Why is it daunting to talk about yourself so much? But, I I shall give it a go! :)
I am Debbie, Debs or Deb, though I tend to answer to Oi, Hey and Mum quite a lot! :) I am a mum to 4 kids, boys 19, 18 and 3 and a girl of 11 going on 30! I work from home so I can raise my youngest myself and be available if Princess Kirsten needs me.
I found scrapbooking back in 2001 when we spent a short time living in Arizona, I was so in awe of all the pretty stuff that I bought heaps and hoarded it for years before I forced myself to use it, though I'm sure the fashion and style thing had done a total 360 degree turn by then! Somehow I got into being a Making Memories Demonstrator, that didn't last long as their philosophy did not fill my own desirous needs to slap on a ridiculous amount of embellishments! I then became a host of a crop of around 30 people, which lasted for approximately 2 years. Taking time out from tutoring I worked on my own albums, found handmade books and got into that quite heavily. Then came the altering stuff...that was a whole new trip altogether! There was nothing standing free of ribbons, buttons, paint or cardstock in our house! The regular 'pretty stylish' photo frames even got the treatment with a range of paint techniques! You know when you're serious when you decorate your room ONLY because it doesn't go with the frame you WANT to make for in there!! :)
Ho hum!!
Life hit rock bottom throughout 2007 for me personally and us as a family, I'm not going to go into it but lets say its the unbelievable that actually happened and leave it at that! Moving into this house in late September I thought I would feel a wave of relief, gratitude and sheer joy but I didn't. Oh no, that came way later but even in the midst of our own darkness we had the strength and the faith to carry on the best we could, even if it meant our days were spent crying out eyes out or staring at a tv screen that had long since stopped being interested. What kept us going, all of us was journalling and the scriptures. It was only Princess Kirsten and Prince Charley and myself then so we built up the new little family unit quite tightly and comfortably, thank goodness. Now, 9 months after moving in here we have personalised the house, unpacked 98% of our stuff and feel quite at home here now. We are so very thankful that we had the faith to not give up when the worst happened to us, we knew we were blessed, even in the pits of darkness.
So, the inner strength from us all shined on...and it didn't take long for the scrapbooking, book making and altering stuff to kick back in, only this time we got into knitting, patchworking and making felt animals! Charley loves to paint, finger paint mainly, but thats ok, who minds some mess when a true masterpiece is in progress?
Of late I have began tutoring again, only this time its in schools, community centres and for groups of adults who suffer from a range of health issues. The opportunity to reach out to these people is probably the best thing next to being a mother. Seeing these people connect with their own role in the world, in their world is just fantastic in my opinion, especially to those who are more vulnerable and suffering with depression or emotional/mental issues, they let you in, cant wait to share some funny story or tell you one of their precious memories, they let you feel what they feel and to me, that is a priceless opportunity in anyones day!
Online I try to keep inspiration going with my scrapblog, prompts that are picked out from a psychological course I am doing that gives a great insight to our outlook on life, on us, our surroundings and a lot more. I am also a part time player in a scrapbooking team (very poor one I hasten to add!) and I still design classes and projects for organised groups, schools and other places that dont want (or cant afford) to get a tutor in. I take on album commissions and to date have apporx 12 to my name, not all photos are available though as the owners prefer not to share some of there most private memories. That's ok.
Aside from crafting I love listening to talks from the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints speakers. My favourite at the moment is David A Bednar but I'm also partial to a million others! I often have the laptop with me in whatever room I'm working in and a talk blaring out, often inspiring me to finish making that bed or quit those annoying thoughts at picking up after my 19 and 11 year olds!! :) Ok so they dont exactly talk about my pet peeves but they do inspire me to think of the bigger picture, outside the box and have more ''patience''. Wow the times that word comes up in my life!! :)
So you kinda guess that I am either doing crafting, listening to wonderful talks or what I call fairy chores...most of the time...you would be close because I do manage to get in a good book and a good cop show here n there too! :) Thank goodness for small things eh? :)
I think thats really as much as I can say now...though i'm sure throughout the days of this blog I shall be revealing more about me, mine and this n that...just another place for a whole lotta waffle! :)
Thanks for reading...and for staying awake!! :)
Hugs xx
