Once Again...

I've let this blog slip up so many times...so let's try this again! I'm really going to make an effort to keep this updated, at least once or twice a week. Really, I'm not doing anything much MORE productive with my time after work, and I really need to get going in cleaning out that craft room to make room for the baby, so maybe this will keep me on track.

I'm also trying to get ready for another craft show on July 31st right here in Atlas. It's the first annual Atlas Community Yard Sale and Craft Show. My friend Angie and I were put in charge of it. I think this year is kind of a trial to see how we could do it better next time. That's part of the fun. So i'm trying to decide on what to make to sell, and will probably do some cruising on Splitcoast later to see.

For now, however, I have an unopened box of Stampin' Up! goodies that's calling my name...I'll be back later to update my cleaning progress! Wish me luck!

A New Year, A New Goal

Hello stampers, scrappers and general crafters!

It is one of my goals for the new year to keep this blog more updated, even if it's only to get online and offer some wisdom or uplifting words for those times when my creative mojo is fizzling. I'd like to add in some posts showcasing the things I've been sewing as well as the papercrafting projects, since most of us aren't single-genre crafters in the end of it all!

I'm hoping to make this a year of inspiration and creativity, and I thank you all for joining me along the way. Who knows what 2010 will bring...i hope it will be lots of happiness, hope and strength. Blessings to all of you!

Happy Stampin'!
-jen

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by my upline, Jessica, to take this challenge, and the picture was so fun, I had to take her up on it. The challenge was to post the sixth picture in the sixth folder in your picture files. So here's my picture:

This is my Mom sitting with a gorilla outside Rainforest Cafe in Atlantic City last year. We went on a bus trip together for the day, and I hope we do it again!! We had a blast. We just walked the boardwalk and gambled just a little bit (till we ran out of the money they gave back to us when we got off the bus!) but she won a hundred bucks in the process. She had this method: put in a five dollar bill and when you get up to a certain amount (say ten bucks) cash out and start over with another five dollar bill. ONLY put fives in the machine, nothing more. Now every time I see she has a five dollar bill I say "ooh, are we gonna gamble that?" :)

I don't really have anyone to tag, so unfortunately the game ends here (Jessica already tagged Trinity and I can't do a tag-back, ha ha). I just thought I'd share such a great picture. :)

Breast Cancer Fundraiser

Wow. I haven't been on here in a while...been quite busy with some stuff, but also very exhausted. Since my last post, I had my first SU! workshop which was pretty successful. Thanks to Patti for hostessing! Also since my last post I had a small scare after going to the doctor's office. I have a small lump near my armpit at the side of my left breast, and she ordered an ultrasound for it. Long story short, it's nothing abnormal, but my attitude towards breast cancer has completely changed.

My Aunt Sarah had breast cancer, and she beat it after having a lump removed and going through chemotherapy. A couple years after that, my sister had a scare and had to have a cyst removed, then my niece had a scare and had to have a cyst removed. Thankfully, both of those cysts were benign. When I found the bump in mine, I hate to admit I ignored it for quite a while, mostly because I didn't want it to be something bad. Stupid, huh? So I came to my senses and realized that duh...it's never going to go away and if it is something bad, it's just sitting there getting worse. It turns out they think it's a lymph node that's going haywire. I'm tracking the size of it to see if it is growing/shrinking with my cycle (my sister's suggestion because she has one that does the same thing) and there's still the option to work with a breast specialist and have it removed. I might just take the option...if it's malfunctioning, get rid of it. Better safe than sorry.

So on the tail of my scare, I feel like I want to become involved and raise money for a cure. I have three great nieces who will hopefully grow into a world where breast cancer isn't a threat anymore--where ANY cancer is no longer a threat. But such research to get to that day isn't cheap! I wonder how many women who are demonstrators for SU! or customers of SU! have been directly or indirectly affected, or how many of those women we've actually lost to the battle. I sort of thought that being a demonstrator gives me a great vehicle to raise awareness and money for the cause. So I thought I'd have a fundraiser.

I'm still bouncing around ideas, but I think I'm going to try to find a local hall that will donate the use of its space for a 12 hour charity crop and have a small lunch and some prizes/raffles. Any ideas for my project would be greatly appreciated and welcomed! I'm still in the very beginning planning phases here, but think that this would be a great way to raise some money. Oh, and the proceeds from any SU! sales that day would also be donated.

Think pink, and ladies, if you're reading this and haven't done your self-exam lately or had your mammogram when you're supposed to...get to it! This disease is real, and can happen to anyone.

I've done it!

Well, it's been official since last week, but today it's super-official...I'm an SU! Demonstrator! The big box came today, and I'm really excited. I even booked my first workshop (thanks, Patti!) and made a small order (Thanks again, Patti!) I think this will be really fun, and I'm looking forward to meeting new people and giving them an outside-the-box approach to making their purchases...I'm planning a bunch of clubs and group purchase events to make it a little easier on people's wallets during this time of economic crunching...just because times are tough doesn't mean we should give up doing what we love, right?!

I'll be posting some of the clubs on this blog, so be sure to check back often to see what's going on. I'll also be posting samples here along with tutorials and challenges. I'm hoping to build this humble little blog into something impressive. I'm excited about that too!

For now, I'm off to do some more business planning and eventually to bed as it's way past my bedtime. I'm just too excited going through this box a million times to sleep!

I'm Gonna Do It!

I've decided today that I'm going to be an SU! Demo!! It's something that i've been thinking about for a while, but in light of certain news from back home, I think now is the time. Let's just say my current SU demo just entered early retirement and leave it at that.

So I am joining under a woman from SCS who I've seen on the boards quite a bit and had the pleasure of having in one or two of my swaps. She's a very talented individual named Jessica Altman...here's her blog. She's a really fun person. I talked to her tonight and I think she's going to be a big help. I'm very excited about joining under her.

So, for anyone who's reading that might need some stuff, leave me a comment or email me, or find me on Splitcoast (stampin_in_atlas, of course.) I guess i better get upstairs and clean that stampin' room, huh?

I'll be back on tomorrow with some projects. Patti, get your paper money ready, baby. :)

Dieting Stinks

Ugh, day five of the diet and I'm not doing that good. It's hard making the transition, but I'm not beating myself up over it. I did go to the grocery store tonight and pick up some good foods and it cost me fifty bucks (seven of which were for the extra virgin olive oil!) I was mad at first till i realized it usually costs me that much for a "quick" trip to the grocery store, but i'm usually buying junk. At least this time i bought food that was good for me. So tonight i had tuna salad on whole wheat, triscuit crackers, a wedge of cabbage, and a string cheese. And a Coke. Okay, i know. I should not have had the coke. I'm still adjusting!!

I haven't had much creative mojo for stamping lately, I think because my stamping room is such a mess. It's still a wreck from the Christmas wrapping and there's so much to still be cleaned up and put away. We're also remodeling our kitchen, which is messy and unkept right now. I've never been a real clean freak, but lately the messes are depressing me.

I have a bunch of swaps that I'm in (thanks to Patti!) and hopefully I'll get my mojo going to do them all. The weather has also been so crappy with freezing rain and then regular rain and then more freezing rain, and then snow. It just makes for a dangerous mess everywhere!

I'm off to bed, hopefully I'll be more motivated in the morning!

New Year. New Me?

Wow. It's been a long, long, six months...no details of which any of you will want to be depressed by. But hey, it's a new year, and I'm trying my best to get my stuff together and be more focused and on top of things.

My wonderful husband, Kenny, gave me the best Christmas gifts...all craft-related, so I'm dying to get up in my craft room...clean it up a bit...and get to work on making some new things. He started a blog himself if you want to check it out: http://atlasbrew.blogspot.com. He's a homebrewer who loves to do craft beer tasting, and he worries that no one reads his blogs, so if you have a minute, swing over and read a few entries!

I'm also starting a diet tomorrow along with my BFF, Patti. My goal is to lose 100 pounds, so there are lots of things to blog about! I'm hoping 2009 will be much better than 2008 ended up being, but I'm not even going to bring up any of that crap!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Maybe I'll give this a shot...

I've been thinking about doing a blog for a while, so I thought what the heck. Might as well give it a shot. Might take me a while to get used to this, but there are so many great papercrafting blogs out there, and I wanted to give it a shot. Besides, I wanted to get one before Patti (my stamping partner-in-crime) did! :)

A little about me: I'm married to the most wonderful and supportive husband and have two crazy dogs. I'm also a great aunt to two of the most beautiful little girls in the world. When I'm not stamping, swooning over my great nieces or studying (I'm a student on top of it all) I work full time managing two group homes for adults with developmental disabilities. Patti always says if you love your job you never work a day in your life, and I can honestly say I LOVE MY JOB. It is rewarding beyond belief, and I couldn't picture myself doing anything else. I'm also a photographer and enjoy spending time in the great outdoors, especially at the beach or in the woods. Most of all, though, I love to stamp.

So, as i start out on this venture, any suggestions from time-tested bloggers are more than welcome, and I hope you'll all like what I come up with in the weeks ahead. Thanks for reading!

-Jen Z.