StudioScrapping with Amy Ulen - You've taken the photos. Now keep the memories.™

Economical Entertainment

A couple news reports have saddened me lately. This morning the news reported that overall sales at B&N are down. I was just there yesterday purchasing Jake Wizner’s Spanking Shakespeare…I’m 1/2 way done with the novel as of this morning! Earlier this week, the news stated that, despite the economy, movie sales are up. What gets me is that reading is such an economical form of entertainment. Buying a paperback book is less expensive than a movie ticket and the entertainment may last days as opposed to a couple hours. The beauty of a book is that you can either spread the joy and give it to a friend or take it to a used bookstore and purchase another book with the credit received. As an English teacher, I try not to take it personally that my kids don’t read, but it breaks my heart every time I hear a student brag that he has never read a book assigned in class. Sigh…I’m going to go on a walk, scrapbook, and then finish my book tonight!

To Blog or Not to Blog?

In December of 2006, Neal and I made a pact to write for 1/2 an hour each day. We both started blogs with the goal of posting daily. I failed miserably! My last post dated May 28, 2007, described how excited I was to be a Close To My Heart Consultant. I would like to say that a booming business left no time for blogging, but that isn’t the case. I simply overextend myself and something has to give. For the past two years, it has been my websites. I stopped blogging, podcasting, and updating Shakespeare High. My word for 2006-2007 was “Create,” and I definitely added more creativity to my life in the form of scrapbooking. My word for 2008 was “Cleanse.” I broke my sugar addiction, added exercise to my routine, and lost 45 pounds! I feel better than I have my entire life, and now I know what is important to me. Therefore, my word for 2009 is “Balance.” Exercise and creativity are non-negotiable for me now, therefore, I must find balance in other areas of my life. I’m working on giving up some responsibility at school so that I can come back to the passions that give me joy. The goal of this blog is to document my journey and to provide me with an outlet to share my creativity. I’m glad you found me, and I hope you will share in this journey by playing along with my weekly creativity challenges!