Our theme for April is nature.
The journaling reads:
I’ve never lived in a city that wasn’t by the water. Istanbul, where I grew up, is two peninsulas. I then went to college in Pittsburgh which has three big rivers. After college, I moved to Manhattan. An island. After that, we moved to La Jolla, which is by the Pacific Ocean. Now, we live in Menlo Park, which is in the Silicon Valley peninsula. I’ve also lived in London on and off for a few months and Japan for six months. Both of which are islands. I told you: I’ve always had water nearby.
There’s something magical about the sea, for me. When we lived in San Diego, we used to often go to Torrey Pines State Reserve where you can see incredible views of the vast ocean and I remember the feeling of peace that filled me up each time we went. I miss being that close to the sea. I love looking at the water and seeing nothing but endless amounts of water meeting with the sky so it’s just an expansive palette of blues, puffy whites and the sandy brown of the beach. I cannot imagine anything more beautiful and calming for my soul.
Today wasn’t a good photo day. I didn’t capture enough. I am guessing I am a bit worn out from the WIL project I did last week and a bit overloaded on photos. It’s ok, I don’t mind the fluctuations. I’ve learned it’s a part of life.
Here’s David running towards me with a story. That little boy can talk!! He takes after his mommy. Tells me stories all day long.
And here he is posing for camera. I’m not a fan of the posed look. But when he tells me to take a photo, I take a photo.
And here’s the only good one of the little boy.
I worked a lot today, didn’t do much else but I am ok with that. I am feeling better though still in back and jaw pain which I am not particularly happy about. But it shall pass. This week literally flew by and I can’t even remember anything I did with it.
I did start Pam Carriker’s class last night tho and I love it so far! Here’s my first sketch from last night:
it’s got a long way to go and all the ones I did after this are even worse but I am still playing. I am drawing. I can do this. I promised myself I will draw at least one face every day this week before I move on to the next lesson.
Note to Self:
Soooo…I decided to do something crazy today. A part of me is still undecided about it but then another part wants to plunge ahead. So let’s see what I actually end up doing. I have been feeling blah and unmotivated etc. lately as you already know. While some of it is gone, the rest is still here so I decided I will jumpstart the process and “Fake it till I feel it” so I am going to do a Layout a Day in May. I might sprinkle in some art journal pages in there, too but I am not sure yet. That sort of feels like cheating. Is that cheating? I still need to plan and prepare so let’s see if I have time to do that in the one day before the month starts! Am I crazy? I think a bit. And I am not feeling 100% good about this yet. But…maybe it’s best just to take the plunge. I wonder if it will leave me more depleted or invigorated…
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Almost Friday baby! This is going to be a bit more of a hectic weekend than I’d like but still I love the weekend.
2. I am grateful for chocolate today. I love chocolate. A little too much.
3. Grateful for feeling and being more productive, too. It makes me feel better to feel better, isn’t that crazy?
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Grateful for Daddy.
2. Grateful for playing with Nathaniel.
This week’s download is a few little cards for journaling for week in the life or just daily journaling. Here is what they look like:
You can download it here: Wil Journaling download.
You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you’d like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don’t have to but I’d appreciate a link back if you do use them.
This is part of a weekly digital download series. They are posted every Thursday. You can find all of the ones that were posted here. If you like my downloads, please click here and give me ideas/requests for 2010. I would like to continue this feature but I am not sure I can come up with enough ideas on my own.
Well finally it was a better day! I woke up at 5am and decided to just get stuff done. I worked and worked very hard and then I finished some smaller but nagging items on my list. I even did an art journal page which is also for an upcoming creative therapy. It wasn’t as productive as I usually am but it’s certainly a move in the right direction. Happie, happie.
This morning David was trying to get me to take a photos of the two of them but Nathaniel refused to cooperate. Hard to capture two kids simultaneously.
But I did a bit better when they were playing together. David loves pushing him around and Nathaniel loves being pushed. Happy kids make a happy mommy.
Today was pajama day in David’s school so he got to wear his new Lego Batman PJs. He was very happy.
And while he was at school and I was working, Nathaniel rummaged through my papers. Maybe he’s trying to remind me that I need to scrap more often.
After I picked up David, we all went to lunch together and that was great but then we came home and I was suddenly exhausted. I could barely hold my head up. So my productivity in the afternoon was considerably worse. Thankfully, I’d done enough in the morning to feel good that I am not upset now. I also always get another rush of productivity in the evening so we’ll see.
I haven’t mentioned my Silliness class cause I’ll be honest, I haven’t been working on it. I guess I am not silly enough 🙁 I thought it would be more about drawing but I was wrong. I don’t regret taking it cause David and I had a lot of fun doing many of the worksheets but I can’t say it was the best choice for me. I rarely rarely ever not do ALL of the work in a class so this is definitely an exception.
On that note, my order from dickblick finally arrived and I am off to sign up for Pam Carriker’s Pursuing Portraits class. I think I can never have enough portrait classes and I am in awe of her art so even if only 5% of it rubs off on me, it will be worth it.
Note to Self:
One of the things that really helps with feeling better is starting the day on a good note. On either a really productive note or a really fun note. So this is for me to remember that if I wake up tired and cannot be productive right away, I should do something that’s fun for me. This might be obvious but it isn’t always to me. I often check my mail and my reader and then get caught in the circle of checking more mail, more blogs, etc. While this might be interesting at times, it’s rarely fun or productive. Instead, I should play with my kids, go on a walk, draw, paint, scrap, work, or even take a bubble bath first thing. I think this is important. It sets the tone of the day. Are there any of you out there who, like me, aren’t morning people but are stuck getting up early? What do you do to get yourself in the mood of the day and to start it on the right foot?
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I am finally feeling a little better. Here’s to baby steps.
2. I have started listening to a book by Richard Feynman. His letters. He is so amazing and so inspring and just listening to his daughter talk about him makes me happy. I am grateful that there were (are) people like that in the world
3. I am grateful for lunch with my kids. As we were sitting in the coffee shop, chatting and eating, I sat back and realized this was exactly the life I’d wished for and I am so blessed and thankful to have it.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Going out to lunch with Mommy and Nathaniel
2. Playing with Noah’s Glass Ironman at school
I have mixed feelings about Jodi Picoult. I’ve loved some of her books (like My Sister’s Keeper) but found others to be too over the top, too dramatic, almost for the sake of drama. And all of them are so sad. So, for the longest time, I had stopped reading them. But then House Rules came out and I decided I wanted to read it.
The good news is that the book was much less dramatic than most of her other ones that I read. The characters were engaging and the plot interesting. The bad news is that it’s also a whodunnit story and I totally guessed the ending very early on. I kept thinking I must be wrong since it was so obvious and kept thinking she was going to throw a curveball but she never did. So, for me, that took away a lot from the story. Even though I read the whole thing in one sitting.
All in all, it wasn’t a bad book and I am still glad I read it but I can’t say it was fantastic either.
Well, not much to say today. I was slightly more productive but I am still grouchy and in pain. My jaw and back and head are hurting so I am going to go crawl somewhere instead of writing not so nice things.
Nathaniel has been playing with the duplos nonstop. So has David to be honest. I am so glad legos are finally taking over our house. I love legos.
Nathaniel’s also taken to shrieking randomly. And it’s not very much fun.
Well that’s about it from the karenika household for today. Off to get my coffee and hide in the sand until I feel better.
Note to Self:
I’ve been working really hard not to attribute any meaning to this lack of enthusiasm I’ve been feeling. It might be hormones. It might be pain. It might be more, it might be this it might be that but I am trying to just let myself go through it and not over-analyze it (which is definitely my default instinct.) I am just trying to let it do its thing and then pass. It’s hard. It’s been longer than I’d like but I know it will pass. I will wake up and feel like myself soon. I hope it’s really soon, though.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for Glee tonight. Love Glee.
2. I am grateful that I did actually accomplish a bunch of todo list items today.
3. I am grateful that my husband’s been sitting with me so much, trying to keep me company so my mood improves. And I love being around him so much. I am so lucky.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Playing at home. He’s been keeping busy.
2. I’m grateful for Nathaniel’s toys, he told me today. For all of them.
For the last two weeks or so I’ve been feeling unproductive, uninspired, and unmotivated. I usually tend to be the opposite those things. I get a lot done every single day and I like it that way. Needless to say, this lack of motivation and productivity has been getting to me and that, in turn, is making me even more grouchy.
The thing is, this whole time, I’ve still been writing my list of three things I’m grateful for and focusing on three things that are the highlight of my day regardless of how frustrating, tiring, or overwhelming a day might be. This focus on making sure I could think of three bright spots in my day no matter what has now become a ritual for me. It never takes me more than 6 minutes to come up with my list of three things for the day. Even when I feel like a total grouch.
The greatest part of this is also the ability to go back and read them. Whenever I feel down and think there’s nothing good, all I have to do is go to a random day on my blog and read my three things for a week. Then I realize that small and big miracles are happening in my life every single day. It helps me see the light even on the darkest day.
And I think it’s important to see that. The tiny sliver of illumination. The candlelight and makes sure you’re not sitting in pitch black and feeling hopeless. That tiny light gives me something to hold on to. Because the fact is, no matter what I think, wonderful things are happening in my life every single day. Even if my point of view is clouded, those good things are there and they deserve my gratitude.
So for those of you who think you’re too busy for this project or life is too challenging right now, I urge you to give it a try. To find that sliver of good even in the harder of times. Like most things, it takes practice to see the good things. But they’re there.
They’re always there.
The following is cross-posted from the Weekly Gratitude Blog. I will post there every Tuesday and decided to post those posts here, too. For those of you who read both blogs, I apologize in advance. Some weeks the content might be different and other weeks, exactly the same.
The tulips are almost over. Almost at their life’s end but they are still so very beautiful.
So I was feeling much better this morning. I even thought the grouch was gone. But it appears to be back now. It was all going so well. After picking David up from school and eating lunch, I thought it would be great to get the kids to play outside. Nathaniel has been skipping his afternoon naps so I thought it would help with that, too.
They did really have fun being outside.
Though Nathaniel wasn’t sure about the grass and kept his leg raised the whole time.
Here’s a closeup. Isn’t it funny?
And it did work. After outside time, I put him down and he took a nice 1-hour nap. Success. or Coincidence. Who knows.
After that I just got less and less productive and my energy went down. I am just not feeling motivated. I wish I were. Maybe I should just go to sleep really early for a few days and see if it makes a difference.
Note to Self:
One of the things I struggle with the most is creativity. I’ve never wanted to be a singer or a dancer. But I’ve always wanted to be an artist (and a writer). I crave the ability to draw. The passion, the creativity, the talent. My desire is deep and wide and I so wish I could draw. I could sculpt. I could draw my feelings. I wish I could make scrap pages, art journals, etchings, paintings, sewing like many of the artists I admire. It’s like an ache.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for the tiny path of yard we have. It was so nice to get to sit outdoors today and let the kids play while I worked. My dream.
2. I am grateful for my patient husband who never takes it personally when I am grouchy. He’s always kind and wonderful.
3. I am grateful that I seem to be feeling a bit better. Here’s to an even better tomorrow.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Playing at school (he played batman and is apparently climbing something.)
2. Snack time at school (pretzels and tangerines today)
This week’s craft was inspired by this (click photo for the source):
I am not nearly as talented as the original crafter but the great thing is David doesn’t care! So I cut some pieces from colorful felt.
Stitched them and voila!
Yep, can’t cut a circle or sew a triangle. But you know what? David loves them!
So we started our day with a delicious breakfast at the local cafe with Levent. And then there was hugs good-bye. walks at the park, naps, and lots of playtime. I will just leave you with some wonderful photos from our day.
I’ve also finished my Week in the Life project. Still only digital. I will post all my pages soon. I need to go to bed now.
Note to Self:
Despite the fact that I’ve struggled to accomplish things last week and I had no time to catch up this week, I am feeling great about things in general. I feel like the sense of peace I so wished I always had is finally here and covering me like a blanket.
And it’s as amazing as I hoped it would be. I feel a sense of calm, belonging, and contentment. (I think the word contentment is underrated. Being content sounds like settling, but I think feeling satisfied about one’s life is exactly the perfect way to be. Knowing that things are good, loving what is. I think that’s the key to happiness.)
Of course, I still have a million things I want to accomplish and many times I feel frustrated, insecure, sad etc. but overall, I feel much happier, much more grounded, and a consistent sense of peace in my life. And I want to write this down so I can remember it forever.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for a stroll around the neighborhood, taking photos and enjoying nature.
2. I am grateful for a day of rest and relaxation and enjoying both my kids, watching them play and giggle together. Nothing better than that.
3. I am grateful for spring. This morning, as we left for breakfast, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and I just felt a deep sense of peace. Peace was my word for 2009 and it looks like I have finally achieved it. For that alone, I am deeply grateful.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Getting to have a croissant and apple juice for breakfast.
2. Going to the park and getting to play. And for Nathaniel’s new duplos. And wii time, too.
Happy Birthday Nathaniel!!!!!!!
Today my little boy turned one. A whole year. I cannot believe how fast time passes. As Grethen Rubin says, “The days are long but the years are short.” Yes, indeed.
Little boy started the day really early. So we both went down for a nap around 8:30 and woke up around 10:30. The night before, right as I was nursing him for bed, he started doing peek-a-boo back at me. It was and still is the most hilarious thing ever.
He doesn’t always get it right but he does it with a lot of joy and we both laugh like crazy.
When he woke up from his nap, he was really happy and giggled wit his dad for quite some time.
After we got prepared, we walked down to the little park in our complex and set him up in his chair and put his hat on (left from David’s first) but he wasn’t all too fond of it.
A few of our neighbors came over to celebrate with us and brought their little ones, too. We then sang to him and cut his cake.
A little chatting, some eating, some playing with the babies and we were back at home, going down for the second nap. After which, we drove to SFO to pick up my childhood best friend (and first boyfriend) Levent who happened to be visiting Las Vegas from Istanbul for a bachelor party and took a detour to come visit us. We drove into the city with him and did touristy things like Lombard street, Pier 39, and driving around.
After that, we came back home, put the kids down and Levent and I went to In’n’Out burger, drove to Google campus, and then came back home to chat until we were both too tired. (Sadly it was only 11:30pm, we’re getting old.)
All in all, an absolutely perfect day!
Note to Self:
I was worried about today and how overwhelmingly busy I thought it was going to be. I generally like my weekends to be completely free, let alone booked to the rim. But I kept telling myself to have faith. Both of the plans we had were for wonderful events with great people.
And we were lucky the whole day through. The weather shone. People showed up to Nathaniel’s party and they were kind, sweet, and happy. We felt overjoyed and lucky.
Seeing Levent again was such a rare luxury and then to get to spend a day in city that we don’t visit nearly often enough, yet another total bonus. And then I get to spend some alone time with my friend and chat honestly and laugh and be happy.
What more can someone ask out of a single day? Sometimes you just have to have faith.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. My little boy’s birthday! He’s such an incredible person and has brought so much joy into our family. We are truly blessed to have him. Happy birthday my amazing son.
2. Levent coming to visit us. I hadn’t seen him in over 3 years and I am so glad he took the side trip to come spend a few hours with us. We love you!
3. Honestly, today I am truly grateful for my life.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Visiting San Francsico. It was his first time driving down Lombard and visiting the pier. He got to ride on Levent’s shoulders and he was thrilled.
2. Nathaniel’s birthday. The party wasn’t really great for David as there was no one his age but he was patient and well behaved. And he surely enjoyed all of Nathaniel’s gifts.
This is done with the January A Million Memories Kit.
Journaling Reads:
And now you’re crawling.
Since David never crawled I had no idea what to expect. I thought maybe you might not crawl either. Part of me knew that would make things much easier since this way you’d stay put in one place. But part of me wished you would.
And now you are.
And you’re so fast, too.
Off you go exploring everywhere. Finding the tiniest specks of paper or thread on the floor. Making your way around the house just to get to me. Now you know how to get around and you cannot be stopped. It’s so cute to watch you.
How your legs are taller than your arms so you wobble a bit. How you can get from one point to another in milliseconds.
How much you love having this little bit of independence. Nathaniel, I am so glad to share this milestone with you and so thankful that I am around to see it. I cannot wait to share all the next ones, too.
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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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