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!

December Daily Introduction

Hello Dreamers!

I hope this post finds you well!

So now that it is about halfway through the month, it is alright for me to start talking about and working through my December Daily album for this year! For those of you that don't know what December Daily is, here is how it is described by it's creator, Ali Edwards:

"December Daily® is a December mini-album project that documents the 25 days leading up Christmas. The simple goal is to capture the spirit of December via one story per day.

Over the last eight years this project has become one of the highlights of my year and a beautiful community of memory keepers has come together to share their December stories with one another. It is an awesome way to document and celebrate the season." -Ali Edwards

Some people do December Daily for the 25 days leading up to Christmas and some people draw it out until New Years. Some people don't focus on days, they focus on telling only the holiday stories. It is all up to the person completing that project.

For me, I'm going to complete the entire month, simply because we're traveling between our two families towards the end of the month. I want to document our first Christmas together and the fun times we have. 

Later on this week I will share a list of stories that I want to tell throughout my album, mostly because I want to have them written down somewhere and figure that maybe someone else here might be looking for stories to tell. It's always a little harder when you don't have kids, but I'll definitely make it work!

Until next time!

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?

"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?

December Daily 2015: Days 3-6

Hello dear friends!

As you can tell, I am a little behind on sharing posts about my December Daily project, but honestly, is anyone really surprised (I know I'm not). On Saturday and Sunday I was in Georgia and didn't bring any of my supplies with me, so I had to get everything finished yesterday so I could share this post with you today.

I may be sharing some of the days in groups like I am today, but at least they will be shared. Also, later this week there will be an actual video walk through of the first week of my album on my YouTube channel for you guys to check out.

Without further ado:

Day 3:

Day 3 starts about halfway through the page where the tree is. Amy and I decorated the tree and set up some other decorations around our apartment to try to get Amy in the holiday spirit.

The "the tree" sticker came from Me & My Big Ideas Mambi sticker pack of clear stickers that I found at Michaels. I really like the sticker set and was super excited to use them!

The Santa and Mrs. Claus are a set of decorations Amy got from her grandmother. The "dear santa" came from the digital stamp set Ali included in her Storytelling With December Daily class. I just thought it was perfect! I also am making it a point to use the December stamp from the hard copy stamp set from the same class each day! Trying for consistency here!

I really love this tree picture!

The second page of Day 3 is all about some of the ornaments on the tree (I included my Batman and a snowflake that Mem made when he was younger at the top) and the bottom is a picture of my fabric scrap tree I made back in 2013 and a picture of Mem's new Chewbacca ornament next to my American Hero ornament.

This was also the day that I introduced Amy to the wonders of Butterbeer Frappacino's! She loved it!

Day 4:

On Day 4 I included part of an ad from Bath and Body Works from the day before. On the back I attached some purple snowflake scrapbook paper from the Arctic Wishes Matstack 4.5x6.5 paper pad and then added pictures of the M and A ornaments on the tree for Mem and Amy.

The second page of Day 4 shares a picture of our stockings we hung out, the garland over them wrapped in silver ribbon, and the darn "Merry Christmas" banner that we finally had to hang with command hooks. It kept falling down until we tied it up this way. Hasn't fallen a single time!

Day 5:

Day 5 brought me to Georgia to see an old friend of mine. In the pages I talk about why I was there, and then I included a picture of him and I that one of his coworkers took when we went to dinner.

The bottom of the page has me talking about my attempt at a bokeh tree, which I think turned out quite awesome!

Day 6:

I didn't photograph the first page of the spread because it's all writing (I haven't edited/printed the photo yet, so there is no reason to include that here) I talked about the end of my trip and then I took someone else's idea and talked about my ornaments on our tree. ((It's mostly covered in Amy's ornaments, but there are a couple that came from me)). I backed the ornament pictures with pieces of scrapbook paper from the Jolly 6x6 paper pad from American Crafts

Amy bought me that blue and silver star for our shared love of our favorite football team. Then there is Batman (again)! The bottom picture is just a picture someone shared in one of the groups that I saved and printed because I really liked the picture! It says Make a Christmas Wish!

The last page of this spread talks about 3 more ornaments. The top one is a set of two hearts, one painted like the American flag and the other painted like the German flag. This one represents my time in Germany. Below that is a Starbucks ornament I got with a guy riding on an ornament that makes me think of "I came in like a wrecking ball"! It makes me laugh! The last ornament pictures is my American Hero ornament with an eagle and the American flag. This one represents my 5.5 years in the Army.

At the bottom of the page I talk about doing my own book to document the story of my ornaments and how I will continue to include new ones here in this project.

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Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned here on the blog every couple of days where I share more about the spreads I am doing in my December Daily album. Also,  I will be sharing a video walkthrough of days 1-6 on my YouTube channel later today. Every week I want to do a walkthrough video to show you guys how it looks and talk about some of the products that are used in each spread.

Are you participating in December Daily? Share a link with me (on whatever platform you're sharing) so I can check you out!!!

"I Love" Sunday's v.50

Hello dear friends!

I hope you have had a wonderful weekend!

** Monday was nice. I got a lot of stuff picked up, craft supplies and other necessary stuff). I finally got some new flats (since the movers took all my damn shoes minus my cowboy boots), I got new glass for my plaque, and I also got a box to house my retirement flag. It currently sits on Amy's glass cabinet so nothing happens to it until it finds its forever home in my next place of residence.

** On Tuesday, I got to see one of my besties! I haven't seen her since I left for Germany in March of last year. Yes, I have more then one bestie because they all bring something different into my life. Kelli and I bonded in the cab of an LMTV at work when she joined us in 2013. 

This also brought the first day of a new month and a new project. I love new beginnings and new projects, so Tuesday was a fantastic day. You can check out the posts in my December Daily 2015 series here.

** Wednesday was a super busy day for Amy and I. It brought yet another dear friend of mine back into my life. He was my "little brother" when I lived here before and I am super stoked that I got to see him! I also got a new key for her apartment (and she chose a zombie decoration for me, which made me laugh). We also got our nails done, but you can read all about Wednesday here.

** We put up the tree on Thursday while Mem was at school! Amy hoped that it would help her get in the Christmas spirit and I just really love decorating for the holidays. I love seeing the Christmas tree every day when I am in the living room. I especially love the fact that penguins are a Winter holiday animal, so I get to see penguins all season!

** Friday was a busy day as well for us. Food shopping, picked up the rental car for my trip this weekend, and then lunch with Amy's boyfriend. Renting a car was kind of a nightmare on Friday, I really don't think I will be using Enterprise again after that experience. We also finished decorating the house by finally getting our Merry Christmas banner attacked to the wall as well as our stockings.

** Yesterday I drove down to Georgia to see an old friend of mine for the weekend. I was scheduled to take a unit picture for his Reserve unit, although I ended up taking some more pictures at Family Day. It was awesome to be able to get caught back up with him, I haven't seen him since he graduated college and commissioned back in 2013.

** Today was simple. We had family day at my friends reserve unit, so I hung around and took pictures of it before driving back home. I am just very glad to be back home (even though I am currently residing on a mattress on Amy's living room floor). Tonight I am working on getting caught back up in my December Daily album. I finished days 3 and 4, just never took pictures to share, and need to finish the pages for this weekend.

.: Little Loves :.

|| Dr. Pepper | wine | Butterbeer Frappaccino's | decorations | seeing friends | having options | Netflix | The Flash | Lifesaver gummy's ||

What are you loving from this past week?

December Daily 2015: Intro and thoughts

Hello dearest friends!

I hope this post finds you well!

Tomorrow starts the last month of the year, and yet another project for me (and most of the scrapbooking community!) Tomorrow starts December Daily 2015! You can check out Ali Edwards introduction to the project here and the rest of her posts about it all here.

This year I am doing the project just like I did my October Daily, in an insert for my TN and paired with my December Plan Book. I decided that this was going to be the way I did it, instead of a regular DD album, partially because I really enjoyed how my October Daily turned out, and partially because I will be back in the States but I won't have all of my stuff yet back from the movers. Carrying around a 6X8 album and supplies would be difficult and take up too much room in my luggage. I packed the minimal amount of supplies in my luggage for the project. I know I can always buy more stuff once I get home, and I will probably buy some more things once I get to see a real craft store, but I really liked how my October Daily turned out and wanted to give it another try!

This project starts tomorrow!

Here are some pictures from my album

This is the cover of my insert. It is a regular Moleskine lined insert that I covered with some snowflake scrapbooking paper, silver washi to cover the spine, and then some silver star washi to cover the side that opens on the book.

This is what you see when you first open up the insert. I have taped a calendar on the inside cover that I bought online. I have been trying to figure out where the calendar came from, but I can't find it in my email history. I will keep looking and when I know, I shall share it with you guys.

This is my own version of the washi tape tree. The star and December pieces as well as the Magic stamp are all from last years Ali Edwards December Daily Kit.

The next page is My Reason Why followed by the front of a Christmas card that I was using as a divider type thing. I need to add some more decorations to My Reason Why page, but I at least wanted to get my reason for this project written out and finished.

Will you be participating in the project? If so, let me know! I would love to see pictures or videos of your project as you complete it!

"I Love" Sundays v.9

Happy Sunday everyone!

** One week until  I go on leave and head to the states for 3 whole weeks! I will be visiting family in Florida, and am looking forward to the warm weather!

** Got some pictures printed finally for my December Daily album! I need quite a few more pictures and printables, but I didn't want to kill my friend's ink because they like to tell me how expensive it is! I gotta wait until I get to the states to get the rest of the pictures printed out! And then I can actually post pictures of our album!

celebrating my friend's birthday!

** I celebrated my friend's birthday at the Stuttgart Christmas Market, which was pretty cool. I got to hang out with some friends I haven't seen in a while too! It was my second christmas market that I have been too. The next day I went back to the Esslingen one from last weekend and actually got some good pictures from that day!

Mo took all these

What are you loving this week?