Rebirth...

Penny here! :)
OK, so this isn't working. But I don't want to throw in the towel just yet.

I still feel that telling your story, whatever that story is, is important. I has been almost a year and 1/2 since TSM's start. I still think journaling your story, whether in conjunction with the pretty designed layout or on it's own with a smear of paint, is important.

Stats are good.
A story is better.

So we are going to revamp a bit.
While we figure out who will be present, who is on break, and what the schedule will be, we will still present a "challenge" on the 1st... THIS will be the "easiest" of all challenges! I promise. And it will have a prize this time too!

So come back on the 1st... we might have a new look. We might not. :)
We WILL be doing things differently. That I do plan.

Bring a friend. Grab a latte. Tell your story!

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."
-William Wordsworth

Oh how time flies!

I didn't forget you!! I promise!

Before we have a technique in a couple days, I just BETTER announce a winner!!!

Thank you those who submitted!

So using the random number generator, I then found that though I figured out that our winner is local, I DON'T know what your FIRST name is!!

So...
...come on down! (Or leave a comment, and Angela will take care of you!!)

Here are the fabulous submissions!!

Fabulous inspiration!! Thanks for sharing your stories with us!!!

And come back Oct. 15th for more inspiration!!

OCTOBER CHALLENGE!

Isn’t it amazing how topics from the news can have impact on people’s lives? My challenge for you this month is:

PICK SOMETHING FROM THE NEWS!

That could be something from a way back, and how it influenced you. Or, that you still exactly know where you were and what you did while it happened.
It could also be something more recent, something that annoys you or something that totally surprised you. Or something that has a special meaning to you.

Some ideas to get you started:

• The inauguration of a new President
• A certain date when something significant happened, like 9/11
• Weather disaster – how did it impact you and/or your family or loved ones
• Politics, like the campaigns the parties are running for the election
• Moviestars or popstars in the news, like the passing of Michael Jackson
• Random events, like the birth of Nadya Suleman’s octuplets
• Or something closer to home, like a charity event at the school of your children.

News doesn’t always have to be global to make impact! Once you start thinking about it, the ideas are almost endless.

Here’s my take:

Journaling reads:

I was in Disneyland Paris with a few of my friends when Michelle got a call.
It was her sister, telling her that the Twin Towers in New York were attacked by terrorists.
We thought it was a bad joke.
Disneyland is not the place where world news is a priority.
A few minutes later, Claudia received a text message from her boy friend, telling her the same thing.
We STILL thought it was a bad joke.
We noticed nothing different in the park.
Disneyland is a totally different world, away from everything.
It wasn’t until later that evening, when we were in our hotel room, that we realized it wasn’t a bad joke.
It was real.
And the world changed forever.

Angela:

Journaling reads:

In the summer of 2008, I got to revisit the area in Minneapolis that I had lived in for a year. The trip was a year after the I35 bridge collapsed and I was reminded how many times I had crossed this bridge in 2002-2003, about 1/2 of those times when I was pregnant with my son...I worked downtown and lived across the river. It was a great year and I'd go back in a minute...just glad I missed the disaster and feel incredible sorrow for those whose lives were lost.

Monica:

Her layout contains meaningful excerpts from the Inaugural speech of President Barack Obama, which was a significant day in her own personal biography.

I hope you play along this round! Please post the link to your creations in the comments of this blog post and win a beautiful prize!This challenge is due October 31st, 2009.

I’m looking forward to seeing your creations!

Liesbeth