What a way to bring in the New Year

Okay, I said I was going to keep up with this project 365 thing.  I said that I was not going to fold within the first month.  I said I was looking forward to taking on this challenge to jumpstart my return to scrapbooking after the great computer death of 2010.  All of those things are still goals so I guess I better get started huh?

This is the beginning of my project 365.  This is us rockin in 2011.  Yeah, we are a wild bunch, aren't we?

Emily working to stay warm while she waits for midnight.

David hangin' with the DS and avoiding the camera.

Jessie chattin it up on Facebook.  Aren't the Christmas jammies the coolest?

Yeah, he is a wild man.  Matt was catching a nap waiting for midnight.  He claims that the FoodNetwork show we were watching was responsible.

My exciting  New Year's Eve dinner from Taco Bell.  I had Matt pick it up for David and I after the petting zoo at The Gilbert House that the 4-H club participated in.  I am told they about froze to death out there but everyone seemed none the worse for wear.

 

 The Rose Bowl is a New Year's Day tradition!  It was a little weird that there was no Pac-10 team in the game this year but it was a good game all in all.

Project 365

I had a very generous Santa this year who brought me a new computer. I am so excited because my old laptop died back in August and I have not been able to do any digital scrapbooking. I am ready to get back into the swing of things. I am years and years behind. Despite that I am taking on a project this year. This project is called project 365 or project life depending on which designer you are looking at.

The basic principle behind P365 is to take a picture every single day of the year. The goal is to get all those photos into an album in whatever layout style you choose - daily, weekly, monthly or anything in between. I am planning to do weekly layouts so that should come out to 52 layouts by the end of the year. This is an ambitious project but I am excited to try it.

It is amazing how fast time flies by - here it is as the start of the second week of the year already. I have to download a few photos from this weekend, and can I just say that I am loving the card reader in my new computer (!), before I can post the pictures. I also need to decide which digi-kit I am going to use. I like a number of designers out there but my plan is to pick one kit and stick with it through the year to streamline the process.

Projects and plans.....

I have neglected this blog for a long time. I have a lot of excuses but the bottom line is that I have not been here writing.

BUT.......

This is a new year and I have projects and plans for 2011. Some of these projects and plans include this blog, others are personal and some are for my home and family.

The most intensive project I am undertaking is Project 365. Project 365 is a photography/scrapbooking challenge. The basic idea is to take at least one photo every day of the year and then make scrapbook layouts to incorporate them all. I am excited to take on this challenge and see if I can do it. It certainly incorporates two of my greatest loves. I will be featuring my layouts and photos here quite often.

Other projects and goals for 2011 include keeping the weight loss trend going. I started weight watchers in November and lost throughout the holidays. I am very proud of that. I will continue to work toward my ultimate goal of getting to a healthy weight. I also have a goal of changing the way I react to situations at home and how I deal with the kids. I need to be more positive in my approach to parenting. This is going to be a big challenge but it is one that hopefully will bring many positive things to our family.

The last challenge I am taking on is the clutter and chaos in my home. A change is necessary. There is just too much stuff in this house. I need to get rid of a bunch of it. In order to get that done, I will be more active on the Manage Your Life on Scrapshare.

Clutter, clutter everywhere

I admit that I am the world's worst housekeeper. Sadly, my children are no better and DH..... well, let's just say that if it falls around DH there it sits.

But, I am sick to death of the mess. It needs to go away!

So to this end I posted a question on the Manage Your Life forum at scrapshare asking for guidance on what to do. I need help. Ideally, that help would be someone with a magic wand to wave and make it all go away. Since that is not likely to happen and I can't ask my friends to help me out AGAIN, I must conquer this problem on my own. Hence asking for advice from my online friends who are wonderful by the way.

Now I have a list of ideas and a desire to implement them. Now I need to find the follow-through. That is where this blog is going to come in handy. It will be my gotta get it done/how far have I come journal.

First up is to rid this house of garbage. I may need to buy stock in a garbage bag company.

Progress

Well, I have been remiss in posting for a few days but I have been working my own weird little program.

Unfortunately my program did not include a sinus infection, reactive airway/asthma issues and antibiotics. Despite that I am actually down 1.2 pounds this week. Added to the 1.6 I was down last week and I am very happy with the current results on the scale.

I need to work on my portions a bit more and my food choices overall. There have been a lot of meals out and that has to stop. The garden and other things are keeping me more active but I still need to get a true exercise program in place.

So all in all, positive steps with more work to do.

Sadness and a heavy heart

I do not like to use the word HATE. It is such a strong word and carries such a heavy meaning that I try really hard to keep it out of my everyday conversation.

However, I have to say that I truly and completely HATE cancer. It is such a cruel disease in whatever form it takes.

In the last two days I have learned of the passing of two very dear souls. One was a wonderful woman that I only knew through her posts on Scrapshare and the scrapbooking work she shared with us. I understand from those who knew her "in real life" that she was as warm, funny and giving in person as she was online. She fought a galant and courageous fight. Our online community held our collective breath over each of her posts in recent months, hoping for a miracle. Sadly, that miracle did not come to fruition and we lost Amy much too soon.

Today I received the news that a wonderful man who has been a pillar of our 4-H community for many, many years lost his battle with stomach cancer. This man gave hours and hours of his time to helping the youth of our county learn valuable lessons in many areas of the 4-H program. He gave of his time selflessly and without care because he knew that these children he was helping are our future. He was honored just this past November with the 4-H Distinguished Service Award at our annual Leader's Dinner.

Amy shared something a few months ago that really touched my heart and it seems even more meaningful now.

"I perceive myself having bad days all.the.time. But you know what?They're NOT bad days. They're one more day I get to spend withmy family. One more day I can tell them I love them. One more day...I can get hugs and kisses. So see, they're NOT bad days. They're BLESSED days."

Such profound words and something I will strive to remember for a lifetime.

Please hug your family and friends today. They are so important.