Stuff

It is so easy to accumulate stuff! We are cleaning out some things before the move and preparing to live in a smaller space. The movers estimate that we have 4,718 pounds of stuff to move to California. It is weird to think about the amount of stuff you own in pounds!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We have really enjoyed the Thanksgiving Weekend!

Our Thanksgiving decoration was a turkey that Alex made at school. He likes that it is hanging on the refrigerator.

With the craziness of preparing to move, we decided to keep our Thanksgiving simple:
Thanksgiving Menu
Turkey
Gravy
Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry Sauce (from a can)
Pumpkin & Apple Pies (Baked by HEB)

Everything tasted great and our meal was ready ahead of schedule. We have just enough leftovers to enjoy.

Alex watched a little of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but it did not hold his interest. He spent lots of time playing.

We found out that one of our neighbors was planning to have a garage sale on Friday. It was perfect timing, and we also had a successful garage sale. It is easy to ignore Black Friday sales when you are preoccupied with clearing out extra items for a move.

On Saturday, we had some time to rest and a fun play date with friends. We continue to organize and weed out extra things. I feel better about selling or giving away items when I know that someone can use them. I feel less sentimental than expected about letting go of baby items since I have so many photos of Alex from that time. I don't feel that I need the physical items since I have the photos and memories.

Thankful Thought #2

I am thankful for where I am from, where I am now, and where I am going.

Alex's Photos

Alex got ahold of the camera last weekend and took some pictures:
Uncle Shrek

Bearded John

I took a picture of our little photographer in Grandma's sunglasses.

Photos taken 11/20/11.

The Next Chapter

We are preparing the for next chapter in our lives. Over seven years ago we moved to San Antonio when I was offered a job at the University of Texas at San Antonio. I told John that the next move would be his, and now it is time for new opportunities. John has been offered a job with Apple in Cupertino, California.

I am excited and nervous, and we are still working on the exact timeline for the move. We accumulated some things in the last seven years to move, including a toddler and two dogs. We also have a house to sell.

UTSA and San Antonio have been good to us. It will he hard to leave behind our family and friends here! I expect to use technology (iPad... hint, hint) to keep in touch and will come back to visit. This has been a good chapter of our lives.

Congratulations on your new job, John! I am so proud of you!

A Little Bit of Fall

We got a little taste of fall on Friday. We went to Boerne for lunch at The Dodging Duck and a walk at the Cibolo Nature Center. We are enjoying a weekend of family time and football while my brother is in town.

My Craft Space

My craft desk was actually clean for a few days, so I took some pictures. We bought the desk at a local office furniture store, and I like that I can lock the drawers to keep little fingers out of them.

I really like the clear plastic drawers for organization. I've picked up a few sets over the years at Walmart. The striped box holds finished cards. I keep my basic supplies in the blue case, so they are easy to grab or take to a class.

The two accordion files hold 12x12 card stock and patterned paper, and they are more portable than other options for holding paper. The purple binder hold items for me to scrap, but if it is out of site I do have the tendency to forget about it. The clear bins hold a mix of items to be scrapped and some supplies. The black case holds stickers, and my magazines are next to it.

I divided up my punches into a couple of storage options. The smaller punches are in drawers and the larger ones are in the brown bin. I also have some acrylic blocks. I recently condensed some stamp sets. I don't want to part with wood mount sets, but the clear mount stamps take up a lot less space, which I love.

On the top shelf, which my husband made, I keep my Big Shot, dies, and some small embellishments. The large box holds paints, and the striped box holds photos.

I keep my inks locked in a drawer, and other items that I don't want Alex to get into.

I organize my 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and scraps by color in the bottom drawer.

I enjoy crafting in our family room and expect to keep my craft stuff in a shared space. I can relate to the Paperclipping Roundtable episode about shared crafting spaces.

My Stamping Buddy

Alex is learning to stamp, which is messy and fun!

In the video Alex is stamping a cupcake and saying "birthday cake."

November: 10 Things on the 10th

I still can't believe that it is November already! In the U.S. we will be celebrating Thanksgiving later this month. I think that it is important for this holiday not to get lost in all the hype of Halloween and Christmas. Not only do I enjoy cooking and being with family for Thanksgiving, it is a time to focus on gratitude. This month, I will share 10 Things that I am Thankful For:

My Husband
My Son
My Family
My Friends
My Health
My Job
My Education
Crafting
A Little Quiet Time Alone
Our Home

For more "10 on the 10th of the Month" entries, visit Shimelle's Blog.

Alex's Outfit

Yes, Alex chose his outfit today: dinosaur t-shirt, basketball shorts, Alamo socks, and bug shoes. He usually has a little "bed head" in the mornings.

November Happiness Blog Hop: Pay Attention

This month's Happiness Blog Hop organized by Scrapworthy Lives is themed Pay Attention. Gretchen Rubin dedicates a chapter of The Happiness Project to this topic, but I think that scrapbookers have a head start on this part of happiness. As scrapbooking has shifted from mainly scrapping the big events (weddings, vacations, bithdays, etc) to also including our everyday lives, scrapbookers are paying attention to the little things. Ali Edwards has been promoting everyday scrapbooking for years, Becky Higgins brings us Project Life, and Stacy Julian teaches us to make connections through her Library of Memories system.

I find that blog and scrapbook projects help me pay more attention to my everyday life. I started with A Day in Photos last April while taking Shimelle's Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers class. I also tried Ali Edward's Week in the Life for the first time in July. I blogged about my week and want to make a photo book with the pictures and stories. Next, I would like to complete Ali Edward's December Daily. I am thinking about ways to approach this project. I could mainly use my blog, but making a mini book would be fun too. Elise Blaha sells cute holiday mini books on her Etsy site, which would save me some prep time. These projects help me take more everyday photos and tell more stories about our everyday lives. Alex is growing so fast and life changes quickly, so I know that I will treasure having these details now and in the future.

I would love to hear how other scrapbookers pay attention in their lives and if you have any tips for completing December Daily.

Your next stop on the blog hop is Scrapping Mojo. Thank you for visiting today!

Here is the list of participating blogs:
Fun Mama
Kiss & Tell Scrapbooking
Melissa’s Blog
Nihao, Cupcake!
Nuggets
Our Life with Spiky Potatoes
Pie for Breakfast
Scraps & Sass
Scrapworthy Lives
Scrap Your Life
Slice of Life
Take a Picture and Remember This
This Kalil Life
1200 Some Miles (You are here.)
Scrapping Mojo
Your Memory Connection

October Craft Spending

For most of the month, I was on track with my $40 craft budget, but I went over budget at the end of the month. I was definitely tempted by some "good deals" last month! I had extra money in my overall monthly allowance, so my craft spending was not a problem. I do like staying aware of how much I am spending in this area.

Here is what I bough in October:
1. I spent $10 on a Living Social deal for $20 worth of scrapbooking products at The Scrapbook Store. I am looking forward to checking out this store! Unfortunately, one scrapbook store near me completely closed and the other one is temporarily closed.

2. I was lured to Michael's on my lunch hour one day with a buy one, get one 50% off sale. My two crafty friends came with me but managed not to buy anything. I spend $29.71 on the Ranger Craft Mat, two Copic markers (V06 & R29), and about 10 sheets of Bazzil card stock in white and kraft. The Copics were on sale, which is rare. I arrive at 12:30 PM the day of the sale to find the Copic selection already picked over. I like the craft mat, but I am glad that I got it with a 40% off coupon.

I planned to stop my shopping at that point, but I found 2 other great deals:

3. I spend about $10 for a Memory Keeper from Paper Coterie. I wanted to take advantage of a great deal posted on The Mom Creative, and it will be a good place to store Alex's memorabilia.

4. A while back I won a gift certificate to Ella Publishing. I spent and extra $2.47 to have my gift certificate cover 3 e-books on scrapbooking, photography, and card making. 31 Thank You Cards is on sale through 11/7/11 for $6.49, and I am enjoying this book.

My total was about $53 on crafting this month, but I am happy with my purchases.

Do you like Giveaways?

It is hard to resist an opportunity to win something. The first raffle prize that I remember winning was a small TV when the Payless Shoe Store opened nearby. Maybe I was 10 or 12 years old? I will have to ask my mom if she remembers when it was, but I think that I got to keep the TV in my bedroom.

I still love the chance to win something and there are lots of giveaways in blogland. I have won some Ella e-books from a couple of blogs and am enjoying them. Next I would love to win the Studio Calico & Ali Edwards December Daily Kit that will be given away on Elizabeth Kartchner's Blog. This kit looks great for both scrapbooking and card making! With or without a kit, I am starting to consider participating in December Daily this year (maybe a scrapbook, photo book or just blog posts).