Crafts

So I love crafts. Anyone that knows me, knows I love to cross stitch and my second favourite past time is scrap booking which has evolved into any paper crafts and altering items, LOL. I said to Tyler a couple of months ago that I would LOVE to learn about cake decorating, his response was "don't you have enough hobbies?" Well I will put the cake decorating on hold for now because it really doesn't fit into my busy life. So now my days consist of watching kids, my own and others, house duties, crafting and if I am lucky until Hockey season starts watching my favourite shows, Bones, Criminal Minds, House, Smallville, Fringe and Dances with the Stars. Add on top of that, time on the computer maybe playing WOW (world of warcraft), Facebook, correspondences, church callings, and 2 blogs. Yes 2 blogs, this one for my journal and one just to showcase my creative designs, which I hope to start selling my cross stitch from in a couple of months.  If you want to check it out here is the address http://drayia.blogspot.com/ . My friends think I am insane or a superwoman because all I do, I just laugh because there is so much more that I should do but don't and they just see the surface things. They still tell me I am amazing and I just shrug and just keep going. Most of what I do helps keep me from going crazy because watching little kids all day can drive me nuts, I love it and love the age that I watch but some days when they are all whiny or screaming I just want to run away. So my crafts and most importantly my cross stitch gives me the patience I need to deal with them day in and day out.

One of those weeks

I have no idea were this week went. Doesn't seem like I got anything done but Friday is here already. Have you ever had one of those weeks were everyday seems to continue even if you have had sleep. That's what if feels like to me. I know I have been very busy but it doesn't look like it. There is still so much to do. I have to finish my paper work to take Jason back to court, I will not go in to that here as this blog is for my family and not for me to vent. Laundry, clean the downstairs which is our main living space, move somethings around, help Michaela go through her closet and organize it so that somethings can be moved around. Need to measure her room and plan how I am going to put Veronica and Cara in there this February. Measure the office, were Cara is now and plan on how I am going to fit my scrapbook stuff in there. I like it all to be planned out before I move everyone around. Come February every one's room is changing except Tyler's and mine. It will be a pain but is needed. Veronica and Cara get the master bedroom upstairs, Fred moves into Veronica's room, and Michaela moves into Fred's room. All my scrappy stuff which is in the master bedroom downstairs moves into the office and we get our Bedroom back which will be nice. Looks like we will be staying here even if the rent goes up, wanted to get into a rent-to-own but so far not possible. They want a 3% down for you to move into their houses, if I had a down payment or was able to save one I would not want to go into a rent to own I would just go to the bank for a mortgage. Oh well we will see how things go in the spring. Anyways off I go to get started on my list of things to do for Friday so that my weekend can be somewhat free of chores :D

Pasttimes

I have hobbies as I am sure everyone has. I have always loved to make things with my hands but never thought of myself as that creative. My mom's opinion is I am very creative but then moms are suppose to be supportive no matter how bad we actually are. I have been scrap booking for years, way back when all you did was crop, punch, journal and add some flat stickers and that was a page. Of course scrap booking has become so much more now a days. There are some truly gorgeous layouts out there. I still consider myself to be a basic, simple scrap booker even if everything I do has to have some sort of bling on it. My hobby started out as an obsession with colour, glitter, scent, etc pens. Figured I use put all these pens to use that I was buying and collecting. Tried my hand at scrap booking when Michaela was 5, she is now 16. That first summer I spent over $500, I know this because I had a punch card at the store and had to get a second one by August of 2005. I finished Michaela's album until she was 6, Jason and mine wedding album, Frederick's first 3 years and a general family album. Then I stopped for no reason then the fact Jason did not like my work nor the fact that I cropped the pics I used. When I got remarried and pregnant it was time to start again. I have a ton of pics to do, from when Michaela and Frederick were young to now. I have Veronica's first year layouts done but not all the pics printed. I have layouts for Cara's album but again need to print out the pics. Want to start on a album for Michaela to give her when she graduates next year so have to start on that. Need to start on a album Tyler & my wedding as well as a general family album too.
Now in the last 3 years I joined sb.com and have been doing swaps and building up my supplies, which now I must start to use :) In the last year I have started to do card making as well, which I find very fun to do. This past summer I started to alter things for my scrap room which I one day will have, as well as doing some very creative swaps that have nothing to do with scrap booking but push my comfort zone in creativity. All this is good as once Veronica and Cara are in school, in 5 years, I will be going back to work. I will be going after a management job with my favourite store here called Scrapbookers Paradise. It seems that every 10 months or so they are looking for a manager, from what the staff is willing to tell me it is because the ppl they keep hiring have no clue when it comes to management and are limited in their creativity. I am hoping that when I am ready to come back to work that I will have quite a portfolio of different paper crafts/creations for them to see as well as my previous experience working for a national retail store in Management. I know that is far in the future but it never hurts to start planning now.