hello again

For the past couple of weeks I have felt a pull back to my blog. I can't be sure why I took such a long break. What I thought would only be days turned into weeks and months, but it's apparently what I needed. I have always tried to be true to myself and never force the words when I'm just not feeling it.

With school officially starting Monday the tides are turning around here and we are all mentally preparing for another school year ahead. While I have loved this summer together, I can't believe it's already coming to an end, I am ready, and I believe the girls are too, to get back into a schedule and regular routine. Since I was a school aged girl September has always felt like January, the beginning of a new year, making goals and reevaluating. This September has been no different.

In fact, getting offline this summer has given me a lot of time to think and reflect. I have felt for sometime that I'm at a bit of a crossroads and I haven't been entirely sure which direction to go. I continue to use my camera, but even my photography wants/needs to evolve. Upon reflection I feel I've been too stagnant for far too long and I need to step it up. I have missed, desperately, being creative and it's time now to stop missing and starting moving.

Bringing my blog back to life feels like the first step. This past week I have felt my juices flowing and my eagerness to leave the lazy summer days behind and get back to work.

Hello friends! It's good to be back :)

off again

It's so nice that I have the technology to get my emails on my phone, but it makes for sitting at my computer almost obsolete. It's been shut off since the last time I posted until yesterday when I sat down to do a few things. I have to admit it has been nice not being around it or feeling attached, but I do miss blogging. Sometimes when life is busy it's nice to reevaluate just how important something is in your life and where it stands.

So I'm off tomorrow to go to Lake Powell with our youth group. It's going to be an interesting trip to say the least seeing how I'm not one of their leaders anymore. I am looking forward to it, more than I have in the past, because I feel like it's going to be my last big activity with them. I'm not excited about the heat or the bathroom situations, but you never know it could account for some really great blogging stories when I get back.

so you don't forget us.

sp from the park a few weeks back.

have a great week.

finally it's tangible

After months of working. After weeks of waiting. I finally have a published copy of my first year blogging or rather my 2005 year of blogging.



It came in the mail yesterday and it was such a treat to pull it out and flip through it, even though I had a pretty good idea what it was going to look like. The one thing I wasn't sure about was the cover. Blurb.com (the company I used) now has a hardcover ImageWrap option, which covers the book directly with an image instead of using a dusk jacket. I have to admit I'm not in love with it as I was under the impression it would be made of different paper, so I don't think it's going to last that long, but I like it enough where I think I will do it for the rest of my books (I really dislike dust jackets).

A silly photo of me just so you can get the whole picture of the cover.

This is what I learned

a) You know as I was putting it together I wished I had more photos, so that would be my first suggestions...add photos, but now that I'm working on 2006, and I have a ton of posts without photos, I actually don't mind it. I suppose my favorite part is just having it printed all bound up nicely in one small package.



b) Write about what you want to remember. Write about what's important to you. As I was going through my earlier days I realized I wrote when I wanted and about what I wanted. I didn't worry about who was reading it (mainly because in 2005 no one was) or if the post was commentable (not sure that's a word). I just wrote. I think sometimes I can get caught up in whether or not someone else is interested in...insert topic...and I forget why I do it. I'm just a simple girl documenting my life while enjoying the connections and friendships I've made along the way.



c) Variety is best...at least it is for me. I like flipping through the year and seeing an assortment of post. For instance, one post will be about my day, the next post will have a list of things I like at that moment, then the next post will be about how I was feeling. They're all just so different. I guess naturally that does happen, but it was something I definitely noticed while doing this project and wanted to make sure I continued as I go forward.



d) I've grown. Not only in my writing, but I can see the person that I was in the beginning and the person I am today and there is growth. It maybe small and insignificant to others, but it's huge to me and the fact that I can actually see it gives me hope that as long as I continue to "do", more growth will come.



e) Note to self...never stop blogging. This is the first time in my life that I've been so consistent with a journal. I usually fade off or have about three entries a year, but for some reason blogging has provided me with a forum that keeps me coming back. I know it has more to do with the connections and friendships made, but whatever the reason it's something I can't imagine letting go of. It's strange to think of what my life would be like without blogging, it's made such an impact on me.



I won't say working on the book was the easiest thing in the world to do, but it was certainly one of my most favorite project this year so far. Not only did it have a design element that I enjoyed, but the end result is a treasure I'm grateful to have. So if you're thinking about it, stop thinking and just do it! It's definitely worth the time and money.

If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them.

examples

I've received several emails about my blurb book so I thought I would just post a few examples. Obviously it's still in progress, but this is what it should look like when published.







Definitely worth the time.

spt- name

Everyone has a story.
A story shaped from their own original voice.

I would venture to guess that if you and I were at the same social gathering our retelling of that event we be different. Perhaps not vastly different, but still our thoughts, our emotions, our interaction with others would formulate our story and they would never be the same.

This story has two parts.

One
When I set out to start my blog in April 2005 I did so with the purpose of wanting to tell my story. I didn't just want it to be my story I wanted it to be a beautiful story, a funny story peppered with interesting words and vocabulary.

Two
I had a problem. I have never been that great of a writer. I've always wanted to be able to express my emotions perfectly with my words, but too often they fail me and when I want someone to feel as I do they are instead caught up in the bad grammar and misspelled words and my emotions are lost. As much as I would like to allow someone else to be the writer of my life I knew I was the only one who could do it, the only one who could make this journey, misspelled words and all.


first banner april 2005

So my blog was born. A collection of my thoughts, my days, my photos, my life told in my words.

It has certainly taken on a metamorphosis and as I've grown/changed so has my blog. It has been fun to see where the journey has taken me, especially in the design sense. I only wish I would have saved at each change the way my blog looked. It's always been white with a banner, but I can't remember the day I went from 1 sidebar to 2 or when the list of blog friends grew.

here are a few of my first few banners








Eventually I dropped the "in" in my blog name and left it as my words. I'm not exactly sure why I did it, but I think it was a design issue. I remember putting this banner together



and the "in" just fit right so I dropped it and really liked the change. "In" wasn't the important part of the name, my words is what gave it all the meaning so there it has stayed.

As I have gone back and reread some of my posts, despite what I may have thought before, I found that my story is a beautiful story, told the only way I know how...in my words.