jake
Jake came back from Washington D.C. and went right into a whirlwind of meetings. He was out every single night this week for meetings, classes and other obligations. He spent his days making presentations and working with his interns. He also took David to swim class and to soccer class. He helped me with some of my crazy time by taking the kids and playing with them and I am deeply grateful for that.
karen
This week was a quiet one at work. I tried to make sure to keep everything as low key as possible in my life. I also realized that my daily todo list items are getting a bit overwhelming for me and I need to rearrange things or reset some of my expectations from myself. Especially over the summer since both kids will be at school in the fall and I really want to make the most of these summer days together. Mental note to self: redo daily schedule so you have more room to relax, cuddle, and play.
david
David had all of his classes this week but it was quieter than last week since Lego camp was over and his friend is now gone for the summer. So he spent most of his time playing with legos, the computer, his workbooks and Nathaniel. He discovered the camera on the iPhone this week too and took a ton of pictures at home and on our walks. He also made notes on the notebook app and found creative ways to entertain himself. He is being really kind and sweet and I am very proud of him.
nathaniel
Nathaniel is super-active lately and talks more and more. He’s now making two-word sentences like “truck fell” or “food done” or “mama eat.” And since we never really had these milestones with David, it feels so new to me and I really love experiencing them with him. He’s gotten really into Bob the Builder this week and has been watching YouTube movies with me and loving them.
Us Right Now is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.
Nathaniel’s gotten into Bob the Builder lately and says “bob bob” while raising his hand when he sees anything Bob the builder related. We’ve been watching a few intro movies on YouTube together.
And every now and then I say “Nathaniel” and he says “what?” It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve already said it, he keeps answering. I love that.
David had “David day” today where he got to do several things of his own choosing. One of them was to play Wii.
Here’s more of Nathaniel watching Bob on my computer.
Look at that smile. His joy is so visible.
Jake’s brother and sister in law had a baby today. Little Jonah. I wanted to take a moment to congratulate them and wish all of them a long and prosperous life. Another cousin in the family. We have a bunch of guests coming tonight so I have to run but I wanted to take a moment to apologize for neglecting the emails and comments lately. I will catch up this weekend, I promise.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for the weekend. Really really grateful.
2. I am grateful for guests coming over tonight, it promises to be fun.
3. I am grateful that did two layouts last night.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that it was David Day. {* his pick for the journal} thank you Caroline!!
2. I am grateful that I played wii.
3. I am grateful that I had chocolate milk.
Well June came and went uneventfully. I lost a bit, gained a bit, made no difference and then lost some and gained some. What a bummer. It feels like the plateau is definitely here but I am really refusing to acknowledge it cause I hate the idea of plateauing at this point.
The exercise has been going well. I did 3.12 miles every day and I am able to get through it without a lot of pain. Though I still dread it every single day. I do it anyway. I’m still doing the crunches, leg lifts, afternoon walks, too. I don’t think I will be adding anything to the exercise pile for July. I feel tapped out there for now.
I could do better on the food. I am repeating the coffee image this week because I’ve been drinking more of it and eating more graham crackers than usual. I am tried and too wiped to make a simple meal. I don’t eat cookies but I am still not eating well enough to get the energy and nutrition I need. I think this is really the area I need to focus on for the next few months to make sure there is progress. Since this is where I am lacking the most, it’s also the area that I think is responsible for the lack of progress in weight loss (and good health obviously.).
and here’s this week’s card:
Healthy for Life is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.
This layout is for Write.Click.Scrapbook’s June Gallery. The theme is to scrap Weddings.
Journaling Reads:
twins. right before the ceremony started Aksel was supposed to put petals all over the ground. Instead he turned over his whole bucket and dumped them.
chuppah. I loved that our chuppah was carried by family and they got to surround us the entire time. Holding our home over us. Protecting.
weather. It was an amazing Boston day and to have it in Jake’s home with such a stunning garden…it could not have been more special than this.
ceremony. i am not religious but i wanted a traditional ceremony. we got the best mixture of tradition and poetry. Quiet, personal, and magical.
danny. I will never forget hearing danny’s sniffs throughout our whole ceremony. He was so emotional and I love him so very much.
Quiet. We took a moment of quiet just for us right after the ceremony and it was so nice to look at the house full of our loved ones and take a pause.
Speech. My dad gave one of the best speeches I ever heard. Funny, kind, and insightful. He’s an amazing person and I will never forget the speech.
Cake. Our wedding was mostly quiet and not over the top, This cake was the only splurge I wanted and I loved the way it looked and tasted.
Friends. We kept our wedding small. Only our closest friends and I am so glad those special people were there to witness and celebrate with us.
forever. The very best part of our wedding was by far the marriage. Getting to spend forever with the man I love, my best friend, is the greatest gift ever.
Details:
Here’s the check-in for June. You can see the original goals for 2011 here.
Family
I have still been reading regularly to David and loving it so much. I’m still keeping up with weekly family shoots, daily diary, gratitudes, and family night. Nathaniel and I are now taking a music class together. Jake and I haven’t done so well on date nights for June but we will rectify that for July.
Health
Going strong on the running and walking. Did 3.12 miles a day every day in June. Doing 40 leg lifts on each leg and 15 crunches a day. I’m not keeping track of the food but I am still eating salads daily and trying to lower my graham cracker intake. David and I are also taking daily walks still so my average step count per day has been around 10,500 or so. Sleep’s been ok. I am getting 7 hours or so a night but it doesn’t seem to be enough. I still feel tired so I need to come up with a better solution here.
Art + Photography
Sketching daily every day. A bit of a boring slump on that this month but I will take a step back and revamp things during July. Still doing weeklong art journaling and loving it. I’ve also added daily art journaling in June and I’ve been loving that too. Finally, I continued doing the truth cards in June, too. The photo excursion thing seems to be a bit of a bust.The etsy shop is also a bust I think.
Scrapbooking
June was a lot of for scrapping too. I did several layouts for Authentique Paper, Maya Road and Pink Paislee and I am still working on CHA work. I have a few more projects to do but then things should start slowing down. I have another guest spot coming up in September, too. I still have not been submitting to magazines but might start working on that again soon. I had a few other unusual opportunities in June but they won’t come up for a while. So far, so good.
Reading
Still reading my weekly book regularly. Reading to David, too. My book club was canceled for June so this goal didn’t happen.
Writing
This month hasn’t also not been strong on thoughts-posts. I’ve been thinking about them a lot but just not doing them. I use the small energy I have on the newsletters. I do have some class ideas in the works but I still don’t seem to want to work on them just yet. I’ve been diligent on the newsletter and happy to hear feedback if you’re getting them. I’m still not sure about NaNoWriMo but we’ll see. I’ve still been journaling up a storm and do it every weekday and sometimes even on the weekends and using that opportunity to improve my handwriting a bit, too.
Learning
Learning to draw, sketch, paint, art journal. In June I started Melody Ross’ Soul Restoration 2 and Alisa Burke’s Watercolor class. Loving both. Nothing on the iPad front yet or the stop motion movie.
Community (This is a particularly hard one for me.)
Going strong on the mom’s group and our June guests are coming tomorrow and it will be a big group. I’ve been quiet in June partly cause things have been so busy. I will try to do better for July.
And that’s it for June. Overall, I think I did pretty great. Lots of good goals met. Let’s bring on July!
Another shot of my kids sitting on the couch together. I can’t get enough of these.
David playing with the iphone (taking pictures) while Nathaniel naps.
My super-duper handsome boy.
And another.
the little one with his sweet smile.
trying to snap some shots over dinner.
and not being super-successful.
Feeling better today. A little step at a time. I took it slow all day. Ate a bit more than usual but tried to still keep it nutritious. I have plans to scrap tonight, I hope I can get some inspiration. It took me a long, long time to do the art journal page today and I almost gave up on three separate occasions. But I love the page I ended up with so I guess it was worth it.
Here we are at the end of another month. June was fast, uneventful and a bit chaotic all at the same time. I hope July will be super-calm, quiet and restful. A girl can wish…
I wanted to remind you that my newsletter goes out tonight. You can subscribe on the right side of my homepage. There are free downloadables and some thoughts from me.
That’s about it for tonight. Off to do my June check-in, put the little one down and scrap.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for a sweet email that came as a pleasant and unexpected surprise.
2. I am grateful that I got some wonderful and happy mail that had new Maya Road and Authentique Paper.
3. I am grateful that today was a better day and that I was able to walk toward peace a bit more.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I got angry birds in the mail. {* his pick for the journal} thank you Caroline!!
2. I am grateful that I have swim class.
3. I am grateful that I took pictures with the iPhone.
Here are the sketches from this week. The ones from this week are on the plain side. I seem to be in a slight rut. I have plans to get out of it but I’ve been a bit too busy lately.:
Wednesday, I made this girl with balloons:
the next day, I did the birds:
Friday I did this girl but I think I got the proportions wrong.
on Saturday I did another girl.
on Sunday, I tried to do this Belle and Boo girl but it looks off somehow.
Monday, I picked another one of her girls. I love this artist and own several of her prints.
and Tuesday I completely changed course and drew my version of this amazing church. But I really didn’t feel like doing it and David asked me to but my heart wasn’t in it. So mine came out pretty bad.
and here we are. as always some are ok others not so great. let’s see what next week brings.
I must not be getting enough sleep cause I am still too tired and worn out. But today was still a better day. While I sketched in the morning, the two kids sat together and David read to Nathaniel.
Even though the light was bad I still love these.
Then I did more art, worked, Nathaniel napped, I read to David, he read to me etc etc. When he woke up we went on a quick walk and the kids were in better mood.
We watched a few Bob the Builder on YouTube.
which is Nathaniel’s new favorite.
Even David watched a few.
I am wiped wiped wiped. I want to work on my watercolor homework and my Soul Restoration homework and I have emails piling up that need and deserve replies. Same for comments here. Just too tired. I am not ignoring you I swear. Will get my stuff together very soon!
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that Jake came home and took the kids out so I could get some much needed peace.
2. I am grateful that some of yesterday’s grouchiness appears to be gone.
3. I am grateful that Jake went to buy us more fruit and dinner. I am eternally grateful to him for his graciousness and kindness to me.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I made two pictures for Daddy. {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that we got take out for dinner.
3. I am grateful that I played on the computer.
I read Mockingjay right after I finished Catching Fire and I enjoyed the continuing momentum of the books. To me, this one was the lest interesting in some ways maybe because Peeta wasn’t part of it and he’s one of my favorite characters. Or maybe because the creativity and interesting sections that were there with the two Hunger Games didn’t exist in this one (since there wasn’t another game.)
But I still enjoyed every word of it and look forward to more books from the author.
Alas, now I am sad I finished the books I was saving for a special occasion. I will have to find some other quick reads for when I feel overwhelmed.
And here are some more journal pages.
This next page uses Tim Holtz masks, Prima stamps and pan pastels mostly with some oil pastels. It says “Time is your most valuable asset, what will you do with your one precious life?”
Feels a little distressed and the colors are less happy than my usual style.
Right after that one, I decided to try my new Shiva Paintstiks so I made this relatively simple page.
says “dream big.”
And again, after I finish the simple one, I have to go all insane. So I made this one next:
This has book text and map as a background. And then lots of color and layers. It says “Write your own story. Map your own path.”
The next one came super easily. It’s really simple but I love it. It says “I want to choose and exude joy.”
And finally the last page for this week was a response to Soul Restoration II’s second week assignment. I drew the scale and made a mask of myself on one side and put hearts on the other.
On my mask it says “I will remember in all things I do that I want to guide my life and decisions with these qualities that I value the most:” and the hearts say “integrity, joy, peace, love, kindness, help and gratitude.” This is to show me that I want to measure my worth by these values which is why they are on the other side of the scale from me. Mostly used inktense for these too and then added some oil pastels to blend, if I remember correctly.
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.
I am feeling grouchy at this moment so I will do this quickly. I have been working on improving my handwriting so I practice and practice in all sizes.
I love how my boys sit together sometimes, each doing his own thing but sitting next to each other. I love that.
I also love the “please take the photo already” smile David gives me lately. It makes me smile.
What I love the most is when they play together. Roaring like dinosaurs.
And stopping to give mommy a big smile.
And laughing at his brother.
Who can do a mighty scary roar.
I love taking these photos. Looking at them when I am grouchy is even better. Nothing went wrong today. Just a few small things. Like I have some scrappy stuff I have to do but I am not in the mood and deadlines always worry me. Like how I don’t like my sketch or art journal page from today. Like how it’s raining and I can’t go on my walk. Like how I am feeling tired and hungry. All of which are really nothing and there are happy sides to all the coins too. So I am going to let it all go. I will do some reading tonight. Some journaling. And a lot of resting. Tomorrow, I will get up, scrap, be thankful and start another day. Thankful for another day.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that Jake came home and played with the kids so much while I had my meeting. It was so nice to hear them giggling upstairs.
2. I am grateful that handwriting practice is paying off, super-slowly but nonetheless.
3. I am grateful that I have some more homework for both my classes. They are keeping me busy but happy.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that Daddy’s back. {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I did subtraction Khan Academy with Daddy.
3. I am grateful that Daddy pushed me around in the laundry basket with Nathaniel.
This weeklong page was inspired several different pieces of art. I just wanted to create the feeling of hanging hearts. But I used matte medium to adhere the hearts and it smeared all around which of course made them a resist and resisted the watercolors hence the white around the hearts.
then i used oil crayons to add some more blue. I was still unhappy but happier.
I just added more and more color and blotches as I put in my content each day so it would make the blotches around the hearts look more intentional.
here’s the left page:
And the right side:
And here’s the filled page:
I hate it a lot less now 🙂
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-six
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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