Busy, busy, busy...

Man oh man, there is just something about this time of year that always seems busier. The change in seasons, canning & freezing goodies from harvest time, craft shows and holiday fairs, getting the house/yard ready for cold weather... but now that I have school to add to the mix I must admit things seem downright crazy!! Hence my lack of posts, scrapbooking, and new goodies for the shop. I will say I feel really good about all the things I've accomplished in the last 2 weeks, so it's feeling very worth it! My biggest accomplishment, thanks to my best pal Jami who devoted 3 days to helping my, has been switching my craft room/office with my children's play room. The craft room/office had REALLY outgrown it's space and it was a COMPLETE disaster. Now it looks 100 times better. I still need to purge some craft supplies, organize a few things, and decorate, but it has given me such a new lease on life to have that project behind me. THANK YOU JAMI!! I LOVE YOU GIRL!!

I also have been canning and freezing produce like crazy this year. I plan on giving lots of homemade/handmade gifts this Christmas, so I made TONS of jam to give in goodie baskets. Peach, raspberry, strawberry, raspberry-peach, blueberry, and blueberry-peach... still to come apple butter, pear butter, and chokecherry jelly. I've also done pickles, pies, and frozen lots of yummy fruit to make into cobblers, muffins, and pies later.

... and I'm happy to say that I've been sticking with the 21 Day Challenge (see Rhonna Farrer's blog for details). It's funny how just knowing that I am doing this with so many other women out there makes it easier. I'm not saying that some days aren't REALLY hard, but with God's help and the 21'ers encouragement I am becoming a more patient person. I am also happy to say my kids seem to be enjoying it too... I've been trying to slow down the running lists of things to be done etc that go through my head all day and just take care of today. Enjoy the moments, even the difficult ones because life just goes so fast. I think I had become a bit overwhelmed with the growing busyness of life; it was making me feel like I was always 10 steps behind, making me impatient, and a bit crabby too. ;) That's why I'm so glad I'm taking the challenge. This stressed out attitude of mine was becoming a habit and I do not want to be like that! Life is too short and there is too much to be thankful for. So here I am on day 15 (I'm a day behind the official challenge) feeling so much better about things. It is so rewarding to see that just a simple change in attitude on my part can make such a large impact in my home.

Boy am I chatty today!! Ok enough babble and here's a layout I did for Jenn's design team. I just love her jotters, the quality is so amazing!


Well that's it for today, have a great Wednesday everyone. Hopefully there will be more goodies going in my etsy shop today... so check it out!