Scrapbooking my life...one page at a time

Crop-tastic!

On Thursday I attended a crop at my friend Trista's house.  We had such a lovely time visiting together, chatting, reminiscing, and scrapbooking for 3 hours.  Trista is a Creative Memories (CM) consultant and so she always has TONS of great scrapbooking supplies available at her crops.

She has decided that for most of the year (she is a tax accountant and so Jan - April is off limits to scrapbooking, visiting friends, shopping or any other activity not directly associated with the IRS, W2's, Pencil Pushing or 1040 forms) she will hold once a month crops.  I love it because now I can just pencil in every THIRD THURSDAY of the month as CROP NIGHT AT TRISTA'S.

I {heart} the idea of attending regular Crop Nights because it will push me to get more organized and get more done.  We are going to meet from 6:30 - 10:30 so I will have at least 4 hours of dedicated scraptime every month - being able to visit with fellow scrapbuddies is wonderful added bonus too!

This month I started work on my Italy Picfolio.  I absolutely love the CM picfolio's.  They are an easy & fast way of organizing for the short or long term an occasion or event for which you have millions of pictures that you want to save but don't necessarily want to "scrapbook" in the tradition way of 1 or 2 pictures per page.  With the picfolio album you can create 'mini' scrapbook pages for each picture but load the album with 4 or 5 pictures per page (the pictures each fit into their own little sleeve)  You can click on each picture to enlarge it and get a better looks. 

As you can see above I have 4 pictures per page and left a single spot on each page for journaling.  The pictures are now together in an album, protected and can either live in this album forever or if/when I decide to do a fancier scrapbook I can removed all of some of them.  I love this new picfolio that CM has come out with because I can add as many pages as I need AND I also have traditional pages in it because I have the option of adding single pages which you put a traditional 12x12 page into.

I also bought another 'Quick Kit'.  I love these little 8x8 albums that come with the pages already loaded in them and also comes with the matching stickers, word art and other embellishments.   

These kits are great if you have a LOT of pictures (I do!) and either don't have a lot of time (I do!) or don't just never seem to get around to getting your pictures put into albums (me again!).  I am thinking this will hold my 2008 family reunion photos!

Holy Crop!  Look what I won! 

I won a door prize at the crop - this super cute little bag and a matching mini album.  I think I will load the bag up with extra crop tools & glue so that it is always ready to go with me to every crop I attend.  Trista is thinking about planning an 'end of summer' weekend retreat and I am already looking forward to that PLUS ... Jess and I both signed up for the Abby 'BC Crop for Kids' which an annual crop for charity that raises money for the BC Children's Hospital.   It sells out every years and so we were excited to sign up in time this year ... it sold out in 2 hours! 

Oh YEAH - Mike & I were at our local 'home improvement' store yesterday (getting a dripper system for my yard) and as we strolled past the paint department I noticed this super-cute paint sample cards in the 'Disney' Paint section.  As you can see - I grabbed a bunch - I am going to find a use for them in my Disneyland album.  If anyone wants a couple just let me know - as you can see I have lots!

YUP ... it's beginning to look like a CROP-TASTIC year!

Have a great day!
- n -

Fountains & The Adorables ...

Fountains

The Navy Pier pavilion was filled with lush tropical plants & fountains.  There were tables, chairs & benches everywhere so you could sit inside where it was warm & cozy and have lunch or coffee while watching the boats, snow or look out at the lake.  It was a nice reprieve from the cold winds & snow ...

 
The cool thing about these fountains was that most of them were hidden among the plants throughout the pavilion.  In fact, I heard them long before I found them ...
I kept hearing the sound of water plopping  ... sorta like someone was playing with the hose and turning it off & on all the time, so I went exploring ...


 

I think these are coolest fountains I have ever seen - the water is shot out in one stream like it is coming out of a hose but it stops & starts at various intervals ...  when you watch the fountain/s for a while you can clearly see where the water is floating through the air ... unconnected to the one  in front or behind it ... just a small line of it and then a few inches later there will be another distinctive short line of water  ... the most I counted was 4 'free floating' lines of water at one time. 

It was like the various streams of water were 'suspended' in the air - unattached to anything ...

In the photo above I have included red arrows to show were the water stops & starts.  I know it's kind of hard to see ... I took about 20 photo's trying to 'catch' the water streams mid air but it was hard as they are only there for micro-seconds ... If you click on the picture and enlarge it you can see gaps a little more clearly ... 

The sounds all the different fountains made splashing was very interesting ... not your typical fountain but very cool!

The Adorable Sullivans

These guys just getting more beautiful and adorable every time I see them ...  They look so angelic and sweet ....  ALTHOUGH ... I'm sure there is a funny story behind that war paint Max is sporting!

Have a marvelous snowy day up there in your part of Canada!

Love to all
- N -

This is me ... "Getting Real about Resolutions"

 

I read an article this morning on how to "organize & plan" your way to be more successful in meet all your New Year's goals/resolutions.  I will be following because I know that most people who make New Year's resolutions never meet their goals! 

Below I have listed the 4 steps recommended to help me/us be successful this year!!

 

Step 1: Prioritize Your Goals

On a piece of paper, write the three to five goals you’d like to achieve this year, then rank them in order of importance. You might find, after some thought, that you’d rather lose some of your debt than that extra 15 pounds. This step gives you a chance to decide what’s most important to you.

It might look like this:
Goal 1. Pay off credit card debt
Goal 2. Lose 15 pounds
Goal 3. Go to the gym three times a week
Goal 4. Learn Spanish

MY ORIGINAL RESOLUTIONS:

 

1. Live a healthier lifestyle. (eat better, move more)
   
2. Volunteer more - Audubon or elsewhere!
   
3. Write more letters & cards - less emails.
   
4. Spend more time with friends (become more social & outgoing)
   
5. Go to Disneyland with Jessica & Aidan this spring.
   
6. Scrapbook more (digitally & with paper).
7. Visit Katy in Kenya this summer!
   
8. Continue on my one-year "Tradition Building" mission.
9. Continue organizing the 2008 "Family Reunion"
   
10. Spend Less - save more

Step 2: Ruthlessly Evaluate Your Goals

Give your resolutions a reality check. Ask yourself how committed you are to each goal on your list. Are you ready for the sacrifices they might require? Are they truly doable? Can you wipe out your $5,000 credit card balance this year if you also need to buy a new car? Can you really lose 15 pounds? Would 10 be more realistic?

OVERHAULING MY LIST

Well, after looking over my list I have decided to leave everything on it.  I believe they are all realistic & doable goals/resolutions for 2008!  I am determined to achieve each & every one of them.

Step 3: Winnow Your List

Take the survivors from Step 1 and Step 2 and rewrite them. Make each goal very specific. If you ultimately decide that reducing your debt is your number one priority, you might write "cut credit card debt in half," rather than "pay off credit card debt." If you really do want to learn Spanish, rephrase your objective: "Learn to hold a basic conversation in Spanish by the end of ’07."

REWRITING & RANKING MY LIST:

My new"Revised List" has been streamlined & ranked to read:

1. Healthier lifestyle.

2. Spend Less - save more!

3. One-year "Tradition-Building" mission.

4. 2008 "Family Reunion"

5. Volunteer regularly.

6. Socialize more!

7. Snail Mail Cards/Letters

8.Disneyland 

9.Kenya

10.Scrapbook more (digitally & with paper).

 Step 4: Create a Plan

Remember that change is a process, not an event. Take your carefully worded goals and come up with concrete steps that will help you achieve each of them.

Next, create a simple chart & place it someplace visible (over your desk, on your bathroom mirror, on the refrigerator) or carry it around in your bag and refer to it frequently.

Goal 1: Reduce debt
Action 1: Set up an automatic deduction from your checking account each month and add your saved money to your monthly debt payment.
Action 2: Tell your friends you’re trying to save money.
Action 3: Avoid clothes shopping for six months.
Reward: One new handbag

Written by: Lesley Alderman

MY ACTION PLAN:

Whew... it took a while to make my Action Plan but I feel good about it.  It's all do-able!
To view my ACTION PLAN check out my new Page "2008 Resolutions".  I have listed my step-by-step plan for attaining each resolution or goal.

- N -