This past weekend Jake went down to San Diego for a meeting. He sits on the board of a nonprofit down there and they had all-day meetings on Saturday. He drove down on Friday and spent the night at a good friend’s house. On Saturday morning, he called me on the way to the meetings and told me that our car had been broken into and two, relatively inexpensive, pieces of equipment were stolen. But of course the window was smashed and needed to be replaced.
My first instinct was to freak out.
My second instinct was to take control and tell him exactly what he needed to do.
My third instinct was to yell at him for leaving the car and going to the meeting anyway.
Thankfully, I did none of the above. I looked over at my kids as a reminder to myself that they were safe and sound. I told my husband, who also was obviously safe and sound, that I loved him and that I was sorry he had to go through this. And then I let him go.
I will admit that a little while later, I felt my anxiety increase. I called him back and asked him if they wouldn’t steal the car now that it had no window. I also told him I thought it was bad that he left to go to the meeting anyway. He was in the car with the woman who started the nonprofit and I could tell he was uncomfortable. I stopped myself and told him he was lucky his friend (with whom he’d stayed the night before) was helping him and to just keep me posted.
I then texted him once and then texted again apologizing and telling him that I was just worried and sad for him. I told him I loved him and hoped that it would work out.
After that, I opened my notebook and journaled for a whole page. I reminded myself to have faith in my husband and that things would get fixed even if I wasn’t the one to fix them. That’s the thing with type-a fixer people like me. We think our way is the only way things will get done.
And it’s not true.
Things can get done many ways. Things often do work out in the end. And if people like me don’t step in and take charge, other people step up and get it done. I reminded myself that I trusted and loved my husband and I truly had faith in him. And I really did feel really sad that he had to go through this alone when he was away. I wrote and wrote until I felt the rage and the worry leave my body.
I decided I was far away and couldn’t fix it personally. So, instead, I would just let it go and have faith things would work out.
And, of course, they did.
My husband’s friend helped him and he had a brand new window before he got back from his meetings. Then, his other friend helped him vacuum out the car so all the glass was out and the car was dry. So before Jake had to drive back North, the car was almost as good as new with relatively minimal loss and aggravation.
I realized that this was the perfect example of how everything that happens to you in life gives you an opportunity to learn and grow. I am grateful that it happened while I wasn’t there so I was forced to take a step back and work on myself and how I handle these situations. I am hoping that I can remember this next time something happens. Not that I hope anything happens but, you know, life always has ups and downs.
If nothing else, it was an exercise in learning to grow.
As promised, I am back to talk about 12 Days of Christmas.
This workshop is taught by 12 Big Picture Classes teachers. We each did a layout about some Christmas activity.
Here is how it works:
For the 12 days leading up to Christmas, you will receive an email from a BPC teacher with a photo prompt and a list of supplies to gather. Preparing specific holiday pictures and products as Christmas approaches will help you focus on the present moments and the joyful anticipation in a more thoughtful way—without feeling any pressure to scrapbook right away! Then, starting on December 25th, you’ll get to “open” a new handout each day, designed to guide and inspire you in pulling together pictures and products to complete a dozen different layouts.
You can see all the twelve teachers and sign up if you click here.
I am giving away one seat in the class today. This time I will just ask for anything you might like to see on this blog. Which of the things I post about do you like the most? What’s something else you might want to see? So just leave a comment. I will leave comments open for a week and announce the recipient next Monday (November 21). If you’ve already signed up for the class, you can still be eligible to win and you’ll just get a refund so don’t worry.
You should know all the links to the class are affiliate links and I might get a tiny cut if you click through my site to sign up.
David says:
I gave this story five stars because I liked all the adventure in the book and how they traveled to a different country.
I liked how the boys were like spies this time and had fancy cameras with strong walkie-talkies in them.
I liked how Rudy and the other Minstrels helped the three investigators escape from the palace and hide in the roof and then go through the sewers so they could get to the embassy (even though they never made it.) I also thought it was super-clever where Bob hid the silver spider of Varania. It was funny how he forgot about it later but Jupiter was able to figure it out.
The best part was when they rang the bell and all the people rallied for the Prince Djaro and then even though they were in jail, they were rescued,too.
Reading a book a week with my six-year-old son David is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.
jake
This week was full of professional ups and downs for Jake and then he had to leave for a trip to San Diego. Even though he stayed with a friend, our car ended up being broken into overnight and he had a few small items stolen. The scariest part, of course, was the broken window. Not the greatest way to end the week but we’re all safe and sound and that’s really what matters, of course.
karen
I spent most of this week feeling sick. I’d like to say that I’m all better but I still feel quite ill and I can’t wait for it to be gone. I ended up taking a sick day on Thursday and a day off on Friday. Work was relatively quiet except for some excitement on Friday. I had book club which was really fun for a change, and also got to watch Sir Ken Robinson earlier this week which was entertaining and interesting. The last few days of the week was all about resting, watching TV and reading a book. Trying to get well as quickly as I can.
david
David had a good week at school. Nothing super-eventful. He read more books about Origami Yoda and and Darth Paper and he now has a spy club at school called Mouse Hole Spy Club. I am not sure what they do but I am grateful he seems to be making more and more friends. He’s been coming home with fortuneteller things, too (not sure what those are called in English) and we have started our 2012 project already so it’s been a fun week. He also got his first desk in his room this week which he loves. I am so proud of my big boy.
nathaniel
Nathaniel’s really enjoying looking through all my notebooks and art journals. He loves looking through the scrapbooks and naming everybody. He’s becoming even more vocal and I love listening to him talk. I love that he likes looking at my art and that he’s interested in the scrapbooks. He no longer sits in the high chair and has to eat at the table off of plates and bowls just like David. I hope this means potty-training will be easy, too.
Here are some of my favorite captured moments from this week:
Nathaniel is still obsessed with trains:
loves having them all over the house:
last week’s family night was smath: scrabble math.
there was also a lot of playing on his own for Nathaniel since I was so sick.
He found many ways to entertain himself.
and, thankfully, he was happy most of the time.
he also spent a lot of time looking through my notebooks.
he begged not to eat the meatballs and veggies (but had to anyway).
David got his first desk this week. He loves it.
He also got some books from the library that he loves (and Nathaniel wanted to read, too, of course).
My super-beautiful boy.
On Friday, I was really sick and had an emergency at work. David was upstairs in his room. So Nathaniel decided to make a bed from all of his diapers so he could sit and read.
Later, David came down to tell me a story.
And I just snapped photos as he talked.
Today, Nathaniel went through my scrapbooks.
and David played Wii.
most of the day was just relaxing since I am still sicker than I’d like.
and there was hugging of course.
I love the way David’s looking at Nathaniel in this picture:
And those are some of the moments from our week. All in all, despite the sickness and break-in, another good week. We’re all healthy and safe. That’s all that matters.
Us Right Now is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.
The recipient of the workshop is: Debra
Debra, if you can email me your Big Picture username, I’ll make sure you’re all settled in.
thanks so so much for your kind words and comments. I really hope to see you all in the class!
I will admit that I am shocked I haven’t gained more weight with the way and kind of food I’ve been eating. While I haven’t eaten a ton, I’ve just been tired and not making the best choices. I’ve also had a lot of chocolate in the last few weeks. As well as coffee. All of which sucks. But I am too tired and too sick to deal with it at the moment so I am just grateful that the weight is not coming back on just yet. I plan to get the eating under control, I swear.
I ran 2.1 miles all week. Still watching movies as I run. I sort of gave up on the reading while I exercise for now. Partly because I’ve been so sick that I need the extra motivation to run. Or maybe it’s distraction. It’s also cause the books I’m reading currently are for book club and they are less escapist and more literary. So they need more focus. Anyhow, the good news is I am keeping up with the exercise, even through being sick.
My goal in the next two weeks is to actually find some help so I can solidify a plan for exercise next year and also to get my eating habits back to healthy and consistent. Let’s hope it works.
and here’s this week’s card:
Healthy for Life is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.
After two weeks of battling allergies on and off, I woke up this morning feeling considerably sicker. So much so that I decided to take the day off. All my bones and most of my muscles were hurting. I was shivering and other details I won’t delight you with.
I think this was my body’s way of telling me that it needed time off.
So besides the run in the morning, I did nothing all day. I lay on the couch, I watched TV, napped, did a tiny bit of art, and read a book. I took care of the boys but I will admit I did a minimal job there, too. Thankfully, I had already taken tomorrow off (because both boys will be home) so I have a few more days to rest.
But I am not a fan of being sick. I’ve been lucky enough not to be sick almost all of 2011. I managed to work out every day and I have no intention of breaking my record this late into the year. So I won’t tolerate getting sick at this point.
Just sayin’.
Other than being sick and grumpy and moody (which is all I’ve written about this week), I’ve also been thinking about next year. About my plans and which projects I want to continue and which ones I want to stop and what new things I might want to do. I’ve also been thinking about my kids and what projects I want to do with them. My plan for this longer weekend is to pamper myself silly by spending a lot of couch-time and also to think more about 2012.
I am behind in comment responding and emails again. Perpetually, it seems. Sorry to not be more uplifting this week. I promise to make up for it next week.
Oh and, you still have a few hours on the giveaway here, and the one at write.click.scrapbook. And there’s one at paperclipping, too.
And here’s the next Komtrak page:
The full text reads: Stars shine more in the dark.
I used acrylics on this page but it didn’t turn out how I had hoped. I wanted the sentiment that sometimes the dark is good. It’s when you can see the stars. But alas the page is a mess.
And here’s the next Komtrak page:
The full text reads: choose free, it is always a choice.
I used new Maya Road stamps and acrylics on this page.
And here’s the next Komtrak page:
The full text reads: Choose to be happy and free.
I used acrylics on this page and the Maya Road stamps.
And here’s the next Komtrak page:
The full text reads: It starts with you, be kind to yourself.
I used pan pastels and some paint and a photo of me for a change.
I am creating multiple art journaling pages a week for now. You can read more about it and the book I am using for these pages at the top of this blog post.
Sorry for the delay. Here are the sketches from last week. All of these use Fabel Castell Pitt Pens and watercolors. Most of the ones this week aren’t so great but I just keep doing anyway.
Sunday:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
this one has some gold shine that doesn’t show up:
Friday:
And Saturday:
I get some of my ideas randomly, others from other people’s photos, some from my photos, and some from pinterest. So far, so good.
Daily Sketching is a weekly project for 2011. You can see a detailed post on my steps here.
I wanted to read Friendship Bread as soon as I saw it on the Goodreads newsletter as well. It took me a while to get to it and, as you know, I haven’t read a grown-up book in a while. I must admit that this book took longer to read than usual but that’s mostly because it came right in the middle of many of my mixed media classes and I spent most of my treadmill time watching videos instead of reading.
However, it was a wonderful book. I liked the characters and enjoyed reading the story even if I found it a bit predictable. It wasn’t a super-clean ending but it was one of those “everything’s going to be alright so you can stop reading and be happy.” kinds of books which I must admit I much prefer these days. Enough with the sad books already.
It also made me want to bake and if I weren’t seriously watching what I ate, I totally might have done this bread just to see how it tasted. Sweet novel and worth my time.
I’ve been feeling off for quite a few days now. Nothing huge, just a quiet discontent. But still frustrating and I do wish it would go away already. I have been looking for the source of the issue but have come up empty. Or at least I don’t seem to have this one thing to point at.
For a while it was my uprooted schedule, then it was hormones, and then it was the allergies. Alas, the allergies are still with me but everything else has passed and the feeling continues. I do know that some of it was coming from having to possibly go to jury duty tomorrow and all the unknowns that comes with. (It turns out I don’t have to go.) Some of the frustration was because I went out on a limb and sent some emails yesterday and they weren’t returned and that brought back a lot of my personal issues. Although, almost all of them wrote back today. I’ve been tired and somewhat craving chocolate. Neither of those help.
The fact is, there was no one thing wrong. Just a bunch of little things that gnawed at me and put me in a somewhat crappy mood.
Around midday, I got really mad at myself. I decided I had done enough moping and it was time to get up. I took a little walk, did a little art, and then got my work done.
The thing is, life doesn’t wait for my moodiness to pass. It doesn’t wait for anything. Life is happening around me constantly. Minutes are passing, days are ending. And it’s stupid of me to waste any of this very precious time by focusing on the little, inconsequential things. I may not have control over whether people write back to me or if I have to report to jury duty.
But I do have control over my mood.
I can choose not to pout and whine. My plan from now on is to try to change things up each time I feel this way. Maybe I take a walk. Or I call a friend. Or listen to music really loudly. Take another shower. Read a book. Nap. Set the alarm and work super-fast for 30 minutes.
Whatever it is, I just don’t want to waste precious minutes being moody. Life’s too short for that. It really, truly is. Maybe this is related to yesterday’s post about appreciating life. But, to me, it’s one thing to not take a pause to notice something. But it’s considerably worse to just choose to waste the moments with moodiness.
Here’s the thing about wasted moments: you never get them back.
for this week, i started with sailboats:
And I added slowly little bits here and there.
here is the left:
here is the right:
And here’s the filled page:
It ended up pretty simple but I like it.
Weekly Art Journal is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here. And you can find out more about the weeklong daily journaling here.
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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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