Week 11: Try Something New

Hi everyone :) I'm a bit more organised this week and have the prompt already to go!

I've been doing a lot of learning lately... and it made me think about trying new things. There are some things in my life that I really like to stay the same... and some things that I don't mind changing or trying out.

Here's my layout:

The journaling reads: I tend to be a 'creature of habit'. For instance, I'll ALWAYS get Butter Chicken when I get Indian Takeaways. My wardrobe ALWAYS has denium and black in it. And I'll ALWAYS prefer eathing chocolate to exercising!!!

But lately I've been learning a lot of NEW things. I've just gotten a SMART BOARD in my classroom... and now I'm learning how to use it! It's a bit mind blowing at times but it's a lot of fun too!

This week I also went to my first night class in a LONG time! I'm learning how to make hand stitched books - something I've been wanting to do for AGES!

The one we're making in class is a cool hardcover notebook. I've learnt more about paper grain, stitching and glue techniques - VERY useful.

I decided to use my book to write all my kit ideas into - instead of having them all on random bits of paper which I lose!

I've found tht trying new things is a LOT of fun... but I'm not giving up on Butter Chicken just yet!

In this weeks class we're learning how to attach all our 'signature' pages into our covers and lining the inside. So by Wednesday night I'll have a finished book. I've really enjoyed making my book and I've already got another two on the go because they really are a lot of fun to make.

So now it's you're turn... are you a creature of habit??? or do you like trying new things???

Have a great week!

Week 10: Know... when to fold!

I had something completely different in mind for this week... until a particular situation came up and I knew I wanted to share it because I'm sure lots of you have had similar situations.

I grew up with Mum playing Country music (and I still listen to it) and sometimes one of the 'old' songs will pop into my head. Today it was Kenny Rogers song 'The Gambler'. It's been going around in my head all afternoon!!!

You know how sometimes you're working on a project... and try as you might it just WON'T come together???? And then other times everything just FLOWS! I've had that happen a lot since I've been scrapbooking... and today I realised that I have it in other areas of my life as well.

My layout is all ready to go (except for the photo) but I can't get a good photo so I'll have to upload it tomorrow. In the mean time, here is the journaling:

Have you ever tried REALLY hard to make something work but it's just NOT a happening thing? I'm all for perseverance... but sometimes you just have to KNOW it's time to fold!

This situation happened in our family today. Krystal has had her Learners Licence since October 2007. She got her 'Learners' because she thought the age limit was going up and she didn't want to miss out... but she didn't really WANT to learn to drive.

Since then she's only had 4 or 5 lessons with me... and a few with her Auntie Katey. So today we had another go. She talked her way through everything she had to do... and STALLED. "No biggie" I said. So she tried again... and again... and AGAIN!

Meanwhile she is getting VERY frustrated! And she's NOT listening to me! I managed to stay CALM (just) and tried to help... but it just made things WORSE!

So... I'm FOLDING!!!

Miss Krystal can have professional lessons! I think we'll both be much happier now :)

Here's a bit more of the same sort of situation... It's been a strange experience because I always thought Krystal listened really well and then I realised... we had the same thing when she was learning to ride a bike! When she was about 6 she got given a bike by her Dad and she asked me to teach her how to ride it. Luckily we had a park nearby so EVERY afternoon we would walk the bike down to the park and I'd spend an hour pushing the bike and telling her to pedal... after 6 WEEKS we were still doing it and I was running out of patience.

A little while later I'm coming home from work and I see Krystal's bike going down the road... and I thought she'd finally gotten it... but it was Mikayla!!! She'd watched what we'd been doing and figured out that she could do it all by herself!

p.s. Krystal still can't ride a bike!

So now it's your turn... how do you know when it's time to fold???

Have a great week :)
Shell xx

Hi again :) As promised... here is my layout. Notice that it doesn't have the photo of the drivers licence??? Yes I'm still getting the silent treatment!!! But this too will change :)

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