… embrace your inner Brazilian. And I don’t mean get waxed. Enjoy the place you are at. Soak up the scene. Learn up the culture. Embrace life. Make sure you have a story to tell when all is said and done. Don’t waste the moments you are given.
Here are my feet on the sand of the famous Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I’m in Rio this week. Just a short trip, which in some ways is worse. About the time I adjust to the time difference and recover from all the flights, it’s time to go home.
However on this trip I am trying to make the most of my time here. That includes lots of fun dinners, walks on the beach and watching the Brazil play in the World Cup (pretty cool).
Sunset, Copacabana
Sometimes, when I’m traveling without my family, I can become a bit of a recluse. I am always homesick (that’s the mama in me), and some times in addition to being exhausted from my busy life I feel a little guilty living it up while my family is stuck at home. My husband tells me that that’s crazy and is always encouraging me to get out of my hotel and enjoy my surroundings. This trip, I’m trying to take his advice.
With all this travel and vacations, things are a little slow at Crazy Daisy. We apologize. Once we are done living it up in June and July … we’ll be back to posting more regularly. That doesn’t mean we won’t be posting all summer long. Just not every day
Okay. So, time for me to get back to having fun … Rio style.
I have been sitting at my computer most of the day.
My kids are at the pool. Thank goodness for great weather and an adventurous nanny.
I have had so much to do. And I have had meetings out the wazoo. But I can’t stop thinking about this blog, what i want to say and just being creative.
As I was trying to figure out what I wanted to blog about today, I stumbled on this video when I stopped at the Spark web site to see if there was anything new there. I’m sitting in a Starbucks right now and as I watched the video below, I had to fight back tears (mostly because I am in public, so I didn’t want to look like a crazy nut as I sobbed). It inspires me and makes me feel like though some times I have no idea what I’m doing, how I’ll get it all done or what’s next for me … being a mother to Shelby and Cooper makes me great.
I have been working on a piece of art. I have been working on it for more than a week now. I’m a little obsessed with it. I have a whole blog post planned about it, since I learned a valuable lesson during this whole process, but I’m not ready to share that lesson yet! But until then, here’s a little peek at what I’m working on.
I have some big plans for the weekend. I really want to scrap and finish the art piece above. I want to do the House of 3 summer scrapbook challenge (three pages a week) and I was also thinking about singing up for May Flaum’s class at Big Picture Scrapbooking.
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Today I wanted to share/explore some of the things I am dying to try right now. I was working on this blog post in my head while I was on an airplane, so I took notes on my boarding pass. I think I really need to scrap that boarding pass, since it tells the story of my crazy, busy life. But, that’s a whole different post and a whole different project!
Four things I want to try:
1. Layout a Day (LOAD)
Have you heard about Lain Ehmann’s Layout A Day challenge? Three times a year, she leads a month-long layout a day challenge (LOAD). As a writer I always heard “If you want to be a better writer, then you have to write.” Write more. Write about different things. Just write. When I became an editor, I told my reporters the same thing. I assume it works the same for crafting. The more you do it, you unleash your creative beast within. I want to unleash that best. In March I took an online class from Shimelle and it was the best month ever. I created more and was happier with my work than I have been in a long time. For me, I just need a little push and a challenge like this seems like the perfect answer.
2. Spanx Swim suit
Not to toot my own horn, but in the last year I’ve lost some weight. I had a baby, so that helps (you lose a lot of weight when you drop that baby!). But I also managed to lose all the extra weight I’ve put on from having two children, living a chaotic life and not caring if I was eating healthy (I adore ice cream more than just about anything). Since my son was born a year ago I have lost just over 60 pounds. Still with all that weight gone, I’m a little nervous about swimsuit season. Enter Spanx. Ever tried Spanx? Best invention ever. These body shapers suck everything in and make you look amazing. And they just came out with a swimsuit line. I also like how modest they are. I’m not a skimpy bikini kind of girl. Never have been. Never will be. These suits are cute, modest and figure flattering. What could be better than that?
3. Auto Collage
I was listening to the Paperclipping Roundtable podcast on a flight the other day and Stephanie Howell mentioned FotoFusion by LumaPix. It’s photo editing software and the offer a scrapbooking specific solution. What made me curious to try it is that Stephanie mentioned that this particular software has an auto collage feature. You can select the 5 or 10 photos you want to use, click on auto collage and it will generate a photo collage for you. From there you can add digi background papers and embellishments … or just print out your collage and scrap it traditionally. I thought this would be a tool that would allow me to quickly scrap a lot of photos that I love, but no feel compelled to spend a lot of time on. This would allow me to spend more time on the stories I REALLY want to tell, but also find a home for some of the cute photos that I want to look back on year after year.
4. Under Eye Cream
I saw an ad the other day for this under eye cream. It says that it will take away my dark circles. I have had dark circles under my eyes for as long as I can remember. Getting more sleep, eating right … all those things don’t help. I hear it’s genetic. Whatever it is, I’m tired of it. Id like to buy a wonder cream that takes ‘em away. Maybe this is it? Who knows, but for $59 it’s worth a try … if anyone knows of a cream that really works or a home remedy, send them my way. I’d love to get rid of these suckers.
I can’t believe it’s already September. This year is really flying by. So much has happened already (we launched Crazy Daisy, I had my second baby, my daughter started school, Jen bought a home closer to me, which I’m hoping will be her primary residence sooner rather than later … ) and there is still so much left to come, like all the fun holidays, my brother’s wedding and Cooper growing bigger each day.
I have been so busy lately I’ve been having trouble taking the time to enjoy my life. I have the sweetest little kids and I need to stop rushing around so much and just enjoy them. My husband is the smartest, greatest guy in the world, but have I told him that lately? Nope, but I did nag him about getting this or that done. I need to nag less and love more.
I feel like lately I’ve forgotten to look for the goodness in life. It’s time to stop missing out on the good moments and embracing them whenever they come. I know that if I do this I’ll be happier. Want to join me in embracing the goodness?
On that note, I have a great layout to share with you. JJ Sobey, one of our design team members, sent in this layout featuring her daughter and the joy of a little one who knows nothing but to embrace the goodness in life. Shouldn’t we try to be more like the children in our lives? Think less and enjoy more?
"What's My Fortune" a layout from JJ using the September Kit
“Played with my new border punch for this detail in the corner. Kinda fun to create your own paper ‘frills’ with whatever paper suits your layout. Yeah, this little monkey had just turned a year old, and look what she was up to!”
A detailed look at JJ's layout
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Don’t miss all the good moments like has to offer by running around doing things that won’t matter in 10 years. Love your children. Tell your story. Enjoy your friends. Embrace the goodness.
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