HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours!!

I am thankful for many things, one of them is you guys!! I'm grateful that you all keep coming back here and reading this blog!!!

I'm planning to spend the day eating WAY too much food.

Mile a Day Challenge

This is NOT one of my fabulous ideas. This come from an AWESOME blog I read every single day. I LOVE Elise. She has been doing this challenge for the past couple years. You can read about it on her blog http://www.eliseblaha.typepad.com/

The idea is to run ONE mile EVERY day through the holiday season. That's it!!! Start on Thanksgiving and end on New Years day. She snaps pics of her shoes every day of the run and posts to Instagram with the #mileaday She has invited everyone to join, SOOOO I'M JOINING!! And I'm extending the invitation to YOU!!!

I despise running!!! But I'm gonna give this a whirl. Maybe I'll even get a couple outdoor runs in.
I've been a bit under the weather so this may be a bit rough, but I'm doing it!!!

WHO'S WITH ME!?!?!?!!??!?!?

Weekend DIY Closet Storage

Well, we did it. We built a new closet storage unit, for my {quite large} paper collection!! I say "we" but mostly my husband did this!! It's not beautiful or fancy, but I'm a simple girl. It's functional, sturdy, and it is in a closet, so who cares what it looks like!?!?!

Here's the pics

BEFORE

 It's hard to tell from the pics, but the shelf is falling on the right side. These shelving units, are NOT made for holding this much weight, apparently...

BEFORE

Yep, there is a hole in that wall.  This used to be
my sons bedroom, so who knows how that
got there! I decided to leave the carpet, even though
the rest of the room has NO carpet.
Lazy, I know, but who's gonna see it???

Gotta love a guy in his bibs!!!

He LOVES having me up in his face taking pictures!!

DONE!!

AFTER

AFTER

Bottom 2 rows

 Let's see if I can give you the tour of these two rows.
Left to Right... basket full of paper scraps. Yes, I save them, but only if they are bigger than 6x6. white box is for black or white paper scraps. purple pail is empty, but cute. Next basket holds mini albums. A Project Life kit. An accordion file full of paper and it's matching "stuff"  And then there's a section of "scrapbook kits" you know kits that have everything ready to make an entire 2 page spread, some are already made, from classes I took, or classes I taught. There's a seconds accordion file on the very end that you can't really see in pics.
Bottom row is 2 big accordion files full of more scrap paper. YES!! I plan to down size all that scrap paper in the very near future!!! Some canvas a basket full of Tim Holtz goodies, another basket that holds "Projects That Need Finished" an orange pail basket which is holding stuff I'm collecting for a specific project. My 7 Gypsies letter press boxes. And then a couple portable storage things.

Top 2 rows

The Top 2 rows house PAPER. Nothing but paper. most are labeled for what's in them. Each one really contains a specific color, like blue, red, green, yellow, orange. Then blue print, red print. There's one for holiday paper. One for baby paper. Etc. Etc. Etc. I ran out of ambition for buying those Cropper Hopper paper holders. Partly becuz I think they got more expensive over time. Partly cuz I just got lazy. The stretch of paper in the middle without holders are all multi colored printed papers.

Like I said, it's not fancy, but its functional. We didn't have one single fight while building it, either so I LOVE THIS organizer!!! The entire project cost less than $40. and took less than a couple of hours, total time. We had to go to lumber yard, and cut boards. Then Ryan had to leave and go on a No-Heat call { he was on-call this weekend, and it was freezing, so off he went to repair a furnace.} I attempted to do some of the work while he was gone, but the drill battery went dead. So, I ate lunch and waited for it to charge. He came back and finished for me.
I realize that this is a pretty big paper collection, but I've been gathering for over 13yrs now. And I seriously have taken enough pictures, that when I finally get them all in scrapbooks, I will use ALL of this paper!!! I made a new rule for myself a few years back. No more buying any scrapbook products, including paper, unless they are for a specific project!!! No more buying just cuz it's cute!!
I actually tossed a couple things. Organized a few other things. There was actually MORE room in the closet now, so I got some stuff in there that was piled on the floor, or in baskets, waiting for a place to go.

And That's That. Our Weekend DIY closet organization build!!!
Now if I can convince him to install some heat runs up to The Studio, my life will be perfect!!

What's On My Desk~This Week

Well, I'm back for the 2nd week of the new series, Yay for Me!!!

Ready for pics...

Computer Desk Area
Bunches of goodies for 2014 Organizational System
All Products from Staples

Top Row: Left to Right...
My current planner
~an organizer thing that is always on this desk {it holds cords, chargers, electronics wipes, and a box of ~Project Life journal grid cards}

Next Row: Left to Right...
~File folders {Some are from the Martha Stewart line, bot sure what the others are.}
~mini 3-ring binder {I'm considering using as my planner binder for 2014.  I actually have a real "Franklin" binder, that I've had for several years, and used quite a bit. We shall see which one I decide to go with} ~2014 Planner Refill pages. {These are very similar to the Franklin Covey system, but a bit cheaper. And since I never really know how well I'm going to follow through with my organization, I opt for cheaper}
an additional pack of dated monthly dividers {I will use these one's for financial planning section of planner} ~dividers/page tab thingy's {also the Martha Stewart line. I will use these to label different sections of planner}
~black paper clips
~pile of notebooks and pens {that reside here all the time}
~my iPhone
~several cups {that cute aqua colored one with the festive winter trees is new and for Hot Chocolate, NOT coffee.}
Alrighty, moving on.

I should come up with a name of this desk area.
This is a working space area, so maybe we'll call it the work space desk. 

Left to Right...
~A Project Life Wedding mini kit{I found this on a clearance rack, for 50% off, which is crazy! I'm not actually planning to work on my wedding album any time soon, but since the kit has an all black & white color scheme, I plan to incorporate the cards into my regular Project Life kit. Several of the cards do have wedding specific prompts on them, but like all Project Life cards, they are 2 sided and I can use the backside!!}
~Project Life grid journal cards {also scored these for 50% off!! At first, I considered NOT buying them, thinking I have a good size pile of these already, but then I realized that was foolish, you can NEVER have too many of these grid cards!!! Especially for $2.49 I use them for all kinds of things, note taking, filling in empty blanks in Project Life album, like when I'm missing a picture or some such thing. I write quotes on them, song lyrics, notes to myself, To Do lists, etc.}
~2 bottles of Distress Paint from Tim Holtz, Rusty Hinge & Gathered Twigs-super fun color names, I think! I've never used his Distressed Paint before but these looked like good fall colors for my Mother/Daughter photo shoot album OR my Fall Manifesto Album. If you've never checked out Tim Holtz stuff, you really should go to his website and have a look around. He is incredibly talented. My style is a bit different than his, but I love the stuff he makes!!}
~some washi tape {LOVE love love LOVE Washi tape!}
~some bakers twine
~a rub on
~some chipboard cut outs, by Bo Bunny
~Bracket chipboard
~sheet music rubber stamp
~{yes, another} ampersand rubber stamp
~chipboard Monogram letters D & M {also for the Mother/Daughter album}
~a stack of Christmas ribbon {who knows what I'll use those for! I'd love to use them on Christmas Cards, if I could manage to make/buy/send any. I LOVE getting Christmas cards, but that's a whole different blog post, coming in December.}
~and lastly, my bad ass scull cup {yes, I have 5 cups in The Studio at this time!!! I really should clean those up.
And that's what's on my desk this week!!!
I did clean up the mess Saturday night, to make room to empty out my closet, in preparation for the new closet storage that is being built on Sunday. I am SUPER excited about that!!!! I will take pics and post about that project too, so check back first of the week!

The Weekend

So We've got big plans for the weekend. Well, maybe not big, but exciting. Well, maybe not exciting to most people but I am pretty pumped!!!
Friday night ~consisted of the typical date night of dinner out and getting groceries. Tonight we made the decision to attempt a gluten free pumpkin pie to take along for Thanksgiving dinner at Ryan's parents house. We got the gluten free graham crackers for the crust for then forgot all the stuff to make pie mix!! Looks like there will be yet another trip to the store before the weekend is over!!
Saturday ~we will {hopefully} be concluding our quest for a new, used, truck for Ryan.
Sunday ~when the REAL fun is going to take place... We are making a trip to the lumber yard for supplies and then BUILDING SHELVING inside my closet in The Studio!!!!! Ryan has promised to finally help me build a sturdy, bookshelf for my {sizable} paper stash and he's also promised to attempt to do it without complaining or getting mad. I'm pretty certain there will be at least one argument. But it will be worth it, if I get shelving built!!!!

IF this actually happens, there will be pictures, so come on back Monday for an update.

And the second installment of "What's On My Desk ~This Week" will be up on Sunday. I'm planning to take my pics before the building begins, just to be safe!!

What do you have planned for the weekend...????

What's On My Desk ~This Week

I am not real good at coming up with GREAT original ideas, but I'm AWESOME at copying them!! Don't get me wrong, occasionally I come up with some pretty good ideas of my own, but this isn't one of them!!!

Recently I've seen several bloggers doing different versions of "What's On My Desk" and I really liked them.  So, I'm going to attempt to copy this trend and do a new weekly posting of what is actually ON my desk. Hopefully it's not to boring or strange for you.  I seriously doubt any of those BIG important bloggers, who've I've stolen the idea from, will ever make it over here to read my blog. But if they do, I hope they see it as "copying is the most sincere form of flattery" And I would give credit, if I could remember where I've seen it.
If you Instgram, you can check out #whatsonmydesk and see bunches of fun pics from others doing this.
I'm going to try to do this every week. No cleaning up the desk, and making it look cute for pics, just a few pics of literally, what is on my desk this week.

So This Is "What's On My Desk~ This Week"

Okay so working from left to right we have a giant photo order from Walgreens. Above the photo order is my Project Life stuff {it's always on this desk, my album is further to the left}  My new We Are Memory Keepers 3x4 punch {which works perfectly for Project Life}. A couple of tealight holders I got on clearance at Pier One {not sure where they're going yet, or if they match the room well enough to keep in here.} A tape runner, 2 acrylic mounting blocks for stamps, a roll of Washi tape, and a chevron Christmas tree stamp {got all those items, this past weekend while having a "girls days" of shopping/lunch} My {empty} purse laying on the chair. And all the contents of my purse ~mail that we received that needs to get filed, mail that needs sent out, several JoAnn Fabrics fliers, a Nervz End CD, my planner, car phone charger, mini wallet {a hand me down from my daughter}, sunglasses, and Burts Bees lip balm. And last but not least, d-CON. Yep, for killing the mice!! The past couple of years we seem to have had a lot of mice, and this year, I'm getting serious!!

There are NO projects happening in The Studio, right this minute. It's really too messy to do much of anything. I also have a bookshelf, that's holding my rather massive paper collection, that is about to fall over. So THAT is going to be the first project I handle before I get to do anything fun!!

There are several desks/counter top spaces in the Studio, where things tend to get piled. So there is also a small pile on the short dresser

This is the makings of a project, 2 actually. My Fall Manifesto Album, and My Mother/Daughter photo shoot album. This is just the gathering stage. I also got that cute little black album that has the strangest size pages in it.  Trying to find some refills for it, and decide what to use it for.

And then we have my computer desk area.  Which usually houses the laptop, my planner, a few notebooks, and other odds and ends. It's a bit of a mess too, so here's what's on that desk

The box for my NEW iPhone 5s. YES!!! I AM VERY PUMPED ABOUT THAT!!!!  I've been using the 3 for several years now, and it finally crashed. My Where Woman Create, magazine. I LOVE this magazine.  I like to see other people's creative spaces and organizational systems. The rest of that pile, {well, this past Saturday I went shoe shopping with my son and daughters boyfriend. They ditched me at JoAnn's while they hit up the bike shops. So I grabbed a few little things} Studio Calico stamp, couple rolls of Washi tape, {cuz you can NEVER have too much Washi tape!!} A cute & stamp, a wooden treble clef {which I plan to paint and hang on my wall somewhere} and a table clothe from the clearance rack {scored that for 1.68 I think}

And that's pretty much it for this week. Tell me, What's On YOUR desk...?????

Random Facts About Me

Okay. Seems everyone is playing this game on Facebook right now, and I have been really entertained by reading everybody's posts. I decided to type mine here on the blog, mostly becuz I'm long winded and I highly doubt it will entertain you nearly as much as all the others I've been reading, have entertained me.  I had NO idea how the game worked, and I "liked" every "Random Facts About Me" post I read. So, I'm not sure what number I've actually been assigned, I'm just gonna list as many as I can come up with.
I also feel like I'm pretty much an open book, so I'm going to skip the obvious stuff, like I'm married, have 2 kids, love music.

 Here goes:

1. I really do try to eat an apple-a-day. Honeycrisp are my apple of choice, followed closely by the Granny Smith. And I love to eat them with peanut butter. I eat lots of peanut butter too!!!
2. I've only ever set 2 real major goals in my entire lifetime. I feel like maybe it's time to change this about myself. Hopefully I'm not too old for such things.
3. I enjoy the process of picking out pieces/elements for a project, and planning the project more than I actually enjoy executing the project.
4. I now own 20 scarves. {At least 3 of them have skulls on them!}
5. I also own more than 20 beanies/winter hats! I consider the buying/wearing of them to be the ONLY good reason for chilly weather. I start wearing mine, about the time the temps drop to 50degrees F.
6. I love social media, in spite of the constant drama. I have several "social media" accounts including  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, 2 email accounts, and this blog, I also read several blogs that other people write. But one of  my pet peeves is when people hashtag # just for the sport of hastagging!! There once was a specific purpose for the # and I'm not sure if people don't realize this or just don't care. But it annoys me.
7. I dislike Christmas. I'm not opposed to people celebrating it, or ANY other holiday of their choice/religious/spiritual beliefs, but I feel like it's just such a waste of money. And NO holiday should be about money/gifts, but it seems like that's all anyone cares about. I dislike buying gifts for people unless I know EXACTLY what they would like. I hate the idea of wasting my money on a gift they won't like. I'd rather spend my money on myself and have others spend their money on themselves, and know we are ALL getting what we'd like, not just more crap.
8. I rarely ever read "adult" books. I prefer the "young adult" books. I could never belong to a book club becuz I dislike the idea of debating about what an author meant by this or that or all that other stuff. It's a story, in which I escaped the everyday of my world for a few minutes, and I was entertained. I would rather not read into it anymore than that.
9. I would prefer to be barefoot at all times, if I could.
10. I wold LOVE to move someplace warm where I could be barefoot all the time, if I wanted to. I am always cold, and I dislike the cold, dreary months of winter.
11. I LOVE planners/organizers. I enjoy the act of organizing but yet I am the MOST disorganized person I know. Problem is, I can never follow through with using of my planner, like one should. Mostly cuz I feel a bit odd using it. Let's be honest, I don't have an important job that  requires me carrying one all the time. But if I did, I would!! I often have it in my purse, but can't say, "let me whip out my planner and write that info down!" I use the calendar in my iphone a lot too.
12. I love crows/ravens. Any bird of prey actually. But the crows truly seem  to have made a connection to my family specifically. {Or maybe I'm just hokey and a bit crazy.} Either way, I love them, and even have several as decoration in my house, that stay up year round, not just at Halloween time.
13. I have 4 tattoo's. Would like several more, and am planning to get a new one in December for my daughters 21st Birthday. {She will be getting a similar one.} If I looked good naked, I would have a ton of tattoo's. But I don't feel like any tattoo artist should be subjected to my nudity!! I would love to get a tattoo by Kat VonD.
14. I would love to travel. Not just here within the US but I'd like to go to Europe, Australia, Africa, and on a Polar bear expedition. I have never left this country, except to go to Canada fishing.
15. I hate running. HATE it. I get too bored, and my body {mostly my joints} just hurt too much when I run. But I have been trying to run at least 1 mile, several times per week. I'm pretty sure my 5K days are over. I have been trying to bike. I would be very happy if I could manage to lose more weight, but will be content with just healthy.

There you have it. Now, if you read all of that... GO and POST some Random Facts About Yourself. Or leave some in the comments section, for me to read!!!!

Pictures From Retreat

I'm back from my 3 Day Weekend Retreat at Higgins Lake. I had a good time. I met new people {there were over 20 girls on this trip}, chatted with familiar people, ate lots of great food and snacks, took pictures, went on a couple runs, ate more food, did a little shopping, ate more food, and I actually got some pictures into my Project Life album. I also sorted through 500+ pictures.

Weather wise, the first 2 days were dreary, rainy, and chilly. The last day the sun came out and we had an awesome sun rise, but it was a freezing cold, 25 degrees.

It was relaxing and I've come to the decision that I could live right on a lake for the rest of my life.

Here are my favorite pics from the event.

This is the long hallway that led to our room
You can see why my daughter was concerned about it being  haunted!

Our room
YES! Those are bunk beds!!
And not AT ALL as fun as I had
remember from childhood!!

I chose a table space, out in the enclosed front porch that faced the lake
This was my view through window
Hazy and rainy for the first 2 days

This is a crappy pic of the view into part of living room, dining, and
kitchen at far end. It was much bigger than it looks

Entry way into front porch. Most of the food was out here also.

Rhonda!!!
There were 9 of us out on the porch
Some people quilted, digital scrapooked, weaved rugs,
and of course traditional scrapbooking too!!

This is the road I ran 2 miles on! Pretty views and a wide
path along both sides of the road. Sunday morning I actually considered
NOT going for a run cuz it was 25degrees F
But while I was out taking my sunrise pics there were all these
Crows or Ravens cawing like crazy. And if you know me,
you know that meant I HAD to run. The crows were calling to me!!
Along this section of road, a couple even landed and cawed at me! 

Nice{freezing but pretty} morning for a cool down/post run/walk along the beach.

I actually enjoyed both my runs Saturday and Sunday!!
That almost NEVER happens!!! 

I gotta show you this!!! Now I KNOW this time is WRONG!!!
cuz there is NO WAY I could run an 8:13 mile!!!
But both days that crazy Map My Run app said I did!!!
I'm gonna pretend it's real and tell myself I'm a Freaking Rock Star!!!

You never get too old to look for shells!!

I LOVE that this place has flags hanging everywhere!!!
{Yes, it's an AMVETS lodge but still!}

Saturday morning the sun popped out for a few seconds and a couple of us ran out
to try and get some pics of the awesome colored trees along the lake shore.

The lodge

There is a very cool store in town, called Arnie's. We went in to check it out
on Friday. I got a few things. Didn't have much extra money with me on this
trip, but I was able to save up a couple of dollars, just for shopping
I got a new 3x4 punch, some paper, washi tape, Project Life theme pack,
 page refills, some tape, and a couple small albums. 

Sunday morning there was a GREAT sunrise.

Fly South you crazy ducks!!

Frost on the leaves was sooo pretty

Sundays view from my porch seat was MUCH better!!
So pretty here!!!

There will be another Retreat weekend in March, I've been invited to come back {that almost NEVER happens!!} so I'm putting it on my calendar, and hoping I can make it!!! Next time I will bring more money, for shopping, and I will sleep in a big bed!