
I was listening to NPR this morning and they had some women talking about some recent study that was done (by a male researcher apparently) that said women have more time than they think and everyone should carve out time for themselves. It sounded kind of like crap to me, cuz if I was still working that 9-hour day, I might have to shove mister male researcher off of a cliff. But me personally? I've got time. I've carved out so much of it for myself, that some of the other mundane but necessary tasks of life are getting shoved in a corner. Kind of like dirty pillowcases. And socks. Well.
I'm going to spend some time this evening, after running Isabella to hebrew school, to make a list of all of my obligations. All my chores. All my responsibilities. And I'm going to see if they fit in my schedule, which I'm pretty certain they do. And then I'm going to look at the time I spend crafting. And I'm gonna have to cut back. I'm not sure how that will happen yet, cuz I'm the one in charge of the schedule, and I'm the one in charge of the ass that likes to plop in the computer chair and sit at the desk playing with Photoshop. And pretty paper. And adhesive. And stuff. But I'm pretty sure its gotta happen. And fast. Before my speeding non-exciting car barrels through a highway barrier and really messes things up.
To be continued...
I’m Still Here
but just not blogging too much. Things I'm doing/working on right now:
- Watching the new season of Chuck. So glad the Intersect is teaching him more than kung fu. Ballroom dancing is always a handy skill.
- Reading The Help
- Trying to complete Scrap N'Art design team projects before the deadline. With a complete loss of mojo.
- Repackaging my digi kits for my NEW STORES. Nope, not announcing yet. But I'm happy about it!
- Working on new digi products for said NEW STORES. Nope, still not telling.
- Planning for CHA cuz OMG, got a cheap plane ticket, a free pass from awesome friends, and a shared hotel room. I'm livin' large thanks to my amazing hubby who truly understands that all this crafty stuff keeps me sane. And happy. And much easier to live with.
- Helping Isabella with her science project. Gonna have to go find a display board this weekend.
- Girl Scout cookie sales. Let me know if you need cookies. And um. are willing to pay postage, LOL.
- Working. Eh. Whatever. But there's good stuff happening with this one, which helps pay for the aforementioned love of crafting. So its all good and well worth the effort. Ya know, in lieu of a big lottery win and all that.
So there. What's going on in your neck of the woods?
Jan/Feb Scrap N’Art
is available!
Here are just some of the features packed inside this fabulous issue:
- • 100+ scrapbook layouts.
- • 24 handmade holiday and greeting cards.
- • 24 paper crafting projects and gift ideas.
- • 7 Step-by-Step Tutorials.
- • Incredible giveaways from our sponsored manufacturers.
- • Old-fashioned elegance with the Hot off The Press Ephemera collections.
- • Photo Matting techniques from featured artist Irit Shalom.
- • Treasure precious moments with MyPicTales custom photo books.
- • ScrapGirls.com makes digital scrapbooking easy and affordable.
- • Learn new cardstock techniques in our Cardstock College, sponsored by CoutureCardstock.com.
- • KiKi Art unleashes your creative inner child with their fun and unique scrapbooking supplies.
- • Download the exclusive “Whoo Loves You” digi collab kit from the SNA digi designers.
- • Explore the beautiful and artistic world of Stamp Zia.
- • Craft Pedlars takes altered art to a new and affordable level.
- • Create magical paper crafts with Spellbinders dies and die-cut tools.
- • Open the Paper Trunk and discover their new Earth-friendly paper line.
- • Make a stop at the Inspiration Station and learn what’s new with Tattered Angels.
- • Three new sketches come to life with Graphic 45 papers.
- • Learn a new distressing technique with featured artist, Jodi Dolbel.
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