What I Learned about myself...

Okay, I am seriously bummed here. It is the last day before the Memory Makers Masters contest winners are announced and I didn't get a call. I have waited by the phone like a good girl and NOTHING. So, what have I learned from this nerve-wracking experience?

1) Nothing ventured nothing gained... What did I have to lose by submitting? I won't go to pieces, even though I am disappointed. I loved my layouts and now I have 5 pieces that I can submit elsewhere. I am of the mind that if you don't try , you can't win. I didn't win, but I'm proud that I tried and I will try, try again next year.

2) I'm very competitive. I knew that I liked to win, but who knew how competitive I was until I was looking at other's work and picking it apart. I know, childish right? It made me feel better at the time. I really am excited to see the new Masters and what they turned in to win. I need to appreciate other styles and be gracious. Hmmm that's harder than it sounds.

3) I need a LIFE... I am obsessed with the message boards... I have checked them every time I come within 10 feet of my computer. I am going nuts... I am ready to get back to school and wean myself off of this thing! However, I have completed more layouts than I've ever done in a 2 month time! I am on a creative streak and can see my style growing into something that is more me. I can only hope that it continues to change and be fun.

Well, that's it for now. I am going to go scrap some more and maybe work on some school stuff.... we start in 2 weeks now... I guess I need to move on and start thinking about that. It feels like fall today anyways.

Ribbon printing...

This is so cool... I made this up all by myself. So proud that I found a never been done technique. I've seen people print text on ribbon, but never a photo. SOooooo I tried it. LOVE LOVE LOVE how it came out, so now I'm printing all kinds of photos on all colors of ribbon!
I even submitted to Creating Keepsakes and they may want it... I'm still waiting for the Yay or Nay, but I got an email from the Editor-at-Large saying that "it looks really promising and I just have to run it by some other people"... so I sit and wait some more. Man, I'm not good at this waiting thing! Too excited. I shared on a couple sites, but I may need to pull the photos there. We'll see. Off to play with some more ribbon!

Here' s some examples:

Waiting....

Okay, I am not a patient person. I have submitted several of my layouts and projects to various magazines and contests and am now playing the waiting game. Will they call or email / will they not? I hope I get a phone call, but there are 600 other people doing the same for the Memory Makers Masters contest. How could I possibly be one of the 10? Not very likely. I loved my layouts that I sent in and feel really confident that they are up to par, but even since then, my style has changed. I have a wild need to create right now. I love what is coming out of me onto my pages. But will they??? Will others? I am full of self-doubt from this darn submission process. How can I possibly wait another minute to aleve myself of this nervous energy, this anxiety, this "how can I possibly be good enough" feeling. There is such a range of talent out there that I find it impossible to believe that I can even figure out what they are looking for. Am I good enough for them? Do I care? Of course, I would love to have that reassurance that I am one of the best, but I think for me it's not only the validation but the excitement of doing something that I have been afraid to do... go public with my art. Be out there and having to meet deadlines for new pages with new products... that would be stressful and FUN!
Anyways, It's Monday and they will begin calling the finalists... the best. Will I get a call? Will I sit here and feel terrible when I don't? I don't want to get my hopes up so high and then nothing come of it. It is my first time submitting after all. I've sent them my best pages, at the time. All I can do is hope that it is good enough and that I will remember that I felt good about them when I sent them, if and when I find out for sure "Yay or Nay". Fingers and toes crossed!

My birthday weekend!

We had a lot planned this weekend, in which my birthday fell on Saturday, so we decided to go out to dinner on Friday night. It was just Matt and I. We had a gift certificate from Christmas for my favorite restaurant, Julie's Place. Matt made the reservations & I called my Mom to babysit. She offered to have Mark stay overnight at their house. I was hesitant, but agreed. He's never slept in a regular bed before and I was certain that he would not cooperate and stay there all night. I got an email a few days before from some girls at work inviting people to meet them downtown that night. I was so excited to be going OUT for my birthday! So, the day was nice and HOT. I got dressed and we dropped Mark off at my parents. We had a fantastic dinner with a great bottle of wine. I had a salmon dish that was prepared on pan in front of our table with flames and it was YUMMY! We had dessert and coffee and then off we went downtown Syracuse. We met them in Armory Square and had a few drinks and lots of conversation! Then we went to Daisy Dukes (very much a hick bar with many bachorlette parties that night) to ride the mechanical bull. I had a dress on , so I just cheered and made fun of everyone. The girls did a shot with me at midnight to commemorate my 33rd birthday! Delish!
Then we went down the street to what used to be a cigar bar in search of the perfect cigar. yes, you heard right, I LOVE LOVE LOVE cigars... only once a year though. It was no longer a smoking bar... It's been a while since I've been there. So, we went to the store up the road and bought a vanilla flavored cigar each. OMG! So fun... that's where my downtown adventures ended and we went home for some private time. I was a happy birthday girl! Here's a few more pics!

Goals for my 33rd Year

Okay, I 'm gonna get serious here for a minute.. As I am coming up to my 33rd birthday (on Saturday!), I want to write down what my goals for this year are. I have some things to work on...
1) Be more patient
I am way too impatient. Impatient with others, impatient with waiting in traffic or in line at a store, impatient with work. I need to slow down and take a breather. I always feel bad when I yell at Mark to hurry up and when I'm short with hubby when he's bothering me. I need to relax and learn to look at the positive, not the negative. It's getting to me and I KNOW it gets to others. I'm forever in lines... the store, the highway, whatever... I am so annoyed if I have to wait more than a few minutes. WHere am I going? What's so important? Why the rush??? SLOOO@W Down!

2) Get organized...
This is a biggie! I need to weed out the old and organize the new. This is on my resolution list every year, yet I'm still a mess. I love chaos when creating, but afterwards, I look around and groan.. it's a mess! Sometimes I can't even find things I need! It wastes so much time... I need to reevaluate the storage options and get things in a workable place.
3) Exercise more.
I HATE HATE HATE exercise. The sweat, the pain, the time it takes... I would much rather be curled up with a good book or creating something. I HATE it! Anyways, I need to move my muscles more. I got a flyer in the mail from a local gym and it has aerobic classes and is very reasonable (at least on the flyer) so I need to stop in there and see. It's right near my work and home so it seems perfect. Maybe I will actually get in shape.

4)Spend less $
DH would be thrilled if I did this one. I spend WAY too much on non-essentials. I'm not even talking about my scrap addiction, though that is a big chunk! I go to Target at least twice a week. YIKES! I need to write down what we need and pick 1 day a week to go. That's my goal.

5) Submit pages to magazines
I so want to be published. I'm doing all this work, now I need to send it to editors to see. I can't get in if I don't submit. My goal is to be published in at least 2 publications this year.

6) Go on at least one vacation...
I need a break at least once a year. We are going to go to Florida in April, but I'm talking about a "Me" trip. One where I go by myself purely for enjoyment. Maybe Vegas, maybe AZ again???

7) Try for a 2nd Child..
Okay, I'll admit it, I'm thinking seriously about trying to have a second baby. Mark is almost 3 and even though he's a challenge at times, I really would like another one. He is even telling me that he wants a "baby sister"... LOUDLY this morning I might add. Maybe we'll get on that after the holidays. I would love to have him/her around September/ October. That way I'll get maternity leave and can go back mid way through the year or take the entire year off.

Okay, that's my list right now. Hope I can accomplish all of these.