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PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 119   DAILY DAVID - DAY 119  CATALYST SEVEN - WSYIWIG  I used the cardboard to emphasize the feeling of being "bare" and the authentic me. I also tore the papers to give the impression that all the layers of me were stripped off and this was the true me. Journaling Reads: what you see is what you get. that's me. i don't mince words. i am not cruel but i also don't lie. i have no time to play games. too many people have messed with my head and i refuse to play with yours. when you get me as a friend, you get a loyal person who will always be honest, kind and generous. i will not change on you. i will not deceive you. i will not stab you in the back. i only know one way to be and this is it. it may take a while to get to know me. to see that i truly care. and i really will be there. always. you may be confused. you may think there's more under the surface. you may wait anxiously to see what's really going on. but it's really simple with me: what you see is what you get. always. PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 118  DAILY DAVID - DAY 118  DAILY ATCS - WEEK 19  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 117  DAILY DAVID - DAY 117  And here's another shot from the backyard.  DAILY ATCS - WEEK 18  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 116  DAILY DAVID - DAY 116  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 115  DAILY DAVID - DAY 115  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 114  DAILY DAVID - DAY 114  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 113  DAILY DAVID - DAY 113   PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 112  DAILY DAVID - DAY 112  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 111  DAILY DAVID - DAY 111  CATALYST SIX - DONE  I've been hurt many times by people who seemed like they were my friend but turned out not to be so. I decided to dedicate this week's layout to them. I used crackle paint and then inked it. I also made my own background. I took a photo of one of my such friends and me and scratched her face out and tore the photo. This was indeed very therapeutic for me. Journaling reads: fake. yes, i'm talking to you. i thought you were my friend. now i can see that you don't even know what it means to be a friend. if there's one thing i hate in the world more than anything else, it's people being one thing to your face and another behind your back. i wouldn't take that from anyone and i am surely not taking it from you. i was surprised, at first. then i was sad. and then mad. now i'm finished. done. Come play. PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 110  DAILY DAVID - DAY 110  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 109  DD - DAY 109  THE BOOK OF ME I am so excited to announce that I will be teaching AMM's first online class: The Book of Me: Six easy and six not-so-easy facts about me.  You'll have access to a students-only board and here's some more information about the class: This album will guide you to make a minibook containing 6 easy and 6 not so easy facts about you. Each page of the minibook will be a list of six things on a particular topic, like songs you like or places you've been. There will be six pages of easy and fun facts about you and then six pages of deeper, more meaningful facts. A total of 14 classes will be spread across three weeks to give you plenty of time to catch up. Each class will contain an example page from Karen's minibook with alternate ideas, photography tips, journaling tips, and lot of other inspiration. You will have access to a private bulletin board where you can ask questions, show off your minibook pages and share the joy of creating a memorable and meaningful album for yourself and your loved ones. The best thing about this class is that you can use your own stash and your own, unique style to create your book. It will be 100% authentic to you. You can find a lot more information here. and register for the class here. I hope you join us! You won't regret it! POTD - DAY 108  DD - DAY 108  BECKY'S AMM CLASS - WELCOME SIGN My good friend Becky has her first class up at AMM. It's this beautiful sign:  Go check it out here. It's absolutely beautiful! POTD - DAY 107  DD - DAY 107   POTD - DAY 106  DD - DAY 106  POTD - DAY 105  DD - DAY 105   POTD - DAY 104   DD - DAY 104  CATALYST FIVE - UNBOUNDED LOVE  Journaling says: There aren’t many things I like about myself but I will always cherish my ability to love people in an endless and unbounded way. When I love someone, even if just a friend, I give that person 100% of myself. I am always there and will always do anything needed. My capacity for love is my very favorite thing in the word. DAILY ATCS - WEEK 17  IF FOR ANY REASON...  It's inspired by my friend Lori who told me about this submission to Chatterbox about an album for your kids. So that if anything ever happened to me and Jake, David would have letters from us to read on each of the big occasions on his life. The pages are: 1. overall letter 2. first day of school 3. first love 4. first heartbreak 5. graduation 6. first job 7. first home 8. wedding 9. first baby 10. whenever he feels alone in life I used the an envelope minibooks so I could put our letters inside. And the photos are of David are from youngest to now up as we get towards the end of the album. You can see the full album here. And there's a link on the side, too. YOU AND ME ALWAYS  BEST FRIEND  POTD - DAY 103  DD - DAY 103  POTD - DAY 102  DD - DAY 102  POTD - DAY 101  DD - DAY 101   JUST LIKE MOMMY  We took David to his 3-year appointment a few months ago and he wouldn't let go of his book the whole time which is exactly how i was as a child (and still am). The little shininess didn't photo well but I tried.  POTD - DAY 100  DD - DAY 100  WHAT YOU'RE GOOD AT VS WHAT YOU LIKE TO DO Jake and I were talking about work the other day. I kept wondering, what's more important: to work with something you're good at or to do work that you like to do? I think some of this point is a bit moot. Generally, if you're really good at something, you must enjoy it at least a little bit or you wouldn't have been able to become that good at it. And if you truly love doing something, you'll eventually get good at it. Or, at least, better than mediocre. However, there are real case examples where I might be really good at something but it's not my passion. And I could be really passionate about something that I am just not that great at. Even if I am above mediocre. Is that good enough? Will I constantly struggle and always get frustrated? Should I just stick to what I know best for my job and make the other my "hobby"? I honestly don't know the answer to this one. LIFE LESSONS  You can see the full album here. YOU'RE NO ANGEL  The journaling is about how we caught David sneaking into the candy drawer and how he figured out that if he opens the bottom cabinet, he can step on the ledge and gain the extra few inches he needed. I guess he gets points for creativity. POTD - DAY 99  DD - DAY 99  POTD - DAY 98   DD - DAY 98  David's still fascinated by the ants and I have a bunch more photos from today.    FRIEND  The journaling is about how we were worried David wasn't playing with any kid his age until he met Franklin. And then we realized, there was nothing wrong with him. He was just picky. MOMMY: I DIEGO  So here's attempt one, from last night. This photo is of David wearing the little Turkish backpack book my sister got him when he was born. The other day I came home, and he was wearing it, telling me that he's Diego and that he needs some rope. He's a riot my little one. THE BEST THING Last week's catalyst was a response to a question from my energy class as well. The teacher told us to all go home and ask someone close to us about the best thing that happened to them today. This is interesting to me on three levels: 1. Most people aren't used to being asked a question about themselves. (Most people talk about themselves and don't listen to the other person that much.) 2. Most of us concentrate on the negative and being asked to think about something positive is a wonderful change. 3. It's amazing how small and insignificant-seeming events can be the best part of our day most often. Try asking someone close to you. And tell me... What was the best thing that happened to you today? MORE ON BEING VALUED Of all the things we discussed in the Managing Your Energy class the one that resonated the most with me was about the importance of being valued. I know I wrote about this recently but I wanted to repeat it. For me. Take a moment and think of each and every time you have gotten upset at something that you can remember. Now go ahead and analyze what was going on. I bet you that you can trace each of them to "not feeling valued" by someone. It's amazing how strongly the need to be valued is tied to the core of our being. It's why we do much of what we do. Sometimes it's also why we don't do something. It's why we get angry at others. Why we get disappointed and hurt. Jealous. Why we feel proud. Thrilled. Loved. All the bad feelings and all the good are tied to feeling the lack or presence of a sense of value. Each time I get mad or sad now, I step back to find where I felt lack of value so I can collect myself and move on. I learn to stop interacting with people who make me feel not valued. And now that I realize this, I also understand why it's so important to recognize others. To thank them. To make them feel valued. It changed my entire perspective of life. And weeks later, I am still thinking about it. IMPORTANCE OF REST One of the things I learned in the Managing Your Energy class I took over a month ago was the importance of resting and recovering. The teacher mentioned how the difference between good athletes and top-notch athletes was not how well they played the sport but how quickly they recovered. How much time they needed to rest. I've always been a Type A. I don't do that well with resting and relaxing. I don't often stop and smell the flowers. I think sleep is over rated. I believe in go-go-go. So much so that when my friends first heard I was moving to San Diego (five years ago), they thought I might go insane and want to come back to New York immediately. They weren't totally wrong. But San Diego did wonders for my state of mind. It taught me to relax. It showed me the joys of nature and photography and then, of course, David came. And then I came to Google and life went right back to go-go-go, busy-busy-busy, and now-now-now. Until I took the class. In the last month, I've been practicing being relaxed. Resting. Doing nothing and not feeling bad about it. Giving myself permission to lie in bed a few more minutes. To let go of that to-do list item. To not reply to that email. To sleep a full eight hours. I feel much better. I still get a lot done and I forgive myself for the rest. And amazingly, the world doesn't seem to come to an end. CATALYST FOUR - LIFE IS GOING TO WORK OUT  My whole life I was this sad, little girl. I always worried that something was wrong with me or that I would always be unhappy. I wish I could tell that little girl now that Life is going to work out for her and that she should give up constantly thinking that something is wrong. DAILY ATCS - WEEK 16  DAILY ATCS - WEEK 15  POTD - DAY 97  DD - DAY 97   FOUR BOOKS I'm still reading. Not as fast and not as much, but I am. And each time I do, I remember how much I miss it. How much I love getting lost in another world. Here are a few from the last few weeks:  Ever since I discovered him two years ago,
I immediately knew that I could never go wrong with Murakami and A
Wild Sheep Chase is no exception. An intriguing, hard to understand
book that leaves you with more questions than answers. I loved it
nonetheless. There's something about Murakami's style that just speaks
to me, I guess.
 And then I read The
Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes. This was a Costco find. I always try
to peruse the book aisle at Costco. I take photos of the titles I like
and then check them out at amazon and if they still look good, I check
them out from the library. This was one of those. It took me a while to
get into the story but I did enjoy it quite a bit by the end. I don't
know if I would recommend it as much as say that it wasn't a bad read.
 Which brings me to the sequels of Twilight.
I read Twilight back in January and I have no idea why I waited this
long to read the sequels, but I am so glad I finally remembered to check
them out. In the last week, I read 1,200 pages and I wish there were
more. Many more. These books are really wonderful. The characters are
well thought out and far from perfect or typical. The story keeps moving
forward constantly. The dialog is far from flat. One can sympathize with
each character in a different way. The writing is smooth and doesn't get
in the way of the story or the characters. Reading New
Moon and Eclipse
made me wish I was writing again. It made me wish I could write such
good stories, so well. It must be an amazing feeling to be able to write
books that people love to read. Books that are page turners. I
absolutely love these books. The fact that they are about vampires,
which is something I would never read about and young adult
novels, which I also don't read, is just icing on the cake that shows
good books are just good books regardless of subject or targeted age group.
POTD - DAY 96      DD - DAY 96  POTD - DAY 95   DD - DAY 95  POTD - DAY 94  DD - DAY 94  POTD - DAY 93  DD - DAY 93   DAILY ATCS - WEEK 14  POTD - DAY 92   DD - DAY 92  POTD - DAY 91  DD - Day 91  learning about roly-polies holding ants playing basketball with the neighbor's ball scaring mommy flying like a rocket to the sun we got a lot done.  |
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