my DT entry

i created some really special pages for my DT entry over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out and i wanted to share them with you now that the wait is over!  and it was such good news!! :D

thanks for taking a peek.  for more detail shots of these pages hop over to my Flickr.
i can't wait to start scrapping again even more, and especially with the SFTIO kits!!  yay!

these words....

were exactly what i needed today....  it has been a rough month. thank you Felecia for sharing.

the bumble bee

by Marybeth Fidler

a bumblebee flies into my apartment
it didn't mean to be there
--it panics
and seeing the outside through a glass window
it proceeds to push and push against the glass trying to get where it wants to go
in its panic never moving from its task long enough
to see the open window just inches away

how like the bumble bee I am in my work or my life
i see where i want to go
and in my panic
i forget to look for the open window

so i push and push and push
thinking i should be rewarded for all this hard work
when, in fact, i am so frantic
like the bee against the glass.

i have been dealing with feelings of inadequacy a lot lately.  despite working so hard on my class, i failed my last quiz and am not going to be finished by the june 1st deadline i decided on.  and that feels like failing completely.  but i know that i have those who love me and who support me even if it takes me a little longer.  so i need to calm down, not push and push and be "frantic" but look and see the open window.  i think i'm on the right track...

THe CrEatiVe TyPe

i am so excited to share with you the current prompt over at THe CrEatiVe TyPe.  it went up today and is all about monograms.  so i did my page about my name.  its a long one!  i have 2 middle names and a 10 letter last name!  read more about it in the journaling on my page.

come play along with us!!  there are so many unique ways to interpret monograms.  the TyPistS sure came up with some creative pages.  i love being a part of this team!

quote of the day

"nothing is as strong as real gentleness and nothing is as gentle as real strength."

(Criminal Minds always has the best quotes!!)

the phone call...

remember that amazing phone call i talked about in my last post on saturday!  well, now i am excited and honored to tell you all about it.  the phone call was from rachel of Scrapbooking from the Inside Out letting me know that i had been accepted as one of the member of their Design Team!

i am so passionate about the concept behind this kit club/blog/website.  it is all about scrapbooking your emotional life.  you know how many photographers never have pictures of themselves?  well that can be true of scrapbooking too... but Scrapbooking from the Inside Out has set out to change all that.  with a different emotion as a theme each month, a matching kit and a website full of inspiration, their goal is to have YOU be the focus of your pages.
this is totally up my ally!  i am so honored and excited to be working with such a talented group of ladies.
please pop on over to the website and explore.  feel free to sign up and play along with our challenges.  you don't have to have a kit to play along.
so that is my exciting news.
im sure i'll be sharing lots more soon!
and thanks to Rachel and Nancy for the opportunity!

today i...

• woke up early to spend some time with my puppy... he is learning to walk beside me on his leash and didn't have an accident inside at all today.  and he is only 7 weeks today 
• decided to stop reading the library book i had.  i didn't like the feel of it.  so i dropped it off at the library 
• loaded the dog into the car and went to work, and im glad i got to work all day instead of just from 2-6.  i really need the hours! 
• got a horrible e-mail that told me i failed my latest quiz.  that left me feeling pretty miserable.  but i called the school and talked to an instructor.  she made me feel a bit better and told me to give my mind a break for a few days and come at the next lesson with a fresh mind 
• got an amazing phone call!!!  (details on that soon!) 
• ate a cheese stick for lunch.  and a couple mini peanut butter cups.  my tastebuds have been wonky lately and things are tasting funny.  :(  
• had a good talk with my mum.  she always knows how to make me giggle, which is just what i needed.  
• chris came and picked up spencer and gave me a kiss and a hug.  that helped too.  
• i finished up the day at work (ten minutes left as i type this!) 
• chris and i are going out for a date night tonight.  im really looking forward to it.  we seem to just be seeing each other right before we fall asleep, and haven't really talked about much lately.  im excited to "catch up"
• am hoping to go home after dinner and watch some LOST.  our friends are having a huge series finale party on sunday and we're trying to catch up! 
• falling to sleep next to the man i am so grateful to share my life with.  

its been an interesting day....
hello weekend!!

share the love

i am so proud of myself!  :P  i finally figured out how to add a widget to my sidebar for you all to grab.  now you can share on your blog that you're a reader of {serendipity}.  i would be so honored!!!

here, grab a widget!

<a href="/http://www.accidentaldiscoveries.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="http://s732.photobucket.com/albums/ww328/shadylane_14/?action=view&current=widget-1.jpg" target="_blank" /><img src="http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww328/shadylane_14/widget-1.jpg" border="0" alt="widget2" /></a>

things i love thursday

may 20th edition

my mind is all a blur.... i have puppy on the brain, plus stress about my medical transcription class, we're living in some crazy weather, and things are not tasting right to me lately.  but the good thing is... its thursday.  my favorite day of the week.

im still obsessed with purple!

1. 8/365 vintage laundry, 2. 74/365, 3. Blossom, 4. purple is the new...., 5. Alium, 6. Untitled

it just makes me happy i guess.  i'm even wearing a purple shirt today.

other things im {loving} today:
i love photography... no surprise there.  and as a photographer, i love to see amazing shoots and "meet" other photographers who have a style all their own.  here are just a couple i've fallen in {love} with lately...

bobbi+mike.  they are a husband and wife photography team.  they have a unique, fresh take on their shoots and their blog is so special.  and my favorite thing:  they do "pull back" shots of each other in action.  amazing!!

beth armsheimer.  i first discovered her on flickr and just couldnt get enough.  i especially love how she edits.  her photos are pure magic!

stephanie fay.  i found her through a friend on facebook who was tagged in her promo video.  i love her approach to taking pictures and i love her use of sunflair!!  that's my favorite.

i am learning and growing as a photographer.  and i love to find new inspiration from others around the world.  so thank you world wide web, for the introduction! 

our little boy

we brought our spencer boy home yesterday evening.  and i am head over heels in love with this puppy!! here are a couple pictures of him just after we got him home.

he is so sweet.  he did really good on the car ride home.  only whined for about 15 mins and then just got cozy in his little house and slept the rest of the way.  and right now he is sleeping on my feet under my desk at work.  i am so excited to be a puppy mum and i hope that i do a good job.  i think he likes us. :) 

a fresh start

i felt that it was time for a clean, fresh start here in my little piece of the online world.  time for a blog makeover!!  i had my previous design since november of 2008.  man, that is a long time!!  but my style is gradually changing and my color pallet is too.  lately i've been really drawn to gray, purple and yellow.  i'm even going to do my office in those colors. so here is my new blog design.

please tell me what you think of it.  i'd LOVE to hear your opinions!  and soon i will have a blog button up for you to grab if you'd like to share on your blog too. :)

do you love gray, purple and yellow??

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{things i love} thursday

may 13th edition 

my theme for this thursday is "inspiring words."  this thrusday i feel the need to be inspired. i adore words.  they are powerful while still being simple.  so today i am going to share some inspiring words i have found lately.  and perhaps not in ways you'd expect...

first, some flickr faves!!

1. Untitled, 2. i am, 3. I'm afraid of that. , 4. L E T . L O V E, 5. close your eyes and it will be alright (explored), 6. indeed it is.

next is the winsome and inspiring words of this special lady...

the incredible, sweet and talented kyla roma.  a few days ago she did a blog post all about her thoughts and feelings as she approaches a new chapter of her life... the age of 25.  i would like to share a small excerpt from that post.  her words touched a cord in my heart... they spoke to my soul....they reinvigorated my view on life.  i needed these words.

Twenty Four helped me abandon perfect because it paralyses you. Perfect ignores that working from your beautiful, imperfect strengths leads you to an effortless place. Perfect doesn’t want a journey, it wants a hero’s welcome and control. When I get too hung up on details and plans I can slip into this mentality… and it misses the point of who I am. I’m not neat and tidy, and I’m not interested in refining the personality out of who I am. I’m interested in responding from my heart, with kindness, and with enthusiasm.
This year, I feel like I’m finally starting get it.
The jumps where I didn’t nearly execute the landing aren’t about rehearsing until I get it right, they’re about choosing my time, finding great people to do it with and then leaping out off the edge with style and abandon. The bad things that happen aren’t about what I deserve and the good things aren’t about what I’m owed, they’re dips and twirls in the dance, and the moments when I feel connected and loved? They’re about memory and hope.
There’s a beautiful story about Charlie Chaplin when he was developing his tramp character. He was working with a troupe of actors and in the middle of furious slapstick rehearsals his mentor would should out to them:
“Keep it wistful gentlemen, keep it wistful!”
Reminding them not to forget the sweetness and the wonder, even in the middle of that precise and wild abandon.
In the middle of all this, the good and the bad, and whatever next year brings my way I’m going to work hard to keep it wistful. I want the wonder to come as easily as breathing, I want to be wholly myself, and I want to work incredibly hard to will everything I have in my heart into existence.

click HERE to read the whole blog post.  thank you so much kyla for being you and for sharing.  you are brave.

i have a soft spot for good quotes.  and i collect them.  some that i find online, some that i see, some that i hear and some from my real life.  i thought this might be a perfect time to share some of my favorites with you.

• "some moments we never forget because our lives have been forever changed." 
• "the hard times pass like the good ones do." 
• "energy goes where attention flows." 
• "let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave." 
• "there are some things in life that you just don't choose.  but then you embrace them and they become part of your identity."
• "in the inner place where true artists create there exists a pure child." 

and what about funny words??  recently i was introduced to this blog.  and i could not stop laughing!!!  imagine, someone recording all the funny things you said in your sleep and sharing them with the world?!  you shouldn't miss it!  

and then there are my own words.  i hope that one day when i look back on this 52weeks project that i've been doing, i will be inspired by my own words and images.  it has been such a learning process and a deeply moving journey.  here is my picture and poem from this week.  please enjoy!

loneliness drips off me like beads of sweat
there is a haunting behind these eyes
please do not criticize 
the reasons for my silence. 
if only i could share the depths of my soul
if only i knew them myself
if only that was enough. 
with warm arms i hug myself
desperate for other arms 
for other statements of affection...
i see flickers, but doubt their intent.
in the heat of this day 
i am not enough;
tomorrow perchance.

so there you have it.  a special {things i love} thursday all about the written word.  do you have a favorite quote you'd like to share?? or a link to some words you love??  please leave a link in the comments.
have a beautiful and blessed day.

Guest Blogger!!

Yup, that's right!  i'm a Guest Blogger today over at Amy Lapi's blog today.  come take a peek!  Amy is so sweet and i am pleased to have her as one of the TyPisTs over at THe CrEatiVe TyPe.

My post is all about my 52weeks project.... which is going sooo well by the way.  In my post i've shared some of my favorite pictures and poems.  please swing by, leave a comment, and explore Amy's blog.  she's so crafty and creative!!

scrapping today!!!

over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out they are having a CyberCrop today and i got to play along!  i definitely needed a break from my school work today and this had perfect timing for me.  i got 3 pages completed for some of the challenges and just wanted to share them.  i love scrapblog!!

we get to bring this little sir home in a couple weeks!!

pictures from my phone of flowers in my yard

the door picture was part of the challenge... use it in a layout.

hope your saturday is going well too.  do something that makes you smile!!

we've been Featured!

We've been Featured!!! 

that's right!!  THe CrEatiVe TyPe is the featured blog over in this month's issue of ScrapStreet Magaizine.  we're all so excited!  hop on over and take a look through the 2-page article.  i am really so proud of this design team!! :D

{things i love} thursday

may 6th edition

its been way too long since i've done one of these... i have done a flickr collage a couple times, but not posted it here on my blog.  :(  but, i'm gonna try to get back to being regular every thursday. 

so first things first!!  my Flickr favorites today.  i did a "true love" theme.  aren't these just yummy??

1. Ashleigh + Rick, 2. A game show love connection;, 3. Untitled, 4. more, 5. Emily & David, 6. “Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room.”

this month i'm sponsoring over at kylaroma.com.  she made my cute little spot for me.  i'm in the process of redoing my blog, and this is the vibe i'm going for... i love how it turned out.  thanks kyla!!  kyla is such a sweet person.  encouraging, creative and inspirational.  please pop over to her blog and say hi!  tell her i sent you. :D

some other things i'm just {in love} with today?? lets do a bullet list... i love those! ;)

• Windows 7!!  (it was my idea  ;)  ) 
• paper scrapping again!!  i created 2 new layouts just this morning.  they make me happy.  want a sneak peek??  click HERE. 
• the smell of lilacs.  i have a bouquet on my dining room table.  i just love coming home to that smell.
• print orders from mpix.com.  their metallic paper.... oh be still my heart!!  
• chicken nuggets dipped in honey mustard sauce 
• new music from my sister megan.  (thanks girl) 
• the fact that chris' new job is going soooo good and he really likes it 
• good friends who will give me rides to work.  
• sending out my photography and being proud of my work.  :)  

and to finish off today, i would love to share with you this music video.  i *adore* lisa mitchell... and this video is so special.  enjoy and have a wonderful thursday!!

happy*feet

i adore feet pictures.  here are some of my favorites.

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aren't these terrific??!! and inspirational... these are some of my favorite feet pictures that i've taken!  perhaps its a slight addiction.  :)  

week seventeen of my 52weeks project

what kind of pictures do you like the best??  i'd love some links!!  feel free to share.
and have a fabulous day!
look for a brand new {things i love} thursday post tomorrow.... its my first one in awhile.
i'm glad to be back to blogging!!

APRIL 2010:  this month i was thankful for the start of spring, celebrated with my husband when he found a new job driving garbage truck, scrapbooked a lot, worked so hard on my medical transcription course, built and announced the brand new site for THe CrEatiVe TyPe, chris and i decided that it was time to start our family and found a puppy we get to bring home soon, our play Razia's Shadow opened with a bang, the flowers in my sweet yard started blooming, i reached my halfway mark for my classwork, found new music to love, drove to seattle by myself, got my reward from my dad, took maternity pictures for my lifelong friend tracy and her hubs jason, we picked out a name for our puppy and he will be known as spencer, i did a paper scrapbook layout, spent so much time editing pictures, had some lovely visits from my sisters and friends, didn't go to karaoke once, bought a fabulous bag for $2 at burlington coat factory, loved watching my husband perform on the theater stage, found a perfect tattoo, got the biggest sty in my eye i've had in a long time, completed 4 more weeks of my 52 weeks project, went to the tricities for our special assembly day and sat with my mum and dad, went to canada with chris to pick up my new computer, got to know my friend nani even better, hurt my foot at play rehearsal, entered a picture in a photo contest, said "so-arry" till i laughed so hard, listened to Tegan and Sarah on pandora, made plans for our vacation in june, oh, and Windows 7.... it was my idea! ;)