sending some sunshine

First of all, WOW. You guys rock. Thank you so much for sharing all the things you do to be healthy (yesterday's post). None of us can claim to be perfectly healthy, but I love that we all focused on what we are doing right.

My Monday success: I resisted all peanut M&M temptations. (Thanks for your support.)

My Monday failure: I had a mint Oreo. And it was so good. So I had 3 more.

My Tuesday goal: Defeat the mint Oreos. I will win today. I will not focus on how yummy they are with a glass of cold milk. I won't.

Moving on.

My parents, who some of you may remember are serving a mission in Finland, sent this picture yesterday.



Oh. My. Cold. This this was not a stand-out-in-the-snow-and-pose kind of picture. Oh no. My parents seem to walk everywhere (wonderful for their hearts!) and my dad is actually outside manually shoveling sidewalks and steps nearly every day. Love that man.

And my brother Steven sent this picture from the home front (our childhood home in Maryland). This is what my parents' driveway looks like at the moment. Awesome.



So anyway, I am just thinking about all of you who are in the depths of "real" Winter right now. For those of you who wish you weren't, I'm sending you a little virtual sunshine today. Some blue skies and puffy clouds, albeit pre-stormish when I took this on Sunday.

peanut m&m's, you're going down.

Funny story.

Last Thursday, I asked a simple question on Facebook (and Twitter) that said:

Why do I get so weak around peanut M&M's? What's your current (food-related) weakness?

You see, I had just grabbed a(nother) handful of those little yummies to munch on while I worked. And so it caused me to wonder what your go-to snack might be. I was curious. Here's the funny part. Of all the tweets on Twitter and notes on Facebook I've ever posted, this simple question led to a record-setting response. Quantity and response speed.

Why? Because we all weighed in on reporting our favorite food weakness.

Let me just say that I believe life is too short to not enjoy a favorite snack now & then. But lately, the "enjoying" has been a little too much in our home lately. Busy schedules have pushed good health to the side a bit. So here's what I'm thinking for today. I'm going to ask another question. But this time we're focusing on strengths instead of weaknesses. Are you with me?

Q: What is one of the specific habits you have to live a healthy life? Seriously. I want to know.

A: Post a comment. Yes, you. Surely you are willing to share just one little thing that you do.

I am no example of healthy awesomeness right now, trust me. But I'll start the ball rolling by sharing a few of my "things".

1. I don't drink my calories. I have made an effort to drink more water. Throughout the day and with my meals. That's not to say I don't love a little root beer with Mexican food once in a while. But for the most part, I pass on juice and soda.

2. I am a slow eater. Ask anyone who eats with us. I'm the last one to finish.

3. I don't drink. As in alcohol. Beer, wine, coffee, none of it. Actually (refrain from gasping) ... I never have. Like, ever. Made a conscience choice and personal commitment as a teenager to never, ever drink alcohol. Not good for my body or my mind or my spirit. One of the best decisions in my life.

4. I work out every day. Oh. Wait. Got ahead of myself. That's what I'm going to be able to say at a later date.

5. Baby steps. I will not touch a peanut M&M this week. Peanut M&M's are my personal enemy this week and I will win.

Okay, so that's us today here on my blog. Focusing on the positive. So go ahead. Be positive. Focus on your positiveness. Share your positivity with us. We want to learn from you.

Q&A: Tuesday

It's been fun to see what's on your mind. I'll take a handful of your questions at a time and try to answer some all week long. Here we go!


Q: Do you have any suggestions for people who don't get their photo taken because they are always taking the photos. I have tried getting my husband to take some but he doesn't get those in the moment shots (which I love more).

A: You could always hand the camera over to your kids. Sure, they won't get the most amazing composition and you are guaranteed to get a handful of blurry shots. But they will love that Mom's letting them use the camera and they will take a LOT of pictures. And you will be in front of the camera for once! Of course you could hire a photographer too. But my favorite idea is to trade real-life photography with a friend. I've actually been thinking about doing this for a long time. You would have a friend come to your house for a couple of hours when there's a lot of activity and she clicks away while you and your family just do what you do. She captures you in the essence of your roles and duties at home. And then of course you would do the same for her. Think of the documentation that results from such an activity.

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Q: How do you keep track of everything going on in your life? Do you use a big paper calendar? On-line calendar, notepads, etc?

A: We use iCal. It comes on every Mac computer. It has become the key to our scheduling coordination success. Seriously. I love it. And it syncs with our other computers, iPhone, iPod Touch, etc. So I could add something to iCal right now and David would see it on the calendar at work almost immediately. I especially love the color coding for categories. So our family stuff is red, birthdays are blue, church stuff is purple, work stuff is green and so forth. I am experiencing one of the very busiest times of my life and organized calendaring has never been so important. I'd show you a screenshot of our iCal as it looks right now, but that's a bit personal. So here's a screenshot I found online. You can learn more about iCal here.



I also keep a small notebook by my computer and sometimes it even follows me to bed. This is my place for random notes, ideas, sketches, lists, etc. For all areas of my life. I have learned that whenever ideas pop into my head, writing them down is the BEST thing to do with the ideas. What this does is frees my mind for better ability to think creatively because I'm not always trying to remember stuff. If I write it down, I don't have to work hard to remember something. If I have to work hard to remember stuff, I am not able to clearly think about stuff. Get it?

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Q: I wonder if you've considered, now that you are not affiliated with any company or entity, writing a book on organizing? People read your blog for so many different kinds of ideas, not just scrapbook-related. I'd sure buy a book with chapters on organizing for a party, organizing for crafting, organizing nightly dinners (recipes), organizing your home/chores, etc. I'll bet I'm not the only one who feels this way.

A: You're sweet. I'm not that organized. I have a long way to go before I would feel like I could write a whole book on organizing, although I do love the subject. So I will continue to share my organizational thoughts & ideas here on my blog. Free of charge.

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Q: I always use your sketch books for my layouts. Your sketches were the only thing that kept me buying Creating Keepsakes mag. Are you going to be doing anymore sketch books ???

A: It makes me happy to hear how my sketches have helped scrapbookers. Thank you for sharing that. I think I have exhausted my mental supply of sketch ideas. But that's not to say that you've seen my very last sketch. Next time I come up with one for a layout I'm working on, I'll be sure to share it with you here.

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Q: Has cancer affected anyone close to you?

A: My brother, my dad, my grandmother, several extended relatives. Close friends. So, yes. It has.

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Q: Do you scrapbook everyday? I work full time and have four boys and am really struggling to find time. I've been scheduling scrap nights once a month with friends but I miss my scrap time! How do you do it?

A: Heck no. I'm struggling to find time just like you. In fact, I haven't scrapbooked in months. Months. But I'm itching to do some catching-up in our kids' books and am hoping to do that in the next month or so.

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Now, if you'll excuse me, I have about 5 or 6 things to check off my to-do list before I do what's next up on iCal. Meeting some girlfriends for a quick lunch. So excited to see a friend I haven't seen in a while. Be back tomorrow.