Reflecting on 2006

Since we are about to embark on a new year I wanted us to reflect on 2006 and see just what did we accomplish this year? I know for me it has been health wise a very stressful year but it has not gone without its successes either.
TO make goals for ourselves for 2007 we must look at what we did in 2006. I know one of my goals I wanted was to be published in a mainstream magazine/idea book. Which I had a small victory for 2006 for a local well I say local it is national in the south east Hobby lobby magazine and several online magazines. I did get published in scrapbook trends but it wont be out till 2007.. so I guess I really cant list that for 06 can I? Alot of people ask how did you reach this goal. There are several things that have to be done and realistically have to be done if this is what you want to do. FIRST thing is look at your photography. Think like a magazine. when you look at the photos on the scrapbook pages what do you see. You see the PERSON or the focal image and THATS IT. If you look at your photos and you see clutter in the background a wide angle that shows laundry, access furniture, alot of other people that have nothign to do with the theme of the photo its out of focus or at a bad angle then your starting out with unpublishable. Now alot of you may argue with me cuz yes there are calls out there for pages with NON Perfect photos but lets face it people. grab you a scrapbooking magazine.. what do you see in the photos.. I rest my case. I made a point to get a better camera and work on my photography skills. I asked lots of questions and looked at the people that were being published. what were they doing that I wasnt.
Follow your own method.. In scrapping develop your own style and polish it. I did this by getting someone I really respect that is an amazing scrapper/artist and get her to critique my work. Most people will be glad to do this but be warned. YOU MUST be prepared for the good and the bad. Remember YOU ASKED to get help so get on your big girl panties and deal with the constructive criticism or either DONT ASK. By doing this I was able to pick up those little tips that help you get the edge on your layouts to make them polished and more noticeable. You have to make your work stand out from the other 500 that are sent in every month.
Watch for the pub calls and submit regularly. Just because you are turned down once KEEP TRYING dont give up. ALot of times they may like your work but they want to see that you can continually give them quality work. WHY ELSE do you see the same people over and over in the magazines.. They want dependable people they can call and say I need one more page that is on this subject WHat do you have... that is the reality of it people. Now not all magazines are this way but most of them are. At least what I have seen. The more you scrap and look around at your personal goals and the more you try to focus on them the easier it will get.
Start with baby steps. Get published on a local front first at a local scrapbook store or an online design team. It will help you get practise and get the motivation to get those pages done and also have you working with the latest greatest product. Sorry but it is hard to get published with last years paper. Manufacturers want to sell what they are spending their money to produce RIGHT NOW. so you need to use whats hot. what you see advertising. say if in one magazine you never see a certain brand advertise... DONt use primarily that brand on your page to submit. look through the magazine what products are the sponsors and what products are in the ads. Use primarily that product. You always scrap a season ahead also.. It is crazy to do but that is what is published. Magazines are always a month ahead.
NOW I AM NOT AN EXPERT by any means on this. THese are just the tips I have picked up along the way to try to accomplish my goals. I thought it may make someone else stop and look at their work and re evaluate what they are doing and help them attain their goals.
I also spent alot more time with my family in 2006. Whether I wanted to or not haha just kidding. I stayed sick in 2006 between kidneys and female issues which they think caused all the other problems it is amazing what ones ovaries can cause to go wrong with the rest of your body. Im really really trying to focus on getting healthy in 2007. Not only for me but for my family. Bella needs me here with her and John needs me to help him raise her. WE got into this marriage together and we planned our daughter toghether.. so I want us to raise her the same way. Together. so I gotta get healthy. Whatever it takes.. if it is running my butt up and down the road every day with a big old mean dog chasing me then fine Ill have to do that. If it is juicing all the nasty veggies I hate and holding my nose and swallowing them hard.. then I guess that is what I will have to do. BUT I have to get healthy for all of our sakes. 2006 was rough on us physically mentally and still financially so we have to do this for all those reasons.
Get my baby FULLY POTTY TRAINED. WHy is this the hardest thing about being 3. WE have good days we have bad days. Bless her heart. She just is so busy with her life and her day that taking 2 minutes to potty is just such a waste of her time. IF we ever get FULLY potty trained Im gonna jump for joy! I did accomplish in 2006 getting her out of the pullups into big girl panties. Now to just keep em dry that will be for 07 haha!

I made some mistakes in 06 alot of them. Don't we all. BUt Im learning from them. Im growing from them and trying not to make the same ones again. Isn't that what it is all about? I have made alot of new friends that I love to pieces in 06 and I thank God for them. I plan to spend more time with them and at church and with my family in 07. I have alot of goals to reach and a few are harder alot harder than the goals I set for 06 but I will try hard to reach them. I have to set a plan in action and get on it one by one. I hope you can reflect in the coming days on your 06 and see just what you have accomplished and what maybe you need to work on. It feels so good to see it on paper and to mark somethign off your list as complete. BUT you must write downt he ones that didnt work out so well to that way we stay realistic. CELEBRATE your victorys learn from your mistakes and try to over come them. That is all we can do right?

I leave you today with some of My favorite pages Of 06 that I did I see Bella growing up so much. I m gonna start with one I did in 06 of us in 05 bella looks so tiny.

I am so thankful for the friends I have made in 06 and look forward to spending more time with them in 07. WHat are your accomplishments for 06? Tell me about them? How will those help you get your goals in 07 done? Blog about them and link us to them so we can see :) Hope you have a great day today and I hope everyone is feeling better too many people are el sicko right now :) hugs From one of the el sicko's haha.