anita meade - simple.creative.life

Looking for a scrapbooking post?

    Thought you might be a bit over all the cards (that is if you're more of a scrapbooker than a cardmaker!) so I've delved into my stash of layouts and I found this one to share. It is of a very quick camping trip we had with our friends, the Clark family, earlier this year. You've heard of "speed-dating"? Well this was "speed-camping"! Still, it was well worth the effort. Lots of fun.

 

Here's a closer look at each side of the layout.....

 

 Behind the waterfall photo is a pocket with a journaling tag. It tells the funny story of a clumsy possum who fell out of a tree (twice!) and knocked a fellow camper off her chair as she and her friends sat around their campfire.

                               

Thanks for coming to visit.......again. Hope that has satisfied the scrapbookers out there :)

                                                Love Anita. xxx

A Blokey Card

    Here's a card I made for our friend Pete who celebrated his 42nd birthday last week. It's a bit grungy and distressed - not my usual style at all - but Pete liked it, I think. Haven't heard whether the Lotto ticket we bought him was a winner, so I'm guessing not. Otherwise he's decided not to share his millions! ;)

     

    The cardstock is More Mustard and Kraft (with a star in Chocolate Chip). I've used Close to Cocoa and Creamy Caramel ink. The stamps are the "Classic Stars" wheel and "Think Happy Thoughts". Finally I've used a piece of twine and some ribbon from my stash.

    It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was fun to try something different. Sometimes I think we get focussed on what "our style" is and we forget that sometimes it's good to step outside the box and experiment a little. How about you? Do you stick to your tried-and-true style or do you love to experiment? I'd love to know....

    Thanks for stopping by. Gotta go now, as I have some new stamps to mount! Yay! See you again soon. Love Anita. xxx

Beginning my journey toward wellbeing.

       I have a busy, busy brain but my body can't keep up.......the frustration of fibromyalgia. So many things I want to achieve but I'm just not there yet. I am coming to an awareness that I need to make some major changes in my lifestyle if I am to regain some of my lost health. The "Living Well wtih Fibromyalgia" seminar (presented by Rheumatologist Dr Daniel Lewis) that we attended last weekend left me with a much better understanding of the science behind my condition. New research using functional MRIs proves that the pain of fibromyalgia is real and often extreme. It is still unclear what causes this condition, but Dr Lewis suggest the only way to improvement in fibromyalgia is an improvement in general health. While this may sound self explanatory, it is not as easy as it seems. By doing the little things that are health promoting, the effect of the fibromyalgia on quality of life is lessened. I may not be able to make it go away, but Dr Lewis suggest that one can indeed live well with fibromyalgia. It is not going to happen in a day, a week, a month or maybe even a year.....but I need to start somewhere. If I chip away at the little things, hopefully it will make a big difference eventually.

    So what are the little things? There are many area (12 according to Dr Lewis) that can contribute to the journey back to wellbeing. You can find a comprehensive list of them at his website pathways2wellbeing. I am just beginning my journey, and working out practical ways in which I can embark on the road to improved health. I am starting simply by adding very, very gentle exercise into my daily routine. It is as simple as a 15 minute walk.....at the moment that is about all I can manage (astounding for a girl who used to be able to run for miles!). I can also start to work on my nutrition (including discovering the food allergies that are compromising my health) and I am keen to learn the art of meditation which has been shown to have very positive effects on chronic pain and overall health. There are lots of areas to pay attention to but the most important step on the journey to wellbeing is the first one.

    I also had the pleasure of visiting the public library at Yarra Junction about a week and a half ago to listen to the incredible Dr Ian Gawler (below) speak.

                                

    Dr Gawler has had a remarkable life since recovering from bone cancer in his mid twenties. Now 59, he is an engaging speaker with much wisdom to share about his road to recovery and the things that helped him overcome his life-threatening illness, notably meditation and optimal nutrition. I purchased his biography, which I've just started reading. Already I am inspired by his approach to his health challenge and the positive way in which he dealt with it. Hearing him speak in person was fantastic. He has such a calm, relaxed nature and seems very warm and approachable. I am keen to visit his retreat at Yarra Junction and hopefully take part in one of his meditation courses sometime soon. You can read more about his amazing work at The Gawler Foundation.

    I realise that this blog has been mostly about my papercrafts until now, but I feel it is also a good place to document my progress with fibromyalgia. I hope that in doing so, my story can be of benefit, or even just a comfort, to others living with this condition. Rest assured, if I find things that make a positive difference to my health I will be happy to share them here.  There are so many things going around in my head at the moment with regards to my health. I will try my best to articulate how I'm thinking in the months to come as my energy levels allow. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you've had a wonderful weekend. Love Anita. xxx

Easter is coming.

Can you believe that Easter is only 2 weeks away? This year is just flying! I promised I'd come back with a couple of Easter cards for you today. I recently purchased this SU! stamp set called "A Good Egg", and I think it is just gorgeous. What do you think?

     

        

        

Pretty cute huh? I have already purchased quite a few Easter eggs. Now I just have to stop my hubby from talking me into opening them before Easter! We really do "enable" each other when it comes to chocolate consumption...LOL!

   Lots to get done this morning, so I will keep it short today. Have a wonderful weekend and visit again soon.  Love Anita. xxx

I made something......

      

..... a big mess! This is what I woke to find on my dining table this morning. It is the result of a card making "binge" I had last night. Many of you may know that I am lucky enough to have my own "craft room", but the desk in there was also piled high with "creative chaos" so I played out on the dining table last night. I made six cards altogether....with a decidely pink theme. Here are three of them. I will show you the other three (which are Easter cards) tomorrow. (I apologise for the "glarey" photos - the morning light was pretty full-on)

               

        

        

    One of the thankyou cards will definitely be going off to my Mum, who just spent four days with us. As mothers do, she felt compelled to help me out around the house (I am not complaining) and did heaps of deep cleaning that I just haven't been well enough to do recently. While I manage to keep a handle on generally day to day tidying etc. (usually) I just haven't had prolonged bouts of energy to do the deeper stuff. A half decent spurt of cleaning from me is usually followed by a half day (or longer) of pain and fatigue. I can't explain how much I appreciate Mum's efforts. It just helps me to feel a little less "out of control" and takes away some of the guilt I place on myself for not being able to keep up with all the stuff around the house.

    The boys just loved having her here. She is such a bundle of energy and she really takes an interest in what they are into. I even dragged her away from the housework for half a day to go and do a little shopping and have coffee and cake - some special mother-daughter time. Here is a pic of my gorgeous Mum with the boys, taken on Monday morning before school.

      

    I can't believe it is only a week until school holidays! Where did first term go? I had better get my thinking cap on and work out a few activities to keep the boys occupied over the two week break. With Easter in the middle I'm sure it will fly by.

    The days are becoming cooler overall, which flares up my pain quite a lot, but Autumn is still my favourite season by far......as the leaves start to turn over the next month or so, I hope to get out with my fabulous camera and capture some of their beauty.

    I am also looking forward to a New Stampin' Up! Catalogue workshop next Friday evening with some of my customers. It is a long time since I have held a workshop due to my health challenges. I am really looking forward to getting together with friends to share the excitement of the new catalogue and make a couple of cute little projects.

    Well, I had best go and tackle the mess on my dining table. It's a bit like a craft hangover having to face up to it in the morning! lol! Thanks for stopping by today. See you again soon.

                                                     Love Anita. xxx

    

More blue and green loveliness!

    Just popping in quickly this evening. It has been a big day and I'm headed for the couch. Dan & I went to a seminar about fibromyalgia this afternoon. Lots of interesting info and definitely some ideas about things to try to make life better - no miracle cures though unfortunately!

    I have one quick card to show you using the leftover October Afternoon paper that was on my desk after my last scrapbook page. I've also used some flowers and buttons from my stash, a bit of machine stitching and a Stampin' Up rub-on.  This card was for my beautiful friend Joylene who always makes me feel loved. She's such a caring, considerate friend who is always looking out for me when I'm not well. I just wanted to say thankyou to her for being such a wonderful friend.

          

     My mum is here staying for the weekend, which is so nice. The boys love having her here too. They especially enjoyed having their two favourite ladies, Granmama (my mum) and Aunty Laura take them to basketball while we were at the seminar. What a special treat!

    As I said, it has been a big day, with "information overload" and I need to rest my tired brain and body so I think I'll say goodnight for now. Back soon with some more creative stuff.

                                                       Love Anita. xxx

    

Grape grazing

    Here's a layout I wanted to share with you about a special day I shared with my "new boyfriend" Danny and my Uni mates in 2000. I stumbled across these photos while I was sorting my pics for my "Library of Memories" course and I thought it was about time they were scrapbooked. I have such wonderful memories of this day.....ahhhhh, new love - there is nothing like it :)

    Love, love these October Afternoon papers - I have nearly used up my stash of these patterns. I just love the blues and greens together - so fresh!

    Hope you're having a good Wednesday - this is my first one without Corey and it seems a little strange. Thanks for stopping by today. Love Anita. xxx

Sneek peak of a sweet new stamp set.

    Thought I'd give you a tiny peak of one of the new stamp sets about to be released on April 1st. I made these two birthday cards this morning.

 

    The little slice of cake stamp is from a fun new set called "Greetings Eight" which as you might guess has eight cute stamps for many occasions. I've used Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise and Gable Green on these cards. I've coloured the image using my blender pens and ink pads and I've added some Dazzling Diamonds to the icing and candle. The "happy birthday" background is not a stamp. I just typed "happy birthday" over and over on MSWord, then copied and pasted it over a whole page. I changed the type colour to a shade darker than my cardstock and printed it out. Easy! And I've saved this page so that I can reprint it any time....in any colour to match my cardstock. The other two stamp sets I've used are "Birthday Best"(balloon)  and "A little birthday cheer" (make a wish). I love those coordinating brads in the bottom right corner. You might have noticed that I'm particularly fond of brads, especially in groups of three. I think they add a nice finishing touch.

    Well, that's it for me today. The countdown is on......only 16 more sleeps until the new Idea Book and Catalogue is released. Remember that if you'd like to order something from the retired list, you had better hop to it!

                 Have a great week. Love Anita. xxx

(PS: Thanks for the love after my last post....it is greatly appreciated. xxx)

The rollercoaster.

    Visiting my blog is like a rollercoaster - a bit like my life! Some days it's up and some days it's.....um....."not-so-up". Anyway, I've been having a string of "not-so-up" days lately with regards to my health. My fibromyalgia is a day-by-day struggle. Some days are good. These are the days when I think I might be finally getting better, but inevitably they are closely followed by a crash. I never know until I open my eyes each morning what type of day I'm in for. On my bad days I have pain all over my body - in my joints, my muscles, my head.....everywhere. On my bad days my brain in muddled, blanketed in a thick fog that makes every task seem like Mt Everest. On my bad days I am exhausted, with not enough energy to accomplish anything worthwhile and certainly not enough energy to leave the house.

    Fortunately there are good days, or even good hours, in amongst the bad days. I put on a cheerful face to do school drop off and pick up and the occasional visits with friends. These outings usually have to be followed with a nap on the couch for an hour or so......just to muster enough energy for the next activity. I don't like to whinge......I have never had much patience for complainers but I also need those around me to understand why I'm not always "up", and why I often have to say "no" to things.

    I wanted to share with you a layout I did in November last year about my struggle with fibromyalgia. It is about the things I have lost since this condition became a part of my life.

          

    I don't know what caused my health to collapse and I don't know how long it will be until I am well again, but I will keep trying to find answers, or at least strategies to make my daily reality better. I will keep trying for myself, and for my family. We deserve better. One day I will be back to the "real me" - the fit, healthy, energetic, high-achieving woman I once was. Or perhaps I will be a new improved me. I keep thinking that perhaps this is all part of the bigger plan for my life.....perhaps I am supposed to learn from this illness and evolve into something better - more balanced, more "in-tune", more "present". Some people do recover from fibromyalgia - it may take years, but I will be one of them.

My Rainbow and other fun stuff.

    My lovely friend Jo-Anne Mitchell had this fun little link on her blog so I thought I'd pop over and play along. It is a quiz that tells you about your rainbow shade......

Your rainbow is shaded red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a passionate person. You appreciate energetic people. You get bored easily and want friends who will keep up with you.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

I love these sorts of thing......interesting to find out how your answers to a quick quiz can be interpreted.....and you know what...the results of this quiz are spot on! This is a pretty good description of me. My favourite colour has always been red. Why don't you take the quiz and find out what it says about you? 

{Thanks Jo - that was fun! Love Anita. xxx}

    Another fun thing I discovered over at the new blog of former Simple Scrapbooks blogger Angie Lucas, is the website called "A Word a day". I am a serious "Word Nerd" (as Angie puts it) and I just love learning new words and then pulling them out in conversation. Words are such fantastic tools for life.....the more you know, the better! Today the "Word of the day" is:

lepidopterology

PRONUNCIATION:

(lep-i-dop-tuh-ROL-uh-jee)

MEANING:

noun: The study of butterflies and moths.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek lepido- (scale) + pteron (wing, feather), ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly) that also gave us feather, petition, compete, and perpetual.

USAGE:

"Mr. Sokolenko's exhibition comes at a time when Nabokov's reputation is on an upswing in the rarefied world of lepidopterology. During his lifetime some lepidopterists, perhaps jealous of his literary fame, carped about his lack of formal training."
Alexander Osipovich; St. Petersburg Exhibition Shows Nabokov Under (and Behind) a Microscope; The New York Times; Jul 26, 2006.

Here is a creative example of my lepidopterology. Aren't words just GREAT?! I love 'em! Yep, I'm a "Word Nerd" and proud of it.  :)