Week 8 & 9 :)

It's been a busy fortnight in our household with so signs of slowing down for a while... and I'm sure a lot of you with children back at school are finding the same thing!! I've finally finished Week 8 & Week 9 but unfortunately when I went to print my photos the machines had just been turned off so I'm going to put the photos under the layouts so you can still see them :)

Week 8: Make Time

Like everyone these days, my life seems to get busy without too much trouble... and when we get busy we often put things aside thinking that we'll catch up later. But sometimes we need to put in a little effort and actually 'make time' for the people in our lives.

I've got a cousin in Taupo (a mere hour away) that I hadn't seen for almost 2 YEARS!!! So when I was in Taupo last weekend I made some time to catch up with him... in fact to illustrate the point of how long it's been I text him to say I was in town and he sent back a text saying 'Shell who??' We've both decided to keep in better touch from now on :)

The journaling reads: Last weekend while I was in Taupo I FINALLY made time to visit Fearnley. We had so much to catch up on!!!

It was great to see him again... and Luke has grown up a LOT! He's in Year 7 now and is definitely a young MAN rather than a BOY!

We chatted for ages and then stayed for dinner and chatting until MIDNIGHT! It made me realise that although I get caught up in my own life and my girls, I need to MAKE time for the other important people in my life... because their lives are full and busy too!

A positive outcome of catching up again was realising that family bonds can be very STRONG!

We had a great night with lots of laughs, a few tears and plenty of catching up!

Making time for the people and things that really MATTER is a bit of an effort at times... but the benefits are awesome!!!

And here's the photo that's going on my page... it was taken in 2004! Our kids have grown up so quickly!!!

Week 9: Change of Heart

Have you ever decided you really did or didn't like something or someone and then changed your mind later? I have definitely done that!!! Yesterday I got to be on the receiving end of someone changing their minds... and it was GREAT!

The journaling reads: A few short weeks ago 'Mr Smiley' wasn't smiling at all! EVERY time I even LOOKED at him he cried! It was a horrible experience that I didn't want to repeat... and with his 1st birthday looming I was feeling a bit worried!

But it seems that my wee nephew as had a change of heart... and Auntie isn't so bad after all!

After a tentative beginning there were a few smiles coming my way and I was feeling quite happy.

After him mid-day nap Reece decided that Auntie was alright after all... he even let me pick him up!

Once the ice was broken we had a great time... he's really ticklish and has the cutest giggle! After a while he came and sat on my lap and THEN we had some lovely LONG cuddles!

I was a very happy Auntie! Sometimes having a change of heart/mind can bring about really positive results! Love ya babe!!! xx

I still haven't decided which photo I'm going to use on my layout yet... but here's my favourites :)

Yep I'm a bit shocked!! LOL

Yesterday was a really awesome day... and I'm one very, very happy Auntie :)

Thanks for visiting everyone and I hope you're still enjoying the prompts... looking forward to seeing what you all come up with :) Have a great week!

Week 7: Happy

Hi everyone :)

Two years ago I went to see the movie 'The Pursuit of Happyness' with one of my girlfriends and I found it to be a really powerful movie. I was totally amazed at how he (Chris Gardner) kept going in spite of everything that happened... and at the end of the movie there wasn't a dry eye in the theatre. It also gave me a new impression of Will Smith... totally LOVE his acting now!

If you haven't seen the movie then I highly recommend it... and it's suitable for everyone (only ONE swear word in the whole movie and it was totally in context!!!) I got the girls to watch it and they totally loved it as well... which brings me to this weeks prompt... HAPPY!

Last year wasn't an overly happy one in our household... everything seemed to be REALLY HARD WORK! We started the year off fine but it kind of just spiraled down out of control... this year feels completely different and I wanted to capture the feeling so here's my layout:

The journaling reads:

A couple of days ago I realised how HAPPY I am! I've had happy DAYS during the past year but right now I'm feeling really HAPPY... ALL THE TIME!

It's almost as if I needed to go through some rough times to fully appreciate what happiness FEELS like!

I'm having the BEST time at work! I find myself smiling a LOT! All the hard work Ash and I have put in is really paying off. It's such a GREAT feeling to be loving teaching again!

I'm happy at home too! The girls are happy, settled and enjoying being back at school. They are growing into independent young women with dreams and goals of their own.

I'm finally able to say that I'm happy being SINGLE! I feel like I can just be myself again.

It feels like my life is really getting on track... things are WORKING out fine. Right now anything feels POSSIBLE and I'm enjoying my life in a whole new way.

True happiness is a FANTASTIC feeling!!!

School really is going well... we've just had the best week! This year is a bit different too because Ash and I are team teaching.

We've got 54 kids between us and we're teaching them together. It's going really well because we're similar enough to have consistency but different enough that the kids are getting a really varied and interesting learning programme.

Ash is really good at maths, science and P.E. so he's taking the lead with those things while I'm taking the lead with reading, writing and art :) It's working out great... and the kids are really enjoying having both a male and female teacher... we've managed to get a great balance this year!

So now it's your turn... what makes you happy?

Weeks 5 & 6

Hi everyone :)

Yes it's a 'double whammy' this week since I didn't get last weeks prompt up in time! Let's get straight into it!!!

Week 5: Too Long!

If you're a proscrastinator (like me) then you are probably used to putting things off in the hope that you might not even need to do them anymore... but sometimes we also put off the things we actually want to do! And sometimes that can lead to unhappy times :(

This is exactly what happened to me last weekend and it was a really good reminder to myself of what really is important to me.

The journaling reads: Sometimes I 'put off' things that I REALLY want to do because life gets busy! Most of the time I can 'catch up'... but last weekend I found out that it's possible to leave things for TOO LONG!

I decided to spend the long weekend with my sister and her family and on the way there we worked out that we hadn't seen each other for 5 MONTHS!

I was SO looking forward to some 'Auntie' time! When we arrived, Aidan and Leila came rushing up to see me and we had huge cuddles.

When Reece woke up has was a bit 'grizzly' so I just waited... BUT he didn't KNOW who I was! Last time I saw him I gave him of cuddles but now I was a STRANGER!

My beautiful nephew smiles and laughs all the time but he spent the whole weekend CRYING whenever I even looked at him!

From now on I'm going to 'make time' to see him so that he will SMILE for 'Auntie'.

It really was a shock to realise that Reece had no idea who I was... and I felt horrible that he was so unhappy because we were there. I've never been in this situation before because I've always been around the kids while they've been babies but this past year has been different.

Are you 'putting off' things you really want to do as well???

Week 6: Hats

Tomorrow it's back to school for me! We had our teacher-only days on Thursday and Friday and it was a bit of a reality check after so much time away from 'work'. A few of us in the staff room where discussing the various 'hats' we wear during a school day and it made me think about the different hats we wear in our everyday lives.

Terri Hatcher talks about 'hat wearing' in her book too... it seems to be a universal thing!

The journaling reads: Tomorrow another school year will begin and it made me realise how many 'hats' I wear.

On any given day we all wear different hats... and I think women tend to wear more than anyone! Counting up all the hats can be quite daunting!!!

Let's see:

• Mother
• Teacher
• Business Owner
• Sister
• Daughter
• Friend
• Chef
• Homeowner
• Ms 'Fix it'
• Accountant

The list goes ON and ON!

It's no wonder that we spend so much time every day running from one activity to another!

It's all a big balancing act!

One thing I'm sure about this year is that I want to wear my SHELL hat more often! The benefits are huge!!! Not just for me but for everyone around me too!

I think a lot of my problems start when I try wearing too many hats at the same time. There is definitely a difference between multi-tasking and taking on too much! How is your hat wearing going???

I'll be back next Sunday with another update so until then have a great week! And if you're a mum with kids heading back to school... ENJOY!!!

Week 4: Friends

Sorry for the very late post! It's been a full-on and FANTASTIC weekend here so I'm a bit late :)

There is a lovely quote I saw recently saying: A friend is one of the nicest things you can have... and one of the best things you can be. So very true!

2009 seems to be steering me towards spending more time with friends... and it's incredibly rewarding! How often have you been invited to do something with friends... bbq's, movies, trips etc and said... "I'd love to but I'm too busy"???? I know that I did it a LOT in 2008 but I've decided that this year I'm going to put 'busyness' aside and actually do some things with my friends because the housework/groceries/lawns etc can still be done tomorrow (maybe lol) but spending time with friends is precious!

This week I really wanted to capture how important my time with friends is to me... so here's my layout:

The journaling reads: I've just had the BEST weekend! After months of planning and organising Scrapfest finally arrived!!! For me, the best part of all was sharing the weekend with friends!

To be able to actually sit and talk... laugh... giggle over silly things... tease... and simply share an experience was FANTASTIC!

Friends make EVERYTHING better! I had more fun this weekend than I've had in a LONG time!... and much LESS sleep!

Friends make the great things feel AWESOME and they make the hard times easier to handle. Sometimes just by talking over a problem with a friend you just don't feel like you're on your own anymore.

So... I've decided to spend more time with friends this year. A lot of the time I let my 'busyness' stop me from sharing time with friends so it's time to put my friendships higher up on my priority list.

And I know I will have a lot more FUN!!!

I hope you get to spend some time with friends this week... either in person, by phone, or email :)

Have a great week and I'll be back on Sunday!

Week 3: Know your limits!

This week I've been learning a lesson in LIMITS!! More specifically, I've been learning a lesson in PUSHING the limits! Something mother's of toddlers and teenagers (kids general for that matter!) know all about!

The other day I looked at my 'to do' list... and it was LONG! And I realised that short of getting an extra couple of hours in a day (I wish!), going without sleep (not a good idea!) or living on 'party pills' (never tried them and never will!!) there was just NO WAY that I was ever going to get everything done... and I hit a brick wall (metaphorically speaking).

Teri Hatcher talked about the whole 'limits' thing in her book too... somehow I think it's a universal problem... especially for women (sexist? YES! true? YES!) Teri Hatcher wrote: You try to survive as best you can, and sometimes you're proud just to make it back to bed. But you can't let every day be about what you have to get done that day. Even if you manage to check everything off the list, does that make it a good day? Really? Or is it just a step forward on the treadmill that is constantly trying to carry you backward? Isn't it hard to feel like you're living your life when you're just doing what it takes to get by? ..... You're so focused on what needs to get done that you lose track of who you are. Forget not seeing the forest for the trees. You're not seeing the forest because who has time for a friggin' hike?

And that got me!!! I haven't been 'hiking' lately!!! I've been working, designing, organising, sorting, putting classes together... and I've forgotten to 'hike'! So this week I did something that I don't normally do (you'll see that on my page in just a sec) and then yesterday I spent the WHOLE day in my craft room... and it felt GREAT! I did something that I really wanted to do... something I've been putting off for ages... and last night I finished it... and I LOVE IT!!!

And today I feel great! I feel like I can get everything done! This morning I got up and put my page together and it feels good to document the lesson I've learned!

The journaling reads: I push my limits constantly!!! I didn't always do that!!! It's a habit I've LEARNED. Years ago I read Jonathan Livingstone Seagull and this piece really grabbed me:

"I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can't, that's all. I just want to know."

And I'm like that too!! So I push my limits... I know where my limits are... but I'm constantly trying to push PAST them... and sometimes they push BACK! Sometimes instead of having 'just one more piece' to fit into the jigsaw you end up dropping the whole thing!

So... I asked for HELP! That's a scary thing for me! What if they said NO? What if they thought I was WEAK? What if they LAUGHED at me?

But I asked anyway... I HAD to because otherwise nothing was going to get done! And you know what... they DIDN'T laugh at me... they DIDN'T think I was weak... they actually said YES!! AND they felt HONOURED that I'd asked them!

So... did I get everything done?? Not quite.. BUT now everything is MANAGEABLE! I'm making progress AND I have friends that I can depend on!!!

It's been a big lesson! It WAS scary! But I did it anyway! And the world didn't end because I admitted that I couldn't do everything by myself. That's BIG!! I don't think it will ever get EASY to ask for help.. but I do know that next time I'm in a situation like this I won't find it quite as scary!

I'm feeling pretty lucky to have such wonderful friends! I feel quite humbled that they would be so generous with their time and energy to help me! So a big THANK YOU goes out to you!!!

While on the subject of friends... I have a lovely friend called Esther (Hi Petal!) who just LOVES jigsaw puzzle pieces.... they're her 'signature' on all her creations so I thought I'd better show you a close up of the jigsaw piece I put on my page this week:

The puzzle piece is made from MDF and I inked it with some distress ink... stamped a 'crackle' background onto it and then stamped a wee owl on top. Next I stamped lots of leaves and twigs around him to remind myself about 'not seeing the forest for the trees'.

So now it's YOUR turn! Do you push your limits??? If you're following along and you have a blog I'd love to see what you're doing with the prompts so please leave me a comment so I can visit you... and if you'd like to see what some of the girls on the forum are doing with them then please check out the gallery HERE.

Have a great week... and remember to do a bit of 'hiking'!

Shell xx

Week 2: Organisation

Everywhere I turn at the moment people are talking about getting themselves organised. For some it means starting a new 2009 diary and for others it's having a big clean out!

Last year I bought myself a diary and by the middle of January I'd lost it!!! As a result, I missed several birthdays... including Dad's for about the 4th year is a row!!! I also 'remembered' events after they'd happened.

So this year I am determined to keep track of things! We've got a family diary so that I know what the girls are doing... and they know what I'm doing... and I've got a diary of my own as well. I also got a gorgeous calendar from one of my nieces for Christmas with her handprints on it so hopefully we'll know what we're supposed to be doing this year!

I'm also determined to get my craft room organised! I really get frustrated when I can't find things when I need them. How can I own 5 steel rulers and not be able to find even 1 of them???

The worst part about being so disorganised is that I can't even create properly!! I've been doing all of my Scrapfest stuff on the coffee table so that I don't have to be in my craft room!!!

But, sometimes the answers to life's 'problems' come when you least expect them... and the answers to my 'organisational woes' came in the form of a quote on this card:

It was made by Suzy (click HERE to check out her blog). So I'm going to 'create' a new and improved 'Shell'... an organised person who can find her own craft supplies when she needs them... and doesn't forget her fathers' birthday for a 5th year!!The journaling reads: Today while I was on the internet I came across a card that really grabbed me! It wasn't so mch the design... it was the quote... and it's been floating around in my head ever since!

Life isn't about finding yourself.

Life is about creating yourself.

That quote is powerful for me! It gives me the freedom to be who I want to be!

One of the things that I am going to achieve this year is being organised! I've bought myself a diary... one I like... one I will actually USE!

And tomorrow I'm tidying up my craft room! I'm going to really tidy! Not just the "I'd better tidy up because someone is coming" tidy... the "I want to be organised" tidying up!

Someone said to me "you'll change when the pain of not changing gets too much... and you've got a high pain threshold". And he was right!

The pain isn't physical... it's emotional.. and I've reached my threshold! So tomorrow I'm going to tidy!!! Yay me :) This is progress!!!

I actually wrote this last night... and YES I have started tidying up my craft room! It's going to take a while because I want it to be really, really organised... but already it's worth it just to know that I'm doing what I need to do for me to feel good again!

I also decided that I was definitely going to use the very last piece of my 'special' flax paper to decorate the inside front cover of my album... and I'm super happy with it :)

I've decided to add a few quotes to inspire me as well! The one at the bottom of the page is from this weeks prompt... and the one at the top was in the signature line of one of the girls in the forum... thanks Kirstin! It reads:

"Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what is going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity..." Gilda Radner

And on that note I'm off to continue organising!! I hope you all have a wonderful week :)

Love Shell xx

Week 1: Just use it!

Happy New Year everyone! Does anyone else have the feeling that 2009 is going to be a GREAT year??? I actually woke up 'feeling' different this morning... almost like the weight of last year is lifting... I think we're going to have an exciting year ahead! I've created my cover for this album and I'll share it with you very soon... but first let's jump straight into the first prompt!

Week 1: Just use it!

Are you a hoarder? Do you save things for 'something special'? Do you buy things because you 'might' use them? If so then this prompt is going to be ideal for you!

My grandmother would have to have been one of the world's biggest hoarders! She kept EVERYTHING!!! She lived in a fairly big house but every single space had stuff in it... some of it was definitely treasure... but a lot of it was junk!

When I was little we always went to Granny's house for Christmas and all the grown ups would sit at the table drinking their wine from regular glasses because they weren't allowed to use the crystal glasses because they 'might' break them. She was saving them for 'something special'.

I remember looking in her china cabinets... yes she had more than one! She had so many glasses... and they were all gorgeous! But guess what... she NEVER used them!!! When she moved out of her house to go into the rest home, my mum and her brothers packed up the glasses and divided them up between them because Granny had no where to put them. So the glasses that were given to her never actually gave her any pleasure at all which seems really sad to me. And then I realised that the 'apple didn't fall too far from the tree' as the saying goes!Here's the journaling:

Do you buy lovely things (like paper) and save it for 'something special' only to find that you are still saving it years later?

I was sorting some things out in my craft room yesterday and I 'found' some gorgeous flax paper that I bought a long time ago! In fact the shop I bought it from has been closed for 3 years! So... I cut it! I used it! AND I loved it! I decided that 'something special' would be my cover for this album. And you know what?? That paper is special because I used it!

A few years ago my sister and I went to a craft fair and bought some 'special treats'... pesto, curry sauce etc. Within a couple of weeks she'd eaten hers and mine was still unopened! And... it's still in my cupboard! The BEST BEFORE DECEMBER 06 sticker mocks me! So now I have to throw it out! At least my sister got to enjoy hers!!!

So... I've come up with somthing that will work for me. Instead of asking myself if I want/need.... I'm going to ask "Will I USE it? Because curry sauce doesn't taste good if you're pouring it down the sink... and paper isn't 'special' until you've done something with it!

My new 'Will I USE it' has already worked for me too! I was in a friends shop yesterday and I saw some gorgeous Tim Holtz products... I LOVED them straight away and I wanted them... I even thought I needed them and then I asked myself... 'Will I USE them'? The answer was 'maybe one day'... so I left them there! It was a very empowering moment for me!!!

Now for the cover... I'm dying to show it to you because I really LOVE it!!!

It's made from thick chipboard which I covered with my 'saved' flax paper... (I've got one piece left which I think I'm going to use for the inside front cover)... The letters are from the 'Thickers' range. I stamped onto the letters with a crackle stamp and embossing ink and then I embossed them with gold.

The 'OPEN' door knob is from 7 gypsies... I bought a wee kit about 5 years ago and it had the door knob in it.... waiting for 'something special'... and the heart and wings are made from Grungeboard... I've had that for a year and hardly used it because I didn't want to 'waste' it!

I inked the wings with white versa mark and then embossed them with polysparkle... very pretty effect! The heart I inked with some Distress Ink and the swirl is actually a pattern on the grungeboard.

Down the bottom of the cover I put a photo of me 'wearing' a crown which Miss Krystal thought was a bit weird... but it's actually to remind myself that this is MY life... and I need to do what's right for ME! The crown is also Grungeboard and I embossed it with gold but it looked to 'perfect' so I added some more gold and then over heated it a bit so that it's got a tarnished look to it... that's to remind myself that I'm not perfect... I'm allowed to make mistakes!

And finally the charms on the side... I had a huge stash of bits and pieces that I've been 'saving' so I got them out and started working with them... the metal discs came from the same kit as the door knob.. I stamped words (inspire, dream, think, hope, love & create) onto them with Staz On ink... added some jump rings and then the chain which I bought ages ago in another kit. Then I added the beads and the key (from other kits) and finally the little Chinese good luck coins. I love how they 'tinkle' when I pick up my book.

I've taken this weeks prompt quite literally... I've actually USED lots of bits and pieces from my stash for my album cover and now I have 'something special' to show for it!

So the challenge is out there... what have you got that you're not using? Is it something that you need?... or is it something that is really just cluttering up your life? I've still got lots of things I need to use... but I've made a start!

I'll be back on Sunday with the next prompt so until then have a wonderful start to the New Year :)