Embrace Life

around the house | photographs

Over the last while I've realized it's past time I get my bedroom finished. Now that I have a new bed (wonderful!) and sheets, I want to add in something to make my room reflect it's occupant: me! The best way? Photos. My photos.

What I thought would be a quick project turned into a major undertaking with me going through 40,000+ images to pick out my favourites. I narrowed it down to fifteen non-child photos. (I figure I need one room in the house to be a no-kid zone!) I converted them all to black and white, 12" x 12" to go into black Ikea frames with white mats. My walls are painted Benjamin Moore Rusty Nail (CC-390) and my bedding is white. I think this will be perfect! I'm having 5 frames above my black iron headboard and plan to change the sets 3x each year for a bit of variety :)

These are the photos chosen:

They've all been uploaded to Persnickety Prints for printing - in both colour and black and white. A girl never knows when she'll change her decorating mind :)

This was a wonderful opportunity to become re-acquainted with all of my photos - well, those I still posess! Certainly the number on my computer can be cut in half with all of the team - hockey, football, lacrosse, baseball and more - photos taken over the years. I can delete a huge number that will never live anywhere but on my hard drive.

I'm curious, how do you bring "you" into your living space?

Cole at Sixteen

Template: Cathy Zielske
Digi Paper: Maplebrook Studios Finer Things Red
Element: Karla Dudley

 

hello monday | 55

Cape Cod, 30 July 2004 (they were 8, 7, 5 and 4)

hello old photos. my goodness have we all grown up! this is my project for the week. sort, print, purge.

hello flu or something. it's going through the school. i can only hope it's all done now.

hello getting out with friends. even for only an hour is worth it.

hello g1. another driver-in-training in the house. cole turns 16 this week.

hello last chakra session with helen. feeling aligned :) what's next?

hello volleyball. so glad to have claire and caden involved. really pleased with the pakmen training they're receiving on the weekends.

hello summer plans. it's all coming together!

 hello super bowl. caden can't wait. fun to watch him so into it.

hello vanilla bundt cake. love that he's predictable.

hello monday. you are my most favourite day of the week.
i love that you provide me with 52 fresh starts every year.

 

what are you saying hello to on this brand new monday?
head on over to lisa's blog and link up in the comments.

the current | twenty-three

By the number twenty-three above, its clear I've been doing this meme for a while. It's morphed into a few things over those weeks, but I think I've figured out a formula that will work for me.

dateline Oakville, Ontario, Canada @ 9:37PM on January 23, 2012
weather outside Cold. Windy. -7C
mood inside: Pooped! Wednesdays finish later than usual.

drinking a glass of very cold Sauvignon Blanc

eating nothing, I don't often eat after 7PM - but I'd love a slice of pie :)

cooking a lot out of the new Barefoot Contessa cookbook - delicious!

listening to my kids exchanging stories from their day (Cole got a call today for an audition tomorrow, Chloé hung out with friends after school, Caden enjoyed his swim meet)

watching the last bit of Suburgatory, meh. Like most sit-coms, I enjoyed it more when I first stumbled upon it - flying back from AZ last year :)

reading the last of my unread Sarah Addison Allen books, The Sugar Queen. Frothy and magical, I hope another gets published soon!

wearing jeans, t-shirt and my ratty long black sweater - it will seriously have to fall off my body before I throw it out

planning our summer schedule, some social events and the big book purge

feeling optimistic about the choices we've all been making lately

stopping my habit of second guessing my initial instincts. It is made clear to me over-and-over that I should be more mindful. Okay, universe. I get it :)

wanting a cure for my monkey mind! Honestly, it's all over the place! I just want it to settle, if only for a little while

needing more hours in the day to accomplish everything on my lists

wishing people were more kind to themselves - and others

waiting for the dryer to finish the last load of the day

thinking hiring a life coach just may be a very good idea.

enjoying this week. We've finally gotten into a post-holiday groove. There is very little stress and everyone is focused on their studies and other commitments.

paying attention to me, close attention, more attention than I like but maybe not as much as I need. With the understanding and encouragement of all my kids, I'm taking this school term - the time between the first full week of the year though the Easter weekend to focus more on me and what I want (and what I don't want) in my life. It has been illuminating and I'm only in week two!

encouraging my kids to listen to themselves, too. And trust what they hear and more what they feel.

celebrating a full week of regular sleep! My new bed is absolutely fabulous. And the new sheets? Everyone should get bamboo sheets. Absolutely divine.

cultivating healthy relationships and healthy habits

marveling when my kids' friends come to me as a sounding board. Through break-ups, parent problems even difficulties with courses at school, I am thrilled to be chosen to listen and help when I can.

anticipating only good things ahead.

and tada, a selfie (aka, filling in time while waiting for kids):

Observation: yes, I have to bring 2 pairs of glasses everywhere! One pair in order to drive the truck and the other to read while waiting in the truck. And, no, a knit poncho was not appropriate outerwear for the day - it was windy and -12!

Let's Try This Again | Project Life 2.0

Well, not really again, just a continuation of a wonderful project. After all, life doesn't really stop to start all over again. I have all of the components - photos and stories - to finish off 2012, I just haven't done it yet! I'm about a quarter (13 weeks) behind.

Alas, it has been put on the back burner, until I carve out some dedicated time.

Right now I'm fully engaged in keeping up with my life - and doing my best to record as much as I can to include in weekly layouts. Along the way, I've made a few tweaks to how I've approached this project. I'm hoping these changes will result in more finished weeks. I live forever in hope!

My cover page for 2013 is simple:

The best part of coming up with this opening page was going back through all of my "flagged" photos and finding my absolute favourite pics of my kids taken in 2012. My how they make me laugh and the photos bring back such wonderful memories of wonderful times: Claire snorts when she laughs, Cole kind of let me take "headshots", Chloé loses herself on stage and it is an amazing transformation and Caden, well, he's just a silly goofy pre-teen :)

The first week of 2013 looked like this:

WEEK 1 | LEFT SIDE

WEEK 1 | RIGHT SIDE

WEEK 1 | INSERTS

I wasn't sure if I was going to include inserts this year, but with my clear addiction to Pinterest, I don't know that it will be possible to avoid them! Plus, with so much going on around here all the time, inserts are inevitable.

To be honest, I have no clue where I got this (the link on Pinterest is broken), but it is bright and colourful and in keeping with my attitude toward the upcoming year :)

I've saved this quote a number of times. Perfect for any time of the year, but it is certainly fitting for the first week of the year. The colour is in keeping with my current mood and the font is Museo Slab which I'm using in the project this year.

And with that, my Opening Page and Week 1 is complete. Whoot! Well, complete and shared. I'm actually all up to date. Not bad for 3 full weeks in ;)

Are you participating in Project Life? What lessons have you learned? What are you looking for this project to bring to your life?

and ...

Help!

If anyone knows what lens to use, or settings on a point-and-shoot, to get less curve when taking photos of a 12x12 page for sharing, your advice would be greatly appreciated!

hello monday | 54

hello enneagram. fascinating stuff.

hello e-books. i finally got ALL of my e-books printed at staples. such good stuff. now they'll be read for sure.

hello meeting virtual friends for lunch. fun!

hello finished book. i really enjoyed the time keeper. now to find something else.

hello blog hop. getting my project finished so i can participate :)

hello cold. our january thaw has been followed up with a cold snap. apparently this is traditionally the coldest week of the year. it only gets warmer and lighter from here! yay :)

hello bachelor. this guy can't be for real.

 hello science fair. my job - buying the board - is done. the rest is up to chloé.

hello project life.i think i have it figured out.

hello monday. you are my most favourite day of the week.
i love that you provide me with 52 fresh starts every year.

 

what are you saying hello to on this brand new monday?
head on over to lisa's blog and link up in the comments.

real around here | pet peeves

I poured a calming cup of cranberry tea then started thinking about this post!

I don't often focus on the things I find annoying, but lately I feel like there's a conspiracy to have me lose my temper. It's a good thing I'm slow to boil - but when I do, look out! Keep in mind, I'm a complete control-freak-single-mother-of-four-celt-by-blood. Okay, you've been warned. Proceed. With caution!

• Repetitive noises drive me bonkers. bonkers. bonkers.
• Waste. Any kinds of waste. Food. Time. Money. It turns on my internal calculator which annoys me!
• The word "actually" when used by my children in a condescending know-it-all manner. Oh that tone! It drives me nuts!
• Telemarketers.
• Sperm donors who think they are entitled to more than they deserve.
• When you ask someone to stop a specific behaviour, just until you are out of the way, and they don't.
• To those children with no table (or toilet seat or respect your elders or don't interrupt) manners. Sigh. Your parents really did you a disservice. So when you're corrected the answer is not "but my mum lets me" - the correct response is, "thanks for letting me know." And then don't do it again.
• Sweat. Ick. A necessary evil, but I really hate it.
• Uninformed opinions. Spout off all you want, but please educate yourself with the basic unarguable facts first.
• Anyone who goes into a public place - book store, restaurant, theatre - sick. I can understand a pharmacy - or even the grocery store if you have no one to bring  you food, but leisure activities? Spare us all, please.
• When my children don't listen the first time. This is not a democracy.
• Or when they interject when I'm speaking with someone. Argh!
• When solicitors come to the door and ring the doorbell repeatedly when it is not answered. I know YOU think your cause is important, I do not have to agree. I respect your passion. Respect my right to not answer - the first time.
• When talking about universities, to all those uber competitive parents who say "but he could have got in" - shut up. He didn't get in which means he couldn't get in. Get over it.
• Dirty dishes left in the sink.
• When you try to take a photo and the exact same person makes a stupid face, or movement, over and over and over again. Thereby ruining every photo taken. This is particularly annoying at the end of a championship game, on holiday and in celebration of something that won't happen again.
• If things are not put away where they belong in the garage and I cannot get the truck parked.
• When my kids speak - out loud - about what a deadbeat their dad is and what they think of him. Not that it's not true, but I'm tired of hearing about it. I'm doing all I can to make it better for them.
• When my kids "can't find" something in the fridge. That something is usually directly in front of them!
• At the grocery check out and the person in front of me has forgotten one thing. They realize when they are almost done. They don't ask, but run off to get whatever that one thing is and come back, minutes later, with arms full of stuff. Irksome, especially when this happens at the express lane!
• Most of this stuff happens and I just keep my mouth shut, head down and move along. Unless it is some stupidity on the road. Bad manners on the road rarely hear my horn, but my kids have learned more than a curse word or two! Those same children hear when they've stepped out of line - I chalk it up to parenting.

Whew. Okay, I feel much better now. Hmm. My kids are clearly driving me crazy of late. Must find a way to fix that :)

What is your greatest pet peeve?

December Daily | 22 - 31

Finishing up! My December Daily for 2012 has been completed, but in the crush of Christmas and the excitement of the new year, I completely forgot to close out this project by sharing it here!

Wow! What a full month. I love that this December is the same but different from last December is the same but different from the one before. I really wouldn't know that unless I did this project which is what makes it special and worthwhile. It is a definite "must do" for next year.

Now that the layouts are done maybe I should get to putting the album together!

12 of 12 | January '13

I have been participating in this 12 of 12 project for what seems forever - but it's only been since February 2008 - thank you so much Cathy Zielske and Susan Keuter! This posting will be the completion of my fourth year. Of all the projects I've participated in through the years this has been the most consistent and ultimately rewarding. For me and my kids, this twelfth of the month event has become time capsule of sorts. Caden is now the age Claire was when I started. The kids are so used to it they all remind each other on the 11th that "Mama is going to be taking lots of pictures tomorrow" as a form of warning, but delight as well.

And with that, this was our January 12 of 12:

01. Like every morning, this one started with coffee. I drink it really strong. It goes into a travel mug with a teaspoon of raw sugar and some half and half. Mid-way through the morning I will top it up and add a bit more cream, but no more sugar. It's as refined-free as I've managed.

02. We discovered that there was no milk in the fridge. I couldn't send Caden off to his swim meet in Hamilton without breakfast. Fortino's doesn't open until 8AM. (Crazy) So we were off to the local Mac's convenience store.

3. After dropping Caden off at Appleby to catch the bus to Hamilton with the swim team, I stopped in front of the cemetery. It was so warm out and the snow melting so fast it was eerie with all of the fog that was produced. Fabulous!

4. The house was quiet upon my return so I spent part of the morning editing photos. The night before we had celebrated Jess' birthday. Love those girls!

5. The Moe was the first downstairs. LOVE her new haircut! She was filling me in on the drama of the night before. Sigh. Grade eight sucks.

6. Around 10AM Cole came tearing down the stairs talking on his phone. It turns out he has an audition for a feature film on Monday afternoon after school, in Toronto. The part? A hockey player. Made me - and him - laugh :) FIVE pages of dialogue was sent through for him to memorize.

7. Time to update his acting resumé. That includes height. As much as he might argue, he is 5'10". We confirmed it. We also confirmed that Claire is now 5'9 3/4". When did that happen?

8. Time to pick up Caden. He came in last in two races and second-last in the front crawl. He makes me laugh as those results do not deter him at all. He's looking forward to the next meet and that Ms Core is going to give him some more instruction. LOVE his attitude!

9. For about a millisecond I thought I'd lay on the couch and close my eyes. Ha!

10. The temperatures broke records today. The thermometer said 15*C but it really felt warmer. A perfect opportunity to gather up and pack away the outdoor Christmas garland and lights.

11. Lots of screens! Most of the evening was spent watching the Denver Broncos play the Baltimore Ravens. Wow. What an amazing football game. Truly a pleasure to watch.

12. Claire returned from her volleyball tournament in Kingston earlier in the day (no, that is not a good thing returning early on a Saturday!) and had contingency plans! I picked her up and took her to the movie theatre to see Django Unchained. (I have no idea how she can watch a movie like that - eek!)

And with that another 12 of 12 is complete.

How was your day?

hello monday | 53

hello daily walks. some are harder than others, but i'm moving at least 45 minutes a day. filling up my jar with beans!

hello article. i posted this brilliant article on facebook, but in case you missed it: 12 things you should never stop doing is a must read.

hello choices. the best choices are hard to make, but once made you wonder what in the world took you so long.

hello support system. my family and friends rock.

hello reading glasses. a year ago they were forgotten in their case, used only occasionally. now i have to use them 100 times a day! scary fast decline. though, i love them in their funky green-ness :)

hello new mattress. it's about time.

hello new sheets, too! based on the promise i'd be cooler at night, i bought the sheets made of bamboo. i live in perpetual hope!

 hello second term mandatory reading. all the books are in - hard copy and via audible.com - and i'm joining the kids in their reading this time around.

hello audition. taking cole to the city for his very first audition for a feature film. the part? a hockey player. oh, the irony if he were to actually get it :)

hello monday. you are my most favourite day of the week.
i love that you provide me with 52 fresh starts every year.

 

what are you saying hello to on this brand new monday?
head on over to lisa's blog and link up in the comments.

Nourish | The Get Fit Plan

So, I've been at this for a while. After a couple of years of focused effort it's been revealed that I have a B12 deficiency and that my body won't "hold" this key ingredient for weight loss/control. To be candid, it sucks. Between the thyroid disease and this B12 issue, it is very disheartening to look in the mirror and I despise going onto a scale.

Then, one morning last week, I woke up and realized it didn't matter.

Not being able to lose weight has nothing to do with it. I have get into the habit of moving more and believe (with fingers crossed) that the rest will come in time.

I've adjusted my life to incorporate some really good choices:

1. Drink more water
2. Take supplements & meds
3. Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night
4. Cut out refined sugar (I have one teaspoon of organic demerarra a day in my morning coffee)
5. Cut out all processed and fast foods
6. That means most of my meals are now made at home
7. Inconsistent swimming and walking routine, but I am swimming and walking

What I need to work on is:

1. EAT BREAKFAST
2. Eat my carbs early in the day
3. Eat more often - aka snack!
4. Have a consistent DAILY swimming and walking routine

That's four things. Really it's only two things: eat and move. I know, seriously. I am still not eating breakfast consistently if at all. I harp on my kids and insist, while I can, that they have to eat but they hate it. Thank goodness for bananas - the perfect portable in-the-truck food!

The reality is, time is getting short and my halflife to getting fit is quickly compressing. I have to do this.

I am motivated by competition and reward for a job well done. I fared very well in the corporate world! I thought I'd incorporate that mindset - though rusty - to this problem. (Knock wood) I've never not been able to do something I've set my mind to, and this will not be the issue that will defeat me.

It also has to be fun and visual. I have been home a long time!

I've made up a chart which is now stuck on my fridge. I can keep track of THREE things: eating breakfast, daily exercise of at least 45 minutes and those days I walk 10,000 feet.

Now, the motivator, the reward:

Marbles. Well, not marbles, but glass beads. We couldn't find the old fashioned marbles!

Each bead is worth $1. For every breakfast I eat, I get a bead. For every day I exercise for 45 minutes, I get a bead. For every day I walk 10,000 feet, I get FIVE beads. Why five? Because in the months I've had my FitBit, I've never walked that far. Extra motivation is required.

At the end of the year I'll count my beads and that will be my reward. It could be a movie or a trip or something in between.

The thyroid thing and the B12 thing will work themselves out. There is no point in waiting. It's time to make better choices: eat well and move more.

Start date? Yesterday! Why not January 1? Well, with the kids home it's just easier to keep my days open. Now that they are back at school my time is my own between the time I drop them off in the morning and pick them up in the evening. I have eight hours a day to fit this in.

And I did.

real right now | reframing my days

I am an introvert and the way I recharge my batteries is by being alone.

Alone to ponder, alone to listen to music, alone to read, alone to craft. Alone to me is not lonely. It is restorative and boosts my perspective. Being around people, constantly, is draining. Always having to be "on". Sometimes I get lost in my own thoughts and take a mental holiday when I should be paying attention to the conversations around me. That has been happening a lot lately.

That's not to say I don't enjoy company. I had a group of ladies to the house to have oracle readings and a neat story interpretation a couple of weeks ago. That was fun. I am organizing a lunch for a group of parents from our middle school - and the group is climbing past 50 participants! That will be fun. I like a bit of chaos - controlled - as long as there is a definite beginning, middle and end. I do enjoy company, in small doses.

The last six months, or more, has not been fun.

There were men working in my house - someone was always coming in and out. The front of the house was fixed, but it took all summer! Lighting and electrical was fixed. Air conditioners installed. Furnaces fixed. Garage door replaced. Security systems upgraded. Bathroom ripped out and a new one installed - and it's not even done yet! That added to the appointments with lawyers, doctors, dentists and orthodontists - oh, and the simple raising of FOUR children and their active schedules - has been stressful and not in the least bit restorative.

Rather than fighting it, I embraced the chaos as best I could. Every time I got into a groove I was interrupted - phone calls, emails, texts, doorbells. I gave up. I went out for lunch a lot. Talked a lot. Drank a lot of tea. I've been more available than I like and boundary-less due to circumstance.

I need to get those boundaries back.

Circumstances have changed and I feel I can get back to being me again. The cost of that change is high, but I am not the one who has to pay the price. In fact, it is just the opposite, I am surprisingly faultless but recognize that I am more than willing to take advantage of the shift.

I need to be alone. I need to design a routine that fits me, in my new normal. I need to create. I need to write. I need to take photos. I haven't taken a photo - a real photograph - since July! I've learned that they are needs not wants. I have very few needs, but they're big and time-consuming.

To help me get back into the creative groove I've decided to take this school term - NINE weeks - to really focus on the things that BRING ME JOY and fulfillment. I had to laugh when I told my eldest two children my plan. Their collective reaction: "finally"! You can't imagine the joy it gives me that my kids "get it". Not just that, they "get me" and I am so grateful to have their support.

What do I want to do?

BLOGGING/WRITING

When I did the Reverb12 exercise through December it really hit me how much I miss writing. Writing real stuff and putting it all out there. Writing takes time. A lot of time. Sometimes I forget to make dinner kind of time. I miss missing dinner. The kids do too since that was their chance to go to Harvey's (ick) rather than eat their mum's cooking. Hmm.

I want to write more. I want to blog more.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I signed up for Karen Russell's Snapshots of a Good Life and Tracy Clark's The Art of Composition and haven't signed into either and we're already past the first week of the month! The camera is out, memory cards cleared and batteries charged. I've been ready to do this for WEEKS. Again, photography takes time. A lot of time. Not just the capturing of images, but the reviewing of them. I use the viewfinder of my camera - not my screen - so I don't know what I have until it gets into my computer!

I want to photograph more. I want to learn more.

CREATIVE STUFF

Project Life and One Little Word are my paper-based creative focuses and I've discovered some other things I'd like to try.

I want to craft more. I want to discover more.

HEALTH:

I've joined MMEW2.0 with Cathy Zielske again this year. I haven't even gone into the classroom! I have put together a workout schedule. Okay, so my idea of workout at this point is different from my more fit and athletic friends, but it's better than no plan at all :) I've also adjusted my eating choices and really trying to make more time for the things that are good for me.

I want to move more. I want to weigh less.

Beyond simply wanting to do those things, I need to do these things. So, from now until the Spring Break, I will be making my time my own again. I am really excited to see what I manage to accomplish in the next nine weeks!

Things might be sporadic around here - or the complete opposite and I'll inundate the blog with fun stuff. Here's to reframing my days and recharging my soul!

Project Life | 2.0

Or the "lets start this again" version.

Which isn't to say that I've given up on finishing the 2012 version, it's just that I don't want to get so far behind on 2013 that I'm sunk before I start.

This time I've better prepared myself for success taking with me the lessons learned from my first attempt. Instead of getting bogged down on all of the "great ideas" and "must do's" floating around out there in Pinterest-land and elsewhere, I've spent the last week or so being really mindful of what will make this work by really knowing what didn't work last time.

My hang up? Photos - and their development time. I would have to wait to accumulate enough photos to make it worth the effort to sit down on the computer and place an order. There was that wait time combined with the wait time to actually receive the order, then the making time to get them in the album. That made for a lot of wasted time that needed refinement.

My other hang up? Not having a concrete plan. Each week you have to be open enough to go with the flow but at the same time I forgot about keeping a consistent framework. I had no framework. I need framework.

I don't need the stars to align to make a project work, but I couldn't seem to find the time to focus on what was wrong and how to make it right. The easy change would be for me to go 100% digital and be done with it. As appealing as that option is, I don't want to - this is the very last project I have that is tactile: paper and glue and all of those fun things that I love about all things scrapbooky. I love the photos. I love the stories. I miss the chipboard, glitter and the glue.

This is what I've done, so far:

PHOTOS

Even though Fortino's has closed their photo lab and has left only those awful Kodak kiosks, I love that it's so convenient - just across the street. I signed up for photolab.ca and all of my 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 photos will be ordered from there. It takes a maximum of 5 business days for them to be delivered to the store. Better than waiting a month! I will continue to order all 8.5x11 and 12x12 prints from Persnickety Prints. (For sharing online purposes the prints aren't necessary, right?)

FRAMEWORK

By way of my brilliant and organized friend, Monica McNeill, I discovered the perfect Journal/Planner designed by Marcy Penner and available in her shop - for free! I have printed off 52 weeks and expect to use it every day to keep me on track. Since I use only the "A" page protectors for each week of my Project Life that does make things easier. Oh, and I'm a calendar person - a numbered calendar. I made mine, complete with Canadian holidays, over at calendarlabs.com. Combining the planner and the calendar in a binder, and corresponding files on my desktop and in iPhoto, I have everything ready to go.

ACCOUNTABILITY

I'm starting to think "accountable" is going to be my sub-one little word this year! My plan is to publish my Project Life progress here on the blog every other week. I'm not a designer, I am not on any design team nor am I auditioning for one, so there is no reason to put any false pressure on myself. It'll get done as it gets done and shared as it gets shared, but there is a plan and that's what I need. (I am ever so grateful for those who are designers and on design teams as I'm learning a ton and am incredibly inspired!!)

So, what about you? Do you participate in Project Life? What structure have you created to make it successful for you? How do you stay accountable?

hello monday | a new year

Back in October 2011 I started this journey of hello monday. I found my inspiration, where I often find inspiration, Katrina's blog - who found it via Lisa's blog.

I have always been a fan of Mondays. I am a great starter so Mondays really work for me. I finish every Hello Monday post with:

hello monday. you are my most favourite day of the week.
i love that you provide me with 52 fresh starts every year.

I plan on continuing this practice through this year. Join me!

many books were read for pleasure over the holiday. those days are over! we are already looking forward to the spring break so books can be enjoyed again.

hello 2013. i'm looking forward to only good things ahead.

hello bathroom. wow. white subway tiles. white and black hexagon tiles. black flooring. it is really coming together. now for the big wait for the vanity.

hello back-to-school (tomorrow). i really enjoyed the time away from the routine of school and after-school activities but it's time to get back to reality - and order!

hello university acceptance stress. oh my, how i wish i could protect my child from this time. i have no recollection of stress, just the fun of it all - the excitement of my future and the adventures that lay ahead. this is not fun, at all.

hello time. i am going to focus more of my time on my projects and my health. the social stuff is fun, but makes me feel guilty that i'm not getting anything accomplished. 

hello scandal. where has this show been hiding? watched a "marathon" and it should be called scandalous.

hello lessons. i've told my kids that it's best to be honest. always. 'sparing' someone's feelings only delays things and ends up hurting worse in the end when everything comes out anyway.

hello barefoot contessa. your new book rocks! foolproof is the absolute right word for it.

hello lists. my computer is filled with those yellow virtual sticky notes - and plenty of the real ones too! lots to do.

hello monday. you are my most favourite day of the week.
i love that you provide me with 52 fresh starts every year.

 

what are you saying hello to on this brand new monday?
head on over to lisa's blog and link up in the comments.

48 by 49 | 13 - 16

Okay, so my 4 Simple Goals post of yesterday was supposed to be posted today - the 4th of the month. Below is the post for yesterday. A bit of a mix up but all fixed now :)

WEEK 13 | TIED UP WITH STRING

I have always wanted to have a simple Christmas. That includes simple wrapping, simple tags, simple presents. An event that takes place on ONE DAY (or close to it). We put lights out front for "the season" because I like twinkling lights covered in snow but beyond that our holiday was very low key filled with people we love, food we enjoy and brown paper packages tied up with string. Perfect.

WEEK 14 | CONNECTIONS

I have some of the best girlfriends anyone can have. The ladies above have populated my life for the last 10+ years and I admit they are better to me than I am to them. Even though we're all equally busy they are all able to remember me and make me feel loved and included, always. We don't get together nearly often enough, but when we do it is wonderful! When I met them - each of them - soon after Caden's accident, it never dawned on me that a decade in we'd still be friends, through good times, bad times, moves, divorces, breast cancer, proms, drivers licenses, career changes, trips overseas, graduations, university selections, sport seasons ... oh my. So much!

WEEK 15 | #REVERB12

I don't work on regret or in reverse so it came as a surprise to me when I realized sometime in mid-November that I wish I had completed a #reverb project in 2011. Or, at least some kind of project that reconciled the year that had just passed. Perhaps a little reflection is exactly what I need to make better choices going forward. This was a wonderful exercise and I won't miss another year.

WEEK 16 | CLAIRE'S 20.12.2012 BIRTHDAY

I was not willing to disappoint Claire ever again. Promises were kept and plans were made to celebrate her 20.12.2012 birthday. Over the past six months, we discussed a number of options and she finally settled on Barbados. With two friends. Never in my life did I expect to go on a trip with six children - okay teenagers and almost teenagers - but I did. Six days of sun, sand, ocean, and food. It was a lovely time and they were great!

________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT THIS PROJECT |  I followed New52 with awe and a bit of envy. My plate was so full I just couldn't join in but it was something that piqued my interest. Not that my plate is any less full, but it is more manageable and I hope to fill the wrong side of my 40s with a positive challenge. Let's see where it leads. Thank you to Peppermint and Christine for your weekly big and small inspiration! I love the idea that "it isn’t about making a life-altering change every week, it’s about keeping an open mind and embracing little changes in your life." Life is good.

4 Simple Goals | January 2013

My 4 Simple Goals, to start off the new year, January 2013:

1. SUMMER PLANS. I know it sounds ridiculous to make plans for July in January, but it's remarkable how quickly things fill up. I want a framework for our summer plans outlined by the end of the month.
2. ONLINE PROJECTS. I've signed up for One Little Word; Move More, Eat Well 2.0; The Art of Composition over at Big Picture Classes. I am determined to keep up with all of them. The biggie will be Snapshots of a Good Life starting next week. I want to do them all. Well. No excuses!
3. SWIM. This is a repeat from last month, but it was easy to swim 10x in Barbados! I want to see if I can manage the same while trudging to the YMCA in the gray, snow and cold as opposed to bright sunshine with ocean breezes!
4. DIGITAL WORKFLOW. It's time to develop a new workflow for my projects. I have taken a bit of a creative break (over a year!) and it's a mess. Really well past time to put a plan together and work toward a few *new* tangible goals instead of just thinking about them.

REWARD*: After taking my girls, I realized I really want to get my ears re-pierced. If I get these goals accomplished, I'll take myself up to Way Cool Tatoos and get my own ears done.

*I recognize that meeting the goals is reward in itself. This is a reward beyond that - a small tangible token.

What about you? Do you have a few activity-oriented goals you'd like to meet? If so and you participate, let me know! I'd love to see what you have planned!

In August 2010, Elsie Flannigan posted a simple and doable challenge. I've been doing it ever since!

Nourish | A Jar of Wonderful

I am not much a fan of looking backward, but I know that it is the lessons and experiences of the past that make me who I am today. At the start of the year, I discovered a project that really appealed to me. So many of the small stories give way to the bigger events through the year, but it is in the small things that many of our life changes are made.

Going into this year, I want to nourish that part of me that is more reverent and respectful of the small wonders in my life and learn from the small lessons as well as the big booming unavoidable ones.

Step 1: Find a mason jar (and, if necessary, clean it out)

Step 2: Make up a label

Step 3: Find some string and attach the label

Step 4: Gather up some paper and cut it into pieces (mine are 3"x4")

Step 5: Find a pencil

Voila!

The perfect repository for my big and small stories through the year. Some might make it into my Project Life, some might not, but on New Years Eve 2013, I will have plenty of stories to remember and learn from as I enter 2014 all stored in my Jar of Wonderful.

:)

I'm so glad I've learned enough about Photoshop Elements that I can customize stuff! Here's the tag up close:

I think this is going to be good.

ONE little WORD | Blog Hop + Giveaway

I was never good at keeping resolutions. They were always too big or too many.

When I was introduced to the "One Word" idea by Christine Kane a few years ago it was immediately appealing. Then I discovered Ali Edwards' creative take on the concept and I was hooked! I have been an active participant since 2009. 

BALANCE

FOCUS

DO

OPEN

and this year I thought I had chosen

HARMONY

but once it was announced, it changed to

NOURISH

Over the years, each little word has had varying degrees of impact on my life, but I definitely know that they've been far more successful than any resolution I've ever chosen! I enjoy using the "one word" method to frame my goals and intentions for the year ahead. *Warning* if you ever chose "do" be prepared. Mine wore me out!

When a creative opportunity was introduced over at Big Picture Classes in Ali Edwards' ONE little WORD project I joined right away. It was PERFECT. Then with "do" and "open" I was so busy living and in some cases surviving my word that I didn't have time to record it all in the creative way I had chosen. I joined in a couple of the blog hops and did a few assignments, but my life filled with so many other things I got away from the creativity I love so much.

THIS year things will be different. Not only have I joined the blog hop, I've offered to Margie that I will take the reigns coordinating it each month as she is moving along to other things. Who knew when Cheri suggested earlier this month that I use the blog hop for accountability that I'd be so proactive :)

Be sure to visit all of the talented ladies on the hop, but when you visit Margie give her a big THANK YOU for her capable and loving management of the blog hop for the last TWO YEARS!

An added bonus of visiting Margie is that she is offering a GIVEAWAY on her blog that ends 11:59PM PST TODAY, January 1, 2013. You have a chance to win a spot in Tracey Clark's class at Big Picture Classes called THE ART OF COMPOSITION which starts on January 3rd. The winner will be contacted on January 2nd and the class code expires on January 3rd.

 

Margie    http://xnomads.typepad.com

Lisa    http://backtoallen.com/category/challenges/one-little-word/

Cheri    http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com 

Ruth     http://suburbansahm.blogspot.com

Nikki    www.inkyart.com.au

Veronica www.veronicanorris.typepad.com

Naomi    http://www.poeticaperture.com

Missus Wookie   http://mrswookieswanderings.blogspot.co.uk

Kara     http://iwannabemewhenigrowup.blogspot.com

Me!     http://thelinarstudio.typepad.com/embracelife/

 Note: the blog hop starts at 8:00AM Pacific/11:00AM Eastern

 

What is your ONE little WORD for 2013?