A Super Saturday

So, why was this Saturday super you ask? Because I accomplished MOST ALL of what I set out to do. Here is my day...

• I rolled out of bed about 7:20 a.m. and cranked out a scrapbook layout while I ate some breakfast. Multi-tasking at 7:30 a.m.??? Hello, who IS this person?
• At 8:30 a.m. I made myself presentable and ran some lidded containers over to mom & dad's
• 8:45 I was out the door to run errands
• Stop #1, the bank
• Stop #2, McD's to grab a soda (very thirsty this morning...I know, soda was not a good choice but I wanted fizzy)
• Stop #3, drive thru post office drop off box
• Stop #4, Pak Mail to purchase packing boxes & paper....more on that later

Back home I unloaded the boxes & packing paper and grimmaced at my junked up front porch. Last weekend I purchased a 40 ct box of Glad Flex Trash Bags and put them to good use so I decided it was time to use some more. I started pitching junk! When I was satisfied with the improvement of the porch I went in to tackle the dreaded bedroom.

My bedroom has been a catch-all (as well as my kitchen, too) Back when I last kept Trevor overnight I took a bunch of stuff from the livingroom and stacked it in the bedroom wherever there was space to do so. Was trying to avoid constantly running to keep Trev out of something he shouldn't be in. Just seemed like less stress at the time. Well, that "stuff" stayed in the bedroom along with the pack-n-play.....which also became a catch-all in & of itself!! OY!

I could not tell you my process of working on the room and frankly I am sure you don't want to be bored with the details. All I knew was I wanted to P-U-R-G-E!!!!! I packed up all my summer clothes & shoes. I started taping up boxes and stuff I wanted to keep for when I get a larger home down the road I packed up. The rest was thrown out. I made a small pile in my livingroom of items I want to Craigslist. I know I should have done more than just trashed some of the things I threw out but I know me and it would never make it to its' other destination like Grandma's Attic. Just being honest....it would either sit in my car or somewhere in my home (where I am flat out-out of room) forever!!! I packed up 5 boxes and filled up 7 trash bags. How insane is that? My bedroom looks like a bedroom.....well, once I get the boxes moved to the basement it will look complete. However, the left knee and lower back just could not phathom carrying heavy boxes & containers down the steps. No, that is for another day when maybe I can sweet talk Josh into coming over after work and helping me.

At 3:30....6 1/2 hours after I started out, I was ready for 2 Tylenol Arthritis pills and some R&R. I laid down on my bed, set my timer for 1 1/2 hours, covered up and let the Tylenol take effect. Upon getting up I decided to tackle a few more little things. I rehung my newly washed mini-blinds in my bedroom (only got 1 set cleaned today) I then purged my bathroom shelves and straigtened them up and I managed to fill up another trash bag. OMG!

It is now nearing 8 pm and I so wish my washer/dryer were upstairs because I need to do wash but do NOT want to go downstairs. I still have lots more I want to pack up & throw out. The kitchen & scrapbook room are my 2 biggest jobs ahead of me. Something tells me I will be filling up the rest of those trash bags from those 2 rooms without any problems.

So, that was my super Saturday. It feels good to have actually accomplished something for a change.

Did you have a super Saturday? Leave me a note and tell me about it :) ~Hugs~

The Daily Digi "Bright Idea"

Here is a post I copied from The Daily Digi site! I love these ideas....read on:





One of the freedoms that digital scrapping gave me was to scrap what I want, when I want and not constantly feel “behind”. Even with that revelation though, I still wish I could get more scrapped than I do. I’m sure you can relate…maybe just a little? I have a few tips I have learned over the years that have helped me to make the best use of my scrapping time. I would like to share a few of those with you today. Then, I will ask you to email anything you have discovered that helps you “get it done” for a future post!

1) Remember that your scrapbooks are a journey not a destination!! Take time to enjoy the process of preserving these memories! One of the things that I love most about scrapbooking is that we can enjoy the moments and memories the first time they happen, again while we are scrapping them, and then each time we look through our albums. If we are enjoying our lives, we will most likely never be “caught up” because for each memory we scrap, there is another memory being made…and that is a GOOD THING!!

2)When you have some time to scrap, shut your email, close your internet browser, and then keep them CLOSED!! Resist the temptation to hurry and check email, or buy that one kit. When I started doing this, I was shocked at how much more productive I was during my scrapping time! Remember that scrapping time is precious and needs to be used for SCRAPPING (haha)!

3)Schedule time to scrap. I have done this many different ways. When I first started digital, I had an online friend (that soon became a IRL friend) and we would IM and scrap every Saturday night. It was fun to show each other layouts as we were working on them.
I have also scheduled scrap weekends away from home that proved to be very productive! I have a childhood friend that has gone digital and she schedules one Friday a month with her girlfriends (that are all digital too) and go to her mom’s house to scrap. This way, there are no kids and they can stay and scrap as late as they want. If it is impossible for you to get big chunks of time to scrap, then give yourself a reward at the end of the day or during nap time and scrap for 30 minutes or an hour. One of the beautiful things about digital is that you can start a layout and keep it open on your desktop, stealing a few minutes here or there to work on it.

4)Start a “Ready to Scrap” folder. There are times when I might have time to scrap, but I’m not really feeling like it…my mojo is gone for one reason or another. Instead of forcing it, it will work on my “ready to scrap” folder. I create a 12×12 canvas and then pull the photos, papers, and embellies that I want to use for a layout onto the canvas. I usually make note in a text box, what supplies are there, and then save it as a PSD file inside of my “ready to scrap” folder. Then, when I have big chunks of time (like my weekend retreats) I can just go to that folder and not waste time figuring out what photos and supplies I want to use. This is one of the best time saving techniques I have used.

5)Don’t use every photo you take. Give yourself permission to scrap a one or two-page layout of an event and that’s all…nothing more. It really is okay! I am one that hates scrapping events (birthdays and holidays especially), but I know those will be important to my kids someday. Some of my very favorite layouts have been ones where I put as many pictures as I tastefully can from one event and then journal about what happened.
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Some of these tips might be ones that you already use, but I’m sure you might have others that have helped you GET IT DONE!! If you do have some tips, then email me at steph@thedailydigi.com and I will share your tips with our readers in future post!

I want to start doing #4 immediately as I think it will keep me focused on not only what I "want" to scrap but what I "need" to scrap.

Getting Organized!!!!

If there is one thing I am NOT, it is organized. It is something I LOVE to be but DESPISE trying to accomplish. I would much rather scrapbook a layout, watch a favorite TV show, get my wisdom teeth extracted again....than work on organizing! It is just not something that comes easily to me. I envy my cousin, Angela, who actually craves organizing her life & home. See, if I had the money I would just pay someone like her to come do it for me.

Well, since I do NOT have the $$ to pay a professional, I must dig down deep into my being and become more disciplined in this area. I am going to start with all my digital scrapbooking supplies & photographs. You might think "hey, that is a good, bite-sized area to start with!" Oh, you are so wrong. For you digi-scrappers out there you know exactly what I mean. This is going to be more like a 10 course meal...not just a little bite, LOL. See, I have been digi-scrapping for almost 2 years now and I have accumulated many, many, many scrap kits along the way. Each of these kits contains on average, 10 papers, 30+ elements, and 1 set of alphas. As it is right now, I have my various kits sorted into 1 of 3 categories...By Kit Name, By Designer, By Theme. That has been okay but I am finding I am not utilizing these beautiful kits & all the splendid papers & elements. I keep going to the same kits over & over mostly because I like them but because I don't want to take time to open all my others up (because I cannot remember what color/theme they each are). So, I feel like I am wasting $$ by allowing these kits to sit unused, and essentially I am.

So, while surfing around on the http://www.jessicasprague.com/ website yesterday, I came across her organization section. I started reading about ACDSee Photo Manager and how it can ROCK your WORLD when it comes to getting all your digi-supplies organized. So, after much reading, video watching & researching on the subject of this program, I decided to download the trial version. I also purchased an online class (self-paced....the best kind) that will walk me through how to get the most use out of this program because it is a little overwhelming to begin. So, for $25, I get the help of a professional organizer and all her wealth of knowledge. Okay, that I can swing!!! I am so excited to start using this program even though it will not be a "sit down one evening and have my stuff organized by bedtime" kinda project. No, this will take many weeks to do but I believe in baby steps.

If you would like more information about this program & how it can help you get organized with your digital supplies & photographs, check out these sites....

This is the site where I did ALOT of reading & watching videos about ACDSee
http://digiscrapinfo.com/joomla/

This is the link to Jessica's shop where you can purchase the class to learn how to use the program to its' fullest potential
http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=12&category_id=21&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=85