Some Fun With New Year's Resolutions...

I do have a resolution...that is to do something creative every day. Whether it be card making, scrap booking {yes I am making scrapbook pages again}, blogging, or whatever, I WILL do it.  I go this idea from this book called

"A Daily Creative Journal 365 Make Something Every Day And Change your Life!"

By: Noah Scalin

I know you are thinking that this is a tall order but I think I will be able to make it...SEE THE NEW BLOG BELOW THAT I JUST MADE HOURS BEFORE THIS ONE...then you will KNOW I will be able to do it! 

"If success is your ultimate destination, you will arrive there on a carriage

called Planning, pulled by a horse named Integrity!"
- Gary Ryan Blair



My Personal New Year Resolutions!



I resolve to: ________________________________________________________________


I resolve to: ________________________________________________________________


I resolve to: ________________________________________________________________


I understand that setting a resolution and then actually achieving it requires focus, accountability, persistence, and personal integrity. These four guidelines will serve as my resolution road map.


Focus: I will focus on one resolution at a time, and develop a detailed plan of action for success.


Accountability: I will designate a friend, mentor, or companion for sharing successes, monitoring progress, offering support, and to hold me accountability to my resolutions.


Persistence: I understand that a resolution once achieved is a stunning example of consistency, persistence and hard work. I will persist until my goals are achieved.


Personal Integrity: I acknowledge that my commitment determines my level of success. This commitment boils down to two essential tactics: daily action and daily review.

Date: __________________ Signature: _________________________________________

Taken from ~ http://www.goalsguy.com/events/n_contract.html ~

What's Is Your Word For The New Year?

When I did this last year I really learned something about myself.  Last year my word was

RESPONSIBLE.  Taking on a word like that right off the bat was huge for me.

I really tried to live up to it in my life, in my day to day activities, and in my ethics.

I have this year chosen a word that also encapsulates the word responsible I think, the word

that I have chosen to really try to hold myself true to this year is

EFFICIENT.

Here is the definition that I found on this word:

Efficient ~ [ih-fish-uhnt] Show IPA

–adjective


1. performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort; having and using requisite knowledge, skill, and industry; competent; capable: a reliable, efficient secretary.


2. satisfactory and economical to use: Our new air conditioner is more efficient than our old one.


3. producing an effect, as a cause; causative.


4. utilizing a particular commodity or product with maximum efficiency (usually used in combination): a fuel-efficient engine.

So you can see why I really like this word. Yes?  I plan to make my scrapbook page for this word either later on today, or perhaps even later on in the next hour.

Until then...

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It's 3:30 AM Do You Know Where Your Pillow Is?

I apparently do not know where my pillow nor my bed is at this hour unfortunately.  However, I am not minding it all to much.  I am actually getting a lot of things done

now that I needed to get done.  I have a bunch of magazines here that I am flipping

through.  I guess I didn't realize just how many subscriptions I actually had until I gathered them all up.

 

 

Today I also received some fantastical news {well now it was officially Monday}.  I however cannot tell you this GREAT news.

It's a SECRET!!!

I will tell you this much...

I will eventually tell you all this news, but for now I must remain hush hush
about it. 

Well I have lots to read and I also want to work on some pages/cards tonight.  Eric has to go back to work tomorrow.  I will be all alone again.  Well alone as one can get with 4 kitties who are crazy! LoL!

 

Christmas 2010 with my family!!!

I hope everyone had a FANTASTIC holiday!!! I spent it with my kids, Eric's family, and my family and we all had a great time!  I was a little to impatient to give Eric his gift so what I had done was the very day that I wrapped them all; Thursday; was the day he got to open them.

Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve-Eve, LoL! 

Eric and I were acting silly and well some of these pictures reflect just that!

~I had got Eric a new black jacket and sweats~

 ~Eric is actually tearing up when he opened the Bose headphones he'd been wanting,

he has no idea I was getting them for him~

 ~Eric LOVE's Simon Collins~

 ~The first of many goofy pics of us this night~ 

 ~Looking up at the camera~

 ~The deep gaze into each others eyes~

Next our pictures of the Kevin and Kristin taken yesterday {Christmas}

~Kristin LOVE Alice in Wonderland, so here is the actual script with autographs

of the original cartoon version - needless to say she freaked-out~

 ~Kevin's new obsession is the Alien movies, so he got the Alien Quadrology which

actually has NINE DVD's in it!~

 ~Kevin Kristin and myself on Christmas~



I hope that you all had a grand Christmas yesterday also, I will be posting more tomorrow!  I plan to scrap some pages out of some pictures that were taken.

Until then, you all have a pleasant night and be safe!

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I wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Please be safe and enjoy your time

with your family and friends

this holiday season!

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20 Tips for a POSITIVE New Year

20 Tips for a Positive New Year

by Jon Gordon, www.JonGordon.com

1. Stay Positive. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can know that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.

2. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement: My purpose is_______________________.

3. Take a morning walk of gratitude. It will create a fertile mind ready for success.

4. Instead of being disappointed about where you are think optimistically about where you are going.

5. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

6. Transform adversity into success by deciding that change is not your enemy but your friend. In the challenge discover the opportunity.

7. Make a difference in the lives of others.

8. Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.

9. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

10. Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.

11. Live with the 3 E's. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

12. Remember there’s no substitute for hard work.

13. Zoom Focus. Each day when you wake up in the morning ask: “What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?” Then tune out all the distractions and focus on these actions.

14. Instead of complaining focus on solutions. It’s the key to innovation.

15. Read more books than you did in 2010.

16. Learn from mistakes and let them teach you to make positive changes.

17. Focus on “Get to” vs “Have to.” Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do. Life is a gift not an obligation.

18. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:

• I am thankful for __________.

• Today I accomplished____________.

19. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.

20. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.

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Slipped on the ice outside my apartment...DOLT!

 

Hello everyone!  As my countdown here on my blogs reads, we don't have much time until the big day is here!  I lost half of my time last week in my preparations for lots of things bu falling on o my back on a sheet of ice while I was getting the mail.  Now I knew the ice was there, I had gone over it carefully to get to the mailbox {this was btw the only route I could take to get there}, but for some reason nature didn't like me or it needed a good laugh.  I am sure that anyone who caught it as brief and quick as it was, also got a good laugh.  Although I was able to get up rather quickly {mainly b/c I didnt want anyone else to catch me there}, by the time I got up to my 3rd level apt, i was already starting to feel the back pain creeping in.  It started with sharp neck pain all across the top part of my back and shoulders, then moved its way to the lower back and I was pretty much bed-ridden til Sat.  Was not a fun  time.

I wanted to share with you some of the Easel Cards that I had made for everyone this year for Christmas, I fear that I won't get the, to everyone on time.  But rest assured you ARE getting one if you know me. :)

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

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An update and Some More New Cards!

Good afternoon everyone!  I hope you're all having a pleasant Saturday, I have been working on some new cards and also working on next weeks Challenge for The Hodge Podge Shop as well.  We were given some new digital stamps to work with and I tell you what, they are absolutely gorgeous!  Margaret just amazes me with her talent on ALL her digital stamps. 

My craft room is pretty much completed, there are just some minor adjustments that need to be finished with before I take the final pics and post them.  Eric is the one getting it done in here too!  He is so great, I really think he gets as giddy as I do about the new room {possibly more} LoL!  I promise I will post pics as soon as she's ready. :)

The first two cards are the same but different; LoL!

This next card I'm calling it Peace on Earth; I cut the dove from the cricut and then heat embossed gold as well as a teal for the leaves in dove's mouth.

 

Peppermint Christmas Card


SNEAK PEEK AT WHAT I AM WORKING ON...

You guess is as good as mine hehe...

I hope you all have a fantastical weekend!  I will post more soon :)

Smiles!

Christy

Two New Cards!

Hi everyone!  I wanted to share with you two new cards that I created the other day.  I posted these on another forum but completely forgot to post here!  Opps!  So first off we have a card that I kind of didn't want to post b/c this is a card for a swap and I wanted to wait until the other person received it, but I thought I would post anyway.  You will know who you are when you get it and I hope you like it :)

So with this card "Thinking of You"; I used my cricut to cut out the vase and  the words "Thinking of You", I then applied a small amount of lavender acrylic paint over the vase and let dry, then applied Tim Holtz 'Crackle' on top to give it the cracked effect.  Which I think turned out very nice!  The flowers and the ribbon are two of the items that I received from my swap friend in Finland a few weeks ago.  I was so happy that everything went together so easily!


Now for the next card I used a digi-stamp {copyrighted}, and came up with this:

Using my cricut to cut out the words, and designing a bit more on the digi-stamp, using 6 colored buttons as  the border.  I thought this was too cute and I had been wanting to use this digi for some time now, glad it all came together.

I have been up since around 4 AM and it's now 10 minutes til 9AM and I have been working on my Christmas cards most of that time.  I am creating an easel card using the Sixxix Big Shot, cricut expression, and .... you will have to wait and see what the final cards look like :)  I will hopefully get done with a lot of them today and will post here either today or tomorrow.

Til then, have an AWESOME DAY!  It's snowing here now and I am loving it to the fullest!

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CHALLENGE #5 FOR THE HODGE PODGE SHOP STARTS TODAY: BIRTHDAY CARD

Hello everyone and welcome to anther challenge brought to you by The Hodge Podge Shop! This weeks challenge is for you to create a Birthday Card for a person who's birthday falls around Christmas time. Here is my take on the challenge:

I took music note background patterned paper and then placed the "Winter-Chickadee-Bird" digi-stamp on top of that with half of it outlined in silver ribbon.  I used chalk on the digi-stamp to blend it in well, also using white flock to give it the snowy effect. {Unfortunately the picture doesn't show it very well}.

We would all love to see your take on this Birthday Card challenge...please head on over to The Hodge Podge Shop blog and enter your card today!

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I have DYSPHONIA {it's explained down below}

Hello everyone!  For some of you, you already know that I have been having problems with my throat for some time now.  Around the first of October to be exact.  Well I have had throughout these last two months had a very sore throat, sinusitis, an ear infection, and then to top it all off a horrible cough that sounds well, horrible, LoL!  So now I am left with presently, the sniffles, the horrible cough which is getting somewhat better, still sounds bad though, and the main thing I have now or don't have is my voice.  It started out as kind of a raspy voice which wasn't to bad, then it got to the point that towards the end of the day talking hurt me so bad.  Now I am reduced to a whisper and finally got into see my ENT Dr. today {ENT = Ear, Nose, & Throat}. 

Oh it was so much fun there at the Dr's, NOT!  He put this spray in my nose to numb me all up to place a scope down to see my vocal chords.  He had me "attempt" to make some noises while looking through the scope, which was kind of amusing, but never-the-less, I could barely make the noises.

He was finished and then said to me that nothing looked cancerous ~which I was a wee bit worried about b/c I have never had laryngitis THIS long and really didn't know what to think~.  He did say that I have Dysphonia which I have researched on here and if you chose to follow the link it will give you more information about it if you are interested.  Basically what he did for me today was prescribed me some steroids "Methylprednisone" and I am to take that for 6 days.  I guess that is to help with swelling, I am not sure.  I guess I'll have to look this up as well.  But the main thing he wants me to do is go to a "Voice Specialist" to basically as he put it, to re-learn how to use my voice.  He said that without that help I would most likely talk like this permanently and I am a talker...so I cannot afford to not talk! LOL!

So I have already made my appointment for the Voice Specialist and the quickest they could get me in wasn't until December 16th, which is 2 weeks away! I am still researching thing Dysphonia to see what more I can learn about it.  At least I am on the right path to getting better.

I want to thank everyone who has kept me in their prayers and thoughts during this long period of time of frustration, lol.  I guess I have had laryngitis before but it always went away, Ive never had it for this long and yes, it has become very frustration to me as well as to others.  I can't talk and when I do talk...they can't here me!  Arggh. But I am looking at it positively now, since I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Take care everyone!

                                                  
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A Card Maker's Rights

A Card Maker's Rights

A card touches us – somehow, a small folded piece of paper can comfort, celebrate, reach out or just say hello. Creating a handmade card is an honorable and important task.

 As a cardmaker, you are entitled (but not limited) to the following rights:


You have the right to take as long as you want to complete one handmade card. This may be five minutes or two weeks.

 You have the right to send a card for no other reason than to show off your new stamp, embellishment or technique.

 You have the right to create a fabulous card for your husband, partner or roommate – just because you know it will stay in your house.

 You have the right to spread your cardmaking things out all over, just to admire them.


You have the right to purchase a certain cardmaking item for no other reason than because a) you like it; b) you think it's cute; c) you'll never find it again, or; d) you know you'll use it someday.


You have the right to reserve using your most precious supplies on cards only for recipients who will truly appreciate them.

 You have the right to a workspace of your own. This may be the basement, your college student's old bedroom or the kitchen table.


You have the right to make cards when inspiration strikes – whether the dishes are done or not.


You have the right to request peaceful, kid-free, stress-less cardmaking time - guilt-free.


You have the right to let the handmade card be the gift, too.


You have the right to value your personal style.


You are creating a treasure - and part of that treasure is you.


~Author Unknown







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My son Kevin and his girlfriend Taylor 11-20-2010

I wanted to share with you all these pictures that Eric took of Kevin and Taylor over the weekend.  Taylor came over to my place on Saturday and spent day with us.  She is a true genuine spirited girl and I am so very happy that Kevin has found someone as special as he is.

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