Unexpected Result

I am taking the Library of Memories (LOM) 2009 class at BigPictureScrapbooking.com. And I am having a BLAST despite the tons of hard work. It's a very time and work intensive class, but I am already reaping unexpected results and benefits! How awesome is that?

One of the assignments was a "photo connection challenge." You were to go to one of your category drawers - or in my case, piles - and find a connection between two photos and post it on the message board. Well, I kept reading great account, after great account of connections people were making, most typically spanning generations. Well, most of the pictures I have are of myself, not leaving a lot of room for those inter generational connections at this point. And I was feeling a little bit bummed about this a few days ago.

Fast forward to last night. Picture me down in my cave, the basement hobby room (really, it's way better then I just made it sound). I'm sitting at my scrap table without a clue what to do. I'm not feeling inspired to create anything new. Nothing is speaking to me. So I look over to my wall of layouts (I have the most recent 6 layouts hanging on the wall to inspire me and enjoy them before they get tucked into albums) and notice a layout that needs the journaling fixed (it's a gift and I had the wrong name on it). So, I fix the journaling. Feeling good.

Notice another layout still awaiting journaling, so I journal on that one too! But I realize something is different. I had originally planned to just do a who, what basic type of journaling on the layout. Because of the LOM class and it's various exercises, particularly the photo connection, I changed my journaling. I sat and looked at the photo in the layout (and tried to ignore the artistic/cute embellishments on the layout) and said what is something interesting I can say about this photo that other people might not know? And this is what I came up with:

If you have stayed with me this long and actually read what I right, I want to thank you. It means a lot to me and I am really excited at this new way of looking at photos and stories to tell. Plus I think it's AWESOME that I can create simply for design/creativity/fun product (as I did in this case) and STILL tell a unique story.

And once I was on a roll, you couldn't stop me. Well, bedtime did, but I got two more unjournaled and therefore unfinished layouts done. It was EXHILARATING! This layout had no journaling or title before last night. Again, it would have been basic facts but after the LOM experience, I journaled about what my husband's dog really means to him.

Have you had any "ah-ha" moments you would like to share???

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Hello from somewhere over Kansas. The wind is a b!tch today!!! So I guess the title of my post should really be "We're Not Colorado Anymore, Crackers." LOL

Here is a little layout I did last night to honor my relationship and fondness of my lil bro:

I'm curious to know if anyone else is flying over Kansas today??? Ciaoz!

10 Things I Learned This Week

1. Shamrock shakes suck. I think McDonalds changed the formula. Sigh.

2. The irony? I am actually part Irish.

3. I have been mis-medicated. Amazing how such the RIGHT little pill can make you feel so much better, esp. the when the wrong one made you feel so bad for so long. Sigh.

4. I like to put too much on my plate. Sometimes I need to back off.

5. Photo organization is hard.

6. Making cards can actually be fun and theraputic... not just "ugh, let's get this over with!"

7. My childhood was great! I already knew that, but this book really drove it home. Highly recommend you read it.

8. Paperbackswap.com is evil. I like to put too much on my plate. Including a pile of over 15 books in my "to read" stack. But I guess we learned that earlier in the week! lol

9. I enjoy morning walks before work. They wake me up and help me get going.

10. Yogurt for breakfast does NOT upset my tummy. In fact, it seems to settle it!

**Bonus: 11. My long time friend Jeanne had a healthy baby girl on St. Patty's Day!

Did you learn anything interesting this week?

Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back

Author: Claire Fontaine, Mia Fontaine

Genre: Biographies & Memoirs

Book Type: Paperback
Lauren H. wrote on 3/18/2009...

This book is OUT OF THIS WORLD! It is gripping. It is suspensdeul. It is a true story and is authored by the mother and daughter the story is about. What is unusual is how WELL the story is written. It reads like fiction. It could be easily turned into a screenplay and be hollywood blockbuster.

It is a fascinating yet horrifying journey into abuse, anger, neglect, love, and hatred. A scared, hurting 15 year old girl turns to a life so distroted through the taste of drug abuse that she runs away from home.The story follows Mia (the runaway drug addict daughter) through her run away, rehab, escape and ultimate "lock up" in a Czech Republic instution.

I couldn't put it down and recommend it highly!

What's with that girl lately, anyways?

She's been trying to figure out whatever "it" is anyway!

She still plays with paper + glue. She always has. She always will. Whether or not she’s any good is in the eye of the beholder and the heart of her own soul. And she’s coming to grips with that. She even made a few cards for CFH this weekend.

1. DSC_0785, 2. DSC_0784, 3. DSC_0782, 4. DSC_0781, 5. DSC_0780, 6. DSC_0779, 7. DSC_0777, 8. DSC_0776, 9. DSC_0775, 10. DSC_0774, 11. DSC_0773, 12. DSC_0771

This last week, a wonderful, loving, generous couple filled our home with a warmth that has been missing lately. We love to give. We love to share.

mi casa es su cassa

We got away from that after we left the vineyard. And we miss it. A part of our soul has been absent in our empty rooms. Our dinner table omitted for the couch, on which a few sprouting greening potatoes took up residence watching whatever mediocry the idiot box produced.

Instead we visited. Created delicious dinner to dance upon the palette of our friends. Food + drink mixed with delightful conversation. Such indulgent pleasure.
1. 34/365, 2. A burst of yellow.

These amazing moments captured forever are inspiring my hungry soul. What is teasing yours?

Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening...

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

- excerpt from Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Robert Frost

One year ago I appear much more superficial. Perhaps I do not actually appear that way with a reflective post about my very first teddy bear. In my lukewarm heart I know the real truth about that time on my journey. And it’s wandering off the path of happiness and love and respect for myself and others. The bleak road was curving away from the brightly colored forest to the overly shiny Hollywood fakeness of appearance. Of caring what other people thought. Of trying to live my life by what others cared and thought of me and my art. It’s hard for me to even say that. My art. I feel like I am telling a lie.

What a tangled web we weave. And then we step back to observe the work of our hand only to discover what we believe is an utter failure. Through our veiled misty eyes we see the missed thread, the crossed wire, the forgotten word, the burnt blueberry pie blacken into the pan. The paper warped here instead of flattened there. The glitter flaking off and the memory becoming lack luster. Why does the color fade slowly into to a dullish grey and a tarish black?

I believe my eyes are being opened to see that it is what lacking. What I have let go. I stopped caring for myself. My body. My friends and family. My faith. Not on purpose, I would never do that – I am too passionate! Instead, I slowly replaced walks in the morning with snoozes on the alarm clock. Snoozes on the alarm clock came from late nights on the internet trying to figure out how to fit in. Get published. Have my art recognized as art. It slowly became all consuming, taking over my work, my life, my food, my home, my thoughts and yes, even my dreams. Literally. And here I am today, left with the shattered pieces of my former self. A broken heart. A distant family. A few faithful friends who are gracious beyond this earth. A shell of the faith that once burst forth from my heart like a waterfall thundering down a steep narrow gorge. Extra weight that I carry not only on my tired body but also on my tired soul.

The ironic thing is the beauty of a mess. A complete and utterly lost mess.

Last night Bob & Pat Anderson of Trails End Ranch in Ekalaka, Montana came to stay with us. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be around an evangelical pastor. It’s crazy. It’s insane. It’s contagious. While I could never be an evangelical type (I do not like forcing my view on others) it was what my soul needed. What it craved. It sparked a little ember in my soul, daring to hope I can find faith again. That I can journey both deep inside my muddled self and out into the great unknown and find healing. Faith. And above all, love.

today is about change. i can feel it in the air. a pastor and his wife are coming to stay with us tonight and the next few days. we joined a CSA. big change. exciting.

Rachel's Tears

Rachel's Tears: 10th Anniversary Edition
The Spiritual Journey of Columbine Martyr Rachel Scott

By Beth Nimmo and Darrell Scott

Shots rang out on the campus of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado the morning of April 20, 1999. Rachel Joy Scott was eating lunch with a friend, Richard Castaldo, just outside the school. She was shot and injured. The gunman, a fellow student, asked her if she still believed in God. She answered “You know I do.” She was shot again, at point blank range to her head. Fatal.

After her death, journals Rachel had kept were found both in her home and in the backpack she had been wearing that fatal morning now bearing the scar of a bullet hole. These journals are the basis for Rachel’s Tears: The Spiritual Journey of Columbine Martyr Rachel Scott, 10th Anniversary Edition.

Rachel’s Tears will take you on an utterly fascinating journey into the life, love, heart and soul of Rachel Joy Scott. You will become Rachel’s friend and confidant as you read actual excerpts from her journal in her handwriting. You will feel excitement. You will feel pain. You will feel confusion. You will feel peer pressure. You will feel love. And above all, you will feel faith. Rachel’s faith. And passion for Jesus Christ. It will blow you away. It will move you, especially when you learn how faith prepared her for martyrdom.

.

A must read.

Cards for Heroes

Did you know I support a group called Cards for Heroes?

Their mission: CARDSFORHEROES.ORG supports our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.

I have been making cards for them about the last year and a half. It's a wonderful organization and you can read more about it hear. If you are ever wondering what to do with all those cards you make, this is an excellent solution.

And if you are wondering what this is all about, I started on another card making binge last night. It's something I do every few months and end up producing 100-200 cards in a few days and mailing it off to Sandy, my Cards for Heroes shipping lady, good friend and inspiring artist! Here are a few to start the weekend off:

Scrapbooking By Numbers (kinda like paint by numbers??)

Scrapbooking By Numbers or the Scientific Scrapbooking Post. Wait... whaaat?? Scientific and scrapbooking in the same sentence? I should think not? Yet here I am. Why? You may ask. Simple, I respond. Because Stacy told me to do it. LOL.

I am taking the Library of Memories class with Stacy Juilian over at Big Picture Scrapbooking and it rocks! The point of the class is to relax, have fun, get organized and learn to enjoy scrapbooking again by learning how to control your MASSIVE amount of photos (thanks digi cameras) and the "pressure" to get them all scrapped. This week, we are looking at the numbers. We are going through all the layouts we have done and see what category they fit into and what criteria we meet. This will allow us to see our styles, patterns and also what is missing.

Okay, enough blabbing, here are the stats:

Total Layouts Pictured Below: 116

Total Layouts Completed: apx. 170

Note: I did NOT survey my wedding album for this project, just the two albums shown below which are ALL the layouts I have completed since Fall 2006 (not including minis or cards). Jeesh, it seems like it should be so much more then that!

All About Us - 41 Layouts

People We Love - 29 Layouts

Places We Go - 19 Layouts

Things We Do - 27 Layouts

Even without actually tallying the numbers above, I coulda guess "Places" were lacking judging by the post its below (used the flag the type of layouts above with the corresponding color). LOL

So, wanna take a guess what type of layout I will be working on this week??? :o)