making the most of my time

So I've decided that one of the few absolutely fantastic perks of being a very part-time "independent student affairs consultant" is the jaw-dropping number of hours available every day to do whatever the heck I feel like doing. And I'll admit...there's a decent amount of sleeping in going on (fueled in large part by the very night owl-ish hours I keep when I don't have to get up early in the morning); some very productive sorting and whittling down of stuff (be gone, ye clothes that haven't fit for years!); and just possibly a good deal of reading.

But the one thing I find myself filling more and more hours with is my scrapbooking, mainly because of all the creative energy that is still - still! - flowing. Every afternoon, after I've done my morning dose of work, I walk into my room and am inevitably drawn to my scrapbook table and its stacks of photos and paper and other fun supplies. And once I'm there? It's impossible to walk away without having done something - sketching a page design, writing some journaling, sometimes even putting together an entire layout. The best part is how happy I am with the results...I look at what I'm accomplishing, and love what I'm creating.

And if I get stuck? I just pull out my idea notebook, and browse for inspiration. Like this layout from January's Creating Keepsakes magazine:

which inspired this page that I made last week and am absolutely thrilled with:

It feels silly and indulgent to imagine that the reason for this frustrating time of job searching could be the opportunity to really dive into my scrapbooking...to embrace my creativity so closely...and yet I don't want to miss out on this gift of time. So in the afternoons, when I find myself "stuck" at my table? I delight in it, and remind myself how fortunate I am to have this.

Where I am: Lebanon, KY
What I'm reading: I Am Legend, and The Lady & the Panda