Daily Diary – August 27 2011

We had a lovely Saturday here. I woke up and read to David, then, while I exercised he and daddy went to swimming class and when he got back, it was family photo time. At first, there was a little moment.

but soon it passed and the boys were looking at Daddy’s toolset.

I love how I can tell he’s squishing the boys in this photo. Just like I do all the time.

And then I got in the photo, too.

Nathaniel took the photos, of course. But you can see David eyeing the remote.

and here he is reaching for it.

but we move to tickle time instead. Trying to avoid more drama.

And there’s much laughter, of course.

Then the little boy went to bed and David played wii. After about an hour, we gave up on the little boy and went out to the Cal train to take a little ride since Nathaniel loves trains so much. David was quite happy too.

Nathaniel was scared at first.

But he loved it once we were on. We went down a few stops, got off, had some lunch, and then got back on to come home. When we got off, the boys waved goodbye to the train.

some fruit-shopping and a little more art and our day was over.

At one point, David got really sad and went over to the stairs to cry. I went to sit with him and when Nathaniel saw him, he climbed into his lap to give him a hug. And then he went away and came back with a big truck to encourage him to play and be happy. It touched all of us so much and I think David realized how very much Nathaniel loves him. It was a wonderful moment.

Now they’re sleeping and I am about to write my art journal and then hopefully put together the September newsletter, I’ve been dragging my foot for some reason. I feel tired but happy. Here’s to another full day tomorrow.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for our train ride, it was really fun.
2. I am grateful I finally bound my art pages. I’ll make sure to post it when I post the full book pages.
3. I am grateful for fresh fruit and salads in the fridge.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we went on the Cal Train * {his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I made my lego men play guitar hero.
3. I am grateful that I played wii.

August 27, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | 4 comments

Us Right Now – August 27

jake
I think this week was a little more relaxing than usual for Jake but he was still running around, going from meeting to meeting and working pretty hard. It was nice to have him take a day off to spend it with us on Friday and I hope to do at least one more of those days before school starts the week after next. It’s always so nice to have Jake around more because he creates such an uplifting energy in all of us.

karen
This week was quite hectic for me. A lot of work at work but I still managed some wonderful art time and I am happy about that. I love all the art journaling I’ve been doing and I finally feel like I am completely into it. I’ve been thinking a bunch about September and the fall months and what our new routine will look like and what, if anything, I might want to add or change for the fall. I think my current plan is to let the season start and see what the new hours are like so I can figure out how and where all the things I want to do fit.

david
David had a relatively uneventful week. He’s been spending a lot of time playing with his legos and also playing a bit with Nathaniel. There are challenges to having him around all day but I really will miss his energy and help when he’s back at school. I really hope that he will love his new school and make some very good friends. He got a postcard from his new teacher today which made him and me so happy. I am really hoping that this year will be awesome and we will feel good about our decision to change schools.

nathaniel
Nathaniel is doing great. He is talking more and more and understanding almost anything. And he’s as cute as ever, of course. He’s always so happy (and sometimes full of drama) that he brings a lot of animation and joy into our days. It will be so very quiet with both of the kids gone the few hours on those three days. My bet is I won’t even know what to do with myself when it’s so super-quiet.

Us Right Now is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

August 27, 2011 | Family, Us Right Now | Leave a comment

Daily Diary – August 26 2011

We spent the whole day in San Francisco today and besides the hundreds of dahlia photos I took, this is the only family photo I took all day.

so when we came home, i snapped one of David.

and tried to get one of Nathaniel but I didn’t get anything I liked.

nonetheless, we had a fabulous day. Dahlia photos, cable car rides, art store trips. It was a day away from home and filled with my awesome boys.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for a lovely day away from work and with family.
2. I am grateful for the weekend!
3. I am grateful for my incredibly awesome husband who drives and works tirelessly during these trips. He’s amazing.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we went to San Fran * {his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that we rode cable cars.
3. I am grateful that I got a colorful pencil.

August 26, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | Leave a comment

Art Journaling – Strathmore – Thrive

Here’s the next page:

The full text reads: Dont just live: thrive.

Here are some details from the page:

Pan pastels, some acrylics, sequin waste, stamps, Tim Holtz stencil and some ink. Not a big favorite. These pages are just not speaking to me as much as I would like them to but I cannot put my finger on why. I do eventually figure things out a bit but it takes about 10 more pages for me to get there.

If you have questions about anything specific, just leave me a comment and I promise I will respond.

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

August 26, 2011 | Art, Mixed Media, Weekly Art Journal | 7 comments

Healthy For Life – Week 34

Well no change is still better than negative change I guess. I’ll take it. This week was a bit worse food-wise in that I made a few unwise choices. But nothing terrible and I am still off the coffee, though I am drinking a lot of tea. I imagine it’s not great for me but it’s helping me for now and it’s considerably more natural than the coffee I was drinking. At this point, the biggest not-whole food I am eating is the graham crackers. I will need to work on a plan to phase them out eventually.

The exercise is still continuing daily. And it is still really hard. I never want to do it but I always show up and do it any way. I an still doing the incline for one of the miles and I am trying to focus on my reading or the movies so I don’t feel the overwhelming desire to walk away. I will admit that I am thankful I’ve been able to do this for so many days consecutively without any injuries or problems. And that I haven’t ever been too sick to get on the treadmill. That’s all pretty amazing considering how long I’ve been doing this for.

And there we are. Another week. One step and then another. That’s what I keep telling myself. I just keep trying and it will work.

and here’s this week’s card:

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

August 26, 2011 | Health, Healthy for Life | Leave a comment

Daily Diary – August 25 2011

Happy Thursday!! Since I have tomorrow off I feel like it’s a Friday here. I am happy and I am trying to get through all my todo lists that have been dragging all week so that I can start the weekend fresh. So if you have an unanswered email or comment from me, I will do my very best to get it done tonight. I am also hoping to do the September newsletter. If you don’t get my newsletters, you can subscribe on the right side. They come with free digi downloads. I don’t post them anywhere else just as a service to people who do subscribe.

Ok enough of that. I snapped a few shots of the little boy today.

this is the more common one with his thumb in his mouth.

walking to hug David when he comes downstairs (he was upstairs playing with his legos).

they play together, and there’s much drama when David takes a piece he wants or doesn’t let him take one of his.

David tries to be stoic.

but there’s much crying from the other boy.

so he tries to be nicer and Nathaniel is still unsure.

but his curiosity is piqued.

and then he goes back to playing.

and David’s smiling at him.

until the drama begins all over again. it pretty much goes in that cycle all day long with the 2-year-old.

and here’s a sweet snap of David who spilled water on himself so had to go change his shirt.

and this is life. simple. ordinary. full of little boy drama. and little boy hugs. laughter. giggles. so many giggles. I love this life. I am holding on to it hard because soon it will be gone. and now i am off to work on some art journaling, emails, comments and newsletter. oh and some TV with my hubby. back tomorrow.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for kind comments and a few more kind emails. thank you for all of your kindness and genuineness.
2. I am grateful for two more classes I signed up for. One is Nathalie’s on Pan Pastels and the other is Karen’s pathfinder. Let the learning begin!
3. I am grateful for a 3-day weekend.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I played with my brother * {his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I had a bit of chocolate.
3. I am grateful that I played with my legos.

August 25, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | 4 comments

Art Journaling – Strathmore – The Whispers of your Heart

Here’s the next page:

The full text reads: You must get really quiet before you can hear the whispers of your heart.

Here are some details from the page:

I created this page at night but I wanted to videotape so you could see my process a bit so here it is, even though it’s dark and the camera kept slipping for inexplicable reasons. I am not a professional video-taper and have no desire to be right now so proceed at your own risk. The only thing I did before the video started was use yellow pan pastels to cover the background.

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

August 25, 2011 | Art, Mixed Media, Weekly Art Journal | 24 comments

Daily Sketching – Week 20

Here are the sketches from this week. Many are still from the awesome Abigail Halpin.

Wednesday, I made this cute little animals reading a book.

the next day, I did this rabbit by the same artist:

Friday I did this girl by Abigail Halpin:

on Saturday I tried to do something different so I attempted this bird but it came out terrible:

on Sunday, I did another Abigail girl. I love this one. Used pastel pencils again.

Monday was this girl but i kept not being able to get it right. It turned out distorted and I was too tired so I gave up.

Tuesday I decided to do something simple and picked another girl by Abigail. Still not great but a bit better:

and here we are. as always some are ok others not so great. let’s see what next week brings.

August 25, 2011 | Art, Sketching | 3 comments

Daily Diary – August 24 2011

Still completely exhausted here but a relatively productive day nonetheless. I do wish I were less exhausted.The boys played quietly and wonderfully.

a few smiles for me.

after a bunch of begging, of course.

david, trying to balance a water bottle on his head.

watching tv while giving me a smile.

and then sneaking one look (after much begging and threats).

and then the “what? I’m looking at you” face.

and Nathaniel smiling while looking at the TV too.

I love these kids so much.

especially the funny smiles.

but really every single thing about them. i adore them. i am so grateful that they are in my life. that i get to share some of their life with them. i am making sure to soak it all in. i love every bit of these moments.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for some incredibly nice emails today. I am so grateful when anyone takes the time to send me a nice note or leave me a comment. I feel so touched and special. thank you deeply.
2. I am grateful for a wonderful and unexpected package of new My Mind’s Eye goodies. They are always so incredibly generous and their products make me want to drop everything and scrap immediately.
3. I am grateful that I might be taking a day off on Friday.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I watched Daddy play Sims * {his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that we finished our book.
3. I am grateful that I played with my legos.

August 24, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | Leave a comment

A Book a Week – Thirteen Reasons Why

After Elsewhere and Before I Fall, Thirteen Reasons Why was the third book I read in a row where the main character dies or is dead. I don’t know if this just a coincidence or there are just a lot of young adult novels with death in them. I have to admit that this was the most morbid of three but it’s likely because she commits suicide in this one (not a spoiler, you learn about it on the second page) whereas the other two are outcomes of accidents.

And while this was sad and profound in its own way, I didn’t find it as unique as Elsewhere and as profound as Before I Fall. I will say that it’s another reminder to always be the nicest person you can be. You never know what the other person is going through and how your kindness (or lack thereof) might have a deep impact on them.

August 24, 2011 | Books Read in 2011, Literature | Leave a comment

Art Journaling – Strathmore – You Are not Alone

Here’s the next page:

Here are some details from the page:

I didn’t keep track of what I used for this page and I can’t remember now, I am sorry! I do know it was pan pastels and Crafter’s Workshop stencil (for the bird) and some white pen. If you have questions about anything specific, just leave me a comment and I promise I will respond.

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

August 24, 2011 | Art, Mixed Media, Weekly Art Journal | 10 comments

Excited to be Celebrating Daddy’s Last Day and His New Life

This is one of the projects I did for Authentique Paper for CHA Summer.

Journaling Reads:
On March 31, Daddy had his last day at work. He came home that night to find the sign that David made for him that day. We were all very excited for Daddy to start his new adventure. His own company. We love you so very much Daddy and we are so very proud of you and so very happy for you. We are also excited that this also means we wll get to see you and play with you more often.

Details:

August 24, 2011 | Authentique Paper, Layouts, Scrapbooking | 7 comments

« Newer Entries  
  Older Entries »