Busy Life...

My life has been very busy and chaotic the last several months. In October my husband and I packed up our little apartment and 2 kids and moved from Utah to Seattle. Brian was finished with school, is graduate student contracted job with the university had ended and he hadn't been able to find a job yet, so we moved in with my parents. We were joined shortly thereafter by my brother and his little family. Chaos is the only word that describes a house holding 3 families (6 adults and 3 children under 30 months old). Lets just say that is a good thing my parents have a big house.

With life being in such upheaval, I have done very little creating. In fact, with the exception of an event calendar for my mom's Christmas gift, I belive I'd done exactly... none.

But, things change. Brian has secured a job and we are moving to Syracuse, New York in a few short weeks. Once there I hope that we'll be able to get settled and into a comfortable family routine quickly. And with that comfortable family routine I hope will come creative time for me.

Last year I hoped to complete a layout a week plus bunches of cards. Let me tell you... didn't happen. I did make a few layouts, but it was probably less than a dozen. And I did make some cards... but it still didn't feel like I got to spend my creative time how I wanted to (I think I was a little busy spending my time trying to figure out how to be a mom of 2).

So, this year I hope things will be different. Once we get settled and find our little groove in life I hope to be able to do the following:

*Participate in the weekly Mojo Monday card sketch challenge. I discovered Mojo Monday several months ago and have wanted to participate, but haven't really found the time.

*Complete one new layout every other week. Thats 26 layouts a year... if I can manage nothing more than my kids monthly first year layouts, that would be about 20 layouts (some of Allison's are already done)... I sincerely hope that I can find time for an additional 6!

*Find my joy for sewing again. I used to sew so much and I loved it. I have, however, found it more frustrating than enjoyable in the last 5 years as nothing ever fits the way it ought to (and I suppose it doesn't help that my body seems to be constantly changing... normal me, pregnant me, post-partum me, need-to-lose-the-last-five-baby-pounds me...). I think I'll focus on simple clothes for my children. It sounds less frustrating.

So... I guess we'll see how it goes. I do, however, reserve the right to give myself until mid-February to consider myself settled and comfortable in our new place in life.