101 in 1001

I was reading my blogger friend (Brittany)'s blog yesterday and was inspired by her 101 in 1001 days post and decided to do one for myself. So, I took her list and made my own, keeping some of her great ideas on there.

I'm hoping this list will keep me motivated to live life fuller and enjoy it more. Plus, it will help me keep on track with important goals in my life.

Some of these items, may never happen, but I'm keeping high hopes that I can MAKE them happen. Some of them also depend on my money situation.

From Brittany's blog: Why 1001 Days? - Many people have created lists in the past - simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic.
1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than just one year.
Start Date: Wednesday September 30, 2010
Finish Date: Thursday, June 27, 2013

Regular = Incomplete
Bold = Completed

1. Buy a New Camera
2. Buy a New Laptop
3. Take a Photography class
4. Redo my fireplace
5. Successfully plan a big event
6. Go on a fabulous trip
7. Go to Vegas and gamble
8. Go to New York City
9. Take a bus trip with my girlfriends
10. Take a vacation with just my husband (no kids)
11. Run a Half Marathon
12. Go on a shopping spree for myself
13. Sky Dive
14. Zip Line
15. Go on a big hiking trip in the Mountains
16. Meet a Celebrity
17. Throw myself a party
18. Have a big sponosored giveaway on my blog
19. Get my car detailed.
20. Watch a meteorite shower
21. Throw a dinner party
22. Visit a new state that I've not been to yet
23. Learn a new sport
24. Find a Wine that I LOVE
25. Sing Karaoke
26. See a movie in theater by myself
27. Take a spin class
28. Meet a fellow blogger in real life
29. Learn to put myself first
30. Have a girls night filled with sappy movies and lots of junk food
31. Find time to read a book
32. Paint a picture
33. Get Hardwood floors
34. Get a new vehicle
35. Try Yoga
36. Buy something nice for a friend for no reason
37. Get rid of old clothes
38. Get down to a size 6
39. Go to an indoor water park
40. Restore an old item, giving it new life
41. Have a campfire and make smores in the backyard
42. See a play
43. Keep a journal
44. Host a holiday dinner for my family
45. Pay it forward - Pay for the random person behind me in a drive through
46. Plan a romantic date with my husband
47. Make 4 new friends
48. Start a tradition that I can carry forward to the future
49. Blog more
50. Witness something amazing
51. Go to a concert
52. Win an award of some sort
53. Design something fabulous and give it away for free
54. Get a Promotion at work
55. Comment more on other blogs
56. Get my priorities straightend out
57. Take a beautiful photo and get it framed
58. Go on a shopping spree for myself
59. Go horseback riding
60. Find the perfect sundress
61. Wear more dresses in the summer
62. Go barefoot more often
63. Spend one day on the couch doing absolutely nothing
64. Organize all of my pictures
65. Visit my grandparents more often
66. Get all of my scrap pages printed and binded
67. Be more efficient while at work (less facebook, google reader, blogging, etc)
68. Do one thing that scares the shit out of me!
69. Recconnect with old friends
70. Tell the people I love "I love you" more often
71. Say “Yes!”
72. Reconnect with my brother and sister (I don't see them much)
73. Go to an amusement park during Halloween
74. Go to a haunted trail or house
75. Take the family to Disney
76. Fly on a plane
77. Take a nap on the beach
78. Host a game night at our house with friends
79. Spend the night in our boat on the lake
80. Jump off of a rock taller than 6ft into the water
81. Lose 30 pounds
82. Teach someone something new
83 Spend more one on one time with each child
84. Make a difference in someone's life
85. Stop biting my nails
86. Teach my children to cook or bake something
87. Let my hair grow long
88. Be debt free (boat and vehicle paid off)
89. Give compliments more often
90. Get Lasik surgery so I can be free of my glasses
91. Devote more time for exercise.
92. Show my appreciation of my Mother in Law more often
93. Find more time for my husband
94. Develop a nightly routine to take better care of my skin
95. Give up all liquids except water
96. Chaperone a school dance
97. Learn to mow grass (I've never done this, but it could be good exercise)
98. Volunteer my time to a charity
99. Landscape my backyard
100. Clean out my garage so I can park in there
101. Finish this list, as scary as it might be!

Wow! I feel inspired already. I can sense a lot of positive changes coming in my future. I'm going to have my kids make a list as well, maybe not one quite this long, but I want them to have goals for themselves and what better way than to do it together. It will be fun marking the lists off together. :) I can't wait. :)

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Cheer Practice

This is not the best quality picture because I took it from my iphone through a window that was reflecting jackets that were hanging from the wall behind me. But, this is a picture of my daughter in a full extension at cheer practice. These stunts scare me, but she loves doing them. She has no fear. I'll try to post more of her doing a heal stretch, liberty and scorpian all while she is in this full extension. AMAZING! I'm so proud of her and proud of the girls that are strong enough to be her bases. They are amazing as well. She would not be able to do these stunts without them.

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Boardwalk was featured on Gallery Standouts Blog

I got a little surprise this morning as I was reading the comments on my layouts. This page made Gallery Standouts on Sept 25th.





I used these treasures creating it.

*images are linked

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8 Fat-Burning Tips

I'm always on a mission to either maintain my weight or lose weight. I'm not one of those who can eat whatever they want, I wish I was, but I'm not. So, you'll probably see weightloss tips on here as I feel inspired. I am currently up 10 pounds, so it is time to take it off! Here are 8 Fat Burning Tips that will hopefully keep me motivated.

1. Control Blood Sugar: Controlling blood sugar levels helps to shed fat. This is accomplished by taking in some protein, carbohydrates and good fats spread evenly through the day every two to three hours and by not over eating.

A sample meal schedule might look something like this:

6:30 Breakfast
9:30 Snack
12:30 Lunch
3:30 Snack
6:00 Dinner
9:00 Small Snack


2. Calories Count: Your goal is to eat as much as possible while still losing fat. For example, if you to lose 1 to 2 pounds of fat per week on 1,400 calories per day, you're on track. If you try to accelerate the process and lower your calories to 1,200, you sabotage your efforts. Anything more than a 2-pound loss per week will strip muscle tissue and give one a soft look.

Go here to find out how many calories you should eat to lose weight.

3. Eat Breakfast: A balanced breakfast comprised of carbohydrates, protein, and a little fat is a critical start to the day. The point of consuming breakfast is that it breaks the fast from an overnight sleep. In addition, breakfast will rev the metabolism for the rest of the day.

4. Ratios Count: Protein, carb and fat ratios are important. Generally, 40 percent to 50 percent of carbohydrates, 25 percent to 30 percent protein and 20 percent to 30 percent of healthy fats is the best starting place. Carbs are good for energy, protien is good for muscle and fat is good for your hormonal levels which help increase strength and feeling full.



5. Weight Training: To affect muscle versus fat ratios you have to train with weights or perform some type of resistance training. An intense weight workout lasting no more than 60 minutes, 3 days a week is the most efficient route to go.

6. Cardo: The key is to perform all that is necessary and no more than that. This is accomplished by integrating slower levels of intensity for several minutes with very high levels for several minutes. Intervals are great for boosting the metabolism and help burn calories 24 hours after the workout. Many people think they need to perform two hours of cardio per day. Nothing could be further from the truth. Start with a realistic amount of cardio per day and then add to it by five minutes or switch to intervals if you haven't lost body fat in two weeks.

7. Water Intake: Usually if you multiply .55 times your weight, that should be enough in ounces of water to suffice. Water is the underrated fat-loss tool.

I read this statement about water by Raphael Calzadilla. It reads, "From the standpoint of water intake and fat loss, you want to be in a position where the liver is converting stored fat to energy. The liver has other functions, but this is one of its main jobs. Unfortunately, another of the liver's duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly (more than most people realize). If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do the work of the kidneys along with its own (lowering its total productivity in the process). The liver then can't metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently. If you allow this to happen, you're setting yourself up to store fat because you've made the liver less efficient at turning stored body fat to energy."
I had no idea... I always knew you had to drink a lot of water, but never knew exactly why. This makes total sense to me now.

8. Discipline: It's about doing the right thing and the hard thing at times. One day of discipline leading to another day of discipline. You build your body and your mind simultaneously.

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Inspirational Quotes

Yesterday, I talked about being burnt out and just needing a break. Today, I'm going to post some of my favorite quotes that I needed to keep in mind of the importances in my life.



Night time is really the best time to work. All the ideas are there to be yours because everyone else is asleep. - Catherine O'Hara

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right. - Henry Ford

Within each of us lies the power of our consent to health and sickness, to riches and poverty, to freedom and to slavery. It is we who control these, and not another. - Richard Bach
Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil. - James Allen

It's not what you do once in a while, it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference. - Jenny Craig

You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. But you can decide how you're going to live now. - Joan Baez

You were born an original. Don't die a copy. - John Mason

Have a good weekend.

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Shut Doors

I haven't scrapped all summer. I think I just needed a break from the computer all together. I guess I was burnt out. I needed time. Time with my children, time with my husband, time for myself to think of what is really important in my life. I shut doors. I stopped and smelled the fresh air. I found myself again. I can breathe. Ahhh.



Now, that I have control of my time and my schedule is in place, I've got my mojo back. So, I scrapped with goodies from my all time favorite designer in the industry. Kaye Winiecki. If you aren't familiar with her, you need to be. Here are two places you can find her.

Kaye's store
Kaye's blog

Have fun browsing her many creations. They are original, cute and fantastic in my opinion. :)

Here are a few pages I created recently using her fab designs.









To see full credits, click on photo.

*photo used above is from freedigitalphotos.net

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The Perfect Shadows using PSP

I have had many requests to type up a shadow tutorial. I haven’t done so until now because it varies depending on the element, paper, etc. But, I decided to give it a whirl. I find that shadows make the layout. I am not an expert on shadows, but love playing with them. They are actually my favorite part of creating a page.

The setting I use most of the time for shadows are:

Vertical 10
Horiztonal -9
Opacity 50-75
Blur 25 or 50 depending on the depth

Color depends on the background, but I tend to use blackish/grey and play with the blend modes.

I always put the shadow as a seperate layer:


Depending on the darkness of the paper, you will want your opacity to be darker. I ususally use 75 on a darker piece of paper and a larger blur on thick items.



Have you ever used the Gaussian blur on your shadows? This makes a realistic effect on some elements that have a thicker depth. See below image. It just depends on what you are shadowing if that will work or not.



Another cool tip, that I use all the time is adding a shadow to a shadow. For example, since my shadow is set on a separate layer, I can add another shadow to that one using opacity as 25 and a larger blur. Then I move the shadow over to the side. This gives an effect of a deeper shadow. See images below.

You have your original shadow, then you add a separate shadow to the current shadow with the settings set as:

Vertical 10
Horiztonal -9
Opacity 25
Blur 40
Color R, G & B are set to 32



Then I had to drag the 2nd shadow over to the left a bit to make it look more realistic. By adding a shadow to the shadow, this gives it more depth, kind of like a fading shadow. This is how it turned out.



You can use the above directions on anything thick, like a button, thick beads, sticks, a thick alpha, etc or possibly a piece of ric rac, depending on how thick it is.

————————–


If you are doing a shadow on a sticker or thin paper and want it to be a close shadow, I use this setting.

Vertical 5
Horiztonal -4
Opacity 50 - 75 depending on how dark the paper is
Blur 15
Color R, G & B are set to 32



Now for staples… I used a darker opacity because it is very close to the paper and you can see it a bit better. I also used a smaller blur and lowered the vertical and horizontal numbers (like I did with the ghost) because it is closer to the paper.

Vertical 4
Horiztonal -3
Opacity 75
Blur 15
Color R, G & B are set to 32




Now, let’s shadow a string. This is what I think is the most fun shadowing. You can do all kinds of things with string. I will use my beginning setting mentioned in the beginning of this post and then go from there. Now, I will use my warp function. This will put a grid on the layout.





Now, you can start moving your shadows around by clicking and dragging the squares to move the shadow where you want it. Remember not to move the shadow where the staple is because if it is stapled, then it wouldn’t have a big shadow there. You want to make it replicate real life as much as possible. In the image below, I have a red arrow beside the squares that I moved to drag the shadows a little.



Here is how it turned out, I don’t really like it that dark on the white paper, so I’m going to double click on the shadow and change the opacity to 50. This will change the original 50 opacity by 50%. If this would have had a dark background, I would have kept the shadow dark.



Here is a purple and white comparison after changing the blend mode on the string shadow for the white background.



One thing I do want to mention is that if you have a black background, keep the same settings as above except after the shadow is created, then change the blend mode to burn.



Now that is all for now. I hope you can understand my directions. The biggest part of getting the best shadows is playing around. Once you play around, you will automatically know what shadows to use for which papers and which elements. The funnest part of doing a layout is the shadows. LOL I love getting creative with them.

Question: I absolutely love butterflies on my layouts but they are sooo hard to shadow well and I usually end up playing with them then starting all over then playing some until I get them where I think it looks good. I want it to look as though they landed on the page and their wings are just slightly lifted.

Answer:
I did a quick tutorial on butterflies for you. I started out with a flat butterfly.



Then I went to add a shadow on a separate layer using these settings:
Vertical 10
Horizontal -9
Opacity 75
Blur 35



This is what it looks like with just that setting before the warp. Now we are going to warp the edges.



Below you can see where I moved the bottom corners, the the top left corner and the antennas to the left.



I felt like the shadow was a tad bit dark so I changed the opacity to the shadow to 71, but I marked over it. lol



This is how it turned out.

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UCA Nationals here we come!

We just booked our flight to Disney for Hailey to compete in the UCA National Championship! We are so excited! They have new uniforms and an outstanding routine. I cannot wait to start competing! Our first competition is December at the Smoky Mountain Christmas Championship- UCA/UDA, in Sevierville, TN.

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Have you missed me?

I'm sorry I kept you all guessing where I was and haven't checked in or made an announcement of what was going on. I had a partial hysterectomy at the beginning of July and finally after being miserable for a long time, I feel great! I now have the energy to go outside and run, play games with my children, hike, tubing, etc. Before, I couldn't even race my kids in the backyard, it just hurt too bad.

Since I feel so well now, I've decided to retire from designing for now. I may design again if the opportunity presents itself, but for now I'm going to enjoy my time with the kids. I want to get outside and enjoy my new freedom and love of life. While I was off, I realized how much time designing took away from my family. I've used this extra time swimming, going to movies, camping, boating, picnics etc.

I may do a collab here and there if any designers are up for it. I will also keep you all updated with my random posts of my daily life, my scrap pages and some freebies. Thanks for hanging in there with me. :)

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