Bullet Journal - planning for 2017

Bullet journalling has helped me a lot this year.

I started my bullet journal in May and I found it much more useful to me than a traditional diary or journal.

Being able to add things in whenever I need or think of them has helped me clarify what is important to me. Being able to drop items that I don't use frees me to focus on other areas. Having the space and option to journal in the midst of planning means everything stays together and I can track what works and how I'm doing in a simpler way.

As I only started the journal in May I still have space in my current notebook so spent some time deciding if I wanted to start a new one or keep going and how I would use my daily spaces.

I've decided to start a fresh book in my new Fantastic Beasts notebook. I've checked through my collections a page options and decided what I want to continue and focus on.

I've setup a year at a glance page to help me check up coming dates and I've also setup a future log to help with forward planning.

A Goals page will help me focus on things I'd like to achieve this year and the Wishlist will help me keep track of things I see or think of that I would like or need.
As my first Goal is weight loss I've setup a weight log to keep track of downs and ups :)

 I'm wanting to keep track of TV shows, movies and books I'd like to watch or read and these tracker pages may help.

Fun things is to help me remember to take time for other fun things in life like visits to friends.

 My monthly page list is for regular monthly shopping lists to help me with menu planning and eating properly.

Project 333 is for my clothing challenge I follow with 33 items of clothing for 3 months.

Next comes my regular monthly pages with a calendar list and tracker, my gratitude pages and then I'd like to continue using the photo challenges and my existing daily log pages. 

I'll see how I go with these pages and the beauty of the Bullet Journal system is if I don't find a page useful I can change it any time and add new pages as I need them.

Things still to do this year!

Things still to do this year (in no particular order)

• Update craft blog
• Update family tree blog
• Update family tree website
• Tidy and organise craft room
• Organise and tidy family tree files
• Defrag PC and delete the bad digi photos
• Start craft class
• Find time to craft and sew and research family tree
• Find the other 12 hours a day I would like to have to do the above
• Turn my spare room into a Hogwarts(ish) room of requirement that i can use for crafting, sewing, genealogy and occasional visitors
• Take more photos
• Get back to running
• Record more stories
• Spend more time with friends
• Get a new mobile phone

10 on the 10th

10 Things I'm thinking about today

1: Headaches and sickness bugs :(

2: Sunday School classes

3: British F1 GP win for Ferrari and points for Michael Schumacher

4: Housework :(

5: Shimelles 4x6 Love layouts

6: Weather

7: Running plans

8: Punch art ideas

9: Which of my Vegas photos to scrap next

10: Whats for tea?

Its July!!!

Ok I know I said I'd be back in a week but its been a busy month :)

I had to make up some time at work so have worked the past 3 Saturdays and that really eats into your creative and organising time. So much for working to live!

I have manged to get some things done though - I got out for a run, only two miles but I'm back at it. I had a play with my Bigshot and I scrapped! I'm quite proud of myself.

Its been a while since I did any scrapbooking. I keep meaning to get started and I read lots of blogs and forums and look at lots of ideas and then think - I'll do it later.

Well at last later caught up with me. I'd seen a sketch on Shimelles blog and immediately thought of one of the photos I'd bought on my recent trip to Las Vegas so here is my oversized picture layout of my trip to the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay.

I dipped into my stash of cardstock and designer paper mixing in a bit of pink with the blues to match my top and the coral. I used my new Top Note and Fun Flowers Dies for the Bigshot and some embossing folders to add some texture. Then I had great fun making my Shark lettering with chipboard letters, various shades of blue inks, crystal effects and lots of time and patience :) Crystal Effects advises 30-60 mins to dry if using a thick layer but don't believe it. I always leave mine overnight. Just to be sure :)

I'm please with the final result and glad to be back scrapping. Hopefully more holiday layouts to follow soon.

I've also treated myself by ordering all my holiday photos from Las Vegas and the Cruise in 09 from photobox they arrived yesterday and make a huge pile.

May need to browse for inspiration.

Belated 10 things on the tenth!

It's half way through 2011 and all my good intentions have fallen off the wagon and well by the wayside.

I took Shimelle's Blogging for Scrapbookers a couple of years ago and this year I signed up for her new class Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers but life has got in the way and I've not managed to do more than read the prompts and tech bits so far although they have got my imagination fired up and raring to go. My new problem is: Where to start?

Originally this blog was just a place to keep things I wanted to remember, then to share my love of crafting and more recently, ok last year, my tentative steps into running. As my crafting changed to demoing I set up a craft blog and to keep track of my family tree stuff I setup a family tree blog and website. Result - to much stuff in to many places and none of it co-ordinated or organised and so I forget to update or cant decide what should go where.

So my belated 10 things on the tenth are 10 things to do

1: Start with a post a week on each site

2: Decide what goes where

3: Possibly merge my blogs into one to cover everything

4: Pick a look that is me as I am

5: Find or make a template or theme to match the look

6: Make time to craft, run, blog and live

7: Take more day to day photos

8: Try to be on time more.

9: Have a plan of action

10: Work to live not live to work

I'll let you know next week how I'm getting on :)

Trying Friday Fill in's

Ok I have nicked this idea for a post from Kat's blog as it seems quite interesting and as its my first go I'll try both. For more info on Friday Fill-in's try here

*This week, I'm going to give you a choice of fill-ins OR a different kind of fill-in (or both). A friend emailed me a list where you have to identify Christmas songs by the initials of the first words of the first line of each song. Each Friday until Christmas Eve I'll post 9 more of these songs and if you'd like to play along, great! So...here we go! *

1. The best thing about a birthday celebration is my mum singing happy birthday on my ansaphone.
2. I cant believe the speed of the passage of time.
3. I went shopping recently and the most interesting thing I bought was spices, sad but true :)
4. Doublers was a child's game played with tennis balls.
5. The reason is because!
6. Getting fed up of snow and cold.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Sleeping, tomorrow my plans include taking photos at Santa's Grotto and Sunday, I want to run!


AND/OR
1. HYAMLC:
2. TFNTADS: The First Noel The Angels Did Sing
3. GRYMGLNYD: God Rest You Merry Gentlemen Let Nothing You Dismay
4. ICUAMC:
5. SNHNAICAIB: Silent Night, Holy Night all is calm all is bright
6. OTFDOCMTLGTM: On the first day of christmas my true love gave to me
7. DTHWBOHFLLLLLLLL: Deck the halls with boughs of holly falalalala lala la la
8. YBWOYBNC:
9. JTTWTLHC: Joy to the world the lord has come

Update

I haven't blogged for a while as a few things happened very quickly.

Firstly my Aunt who had moved into the hospice got much worse very quickly and sadly died on the 12th of August. It came as a huge shock as we'd been hearing it can take years for this illness to run its course.

With hindsight I'm sure its better for her not to be trapped in a body that wont respond or do what you want it to. But I miss her and the memories, books and films she was still to share with us.

It was a very emotional funeral and lots of our family came together to say goodbye.

One silver lining (and you have to always look for these) is her doctor was able to confirm she did not have an inherited form of MND so I am no more likely than anyone else to have it, that does put my mind at rest and stop me dwelling on it.

Secondly my brother came home from sea to find his wife of 17months has left him, they had been together for years before getting married and this came as a bolt from the blue to us.

Lastly but not too traumatically my 10year old sky box died a slow and irritating death. It would cut out during programs and not come back on, or stick on one channel and not let you change it. Eventually needing to be switched off overnight just to get 1hrs worth of viewing the next day. The Sky website, rather unhelpfully, advised me I could get a replacement box for £159!!!! and would have to wait at least a week for delivery and installation.

Thankfully a lovely lady at work decided she had an old box she didnt need and gave it to me for nothing, free, gratis. I didnt realise how addicted to sfyfy, Sky One, FX and Living I had become until I couldn't access it.

Naturally I was going to make a card to say thanks but decided to make a whole box of assorted cards for her to use through the year instead :)

So new month - new focus!

Back to the running, and the diet. My cousin has suggested we enter the 10k road race at next years highland games and I think I may just do it. I put on two pounds but thats ok, I know I can shift them. I'm going to use my scrapbooking supplies not just hoard and stroke them and if I don't need or want something I will sell it or give it away to someone who will. I will try to learn new things and take in a class or experience or two.

This past month has taught me not to wait, to grab chances while there here, to tell people how you feel, not to put off that visit or that call or that experience. Life can be short and quick, remember to take time to enjoy it, do it and not just plan it.

I can do this. So can you ;)

Monday 2nd November

Its Monday and I should be at work excitedly waiting for Shimelles first blogging prompt and instead I'm at home wrapped up with the heating on, a supply of painkillers, hot juice and Tamiflu!
I'd been feeling sniffly and coughing all last week but on Thursday things got worse while at work so after a detour to stock up on painkillers, juice and tissues I decided to wrap up warm and have an early night. However by 3am i was awake splitting headache, sore throat, stuffed nose, my asthma had kicked in and then my temperature began to rocket.

So I muddled through the night, as you do, trying to find a position you can sleep in but not wanting to bother anyone as its night time. Eventually had to admit defeat and phoned in sick on Friday morning still part of me thinking its a cold it will get better but as by afternoon my temp was still over 38 I decided I better check with the health centre.

After Several phone calls including NHS 24, several hours and many questionaires I had a call back from a Doctor to advise that I had Flu - they are treating it as swine flu and I am now in quarantine till this Friday. I then had to phone my dad to go and pick up the tamiflu for me as obviously they would rather I didnt leave the house :)

Now if i were fit and well a week of work to play with my blog or craft stuff would be great BUT as I'm getting out of breath and tired just walking up the stairs my activity this week may be limited :(
Hoping to join in more with the class as my meds kick in and hoping I'm feeling better soon. At least my temperatures nearer normal now so thats a start.