Embrace

I was reading Ali Edwards' blog yesterday and she posted something about picking one word to focus on for the year. The word "embrace" immediately came to mind. There are so many things that are about to change in my life that I need to learn to embrace them for the good and look past the bad. So instead of a specific resolution (that I most likely won't stick to for more than a week or so) I'm going to focus on embracing things.
Embrace our move to Houston - I need to embrace the chance to meet new people, make new friends, and create new experiences for my family.
Embrace a healthier lifestyle - I'm not going to set a lofty goal to get in shape, or lose 15 pounds. I'm just going to make healthier choices. Order from the kids' menu, split my usual meal with Anna, do some jumping jacks and sit ups when I get a free minute, take a walk when it gets warmer.
Embrace simplicity - As I start looking at all the things I need to pack, I realize how much of this stuff I don't need. Garage sale or donate a lot and stop buying things that I will only use once or twice a year. (unless they are really cute shoes that match an outfit perfectly!) And I refuse to order more pictures than I actually need to go in my scrapbook! I need to focus on the ones that tell the story within themselves.
Embrace being a stay at home mom - I have to admit that while it's nice to not have to get up and get dressed every morning, the monotony of staying at home gets to me. The tedious little things that I have to do and the missing adult conversation really drive me bonkers sometimes. I miss feeling like I have a purpose and that I have something to accomplish every day - except cooking 3 meals and washing endless amounts of clothes and dishes. So this year, I'm going to embrace my stay at home life and give it all I've got to make it work better for me. And I'm going to embrace the fact that I may not be cut out for staying at home. I might need to go back to work and that's perfectly fine.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, I'm 28. I feel old.
Robert is out of town, so I didn't do anything fun. I did take a nap when Anna did. And I did get the hankering for sushi, so I ordered from Shogun and ran to pick it up. But of course, we had to stop at the movie store first and pick up some Christmas cartoons. Let me tell you, take out Shogun's is not good. The food gets cold too fast and then they didn't get my sushi order right. They forgot to put in my Hawaiian roll. And that's the one I was really looking forward to. Oh well. It could've been worse. The broth was good.
This little Christmas cartoon is a bit odd. It's about Santa but connects Christianity to it. So the villain is based on the devil. It's quite creepy. I'm thinking that Anna might be sleeping with me tonight.
Here's a picture of us in our pj's. And yes, Anna looks drunk, but I swear she's not!

Scrap Time

Lately the only scrapping I've been doing has been for my two design teams. But yesterday I sat down and did two layouts just to do them. It was nice to just use what I wanted and put the pictures where I felt like they should go. And there was no pressure to make them look nice. I just did them to do them. And I kind of like them! So, here they are. Hope you like them.

By the way, I just posted my latest dt creations over at Happy Scrappin' Scrapbooking. Check them out!

Home Sweet Home....

So the house officially went up for sale tonight. We signed all 437 pieces of paper that go along with listing a house and that was that. Now, hopefully we won't be sitting here with this house 4 months from now. We have three months to sell......and we ARE going to sell it by then. We are going to sell it and find a house in Houston all on the same day. Everything is going to work out perfectly - right?.
And while being nostalgic about the house, I figured I'd post a picture of my wonderful scrap room. I converted the dining room into a playroom/craft room and it's perfect for what I need. I plan on picking it up and setting it down exactly the same in a new house. Yep, that's what's going to happen.

Hello Holidays!

I can't believe it's already Christmas. Really, where has the time gone? Man, I feel old when I say that. There is so much to do this month, I just don't know when it's going to get done. But it will. Today though, Anna and I are celebrating the holiday season by watching Shrek the Halls. (I recorded it last night.) And of course she needed a snack, so we had to get strawberries, grapes, and yogurt covered blueberries. A pretty good snack, if I do say so myself!