I love July!

Could be because it starts with a holiday and ends with a birthday...could be all the summer sun we get...or maybe it's just because life seems to be moving in the right direction again finally!

I've found which way is up... And I won't quit climbing the mountain until I reach the top!

I'm settling into the house, getting out lots with friends and family, and feeling really good again!

I hope your July is filled with fun, sun, and good times too!

enjoy the journey.
-dw

My Time Away....

I have all but disappeared from Blogging....sorry....due to many personal issues currently on my plate. My husband asked for a divorce ten days after Valentine's Day and two weeks later I was diagnosed with MS. I've been through a battery of tests to discover what is causing my months of dizziness and vertigo and it is taking a toll.
I am blessed with incredible friends that have rallied around me, providing the much needed strength and laughter I need in my life right now. For that, I will be forever grateful.
You can find me on Facebook (Deanna Wentz) until I have time to get back to blogging. I really do miss it and plan to be more diligent in the near future. I just have to figure out which way is up first.
enjoy every moment....
-d.

No Library Card or Cash Needed!

In this economy, good deals seem to be getting easier and easier to find. But completely FREE?
That's not usually quite as easy! But Tow Books has done it....

John Warner, Chief Creative Czar of TOW Books announced, “We’re giving the books away for free. The problem with books isn’t that they cost too darn much, it’s that they cost anything at all. Thanks to file sharing, music doesn’t cost anything anymore. Why should books be any different? Why should someone pay 10 or 15 dollars for something they’re not sure is going to be any good?”

The giveaway includes dozens of copies of the actual physical books TOW has released, along with unlimited free electronic copies.

I chose, Everything Is Wrong With You: The Modern Woman's Guide to Finding Self-Confidence Through Self-Loathing
by Wendy Molyneux

Here is the description Tow Books offered....

While other self-help books might tell you that something is wrong with you, this book is here to tell you that everything is wrong with you. In your quest for perfection, are there things you've forgotten to worry about?

Like: Are your toes weird? I'm not saying they are, but are they?

What if you think you are thin, but you actually have a vision disorder that just makes you see yourself as thin when, in fact, you are totally not thin? Think about it!

What if whenever you go out of town your boyfriend has crazy orgies at your house? And what if all your best friends come to those orgies? Of course I can't prove it, but can you disprove it?

Remember, if you were OK, there wouldn't be so many books and magazines out there devoted to helping you get prettier and be more stylish. I mean, if you think that publishers are just in it for the money, then you definitely have trust issues! How can you solve them? Please purchase this book to find out. And maybe buy an extra copy in case you lose this one. And a third one in case you get mugged on your way home and the mugger demands three copies in exchange for your life. It happens all the time. On the other hand, you could just walk out of here without this book, thinking that you are great just the way you are … and arrive home to find that your husband has left you because of your weird toes.

Click here to see the available downloads.


enjoy the free laughs!
-d.

Word of the Year

Every year I, along with millions of other scrapbookers, select a word to focus on throughout the coming year. A word that embodies how I feel, what my goals are, and what I strive to accomplish in my life. It is different for everyone. There really are no rules of selection other than it should motivate and inspire YOU. And like most goals, you are asked to write it down, keep it in sight, and weave it into your life throughout the months ahead.

This year I had completely forgotten to select my word until I received an e-mail from my local scrapbook store. Seems they were holding a contest. A contest all about our word. After choosing the word, customers were asked to put that word into an art form...a scrapbook page, wall hanging, etc...and bring it into the store where it would be voted by other customers. I read this e-mail at 11 o'clock on Friday night. The deadline was the following day.

This year's word came to me easily. I had a pretty rocky 2008 and over the past few years I had somehow allowed myself to move away from a lot of things that are important to me: friendships, faith, my health...the list goes on and on. This year my goal is to work harder on those things.

I want to Regain my focus. Refresh my friendships. Improve my health. Lift my faith. Re-ignite my passions. Strengthen my soul. I want to re-prioritize my life.

I want to RENEW all that is good and important to me. So, I decided to enter that contest at my local store. Something I haven't done in nearly 10 years! I rarely ever submit my work to any public forums except this blog. But this time I felt compelled by a force I haven't felt in YEARS! A passion not only re-ignited but on FIRE! I wanted to shout my word out and let everyone know...I'm back! So I stayed up till 1 am creating this wall hanging declaring my word for the world to see.

Now it's in your hands. The contest voting runs throughout the week so if you happen to be in the area of Lasting Memories, stop in and cast a vote! And vote honestly; don't just vote for who you know. There is a temporary position on the Design Team at stake for the winner so it needs to be an artist you find inspiring.

enjoy the challenge of breaking out and going for it!
-d.

Quote of the Day...

I love this one so much I plan to add it as the tag line to my blog header...which I am recreating with the help of House of 3! Check out the website to see which three incredible scrapbook artists joined forces to bring us some fabulous new, gotta-have goodies!

Find the Joy in the Journey.

-Thomas s. Monson

enjoy all the new inspiration and products recently released at CHA!
-d.

How I welcomed in the Chinese New Year!

Working for a publishing company specializing in educational materials for acupuncture clinics, you think I'd be an old pro at acupuncture treatments! But up until yesterday...I'd never even had one!
Desperate for a remedy to hours of dizziness, I made the call. I was a bit nervous to try it out, but also curious and excited to experience it first hand. Turning to a doctor I trusted completely (my boss) I knew I'd be in great hands.
It was not at all what I expected. The pokes were lighter than I had imagined and the peacefulness as I laid there was a welcome change. It was not painful in any way and I found it hard to believe that they even call what they use needles! They are so thin I could not even feel them being taken out. I only knew they were there by the slight feeling of pressure they produced.
So the question most have asked..."Did it work?" Yes, I am happy to report that it did. While I don't know exactly what was causing the dizziness (stress or ear issues most likely), I was happy to have the feeling alieviated.
I'm a believer!

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

enjoy discovering new ways to look at things,
-d.

A Day of Incredible New Beginings....

All glory comes from daring to begin.
~Eugene F. Ware

On this day of incredible history, let us ALL dare to begin...

Let us lead with our hearts, surrender to our passion, and follow our own vision while respecting the passion and vision of others.
Let us speak wiser and listen closer.
Let us dream BIGGER and try harder!
Let us be what we seek to be...without limitation, without judgment, and without criticism.
Let us enable others with these same rights.
Let us not look at what makes us different, but rather what makes us the same.
Let us unite, grow stronger and be better.
Let us begin.

-enjoy the energy and unity in the air today. Let us carry it on to tomorrow.
-d.