Lackin’ in the bloggin’

Ah; I remember a time when I used to blog more. I blogged about my opinions, my dreams, my days and more. I miss my old blog. I just don’t bother to take the time to blog as much as I used to. And, really, I didn’t write as much as some people do even back then. I was in a time in my life where my computer was my escape from the real world.
Since I’ve had my little monkey, I’ve find myself doing more off of a computer. I’m still on the computer more than I should be. I take daily pictures (when my stupid camera is working. I need a new one!! Hint, hint Steve; if you even bother to read this) for Steve. So I upload them everyday to email to him. I email him every day over and over and over and over and over and you get the drift. I check out some of my favourite blogs (mainly friends). I read my favourite comic, For Better Or For Worse, everyday. And lately, I’ve been checking out the Bad Girls gallery and forum a few times a day. The ladies there are oh so talented and chatty. They seem to be welcoming me and I hope to learn so much from them and have fun chatting too. I like checking out A Cherry On Top too. I don’t buy too much from them, but they have such a wide variety of goodies, I love just surfing around the site. I’ve even requested a few items from the site at my local (tiny) scrapbook store. I’m currently awaiting a pack of paper I requested for a special project (a mini album of monkey man’s first year. A page for each month) and a cute little filing tool set from Basic Grey (for those of you who know it). I never heard about it until I read about it at Bad Girls. Many of the ladies were raving about it. It’s offered at the Bad Girls store, but if I can get it locally, it would save me some money, right? I think I could use this little tool set for the mini albums I foresee in my scrapping future.
When I decided to try my hand at this scrapbooking thing, I never thought it would go so far. I’ve cross stitched before; and made three beautiful blankets for monkey. I’ve dabbled in writing. I have a few publications under a pen name, but nothing to brag about. Someday I’ll get a novel written. Maybe I’ll even get one published. I even decided, while eight months pregnant, I needed to learn how to knit. I don’t know if I thought I would magically pick it up on my first go at it and have a blanket knitted by the time the baby was born or what, but I really sucked at it. I’ve improved a little since. I have three scarves under my sleeve and am working on a small blanket. I’ve been working on it for almost two months now. I’m a slow knitter!
I have been interested in scrapbooking for a few years now. I always said I had nothing worth scrapping before. Now I’m a mother. A first time mother. Every other first time mother will agree with me when I say we take too many pictures. I swear the camera is in my hands more than my kid is some days. Sure, 90% of my layouts so far are monkey related, but hey, he’s the reason I picked up this hobby.
I think I was trying to fill a void at first. Steve had just left for Australia; I missed him like crazy. I decided I was going to learn to scrapbook two days after he left. I was so used to having him there all the time. Even when we’re apart we call or email each other contently. We have communicated nearly every day, in person, by phone or by email (and MSN), since we met and were just friends. I was completely lost when he first went away. My “bad habit,” as I so lovingly call him, was gone. I bought scrapbook supplies instead. It took about a month after I bought supplies before I finally made a layout. Looking bad, it’s horrible! And so is a few that followed. I didn’t scrap at all during the month of December or the beginning of January. My scrapping spot (the coffee table in the basement) became Christmas wrapping central. I waited until we had everything cleaned up before diving back into scrapping.
And I DID! For a couple of weeks, it was all I did. I scrapped when monkey went down for his naps. I scrapped when he went down to sleep at night. I scrapped late into the night. I loved it. I’ve slowed down so I don’t get bored and drop the hobby like a hot potato. I’m not sure if I would, but I don’t want to chance it. Besides, I bought felt stocking kits after Christmas to make my own Christmas stockings. If I want all three of them for Christmas, I have to get them done now. I’m not fast at hand sewing, so they are going to take some work. I’ve done them before, so I know the out come will be nice. Where are the ones I did before? I have no idea. I can’t remember if I threw them out or if my ex has them. I made them for our first Christmas living together years and years ago. My mother made a couple for my sister and I about 15 years ago or so. We still use them. I still love them.
I have a few scrapping projects lined up, so I will have to pull out my stash again. My mother has asked me to do up an 8x8 album for my grandmother. I was going to do a mini album for my sister about her getting her licence and her first car. She has now requested an 8x8 album of different things. Pages of her and her car, her and monkey and so on. This is what happens when you find brand name, post bound, leather albums at Giant Tiger (GT Boutique!) for under $5 in mint condition and buy them up. Everyone wants one. I also want to do up an album for my mother’s birthday. My February kit from Bad Girls is perfect for it! And I want to do up a 12 page album of monkey. A page for each month of his first year.
Speaking of first year…I can’t believe my little monkey is almost a year old! Where the heck did the past year go?
Until next time…