Ole-Talk

Daily To Dos

I have been doing Photo a Day for a few months now with some months beeing more consistent than others, but I seem to be losing the zest for it.  I think I will take a break this month and focus more on taking photos of just things that appeal to me.

However, I am a glutton for punishment so I had to find another daily to do...I mean come on what else am I supposed to do with all this free time on my hands.  I found this Doodle-a-day on Ello Lovey's Facebook page and I am hoping that she continues for May.  If not I will just do the April prompts.

I am sure that my doodles will not be anything close to the talent that Rhi has but hey it is a doodle not a Picasso masterpiece and I think it will be fun!

For May I will also be picking back up The Happy Book by Rachel Kempster and Meg Leder.

I failed miserably the last time I tried to doing something with this book (see here) but after all the tragedy in Boston this book sorta jumped out at me from my bookshelf.  After all we all need a lot of happy in our life.

So looks like May will be filled with a lot of sketching, knitting, and happiness!!  I am looking forward to it and I hope you are too.

Just DO It | One Little Word for 2013

My sister was asking me what my one little word for the year would be and my response was that I was not going to have one this year.  She of course was shocked but I explained that I always pick these words, blog about them at the beginning of the new year and then...nothing!!  So I explained to her that I figured that this year instead of just talking (or in this case writing) about it I would just get stuff done.  Of course as soon as I came to this conclusion a light bulb went off and I discovered that I had indeed found a word for the year.

So this year my word is DO!

It is simple, straight forward and to the point!

It is easy to remember and easy to corporate into my everyday life!

Here are some wonderful quotes that I think go great with this word!

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and of course could not leave out a Nike quote...

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My 2013 will be one filled with doing!!!  What about yours?

Triathlon - Cross one of the bucket list!

On Sunday I competed in my very first Triathlon, doing the 5K run for my team.  It was an amazing experience made even more special because of the wonderful ladies from my gym Barbelle who competed along with me.  Most of us did the event as a relay but five amazing women completed as individuals doing all three events and everyone one of us finished.

My game face...and yes that is a barbell!

My amazing teammate Kristy who not only swam a 1/4 mile but then biked 10 miles!

Me with my friends Carrie and Sandra after we finished.

Kerry (owner of Barbelle the the best gym ever!) and the sexy legs team!

My friend Karen all ready for her swim!  Notice all the Barbelle jackets in the background.  We had 45 amazing women from the gym competing.

Our Barbelle banner at our tent!

View of the transition area, ie holding area for the bikes and the area where you transitioned from one event to the next!

Next year I think I want to run and bike.  If you know me then you know about my aversion to the beaches and ponds here so swimming may just not be in the cards for me...at least not yet!!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Resilience of Nature

I absolutely love this flower that is in my front yard. 

I have no idea what it is called but it blooms once every summer and is always such a treat.  It is a testament to the resilience of nature...it survives the harsh winters and then explodes in all its glory to brighten my summer days.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Very First Vision Boad

I was so inspired by Francine's post about her vision board that I had to make one of my own.  It is now hanging in my scraproom and is just the inspiration that I need to stick with my disconnect and reconnect plan for this year.

It felt so great to look though magazines and cut out images, words, and phrases that appealed to me.

I also have some small spaces left that I want to add some more phrases that I could not find in the magazines that I looked through but other than those it is pretty much all set.

I used Gel Medium to adhere the pieces to the canvas and then brushed a light layer of Paper Mod Podge onto to seal and protect it.

Have you ever made a vision board?

Capricorn and Proud of It

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Disconnect and Reconnect in 2012

Every year for the past few years I have been inspired to pick One Little Word to be my guide through out the year.  After seeing this print for sale on Etsy and rediscovering my love for knitting and reading I knew what my word for this year would be...Reconnect.  Actually I turned it into the phrase disconnect and reconnect.

Disconnect more from the computer, the iphone, the television, all the distractions that are out there.

Reconnect more with my scrapbooking, card making, reading & writing, knitting, listening to music, photography, and in general with my crafty side.

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It is amazing just how much more time you have and how much more you can accomplish when you are not constantly checking Facebook, Pinterest, e-mail etc. and then rushing to get other things done.

So stay tuned for a year of more creativity and in general just getting back to the things that I love doing.

So what's your one little word for the 2012?

Top 10 Posts for 2011

As 2011 winds down to a close here are the top 10 most visited posts this year on Ole-Talk:

#10 - Scallop Alfredo Pasta

#9 - Margarita Cupcakes and New Tool

#8 - Ladybug Cupcakes

#7 - My Handmade Book

#6 - Sunday Silhouettes (Little Miss Sunshine Card)

#5 - Gerald the Giraffe

#4 - Adventures in Ducky Cupcakes

#3 - Ready for Journal Your Christmas

#2 - Cupcake Decorating Tips by Margie

#1 - Sunrise at Cherry Tree Hill

Interesting mix of posts for 2011.  Seems like cupcakes and how-to/tips are popular!

Give Thanks

My Productive Weekend

It is amazing just how much you can get done if you stay of the internet, turn off the tv and put on some music.  This weekend I:

*Made this cute bunting with bakers twine and Japanese masking (Washi) tape for my scraproom (thanks sis for the idea)

*Finally cleaned up the stack of paper scraps and other odds and ends that were just piling up in my scrap room

*Put a ton of layouts that were just in a pile into albums.  I also made these new labels for my albums.  I'll probably make then look a little more artistic at some point in time but at least I know what is in which album.

*Did all my laundry and more importantly actually folded and put everything away immediately

*Made these basic card forms from some scraps.  Now all I have to do is add more embellishments and a sentiment when I need one for some occasion.

*Worked out - treadmill and yoga.

*Also did some knitting and reading and about to go do some more.

Go me!  Let's see if I can keep this up...ok well at least a couple weekends a month LOL!