Keeping Busy

People often ask me how I manage to do all the different things I do and still have a life...in truth, I don't think that I do any more than anyone else does, I am just going about life and trying to live it the best way I know how. And sometimes that means I am busy, very busy!

Today was the perfect example: the day started out early as we drove Kid 1 across town to a special event he has looked forward to all year. Then we went looking for furniture for the new house, stopped off at the embroidery shop to buy two new cross-stitch patterns, then home for a quick bite of lunch, then off to a Stampin Up catalogue launch party, home for dinner and a nap on the couch before spending the evening catching up with a girlfriend. That's a good day in my book because I got to spend time with my family and friends, got to make some cool stuff, got to think about new cool stuff I want to make...what more could a girl ask for??!!

In 2012 I purposefully made a List of things I wanted to do during the year and then I worked my way through it and ticked off the experiences as I had them. And I got to do some really cool stuff, trust me! I didn't make a List for 2013 because I thought I had learned my lesson and that it had just become a part of the way I would operate going forward: making time to do the things that I want to do for myself. BIG MISTAKE! I totally should have made a List this year, because now the year is half-gone already and I feel time slipping away from me. My List kept me focussed in 2012 - not having that List in 2013 has allowed me to slip into bad habits, putting aside personal dreams and aspirations for other stuff that draws my time and attention.

So I am thinking of going back to my List for the remainder of the year...of writing down several things I want to achieve personally before the clock ticks over to 2014. There are so many great experiences out there just waiting for you if only you take the time to seek them out. So it's time for this girl to get back on track and re-focus on what I believe I was put here on earth to do: to learn, to create and to teach.

Watch out world, this girl is just getting started!

Long Time Gone...

With the Close To My Heart Australia lift off just 1 day away now, I find my mind is shifting gears again and getting back into business mode. It's been kinda nice to have this guilt-free time out of business as Creative Memories wound up but as of Monday 1st July that holiday is over and it is back to work full tilt. What that business is going to look like, I have no idea...I just want to get moving again and put all the trouble of the last 2 months behind me. Wow, is it really only 2 months since everything imploded?? Seems like a lot more than that!

So now I am in planning mode; planning how to launch my new business, planning how I am going to run things differently this time around, planning what I am going to make once my new business kit arrives...planning, planning, planning! And I am ITCHING to get my hands on that business kit!

I get excited just thinking about all the cool stuff I can make with this bundle of goodies!!

And in the last 8 weeks we have added nearly 1000 people to the Virtual Crop group which is pretty cool! I won't lie, it has been a lot of work to keep it all going and we wouldn't have been able to do it without the support of a whole army of other people, especially our families who have been endlessly patient with us as we lived out our lives glued to Facebook, eating meals in front of the computer so we could post comments and ideas and music videos to keep everyone bubbling along until the CTMH launch date. There is still a lot of work to be done in the Crop as we make the transition from CM to CTMH but we have survived this long in the wilderness so we are pretty much unstopable now!

And then to top it all off, we found out 2 weeks ago that we have to move house! Yep, after 17 years in this house, we have to pack it all up and relocate at the end of July!

So things are about to shift to a whole new level of madness around here but that's ok, it keeps life interesting! Not sure how/when/where I will get to make much of anything over the next 4 weeks as we get ready to move but I am quietly confident it is all going to turn out for the best...I can feel it in my bones! I am ready to blast off into the next chapter of my life, in a new business with a new company, in a new home for my family, with my own craft room (woo hooo!!)...this party is just getting started!!

Getting My Craft On!

Been a busy week around here with lots going on with my husband and the kids. But the BIG revelation this week was remembering that everything happens for a reason. With everything that has been going on lately and all the stress that has been circling around me, I was struck this week by a sense that I am here, right now, in this place for a reason. I may not be 100% sure about where or what that place is, or where it is going in the future, but for right now I am right where I need to be be. And I need to be creative. I need to make stuff. I need for focus on making things for myself and my family. In essence, I need to craft my way forward. So I have been...

I dusted off the stamps last week (with the help of a friend!) and made some cards...something I have not done in a VERY long time. And I am really happy with them, it has inspired me to make more stuff this week!
Sometimes I think it is very easy to get lost up in all the things you have to be for other people. I am a wife, a mother, an employee, a business owner, a volunteer, and a million other things for other people. But at my core I am someone who learns, creates and teaches - I know in my heart and soul that is what I was put on this planet to do. So in spite of all the thousands of things that I should be doing, I am making and taking time right now to just be me: to refuel my tank by learning and creating new things so that I am ready to teach others again when all this CM mess is finished with.
And it feels sooooooo good!

Born To Create!

I managed to get to my UFO group at the Neighbourhood House this week (first time in 3 weeks!) where I spent a pleasant two hours working on my cross-stitch project.

It reminded me of how much I really do love to create...it's my happy place, but it's also my comfort place. I was born to create.

On the strength of that, and in the midst of all the insanity that is my life right now, I have decided to plunge head-first back into two hobbies that I really love/miss/want to get better at. Yep, I have signed up for a 6 week photography class (online) at Big Picture Classes and I have decided to dabble in stamping again. I have done a spot of online shopping, bought some new stamps, and now have booked into a stamping day this weekend. I still have a bunch of album pages to make this week for the Virtual Crop, but I am choosing to focus on my private creative pursuits and that feels really good. My class kicks off tomorrow night, my stamping day is this Saturday, my online shopping haul should arrive early next week...this could be the start of something BIG!

As George Michael would say, "Ya Gotta Have Faith..."

This week has seen more than its fair share of drama and intrigue, ups and downs but as it draws to a close I find my mind keeps coming back to this one thought...ya gotta have faith. Faith that you are on the right path. Faith that the decisions you make will stand you in good stead. Faith that it is all going to turn out ok.
In 2011, my One Little Word for the year was Faith and I spent a great deal of time back then reflecting on what faith means to me. In retrospect I can see that it was time well spent. Right now I have nothing but faith...in my customers, in my business buddies, in what we are working hard to create on Facebook, in my ability to juggle the many many demands on my time right now, that my family and non-scrapbooking friends (I think I still have some of those!) understand why I am so distracted. Faith. That's pretty much all I am running on right now, faith and very little sleep!
To me, having faith is like being a farmer: you have to plant your seeds in rich soil, water them regularly with positive thoughts, and then you wait. So that is what I am doing. My seeds of faith are planted, I am tending my garden by trying to minimize the negativity that surrounds me and now I wait. In short, I am ready to grow a new beginning.

Here's hoping my faith proves to be as beautiful as these blossoms!

What we have been up to!

The inaugural post!

The inaugural post...where to begin??!! For the past week I have operated well-above my regular level of pandemonium as I clubbed together with some scrapbooking buddies of mine to bring Creative Memories customers and fellow consultants together here in Australia as we move through a transition phase. It's been an interesting week, must say I have learned a lot about people in the past 7 days as they showed their true selves but here we are 7 days later and still standing! Almost 400 people have joined our Facebook group in that time and we are doing our best to keep them creatively inspired and entertained. Who knows where the future is going to take us, but for right now we are banding together for support and encouragement and there is a lot of comfort in that, for all of us. So it is onwards and upwards we go into a brave new scrapbooking world! And if you wanna come play with us on Facebook, just do a search for Summer 2013 Virtual Crop for Creative Memories Australia and New Zealand...stop by and say hi!