Back at It

We've lucked out with the weather the past couple days. The sun's out, and although it's not extremely warm, the dose of Vitamin D seems to put everyone in a good mood. Nick and I spent the afternoon at Green Lake yesterday ... it was beautiful!

It was so nice to be outside, soak up the sun, and get some exercise in. I have some upcoming events I'm now planning for: Puerto Vallarta with Nick in a couple months for our anniversary and The 3 Day in less than 7 months! Anticipating both the beach and walking 60 miles, I'm trying to get my weight and fitness level under control. I know what works: eating better and moving more. It's no secret!

So far, so good. Nick and I walked over 4+ miles yesterday at Green Lake (along with every other Seattleite!) This morning I was up at 4:30 am and headed to the gym ... a great start to the week. :) I also bought new shoes yesterday so I'm ready to walk... my official training walks will be starting soon. I'll keep you posted on how it's going!

Good Grief: Scrap without Photos

The current challenge was posted last week at Good Grief. This was challenge #13 ... hard to believe we've been at this for 6 months already! This challenge was to scrap without photos. I managed to finish both layouts at a retreat a couple weeks ago with some girlfriends ... it's so nice to get some quality crafty time in.

Auntie Bugs

I've been wanting to tell this story for awhile ... this was the perfect opportunity!

Journaling: The story: When I was a toddler, Kath babysat me … I was crying. To try and make me stop, she shrieked about a spider. The giggles started and we went searching for buggies. And she’s been my Auntie Bugs ever since.

Raisin Love

This was just another story I wanted to document and remember.

Journaling: Every week, Grandma would pick me up from Jo Anne’s house on Fridays. Waiting for me in the car was a snack … always raisin, sittin on the dash. I see raisins now and smile, thinking of her.

You can see more here.

Circle Journals

Last Fall, I signed up to participate in a circle journal over at SIS. For you non-scrappers, a CJ is where you create a mini-album with a topic, send it throughout a group of people to complete a layout and pass it on. By the time it comes back to you (full circle), the book is complete!

The theme of my book was Favorite Cause- I wanted to know which charities are most important to everyone. So far I've received 3 different circle journals for this group.

And here are the layouts I've completed so far:

A Christmas Tradition
The theme of this one was Favorite Recipe. Journaling: This casserole is a Christmas morning tradition. So good to enjoy once a year. After presents, enjoy with some orange juice, before a holiday nap. Delicious!

So Many Quirks So Little Time
This book's theme is to document our quirks. As you can see, I have too many to pick one! :) Journaling: I admit it ... I'm pretty quirky! Whether it's out of habit or reason, I definitely have my fair share of quirks. Trouble is identifying something that's not an idiosyncrasy! Here are just a couple of my quirks: I always clean my home in the same order, I make my bed every morning, I go to Starbucks almost every day, I look at my bank accounts daily. (and the list goes on!)

Grey
And this CJ was about our favorite color. Journaling should be clear, but just in case: My favorite color right now is grey. I like wearing it, scrapping it, decorating with it ... it's my go to color right now. Love it!

It's kind of a fun project - taking on various challenges & subjects, and in the end you have a full album from a variety of scrappers!

In2Books

Earlier this week, I signed up to be an In2Books pen pal!

I'm looking forward to it: I'll be paired up with student (grade 3-5), we'll read the same book, and then write letters about the book. Reading and letters? I'm in! I'll let you know how it goes after we start reading.

Good Grief: Word Association

A new challenge was posted today at Good Grief! This challenge was to use word association - it's fun to see the different takes on the challenge.

My layouts and explanations:

This picture isn’t the best of Katherine, but it was a wonderful moment I wanted to capture. Exactly one year ago, I was on a cruise with Katherine (and some of my family). We were all aware that this would be her last vacation, but tried to enjoy each moment. This picture was on the bus from the airport to the cruise terminal – Katherine was singing, laughing and clapping while talking to a smile child sitting nearby. This was exactly how she was all the time – always connecting with everyone around us. :)

Joy

Journaling: Daughter, sister, aunt, partner ... but she was so much more. Funny, loving, giving, focused, generous, forgiving, story-telling, present. But the word that best describes her: joy.

This next layout didn't start the way I had planned, but when I saw this patterned paper, I thought it would be perfect for word association. I made a list of words I thought described my Grandma, and started adding the words to the different shapes. Once it was finished, I realized one important word missing: “missed” so added it to a pop-dotted label to the picture.

She Is...

Journaling: She is... faithful, organized, gentle, sensitive, patient, unselfish, poised, devoted, efficient, endearing, grandmother, hospitable, honest, loyal, helpful, fair, loved, caring, independent, nice, tender, beautiful, sweet, practical, trusting, loving, smart, genuine, mom, dedicated, missed.

Thanks for looking!