Worrisome

Well in the interests of being "real" I'll share that I may be about to lose my job through no fault of my own it would seem. I work as a medical typist, subcontracted to someone else who is then subcontracted to a medical practice here in Brisbane. It would also seem that the medical practice have hired an in-house typist who was originally just meant to do the head doctor's work but has now begun doing all the other doctors' work as well, and because I get paid piece rate and not hourly, every letter the in-house typist does reduced my pay for the week and I can't do a thing about it except watch my expected pay for the week slowly diminish. Unfortunately there is no way to increase it as we only have limited clients.

I've offered my time to Cyberscraps on a goodwill basis as I want the shop to succeed and if at some point in the future we are doing well enough for us to draw a wage for hours we put in at the shop then well and good but right now that's an unrealistic expectation. So that's not an income option right now either.

I'm in one of those quandries where I really don't want to have to look for another job. I love what I do, I'm at home all day with time to get housework done, I'm there when my kids walk in the door each day and I'd like to think that I'm actually very good at my job. I guess it's one of those things life throws at us and you just have to have faith that it will work out in the end and that it will be what God has planned for you, regardless of whether you can see it now or not. I'll let you know how it all pans out.......

I'm hoping to be right on top of stuff this week (what work I will have to do) so that I can get some scrapping done. I've got all the new Phoebe and Scarlet's letter plus all the new Urban Lily and I'm just busting to sit down and go mad with all of it. The only problem with the Scarlet's letter paper is that it's so gorgeous that it's hard to cover it with "stuff" because the pattern itself is just beautiful. But how to leave it alone????

Looking forward to the Paper Arts Festival in Brisbane in a couple of weeks. It's always nice to look around - part reconaissance, part personal treasure hunt - and even though we're opening a shop I'm particularly interested in what other people have got. That's the beauty of being a scrapbooker - you can go to a dozen stores and usually you will always find something that nobody else has and that's the big thrill for me, finding that cool, funky "something" that I haven't seen before. I'll be looking to pick up lots more of the Rouge de Garance papers too as I don't like shopping online so hopefully someone will bring some. It also gives me a chance to look at the other paper arts like stamping etc and I don't do much of that but I know there would be a place for it in my scrapping. Partly it's not been something I've really looked at until now because stamping seems to be such an expensive craft whereas with scrapping you can pick up some new paper or cardstock and walk away happy even though you've only spent $5 whereas stamps seem to be very costly. Please tell me if I've been looking in the wrong places though!!! I'll confess I've never used embossing inks or powders either, another seemingly expensive area to venture into unless you're sure you are going to love the technique and use it all the time. I don't bat an eyelid at scrapping supplies because I know I'll use what I buy (well I'll use it eventually I'm sure!!! lol).

Loving the Asian inspired pages on Aussie Dares this week!!! Such a clever bunch of girls over there and I always come away feeling the urge to try something new. I love the "no limits" approach the girls have to just do whatever comes with their layouts and I've definitely noticed their collective influence on my style since finding them last year. So a big thank you to the Dares girls for helping me widen the horizons so to speak!

I'm off to get some more work done now before anybody else does it instead. Hope you have a fab week and get some scrapping done if you're so inclined.

Cya, Lu