Still Catching Up on Scrapbooking

UGH.

DOUBLE UGH.

Last year, I made a commitment to myself that I was going to get my scrapbooking situation back on track. I started strong, but then life got in the way, as it always does. The very sad situation with Tinsel really took the wind out of my sails and for a long period of time, I just didn't feel like scrapbooking.

On a happier note, my new-found obsession of genealogy also got in the way. I spent a lot of time working on my family history albums, which was time very well spent.
 

 

 And I finished a Florida trip album set which I'd started too long ago.

 

 And I made a very full summer camp album for my daughter, a project that needed to be done.

I also converted several post-bound albums to 3-ring binders and sorted through mountains of photos as I prepared to "catch up" on my family scrapbooks.

So when I think about what I accomplished scrapbooking-wise in 2017, I was actually pretty productive...just not on the tasks I planned to complete! I did the "B" items on my list and left the "A" item undone. Scrapbooking projects with a fixed beginning and end (like my Florida album) are always easier to complete than chronological albums which don't have an end in sight. It's only natural (and not a bad thing, really) to focus on those "low-hanging fruit" projects, because they can give you a sense of accomplishment and motivate you to keep going.

But my "A" list scrapbooking still looms so this weekend I decided to get back to it, and I couldn't even remember where I'd left off. Turns out I left off in 2003, mired in some journaling for the state fair. The last time I worked on this project was probably June. SIX MONTHS, PEOPLE! Good grief!

Sometimes it's harder to get back into something than it really should be. It's harder to go to the gym after a long absence than it is to go regularly. Chronological scrapbooking is a little bit like that. The longer you let it sit, the harder it is to get back to it.

But this is important to me, so I jumped back in and finished the journaling for the fair pages then moved on to the next event and the one after that. And I'm not putting it away. Each box of photos will continue to sit out on my table as an ever-present reminder to GIT-R-DONE.

This year, I need to figure out one day a week to really focus on this scrapbooking project. If I'd just dedicate time to it, I'd get it under control. I tell new scrapbookers to schedule time for themselves, but I need to more consistently practice what I preach.

That's my commitment to myself.

AGAIN. 😉