A complete holiday album; "Good Cheer". I finished it last night at around 1:00am. Laugh. I haven't stayed up this late in months. Wowza! I had a great time creating this album. It's chalked full of traditional holiday symbols (no die-cut machines here) including Christmas trees, snowflakes, candy canes, ornaments, and more. I let my glitter jar fall open a few times while working on pages. Snowflakes call for sparkly "glitter". I did a lot of hand-cutting of borders, images, and shapes. For those taking the class, be sure to bring both a small and large size scissors for this project. Supply lists will be available shortly for both classes at Scrapbook Oasis's blog. Note: I changed some of the "Good Cheer" kit contents. There's actually more product in the kit! I removed OA's "Holiday Cheer" 12" x 12" alpha sheet stickers and "Holiday Cheer" die-cut journal cards. I simply didn't use them in the album. They weren't quite the right fit for what I was doing, so I set them aside. I replaced these items with cherry red cardstock, red ribbon, additional OA pattern papers, OA Daydream die-cuts, and a Heidi Grace Christmas Add-On chipboard pack. I realized I hadn't included any chipboard in the kit after starting on the album. Chipboard is one of my favorite dimensional products and it's difficult for me to create a mini album without it. The new Heidi Grace Holiday Chipboard Pack matched the colors of the album perfectly. You'll get the "entire" chipboard pack when working with this kit. You'll need all the contents of the pack to create the album. If you want to see more of the "Holiday Cheer" mini album, you'll find more photos of the album in the kit newsletter, which will go out the first week of December.
I continue to work in the OA office part time. I plan to work full time at the OA office starting Mid-November. So far, I love being there. I look forward to going to work and I enjoy the environment and product. I feel very lucky to work for OA. Looking back, I never pictured myself "here". After I lost Eric, I never thought it possible that I'd find stability again. There wasn't a prospect of a "job" or happiness. I didn't see my life going anywhere. I sort of felt stuck. This is all very normal for someone who's grieving, none the less, the inner void of loss is unavoidable. It's easy to feel trapped in one's own grief. Luckily, I had Ethan to keep me going. I knew that if we were going to make it, I needed to get back on my feet. Plus, time doesn't just "stop" for those grieving the loss of someone they love. Rebuilding my life from the ground up was the only option available to me after Eric died. Looking back, I think I've done ok. I remember telling Eric during a car ride a couple years ago that I wasn't sure if I could survive without him..ever. He wasn't ill at this point. We were living out the normal routines of marriage. Back then, I would of never guessed that I would actually have to find a way to live without Eric. The idea of Eric and I separated was inconceivable. Here I am, two years later and widowed. I'm working full time, playing the role of a solo mom, and traveling in between. I'm meeting lots of new people and trying new things. It's strange, though gratifying. I'm tremendously grateful for all I have. It's taken me a long time to get to this place...here I am. Life is disguised in blessings unimagined, even in loss.
