Oh My God!

We made it!

Kels has written her first ever novel ~ 16 656 words ~ by hand.  It’s 43 1/2 pages in length.

I have written the first 50 000 words of my own story …

We are Successful!

A HUGE Thank You to Lovely Beverly for all your support!!!!!

I think I have a new favourite colour combo which includes Tempting Turquoise and Soft Suede … this is the 4th or 5th card I’ve made using those colours and I just LOVE them!

Mum and I have been short on “Congratulations” cards, in our stash, so this was an attempt at making up something a little different.  I used ‘old’ and ‘new’ Stampin’ Up! goodies ~ the Vintage Labels stamp set and the NEW Well Scripted word stamps. 

I’m really happy with the result although it’s nothing like I imagined a ‘congrats’ card would look like.

A HUGE box of Stamped and Created Goodies went in the post to Mum, yesterday afternoon.  I hadn’t realised just how many projects I’d made of recent times, until I tried to fit them into the box!  There wasn’t any room left even for bubble wrap!

My next stampin’ projects involve preparing fun ideas for the FREE Stampin’ Kids event in a week or two.  I am really looking forward to creating baubles and boxes and cards and milk cartons.  Woo Hoo!

Writing Update: Today is the LAST DAY for the NaNoWriMo 50 000 word book challenge!  I’m on the down hill run!  Kels is planning a big writing session after school to complete her story and her challenge of 20 000 words.  It’s exciting!

I am swimming in HandBags!  What a lovely feeling!  Aren’t these ones just so cute?! 

The Stampin’ Kids workshop, yesterday, was humming with busy-ness and we had White Gel Pens, Sticky Strip, punched flowers, bling everywhere!  It was GREAT FUN!

The girls and I made the super chic “Dooney & Bourke” inspired handbag, first, then the girls created their own version of the “L.A.M.B.” inspired bag, all created from Becky Roberts’ tutorial.

My goodies from the last few weeks are going to be winging their way to Mum for her to use at the end of year fundraiser for Hugs with Rugs, the support group who knit rugs for the the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia.  What a lovely box of goodies to share!

Writing Challenge Update:  2 days to go!  Got to write!  Nearly there!  Watch this space …

We had the most fabulous morning at my Christmas HandBag & Cards class, yesterday!  My lovely friends made this stunning selection of Jolly Holiday ‘Tres Chic HandBags from the Tutorial by Becky Roberts.  Ooh, La La!

I think the part I enJOYed the most was the way each lady interpreted the handles ~ we had shorter lengths, designer series paper, cardstock, bling … lots of different ideas and so reflective of each individual.

I’m excited that I can do it all over again with the Stampin’ Kids Girls, tomorrow!  YAY!

54 674 words.

A completed novel.

WOO HOO!

Congratulations, Lovely Friend, Beverly!

How exciting is it when you hear from a friend about something fabulous that they’ve achieved and they are Really Enthused about it?!

Recently, I have had emails filled with ENTHUSIASM from Lovely Tricia who, after months of missing her Mojo, has found it again and used it to make LOTS of handmade Christmas Cards!  The enthusiastic energy wooshes through my inbox and leaps into my heart.

Lovely Beverly went writing ballistic on Monday and wrote for 8 hours!  She reached 40 000 words!  Beverly is so inspired and enthusiastic about her novel ~ a sequel to last year’s NaNoWriMo Challenge’s achievement ~ and can see how the story is going to finish up, for this book … another one is birthing … part 3!   We got a call on the way home from school and I think I could almost hear Beverly across the states from her home to mine because she was so excited.  Kels was able to take the call and we all got excited together!

Lovely Melva took up the November Challenge and her goal was to meditate regularly.  She emailed me to share the news that during one of her ‘quiet’ moments she received the idea for a NEW picture book.  The excitement Melva was feeling transferred to me and I feel excited for her ‘light bulb’ moment.

And, then there’s the enthusiastic appreciation … the Thank You, with feeling … I’m grateful and I just want to share that with you.  It’s kind of  like Bubble Bath Enthusiasm rather than Fireworks Enthusiasm.  It’s all from the heart.

There is so much challenging stuff happening around me, this year, that it’s so refreshing to have lovely friends sharing their enthusiasm in such a voluble and demonstrative manner. 

Change is afoot and I am enJOYing being a part of it with my ‘enthusiastic’ friends.  It helps me to ‘act as if’ I am experiencing the same … setting the intention for Enthusiasm and Care of Others to come back into my reality. 

What are you enthusiastic about?

The hard work on the writing process has begun.  Well, it’s pretty much been hard work from the beginning but eventually the enthusiasm and excitement wears off and it’s just hard work.  Satisfying hard work, though.  Like the feeling I have after bench pressing 20kg at personal training, on Monday.  That sense of “YES! I DID IT!”   And, basking in the glow for a few days afterwards.

Being told that I am Strong has been one of the best things I’ve learnt, recently.  Sharon is on a mission to get me ‘pumping iron’ so as to increase the weights I’m bench pressing.  It makes me laugh.  But, it also makes me feel a little bit invincible.  Who knew that getting fitter could be so empowering?!

I feel empowered with the writing process, too.  It is interesting rereading my own story ~ the story of MY LIFE ~ and seeing things with a bit of perspective and hindsight.  I am actually ‘justified’ in feeling how I’ve felt over the years.  After 40-odd years of carrying baggage around I have to say that I was wondering if I was just a little bit mad.  Maybe I’d made a lot of it up: the vagaries of youth.  But, it happened.  In fact, a situation I experienced as a 17 year old has just, finally, been addressed and the healing process has begun.  Thirty years of carrying around the embarrassment and shame, hidden away, has been acknowledged and addressed.

So, less than 18 000 words to write in order to achieve my goal of a 50 000 word book by the end of November.  Will I make it?  Probably.  I plan to.  But I am also realistic ~ life does happen at the same time.  And, I am at the stage where I actually need to reread what I’ve written and go back to explore some concepts further.  It’s probably time to work out how the book will end. 

I am excited that I’ve had a couple of other ‘book’ thoughts drift through my awareness, as I’ve been writing.  That’s pretty cool.  I now know how hard it is to write a book.  I’m also inspired.  Woo Hoo!

~ Beginning your day doing something you Love

~ Hearing from your friends about how thrilled they are with their achievements

~ Writing

~ Warmer weather

~ New growth on the live Christmas Tree

~ Bench pressing 20kg for the first time!

~ Sharing your JOY and your Passion.

Today is the day that I am going to say Thank You to some wonderful people in my life, for being … amazing.

David ~ I often neglect to Take the Time to remember that my life is made so much easier, and safer, because you are in it.  Thank You.

Beverly ~ Friendship through the dark days is so demanding.  You have been a True Friend and I am Grateful.  Thank You.

Mark ~ I LOVE that you are in my ‘cyber’ life and I LOVE that you are a lot like me in so many ways.  Thank You.

Margaret ~ Thank you for your continued friendship.  You really are an amazing woman and fabulous friend.  Your care of me and your interests in my life have been greatly appreciated.  Thank You.

Andrea ~ As we reconnect I am reminded of the wisdom you share with ease and grace.  You make it all seem ok.  Thank You.

Sharon ~ Wow! I feel that you have almost single handedly brought me back from ill health.  Your belief in me, during those challenging first days and months of personal training has kept me going … the fact that I now feel like a ‘gym jumkie’ is thanks to YOU.  I so enJOY personal training!  Thank You.

As I continue on the writing process I am appreciating the journey so much more than ever before.  I have learned that beginning life feeling like a ‘victim’ and continuing life knowing I am a ‘survivor’ is just a journey.  The destination, while important for directional reasons, is not the important part of life.  It’s how we live NOW. 

Thank You, for caring about me and sharing the journey, in the days of JOY and the days of darkness.

I am Grateful.

Another really cute and easy to create idea comes from Jayne Mercer.  I was inspired by her use of the Ornament Punch as a vase … cut off the bottom of the ornament and run it through the Big Shot to get an awesome image.

I’ve made a couple of these cards, now, and my recent creations have been using the discontinued Haiku Designer Series Paper.  Just perfect for that layered look background.  Gosh, where would the world be without patterned paper?!

I have so many stamping ideas that are swimming around in my thoughts, alongside the past lives which are wanting and needing to be written about in my story, that it seems like there will never be enough hours in the day to indulge them all!  Thank goodness for quick and easy cards!

Thanks for the inspiration, Jayne!

Oh, and I really do need to thank Stampin’ Up! for such GORGEOUS BUTTONS!  I LOVE using Buttons!!  The colours are perfect, the shapes are perfect and they embellish a card perfectly, too.  Ahh, Bliss.

[By the way, can you see the Angel Orb in the photo?? ]