scrappiness

I've been working on a couple of layouts this weekend and once again it feels like maybe perhaps this is something that I've never done before. Well, that's not exactly right. Of course, I've scrapped before. But something about picking it back up after a period of not doing any layouts always feels a bit foreign. Not quite sure why that is. In any case, it sure comes easier if I do it more regularly. Wonder if there's anyone else out there who deals with this.

I finished two one-pagers and I'm really happy with both of them. Plus I've got another layout loosely arranged on my work table... we'll have to see whether or not that one comes together, but I'm liking what I've got so far. While I'm on the subject of scrappiness, another thing that has made me really happy about these latest layouts is to actually be working with some products that I've been itching to dig into. Because really... what's the point of storing product? It shouldn't be sitting there like some kind of dusty collection. It needs to be used and find its way onto my pages and into my albums.

I ended up submitting both the finished layouts for publication and I was excited to find out tonight that one of them was picked up for an online magazine, Ready, Set, Create. Cool.

With the recent changes to my SB work world, I decided it was time to work out a new schedule for 2010.  I'm hoping the new weekly plan will make me more efficient and productive. I've got Tuesdays & Thursdays set aside as my scrappy biz days - hoping to make the most of those days every week. There will be a lot to cram into those two days every week, but I think having specific days earmarked for working will help my focus. (What would really help would be an extra day per week and an extra week per month -lol!)

Later!

tonight's chow is chowder

Potato corn chowder, to be precise. A classic comfort sort of soup for the first weekday supper of 2010. I guess browsing soup recipes last week put me in a certain mind set, because I also made soup for dinner last night (one of our favorites - cabbage and kidney bean... I know it doesn't sound especially wonderful, but you'll have to take my word that it is!)

The last three weeks have been crazy busy, but all in a very good way. I did several private papercrafting classes in my home and had a great time visiting with friends I just don't see often enough (like my delightful cousin Leah - hey, girl hope you can come again next month!)

On the heels of the classes, I changed hats, shifted chairs and jumped into producing an e-newsletter for The Enright Company. I've been doing their newsletters for several years now, but for the last few issues I've collaborated with my son who is so much more knowledgeable at html than I am. It's been nice to have his expertise at my disposal.

Now, I'm back on home improvement duty - gotta pick out some paints and get busy re-creating the look of our living room. We've only painted one room in the house since  moving in (isn't that awful!). So, I'm thinking with some forethought, organization and self-discipline we should be able to repaint the entire interior over the course of 2010. I'm going to aim for a room a month with a few months off for the worst of summer. Sounds do-able, doesn't it?

We've also got a couple of lingering items to take care of on the house facade for our "curb appeal" project - still need to have a garage door installed, then have that and the new front door painted. And then, there are some landscaping decisions to be made as well.

Isn't it funny how every time you do something to upgrade and improve, it results in having something else to do?