Congratulations Kari! I’ll have to do this more often. It was fun to see some new names in the comments that I didn’t realize followed my blog. Yesterday was a busy day so I didn’t get a chance to respond to all of the comments but I’ll be working on that today. :)

Right now I have to finish getting ready to go rollerskating this morning. Then I’m hoping to take Andrew & Celena to Fazoli’s for lunch. Then at 4:00 I’ll be chatting with Deann for a DiScTalk Radio interview which I’m getting pretty nervous about. I feel so out of the loop on digi-scrapping lately with everything else going on but I’m really excited to jump back into it so maybe this will be the little push I need.

Other than that I’ve got some sewing to do for a couple purse orders and I’m hoping to scrap a page for Jacob’s album or maybe do a slide show of photos to the song Held to remember him today. It’s been 3 years since he was here. In some ways it seems like just last week and other ways it seems like a lifetime ago. You can definitely tell that his album pages were some of the first pages I scrapped digitally. When I look at them now they just don’t seem good enough for such a precious life. I’ll be sewing and scrapping to my ‘Jacob’s playlist’ on the ipod. They’re loaded on the blogpod to the right too just in case anyone is looking for some sweet music to listen to today.

Hopefully I’ll be back to post a LO or two tonight and update on how the interview went. Hope everyone has a great Saturday. :)

Kay, so here are a few pictures I’ve been playing with using the gift I mentioned yesterday. I think I’ll be using these actions on every photo from now on. I’m not sure how well the differences will translate on the web. You can click on each image to see it a little bigger but let me tell you, on my computer screen these things rock! These things make me wanna start my own photography business on the side. They give every image that wow factor. I am a lucky lucky girl who has the greatest friends in the world.

 

So since someone was so very generous to me I thought that it would be a good thing to pass that generosity along. And no not by giving someone else these rad actions since that would be either a) my FOOD money for the rest of the month and a girl needs to eat or b) illegal. BUT, I was thinking the other day that I should do a little crafty blog gift for the 1500th comment posted and then I noticed this morning I passed that up already. So then I was thinking, why should 1500 get all the glory. There’s really nothing MORE special about 1500 than say 1512 right? So to make the # 1512 feel more special I’m going to do a give-away to the 1512th commenter on my blog. Make sure you leave an email address that you can be reached at. And I stress that you can be reached at since I realized recently that I’d been missing numerous emails thanks to my over zealous hotmail junk filter. If anyone has tried to reach me through that address recently please resend it to my auntiepea address (email link on the left). Kay, got sidetracked there but I’d been meaning to mention that on here for the last few posts and kept forgetting.

So anyway, comment #1512 will get a little crafty mail from the Eclectic Whimsy Boutique. :)

AND, since there are a few bags left in the boutique that are just dyin’ to make it to an Easter sunrise service or Easter Sunday brunch I thought I’d run a little gift with purchase special on any order placed by Wednesday (April 4th). PLUS, since I’m dyin’ to make something with the wonderful Amy Butler fabric below I’ll give away another gift with purchase to the first custom order using this combo. (Custom purses using AB fabrics range from $30 – $55 depending on size/special detail requests) :)

Isn’t it gorgeous?! I absolutely love her new line. Well…I guess I love every line she’s come out with. I only wish she wouldn’t discontinue them ever. I suppose that makes them a little more special though, huh.

Kay, back to work. :)   

Feeling the negativity creeping back in today so I thought I’d post some things I’m thankful for lately. Like…

open windows…

fresh air…

birds chirping….

I LOVE my new neighborhood. I am so glad I found a place that I enjoy coming home to. I feel safe here. I have a more responsible attitude towards it since I feel I have something to prove, even if only to prove it to myself. That I can take care of myself. It hasn’t been easy and I may never actually fully furnish the place but I have everything I need and that’s enough. I eat dinner on the couch (or sometimes sitting on the floor). I have a beautiful deck but nothing to sit on when I’m out there. I’ve actually considered moving one of my big wing back chairs out there on nights like last night. It was so beautiful. Think my neighbors would laugh? I’m so not a fan of those resin stackable chairs and right now new wicker furniture is probably not happenin’ before the end of summer so unless I can figure out a way to build some patio furniture I’m thinking the wing backs could be awfully comfy out there. And I can’t wait till the nights are warm enough to plant some flowers in pots out there.

I also drove around a bit last night and discovered some great walking trails so if the rain holds off tonight I think maybe it’s time to get the walkin’ shoes out.  It seems that over the past few months I’ve lost a fair amount of weight. Clothes don’t seem to be fitting well lately and I moved two whole loops on my favorite belt. Still could use a lot of toning of what’s left though so I think I’m gonna take advantage of the nice weather before it gets too warm.

online friends…

I can’t imagine where I’d be without them. One of them sent me the greatest online gift this weekend and I can’t wait to post more but I’ve gotta work on some visuals to properly post about it. Let’s just say she was incredibly generous and it’s something that I had been raving about for months but would’ve never spent that much money on myself. You know who you are and as soon as I get your address I’ve got a bag with your name on it and another one that’s still floatin’ around in my head trying to find just the right fabrics for. :)

And another sweet online friend has apparently just redone her shoppe. I’ll have to wait till I’m home to really explore but I gathered that she’s got a little sale going on for one day only (check out her blog) and that there are new galleries at the site. Can’t wait to check it out! :)

And have you all seen Nancy’s blog lately?! She is another incredibly generous gal that I am so lucky to know through digital scrapping. We met during the days of the Ultimate Digi Scrapper contest and she was so gracious even then. Well, now she designs and she’s even asked me to be part of her creative team (or one of her Angels as she calls us). I’m pretty sure she doesn’t realize that my creativity pretty much went out the door right after that big contest. Once I find it back though I’ve got some FUN goodies to play with. :) I’ve got an easter LO that’s about half done and way past due for a magazine deadline but what’s done so far using some of her awesome vintage frames is lookin’ pretty sweet. Now if I can just figure out what papers would compliment them. I swear I just stare at the screen without a clue what to do lately. Ugh! But this is a happy post so we aren’t going to talk about my lack of creativity. Just go check out Nancy’s blog. Starting April 1^st all you have to do is post a comment there and you’re entered to win an Ipod shuffle. How fun and easy is that?! :)

Great TV & Tivo…

Currently in my playlist:

Six Degrees – This show is finally back and I’m SO glad. Quite possibly my favorite show on TV. The music they choose might even be better than Grey’s Anatomy and I especially love that they have one story line that follows a photographer that takes the most amazing photo-journalistic style photos.

Brothers & Sisters – I love how this completely dysfunctional family seems to always come together in the most amazing way. 

Grey’s Anatomy – Of course. Again, excellent music, worth watching for that alone

Dancing with the Stars –This season I think my favorites so far are Ohno and Joey Fatone.

What About Brian – Little disappointed with the main characters new haircut and I wasn’t a fan at all of the Bridget character this season but come on, 2 of the girls on the show started their own cupcake shop!

October Road – new show, so far lovin’ it.

The Office – Still find this show hilarious.

American Idol – Current favs are Blake Lewis and Chris Richardson

The Class – Where’d this show go? I’ve been saving old episodes just to have something that’s laugh out loud funny when necessary. The red head guy is my favorite. It seems like every thing he says cracks me up.

Wow, two long posts two days in a row and NEITHER of them with a single picture. CRAZY! :) I have been keeping up my photo-a-day though. I’ve even already taken one for today on the way home but I think I’ll take the camera with if I go for a walk tonight and see if I can’t find something more spring like. :)

A dear sweet friend sent an email late Saturday night just checking in to see if I’m okay. I’d actually written a long post on Saturday morning that I lost completely when internet explorer decided to shut down on me. But basically the overall message of the post was that for the first time in a long time I was feeling like I actually AM okay. Not only that but that I’m going to BE okay. That I don’t have to constantly try to make up for the mistakes that I’ve made in the past. And boy have I made a few. I feel like I have gone through the most trying and difficult months I will probably ever face and that I came out stronger on the other side. I like who I am. For the first time I don’t need to be something that other people think I should be. I am me. I will no longer make apologies for the things that I’ve said or done. I feel responsible and I feel grown up. I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father and I want him to be proud of me. We have this journey in life and it has twists and turns and bumps and it’s not always easy. At the end of the day however, what is important is where we are going. I am learning from where I’ve been but the past is the past. I don’t know what the future holds. I do know that I am where I’m supposed to be and that I’m doing the right thing. I have trudged along the valleys for far too long. I have finally started to climb the mountain.

Along with that lost post I’ve lost links to some things that I was so hoping to post here to remember them. So frustrating! I know part of it included a link to the blog that inspired some of the thoughts above. For the past couple of weeks it’s seemed like at just the right times I’d stumble across (or have been directed to by a new blog reader) something that I needed to hear right now. Most recently Jody’s blog – she is amazing! And then I remembered a post by Lauren from a long while back and in my search for the ‘act as if’ philosophy I stumbled across other parts of the book that it apparently comes from. One particular section really spoke to me. You can find the full text here but this is a small excerpt of it:

“One way to enjoy life more is to "catch" yourself and those around you "being right".  It turns out that a lot about our lives and our "performance" is right. Think about your interactions with your children and how you were treated when you were a child. It’s too easy to let the "good" and "right" times slip by. Too often it’s when things are going "wrong" that we are moved to speak.”

I think the part of the ‘act as if’ philosophy that I was remembering from Lauren’s post and wanting to be reminded of now is, in a nutshell, this: 

Act "as if" the way you want to be IS the way you are. The acting will eventually be replaced by the genuine feeling and belief. For example, let’s say you are experiencing a down moment. Perhaps you are tired or hungry, the reason doesn’t really matter. We all get and have stimuli that are “negative”. What does matter is that you “act as if” you were more positive. Force yourself to smile. We’re not suggesting that you be fake or hide your feelings or emotions. We are suggesting you can choose to act as if and you will have the positive feelings or emotions that you want. When you see and know then you don’t have to act anymore. The more friendly and loving you are; the more friends and love you will have.

For me right now I want to ‘act as if’ I am positive, confident and creative. Those are the areas I think I could benefit from believing in, even when the opposite feels true. Especially when the opposite feels true.

Well….. that got wordy. LOL But I wanted to get as much of my thoughts (re)written and posted here to look back on. Maybe it was good that I had to re-think it all and refine some of the thoughts rushing through my head. I’ve learned my lesson though to save my posts as a draft … often. Oh, and the reason I didn’t re-write the post right then when I lost it is rather exciting. I had a little private lesson to teach for 2 new digi-scrappers who were SO excited to start scrapping digitally and I had so much fun. Jodi and Renee you were SUCH great students and I can’t wait to see the pages you create of your spring break vacations. Thanks for letting me ‘act as if’ I still know how to scrap. LOL

After the digi-scrapping lesson I got my hair cut and colored. I think I’d actually finally achieved the goal I had set out to grow my hair out to and discovered (as I have so many times before) that longer hair is just not a good look on me. So I took photos of my own hair at different stages where I did actually like the cut and she combined those with keeping enough length in the back that I can still pull off the pig-tails and even a pony-tail now and then since that’s the part about having length that I DID like. The problem was that I didn’t like my hair at ALL any time I wasn’t wearing the pigtails and really they’re not that appropriate to wear to the office. I am so lucky to have a stylist who knows me and puts up with my endless visits with photos of people I will never look like. I’m sure she was at least relieved this time that the photos I brought were actually of my own haircuts past. So, I now have what just might be the perfect cut for me. The sad thing is no one but I would even notice the difference and I’m pretty sure, for the most part, it’s the same cut I’ve had for at least the past 5 years now.  It’s me though. It fits my personality. At it’s best it’s a little messy, disheveled even and has a little bit of spunk. Yup, that’s me.

AND, my hair stylists sister is an amazing artist who makes the greatest wall plaques and I may even have her do something like THIS on the wall behind my love seat. She makes the absolute cutest laundry room signs too and I want to have one made for the area above my laundry room door. I’ll definitely be posting pictures of these little goodies. Hopefully enough to make up for the fact that this incredibly long post has NONE. Soooo out of character for me. And ya know what? I’m OKAY with that. : )

I saw this little scavenger hunt on Barb’s Fancy Word for Simple blog yesterday and thought I’d join in. I’m a day behind posting this and today our weather turned a bit cooler but while I was taking these photos it was a beautiful 69 degrees and sunny. I had all the windows open and just the right amount of sunlight to do some practicing with the camera. :)

I used more of Nancy’s fantastic frame clusters which are 25% off right now at My Digital Muse. Can’t get enough of these. :)

I also started taking a photo-a-day and, yes Lauren, I finally started posting them in flickr. I really wish typepad had a better photo-calendar option but I guess flickr is the best online tool for posting pics that way for now.

The snow is all melting here and it’s kinda fun to see what my new neighborhood looks like when it’s not completely covered in white. I’m actually a big fan of the white stuff but I’m ready for spring and coming home tonight I see that they’ve put in a new sidewalk by my apartments. I’m thinking going for walks might be a great way to discover my new surroundings. I’ve got the route to the grocery store and blockbuster figured out and I’m checking out a few churches in the area. I really liked the one I went to this past Sunday. I loved that they called the kids program ‘wonder years’, they had a baptism and I loved their views on that, the message was great and I was actually a little disappointed that I had to miss the evening service because of a birthday party for Kennedy. Plus, you know me and my public bathroom obsession, well this church had it right, right down to the diaper changing area with wipes and diapers provided and there was even a basket with feminine products. How thoughtful is that?! Anyway, I think I’ll be going back but not this Sunday. This Sunday Lauren and Dave are coming into town and we’re going to Mars Hill. Both of them have been reading the book Velvet Elvis and I told them that the author preaches at a church right near my new apartment and I’ve never even been. I think the church is too big for my taste as far as a church home for me but I’m excited to experience what it is that’s made this church grow into the kind of place people spend a half an hour trying to find a parking spot just to hear this guy speak. In the meantime I want to post a verse that struck me last Sunday so that I’ll remember this promise that even applies to me.

Kay, off to visit a few blogs, set out clothes for work tomorrow and then crawl into bed. If you join in on the scavenger hunt post a link so I can see what pics you came up with. 

I thought I had included this in me earlier ‘wierdness’ post but I couldn’t find it anywhere so I guess I’ll fess up to being a serial blinker user. I can’t turn a corner in my car without using the blinker. It’s a good habit actually but I tend to take it a bit to the extreme. I’ve been known to use it even at a bend in a driveway where clearly there is no traffic wondering which way I’d be turning or whether I’m turning at all. I don’t think it’s wierd at all but it’s a quirk that I’ve been teased for in the past so I think it would count. I’m sure I can think of a few more but I also thought I should include links to a few that I posted awhile back. Previous wierdness posts 1 & 2 and post 3.

I’m getting things a bit more settled in the new studio space and I’m hoping to spend more time in there starting this weekend & next week so I thought I’d run a little sale to clear out room for some new designs. You can click on the boutique link on the right to see bags currently available for sale. Some of them have even been marked down in addition to the free shipping. Just send me an email (link over on the right) or post a comment here if you’d like to order one. :) 

Kay, back to work. Gettin’ together with Jill tonight and then hopefully some scrappin’ or sewin’.