Whew! What a crazy couple of weeks it has been! I can't believe it's taken me 13 days to make my first blog post of 2012. Sorry 'bout that everyone! But what better way to start the new year of posts than with my "weekly" TGIF posts? For those of you who may be new to the blog, TGIF is my way of staying positive. It's been a rough past 11 months for me, and well, I'm all about looking for the silver lining. So, I try to write a TGIF post every Friday. I don't meet that goal, but I'll have you know that I do THINK about it every week... does that count? Anyway, TGIF is a spin on Thank God it's Friday where I list five events, memories, feelings, etc. of the past week for which I am grateful. I mean, really, it shouldn't be that hard to find 5 positive things from the last 7 days, right? So, why don't we get started?
1. First, I am so HAPPY my world traveler daughter is home. Montana, Colorado, L.A., Australia, New Zealand and home again.

...even if it did mean that this is the view I had of her for a good 24 hours after arrival :)
2. Project Life. Yup, I've joined the craziness (which seems to have done some kind of exponential growth this year). Thanks to Becky Higgins who started the idea and Lisa Truesdell who joined the fun and shared it with all of us week by week on her blog (which intrigued me) and Marcy Penner who further inspired my desire to get creative with a simple idea and finally to Studio Calico which provided a dedicated forum where I was able to discuss, question, consider and finally overcome some of the barriers I had been putting in my way to get started on such a large project successfully. I chose to use my own products though rather than working from a PL kit. Since I am so very lucky to be a member of the Simple Stories Design Team, I have access to the perfect supplies for my Project Life album. Here's to the first week of 2012, being done AND on the books:

Left (uses Year-O-Graphy by Simple Stories and a bunch of other fun stuff including SUPER old KI Memories chipboard (arrow top right), even OLDER Rusty Pickle chipboard (#4), and newer fun stuff like Unity Stamps, Studio Calico stickers, the awesome Amy Tan/American Crafts tape and my new favorite stamp by Hero Arts - the background chevron).

Right side - a single 12x12 sheet from Year-o-Graphy again. These sheets are made for adding additional journaling - brilliant, no? I simply added some photos, the Amy Tan line airplane clip, a Unity stamp (airplane) and a clock hand by Tim Holtz.
For more information and detail shots, check out my post here.
3. My big doofus Boone is feeling so much better. He went for a check up this week and his labwork says he is handling the medications he is taking just dandy. Love him.
4. I am feeling better too! For too many days, this is what I looked like:

I was soooooo sick -pjs, greasy hair and all. I'm still waking up with a sore throat. But every day I feel just a tiny bit better than the last. So, that's worth celebrating.
5. Finally, I am grateful that Taylor and I survived a week of sharing a car. However, that could not continue. Our schedules would not have worked out, and honestly, Taylor really needs to move out. She plans to live on the ranch where she is now working here in Arizona. So, we both needed wheels. We spent about four days looking for a car for the kid, but in the end, we came up with a better plan. Momma gets new wheels and kid lease's momma's car for a minimal price allowing her to also save for a new car... win-win. Say hello to momma's new baby:

A Midnight Blue 2008 Honda CR-V with only 23K miles that I bought still under warranty for a smokin' good deal... Thank you Dave Ramsey for teaching me not to fall into the traps of buying a NEW car and for knowing how to save for one. I have to say this is the nicest vehicle I have ever owned. I was NOT looking for this nice of a car. But it had a tiny dent in the bumper and hatch and so it cost less than some of the older, less fancy models. I am not vain though, and I was looking for low miles (didn't think I'd get this low) and mechanically sound, one that as someone without knowledge of cars, I wouldn't have to guess about. I haven't named him yet, bu I am taking suggestions.