karenika

Healthy For Life – Week 41

I put the nikeplus photo again because I just passed my 1,000th mile mark this week. Had you told me I would exercise for 1000 miles in one year I would have laughed at you. Had you told me I would have exercised for 1,000 miles in my lifetime I would have laughed at you. Had you told me I would wake up at 5:30am and immediately run for 2 miles, I would have laughed at you.

But here we are.

I’m still not doing excellent on the food. Mostly a chocolate problem but I am going to turn things around. I plan to be better about it because I work too hard to let stupid chocolate get in the way of progress. I am also not doing the situps still. That’s from sheer laziness. I am tired and whiny at the end of the day so I just postpone it. I need to focus on it more, I know.

And this week I had a slight gain. Slight enough to not be significant but I am certainly not losing and I really do wish I were. Even if very slowly. But alas, I am still being healthy and that’s what matters most.
and here’s this week’s card:

Healthy for Life is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

Poetry

As part of my sketching each morning, I’ve begun to collect images from some of my favorite poems. This got me thinking about poems I like. I’ve always wished I understood and knew more poetry but my education in that area is poor.

Here are some of the poems I love:

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams
This Is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
The Secret Sits by Robert Frost
Fire and Ice by Robert Frost
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden
i carry your heart with me by e. e. cummings

I love pretty much anything by Shel Silverstein and I have a little book of poems by Jean Little which I cherish and adore.

I used to love The Road Not Taken by Frost, too but we recently read about this poem and it changed the whole meaning for me so I am not sure where I stand with it at this point.

What about you? do you have poems you love? I’d love to discover new ones. One of these days I should take a class on poetry just so I can expand my knowledge.

Art Journaling – Fabriano Roma – Set 4

And here’s the next Roma paper page:

The full text reads: You can always go home.

I used corrugated board by JillBean on these but it didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped. Too dark and busy.

And here’s the next Roma paper page:

The full text reads: Use your wings to help others.

I used paint and a Tim Holtz wing chipboard as a mask on this. I like the colors but it’s not one of my favorites.

And here’s the next Roma paper page:

The full text reads: Some days are much darker than others, but a bright one is always around the corner.

The idea for this one came to me while I was exercising after a rough day. It’s all drawn by me and acrylics.

here’s a progress shot:

and here’s the next one:

The full text reads: You have plenty of love, share it often.

I used molding paste on these hearts though you can’t really see it. The rest is all acrylics, stamps, stitching, etc.

I am creating multiple art journaling pages a week. You can read more about it and the book I am using for these pages at the top of this blog post.

Balance, Schedules, Making it Work

Yesterday, I received a really nice email about how much I get done and some questions about any tips I might have so I thought it might be a good idea to share some of my thoughts and ideas with all of you. Please know that this is what works for me and your mileage might vary.

First of all, there are many many many things I don’t get done. Many! I don’t cook or clean or do most of the household chores many people do. My kids do not have after-school activities and rarely go on playdates. My days are pretty similar to each other and allow for consistency. Even though I work at home, I have quite a demanding full-time job so I don’t commit to anything during work-hours. My kids know and understand that even though I am around, during the day my job takes priority and most of the time they are respectful of that and play independently. But I also get to spend a lot of time with my kids during the day.

One of the things I have is a relatively strict and consistent schedule. This changes with each school year and during the summer. But here’s my schedule at the moment:

5:30-6:00am – wake up and immediately exercise (I check email while I exercise)
6:00-6:30am – done with exercise, shower, write in journal
6:30-7:00am – start sketching
7:00-7:25am – prepare lunches, breakfast, wake up kids, read to David while he eats
7:25-7:45am – continue sketching
7:45am-8:30am – drive kids to school
8:30-9:00am – finish sketching, take photo of sketch
9am-5:30pm – work, eat lunch, walk to pickup Nathaniel from school, make lunch for him, etc.
5:30-6:30pm – kids bedtime routine and write blog post
6:30-7:30pm – write in weeklong art journal then start daily art journal page (sometimes David reads to me while I do art.)
7:30-8:00 or so – kids are down, finish off art journal page. if I have a layout due, I work on that instead of art journal page
8:00-10:00pm – hang out with hubby, read book, do a layout, watch TV whatever. This is extra time for me to do whatever I want.
10pm – go to bed.

Some of these change a bit. Like sometimes the blogging takes longer or I finish the sketch more quickly, etc. But I always exercise first thing and I rarely ever go to bed past 10. I often sleep around 9:30 to try to get a full 8 hours of sleep. I wake up at least once a night and take David to the bathroom. I am not a morning person. I changed my schedule because I found that most nights I am too tired to motivate myself. By the end of the day I feel worn out and I am more likely to sit in front of the TV rather than sketch. Whereas if I woke up early, while it was unpleasant, there was no one to bother me or to worry about. I could do my stuff, start my day on the right foot and by the time the household woke up I felt like I already did a few wonderful things for myself that day.

so there you have it. On the weekends, it’s pretty similar except I wake up around 7am and go to bed around 11. Instead of working, I will do more art, layouts, and hang out with my family.

Since I was asked for some tips, here is what I came up with that works for me. They are not in order:

1. Set a schedule: I find that having something scheduled for a particular time always works for me. I am not a roll-with-it kind of girl so having something on my schedule makes it more real and tangible and often means I get it done. It also gives my activity validation and value.

2. Schedule short bursts of time: I try to not have any activity that needs more than 30 mins. My exercise is 20 minutes, journaling is around 20 mins and reading to David is the same. The sketching takes a bit longer but I break it up so I draw for 20 mins and color for 20 mins and write for 10 mins so I can do them throughout the day if needed. I reserve time consuming activities for the end of the day so I don’t feel like I used up a lot of my day and have to stress. I feel trying to find a 30-minute slot in your day feels a lot less overwhelming than finding a 2-hour slot. If you take 15 minutes a day to do art journaling, it’s still MUCH better than no time. And 15 minutes a day adds up to almost 2 hours a week. Whereas if you don’t let yourself do it unless you have a 2-hour block, you might not art journal for weeks. There are many things you can do in a 15minute slot, if this is stressing you out, let me know and I’ll make a post with ideas.

3. Batch up a few activities to do during your “you time:” I do most of my personal goals during two slots in the day. 5:30am-7:30am and 6:30pm-8pm. That’s 3.5 hours during which I don’t have work and my kids are sleeping. I specifically wake up before my kids wake up to use some quiet time to get my personal goals done. I am NOT a morning person but I know that starting my day like this is incredibly peaceful for me so I do it. Most of us have some down time during the day. Maybe it’s your lunch hour. Try to divide the hour into two 30 minute slots and do two things. You can read for 30minutes and art journal for 30 minutes. You can eat while you read. I find that doing a few things in a row helps me more than doing one thing for a long period.

4. Eat the frog: The concept of eating the frog means doing an important to-do list item that you’re dreading. For me, this is the exercise. I dread it and it’s the most important thing I do for myself everyday. So I get up and I do it first thing. This means if the rest of my day goes downhill and my schedule goes out the window, I still did the most important thing. I do it well before work hours and well before my kids wake up so the chances of something interfering with it are low. Eating the frog means I start my day with a big win.

5. Just do it: Stop making excuses. Stop saying you don’t have the time. I have never ever met someone who doesn’t have 15 free minutes in their day. You can draw 15 minutes a day or read or art journal or learn something new a bit at a time. When you just sit and do it, you suddenly discover you have a lot more time than you think you do. If you get in the habit of not making excuses, you end up getting more done and that motivates you to do even more. It’s a positive cycle to be in so you just have to kickstart it by sitting at a table and doing something for 15 minutes.

6. Make the Time: Similarly to the previous one. There will never be time in your day unless you make it. Look for the holes. Wake up earlier. Go to bed later. Eat lunch in half the time. Clean a little bit less. Whatever it takes. If what you want to do is important to you, create the time. Steal it away from something else. You matter and what you want to do matters so create time however you need to.

7. Talk to your family/friends: If you have friends or family, husband, kids who depend on you, talk to them. Tell them why it’s important for you to take this time for yourself. Why it matters. My kids know that even if they wake up before 7am, it’s mommy’s quiet time and they play quietly on their own while I do my journaling or sketching. Seeing me value this time for myself shows them that it matters to me so they learn to respect it, too. Respect and value starts with you. If you’re always willing to postpone activities that bring you joy so someone else can have what they want, you’re telling them your personal joy doesn’t matter as much. I think there needs to be a balance and mutual respect. Some kids are too young to understand but most aren’t. In my opinion, of course.

8. Find What motivates you: I am motivated by schedules. I rarely feel in the mood to do something. Inertia is very strong for me. So Getting up to sit at my table and starting the activity motivates me more than anything else. So I just do it cause my schedule says I have to. And once I start I am in the zone and enjoy it. But getting started only happens because it’s on my schedule. Classes motivate me, too. I am a good student and take homework seriously. So I take a lot of classes because I know it helps me journal and do art. For some people it’s having a buddy. An exercise buddy, an art buddy etc. For others it’s having a personal, quiet space. Or really loud music. Whatever it is for you, figure it out and use it to your advantage. Another thing that helps me is being prepared. I generally have an idea of my sketch subject the night before so when I sit to sketch, I am not looking for ideas. I don’t do this for art journaling or layouts but I do it regularly for sketching.

9. Track Progress: For me, this does wonders. I track my exercise with the nike+ and fitbit. I track my sketches and art journaling by posting them here weekly. I have daily tasks lists with all my recurring activities so I make sure to cross them off each day. Seeing progress really helps me so I do it. I track books that David and I read, too. And we both love looking at the little book full of all the cards we made with each book we read. It’s very rewarding and I recommend it.

10. Create Rewards and Celebrate: This may sound touchy-feely but rewards are a big part of self-motivation. I reward my exercise by buying a piece of clothing each month. I buy art supplies or sign up for online classes regularly. I use income from my classes or designer work to buy supplies or classes so I am rewarding myself for working hard and keeping an art practice. Take the time to celebrate and congratulate yourself. Being disciplined is hard. But truly worthwhile.

Well this is really really long, I hope it’s helpful. Remember that it’s just what works for me. I prioritize these things over other things because this is what matters to me. Find out what matters to you. And if art journaling doesn’t matter enough to you to create time over it, do not chastise yourself. I think a big part of this is owning up to what you like and what you don’t. Earlier this month, I had allotted 15 minutes of my day to writing a book. But I quickly realized I never enjoyed that time and even though I would love having written a book, I didn’t like actually writing it. So I walked away from it. During this you-time, don’t try to do what you think you should. Do only the things you love and things that truly make you feel good.

Remember that your time is super-precious and runs out each and every day. So use it however it makes you feel most fulfilled.

A Book a Week – Just Listen

Since I am on a Young Adult kick, I decided to pick up Just Listen by Sara Dessen. She’s a well-loved author and this was supposed to be a good book.

Parts of this story seemed so familiar as I read it that I kept wondering if I’d read it before and just didn’t remember. I think I must have just read an excerpt in a magazine or something because the rest of the book wasn’t as familiar. All in all, I enjoyed this but didn’t think it was as deep or character (or plot) driven as some of the other novels I’ve read recently.

Not a waste of time but not a total favorite either.

Daily Sketching – Week 27

Here are the sketches from last week. All of these use Fabel Castell Pitt Pens and watercolors.

Sunday:

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

And Saturday:

I am enjoying this so far even though I have to experiment a lot more and learn more about watercolors.

Daily Sketching is a weekly project for 2011. You can see a detailed post on my steps here.

Online Classes I took in 2011

Thank you for your comments yesterday. I had a much better day today. Sleep always helps me get some perspective, too.

If you’ve been following my blog for any time, you know I love taking (and teaching) online classes. I had decided to focus on taking more this year and I thought it would be good to keep a list of all the classes I’ve taken this year so far. My plan is to add to this so I know what I took when. I will only tell you the general area of the class and refrain from giving too much of my opinion because each person experiences a class differently and I think it’s best for you to make your own decisions on what works for you. If you have specific questions, leave me a comment and I will answer truthfully as long as you realize that I only have my own personal experience and perspective.

With that here’s what I’ve taken (and have already signed up for) so far in 2011:

January
Stretching Within with Misty Mawn (mixed media, drawing, collage, journaling and photography)
Shifting Ground with Stephanie Lee (journaling, personal-growth)
One Little Word with Ali Edwards (scrapbooking, journaling, photography)
Soul Restoration I with Melody Ross (personal-growth, journaling, art journaling)

February
Sketchbook Delight with Alisa Burke (sketching)
Recycled Journal Pages by Pam Carriker (art journaling)
She Art by Christy Tomlinson (art journaling, mixed media)

I taught classes through February to mid-April so I didn’t take anything then.

May
She Had Three Hearts by Christy Tomlinson (art journaling)

June
Watercolor Bliss by Alisa Burke (sketching and watercolor)
Soul Restoration II by Melody Ross (personal-growth, journaling, art journaling)
Pan Pastel 101 & 102 by Donna Downey (mixed media, art journaling)
Remains of the Day by Mary Ann Moss (scrapbooking, art journaling)

July
21 Secrets by Dirty Footprints Studio (art journaling, mixed media)

August
Creative Color: Art Redefined by Christy Tomlinson (art journaling, mixed media)
Art Journaling by Dina Wakley (art journaling, mixed media)

September
Uber Media: Pan Pastels by Nathalie Kalbach (mixed media, art journaling, scrapbooking)
The Pathfinder by Karen Walrond (personal-growth, journaling)

October
Ordinary Courage by Brene Brown and Jen Lemen (personal-growth, journaling)
Watercolor Pencils Miniclass by Cathy Johnson (sketching, watercolor)

November
She Art 2 by Christy Tomlinson (art journaling, mixed media, sewing?)
letterLAB by Lori Vliegen (calligraphy, art journaling)

That’s it so far. I will be teaching a class in December and likely doing December Daily so I don’t think I will be taking anything then but you never know!

I’ve learned that my favorite classes are either technique-based art journaling or personal growth so I tend to favor those. If you have any questions about any of these feel free to ask. Also I keep track of online classes I find interesting on a pinterest board so you might be able to find a few other ideas there, too.

Weekly Art Journal – Weeklong for September 12

And finally we’re back to the normal 2-page spreads. This one was a vertical one and the girl is inspired by Abigail Halpin’s sketches. Here it is empty:

A closeup:

I just had fun filling this one:

here is the left:

here is the right:

And here’s the filled page sideways:

I used white text towards the bottom cause it was hard to see the black on the dark purple.

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.

Curveballs and Frustration

I had a rough day today.

I was scheduled to have a time-consuming appointment today that I’d been worried about. It was with someone that I wasn’t sure I could count on. I’ve had appointments with this person before and more than half the time something goes wrong and the whole schedule goes awry. But when she does show up, she still does a kind of service and quality I cannot find elsewhere and she’s also nice. So I keep trying again and again even though the lack of predictability and dependability drives me absolutely mad.

So I went to bed last night worrying about this and when I woke up, I was still worried. Lo and behold, something went wrong on her side and then some more things went wrong and she didn’t show up at all. Not only that but now I am not sure when the follow up will be and it was something I really needed.

There’s nothing quite like unpredictability to completely ruin my day.

Even though my plans went out the window, nothing major really went wrong today. My kids are fine, work is fine, I am fine and so is Jake. My family. Everything else went as expected and if I had to bet on it, I would say chances are this particular issue will get sorted out pretty soon as well. She will eventually show up and all will be fine.

But, alas, it still ruined my day. While one side of me was frustrated, dejected and even panicking at the schedule change, the other side of me was yelling at the first side for being such a pain. Even as I fully recognized what I was doing was immature and unhelpful, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling frustrated and off balance.

I am not a “just roll with it” girl and I never will be. So when I get notice for jury duty (which I did recently, by the way) it will frustrate me. When someone I made an appointment with doesn’t show up and doesn’t schedule a solid follow up, it will frustrate me. When something unexpected happens, it will frustrate me. I’ve learned that it’s better to accept who I am than chastise myself for being who I am.

But here’s the thing about life: unexpected things will happen.

I have a husband and two kids. Unexpected things will happen. I rely on other people to help me out with certain things. They have their own lives and families. Unexpected things will happen. I use machines and scripts and systems to do my job. Machines fail. Scripts break. Unexpected things will happen. Unless I live in a hole and don’t talk to anyone, ever, unexpected things will happen.

It’s part of life.

And since I know this and I know those things will always frustrate me and throw me off, I need to find a way to make it all work. I need to find a way to be able to sit with it and not let it ruin my day. Not let it affect the rest of my life. Not have my frustration spill over to my kids and husband. So I’ve been thinking about this a lot today.

One obvious solution is to remove as many undependable people from my life as possible. And I can make such changes so people in my life have integrity and are reliable. But in some cases that will be impossible. Unexpected things will still happen. So what do I do then?

I think one trick is to take a walk. To clear my mind and realize the relative importance of this disruption. Often times, the problems that come up are resolvable and not critical. I can also do what I am doing right now, which is to write it down. Writing not only helps with perspective but it also allows me to get the frustration out of my system. And, finally, I can take time to actively play with my kids or do art. Both of these things give me temporary relief and joy because I tend to get lost in what I am doing and as opposed to just watching TV, they don’t leave me with an empty feeling afterwards.

I don’t know if any of these will work but I think they are all worth trying because letting every little curveball ruin my day will mean many many ruined days and I cannot afford to waste my precious time here like that.

How about you? Do you have a good way to deal with feeling frustrated?

Your smile lights up my life

This is another one of the projects I did for Pink Paislee for September.

Journaling Reads:
Little boy, there are many ways that you resemble your father but my favorite amongst all is your sweet and happy personaliy. I often tell your dad that he is the light in my life that makes me so happy and when I saw this photo I felt exaclty the same way about you. I am so grateful that you have the same magical quality. Your smiles are so genuine that they radiate joy and light and I love that about you.

Details:

Reading with David – My Father’s Dragon

*****CLICK HERE FOR THE HALLOWEEN HOP*****

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I thought it was cool that there was a dragon in the book and how clever the father was about saving it.

I thought it was really sad that the animals captured the dragon and made him cross back and forth. I liked how Elmer gave all the animals things they wanted. Like the rhino whose tusk needed cleaning. I thought the lion looked funny with the ribbons and bows on his mane. And it was awesome that he was able to cross the river by making the crocodiles suck the lollipop and it was funny to see the tiger chewing gum and that he accidentally stepped on a whale while getting to the island.

My favorite part is when he saves the dragon and they fly away as all the other animals are stuck in the crocodiles’ backs.

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.

Us Right Now & Weekly Update – October 8

jake
This was another busy week for Jake. He had client meetings and long proposals to work on. Trading, meetings, conferences. On and on. He also attempted the contact lenses a few more times but I think we’re pretty sure these lenses are not going to work for him. They make his eyes too dry so he needs to try another brand which we ordered and are now waiting to receive from the doctor. Let’s see if those work better.

karen
Things are still hectic for me but are quieting down a little bit more each week. I’ve spent most of the week doing the regular things on my schedule. I also scrapped a bit and went out to book club. I managed to take some down time and go to bed early almost every day this week. I sketched, journaled and art journaled daily. I also exercised of course. I’ll consider this week a success.

david
David had a good week at school. He did a lot of reading at school and at home this week. He’s been bringing a book home every night so he can read it to me. He made some new friends at school He got to play with legos. He helped me clean out the living room of all the crazy amount of toys. We all went to the farm this weekend and he rode a pony, rode the train, and played with the excavator. He also made numerous creations with his legos which are now officially all over the house, in every nook and cranny. It’s quite amusing actually.

nathaniel
Nathaniel is also doing great. He’s talking more each day. He loves it when we drop off David because he knows he’s next. On the days he’s home, he likes me to pay attention to him and plays right next to me while I work. He’s also a lot more talkative and likes to make sure he’s acknowledged so he will say the same thing endlessly until he can get a response. He loves tackling and chasing David all around the house and he loves to say all of our names again and again. He’ll say Mommy, Nay-nay, Daddy, Dee-dee. Many times a day.

Even though I stopped doing the daily updates, I’m still taking the daily photos and will share them weekly here so these posts will be long and full of photos, feel free to skip. Here are some of my favorite captured moments from this week:

Nathaniel watching the rain: