5 things

I am putting my spin on one of the prompts in the course I am doing - 'Blogging for Scrapbookers' - it comes as the result of an email I sent Shimelle - the writer of this tutorial - about a bit of a confession I felt the need to make - Confession or Excuse - yesterday if felt like a confession today it feels like an excuse.... here's why.....

Firstly you need to know my confession..... I feel like a fake when it comes to scrapbooking,. Since purchasing an online store in March 2011 I have done very little ... although I do feel very happy and a sense of pride for what I have done it just doesn't seem enough to be taken seriously as a scrapbooker. I felt my main block was because suddenly I was surrounded with all things paper - endless sheets of beautiful 12x12 papers, stamps by the hundreds, sticker sheets, journalling sheets, embellishments seemed wall to wall (funnily enough they are actually wall to wall in the room I have dedicated to stock). So every time I would want to scrap some photos I was simply overwhelmed with choice - some may say "hey dont complain" or "every scrapbookers dream come true" - well it wasn't for me, quite the opposite.... or so I thought.
24 hours after my confession email I got to really thinking about why I haven't/don't scrap and suddenly all sorts of other reasons popped into my head - perhaps the confession has made me accountable - by sharing my thoughts with a talented and dedicated scrapbooker I wondered what Shimelle would think of my email, my confession and was it a good enough reason, not for Shimelle but for me.

No, it simply wasn't. Once that reason was put aside, I discovered plenty more - things like

1. feeling guilty for indulging in such a pleasurable pasttime when there was housework needing to be done
2. feeling guilty that I hadn't yet completed my tax return (end of financial year in Australia is 30 June and its now August 20!) personal and business
3. feeling that I should devote whatever spare time I have to my family
4. feeling that if I did have spare time then I should be spending it on my online business and website
5. feeling guilty that I hadn't baked something special for a few weeks
...... guilty guilty guilty guilty and guilty .....

So... there is 5 of the many reasons I came up with as to why I haven't scrapped for so long.... GUILT.
Which so happens to be a 5 letter word!

Then I decided to make a list, a visual point of reference that would make me feel accountable for all those reasons.....

Well, in the 12 hours since I made that list -
1. housework is up to date (and in front if that's at all possible)
2. both personal and business tax returns are completed and ready to be emailed to my Accountant
3. attended to sales and posting of orders for my online business and devoted 1 hour to tidying up my website
4. dedicated 2 hours to my dear daughter and her sweet baby boy, my grandson
5. baked a decadent chocolate slice creation without following a recipe but added the favourite ingredients of my youngest gorgeous son

It truly is amazing how much you can pack into 12 hours if you put your mind to it.
A little weary and will certainly sleep soundly tonight but this feeling, this smile that is a result of getting rid of guilt is completely and utterly AWESOME.

Guess what is on my TO DO list tomorrow....................