The Memory Bee

Especially fond...

...these two words have touched a cord deep in me. You probably recognize them if you've read The Shack.

(photo courtesy of Brandon Schuh)

I'm kind of funny about things like this... if something is super popular like this book has been, then I'm pretty skeptical and cynical about it. I'm sorry to say that I was not very sweet to people who said they read and loved this book. I finally decided to buy it for my Kindle and read it on my travels and see what all the fuss was about. I was so moved by the story and was marking so many passages that I decided I needed to own a paper copy of the book and be able to mark it and hold it in my hands without clicking through the pages. I also had to stop reading it on airplanes because I was embarrassing myself with my crying as I read it. I'm not kidding...I was weeping as I read!
Yes, I've known that God is love, but this truth of God's love: how He is especially fond of ME (and you and you...) now has new meaning to me.
Rather than dissect the doctrine of the book ( and there are some things that I don't exactly agree with,) I just read it as a story and was extremely moved by it. It spoke to me about issues I've had but not really dared to express about God and His love and His goodness. I bring a lifetime of teaching, perceptions, and experiences with God to my view of this book, so I'm not sure how it will speak to others, but I just know that it deeply touched my heart and my spirit.
Have you read it?

Celebrating!

We celebrated the Fourth of July by celebrating with our good friends at their daughter's wedding on Saturday. It was the most beautiful, meaningful ceremony! I hope and pray that my boys will find this kind of relationship for themselves. I know many of you have prayed for my friends... in the days ahead, they will be depending on those prayers! Don't they look wonderful? They've been through so much, but are strong in their faith and trusting God to be with them and guide them.
Other than that I had a quiet weekend, relaxing and watching tennis and golf and just chilling ...sometimes it's just what's needed. I have a short week this week, getting ready for my trip to California on Thursday. Time to work my way down my lists again!

Just sayin'...

A couple things to let you know....

First, registration for CKU (Creating Keepsakes University) in Provo, Utah, ends on July 9th, so there isn't much time left to sign up. If you've ever thought about going, do it! This is probably (so I've been told) the last CKU! I'm very sad about that...it's been a huge part of my life for the last seven years! I've met so many great people...both students and teachers, stayed at some really nice hotels, seen the country, and loved it all! CKU is the original event of its kind, and I'm pretty sure they are pulling out all the stops for this last one! I know people are still signing up for my album track or there are other really good ones to choose from, too. Provo is so beautiful. I can't wait to go back!

Next week I'm headed back to California for what I'm calling my "Southern California Tour." I'm teaching in three stores in three days! I'm starting out at Gilding the Lily in Fullerton on Friday night, July 10. We're having dinner and doing the new ATC holder class. I can't wait to visit this store! I've had so many people tell me that I just have to go there! They carry vintage trims and ribbons, millinery flowers, and all kinds of bits and baubles...my favorite things! We're actually having class in the cafe down the way from the store since we have so many people signed up! I sent them extra kits today, if anyone is still interested in signing up!
The next morning I'm teaching the Just Be album class at The Red Bee in Tustin. I taught there once before and can't wait to return! From there I'll be driving down to San Diego to teach at Paper Tales! I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to seeing and shopping in Michelle's store! We've added a third class to the schedule at Paper Tales...I'm going to be teaching The Places You'll Go travel album at Paper Tales on Saturday evening from 5pm to 8pm. We're just announcing it now, so if you're interested in taking this class, be sure to call and sign up soon. I taught this class for the first time last week in Houston and they enjoyed making this vintagy looking album!
On Sunday, I'll teaching the Just Be album and the ATC holder class (These are the Days) at Paper Tales. We have a big group for the ATC holder class...good thing there is a large classroom space nearby that we can use! I sent them extra kits, too, just in case anyone else still wants to come!
All the kits were shipped today! It was a bit of a panic at the last minute because there are so many more people signed up than I expected, so I was hurriedly making more kits at the last minute and trying to get to Fed Ex before the last pickup of the day. We made it and now I can relax for the holiday!
Hope yours is the best! We've got a very special friend's wedding on the 4th, so that's going to be a different way to celebrate!

Howdy from Houston!

I've had a wonderful weekend here in Texas, teaching at By Design Scrapbook Boutique and spending a few hours today doing one of my favorite things...shopping!
I know I say it every time I teach somewhere but truly I am so blessed to get to do what I do! I meet and know the nicest people! Since this was my third time teaching at By Design, I saw many familiar faces and friends. I hope you enjoy your projects, learned some new things, and made new friends, too. I can't wait to come back again!
We painted and distressed and Binderied and folded and made some really cute ATC cards...right? I have so much fun getting out of my comfort zone with paints and inks and all and now enjoy passing that on to my students. Tranforming the grungepaper to look like leather is just so cool!

By Design was celebrating their second birthday, so of course there were cupcakes with glitter ...the BEST I've ever tasted! The store is just so unique. It really is a destination store...if you ever have the chance to shop there, it's really worth it!

Friday night after class I got back to my hotel, got my jammies on, and crawled into bed with my computer. I had been up since 3am eastern time, so I was exhausted. Within a few minutes the fire alarm went off! I opened my door to see what was going on and saw water streaming out from under the door across the hall. The boys in that room had knocked the sprinkler off the ceiling! The water doesn't just spray out...it comes out like a fire hydrant. Within a few minutes, there was about water about 6" deep coming into my room! I was able to move to the floor above but didn't get a great night's sleep! I wasn't too happy with the way the hotel handled it, so I didn't want to stay there a second night. I decided to move to the hotel where I was already planning to stay the third night near the Galleria. I had used Priceline to find a hotel near there and when my bid of $70 for a 4 star hotel was accepted, I found that I was going to be staying at the Hotel Derek. Things really do work out for the best! I've had two nights at this fabulous hotel...it is very cool! I told my husband that it's so cool that they have baskets for your clothes instead of drawers! How chic is that?! Here's a look at the room...I love the wall of windows with the couch that runs the length of the wall. The bathroom is one of the nicest I've seen and I stay in a lot of hotels! I didn't find out until after I was already settled in that they have "Lady Pink" rooms for female travelers with pink bedding and robes. Can't believe I missed that!

Can't wait to get home tomorrow though!

My guys

It was good to have all my men here for Father's Day, except my dad, who is still not feeling well in Florida and can't come home until he is well. It's the first time since college I think that we haven't been together on this day! I'm looking forward to him being here soon, I hope and pray!
Jeremy came home from college for the day...always so good to have him here to hug!

I've been a pretty sorry blogger lately! My life has actually been pretty boring. Assembling kits, preparing PowerPoint presentations for my classes, making travel arrangements, lining up the last couple stores where I'll be teaching this year (so excited to add Whim So Doodle in St. Petersburg, FL and All About Scrapbooks in Chesapeake, VA), getting in a few trips to Bravo and Starbucks with Brandon, and getting ready to go to Houston on Friday have consumed my days. All good things but not too exciting to photograph for the blog!
My gardens need attention! Hopefully I'll be able to take a little time to work on those this week...

A new winner!

I never heard from the first person the random number picker picked, so I put the numbers in again and it choose number 44...Marilyn! I know her! Congratulations! Thanks to everyone for all your comments...it was fun to read! I'll have to give bathtub updates every six months or so, to let you know how the tub holds up!

44 Powered by RANDOM.ORG 

Hi Debby! Your tub looks so nice.

The Tiny Attacher looks GREAT!

I love reading your blog.

Posted by: Marilyn Tschorke | June 09, 2009 at 03:19 PM

More before and afters...

I still haven't used my newly painted bathtub. The paint is supposed to "cure" for 72 hours but when I was redoing the caulk, I leaned my arm on the side of the tub and left an imprint. I'll use another shower for a couple more days just to be sure it's completely ready to go. It's so much more attractive than it was. And I love the new shower curtain. It just makes me happy!

The rug and towels are Simply Shabby Chic from Target and the shower curtain is from Anthropologie. I'll eventually repaint the dark pink walls with a pale pink. I'm the only one who uses this bathroom, so I can make it as girly as I want! Fun!

The reorganizing, sorting, and purging has continued in our bedroom. There are now no piles of stuff anywhere! I've been stalking the Target website, watching for a free shipping offer on these Simply Shabby Chic bookshelves that I've wanted. The shipping was $148 and I did not want to pay that much! Finally they had a free shipping offer and so I saved that $148! All my supplies for teaching (the punches and small things that get packed into baggies) just got piled in a corner of our room because there wasn't anywhere else to put them. Now they are organized into baskets and will be so easy to access when I need them. Here's the before and after:

Next to that shelf is a desk that was made by my great-grandfather's uncle. It has traveled with me since high school. I'll show a picture of that one of these days. I replaced a small bookshelf at the other end of the room with another one of the Target bookshelves and organized that area, too. (If you're interested in this Simply Shabby Chic furniture, I'm very impressed by the quality of the details. The reviews online are very mixed though. We only had a problem with one of the shelves that had a broken edge that we had to glue.)

As I've mentioned before, our master bedroom used to be an in-law apartment. We took the wall out between the living room and bedroom and made one large room. So we have a large room...big enough for a couch and TV area (this next picture shows the Simply Shabby Chic TV stand, too.) I'm just about done in this room. I just need to hang photos. Here's a look at that end of the room:

In between my little projects, I'm immersed in getting the two new classes (the travel album and part 2 of the ATC holder class) ready to teach in Houston at the end of the month. The living room and dining room are piled with boxes again, I'm cutting lots of ribbon, packing kits, writing instructions, making step samples, doing the Powerpoints, and all the details that go into new classes. Plus I have only one teaching date left open for the fall...working out plans for that, too!

Still waiting to hear from Sue about the Tiny Attacher punch!

And the winner is...

Edited to add: If I don't hear from Sue by this Thursday, 6/18, I'll choose a new winner and that person will have one week to contact me with their address. Thanks everyone!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

173	

Timestamp: 2009-06-12 00:00:42 UTC

My friend also raves about Tim's tiny attacher but I have yet to cave in and buy one.

Posted by: Sue Bone | June 11, 2009 at 12:04 PM

Sue, please email me at memorybee@msn.com with your address. Congratulations! You will love this tool!
A big thank you to Tim for the nifty giveaway!

I've been painting...

I wish it was as much fun as painting some yummy colors on canvas and creating something cool, but it sure wasn't! I painted my bathtub! It was a bad shade of yellow...not even the buttery yellow it looks in the photo. I bought a tub painting kit at Lowe's and yesterday I finally tackled the job. It looks really nice for now, but we'll see how it holds up! I'll be out $35 and a few hours if it doesn't last. I need a new tub no matter what, but at least this might buy me a little time. I don't really want to spend $ on that right now! Here's look at the before and after...I'll show you another picture after it's dry with the new shower curtain...lots of ruffles...love it!

While we're waiting for the paint to dry, how about a little giveaway?! One of my favorite new things is Tim's Tiny Attacher. Do I really need another stapler? I know, I thought the same thing until I tried it and saw how adorable the little staples are and how it goes through chipboard and lots of layers of embellishments. It's just so cute for attaching things and for just making a little decoration on a page, like I did on this page in my travel album class. I have a Tiny Attacher and a package of refills to give away to one of my blog readers! Just leave a comment on this post and I'll draw a name to win it. The drawing will end on Thursday night at 8pm Eastern time. You want this..don't be shy!

Vintage inspiration

Again I've been holed up in my room, creating one more class that I'll be teaching in stores in the months to come. I wanted to create a travel album that would be useful and purposeful (sound familiar?) and wished I could just reproduce this really cool vintage scrapbook I picked up at an antique store a few months ago.

Instead, I used the album as inspiration and turned this plain gray piece of Tim Holtz's Grungepaper into a fabulous faux leather album cover with paints and inks. I can't wait to teach my students how to do this! I love it!

We're going to make our own 11" x 9" album using the brand new October Afternoon Road Map papers and embellishments, different size page protectors, 7gypsies naked paper bags, and lots of fun things! Then we'll put it all together with the 7gypsies Binderie punch! I would never think I would need another hole punch, but after using the Binderie punch and seeing how convenient and precise it is to mechanically punch the holes, it has become one of my very favorite tools. I plan on giving on away on my blog soon, so watch for that! You can see more pictures and read more about this class here.

Here's a look at just one of the pages...

I'll be teaching this class, the new ATC holder class "These are the Days," and the Just Be album at By Design Scrapbook Boutique in Houston on June 26 and 27 and then at the other stores on my schedule in the weeks after that. I don't sell the kits to students myself until a class is completely done at stores, so if you'd like to buy a kit, you can call one of the stores on my schedule, and they would be glad to send you one. Once you receive the kit, you can email me, and I'll send you instructions and pictures of every page.

Thank God for perenial flowers that are just growing away without any attention from me! My colorful annual flowers have been sitting for almost two weeks, just waiting to hit the window boxes, pots, and the ground around the house. Soon...I promise!

Such good times!

CKU Nashville 2009 has come and gone and now I'm reliving the happy memories of the sweet southern ladies that I spent the last few days with! It's no secret that I love CKU (or I wouldn't have taught at about 28 of them!) and the biggest reason that I do is the time we get to spend creating something special together and sharing our stories.

Some highlights...

• Hearing the stories that my students will be documenting in their "Once Upon a Time" albums: stories of dear family members, gardens, summer fun, friendships, and more. We shed some tears and made new friends. You girls did so great! I could have left and gone to the pool...everyone was working and visiting and doing their thing! I loved it!
• eating some fabulous food in the Opryland restaurants! Mmmm...love the tastes of other's meals {:)} and the vanilla gelato with popcorn and caramel sauce. Oh, my!!
• spending time with good friends in the business and making new friends! We laughed till we hurt! A big thanks to Tim, Mario, Margie, Lucy, Teresa, Jamie, Trina, and Elizabeth!
• teaching this album track with such cute product from October Afternoon. The album we used from Fancy Pants made it so unique because of the mixture of chipboard, felt, and acrylic pages. A huge thanks to them for supplying the product for our classes! Several other manufacturers provided other things that made our album special, and I thank them so much! 7gypsies provided Binderie punches for each person to use and they loved them! You don't think you need another hole punch until you try this tool and then you have to have one!

If I had extra kits for this class, I could have sold it many times over, but I don't. The good thing is that I plan to make it into a class to teach in stores this fall, so you can watch for it then.
Word has it that CKU Provo in August will be the last CKU. It is going to be very sentimental...CKU has been a huge part of my life for the last 7 years!

I finished off the weekend with a fabulous time teaching two sold out classes at Scrappuccino! My feet were tired by then but it was so nice to see everyone! Lola and Kathie are so sweet! Thank you so much for your hospitality and to the students who worked so hard. Check out all your cute pictures in the photo album on the side!

Now it's back to work...another class to design for the end of the month at By Design in Houston! I'll have peeks up soon.

New meaning

All these years Memorial Day has been a nice holiday for a family picnic and an occasional parade when Jeremy had to march in the band and a passing thought of thankfulness for those who have served our country, but this year it's beginning to mean so much more as I anticipate my son being one of the soldiers serving our country. I really appreciated Stephanie Howell's blog post here about what the day means to her. Her husband is serving in Afghanistan right now. She gives us a poignant look into what military families go through. Next year at this time, if everything works out as Brandon would like it to work out, he will be in Ranger camp, and I will be feeling a multitude of emotions!
Brandon participated in a little parade(by little, I mean little...color guard, two Army vehicles, and one marching band...not even a fire truck!) He rode along with his girlfriend (who has also enlisted!)
I'm proud of him and pray for all the good things that he's anticipating to come true!

 

Today I'm packing for my 25th or so CKU (Creating Keepsakes University) and leave for Nashville in the morning. I'm looking forward to returning to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, which I call a human terarium, fun with my fellow teacher friends, seeing students that I've known through the years, and meeting lots of new friends! It's going to be three straight days of 8 hours of teaching...exhausting but so rewarding. I'm really looking forward to hearing the stories that my students are recording in our album track class.
I'll be back with lots of pictures next week!

Happy holiday weekend!

Today has been a gorgeous day...perfect for washing the outdoor furniture and getting everything set up to enjoy our back porch this summer. I went to the nursery this morning and bought flowers. Can't wait to add the burst of color to the window box and flower beds!

I've been camped out in my "office" getting ready for CKU next week and classes at Scrappuccino near Nashville next Sunday. I'm teaching the Family Matters 7gypsies class for the last time there and the Just Be album. I'm looking forward to seeing Lola and Kathy and everyone there again! I know there are lots of people signed up, but there might be some room. You can call them at 615-643-2622 to see.

I managed to get out of the house this week for lunch with a very special group of ladies. We've gotten  together every week for about twelve years. We do a Bible study together and share and encourage and pray for each other. Our ages span six decades, and we share a bond that I treasure!

I'm also mastering putting Powerpoint presentations together! My presentation for Creative Escape had to be done with Powerpoint, and that motivated me to use it for CKU and for my future classes in stores. Yeah! I'm sure my students will be happy about that. I got a great deal on a small projector on Ebay, so I'm powered up and excited about the possibilities!

I had a post all ready to go about my two new favorite scrapbook tools, but I'm going to hold off on that and give one of each them away when I do my posts! That makes it more fun! Keep watching for that in June!

Two more pictures of my work companion... making use of any little space around... including my ribbon basket and a box that's way too small!

In the zone...

I'm finally getting ready to leave my house for the first time since Tuesday and rewarding myself with a shower and clean clothes. More than you wanted to know, right?! I have been creating and playing like crazy. First my CKU album class and now I've finished designing the new version of the ATC holder class that I'll be teaching in stores across the country this summer and fall. Is it ok for me to say that it is off the charts in the darling category? I LOVE all the little details in the tiny little creations.
Here's a look at 3 of the cards we'll be making in the class...

The little Ball jar in the pocket is actually a tiny little book we'll make and the little Live Your Dreams sticker is on a little flag pole that sticks up above the holder. We're even painting...see that green on the card on the left? Oh my! So far I'll be teaching this class in Houston, TX, Fullerton and San Diego, CA, Coconut Creek, FL, and in San Jose, CA. There's more info and another picture under Upcoming Classes here. Now I just have a travel album class to design but I'm waiting on product for that.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for my friend and her husband. I told her today that people all across the country were praying for them, and it meant so much to her. Her husband meets with the surgeon this Friday at Roswell (our cancer hospital.) Keep them in your prayers. Thanks!!!

Once Upon a Time...

My days this week have been consumed with planning for my album track class at CKU in two weeks. I'm so excited about this class! I love having 8 hours to work on the album together. I can't wait to see what stories each person is telling in their album. My track is sold out in Nashville but there may still be room for CKU Provo in August if you're interested. I may also be teaching a shortened version of this class at stores in the fall. Even if you're not taking the class, you can see the list of sponsors and get an idea of what we're doing on the class blog in the link on the right or here.

I am counting my blessings in the midst of some difficult things. It helps me keep things in perspective when I think of what my friends are going through. I mentioned a few months ago about my really good friend who was going through ovarian cancer. She ended up with a really good report after going through chemo and all. She has been back to work but has no sick days left. Just this week her husband was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Their daughter is getting married in July. I think this is one of those times when you just can't make sense of what God is allowing to happen to them. Some people seem to suffer so much. I know and believe in how much God loves them but this is really hard to understand. Please pray for them.

Creating an Unforgetable Escape...

I had a fabulous time at the Creative Escape preview days in Phoenix! One of the huge blessings of teaching at events like this is getting to know the other teachers better. Tim Holtz and I shared a table in the back row..always trouble! :) I loved spending time with Marah Johnson and Heather Bailey and Lynette Carroll. We stayed up way too late the last night having dinner together and sharing our hearts with each other. Such talented and caring women! I'm so blessed to call them friends!

 

A huge thank you to Heidi, Doug, and all the gang at Bazzill for this incredible opportunity! Every need is cared for and organized completely. Frani and Carol and Lisa and Mona and everyone are the best!

If you are one of the lucky students coming to Creative Escape in August, I can tell you that I have never seen such amazing projects at an event before. My lips are sealed; we sign a confidentiality agreement, to not ruin the surprise, but I can promise that you will not be disappointed. I hated leaving the projects behind, stored at Bazzill until the big event. A great variety of styles, new techniques, exclusive product...just so cool.

We went to a park to take pictures for the event book. Nothing like pictures when it's 100+ degrees! Here's some outtakes and some good ones, too!

 

 

Proud to be their mom...

I had a 4am wake up call here at my hotel in Phoenix, got to the airport, got all settled on the plane, then they had us get off the plane, so they could turn the power off and not have us collapse from the heat! I was hoping to be home earlier today for Mother's Day, but now it looks like it won't be until tonight. I've had to dig up my picture from last year, since we won't be together today!

May 2008:

Being mom to these guys is different these days as they mature as men and make their own decisions and pursue their dreams. My role is mainly cheerleader and advice-giver...when it's wanted (ok...maybe sometimes when it's not wanted,too!) I am proud of them and pray for them continually.

I finally made it home after a long day of travel (so thankful for first class upgrades!) and got to spend a little time with one son and talk to the other...glad he'll be home in a few days! 

May 10, 2009:

It's HOT!

It's 5:30am and I'm at the airport again, on my way to Phoenix where it's going to be 103 degrees today! That's crazy! Tonight I'm teaching at Scrapbooks Etc. I can't wait to be there...I'm sure I'll be doing some damage there as I hear that they carry just about every scrapbook product out there. Looking forward to meeting the students too!
Tomorrow we start preview days for Creative Escape which takes place in August. How cool is it that as teachers we get to take each others classes ahead of time?! Good times with Tim and Heidi and Marah and Lynette and Heather all the other teachers. I've never been to Bazzill before so I'm sure I'll be drooling as I get a look at all that cardstock!

I finished one more project in my little remodeling/reorganizing project. I painted a desk that was in our bedroom and moved it into my scrapbook room/office. I love it!
Here's the before...you'll notice I didn't show much of the area below the top of the computer desk because there was so much piled there.

 

Here's what it looks like now...my desktop computer died...it was a dinosaur anyway. I was still using Microsoft Works on it! I moved the printer and fax machine to a shelf to the left. It is a 3 shelf unit snap together thing, but we only used two of the shelves and it's perfect for what I need to fit under the counter.

 

It even comes with a cat! I had a piece of glass made for the top. I wonder if I ever would have noticed that I put some of the handles back on upside down, if my husband had not pointed it out. It's staying like this for now. Quirky, I think!!

 

Also, what they say about dry heat, not being as hot...I don't believe it! It's hot here!

"Rubber, meet Road."

I googled the saying, "where the rubber meets the road," and it means a moment of truth. Well, that's where I've been the last few days. It's about faith and trust and believing and letting go and all those things that are so easy to talk about and then not so easy to do sometimes.

It started about a week ago when Brandon, our 19 year old son, asked me if I would be home Monday morning because Army recruiters that he had called were coming to the house to meet with him just to gather information. By Thursday, he was taking the test to see what he would qualify for, had his physical yesterday, and is now officially enlisted in the Army to be a medic! He goes to boot camp on September 7, so we still have lots of time to get used to the idea.

(I found this self-portrait that he did in first grade. Pretty amazing detail for that age, I think!)

My head is spinning...it's a very big surprise, but I'm feeling incredibly proud and excited for him. My emotions swing from that to mind- and body-numbing fear. It's not been great for my productivity, that's for sure! One thing that's been so helpful is talking to my good friend Pam and her husband and her son and daughter-in-law who have all been or are in the Army. Pam's son Eero enlisted as a medic at about the same stage of college as Brandon. They've alleviated as many of my fears as they can and have helped me feel so much better. I'm so thankful for that.

I have to constantly rein in my thoughts and choose faith over fear. Faith in God, in His goodness, in His love, in His guidance, in His protection...
This morning I woke up early and was thinking about a couple of my favorite Bible verses:

Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."

These verses have been a guide throughout my life and now I'm believing them for my son. In the darkness this morning, I grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper and wrote down these verses line by line, thinking about what each word means to me. I'll share it here...as a reminder to myself!

I ...Debby Schuh
trust ...believe, rest, hope, have faith
in You, Lord
with all ...not holding anything back in fear and doubt
my heart ...my will, my mind, my emotions, my thoughts, the core of who I am.
I will not lean ...depend, rely, rest
on my own understanding ...thinking, reasoning, conclusions, presuppositions
but instead, in all...not holding anything back, without exception
my ways ...my actions, thoughts, words, emotions
I acknowledge ...give you credit, tip my hat to you, say yes, remember who is in charge, recognize
You ...God, Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Lord
and You will direct ...order, guide, teach, command, tell me to go here or there
my path ...where I go, my steps, my plans, the course I take.

I can face today. God knows and can take care of tomorrow.

What have I been up to all week?

Good question!
1. I made the mistake of starting the Twilight series of books. I don't really like them (I'm one of the few) and don't think they're very well written, but they are addicting...I had to know what was going to happen to the characters. I've finished book three but I'm determined not to read book 4 until I'm traveling again or something. I have too many other things to do!

2. I've been getting a lot of things done around the house! I used to always have some sort of decorating project going, but I haven't done anything lately. You know how one little thing can lead to another and then to another and so on? My current project in our master bedroom started with my visit to the "going out of business sale" at the Shabby Chic store in NYC earlier this month. I got a couple pieces of bedding there. That led to getting a new bed to put it on. We had not gotten a new bed since before we had kids (and Jeremy's 22!) That led to rearranging our room, painting a wall (over an old stenciled border that I was really tired of), painting a garage sale headboard, and cleaning out closets.
I mixed the pieces from the Shabby Chic store with pieces from the Simply Shabby Chic line at Target and love the results! Here's a few pictures...

The new mattress is very thick, so I got the low box springs. That put the 18" bed skirt onto the floor, but I like it. It's very flowy! Yesterday I was cleaning out the flower beds and found a single hyacinth. I don't know where it came from and the smell was so heavenly, so I had to bring it in and enjoy the  fragrance.

I really related to the quote that Rebecca Sower had on her blog the other day:

How wonderful it is

that nobody need wait a single moment

before starting to improve the world

{ anne frank }

I've been following that this week and getting so much done! I usually think that I need to wait until I have a large block of time before I tackle a project, but I've just been taking the moments here and there and getting little things done. Those little moments add up to getting lots done! It feels so good to improve the world right here in my home! I know has bigger meaning than just cleaning the house, but that's my world today.

3. I'm getting ready for preview days for Creative Escape next week in Phoenix. Each of the teachers will teach their classes to the other teachers and volunteers to work out any kinks in the instructions or the kits. I'm so excited to do the other classes and see everyone!

4. I've also been working on my album track for CKU (Creating Keepsakes University) at the end of May in Nashville. Planning an 8 hour class is fun, but challenging!

5. I'm in the process of painting a desk from our bedroom white and putting it in my scrapbook room as my computer desk. More sorting and cleaning...yeah!