SYW297 – Scrapbooking During Major Life Change

Terri Torrez: [00:00:00] That hobby, that community, those friends moved with me when I moved to California, and when I moved back. For the most part, it's just been a constant. And I don't think that I could have as easily made either transition without that consistency.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper and author of the New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 297. In this episode, I'm joined by Terri Torrez to discuss how scrapbooking helped her cope with major changes in her personal life, as well as how those big shifts impacted her time, energy, and motivation to create.

Hey, Terri, welcome back to Scrapbook Your Way.

Terri Torrez: Well, thanks for having me.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm excited to chat with you today. Can you share a little bit about [00:01:00] yourself so our audience can remember you?

Terri Torrez: Yeah, sure. Oh, I just realized that my usual spiel on that has changed. Um, so, I am, uh, currently living in Maryland. I have one child in college. Yeah, that's, that's different. And then we'll talk about that more. But, uh, I, um, also work full time. Um, I am in IT and I'm a data product manager, um, for a financial regulator.

Jennifer Wilson: And so you've been working remotely even since pre pandemic right?

Terri Torrez: Yeah, before pandemic, um, we had moved, we live, um, in a suburb of DC. Uh, and before pandemic, uh, we moved to Baltimore and, um, I was homeschooling at the time. And, uh, so I started working from home two days a week. And then when pandemic happened, um, [00:02:00] I was fully remote. um, Fully remote for a long time. Um, and then in 2021, we moved, um, to Northern California. And, um, had planned to re stay there until I retired. Um, but then, um, things changed and I moved back to this area.

So I've been in, um, um, In the DC, Maryland area, really my whole adult life. Except for the few years in California and a few years in Boston. So now I'm back here.

Jennifer Wilson: Now is your kiddo in college on the east or west coast? I forget.

Terri Torrez: Rochester, University of Rochester. So New York. And that's, that's part of why I came back. So my husband and I separated last year, and I decided as much as I really absolutely loved everything about Northern California. . All my people are on this coast. Um, so, um, [00:03:00] my, you know, all my friends are here in, in the D. C. area. My mom is in Florida, and Alex is in Rochester, New York. So, it just, it really made sense to come back here.

Jennifer Wilson: Great. Great. And we'll, yeah, we're going to get into more of your kind of life context here as part of our episode topic. But I love to ask these icebreaker questions to our guests. Do you have a favorite recent layout or project? What was it about? And why do you love it?

Terri Torrez: Yeah, so, I've been working, um, uh, um, on Aligned, um, lately, and that's been taking most of my focus. Um, and surprisingly, I think my favorite layout that I've made recently, was about, um, my kind of daily and weekly routine. Um, It, you know, was, was It was a prompt within the seasonal aspect, but I took it as a, Oh, hey, I haven't recorded my, [00:04:00] you know, current routine.

And obviously everything has changed. Um, and so I just decided to, to take that simple approach. Um, and, you know, I used a template from the, uh, from Simple Scrapper and, um, I did it digitally. And just really like the way it came out and it captures that kind of point in time, um, that I think is needed. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, for sure. Yeah. And I think that's one of the things we love about maybe more everyday life, whether it's we're doing a Day In The Life or routines or a Week in The Life, anything where we're capturing what life is like right now, um, it becomes this like milestone that helps us compare and contrast with past, present, and eventually future.

Terri Torrez: Yeah, and I don't do, I stopped doing Day in the Life and Week in the Life, um, a few years ago because I just, I would say I'm going to do it and then I would start collecting the stuff [00:05:00] and then I'd, I either wouldn't do it or would do it and just, I hated the process of doing it. And I was like, all right, I'm done doing these. But I still, there are certain aspects of that that I want to capture.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Well, in general, you kind of shy away from projects as a whole. Like you make layouts. Is that accurate to say?

Terri Torrez: I do absolutely. Um, I, yeah, I don't like the idea of projects. The only projects I have done in the last years are Project Life, um, which I'm stopping again this year. Um, and One Little Word. Everything else I do as individual layouts, whether it's a trip or, you know, a, um, some other event or, you know, or just, documenting the every day.

It's individual layouts that go into my Library of Memories album. Even Aligned, doing this seasonal capturing, all of those are going to end up somewhere in my [00:06:00] Library of Memories albums.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Nice. And for those who maybe are newer listeners last year, we, uh, Helen and I taught this Aligned class. And we have a lot of members, including myself, who are kind of going through it again this year or some for the first time. Like I believe Terri's doing it for the first time. And, uh, it, It's very simple prompts, which you can do in whichever way you want, very scrapbooky or not at all, um, to help you connect to the natural seasons and how things shift for you and how that makes you feel.

And it's just another lens for kind of reflection and creativity if you choose to add that on top of it. And Helen and I recorded three different episodes last year on Aligned. If you want to go back and, and check those out. Um, is there anything that's exciting you right now? Something you are wanting to do, use, or try, either in scrapbooking or just in your everyday life?

Terri Torrez: So that's a good segue because it would definitely be [00:07:00] Aligned. So, um, because of everything going on in my life last year, I did not get to participate. Um, and, um, and I really wanted to. Um, both because I wanted that kind of seasonal alignment. Um, but also, um, you know, I really, you know, I saw everyone doing these projects with mixed media and, you know, different things.

And I knew I wanted to do something in that area. So, you know, but I knew I wasn't going to do a specific book, a specific project. Um, so I set myself a goal of doing at least one, um, mixed media layout a month. And, you know, some of the prompts I'm doing digitally. Some of them I'm just doing, um, in paper, and some of them I'm going all out and getting out all the supplies. You know, I, I've done some mixed media on and off over the years. You know, I went through a phase where I have all the alcohol inks. I went through a phase where I used a lot of the [00:08:00] spray mists.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm hmm.

Terri Torrez: And then right before I moved to California, I had acquired a whole bunch of texture pastes that then never got used, never got opened. So I have all the supplies, all the tools to do a lot more mixed media than I actually do. Um, And I decided that, um, this year, I wanted to make a focus for that and, and either use them or get rid of them, right? If I don't, if I find that it's too hard, that it's too much work, that I don't enjoy it, then, you know, maybe I'll get rid of some of these things. But I really wanted to make that effort. So I set a goal of at least one mixed media layout a month. And then Peggy posted that she had signed up for something called Wanderlust. And it's a class that's basically an art journaling class that runs all year. And I looked at it and I decided that if I was going to be doing, you know, sort of this mixed media stuff on my own, that I was [00:09:00] worried that I would spend too much time every month looking up techniques, watching videos, reading, you know, reading instructions to try to narrow down what I wanted to do.

And I thought, if I signed up for this class, then I could just work through it one lesson at a time. And whatever that lesson was, was what I was going to do. Um, you know, tied in, um, with the Aligned prompts.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, that's so

interesting. So you're pairing like you're pairing, uh, resources from two different places, a technique and reflection prompt together just so you don't have to make any decisions.

Terri Torrez: Yes, exactly, right, to decrease that time. And, you know, Wanderlust, um, has a lesson every week as well, and I'm not doing that many, so I won't get through all of it. But if I like it, then, you know, I can continue with it more with it later. But for now, I'm using it as a tool, um, so that I don't, I don't have to think too hard.

So, um, so far I've done one [00:10:00] page, um, with a lot of paint layers. Um, and I'm liking how it's working out. So, um, so we'll see how that goes.

Jennifer Wilson: I think it's so interesting that kind of your point of readiness for Aligned because there's always times in life, um, some more Kind of some bigger than others where we feel like, you know what, I'm in the messy middle. Like this is not a time to even seek alignment. That is for a later step. And, you know, that's part of why I wanted to have you on the show is to talk more about how you've navigated this life transition.

Uh, I'm sure there were places that were really, really difficult and maybe still are. Um, but all of this in the context of being a scrapbooker and memory keeper, um, you've already shared quite a bit, but if you want to like go into share a little bit more in terms of what you're comfortable with, in terms of what has changed for you. We, you know, you're, you're separated, you moved across the country, um, and like really across [00:11:00] coast to coast.

Um, is there anything else that you want us to, to kind of know about you?

Terri Torrez: Yeah, so when I was thinking about this idea of transition and changes, I realized that it kind of goes back to start. Um, in 2021. Um, when we moved to California in the first place. So, um, you know, I'd been working full time, um, remotely. At the time I was, um, helping my, uh, husband run his business. Um, and I was also homeschooling my high schooler at the time. And then we had been planning to move after Alex graduated high school. We ended up moving a little before Alex graduated high school. But, which made things more complicated. But, um, but the intent was to get out of the mid Atlantic area since we were, you know, both able to work remotely. It you know, I mean, Mid Atlantic is good [00:12:00] for jobs and schools. Not much else. I don't love the weather. It's very expensive, you know. Um, so there were, there were a lot of reasons to consider moving. And then we ended up, uh, moving to Northern California. So Sonoma County, uh, wine country. Uh, we had a winery across the street. We had year round Farmer's Market. Um, But you know, we really loved everything about, about that area. Um, so I finished up with the homeschooling. My kid went off to college. Um, so that was the first kind of stage of, you know, shifting to this new, you know, life. um, Being in that empty nester, the beginnings of the empty nester stage. Um, And then in 2023, um, Um, two major things happened at the beginning of 2023.

Um, my husband's business was hit with a lawsuit. Um, that, uh, eventually [00:13:00] drastically, um, changed his business. Um, and my stepfather who had, um, been diagnosed, um, with mesothelioma, he'd been undergoing chemo treatments for a year, um, and we had done a lot of things in 2022, um, with him. And then in 2023, he started to decline. And I spent the A better part of six months in Florida helping my parents. Um, so both of those things, um, you know, on top of try on top of still getting used to living in California and, you know, and learning to be an empty nester and all the things all at once. Um, you know, it's funny, I was talking to, um, one of our members, one of my friends, Monica Moriak, and she said that she's, you know, a couple of years ahead of me in the like, um, empty nester or parent caregiving, um, [00:14:00] stage.

And, um, she said that she kind of looked at it as, you know, about 10 years of transition uncertainty. And when she said it, I was appalled.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Terri Torrez: I mean, I was the idea of being in that level of uncertainty for a decade, just, you know, I, I just couldn't fathom it. It was, know, I'm, I'm a planner, right?

I'm someone who has plans for, you know, tomorrow, for next week, for next year. You know, you know, I keep, I think about things in a five year plan. And, and the idea of just, you know, being, and knowing that I was in that uncertainty without a firm plan, um, just seemed, uh, unfathomable to me. And now a couple years later, um, I'm starting to see, uh, well, A, it's not like I have a choice on some of it, right?

Um, But, I mean, those changes are [00:15:00] coming whether you want them to or not. But, but also, you know, you know, I'm starting to see that maybe there's some value in, in not having an immediate plan. Um, so, you know, all of that, um, led up to 2024. Um, when, um, my husband and I separated. And then, like I said, I moved back to Maryland because this is where all my people are. Um, and it, and it just made sense. So now I'm looking at it and, you know, not just the plans I had for the next couple of years, but the plans I had for retirement, for my future, all of those things are going to look different now. And I have no idea, you know, what that's going to be, what I want out of life and what might, what opportunities might come down the road. And so I'm trying, um, [00:16:00] to live in that uncertainty and be okay with that uncertainty. Which is a whole new thing for me. Um, there's a phrase, um, Emily Freeman uses called living in the ellipsis.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Terri Torrez: Um, right? The ellipsis being those, um, three dots, uh, you know, in a, in a sentence that indicate that something is missing or uncertain or, you know, in between. And that's and that's where I am. Um, you know, even, you know, my One Little Word this year, I chose wonder. Because I wanted something that conveyed, um, that kind of joy in the everyday moments. But wonder also has that, um, connotation of doubt and thinking about things and not, you know, uncertainty. And.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Terri Torrez: Um, and, and I've wanted that in my word, right? Because I don't, I don't quite [00:17:00] know what's coming next. You know, I've, I've got a plan. I've still got a plan for the next year. Um, you know, but beyond that, long term, I don't know what things are going to look like. And, and I'm okay with that. And I want to be okay with that. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, and it's, I think wonder also comes to mind for me as practicing, I wonder if like, considering alternatives or options that you might never have considered before. as part of this process of, of getting comfortable with discomfort. Um, and knowing that, you know, you are surviving a very uncomfortable process. And knowing that you know, there will be other uncomfortable things that sometimes we even electively go into. Because we know what's on the other side of it.

Terri Torrez: I think that's the right way to look at it, you know, um, in, in the article where she talks about living in the ellipse Emily Freeman says that, um, [00:18:00] you know, she was talking about her husband being in a transition state, and she said he was in a state of listening. That's not necessarily something.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Mm.

Terri Torrez: I do well. Um, but I think that, um, but I think that I need to, right?

I think I need to be, you know, listening for opportunities that weren't even conceivable before, right? Things that I might not have even ever thought about doing or opportunities that might come, that were just never on my horizon. Um, and I think that's part of why, you know, I, I think that's part of why Aligned works. You know, this year. I mean, you know, part of it was seeing what everyone else is doing and a little bit of FOMO.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm hmm.

Terri Torrez: But, um, you know, part of it is I need to sort of, ground myself in the here and now. And, um, You know, enjoy, you know, and even [00:19:00] just coming back to Maryland, you know, I don't love the weather here.

I don't love, right. I don't love the climate. I don't, there are a lot of things I don't like about the mid Atlantic. But there are also, I mean, I've spent most of my adult life here. I went to college in DC. and, Um, you know, it's, It's comfortable. It's familiar. Um, and there's a certain, um, there's a, there's a certain value in, in that too. And there's also, you know, when I moved away, there were things that, you know, I, that are now new and novel again, right? Because I was gone. Um, and so I am, trying to, to appreciate, um, you know, what, what I do like about this area. Um, and to, um, but also to, to treat it like it's new again, too. One of the things, one of the books we read in book club, um, had a, an idea of, [00:20:00] um, big adventures, little adventures.

Um, so I, um, I started as a goal, um, I've been doing it for a couple of years, um, one big adventure a month, one little adventure a week. uh, And so I'm taking the opportunity to get out in, you know, in this area. And, uh, revisit Revisit places that, you know, we used to love. But also, um, you know, visiting new places, you know, the kind of, um, being a tourist in my own, um, you know, in my own community. I think that was something, um, from another book club book that we read about, um, learning to be rooted in your community and you know, being a tourist for the kinds of things that you don't normally do. When you.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes.

Terri Torrez: Live in a place for a long time. Um, so, and, you know, being in the DC area, there's a lot of stuff here, so.

Jennifer Wilson: One of the things that I really had thought about a lot [00:21:00] over the summer, um, we had a chance to go to California and, uh, we spent some time in San Diego and I was going to all these places where I had been previously with my first husband. And I didn't realize how many like awkward, uncomfortable feelings I had. And I asked my friend who was there, who also happens to have had a first husband, and she's like, you know, I just look at it as an opportunity to make new memories and give new meaning to these places. It's not about going back. It's about you are here now. And so what like take it in, what is happening here now?

You're, you know, your daughter is here, like looking at the seals and sea lions and having a great time really has nothing to do with past. You can still accept that that happened while looking towards the future and giving places, uh, new meaning and memories.

Terri Torrez: That's a great way to look at it.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I think one of the other things I was thinking about as you were speaking is about this idea of kind [00:22:00] of, we all need tethers. And so if something becomes untethered, you try to reach for others. Um, and if you don't have any, that's when we kind of, uh, stop taking care of ourselves and don't do things that are good for us, I think.

And so maybe I think part of moving back East was a huge tether for you. So that other things could become untethered and float away. And, um, you know, exploring a place again, and particularly with Aligned, it's helping you literally feel more tethered to a place that perhaps isn't perfect or ideal for you.

Terri Torrez: Yeah, that's, that's definitely true. I mean, I think the other big thing that, that has kept me tethered and that, that immediately comes to mind is this community at the risk of sounding like a commercial here. Like, you know, this community and the fact that it, [00:23:00] we engage in it remotely, right? That.

you know, we engage in it, um, through the app in our chats and through the Zoom crops. That hobby, that community, those friends moved with me when I moved to California, and when I moved back. And you know a little bit of a time zone shift and I spend more time with different people depending what time zone I'm in. But for the most part, it's just been a constant. And I don't think that I could have as easily made either transition without that consistency.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, I love that. Yeah. I love that that's been there for you. And I think, knew that I kind of felt that happening, even though I didn't happen to overlap as much as you, particularly when you were still in California. Like in crops because of that time difference. um, Like, yeah, I can't even see in the things that you were creating.

I think you were able to express yourself to the community through your scrapbooking without having to say like, [00:24:00] Hey, here's what's going on for me. Um, and you know, I appreciate that you felt like safe enough to be vulnerable and share those things. Um, in the layouts that you posted.

Terri Torrez: I have always used my writing as a way to process my thoughts. So whether that's a discussion in the chat or whether it's in my scrapbooking layouts, journaling is not something that I ever have an issue with. It just always comes naturally. And it's a way to process my thoughts, but also to share them with other people. Because then you find out that you're not the only one thinking that. And.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Terri Torrez: That helps me to get, you know, to get clarity to bounce those ideas off of other people in writing. So that's, that's just been a huge help and a huge support to me.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious as, okay, as time has evolved over the past few years, have you, you mentioned the community being kind of a constant, were you able to be [00:25:00] creative, create layouts, um, have the same kind of practices throughout. Or were there shifts in that in terms of what you felt capable, willing, interested, motivated to work on?

Terri Torrez: See now, it's interesting because I had to stop and think about that. So, when I moved, I, you know, during the move process, of course, I, you know, suspended my scrapbooking. But, I got things up and running in both directions pretty quickly. Um, and, um, hosted, uh, my same crops. So I host currently two crops a week and then every other Friday. And those, again, became part of that tether, right? My, my normal life. The same way as getting online and working eight hours every day, is part of my normal life. And so because I was doing that, I mean, yes, around the moves, a lot of that time was spent packing [00:26:00] and unpacking. But I still did a fair amount of scrapbooking. I did Project Life, um, those years, but I also was looking at it because I was like, hmm, what kind of, you know, stuff was I doing? Was I doing more light, scrapbooking or Project Life that I don't have to think about as much. But then I realized that when I was in Florida with my parents, um, I did a whole series of bucket list stories about mine and Alex's college and career choices.

You know, not hard stories per se, but still deep bucket list stories that needed to be told. So I clearly was engaging with my scrapbooking. Now, most of that was digital. Again, because, I was remote and moving around. But I do do both paper and digital scrapbooking. So it lets me continue to scrap, no matter what's going on in my physical environment or where I'm located. Um, [00:27:00] and, you know, I also, then when I got back to California, um, and things were going on there, um, last year, I did a lot of stash bashing. Um, was, you know, one of my goals. And with, when I'm doing that, I start from product, right? You know, I, I had a whole bunch of kits that I wanted to crush, like I crushed eight Ali Edwards quarterly kits last year. And you you know, I tend to jump around. So I'll tell current stories and past stories and, you know, whatever fits with, um, the themes and colors of the products that I'm, that I'm trying to use up.

Jennifer Wilson: I think that's really interesting. Because I can see whether or not that you kind of knew that you were moving at what point within that stash bashing, like, as a way to exert a sense of control over something, especially when we can't control other things in our lives. Um, so. Yeah, I think we can see a lot about ourselves and what's going on depending on what the [00:28:00] type of activities that, that we choose. Um, like, yeah, letting go, purging, um, perhaps had multiple levels of, of meaning for you.

Terri Torrez: You know, I hadn't thought of it that way, but that's probably right, right? I mean, I remember once, um, you know, I.

Jennifer Wilson: Not trying to, like, psychoanalyze

Terri Torrez: No, no, But.

Jennifer Wilson: Trying to observe.

Terri Torrez: But it's true. Like, I remember once when I was having a really stressful time at work and, um, you know, I took a day off just kind of as a mental health day. This was a number of years ago, but I, and I spent the day at home cleaning out the cabinets in the bathroom. right? Like, You know, getting rid of all the expired meds and the makeup and the, right? Because that sort of thing, you know, I couldn't control the stress that was going on and the uncertainty that was going on at work. But, you know, just cleaning that out, you know, made me feel good. It gives you a level of control.

So you're [00:29:00] probably right that that's part of why, you know, stash bashing was so important to me the last couple of years. I mean, also, you know, because I want to be able to buy new things and.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Terri Torrez: Like I needed to, you know, clear out the old. But, but it did. And it gave me. It gave me the ability to, you know, push forward and make layouts without having to think too hard. You know, because I had a particular goal in mind to use this product. And I just kept using it one paper at a time until it was gone, you know.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, that's something that I think I see a lot of folks, myself included, doing, is that we're trying to pair different, uh, goals, directives, desires, prompts together. So that we, you know, um, it's not quite multitasking. What is the word I'm thinking of? I don't know. I think there's some sort of colloquial phrase, but.

Terri Torrez: More like synergy.

Jennifer Wilson: Just, it's

Terri Torrez: Or right, just bringing everything together so that you have so that you meet your goals, but [00:30:00] you also have the motivation on different levels to get it done.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, in any one day, one of those things might be motivating you a lot more than the other.

Um, like, I really want to use this kit. Like, yeah, I have this photo, so I guess I should tell the story. It doesn't, it's not like the most pressing thing at the moment, but now that I have these two things that will help me move forward.

Um, so the more we can pair together. You know, without it being overwhelming, then I think it's seems to be very satisfying for a lot of folks. Now, I know when you were originally moving to California, that you had done a lot of like decluttering and organizing. And then, so I'm curious if you saw benefits of that when then you were repacking to move back.

Do you feel like you're just a more organized person overall? I think I sense that you've, you're kind of organized in general. Um. But how did you kind of observe your stuff in terms of [00:31:00] moving west and then moving back east?

Terri Torrez: So we had done a big move in 2015 when we downsized, um, from about 6, 000 square feet to, um, about 1, 500 square feet. Um, so that had an enormous impact on my, um, scrapbooking supplies. Um, And then after we moved into the house, um, in 2015, about a year later, I did another round of purging. Because, you know, I had fit everything we had brought. Just barely, right?

Jennifer Wilson: Mm hmm.

Terri Torrez: Things were, and I, you know, I needed to, to clear more. Um, and so when we moved, um, to California, I had done, I did, uh, continue to, to purge, um, as I packed. And then when I moved back to back, I didn't really do another round of purging because, you know, I had [00:32:00] done so much relatively recently. But then when I unpacked, when I unpacked in California, I did a pretty good job of putting everything away in its place. Because in California, I had a big enough house that the boxes could live outside my studio. When I moved here, I had to, there just wasn't space for the boxes. I had to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Um, And so, everything kind of got shoved into cubbies and drawers kind of everywhere. Years ago, there was a Big Picture class called Get Organized and Be Inspired. And basically, one of the premises of the class was that when you want to organize your space, you need to clear everything out. You literally pull everything out of your room, and then you sort through it like with like, right, and then purge, and then put it back with intention. [00:33:00] And, um, so I've done that multiple times, um, since that, since I first took that class. Um, And, um, including when I did the big purge after we moved into the smaller house. I waited until my sister was away for a while and used her room to stage everything. Um, because it does take some space. Um, but and so I've used that technique every time. And of course, moving is just another way of.

Jennifer Wilson: Correct, yeah.

Terri Torrez: Starting from scratch, right? So, I'm starting to get kind of frustrated now because everything is here in the room. Um, and I have a lot less than I used to, so there really isn't that much, but I'm constantly being like, oh, I didn't remember I had that, or, oh, I have no idea where this thing is. Um, because lot of things, and that, that's actually true, not just of my studio at this point, but of the [00:34:00] whole house. I don't really.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, sure.

Terri Torrez: Have that much stuff, um, especially, um, you know, when we moved, like, Like in the entire kitchen, I had a knife, a toaster and my coffee maker. Um, And that was it. Um, so, you know, and the same thing with furniture, right? I have one thing here and one thing there. But, um, my studio is the area where I have most things, right?

Cause I brought my furniture and, and all the stuff. Um, but still I don't have that much stuff. But I really need to spend time now that it's been unpacked, um, going through each area. Organizing it, making a home, right? Everything has to have a place. And right now everything does not have a place. And so I often can't find things, even though there's just not that much stuff.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, sure. But if they're, if they're tucked away and, you know, a way that's easily transportable, [00:35:00] that doesn't necessarily mean either it's easily accessible when you might want to use it.

Terri Torrez: Yes. And so a lot of things just got thrown into boxes. And I, you know, I pulled out a bag the other day and I was like, Oh, what's in here? And it was literally a random hodgepodge of things that obviously I found in my scrap room after the other boxes have been packed. know, and so.

Jennifer Wilson: Those hodgepodge bags drive me nuts because I, I feel like I've carried, I've had at least like one bag of random stuff since I, left home at 18. And, like there's items still in that bag that I'm like, this does not have a home. But I've carried it with me and moved it from space to space. Um, I dunno, maybe that's just me.

Terri Torrez: No, its absolutely true. And there are you know, and those bags and boxes of cables and things like. Like, I just, I have to, I have to go through this stuff and I have to get everything put away. [00:36:00] Um, and you know, it's made harder by the fact that I don't always have furniture. Um, so, you know, trying to figure out and, You know, so now the entire house is my own.

The decisions are all mine. Um, you know, I'm renting, so I can't like paint the walls a different color or whatever. But, um, but the furniture choices, the decorating choices are all mine. So I'm also trying to, you know, make, make the spaces, um, cozy, and, you know, make, every room, you know, bring that kind of, you know, everyday joy. Right, that I'm looking for with my word. Um, So, um, that's a lot of things. Um, that I need to do and then add in the fact that I had a, um, a, you know, a digital mess this past year. Um, I had a NAS crash in such a way that it, um, destroyed one hard drive and corrupted the second. Um, and, um, then realized that not everything had been backed [00:37:00] up to the cloud properly.

Jennifer Wilson: That seems like a metaphor for your marriage. I mean.

Terri Torrez: For my entire life, no.

Jennifer Wilson: That's very aggressive say, I apologize.

Terri Torrez: Yeah. no, it was, it was pretty good. And I'd always prided on myself on, you know, having a good backup system. And just, you know, I mean, the odds of both NAS hard drives going is pretty slim in the first place.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm hmm.

Terri Torrez: And, you know, it just, yeah, the whole thing just fell apart. Um, and so. I didn't lose much, like truly lose. But I do have now restoration from multiple places, some files that are corrupted, so I need to de dupe while getting rid of the corrupted files. And so there's a lot of photo management work there that I've been working on for the past year. And you know, trying to balance that with getting the house set up and getting the, you know. So all the things, um, you [00:38:00] know. So it's a lot of things I want to be working on all at once. And, um, I'm finding that challenging. And my job, we stood up a new department, um, last year. That is specifically around data governance and management, which is my area of expertise.

So something that I've kind of been doing, um, a lot on the side of my desk, um, is now an entire department. Um, which I am, um, you know, on the leadership team, standing all of the, those things up. So it's very exciting. I love it. Um, but it is also a huge amount of work and it's taking a lot of my mental bandwidth. So I, I'm having to remind myself that, you know, I can only do so much. You know, this month is LOAD. Uh, layout a day. Um, and I am, um, trying to produce a layout a day. Um, but, um, you know, and [00:39:00] do all the other things. So.

Jennifer Wilson: One final, like, curiosity I have is you've kind of, you've gone for very, uh, how do I say this? You've had very extreme swings in the size of your space, uh, multiple times. And you know, when you're talking about kind of setting up your home to be cozy and I'm sure there's like a feel safe. How, what have you really realized about what's most important and what you really need having had like multiple experiences and different size of, of homes.

Terri Torrez: You know, after we sold the. The big, you know, McMansion in the DC suburbs. I said, I would never do that again. Um, you know, I mean, that place had, we had cathedral ceilings in the living room, like the bedroom was huge, you know, big rooms like that require big furniture. Every, um, You know, remodeling task became an enormous event.

Heck, just changing [00:40:00] light bulbs, right? With those, you know, two story windows, um, and the track lights above them required hiring someone because there's no way I was getting up on a ladder that tall, right? Um, And I said I would never do that again. And then we moved to California and the house wasn't that big, but it was still pretty large.

And, um, and again, every decision became a major, um, a major ordeal. And, um, you know, finding the right furniture and finding that, you know, and making the decorating decisions. And I'm finding that even though I'm constrained, um, by, you know, the paint choices or the flooring choices in this house. It's so much smaller and I can just buy buy something and, you know, buy a rug.

And if it doesn't fit in my next house, you know, it isn't like I spent thousands of dollars on it. Um, and so the decisions are [00:41:00] are smaller. They're less expensive and they're easier to make. So that if I hate it in a couple years, I can change it without, you know, feeling like I have to make this decision for the next decade, you know. Um, and especially now being in a rental, I made the decision to stay in this one, in this place, um, another year. Um, I'd really like to have something. I don't even need more space, but I wouldn't mind some outdoor space. This is a townhouse. It's a back to back townhouse, meaning that not only do I have houses on either side, but I have one on the back side too. So I only have windows on the front. And I have a very tiny little space in the front yard that doesn't get any light because of the tree. And so I don't really, I don't have a deck. I don't have a backyard. I don't have anything like that. And I would love to have some outdoor space. [00:42:00] But, um, this place is in a walkable, um, very walkable neighborhood with all the things, right? I can walk and do wine tastings at my local wine bar and I can walk to work and I can, you know, walk to the grocery store, Target, the bookstore. Um.

And and so I love it and decided to stay for another year. Um, but, um, You know, I don't want to buy a ton of furniture that's specific to this house if I will be moving to another one. So that constrains my choices. But I feel like I can make this house cozy in a way, um, that I couldn't, um, with a bigger house with bigger decisions.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I just, I, I, I feel, um, I'm getting a sense of, of lightness that even though there are lots of things to do and, you know, there's lots of things to do at home and at work. Um, you know, do you are in a solid [00:43:00] place. And I mean, that's sometimes the best that we can hope for. And I just, I can't wait to see you, um, continue to thrive as you, as you navigate, well, the rest of your life. I don't know, you know, as you, as you continue to, um, yeah, evolve and grow and, and as things settle down for you.

Terri Torrez: You know, it's interesting that lighter is the word that my therapist used after, you know, we made the decision to divorce. And, and I think, uh, you know, I think it is. I mean, I don't, you know, I, I do, I feel like there's a lot of opportunity, a lot of possibilities there. And I need to remind myself of that when I'm bogged down in. I don't have time to do all the things. Um, you know, is that, is to step back and see that bigger picture. But I am, I'm enjoying this change. And I am, you know, I'm happy right now. I am enjoying [00:44:00] being able to do the things that are important to me. And to be able to be open to new opportunities. So.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. I love that so much. Terri can you share where our listeners can connect with you online and what you are most looking forward to this year?

Terri Torrez: You can connect with me in the Simple Scrapper membership. Um, I don't do social media anymore. I still have an Instagram account. Um, I still have a Facebook account too. Um, because I have to follow some family members on there. But, uh, but I never post there. And, um, and I don't really, I've never been a big fan of Instagram. Again, I have an account to follow some people on there, but I really don't, um, I really don't spend a lot of time using social media anymore. Um, all of my, um, kind of social media time is spent, um, in the membership. [00:45:00] Um, I do read a lot of blog posts. I think when I, when I have the need to scroll, that's what I'm scrolling.

Not news, not social media, but, um, kind of curated set of blog posts. Um, and I often will post those into the membership, um, and share, um, where I think, um, things are relevant to, uh, what other people, are doing and thinking about. But yeah, that's pretty much the only place you can find me.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I definitely appreciate your, I mean, long time and abundant contributions. Um, you're definitely a shining light in the community and, and make it a part of what makes it continue to thrive. Um, I feel like I don't have to follow as many blogs because I trust that you're going to share the most important reads. So. And then what are you looking forward to this year?

Terri Torrez: Oh, well, besides, um.

Jennifer Wilson: Cherry blossoms.

Terri Torrez: Yeah, besides working on Aligned and all that sort of thing, um, I've been doing a lot of, um, Disney trips [00:46:00] with my mom. And in October, we are going to Australia.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, fun. Wonderful.

Terri Torrez: Have already been in touch with some of our Australian members, so I am really hoping to, uh, meet up with some of them there.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, wonderful. I can't wait to see what, uh, hear back on your adventures and what you create afterwards. Terri, thank you so much for spending time with me and sharing so openly.

Terri Torrez: Thank you for having me.

Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.