Daily Diary – April 3 2011

Ok I have to admit that I spent most of today pouting. I did work on some projects but I also just lay on the couch, dead tired, for quite some time. But, some days just go like that. My todo list piled up but that’s ok, too. It will pass. Tomorrow I will catch up. I did my 2.9 miles early this morning and then we took our family shots. The kids weren’t really up for it though so we ended up doing tickle time pretty early.

And got lots of laughter shots.

Which I must admit, I love.

Jake and David went to learn to ride bikes while I was exercising (and Nathaniel was playing next to me.) so after family shots, Jake went to do some work, Nathaniel napped, and I worked on my minibook for CHA (yes, already working on summer CHA). When Nathaniel woke up, we all had lunch and I read to David. Then Daddy came home and they disappeared again, this time to ride scooters. While they were gone, Nathaniel tried on all his pairs of shoes.

He worked really hard at it.

Then he put stickers all over his shirt.

Then took them off his shirt and re-stuck them onto some paper. (after my explaining to him that sticking them to the couch was not ok.)

Then David said it was ok to snap a photo of him. (Daddy was mowing the lawn at this point.)

And finally it was family time but Mommy was feeling tired and super-grouchy so the boys played games on the computer while mommy sat next to them and read.

Then they went to bed, I worked some more on my minibook (still not done) and worked some on my art journal. Now it’s 9:30 and I am trying to decide between working more on my book and going to bed. But I am exhausted and I know if I stay up late, it will ruin tomorrow and I have a long day tomorrow so I am going to go sleep. The mini book will get finished in the morning.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that Jake took David riding today. He said we’re almost there which makes me so so grateful.
2. I am grateful that I read a fun book and did some projects this weekend despite my hectic schedule and yucky mood.
3. I am grateful that this is an appointment-free week. A rare one for me.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I rode my bike with Daddy {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I got to play video games with Daddy
3. I am grateful we rode the scooter

Reading with David – The Secret of Terror Castle

David says:
I gave this story five stars because I loved that they figured out the secret or Terror Castle and that it ended well.

I liked Jupiter the most because he was the master because he was the first investigator and he formed the club. He was also the most intelligent. I also liked Bob because he did all the research about Terror Castle. I like that they had cool adventures. I also liked the driver because he discovered the secret passage and he also saved Pete and Jupiter. He ended up helping the boys solve the mystery.

I didn’t like the scene where the birds attacked Bob and Worthington. I also didn’t like Skinny Norris because he stole their card. I liked that they took a picture of the skeleton and that they weren’t too scared. I also liked that they left question mark trails in chalk. I didn’t like the part where the boys got caught behind the rocks. But, overall, I really liked this story and want to read more of them.


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.

Daily Diary – April 2 2011

Today was scheduled to be a busy day so I exercised right after I woke up. Then, I showered and it was time for family photos. Here are my boys as I am setting the camera up.

And then all of us giving some love to Daddy. We all love Daddy so much.

Tickle time.

I love these moments so much.

And then there was some drama, of course. As the boys kicked balls around and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Then I worked on my layout (which too WAY WAY TOO LONG to complete) until it was time to go to the birthday party. Then we had to pick up the car and then we came home and I finished my layout and we had friends over and then they left and now I am trying to finish up all my dangling todo items. Too stressful a day if you ask me. I look forward to a relaxing day tomorrow.

As I was taking shots of my layout, David came down and asked me to take a photo so I happily obliged.

Now it’s time to relax. Maybe do some art journaling, too. Let’s see.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for some fun time with my boys at the birthday (and grateful I stayed away from the pizza and chocolate).
2. I am grateful I finished the layout. I am not a huge fan of it but i am still glad it’s done. Not all come so easily.
3. I am grateful I get one more day off before the chaos of work descends.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that it’s Matthew’s birthday {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I get to stay up late and play a bit tonight
3. I am grateful that it was my wii day.

Us Right Now – April 2

jake
This was Jake’s final week at his current job. We now begin another new chapter in our lives as he starts his new company. I am hoping that along with some wonderful work, this will mean more family time for all of us. Higher quality time and more rest. No more 3:30am alarms to go to work. I really adore my husband with all my heart and I have all the faith and trust in the world in him. All I want to do is cheer him on and be there every step along the way.

karen
This week was relatively quiet for me. I did push another Beta out the door. We handed over David’s school forms and I have been scared and excited simultaneously for this new step in his life. I have been exercising and trying to eat better. I have been sleeping fitfully and waking up several times a night. I have been in that place where you just finished a great book and cannot find one that’s as compelling. I have been tired. I have been inspired. It was a quiet and yet eventful week here.

david
David got into the school we were hoping for next year. I think he understands a little about what a wonderful opportunity this is for him but it’s still a little too abstract, which is okay. We’ve been doing a lot of workbooks and reading this week. The Three Investigators series has been very fun to read and we both look forward to it daily, now. I am so proud of my big boy and I hope that we’re opening the right doors for him.

nathaniel
Nathaniel is getting more communicative and opinionated. He has to get his way or he will fall on the floor dramatically and act like we just crushed his soul. But he’s so so so cute. Both Jake and I watch him and feel so lucky to have him in our lives. He’s just a little gem. I can’t believe he’s going to turn two this month. I am not ready for my little boy to not be a baby anymore.


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

Daily Diary – April 1 2011

I spent most of this morning staring at the computer but not getting enough done. I felt so tired and worn out that my brain was just not functioning. On a positive side, I did walk/run the 2.9 miles now that April’s started. I then met a friend for breakfast. So both of those were great. I even sketched another angel. I’ve now made 5 angels in two days. Something is up. I had a meeting and did get some work done. But other than those, most of my morning was unproductive.

Little boy, took forever to nap. Then discovered one of David’s favorite toys from when he was little (the elmo phone.)

He’s been playing with it all day.

Then we got David, who was in a good mood.

Until I wouldn’t help him with his workbooks and told him he had to patiently do them.

Then it was reading time so Nathaniel played quietly while we read.

Oh yes, we skipped spring altogether this month and went right to summer, hence the shorts. It’s been extremely hot here.

As he always prefers to, Nathaniel came to be right near us while we were reading. He likes to make sure he plays or sits right next to his big brother.

I also got a huge box of amazing Maya Road goodies today so once the kiddos went to bed, I made a layout and now I am trying to decide between doing my art journal or going to bed. I’ve learned that while I get my second wind at night, staying up late often ruins the next day in a significant way. So I am trying to not do that anymore.

We have a full day tomorrow but a quiet one on Sunday so I expect this to be a productive and relaxing weekend. Here’s hoping I’m right.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for my goody box from Maya Road.
2. I am grateful it’s weekend, I really enjoy my weekends.
3. I am grateful for my husband who is buying groceries at this very moment. He’s my favorite person on earth.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that it’s April Fool’s day {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that tomorrow’s my wii day.
3. I am grateful that i got to play on the phone tonight.

Healthy For Life – Week 13

Another week with weight loss. I must admit that after struggling through February, it feels nice to have lost almost six pounds in March. Since February netted 0.4 pound gain, this puts me on a pretty average weight loss across the two months. Which has consistently been my goal: slow and steady. I am not in a huge rush. I would like to lose the weight slowly and in a sustainable way because the last thing I want is to gain it all back. Ever.

Exercise this month has been hard. Each day I find myself dreading it and each day I barely finish without struggling. I am a bit scared of the fact that as of this morning, I have to increase to 2.9 when I’ve barely been able to keep up with the 2.8. Up until now, by the end of each month, I felt like that month’s distance was doable. Whereas 2.8 has been kicking my behind.

Here’s the screen I see each week when I weigh myself on the Wii. After it measures, the first thing I see is the new BMI and if it’s lower than last week then I know I lost weight. I anxiously wait for that number each week. And pretty much exclaim with joy when it’s lower.

and here’s this week’s card:


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

Perfection is so Overrated Especially when Compared to Having so much Fun

Yes, super-long title this time. I like having fun with my titles.

This layout is for Write.Click.Scrapbook’s April Gallery. The theme is to scrap those not-so-perfect photos. I couldn’t find photos less perfect than these if I tried. Photo booths fascinate me and I love them. I love all these photos so much. So I am really glad I had an excuse to scrap them.

Journaling Reads:
I have long been a fan of photo booths, I cannot pass one without taking photos. I am not sure what it is that I love so much about them. Maybe it’s just that the photos are so very imperfect that you just let go and truly enjoy yourself. Make silly faces and just have fun.

All products are The Girls’ Paperie.

2011 Priority List and Goals – March Check-in

I thought it might be a good idea to review my goals at the end of each month and see if I am still making sure to prioritize them. I also thought this would be a good time to shift, adjust, add, take away as needed. So here we go. This is the list I posted on January 1, minus the few I deleted in Feburary, with status updates for March.

Family
1. Read and do workbooks with David daily (Project A Book A Week with David).
We’re on a roll here. We just found a series we really like and we’re reading our way through it for now. But I love all the books we’ve read in March, too.

2. Take photo of full-family and write updates weekly (Project Us Right Now).
Still going strong. I have scrapped so many of these already, too. This project makes me so very happy.

3. Write a daily diary of us + gratitude (Project Daily Diary)
So far, so good.

4. Start a family night where we all play games or watch movies together (Scheduled for Sunday nights 6pm)
We’re still doing this as well. We’ve played mostly math games and dominoes this month. David looks forward to them each time so I am really happy we’ve decided to do it.

5. Sign up for a mommy/me class with Nathaniel (this still needs to be scheduled)
Amazingly this still hasn’t happened. But now that Jake’s schedule is about to change, I might have him sign up for it.

6. Schedule minimum bimonthly date nights with Jake
We’re doing well on these. Date nights rock.

Health (Project Healthy For Life)
1. Do a combination of walking and running daily, work your way up to 5K a day
So far, so good on this one, too. I’ve exercised at least 2.8 miles every single day in March for a total of 86.8 miles.

3. Do strength exercises 3x a week
I still haven’t started this. I will likely start it either mid-April or post June once I’ve reached 3.1miles which is going to stay steady.

4. Track exercise+food+sleep+water using the fitbit
I am still tracking sleep and exercise. And paying strict attention to food.

5. Get minimum 7hours of sleep every night and 8 on the weekends
I am mostly doing well on this still. 7-8 hours most nights!

6. Eat at least one serving of vegetables daily and chicken/fish 3 times a week
Doing well on the veggies. Not eating enough protein.

7. Walk at least 8500 steps a day and work your way up to 10,000
I am doing ok on this as well. Not as high as I would like but now that the weather is getting better, I might add a 15-minute walk to my days which will take me to the 10,000 point, I think.

8. Walk/Run a 10K
This is still a November goal 🙂

9. I also want to work on the coffee+graham crackers intake but not sure of the plan here yet.
Bleh. I decided to put this goal on hold for now.

Art + Photography
1. Draw and paint a portrait six days a week (Project Six Portraits a Week)
This project is on hold for now but I did actually draw one portrait for my art journal.

2. Art journal weekly (Project Weekly Art Journal)
So far, so good. The weeklong daily is definitely my way of doing this for now. I love it to bits and do not want to do anything else. It fits me almost perfectly.

3. Sketch something small daily (15-30mins)
I didn’t do well on the sketch daily goal. I made a total of 7 in March. I am aiming for two sketches a week in April.

4. Go on a Monthly photo excursion alone or with a photo buddy
Amazingly I am not doing well on this. Not sure why. I will try to schedule some ahead of time now that the weather is more promising.

5. Write weekly extended photo articles on my blog
I am not sure I want this. The idea is not appealing so for now I am not doing it. I have been writing my thoughts in general though and I do like that.

6. Figure out for once and all if I want an etsy shop and what will go in it
no progress here still.

Scrapbooking
1. Create one layout a week just for me
I’ve been doing this. Sort of…

2. Do monthly The Girls’ Paperie layouts
Done done done.

3. Do monthly Pink Paislee layouts
I am all over this.

4. Do monthly Creative Therapy layout
Did several of them, all the way to July.

5. Do monthly Write.Click.Scrapbook layout + write one more week during 2011
Did all of them up until July.

6. Successfully teach all four scheduled 2011 classes at Big Picture Classes and the one I am a part of in Masterful Scrapbook Design
So far so good on this too. Still in the middle of teaching Finding Your Way.

7. Aim to do 5-6 guest design spots or classes (that I teach) this year
I was a guest for My Creative Scrapbook kit club for March. Between this and the two last month and the four classes, I met this goal already.

8. Submit to one magazine a month (maybe, I can’t decide if I want to do this just yet.)
I submitted in February and one layout got picked up but didn’t work out in the end. March didn’t happen. I will try for April. Not sure if I like this after all.

Reading
1. Read a book a week (Project A Book a Week)
2. Read one book with David each week (Project A Book a Week with David)
Both of these are going great.

3. Regularly attend both book clubs
I’ve sort of decided I might not want this anymore. One of them I still attend but one I might move to only attending occasionally. Still pondering this one.

Writing
1. Write at least one long thought/idea oriented blog post a week
I did well on this for March. Wrote quite a few.

2. Write one new class (if you have requests, please share)
3. Write one downloadable pdf for my site or etsy (if you have requests, please share)

I still haven’t done either of these.

4. Write+email a newsletter each month
Doing this so far! Next one goes out in a few hours 🙂

5. Possibly do NaNoWriMo (not sure of this one…)
We still have quite some time till November thankfully!!

I decided to add one more here mostly because it’s been so beneficial during January.
6. Journal at least 5 times a day. Even if just for 15 minutes a day.
I am still working on this. I am doing the art journal each night but I also decided that for April I will commit to long journaling at least twice a week.

Learning
1. Learn to draw and paint portraits (Project Six Portraits a Week)
On hold for now.

2. Take 5-6 online classes this year
I’ve already taken 8 this year. I believe I have no problem meeting this goal! I took Christy’s class in March. Taking her next class in May and taking Soul Restoration II in June. I will likely add more.

3. Learn to write an iPhone/iPad application (sort of out there but achievable – let me know if you have an app you want)
Ah. Still didn’t make any progress here.

4. Learn how to make a stop-motion movie
No progress here either.

Community (This is a particularly hard one for me.)
So this area was a struggle for me last month and I decided it might be best to revamp it. Here’s what’s left now:
1. Do a weekly-open house for Nathaniel’s moms group
Woot! I did this and it’s been a lot of fun!

2. Invite guests over for dinner at least once a month
We had a guest just last week. It was wonderful.

3. Go out to breakfast/lunch once a month (to work or elsewhere)
I have this scheduled for tomorrow, does that count?

4. Reach out to people I admire more often (leave more comments/send emails)
I’ve still been doing this in the form of offering help and will continue to do so.

And that’s it for March. Overall, I think I did pretty okay especially considering how stressful work was. Let’s see how productive April is.

Daily Diary – March 31 2011

Most of today was busy with performance evaluations at work. Which are absolutely no fun. To be even more precise, I hate doing them. But, alas, they had to get done so I buckled down and did them. Then I pushed another Beta because we had that ready. And the day was pretty much over. While I worked, Nathaniel played with the pencil case I recently gave him (for like a minute, but now he owns it of course):

He loves the zipper and putting things in and out.

And seeing them in there.

Then it was time to get David. While I waited for the bus, I drew two more angels. I am really enjoying them for now and playing and experimenting. When David cam home, I tried to get him to pose, but I was unsuccessful.

So I took some photos while he talked.

I cannot believe this stunningly beautiful (and kind and generous and loving) boy is my child. How lucky am I? Today was a big day for Daddy so David and I made a sign for him. I drew the letters and he colored.

Nathaniel wanted to be a part of it too, of course.

He’s my other stunning boy. I can’t believe I got lucky twice!

So finally I just sat him on the chair so he could watch his big brother color.

He sat there and watched with great interest for the most part. And I think David liked having him there, too.

When it was finished, we hung it up (in my extremely messy crafting area) for Daddy to find when he got home.

Today was Jake’s last day at work. Our lives, schedules are about to change. For the better. Endings mean new beginnings which are equal parts scary and exciting. Here’s to ours!

Tonight I have no plans. It’s kind of odd, but I feel like doing nothing and not in a bad way. I have some work coming tomorrow and a bunch of commitments this weekend so I will take this quiet evening, do a little of my daily art journal and maybe make some plans for April and then just rest the rest of the night.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that Jake’s last day is finally here. It’s been a long time coming.
2. I am grateful for accomplishing a bunch at work and feeling like things are rolling forward.
3. I am grateful for another month of daily exercise: 86.8 miles in March. Not bad.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that i built a castle with blocks with my friends {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I did my workbook.
3. I am grateful that i made a sign for daddy.

Some More Sketching

Since March is going to be over tonight and since I’d “planned” to sketch every day in March and since that went out the window pretty quickly, I wanted to share with you the few sketches I did make that I hadn’t shared so far.

If you’ve seen Alisa’s sketches, you can see these first two are really trying to be like her. (Unsuccessfully, I might add.)

I love the color but the shape doesn’t speak to me in these. I can tell you they didn’t turn out like the way I saw them in my mind/imagination.

And here’s something totally different. I made this angel for my weeklong art journal last weekend and I couldn’t stop thinking about her so I made another one last night. There’s something about her I love.

more of those to come I am pretty sure.

And that was it for March. Quite sad but that’s where we are. I do have plans for April. I really really want to work on this still. I am not ready to give up.

Random Thoughts Part 4

I’ve been thinking a lot lately again and like before I originally thought these would end up as individual posts but I can’t seem to find the time (or more like motivation) to sit and write it all out so I am going to try this quicker version instead.

Here are part 1, part 2 and part 3.

14. Looking for the Quick Fix. This, too, has been on my mind a lot lately. We seem to have grown into a society of people looking for the quick fix. Learn Japanese in 24 hours. Become a master programmer in a week. Blah blah. These are not possible goals. Things take time. Dedication. Work. Becoming a master takes time. To me it’s a contradiction in terms. Trust me, I’d love to wake up tomorrow morning and be a master artist. Someone who can draw beautifully. But it’s not going to happen. Most of the people you see as “overnight” successes are people who are obsessively putting time and effort into their passion. Painting night and day. Writing for hours on end. Drawing again and again. When I study a new language I study for about 4-5 hours a day for months! Months. Gladwell famously mentions in his Outliers book that you need to dedicate 10,000 hours to something to master it. Break that down. An hour a day would get you 365 hours (ok 366 on leap years.) at that rate, you’d reach 10,000 in 27 years. If you do two hours a day, it’s still going to take 13.5 years. And when was the last time you put in two hours a day, every single day, into anything? I am a big proponent of “what you pay attention to blossoms.” And attention = time in our society. There are many things that are faster today. Like finding the meaning of a word or the original book a movie is based on, etc. You can google just about anything. But you still can’t shortcut life. If you want to be a good artist, writer, sports player, musician, programmer, physicist, you name it, you need to put in the time and the effort. Not just empty time either. Meaningful, purposeful time. Studying it, observing, growing, learning. I truly believe that. When I get frustrated with my sketches and how elementary they look, I remind myself I’ve put in maybe 10-20 hours so far. That’s 0.2% of 10,000. I’ve got a long way to go. Sometimes I need more perspective to bring me back to reality. It’s always about perspective. It also reminds me that where I spend my time matters. Very much.

15. Internet and blogs have brought real value into my life. I know it’s fashionable to bash blogs as a waste of time People who’ve inspired me despite not knowing them or ever having met them in person. There are people out there who share and I read and I get inspired to try things in my own life. Sometimes I succeed and discover something I never knew before or find a new passion. Sometimes it doesn’t work out but I am still thankful for having tried. But there are people who’ve tangibly changed my life. Heather is the reason I bought my first digital SLR. It prompted Jake to teach me more about photography. The camera led me to my first business. It brought on a passion I didn’t even know I had. I’d liked taking photos before but nothing like this. I learned so much about photography. Discovered a true love. I might or might not scrapbook my whole life but I will always take photos. It’s my passion and I put the hours into it, but Heather was the person who opened that world to me. She triggered it. Just by being herself. I am so grateful. Ali has inspired me in many ways but the most significant one is December Daily. Because of that album, I now always plan a million activities for my family during December. It’s become a tradition and something we all cherish so much. We owe so many of our adventures to this. So many amazing memories we will now have forever. December Daily is what triggered that for me. Ali’s pages and point of view also helped me look more closely at the everyday moments in my life. Tell our ordinary stories. This, too, has changed my life. It’s like getting to look back up on the “good old days” while they are still happening. It increases awareness, gratitude, and joy. Cathy, too, has changed my life. She is the one who triggered my “getting healthy” goal this year. Yes I am doing all the work but the trigger matters. The Nike+ made a tangible difference for me and I read about that in Cathy’s blog. Seeing her transform gave me hope. And now I have lost over 24 lbs in six months and I am the smallest size I’ve ever been in my life. More significantly I exercise every single day. With the exception of a brief hour with Heather, I’ve never met these people. We don’t regularly email or chat. But they have tangibly changed my life. If that’s not real value, I don’t know what is.

16. Self-conversation matters. I recently finished Christy’s amazing she art class and it made me realize something. As I watched her paint and stamp, I heard her say “oh that’s cute” or “i love that” often. I noticed that even if she made a mistake, she wouldn’t beat herself up about it. She’d just work with it, around it, or try to fix it. She was easy on herself. She enjoyed the process and was generally happy. When I create art, that’s not how it goes for me. I generally beat myself up a million times. I feel like I’ve ruined the piece a good ten times. I have to stop myself from stopping and chucking it away. I feel like it’s all just proof that I suck at this. It’s like I am waiting all along to be proven right that I am no good. Isn’t that terrible? Watching her made me realize that I’ve noticed others be positive, too. People enjoy the process. They build themselves up and see possibilities. I need to focus on that. Focus on patting myself in the back, cheering myself on. Being more positive. Feeling like I can do this. And giving myself permission to learn. To explore. I talked a lot about the “little girl” in my Finding Your Way class at BPC. The little one that lives inside each of us and the one who’s full of energy and hope and creativity and ideas. The one where most of the good stuff comes from. I feel like when it comes to art and mixed media I squash mine a lot and often. I am not kind to her. I need to work on this.

and there we are. that’s what’s on my mind lately.

Daily Diary – March 30 2011

Today was a bunch of work and a bunch of rest. Nothing too much really to say. When I went to get David, he was working on his workbooks so I snapped a shot.

So he gave me a smile.

Little boy was talking to me through the little hole again.

So I went there to snap some shots.

Jake and David were out riding bikes so he was sad.

I am feeling good today. For no reason. I’ve been putting off doing performance reviews at work. Those are never fun but other than that I’m actually on top of everything so I feel calm and like it’s ok to rest. I am also calm about the drawing stuff for a while. I need to make a plan but I am not 100% ready yet.

By the way, it’s almost April and the newsletter is ready. So are new digital downloads. This is where I remind you to join my newsletter. It’s on the upper right corner to join. I hope you do!

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I mailed off my layout, yey!
2. I am grateful for another relatively uneventful day at work.
3. I am grateful for people allowing me to help, it’s such an honor to get to help.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that i wrote two letters at school {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that we’re reading our book
3. I am grateful that i worked on my workbook (summer activities, today).