Layout: Kitten Dad

One of my biggest joys right now is watching Ryan interact with Eureka. I love seeing how he has taken to her when at first he was uncertain and only said yes because he knew having a cat would make me happy.



Sometimes I’m a little jealous of all of the snuggles Ryan gets from her, but the sight of it always makes me smile!

Layout: Personal Training

I have been participating in a journaling class at My Scrapbook Nook with the fabulous Leah Killian. I loved the idea she had about using ‘found’ journaling. On this layout I not only documented my feelings about working with a personal trainer, but also some of the exercises she had me complete.



I used the tissue paper from the new running shoes I purchased following the 5k I ran. I decided that if I was going to be serious about becoming a runner, I needed to be serious about what I put on my feet.

I’m exploring with a slightly messy style this month, playing with paint, mist, and gesso. What do you think? Keep it? Keep working on it? Get rid of it?

Layout: Father & Daughter Dance

At my wedding I was lucky enough to have two father daughter dances. For my first father daughter dance my step-dad, Wes picked out the song and it was a complete surprise to me what we were going to dance to. It was light-hearted and fun, but still very special.



I’m so happy to get some of my favorite wedding memories scrapbooked, but I’m thrilled with the wedding album my photographers provided me with, because I have the wedding day bound from start to finish and anything I scrap from the wedding is just a bonus! No pressure!

Layout: Current Fears

While I drive around all of East Tennessee I have lots of time to think, dictate notes, and listen to talk radio. (Yes I’m a dork.) However, I get bored easily and one of the solutions I have found is to listen to podcasts. I love all sorts of podcasts, but one of my favorites is Mental Illness Happy Hour. One common segment is a “Fear Off” between the host and the guest. I have been struggling with some difficult feelings recently so I decided that some scrap-therapy was in order.



The journaling is hidden, but it talks about two of the fears I’m currently dealing with.

My first fear is that my career in mental health is detrimental to my own wellbeing. The past few weeks have been rather rough and I have not had the time or energy to take care of myself mentally or physically. I know that self-care is important, but finding the time has been difficult.

The other fear came up last week as I have had some back pain and what the doctor said is sciatica. I’m afraid that this back pain is not temporary and it will be something that i will have to deal with for the rest of my life.

It felt good to get these out and onto paper and playing with mists, gesso, and paint always makes me feel better.

What do you do for self-care? How do you make yourself a priority?

Weekend Pool Lounging

So this past weekend was refreshing and much needed, but I didn’t spend time by the pool. As summer comes to an end I feel that I didn’t fully take advantage of summer activities available in my area. One activity I was able to take advantage of on an occasional Saturday was our gym pool.

Maybe we will have nice weather for a couple more weeks and I can do some more relaxing by the pool before it closes!