32 things

So, today I turn 32. Since I not 100% where I thought I would be when I was 32 (but who really is right?), I have made the commitment to focus on all the good and beautiful blessings in  my life. And all the wonderful and exciting things I have to look forward to. So here is my list of 32 for 32 of hopes and dreams and goals and all the stuff I'm going to enjoy the year I am 32.

1) As soon as the weather is nice a new friend and I are going to go for a drive in my convertible with the top down.

2) My sister Patti and her husband were more than generous to give me a gift certificate to the Brave Girls Shoppe so I am looking forward to picking out my gift...the problem will be picking out just one!

3) Find a pair of cowboy boots I love.

4) A trip to Aberfoyle market, to look for a storage solution for all my craft and art supplies.

5) Be a punk at my brother Dan's Buck and Doe.

6) Two bridal showers for my new sister in law Jessie.

7) A rambunctious bachelorette party for Jessie (provided I can get the weekend off).

8) Horse back riding with the girls from work.

9) 4X8 a study the minister at our church if putting on to ask questions about Christianity. I'm really looking forward to learn more about my own faith.

10) A solo trip to Manitoulin Island.

11) While there stay at The Meldrum Bay Inn a place I have wanted to stay in since my Nana and Poppa first took me to Manitoulin many many years ago.

12) Also stay at my first hostel, Auberge Inn.

13) Take some tours and do some activities with Great Spirit Circle Trail.

14) Farquhar's ice cream.

15) Cry at my brothers wedding.

16) Dance with my siblings and cousins at my brother's wedding.

17) Have Lexi over for a sleepover.

18) Spend some time getting to know some one new.

19) Supernatural with Timbo!

20) Learn Brian Littrell's Wish on guitar in time for Easter next year.

21) Create beautiful things

22) Scrap my heart out.

23) Brave Girls Camp!!!!!

24) Drive to and from Idaho solo.

25) Continue my palliative care studies.

26) Cook a turkey or a roast.

27) Beach road trips.

28) Take an art class.

29) A tea party with my Aunt Kate and my Nana to sort and date all my Nana's old photos.

30) Learn

31) Laugh, sing, dance, giggle, cry, kiss, hug, smile, create ...Be Brave!

32) Sparkle and shine, like the girl GOD intended me to be.

I am so excited to see what this year has in store for me...I think it is going to be amazing!!

My journey through SR2 - Week 6

Well, we've arrived at week six of Soul Restoration 2. Technically it's the last week but the work will go for many months beyond this. This week focused on the work we will continue to do.
I finished up my vision board.This is were I will track my progress, on living the life I was meant to live.

In a box that I made, are activity cards, labeled 5mins, 15mins, 30mins, 2 hours and 1 day. Each card has an activity that will lead me to living the life I was meant to live. When I complete one, I'll glue a token to my vision board. Each card also has a reward on it and an indicator stating how many times I have to complete each activity before I get the reward. Some cards wont have a reward on them because they are a reward in themselves (spend one day with Alexis). Some activities are things I have to do anyway (cut the grass) and I might as well reward myself for it. Other cards are activities I wish I would make more time for, reading a book for 2 hours uninterrupted. I can add cards as I go and get rid of them, if they no longer fit.

I also still have lots and lots of stuff to add to my Life book and lots of goals I want to achieve. I think this will keep me going until @ least the new year. I wont be bored! I know that sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do but I plan on filling my life with as much stuff as I want to do as I can. Everything I do, I'm going to do for me and not feel guilty about it. I'm so excited about that!
Thanks for stopping by.

My journey through SR2 - Week 1.

Hi everyone,
If you have been reading my blog, you know that I am in love with the girls over @  Brave Girls Club. I have taken a number of their online classes and have learned a lot about myself and about being creative. No words can explain how much they have changed my life. I've been in a period of transition for awhile now, trying to figure out who am and who I want to be. The Brave Girls courses have really helped give me tools to figure it out.
I've been impatiently waiting for Soul Restoration 2, since the beginning of the year, since I think that it is the next step in my self discovery journey and I'd like to share some of it with you. The course is designed to look to the future, what do you really want? I know what I want, I always have. I've wanted to be a nurse, a wife and a mom for as long as I can remember but I'm stuck. I'm a nurse but I'm not a wife or a mom yet and it doesn't look like either of those are going to happen anytime soon. So what do I want my future to look like in the meantime? I'm really hoping SR2 will help me figure that out. It also occurs to me that I've been in the same nursing job my whole career ( almost 9 years) and I'm thinking it might be time for a change but I have no idea what that might be.
This week the focus was to fill out our "fun sheets" (a journaling exercise that will be used later in the course). I have to admit that I've had to dig deep and I still don't know the answers to some of Melody's questions. The art project for this week was to prepare our art journal and decorate the cover if we had time. The class suggests starting with a new journal but I still had tons and tons of room in my SR1 journal, that I've decided to use it. So instead of a cover, I created a title page.

Disclaimer, while the final project belongs to me, some of the art work incorporated into project was provided thru Brave Girls Club course materials.

So for the next 5 weeks, this is how I will be spending my time. I'm planning to blog each week and I hope you will come back and check it out.
Much Love!

Creative Scrappers - 163 - Nana Jenings' rocking chair

Hi everyone! Happy Canada Day long weekend!!! Happy Independence Day to all my American friends out there. I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend where ever you are.

I spent the wrap up to my long weekend working on a LO based on a Creative Scrappers sketch.

Journalling reads: Nana Jenings is my Nana's mom. This rocker was her favourite place to rock babies or contemplate life. The arm rests are worn where she rested her hands. Right now it sits in my living room. Hopefully someday it will sit in a nursery and I will rock my babies in it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome 2011!

Happy New Year!! I hope everyone enjoyed their night last night. I can't honestly say I'm sorry to see 2010 go. While it started off pretty great, with the best party ever...Matt and Emma's wedding, it kinda went down hill from there. I spent the first half of the year dizzy everyday before finding out they were stress migraines and then the last half of the year with joint pain (rheumatoid arthritis). On the bright side though,while neither one of these is going away anytime soon, they are both being treated and I am learning what I need to do to cope with them. People that I love have lost people who meant alot to them, my step-brother and step-sister lost their dad, my Nana lost one of her best friends and her uncle (not to mention she was also still settling an estate for a neighbour who had passed the previous year), and my Aunt lost her mom (my cousins lost their Grandma). We also lost two of the ladies that go for lunch with us on Sundays to the Boot and Blade.

Not to be one who only sees the negative though, there was some good in 2010:
Matt and Emma's Wedding.
Miranda Panda was born (she is for sure a child of my heart...Fez jokes that she could actually be mine...apparently after she was born, both Fez and her mom looked @ Randi and said "she looks like Christa").
Ollie was born.
Camping with the whole family.
My sister got engaged.

I'm really looking forward to 2011. Lots of amazing stuff is happening, my oldest friend is due with her first any day now, Jumanji will be born, I'll get to spent my 30th with my new niece, Punta Cana for Jenn and Darryl's wedding, then their recpection here and April's wedding.

I've also thought about my New Years resolutions. This year I will drink more water, I did this a few years ago and was successful. You might ask why if I thought I was successful am I doing it again...well I was successful @ drinking more water @ work but not so much @ home, so my goal is to drink more water @ home. My other resolution is to pray more...with intent. I live alone, so I talk to GOD all the time..but rarely pray with intent, so I'm going to do that more.

I also like to make wishes for the future every year but instead of wishing to be a wife and mother someday (as I said I talk to GOD alot..I don't need to wish it...he knows), I wish to be an amazing Aunt, a great sister and a wonderful friend. I wish to love more, laugh often.

I hope everyone has a laughter filled 2011.
Cheers.