Why....Start a Blog?

Hello all, I hope you are having a lovely Sunday - or whatever day you are reading this!

As my blog is clearly off to a slow start, and you know very little about me, I decided that occasionally, especially in the early days of this blog, I should answer some of the "Why" questions that you may have.

I know that anytime I stumble upon a blog I haven't seen before, I try to browse it in such a way that I get a feeling for the style and purpose of that blog, so that I can discern if it is going to interest me or answer my questions. So I am hoping this post can help you with that question.

So why did I of all people start a blog?

1. I value relationships and conversations. I'm a relational person, with a gift for encouragement and a habit of striving to make everyone happy. As a result, I like to share thoughts and ideas that I think could help others, could help YOU.

2. I LOVE scrapbooking, and when you love a hobby, you ooze with information, ideas and the desire to discuss them.  Sure, I have some friends that scrapbook, and my hubby is very appreciative and supportive of my memory keeping, but if I constantly talked scrapbooking with them . . . well, my friends have lives besides the time I spend with them, and my hubby has his own hobbies to discuss in return, and all that other day-to-day married stuff conversation has to fit in there too. So I guess the blog is one way to start a conversation about whatever is flying around the scrappy section of my brain without actually talking to myself!

3. I am a huge defender of scrapbooking and memory keeping as a personal and creative art form - as in there are no rules, no right way, no wrong way, and I would step onto a soap box in a park to defend this position if need be. Well, this blog is my soap box in a virtual sense.  Am I here to preach AT you?  No way, that's not FUN, and if you are reading a scrapbooking blog, it's because it is an activity that you include in the FUN of this hobby. As I said, I am an encourager, and I am here to encourage you to do it how you love it. Your Life, Your Art, Your Way. I may have to do a whole post on that.

4. I say STRETCH your stash - rather than just "use it up". I hope to share a practical approach to using and purchasing scrapbooking product, especially when it comes to how we spend my hard earned discretionary dollars. I am very discerning, tend to spend on reusable tools more than consumable supplies, and very rarely (never say never I guess) exclusively use one manufacturer's products in a project. Do I have favorites? Of course!  Do I have a wish list that is 2 pages (try 4 pages) long? Yup! Do I binge on YouTube during the CHA trade shows twice a year? Absolutely! But I also need to make a lot of tough choices about what I buy. And I find ways to mix it in with the rest of my stash, no matter how old or new any of it is.

5. Hello my name is Nicole, and I am a Memory Hoarder. I'll probably do a separate "why" post on why I scrapbook.  The short version is that I have been blessed with a lot of great memories and moments over my first 33 years of life, and I want to freeze those memories on scrapbook pages so that I can relive them over and over. I have 8 years of memories literally stacked up in my space ready to scrap. Like many of you, I work full time, and have volunteer commitments, so my scrappy time is limited and cherished. On top of that I'm a slow scrapper, and I own that - it's just part of my process - so every completed layout is an accomplishment. And sometimes I just want to share that with more people!

So there you go - 5 reasons why I started this blog. I suppose I could also list reasons I didn't before this - like that I am NOT an English major - but that isn't FUN, so why bother?

I hope this gives you a teaser preview of the future content of this blog, and if it sounds good, follow along!

Who Am I?

In order of importance:

#1: Christian, truly sold out to Jesus Christ. No compromise.

#2: Wife of 4 years and counting to James. He is my best friend, true companion, partner in life, and I have never been more "me" than I am since I met him. One last gush - when asked for my greatest accomplishment in job interviews this past year, my answer: My Marriage.

#3: Daughter. I am the happy, blessed, thankful, non-brat only child to two amazing parents. I always have and still do have an amazing relationship with my parents, who continue to be great examples of unconditional love.

#4: Friend/Family/Colleague - the people in our lives and our experiences with them are what we want to never forget, right?

#5: Volunteer Youth Leader. I love getting to know the teens in my church youth group, and many of my favorite memories include them.

#6: Memory Hoarder. Literally.  I am - dare I say it?? - behind, and I'm ok with that.

#7: Scrapbooker: the reason for hoarding those memories.

#8: Close to My Heart Independent Consultant - this is a new venture that I am trying, and I am excited!  But don't worry, this will NOT be a "sales-y" blog. 

#9: Geek! Thanks to my hubby, I now love things like Marvel movies, Harry Potter and Smallville.

#10: A kid at heart! Maybe this shouldn't be the last on the list, but that doesn't make it any less true!