Sun, Sand & Something New!

That's right, baby! Sun and sand are in my immediate future! I'm off to the beach for six glorious days! Woohoo! Of course, I have to go through hell and half of Georgia (literally) to get there. LOL! Tomorrow I will make my usual 3 hour commute to Atlanta. Once there, I will help Keith get Morgan ready for her 2 weeks of Camp Windshape. Then the marathon driving begins. On Sunday, we will drive over an hour to drop Morgan at camp and then we head to Myrtle Beach, SC...a short little hop, skip and a jump away. NOT! According to Mapquest, we will be on the road another 7 hours.

Despite all the driving, I'm really looking forward to this trip. If my memory hasn't totally failed me, this will be the first trip I've taken for this many consecutive days without an agenda in many years. No kiddos. No business meetings to attend. No schedule. Ahhhhhhhhh! Six days of doing exactly what I want to do. Well, I guess I will have to consult Keith occasionally, but I can pretty much call the shots if I want to. I have a few nifty little tricks up my sleeve for convincing him he wants to cater to my every whim. I think I've even mastered the art of making him think it's all his idea. LOL! A one word clue as to what my secret is...doughnuts! Ha!

After some fun in the sun, we will make our way back to Atlanta on the following Saturday and I will head back to home sweet home on Sunday. See, I wasn't kidding when I said I was going through hell and half of Georgia! During my zoned-out, sun-baked absence, I plan to keep up with my blog visits and study my camera manual in hopes of being prepared for my class that starts in a couple of weeks. Also on the agenda are daily workouts and I am stoked! Keith and I have a blast working out together, so it should be easy to squeeze in some sweat session in the gym.

Now for some exciting news! I am now an official member of the Forward Progress blog team! Yep, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I got the email from Ellen asking if I would like to join the team. I've followed this blog for a while now and I am totally intrigued with its mission. The point, as I see it, is to use our crafting talents to explore ourselves...who we are...where we are...where we want to be. Because I have been spending this year searching for direction in this new empty-nest phase, I welcome the chance to dig even deeper with the challenges presented here. Of course, the biggest challenge for me will be expressing my feelings in an artistic manner. But I'm giving myself a preliminary challenge to take a deep breath and just enjoy the process. No worrying about creating perfect layouts...just working toward creating a better me. I encourage you to visit this site and participate in the monthly challenges. A new prompt is posted on the 15th of every month. Knowing the other ladies on the team, you will not lack for scrapping inspiration and I believe any opportunity to explore yourself is always good for the soul.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, sun-filled weekend. Until next time...L.

P.S. I can't sign off without expressing my gratitude for the wonderful words of support for my dream of becoming a photographer. And for all the dreams you dream, my wish is that they all come true! xoxo