A Book a Week – Stiff

I’ve been meaning to read Stiff for quite a few years. I kept trying and giving up. So when one of my book clubs picked it, I decided it was time. Like Henrietta Lacks, I got the audio tapes and decided to give it one more go.

It could be that the reader wasn’t that great or that the subjectmatter was just too morose for me (especially after three consecutive books on death) but I just couldn’t get into it.

Yes there were funny parts and interesting parts but I still didn’t love it as much as so many people seem to. I’m sure it’s me. I have been known to not love books others seem to adore.

So I cannot recommend or not-recommend this one. Try it and see how you feel.

August 31, 2011 | Books Read in 2011, Literature | Leave a comment

Art Journaling – Strathmore – Bring Joy To Her Life

Here’s the next page:

For this page, I first did some watercolor drips and then drew my girl in pencil:

then I colored her with neocolor ii watersoluble crayons:

then I stitched. A LOT. all around the page. over the balloons, the girl’s hair, clothes, etc.

i know it’s hard to see but just in case you don’t believe me, here’s the back:

and here’s the finished page again:

The full text reads: She believed it was essential to bring joy to her life.

Here are some details from the page:

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 31, 2011 | Art, Mixed Media, Weekly Art Journal | 13 comments

Daily Diary – August 30 2011

Another super-busy day here. But things are progressing and that’s what matters for now. I had no time to take photos today because I had to go to work for a meeting so I snapped one of David.

and asked Jake to help me with Nathaniel.

who wasn’t feeling very cooperative.

My jaw is still really really in pain so my plan tonight is to curl up and watch TV. That’s it!

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful I went to work today, it was so much more productive to have the meeting in person.
2. I am grateful I took tomorrow off, the last of our family days before school starts.
3. I am grateful for Advil. It’s the only thing that’s keeping me from crying nonstop.

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 got extra time on the computer.
3. I am grateful that we finished our elephants book.

August 30, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | 2 comments

Weekly Art Journal – Weeklong for August 1

This weeklong page was originally inspired by this wonderful canvas. I loved how unique it is.

here it is the right way up:

I mostly stuck to black and very little stamping so as to not ruin the page.

here’s the left page:

And the right side:

And here’s the filled page:

and sideways:

I love the color.

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.

August 30, 2011 | Art, WAJG, Weeklong Daily Art Journal | 9 comments

Daily Diary – August 29 2011

Today was a crazy crazy crazy day at work.But, in the end, it all worked out. The kids spent most of the day playing by themselves.

Mostly with legos.

Nathaniel was very cranky after he woke up. Wouldn’t let me take his PJs off, wouldn’t let me put his pants on after a diaper change. He’s sulking here cause David went upstairs.

Then gets distracted by the TV.

Would not let me take any photos. So when Jake got home I asked him if he could hold Nathaniel so I could capture some.

And snapped one of David, too.

Then Nathaniel started to have fun. (popping with his fingers here.)

And went a little too crazy.

Super-happy.

hurting daddy

and hugging him (or head butting him…we weren’t sure.)

either way, I got my smiley photos.

My jaw’s been acting up again and I have a bad headache from it and I am tired and worn out. So my plan tonight is to just relax. Maybe read a bit. I will aim to reply to all the comments, too. Let’s see if I do.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for a new dev channel. This one was eventful.
2. I am grateful I did make some art today. It makes me very happy.
3. I am grateful that I don’t have anything due right now so I can take the night off and relax without feeling bad.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I played Atari with Daddy * {his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I played with my legos.
3. I am grateful that I played with Nathaniel.

August 29, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | One comment

The Joy and Happiness of Making Art

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

Journaling Reads:
Nathaniel you just found David’s old toy in the closet and have been playing with it ever since. I love how you sit there and draw for hours engrossed in the joy of creating art. Then you stop and admire your creation. Erase and then start all over again. I can see the joy in your face when you play, draw. and make art. It’s the same reason I love to create my son. And seeing you share the joy of art makes me happy!

August 29, 2011 | Authentique Paper, Layouts, Scrapbooking | 2 comments

Daily Diary – August 28 2011

I hope you’re not already sick of dahlia pictures because there are many many many more.

Today began with exercise and family photos. Me taking one of the boys.

Nathaniel thrilled to have the remote.

“Traumatized” when it’s taken away.

Completely distracted looking out the window and playing with the curtains.

Thoroughly bored and getting fidgety.

suddenly realizing David has the remote.

about to break down again which is what finally prompted us to get right into tickle time.

And finally laughter.

Which ended in tears cause We tickled David too much. But alas, another family shoot. And then it was quiet time, art time, still-won’t-take-a-nap time. So we finally gave up and went to the San Jose Children’s Discovery Museum where the kids had an absolute blast. As the day came to a close, I started feeling overwhelmed and tired so the ride home and dinner was not so great.

But now they are sleeping peacefully and I am trying to quiet my mind and soul and find peace, too. It was quite a wonderful sight seeing them explore, laugh, and just be so happy. I am so thankful.

It was a productive and wonderful weekend. We get one more before school starts and fall is officially here.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for the museum. It’s such an excellent place for kids.
2. I am grateful I made a minibook which has been on my todo list and wrote my newsletter, too.
3. I am grateful some peaceful time before tomorrow’s stressful day begins.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we went to the museum * {his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I played legos with daddy.
3. I am grateful that I played wii. (he got to play a little bit today.)

August 28, 2011 | Daily Diary - 2011, DPGallery | 2 comments

Reading with David – Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I like that Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle can cure all the children. My favorite story was the one about the boy who couldn’t find anything because I loved how he found Mr. Piggle-Wiggle’s present and how he said he had the sharpest eyes in the world.

I didn’t like the story where the boy lied all the time because I thought it was mean that he lied and made up stories. But I loved the story where she stopped forgetting to feed the animals because in the end she had gotten so great at taking care of all the animals and they all loved her.

I didn’t like destructiveness story but I loved that in the end he learned how to fix everything he destroyed. And I loved how the scared girl became super-brave by the end of the book.

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.

August 28, 2011 | David, Dbooks 2011, Family, Reading with David | 4 comments

Art Journaling – Strathmore – Until You Love You

Here’s the next page:

The full text reads: You cannot love others until you love you.

Here are some details from the page:

I really really do not like this one but I want to post them all so you can see how I produce stuff I dislike and so I can track my personal progress. This page uses pan pastels, acrylic paint, watersoluble oil pastels.

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 28, 2011 | Art, Mixed Media, Weekly Art Journal | 8 comments

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

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