31 day Photo Challenge- February 2012

whitepeachblog.com

I  have been wanting to do one of these for a long time, and I just haven't done it. Soo when I found the following challenges on Pinterest I told myself it was time.

whippycake.com

 



The one on the right says its for January 2012, but I am going to do this for the month of February and it actually works out because it will end with a self portrait on my Birthday, March 2nd.

 Cool!

So as you can tell they are both similar, but I decided I am going to do a combination of both challenges. I feel like I need some practice on the technical side of photography, so the list on the appeals to me for that reason. The one on the right I like because it has more of the fun and abstract aspects of photography which I love. But both are a going to be a challenge either way, and there may be days where I might do both day's challenge photos.

I'm not sure if I'm going to post pictures everyday, if I will post it on Facebook only, or if I will post them here on a weekly basis...but I will be sharing them somehow. We'll see how it goes. I want to have fun doing this, and don't want to stress out if I didn't get to posting it one day or not. As we all know, real life can get in the way, and our time is always limited. Ultimately for me, its about actually completing the challenge.

So I invite you to join me on this photo challenge! Do it all month, do one picture a week, pick the few you like, but I would love to see what you all do too! Email me your pictures and I will share them here!

I'm off to get my camera ready!

Happy picture taking, from my corner to yours...

Monday Motivations- Week 5

  To steal or not to steal? That is the question....

I think creatively we all do. Its how we get inspired to do something. Pinterest is my source of "stealing." Have I mentioned just how much I love this site?? I really do!! It has become a place of constant inspiration for me. It is a place where the most unimaginable things are created and shared, and I appreciate all of it.

There are many things that I have been working on in the last few weeks, and that according to this poster I have "stolen," but in the same breath I have taken them because they HAVE inspired me, and have lit a fire in me to pick up hobbies that I haven't taken up in a long time. I have been sewing again, and taking pictures again, scrapbooking and even trying new cooking ideas just because of all the ideas I see. I've been inspired to create things for other people which is bringing me more joy than I can express. It is soo much fun to create something with your own hands and with lots of love and be able to give that to somebody else.

That is the purpose of being creative for me...to bring a smile to somebody's face when they know you thought of them in what you've created.


I can't wait to share these with you throughout the week, but because a lot of my projects are gifts, I have to gift them first! Sorry, its only fair that they get first look, don't you think? lol!

So as long as ideas keep "speaking to my soul" I will continue to "steal," and give them my own sense of authenticity. I do want those that I take from to know that I honor their ideas and originality in whatever I make, and wherever I take my own vision of their creation.

Here's to some creative stealing, from my corner to yours...

Weight Watcher Wednesday- Week 50

Ok, so today Is one of those days to keep this weight loss journey real! Ugghh!! I'm frustrated and this update will be full of frustration so please bear with me.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not so much frustrated by the numbers involved as I am with the logistics of this process. Let me explain....

The last 2 weigh-ins I've had have not been terrible per say, but also not great ones...well at least not for me. I've gone up .6 lbs in the last 2 weeks (+.4 last week, +.2 this week).

Again, I know in the big scheme of things this is hardly anything to complain about, and if anything I should be grateful that it wasn't worse. However, like I said in my preface, its no so much about the numbers as it is in the fact that I've gained two weeks in a row, and I'm afraid of losing control!

My frustration comes from the fact that its been exactly in the last 2 weeks when I have gone back to WW basics in regards to tracking my points, measuring my food, exercising (I've added Zumba to my plan for gosh sakes!!), and I've been drinking all kinds of water!

So I Don't Get it!!

I just don't! These actions I'm taking should be helping me, not hurting...so what is it????? Am I going to start to plateau!! No, I can't! I have sooooo much more to lose! Ugghh!!

I have no clue!!! Dang it if I don't figure this out!


But for today...I'm grumpy, I woke up with a headache, I'm sore from Zumba yesterday, and now this!!  Oh, and to spite myself (because of course that's the grown up way to deal with this stuff)....I ate 1/2 a doughnut right after my weigh in!!! Uggghhhhh!!!!!! Way to go Sandra!!!  (yes, don't worry, I've already tracked the 4 stupid points for that mistake).

Oooohhh, I needed to vent! I'm sorry, but I had to. That's why I started these updates so that I can show myself that its NOT always going to be easy or go the way I want, or that I am always going to get away with my foodly discretions. It keeps me accountable! It is such a reminder of how truly a daily/weekly journey this is and will ALWAYS be.

Oh, well! All I know is that I CAN'T go back!!!  Soo...I have to move forward, its my only option. That will be my goal this week- To look even closer at what I'm doing, maybe be even more diligent, and just keep trying. That's all I can control, right?

Anyway, thank you all for listening and for being there for me through this up and down "adventure," Literally!

Have a wonderful Wednesday from my grumpy corner to yours  : \

Monday Motivations.....week 4

The desire to CREATE...

                                                                                                                              Source: maryelizabethinspire.tumblr.com via Sandy on Pinterest

We all have it...Here's hoping you find that desire in you this week!

Have a great one, from my corner to yours...

My projects for 2012 >>> #1 - Christmas Card Books

One of the first projects I usually try to start off with every year is doing something crafty with the Christmas cards I receive during the holidays. Our family and friends make such an effort in sending these beautiful cards out (homemade, picture and otherwise) that it just seems ungrateful to throw them out and worse yet put them away where no one will ever see them again. Don't you agree?

So in the past I have scrapbooked them in various ways into my Christmas albums, but I just haven't had the time or energy to do that in the last year. This year I decided to do something that many people are doing with their yearly cards... Christmas Card books.

Its soo easy yet still creative...Perfect!

They are just a neat way of keeping them together year by year, and you can put them out during the holidays for you and your family to look back on.

As I mentioned in my last post, I went on a little weekend getaway to Palm Springs with my family. We had a great time. A great time doing nothing much!! We rested, walked, the boys rode their scooters, we went hot tubbing, and I took the opportunity to start my creative process out there.

I went  prepared with all the necessities to take advantage of the free time I had.  I took the following things: 1.) My cards per year (including one of my own family Xmas cards, of course) 2.) a hole punch, 3.) paper cutter 4.) adhesive or glue stick 5.) 2 book rings per year 6.) decorative paper, stickers, embellishments, etc.

There are different ways of making these, but I got my inspiration from the ones my SIL has made (see her post here). But I am also a fan of Becky Higgins and last week she directed her guests to this eighteen25 blog-site  that had a FREE download and easy print out of a cover to complete my books. I've always said that scrapbooking and crafts are all about sharing ideas, so thank you to all these ladies for sharing! 

I didn't have any chip board or poster board, so I took a simple file folder (anything that is sturdy enough for a cover), and since I had 2 years worth of cards to make, the one folder was enough for both. I cut each of the file folder side in half (8 1/2" x 5 3/4") and decorated each front/back with decorative paper. I then cut out the print out and pasted it on top of each front cover.

I decorated each cover by stamping the year on each one, and added embellishments

Then I took each year's set of pictures and hole punched two openings on the left side of 

each picture that lined up to each of the red striped lines of the print out.

. 

I bought 1" red book rings to add to the X-mas feel, and put each card in random order through the holes. I also tried putting smaller cards in the front, but random nonetheless.

Instead of book rings, you can also use red or green ribbon to hold your book together.

  And you finish it off by putting on the back decorated cover, 

and voila you're Christmas card book is done. 

 

 For my 2011 cards, I took the same print out, but just added some different paper 

and touches to make it a little different.

Here are my finished Christmas books for both 2010 and 2011. 

I did both in less than 2 hours (if that).

They didn't take very long to make, but I took my time looking over the cards, appreciating each one, and enjoying each step of the project, especially the decorating of each cover. It had been a long time since I had done something like this, and I truly enjoyed making each one. It felt good to have completed technically 2 projects in one. After sharing them with the boys, I was able to put them away and enjoy the rest of my getaway feeling accomplished for the weekend.

I hope that I have inspired you to make similar books with your Christmas cards. Remember that you can print up as many of those printouts to do as many books as you need. Or you can come up with your own covers. Its all about how creative you feel like being and how much time you have.

 *The truth is you can make these books for just about any occasion you get cards for (showers, weddings, birthdays, etc.) Now that I've done these, I might even do these for each of my boys birthday cards they've received over the years.
Oooh, good idea!*

Either way, I am onto choosing my next project to work on and I will share my progress as I go along.

Thank you again for stopping by, and just know that I always appreciate your thoughts and sentiments. They mean soo much to me!
 
Happy Friday to everybody, from my corner to yours...

Monday Motivations.....week 3

 

Let's follow the rules, 

 and find our many ways...

and let's see what happens!!

Happy Monday and have a wonderful week,
from my corner to yours...

A Song... to get me in the mood

Ok, so to be creative, I need a creative setting, preferably a great space which would include the proper tools, and all the fixings that come with whatever project I'm doing. But more importantly for me, has always been to have the right music to get me in the mood to let those creative juices flow.

So along with picking "Create" as my word this year, I kind of felt it would be appropriate to pick a song to go with it too! Heck, why not! Kind of like a sudo theme song for me to have playing in my head as I get motivated to create.

This song is not old, but its not totally new either, and for some reason I keep hearing it in the most random of places. Soooo, I'm figuring its supposed to mean something to me...

Dog Days are Over by Florence + The Machine

And it does...2011 was a great year in MANY ways, but also ever so challenging in others, but I can say that my family was blessed towards the end of the year with some new opportunities that will hopefully let us get past those "dog days" of worrying.

This song gets me going from the get go! There is just so much power behind this girls voice, and it just brings me hope, and an internal enthusiasm I can't explain...so I'm running with it! Literally! I have come to find out that its also a great song to go walking/running to so its on my exercise playlist too.

Although the original song version by Florence + the Machine is my favorite, this video version is one of my favorite Glee moments as well. The singing, the dancing and enthusiasm these kids are expressing is what I see going on in my head and what I feel in my body as I hear it play.

I will be relaxing and enjoying my family in Palm Springs this weekend, and I brought with me one of my first projects to enjoy working on in such a peaceful place. (I'll report back on that when I'm done). This song and many others will make it an ideal creative experience!

May you all find a song that grabs you...and may it help you define the mood for a year, a season, a project, or a simple moment in your life.

Have a creative day, from my corner (in Palm Springs) to yours...   ; )

My Word for the year 2012- Create

Its that time of year again...that time to pick out my word for 2012. This one has been calling my name, and I'm going to answer...

I've been feeling this one too...My creative juices have been percolating again! By that I mean I have had them on the back burner for what feels like way too long! Last year was so packed with real life events and celebrations that there had really been no time for me to break out that crafty side of me.  I know I did do a few crafty things last year, but they were fairly quick things, nothing that I could really spend too much time on which I love doing. But do not fret, my mind is always turning! I have soo many projects I've been itching to get my hands on, I'm going to have to schedule them out to avoid getting overwhelmed and discouraged.  But I'm ready! My dining room table is ready! I have nothing scheduled to host at my house in the coming months (as of yet), so I'm ready to let go and let my table get messy and overflowing with with decorative papers, pictures, fabric, tools, and anything else that will help my ultimate creativeness spew out! Ok, sorry...getting dramatic here, but you get the picture, right?!  I'm just excited to get started. In fact, I promised myself I wouldn't start anything until I finished writing this post, just to make sure I got this done and off my list. Hmmm...does that sound like a  strategy to you? I think so ;] The other reason this word called to me was because if you look at the definition, along with the listed synonyms, it totally leaves me open to "creating" anything... cre·ate/krēˈāt/ Verb: Bring (something) into existence: Cause (something) to happen as a result of one's actions: Synonyms:     make - produce - originate - generate - form - cause It doesn't have to be something tangible either, such as a scrapbook.  It might be a year of creating opportunities to do something new/different, creating new challenges for me to conquer, or something as physical as.. ME!   I feel like this year is definitely a time to "re-create" some things including myself. Now that I've lost some weight I need to try to re-create my body, my wardrobe, and have some fun creating some new styles for me to wear. I have mentioned Pinterest before and I love this site more and more everyday. I have found some great styles on there that I would love to wear, and some that I have already tried to recreate by just using what I already have and getting some inexpensive accessories to get as close to the look I want. I have also found some other sites that I have been checking out for new hairstyles, makeup and other crafty things that I will be sharing and writing about in the future. I'm looking forward to the feeling of accomplishment and pride of completing a project whether that means seeing the fruits of my labor expressed through a scrapbook page, a cake maybe(?), a set of photographs or even just my blog posts. Whatever it might be, I'm excited to see what I can create with my hands or more importantly with my heart!    That motto works for me! I would love to know what word you would pick to make your 2012 more meaningful.  It can change your year! Join me, wont you? Here's to everything that it means to "Create" in 2012, from my corner to yours...

A Recap of my last year...

 

Looking back at my prior year is always important to me to remind myself of all those special moments and occasions that were celebrated and had, of all the things I did personally or with family, and more importantly to remind myself about how blessed we truly are in the midst of real life chaos and the economic hardship that has hit soo many families including our own. It allows me to see above all those really tough moments we may have had throughout the year (because let me tell you, we were truly challenged to our core this year!), and realize that those hardtimes has not only made our family closer but a much stronger one too! We are united by a lot of love, and a much needed renewed faith in God.  As tough as me may have had it, we were often reminded by above, that there is always someone out there has it soo much worse than we do. GRATITUDE was a big deal and a big word in our household this year!

Another big word for me in 2011 was "Beginnings." I picked that word for the year because it truly was set out to be a year for many different versions of what that meant to me.

So lets go back and look through some of these new beginnings and wrap up my year in
pictures... and some words...

I joined Weight Watchers 2 weeks before my 40th birthday.  It was the best time to begin taking of myself and I've made some positive changes that I believe I can continue with for a lifetime.


In March I turned 40!! This was a big one for me as I begin this new chapter in my life. I celebrated how I wanted and will always remember how special that night was for me.
  Many of my friends celebrated their 40th Birthdays also this year! It was a year long celebration for all of us!

                                                                                                              
  This year all 3 of our boys had culminating moments.

In April, our Mikey made his 1st Communion which was a proud moment for us.  He was excited to be able to fully begin to participate in his practicing his religion. Although, nowadays he seems to somehow always get sleepy during mass....hmmm??? Coincidence?....not so much ;]

1st Day at Woodland Hills Academy

 In June, both Danny and Christian graduated from their respective grades      (5th and 8th), and would begin Middle School and High School.

Danny and BFF at Graduation with their teachers

Graduating from CHIME

  Totally two different stages of their lives to begin & experience.

       Throughout the year, Jerry and his 80's Hair Band, The Lordz of Metal, began playing in venues he had only dreamed of ever playing at, like the Whiskey on Sunset and The House of Blues.

It was so much fun to see him living out his dream.    

      My SIL, Gaby  got married    last August,   and along with having the honor and the privilege of being a part of her wedding, there were so many new moments we got to share together as well. There was her dress to help her shop for, her wedding shower, and the awesome ladies weekend together which was a first for me entirely. 

           In other areas of my life,  this past year I....

       Started walking more consistently and learned to explore more of my neighborhood because of it. I started walking to the bank and the post office for work while I  exercised, increased my pace, and reduced my carbon footprint at the same time.   

             I also went hiking for the first time in a long time and plan on doing it more often

       this year.

 

           Met the cast of my favorite TV Show, Parenthood

 

      My friends and I have started 

     having Girls Night Out. Its hard to

     get everybody's schedules in line, 

     but when we did we had a great 

    time together. We tried  

    doing something a little different 

    each time, but all in all it was

    just a chance to get together, catch

    up and laugh our booties off!!

           I really started to concentrate more on recycling around our house. Its not like I'm totally going green, (by any means), but I wanted to pay attention to what was recyclable and what wasn't..from food boxes to ketchup bottles. I also started to use reusable bags more and more when doing my grocery shopping. It just feels good to not put more plastic out there. Some of the recycling we turn in for money, but both these things are just to do our part in helping our environment.  

 

Couponing!! I started doing this too this year!!

                 Don't laugh too hard, I know its sounds crazy, but after getting hooked

on watching Extreme Couponing this year, I was inspired to do my own reasonable

form of it to fit my own family's needs. 

                            It took a lot of reasearch and some trial and error, but I figured out my own system, 

tied it in to learning how to schedule my weekly menus (another new concept for me this year), 

and have successfully been saving my family, at minimum, 50% off of every grocery bill.

Not bad, right?  

I  look like a little crazy person, but I don't go to the store without my weekly adds notebook 

and my little coupon box. Hey, times are tough, and I'm saving my family money...its all good!

 

     Personally, one of the biggest "beginnings" for me this year was the beginning of letting my kids go...in terms of growing up. I was a child of an over protective parent, nothing necessarily bad, but it definitely stopped me from doing a lot of things I wished I could have done when I was younger. 

  So with my boys, knowing that they are growing up and becoming more independent, I had to start making an effort to grow within myself and learn how to trust them and their choices (until they prove otherwise), and help them gain confidence in who they are and what they are capable of.   

               Christian began taking long bike rides with our friends, the Counters. As simple as that may sound for many, it was hard for me to want to let him go because of the obvious fear of having him get hurt. But I knew that if I didn't let him go I would never know if he could do it. I had to give him a chance to let him earn my trust that he'd be ok,  I had to begin to give Danny some room to grow as he started Middle School and Mikey in his own way as well.

It honestly has been more of a chance for me to grow than it is for them.

      And last but not least....

One thing that I really began to this year different from the last couple of years since I started my blog is to actually start posting A LOT more frequently than I ever have.  I published 36 posts in 2011!!! YAY!! Compare that to 4 posts in 2009 (when I started), and only 2 posts in 2010 (pathetic), I did really good this year. I have to say that blogging consistently is harder than it seems, and I am still in the process of finding my natural rhythm, schedule and/or pattern of posting.  But I am happy to see that I followed through with a concerted effort to update as often as I possibly could this year. So instead of challenging myself to beat that number of posts, I am going to challenge myself to continue to practice my writing through my blogging and naturally increase my results.  I’d like to find more of a focus, but it’s all part of that process for me and I know that it may take a few years for me to find exactly what that just might be. 

But for now I am writing from my heart, about things that mean something to me, and what hopefully will appeal to all of you, but mostly I am blogging to just to be able to write about my life and leave that as my legend for my kids to have a part of their mom they can always come back to.

Thank you for reminiscing with me and may you fondly remember everything 2011 may have brought you and your family.

To a bigger and brighter 2012, from my corner to yours...