An extra day? I'll take it!

In all of the hustle and bustle of getting here and going there, it is a gift to have an extra day in the calendar. To have one more day. One more day to just take a breath before we turn the calendar to March. This Leap Day gives us even more of an opportunity to sit back, relax. Not only is it a Leap Day, it is a snowy day! Early dismissal from work and from school.  We have not had much of a snowy winter. At all. So why not let it happen on Leap Day?  An extra day, with extra time with my boys. It really is beautiful!

And you know what extra time at home means? Extra time scrap booking! I took advantage of the quiet afternoon and yes, completed a 2 page 12x 12 layout of my boys on a hot August day. I made some extra time for me on this extra day that we are blessed with once every 4 years.

It is the little things in life. One measly day. One measly day means so much.

I am not a creation of Geppetto.

Sometimes we are put in situations that compromise our morals. I always say with the utmost confidence that I will stand up for what I believe in. I will not let anyone make me do something I am uncomfortable doing. But are we prepared to actually follow through with these assertions? It is harder than you think. Are you strong enough to stand up for yourself or are you still being manipulated by the strings that you do not seem to have any control over? Why do we give up or in or however you want to look at it because the fear of being crushed overwhelms the knowledge of what is right? As an adult who still has so much to figure out about myself, I struggle with the fact that there are people out there, people I have relationships with, whether they are personal or professional, that expect you to turn your head and just ignore your own values. I would like to think I have control over this. I feel like I have no control over this. I can only control my own self. I can not control what other people are lacking in regards to doing the right thing. So why do I let it bother me? I know why.  It has a profound impact on me as a person, as someone who is striving to find the good in everyone, as someone who is searching for their place, as someone who is looking to God. I do not want to be that person who is expected to look the other way, stretch the truth, or be dishonest. I want to be the person who controls my own actions, who is not fearful of how others will react. Sometimes I am that person but often I am not. I should be able to say what I feel, do what is right and not be manipulated. I am not going to be that puppet. I will cut the strings. As soon as I know I can...

Its All About ME!

I have not had too much time to be able to just sit down and be crafty.  I decided that I need to incorporate some ME time. Too often we forget that we need to take care of ourselves and much too often we forget the importance of this as we are always focused on our children, our husbands, our household chores, our jobs. I finally decided to take some time for myself on a daily basis. Even if it is for 5 minutes. Time to listen to a meaningful song. Alone. Time to read. Alone. Time to take a power nap. Alone. Time to take a 10 minute walk. Alone. Time to partake in a favorite hobby. Alone. I do not consider this as being selfish. I consider this as being smart. Taking time for yourself can make a huge difference. And so I did. I took 5 minutes one day, snuck in 15 another day, and hold on to your seat, a whole hour another day when the kids went to bed. I told myself that when the boys are in bed, I am not doing a darn thing except for what I want to do. For me. Alone. So I did and as a result, I accomplished a ton. Including these thank you cards. 

I made a 12x12 layout which I need to journal on. When it is complete, I will post that too. To make my cards I use all of my scraps from making page layouts. I am trying to get into the habit of using up as many scraps as I can when I am done with scrap booking a page. That does not mean shoving the scraps into a folder to sit there until it bursts at the seams and I get frustrated at the mess and just throw them out anyway. What I am doing is this. As soon as I am done with a scrapbook page, I immediately make a card or two using the scraps I have available from the layout I  just completed. The patterned paper is already matched with the card stock, and I may have a matching embellishment or two all ready and waiting. This saves so much time and when I may need a card, I should have a variety ready and waiting!

It is amazing the things you can accomplish when you take 5 minutes for yourself every single day. Before I know it, I will be posting an entire album! HA! One can dream, right?

These are a few of my favorite things!

We have all experienced it.  Every single one of us. Someone enters your life.  They have some sort of effect on you, then they leave. I have had people enter my life, have an amazing, positive impact and then they are gone.  Almost like they are an angel, sent by God to do a job.  When  the job is done, off they go.  At the same time, demons have entered my life, caused damage and chaos, then they leave the pieces for me to put back together. We can not always count on others to make us feel good, to make us happy, to pick up the pieces. We have to learn to make ourselves happy.  Depend on yourself.  You are the only person that will be in your life until the end.  We all have to have something in our life that brings us joy.  I am talking about tangible objects.  Things.  Stuff.  Items.  As a little girl and even into my high school and college years, I always found happiness, peace, and joy in the famous musical "The Sound of Music". I learned every word, every lyric. I would lose myself in those songs. I would act out various character's parts.  I even found a couple of girl friends that had my same freakish obsession who would jump off of the couch with me as we sang out the lyrics of Liesl and Rolfe, of young innocent love.  We would take turns being Maria as we belted out "These are a few of my favorite things." I learned at a very young age that I had to have favorite things and as an adult I find they are more important than ever. Scrapbooking takes the top of my list. I am able to get lost in the art of reinacting a holiday, event, or special memory as I adhese the photos and embellishments onto the cardstock. I love the various types of paper in their colors and patterns.  I love the ribbon, so many types of ribbon, bright, vibrant, dull, dreary.  I find happiness in preserving these memories, both positive and negative.  Alphabet stickers and cutouts add to my list of scrapbooking favorites.  The possibilities are endless.  I love being able to create a mood with my letters and titles of various shapes, sizes, colors and patterns. I find comfort in scrapbooking.  It is a way to escape when I need to escape. A way to relive some of my happiest moments, a way to overcome some of my most difficult struggles.  Just the sight, the touch, the textures of the various supplies make me happy. 

Like these.  These are a just a few of my favorite things.  Just a few. 

There has to be something in your life that makes you smile, a book, a movie, a hobby, a musical. Sometimes that is all you need.  The Sound of Music will forever be my favorite, it will forever bring me happiness and contentment, and warmth to my heart but getting lost in the memories, my memories through the art of scrapbooking is the ultimate path to happiness, it is my favorite thing.

Say "I Love You" every single day.

Today is one of my least favorite days of the year.  No, I was never hurt, dumped, or forgotten about on Valentines Day. I was never the victim of a prank or attempted murder plot. I hate the insincerity of it.  It is just so fake, so commercialized.  People should be nice every day of the year.  You should tell them you love them all of the time.  I hate that people have come to expect gifts of chocolate, candy hearts, flowers, and cards. I hate that we feel like we need a reason to spoil each other or leave a token of appreciation. On the other end, I hate that any one should feel pressured to provide these things. Not a day goes by that I do not tell my boys that I love them, that they did a good job with something.  Even if I am struggling to appreciate their craziness and out of control behavior, I always find something good.  Anything.  Everyone has something good to offer.  It may be hard to see at first, but search for it.  It is there and you will find it. Maybe we should celebrate Valentines Day every day.  So maybe I don't hate it.  I may actually love it.  I might just not like that we celebrate it only one time a year. We all need to feel loved, all of the time, every day.

While researching the real and true story behind St. Valentine, I came across many tales, some believable, some not.  This one is my favorite.  I found it on http://www.historychannel.com/ 

Origins of Valentine's Day: A Pagan Festival in February

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial--which probably occurred around A.D. 270--others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

I have to wonder if any man came and slapped me with a  piece of goat's hide that was freshly dipped into the sacrificial blood, how much I would be telling him I love him. I do however, tell these cute little Valentines of mine that I love them every single day.

You've got to have Faith.

For years I had questioned faith.  Faith of any kind.  I mean who was I to say if there is a God, many Gods, or no God at all?  I never gave any God a chance, as I felt He had to prove himself or something.  That was my mistake.  It was I that had to prove myself. I had to learn to believe and I had to learn there is good in the world.  Finding my faith has made all the difference for me. No matter how much the devil is at work, I know God is there, believing in me.  I just need to learn to believe in me.



How Did I Get Here?

I take a look at where I am and what I am surrounded by. I see my family, my darling boys, the very beings that give me life, that give me the strength that I so often search for.  I see a marriage. I see my marriage to Ken and wonder where I would be without him in my life. I see my mother who is one of my best friends even if she is not aware of it. Being a part of her struggles, her strengths, her weaknesses for my entire existence has molded me into the person I am. I see my father and I am not sure who he is. I see so many people.  People who care and people who don't.  People I need in my life, want in my life and those I wish would leave my life. I see myself and know I am capable of so much more but am incapable of finding what that is. I am not sure when I got so lost, when I gave up but I know I want to find my way.  Somehow.  So I ask this question.  How did I get here?