Digital Scrapbooking 101

Recipe for a new iPhone 4S upgrade & $730 annual savings...

I've been waiting to upgrade my poor old iPhone 3G (notice the missing S).  It's old.  In fact, truth be told, my poor iPhone has been replaced by Apple Care thrice - the last time happened to be on the LAST day my Apple Care was valid.  I've been hobbling along for months... The battery was replaced just a month ago.  Thankfully my sister's awesome fiance' saved me on that one!

I've been waiting for today's announcement far too long.  Yes it's not an iPhone 5, but to this girl who is still on 3G, it is still a wonderful thing...

Now a little behind the scenes note.  My husband and I are on a budget - um with five kids how can we not be?  We've also been working on lowering our monthly expenses.  This is part of the reason for waiting to upgrade.  I've been saving for a LONG time.

I've been out of contract with AT&T for over a year now.  However, I also have two phone lines for my kids that are still under contract.  Before I called AT&T we were paying $150 a month for our service.  I also have an unlimited data plan (grandfathered in from the good ol' days..)

So here's how I saved over $730 annually on my cell phone service:

1.  Called AT&T Customer Service and asked to speak with their resolutions department.

2.  I asked the rep what my cancellation fees would be on the account if I left October 14th.  ($170)

3.  I explained that I was seriously considering leaving to Sprint or Verizon because my husbands' company has an amazing employee discount plan with both where I could get the iPhone and everything else I currently have for around $85 a month.    I told the rep I needed to justify staying with AT&T and it was really hard at $150 month.

4.  Rep asks questions.  Tries to tell me that Sprint's network is bad, Verizon is not as good, etc.  I tell them I agree and yet it really comes down to the monthly fee.

5.  Rep asks me to wait for a moment while they see what they can do.  She comes back and tells me if I extend my contract for 11 more months she can reduce my monthly service fees to $85 monthly with all the features I have now.  If I choose to upgrade, the total contract time will only be the two years with the cell phone - not two years plus eleven months.

6.  I ho hum around for a few minutes rummaging through my "notes" and then explain that Sprint was going to give a rebate.   She tells me she can also give me $50 credit.

7.  I tell her we have a deal.  Final item to check off my list?  Pre-order my new phone on Friday...

So to summarize: new iPhone with $65 monthly savings equals a total annual savings of $730 + a $50 rebate - $780 saved this year alone.  Thinking I can really justify that upgrade now. :)

One last note: this isn't just for iPhone user.  No matter what carrier/phone you use, remember that you have major negotiating power when you are out of contract and waiting to upgrade - take advantage of it. :) 

Sunsets...

Last Monday morning (before Labor Day) I was on my computer reading Facebook updates when I learned my Grandmother had passed away.   Although it was unexpected, we knew after we almost lost her in 2007 that it could happen again at any time.  

My grandmother lived a full and wonderful life with many memories.  As her oldest granddaughter I had the privilege of speaking at her funeral.  It was seriously the shortest church funeral I have ever been to - we were in and out of there in 20 minutes - probably made my grandma very proud.

She was simple, kind, generous, and looked for the best in everything and everyone.  She loved people and I was a very lucky girl to have her as my grandma.  I am sad to see her go, and yet I am grateful because I believe she is in a much better place surrounded by those she loved.

Thankfully my wonderful readers' summer photos carried the load last week. I will be forever grateful to many of you and for the inutitive timing of that series.   It allowed me to be where I needed to be, gathering photos and memories to pay tribute to my grandmother.

If I owe you an email, please be patient with me. I am getting back into the swing of things around here while still working through things surrounding this event.  

I have one thought for you today. Make the time to reach out to someone you love.  Give them a hug, a phone call, an email or poke them on Facebook!  I am so grateful I had taken the time to call my grandmother quite a few times the past few weeks - I feel like we had said everything we needed to say.  For that I will be forever grateful.

How's Your Perspective Today?

Are you rushed?  Working on a deadline?  Feeling like time is slipping through your fingers like sand?  

Maybe that's just me.

This morning I came across the video below.  I realized that all the little things I do as a mom, friend, sister and wife - you know those "little" things like REALLY listening for a few moments without rushing or taking a six year old shopping to spend his allowance (which can take hours) aren't really about what is done.  It's about the journey and the moments.  

The shift in perspective was a happy place in my day.  So I had to share...

Thoughts on Life & Scrapbooking

So many of you have asked me where I am at with scrapbooking these days. There are so many facets to the answer hopefully I can answer in a way that will inspire each of you to give yourself permission to do things in a way that is right for you.  

Live Life To The Fullest.  I am writing this post on my laptop from the upper stands of my local pool waiting for my kids during their swim lessons.  I am learning that living life to the fullest means squeezing in the things you love (like writing content for this blog) wherever you can find it — sometimes you have to be creative!   

This also translates to scrapbooking.  So many of you write me that you don’t have the time.  The reality is that we all have the time — we just have to conscientiously  choose how we spend it.  If you find yourself saying, “I don’t have time...”  I challenge you to take a step back and change your perspective.  Look at your life from the view of an outsider.  Perhaps “I don’t have the time that I want” really means “I have other bigger things that are more important in life right now” and that is OK!  

Take a few days and set your phone alarm to go off every hour and take down notes of what you did with the previous hour - no judgements, no stress, just information.  After a few days or a week take a look at your time and make a list of the general items on the list and time spent and honestly ask yourself if your time is in line with what you value most in life.  If it isn’t, do something about it!  

A life is fully lived when we fill it with the things that matter most.

Down Time is Essential for True Creativity.  I am finding an ebb and flow with my work in this industry which rolls over into my scrapbooking.  I am learning that taking a few months off each year is essential for me to continue to have the energy and creativity to produce valuable content for my readers.  One thing I am going to work on this year is blocking in creative breaks after each big project so I don’t run until I burn out so badly that I get to a place where I want to quit.  

The most valuable lesson I’ve learned these past two years is that it is essential that my down time includes getting my head out of “working in the industry” and going back to being a “regular scrapbooker” for at least a few days each month.  To stay fresh, it is essential for me to understand things from your point of view which in turn helps me create truly relevant and meaningful content.  To do this, I block out time on my calendar where I don't touch my blog, don't think about classes - I just focus on recording and preserving memories as an everyday scrapbooker.  

You can translate this to scrapbooking by giving yourself time away from creating pages - letting go of being “caught up” and just working your system or enjoying life until you feel inspired to create again.  When you find yourself overwhelmed, set some boundaries with your memory keeping to make it more manageable.  

When I'm having trouble finding motivation I often take a step back and tell myself that the thing I can't find the energy to do isn't on my list - I can't do it for a set amount of time.  It is amazing to me that by setting this boundary for a few days how quickly my subconscious starts generating ideas when the pressure is removed - by the time I return I'm ready and energized!

It is Perfectly OK to “Just” Take Photos.  Going back to “finding the time to scrapbook” - sometimes in the different seasons of life you won’t be able to find it.  That is perfectly OK!!  One thing I have given myself the permission for when life is crazy is to completely let go of scrapbooking.  When life gets rolling along quickly, I often scale back to just taking photos, focusing on processing my photos through my system.  The most essential part of this process for me is WRITING CAPTIONS and keywording.  Then I let it go, only scrapbooking when I feel inspired to create.  Sometimes I scrap only a layout or two a month.  Other times I will pull out ten layouts in a weekend - I just go with the creative flow.

Once I let go of self-imposed expectations, I started to truly enjoy memory keeping a lot more.  I encourage you to do the same!

Do The Work.  I am a huge fan of the book DO THE WORK by Steven Pressfield, the same guy who wrote The War of Art.  It probably seems as if I am talking a lot more about LIFE in this post than scrapbooking, but scrapbooking is how we document our view of life so I really believe it all ties together.

Think of who and what you want to BE.  Seriously - take fifteen minutes to quietly step back from your life and look at it 20-30 years from now.  What do you want to be remembered for?  Who do you want to be remembered by?  Write it down. 

I’ve been thinking like this for over a year now and my “BE” list 20-30 years from now includes healthy, strong, vivacious, married to a wonderful man for 40+ years, mother to five wonderful children, someone who brought out the best in people,  someone who LOVES life, a person who really made a difference - many times in small and simple ways.  

Scrapbooking ties into that, and yet my focus has shifted to committing smaller amounts of time to it because I only have so many years where my children will still be in my home.  My focus is making sure I LIVE and ENJOY life with them and DOCUMENT that in the metadata of my photos so I don’t have to constantly stress about my scrapbooking not being caught up. 

Once you figure your BE's out - DO THE WORK.  Make columns of all your “Be’s” and then write what you need to do to really BE them.  Seriously - then work on it bit by bit.  It may seem like you are slower than a turtle, but as you shift your focus and compare your BE list with your “TIME” list recommended above, you will quickly see what you are doing now that is and isn't part of Doing The Work to BE who you really want to be in your heart of hearts.

Scrap Inspired.    If you are anything like me, I look at all my digital photos sitting in my hard drive and sometimes I feel like I will never catch up.  Then I take a deep breath and look at my life and realize I want my kids to remember me living life WITH them - not just documenting theirs.   I guarantee you that in 20 years your family will want to see you in your photos and scrapbooks.  Make sure you are taking the time to LIVE life - taking photos - BEING IN PHOTOS.  Even if it means you have less time to scrap.   

Then, when you do scrap, I challenge you to scrap inspired.  If your time is very limited, find digital templates to document everyday photos with journaling - and just do that. If you don’t want to print full digital layouts, take your “to scrap” photos and print them out as 4x6 photos along with a few creative journaling cards and do some photo album scrapbooking.

Bottom line - scrap in a way that fits your life and your time.  I PROMISE your family won’t be looking at your books and comparing them to layouts in digital galleries and wondering why you didn’t spend 5 hours on one layout.  They will be looking at your family, the things and people you love and they will be happy about whatever way you capture your family memories to share.

Which brings me to another important point about Inspired Scrapbooking.  Make sure you SHARE your memories!  It is so easy to take digital photos and let them hide in our hard drives.  I challenge you to find creative and quick ways to share your family memories - slideshows on blogs (with captions under each photo from your photo software), digital photo frames, even photo album scrapbooking or using this kit  or something similar & digital.

I spent this morning in my office working on some paperwork while my six year old perused our family scrapbooks.  He would sometimes ask me to read the journaling to him and then he would giggle and laugh at the photos and pages.   He didn’t get mad at me for not printing layouts for the past six months or tell me that I wasn’t completely caught up in my scrapbooking, he just ENJOYED what was there - which inspires me to create even more.

Sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves that we rob ourselves of the true joy and creativity that can be ours if we just slow down and embrace the perfectly imperfect life we live.

So there you have it - my thoughts on scrapbooking and life these days.  What are your thoughts on scrapbooking and life?  I’d seriously love to hear them...really, I would. :)

 

Why Your Photo Library is More Important than Scrapbooking

I am still organizing my photos.  I keyword and caption images at least weekly, daily if I can find the time.  I also have a backlog of photos and information dating clear back to the 1800's to scan and organize.  It may seem overwhelming, but one step at a time I am making progress.

I love this system!  Every time I go through a month's worth of photos with captions, keywords and ratings - I feel relief.  I no longer feel the stress of trying to stay "caught up" with all my scrapbooks.  

The reality is that when you record the caption to a photo - the memories and the why - along with keywords to identify Who, What, Where and When - you have almost everything anyone will need to know why that image was important to you.  Ratings are icing on the cake - they will tell future generations which photos you liked the most while the captions will tell them why.

Honest question - if you could be given ten scrapbooks with 25 layouts each, and a decent amount of journaling OR a digital library of 21,000 images (each with journaling, keywords and ratings) which would you choose?

I can see the appeal of the scrapbook and yet I would choose the digital library EVERY TIME.  Let me explain.  

This layout was created a year ago with lots of different photos of mine and my best friend's children.  It is a layout that captures the essence of the many things we did that day and it basically says that time with friends is wonderful.  

Yet when I peek into my photo library I learn much more...

The story behind the milk cow that inexplicably licked my friends daughter over and over.  My feelings about a friendship of over 20 years, the reason one child isn't smiling in a photo, thoughts on the bond between my twins, and more.  There are literally 9 different stories for the photos in this layout.

I may not have the time to scrap 9 different stories right now, but with captions recorded in my photo files in my photo library, I am ready to do so with the "in the moment" thoughts of my heart thanks to my system.  It takes a LOT less time to record the caption to a photo than it does to create a layout.

Now don't get me wrong - there are a lot of layouts I have that document the story -

This layout tells the story of the first day of school.  I love it.  However, if I adopted the workflow that all my stories should be told in my scrapbook layouts, I'd lose the opportunity to preserve those stories with the photo files.

So yes - it is WONDERFUL to tell your stories in your layouts.  However, I think we sometimes forget that scrapbooking is  a CREATIVE PROCESS.  You can alleviate a lot of the stress of being creative while trying to find space for journaling by simply recording the stories in your photo files. That way when your creativity is sparked - you can go back to your photo library reservoir of memories and tell the story just like it happened yesterday or leave the journaling off the layout and save it to the file in other ways.

A lot of people tell me I think to far in the future.  I have to say it is because of this woman:

This is my great-great-great Grandmother Mary Taylor Simmons Robinson.  I first heard her story when I was 18 years old.  She traveled from England all the way to the United States and walked across the plains until her legs were frozen black all the way to her knees.  Along the trail she lost a child, her husband, and her parents.  

I often have wondered what kept her going.  For years all we had of her were a few photos like the one above and this photo of the tiny cabin she lived in next to my great-great grandfather's home.

Yet even with these photos (where everyone was identified in the photo), I still was left to wonder until 2002, when an amazing set of circumstances led our little family to stay with my grandmother for five months.  In those five months I was given more pieces of my family history  - which included several handwritten letters to my great-great grandfather from Mary in the late 1800's.

Having these letters is like having crayons to color in the pictures from a coloring book.  I learn details of Mary's health, her love for her children, her spiritual strength and more.

The photos are beautiful, but it is the details recorded in these letters that are the treasure to me. Stories of the everyday - recipes for herbal remedies - thoughts on daughter in laws and more.

So yes, I may look too far in the future but how can't I?  Looking back to my family in the 1800's has given me a perspective I can't shake.  I think of the questions I would love to ask Mary if I had twenty minutes.  Am I answering them today for those who will follow  me?  Keeping a photo library with detailed captions, ratings and keywords with BACKUP seems to be a wonderful way to do just that.

Don't get me wrong, I still scrapbook quite a lot - and yes I still tell my stories in my layouts. However, with the way my workflow is now, I don't stress quite as much about journaling in my layouts when the stories are embedded in my photo files with my Lightroom Library.  I am FREE to create layouts however I want - following my heart.

When I follow my heart there is bliss in creativity.  How about you? 

 

Sometimes It's Hard To Work In This Industry

Sometimes it's hard to work in this industry and feel like you are making a difference.  The more you immerse yourself in it, the more you realize that you are just one of many people working and sharing and so many of them are so amazingly talented!

Have you ever created a layout you are so excited about because the photos were priceless moments captured and the colors, papers, elements and designs all came together and you are just excited and grateful for the creative process?  Then you go to the online galleries and post your wonderful layout and see there are so many others out there sharing and creating and WOW their work is amazing too?

I've spent a lot of time the past couple of weeks taking a look around and seeing some of the amazing talent out there - people blogging and sharing educational tips - some who I remember just getting started like The Daily Digi, Jennifer Wilson and Sir Scrapalot.  Others who will perpetually be inspiring to thousands like Ali, Cathy and Stacy.  And some of my very favorites who have inspired me for awhile now: Biograffiti, One Little Bird and Paislee Press.  Wow - we have come such a long way from the days when digital had just started and people were in Yahoo Groups trying to teach each other how to make elements...

Sometimes it's hard to see all this talent and wonder if my voice can really make a difference.  Please know - I'm not writing this post for reassurance - I'm just sharing that like everyone else I question myself and some days I wonder.

I've thought a lot lately about the direction of this blog and why I'm here.  I've also wondered about what sets my work apart from others in this industry - where so much talent abounds I am amazed.  Then this morning I read this:

It used to be that the non-customers, passers-by and quiet critics of your venture were totally invisible to you. They drove by, or muttered under their breath or simply went to someone else. Now, all is visible. Just because you're vividly aware of your shortcomings in market share doesn't mean it's important.

The next time you have a choice between chasing the charts (whichever charts you keep track of) and doing the work your customers crave, do the work instead.

So while I'd love to have 100,000 visitors everyday - the reality is the hundreds of people visiting here everyday are amazing - yes I'm talking about YOU!  Especially those that comment and email me with real questions - being able to connect and provide answers makes all the difference in what I do.  It is very rewarding to have a dialogue going with you all - that is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do here. 

I am privileged to be working in this industry alongside so many talented people.  I don't view them as competition because I think we all have something unique to offer.  This industry wouldn't be as diverse and rich without all of us.  How lucky you are to be a scrapbooker in this time - seriously you have so many amazing people to be inspired by!

I LOVE to share technology - and while that may be a tiny, geeky corner in this industry, it is my corner and I love it.  I love getting your emails and comments telling me how my little geeky tutorials have helped you in your work to keep your family memories.  Knowing that I am a tiny part of helping you to use technology to make your life easier makes it all worth it.

As I look forward to the future, I often wonder if what I share here will still be relevant and helpful to you - but then I am comforted by the fact that this blog is a dialogue - I share, you ask, others comment, I answer and then we start over again.  As long as the dialogue continues, I will be here.   

So yes, sometimes it's hard to work in this industry.  However, the reality is that most of the important things we do in life are hard.  What is life if you aren't being stretched and grown and wondering if you will make it?  Sometimes it is the action of facing your fears and doing things - reaching out of your comfort zone, spreading your wings and jumping off into the unknown with all you have - that is when you learn you can fly.

 

Life Happens

I've  set a goal to post on this blog every Monday and Thursday with helpful and relevant content for you all.  This morning I have a few half-written posts in the queue but I want to give those time fully develop before sharing them.

Part of the reason for my slowness this morning was the past 6 days were full of youth conference fun.

This photo was taken over the weekend by a great friend I kept passing my camera off to and that's a tip -  If you are at an event and know you will be too busy helping with that event, pass your camera off to someone you trust to take a whole bunch of photos - you will have a completely different perspective and find shots that will happily surprise you!  

I am especially grateful for this photo which captures two of the three women I serve with in our committee of ten that planned this event with the help of our youth council - I just love them all and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve with them! In case you didn't know, I am the lady on the right. 

This past weekend I hiked around 3 miles, danced for hours, ran around more places than I can count, played volleyball, took photos, got seriously sunburned, and was a part of successful gathering of all the youth in our church stake (for those of you wondering what a "stake" is - it is similar to what other faiths would call a diocese).  

So I hope you will understand if today's post is not so strong on the technical content.  I am still playing catch up with my real life - laundry, housework, filing, etc. while chauffering my kids to two separate sports camps, gymnastics and swimming lessons.

Life is never dull around here - and that is a very good thing.

A Quick Update

Time flies when you are having fun.  I wanted to pop in and let you all know that thanks to your generous clicks on Google ads in posts on this blog I have enough revenue to keep this content up - as long as it continues, this resource will be here - and I will find the time to pop in and share a few things relevant here and there.  

Speaking of relevant - a few things I am loving these days.  Well first I must confess that after I finished the Lightroom class I took a break from EVERYTHING scrapbooking except pictures.  I felt I had lost my scrapbooking "muchness."

However, I did continue taking photos of the simple everyday - inspired by this site's emails.  I didn't necessarily follow the prompts everyday - It was more about seeing the everyday through the lens of others and then reflecting on our everyday and capturing our seemingly mundane yet priceless moments here and there.  

I also have been really inspired by Ali's Project Life posts -  the first bit of scrapbooking I wanted to do was more of the simple everyday.  Yet being a digi girl I knew the tangible Project Life kits weren't an option for me (I still have one I gave to my teenager because I couldn't get into it).  So where to go?

Enter my friend Biograffiti's My Life, My Story Templates.  I picked up both the 8.5x11 and 12x12 versions so I can have a mixed book of items.  The plan is shortly after youth conference is over next week to spend some time catching up - taking my everyday photos and journaling and telling the stories.  I can't wait and I will be sharing my progress here.  

Probably not as exciting as live video tutorials, but seriously to get the inspiration to teach, you have to take creative sabbaticals so that's where I am.  It's all good.  I can't see myself teaching again right now and after drinking in lots of great inspiration these past three months I am ok with saying that - even if I might disappoint you all.  Did you know that is one of my greatest fears?  Yes, disappointing you all.  

However, I really believe that great teachers don't teach GREAT things that really make a difference unless they are something that moves that teacher to the core.  Something they feel so passionate about they just "have" to share.  So until that happens for me again, I will just create and go with the flow of where my creativity takes me.  

Speaking of wondering if I will find genius inspiration again, I found this TED video on creativity with Elizabeth Gilbert {Eat Pray Love}  shared by April Meeker very inspiring. and freeing.  {April's blog is good to inspire too!}

Also, I just want to say thank you to all of you for continuing to check out this content and checking out ads to support the site.  I am amazed that even after a few months of not much new content out here I still have several hundred visits a day.  Thank you!

Oh, and last but not least, something cool I ran across this morning for all you Lightroom fans.  You may know I have a Mac laptop I use as my main computer.  I also have an old PC monitor hooked up to extend my monitor space.  Sad to say I never took full advantage of that screen real estate in Lightroom until I watched the video below by Julianne Kost.  So now when I am working on photos, I am one seriously happy camper.  Check it out.

 

Two Things...

Popping in today to share two things with you.  The first is a direct answer to the question I've had from so many of you -

Why Lightroom instead of Bridge?

I have so many reasons why, but imagine my happiness today when I opened up my blog reader and found that Scott and Matt had not only answered with 100 reasons, but also had video tutorials for each of them?  

I LOVE when the universe conspires to help you with things you want to say but have no time to say them...

Another resource I can't stay quiet about - is Jen Lee's new class, Finding Your Voice.  Most of you have probably seen this on Ali's blog but for the few who haven't, it is worth sharing.  As I was wrapping up my Lightroom class here, I read Ali's post and decided to gift the class to myself and I can't tell you how glad I am that I did.

In fact, if you have any interest in finding your voice (it doesn't have to be just writing - you can express your voice through art, your scrapbooking, music and more).  Watch this video and more details here.

I can't even begin to tell you how helpful Jen's class has been to me and I can't wait to dedicate more time to my writing this summer when the big projects I am still working on will be wrapped up and finished.

Also, there is no affiliate revenue involved with any aspect of this post - these are just things I wanted to share with you because I'm really loving them!  

For those of you who have sent me sweet emails of thanks and encouragement, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Words can't express how happy I am with life moving at a considerably slower pace.  I don't miss my work here at all - but I do miss you.  Wishing you a wonderful month of May!

xoxo,

Kayla

 

 

 

 

About Library of Memories (feel free to skip)

This morning I received a few more emails about my LOM digital content.  After spending several hours of my time over the past six months replying to sweet and well meaning people asking about LOM content, I feel the need to clarify a few things here to have a place to refer people rather than explaining in short email messages over and over.

Note to readers: This is probably one of the longest posts I will ever write - so if you want to skip it, I completely understand. If you weren't a LOM student and have no interest in my digital LOM content, you will probably want to stop reading now.  Of course if you want to learn more about a few of my idiosyncrasies and quirks - you can keep reading - whatever floats your boat.

My digital LOM content was removed just last month from the LOM classroom per my contract with BPS.  I can't count the number of emails I've received with the stories of why people weren't able to access and view the tutorials videos for my portion of LOM and why they need to have access to them again.  Some of the stories are heartwrenching and sad and yet I still have to say no.

I though I would share a little about why - it's been almost a year since LOM 2010 ended and I feel that I'm in a better place to actually write my thoughts.

I still believe LOM is a fabulous system for anyone organizing their photos.  I am grateful that Stacy gave me the chance to open the doors on LOM digital with tutorial videos in five different software programs.  Library of Memories was one of the biggest projects I have ever worked on in this industry.  Looking back, I can honestly say that I would never do it again and it has nothing to do with BPS, Stacy or the content.  The reality is that taking on the project of teaching in five different software programs simultaneously is crazy!

I did it, and lived to tell about it, but the things the process of creating that curriculum did to my computer- ACK!  The software programs I taught in were ACDSee, Photoshop Elements Organizer, Picasa, Adobe Bridge and iPhoto.  I created tutorials in both Windows and Mac platforms.  I spent months before LOM researching digital asset management and digging deeply into the capabilities of each software program - learning how to adapt each program's technical tools to make life easier for LOM students using that particular software. 

Before LOM started, I already had hundreds of hours into the curriculum.  In the process of creating this curriculum, I realized that the content I was creating was something that could stand on its own apart from LOM.  At this point I asked for, and was generously given, a teacher's contract for my LOM digi content.

I was so excited about LOM 2010 that I  spent most of my holidays and January in a closet recording & editing tutorials - because there were literally so many to record.  With five kids in my house I was tired of asking everyone to constantly be quiet - so I moved into a closet.  In hindsight I have to giggle at my dedication. :)

When class started and all the other coaches were just getting into the swing of things, I was already on the verge of burning out - which was nobody's fault except my own.  I set my personal goals and expectations for digital LOM far higher than what they should have ever been for that particular teaching situation.

The reality is when teaching technology you can teach concepts and how-to and yet still have a million different questions you can never anticipate because everyone has different hardware, software, and so many unknowns that come up and need support.

Over the course of LOM I can't even count the number of questions I answered on the LOM boards. There were also several students using different programs so I would spend time researching answers for them as well.  I wanted everyone to have the best experience possible.  In my inexperience I didn't understand the boundaries of teaching - but sometimes we just have to learn for ourselves.

In the middle of class I burned up my iMac computer (I guess when you push your hard drive really hard it can overheat and die).  When I told the Apple genius what I'd been doing with my iMac, he literally told me I was crazy and if I was going to push a computer that hard, I needed to get a Mac Pro.  He said  no other Mac could be expected to do what I needed without having issues if I was going to continue running it that hard.  The store manager was even willing to give me full credit for the purchase of my iMac toward a Mac Pro (just one of the reasons i LOVE Macs and Apple Care).

However, just the week before my computer died, I had started my 2009 taxes, which included my expenses for running Digiscrap101 and preparing LOM content for 2010.  In my excitement for LOM, I had declined a lot of work that would have brought in income to offset my DS101 costs and instead used my time to prepare for and invest in teaching LOM. 

As I prepared my 2009 taxes and the financial reports for 2010 to that point, it was very clear that by the time LOM was all said and done, I would be literally paying for the privilege to coach - I shouldn't have done all that I did - I felt pretty stupid.

So back to the Apple store - I'm sitting there and realizing that to continue to teach in five diferent software programs (I had hoped to do a LOM Digital standalone class later) I would need a new computer that can actually handle it without burning up, which my business can't afford. 

It also starts to sink in that all this effort and passion I have put into running after a dream seems to be for nothing.  I know there is no way I can justify to my husband spending another $1000 so I can continue to pay to work in an industry that I love.   It was a sad day and I have to say some tears were involved that lasted on and off again for a few weeks.

I should stop here and say that I'm not writing this so you all feel sorry for me.  I honestly look back on this experience as one of the best things that ever happened to me in this industry.  I was a young and inexperienced teacher.  I didn't understand what boundaries to set or how to work smart so I could grow little by little.  I was just running after a dream.

What a lot of people don't realize is that the basic business costs to teach digitally in this industry are a lot more than the costs to teach traditionally.  To just get to the teaching table a digital teacher brings not just project ideas but also expensive computer equipment, software programs and many times also camera equipment.  If you look at the costs of acquiring what is needed to teach, and also the costs of software upgrades and equipment replacement, it takes a lot more for a digital teacher to break even.

I left the Apple store that day with a laptop and promised the Apple Genius  and store manager I would be nice to it.  I was still in the middle of Library of Memories class. There were several questions a day to answer on the boards and even though I was frustrated, being the person I am, I was going to do what I committed to do.  So I pushed on and completed the class, knowing that I wouldn't be teaching it again - which brought its own set of emotions.

I was pretty hurt and emotional - I love to succeed and I felt like I had failed.  I had put all this energy and time - sacrificing time away from my family to create this content which was a lot more than was ever required by BPS.  I had jumped higher than I should have, in the end with not much more to show for it than the experience. 

In a lot of ways my LOM content felt like an embarrassing monument to my overachiever tendencies.  It was a huge failure for me!  I really didn't want all that sitting out there forever in the LOM classroom as a constant reminder.  So I exercised my right and asked that my LOM content be removed from the classroom when the licensing period was over.  Technically it was more than was ever required of me so it really didn't belong there anyway.

So the unanswered question that so many of you email me about these days - what is the future of all that content?  The short answer is it's gone.  My LOM my content won't be back or shared or sold.  I feel this is as it should be.

The reality is that just like it has always done in the past, everything with LOM is evolving for the better and I believe it will continue to do so.  There is an LOM community where you all can exchange up to the minute ideas, Stacy's digital templates are available here and I truly believe (although I haven't heard directly) Stacy's 2011 LOM/Photo Freedom is going to be off the charts.  I really believe going back to the 2010 content I created would stifle student's opportunities to grow and move into better things for their digital LOM content.

As for myself, I have taken the things I have learned through this experience and run with them in my personal projects and sharing online.  This whole experience has been an education I would never have gained any other way.

Because of everything I learned coaching digital with LOM, I found Lightroom.  Beyond all the teaching I do, I am also my family keeper of photos and memories dating back to the late 1800's.  Without all I learned creating digital ideas for LOM, I would never be in the position to truly preserve those memories in a way that will best reach future generations.  There is something about teaching a subject that causes the teacher to learn more than a student ever could.  I am so grateful for this.

I also believe that sometimes in life experiences teach us more about ourselves, giving us opportunities to learn and grow.  Sometimes difficult experiences allow us to see our weaknesses and from turning those into strengths, we get closer to where we need to be in life.  The past year for me has been about learning to set healthier boundaries for myself, my work, my play, and most importantly my family. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't regret it - I learned a lot - and I really and truly believe that everything works out for the best in the end - even if that end wasn't what I thought it would be when I started. 

It is funny how life works like that - when you get so close to your goals you can almost reach out and touch them and then you learn that what you thought you always wanted isn't really right for you but the journey to that vantage point was important to other things you need to do.  It's all good.