Proof ...

I feel like I'm falling behind in Shimelle's class which is ridiculous, really, because I'm reading the daily prompts and journaling a little each day ... but I just feel like I haven't been writing anything of substance. Certainly nothing worth sharing on the world wide web. That's why prompt #8 was such a breath of fresh air for me. It was all about using multiple perspectives to share a story ... using things like emails, Facebook messages, etc to capture "both sides".

As soon as I read the prompt, I knew what I wanted to do. I'm working on a page called "Proof that Vancouver is finally home" and my proof is going to be recent text messages on my cell phone. When I first moved here almost a year ago, I didn't know anybody. I didn't have a single friend. These days, when I flip through my cell phone, I'm amazed how many wonderful friends I've made in such a short amount of time. I'm so blessed! I don't just see random messages, I see messages from people who know me. People who care. People who want to spend time with me. People who live here, in Vancouver ... oh, and a best friend back in Montreal who I still send text messages to on a daily basis.

Here are some of the messages I'm planning to include -

10/07/2010
Kim writes - Girls night at my place tomorrow

10/15/2010
Lynda writes - Are you going to Michaels?? What time are you going?

10/16/2010
Suzanne writes - The sale you mentioned was at Urban Planet, right? Not Urban Barn?

10/20/2010
Dave writes - You know I got no love for office jobs!

10/21/2010
Xinxin writes - Do you want to have dinner with me? I'll cook something.

20/22/2010
Jen writes - What are you doing tonight? Wanna have dinner with me and Anwen?

10/25/2010
Jessica writes - Yeah it's pretty bad. It's the rock bottom of hot chocolate. Ewww, sorry! I wish I could've stopped you.

10/29/2010
Rhoda writes - Hey Steph! You have plans for tonight? How about an impromptu dinner date?

xoxox

Morning Routine #2

Here is the layout I made with the journaling I wrote for prompt #3 ... I'm sorry the quality of this photo is so crappy, but my camera's broken (boo!) so I had to use my cell phone camera. I think you can still get the general gist of the layout, though -

I wish I had a better photo to share, but oh well. That will have to do for now. Maybe at the end of the class, I'll dedicate one blog post all of the layouts I've managed to do. Fingers crossed I'm able to have my camera fixed by then!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. It was a beautiful fall weekend here in Vancouver, which was *such* an unexpected blessing since it rained all day, everyday, all week long.

xoxo

Sparkle On

Remember how I said I was writing a letter to my Christmas tree for prompt #4 of Shimelle's class? Well, here is ...

Dearest Christmas Tree,

How lovely you look, all lit up with your pretty bulbs. I am *so* glad that I didn't let Katie talk me into getting one of those Charlie Brown trees. I just don't get the whole Charlie Brown thing ... the flimsy branches, the falling bristles, the whole "woe is me, I can barely hold myself up" demeanor. I don't see the allure. Maybe Probably I am just being materialistic in my belief that Christmas trees should be big and round and breathtaking and full of things that glisten and sparkle. But I'm also being sentimental. Growing up, we always had beautiful Christmas trees. They were the centerpiece of our living room for the entire month of December. We had special, personalized bulbs from "the North Pole" and lots of pretty homemade ornaments that Mom made in our kitchen. We'd tie little red ribbons to the end of the branches and cover the tree in silver icicle strings. My sister and I would take turns putting the angel on the top of the tree - one year she would do it, the next year I would it - and we'd often have arguments about whose turn it was to do the honors. We'd get hoisted up on Daddy's shoulders and carefully reach over, putting the angel at the very top of the tree. It was a big moment, seeing the tree all finished and looking whimsical. But anyways, the point is - it just wouldn't be Christmas without a beautiful tree. So thank you for being the beautiful tree that you are. I appreciate it.

Sparkle on,

xox Stephanie

A while ago, I found a photo of me at 5 years old, on my father's shoulders, reaching over to put the angel on top of my tree. I've been dying to make a layout documenting my childhood holiday traditions, but never got around to writing the journaling. I'm planning to use that photo of me plus a photo of this year's tree (my first tree in my first apartment) with that letter as the journaling.

I managed to squeeze in some scrapbook time today and made a layout about my morning routine using the journaling I came up with in prompt #3 ... unfortunately, my camera's not working at the moment so I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow to post it but I'm really pleased with how it came out! Looking forward to sharing it with all of you!

xoxo

PS - For those of you who are in the class with me and are wondering what I'm doing for prompt #5 (fill in the blanks) ... I've sent off a little Mad Libs survey to my bestie in Montreal, and she's going to be mailing it to me on a postcard with her answers. Then, I'll return the favor and mail her a postcard with my answers. Fun times!

Christmas on my Mind

Just 57 days until Christmas!!!! ' Tis (almost) the season!

Now, I know some of you will try to tell me that I've gotten ahead of myself and that Christmas is still a far way's off but, really, it's not. Besides, I don't celebrate Halloween and I live in Canada so our Thanksgiving has come and gone, and that leaves Christmas as the next holiday and I am oh so ready for it! Actually, scratch that. I'm NOT quite ready for it yet.

I am so excited about having a cute apartment to decorate. This is my first Christmas season living in my own place, and so I'll need to get a tree ... and bulbs for the tree ... and a nativity scene ... and stockings ... and a cute little snowman to put by the door. No need to buy a wreath; I picked one up on sale a few weeks ago.

I definitely have Christmas on my mind, which is probably why I ended up writing a letter to my Christmas tree for prompt #4 of Shimelle's class. It's still very much a rough draft and is nowhere near ready to be posted here for all to read, but I'm working on it. :)

Speaking of Christmas, one of the things on my wish list this year (yes, I've already started it, don't judge me) is this amazing piece of art -

I want it soooooooooo badly. *sigh*

This weekend I am hoping to get some scrapbooking done. I have so many layouts I'd like to work on and (so far) no plans for Saturday, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a nice, inspiring scrap day is in the stars for me!

Happy Friday everyone!

xox

Morning Routine

Prompt #3 in Shimelle's class this morning was all about repetition. Among other things, we were encouraged to think about something that "always happens" ... repetition in our everyday lives. At first I was struggling with the prompt and wasn't sure how to tackle it. Then, this morning, I was sitting at Starbucks (with my class notebook at the ready!) and was thinking about how nice it was to get to sit in Starbucks for a while before work. That never happens 'cause I'm always running late. Immediately, inspiration hit and I decided to journal about what always happens, every morning, Monday to Friday:

Every morning, I wake up to my alarm clock going off at 6:15am. I hit the snooze button and fall back into a deep sleep. I wake up again at 7:00am and crawl out of bed, pour water into the kettle, flick the "on" switch and hop into the shower while my water boils. Every morning I step out of the shower, wrap myself up in my white fluffy bath robe, pour my tea and drink it while deciding what to wear. I comb my hair, get dressed, put on my makeup, check the clock, FREAK OUT when I see it's already 8:05am. Every morning, I throw a bagel into the toaster oven, toss my keys and wallet into my purse, grab the bagel, grab my cell phone and bolt out the door. I know with a little more discipline and planning, my mornings could be much more serene and less frantic ... but, for now, this is the reality of my morning routine.

I am REALLY looking forward to scrapbooking this. I never would have thought of documenting my morning routine had it not been for this prompt, so thanks Shimelle!

xox

Numbers & Letters

Day numero 2 of Shimelle's journaling class. I am LOVING the prompts and my notebook is quickly getting filled up with ideas and thoughts and scribbles. Today's prompt was about using letters and/or numbers as a starting point for journaling. One of the tasks we were given was to choose a topic (any topic!) and use the alphabet to "direct our thoughts into a longer piece of writing on one subject". I really loved this idea and decided to roll with it. I chose Vancouver (my city) as my topic, wrote all 27 letters of the alphabet down in my notebook and then wrote one word for each letter that somehow reminded me of Vancouver. I think I'll be using that journaling for a scrapbook layout called The Vancouver I Know & Love, from A to Z ... but, here on my blog, I'd like to share what I came up with for the numbers prompt. We were challenged to make a list of numbers that work to describe an event, a day, etc.

Photo taken at my 24th birthday dinner @ The Reef restaurant

24 years old.

4 great friends.

3 very thoughtful birthday presents.

2 banana cream pies (with candles!)

1 fabulous birthday.

That awesome photo of my birthday pies has been printed for months now, just sitting on my desk waiting to be scrapbooked. I haven't been able to do anything with it yet ... mostly because I couldn't figure out what aspect of my birthday to focus on in my journaling. Should I write about the people I celebrated with? The gifts they gave me? The fact that the dinner was a total surprise? All of the above? None of the above?

When I first finished jotting down numbers that were relevant to my birthday, I wasn't sure if I should add more to make the list longer .... 45 minutes waiting for our meals, 5 hilarious waiters, 33 dishes on the menu, etc? But, in the end, I like the simplicity of the journaling I came up with. It's simple, but it tells the story. What I'll remember most about my 24th birthday are the friends I spent it with, the banana cream pie and the sweet, unexpected gifts I got ... and I feel my journaling reflects those things.

*And I just noticed that my last prompt-related post was also about a birthday. Mmmmm ... maybe I see a theme developing here?*

xox

What Now?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've signed up for Shimelle's online journaling class for scrapbookers and bloggers. The first prompt was sent out this morning and wowza! Talk about inspiring. 10 pages of wonderful words, useful tips, stunning scrapbook pages and (of course) some recommended topics to journal. Prompt #1 was all about questions and answers. We were challenged to think about questions in our lives - random questions we get asked by strangers, questions we have about upcoming decisions in our lives, questions we definitely don't have answers to, questions we definitely do have answers to.

I was inspired by the question, "... what now?"

So inspired, in fact, that I wrote three full pages (single spaced!) in my notebook trying to answer it. I've decided not to share everything I wrote because some of it is pretty personal and not words I want posted on the world wide web for all to read. But I will share a few snippets with you.

Dear Self,

In case it's slipped your mind, you'll be turning 25 in May. You may wonder why I'm bringing this to your attention, but something funny happens when you hit the big 2-5. You suddenly shift from being "in your early twenties" to being "mid-twenty". Soon, when you fill out those annoying questionnaires that ask you a bunch of personal questions about your life, you'll have to check the "25 to 30" age group box instead of the "18 to 24" one. You know what that means, don't you? It means you're supposed to have more in common with thirty year-olds than you do with eighteen year-olds. It means you're taking one big step closer to an established career and marriage and babies and in-laws and home ownership and one big step away from slumber parties and university life and Saturdays spent perusing the shopping mall. Or so they say.

For the longest time (as in, up until about ten minutes ago) you were sure that you'd breeze into the 25 to 30 clique with a "just married" banner floating above your head and a hella-gorgeous diamond on your finger. Hate to break it to you, kid, but that is not gonna happen. You can add young bride to the list of things you'll never be ... just squeeze it in there, somewhere between Olympic figure skating champion and millionaire by the age of twenty.

It's OK, though. I mean, don't panic or anything.

Being twenty-five (or almost) and not being married (as you were so sure you'd be) leads you to one resounding question: ..... what now? And, luckily for you, the answers to that question are pretty limitless. The sky's the limit. Carpe diem.

You could go back to school and study art history. Or you could travel and live abroad - Paris, London, maybe even Rome. (Although Rome would be tricky, since you don't speak a lick of Italian). You could open your own business or you could go to Bible college or you could just join the marines - which, ya know, is never gonna happen but hey! You could do it.

Or you could stay right here, right where you are ... in this apartment, in this job, in this pleasant little bubble of twenty-something bliss. You could focus on indulging in things that interest you. You could go to museums and galleries and the opera and watch old black and white movies on rainy Vancouver afternoons. You could go to football games and go hiking and take up cross-country skiing. You could treat yourself to brunch at that adorable French cafe on 12th Ave and take yourself dancing on a Saturday night. You could be you. Nothing more, nothing less.

So, what now? Now, the focus shifts from looking forward to being introduced to your future husband to looking forward to being introduced to your self. Now you play. Now you learn. Now you grow. Enjoy 25 ... enjoy it simply because you deserve to enjoy it.

xox

doing this:

I've decided to take an online journaling class for scrapbookers and bloggers. Why, you ask. Well, if you've seen any of my scrapbook pages you know that I *love* to include tons of journaling on them. A picture can tell a thousand words, true, but a picture AND journaling can tell many more! I like to think of myself as a good scrapbook journaler but there's always room for improvement .... and, if I'm being honest, I'm hoping this class will make me a better blogger. I often have so many thoughts and ideas swirling around in my head that when I try to buckle down and write a blog post about them, my blog post ends up sounding all disjointed and random. So fingers crossed this class gives me some much needed story guidance!

Here's some more info on the class, offered by the uber talented Shimelle ...

True Stories is an online class that starts on the 25th of October, but it can be completed at any time. It lasts three weeks, with fifteen full-colour PDF prompts delivered straight to your inbox, Mondays through Fridays. From the beginning, there is absolutely no way to ‘fall behind’ or ‘not finish’ because it’s not that kind of class. You can follow along by working on a prompt each day if you would like, but you can also keep the prompts as a reference for when they come in useful for your own scrapbooking, blogging or other story-telling needs.

True Stories covers fifteen different ways to approach your story and commit it to paper. You can use these prompts as a scrapbooker and see your journaling evolve to something that will be a treasure to read. You can use the prompts as a blogger to make your entries feel like honest, unique and compelling tales. Or you can just use them in general as a collection of ways to add a bit more excitement to your writing if you’re feeling like you’re in a rut of writing the same way on every project.

More info on the class (and sign-up info) here.

Looking *so* forward to this!!!!