Good Grief

I'm honored to be part of a new scrapbooking challenge blog, Good Grief. The purpose is to document the losses we’ve experienced, cherish memories, and honor our loved ones we've lost.

We’ll be posting our layouts twice a month (on the 1st and 15th), based on different challenges. The first challenge is to ‘use song lyrics’. Over the next couple days you’ll get a closer look at our layouts and a chance to dig deeper to our stories.

I hope you can stop by, take a look, and join us - already, one challenge in, I've found this to be quite therapeutic in my healing process.

My layouts (click to to get a closer look):

29 Day Giving Challenge

I saw this quote today and it spoke to me - so I posted it on my Facebook earlier:

"That best portion of a good man's life; His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love." --William Wordsworth

Seeing this reminded me, it was time to take another 29 Day Giving Challenge. I've tried it a couple other times, and while I don't think I've done the full 29 days yet, it's always been a rewarding experience. After all - don't we get more out of giving than receiving?

You never know whose life you're going to touch ... or who is going to touch you!

45 Questions

I was cleaning out my starred items on Google Reader and found a cute quiz on the Splendid Miss M's blog. Since I rarely blog (I know, I need to work on that) figured this would be good enough.

1. What kind of SOAP is in your bathtub right now? Victoria's Secret body wash (hate bar soap!)

2. Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? Nope

3. What would you change about your living room? Make it bigger? Honestly, this is the room I spend the most time in, and I don't mind it too much!

4. Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? Dirty

5. What is in your fridge? Beer, Wine, Condiments, Pellegrino, maybe some old milk. I don't cook at home much (and don't like leftovers!)

6. White or wheat bread? Wheat

7. What is on top of your refrigerator? A couple vases that didn't fit in the cabinet

8. What color or design is on your shower curtain? Green and blue plaid in my guest bathroom, glass door in the master

9. How many plants are in your home? Seven. Not all of them are alive right now though.

10. Is your bed made right now? Yes - I have to have it made!

11. Comet or Soft Scrub? I'm going to go with Comet. Don't use it often though. Prefer my spray cleaner.

12. Is your closet organized? Yes, but it's full. I need to do some purging. And let's not talk about my guest closet.

13. Can you describe your flashlight? A yellow one with my name on the bottom from when I lived at ZTA.

14. Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? Glass.

15. Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? No.

16. If you have a garage, is it cluttered? No garage.

17. Curtains or blinds? Blinds in every room - I still need to take Mom up on her offer to make me living room curtains though!

18. How many pillows do you sleep with? Four. There are two more, but I throw them off before I get in to bed.

19. Do you sleep with any lights on at night? No, although I fall asleep with the TV on.

20. How often do you vacuum? Not nearly as often as I should!

21. Standard toothbrush or electric? Electric!

22. What color is your toothbrush? Cream.

23. Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? Yes, it even says Welcome!

24. What is in your oven right now? Nothing.

25. Is there anything under your bed? All of my holiday decorations (none of which I use besides Halloween and Christmas) and my ski stuff.

26. Chore you hate doing the most? Putting away laundry.

27. What retro items are in your home? My Grandma's stand mixer (yes, even though I've never used it).

28. Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? Yes, my second bedroom. Supposedly my scrap room ... in reality, my crap room.

29. How many mirrors are in your home? Four - one in each bedroom and one in each bath.

30. Do you have any hidden emergency money around your home? No. Or if I do, I don't remember where I put it.

31. What color are your walls? Mostly the boring cream color my condo came with. One wall is painted a wine color, and another is a light tan.

32. Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home? Kitchen knives?

33. What does your home smell like right now? Plug-ins - I have a couple around my home.

34. Favorite candle scent? I like Cucumber Melon - generally like fruity scents best.

35. What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? I think there are a few jars in there ... no idea how long they've been there. Probably since I moved in 6 years ago. I'll say dill though.

36. What color is your favorite Bible? I have one bible, sure it can be my favorite, it's black.

37. Ever been on your roof? Nope, and I don't want to!

38. Do you own a stereo? Yes, just one.

39. How many TVs do you have? Two - one in my bedroom and one in the living room.

40. How many house phones? Three - each bedroom and the kitchen. No one ever calls on it other than telemarketers though!

41. Do you have a housekeeper? She's typing this.

42. What style do you decorate in? I don't think I really have a 'style' - maybe simplistic/homey?

43. Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? Mostly solids.

44. Is there a smoke detector in your home? Yes, and a couple CO2 detectors, as well.

45. In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you'd grab if you only could make one quick trip? My laptop, my purse, some scrapbooks

For Today

Ali Edwards recently posted a fun little 'survey' that I thought I could do ... you know, to be ambitious and make this my 2nd post for 2009!

FOR TODAY
June 24, 2009

Outside my window... the sun is shining - I'm SO glad it's back!

I am thinking... of everything I need to do tonight (laundry, packing, print pictures, etc.) before going in to work early tomorrow.

I am thankful for... little reminders of Katherine I experience - yesterday I gave a homeless man $5 since it's totally something she would've done. I constantly ask myself 'What would Katherine do...' and end up with a smile.

From the kitchen... of Starbucks :) I'm eating a yogurt parfait and Iced Caramel Macchiato - yum!

I am wearing... jeans, light brown v-neck and blue tank.

I am creating... a yearbook album for all my SISters to sign this weekend. It's nothing fancy, I can always embellish later, right??

I am going... to Tennessee TOMORROW! I'm headed to SISiversary and can't wait to meet new friends, hang out with old friends, laugh, take pictures, make memories and scrap! I have some KICK ASS roomies (Andrea, Pam, Tracy, Aimee, Erin & Steph - yes, there will be 7 of us!) that I can't wait to hang with.

I am reading... The Darling by Russell Banks (on tape during my drives) and The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death by Laurie Notaro - Laurie Notaro is hilarious!!!

I am hoping... I can limit what I bring to still be productive and not ridiculously overpacked. I'm a notorious overpacker - argh.

I am hearing... Pandora - I have a Sugarland station that rocks!

Around the house... I have suitcases out ready to be packed (and it's not even 3am the day I leave, so unusual!) and tons of scrap stuff ready to be organized and packed.

One of my favorite things... emails and texts saying 'I'm thinking of you...' :)

A few plans for the rest of the week... go to Old Navy during lunch for some more tanks (it's going to be in the 90s (!!) in TN), stop at Lasting Memories on my way home tonight to pick up a Tiny Fastener, work tomorrow until 1ish, then off to Nashville!

See, that wasn't too difficult, was it?? I actually made some Mini Moos for SISiversary and included my blog address on them ... which means I really should post more! :)

Testing, Testing... 123... Testing

Just thought I'd test to see if my password still works around here and pop in. :) My friend Andrea reminded me recently of the power of journaling - whether via blog, in "official" journals, or just a piece of paper, it's so therapeutic to get your thoughts down. So many times I've started journaling, but haven't consistently journaled through the years. Maybe that's why I struggle with journaling beyond just the facts in my layouts? Aw well, one step at a time... :)

Nothing too glamorous to report now, life is busy, as always! It's just the way we balance* all those tasks and priorities as to how they fall, right??

I recently ordered a letterpress print with a quote by Stephen Covey:

the main thing
is to keep
the main thing
the main thing

So true, no? So often I get worked up on the 'extras' - what I anticipate will happen, the emotion, the fluff... and I'm distracted on not what the REAL issue is. I'm considering using this quote for the ATC Quote Swap at SIS. I love checking out everyone's favorite quotes - it's interesting to see what each person chooses not only as their quote, but decorative-style, too.

*appropriate use of my 2009 word!

One Little Word

For the past two years, I have chosen One Little Word to concentrate my efforts for the year. 2007's word was BELIEVE and 2008 was FOCUS. Whereas I can continue to use both words as areas of focus (no pun intended), I decided to choose a new word for 2009. Here it is, with some of the definitions that stuck out to me.

bal⋅ance   /ˈbæləns/
a state of equilibrium or equipoise; an adjustment of accounts; the power or means to decide.

"Work, love and play are the great balance wheels of man's being.” - Orison Swett Marden

I'm looking forward to seeking balance in 2009- with my job, my home, my life, on the scale (LOL). When I think of walking on a balance beam, you can't rush through, or you'll fall. I'll try to slow down and focus as I strive towards balance.

I encourage you to pick a word in the new year!

29 Days of Giving

Back in October, I signed up to do a 29 Days of Giving Challenge. Although I did more than what I posted on my 29 Days site, I never officially did 29 days in a row. This morning, I was reminded again of the challenge - and thought I'd try again! I realized this will put me through the end of December ~ what a great way to spend the holiday season!

I encourage you to sign up - isn't giving what it's all about?


"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." -William James