One of the reasons it's been so long since I last posted is because I am actually enjoying the holidays for the first time in what seems like forever. I have missed the kind of excitement I feel again this year. There are two things I might be able to attribute it to -- this being my 5-year post cancer anniversary and the fact that I am not stressed out at work. Whatever the reason, I am NOT taking it for granted for a single second.
I have my holiday shopping well underway. How much I actually have done would depend on your view point. If we're talking $$$, I'd have to say I'm 3/4 of the way done. If we're talking number of things to buy, I'd say about about 1/2 way there. Either way, not too bad.
This weekend I am going to finish my holiday cleaning so that next week we can decorate and get our tree up. I have made a few layouts this year of things from Christmas past. I'm not really fluent at scrapping events, so I'm always so proud when I pull it off and actually like the result. I'm scrapping tomorrow and I've prepared for so many projects / pages that I don't even know where to begin! One of the things I want to scrap is this very cool picture my nephew, Tom, sent us. He and his friend (shall we say) got onto the Universal Studios lot. They were on the back lot and ran across the old house from Leave It To Beaver (circa 1957 - 1963). So sad to see it in this disrepair, but isn't it COOL that he got to get his picture taken standing on the porch??
And the original:
I'm going to scrap these, frame the LO, and send it to my nephew for Christmas. I think he might get a kick out of that.
My BFF came up with a great idea last weekend and I can't wait to get started! This year, I'm going to put up our generic (albiet BEAUTIFUL) tree again. I was going to put up our traditional tree (with all the family ornaments), but I want to do this project, instead. Each and every ornament I own has a story behind it. I can tell someone where it came from and the meaning behind it. I know that if anything were to happen to me, all those stories and the meaning behind those treasures would be lost forever. So, I am going to tag every ornament with the associated origin and/or story. I have a box of jewelry tags I am going to put on them. Then, in the years going forward, we can have the new tradition of reading about the history of the ornaments as they go on the tree. People who come to visit can look at them, if they wish. And, hopefully, reading those tags will become a tradition for the girls' families some day, as well. I hope so. It's going to be a BIG job, but I'm really looking forward to it. Then, after the holidays, I think I am going to tackle their memory chests.
This week I won a contest on the Creating Keepsakes ( http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/index.php?option=com_groupjive&task=showgroup&groupid=741 ) web site. Amanda Probst is the Author of a great new book called "Month by Month Scrapbooking." She gave us a challenge each day last week that was in-line with how her book is set-up. I did three of the challenges and WON! One of the challenges was to scrap about stewardship (volunteering). Another was to scrap a LO with 11 photos on it. I combined these two challenges on the 2-page spread, below. The title is "Give Time." They are sending a box with all kinds of goodies in it, including a copy of Amanda's book. I can't WAIT! Looks like Christmas will be coming a little bit early for me this year.
I guess that catches me up pretty well. I'll be gone all day tomorrow, but back on Saturday -- I promise! (Yeah, right.)
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