Joy...

It's no mystery...I haven't quite been myself lately. A lot of things have been going on that I will not begin to boar you with, but suffice it to say, I've been having a little trouble finding the joy in my life. In an interesting coincidence, a book showed up on my doorstep for me to preview for a book club that has gone belly up. (In a side note...I must now pay for the book...it doesn't seem right to keep it now. I wasn't even going to open it, but curiosity...well, you know.) Anyway, the book is called "Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy...A Woman's Guide to a Better Life" by Merrilee Boyack and being in the state of mind that I am, I just had to start reading it. So far, so good, but I really wanted to share this thought that Merrilee shared in her book.

Happiness is:

Courageously doing what you want to do, even if you are scared.
Experiencing your life as an exciting journey.
Stimulating your maind and caring for your body.
Realizing that you already have everything you need to make yourself happy.
Knowing that you are the only one who can decide what is right or wrong for you.
Accepting that you are okay even when you blunder and learn from your mistakes.
Knowing that what people say or do is a reflection of them not you.
Listening to your inner wisdom.
Giving and receiving love unconditionally.
-Anonymous

she then goes on to say...
"We can choose to be happy and to have a joyful life right now, but too many of us have let the joy in our lives be snuffed out because we are concentrating too much on the perfection list."

Isn't that the truth? Sometimes we try so hard to attain our impossible idea of perfection that we forget to look at how blessed we are and how wonderful it is that we have the ability to choose joy. The late President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley said, "In all living have much of fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." To that I say..AMEN!

Go find some joy this week!

SCRAP PINK

Okay, here it is, after midnight again. I've got a billion things I want to share, but I'm just too tired to make them make sense...so I'll share the most important thing...

Our annual Scrap Pink crop will be October 4th from 10a.m. until whenever we've had enough. The cost will be $15.00 of which a $10.00 non-refundable deposit will be required. (This is the $10.00 that goes to the Susan G. Komen foundation.) Also, Tuesday, September 30th and Friday, October 3rd will be a special class titled "Celebrate Life". This class will cost $15.00 and $5.00 of that goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I do hope that you will come and participate, but if you are unable to make it, you can always drop a donation off between now and October 4th.

Did I mention that the first 10 people to sign up will be receiving some pretty cool goody bags thanks to Josh at American Crafts? (Maybe more...I need to count better in the morning.) At any rate, be sure to sign up ASAP! We will also have the pleasure of cropping with Carol Atkins. She's a Close to My Heart rep and a breast cancer survivor. Not only will she be sharing a fun project with us, but she will be sharing her story.

The new schedules are out. I will do my best to get them here, but I'd love for you to drop by the store and pick them up. We just got some cool American Crafts Paper and embellishments from the Mode Bella line. Also, if you haven't been in for awhile, we've got some really cute Halloween paper, stamps, and embellishments in from Imaginisce.

Some of you may already know this, but I've accepted a calling at my church as the Young Women's President. This means that I am over the Young Women, ages 12 - 18 at my church. It's a pretty big job...teaching them on Sunday and having activities for them every Wednesday evening. It also includes some trips to Springfield and the surrounding areas on some Saturdays. Because I don't think it's fair to expect my mother to work her job and mine, I may occasionally close the store on Saturday, so please call before heading into town. I hope you won't mind the inconvenience. Remember that I'm usually opened late on Friday's because of classes. I'll try to remember to post here with any changes... On that note, we will be closed this Saturday, September 13th and also on Saturday, September 20th. (The 20th we'll be celebrating my daughter's 12th birthday since it's one of the few Saturdays that Celebration City is open to the public this month.)

I've got to brag....My daughter Rachel took Grand Champion in the Junior Division at the County Fair for the purse she made!! I am so proud of her! Sara and Rachel also earned blue and red ribbons for their photography and Nathan got a blue ribbon for his cute little sheep made from his handprints...as did all of the kids in his pre-school class.

Well, I'm off to bed now. I hope to see or hear from you soon! Don't forget Scrap Pink...Saturday, October 4th!