Time for Action...

Happy New Year to you all!

For me 2012 is going to be the year of action...that is my one little word for this year. Last year my word was nurture and for the most part I did a pretty good job of living good to my word but maybe a little too good at times. Sometimes the nurturing of myself and family meant I didn't take any action and get the things I wanted to achieve done. So this year it is all about finding balance and taking action on some projects that have been lingering for some time now. I will keep you posted over the year on how I am progressing.

Now onto exciting scrappy related matters.

With all the chatter on the scrappy blogs about December Daily I was really keen to give it a go this year. Then I took a reality check and reminded myself how busy my December normally is and how I don't get all the things done during December that I want to at the best of times.

This year I really wanted to make a big effort to make December the best ever for Ashleigh as Christmas is her most favourite time of year. So, I printed a calendar and planned places to go and things to do at least each weekend and as much as we could possibly fit in.

With all the Christmas places we were going and things we were doing I changed my mind on the December Daily and decided to give it a go. After the first weekend I realised that although we were doing a lot over Friday, Saturday and Sunday our Monday to Thursday hadn't really changed and it was just work and school as normal. So, I have finally decided on a hybrid December Daily; for the long weekends I am telling a story a day and then for the rest of the week I am recording other Christmas memories that I don't want to forget but don't necessarily happen on that particular day ie traditions, decor etc. 

It is already January and I have only completed a few pages but I have all the photos, journalling, memorabilia and a list of memories for each day so now I just need to keep working away a few days at a time.

In the meantime, I thought I would share what I have so far. I am totally using what I have in my stash for this project, together with Ali Edwards December Daily Overlays and her word brushes and stamps, all available from Designer Digitals. 

DAY ONE | This is all about the wonderful advent 'calendar' Nanny made for Ashleigh this year with a different surprise each day - sometimes a gift or chocolate and sometimes a voucher to do something together over the holidays. Ashleigh loved the excitement each morning opening the present.

And by leaving finishing this page until after Christmas I was able to include a full list of what she got each day. I think this will be great to go back and read in future years. 

DAY TWO | Sorry, this photo isn't that great and I still have the journalling to add to this page but it is all about Ashleigh excitement for the Christmas 'season' to start and getting the Christmas tree up and decorated as close to the first as possible. She was so keen to start decorating I had to get the tree up and the lights on before she was home from school this Friday because she started as soon as she arrived home.

The twinkle twinkle is an Ali Edwards digital stamp and I added the holly brad as the dot on the I because when I recoloured the stamp from black to white I forgot the dot....but it is a happy mistake, I love the brad.

DAY THREE | These are photos from a local Christmas Display we went to which was truly amazing. The community town hall was totally decked out in Christmas decorations and decor from one couples collection of many, many years. Ashleigh absolutely loved it.

This page is not on a DD overlay because I used one of Ali's 6x8 Layered Templates and then printed it the wrong size so I improvised by cutting off the bottom three photos and just using it as above. The number 3 tag is cut with my Silhouette and the 3 is backed with red patterned paper. The sequin flowers and epoxy tree are both very old from my stash.

DAY FOUR | Some days when I have more photos to share or a longer story to tell I have included an insert, which I am using in various sizes. This page on the left is a 6x8.5 insert and I have ordered those page protectors from Studio Calico. 

This page is of the Sculpt 6k walk I did and includes a photo of my six-months pregnant sister and I at home before the walk and me finishing in the rain and still with a smile on my face. 

The believe is from an old Studio Calico kit. 

This page uses an Ali Edwards 6x8 Layered Template printed with just the red frame and words, no photo. For the journalling I took this straight from my blog post about the walk and achieving this goal I had set myself. The number is cut from my bib I wore on the day and it is just attached with my tiny attacher. The brackets are from the Silhouette shop and cut with my Silhouette and stitched on.

Well that is it for now....a very long post, thanks for hanging in there. I will share some more soon, hopefully.

2011 Comes to a Close

Wow...2011 has been a busy year for us and a good year.

With my new responsibilities at work I have done a lot of travel to Australia and Asia this year which has been both positive and negative. It has meant Scott has been in charge of many more parenting responsibilities, the positive and I have missed my family dearly on my longer trips, the negative.

I have achieved my getting fit and losing weight goals and definitely intend on getting fitter and maintaining my current weight through 2012.

I have got a lot more scrapbooking done this year, this has been helped by being on the Harvest Moon design team. It is amazing what motivation a deadline can be.

I have really enjoyed my cooking this year and trying new recipes on family and friends. I now make our own pizza bases and pizza's almost every week, I have learnt to make bread from scratch, which is absolutely delicious. And most weeks I do a menu plan for our dinners which includes some new recipes and old favourites and is a great way to save money at the supermarket.

As I reflect on the past year I am hyped and motivated for the year ahead. To keep me on track over the coming year I have started to make a list of the big and little goals I have for 2012 and I will be adding them in the side bar as motivation and to keep them top of mind.

I have also been thinking a lot about my One Little Word but still haven't settled on my word yet.

Hope everyone has a fantastic New Year's Eve and I will see you in 2012.

One Little Word

Wow....it has been another busy week and I have no new layouts to share although there are a number of half finished pages sitting on my scrap table.

I have been thinking a lot about my One Little Word : Nurture that I chose this year. I started the year strong and with good intentions to nurture myself and my family. I was living a reasonably balanced life then things got busy and by the end of March the balance was all gone. I had taken on some new responsibilities at work and started the year traveling to Australia every two weeks. I was neglecting my health; eating badly and not exercising, I was always tired and had no patience with my family.

But then when I turned 40 and I saw that photo of myself it shocked me into changing my ways....nurturing myself. Without realising it I have been living true to my One Little Word for the last six months. I have been making an effort to get home from work at a better hour every night. I have been eating so much better, joined the gym, did my first fun walk and have lost 13 kilos. I have also been working on my patience with Ashleigh and making the weekends for family.

Already I have started thinking and planning for 2012. What is my One Little Word going to be? What do I want to focus on? What do I want to achieve?