Getting Caught Up: December Daily 2015

Happy Thursday Dearest Dreamers!

I hope this finds you well!

Now that October is finished and I have finished filming my October Daily flip though videos, it's time to move onto my next project. It was definitely an experience working on my October Daily, a good experience though. I think that it helped that Lee was so interested in what I was doing. Either way, working on this project definitely helped renew my love of pocket scrapbooking.

This is the cover of my 2015 album.
I chose a standard TN and covered it with scrapbook paper and wash tape.

For a long time ever since the end of 2014, I have been more focused on memory keeping in travelers notebooks because they offer more space for journaling then pocket scrapbooking does. I've always been more of a writer then anything else, which I think is why I struggled so much with pocket scrapbooking in the beginning. But we'll get to how I'm overcoming that one in a minute.

This happens to be my favorite page, and probably something that I will repeat this year if possible!

Last year I decided to attempt December Daily in a travelers notebook, like I did with my October Daily two months before. Since I was leaving Germany right before December started, I made sure to pack up stuff that I would need in my suitcase before I left because my boxes weren't coming until January. There was a nice lady from the December Daily group on Facebook who sent me some stuff from last year's December Daily kit. I was incredibly motivated to start the project, but didn't really have a lot of room to work on it. There was a lot of traveling from North Carolina to Florida and Georgia during the month of December which also didn't help all that much towards working on my album. I got all the way to the 14th of December before I fell off the DD wagon. I have my pictures all printed and my list of activities written in my planner, but nothing is happening in my album.

I decided to take Ali's Storytelling With December Daily class again this year and it really got me thinking. It really makes me want to go back and work on my album from last year, in hopes that I can get it done before February of next year. I'm not quite sure why I just stopped working on my album, other then I guess life just got in the way and then we moved into the house we live in currently. It's not like I don't have anything to work with, I printed the pictures and wrote all the notes in my planner, it's just sitting down to actually work on it. I actually started working on it Friday night while Lee was practicing on his drums because I had lost interest in the internet.

Pro's of a TN: 

* Not nearly as big so it's easier to carry, which then limits your supplies

* it limits you on how bulky you make your embellishments, 

* focus on journaling, 

* you can use any size picture you want because you aren't worrying about the size of your pockets as long as it fits in your TN (and you can use vertical 4X6's, which is harder to do in a 6X8 mini album)

Con's: 

* You're limited on your embellishments in some ways, 

* It limits the products that you use in some ways

* Potential bleed through of your pens or ink

* You have to worry about writing on the backs of your pages

* If you fall behind it takes forever to get caught up

* You have to work on your pages in order, you can't skip days and go back to them. 

Something that I learned from her class this year is the beauty of mixing long and short stories in my album (which I already knew), but being able to print my stories on my pictures and print them from home. Also being able to use the digital stamps as well as trying new things with my Silhouette cutting machine. It will be easier to add things into my album that make it bulky because I don't have to worry about writing on the back of the page for my stories like I did in my TN (a big issue of mine, especially when the album gets bigger and bigger).

Like I said, I am hoping to work and and maybe even finish this album soon. It's already time to start prepping my 2016 album, which I will be doing in a pocket style like Ali and so many others do. I will record a final flip through video of last years for those of you that are interested.

Here's to hoping that I can finish two albums before February of next year!

Officially Done

Hello friends!

Yesterday was my last day as an Active Duty Service Member and today is my Medical Retirement date. It's really weird to think of now... I am no longer a Soldier... I'm a retiree moving on to college and possibly a job.

As of today I am officially Sergeant McClure!

So here is some back story:

Due to my medical retirement, I was supposed to be promoted on the day I retire (which is today). I'm not entirely sure why people decided this, but obviously I was just going to roll with it. I've been trying to get promoted since the beginning of the year, and it hasn't been easy. My unit sent me to an Infantry promotion board, which wasn't going well from the moment I walked in. I don't care what people say, yes the Army is changing, however it's taking time. These NCO's in charge of the board weren't happy that I was there (I was the only female there), so the contempt for me was evident. Needless to say, I didn't pass the board.

The amazing news though is that they didn't promote me because of my medical retirement, they promoted me because I met all of the promotion requirements. As someone said to me, I am a legit Sergeant! 

You don't know how happy that makes me.

My CSM once told me that he didn't think people going through the Medical Evaluation Board deserve to be promoted. However, someone way up the chain of command disagreed and decided that I deserved to be an NCO, not because of my medical retirement, but because I met the standards.

Just wanted to share the news!

On a side note... I have to go get registered at the local VA clinic. Which is good because I apparently lost my glasses and I need a new pair. There are some other things I need to handle as well with a doctor, to include some new medications!

"I Love" Sundays v.53

** Amy got out of work early on Monday to deal with house stuff since we both left for our parents houses the next day. We closed all the windows, cleaned out the fridge, did last minute laundry, and made sure everything was packed and ready to go. Monday night we watched Sister Act II

** Tuesday was a bit of a hum dinger for me. The good news is I made it home safely and at a reasonable time. The bad news: the rental car company my mom used to get me a car, screwed me over. I almost didn't get a rental car to go home (couldn't fly because I had the dog). Luckily my usual company (although the branch on post) saved me and I got a rental car for $273 for the whole week I'm gone!

** We had a Christmas party at my parents house on Wednesday so I could see some of my old friends. I think this is becoming a tradition at my house (at least I hope so) because it's the second year in a row. I'm pretty sure my mother even suggested it this year. Some friends came over that I haven't seen since I graduated high school and we had an absolute blast!

** USAA saved my butt by the way. The short of it all is that someone got ahold of my card information from a gas station pump and stole money from me. USAA alerted me right away and closed my account until I could pull cash out the next day. Once I pulled cash they closed my card for good and immediately expedited me a new card that would arrive to my NC address the same day I did. The good part of this story - they acted immediately when they noticed something weird with my account. Walmart has a way to override USAA's security measures, which is how the people got the money out, but they gave me back the money taken from me.

** I got to hang out with my "second family" - the Buss family. That is my best friend's family! I always make time to see them when I go home, its as much of a mandatory thing as seeing my actual family. I got to sit and chat for a while, which was spectacular! I've really missed this.

** Mom and I spent a couple of evenings crafting. I worked to get caught up on my Dec. Daily ((still behind on videos))  and she did some stamping. 

** Christmas came and went at our house. It was easy because it was just our little family of 4 (and 3 dogs). We all got presents we absolutely loved! My brother and I even sword fought with his two foam Minecraft swords for laughs. My parents got me a gift card for photography equipment, which I am beyond stoked about.

** I started working on my roommate's Christmas present, her first handmade MJdori! It was kind of fun to make one from start to finish. My mom had to help me cut the leather down, but then I rounded the corners, put the holes in the spine, added the grommets, and then finished off with adding the elastic strings to hold it closed!

** On Saturday we signed Mom up to be part of the Women's Auxiliary at the local VFW, under me. The special part is this VFW is named for my dearest friend Zack. I've talked about him before. The guys there were super nice and they thought it was awesome that we actually knew Zack (I don't think any of them actually knew him before he passed away). Glad that my mom is signed up and apart of something great!

.: Little Loves :.

|| Family | friends | traditions | Canon Selphy | Warm weather | Cards Against Humanity ||

What are you loving from this week?

2016 Goals

First off, let me start off by saying MERRY CHRISTMAS (EVE) to all of you lovely readers!

I am really behind on my December Daily album, but I will be getting caught up here shortly. I'll be sharing posts here once I get the pages done! I can't seem to help but fall behind apparently!

On to my goals though!

** Create Dreamer Inserts- I want to create some hand decorated inserts for people to purchase. Now that I am Stateside again, this will be much easier then when I was in Germany. My goal is to sell at least 10 inserts this year!

** Blog regularly- More regularly then what I have been doing. This month has been easy because there is a lot of things that have been going on. I can't wait to be crafting and what not more regularly, so hopefully I will have more things to post about!

** Go to the gym- My roommate and I both signed up for a gym, and I can't wait until my running shoes get here so I can go to the gym! I need to start working out again to help me feel better about myself...

** Apartment- I need to rent an apartment and get it set up in a way that I love! I already have quite a few things I will need from a few years ago, but there are a to of things I still need (a bed.... couch.... kitchen table, etc!)

** School- I am currently waiting for two separate schools to get back to me about how many of my previous credits they will accept to determine which school I will be going to.

** Get a part time job- Due to some recent events in my life... I will need to get a part time job (at least until my photography takes off). So now I need to find a place that is hiring! I have a couple of places that I am looking at, but I need to see which one will hire me first.

** Con List/plans-  Since I am back in the States, I plan to start going to Cons and stuff to fulfill my nerdiness. I gotta make a list, make some costumes, and save up money and what not to attend!

** Food planning- I want to start planning meals every week to stay on a budget and start eating healthier. It's not bad, living with my roommate, but I want to be prepared for when I move into my own place.

** Crafting-  Of course there will be craft plans. I want to start attending Craft fairs again, open an Etsy.... sell my crafts! And make things because making things make me happy.

** Memory Keeping- Keep doing it! And try to stay on top of it! I want to do October Daily and December Daily again this coming year, do Week In The Life as well.... and any other memory keeping project I can find in the scrap world!

** Rebuild my savings- Thanks to the recent events I mentioned in the job bullet... all the money I had in savings is pretty much gone... so I need to rebuild it. This will be easier when my disability money comes in from the VA, money I get for going to school, and getting a job and selling crafts.

** Read more- pretty self explanitory!

I know this is quite a long list of goals, but they are for the year and are on going goals really. Hopefully sharing this with you guys will help keep me accountable!

Do you have any goals for the new year?

"I Love" Sundays v. 52

Hello dearest friends!

It was an adventure of a week!

** If you paid attention to this post or this post you will have known that I got to go home (drove Tuesday) to spend Wednesday at Disney World with my best friend (and drove back on Thursday). We had an absolute blast that day, despite me needing a wheelchair about halfway through the day. I thought I could power through the day because I hadn't had any super bad flare ups... I was most definitely WRONG! Haha. Learned my lesson though. Wheelchair it is.

** Friday was a super busy day for us here at home! First I had to return the rental car real quick, then we went and got our nails done. Amy got gel nails while I just had my candy cane nails redone (and they turned out about a million times better this time around)

Then, Mem, his girlfriend, and I went and saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The movie was amazing! Now, it's been a really long time since I've seen the first six movies, but I wasn't as lost as I expected to be. I went because Mem's mom didn't want to go. I don't mind Star Wars, so I said I'd go. BB-8 and Rey are my two favorite characters!

Then we opened Christmas presents amongst our little family before we parted ways for the holiday (On Tuesday I drive back to Florida and Amy and Mem drive to Ohio).  It was a great way to spend the day. 

** Saturday was just me getting caught up on my Disney blog posts (I back dated them because I don't like having an abundance of posts in one day. They were mostly done that night though, I just had some finishing touches to add yesterday.

.: Little Loves :.

|| Living here with Amy and Mem | Going home to visit my family | crafting with my mom | DISNEY | Making new friends | Taking tons of pictures | Remembering Disney adventures past | Japanese sugar candy | collecting Disney pins for my lanyard ||

What are you loving from this past week?

Disney Trip 2015: Part 2

Hello and welcome back for part 2 of my Disney mini series!

The second part of our trip picked up at the Epcot theme park! We took the monorail from Magic Kingdom, switched monorails at the Ticketing station, and then continued on the way to Epcot! 

As soon as we walked into Epcot, we were greeted by a winter Minnie and Mickey sculpture made from the plants, which is gorgeous. Once again we needed to get a picture with the ball in the background and got to do that with Minnie and Mickey in the middle! I absolutely loved it and the photographer was a sweet man who appears to have the patience of a saint. People were so impatient and jumping in front of other people and he just took a deep breath and went with it.

After that we headed to the wheel chair rental, because I just couldn't deal with it anymore. My feet and legs were just in so much pain, and luckily the wheel chairs could be rented for $12 for the day, however it was one Lindsay had to push me around in. It made me feel bad for her, but at that point even my cane wasn't going to be of any help.

On the way to the wheelchair rental, on the reverse side of Minnie and Mickey, was this Stitch! He was too cute and of course we had to get a picture with him as well! We're such Disney nerds!

After that, we rented the wheel chair and then headed over to get some ears! I got a Minnie Santa hat and Lindsay got some Jack ears! We did a little more shopping inside and when we came out we were surprised to see how dark it had gotten in such a short period of time!

I know I said I would do another post to show you what I bought, but I couldn't help but share the hat now!

This is another attempt at a bokeh tree, which worked out since there were so many people with ZERO situational awareness of people around them. It doesn't help that I was in a wheelchair, so even though Lindsay was standing behind me, it appeared that no one saw me trying to take a picture or no one even cared. Either way, I love the lights in this picture.

On our way around The World Showcase we saw Daisy Duck, so I made myself stand long enough to get her picture. I just really didn't want a picture with her while I was in the wheelchair.... maybe that is a little weird of me. I also got her signature (it's what I'm holding behind my back).

After that we hurried around to the center of the back of the park, where the Disney Candlelight Processional is always held. Like I mentioned in my first post, this was the whole reason we made this trip. Lindsay and I sang at this event for at least 3/4 of our high school years. 

For those that don't know, the chorus members are basically singing a story and each day it's narrated by a famous singer or actor. The narrator for this day was America Fererra, but they've had Reba, Gary Sinise, Trace Adkins.... the last year I sang at this it was the voice of Tiana from The Princess and the Frog! It's awesome!!!

Needless to say, we could still sing every song and we had fun watching the show. It brought back memories of our chorus teacher when we were practicing and we were giggling. Just so you know, we were actually outside the roped off area and not a part of the main audience, which is why we were okay singing along and giggling quietly.

This is two sides of the same tree which was set behind the stage for the Candlelight Processional. We had stopped for some funnel cake and a gift for her mother, so while I waited, I had to snap several pictures of the tree! Because, just like everything else in Disney, it's absolutely gorgeous!

The last thing we did before we headed back home was to stop at Japan in The World Showcase! This is always a must see for Lindsay, because she loves Japanese culture. As we were leaving, I managed to snap this picture. The Epcot ball was all lit up and could be seen underneath a Japanese style arch. This is a gorgeous sight, and thankfully I was able to darken it a bit to hide all the people that were in the way! 

After that we headed back home, which is about a 2 hour trip or so, depending on traffic. She and my parents live on the west coast of Florida and Orlando is in the center of the state. So we were waiting at the monorail and happened to meet an awesome cast member who has become a new friend for us! We hope to see her at future conventions and what not! Super stoked!

It was a fantastic trip and we're making plans to go back for Mickey's Not So Spooky Halloween in October!.

Stay tuned either this weekend or the start of next week to see all the goodies that I purchased while we were at the parks! Several awesome goodies!

Disney Trip 2015 Part 1

Hello dearest friends! 

Today I wanted to share a three post story with you about my trip to Disney World earlier this week!

Note: Most pictures were taken are property of J.L. McClure Photography, which is my photography business. If they aren't my pictures, then it's noted below the photo.

So I rented a car on Tuesday morning (because mine is still not here) and spent the day driving down to my parents house in Florida! It's a 10 hour drive for anyone who is curious. It was a long day. I left around 0830 and made it home just after 1830 (6:30 pm), just in time for dinner. Once I got closer to home on US 19 I hit the rush hour traffic, which made my trip longer then expected. My brother was awesome once I got home and made some quesadilla's for dinner! 

I met the newest addition to the family: Finley. A month or so ago our Golden Retriever passed away, and our small dog Fergus was lonely. He and Lady had been friends since I deployed in 2011, and they were inseperable, despite the massive size difference. Apparently he was pretty lost, so my parents decided to rescue another smaller dog from the pound, and that's how they got Finley. He's an interesting little dog, a little spastic sometimes. It's taking a little time to get used to because we had Lady since I was in middle school, but he's alright (as long as you don't leave him with electronics or paper towels)

This photo was taken by my father and isn't my property.

There was a main purpose for this trip though, and that was for Lindsay and I to make a single day trip to Walt Disney World for the Candlelight Processional on Wednesday. When we were in high school, we used to have to participate in the Processional, so we wanted to see it from the audience point of view. It was a blast!

This is us from 2011 before I deployed to Afghanistan taken by a dear friend of ours, Silent G Photography.

We left a little bit later then we originally planned, but that is because we had to run by Joann's to get my mom her own Canon Selphy printer and then Starbucks for a Butterbeer Frappacino (Lindsay never had one.... yet another convert)

The first thing we did when we got to Walt Disney World was go in search of their military resort, Shades of Green. It caters solely to the Military and their families! We parked in their parking garage and then went inside to purchase tickets. The cool thing was that we got a 1 Day park hopper pass for much cheaper with my military discount. It was well worth it since originally we were only going to Epcot. It was also right across the street from the Polynesian Resort, where we caught the Monorail to Magic Kingdom to start our adventure.

The first thing that you see once you get off the monorail and get into the park is this gigantic tree right in the heart of Main Street USA. It's a gorgeous tree and I can't imagine how long it took them to set up and decorate. I also love how they have an American Flag flying right there as well.

The memory keeper in me warned Lindsay that we would be taking a LOT of pictures. When we entered the park, there were tons of photographers who worked for Disney that were more then willing to take some pictures for me with my own camera. Had to do the obligatory picture with the castle in the background. Poor Lindsay was being blinded, so it was a good thing that she was wearing sun glasses so she could close her eyes during the pictures. 

This is a better view of the castle as we got closer to it with less people standing in front of it. The photographer in me really needs to learn how to clone people out of pictures!

The first thing that we did was stop on Main Street for some food. We found the Baseball themed restaurant and picked up a hotdog and fries for me and some mini corn dogs for Lindsay. There were no seats so her and I propped up against a small rail fence in front of this piano. While we were eating this gentleman came out and started to play the piano. I just loved the smile I got in this picture of him playing! The reflection was perfect!

Once we ate, we decided the first thing we wanted to see was the new Beauty and the Beast castle that was built in Fantasy Land. It took us a few minutes to get there, but that's ok. This place is AWESOME!!! So what I didn't know was that they made this into a new restaurant. We didn't go inside (obviously, but we did see it from the outside)

This was another gorgeous structure that is newer to the park. So I am really not sure what story this building comes from. It might be from The first Little Mermaid movie, but I am not sure and I am not sure where my map went (yes, I kept them for my December Daily album).

From there she and I talked about how I wanted to get pictures with the characters if possible and she mentioned that Gaston liked to hang out around his Tavern, so we walked that way. I love this little statue that sits in front of the Tavern! We found Gaston but were told he was leaving and would be back at 1530, so we headed on our way to the Little Mermaid ride to kill some time.

Do you recognize these? If you've watched Tangled, they are from the city once Repunzel and Flynn get there to see the floating lanterns. I love the colors and how they popped! Gorgeous area!!!!

From there we went to The Little Mermaid ride! This was done to kill time before we went back to see Gaston. It was nice and cool in the ride and it was fun to sing along with the songs. We're both huge Disney nerds, so of course we knew all the words!

We went back and got in line to see Gaston. This guy played the character PERFECTLY and I was laughing the whole time. I got his signature and then we headed on our way.

We finished up in Tomorrow Land, looking for some Star Wars related things for Lindsay's boyfriend before moving on to the second part of our adventure! We found some awesome merchandise (which I think will be a separate post at another time) and happily made our way back to the monorail.

Of course, it's no normal "adventure" for me without my fibromyalgia kicking me in the face. Since I wasn't driving my Escape and was being rushed the morning I drove to Florida, my cane was left at the apartment in North Carolina (believe me I was kicking myself in the pants for that one). The second problem I had was since the movers took my running shoes all I had to wear were my cowboy boots and some flats. I decided the flats were going to be better for me, but they still caused me all sorts of problems. Walking was a nightmare for me, however if you live with a chronic pain disorder, you learn to just live with it and not let it stop you if possible. I dealt with this when we got to Epcot, which is part 2 of this Disney mini series! So stay tuned!

"I Love" Sundays v.51

Hello dear friends!

Happy Sunday!

** It's been a lazy day for me and I finally have some motivation to knock out a blog post! It's a little overwhelming having this much time off, but I try to find something to do each day to be productive. Today is was going to get some refills for my Canon Selphy as well as a bag to carry it home in.

** Something I am really loving this week is my friend here, Amy. She's the awesome woman that is letting me stay with her and her son until I get my own place to live! When she has to work, she asks me to take her to work so I can use her car during the day, I just have to pick her up at the end of her shift at the hospital. Amy is the bomb diggity!

** A lot of things I love this week involve friends of mine. This wonderful lady and I were stationed at Bragg together starting back in 2011 until she ETS'd in 2013. Her and I became best friends during our deployment and she is still one of my all time favorite people. I met her for coffee earlier this week and it was fantastic to catch up! We're working out having a crafting day. She does Project Life and Amy and I do scrap-journaling.

** I got caught up in my December Daily album and finished the first week's video (which is up on my channel). I am super excited for my progress. I received an amazing package from a sweet lady in one of the DD groups I'm in full of scrapping goodies that I cannot wait to use!!! I have to make her something as a thank you!

** Got to have lunch with these two beautiful babes! Amy was nice enough to take the picture for us. Last minute Amy got to join us at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. Again, these are two girls from when I was stationed here at Bragg. Kelli, the one in the middle, and I had lunch last week (I think she was wearing the same shirt actually) and Jen and I were instant friends! It's always a little confusing since we have the same first name, but she is Jen with one N and I am Jenn with two N's.

** So, Tuesday I went and purchased this Funko mystery box from GameStop. I originally had the Blackest Night Superman, but after talking to the awesome dude at the counter, he and I agreed to trade. He really wanted that Superman and I am more of a fan of Batman. He said he had a Batman and Batgirl, and I said I would accept either. So, when I got there on Friday to trade him, he gave me this box. He asked if it was enough, to which I said it was more then enough, but he insisted that I take them both. Believe me, I was secretly super stoked!!

** On Saturday, I got to see this beautiful girl! Her and I became friends after my deployment. She is my crafting and photography buddy! I got to meet her new daughter and see her younger son as well! Her son didn't like me much 2 years ago, he was 5 then, but when I saw him yesterday, he waved excitedly at me and the first thing he did when he got out of the car was give me a big hug!

**  When I say that we made a crap ton of cookies on Thursday night, that would be a severe understatement. Amy taught me how to make cookies from scratch (she needed a distraction) so we made about 6 dozen or so cookies! Enough for us both to take home for Christmas vacation! Lots of yummy cookies!

.: Little Loves :.

|| Mountain Dew Voltage | Butterbeer Frappaccino's | Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit | my Canon Selphy | new and old friends | Crossing Lines on Netflix | being home | fast food ||

What are you loving from this week?