Finished 11/22/63!

Well, I did finish the 800+ pages of Stephen King's latest book, 11/22/63. WoW! Very good, I couldn't put it down, I would definitely recommend it. Next up is the biography of Steve Jobs - looks fascinating.

Started a 550 piece jigsaw puzzle today. It's very endearing how it pulls the family together. Even my 18 yr old son, Colton, helped out. It's not done yet. I'll take before and after pictures and post them here.

I did decide that my new year resolution was going to be to create something every day and become more organized.......  LOL Still trying out the new wings here....   :)

I did accept the 31 day new year challenge from my crafter/artist idol, Marion Smith. We are taking a picture every day for 31 days and creating a journal along with the pics. I'm doing great witht the photos, I will have to get caught up with the journal creation - this is only day 4. LOL  Those photos will come soon, too.

I hope everyone is enjoying their new year 2012. Are you back at work already? What is the weather like where you live? Here in Michigan, it's down in the 20's with lots of wind but, no snow yet. The kids would really like some snow :)

Leave me a few comments, I want to hear from you, too.
Talk with you soon.

I have a lot of altered art projects in my mind, now I just have to get motivated to get to work. I did receive a lot of gorgeous craft supplies for Christmas, so there really is no excuse. LOL How do you get motivated? Do you have a trick that really works well for you? I'd love to hear about it. The one thing that I do realize that keeps me from beginning a project is having other things around the house that are undone. Like... dishes, laundry, messy kitchen table, etc... I need to learn to let go of the guilt and just create! Ooohh, who knows what my house would look like then!! :/

Another gift I received for Christmas is Stephen King's new book - 11/22/1963. Yep, that's the title. Boy is it a different read for me! Time travel and all. LOL I will let you know how I like it - it's huge :)

Thinking about my New Year Resolutions - what will they be.... ??? I will clue you in on those, too.

For now, I will say so long, and update you soon.

Well, we're riding out a deep freeze here in south eastern Michigan!! It's below zero with the wind chill - entirely too cold for me! My goal is to move somewhere south where it is warm all year long. Right now, my favorite TV show is House Hunters International on HGTV! I especially love it when they feature a warm climate, of course.

This cold weather makes it easy to stay at home and be crafty. I love to scrapbook, so I try to get my pictures in to photo safe albums as quick as I can. I'm hoping my kids will look back on these albums years from now and share great memories with their kids :)

I am trying to learn new crafting mediums like painting, and sewing, etc.. I also love to watch those cake decorating shows. My cakes never turn out like that!

I was thinking about a craft a day, or a page a day scrapbooking blog. Maybe that will be my new year's resolution :)

My Husband

Just want to share with you how much I love my husband. He isn't perfect, but he's all mine! He is very patient with me, and I love him for that. He's always thinking of how to make me smile. It's not that he is a super helper around the house, and he can't read my mind. But, at the end of the day he is always trying to make me happy.

Ray, I love you!

Getting Creative

Something about the change in seasons, especially summer to fall, sparks my creative juices. I want to scrapbook, and paint, and floral arrange, and paper craft, and rubber stamp.....see what I mean?

Right now I have quite a bit of my scrapbook supplies strewn across my kitchen table. I will take a picture for you. LOL I can't wait to someday have a craft room all to myself, where I can start a project and let it lay there until I feel like coming back to it. Do you have a carved out space in your home for your crafts? I'd love to see your photos.

Rainy Weather

We have had a lot of rain here in Michigan lately. My daughter, who is 14 enjoys listening to the rain. I think it's because her sense of hearing is heightened due to her vision loss. Raychel likes to hear the rain on the rooftop and the thunder in the distance. She also says she likes the way the air smells after it rains. Raychel has Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic disease for which there is no cure. Most patients with RP do lose all of their vision. Raychel's vision right now is very limited, especially in low light. She is completely blind in dark rooms or at night.
With rainy weather comes beautiful flowering plants and bushes. The black-eyed susan's near our pond are blooming, and the dusty miller that I planted as ground cover has shot up at least a foot tall! I'm going to do a little research and see what bulbs I can plant this coming fall to enjoy next spring.

Michigan Sweet Corn

Mmmm. Hamburgers on the grill tonight along with ears of corn cooked on the grill. Delicious. Here in Michigan we sure do have some of the best home grown sweet corn. As a child, I remember my parents driving us all the way out to New Baltimore for delicious corn on the cob, freshly picked, and sold at a cozy roadside stand. They would even cook it right there for you with all the butter and salt you liked. One of the many happy childhood memories that are triggered by scents or tastes.

Now that I have been scrapbooking for many years, I have a great time journaling a lot of the memories from my childhood.

Stay tuned for pictures of some of my latest page layouts. I've been having fun trying out techniques that are new to me.