{me}anderings . . .

i'm afraid of the garbage disposal . . .

no kidding.  whenever i hear that grinding noise, horrible images of hand mutilation flash through my mind.  i'm always careful to keep my hands out of that black hole in my sink.  until today.  i got a little too aggressive cleaning my favorite mm foam stamp.  one of the little dots was cruelly torn from his safe abode.  i couldn't get him in time.  the force of the water coming from the tap was just too strong.  yes, the little dot was swept into that black hole of doom.  i didn't even stop to think.  my hand dove in after him.  he has been rescued and reunited with his other little dotty friends. 

above:  a layout i created today with the help of little dot and his friends.

it's not so bad . . .

. . . rejection that is.

it's made me more humble.  and humility is a good thing.

it's gotten me to journal more.  and i realize how important that is.

and i can see that i'm getting better.  yep.  my BH sketches, well, upon second glance, they weren't so steller, but my SS scheme, this I love.

busy as a bee

gabriel and i love to watch the plump, furry bumblebees as they go about their work just off our balcony.  they're funny creatures, always on the go, but at a casual pace the belies the volume of what they accomplish each day.  busy as a bee . . .  i've decided that i really like this expression.  it has a practicality to it that i need to incorporate into my life.  yesterday i tried to be busy as an ant.  i've never heard anyone say busy as an ant, and i think that's because being busy as an ant is just not practical for us humans.  we're not made to go non-stop in a frantic hurry all day long.  nope.  it burns us out and leaves us empty. 

so this morning i reminded myself to slow down and enjoy the day as it unfolded.  i was busy as a bee and it was delightful.  we were late to church, then had lunch with friends.  gabriel took a three hour nap and i was right there with him for half of it.  i picked up the house a little and finished the layout that wouldn't behave for me yesterday.  we went to visiting for a bit, then got on a first-name basis with a neighbor when we came home.  and tonight i got my paperdillies finished as well.  and i'm glad.  it's a mini-album about gabriel's top ten words at 18 months.  and it's just in time.  he's suddenly gone from identifying things to actual communication.  He tells me "mo(re)" and "ju(ice)" and "go".  i'm so glad i slowed down enough today to notice.

i hope tomorrow is another productive day.  i have a crazy schedule at work this week and tons of scrapping projects i want to get done.  but i'm going to take the time to chat with my students and take gabriel to the park after school.  i'm going to attempt the crossword and read a bit.  and i'm sure sometime during the day i'll say hello to my little friends, the bees.

gabriel's top ten words box

with mini-album inside.

measuring productivity

today was very unproductive.  i did make it to the grocery store, but that's it.  none of my sbr goals were met.  the day started off well, but a couple careless comments were thrown my way and i became depressed.  i started three projects and hit snags with all of them.  had a couple other unfinished projects that i could have easily tackled, but it just wasn't in me. 

so . . . i just let it all go.  i chatted with a friend and dusted off my cd collection.  allison krauss, nanci griffith, and the indigo girls, along with gluestick, helped me put life back in perspective. 

looking back, i was productive.  i reawakened my love for a well-versed tune.  and i spent quality time with my son, playing little people and watching elmo's world.  i experimented with my new camera.  and i shared life's ups and downs with a friend.

almost four months have passed since my new year's resolution was made.  today i finally feel like i've made progress rediscovering me.

new year's resolution