Us Right Now – July 9

jake
Jake had a full week between his interns and several appointments. He actually has been having very full days. A lot of working, meetings, trading. Things have been going great and he is in a good place. He also was part of a webinar this week and spent some time preparing for that but it went well and was very much worth the time in the end. I am amazed and an proud of all he is doing, I could never do it.

karen
I had a long week, too. Busy with work and personal projects and CHA deliverables. I am almost at the end of that road and should soon be able to relax. I feel quite tired and overwhelmed lately and am thankful to be able to take some time off. I took two days off this past week and I think I will take a few more days next week. Spending time with my husband and kids and trying to rest quite a bit.

david
David has been playing and taking soccer and swimming and studying. He went to gymnastics this week but he really got scared and didn’t want to continue. So we dropped it. I have a few more plans and hopes for this summer but I haven’t been able to get organized just yet. I am hoping to spend some time on that this week as well and see if I can get myself organized to make sure we can make a bit more progress before school starts up again. We did also get some of his school uniform this past week which was great.

nathaniel
Nathaniel is getting feistier and funner by the minute. He is talking more and more now. He is really into cars, trucks, drawing, coloring, Bob the Builder, Thomas at this moment. He really likes to have the TV on though he doesn’t watch it for more than a few moments at a time. He has stopped eating his vegetables (much to my dismay) but he still eats a lot of fruit and he’s now eating yogurt all by himself. He’s also more open to trying new things than David has been. He’s still cute as ever.

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

July 9, 2011 | Family, Us Right Now | Leave a comment

Healthy For Life – Week 27

So here we are. Another week and another gain. A big one even. I don’t know what’s going on. Yes, I am eating a tiny bit worse than usual but it’s not like I am downing donuts or anything. Alas, it is what it is. I stick to the plan and maybe go easier on the peanut butter.

The exercise has been hard, too but I am totally sticking to it. 3.12 miles every single day no matter how tired or crappy I feel. No excuses, no whining, I just get up and do it. I’ve gone back to reading most days while I am on the machine because I am running out of videos and I am also beginning to enjoy my books again. I certainly still do not enjoy the running however.

I am not entirely sure how to get to the last ten pounds I’ve been struggling to lose. I feel like the last two months (or maybe even three) have been losing and gaining and losing and gaining. Not really making any forward progress. And I am already at the maximum of where I feel I can take the exercise thing right now so I am going to focus on food as it’s the only thing I feel I can do. I know weights would help but I don’t feel ready for them yet. So food, it is.

and here’s this week’s card:

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

July 8, 2011 | Health, Healthy for Life | 4 comments

Daily Diary – July 8 2011

I had today off too and it’s been really wonderful and calming especially since I am not overloading my days and really trying to keep to a quiet schedule. After we did our morning stuff, we all sat down to watch Despicable Me today and it was super fun. In the middle of it, I had to pack my boxes for CHA and we got an empty one and put it over Nathaniel.

In case it’s not clear, he loved it.

laughed and laughed.

and I just kept snapping photos.

then it was lunch and nap time. While the kids had quiet time, I sketched and worked a bit on my art journal and even took a nap myself. Then we played some more and got David ready for soccer.

Here he is trying not to smirk.

and here’s Nathaniel “hiding” from Daddy.

and my wonderful, amazing son. I am so so blessed to have him.

I’ve been working on going more slowly. Trying to not finish as much as work in layers and slow down my process and just see how things go. So yesterday, while the kids stamped, I made this.

Today, I added some birds.

and now i am slowly coloring them. It might take a few days and that’s ok. There will be more layers, too. So I won’t produce as many pages but sometimes going slowly helps me see things better.

That’s it for today.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful I am taking some time off, I feel so much better due to it.
2. I am grateful I get to spend some time with my hubby tonight. Love hubby and me time.
3. I am grateful that most of my CHA work is done and shipped. I have one more assignment set and then I am done.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I got a new toothbrush {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that i played with Nathaniel.
3. I am grateful that we watched Despicable Me.

July 8, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | One comment

You Are Proof that Two is so much Better Than One

Journaling Reads:
A few weeks ago we went on a vacation to Santa Cruz. The two of you immediately started playing together. David read books to Nathaniel. Nathaniel gave hugs to David, You both played with silly putty and you laughed and laughed together. Seeing the two of you like that was another proof that having two kids was a great decision. We love watching the way you two play together and love each other.

This layout was for the Pink Paislee blog from June.

July 8, 2011 | Layouts, Pink Paislee, Scrapbooking | 2 comments

Daily Diary – July 7 2011

I decided to take today and tomorrow off work just to relax a bit and spend time with the kids. This morning as I relaxed, I saw David feeding Nathaniel. It made me so deeply happy.

We did all of our morning stuff like sketching, reading, etc but everything at a slower and calmer pace. It was lovely. I had promised David that we would play with stamps today so when Nathaniel’s nap was finished and we took our walk, I got out a bunch of stamps and coloring pencils and the kids just went for it.

I got some self-inking ones for the little boy.

and they were both very happy.

especially Nathaniel.

he kept watching me and David stamp and asking us to do things.

and then colored.

so did David. He tried to match the stamp’s colors perfectly.

He liked the self-inker too.

I just watched them.

And snapped photos in an attempt to get some good ones.

and just enjoyed seeing them happy.

and focused.

we played for quite some time and then david played on the phone for a few minutes and Nathaniel was right by his side of course!

in just a little bit he leaves for swim class and then we’re going to go to Target to get his uniform. I am trying to be organized and prepared for the new school. Let’s see….

My plans for tonight involve journaling, reading, and working on Soul Restoration. I really really want to make sure I slow down and take it all one step at a time.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful I was on paperclipping roundtable earlier this week. It was such a joy but I was so super-duper nervous.
2. I am grateful i took some time off and feel like I am already relaxing.
3. I am grateful that I spent some time playing with the kids today, it was so so wonderful and we will be doing more of it.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we played with stamps {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that i have swimming class.
3. I am grateful that we’re going to go to Target.

July 7, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | 3 comments

Daily Sketching – Week 13

Here are the sketches from this week. The ones from this week are still a bit plain but I like these more than the ones from last week. I like the color, too and I think I might try to mix in color more often.

Wednesday, I made this girl. I didn’t color her but I should have. at least i could have added some depth:

the next day, I did the deer. I love how it turned out:

Friday I did this elephant and I got the proportions wrong a bit.

on Saturday I did a simple girl with baby.

on Sunday, I did the girl feeding the fish.

and then colored it.

Monday, I picked another girl. I love this artist and the girls she makes.

and Tuesday I did another girl by the same artist who’s wonderful.

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

July 7, 2011 | Art, SG, Sketching | 3 comments

Daily Diary – July 6 2011

I am grouchy. I’d like to say why but I have no idea. All I know is I am grouchy grouchy grouchy. Alas, it shall pass.

The little boys are a lot of fun, though. They have been playing together and with cars a lot. Here’s the little one walking on his tippie toes.

And David watching him.

playing with his cars.

making noises and funny faces.

the big boy bummed that Nathaniel has some of the cars he wants.

but smiling at me anyway.

and now so is the little one. always imitates big brother of course.

and in an attempt to improve my mood, I put some music on as I worked and the kids decided to dance.

and here we are. i am about to go upstairs to start the night routine. and then i might get to art journal. i haven’t done it so far today. or i might just lie on the couch and be lazy. let’s see…

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful I sent my first batch of CHA layouts.
2. I am grateful i might be taking some more time off this week. I got a ton of work done today in preparation for it.
3. I am grateful that I spent some time working on my Soul Restoration homework tonight. I like doing that work so much.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I played cars with my brother {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that i got to play on the phone.
3. I am grateful that I can quit gymnastics (yesterday didn’t go so well).

July 6, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | 4 comments

A Book a Week – Limitless

I read Limitless because I wanted to see the movie. And I refuse to watch anything I haven’t read so much so that I read the whole book in one day. I got nothing else accomplished that day but I did finish the book and then we went straight to the movie.

And in a rare turn of events, I enjoyed both the movie and the book. I think they were quite different but both stood on their own and both were interesting to me. The story is not a common one and it held my interest the whole way through. The book is much more open ended than the movie and that was a bit of a disappointment for me but I still really enjoyed it. (And of course it’s typical that the movie had a considerably happier ending.)

July 6, 2011 | Books Read in 2011, Literature | 2 comments

Art Journaling – Moleskine Sketch – Week 5

And here are some more journal pages.

A relatively simple page but the colors are a bit too dark for me. Uses mostly pan pastels and Shiva paintstiks. It says “Choose to Love without Conditions.”

This one is really simple but I wanted to learn how to draw tulips so I just followed a tutorial I found online. It uses the watercolor pencils and some watersoluble oil pastels. Says “Stop to smell the flowers.”

This one uses several Crafter’s Workshop templates, pan pastels, and rubons. Says “Do not wait or hesitate to reach out.”

Another one that just uses pan pastels and Crafter’s Workshop templates. The line is from a Jewel song and it says “You already are what you hope to be.”

And finally the last page for this week uses some 7gypsies tissue paper, acrylic inks, stamps, the deer is from Sassafrass Lass I think and the corrugated pieces are from Jillibean Soup I think. It says “Life is Absolutely Magnificent. Enjoy it.”

That’s the five for this week. More coming next week. Thank you for letting me share.

I am creating art journaling pages daily for June (and maybe longer). You can read more about it and the book I am using here.

July 6, 2011 | AJG, Art, Mixed Media, Weekly Art Journal | 11 comments

Daily Diary – July 5 2011

Late last night I found out that I didn’t have work today. I honestly had no idea, is that not weird? Anyhow, it made me feel so much better as I had a commitment in the middle of the day today. So I woke up and got my personal projects done and then played with the kids. Since I knew I was going to have to be completely alone, I told David we could download some free games for the iphone for him to play with during my meeting.

Then I put Nathaniel down and David went to his room to play so I could do my meeting. Then they came back down and it was time for lunch which Nathaniel likes to play with more often than eat.

And wear on his head. He’s recently learned the work HAT!! and likes to say it often.

And here he is saying choo choo. And Truck Fell! which he likes to say often, too.

A split second of attention.

And these are the shots David’s giving me. I take what I can get.

As I worked on some of my Soul Restoration homework the kids picked through their toys and discovered new ones.

And played with cars and trains at the table.

You can’t see it but David’s actually being kind to Nathaniel here and building some cars with him.

I feel like today went by too quickly. I didn’t fill it to the brim or relax enough. I often feel that way lately. Not enough. I am going to work on this because it’s not the most productive or positive way to spend my days. I get a lot done and yet I feel a bit empty so I want to work on what would help me with that so I can enjoy each day in its own way. Some days more relaxing and other days more productive.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for an unexpected day off.
2. I am grateful for a fun opportunity today. More on this later this week.
3. I am grateful that there was a Soul Restoration class today. I love each of them.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I have gymnastics class {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that i got some games on the phone.
3. I am grateful that I took lego photos on the phone.

July 5, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | Leave a comment

Weekly Art Journal – Weeklong for June 6

This weeklong page was originally inspired by this amazing doodling except mine sucks. And then I added some watercolors but I was still really unhappy with the page.

So once I started the week, I told myself I would just add more doodling. For the numbers and everything else. I wanted to challenge myself not to use anything but doodles.

here’s the left page:

And the right side:

And here’s the filled page:

I really do not like this one. It’s definitely my least favorite of all the pages I’ve ever done.

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.

July 5, 2011 | Art, WAJG, Weeklong Daily Art Journal | 8 comments

Daily Diary – July 4 2011

Today has a lot of photos, mostly because I wanted to demonstrate how I like to take photos that tell stories and also give you a little glimpse of the craziness here. I know it’s fourth of July but we didn’t really do anything special for the holiday except hang out. While I sketched in the morning, David played on the phone and Nathaniel was watching him as he often does.

Then they sat at the couch and David drew Nathaniel a picture.

Nathaniel was quite excited.

Here’s the masterpiece.

Then David wanted to add more but Nathaniel wanted to have the toy back, and so is complaining.

And when that doesn’t work, he’s “crying”. I love David’s look here.

So David kindly gives it to him.

Nathaniel is still not 100% sure about the whole thing.

But is taking a closer look.

Then David takes then pen to add a bit more.

Which sends Nathaniel back to his meltdown.

So he gets the pen back and is finally happy.

Then they roughhouse a bit.

Finally Nathaniel is drawing.

Focusing hard with David watching.

And then he’s bored and walks away so now David gets to play with it peacefully.

A typical few minutes in our house. Happens many times over many different toys. Having two is so much more than having two individual kids. The interaction takes it all to another level. (often good and sometimes draining)

And I wanted to include this shot only because Nathaniel looks so very very much like me in it.

There you go. Our day was relatively quiet and typical here. We did go to a local path to take a little hike together but it’s been really really hot here so staying indoors is actually considerably more fun. Happy Fourth of July to those who celebrate it. I was grateful for the little extra time off and time to relax a bit more than usual.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for a nice short hike with my family.
2. I am grateful for my simple but truly wonderful life.
3. I am grateful that this will be a short and relatively light week at work.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I drew a picture for my brother {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that we went on a walk.
3. I am grateful that I had chocolate milk.

July 4, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | 2 comments

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