Keeping My Goals In Mind

Good Friday Morning! And since I turn into a pumpkin by 8 PM each night, Happy New Year as well. I'm hoping this unfolds into a beautiful and enjoyable day. In my digs, we're expecting temps in the mid-40's and rain so who knows? Despite the warmer (and wet!) weather, we've been blessed with a fair amount of joy and delight. I can't imagine today being any different....but I also lost my ability to see into the future ever so many moons ago.

In the mean time, I'm going to stick to my goals and select some photos for this cute sketch:


Created by Jana Eubank, it's the current inspiration at Sketches In Thyme. If you like it, too, I encourage you to give it a go. I haven't participated in any challenge for over a month, but I've wanted to. No time like the present!

Speaking of presents, yesterday, we took advantage of a generous gift our son received for Christmas. Papa Mike and Grandma Mona gave him tickets to our local Children's Museum. We had never been there before and were in great need of an adventure. Adventure was definitely what we found! Who knew you could put so many educational centers into one small building! Two hours was just not enough time and we will be going back sometime in January. To give you an idea of exactly how much fun my son had, I'd like to share a new favorite photo of mine:



I forgot how slow my point-and-shoot camera could be....and that flash is very important. Still, the blur that he created was a fairly accurate description for the day. I'll be looking for a single-photo sketch for this one.

I'd like to think of a really cute way to close, but my paper is calling to me. Something scrappy, this way comes!

I don't do Resolutions, but Goals Rock my Casbah.

Good Wednesday morning!

It's been a very long time since I have made a blog post and I really do feel guilty about that. Seriously, it's getting to the stage of guilt in which I feel so bad that I try to pretend that I never began blogging at all.... and that's not cool, is it?

I like blogging.

I like reading blogs.

I like establishing the very beginnings of relationships through blogs.

I also like the new PointsPlus program with Weight Watchers.

....and how much better I feel because of the better food choices.


I DON'T like struggling to incoporate a chunk of dedicated exercise time into each day. It's still necessary, as I've got at least 13 lbs left to remove in 2011.

I DON'T like struggling to balance exercise and paper-crafting in my week. Right now, neither is getting much attention because I'm also trying to ensure my son knows he's loved.

I also want him to be educated; pesky teaching never left my blood!



There's a lot to like and want and pay attention to in 2011, huh? There's even more that I haven't written here; but that's more likely because I'm not focusing right now....and I sense a rambling streak hitting full force. Straight to my goals, then?

In 2011, I want to:

* Practice my blogging at least once per week with a focus on segues. (see the paragraph above for my so-not-smooth moves)

* Create a dedicated 30 minutes each day for exercise.

* Complete at least one crafty project each week -- creating embellishments from scratch; scrapbook pages; cards, dimensional objects, etc.

* Remove between thirteen and 23 lbs from my body.

* Re-instill a love of fruits and veggies in my son. I feel off the healthy wagon late Fall and he decided he's never touching fruits or veggies ever again. Monkey see, Monkey do!

* Establish a schedule and curriculum to attempt educating my son at home. I'm not looking to homeschool; but we can't afford Pre School right now and our Head Start programs are packed. I don't want him to be unprepared for Kindergarten.

I have a few more goals that are personal but they're also pretty good and achievable.... I hope! On a final note, I want to welcome and thank my new followers! I did see that the number jumped up significantly over the past week and more. The recent rise in my "follow" number is one of the reasons I really want to get myself back into blogging more frequently. It hardly seems fair to make your investment and not get anything in return, does it?

Finally, a crafty moment!

Good Thursday, evening! Missed me? I know, of course you have!... Yeah, I'm a bit over-confident tonight, but I'm okay with that. I've spent the majority of the past nine days doing two things: absorbing the new PointsPlus plan from Weight Watchers AND creating plans and sub plans and surprise plans in case I had to actually leave the house for Jury Duty (dun dun duuuunnnn).

In my first five days on the new plan, I lost 3.6 pounds. For me, that's none too shabby! It also makes me want to go on for several paragraphs with how much I love this new plan; but I won't.... unless it's requested of me.

Jury Duty... Woot to the hoot that cases were never scheduled either day. If they had been, I would have gone in, of course. It's a duty. There are serious penalties for ignoring it. I'm kinda curious as to how it all works. Instead, today I made some beautiful chocolate chip cookies with my young son. Again, he wanted to help in the kitchen so he got to obsess over the vanilla bottle; crack a couple eggs and open them with guidance; gradually add the flour; count to twelve as I lumped dough onto the pans; ask me every 30 seconds if he could the spoon.

When it was all said and done, we had four dozen cookies and a promise to keep. I have a very good friend who managed to talk me calm last week. I was grateful that she took the time; used her patience and training; and took the topic without batting an eye. It was a new level to our friendship and I wanted her to know how grateful I was. Being one with paper, I couldn't simply lump a dozen cookies in a Ziploc bag and call it square. Oh, no! I had to make a little gift box for them to nestle in:







The paper is a mixture of DCWV packs.
The felt flora shadow is Prima Devines.
The butterfly was cut with my Slice many moons ago; and decorated with Prima E Line bling. I love that stuff!!!!!
The lace is from Joann's. I was on a lace kick last Spring and have so much now just hanging around.

I found the tutorial for this amazing idea on Frosted Designs. I knew instantly that this was a project I'd want to take on many times. I rather dig my first attempt; but I'd love to do so much more. This is one of those crafty projects that I'd recommend to ANYONE who sees a lot of paper crafting magic on blogs, but doesn't feel very crafty on their own. The patterned paper packs available at local stores makes it so easy to make something so quick and easy. Seriously, check out the tutorial and give it a try. Cheaper than tins, AND you don't have to figure out where to store the lump of a container, either.

Aside from this, I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of reading my favorite blogs soon. Now that I've got a bit of a rhythm with planning and tracking my food choices during the day, there's time for that quiet joy.....Until I can kick myself into gear with plotting time for regular physical activity. OH! And the looming resolution to do a loose version of home-schooling my son until we're able to enroll him in Pre-School or Kindergarten. Ack! Thank goodness I used to be a teacher by profession or else this moutain would be waaaaay bigger than I could handle.

Me? Stylish?

Good Wednesday evening! I had started to write this post last Sunday morning, but life went crazy in a fun kind of way. Now, life is getting hectic in a few different directions.

*I decided to rejoin Weight Watchers online this morning, after doing some reading on some epic changes. I've spent most of the day giddy and absorbing what I can.

* I've got a few scrappy pages completed to go with the most recent Sketches In Thyme Open Challenge, but doubt I'll get them photographed and uploaded in time.

* My son rediscovered snow this morning, so we've been in and out and getting geeked about that.

* On a whim, I loaded Sims 3 onto my computer and have been sucked into that many evenings, once my son is in bed.

*I'm here. I'm reading. I'm participating with challenges, but have to find a way to keep new and old plates spinning.... again! In the mean time, I opened up this post to share it with everyone and explain some impending absences WHILE I cook a new recipe for potatoes.

I thought I'd use a couple of the free minutes I have to catch up on my last blogging award:


This was also awarded to me by the very talented Fern. I am supposed to share eight more things about myself and tag eight more people. I wonder if there are eight more details that are *worth* writing down. Guess we'll find out together, huh? Perhaps I can switch it up and note the eight nouns I'm grateful for. I didn't get around to doing an official Thanksgiving blog, but I kinda wanted to give it a try....

1) Since it's happening right now, just off to my right... I am thankful that I have a loving, fun husband who takes the time to play with our energetic, imaginative son. They've loaded a Lego car with seven inches of Lego bricks...and there's a Lego chicken driving it and crashing it all over the place.

2) I am thankful to have freedoms; like speech and creative expression. While I do find myself holding my tongue frequently, it's good to know that I have every ability to open and let loose when warranted.... (okay, so I keep taking breaks to turn and watch my husband and son play. It's too cute!)

3) I am thankful to have friends and family who understand me completely and continue to love me all the same.

4) I am thankful for the repeated gift of a brand new day; to wake each morning with a roof still over my head....to be able to open my eyes and see the little things that surround me... to have a brain that can do the Math on how long I expect to lie in quiet until my son wakes and we start the day.

5) I am grateful that there is some source of income that graces our family each week so we are able to keep our stomachs filled with nutrition (and occasional treats). While I'd be even more thankful if I were able to contribute to that income; I have to remind myself that it could be far worse. There could be none at all.

6) Now, I'm starting to reach while remaining true. I AM thankful that our home has remained intact; even after the most insane of storms in the past few years. That's brought up, because I'm looking out the back window (above my playing son) and can see a fraction of my neighbor's back yard. A few weeks ago, we had a major wind storm that broke a rotted tree (in his yard) in half. It was less than a yard from his house -- and his daughters' bedroom. Instead of hitting the house, it cracked and smashed his deck to smitherines. There is one tree in our own yard that is healthy, but just as close to our house as that tree WAS to his.

7) I am thankful that there are fourteen people who have chosen to follow this blog. Thank you for helping me feel as though I'm not just talking at a wall. You've been so kind and encouraging.

8) And since he's decided to come over and be RIGHT in my face (quite literally), I am thankful overall for the gift my son is each day. He has his rough days. I have mine. He has his silly days. He has his smart days. He has some days that I swear I just fed him rocket fuel by mistake. I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, that child changed my life for the better. Without him, I'd be so very lost. I think a lot of people in my circles would be, too.

......

Now, I'm pretty sure I need to tag others at this point.