Tough enough?

It's been a tough week for a variety or reasons, none of them big when faced alone but added up they threatened to topple me. I wibbled and I wobbled but just in the nick of time my sense of humour returned and I regained my balance and with it my ability to cope.

So this week if I was going to give any advice it would be - don't visit your issues upon someone else. If you're doing it tough don't start name calling and foot stamping in the hope that everyone else will feel as terrible as you, you risk becoming a bad person and it makes everyone else sad, it doesn't matter if you're 17, 31 or 50 the same rules apply.

I witnessed some truly awful behaviour this week from a variety of sources and it did make me sad. It also struck me as ironic that some of the nastiest, most vocal people then had the gall to suggest they had been wronged and that everyone is judging them. Hello pot, this is kettle calling!

Perhaps my other piece of advice would be grow up! The strangest part was that the behaviours were being mirrored in both my professional and personal life - further proof that being a manager and the mother of teenagers requires the same crisis management and negotiation skills oh, and a thick skin...

Ok, climbing down from my soapbox now. In amongst the chaos and the tears I spent some time scrapping. I entered a couple of the challenges for Top 50s' Shape Up cc and here they are:

This one was for Sue's cross training challenge - use the sketch provided and three different shaped embellies. This LO looks pretty simple, I used some new basic grey papers - lovely rich colours and a little Purple Pumpkin elephant button, but the story attached to its creation is what makes it special.

Zoe loves these elephant buttons and she went through all of my buttons to find one as she was sure it was just what my LO needed. Funny girl, but I think she was right! She and I spent ages trying to come up with a title and I think Cake Stars works just fine. These two girls are so good for Zoe, they remind her that life isn't all about homework! (Or least they did today when they produced a movie ticket for her and removed her from her computer - they are definitely not the girls I was referring to in my little diatribe.)

Oh and Angus decided to give a me cuddle while I was journalling so a couple words look a little odd but the cuddle was well worth it :)

This next one is Vicki's going in circles challenge - use circles and masking. When visiting Wendy Smith's blog I chanced upon a couple of LOs she'd done using circle punches to make a mask. I loved how it looked and was dying to give it a go. This challenge couldn't have been more perfect.

All the embellies on this LO are from A Lil' Somethin' - I'm loving their latest kits.

These photos appeared on my camera after I left it on the table. Probably not Rob's best angle but he really should have expected me to scrap it. The funniest part is there was also a photo of Zoe but she very sensibly refused to pull a silly face - not Angus - he takes after his father!

Thanks for stopping by, I love it when you leave a comment - makes my day and reassures me I'm not talking to myself. Be kind to yourself and those around you - good karma makes the world a happier place :)