I wanted to talk a little about time today. I am a firm believer that time is our greatest asset and how you spend your time is how you spend your life.
This is such a big topic for me that, last year, I prepared and taught a class on this subject at Big Picture Scrapbooking. It was a series of exercises that allowed you to see where your time went and see how well it aligned with the things you want to do with your life. This is not about accomplishments (though those too) but about living your moments with mindfulness. Actively choosing to do the things you love.
I am often flabbergasted at the amount of time I waste in a day. The amount of time I spend checking my mail. Reading mail from advertisers or other crap that I decide to put in the trash as opposed to actual, valuable email. Refreshing the sites I visit or checking Google Reader. Facebook. Twitter. I am not even talking about the time I spend reading these sites (that time is valuable often) but the time I spend refreshing or going to the window to see if there’s anything “new.” The amount of times I walk up and down the stairs to put something in the wash, or cleaning up dirty dishes or vacuuming the crumbs my little one generates like nobody’s business. I can go on and on.
I’ve noticed that if I am having a challenging day, I waste even more time than usual. If I am tired, I waste more time. If I am angry, I waste time.
I know a lot about being busy. I have two kids, a full time job, and several ongoing commitments. So when people tell me how full their life is and how they have absolutely no time to do the things they really love to do, I know they are not telling the truth. Who doesn’t have 20 minutes in their day to take a walk, to read 10 pages of a book, to add an embellishment to a piece of art? (if you think you don’t, make sure to read this article by one of my favorite authors.)
When I created the class, it was eye-opening for me. Just to see where my time went. How I used all those bits and pieces of empty moments. It was also wonderful to make my list of wishes and hopes of how to spend my time. It helped me be more mindful and that’s something I’m constantly striving for.
So here’s my challenge for you. If you’ve been playing along with us for all these weeks, look back through your art, your words, your gratitude and pick one or two things you’re grateful for: things, people, places, etc. If you haven’t been playing along, just make a list of ten things, people or places that you think would make you happy. And then find a way to spend a little bit more time on those things this week. Go to the places that make you happy. Laugh with the people you’re grateful for. Choose an activity that brings you gratitude and vow to do it three times this week.
Just for a week. Just for twenty minutes.
I think seeing that you can make time for the things that make you feel grateful will end up making you feel even more grateful. Time is really our biggest asset and we each get a limited amount of it everyday and at least a few minutes of it should be spent doing something you love.
Something just for you.
I like the subtle linen texture on this.
Nathaniel’s been practicing putting the headphones on. He doesn’t really have it down yet but he’s working on it.
He’s figuring out more of his toys, discovering new parts.
He also smiles around 400 times a day.
And so does his brother. (albeit his looks a bit more fake.)
And they both like to play. And they’re both really into the legos lately. I love legos!
I woke up feeling down today. Then I made my layout which I hated which got me in an even worse mood and I was grouchy and frustrated and that’s how most of the day went. I gave myself a pep talk sometime in the middle of the day so it was better than it could have gone but not really the best day. Oh well, it happens.
Thank you for your kind words on my layouts, I really really appreciate them and I do get up and make them each morning. I don’t ever do a bunch in a row either. Just one every day. I wanted to know if I could so I am trying. Let’s see how it goes. So far, so good.
Note to Self:
David and I started a new thing where we made a schedule and each day of the week we practice one thing. Mondays is math, Tuesdays is craft time, Wednesdays is Writing, Thursdays is Workbooks and Fridays is Reading. We do it right at 4pm which is the beginning of my stressful time. This forces me to take a little bit of time out and spend it with David. I generally give Nathaniel a snack if he’s not playing or otherwise busy. It’s David and Mommy time for a little bit. We’ve only been doing it for a week but so far so good. I am hoping it keeps working. I love being able to spend some time with just me. I think it’s important to spend 1-1 time with each member of my family and hope to do more of it. This is a mental note to make time for it.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for my confort food: coffee and graham crackers (and some chocolate.)
2. Grateful for my little tulip plant that’s blooming like crazy (thank you Ty for watering it!)
3. Grateful for good friends and long phone conversations.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I’m grateful for my whole family.
2. and the toys they bought me!
Ugh, not happy with how this turned out. But the colors in those photos were hard to scrap…. I do love the photos so much and I am pretty sure I will like looking at them for years to come.
Journaling is about how wonderful it is to watch two people you love more than the world laugh together and love each other so much.
Details:
Day seventeen, baby!
This week’s craft was another thank you card set and a little happy birthday one.
We gathered our supplies.
We wrote the insides first cause David had to write both his and Nathaniel’s name.
and he didn’t do so well on the first try.
Then he made the card for his teacher’s birthday.
And wrote the inside all by himself.
And then we finished the thank you cards.
They were Nathaniel’s birthday thank yous.
And that’s it this week.
And the weekend is almost over. Just a few more hours. Today was an uneventful day. I did my layout. I watched a few movies. I took a nap. I tried to relax and that was pretty much it.
The kids were in a funny mood. Tired and cranky and not in the mood to have photos taken.
Nathaniel did a lot of this.
And a bunch of this.
I am always sad when a weekend is over. Even when I work from home. Even though I love my job. It’s just stressful trying to balance it all.
Note to Self:
It’s amazing how much a thirty minute nap in the afternoon affects my day. I need to do this more often. I need to do it regularly. I took this course last year that talked so much about the importance of naps and rest, etc. And even though I know it mentally, I still don’t really follow it. I’ve been taking naps for the last few days and it makes my 4-6pm time so much more peaceful. It’s still not peaceful but considerably better and I feel less crazy and exhausted. I think if I napped more regularly and took a walk outside each day, I’d be a lot more productive and a lot less tired. (Probably eating more protein wouldn’t hurt either.)
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I love watching movies so today I am grateful for some movie time.
2. I always want to keep my heels softer but I hate wearing socks, especially to bed so I have a problem putting vaseline on and putting socks on. Yesterday I had the brilliant idea of cutting the toes off my socks. So I cut them so that what’s left is a tiny bit of the sole and heel and ankle. Now it doesn’t feel like I am wearing socks so I can keep them on but they do cover my heels and keep them moist. win win! grateful for solutions that work.
3. Grateful that my sweet, wonderful hubby will be here in a few hours.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. legos legos legos.
2. watching a new movie on his iPod.
And number sixteen. This is inspired by Alexis Hardy. I am not sure I can keep going though, they are taking longer and longer.
Journaling is about how Nathaniel is taking more steps every day. Love the boy.
Details:
This is with the February Kit from A Million Memories.
Our much anticipated vacation to Big Bear was a total disaster. The seven-hour drive took fourteen hours and by the time we got there, everyone was tired, wiped, and grouchy. Our friends didn’t even make it until two in the morning. When we got there, we realized none of the phones had service. The next day, we decided that it was snowing too much for you to go skiing for the first time so the three of us stayed home while Daddy, Holly and Kendall went skiing. It was so bad that there were rolling blackouts and they got stuck on the lift for an hour. As if that wasn’t enough stress, Nathaniel got really mad at me that day and held his breath till he passed out. The next day, it had snowed over ten feet and they had shut down Big Bear ski lifts because of lack of power. The three of them spent the day shoveling because the snowplow never even came by. And then, to add more frustration into our lives, we lost power again and this time for good. We brought you and Nathaniel upstairs where the fire was and I spent the whole night staying up and feeding it logs so we wouldn’t freeze. Daddy slept on the floor and all three of you woke up several times throughout the night. By morning, we still had no electricity and got out of there as fast as we possibly could. Both you and Nathaniel got sick with fevers when we got home and then I came down with a cold, too.
In the midst of this terrible vacation, you, Kendall and Holly had a few minutes of joy playing in the snow and I am so glad that I captured those precious moments of fun because that’s what we had hoped for the vacation. You got to make snowballs, sled down the snow, and wrestle with Kendall in the snow. In the end, this is the part I want to remember most of all.
Happy Saturday.
Things were really quiet and uneventful today. After I did my layout, I needed to read this book and I spent the better part of today on that. I didn’t even like the book so it was a shame but oh well. It’s finished now.
Today was David’s Wii day so when I told him to give me a smile, this is what I got.
And then Nathaniel tried to distract him and give him some love.
But he wasn’t having any of it.
So Nathaniel went to find some other toys in his favorite place which is under the dining room table.
And he was definitely in good spirits for most of today. Yey for my boys.
I think I am going to head to bed before it gets any later. I hope you’re having a fabulous weekend!
Note to Self:
Today I am mostly thinking about kindness and being nice. I don’t think you can have too much of either. The genuine kind of course. My first question is always if someone is nice. Not intelligent or rich or famous or whatever. Just nice. If they are nice, I know I will like them. What do you think is the most important trait in a person?
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful that my book is finished (is that cheating?)
2. Grateful that my wonderful hubby comes back tomorrow. We love you babes.
3. Grateful that we all spent the day in our pajamas. Yey!
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. thankful for Nathaniel, he said.
2. Thankful for my daddy, i miss him. i’m happy he’s coming back tomorrow. he said his dad is the best dad ever and should be everyone’s dad.
(can you believe he didn’t even mention the Wii?)
And LOAD number 15. Halfway there (almost!)
No journaling today. Sometimes it’s ok to do no journaling. Other times lots of journaling. I think both are ok. I am enjoying this now. Trying not to question it too much and criticize even less.
Details:
Here’s this week’s item:
18. Put up photos of the kids in their rooms
David’s room already had some of his photos but not much art, so I now have some art and another “D”. The new art is this and this, both of which I adore. The little postcard about how great he is, is from Kal Barteski.
We also hung this awesome painting my friend Nicholas had gifted David a few months ago:
In Nathaniel’s room, I changed the bedcovers (which were 12 years old.) to something happier. This bed will eventually move to David’s room when Nathaniel moves to David’s bed.
He already had a bunch of art on his shelves, so I added some photos of Nathaniel that I love.
And here’s the other.
That’s it for the kids. I love seeing these shelves now. I also hung my photos outside their room in the hallways. Photos from San Diego, Turkey, Santa Barbara, Northern California, etc. Love seeing them when I walk upstairs.
Happy Friday! I hope your day was good. Quiet day here mostly. Jake left town to go to his brother’s birthday. Happy Birthday Danny!! We love you.
This photo is low quality but it shows exactly what Nathaniel likes to do which is to dig through a box of toys and just fling stuff he doesn’t like. I love that I got to capture it even if blurry.
And another one of my boy. I love him.
I love both of them so much. We went out to dinner tonight. Walked over to the restaurant, had a yummy meal and came back home. It was nice to get out and spend some time with my boys. I snapped this right before we went out.
And it’s already almost 9. I did take a short nap this afternoon so I am feeling a bit better but still too exhausted. And I have a 600-page book to finish this weekend. And my layouts etc etc. Oh well, whatever gets done, gets done.
happy weekend!!
Note to Self:
I did make a list last night. But I am still really taking it easy. Some things get done and others don’t. I am one of those people who really commits and does not like to give up on commitments (or people.) But the funny thing is, I have a lot of respect for people who know when it’s time to walk away from something. When to go in a different direction or when something is doing more damage than good or when something really is unsalvageable. People who understand the concept of sunk cost. Many years ago, I took this course where we talked about “strong suits” which are things that sort of make you who you are. Things you’re good at. And one of my strong suits is the “stick-with-it”ness I have with people and commitments and things. Often times I think a lot before I commit and then I religiously follow through. But sometimes circumstances change, people change, expectations change. Life changes. And sometimes it’s better and more mature to call it quits. (I am not talking about people who haphazardly commit and then walk away like it was nothing.) So I have a lot of respect for people who can assess a situation and know when to walk away. I need to get better at that.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Dinner with my boys. So nice to walk to dinner, sit outside, and enjoy my family.
2. It’s the weekend!!
3. Grateful for having no plans/obligations this weekend so we can spend it in our pajamas, playing and cuddling.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. having mommy read a story
2. telling mommy a story
out for publication, i will put it back when it’s up.
And now for something completely different. I was inspired by a stunning layout by Jen Jockish but it must not be my style at all because this layout took my hours to make and I am not happy with the results. Oh well. Can’t win them all. Another memory preserved after all and another layout in may done.
Details:
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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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