whew!...and rant...

Well, let's see...

I went to my first crop, in, I don't know, YEARS, the other day with Rinne and some gals from her unit at work. It was really fun! I spent 2 hours the night before trying to figure out exactly what to bring, though... It's hard when you have a whole room and closet full of stuff - you never want to leave! *lol* And when you go out to crops, you don't want to be caught without something.

So I just ended up having to page plan and stick everything in Ziploc bags. Worked out great. Planned for 5-7 projects and got 5 done with just a little bit of tweaking (still have to paint and journal)

Super fun. I should really force myself to go more.

I'll post scans when I get a chance... Haven't decided to use them for DT entries or not...

Speaking of being on a DT and being published... It's been a longtime goal of mine. I think it's because I've been scrapping for so long - like 9 years... Sure, it's been off and on, but still... I see a lot of gals who have only scrapped for a year and they're already being recognized for their talent (and boy, they really are TALENTED). And I guess that's what being pubbed means to me: recognition. Validation that I'm good... that what I do matters...

But I know how difficult it is... and I know the industry plays favorites and they have a certain look that they go for so they skew the pickings... Like, I remember when reader galleries in magazines would include 10 or more layouts from scrappers everywhere... Now they only showcase 5... Now they put former pubbed gals "on assignment"... they use their design teams, masters, HOFers to fill the magazines with their LOs...

What about the average gal like me?

I'm not saying it's not because of lack of trying... I've tried... Believe me, I've tried... :)

And you know what? It's all good, baby. It's all good.

Because at the end of the day, what matters most, is that I know that I'm good. I create pages I like and what my family likes... Jonah will have memories of his mommy and daddy and his family... memories that I don't have. And in the end THAT'S what makes this hobby worthwhile.

But I'll still keep trying... Just to see. :)