Oh Wow!

Had the best time this weekend. I went scrapping with some of my girlfriends from my ScrapDivas of Oregon group. Laughed till I cried, and got perilously close to that giddy place where your laughter is uncontrollable, unstoppable and just plain scary! Thanks G, JenO, Susie, Wendy, Linda, and Krystal. You guys are SOMUCHFUN! to hang out with.

I also took two (2!) classes from Ali Edwards. It was great to meet her in person. I already felt like I knew her well from reading her blog, but it was great to talk and make jokes and spend time with her. She's coming to do some classes locally here in Albany, and I volunteered to help her cut paper and get things ready for her classes. I hope she actually takes me up on it. I'd like to spend time getting to know her better.

Anyway, I feel so fulfilled right now. Like I am on the right path and making headway into the next phase of my life. I feel validated as a scrapbooker and paper artist. I just feel content. I LOVELOVELOVE the Perspectives album I made in Ali's class. I am brimming with ideas and inspiration. I am SOINLOVE with my family (who were a big part of my album) and my art/hobby/creative obsession right now. It was TOTALLY worth it!

If you get a chance, take Ali's "Perspectives" class. You'll be glad you did.

And that's the other side.

Dream Job

I'm consumed lately with what I want to be when I grow up. I am part of the "What Color is Your Parachute?" generation, where we were told that we would probably NOT work for the same company all our lives and would retire with a gold watch, but would instead have 2-3 different CAREERS over the course of our life. Notice the word CAREERS instead of JOBS. Careers implies committment; it implies time and education and sweat and tears and effort. This is not changing jobs because you are bored, etc., it is redefining yourself. And we (my generation) are expected that we will do this more than once....Whew!

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I am in a period of self-discovery and redefining myself. And I've finally got the courage to admit what I really want to do right now.

I want to work for Simple Scrapbooks Magazine. Really. I SO want to work for Simple Scrapbooks. I would do just about anything to be a contributing editor there. (Do you still read my blog Donna D.? Could you put in a good word for me?) I'd empty the trash, I'd write copy, I'd bake cookies, give foot rubs--I'd even clean the company bathroom! (at least once or twice...lol).

I've loved Simple Scrapbooks from the beginning. I've always felt close to Stacy Julian--because at one time, when she was just getting starting with paper crafting and rubberstamping, she was my sister-in-law's neighbor and friend. Julie has told me about how she came home from one of her first rubber stamp parties and declared that she had found what she was going to do for the rest of her life (or something like that) and she has. I also went to high school in Spokane--so I feel like I know the area Stacy now lives in.

Anyway, I'd love the stress of meeting a deadline for a magazine. Being given an assignment (My SIL Julie--the same one mentioned earlier--has been given assignments by Stacy for the magazine) would make my day. I'd take classes to learn what I don't know. I'd be a very good employee.

Time to start submitting....

On a totally unrelated note, I am going to be taking a class from Ali Edwards this weekend at a LSS in Southern Oregon. Yay me! I'm really looking forward to it, and really getting into my homework (yes, there is homework for this class). I'll let you know all about it.

It's here....part one

I'd like to start with a quote I found by Anna Quindlen:

I read and walked for miles at night along the beach...searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that person could be me.

I've been thinking/feeling that something was coming; I finally realized that what was coming was my need to change a few things in my life. It's time for me to do a lot of the things that I've only thought about for years.

This is a little heady for me. I have no excuses left. I've used them all up. And I've also decided that lethargy is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. It's so much easier to take a nap than go for a walk. It's so much easier to eat a cookie rather than a carrot. But it's time to choose the carrot.

I've had this list of things I wanted to accomplish, (as I said) and really, that last two that are feasible right now are doing more with my scrapbooking--like actually submitting so I have a chance to be published--or if not published, at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I did something about wanting to be published instead of chickening out. The other thing on my list is losing weight and being in better shape. I want to be better than I am. Simple goal, really. So I've started denying my inner sweet tooth and indulging my inner health-food goddess. And I am walking for at least a half hour every day. Right now, since I am terribly out of shape, that's about a mile and a half. My goal is to walk 5 miles a day. I'm also going to start doing the pilates video I have rather than just looking at it on the shelf. I really dig pilates. I got into when I was a member of a fitness center about three years ago. That's the shape I want back. I'll never see my high school shape again, and that's okay. My high school shape didn't build my three wonderful children's bodies--THIS shape did. And that's pretty marvelous.

And that's the end of part one.