A new trend, personal goal and my thanks to you

Happy St. Patty's Day! I invite you all to create something today that includes green! I did :)

I love to visit other blogs, love to meet new people, love viewing projects and learning about new trends. Sadly, I don't get to do that a quarter as much as I'd like to. I could spend hours hopping along to all the AWESOME blogs out there - if only there were more hours in a day {sigh}. So when I do get the opportunity to jump around, I get so excited about all the crafts and designs and trends and techniques. I'm like a kid in a candy store. :)

Recently, on a trip around my blog roll, I saw sooooo many cards that included a photo. I'm guessing this is a new trend.. and I LOVE it! Love it bunches! Why didn't I think of that before?!

So I quickly looked through my photos for a nice one to add to a card.

I've had this over exposed photo of my son and nephew for a while- it's so cute! It's one of those rare "love the day" photos that I don't photograph often. Although its not a clear photo, I knew I wanted to keep it and use it someday.

All of the supplies I used are included in Artful Delight's March kit! (with exception of the "joy" stamp and staples, of course) The March kit is packed with LYB, JBSoup, Basic Grey and so much more!Leeanne only had a few kits left, so you'll need to hurry to purchase one! I really enjoyed making this card, and I LOVE the idea of using a photo. I'm sure I'll see a lot more popping up here and there. If you make/made one, please leave your link so I can come check it out! :)

Speaking of photos, I have a lot! Photos in photo boxes just waiting to be placed in a scrapbook. However, as I look through them, they're mostly vacations, special events, holidays, parties, gatherings. It's hard to believe that within all my photos, only a small amount are actually of just everyday life.. those random daily moments like the above photo.

I'd like to capture the everyday little things that make me happy like.. my son at the table drawing, our kitty waiting in the window for my son to come home, my son helping me cook, a special gift from a friend, my scale showing I've lost another few pounds, my son's quirky random smile as well as his "whatever, mom" look, my nephew seated quietly watching his favorite Toy Story movie, my son dancing, my son dancing with our dog...

All these things and more make up who we are and I don't have many photos like that. It makes me wonder "Where were we between all the holidays and vacations?" Well, we're here. And I need to remember all those undocumented days, too, those wonderful days that I may forget about as time goes on.

So! I've decided to start a new.

I'm going to take at least one picture every day of something/someone that brings joy or that helps define who I am. Or funny moments, uh-oh moments, even sad ones... as of course, not every minute of the day is a joyful one. Or something that makes my son happy.. because capturing his memories are just as important as mine. (Although my child needs no help in the memory department lol He's got the memory of an elephant! He remembers everything while I can't recall most things that happened yesterday! Hense, this plan.) I won't be sharing all of my daily photos on this blog, because as we all know, I'm not a daily blogger... but I will share one occasionally and also will be using them in layouts that I'll share. It'll be so nice to scrap often a layout of just a random day :)

I'll start with a photo I took last night of my nephew, the only photo I took yesterday.


This photo warms my heart because just last week, Drake was bitten on the face by his family dog.. his face was horribly swollen and bruised. Poor baby {sigh} But now he is healing, looks happy and is his normal playful self again. As much as this little guy drives me bonkers, I've babysat him often since the day he was brought home 2 years ago- and he's so much a part of my life. I love him so much and I'm so thankful he's okay and doing better. :)

Now.. if you're still with me, you're in luck! Recently my blog topped 200 followers and over 10,000 hits. Yay!! And I'd like to give a token of my thanks for following/visiting me often :) I'm going to giveaway the new Echo Park "Playground" collection kit to a random commenter. All you have to do is leave a comment, that's all :) If you want 2 chances in the drawing, just post about this giveaway on your blog or place a photo of this prize on your side bar (and leave a 2nd comment with a link showing me that you've done so). Don't forget to link back to my page :) A winner will be announced 2 weeks from now, April 1st. Good luck :)

Thanks so much for stopping by :)
Abby