Talk Tuesday -- Chores.

Good Morning! Every Tuesday over at Creative Soup, I put up a journaling prompt to help kick start the creative process from a writing perspective.  Today's topic is household chores. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/15802576/

How have the household chores you do (or delegate) changed over the course of your lifetime? What did you have to do as a child? Which chores do you do now? Which do you delegate out to others? Talk about the division of labor in your household

Right now in our house, there are certain things that I usually do, certain things that Jeff usually does, and then there's a bunch of stuff that kind of falls in the middle.  I cook--almost every meal; I'm big on cooking food from scratch, and leaving out as much of the processed stuff as I can.  Jeff does all the dishes and takes out all the trash.

We both pitch in to try to keep the house clean--but we're both very different in the way we clean. He'll do random little things here and there; whereas I'll want something to be clean or organized, and so I wind up cleaning 2 or 3 rooms top to bottom to get it done the way I like.

As a kid, I didn't have too many chores around the house. I had to keep my room clean, set the table for dinner, clean up after dinner, bring the trash cans to the back of the house after garbage day. I liked the dinner chores, I really enjoyed family dinner time.  Its still a pretty big deal for Jeff and I, and I'd really like it to be that way when we have kids.

What are chores like in your house?  Come join the conversation over at Creative Soup.

PS: Only 6 more days until the start of Get Messy!--My Brand-New, Totally Free, Online Class!!!!

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Talk Tuesday -- Introspection and Forgiveness

We're back for another Talk Tuesday  -- come join the conversation over at Creative Soup. 


In honor of Passover and Easter this week; we're going to talk about introspection and forgiveness. 

Every day of our lives there are things that annoy us and get under our skin. Whether its that pickup truck that cut you off on the highway, the person talking obnoxiously loud on their cell phone, or any of the other little things that can get us down. In order to be truly happy, we need to find a way to get past these small annoyances. We need to look inside ourselves and realize that forgiving those who may have wronged us will actually result in greater happiness for ourselves. 

Today, I'd like you to talk about a time where you were able to examine your own thoughts and forgive someone else; and the resulting happiness it caused for you.

For me, I used to hold grudges constantly--if I felt that someone wronged me, then I would spend time in my head reasoning out why they were bad, or weren't worth my time. I spent much of my teen years really disliking a close family member, which caused problems during holidays, problems for other family members, etc.  I finally come to realize that if someone has wronged me, its not worth my time and effort to worry about it.  If it has no lasting repercussions, then I can generally brush it off and tell myself that everyone has their own issues, and I shouldn't let them bring me down.  It was a really hard lesson to learn, but I think it was definitely one of the best lessons I've ever learned. And the overall impact it has had on my happiness is immeasurable.   


I know today's topic is a bit heavier than most, but still try to have fun with it

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Talk Tuesday -- Time Travel!

Today's Talk Tuesday journaling prompt is up over at the new Creative Soup. Today's prompt talks about time travel.

Where would you travel, if you could go anywhere/anytime? Why?
Is there anyone you would want to meet in particular?

I think I have a couple answers. 

The 1960s--I think everything about the sixties was fascinating, the culture, the counter-culture;  I would love to have met Bobby Kennedy.

Revolutionary War Time. By far my favorite time in American History, the ideas that they came up with for the rights of all people are absolutely extraordinary ---and I would have loved to meet Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin; perhaps while they were over in Paris--because Paris at the time looked so very very cool.

or perhaps when Cleopatra was in Egypt, and some of her dealings with Rome.  Two incredible empires. There would be just so much to learn and take in!


Where would you go? Who would you talk to? Come join the conversation!


***Just a quick note, the Creative Soup Blog Hop has been extended until midnight tonight, so hop along and see all the awesome projects our creative team has come up with! 

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Talk Tuesday -- Are you a Museum Person?

Are you a museum person? What is your favorite museum?

Every Tuesday, at Creative Soup, I come up with a journaling prompt to get the creative process going from a writing perspective. This week’s prompt is all about Museums.

• Are you a museum person?  Why?
• What was the best exhibit you've seen? 
• Which museums have you visited? your favorite? 
• Which museums are on your must see list? 

I'm a total museum person--for so many reasons:

1. I'm happy when I surround myself with art and creativity
2. I'm a sucker for learning new things
3. I love seeing what other people find important
4. I can walk around for hours and no one things I'm weird
5. Most museums are great places to take pictures, sketch, or just write--all things that are so important to my personal creative process

I'm not sure if I have a single favorite museum...but here are a couple at the top of the list:

1. The Metropolitan Art Museum (NYC)
2. Moma (NYC)
3. Baltimore Aquarium
4. Liberty Science Center (Jersey City, NJ)

Museums offer such cool experiences, aside from the exhibits they have.  Below is a picture of the Guggenheim museum, last August where Jeff and I went to see Andrew Bird in concert. The architecture of the museum--the audience standing along the outside helix--made for a unique concert experience.

There are still plenty of museums that I desperately want to visit. First on the list--the Louvre in Paris. There are also bunch of Smithsonian museums in DC that I missed when we visited in September.  Which museums are you dying to get to? 

I hope you join me in today's journaling prompt.  If you can, please check out the thread over at Creative Soup and join the conversation over there.  If you can't, please feel free to leave a comment or email me!

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Talk Tuesday 3.22 - That's okay, I think I'll pass

Every Tuesday, over at Creative Soup, I come up with a journaling prompt to get the creative process started from a writing perspective.

Today's Talk Tuesday question is:  There are always those fads that just pass us right by.  I'm want you to list 5 different things that everyone seems to want, that you're totally okay with not having.
Try to think outside the box on this one; they don't necessarily have to be things you can buy ;)

 I had to think about this one for a while; but the five things I would pick are:
1. Fancy Shoes
2. Chocolate
3. Reality TV (American Idol, DWTS, etc)
4. CBS
5. Lots of Money

What would everyone else's list be?

Head on over to Creative Soup, and share your answer with everyone!

I'll leave you with a great inspirational photo I found on Pinterest originally blogged by the great Rhonna Farrer. If you're on Pinterest, leave your username so I can follow you! And for anyone that wants to follow me, my username is rukristin, and my pinterest link is up on the left hand column.

Love me some Eleanor Roosevelt!

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One Layout at a Time

Yesterday I posted a sketch that was drawn up by Sketchy Thursday for Creative Soup's Mojo Monday challenge.  It proved to be a fantastic sketch, because even mojo-less me was able to come up with a layout!

I used a bunch of the new Studio Calico retail product that I got in the mail last week, and even broke into my March kit for some of the trims.  The two cuties in my layout are my friend Samantha's two eldest; they are pretty much the most photogenic children on the planet, and super fun to hang out with.

More fun news from Creative Soup:

We just brought on four new Creative Team members for the Second Quarter! Welcome aboard Jen, Jenny, Dana and Mette! We are going to be having a crop-party this upcoming Thursday through Sunday, join us for some chatting and scrappy fun! I also posted a fun Talk Tuesday question about what you would do if you were stranded in a remote location! I'd love to hear what everyone has to say!

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Talk Tuesday 1.11.11

Today is Tuesday!!

And over at Creative Soup that means Talk Tuesday! 

Every Tuesday I come up with a journaling prompt--sometimes silly, sometimes serious--to get you jump started on the creative thinking process!

The question for today is: 

Okay, So today is 1.11.11. Kinda nifty, right?

Do you have any numbers that are significant to you? Birthdays, Anniversaries, Sports Numbers? Do you know exactly what numbers you want to pick when you play the lottery?

What are your special numbers? And what do they mean to you?

Head on over to the thread at Creative Soup and tell us your thoughts!


I'm not sure what my numbers would be exactly.  My sister's birthday is the 22nd of December, so I find myself really liking the number 22. But I think more than any *real* number...my special number is "greater than 2" aka ">2". Its Jeff and my silly take on the <3 as a heart. We use >2 when we're being cute with one another, so it always makes me so happy.

Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for this one! I already have a layout in mind for mine!

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Mojo Monday and Talk Tuesday

Things are really heating up over at Creative Soup.

We had our first Mojo Monday yesterday. Mara gave us a great Get Personal challenge, these are great all about me challenges. This will be a great way for everyone to get back to scrapping about themselves! And at the end of the year you'll have twelve great All About Me pages!

The first one is called 11 for 11

As we start the New Year off most of us make resolutions or pick one little word to guide us or maybe generally just think about what we want the year to hold for us and our families. So for this challenge I want us to be a little selfish!

For this inaugural Get Meaningful challenge I want you to scrap your wish list of 11 things you want in 2011! Big or small – serious or fun think about what 11 things you would want this year if you could have anything at all! What is it about these 11 things that make the top of your wish list? Any chances for them becoming reality?? 

Head over to Mojo Monday at Creative Soup and show us your take on Mara's Fabulous Challenge! And tell the Creative Soup CT girls how absolutely incredible their layouts are!! This challenge is on my to-do list for asap! I love all about me challenges, especially list ones! I'm such a list girl!


Talk Tuesday is another feature we're going to have over at Creative Soup.  Being questioned and having to come up with real answers is always one of the best ways to get my creativity going. So every Tuesday we are going to have one thought provoking question, maybe a little serious, maybe a little silly. 


Today's Question is: What is your favorite word, and why?


You can check out the forum post here. Feel free to answer in the thread, or blog your answer and link it back so we can all get to know each other a little better!


Here's my answer: 

My favorite word is Cat!

My alter-ego is a cat, and I go around the house saying the word cat all the time. Its a fun short word that you can say any time and make into songs very easily. 

But I think the reason that its my favorite is mostly because I always smile when I say it!

Over the next couple days I'm going to be rearranging all my scrappy and art stuff around! I'm super excited to get everything organized again!

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