Daily Diary – January 16 2011

It’s so nice to have a three-day weekend. I sort of wish they were all 3-days. In 2002, I used to work 3 days a week and I never ever got used to it in a way where it felt long. It was the perfect number of days to work. Just when I started feeling tired, it would be time for my long weekend. I volunteered and took classes on the two weekdays I didn’t work and it just was the perfect schedule for me. So if every week was a 3-day weekend I think I would still enjoy it to bits.

Today started on the same schedule as everyday. I try to take family shots every day that all four of us are around so we set it all up but it was really early so there’s a lot of noise in the photos. Here’s one of the outtakes.

And another.

After I scrapped and exercised, it was time to read. We took the book basket down and Nathaniel picked a choo choo one.

And David picked a level 3 to read to me. Which he read beautifully. Then I read to him.

After that, it was quiet time for all of us. I did manage to snap this wonderful photo of David before I sat to draw some and journal some.

The little boy played.

And I love this photo. Jake took this while I was sitting and drawing. But look at the face Nathaniel’s making to try to get David’s attention (he was watching harry potter.) I love that Nathaniel sits with David so much and looks up to him so much.

And I love that David’s nice about it almost all the time.

We briefly had some friends over and then I had to run out and buy some shoes. Which reminded me how much I hate shopping. Then it was time for family night. We played some more Zingo and then Jake and David got to play a tiny bit of Wii because Jake had promised him earlier and they hadn’t gotten around to doing so.

And now the kids are asleep and I am moving a bit slowly but I feel good. I’ve done most of my homework in most of my classes. I have a bunch of setup I have to do for my blog and creative therapy, etc. But that’s on schedule for tomorrow. Tonight is about my portrait, some journaling, and some more drawing, all while watching the Golden Globes.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for family night. I love family night, even when it’s short.
2. I am grateful that I finally bought some shoes. I’ve been meaning to buy flats for a really long time.
3. I am grateful that I took the time to draw today. It was calming and I am thankful for the time.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I get to play will with daddy {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful for family night
3. I am grateful that I get to play with my legos a bit in my room

Reading with David – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

David says:
I liked that Glinda was nice to everyone but I didn’t like when Oz was trying to trick everyone. He said he could do magic when he can’t.

I thought the china city was silly. I also like that the witch kissed Dorothy because it protected her and I liked that the shoes carried her back to Kansas.

My favorite characters were Toto and Dorothy because they were very nice to everyone. Like how she took the scarecrow off the pole and she oiled the tinman. My other favorite character was Glinda.

My least favorite character was the Wicked Witch of the West because she was bad and she tried to fight them with the golden cap but they couldn’t hurt Dorothy because she had the kiss.


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 – January 15 2011

I don’t want to start each of my entries with how tired I feel so I won’t tell you that today. But rest assured, I do. Anyhow… Despite the fact that it was a weekend, I spent my day with a very similar schedule to my weekdays. Except, instead of working, I lay on the couch and read all the content and watched all the movies for my classes.

While I scrapped, the little boy read some more books.

And reacted to each page.

While the big boy played with his legos.

Then Nathaniel went down for his nap, I read to David, I exercised and then showered and took the Christmas tree down and then set up the camera for our family photo. Here’s me doing a test run.

And another. I told Nathaniel there was a squirrel in the backyard to get him to look at the camera, hence the expression on his face.

Here’s an outtake from our shot. David looks like he’s hurting cause he was playing wii and focusing too much. He took a long break after this photo.

Then he and Jake went to Target while Nathaniel and I rested.

And I snapped some photos.

While he laughed.

and laughed at me.

and then he realized his brother was gone which meant he could mess with the remotes.

The boys came back, we all put everything away and had dinner and now they’re almost ready for bed.

I plan to do a lot of the homework in my classes tonight. I stopped doing portraits two days ago and plan to restart that tonight, too. I must admit that I am most behind misty’s class. It’s partly because there’s a lot of homework but mostly because I truly feel like I can’t draw. I try and it looks terrible and I get impatient. I know it’s practice but when it sucks so bad you don’t even want to practice. Several of you commented on doing more emotion or shading etc with my portraits. The thing is I feel like I am so far from the basics that I am not ready to add expressions, feelings, my style yet. I can’t even draw two eyes that look the same. I can’t make noses or lips I like. I am working on those for now. I work hard every day to quiet the voice inside me that yells “you’re not an artist” or “you’re no good at this.” Again, I know it’s a lot about practice but it’s hard to feel inspired to practice when I think so little of what I create. anyhow….so I put it off. Which, of course, doesn’t help at all.

So off I go to journal, draw my portraits and maybe do another few drawings from misty’s homework. And then journal more and make some cards for the soul restoration class. Long night but full of joyful work. Let’s see how far I get.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that the tree is down. I loved having it up but I also like it gone for some reason. I put some lights up so that I can still feel the joy.
2. I am grateful that I have only five layouts left to do for CHA. I like making them but I think I’m ready for a break.
3. I am grateful for some quiet time tonight. I have some jaw pain again and I look forward to curling up and being artsy and introspective for a while.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that i got some shirts for school {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I played wii
3. I am grateful that I get to stay up and play in my room a little tonight

Us Right Now – January 15

jake
This was Jake’s first week back at work after the long vacation. I think the vacation was a huge success for all of us and it gave him tons of energy to power through the long days he worked since he went back. He’s been happy and energetic and productive the whole time. I think there’s a lesson about the value of rest somewhere in there and I think I need to pay attention to it.

karen
I’m still mostly doing the same thing: preparing for CHA, working, exercising, and making portraits. Three of my classes started this week so I have a ton of homework and I have promptly begun to feel like I am falling behind but I am trying to coach myself daily and give myself permission to pace it all so that I can keep getting the sleep I need and not drive myself insane. This year is just as much about slowing down as it is about moving forward, so I keep working on reminding myself that.

david
David had another great week at school. We finished another book, did some more workbooks, and he even had a playdate all by himself. He’s growing up and there’s nothing I can do about it. Part of me loves watching him grow and part of me is so sad that pieces of his life are happening without me already. He’s such a kind, gentle soul and I am so thankful to have him in my life.

nathaniel
Nathaniel continued to be about the choo-choo. But now he’s also got a blankie. He seems to like having it around and grabs it from his crib when he gets up from sleep or naps. He started saying more words this week like “up” and “nana” for banana. He also has a word for the blanket. He’s been eating carrots and corn and even green beans sometimes. He laughs a lot and hugs me a lot. He also cuddles under the blankets with me often which is my very favorite thing. I love and adore him and I am so glad I am here to see him grow up.

and here’s the card version:


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

Daily Diary – January 14 2011

I am really really thankful it’s Friday. I am still continuing my schedule but I am ready for a 3-day weekend. Here we come! I didn’t even take photos until the afternoon today but when I saw Nathaniel reading books, I couldn’t resist.

I adore this child.

And he’s so funny, he laughs at himself even.

When I picked David up from playdate, this is the first look he gave me.

But then I got a better one.

And the little one is still with his blankie. Blankie everywhere.

We have company tonight which means I have to rush again. I’ve been doing that too much lately. Six more layouts to go. One more delivery coming tomorrow hopefully. And then things will start to settle down. I even did some of my homework today in Soul Restoration. Photos coming Tuesday since it was in the art journal. I have to draw my portrait tonight since I skipped yesterday. And that’s it. Then I go to bed, wake up, and do it all over again.

I am so grateful for my life.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. So David went on his first alone playdate today. He got off the bus with his friend Maggie and her mom. He called me to let me know he was safe and there. He played and then I went to pick him up about an hour later. I was all worried about it. I kept thinking about all the things that could go wrong. But I decided to be brave and let him to this. And I am glad that I did. All went well and he had a great time. I am grateful that I had the courage to just let it happen. It’s hard for me so I am proud of myself.
2. I am grateful it’s the weekend! Especially since it’s a 3-day one!!!
3. I am grateful that I did some art today. I broke down and cried for a moment when doing the homework but it was wonderful and powerful and that’s exactly why I took the class so I am deeply grateful.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that i went to Maggie’s house {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I sat with mommy
3. I am grateful that I have a new partner at school

Healthy For Life – Week 2

This week didn’t feel any different than all the previous weeks but as it turned out I’ve lost more weight this week than any other week so far. I have no idea what I did differently. Actually, I know. Nothing. I did nothing differently. This just goes to show that some weeks you lose and some weeks you don’t and neither means anything. You just keep going and have faith that it will all work if you keep at it.

I’ve still been doing 2.6 miles a day and most days it feels completely okay to do so. I am often tired before I begin but I get up and do it anyway and most of the time, I feel fine throughout. So the lesson is to just do it. No matter how I feel.

I have officially passed the halfway point. I must be honest, I still don’t feel a lot thinner but that’s ok. I am just doing the same things I do and eating the same things I eat and I am trusting that things will work out and that I will wake up one morning and know that I’ve reached my goal. At least that’s the plan.

The highlight of this week was definitely the weight loss. I am now officially in the 120s and it’s time to celebrate.

and here’s this week’s card:


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

You Can’t Talk but You can Sign Thank You

This is my first official design team layout for Pink Paislee.

Journaling Reads:
My sweet little boy, you are sixteen months old and cannot yet talk but you do know several signs and one of them is the sign for thank you. Not only do you know the sign but you also know when to use it. When David does something nice for you or gives you a toy, you make sure to sign it so that he knows you’re thankful. EAch time you do it, it reminds me that though you can’t talk, you understand so very much.

All products are from Pink Paislee Sweetness line.

You can see more details and a few technique highlights on my blog post.

Daily Diary – January 13 2011

I’m keeping it short today. I am tired and grouchy so I think it’s better that way for all of us. My days are all the same right now. I wake up, I give kids breakfast, make david’s breakfast, read to david, take him to the bus, scrap, work, put nathaniel down for a nap, work more, exercise, work more. play with nathaniel. work more. get david. work more. make kids dinner. get them to go to bed. work a bit more. blog. draw my face. paint it. that’s about it. i have homework in my classes so i also try to do a bit of that. everything else falls through for now.

Nathaniel is still into the blanket. Not sure why. But I think it’s so cute.

Looks like a little baby, my boy.

My older boy. He’s so wonderful.

And so is this one. I am so blessed.

I am going to take some time to rest now and then I will go do some painting. Maybe it will restore my soul.

How are you doing? It’s been quiet so I just wanted to check in. I hope I haven’t been boring you. Let me know if you’re out there.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that my family is so supportive and so kind. They make my heart burst.
2. I am grateful for the kind words of all the people around me. Comments you leave here or in other places where my work is. I am always amazed by the kind words and never know how to reply. I just feel so thankful. thank you.
3. I am grateful that tomorrow is Friday and then we go into a three-day weekend. I need some extra rest and it’s coming soon.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that i played in the playhouse during choice time at school {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I played with legos
3. I am grateful that I played on the computer this morning

Six Portraits a Week – 2

Again, please bear in mind that the whole reason I am doing this project is because I don’t have inherent talent in this area. The while point of this is to practice practice and practice until I get good. Or as close to good I can ever get.

So with that here are my second set of six portraits.

First set of three drawings:

Remember, I take the drawing photos late at night right before I paint, so they are not the best. But I still like to have them as a before and after. Here they are, painted:

and then here is the next three drawings:

and painted.

I have 300 more of these to make.

Constructive criticism always welcome but only if you can actually be constructive. No need to stroke my ego, I know these need a lot of work. I am ok with that 🙂


Six Portraits a Week is a weekly project for 2011. You can read more about it here.

Daily Diary – January 12 2011

Feeling exhausted today and I am about to leave for book club soon. I feel like it’s been so hectic here for the last ten days. I need to slow down so I can catch up. Any ideas?

Nathaniel likes to play this game where he’ll hit himself and go “ouch!” he likes to do it often.

He also smiles and laughs a lot.

More attempts at getting a good David shot.

And then he’s like enough! so he’s making funny faces at me.

Nathaniel is into anything David is into. All his electronic toys. And they turn off and he goes oh uh oh uh until someone turns them back on.

And today he decided he needed one of his blankets with him all day. He’s never done this before but he looks so so cute. Doesn’t he?

My plan tomorrow is to sit and get organized. I have about 8 more layouts or so for CHA. I have homework in all three classes. (I already did the one for my fourth class) and I have my own daily tasks. Not to mention the email and comments to respond to. So it’s time to get organized.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I got some wonderful new product today. It made me swoon and I almost shed tears with gratitude.
2. I am again grateful for the fedex man who came to my house cause I am not a fan of going to the post office and it’s so awesome that they come to pick it up.
3. I am grateful that I lost another 3.3 lbs this week! I was so shocked this morning because I felt really bad and thought I must surely have gained weight. But here we are!

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that i played golf {* his pick for the journal}
2. I am grateful that I played star wars at school
3. I am grateful that I played legos with mommy

Classes I am Teaching, Classes I am Taking

Since I still can’t show my The Girls’ Paperie layouts (coming soon, I swear), I wanted to share with you some of the classes I have been working on and taking. In the next three months, I will be teaching or giving content to four classes and I am taking five classes.

I didn’t arrange for it to be that way. I have an already busy schedule and I would have preferred to spread them out a bit but things work out the way they do for a reason so I am just going to enjoy myself with each of these amazing classes. And if you’re a class-fanatic like I am, you might like some of these too so I thought it might be good to share.

I’ll start with the two I am teaching.

Embrace Imperfection – Starts: February 10 – Duration: 2 Weeks – Cost: Free

This class is completely free and all you need to do is to click on the image above to go sign up. It is two weeks on how to conquer your scrapbooking perfectionism. I talk about different areas where we seem to worry too much about being perfect and how it gets in the way of actually preserving your memories and why you should not worry so much about getting it all “perfect.” (btw, there’s no such thing as a perfect layout.)

Click here to read more and sign up.

Find Your Way – Starts: February 24 – Duration: 8 Weeks – Cost: $39

Find Your Way

This class evolved from my layout a day experience back in May 2010. During that process, I finally managed to find my way, my style, my groove, whatever you want to call it. The experience was so exciting, so wonderful that I wanted to create a way for others to find their own unique way of scrapbooking too so they experience the same joy. Having my own way has saved me money and time. It has also increased my joy of creating a page tenfold. And as a side benefit, it has brought me a lot of amazing industry opportunities. In this class, we explore a different part of the scrapbooking process each week and slowly eliminate what we don’t like and discover what speaks most authentically to our creativity. It might sound wishy washy but it’s very concrete. You’re also strongly encouraged to do daily layouts along with the class (though not required.) I share over 80 of my own layouts in this workshop. If this class helps you discover half of what I did in May, it will be extremely amazing. (That’s my hope!)

Click here to read more and sign up.

Those are the two classes I’m teaching. There are also two other classes where I’ve provided material, written an article and recorded a webinar. Both of these classes are for:

Masterful Scrapbook Design – Starts: January 1 and February 1 – Duration: 1 Month – Cost: $10/month

This is an amazing series by Debbie Hodge of Get it Scrapped! It’s an ongoing series of design concepts for scrapbookers. Each month, she pickes a different topic and features four designers and explores that topic using their work. If you’ve ever read anything Debbie wrote, you’d know she’s very very thorough and detail-oriented and amazingly insightful. The January seminar alone was 56 pages!

I have specifically submitted content to the January seminar which is on Journaling (the other artists for January are: Dina Wakley, Paula Gilarde, and Lain Ehmann. And to February which is on Scrapbook page titles (the other artists for February are: Doris Sander, Aaron Morris, and Kayleigh Wiles.) This is a subscription-based class which you can add and turn off anytime and it’s $10 a month which is an amazing amazing deal! I cannot recommend it enough!

And now let’s move on to the classes I am taking:
One Little Word – Ali Edwards – Starts: January 1 – Duration: All Year – Cost: $36
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Ali fan and no secret that I’m a big fan of one little word, so I signed up for this class without hesitation. My goal is to do all the work in my art journal instead of an album like Ali’s doing. I’ve already listened to and finished the first lesson. If you’re into OLW and Ali as much as I am, it’s highly recommended. sign up here.

Stretching Within – Misty Mawn – Starts: January 10 – Duration: 5 weeks – Cost: $100
This is another class I jumped at the moment Misty put it up. It’s a mixed media class exploring drawing, painting, collaging, and writing. I’m a huge Misty fan and when I saw this, I thought she must have known my 2011 goals of drawing and painting more and better. The class started this week and it’s already unbelievably amazing. Sign up here.

Shifting Ground – Stephanie Lee – Starts: January 10 – Duration: 4 weeks – Cost: $75
I took Stephanie’s journaling class in 2009 and I was blown away. I love love love reading her posts and her words are just like little jewels to me. That class had some deep insights for me and changed my life considerably so having another class by Stephanie is a true luxury. If you’re into journaling even in the tiniest bit, I encourage you to take it. Sign up here.

Soul Restoration – Melody Ross – Starts: January 11 – Duration: 6 weeks – Cost: $99
I know I am sounding like a parrot but I am a HUGE Melody fan. Both she and her sister Kathy who are the two owners of Brave Girls Camp are amazing people and deeply deeply inspirational. I have not had the incredible luxury of going to Brave Girls’ Camp so this is the next best thing I can do. Sign up here.

Sketchbook Delight – Alisa Burke – Starts: February 7 – Duration: 4 weeks – Cost: $50
If you’ve been reading my posts in the last few weeks, you’ll notice that I want to learn how to sketch. I’ve been reading Danny Gregory’s books and scouring the internet to find some ideas and techniques. Recently I discovered Alisa Burke’s sketchbooks and I fell in love. Love love love. They inspired me to sketch immediately so I literally squealed with joy when I saw her offering that class. It’s the only one on this list that hasn’t started yet so if you’re interested in sketching, run run run. Sign up here.

And there you are. I hope to see you in one of my classes or one of the ones I’m taking!! If you know of other classes please do leave them in the comments. If you can’t tell, I love taking classes online!

A Book a Week – Peter and the Starcatchers

Peter and the Starcatchers was the November book for my kids’ books book club. Jake gifted me the series for my birthday and I read the whole thing in one day.

I’d seen the Disney Peter Pan movie years ago but I did not know this story at all. This is the story of how Peter Pan becomes Peter Pan. It was fun, fast-moving, and really entertaining read. I highly recommend reading it with your kids. Maybe not the really little ones since there’s some death and mean people.

I love being in this book club. It’s like I get to re-experience my childhood, but this time in English.