scrap crush...part one: digital love

i LOVE scrapbooking and everything associated with it!
i started out just a paper and glue girl, but eventually dove into
the world of digital.

reasons i love digital:
1) it's quick and it's instant gratification
2) if i want to share a page it's already on my computer
3) i can create a page (or many pages) at a very low cost!!
4) i can create ANY size layout and change/layer elements within photoshop with the click of a mouse!
my only con would be that i have a tendency to "forget" about my digital creations and not get
them printed, BUT when i do i use scrapbookpictures.com
my ALL TIME favorite digital artist is Liz Tamanaha aka Paislee Press
i can say without a doubt that everything Liz designs i LOVE!
her latest kit, photobooth, is no exception.
when i saw it, i knew i HAD to get it!!

i have only had time to do one layout as life has been so busy lately, but i am in love with it! :)

hoping to create many more pages with this digital kit! :)

here are some other layouts created by some of Liz's digital kits:

 head on over to paislee press and check Liz out...you won't be sorry! ;)
.....or maybe you will!! :D

my next installment will be... my paper and glue scrap crush!

smile :) it's the little things...

inspired by mini books by Amy Tan and Tina Aszmus, I am in the process of making my
very own mini book to display my Instagram images.
I wondered at first what I would put in this...random images? photo walk images?
but since the cover focused on the little things that make me smile, I decided to compile a little
book filled with things that make me smile! :)--the attitude of gratitude... perfect!!

I hope to share as I go along!!
Happy Friday!

she's blogging again...the test run

oops! i forgot when i posted this yesterday to actually ALLOW people to comment!
sorry about that! :) 

 i saw this post from Stephanie Howell about blogging your heart
i think i pretty much do that...when i decide to blog, that is.
although, i do admit to being timid with my blogging.
sometimes i am afraid to share what is really on my heart.
i would like to be 100% positive 100% of the time, but that's not real life.
for me, being honest is 110 times better than being a hypocrite.
btw...just yesterday i ran across the definition of hypocrite and almost
felt like blowing it up poster size for some people!!!
i think the origin of the word pretty much nails it!!

Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English ipocrite  < Old French  < Late Latin hypocrita  < Greek hypokritḗs  a stage actor, hence one who pretends to be what he is not, equivalent to hypokrī́ ( nesthai ) ( see hypocrisy) + -tēs  agent suffix

but that's another story...

if this is the first time you have been here and you are perusing my posts thinking,
"all of this sounds confusing???..." it's because at the beginning of the summer i made a
choice to go private with my blogging.
not much has been said since then.

so...what's on my heart lately?

*still searching why i am so fatigued with little success = frustrating. i admit that some days i wish i would wake up and be 100% normal. or maybe not...

* i truly miss the sharing aspect of blogging. my creations. pictures. scrapbooking layouts.

* the attitude of gratitude....i have been working on a list of thankfulness thanks to this book by Ann Voskamp

it is a great idea (the list) that has brought me a lot of joy and blessings! it really helps put life into perspective. i do have to say that i am not a leisurely reader, therefore, i found her use of words and descriptors to be very extravagant at times and hard to read through. i read for knowledge mostly.
i know...nerd. ;)

*i am having a hard time sorting through life since the death of my Dad in August. it was so unexpected. and now i have to take "care" of what's left behind. can you say, "stress and worry and total exhaustion"?

*i am missing my oldest daughter like CRAZY!!! i don't laugh near as much anymore.

*i have an IT band issue in my right leg now, so i cannot run at all! this. STINKS!! looks like i really
need to take up yoga!

*i have enjoyed being back on a schedule during the day since school has started

*my 13 year old is ALL girl!!! enough said...Lord, help me!!!

*i LOVE, love, LOOOOOVE my iPhone and all of the daily pictures that i can take with it!!!
i have always loved having it, but after discovering instagram it's like my creativity went into overdrive!!

well, that's about it! i am off to go get some acupuncture and enjoy this sunny day before the cold and rain sets in!

thanks for stopping by! :)

as i look back...

...i see no real reason to continue.
with this blogging thing, that is.
yet there is something in me that won't just let it go--ya know
hit that "delete blog" button.

maybe it's because i feel like i might have something to share to a broader audience, other than
myself, some day.
maybe it's because i do like knowing i can virtually journal something down.
i don't know...

i do know that this summer has brought a lot of questions, discovery and even heartache.
i continued to struggle with my running and fatigue. i am now exploring alternative/complementary
treatments...still waiting to see what that will bring.
i don't know why. my question always is, " how can people who are TWICE my size and eat at
McDonald's everyday have more energy than me?!!" it just doesn't make sense.
and with the growing difficulty on the run, i knew that something wasn't right.
conventional medicine can't seem to "see" it, but my body is talking to me...BIG time.
for now, i am not supposed to run. for the most part , i don't. i like to sneak one in every now and then, though. it seems a shame to throw away a fitness routine that i have invested myself in for the last 18 months...
things hurt, though. maybe it's not meant to be...i don't know.

for now, my mind, body and heart are in need of healing.
i am practicing being more grateful for things, people and situations in my life.
it helps. it really does.

for now, i will hold onto this old blog whether it ever becomes public again or not.
just to journal to myself and get it out.