a kinda big thing makin' me happy!

At the beginning of the year, I made some scrapbooking resolutions. You can read 'em here.

I'm sorry to say that the majority of those resolutions remain pie in the sky ideas. My scraproom isn't tidier, I haven't added my new pages to albums yet, I don't keep regular hours, etc.

But #4? Number 4 I've strived to do.

I don't know why I've put off submitting my layouts for publication for so long. I've considered the idea of being published many times, and last year, I even entered the Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame contest. Out of 9,000 entries, only 25 were chosen. I wasn't one of them. And while I knew in the back of my mind that my chances were close to zip, it was still a big disappointment to not receive that call.

The truth is, I'm good at the things I love. People have always sort of laughed off my good luck, because typically, when I enter a contest - whether it be for my writing, or photography - I win. Or when I try something new, like mural painting or playwriting, I do really well. It's sort of uncanny, really. I can do pretty much anything I set my mind to.

Notice, however, that I've never set my mind to things I DON'T think I'd do well at. I've never entered a beauty pageant. I've never tried out for Jeopardy. I've never trained for a marathon.

And I've never submitted for publication. I've been writing for years- since about the 4th grade, to be exact. That was the year my gifted and talented teacher told me that I had something special, and I believed her. I've written weekly columns for a local church publication. I've written stories and skits and eulogies. For as long as I can remember, people have urged me to submit for publication. I dream of doing so. Someday, I believe I will.
I really don't know what holds me back, except for fear of failure.

I'd also never submitted any of my scrapbook layouts, save for that one contest. In my artist's mind, I know that I'm good at what I do. But I also know that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of us who are good at what we do, and I'm not any better than the rest of them. This year, I decided to just TRY. As my friend Elaine loves to say, "The answer is a guaranteed no if you don't ask." So I asked.

In March, I submitted twice - once to Donna Downey's column in Simple Scrapbooks magazine; she passed me by. Ten days later, I submitted to Layout Blueprints 2, the sequel to the amazingly successful idea book that came out last year. Actually, I submitted 7 layouts for the book. Yesterday, I got an email. They're requesting one of the layouts for publication!

I was so giddy when I called Darren with the news that I could hardly speak. I just giggled and squealed. "It's about time. It's about TIME!" he exclaimed.

I can't share the layout online until the book has been published for 120 days. Oh, how I wish I could show you. It's one of my favorites, because it features my two boys, and their two closest friends, who happen to be the sons of MY two closest friends, Cara and Kristi. I love it, too, because in a way, Cara and Kristi get to be published with me. And that's just the coolest thing.

Kind of a big deal to me, maybe not so big a deal to the rest of the world. But it's makin' me happy. I'm published! :)