for the record

it has been so very, very cold again. had a low of about zero overnight, and a high of 15 today. yesterday was blustery and just plain cold, with very little snow to show for it's coldness. sigh...it has been a long winter already.



a whole lot of purging, decluttering and organizing has been taking place here in the pate household...when it's cold outside, it's a good time to take advantage of being kept indoors to take care of matters of the home. i am learning how better to budget this time, this season of the year, and make it profitable for my family, for my home. i do not consider myself naturally organized. in fact i have to work at it to make it work. but when a system is in order and in place, if i have built the habit to maintain it, then i am such a happy mama for the effort that is obvious around me.

another reality that i am in the midst of learning right now is budgeting my time better. this will be a longer process than purging and cleaning the kitchen. i have some bad habits in this area.

memo to the disorganized:if my private world is in order, it is because i have begun to seal the 'timeleaks' and allocated my productive hours in light of my capabilities, my limits and my priorities. g macdonald

currently this means knowing and realizing when i work best at what task. and in the bigger picture, how to budget my future time down the road, and being proactive rather than reactive. it is actually easier for me to be reactive, sometimes i think i work better on a deadline. but i don't work best. and i am challenged with the question: 'why don't i do my best?' yikes. that one hearkens deep.

time must be properly budgeted for the gathering of inner strength and resolve in order to compensate for one's weaknesses when spiritual warfare begins. g macdonald



hmm...one must dwell on this for a while. see, purging is not only a physical household activity, it is a constant activity that must continue in the heart and soul.

and this actually does segue into my word trust. with the encouragment above to know one's weaknesses, i am learning to realize those weaknesses, and trust that either they may not always be that, or that i am going to learn great things because they exist.

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in case you think i have completely forsaken any scrappy activity, think again. while i am in the process of re-thinking my approach to this beloved artistic outlet, i am not, however, forsaking it. re-prioritizing is rather the word.
here are a couple of layouts done for the work in progress january gallery. i look forward to how these two pages will appear in our album. while they were not created as a two-page layout, i like how i worked it to be cohesive and tell a similar story of a fun moment in time.

enjoy your day!