I took some time out yesterday to play with some digital goodies. It’s been awhile and it felt really good to create some layouts from some of my favorite photos. I created these layouts with kits from Tami Miller and Kim Gehring. I’m on their CT now and am loving the new goodies that are creating. I also created these for the challenges at Inspiration Lane, which are very cool and a lot of fun.

This first layout was created for the Ad Sketch Challenge. We had to use a specific ad, it was a film festival poster, as inspiration. I used Tami Miller’s beautiful kit, Serenity Fields, for this one.

The mock wedding was fun. The synagogue does this each year with the fourth graders which felt a little odd, but when I thought about it… they are young enough for it to NOT mean anything other than a chance to dress up, but old enough to understand the traditions and the various parts of the ceremony. Isabella informed us she was divorced, before she even made it to the reception! Although she did agree to have her picture taken with her newly divorced un-groom. It was a fun morning.

This photo of my husband resting on a bench was taken at the zoo last year. I like how the sun was in his eyes through the trees and he really was quite peaceful. I used Kim Gehring’s Hippie Chick to create this layout, and I used it for the Playing with Numbers Challenge, which pushed me to be super minimalist by only allowing a certain number of items/elements on the page.

I encourage you to check out Tami and Kim’s kits, they are really beautiful. AND to check out the digital challenges at Inspiration Lane, there is something for everyone!

So. You might have gathered from my previous posts that I’m trying to organize, simplify, take more time for family, etc. Oh. And be healthy, err, healthiER, to be honest about it. Not trying to run any marathons this year, just trying to stop the ever-spreading backside.

So one of the things I wanted to get a handle on was cooking. Eating at home is infinitely better for so many reasons. I can control what goes in our mouths, I can control how much goes in our mouths, its cheaper, and its faster than getting in the car, deciding where to go, sitting down, ordering, waiting, eating, waiting, and driving home. I would rather spend that extra time doing something else. So in one of my many blog reading sessions, someone (sorry, don’t know who) posted a link to Once A Month Mom which caught my eye and being the type-A person I am, decided instantaneously to give it a try. Last Saturday, Scott and I shopped from her grocery list, using some of what we already had in hand. We got everything we needed for a marathon cooking session on Sunday.

And marathon it was. I took no photos because I was too busy cooking but from 9am to 5pm, we cooked. With a 1 hour break for lunch.We ended up with about 30 dinners, 20 breakfasts, and about 10 lunches. Seriously, in 8 hours. Our freezer was completely confused when we got ready to load it up. Had no clue how to handle that much food, but where there is a will, there is a way. So now, we have meals.

We’ve been eating them this week and I have to say, they are all yummy so far, and our dinner time is easy. We spend more time talking, less time cooking, and we don’t have to GO anywhere. I love that. So, the food and dinner situation is under control. And even school day breakfasts for Isabella and breakfasts and lunches for Scott. Sweet. Oh. And the entire grocery bill for everything we cooked, plus some extra snacks for Isabella, and some household cleaning items, was under $450. I don’t know how that compares to your food budget, but that is HUGE for us when I think about how much we have spent on restaurants, fast food, and even groceries bought several times a week for various meals.

And yes, we’re still married after spending 8 hours in the kitchen. We rocked it. It was fun and awesome. Reminded me how totally GOOD my husband is. Did I mention how much I love him so? Well, I do. He’s the best. And I will try to remember to take photos next month.

I had so much fun and took a few photos and then got home and lost track of time. For those of you who are not completely addicted to crafts like me, CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association trade show. They have two per year and last week was the Winter 2010 show in Anaheim, CA. I got lucky and was able to go, literally last minute, thanks to my awesome hubby who understands my need for paper, adhesive, markers, and yes, even my Tim Holtz addiction. So here are some of my photos from the trip.

This is Shimelle doing a make-and-take at the consumer show on Saturday afternoon. I went to the consumer show, held before the industry trade show, specifically to meet Shimelle. Shimelle has online scrapbooking classes full of inspiration and ideas, and has a wonderful, sparky outlook on life. I love her blog and her classes. It was a joy to meet her in person.

Canvas Home Basics was another favorite of mine. Since I like to do more than layouts, this gem of a vendor really caught my eye. I can see canvas on layouts, yes, but I can also see canvas on all sorts of home decor, cards, you name it, I can put some canvas on it. They even have rugs. Gonna have to get my hands on one of those. Seriously.

And this is Janet. Janet of J Designs. Janet of the shopping spree maniac Janets. Janet of the “wanna share my hotel room” Janet. Love Janet. I met Janet two summers ago at CKU Houston, she was one of our little gang who have stayed in touch. Many have been to other retreats and conventions together since that fateful meeting. I have not. But I am this year. And it started with hanging out with Janet at CHA. And her helping me spend money. Oh my.

Okay, I’m going to post more photos over on the Scrap N’Art blog because I had lots of fun checking out vendors for the magazine. Head over there if you want to see more!

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.

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…