Slowly....

I've walked 1.5 miles two days in a row now, and if I do it today (which I plan to after the kiddos are down for nap time), it will be three days.

This layout is a lift of a layout created by the fabulous Kelli, who is ending her term as Guest Design Team Member at Scrapbooker Online. Kelli and Kristin (the other GDT this term) have been wicked awesome members of the team, and they are great friends. I can't wait to see them again at the next SBO retreat!

Enough.

This is an old layout that I created for my 2006 CK HOF entry. I also tried to submit it several other places with no luck. It's one of my most favorite layouts ever.

We're off to my in-laws this afternoon for Christmas Eve goodness. I am making Patti's meatballs to bring and the house is smelling yummy. I need to make gingerbread cookies at some point, I've already made up the dough, and it's chilling in the fridge. I love the smells of the holidays!

Thank You BJ's...

Today I had to run to BJ's to get meatballs. That's all I really needed, though I picked up a couple of other things. The place was a zoo, with Christmas being two days away. The parking lot was jammed, the aisles full of people, and the checkouts clogged. I was trying to get out of there in a hurry, and I used one of the self-checkout lanes. When I checked out I got $20 cash back so I could stop at McDonald's on the way home for lunch.

I was back at my car when I realized that I had forgotten to pull my $20 out of the money thing. I ran back in, and sure enough, there was nothing in the money thing, someone surely took it. I took a chance and went to one of the front end personnel to ask if someone had by any chance turned in the $20. She said no, but one of the supervisors gave me $20 from the Customer Satisfaction fund, or something like that after looking at my receipt, and seeing that I did try to get $20 back.

Thank you BJ's, I know $20 isn't much, but when you're only working part time, it means a lot.

Getting off my Rear End.

Today I walked 1.5 miles on the treadmill, and I hope to keep this up regularly, if not daily.

Celebrating Friends and Family

One of the resolutions I've chosen for 2008 is to send more cards. I make cards all of the time, but most of them sit around. I've decided to start sending more cards, and just try to be a better friend by letting people know I care.

To keep track of birthdays and other special days, I altered this little Hallmark calendar that I picked up at the drugstore. I covered the front and back with Making Memories paper, then covered the spine with a piece of Strano ribbon that had been stiffed. The "ticket" is an Autumn Leaves stamp set, and I used Colorbox and Staz-on inks.

Starting the Resolutions Process

I don't want to jump right into resolutions for 2008. If I just write things down, I'm not sure they'll have the importance and meaning I'd like to have for them. So, I've sort of invented a process for myself to develop and clarify my goals. Let me know if you find any of this useful, or if you think I'm a nut.

I'm directly adopting four "buckets" for my goals from Franklin-Covey's "Sharpen the Saw" concept. The four buckets are:

• Physical (or goals that have to do with my physical self)
• Social/Emotional (goals concerning relationships, friendships, my emotional state)
• Mental (goals for my brain)
• Spiritual (goals for my heart, and things that really matter to me)

This week I will be brainstorming some goals ideas for each bucket. I'm just going to throw down whatever I think of as I think about it. Then, I'll weed through them and take out unreasonable goals, clarify vague goals, and make each goal specific.

Once I have some clear goals, I will outline any interim tasks that are required to complete the goal, then establish due dates for each subtask, as well as for the complete goal. These dates will then get moved into my planner, and each goal will get its own Goal Sheet in my planner. Each goal will be reviewed during my weekly planning process in 2008.

So, those are the ground rules, now to start thinking about actual goals. :D

I {heart} Strano Ribbon

I received a lovely order of gorgeous ribbon from Strano Designs today. They are having a clearance sale on their web site for discontinued ribbons, and although I bought more than I probably should have, I just love these ribbons. I bought a long length of SuzieQ to make a belt out of it, but the rest will be for general crafting, scrapbooking, or maybe just fondling. These ribbons are 100% acetate, and are so smooth and just gorgeous.

Resolutions

It's getting closer to that time of year where people are thinking about resolutions for the new year. I am absolutely awful when it comes to resolutions...I have problems getting my daily to-do list done. I really want to do something with resolutions this year, so right now I'm thinking about what my resolutions should be, so that I can have them clarified by the time the new year rolls around. Then I'm going to enter them in my planner as goals, writing out the steps needed to achieve each goal and have dates assigned to each task so I can attempt to keep myself accountable. So, now to think about what I want to resolve to do......

I posted a new Suite101 article on altering chipboard with paper HERE.

Chipboard!

I posted a new article on chipboard today at Suite101. Check it out!

Chipboard 101

Congrats to the New Scrapbooker Online Design Team!

Here are the new ladies who will be designing for Scrapbooker Online in the first half of 2008:

Rachel Morgan Theall
Jolene Johnston
Patrizzia Gundich
Beth Price
Juliete Concepcion
Carolyn Lontin
Nicole Patrizio

I can't wait to see the projects, challenges and inspiration that these ladies provide in the new year. You all rock!

Source for Stamps and Distress Goodies

I got an email the other day from Artistic Outpost, a new stamp manufacturer. They have some really neat art stamps that remind me of some of Tim Holtz's stamps. And they also stock lots of Ranger products that aren't available near me, so I am seriously considering placing an order.

Custom Envelopes for Gift Cards

I've posted a new article at Suite101 on creating custom envelopes for gift cards. This is a great way to dress up a plain Jane gift cards and personalize them for each person in your life. Check out the article HERE.

Another Creative Outlet

I love to write, and writing is something that I try to work into all of my interests, whether technical or creative. I recently found a site called Suite101 where writers can write and submit articles to be posted on their site. The articles are picked up by Google and other search engines, so people who do a keyword search can find your article in the results.

Here's the cool part: Suite101 works with Google's advertisements to provide targeted ads next to the article. And the author (me) gets paid when readers click on an ad next to her article! It is not a lot of money, and it's a long-tail game, but it's a great way to build up a writing portfolio on subjects I enjoy and make a little money on the side.

So, if you have a minute, check out my Suite101 profile, where you can find links to my articles. There isn't a whole lot there yet, but it will grow as I write. I am trying to write one article each day where I don't have other billable work to do.

A Great Digital Scrapbooking Find

If you love a weathered distressed look, then check out Gina Marie Huff's digital products at Weeds and Wildflowers Designs. I just downloaded the "Playing With Wire - Winter" kit, and I am now looking at her yummy papers. Definitely some nice rich colors, and some effects that remind me of Tim Holtz's distressed projects (can you tell I have a thing for this man?). I have not done much digi scrapping lately, but I've been thinking about making a new blog header, and these wire shapes will work well for a fun winter themed header.

Tim Holtz's 12 Days of Christmas

Have you checked out Tim Holtz's 12 days of tag tutorials for the holidays? Apparently a lot of people have. His entry for December 3 had nearly 1000 comments (not views, mind you, but comments). Tim is giving away a great prize pack for each day for people who comment on his blog. I wish that people keep reading his blog even after the tutorials are over, because he really is a fabulous artist.

I've had the pleasure of taking one of his classes at CKU-Boston in 2006 (and kicking myself for not taking the other one that was offered). I love his projects, I love his Distress Ink products, and I love the style and look of his work. I am going to try all of the tag techniques that he presents, though at this point it probably won't get done by Christmas.

So, now I have the insatiable urge to buy more Ranger products. I suppose that is part of the motivation of the tutorials, but I have no problem with that.