Thinking About The Ways We Evolve

Thank you for being there for us in whatever form it may take. You have inspired me to try my hand at writing, even if I do it kicking and screaming.

Life is definitely about seasons. I’ve been following you since Creating Keepsake days and my own life has changed in so many ways. Boyfriends, break ups, my mom’s death, new apartments, finding and marrying my love, buying a house, many different vacations and my two precious little girls are just the major things that jump out at me.

Through the years I’ve learned so much from you about how to tell my story. I’ve “fallen off the wagon” of memory keeping and gotten back on so many times and in so many different ways I can’t even count. But I always go back to some class or some product or spark from you to help me on my path. It’s been a joy to watch you grow and change and I’m so grateful to you for sharing and helping us all in the ways you have. Your classes are by far the best I have taken to help me “write the words” and to remind me that my stories, my family’s stories are important.

Thank you so much for sharing a piece of yourself with us Ali. I wish you the best and will continue to grow and change in my own ways right along with you.

Lovely, simply lovely. It's nice that you've included us in your reflections and how you're accepting change and even celebrating change. One thing remains the same...I'm sticking around to be a part of what goes on here on your blog and will continue to be a part of the many projects we do together. Thanks for reminding us to pursue all of our loves like gardening and reading and that we cannot document a life unlived. Sharon

I’ve been with you since 2 peas and typepad. Remember when we all had a Typepad account?
It seems weird to have this one sided relationship. I’ve cried with you, laughed with you, and also have been so so happy for you as your life/business evolves and grows.
I have seen your kids grow up and my kids have a little bit of you (ok, a whole lot) of you in their albums.
I love reading your blog because I feel you are real. A real person with a family similar to mine, with problems similar to mine, and I am grateful that not everything is rosy and happy all the time.
I do miss your voice here, but I totally understand. i also have a 17 yo and an 11 yo and it is was interesting to learn where their story begins and mine ends. Meaning I don’t have to document for them anymore. I document for myself. They take their pics, they choose what to post/save/remember and sometimes even print and add to my albums (!) and i get to document (or not) only from my viewpoint. Sometimes they do like to share stories with me. Sometimes they love to look back and see repetition. Our DD had the same cadence for a couple of years and then suddenly everything changed last year and we got to create new traditions.
I am grateful for your voice and what you share. You have been an inspiration in more ways than one. Thank you!

Wow this is a great blog post and the comments are so interesting! I have followed you since 2004 but only in the past couple of years have I actively engaged with your classes and products. I fell out of love with scrapbooking as I felt, without kids it all seemed a bit pointless. But your blog and stories and ideas have made me realise that I do have a story to tell and I have loved day and week in the life this year. And I guess as your kids get older I sense a new story, the story of being a woman as apposed to the main role of being a mum, one that I can really engage with as a fellow woman. Does that make sense? I hope so.
I really do love this space and the stories you do share and I totally understand the need to evaluate and think about what and how you share, some of which are only half yours. Thank you for being here x
(I also must say that I really wish I had your blended family posts to read when I became a step mum as they would have helped SO much. Book? I think so!)

I do miss your personal blog entries and although I am connected on instagram and it just is not as fun for me as having my coffee and getting immersed in your blog. With that said, I am in the same struggle in this season of my life with kids on sharing and whose stories they are to share and that is a really challenging one so I completely understand where you are at and why this change is necessary. I am here for the entirety... you have made me the storyteller I am. Thank you for everything Ali!

Thanks Ali,
I have been with you since 2006 :) and loved how you and your scrapbooking and your business have evolved over the years. You are doing you in whatever way you need to. You don't make excuses. You don't force this blog and that's how you continue to be authenic.
You are a role model and a kick-ass woman.
Keep on rocking!
Teresa

Reading your quote yesterday shook my core. Yes, sometimes it simply is time to start again. This year has been a lot of new starts for me in terms of transferring for my career, moving to a new city, my husband changing jobs (and now changing his again), and the feeling that I need to change aspects of my life that I have outgrown or don't 'fit' me anymore.
The beauty of life is that you can start again, given the time and space and motivation to do so. Good for you for taking the time you needed for you - and from following along, there has been a lot of change and growth and starting over, and it seems that you are in a good place in your life. You look happy and loved and that is the most important part of life.

I've been a fan ever since your creating keepsakes magazine days. Thanks for this blog post. I love your honesty. I've noticed that the blog posts have been fewer and farther between. That the content is more like, what's new in the product line/classes or the books you are reading. That is ok but its not the same as the heartfelt story telling, your words and creativity inspire me. I have missed them greatly. I love your stories and hearing your point of view and what you are creating. That is why December Daily is my favorite, Daily blog posts and so much creative inspiration. I love the connection.I do understand that your business has grown a lot and so has your family. So happy for you. Therefore, you probably don't have the time to devote to the blog posts. I think managing expectations are key. I was expecting blog post every day or every few days. When I didn't see them I was bummed. Now I only check every week or two and hope there is a blog post there. If you have time I would like to see once a month maybe a blog like you used to do. Maybe around here post. I'm a subscriber to your story kits & monthly program and taken most of your classes but I still like to see the old fashioned blog post. However, you decide to free up space or move forward with your business I will support you. I'm thankful for you enriching my life and I will be here as long as you continue to do what you do. :)

I'd like to tell you that I want you to be the same way that you were 10 years ago. I'd like to have more open access to your life and get to know your changing family better. I think like many of us, you've become a "friend" to me and its hard to feel like you're losing a friend. But the fact is, i'm feeling it too. i'm fighting myself SO. HARD. to maintain the status quo. I do individual albums for my 7 kiddos and a PL album for my family as a whole. I've been scrapping for 13 years but the last few months have seen little action. My poor neglected PL album... sigh... its just not happening. I think my problem is that i'm fighting myself to keep everything the same, when in reality what i need to do is roll with the changes and adapt. It sounds to me like that is exactly what you are doing. If i was a praying person i'd pray for your ability to make whatever life transitions you need to make smoothly and authentically, but i'm not, so you'll have to settle for my thoughts and best wishes. (on a side note, your favorite pizza place from when you grew up closed recently. I live about a half a mile away (federal way) and i thought of you when i saw that.)

Great to see your thought processes about this. I've been here a while and although I don't subscribe to any kits I join in on most projects and have taken classes and love all of that. I simply don't read the posts that do not interest me but I always stop by every few days to check what's going on. Instagram has replaced so many blogs I used to read and that's all fine by me too it is the way of things as you say. Change and evolution it happens. Maybe it will all go full circle? Anyway all that to say I am excited to be here and read whatever you share. Thanks for keeping it real.

I've been here since the beginning and will be here until the end.I've taken every one of your classes and bought all of your products. I've seen Cathy Zielske struggle with her changing identity in this industry as her children grew up and their privacy became more of an issue (and I guess that's even more of an issue for you as some children in your life are not your own). 14 years ago I was the mother of a 19 year old and a 12 year old... now I'm a grandmother of 3, so if life has changed that much for me it must have for you too. I'm just so grateful for the inspiration and products you offer me to help me tell MY stories.

I have been a follower, fan and customer since the beginning and could not be more grateful for you and your truth telling. Thank you.

Ok. I'm putting in my 2 cents. Lol. So much love for you Ali. You rock! I've laughed, cried, and celebrated with you. Well the stories at least. I have felt like an uncomfortable STALKER too. Love Instagram but its so instant. Our choice of comms channel affects our MESSAGE. I post my girls stories on Facebook and I get instant feedback and it's so addictive but...... when I read your PAST writing it made me write. I'm a great instant reporter on Facebook but my girls don't have the strong and powerful words being written about them anymore. It is a discipline and there is a difference in quality. I'M GOING BACK TO IT. Very soon. Here's the thing..... when I read your story posts it makes me write. Almost every time. I see the world, think of your prompts and the words flow out. I am revisiting your archives and rereading them. They are always there (Thank-you). I am trying to get quality not quantity with what I pass down. Also I need to invest my energy in stories past. For past and future generations. You know the stuff of triumphs, traditions and memoirs. I will get the permission of my loved ones to write their stories when I have time. I think whilst I love Project Life I'm looking for depth and philosophy and history. Our Australian Aboriginal culture is precious and largely undocumented so it will be a community issue as well. My girls will be very well documented but I need there to be balance in the stories that surround them. I don't need more product but will do more classes when time permits (very young kids, can't miss out). I worry about burnout for you. So much documentation. I hope it is sustainable and rewarding. I know it is your livelihood but as your articles say, find your ENOUGH because we love you. I also think about your retirement lol, and cry. I actually thought that you might take a break to write a book / novel because your book and word consumption is off the charts. Thank you for everything. And most importantly enjoy your evolution. I am embracing mine too!

It's nice to know it was not my imagination that I thought your blog had evolved into what seemed like a business communication/promotion rather than something I used to enjoy reading first thing every morning for the inspiration, insights and stories. In fact, I had stopped going to your blog almost completely and would not have read this entry, had it not been brought up on the 2Peas Refugees message board.

There is so much content available on media now, and so little time to read it all. People have to make choices about where to spend their time. Reflecting on why I stopped coming to this blog, I realized it is the same reason people will spend time watching an entertaining TV show or reading a book or inspirational stories, but don't want to use up their time on advertising. Anyway, I was a very, very long time reader, and I was sorry to see it evolve away stories and into a commercial. I really enjoyed reading your blog, and you should be proud of how many people found your words inspiring, entertaining and worth their time.

I'm one of the ones that has been with you from the very beginning! I remember the first time I saw a scrapbook layout of yours in Creating Keepsakes and it clicked for me, " that's how I want to write stories" and "that's how I want to scrapbook." I've been a constant fan of yours all these years and you still inspire me. You have a true gift my friend, please don't ever stop sharing with us.

There's no doubt sharing our lives publicly is much easier said than done. So many joys to share, but also so many situations that are very sensitive. Seems like everything has to be weighed and measured. For instance, my kids didn't have great high school experiences, so there's no way I'd want to possibly make them think less of themselves by writing about it. Perhaps one day they will choose to tell their own stories about that season of their life. I have a friend who scrapbooks - one child is having the ultimate high school experience - on a sports team, attending homecoming/proms, dating, etc, the other child is struggling. She has chosen to not share much publicly because the last thing she wants is for people to compare, or to hurt her kids feelings. There is no one perfect way to have a full life - it looks different for everyone and is incomparable .... however this is where the sharing doesn't always make sense. Don't feel obligated to us, do what feels right for you and your family. That's what matters most. What you do choose to share, we will enjoy :)

I have been a fan/follower of your blog for many years and have taken most of your classes. Loved the new Travel class!I feel as others here do that we’re friends, even though we’ve never met. I will have to go to Instagram to get my Ali fix! Love your openness, your honesty, and all you share about real life. Evolve as you need to, just don’t quit!

Ali, I, too, am here for whatever happens even as I fondly remember what was. A recent post on the Simple Scrapper membership site (Jennifer Wilson) about sources of inspiration reminded me of the first time I met you at my LSS in Portland: Scrapbook Attack owned by Sheri Fisher. You taught a class in which we created a highlights of 2005 album with five (and only 5 photos). I loved the class and I still treasure the album. At the time I didn't realize how pivotal 2005 would be in my life but that's another story. I remember you wearing a series of signs around your neck while teaching. One said "It's okay", another "It's only scrapbooking" and the third, I think, was something about imperfection or mistakes or ?. Any chance you would recall? Coupled with a photo from another time you taught at Scrapbook Attack (2008), this would make a great layout. Wishing you continued success in your business, life, and family.

Hi Ali,
I'm a few days behind on the conversation but wanted to add a bit! One of my favorite things and why I stay with you is because you share, communicate, celebrate and struggle like the rest of us...you become our friend, even though we have never met through the things you share and ways you communicate. I'm so thankful for that. Sometimes I log on to see what my "friend" is doing!! So, however you want to communicate is fine by me, but I just wanted you to know your words and sharing are valued here in this space too. Thanks for sharing your life with us and being real! Blessings to you and your family! Shelley