More LOADS

I've been keeping up. Although i have changed my rules just a tad. I've figured that if i get two layouts done in a weekend then I'm still keeping up on my end of the LOAD. That means that if i start a two page layout on Saturday and then finish it on Sunday, I'm still good. Weekends are just so hard. The kids are home. DarRell more times than not, is working. And without those few hours during the day when Sam is sleeping and the kids are at school, i just can't always get a layout done in a day. I usually only get a few minutes here and a few minutes there to throw together a layout and to me, that just doesn't cut it. I can't feel good about what i do if i don't like what i do. This last weekend was the worst. I did finish my layouts but it took me two days (Saturday and Sunday) to do a simple two page layout. But i am proud to say that i haven't missed a day (unless you count the change to my rules for this last weekend).

Here they are:

Day 10: Just Brothers

Day 11: Egg Dying

(i haven't put the date on this one yet because I'm not sure when it was. I'm thinking it was 2003? but i really gotta make sure)

Day 12&13: December 25

i absolutely LOVE that I'm almost done with this years Christmas pictures!!!!!! YAY ME!

it's officially over, going crazy, and its just one of those days

Christmas. It's officially over. I know, it's actually been over for a few weeks now. But, all the Christmas decorations are finally down and all the boxes and bins are finally out of the house and put back into storage. It's amazing at how empty the house feels now that all the Christmas is down and out. It's almost kinda lonely now.

The kids are finally back in school, but just when we were finally getting back into a schedule again, the kids have a 4 day school week. DarRell is working weekends and late evenings and I'm going crazy without some "me" time. I've really got to find some friends that i can just go and hang out with (sorry Kim and Lori... you guys are just too far away!). How can someone honestly spend 24/7 at home and NOT go crazy. Apparently I'm just being selfish because every time i mention it, i get the "i wish i could stay home all day long and play with the kids". Don't get me wrong, i LOVE my children. But sometimes i need to talk to someone who doesn't pick their nose, or throw a tantrum because their sock isn't on right, or complain that their food is too hot, too cold, too squishy, looks weird AND is on the wrong plate. I would LOVE to go to work and feel like what I've done during the day was productive. Here, i don't feel so productive. The house is a complete mess and that's only because once I've cleaned it up, i have someone right behind me tearing everything out.

*SIGH* yes, today is one of those days. I can't seem to get up enough energy to care. Today is one of those days where that if the kids were able to take care of themselves, i'd lock myself in my room and disappear for the day. Bedtime just can't get here soon enough.

... and still going strong

It's day nine and i'm still going strong. I actually didn't think i'd make it today. I didn't get to even make it to my scraproom until late tonight, just after 8:00. I've been going over layout ideas in my head over and over again all day long. When i finially got some time, it came together soooo much better than i thought it would. I love it when that happens. I wish that happened more often. I'm really hoping this LOAD will help me loosen up and just let things flow.

Besides that, i love doing these quick ones because i love going through all my old pictures. It seems that all my new pictures i've already got ideas for and i just need some time to get them done. But for my old pictures, it's all a blank canvas. I just look through them and pull out a few pictures here and there and fit them where i can. Thank goodness for home printers, otherwise i'd never get anything done having to wait for my pictures to be developed and then changing my mind on sizes all the time.

On other news. We hooked up a new webcam. I've never really wanted one. Really had nobody to talk to "face to face" to really want one anyways. DarRell's sister sent one to his parents quite some time ago, but it got put away. After talking to her and seeing them on their webcam, we decided to go find it and hook it up. The kids don't understand that we can't just talk to anyone on it though. They thought it'd be great to talk to Ali on it tonight but trying to get them to understand that they probably don't have a webcam just wasn't happening. So instead we played with a cool feature that came with the software to it. The Photobooth!!! It kept the kids happy. Even for Sam, who happened to be even more unusually upset tonight (sure hope he's not coming down with some yucky something). As i sit here typing, he's in his crib having a rough night. Seems like Wednesdays are always rough. Lots of rushing around and what little routine we have is just blown out of the water. The kids take it rough not having DarRell around when they go to bed and there just doesn't seem to be that winding down peroid that we all need. I get home from work, and DarRell leaves for work. He comes home later than usual, with just enough time to say hi and then he's off to firemeeting. The kids and i have a late dinner (a rushed one at that). Things are so stressful by then that by 8:00 i'm sending kids off to get ready for bed. If its a good night, then i get a few hours of scrapping to myself. If it's a bad night, then i curse under my breath and wish that DarRell were home with the kids instead of playing poker with the guys after firemeeting. Tonight, it's a combination of both. Sam is sleeping restlessly, crying in his sleep, tossing and turning and just plain making me nervous (i'm paranoid about nighttime sickies and i just have this feeling like it's going to hit soon). Rianne keeps "hearing things" and needs company (and Daylon doesn't cut it). And Daylon, he just wants to sleep but Rianne keeps talking. But, i did get in a few scrappy hours, and busted out a layout in a about 2 hours, which for me, is excellenct. Watched the end of a movie i started earlier and got a chance to blog and all just in time for DarRell to get home. And thank goodness. Having him home makes me feel better when Sam is restless like this. I may not sleep better but at least i know that with DarRell here, i can handle things a bit better.

LOAD: day 3-7

I've been good... very good. That is about doing a Lay Out A Day (LOAD). So far good, i am on track and haven't missed a day! So here they are:

Day 3: Turning 6

I ended up adding a ribbon and a ribbon slide to the bottom of the picture. But, i'm just to lazy to rescan it (cause i hate scanning one page 4 times and then stiching it all together). Maybe one day when i'm bored i'll update it.

Day 4: Decorate

Day 5: You 3

Day 6, which ended up being a 2-pager!!! : Family is Everything side 1

and side 2

Day 7: Wrapped up...

I can't say i love them all but i do love that they are all done! And i can say that i have got almost all of 2007 pictures done. I do need to do a few here and a few there but this is the closest i've gotten to completing a whole year of pictures!!! And that is just the best feeling ever!

I'm lovin' it...

LOAD - day 2

I got a jump on things this morning and finished my day 2 LOAD early since i go to work this afternoon. I can never tell how long my day is going to be and how I'll feel when i get home. Here is day 2. It's a super easy and quick one. Probably the quickest one I've done in a LONG time. Just a pocket to put all of our Christmas cards in from this year. I did this last year too and loved it. I think i may continue to do it every year.

I wish i could make it so that you could see all the pictures though. We got a ton of photo Christmas cards this year (my favorite!!!). I may have to find a better way of showcasing them. For now, this will have to do. They are removable though so if I/we ever want to go through them again we can.

Resolutions

It was a good scrappy month last month. I could have done much better but it wasn't all bad. I got a total of 30 layouts/cards done. 15 cards, 7 layouts, and 4 pages (front and back) to my design mini album book. Not too shabby. I really hope to do a little better this month... more of that to come in a bit.

As for this month, i've decide to do this ---> Big Picture Scrapbooking's LOAD. I'm super excited to give it a try. It's free, which is good. I think this will be good motivation to keep me going, although i don't think i'll keep it posted in their gallery, although the chance to win goodies almost makes me want to. I've already done my first page!
One day down, 30 more to go!

Another thing i'm going to keep up on is One Word for 2008. I'm following along with Ali Edward's blog and thought this was a very inspiring thing to do every year. I've already picked out my word. After pondering over it for quite some time i came up with "Manage". I have a lot of managing to do in my life... a LOT. What perfect timing huh? So, i guess in a way this is my new resolution for 2008... to manage aspects in my life. Parts that impact me, my family and those around me. It's a bit of a lofty goal but even the smallest bit of success at this is a step forward.

My scrappy goal this year is to do a "12 for 12" album. 12 pictures a month for 12 months. By the end i should have a great recap of 2008 in a managable album. I just gotta go find a album to work with. It should be fun!