Wake Me Up...

For months now, since September...I have had an amazing secret. One that I have been bursting at the seams to share, I wanted to tell my friends. Not just anyone..but my FRIENDS. The women that have supported me and loved me from the beginning. A secret I worked long and hard on. A secret I beat myself up over. A secret that brought me joy. A secret that evoked emotion. Pushed me.

Do opportunities like this really fall from the sky? Do amazing chances like this really just happen? and to me? The girl that is EVERY SINGLE DAY affected by whats known as Murphy's Law? Surely I'm being PUNK'D by God. I was in awe. Surely Tracy Kyle meant to send the email to Ashley CALDER...not Ashley Wren. and well, that would be just plain WRONG. But you know what? It was for ME. and for some reason what I was doing, the way I was scrapping, the way I was writing...was good enough. It was what they wanted. And I didn't have to change. And I didn't have to use products that I loathed. And i didn't have to have ooey gooey sugary sweet FAKE journaling. I could just be ME. and that is the best part.

And now the time is here...and i can. I can officially, finally, and excitedly tell you that I will be appearing in an upcoming book put out by Autumn Leaves called Freestyle.

Side by side with some very dear friends (GENEVIEVE, ASHLEY & TIA) Side by Side with some women that i have been in awe of, and side by side with some women that I discovered and grew to love. What a surreal thing.

Ok I'm excited. Ok then comes REALITY. The deadlines. The guidelines...the REJECTION. Getting told that "this page isn't cutting it". How in the world would I handle that? My husband pisses me off when he finds a spelling error! But I was excited. and ready for the challenge. and EXTREMELY freaking nervous to get started.

I wish that people could understand that this achievement, this opportunity is HARD for me in that sense that I am so humbled, and flattered, and SHOCKED that I'm embarassed. It still feels like a dream. I'm not an arrogant person, in fact I'm the opposite. Compliments are very hard for me to accept. But I also know how grateful I am that it DID happen to me. Thank you Tracy and Autumn Leaves for seeing something in me.

Somebody pinch me.