be AUDacious

and somebody told me that this is the place

(This is my week in iPhone photos. More and more I am loving this method of documenting the moments as I'm in them. Want more details on any of these photos -- location, subject, filter, app, whatever? Just leave a comment and I'll get back to you!)


 

Just released: Flight Path and InstaFrames

It feels so great to be designing again. I've been keeping a notebook again, jotting ideas in it, making lists, taking notes of colors and patterns and ideas...I love keeping lists like this (one of the reasons why I love my Moleskine planner and notebooks so much).

This week, I've got several new items available: Flight Path, an air-travel-themed digital kit, which is available as a full kit or separately as papers and elements, and Insta-Frames, a set of digital frames inspired by a number of iPhone photo apps.

In addition to these new products, I'm also DHD's Featured Designer for this weekend, which means that all my products are 25% off for the entire weekend. You can also grab my Wooded Whimsy papers for $1.00 and my School of Life paper pack for FREE!

Don't forget to stop by the DHD blog and leave a comment for a chance to win Flight Path for free!

workin' for a living

I think I have occasionally blogged about my "day job" -- the job I do from 8:00-4:30 Monday through Friday each week -- but not often. Mostly that's because there's not a lot of crossover between the work I do at work and the things I do that get written about here -- reading, designing, photographing, parenting, etc. Five years ago, I stepped out of the classroom for the last time as an English teacher and jumped into freelance writing and designing until I could find something else. That something else came along in February of 2007 in the form of a federally funded grant hosted at Murray State University that focused on college awareness and readiness for targeted Kentucky middle and high school students. 

Since beginning that job, I have learned so much more about the idea of "college" and what it means to really be prepared. And while I loved teaching English -- being able to talk about reading and writing and the importance of both to high school students, an age group that I just LOVE -- the work that I do now resonates even more strongly with me. Maybe because my sister and I were the first members of our family to not just attend college but to actually graduate. (There were family members before us who enrolled and went for a semester or two, but never made it farther than that.) Even more so, I think it's because I wasn't ready for college, and simply graduating (in seven years, rather than the traditional four -- or five) was a tremendous achievement for me.

I was a good student in high school. Top 10 in my graduating class, 3.8 gpa, 30+ on the ACT. Never had to crack a book -- except in math. ;) I earned enough scholarships to pay for college and was accepted into the Honors program. I was on track to do great things.

And I flunked out. Lost every single dollar I'd won, was placed on academic probation, and came crawling back home with my tail tucked between my legs. I tried another school, earned a few credits, and then dropped out there too. It wasn't until I had Cassidy that I found a reason pressing enough to motivate me to finish school. 

The truth was, I just wasn't ready. I lacked serious self-management skills. I'd never had to make adult decisions, prioritize, manage my time. I'd never failed at much of anything, so when I came up against situations I couldn't deal with, I didn't know how to persist. Add to that a family culture that valued education but had no experience with postsecondary education, which meant some support but not in the ways that I've since discovered really matter. My parents wanted me to do well, but they weren't sure how to actually help me do well. I eventually learned those skills, but it was a long, tough journey.

The past ten weeks have been a journey of a different kind -- one of waiting and hoping and stressing and questioning and doubting. Our grant cycle ended in August, and proposals for the new grant were due in July. We finally got word yesterday that the state grant was one of 19 (out of 47) funded; we have been awarded $26.9 million to serve 10,000 students from 30 of the neediest schools in Kentucky.

That doesn't mean the waiting game is over, though. With a new grant comes a new grant structure, new job positions, new service areas, new responsibilities. While my current position is guaranteed until April, I am anxious to see what new opportunities will be available with the new grant. I am hoping to be able to do a lot more with ACT and the EPAS assessment system and other tools, more with teacher professional development, more with designing curriculum for students and parents. Over the past five years, I've discovered just how much I love engaging with ideas and concepts, making connections and really digging in deep with what I'm working on. I'm still pretty crap at the follow-through implementation stuff; I tend to get bored and already have moved on to other ideas by the time those get implemented, but that's a weakness I'm working on.

Just like I'll continue to work on my patience, as I wait...and wait...and wait some more. 

 

10 on Tuesday

1. Happy Birthday to my sweet niece Avery Ann -- she's one today! We celebrated with family and friends on Saturday, and she wasted no time digging right into her cake. We are so blessed to have her; Elisha and Jason waited for ten long years before finally getting pregnant with her. I adore her, it goes without saying.

2. Soccer is keeping us busy busy busy! Cass is playing JV for the high school, and Cami is playing on a competitive travel team. That means that, like tonight, we are often splitting between two places. Chris takes one girl and I take the other, and then we meet up somewhere to eat or back at home for showers, homework, and bed. Cassidy's program got a new coach this year, so they're really in a transition stage -- moving from a pretty lax program to a more competitive program. It's definitely an adjustment, but she just loves the game so she doesn't mind. Cami's skills have grown tremendously since she started playing just two years ago, and she's proven to be tough on the defensive line. Her team plays 5v5, although they have an 8v8 game tonight.

3. The weather is finally starting to turn here. We've got temps mainly in the lower 70's most days now, and the leaves are turning just a bit. We've been keeping the windows open during the day, though we've had to shut them in the evenings, because things are just a bit too cold in the mornings when we wake. I love this time of year and everything that comes along with it -- even the rainy rainy days like Sunday was.

4. Cass went to homecoming with Landon last week. I just can't believe how grown-up she looks in these photos; her dress was gorgeous (and the boots were the perfect touch!)

5. I'm traveling to Frankfort (KY) again tomorrow evening. This makes the third week in a row. Then I get a week off, and then I go back again once during each of the two following weeks. 

6. Speaking of work, I'm on pins and needles right now, waiting to hear if our new grant proposal was funded. Announcements are trickling out as I write this; funding means 6 more years of work with Gear Up and the possibility of a new position with new responsibilities. 

7. We're really in a rut at home in terms of meals. Now that it is cooler, we'll be pulling out the crockpot more often for things like roast and soups, but we still need a wider variety of go-to meals, especially when we are busy like we are right now. If any of you have any great websites or blogs that you use for meal planning ideas, please share.

8. I am completely crushing on the art of Holly Chastain (drkennedyjones). Her collage work is full of these amazing little bits of vintage papers and geometric shapes, overlaying these fantastic scenes of childhood that just flood me with nostalgia. I have a couple of her prints from her Etsy shop, but I'd love to own one of her originals -- this one in particular (but I just can't swing that $400 price tag):

9. I never thought I would ever become a football fan, but it has apparently happened -- to an extent. I grew up in western Kentucky and went to a school system that didn't even have a football team. We were UK basketball fans in my family, and then I married Chris. College football is probably his favorite sport, and I should emphasize COLLEGE. He's not much of a fan of pro football. Anyway, we try to make it to as many Murray State home games as we can, and I just love going. I love the entire atmosphere -- the band, the crowd, Racer One heading around the track after each touchdown, the cheering -- all of it. It's as much about that as it is about the actual game for me. We've got a game on Saturday and I just can't wait!

10. I also can't wait to find an available weekend to go camping. We bought an awesome tent two years ago and didn't get to use it at all last year. This year will be different. We're going to get a couple of weekend's use out of this thing, even if it means packing up before one of Cassidy's cross-country meets and heading out to camp after she's done running for the day.

a new purpose, a fresh start

This space has been empty and echoing for far too long. I never intended to be absent for this long, but lots of things seemed to work their way higher up on the priority list, and blogging just didn't feel as important, as necessary, as I once used to think it was. 

It all keeps coming back to trying to live the life I want to live in the midst of all the technology that surrounds me. Just look over in the Connect column -- you can see all the different places where I make myself at home on the 'net. I keep looking for a central gathering place, though, and right now, that place seems to be here. More than anything, it gives me a place where I can talk about the things I love -- the books I'm reading, the projects I'm working on, the kits I'm designing, the photos I'm taking, the LIFE I'm experiencing.

I'll be blogging daily (or as close to daily as I can manage); you can see the categories listed down the left-hand side of the page.

• On Mondays, I'll be sharing the books I'm currently reading; sometimes this will be a detailed book review, and at other times it will be an idea for a book-based project.
• Ten on Tuesdays will be a catch-up post from the current week to just give you a look at what's going on in my life -- expect random.
• What's In My Heart Wednesday takes a cue from bloggers Stephanie Howell and Ali Edwards to talk about the real everyday things I'm dealing with. I also see it as a place to just share what's on my mind and heart this week: childhood memories, parenting concerns, pet peeves, work worries. (Don't worry -- I won't be all Debbie Downer each week.)
• New Releases Thursday will feature new products for my Design House Digital shop; I've finally gotten back into the designing swing of things, so look for new products from me weekly (at least for the next couple of months).
• iPhoto Friday is a way for me to share what's been going on in my life each week in photo form; I love my iPhone photo apps and I've found that I capture much more of my daily life this way than I do in any other format.

I'm excited about being back in this space; as you can see, I've given everything a pretty facelift (which applies to my digital design branding as well), and I'm loving how it looks. Some things will still be changing slightly (particularly that menu bar along the top), but for the most part, the overhaul is complete.