A Surprise Post

Well it is for me considering that I honestly thought I would not have anything to share until the school holidays at the end of the month.  It has been a interesting few weeks to say the least - lots of challenging moments that left me feeling battered and questioning a lot of things but all through it I have been reminded of how lucky I am to have a great group of friends and students who appreciate the hours of work that goes into ensuring they have the best outcomes possible.  It has been hard to find the silver lining of late but the more I go through life, the more I am starting to understand that if I focus on the negatives, nothing will change but if I stay true to myself and give the 110% that I always do, there will always be a way out.  And that has lead me to today.  Even though the silly season - in my world that means end of semester exam block, report cards and all that jazz - is nipping at my heals, I took time out today to focus on ensuring all the housework is up-to-date.  In the past I have found that I focus better on marking, reporting etc if I am happy with the state of the house.  So while I admit I could have had another class of reports pretty much finished, doing the housework was my focus today and when it was finished, I rewarded myself with some scrap time.  I love Echo Park's 'Note to Self' range - worked perfectly with this photo of Lachlan.

And a close-up of one of my new favourite brands - Ormulu.  I went a tad bit crazy and went on a spending frenzy getting my hands on a stack of their buttons, swatches, flappers and journal spots.  I have used one of their flair buttons on this layout.

So that's my surprise - not a surprise for you as much as it was a surprise for me.  I am off to write some more report cards so I will leave it here.  Hope you all have a great week.
Take care
S xoxo