Here’s this week’s story:
Title: Learning to Play the Guitar
Story:
David, I know I’ve written about the guitar before. I’ve made a layout about it even but I also know that it still makes me so very happy to think of it and I want to write more because I am not sure whether you will keep this up or not, but I still want to remember these awesome days.
Right now, you’re learning so many songs thanks to your awesome teacher and you love them all so much because they are all songs you’re interested in. You started with Eleanor Rigby which was so hard for you and now not only can you play it but you can sing along as you play. You can also play a few really hard songs. You asked her to give you the notes for Paul McCartney’s Christmas song and for the Avicii song that I like because you know I like it. You’re learning On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons because you love them so much and I know you’d love to play all their songs.
The other day, I was upstairs with Daddy and you were downstairs practicing and singing with Nathaniel. Daddy was so surprised that it was you playing because he hasn’t heard you as often as I have and he had no idea how incredibly awesome you are at it.
I know I always bug you to practice more but it’s only because I can see how much better it’s making you and how each time you play, I can see your eyes shining a bit brighter and I can see you being proud of yourself.
David, I have no idea how it is that I got to have this kid who’s kind, smart, loves reading and physics, and crafting with me, and music. How is it possible that you’re so good at so many things? You, my son, never ever cease to amaze me. Your tenacity, your ability to absorb new information, your willingness to learn, your excitement and joy. It’s all contagious my sweet boy.
I don’t know if you will end up sticking with guitar. Part of me hopes you will and that you continue to fill our house with wonderful music every day. But even if you stop, my love, I want you to know that you were awesome and it was just a pleasure to get to listen to your playing and your singing for as long as we got to. I want to thank you for filling our lives up with such wonderful joy.
Stories of Twenty Fifteen is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
It was only fair that I tackle abundance next since I did all the other three in previous weeks. This was the perfect picture for it. I love how it looks and it reminds me that there’s plenty to go around. The text says “I open my hands to blessings.” Blessings. There are so many of them. Enough to feed me and everyone around me.
I am so grateful for the abundance in my life.
here is a side look for the shimmer; i wanted to keep this really simple as it’s my goal with this project:
here’s to remembering how my cup overflows.
You Choose is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
This is the final week of carving the Core Desired Feelings words. The final word is: open. I probably should have started with this one as it’s the shortest word and not super complicated.
Maybe because of those two facts, this one ended up being bigger than the others. Not too big but definitely bigger.
here’s to being open to the gifts of the universe this year!
Fifty-two stamps is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
For this first page, I used Kate Thompson’s lesson from Life Book 2014. She is magnificent with drawing faces. Me, not so much. But I felt like trying anyway.
This whole page is painted gold and is really shiny. I am not sure why I didn’t take a shot of it sideways so you can see. But just imagine it. 🙂
In the spirit of bravery, I wrote down the lyrics of the Alanis song I was listening to at the time. It says: I recommend biting off more than you can chew to anyone. You live, you learn. You lose, you learn. You cry, you learn. You live, you learn. You scream, you learn.
To learn, you have to live. And if you live, no matter the result, you learn something from the experience. As with my word, I want to be brave this year. I want to bite off more than I can chew. I want to try harder, do more, work harder. I want to learn. I want to push myself. I want to learn about what I am capable of. I want to scream, cry, laugh, live.
I want to feel alive.
Note to Self is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
This week’s page has some shimmer on the left side. It’s one of those pages I built as I went along so the items don’t really make a cohesive picture together. But I still really like how it looks.
On the left is my sandal. I added some shimmer to it because, in real life, it has some shimmer.
maybe you can see some of it here:
In the middle is the halloween pumpkins that were hanging outside my neighbor’s house when I made this page. And then to the right are my birthday balloons that my friend Holly gave me when I turned forty. I love how colorful they are and how they have patterns too.
And there we are.
Everyday Brave is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
Here’s this week’s story:
Title: Saying Goodbye to Chrome
Story:
I started out in the Chrome team around 2008. It’s hard to nail down the exact date because I worked for Sundar for a while before that and there was no official transfer date. One day I was on the Mac team and also supporting Gears and next thing I know I was the PM for Mac, Linux and ChromeFrame.
I remember joining Sundar’s org and hearing about Chrome day and night and feeling like it was Sundar’s special baby. I used it and I didn’t think there was anything special about it. I remember wondering why he thought it was all that magical and why he thought it was going to be so important.
And he was so right.
As it turned out, Chrome is awesome. I mean the single best product I’ve worked on so far in my life. I’ve loved the product, the team, the management, the users, the work, all of it. Of course, there were many things I didn’t like. Many things I didn’t understand and likely never would, but still, I’ve loved Chrome for such a long time, now. It’s been something I’m incredibly proud to be a part of. Something I’ve felt a strong sense of belonging with and something that’s felt so very familiar.
And yet. The last few years have also had a lot of tough moments. I’ve had times where I felt I was no longer learning, I was no longer inspired by my own work, I was feeling frustrated and trapped. And I don’t want to feel any of those things. I was scared to move. I knew how special Chrome was and I knew there was a high chance I’d regret moving. But the things I wanted to change weren’t really going to for a long time. So since they were here to stay, I had to figure another way out.
So I made the tough decision to finally say goodbye. It mostly fell on my lap. It started with an email from Caesar, went to Ryan and then randomly ended up on Holly’s lap. And I churned and churned and followed an instinct that I am still not sure of but it felt brave. (Let’s see if it still does a year from now or if it will feel stupid.)
It was time to move on but I know I will miss it dearly and I am so thankful to Chrome.
Stories of Twenty Fifteen is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
This week’s pick is a bed that makes me feel serene when I look at it. I love the light coming in, the white covers, and the plants by the window. All of this makes me feel so serene. I coupled it with a sentence from an old Brave Girl’s class I took. It says “I choose happiness.” That’s what serenity is about for me. Choosing happiness. Choosing calm. Choosing to know all is ok and will always be ok.
here is a side look for the shimmer; not too much shimmer on this one:
here’s to embracing serenity.
You Choose is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
Week four is another one of my Core Desired Feelings for 2015. This week’s word was serene. One that I thought would have been easy but it was really hard. I kept messing up my “s” and the first time I was carving it, I cut right through the top of it so it was no longer recognizable as a letter. I thought of salvaging it and tried to, but alas I finally had to admit it wasn’t going to happen.
So I gave up and started all over again, doing a slightly different version and ended up with what you see above. Here are the two stamps below.
the process of carving this wasn’t so very serene but i persisted.
Fifty-two stamps is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
This page was originally supposed to be a Tam assignment for Life Book 2014. Representing ourselves as an animal that represents growth and strength. But I didn’t feel like drawing any animals.
At the time, I was taking several big leaps of courage and I was thinking a lot about being brave so I decided I wanted to draw this girl leaping from one side of a cliff to another. I wanted her to be doing it gracefully, fearlessly, joyfully. Alas, my drawing skills aren’t that advanced. I tried and tried and this was the best I could end up with. I don’t love it but I also don’t hate it.
It says: the courage is in choosing to leap, not in the outcome, so celebrate the leap.
I wanted to remind myself that bravery is not about not being afraid. But it’s also not about the outcome. It’s about trying. Being willing to try. To jump without knowing what’s on the other side. To have faith.
This is a good one for me to remember as I go on my journey of being brave this year.
Note to Self is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
This week’s layout is so not my favorite. But I wanted to be honest and not skip things. There are a few more upcoming ones I am not crazy about but that’s the thing about learning a new skill: there are more days of failure than there are of success. But you keep pushing anyway and eventually the ratio starts tilting the other way. Or so I hope.
And it takes a lot of practice. A Lot. At least for me.
On the left side, is the Posche we rented for Jake’s birthday back in September. At least this was my attempt of it.
The right side is a house on the way from my house to the school. I kept passing it and one day I just stopped and drew it. I drew this while I was looking out the window of my car and i didn’t plan carefully so I drew it too large. I don’t like how much of the page it covers. Just don’t like the way it looks, period.
And there we are.
Everyday Brave is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
Here’s this week’s story:
Title: Breast Stroke Ribbon
Story:
I remember the first time we ever took you swimming, David. You were five years old and I was worried that we’d waited so long that you would be completely scared of water and never want to go in. All of my friends had taken their kids swimming for years but we’d listened to our pediatrician who said to wait till you were five.
So we did. But even though I listened to him, I was still worried that somehow I’d messed up and you’d be permanently scarred from my mistake.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. You went to your class, saw the pool and jumped right in. You played with the teacher and all of his toys. You had no problem going under the water. You had the time of your life.
I can’t tell you how relieved I was watching you have so much fun. Once we started, we never stopped having you take lessons. Even though, you’ve only had a 30minute lesson shared across four people, once a week, you still slowly managed to progress through each of the strokes.
You started with freestyle and then moved on to backstroke, which I think is still your favorite. And then you began learning breast stroke. At first, it felt so weird that you said you’d never be able to figure it out. It was so different from the other two. You didn’t kick in the same way. It seemed tough to coordinate your legs and hands at the same time. Since Daddy was the one who took you swimming each week, I never really got to see your progress; just the words you said when you came home each week. And you’re not known for being the most optimistic one in the family.
So I had no idea how close you were to actually getting your ribbon. And of course, it ended up coinciding with a day where we were in a rush and had to leave early. You were devastated not to get to pick it up after having done so much work. But, after the party we were committed to, we went back to the swim school and not only did you get your ribbon but you got to have your picture taken, too.
I love seeing that huge smile on your face, my son, I am so proud of you!
Stories of Twenty Fifteen is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
This week’s pick is a hand and on the inside of the wrist is a tattoo that says “alive”. I don’t have any tattoos but if I got one, that’s where I would want it to be. I coupled it with some sentences from an old Brave Girl’s class I took. One says “I let myself be a learner” because when I am learning, I feel alive. And the other one says “I cheer myself on” because I want to be my own biggest advocate. I want to root for myself. I want to come fully alive.
here is a side look for the shimmer, you can’t see it very well, but the transparent sequins shine beautifully:
here’s to being able fully alive.
You Choose is a project for 2015. You can read more about it here.
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projects for twenty twenty-six
projects for twenty twenty-five
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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