Today’s photos were also taken this morning.
Here’s David trying to not smile.
And the cutie pie who wouldn’t take his hand out of his mouth.
I love this blurry photo. Here’s Nathaniel running away from the camera laughing. So Nathaniel.
I worked all day and then had a BPC chat. SO now I get to rest. More tomorrow.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that things are going relatively smoothly at work. Big issues but nothing I can really fix right now.
2. I am grateful that tomorrow is Friday and I work from home.
3. I am grateful for the help and support of my colleagues. They are the best!
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I played with Julian {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that mommy came home earlier than yesterday
3. I am grateful that mommy stays home tomorrow!
Even though I haven’t sketched in a while, I did do some since the last post. Something simple:
more simple.
a little more complicated.
for the color ones, i first draw in pencil:
then i outline in pen:
erase, and then color:
and then here’s a final pencil one. I don’t feel it’s good but I keep practicing. that’s what it’s about right?
and here we are. That’s what we got for this week.
I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t get back home until late today so I took some photos in the morning. Here’s Nathaniel playing with stickers.
I love love love him so.
And here’s the big boy, trying to make more interesting faces.
I asked him to tell me a story so he’s thinking.
Couldn’t come up with one on the fly like that (mostly cause he really wanted me to stop so he could play.)
Then I went to pick Brene up and went to work. As I imagined and knew, Brene is awesome. Truly real, fun, kind, generous and wonderful person. We walked around campus for a while and then she gave her talk which was so so amazing and it made me think, choke up, laugh, and nod so very much. Even though I’ve heard her speak before, it’s a profound experience for me each time. Each time she speaks, you can tell how passionate she is about this subject matter and it permeates your soul. She’s awesome. And I am so so thankful I got to experience this day with her. I will not forget it. (Even the two engineers who were videotaping the event were so impressed that they bought her book right after the talk. Not that I am the least bit surprised.)
And because I was so caught up in all of it, I didn’t even ask her to sign my book or take one single photo! But it’s ok. I have the memories. And those are with me at all times. I don’t think she reads here, but just in case, thank you thank you thank you Brené. You have truly made my day in every way!
After Brene got in her car, I headed to work. And the next minute I looked at my watch it was already four hours later. I made it home almost an hour after bedtime and still have a ton of work to do (as well as a huge headache).
So now I will relax for a short while, then work for a while and then crawl into bed so I can do it all over again tomorrow. But I am not complaining. Today was a good day. I was moved, inspired, and got to meet someone I’ve wanted to for a long long time. I am grateful.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful again that Jake was home, loving and caring for the kids so I could be worry-less at work. I adore him and feel grateful for him so much.
2. I am grateful that Brené came and I got to meet her. And she listened to me talk talk talk all day. And she was so real, so down to earth, so truly wonderful.
3. I am grateful for my job. It’s been a tough few days but I love my job. I love Google and I love our product and I love being a part of it however big or small.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I had music class {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that we played ninjas with julian
3. I am grateful that I got to stay up a little later than usual
I am Number Four was another read recommended by my friend Kathy who reads a lot of Young Adult books. She said it was good and she said there was a movie coming out. I didn’t ask more, I just read. It had so much of what I don’t usually read: aliens, teenagers, science fiction.
But I read it in one day. I loved it.
I got engrossed in the story. And I wanted more. Like the Maze Runner, this is supposed to be a series so not all was resolved. Which annoyed me, of course. (And I did skip a bunch of the fighting toward the end.)
I later found out that James Frey is one of the authors of the book and despite the crazy scandal surrounding his first book, I am a big fan of his writing style so it wasn’t that surprising to me that I liked the book and will be going to see the movie.
Now that CHA is passed, I wanted to share some of my The Girls’ Paperie work I made for the show.
Journaling Reads:
As Kindergarten approached my biggest worry was teaching you to read. Everyone said that you would learn at school but I wanted to make sure it was before. I didn’t learn English as a kid so I had no idea how to teach. Thanks to my friends Deb and Caroline, we used this book and in 30 days you learned to read like magic! Seeing you sit and read your books with joy gives me the greatest pleasure I’ve ever felt as a mom. I am so incredibly proud of you my son.
All products are from The Girls’ Paperie Kitch or Mix and Match lines.
Details:
I expected today to be stressful and it didn’t disappoint. I’ll start with the photos I took last night, this is the ship David and Jake built together. David loves it.
Since I knew I was going to be at work, I tried to take photos early in the morning before David went to school but he was feeling moody.
And then he laughed of course.
Then we dropped him off, I exercised, checked in my class and my work and then Jake was home and I went off to work. I spent pretty much all day working working working. Stressing. Talking. Working.
When I came home, the kids were almost ready to go down. I was surprised to find a package for Nathaniel from my friend Amy and when I opened it, it was Thomas board books. I cannot tell you how incredibly excited Nathaniel was. He grabbed them all and flipped through them immediately.
He was so excited. He lined them all up.
He kept looking at them, looking in them, holding them. Amy, I cannot describe it in words! Thank you so much and so deeply, you have totally made my day. And his day. This was so unexpected, so kind, so generous, so amazing. Thank you!
then it was time to put the kids down, and I still had work to do. At last, I did manage to push the build out (most of it at least) and now I am completely wiped. I will relax and then head right to bed. So I can start working again bright and early in the morning. But tomorrow I also get to meet and escort Brené which I am so so so excited about and a few more days and things will quiet down considerably. Then I just go back to working and working and chugging along as usual. Or so I hope.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that Jake has been doing such a great job and being so incredibly supportive. I haven’t worried about the kids one bit today. I was able to fully focus on work.
2. I am grateful I get to meet Brené tomorrow. A major highlight for me.
3. I am grateful for this amazing, unexpected present from Amy. I cannot tell you how very much it touched me Amy. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we ninjas with julian {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that daddy was home today
3. I am grateful that I had PE, I love P.E.!
4. I am grateful that mommy brought some orange juice for me
Today’s page was week six’s part 3 (and final) homework for the Soul Restoration class.
This assignment was all about differentiating between things I want to spend less time on and things I want focus more on. The thing that struck me a bit with this assignment was more about what I did not include on my page as opposed to what ended up there. The things that are on the “no more” and on the “focus on” list are both relatively authentic to me and they seem obvious to me. They are things I really need to be more cognizant of when I am living each moment.
here are some things that didn’t make it on the “no more” list
- Abusing: Even though I’ve abused diet coke before and I do drink a little more coffee than I’d like at the moment, I am in better shape on this than I’ve been in the past. I still remember the days of 12 diet cokes.
- Greed: This is another area where I don’t focus too much on anymore. I don’t need promotions and raises. Money is nice to have but I only need enough to send my kids to good schools, have us live comfortably and not be in deep need. Anything else is extra and nice to have but it’s not worth dedicating all my free time to. My family and soul work is where I want the free time to go to, not trying to make a few extra bucks.
- Over-eating: Another area where things are more in control than they’ve been in the past. No devouring chocolate bars. I haven’t had chips or burgers or impulsive eating in a long time. I still don’t eat as well as I should but this is a definite sign of progress.
- Hoarding: I have made tangible progress in this area, too. With the help of digital books, I am not buying books anymore. I have also stopped buying just about any scrapbooking stuff with the exception of punches and white cardstock. I do need to find a good way to donate some of my existing stash but at least I am working on not growing it.
- Overworking: This is similar to “greed” where I am trying to focus on doing a good job at work and focusing hard and then spending the rest of my time doing things I love for myself or for my family. This is something that’s particularly hard for me but I didn’t include it because I think that compared to the 100-hour weeks I was working on Wall Street, I am really doing better on this item.
and here are some of the items that didn’t make it to the “focus on” list:
- Clutter: This is something I feel like I have more under control than usual. I do have a few areas of clutter that keep piling up again and again but in general I think the house is organized and we’re keeping things orderly so I am happy with it and feel at peace.
- Cooking: I have decided that I am not cooking. I might, one day, decide otherwise. But for now, this is not an area I want to spend my precious time on and as long as we all eat whole foods and not processed ones, we’re ok. We will stick to fruits, frozen veggies, yogurt, honey and nuts.
- Meditation: Another area where I often pressure myself to do better and I finally decided enough is enough. No meditation for me. I can focus on the journaling instead. It works well, makes me feel peaceful and allows me to work things out. This is good enough for now.
- Pretty Things/Clothes: While I am fully determined to lose weight and finally look the way I’ve always wanted to, I am not bent on having pretty things or clothes. I am happy with my one item a month rule and even if I didn’t have that, it’s ok. The focus is the weight/size loss here. Everything else is extra.
- Homemaking: Not my area of strength or interest. I like my house to be open, clean, and orderly. I am not spending hours decorating and redecorating it. And I am officially not feeling bad about it. There we go.
- Dancing: This is another area of major guilt for me. I don’t dance. I feel too awkward, self-conscious, etc. People always seem to feel sad for me when they hear this and I keep telling myself I need to work on it. Well seeing here on paper, I decided to let myself off the hook. I don’t need to dance. I do many other things that make me happy and allow me to share my joy. It’s ok not to do this.
- Vacations/Travel: My kids are still pretty young. Vacation for us is more torture than fun. A lot of planning, a lot of being off-schedule and cranky and disorganized. I’d rather just stay at home or take short trips where everyone comes back home to sleep in their own bed. This will change with time but for now, it’s totally ok to not go anywhere and just enjoy our home.
There you go. So many of the lessons I learned this week. And I let myself off the hook on many items. I think that was almost as important as coming up with my lists of “no more” and “focus on.”
With this, my classwork is over. I have some truth cards to make but that will come later this year. I have love love love loved this course and cannot recommend it enough.
Weekly Art Journal is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.
I woke up from the wrong side of the bed today (as they say) and could not shake it off. I just did not want to do anything at all. Despite all that, I did manage to exercise, journal, read to David and do a lot of work.
Nathaniel played quietly while I frantically tried to open bugs and find owners for issues.
Next thing I knew it was time to pick up David. Thankfully, soon after he came home, so did Jake. He and David built legos for a while as I worked. Then I realized I hadn’t taken a photo today yet. But David wouldn’t play along.
And then he couldn’t help himself.
and now the kids are down and I am still grouchy. I am stressed in anticipation of upcoming stress. How totally dumb is that?! Alas, I know everything is going to work out because it always does one way or another. And if it doesn’t that’s ok too. The world will not end. I just wish I could tell my heart all this. But it doesn’t listen when it’s so busy freaking out.
Instead I just decided to give myself the next few days off. I will do anything I want. Besides the exercise, all other things are optional. I don’t need to sketch or update my journal or anything I don’t want to do. If I do, great but it’s truly optional. If I just want to lie and watch TV or movies or surf for my spare time, it’s allowed until Thursday. After which I need to go back to being a good girl again.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that Jake is going to be around almost the whole time for the next three days to ensure my process is smooth and I have guiltless time to dedicate to work.
2. I am grateful for a very special guest coming on Wednesday.
3. I am grateful for not having anything on my todo list this week other than work so I can take downtime I know I need.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we played Indiana Jones at school {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that mommy and I finished our book
3. I am grateful that I build my lego ship with daddy
I had the honor of being the December 2010 Guest designer for October Afternoon. This is one of the layouts I made for them.
Journaling Reads:
My little boy, you’re quite adventurous. You’re willing to try and explore everything. David’s toys and clothes are all exciting to you. So are new foods and places. But this openness generally only lasts for a few seconds. Sometimes so short that I can’t even captures it in film. So I was very happy to capture this brief moment of joy you had when you put on the baseball cap on. And then it was off, of course.
Here’s to another lovely, quiet, wonderful weekend day. It took me a while to get started but I did my exercise about an hour after I woke up and then it was family photo time. Here are some outtakes for you. Nathaniel complaining because David has the clicker.
Jake said something to make fun of me here (actually he was responding to me because I kept saying “don’t make that weird face” but he said it in such a funny way that I burst into laughter.
And I couldn’t stop. I love how Nathaniel has the clicker here and is staring right at the camera while the rest of us are cracking up.
And then it was tickle-time, of course. We always end with tickle-time. I love Jake’s face in this one.
And more tickling. David really enjoys the tickling.
Then everyone went to work for a while. Nathaniel went to nap (though he didn’t really nap until we took him back out and put him back in.) David tried to think of a way to play without electronics since I told him he’d had enough.
So he wouldn’t give me a smile.
I did some art, some sketching, and some reading. Then the little boy woke up and went shopping with his dad. When he came home, he played and I snapped photos.
I love it when I catch him looking right at me.
Then he went back to putting stickers on just about anything. Despite the fact that I kept saying “no Nathaniel, no” he just shook his head no and kept putting them on.
Then it was family time so we played Monopoly Jr again. And this time David won! He was very excited. He and daddy did some legos and then both the kids went down. I did some of my todo list items and I am now off to do some more art. This week promises to be stressful so I am going to enjoy these last moments of peace.
I hope your weekend was great!
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I made some more pages on my art journal.
2. I am grateful for family time. I love family time.
3. I am grateful for the peace and calm I feel right now. I don’t usually feel peaceful but this year it’s been more often than not. I am thankful.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we had family night {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I got to spend some time with daddy playing legos
3. I am grateful that I got to stay up a little later than usual
David says:
I gave this story five stars because it was a fun book to read because it had adventures.
My favorite part was when they found out Tip was Ozma. And I liked that the witch got caught. I liked Ozma because she was a nice Queen. I also like that the Scarecrow is filled with money. I thought it was funny when the TinMan thought he could get the girls with his axe but then there was no one at the entrance. I like Glinda because she is just. I like that the saw-horse goes fast. I think Jack Pumpkinhead’s smile looks cool and I like Tip because he taught the horse all the words and what they mean. I didn’t really care for the Bug.
I didn’t like Jinjur because she didn’t let Scarecrow or Ozma be the ruler of Emerald City. I like that they caught Mombi because she was mean.
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.
I woke up feeling tired today but also relieved because I had nothing I had to do. So I just relaxed for a tiny bit and then did my exercise. While I was relaxing, David lay on the floor and told Nathaniel to sit on him. And Nathaniel did. They both thought it was hilarious.
David was so good. He didn’t even complain when Nathaniel pulled his hair.
I love them so.
After my exercise and shower, it was family photo time. Since it was finally not raining, we thought it might be fun to do it outside.
Nathaniel grabbed the remote a few minutes into our session, of course.
And then everyone went to do their own thing. Jake went to get some work done, I did some art, David played his wii, and Nathaniel played with his trains.
Toward the end of the day, we decided it would be fun to watch a movie so we watched the one where the princess becomes a swan. Sadly, I can’t remember the name. It was ok. Now the kids are eating and soon it’s bath and bedtime. I am hoping I get to work on my art journal a bit tonight but I can’t seem to share the tiredness no matter how much I try. So I might just have to curl up in bed with a book.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I did some fun sketching.
2. I am grateful that I also worked on a page on my art journal where I did a she art piece.
3. I am grateful for another weekend day tomorrow.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I get to play batman on the wii {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that we watched a movie together
3. I am grateful that daddy will spend some time with me
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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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