The grass is green...

Since this is not a weight loss blog, I'll keep this brief...on Easter Sunday I started walking. Oh, I've stopped, thank you very much, but I made the decision that I was (once again) at an unacceptable weight and I needed to start moving more...a lot more. Not running yet; since that didn't go as well as planned last year, I'm working my way towards it slowly. I walk, swim, use the arc trainer at the gym, and do yoga (LOVE). I have been trying to get in at least 30 minutes of movement four times a week for the last month, and it's working...I've lost 4 pounds total, slow and steady, and set up a new routine that I plan on keeping up once the kids are out of school.

Ben is almost there...next week is his last week. We've decided to send him to Young Fives instead of kindergarten, even though his birthday is not that late in the fall. So many parents are holding their kids -- especially boys -- with fall birthdays back, and in comparison to his current classmates who are already 5 years old, Ben has a bit of maturing to do. I'm sure he'll be all caught up by the fall, but what worries me more is when he is 12...and everyone in his class is turning 13...because they were held back.

I have not been getting a whole lot of scrapping done. Our Friday nights kind of petered out; we get one a month in, it seems, and my scrap room is too distracting for me to get much done. I am really hoping to scrap at home tonight; my scrap buddies all have daughters in a dance recital tonight, so nobody's hosting.

My best achievement of late is finishing a project from CKU Detroit...which came through in 2007. MAN, that felt good. It took a girls' weekend and limiting my crop choices to finally get it done, but I did it!

Catch-Up

I haven't been to a crop in almost 3 weeks; it's making me antsy. I took Sunday to work in my studio (haha, I love calling it that, it's just an office area crammed with junk!) but had to let gesso dry on a project before I could do any more work on it :(

I ended up assisting at the co-op yesterday (bound to happen when you're one of two subs on the list) so I didn't get back to my project; today I HAVE to train at the gym a bit after taking last week off (Ben had the sniffles). RACE DAY IS SATURDAY (!!) and while I had to move down to the one-mile fun run, it is now my 3rd mile "race" of the year, so technically (ahem) I have finished 3-one mile races this year, nearly a 5K...anyone? Bueller? Thats what I thought ;)

At times like this, digital scrapbooking comes in handy, although I think E is getting sick of coming home in the evening and seeing me on my laptop every. dang. night.

This one just granted me a prize (not sure what, yet, but Four Hens Photography was the sponsor...) as a "random" winner (always the bridesmaid...LOL) for Digi Dares challenge #205. We were not to use straight lines...quite a challenge. I used a kit from Digital-Crea by Ninie Designs, her part of a collab called Moment of Happiness. Other bits used are masks and edges from Katie Pertiet over at Designer Digitals.

This is a prime example of in-the-moment scrapbooking. I had promised the kids we would make caramel apples, bought the caramels, then LOST them (I'm thinking they fell out of my cart...and I never bought them to begin with...) One month later, another bag of caramels, and boom! a fun afternoon the week of Thanksgiving, when Tess had half days Mon-Wed. I sat right down that evening and scrapped my photos with the iDSD blog train kit from DigiScrapAddicts (once again, too late to enter their International Digital Scrap Day contest, so I've received NO LOVE over there...sniff...feel free!)

It has been near impossible to find a warm and welcoming scrap site since Scrap In Style closed its (digital) doors. Even a subscription to the Digital Scrapbook Artisian Guild (with its inspiring and informative online magazine) did me no good, as hardly anyone posts there. This last layout was a color challenge in their November magazine, using a gorgeous "red" kit from Ruby Rhynne, who retired earlier this year. This is one of my favorite layouts this year, mostly due to the fantastic photo of my bud:

...which was altered with an action from Four Hens...hmm...what goes around!

I need to get back in the swap swing of things...left poor Angie & her wonderful crew hanging with their latest Typography ATC challenge...sorry, m'dears...and I haven't art journaled with Year in the Life since their Ning site closed down (not that that is my excuse, but...definitely made it harder to comment & keep track). Right now I've started a (free) class at Jessica Sprague and the first project is an art journal cover...that should be a big honking clue right there...but again, not a warm and fuzzy group over there either, although Jessica herself rocks.

Until next time...thanks, as always, for your comments. I look forward to them!