quality literature: between shades of gray

another recommendation from a librarian friend, this one at the high school.  i think reading books recommended by friends is a double bonus as you connect with a book and a friendship.  so, so good.

between shades of gray deals with a "forgotten" segment of world history that i knew nothing about,  the invasion of lithuania (and other countries in the baltics) during the stalin regime and subsequent deportation of the "undesirables" to work camps in siberia.  it is a beautifully written debut novel from author ruta sepetys.  this one is heavy, but worth it.  very impactful and thought-provoking.

genre: historical fiction
setting: upper middle class latvia/work camps in siberia, 1940's
reading level: adult, high school

roadside attractions: bucket list

we caught a couple days of freak 60 degree weather last weekend and i made sure we got out and enjoyed it.  the sun's rays were so nice to warm these chilled bones.

looking at this picture of my son playing in the water in his shorts, it almost looks like summer.

we discovered a new creek to explore.  g's anxious to go back once it warms up for good to see if there are any more creatures that come out to play.

fuchsia.

bridge over cold water.

 g found these teeny tiny succulents.  it looked like a little fairy world.

nature bares her soul in winter.

 gold on blue.  g even recognized this was a gorgeous shot.  i'm training him well.

capturing sunlight.

 blue.

 yellow.

 black.

 barn.

 red.

fuchsia cascade.

sunflares on roadkill.  is this poetic or just morbid?

we found a break in the fence line and were able to take a hike up the cliffs on the side of the interstate spur by our house.  does anyone else have crazy things on their bucket list like stopping on the side of the road and walking off into nowhere?

i am anxious to go back and photograph these beauties in bloom.

our school off in the distance at sunset.

we made it to the top!

 my favorite smile in the whole wide world.  on top of the world.

linking up with mamasaurus and "how does you garden grow?"

cocoa daisy: february sneaks!

it's my first official month with the cocoa daisy team.  you must know that these february kits are amazing and i truly am "in love" with journal entry.  i got my box last wednesday and was giddy looking through it.  it was hard to contain my inspiration till friday night when i finally had time to create.  i got three layouts, ones i'm "in love" with, plus a project life page done last weekend.  but you know, these kits are so fabulous that i've had to make a (long) list of all the things i want to create with them.  stay tuned!  and head over to the cocoa daisy forum for more sneak peeks from the other brilliant designers on the team!

quality literature: the weight of silence

i got this one from the librarian at the elementary school.  it was on her desk and i simply can't resist asking about books.  someone had given it to her, and since she didn't think she'd have time to read it any time soon, she passed it along to me.  it was really good.  it's written in a style i enjoy.  the chapters are all titled simply with a character's name and then told from his or her perspective.  i'm sure you can glean from the title that it's not light, fluffy fiction.  the topics are abuse, violence, and murder, but also the deep bonds of friendship, familial love, and new beginnings.  i passed it along to the middle sister as i know she likes this genre (and in the interest of being an equal opportunity bookworm sibling, i am saving this one for the older sister).

genre: crime/mystery, chick lit
setting: small town/country, midwest (us)
reading level: adult

cocoa daisy: joining the team!

i have some exciting (at least to me) news to share!  i've joined the cocoa daisy design team!  i guested with them last month and was completely thrilled to be asked to join the team.  i wasn't sure how much papercrafting i wanted to pursue when jenni shifted to vintage, but when emily emailed asking me to join cocoa daisy i immediately knew that i would say yes.  i just love the camaraderie, motivation, inspiration, support, fun, and kindness of a group of good people.  the girls at cocoa daisy are, indeed, good people.  i'm a happy girl.

and the product is a definite bonus.  i know i am already saying it with my very first kit, but february is my favorite!  i got my happy box on wednesday and let's just say, tgif!  i finally get to scrap with it tonight!  i am dying to use two of the floral patterned papers from journal entry on a layout.  i think i might need to print some cute baby niece pics, so i can go over the top girly girl with my design.  the sequins in dear diary had me at hello.  there is the most perfect itty bitty stamp every in the day in the life kit.  jot it down has put me in embellishment heaven.  and i think it's just the smartest thing ever to have a patterned paper add-on.  i mean, who can ever get enough patterned paper?

join us for reveal night on the 28th!  i'm diving in head first by taking over hostess duties my first month in.  fun times ahead!

free printables: kindergarten worksheets

so, i mentioned earlier this year that i'm teaching at the elementary level once again.  it's been, i don't know, seven or eight years since i've spent time with the young ones and i'm a bit rusty.  my kindergarten girls are the ones who really keep me hopping.  they are demanding little things and are happiest when i have "my little pony" or "frozen" characters decorating my worksheets.  yep, i'm whipped.  i've been giving my publishing skillz a workout lately as well.  they, too, are a bit rusty. 

i thought i would share the few worksheets i've made so far in case any of you have little ones at home that might like them.  you can find them HERE.

moleskine: highlights

in the last few days of 2014, i began chatting with my friends over at get it scrapped! about "intentions" for the new year.  i was intrigued by a link on bullet journaling that was shared and thought i might give it a try.  i then impulsively stopped at books a million on the way to our new year's eve party for my very first moleskine travel journal with the intention of bullet journaling on its pages.  i just couldn't do it.  the pages were too pretty and the journal too cute.  i just couldn't sully it with random messy lists. 

i was then faced with this adorable new journal with absolutely no intentions for it.  i pondered its fate all day long on new year's day.  i finally had a "eureka!" moment late that night after my football team lost its bowl game.  it's now my "highlights" playbook.  each day i simply write a few highlights, sketch a little picture, and color it in with watercolor pencils.  no back handed compliments and no disclaimers allowed.  only highlights.

semantics are funny.  i've tried this sort of thing before.  gratitude journals, reflections on my day, joys.  sometimes it all just seemed too profound when i was having a shallow sort of day.  highlights, though, highlights i can handle.  just a few little things that have made me happy each day.  no pressure.  just fill a tiny page with a few moments that have made me smile.  it's surprisingly easy and not so surprisingly uplifting.

it's also been not so hard to keep up with.  i try to write every day or at least every other day.  then i make the sketches and color them as i have time.  very relaxing.  give it a try!  i know it's been adding an extra smile or two to each of my days so far this year.