Embrace Life

2011 | DO

I'm really good at figuring out things to do - mulling, preparing, mulling, collecting, mulling, organizing, mulling, listing and then mulling some more. As much as I am attempting to embrace my imperfection, I paralyze myself with my preparation for perfect. I'm letting go and embracing my YEAR OF DO.

In 2008, my word was huh? What in the world is this word thing in blogland?

In 2009, my word was balance. Wrong word.

In 2010, my word was focus. Right word.

In 2011, my word is DO. Fingers crossed.

To me, DO is a natural extention of focus. I have spent 2010 with that single word resonating in many thoughts and deeds. I've purged a lot of things that were keeping me busy but not keeping me engaged. I have focused on those things that mean the most to me and bring the most joy. It was a year of planning and purging. Much purcolating was accomplished and plans mulled.

For 2011 I thought of words like "move", "action", "motivate", "make", "create", but in the end a very simple two letters will be my focus for the next twelve months.

There are some great articles out there in blogland that I discovered when I was focusing on my word selection for 2011. The incomparable Seth Godin had a very short article which solidified my selection. This was followed the very next day with a smart article over at Blacksburg Belle about Ideas to Change Your Life and Business. I love smart articles.

Personal DO

Move More, Eat Less is a program put together by Cathy Zielske who has impeccable timing. I'm so ready to do this, though, in my case it might be a matter of move more, eat more since my biggest problem is not eating breakfast or lunch then binging by dinner.

My preparation includes: downloading Cathy's fitness journal templates from Designer Digitals, joining the group on Flickr, loading classic books (lots of Jane Austen and Fyodor Dostoyevsky) onto my iPad and dusting off my recumbent bike. I'm even thinking of heading to the mall - not to shop (ick) but to join the seniors and walk a couple of hours each day until the weather improves.

Creative DO

As a direct result of my year for 2010: focus, I am on a number of dynamic design teams which promises to feed my need to create! In addition to Ella Publishing Company, Paper Issues and Log Your Memory, I've signed up for and plan to fully participate in:

Yesterday & Today: is a workshop lead by Ali Edwards, offered through Big Picture Classes running from December 30, 2011 ending March 30, 2011. According to BPC: the goal of Yesterday & Today is to help you meaningfully document and celebrate life by looking to the past before approaching the stories of today. Full Disclosure: this is my second year taking this course and I hope to accomplish more this time around!

One Little Word: Another Ali Edwards lead workshop offered through Big Picture Classes. It runs all year starting on January 1, 2011 ending December 31, 2011. According to BPC: the idea is to join Ali Edwards on a year-long adventure to nurture, cultivate and make your word visible in 2011. This is my third year participating in choosing a guiding word. My first "balance" was a bust; my second "focus" was brilliant; and I hope, especially with the inspiration by Ali et al, "do" will be even better.

Roots of She: *sigh* Smart women, inspiration, creativity sharing wisdom and joy. From their first post: roots of she is a safe space to talk about the wide range of experiences that we have, this is a space that will let other women know that they aren't alone, that no matter what, there is someone out there that knows what you are going through. I so enjoy learning and finding inspiration!

Embrace Imperfection: Karen Grunberg is leading this free class because, according to BPC: her goal is to help those of you who tend to shy away from preserving your stories because your scrapbooking is inherently imperfect. Since I struggle with my perfectionist tendencies, this sounds brilliant!

Log Your Memory: I realize I'm on the challenge team, but I can only encourage anyone and everyone to get in touch with and celebrate their every day. From the introductory page: Log Your Memory is all about capturing your everyday, real life memories. We welcome ALL memory keepers ... paper scrappers, digi scrappers, hybrids ... even NON-scrappers! Even if you don't jump in right away, head on over to the forum, or check out the gallery, peruse the log book. Such an incredible positive place to be.

I suppose this could all go under a "Learn DO" column, but I find the idea of creativity and learning interchangeable. Well, really, I find all of it feeds my curiosity and need to continue learning.

Social DO

I want to spend more time with my friends. Make them a priority. Let them know by my actions that they are a priority. Plan coffee, lunch, dinner, evenings out and make them important enough that the only thing that would make me cancel would involve an aneurysm or household catastrophe.

Regardless of how "famous" or how many other comments there are, I'm going to leave my two cents on blogs I admire and ignore the intimidation factor.

Spiritual DO

This may not sound in the least bit spiritual, but I find I am happier with less. Less clutter, less stuff. This year I plan to cleanse my soul by:

• going through a huge digital detox: clear out my e-mail, iPhoto, subscriptions, bookmarks, reader, downloads, etc. then organize so everything can be easily located.
• clear out my studio and storage area of all creative materials that I just won't use. Donate, donate, donate.
• purge the house of anything not used or loved - every single room.

Family DO

I hope to stay open to all of the changes and challenges my kids introduce (seemingly) daily. I would like to introduce the concept of spend less :: do more which really might cost the same, but it gives us less to pick up, reduces the clutter and has the family spend more time together to solidify their relationships. I'd far rather my kids have event memories than time spent otherwise engaged. This of course has to be balanced with a healthy dose of down time - which I think is equally valuable. We live in a busy house where we are often going in many directions at once. Everyone has an opportunity to do something they love, I have to remember that this time is about them.

Work DO

Though my work (and play) is about writing, I'd like to change things up a bit and create and ETSY shop along the lines of my studio: LINAR. What does LINAR mean? Life Is Not A Rehearsal. That is how I (try to) live my life - every day - with intention and authenticity. That's what I mean by life not being a rehearsal - it is the perpetual opening night. I want to translate that enthusiasm into product: take my love of words + photos and make things to encourage intention and authenticity in the lives of others. A big project, but one I plan to DO.

Do you have a guiding word for 2011? What is it? I'd love to know :)

4 Simple Goals | December 2010

Last August, Elsie Flannigan posted a simple and doable challenge. I really enjoyed it and best of all, I did it! I'm going to stick with what works and in an effort to keep me on track and accountable, I'm going to challenge myself to post my 4 Simple Goals each month, here on the blog.

As a refresher, the challenge guidelines are:

1. choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. choose things you may not otherwise get done, but that are not difficult to accomplish. 

2. do not choose result oriented goals, choose activity oriented goals. for example.... instead of "lose 10 pounds", choose something like "eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day". get what i'm saying? positive actions instead of just the end result! 

3. choose goals that are personal that you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! they can be daily, weekly or one time experiences. 

4. choose a reward for each goal as it is accomplished! it can be a small or large reward. 

5. blog your goals, each one as you achieve it and a big post when they are all finished before the new year! i'll be doing this too!

I'm adjusting these a little bit to be more monthly in nature which, I think hope will keep me more accountable. (Posting in August for accountability in December was not good for me. One of my many character flaws includes my inability to remember to do things later - if I don't do it right away, it just won't get done at all. ). I digress. Surprise! Also, I'm adjusting the "reward" component, for myself. You, if you are participating can, of course, reward yourself any way you want!

What do you think?

So, for December, the craziest of months, the one where simple might be a good thing (!!) I have a few activity oriented goals to achieve:

1. Google Calendar: update to include all plans for 2011. I have already added in all of the school dates, sporting events and vacation plans, but I need to incorporate Google Calendar into my monthly goals, my blog schedule and my creative assignments. I've learned that little gets done if I don't make time, the best way to start is to get it on the calendar.
2. Alhambra Night: plan a Mediterranean cooking night with friends. As a result of my newfound intolerance for cheese, I've been on a quest to find something to satisfy that craving. Moroccan food comes close and I have to learn how to make it. What better than to have a group of friends learn with me? I have to set up a cooking night for a group of us at a favourite local restaurant, Alhambra, for sometime in January.
3. Prepare for the Norwegians: get the details and make a plan. Our community is hosting hockey teams from all over the world participating in the Richard Bell Memorial Tournament between Christmas and New Year's. We've volunteered to have up to four young boys ('95s) from Norway stay here at the house. I'm looking forward to meeting them, feeding them and watching them play - (s)mothering them with Canadian goodness!
4. Listen to the naturopath: so many simple changes should be incorporated in our lives. It's just a matter of me getting organized and formulating a routine - automating our health choices. The ideas aren't just for Claire and her improving health, but if they 're working for her, why not everyone? I've already purged many of the things from our house and our diet, but there are so many other simple changes that really need to be ingrained into our lives. Cheers to better choices and better health!

REWARD: I do not often splurge on flowers in my house in the winter. It always seems, to me, to be too extravagant and pricey. If I accomplish my 4 Simple Goals I will buy myself a bright flowering plant after I get the groceries. I'll post it next month :)

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.

Daily Creativity

When I hear "creative" I always think of paint. What do you think about?

Friends often remark that they don't know how I can be creative every day. It seems, to them, to be such an effort. They often sell themselves short and claim that they couldn't be creative all the time. Over the past year or so I have been very much interested in process - how serious creative types go from start to finish in their field of expertise. This was a good year to have "focus" as my guiding word. I was going to encourage my friends to tap into their creative resources by listing out what I had learned and then, found in my reader, a brilliant article about tapping into your creativity.

With their indulgence, I'll share the article here and include my responses to each element they hilight. It is so well done! (My comments are in green.)

* * * * *

Everybody gets caught up in their day-to-day lives, even creative people. And, it’s easy to forget that you need to nurture your creativity. Making simple changes to your daily routine can bring lots of creativity into your life. Here are 12 things you can do:

1. Write morning pages.

I can’t take credit for this idea. I got it from reading The Artist's Way (I removed the affiliate link - this goes to Chapter's in Canada to which I have no affiliation) and it’s something that the author, Julia Cameron, demands that you do. Julia insists that writing whatever thoughts are in your head first thing in the morning will help you deal with your inner critic and inspire creativity. And, she’s right.

Set aside 20 minutes in the morning when you first wake up to write down your stream of consciousness. Write down anything that comes to mind, and continue to write until you’ve filled up three pages. At first, you might feel silly. But, as you continue to do this morning after morning, you’ll see a huge difference in how it impacts your day.

My brain dump generally happens when the kids have left for school - hours after I've woken up. My day starts by reading through the 100+ entries in my Google Reader which are hugely inspiring. I've heard of The Artists Way for years, but have never read it. Maybe I should!

2. Take pictures.

Carry a small point-and-shoot camera with you, and take pictures of things that inspire you. When you’re on a walk, take a picture of the wildflowers. When you’re at a local café sipping hot chocolate with your children, take a picture of their smiling faces, the marshmallows, and the stack of coffee mugs.

Collect and edit the really good pictures. Discard the rest. Doing this on a regular basis will help you observe the loveliness of everyday things—which will inspire your work, no matter what creative medium you use.

Of course, I do this already. My camera is permanently attached, not a little point and shoot, but my huge Canon 40D. The rare occasion I do not have my camera with me is when I miss some great shots!

The key phrase in the point above is: Discard the rest. I rarely edit my photos but I always purge. Pick the best - you do NOT need fourteen photos of your child blowing out the candles or baby taking his/her first steps. You need ONE. I know photos of children are considered sacrosanct, but really, you just need the one: Discard the rest. Do NOT organize the rest.

3. Plan creative time.

Want to know the secret of successful artists, writers, photographers, and other creative entrepreneurs? They plan creative time. They don’t wait until they’re hit by a creative muse. Instead, they work on creative projects every day, even when they don’t feel inspired.

If you want to have a successful creative business, you need to work on your craft each day. Don’t make excuses.

If you're waiting to be hit by a creative muse, you are going to be waiting a long time. It is such a fallacy that creativity "comes". The reality is creativity is "earned" just like anything else - hard work and dedication.

Everyone has lacklustre days. That is the time I use to reorganize and purge my files, clean my studio, surf the internet at leisure, anything that keeps me engaged in creating even if I'm not physically making, writing or photo taking. When all else fails, or I'm running all day, I have a wonderful library of inspiration and will grab one of those many publications and toss it in my bag for the downtime while waiting in the car to collect kids, or sitting in a rink waiting for games to start, or at the end waiting for cool down to end, or choir rehearsals or any other time where I can't be productive. I make 100% of my non-creative time to be productive.

I don't like that my time is fluid. I'd love to be able to set aside x time to x time every day, but that is just not part of my life, right now. I have to be really organized in order to accomodate the flexibility of my life.

4. Go on an artist’s date.

All creative people need to constantly refill their creative tanks, and I love the idea of taking your artist on a date. Just you and your artist—which if you haven’t caught on, are the same person. Again, I got this idea from The Artist’s Way.

Each week you should set aside one to two hours to take your artist on a date. You could go to a movie, scour the magazine rack at your local bookstore, go antiquing, enjoy a gourmet meal by yourself, or go hunting through your local dollar store. You must go alone, because you’ll be more observant if you do.

When you’re on your artist date, take in your surroundings and allow yourself to play creatively.

Oh, I like this! I've never done this consciously, but I do often surround myself with creative inspiration no matter where I find myself. Inspiration can be found anywhere. Fortunately for me, I consider myself more of a writer than anything else and it's easy to sit quietly and observe, especially in a crowd. Even in the grocery store there is something that will draw my attention and I can often be found keying in ideas into my ever-present blackberry. The best spot? A restaurant or coffee shop - preferably one with mirrors. It's very spy-like when you can watch reflections through the mirror with your back to the room.

5. Learn a new skill.

If you’re a creative entrepreneur, you probably have at least one thing that you’re really good at whether it be painting, knitting, writing, or something else. But, if you want to push yourself creatively, get out of your comfort zone and learn a new skill.

If you’re a mixed media artist, take a beginner’s knitting class. If you’re a jewelry artist, learn a new cooking technique. When you push yourself, it’ll help your creative business. You might be surprised what you can take from a different niche and apply it to your own.

I'm a writer who likes a few photos with my words. BUT I'm fascinated with mixed media and really want to make something with words, images and canvas - especially with some paint and ink. I have a few lists of things I want to learn. So much good stuff is possible!

6. Live in the moment.

When you’re thinking about the past or the future, you’re not plugged into the present moment. When you’re fully engaged in the present, you’ll do your very best creative work.

Stop living for yesterday or tomorrow, and instead, live for today. When you find your mind drifting, focus your attention on your body and your current surroundings. Come back to the current moment.

This is very hard for me to do as I am the family planner and I'm always living by my calendar and lists which project plans for the future. I'm definitely moving forward and spend very little time consciously thinking about the past. (Though I will be soon, when I participate (again) in the Ali Edwards-lead Yesterday & Today course.)

Living today is a bit counterintuitive for a scrapbooker, but I do make every effort to do so. My albums are rarely about the celebration and often focus on the every day.

7. Make a to-do list.

I know that I don’t fully engage in my creative work when I’m thinking about the pile of dirty dishes in the sink, the blog post I need to write, or the emails I need to send. The way I get around this is that I keep a daily to-do list. This frees me up creatively, because I don’t have to keep this information stored in my brain or constantly remind myself of what I need to do.

This is something I do regularly. I have many lists, never ending lists for every part of my life! They are the glue that keeps me all together and on track. In addition, here on Typepad, I have everything in my draft folder - ideas to explore, inspiration to share, assignments to write. My final tool is my calendar on Google. We even have a family account which is sent out to each member of our household so everyone knows what is going on from one day to the next. Communication is one fo the keys to my creativity!

8. Engage your right brain.

Before you dive into your next creative project, engage your right brain with a right-brained activity. This will stimulate the part of your brain that needs to be actively engaged for you to be super creative.

I've done this exercise a few times and it really does work.

For me, a better exercise is one I learned when Cole was being tutored and through it I became a big believer of Brain Gym. For years now I have "hooked up" by (basically) turning myself into a pretzel and having my left side and right side of my brain connect. I can actually feel the difference after I've gone through a simple five minute contortion :)

9. Start a creativity swipe file.

I run across blog posts, pictures, creative tutorials, and quotes that inspire me on a daily basis. Whenever I do, I save it to the “creative pick-me-up” folder on my desktop. Just saving something inspiring gives me creative juice. But, I also use that folder to get inspiration when I’m running low.

Open up a new folder on your desktop, name it, and start adding things that spark your creative fire.

Mine is actually a bit more defined with a number of sub-categories within the folder:

• Blog Ideas
• Craft Projects
• Digital Projects
• Home Projects
• Life & Self Projects
• Online Project
• Photography Projects
• Scrapbook Projects
• Writing Projects

I also keep my browser bookmarks in the same folders and use the same categories in the notes function on my blackberry. Inspiration often comes when I'm not in my studio or by the computer. LOVE it :) A little bit of organization saves a TON of time that can be used to create.

10. Set up a creative workspace.

You want to be inspired by the place where you do your creative work, so spend one day at least twice a year enhancing and changing up your creative space.

In my art studio, I have a really big inspiration board where I hang magazine pages, pictures, and color combinations that light me up. I only have to glance at it to get my creative juices flowing.

I do have a space, but the idea of changing it up regularly is daunting. I do have a big magnetic board and on it I hang newly printed photos - those big 8x12 prints I love so much - and they hang there and I mull what to do with them. I do the same with products and articles. The board gets changed - not the whole room!

Mind you, looking around this place, now that my December Daily has been formulated, it looks like a paper bomb went off - would that be considered creative inspiration or just a colourful mess. Can they be the same thing?

11. Start asking, “What if?”

Instead of hoping someone else will come up with a solution for your problems, get creative. Ask yourself “what if” questions.

For instance, if you wish that you could afford eco-friendly paint, ask, “what if I could make my own eco-friendly paint?”

This kind of thinking will lead to lots of creative problem solving.

I like this idea. I can't imagine how many times a day that question could be asked. Perhaps I should just start writing them all down!

12. Do something you’ve always wanted to do.

What are you waiting for? We constantly put off pleasure and fun until we have more money, more time, more resources. Stop making excuses for why you can’t do what you’ve always wanted to do. Instead, figure out how to do it.

If you’ve always wanted to go to Greece, could you cut back on your monthly expenses over the next year to save enough to go to Greece? If you’ve always wanted to learn how to cook delicious Italian food, can you find an inexpensive, local cooking class to take?

Think about how doing something you’ve always wanted to do would make you feel. Happy? Stress-free? Excited? Invigorated? All of these feelings lead to creativity and will help you fill up your creative tank.

I am working on a plan. The kids at the ages they are (14, 13, 11 and 10) really demands that those plans be put off for a while. The beauty of age? Patience. In six years - a mere blink in the scheme of things - Claire will be in University as will Cole and Chloe and Caden will be in high school. Not that I would leave for a long time, but I will be able to leave for a few adventures here and there.

In the meantime, I'm indulging in the time I've been given to make plans :)

Pick at least one thing from this list, and do it this week. Leave a comment below letting me know which one you’re going to try.

This was the challenge over on the Blacksburg Belle site but I'd love to know if you pick something from the dozen ideas above!

My choice? I'm going to start from the top with Number 1 - it's that need for order and control obsession I have. I'm going to write every morning BEFORE my house wakes up - whatever pops into my head.

In the end, along with communication, the key to my creativity is organization. I appear productive only because I know where to find things. I may not be able to locate my keys every morning, but I am able to find that elusive photo ... or my crop-o-dile ... or that element I had to have for that new project ... only because things have been filed where they need to be. It doesn't mean things don't get lost, just that I have a pretty good chance of spending 1 minute rather than 5 trying to retrieve information, ideas, inspiration and supplies.  Those minutes add up quickly and can be put to creative use rather than to the frustration of searching for things.

The only thing I would add to the whole Blacksburg Belle article is:

Not everything you create will be perfect or publish-worthy. That's okay. That's part of the process. Most of the fun is in the experimentation. Isn't it? We are often too hard on ourselves. The imperfections make what we do real. If you want perfect head on over to the dollar store and find some mass-produced bauble - but how fun is that?

Instead consider doing what I do - change your outlook to include the idea that it is the imperfections that make a piece perfect :)

A little off track ...

My plan this morning was to deal with this:

I left to take Claire and Cole to school with instruction for Chloe and Caden to clear every surface in the house and move it onto the kitchen island. I live in a land of PILES. Drives me crazy but it's a thing I've been doing forever and have no plans to change. I suppose we all need some part of our character to accept - or crab about :)

Instead, I got distracted, by the lovely Ali Edwards who has a habit of distracting me.

Thank goodness!

Today she typed out a list of those things that are inspiring her currently. The timing is perfect, as I have been mulling a few of her categories. Why? I have no clue, but I like the idea of recording it.

 

COLOR : I'm told it's called French Blue. Kind of blue, kind of green, kind of gray. I've never been a fan of blue, but I do like this.

FONT : I've seen this Bead Chain font in a few places lately, and downloaded it. Plans to use it soon!

(I'm also totally distracted trying to find this font:

from over at The Inspired Room, any ideas?)

PATTERN : I'm currently obsessed with Houndstooth. I even bought a new golf umbrella because of the pattern. (Yes, a golf umbrella - too cold to golf, and by buying it I've stopped the rains from coming. I have powah!)

SHAPE : Circle. Always circles. Soon to help me make sugar cookies :)

LETTER : O. I live with my little Ouellette family in Oakville which is in Ontario.

NUMBER : 4 – it's not really a "lucky" number, but one that pops up in my life most often! Enough that I notice it :) 

WORD : Do. I've been focusing on my "word" for 2011 I keep coming back to "do". It might stick!

What's inspiring you today? Even if you don't blog about it, take some time to feel all of the inspiration around you!

Hey, look at that! I got this post done and this is still waiting for me:

There is always something, isn't there? Love it!

A Bit of a Blog Tidy

My kids are so anxious for school to start so they can see their friends, meet their new teachers and fill that brand new agenda. I'm anxious for my kids to go to school to get my house back in order. Having four kids coming and going all day long for 10 weeks does not make for a calm existence. Fun and spontaneous, but wild! It also creates one big mess. I'm craving order and control and the only place that is mine, right now, is right here! It was time for a purge and tidy - I feel way better now!

Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed to mention how much you like the new blog tidy. I thought I'd take this opportunity to give you a bit of a "tour" and answer some questions.

BLOG HEADER: Yes, the change was subtle. The usual indicator, the new blog header, was not updated. I like my lemons! So, no blog header change ... yet.

TWITTER FEED: Gone, I really don't "get" or use twitter, so I got rid of it.

RECENT POSTS: To save you from scrolling, the twitter block was replaced with something useful!

GO ENJOY/GO NOURISH: These are often updated so no change there ... for now. These are the best of the best links. Go visit. Learn. Enjoy!

MUSIC & BOOKS: Both were updated, though they really didn't need to be since I'm still listening to and reading the stuff listed last time!

FEEDJIT: I'm still not sure if it's going to stay ... or going to go. It's a bit LARGE. I like seeing where everyone is from and my kids love seeing all the flags. It's a keeper, until it's not!

The rest on the left column stays the same :) Moving on to the right:

EMBRACING MY LIFE: After all, if I'm attempting to have YOU embrace YOUR life, I should give at least a bit of an indication of how I embrace mine, right?

The best part of this exercise? I got to figure out how to do some things in Photoshop Elements, play with linking stuff, reminding myself of how Typepad works and some features, like pages. FUN! A great way to spend a rainy weekend. Who to thank for all of this activity? This tutorial, posted in early July. It does take that long for my ideas to percolate!

When you click on this button you will go to my boys' hockey schedules. I hope to keep this page updated as the season goes along. Though hockey season does seem to run all year long in our house, there really is a season: September through April. It will continue to be that way until the boys decide they've had enough. In the meantime, it keeps them fit and focused. With Cole now officially a teenager, I'm happy for two reasons: the joy it brings my kid and a great reason to stay away from girls and maybe study? Shh. A mama can hope can't she? As for Caden, he benefits from the physical activity and many friendships.

Click on over, there's a ton of stuff to read (I don't want to spoil it here!) but if you're interested, Celes is organizing an upcoming 30 Day Challenge to Live a Better Life in September. I like the idea of getting a bit of guidance as I continue this fascinating journey. I live a pretty spectacular existence and I am grateful every day for my good fortune: great kids, good health, and everything else. I find sometimes I'm squandering those blessings and as part of my FOCUS for the year, this is just what my spirit needs.

Memory keeping and photography is a huge part of my life. I love the process and the results. It is the perfect forum for me to practice my writing, photography, design and font love all in one (seemingly) simple endeavour. I have a ton of ideas rattling around. It doesn't help that I read so many brilliant and creative blogs every day! I wanted to get a bit organized and actually write everything down. It is a bit daunting, but I love a list, and a plan. It works for me!

My creative endeavours are not limited to paper crafting. There are so many things I want to lean how to do and make. I've blogged about them a couple of times and thought I'd put a page together as a collection of ideas. You know, accountability. I've been looking for classes and tutorials for each of the ideas listed and hope to at least learn the basics of each creative skill. I'm sure it will lead to a bigger, longer list once the juices get flowing and the confidence returns.

I am so fortunate here on the www to have met and mingled with such incredible people. Every one has been so kind and gracious and sometimes they offer to let me put in my two cents! Over the last 12 months or so, I've become far more confident in my abilities and what I have to offer others. I submit work and put myself in a position to be accepted or rejected and it is such a thrill - to be both accepted and rejected. Invigorating and challenging and I love every minute of it. So, for those who haven't had the joy of that experience, I have one word for you: SUBMIT!

The idea behind the one little word concept is to give yourself something to focus on throughout the year. Each year there is a flurry of activity to choose "one word" which everyone seems to reveal in January. When you click on the sidebar button you find every post I've tagged with the "focus" category for this year. I suppose my idea of focus is interchangeable with  mindful or aware. I was a bit out of sorts last year ...

when balance was not the right word to choose. At all. When you click on the button you will read my summary on that choice. As always, I can be counted on to be brutally honest ... with myself ... and share it with you :)

I've very much enjoyed my "words" and am already considering a few for 2011. What about you? Do you participate?

I've really enjoyed the creative process of making the sidebar buttons, figuring out the links, how it all works. but I've enjoyed, more than anything, creating the content. I hope you enjoy reading it, too!

PLACES TO PLAY AND LEARN: Continue to be some of my most favourite places on the www. So much great stuff! Go! Play! Learn!

PHOTO ALBUMS: These have been reduced to those I think are my "greatest" recent accomplishments. These include those layouts which have been PUBLISHED (whoot!), My Frogs, A Week in the Life: 2010 and Me: The Abridged Version (which isn't so abridged!). Immediately underneath are links to other photo album content, but I thought a link was sufficient. If you want to see the photos, click the buttons :) They are all (finally) cleaned up and organized. I'm more than a little happy about that!

BLINKIES: Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I'd add a blinkie to my blog. But there you have it.

And everything else remains the same in the column.

There was one other major change: those with a reader can now read the whole post. I prefer to read entries in my reader and thought I'd make it more convenient for you. A while back I had shortened the feed so that I could track statistics (number of visits, from where, links that are loved, referrals) then realized I really don't care about the numbers too much. But I love to see where everyone is from, so I'm leaving the feed-jit widget ... for now.

My focus here will always be on the content, but sometimes I'll pay attention to the pretty ... and functional. Let me know what you think!

Dream Lab: Update

 

Alternate Title: OFTEN FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE WRONG.

A while back (aeons in internet time), I joined the Mondo Beyondo Dream Lab. It started on June 21st and ran for 8 weeks, through mid-August.

Some background: I hadn't been blogging long before I had heard about the women behind Mondo Beyondo and later the Dream Lab idea. Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen are both tremendously talented, generous, creative and tremendously inspiring.

After the first week or so of the Dream Lab, I felt a bit let down. Disappointed even. Separately these women are incredible, together I was expecting spectacular. At least different. A little dose of different. Something never experienced before, or offered before, elsewhere on the internet. My early experience with Dream Lab was that it was nothing new. It is same old, same old, wrapped in a different bow. For all the hype I was expecting to be blown away. Not that I don't recognize the benefit for the uninitiated, but for those of us around the internet/blog course block a time or two, the same material, packaged a bit differently, can be found elsewhere.

I was left flat. Unimpressed.

I figured I'd finish up the course. I've learned in the process of taking many, many of these things, that you always learn something. I looked forward to whatever that might be. I am always open to be surprised.

I'm glad I stayed open.

The reality finally dawned sometime in week 5 or 6 (I'm a slow learner - and I was internet-free for a while!) that the idea of experimenting with the summer themes of rest, kindness and play is something I'm so very fortunate to do every single day. Not just in the summer. Every day. My frustration with the course is that it is going over my own territory. This is where I live. Every day. I have already given myself permission to extend and receive rest, kindness and play.

There were a number of practical prompts, organized in a structured manner that appealed to my craving for order and control in a season where I find little.

• Play Experiments arrived on Monday and made use of our "kit" ready when you need it.
• Love Letters from the Universe arrived on Tuesday and Thursdays (they are similar, but not exactly the same as the letters I already receive to my in box daily)
• Secret Missions were received on Wednesday. This was done with the Mondo Beyondo community at large. 
• Simple Sundays received on Fridays was a reminder to rest and renew in the tradition of the Sabbath, but not necessarily a religious manner. Just a time to make space for good things. A practice of slowing down. THIS is one practice that will be observed and continued well after the Dream Lab ends.

I was really afraid that because there was no expectation of participation that I wouldn't participate. Surprisingly, because there was no expectation, I felt no pressure to participate or guilt associated with falling behind in my obligation and commitment. THAT fear and confusion lead to my initial reaction of disappointment.

The course turned out to be exactly as described: "We expect this to be a light, enjoyable and renewing time."

And it was.

We just got off to a rocky start. Sometimes first impressions are not what they appear. I'm glad I relaxed and stuck with the program. I'll reveal the results of some of the experiments and missions over the next few weeks.

4 Simple Goals

Elsie Flannigan posted on her blog a cute (read: simple AND doable) goal challenge:

if you'd like to participate, here are the guidelines... 

1. choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. choose things you may not otherwise get done, but that are not difficult to accomplish. 

2. do not choose result oriented goals, choose activity oriented goals. for example.... instead of "lose 10 pounds", choose something like "eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day". get what i'm saying? positive actions instead of just the end result! 

3. choose goals that are personal that you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! they can be daily, weekly or one time experiences. 

4. choose a reward for each goal as it is accomplished! it can be a small or large reward. 

5. blog your goals, each one as you achieve it and a big post when they are all finished before the new year! i'll be doing this too! 

THIS is something I can do and since I'm stuck here, suffering through the dog days of summer dreaming of cooler weather, this might help me focus those goals.

First things first, a cute picture, because every blog post needs one, right?

1. Make my photos more a part of my life. You would never know here on the blog with the oodles of photos and projects shared, but almost none of my photos are displayed in my home. You can read my albums but there is very little on the walls. I'd love to have some BIG canvases, a lovely enlarged series of shots covering the walls. I have plenty of space - especially on the upper floors. I've been looking over at Green Pixel Printing and have a few ideas. I need to just choose the photos and the configurations. Reward: I get to order one series of canvases.

2. Walk every day. I know I've complained bitterly over the heat of the summer, but I really have to take charge again and walk every day. Reward: new sneakers if I make it through one month of walking at least 5x each week.

3. Pick a course, just one. I should just put all of the course offerings in a jar and pick one! We have a vibrant art community here in our little suburb and I'm interested in adding some skill and technique to my curiosity. Which course would you choose: here is the list. Reward: the course itself, of course. I'm hoping I make something worth keeping.

4. Passport renewals. It has to get done. They all expire in February! Just the idea of going through the process of getting six passports renewed is exhausting. Reward: The leather document pouch I found at Danier. Decadent? Yes. Out of character? Yes. Gorgeous. Yes :) Color? Red!

What about you? Do you have four simple goals to accomplish between now and the end of 2010? What kind of rewards are you giving yourself? Share!

I'm in the land of Podcasts!

I'm at the start of a project and as much as I am a dedicated uni-tasker, I am always surrounded by noise - if it's not my four kids, during the day usually the television is on in the background, a load of laundry is in, various electronics are plugged in and binging and pinging on a regular basis. This project is forcing me to get away from all of that and I am left with my rarely-ever-used-by-me iPod.

I have loaded music, with the help of my kids, and am all set on the music side of things.

Music is great, but I'm used to spending hours reading, researching and learning. I don't know how to replace that stimulation with music. Well, with music I've pretty much heard before.

Then I remembered how much I enjoy the TED website and their talks. I am a huge fan. When I went to download some of the speeches it was described as follows: "Each year,  the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference hosts some of the world's most fascinating people: Trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses. These podcasts capture the most extraordinary presentations delivered from the TED stage."

Essentially, with the help of TED, I stay current and informed. And now, I have subscribed to the podcast feed through iTunes and have loaded onto my iPod a collection of 256 TED podcasts in both audio and video form. 

That's A LOT of information to take in. 256 talks. The run time can be as little as 6 minutes with a few running over 25 minutes. All filled with thought-provoking and cutting edge thoughts and inspiration. Real intellectual stimulation. Who knows? After I listen to all of them I may just become smart :) if nothing else, I'll be better informed and hopefully full of questions.

As it turns out, I will need more than 64 hours of podcasts.

My journey in the land of Podcasts continues ...

I've found:

• Accidental Creative
• Creative Living with Jamie (Life Coach: Jamie Ridler)
• Creative Mom
• The Daily Boost | Real Life Motivation
• Digital Photography Tips
• Fat 2 Fit Radio
• Get-Fit Guys Quick and Dirty Tricks
• Jillian Michael's Podcast
• Stuff You Should Know
• Character Under Construction
• The Paperclipping Digi Show
• The Paperclipping Round Table (and the older version)
• The Paperlife
• Take Control of your Career and Your Life with Marcus Buckingham
• Oprah & Friends (XM Radio Casts)

From that list you can tell where my general interests lie.

What am I missing?

Are you subscribed to engaging and thought-provoking podcasts? Even something daring or edgy? I'm all about not subscribing to the popular view and I love it when I hear stuff that tests societal norms - or, even better, something so common-sensical it is considered profound. You know what I mean, don't you?

(The only things I'm not interested in: Dry financial advice; political hacks hacking at any politics they don't represent; anyone selling their religion as the "only" true way; and, I'm seriously over any under-30-year-old with one infant and one toddler giving me parenting advice.)

I want upbeat, positive, kind, challenging, stimulating, keeping-it-real and smart. Oh, and nice speaking voices. That can really make or break a podcast.

Leave links in the comments!

July In Review

The kids were funny at the beach. This is their attempt at spelling LOVE for me :)

I have to say July was wonderful but I might be the only person on earth complaining about the heat. I really don't deal with it well. The thing that saved me is my igloo (aka, my basement studio) and the stand up fan in the kitchen.

It was a bit of a struggle to keep from blogging. I did make a few slips here and there, but for the most part, I recharged and I think without the self-imposed pressure of blogging daily, I had the time to better absorb some of the brilliance out there on the www. Wow, it's amazing. I've bookmarked a number of entries and hope to share them sometime soon.

What else did I do when I wasn't here on the www?

• July 1st was celebrated: Claire and Chloe was with Alex and family at RibFest in Etobicoke; Cole went with friends to Bronte Harbour and Louis let off sparklers for Caden in the back yard while watching the fireworks at the harbour. Me? I stayed clear of the bugs and read inside.
• There were two "not miss" shows this month:  Jillian Michael's "Losing It" and "The Bachelorette" Our family is Team Chris all the way. How can we not be? He is from our town in Cape Cod! Lots of lessons learned on each show.
• One of the young ('95) hockey players at BTNL, in town from Nova Scotia, needed a place to hang out one day so I voluntold my kids that they were going to hang out with him. He was tall and handsome which was great for Claire, and he was a very talented defenseman, which was great for Cole, and he was lovely. I'm glad we could help out.
• We enjoyed both Wimbledon and the British Open. It was so nice to have shows to watch in the morning, live from overseas!
• I participated in the Mondo Beyondo Dream Lab and on Angie Warren's Project Photography. Going away for a while with no internet was not helpful with keeping up, but I learned a lot at any rate!
• The kids are reading like crazy! Books consumed so far include: City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare; Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan; The Fallen Part 1 by Thomas E. Sniegoski; the Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins; Chosen, Untamed, Hunted, Tempted and Burned all by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast; Graceling by Kristin Cashore; The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton; The A List, A Novel, by Zoey Dean; Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick; The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness (series of 7 books) by Michelle Paver. Claire and Cole are sharing many books, Cole is passing some down to Caden. Chloe is reading a ton of Archie comics. Sometimes she really is me. I hope it's a "phase" for her as it was for me!
• New computers are in the house! Cole and Claire both attended their roll-outs and got the new hardware loaded with new software. I quite like how they look and they seem sturdier than the Dell's.
• After a huge mail delay, and perhaps bad timing, my Scrapbook Sussies kits finally arrived and I was able to submit my designs. Better late than never. Though, I have to say, a 2-day turn around for me is miraculous! :)
• I was invited to participate in a creative project with a friend and I can't wait to show off what I created!
• Claire and Cole spent a lot of time hanging out with their friends. So did Chloe and Caden. It is a joy to watch them be so social and active. They are still plagued with bouts of insecurity, but that is natural for kids who have a built-in social system with a big family. We're working on it!
• Emmy noms came out! My favourite The Good Wife with the brilliant Julianna Margulies got a nod or two. I'm also thrilled for the recognition, finally, for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights.
• I arrived home one day to a big puffy envelope with Ali Edward's Life Artist inside. Whoot. Thanks to my lovely cyber-friend, Susan from Georgia. Another puffy envelope arrived while we were on holiday with my Sketchbook Project book. I love mail!
• Caden arrived home one day with a new iPod, he bought it with his birthday money. The other thing he brought home? A new iPad for me! I immediately loaded up iBook and Shazam and all is great in the world.
• Movies watched by some combination of children: Toy Story 3; Knight & Day; Get Him to the Greek; Twilight: Eclipse ...
• Caden had a wonderful 3on3 hockey season. I think maybe, just maybe, he's getting it. Well, except for being kicked out of the final game for "interference". Hmm.
• I really wish Cape Cod was closer, but then again, if it were, everyone we know would be there ... that would be like having a place in Muskoka! Anyway, we enjoyed another holiday in the Cape. We were able to fit in a mere four full days of holiday - with travel time there and back. It was too short, but it was, in Cole's words: "One day is better than none. I'm glad we had four." I'm glad all four of mine agreed. It was a long 20+ hours in the car, but worth every kilometre!
• The Berkshires are beautiful and next year we're going back to Lenox, MA to explore a bit more.
• I do not know who discovered lobster, but THANK YOU!
• Mel Gibson has lost his mind. Absolutely bi-polar or manic depression, but wow buddy, shut up!
• Cole may not be happy about being Corner Back rather than Linebacker, but he's good at it. As the "last guy" he's pretty good at bringing them down.
• Camps! Outrigger Canoe. Robotics. Theater. Day camp is the best. They are exposed to so many things they don't normally do. How fun!
• I love technology. Seriously. It has so much good. It brings things I'd never experience in person (the Louvre, Wikipedia, pick a library) directly into my home. How wondrous. How amazing! Given all of that, I have to say I'm tired of the cyber-bully-bullshit. I'm thrilled my kids include me in the "drama" at least to let me know. This month it was formspring - for which I have an account. But really? I can't even repeat here any (deleted) question asked of my 14-year-old daughter this last month. Disgusting.
• Have I mentioned how much I admire Cathy Zielske? Or totally tickled I am to be included with my friend Barb Wong in our mutual admiration?
• It appears the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has been capped. That took a crazy amount of time and it's heart-wrenching to think of the damage done.
• My step mum is really interested in Caden being tested at the Arrowsmith School in Toronto. He seems fine to me, but since his near-drowning and resulting coma in 2003, we might as well check him out completely.
• Re-entry is a bitch. Hello allergies! I need to buy a lifetime supply of kleenex. Argh. This summer sucks. Really. Bad.
• I'm already missing the routine and order of the school year. It must be the heat getting to me.
• And then, when I'm suffering the most, I get notification that a lovely someone - who is also an important someone - reads my blog, and recommended it. Specifically the Monthly Review Posts! Thanks Wendy!
• In keeping with my newfound confidence, I applied to be a contributor at a collective of creative women I really enjoy. Fingers crossed! (Note: I wasn't chosen, but who knows? I'm still confident!)
• I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that Claire is dating Alex and Cole is dating Nicole and as prepared as I thought I was for this eventuality, I'm not.
• Along with Caden, I met with my friend Barb Wong and her family in Markham while she was in town to visit with other internet friends. Our plans didn't quite work out, but we're flexible. It was just so nice to see her again!
• Chloe has announced she wants to play hockey again this winter. My friend Lindy took her, with Olivia, to the rink just to confirm her resolve.
• Though disappointed the Titans didn't advance any further than the regular season, Cole had a great time learning how to play football. Whatever will I do on Tuesday and Thursday evening with no practices? :)
• The basement projects are well underway. Even the garage has been purged!
• We're still waiting for our tree removal guys to get back so we can tidy up the property and make plans for replacement (read: live) plants and trees.
• We went for our last meal at The Big Smoke. What a disappointment. The food was dreadful and the staff was far too busy pounding shots at the bar than actually taking care of the paying clients waiting at their tables. Sad.
• Cole has kept up with his hockey: a bit of BTNL, Strong Hockey has opened in Oakville, lessons in Mississauga and shinny. Not too much, but more than nothing after all, Training Camp starts at the end of August! One day he had Outrigger Canoe Camp from 8 to 3, Strong Hockey training from 4 to 5:30 and Football Practice from 6:30 to 8. He LOVED it. Not all days were that intense - or diverse, but there were a few doozies this month.
• Lots of time spent chatting with sisters Andrea and Beth. Love catching up!
• I have become the project queen with many albums and mini's on the go. One thing leads to another and it is so wonderful. I've shared a few and look forward to sharing more!

For having no real plans we seem to be staying pretty busy!

We're just shy of halfway through summer and I think everyone has enjoyed the flexible schedule, hanging out with friends, reading tons of books, posing for and taking photos, eating barbeque and watermelon, having sleep-overs, joining friends for dinner, attending movies and, and, and ... I expect August to be more of the same, less one child as Cole is off to overnight camp for two of the weeks. As for me, I'm done with the heat and we haven't even entered the hot part of summer!

Updates & Sneak Peeks

Though there is little evidence here on the blog that I've been creative and crafty, I have been and have plans to continue to be through fall and beyond!

I've been quietly participating in the Mondo Beyondo Dream Lab. I've been learning a ton from Angie Warren over at Project Photography and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a small and intense photography course. I was a guest designer on Scrapbook Sussies for July which was a challenge, and that is always welcome. I visited the greatest scrapbook store on Earth and visited with the tremendously talented Jenn - I'm hoping by breathing the same air maybe I gained some of her creativity :) I was asked to participate in TWO big projects and I can't wait to share them with you, but that won't be for a while - but worth the wait, I promise. I was asked to say a few words about a woman I greatly admire, I was thrilled for the opportunity. Then another woman I admire had some nice things to say about my blog!

I'm getting my plans together and I've prioritized a few things. Of those things, I have a few projects I'm really excited about on the go. They are all at different stages of completion and will be fully introduced and shared in the next month or two. A sneak peek is nothing without photos, right. So here they are, with a few hints:

What do you get when you combine Samuel Clemens and green amphibians? A mini book based on one of my favourite quotes.

Does 70 pages of words + photos still qualify as a mini-album? I don't know but the process has been fantastic. I can't wait to see how it looks completed!

I've always wanted a book of mine on a library shelf. This is a bit earlier than I thought but I'll take it! I'm so very excited about this project. The content is going to be incredible!

There are a couple of other ideas percolating. I've been very inspired by some blogs lately and really want to explore this, this and maybe this, too! And even with my feelings for Christmas located somewhere between Bah and Humbug, I might even do this, maybe I can put an emphasis on hockey?

What about you? What have you been working on or planning lately?

 

Stories of Summer: My Submissions

When Ali Edwards asked for projects and layouts to be submitted for her Stories of Summer series, I realized a few things:

• My kids need to be equally represented, so I submitted 4 + 1
• I don't have many layouts with all four in them together
• I have not made any mini-albums about our summers
• I make way too many assignment-based projects and not enough for the simple joy of scrapbooking

I was sceptical about having any submission accepted as I was already honoured with my Week in the Life project hilighted on Ali's blog earlier this year. But another thing I've realized? You have zero chance of having your work seen if you don't submit!

These are the layouts I sent in:

What did you submit?

I don't know about you but I thoroughly enjoyed the Stories of Summer series. There is so much talent out there! I'm so inspired to capture more moments in photos and words. My enthusiasm is always there but sometimes my creativity is lagging behind. I'm more creative if I'm consistent.

You know how energy breeds energy? Well, I believe creativity breeds creativity. If you stop, you have to wind yourself up all over again. Certainly I have bursts of more creative periods than not, and that's what I was facing earlier this spring. Then I got it in gear. I started with A Week in the Life, then joined in LOAD in May, participated in Sketchapalooza over at Feeling Scrappy and it kind of snowballed from there. I've been creating in a steady hum for a while and it feels great. 

How do you create? What works best for you, do you have a process or is is stop and go?

Ahem, back to unplugging :)

Information Overload

I tend to shut down when I'm faced with two things:

1. Children demanding the same thing over and over again (usually resulting in a big fat "no" to their requests)
2. Too much information: groups to join, friend requests, blogs to read, challenges with crazy deadlines, even the countless e-mails received daily.

There are a few other things that shut me down, but when it comes to abundance, those are the two that came to mind. It really came into focus after I read the post by the BRILLIANT Seth Godin which went like this:

Redoubling to system failure

by Seth Godin

Every 18 months for the last decade, the world has doubled the data it pushes to you.

Twice as much email, twice as many friend requests, twice as many sites to check, twice as many devices.

When does your mind lose the ability to keep up? Then what happens? Is it already happening?

I can assure Mr. Godin that it is already happening. At least it is, for me.

I am having an internal war with myself. Should I cut back or cut out completely? How do I keep up or do I really want to? What am I gaining? What is the return on my time investment?

In an effort to gain some control, I've made some changes to my information flow:

Facebook has a self-imposed limit of 200 "friends". That group primarily consists of real, honest to goodness, I-know-you-in-real-life friends and family. You know, those who may now be far away, or busy with other things, but if I could, I'd have them over for coffee. The others are some uber-brilliant scrapbookers who inspire me completely. Why a limit? I know people do their best to accumulate "friends" but that's never been my style on line or IRL. I have a very small group of friends and I like it that way. I am a unitasker by nature and with a small group I feel authentic.

Twitter is now used for anyone I don't know well, a place for those people I want to follow on a peripheral manner. It gives me the ability to keep in touch but not necessarily be involved. (If you have been purged from my Facebook but still want to keep in touch, you can find me on Twitter. I didn't mean to be rude, just trying to keep things manageable.)

Google Reader is where I get into some trouble. There are so many BRILLIANT blogs and creative people and differing points of view, I love reading it all. I no longer read the newspaper and rarely get a chance to read books as quickly as I once did (though, I hope to get myself an iPad and fix that!). Though the "next" button has definitely quickened the process. I have limited my blog reading to the time before I take the kids to school (for 8AM) and sometime in the evening after returning home from whatever activity we've enjoyed with the kids.

Message Boards have really lost their appeal. It's usually the same self-important group of misfits  re-hashing the same negative stuff ad nauseum. Nice to hear that some of those places are dying off - a slow implosion. What little time I have, I spend over at Two Peas learning about photography and digital design. I don't participate much but I do learn a ton! The place is just oozing with talent. When given a choice, which is always, I prefer to be in happy and supportive places :) like Big Picture Scrapbooking, LOAD on Flickr and Feeling Scrappy's Sketchapalooza!

OnLine Courses are another thing that has gone by the wayside. Not so much because I don't enjoy them and don't learn a ton, but because I just don't get them done! Though, I have been tempted by some and plan to re-visit over at Big Picture Scrapbooking (my favourite place for inspiration) soon! Where do you find your online inspiration?

I have accounts with Tumblr, Formspring.me, Goodreads, YouTube, Vimeo, Posterous ... and that is where I find much of the overwhelm. Lots of learning curve and for what?

I do have a voracious appetite for learning. For that I LOVE the internet. I really enjoy how it expands my curiosity and answers so many questions floating around in my head and in our house. I can instantly answer just about any question my kids have: "what flag is red with a white cross on the left side" (Denmark); "what is the paint colour in my room" (Benjamin Moore had the answer: Labrador Blue); "what time is the hockey game"; "what is a caper, Mama?"; and on and on. Makes me feel smart! Well, at least helpful.

Sometimes it is just too much. An information battering ram. There is no time to enjoy or savour.

I have noticed a number of fellow bloggers have been suffering from the same sense of overwhelm, and in an effort to gain control and spend more time with family now that school is out or ending, they have elected to unplug for a while. Some have a definite return date; others may fall right off the grid. They are doing what works best for them.

In the next couple of weeks I'll be figuring out what works best for me. As a result, I will be making some changes to slow down, enjoy and savour. FOCUS! I just don't know what those changes will be ... yet.

Wellness Wednesday: Boost Energy

A while back I shared with you my Happiness Project intentions and outlined my end-of-April plan:

"What will I be doing between now and May? I'll continue to receive the Happiness Project blog posts into my reader, I'll use the Happiness Project Toolbox, I'll re-read the book, maybe read one of the countless books recommended in the book, put some plans in motion and who knows, maybe I'll get a head start on Boost Energy by purchasing a pair of sneakers and get a pedometer that actually works!"

As it turns out, I had good intentions but in the last few weeks I have been very occupied simply living my life (read: chauffeuring children, taking a silly number of sport photos and participating in A Week in the Life!), but my intention of starting in May remain - and I did. Just a bit late!

After reading The Happiness Project once through, and bits and pieces over again, I agree with Gretchen Rubin that the best place to start is with VITALITY. Without energy you cannot possibly be happy with anything. My kids are very active and it's a wonder since they don't get much modelling done by their parents! That has to be the first thing to change. 

I've re-read the first chapter and have made a few observations: I have to make some definite changes! The issues at the forefront that I have to address are Exercise, Sleep and Order. Even if I make a small dent, it will be an accomplishment.

EXERCISE:

On the days Cole has football practice I'm going to walk the new track at Loyola Secondary School, (which has now moved over to Blakelock Secondary School). The Loyola track is 650 paces per lap and I will make 10 laps. This will be done on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I've done it once and stopped only because my partner got tired. From now on I'll be putting on my iPod, tuning into one of my many Ted podcasts, and getting smart while I'm getting fit and ignoring the needs of my partner, this is (after all) about MY health and not about his complaints. Already, on the days I am unable to make it, I'm spending my "must watch" hour of television - The View - from 11AM to noon, on my recumbent bike. 

This may sound like a very small step, but I have been in the habit of trying to implement HUGE changes that I don't stick with for very long. It's not that there is no intent or desire, it's just that the change is too drastic or dynamic for my life. This is a very small step.

I have realized a few of my reasons/excuses over my lack of dedication to exercise:

• I hate sweating, really, I do
• Cole borrowed my sneakers and his huge feet stretched them out
• I'm too cheap to buy new runners to replace them until I'm actually wearing them regularly
• Ugh, I frustrate myself, too!
• I fail before I start with self-sabotaging thoughts that I've tried this before and failed, why would it be different this time around?
• I need to do this with Louis since he needs it more than I do (well, I quit smoking without him, so this will be no different)
• It's raining, it's too hot, you know, if the temperature is not 15C to 19C with a breeze, I'll sweat
• Or, it's snowing or there's too much ice, so it's unsafe

I'm really hoping the Nietzsche quote found in the book is right: "All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking". It's been my experience that they actually happen in the shower, with no means of recording them, but I'll embrace the walking nonetheless!

SLEEP:

Generally, I head upstairs to bed around 10PM. More often than not, I fall asleep while watching one of the dramas. I realize one of the no-no's is to have a television in your bedroom. I got into the habit when the kids were babies. Louis was almost always working out of town and I was always a bit freaked out in a dark, quiet house with new babies nursing. I put a small 13" television in my room and became quickly addicted to Columbo, Quincy and McMillan & Wife re-runs on A&E.

Since then, I've always had a TV in the room, one that remains on all.night.long. since I've not mastered the concept of hitting the sleep button. Almost every night I wake up to Dr. Ho hawking some massage device in his heavy Asian accent. Whether the television is on or not, I'm at the age where I will wake up in the middle of the night anyway. Do I turn the television off when I return to bed? No, I switch it over to the 24-hour news station!

I've added to the chaos by placing in the Master Bedroom mix: my desktop Mac, many stacks of books to read and pieces of overly-large and easily-ignored exercise equipment. Definitely an area requiring some focus!

ORDER:

Last month I fired my cleaning service for a variety of reasons. It was amicable, and they might be called back, but I really don't want to have to have someone clean up after us. It annoys my frugal nature. The kids are old enough now to manage some chores.

Messes completely freak me out. I always feel like I'm playing catch-up. I'm exhausted by some of the bad habits practised by my family! I really need things to be in order so that I can tackle some of the big things that need to be done around the house. I cannot stand the chaos of it all. Makes me crazy.

Each child has been given an area of responsibility and a few all-around chores. Instead of providing them an incentive to clean, I'm implementing a deduction approach. Not my preferred method, but hey, if they know they can't play Wii or go out with their friends maybe they might clean their rooms, right?

I'm working on the theory that some outer order will bring me some inner peace. And, I seriously need to find my favourite brush obviously "borrowed" but alas no one will claim to have it. Argh. For me, the idea of order is not to go out and buy pretty baskets, or just get things put away: the idea of order is that everything have it's rightful place and it can be found when needed. Oh to be able to locate the things in my house! I'm so tired of re-buying little things. I must have a dozen sets of nail clippers - and can never locate any.

* * * * *

So, I'm going to spend the month of May and probably all of June embracing this quote by Walt Disney:

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."

Right he is!

My Best Shot Monday: Coaching

DISCLAIMER: Rink shots are hard. The Plexiglas is marred and dirty. The lighting stinks!

Cole attended his first elite hockey tournament, ever, over the weekend. The speed and intensity of each game was not intimidating; it was invigorating. I think he was sad to see the end of each game; he loved every minute of it.

As his mum, the part I loved was watching him come off each shift and have a coach speak to him. His performance was constantly analyzed and critiqued and COMMUNICATED. A completely foreign concept and welcome change. Cole absorbed all of the information and you could see his steady improvement during all five games from Friday through Sunday. 

Heartfelt thanks to each coach for ... coaching:

I was positively giddy with delight the first few times it happened. Then I realized this is a normal part of the game.

An all new game.

I {heart} Google

This past week I discovered two things, Google things, that are WOW-worthy. Not only that, but they were easy enough for me to understand that I could, with a bit of time, figure them out and make them work properly without resorting to hair pulling or utter frustration!

BLOG READING:

I read quite a number of blogs. As quickly as I purge my Google Reader, I find new and wonderful sources of amusement and amazement and quickly fill up my newly reduced list. Google Reader is wonderful as it makes quick work of reading the up-to-100 articles waiting for me each morning. I had only one issue: I can't enjoy the whole blog experience! A great deal of effort and decision goes into blog design and Google Reader wasn't giving me the whole blog experience. I missed that. But, I didn't have time to bookmark them all and hit every blog I follow. I just want to experience, the full effect, of each blog I follow as they are updated. I thought it was an impossible dream.

My dream came true!

Last week I discovered Google Reader Goodies. This trick allows you to read all of the new articles waiting in your Google Reader queue and you get to visit each blog, quick as just reading it in Google Reader but being able to enjoy the whole  blog experience:

• Go into  your Google Reader
• Go into the Settings Tab (upper right)
• Click "Reader Settings"
• Click on the "Goodies" tab
• Click on the "Put Reader in a Bookmark" option. There is a little link that says "Next". You are going to drag that up to your bookmarks folder and drop it in. Now you have a bookmark that says "Next".

See it there in my screen shot? In between Most Visited and Google Reader? All you have to do is click it, and it takes you to the first blog in your Google Reader that has a new post. Click again, and it takes you to the next blog. It's just as fast as reading blogs in your Reader, but you get the experience of actually visiting the actual blog.

I love it!

CALENDAR:

This is an incredible tool! I'm almost dizzy with excitement over this discovery. I'm a calendar, list and logistic nut. Love me some calendar action! Much thanks goes to Cole's new hockey coach who uses this method to communicate to the 17 families on his team. I never would have realized it's potential without "having" to use it. But, the logistics of our family of 6 will benefit greatly from it's introduction into our lives.

We are forever coming and going. To keep our kids schedules straight, earlier this month I set up a "master" e-mail address which goes to both Louis computer and mine, as well as to both BlackBerry smart phones. This e-mail address is to be used ONLY for children's activities. (Thanks Janet, you are brilliant!) Each Monday, after the kids are dropped off at school and before Louis and I head to work, we would sit down and go through the calendar function to synchronize our schedules. Now, as much as I may have enjoyed our coordination and coffee time, it is now replaced, we can now just enjoy the coffee! The Google Calendar is now set up to synchronize, using our master e-mail address, to both of our BlackBerry hand helds calendar function and to the iCal program on my laptop. With a few clicks of a few buttons the logistics of our life magically arrive.

We've decided that I will be the keeper-of-the-calendar and that suits me just fine. I'm a control freak. I input and Louis analyzes and finds any and all errors. He's good at that. It's an efficiency thing. See? We balance each other well :)

I am able to follow other calendars (like sports teams, siblings, friends and children) and accept appointments into the master calendar, or not, depending upon our interest. I can link my calendar so my parents know what's going on. They will always know what questions to ask the kids :) It is fabulous! I'm sure I haven't experienced it's full potential, but what I've seen so far, I like. If you haven't yet, go poke around for a bit. I was thrilled to have discovered, and kinda figured it out!

What discoveries have you found? Do you {heart} Google as I'm learning to do? What am I missing? I'm sure there is plenty! Tell me, tell me, I need to know!

April in Review*

April came in with unseasonably high temperatures and high drama. In this case it was mama-drama: I went on strike! For the first time ever. Now, my kids are not accustomed to my temper since, thank goodness, they see it rarely, but I'd had it with the condition of the house, the condition of laundry, the condition of cooking. Love laundry :: dread cooking. It all worked out and the kids are now living with significantly less rope. We'll see how it all works out.

• Many hours were spent creating layouts for the upcoming Sketchapalooza class over at Feeling Scrappy. Have you joined up? Have you joined the facebook group?
• As a result of my "on strike" flip out, I decided to let go my weekly cleaning ladies. As in let go, completely. We are all going to be accountable for our own spaces. Fingers crossed this experiment works!
• We discovered, thanks coach, some really fabulous and state-of-the-art hockey training and Cole thrived in an environment that challenged and praised him.
• The kids were registered for summer day-camp: outrigger canoe for Cole, theatre for Chloe and robotics for Caden. Claire will be junior counsellor for the Appleby outrigger canoe camp this summer. Very exciting!
• Who knew football would be so much fun? We really enjoy watching the practices and can't wait for the games to start. I have been very busy taking photos. THAT has been a ton of fun.
• I provided some entertainment for the whole family: I sent a "reply" rather than a "forward" with some choice words, totally honest, but sometimes that's not appreciated. Ah, well. You just have to laugh!
• The baseball season has started! I love the sport as does the whole family. I use baseball to teach many lessons to my kids. In April the lesson they hear most is "the pennant can be lost in April" even though they know the pennant race is not until September. Translation: always give 100% from start to finish.
• I managed to stay away from hockey tryouts. Until the last one. Cole very conveniently forgot to pack a shinguard which I had to run up to the rink. I got there just in time and then, of course, stayed!
• Caden was signed up for flag-football only for him to realize, at one of Cole's rugby games, that he'd rather play rugby. Now I have to sign him up for that instead!
• Louis and I are huge fans of golf and hope, someday, for our kids to have the same appreciation. In order to indoctrinate we made them join us to watch The Masters tournament. It was certainly marred by the Tiger coverage/controversy, but still worth the time watching, so happy for Phil Mickelson and his victory.
• I'm totally salivating over the new iPad (I do not care about it's unfortunate name) and hoping my family thinks it would be a brilliant Mother's Day gift!
• Got the kids registered for Appleby next year, that was a lovely cheque to sign! I can't believe Chloe will be writing her entrance exam in October. We already have the study book and she's been diligently reading and practising.
• Tiger Woods is the poster boy for insincere. And arrogance.
• The loonie and the greenback were on par for the first time in ages. I felt so much less guilty for having to purchase my Week in the Life project materials from the States.
• We let go of our weekly cleaning service. There are always many reasons for this: they weren't doing a great job (you actually have to move stuff to clean things!), they were arriving so late in the day I didn't even have 5 minutes to enjoy it before my kids got home and left evidence of their presence everywhere and my kids have to learn to clean up after themselves and this may be the only way it will happen.
• Artificial ice is Cole's latest request. We should "get some for the basement, mama. That would be cool." Um, okay. I think maybe instead we'll just clean out part of the basement and set up a gym since we have all the equipment!
• Louis and I have been walking the Loyola track while Cole is at practice. We're managing 10 laps. Not bad. And, I'm taking my daily hour when I watch "The View" to ride my recumbent bike and use the elliptical. It's been a bit of a shock to my system, but so good to start!
• Under Armour is too expensive.
• Louis and I greatly enjoyed a night out playing Euchre with friends. I had forgotten how wonderful a night of cards can be and hope to do it again.
• Unity Week at Appleby was far less dramatic this year for Cole's introduction than it was two years ago when Claire had her first Unity Week. Thank goodness!
• My friends are too busy! How is it the older the kids get the less free time we have? I have to make more of an effort in the coming months to get us all together.
• Cole was invited to join the Oakville Ranger '97 AAA team. He is still walking on a cloud. What a gracious and kind group, Cole was immediately embraced by teammates and parents alike.
• We bought a dozen books for both Claire and Cole to read over the summer. Claire read the first book, 300+ pages in four hours. They better get used to visiting the library at this rate!
• Jamie Oliver has a Revolution ... in my house. Thank goodness. And thanks Jamie :) What a tremendous experience for all of my children. I've made a few things from his cookbook and hands-down my family has decided the roast chicken is the best thing they have ever eaten. Yum.
• Cole is really enjoying rugby at Appleby and it's such a joy to watch him play. I'm also enjoying all of the new photo opportunities. The key: follow the ball :)
• If I do no other scrapbooking, ever, I will take a week every year/18 months and do a Week In The Life project. So, so good. Exactly why I scrapbook.
• Claire and her Appleby softball team won their first game of the season. Appleby 23 :: Branksome 4
• We had two lovely young men (10 years old) from the St. Michael's choir school in Toronto billet with us for a couple of nights. They were out the door for 8AM and back for 9PM. Not much time to get to know them!
• There is very little in life that holds as much promise as a huge six-storey maple tree only just budding.
• Giddy? That is how I felt when Aud asked me to guest blog for her. I'm still smiling. I also appreciate the kick in the pants it provided to get some projects d.o.n.e. Thank you, Audrey!
• The Habs beat the Caps and moved into the next round of hockey playoffs. The boys were crazy excited. It was fun watching the banter between my kids and my sister (who lives in D.C.) on Facebook. Just one of the many reasons I love Facebook.
• I'm getting used to being in the house alone during the day. On so many levels: YAY.
• The Spring Purge continues to be underway. Inside and out.
• Cole was determined that I would watch Avatar. I am a bit theatre-phobic, so the minute, the minute it was available on DVD he went out to rent it. He set up the whole den organizing chairs, pouring drinks and popping three huge bowls of popcorn. We then enjoyed a lovely evening with all six of us glued to the movie. It was lovely.
• Chloe and Caden are always on their bikes. They have been exploring all over the neighbourhood. We all love the freedom they are now enjoying. Though, closer to the end of the month, the temperatures got a bit cold. Hoping for things to warm up a bit.
• Two young friends had babies; one friend decided to divorce; two family members are moving - to Oakville from Chicago and from Virginia to Washington State!
• Glee returned!

April was full. We anticipate an equally fun and busy May. Why? 3on3 hockey starts for Caden; football and rugby continue, with some hockey thrown in for Cole; Chloe will finish up her choir season with a performance or two; Claire has her school softball where she participates on the varsity team and coaches the middle school team; Louis is busy working so I'll be busier chauffeuring; May heralds the start of my Happiness Project, LOAD and Sketchapalooza; my step-sister moves to Oakville with her family mid-month; our annual Mother's Day brunch will be held in Toronto and I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone. That is all I know at this point, but I'm sure there will be plenty more to include by the end of the month!

* I used to call these lessons, but over time this post has become a summary of my month. The good, the bad, the just plain crazy of it all. I no longer write about what was learned, just what was experienced and done with a few of the lessons thrown in. Sometimes just getting it documented is enough :)

Are you ready?

Tomorrow it starts!

I'm giddy with anticipation!

What am I talking about?

I'm participating, with many others, in the Ali Edwards inspired Week In The Life project as I mentioned here last month.

The preparations are as complete as they can be, and I think I'm ready to go:

DESIGN:

After much internal debate, I've decided to go with the colour combination I currently love: gray and orange. Maybe not particularly spring-like, but they really appeal to me right now. As a result, with much help from my Facebook friends (thanks Barb, Michelle and Moon) to go with the now discontinued Basic Grey Ambrosia papers. Well, the papers I could find. Here in Canada. Easily. (read: so NOT easy, or economical!). Just one more example of how I never do anything the easy way :)

The format will be very basic, following and repeating after the introductory page each day will have:

Left Side: Large Photo, Daily Journal
Insert: Trading Card Pages with 9 slots for 2.5"x3.5" Photos/Printed Paper/Journal Cards/Ephemera
Right Side: Photo Collage, Weather Report

MATERIALS:

1 - 12x12 American Crafts Album with 8 - Page Protectors
7 - 8.5x11 Trading Card Pages (borrowed from Caden, shhhh!)
8 - Basic Grey Ambrosia
8 - Bazzill Thunder Cardstock
8 - Bazzill Orange (from stash, no idea of colour) Cardstock
16 - Bazzill White Orange Peel Cardstock
Embellishments: Buttons, Brads, Ink, Butterflies
Fonts: American Typewriter, Aquarelle, Eras Medium ITC

I also made up a few journaling cards to include in the Sport Card Protectors, these are based off of the Simple Woman's Daybook:

I am thankful for
I am thinking
I am reading
I am hoping
I am eating
I am learning
I am wearing
I am hearing
I am buying
I am planning
I am watching
In the news
The price of gas
I have discovered
I am enjoying

These will be added in to each day as I think of things, some will be repeated, some may not be used at all.

EQUIPMENT:

I've got my batteries charged for both my goof-proof Canon G10 which will come with me everywhere, as always, in my bag; and for my DSLR Canon 40D which is a little more cumbersome, and more intimidating to those I'm trying to photograph!

I bought brand new ScanDisk cards for each camera. Plenty of memory to fill!

I've got my mini Moleskine gridded notebook and pencil all ready to go in order to take notes of the minutia and details that make my week uniquely mine.

PLAN:

I've developed a list of potential "photo ops" which include things like:

• the convertible - top down!
• kites flying/frisbee throwing
• exercise routine/pedometer
• the tree: daily to see the leafing progress
• signs of spring
• playing in puddles
• garden centre
• weather changes
• spring cleaning
• bags of goods for charity bins
• books we're reading
• kids with faces soaking up the sun
• trip to the creek/park/harbour

I've organized my calendar so meals are pre-prepared, or easier than usual, so that I can focus on this project.

I've pre-formatted all the scrapbook pages - in 12x12 size - in Microsoft Word (I know I have a Mac, but I couldn't give up the Microsoft software) so that they are all ready to go with no messing around with margins or colours. I'm only messing around with journaling and photos.

In addition, I've been going through my last album and tweaking some of my plans for this album. It looks like a few others have been doing the same:

Ali Edwards at Ali Edwards

Aby Garvey guest posting at Ali Edwards

Sharyn Carlson at Living Artfully

Evalyn @ Pieces of Me

Jennifer Wilson @ simple scrapper

EXECUTION:

I am hoping to have the album printed up and put together early next week. I'm learning the longer it stays on the "to do" list, the less likely it will get done. Since I do not *gasp* edit my photos the process should be very quick:

Monday/26: Choose and take photos to developer, start journaling
Tuesday/27: Finish journaling, collect developed photos
Wednesday/28: Crop and place photos, plan the "pretty"
Thursday/29: Add the "pretty" and photograph all pages
Friday/30: Post photos here on the blog and onto the Facebook group

Part of the execution process will include posting selected photos and journaling here on the blog in order to keep my memories fresh - and to share with you, of course! From here I can choose the photos to include, and the stories can be simply cut-and-pasted into the prepared template. Whoot!

GLITCH:

Because there always has to be one or two, right? Late last week I received a note telling me that my order from A Cherry On Top was cancelled because of a miscommunication with PayPal. That order had all of my embellishments, you know, all the fun stuff, for the project!! I finally managed to work it out, I thought only to realize it wasn't, and the order was not shipped. So, now things are "in process" and should be here within 2-6 weeks. Canada is "international" after all :) So much for being organized, nothing ever goes smooth when you have everything in place. 

POTENTIAL GLITCH:

The brilliant and talented Ali Edwards is designing new digital elements for this project! Drat, I've only just re-worked all of my previous project to incorporate the new colours and new fonts. Can I just ignore them? Or will I venture over to Designer Digitals to check them out when they're introduced this weekend? Will I be able to resist? Will I want to? Oh, the temptation!

ETA: I did check out the new design and I have to say, I'm happy to stay with my "old" design. And, THRILLED to see that I managed to come up with my quick and easy journaling cards without even seeing those done by the brilliant Ali Edwards! Okay, it's a small accomplishment, but I'm remarkably pleased with myself.

What do you think? Are you in? Are you ready? Even if you're not, you have all day today to get ready. You won't regret it!

I can't wait. Even my photo-phobic kids are excited!

March Lessons

The kids (in this case Claire and Cole) decided the kitchen was the best place for fun. Eek! You want to know double eek? Cole can now lift, with very little effort, his sister, up and over his shoulder. Crazy!

March was unseasonably snow-free and very busy; there was something happening every day and my Blackberry was constantly buzzing with reminders to go here, there and everywhere. The month came in on a viciously negative note which managed to dissipate as March wore on much to my relief. Our family handles things much better when common sense prevails and positivity reigns supreme. And it does now! Whoot!

• Cole got the part of "Chad" in the school production of High School Musical!
• Chloé and the Oakville Children's Choir enjoyed an afternoon performance at the Oakville Centre where Cadence performed.
• Caden had a wonderful season with the Red Knights and made many friends on his team. They didn't win the season, but he learned a lot this year. Thank goodness for patient and kind coaching.
• I'm enjoying the Feeling Scrappy Facebook Group. Have you joined? If not ... head on over, have some fun with us! I'm also posting on the blog. 
• Spring Break arrived for the Olders on March 5th and lasted a remarkably long time, until I took them back on March 23rd!
• Broke out the flip flops. I know Spring is not really here, but it feels like it is. Well, it did through the first of the month, we've been dipping below zero the last few days!
• Read, no ... ABSORBED The Happiness Project - as a book, as a website/blog, as a reading group.
• I have kept up with, though not posted (next project) all of my Photos-of-the-Day for 2010. This has been such a brilliant exercise, it's my second year in and I enjoy it more now than ever before.
• We so enjoyed the Oscars, LOVED Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin and Neil Patrick Harris. LOVED watching Sandra Bullock win. Sad for her current troubles but not in the least bit surprised. You know, that leopard-spots thing.
• LOVED being able to go to the park ... in MARCH! The kids really enjoyed the monkey bars, the swings and watching the skateboard boys.
• I am becoming increasingly mindful and certainly more focused as the days go by. Yay for productivity and having fun.
• Dancing with the Stars is fun; American Idol is not; Survivor and Amazing Race is on and I haven't seen either all month!
• Finally figured out Podcasts in iTunes and on my iPod. Just loaded up all of the Ted Talks. Yay me! Now to find the time to listen to them all.
• Claire wore me down ... side bangs. And she looks GREAT. Do you know why? Because she's 14 and looks great in anything with any haircut :)
• Not only am I participating on the Feeling Scrappy Facebook page, but I've managed to design 6 brand new sketches and layouts for Sketchapalooza 6 in May. Have you joined yet?
• Cole is now a certified babysitter. All day at a course with his buddy Aidan. And the class was mostly made up of boys. So much for meeting girls over March Break!
• The girls enjoyed a wonderful week in Florida with my parents!
• Claire really enjoyed the Marianas Trench concert with her friend Marley. Such a great band!
• Man Month was only a week, but it really felt like a whole month. Love my boys, but I like the calm (and the clean) the girls help provide when they're around.
• Cole and his Ranger hockey team won the Tri-County title and with that the season is over.
• I started planning my Week In The Life project. LOVE planning goodness!
• Chloé participated in the Toronto Choir Festival and had a wonderful time. The girls (and boys, but mostly girls) left Oakville at 8:30AM and arrived back at 9:30PM after a full day of singing and shopping.
• Earth Hour was a bit of a dud with half the kids away. It was nowhere near as much fun.
• My step-sister and husband bought a house here in town and will be moving their family up from Chicago by mid-May. I am thrilled to have family here in town for the first time in ever, and our kids are thrilled to see their cousins.
• Caden loves his new do, and I love the fact we now have our own clippers and I can clean him up anytime I want. Even better? He will let me.
• I re-introduced myself to my artsy-crafty side and it was kind of nice, more than kinda, it was energizing and such a thrill! I will have to do much more in the very near future. Plus, I'm determined to master that &*%#^ glue gun!
• Caden and Chloé attended a bunch of birthday parties. Was everyone born in March of 1999 and 2000?
• Cole is now a defensive lineman on the Titans football team, or at least, that's where they've put him right now. Other than the rugburn he gets from the turf, he really seems to be enjoying himself. Not only is he playing football and rehearsing for the school play, he's joined the U14 Rugby team as well as playing 3on3 hockey, hockey conditioning camp and dry land training. Busy, much? This kid thinks he's an only child :)
• We watched Up in the Air and it was incredibly, scarily, reminiscent of our lives then before our life now.
• Both Claire and Cole are required to earn volunteer hours each school year. Claire was well on her way, but Cole, with his crazy hockey and sport schedule was well short of his target. So to fix the problem, they spent most of Saturday and Sunday of MOHA Awards Week getting food donations and helping the on-ice activities over at River Oaks arena.
• So cool to be featured on a blog I love so much. Carolyn Rubenstein is such an inspiration.
• As part of an experiment I made an effort to get into a sleep/wake routine - 5 days in a row. Until I got sick, I was going gangbusters for two days :) I will endeavour to attempt the experiment again when this cold goes away with one change: I'll get up at 6AM rather than 5AM. I really need that extra hour!
• The boys enjoyed the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. Everyone enjoyed Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland!
• I love finding new songs on my iPod. I know they're there because I get an e-mail from iTunes telling me that my kids have downloaded and gives me my remaining balance. This month, I found and enjoyed: this song, this one and this one. It is so nice to share a love of music with my kids, er, Cole. Claire listens to much more edgy stuff.

April brings with it better weather, I hope, as I'm anxious to drive the convertible without a sweater! It also brings the deadline for tuition for the olders to attend their school next year and taxes. Conditioning camp will bring me to Canlan Ice Sports ... daily! I'm also starting a weekly photo challenge with my on-line friend Shirley. Even more fun? I've been asked to take photos for Cole's football team and I hope they move outside, I'm anxious to try my hand (or train my eye) at a new sport. Plenty of pleasant distraction. Distraction from what? With April we also welcome full-blown silly season where parents get NUTSO about their hockey playing kids. Yes, it is tryout season. This year I think I'll let Louis go to the tryouts and I'll just stay home waiting for the phone call!

Bursting Free (or cracking up!)

The image above reflects how I've been feeling this past month.

It is scary.

It is invigorating.

It is about time.

:)

*8 Things: On-Line Magazines

Once I heard the news that the brilliant Ali Edwards was being featured in the April edition of Real Simple magazine, I knew I had to buy a copy. Why is this a big deal? I've not purchased a copy of that magazine since my subscription ran out almost two years ago. I just wasn't getting a lot out of it. As a matter of fact, with the exception of the odd purchase of a scrapbook magazine (which are getting worse and more redundant each month) I haven't purchased a magazine in a year or more. I tend to read my magazines on-line in some form or another. It appeals to my need to reduce the paper consumption in my house!

As for the questions "how do I remember everything?" or "how do I file everything?" or "how do you store everything?" the simple answer is: I don't. If I can't remember it, it's not worth remembering. Or, if instructions are required, I bookmark and file it. See? No physical clutter! Whoot :)

The Online Magazines I read, or have sent to my e-mail are:

Real Simple: though after reading the April special edition (which had a measly one column dedicated to Ali Edwards) I may pick up another copy to keep in the car. Mind you, it was the 10th Anniversary edition and there was a ton of brilliant stuff inside.

Martha Stewart Living: I was "off" Martha for a while, too much perfect. I couldn't even try to keep up! But you know, she has an incredible team and my kids are loving the recipes I've taken from her site and I love her book on crafts.

Canadian House and Home: I receive this in hard copy as a Christmas gift from my step-mum. I love reading it for the Canadian content as well as one of the girls with whom I attended elementary school is now the Editor!

Oprah: I love Oprah. I know many don't, and you're entitled, but she is really amazing. I used to get her magazine until I realized they were just being stacked in piles. Once you consider purchasing baskets or any other container to store magazines you have to throw them out!

Body & Soul: Is such a wonderful publication. The paper used, the photographs, the design. I feel like I've gone on a holiday while sitting still! Gorgeous. And, plenty of great content, too!

Prevention: Yes, because I'm that old. Great articles with solid advice, whether I take that advice or not is a completely different story!

Vanity Fair: has been, consistently, my favourite magazine for years, since way back in the early '80s. The articles are fascinating, the columns controversial and thought provoking and the photographs are delicious!

Canadian Scrapbooker: I do wish there was more content on-line since the magazine is so incredibly difficult to find here in town. I might just be forced to get a subscription. It is a quarterly magazine, much like my loved Artful Blogging. I don't know if they qualify as magazines, but they're both wonderful and filled with information I find helpful and engaging. (I know, #8 is a bit of a cheat, but since they're quarterly, it's kind of not, right? I'll use it as my first mulligan since golf season is almost here!)

Hmm, I think I'm going to have to re-evaluate. Now that I've typed it all out, I've realized just how much I've missed the tactile thrill of flipping through the pages of each publication! The portability is also a plus. Maybe moderation is key, not elimination?

Wellness Wednesday: My Happiness Project

I think it is my need for structure and order that appeals to me most about Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. I had been reading her blog for quite some time but didn't "get it" until I read her brilliant book. I took my time reading it for two reasons: I wanted to absorb the content between each chapter; and, I was invited to join a lovely group of insightful and honest women on a virtual book club. It became my parking lot book - that book you bring with you while you wait for your kids.

I shall endeavour to embark on a similar journey, my time line will be a bit different, but I think it is a worthwhile project to embrace and complete. Not only worth while, it will be economical and a bit of a personal improvement stay-cation. I appreciate the structured approach. My premise is very similar to that of Gretchen Rubin, I am, in general, a very content person. I'd say on a scale of 10 that I would be firmly at an 8 with a "glass is half full" attitude as well as a general need to always look at the bright side. Like her, I can make my surroundings far more pleasant by making some subtle and not-so-subtle changes in my attitude and approach to people and events. In fact, I took the Authentic Happiness Inventory Test and here are my results: 

I have to admit, when I left the crazy corporate world of grocery domination to became a full-time mama and *choke* suburban soccer mom (with nary a soccer player in the house) I made a conscious effort to do many of the projects outlined in the book, though in nowhere near as organized a fashion. My rules were very simple:

1. Smile
2. Say only nice things or remain silent
3. Do one thing out of my comfort zone each week
4. Engage with others in similar situation and learn from them
5. Get involved

For the most part I have continued to follow those rules, with varying degrees of success, over the last 12 years. I got off the plane from Calgary with a new attitude and a determination to accept whatever our new life had to offer.

It is time to re-evaluate my successes and failures and to do that I'd like to use The Happiness Project as my guideline. So, bear with me as I use my Wellness Wednesday posts to outline my plan. At least here on the blog I'm guaranteed to be able to locate it again! My laptop is currently exploding with projects, plans and ideas in many stages of incomplete.

By using the book, as well as the notes I made in the book, the Reading Guide I received a few weeks ago, conversations with the ladies in the virtual book club, I plan to rediscover my happy :)

I am not a tremendous believer in Resolutions that have to be made On January 1st or the first day of school; nor do I believe you have to start an endeavour at the beginning of a month or even the beginning of the week. I will follow a monthly outline as that is how the book is structured, but Gretchen Rubin's January will be my May.

Are you thinking: Lee, look at the calendar, why wait? Why not start in April?

Well, April, for me, is silly season, it is stressful and I don't know that I can focus on anything as big and potentially rewarding as the Energy & Vitality portion of my own personal Happiness Project while I'm nervously pacing and downing glasses of wine! What in the world is going on here, you may wonder? Hockey tryouts, aka the mean season. When bold faced lies are told and people forget that they are parents and their children are not pawns.

What I will do in April is pay attention. I will be more aware of myself, my actions and more, my reactions. I will use this month to focus on GETTING STARTED.

GETTING STARTED

The first 14 pages of the book are dedicated to the structure of getting started. Gretchen Rubin's journey started by a question asked, on a rainy day while sitting in a city bus:

"What do I want from my life, anyway?"

Her answer was "Well ... I want to be happy."

As I read along I realized how similar, yet different, our situations were.

DIFFERENT: I do not live in New York City, I do not have a law degree, I am not a published author, I do not have two adorable little girls, I do not have family close by (well not in the same city let alone the next block).

SIMILAR: Our likes and dislikes are very similar, her "be Gretchen" is very much like my "be Lee"; we are both hitting a midlife malaise; we both have a feeling that something is missing and a desire to be grateful for the ordinary.

Her comment: "I needed to find a way to do it here and now. I needed to change the lens through which I viewed everything familiar", spoke to me. Screamed from the page. Not only am I a visual person and amateur photographer, it was exactly it. Exactly what I had been feeling for months. She then continued with "I wasn't as happy as I could be, and my life wasn't going to change unless I made it change". Wow. I'm in that exact same space.

But I don't want to change so much that I'm no longer me, I just want to improve the good and put less focus on the bad. How could I change, be more observant, be more mindful, be more aware and remain myself?

I was relieved to read that in her effort to "find happiness" we had read many similar books, magazines and articles. Plato, Boethius, Thoreau, Tolstoy ... Oprah, Julie Morgenstern, Malcolm Gladwell, Dalai Lama, Flylady (Marla Cilley). And there were plenty of books listed which I had never considered!

Though GR's use of charts and score systems is a bit more regimented and compulsive than I'm comfortable doing ... scorekeeping is not something I do well in the literal or figurative sense! I'm far more comfortable in the knowledge of improvement than the need for empirical proof of that improvement. That being said, we are similar in that I do love lists!

LISTS

One of her lists is her TWELVE COMMANDMENTS. I have to admit, after reading the book through, she and I have very similar interests and temperament. I am no where near as regimented as she is, but then again, I am not a lawyer or published author. Perhaps there is more here for me to learn, eh?

Anyway, from her commandments, I was able to extract these to add to mine:

• Be me
• Let it go
• Act the way I want to feel
• Do it now
• Enjoy the process
• Lighten Up
• Do what ought to be done
• There is only love
  

I still have to work on my additional commandments. I rejected these:

#5: Be polite and be fair which I'm sure is admirable, but it has been my experience that "be polite" translates into evade at best and lie at worst; and, "be fair" generally means let the other guy win. I would probably replace this with: be honest, not confrontational or judgmental

#7: Spend out may be a valid commandment, but if I can't understand what it means immediately upon reading, it doesn't help me.

#8: Identify the problem should just be a way of life, not a commandment. With four active kids there is plenty of problem identification and it has become second-nature to identify and deal.

#11: No calculation is how I live my life so this commandment has no meaning.

Of course, to me, the commandment by which I live my life is "do unto others as you would have others do unto you" which, surprisingly, can get you into a lot of trouble when those around you do not follow or even understand that concept. Somehow I'll figure out how to shorten that and add it to my list - way at the top! Oh, and Carpe Diem has to be there as well :)

I hope that by the end of my adventure I will be able to produce for you a well considered list of personal commandments. Do you have any for yourself? A motto or creed you live by?

In addition to her commandments, she wrote down a list she calls SECRETS OF ADULTHOOD which you can find on her blog: here. Her one secret I love, and tell my kids over and over again: If you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough. I must be trying very hard, every day! I wouldn't have it any other way! This is one project I'm happy to compile as I have a ton of little 'truisms' I've collected over the years.

Like Gretchen Rubin, I'm not interested in extraordinary change. I am equally not interested in rejecting my life. I am looking to tweak what I already have. What I have is wonderful. I suppose I want to appreciate what I have more, and like Gretchen Rubin, I think if I "felt happier, I"d behave better." This, MY Happiness Project is not about wholesale changes, but more about minor improvements and simple awareness.

One aspect where she and I diverge is at the very end of Getting Started; on page 14, the last paragraph she writes: "One of my goals for the happiness project was to prepare for adversity ... I didn't want to wait for a crisis to remake my life". Good for her to prepare.

I was not. prepared. at. all.

Three major crisis have happened to our little family in the 12 years since I made my simple rules: Louis had Cancer (malignant, surgically removed in 1998); Caden was in a coma for almost 3 weeks, during SARS, as he almost drown (2003); and, I had a near-death heart infection the week after Caden was born (2000). Maybe one of my commandments should be: pick your battles as I know what a real battle is all about.

So that I am better prepared for any future crisis, it is time to get things in order.

Following the formula set out in The Happiness Project, this is my plan:

MAY: Boost Energy Vitality

JUNE: Remember Love Marriage

JULY: Aim Higher Work

AUGUST: Lighten Up Parenthood

SEPTEMBER: Be Serious About Play Leisure

OCTOBER: Make Time for Friends Friendship

NOVEMBER: Buy Some Happiness Money

DECEMBER: Contemplate the Heavens Eternity

JANUARY: Pursue a Passion Books

FEBRUARY: Pay Attention Mindfulness

MARCH: Keep a Contented Heart Attitude

APRIL: Boot Camp Perfect Happiness

What will I be doing between now and May? I'll continue to receive the Happiness Project blog posts into my reader, I'll use the Happiness Project Toolbox, I'll re-read the book, maybe read one of the countless books recommended in the book, put some plans in motion and who knows, maybe I'll get a head start on Boost Energy by purchasing a pair of sneakers and get a pedometer that actually works!

Are you participating in the Happiness Project? Do you do something similar all by yourself? Who inspires you?

Up By My Bootstraps!

Last week was particularly stressful. I imagine it was just the start of a stressful few weeks.

You know the kind of stress you cannot avoid? Circumstances demand that you endure the situation. Though it is short-term in nature it is incredibly intense and mean-spirited. 

Now, those of you who know me well are wondering what the hell I'm doing as you well know I don't have the patience or constitution for crap and bullshit and extricate myself as quickly as possible from confrontational or negative situations. Oh, how I hate drama. So to you lovelies, I promise you, if I could get away, I would. Truly.

Since it is a situation I cannot change, I will focus on the positive.

Onward, right?

My lovely friend Cheri is reading Simple Abundance and last week made some really lovely, spirit-lifting posts, based on the exercises outlined for those days. (I have the book and am seriously considering reading the daily essays and participating as instructed!)

There were two exercises that piqued my interest which boil down to acceptance of self: body and character. I have to tell you, I balked a bit (as Cheri did) regarding the "body" acceptance part, but the character acceptance part was far easier to celebrate. I suppose the really hard part was coming up with a list of TEN THINGS. Oh my! So, I gave it a shot:

Ten Things I LOVE About My Body:

My hair: It is very fine and very thick, with just enough bend to make it go any way I want it to. I have almost always dyed it some shade of red, and I had that insane blonde period last year. I am now embracing the gray. I wonder what texture and colour it will end up being?

My eyes: It took a long time to accept the fact that I was the only child in my family with brown eyes. Growing up with blonde hair and brown eyes was considered odd and I did get teased. I was happy for the onset of puberty when my hair got darker and I didn't look quite that different. I learned to love my brown eyes which are a chocolate brown shade. The only outward hint that I'm angry? They go from a warm chocolate brown to a dark chocolate brown - like all the sweet has been removed :)

My smile: I am often smiling and have many reasons to do so during the course of any given day. Even when I'm not having a particularly good day, I try to smile in spite of it all :) You know, release all those happy endorphins and all that. The key? Smile so it reaches your eyes. Everyone responds to smiling eyes!

My hands: I have very strong hands. My hands are rarely at rest: if I'm not typing or clicking, I'm cleaning or folding, washing or cooking or creating layouts or taking photos or holding hands with my children or helping them use a knife to cut vegetables or pushing them on a swing.

My skin: with the exception of the psoriasis which has gone crazy this winter - uh, yeah, stress does that to a person - my skin is young. Relatively speaking, of course. You know how with women you can tell their age by their neck or their hands, or even the skin by their ears? Mine is still somewhat taught, wrinkle-free and youthful. Ironically, while I was always considered older when I was a teen/young adult, now that I'm in my mid-forties many people guess me to be in my late-thirties. Perhaps now that I'm going gray I can finally just be my age!

My laugh: though not necessarily a body part, it is an integral part of my body. I can't imagine going through a day, not even a couple of hours, without a raucous belly laugh. I only laugh when something is funny and I'm blessed to be able to find so much fun in my days.

My belly: yes, the one with the laugh. It is also the belly that held itself together long enough for me to give birth to four kids in five years! Not something I'd recommend attempting with a 30+ year old body, but the resulting children is worth all of the residual health and weight issues.

My ass: Over the years, along with my belly it has become HUGE! But boy, in a cold rink it really comes in handy. Not only is it a wonderful cushion but it generates a lot of heat and some lucky person is always happy to sit next to me to stay warm :)

My legs: well, really my legs of 1986, which, when I look in a full length mirror (rarely) I still have :)

My height: I have always been tall and at 5'11" I am substantially taller than most of the women and many of the men I meet. Years ago when I modelled, my height was wonderful. In the '80s it was the thing to wear impossibly high heels and impossibly short skirts and I was able to do it. It took years of too short pants and sleeves, but now I like my height.

For a very long time, a very long time ago, my body defined much of who I was. Why not? It was rocking and I had all the time in the world and no responsibilities! At all. My body got me jobs, my body got me deals, my body got me noticed; now it shields me, it protects my children, it protects my marriage. Same woman. Different packages.

What ten things do you love about your body? Tell me!

I am really starting to feel better. There is much to be said for focusing on the positive with brutal honesty.  Owning it is truly cathartic.

Now, here is the second part of the exercise.

Ten Things I LOVE About My Character:

I'm Nurturing: The only thing I ever wanted to be was a mum. Not just a mum, but a GREAT mum. Reality dawned this year that I no longer had a maternal roadmap. As my daughter reached the age of 14, I realized I never had a mother past that point. But I have had incredible role models. There is nothing more important than to provide kids with confidence, structure, acceptance, opportunity and love. My kids have taught me that I can't just talk the talk I have to walk the talk. And I do. And they're fabulous.

I'm Conservative: This is not a political statement; though, I suppose it could be. At any rate, I'm very reserved, if not formal. There is a proper way to do things and I believe in social norms. I'm not as rigid as "children should be seen and not heard" but I do believe children have their place and that is not as my equal. I believe in lines. Things only get confused when lines are blurred. I believe in respect. I believe in responsibility. My reserve is often seen as rigid, snobby or difficult. It is what it is and I'm happy to err on quiet and reserved than the alternative.

I'm Optimistic: I prefer to believe that the glass is half full. Though I do have a temper, one of those slow to boil simmering tempers that sometimes boils over and I have made the occasional inopportune snarky comment, usually to someone who doesn't know me well, it only happens when the negative energy around me becomes unbearable. I re-adjust by thinking positive thoughts. Doing positive things.

I'm Curious: Never did I ever think THAT would be something I would ever write down about myself. Growing up in my incredibly WASP* world the idea that you would *gasp* ask a question was more than frowned upon, it was discouraged at every opportunity. I remember the day I announced I was going to be a journalist. I thought my mother was not going to recover, she went from pale to green to gray to white to "no". But the fact of the matter is I'm interested. Now I ask.

I'm Observant: As a result of my crazy WASP* upbringing, I learned to really watch people. I learned to listen to conversations, not necessarily engage in them. I learned to recognize evil comments draped in charm and smiles. Often in uncomfortable situations I feel myself reverting to that younger, less confident observer-self, in sheer fascination at how mean spirited and cruel some people can be, especially to their "friends".

I am Patient: I'm patient when it counts. This is a skill I am still learning. Patience is not something I believe is a part of the natural human condition; like sharing, it is a societal demand, it is something learned. I am patient enough wait and see what my kids will be when they grown up: I'm not patient when my kids have not put their hockey equipment on the "trees" to dry. Patience and Curiosity are natural enemies and they are (currently) warring in my heart!

I am Honest: but, in the words of my son, Cole (who chose this particular character trait ... I got stuck at #6) "you're honest but you're not mean when you're honest, what is the word for that?" My response: it just is. When I say things it is because it is. Sometimes my honesty timing leaves a bit to be desired, but it is never meant with malice. In my former life, when I was a "big shot", one of my clients called me a Mensch. NOTHING in my life, career-life or family-life has ever been that complimentary to me or as descriptive of my character.

I am Resilient: I have learned by cruel experience that I am like a Weeble. Remember those: "weebles wabble but they don't fall down?" That's me. I find that in my dogged pursuit of doing the "right thing" at all costs, in most circumstances there are many obstacles. I stay focused on the end result. Some times, I recognize that the end result isn't worth all the knocks, but more often than not, it is. Especially when it comes to my kids.

I am Creative: and though I often wish I were more creative in more ways, I find when faced with the creative road blocks of my friends, I really pull out the stops and am able to come up with all manner of wonderful things! Right now, personally, I'm fighting with my natural reserve and my entrepreneurial spirit. I'm rooting that creativity wins :)

I am Kind: Given all that, at the end of the day, I am kind. I consider the feelings of others. I treat those who treat me well with respect and kindness. I know my friends and I treat them well, they bring out the very best in me. I give of my time and I give of my expertise. I'm thoughtful and generous. If there is only one trait to have, this would be the best one in the bunch.

All in all, at the end of every day, I am a work in progress, for that I am immensely fortunate. I don't have all the answers and perfect is boring. I am always learning and I am always flawed. I like myself that way. For someone always active in something, it's always nice to know there is something to work on!

*NOTE: There is no actual AS blood running through my veins. The AS in WASP of course, stands for Anglo-Saxon, which I cannot claim to be, not even one drop. I am Celt: Scots and Irish. All of me, oh, with a dollop of German and a titch of French. But, alas, no Anglo Saxon.

Well, that was a very cathartic exercise. Thanks so much for bearing with my "all about me" post. I didn't realize when I started that it would be this long ... or this revealing! I feel much better about myself and my current sorry situation. I can handle it. I always do. Every once in a while you just have to know what you know about yourself and call on your character reserves to bring you through.

Thanks for being along for the ride!

Join in! What are your body and character traits you love about yourself? Share!

And, if you just need a pick-me-up and engage your creativity at the same time, head on over to Kind Over Matter and see what beautiful and positive affirmations they have waiting for you, me, all of us!

And, if you are like me and have been sliding in under the covers a bit too much lately, join us over at Lifehack and wake up early! It's a 5-day challenge he's proposed, starting Monday morning. For me? At 5AM!

Staying on "Auto"

I am a good photographer.

I have a good eye.

I know what I like.

I know how to convert what I see to what gets captured.

I have taken plenty of courses and read plenty of websites, books and blogs.

I am a member of Flickr, Picassa and Photobucket.

I own a great goof-proof point-and-shoot Canon G10.

I own a great serious-hobbyist DSLR Canon 40D and a collection of lenses, my favourite being my Canon 50mm 1.4

I own and can even use Photoshop Elements.

I admire great photographs.

I admire great snapshots.

All of that being said, I have recently come to a conclusion that has surprised me. I prefer to stay on Auto.

I thought for the longest time that taking photos on auto that I was "cheating". Maybe I was too "lazy" to do the "work" involved. I have finally realized that I take photos because I like taking photos. I take photos of my children, of their activities, of my everyday experiences. I enjoy taking photos of the things around me that make me happy. I enjoy taking photos for other people because they don't take photos and their kids are always commenting on how lucky my kids are to have so many pictures and layouts. Sometimes I take photos for my friends because they think I must be good because I have the right equipment ;) 

So, as a result of many lessons I've learned, and continue to learn, while reading The Happiness Project, part of "Be Lee" is to let go of the expectations I have put on myself to be more, or to do the endless list of "shoulds" in life. Just because I'm a good photographer with good equipment doesn't mean staying in "auto" is cheating. After all, staying in auto lets me capture memories while they are happening, no re-enactment required and time to create even more. There is no right or wrong way to capture a memory but in many ways, emphasis on how to take the photo can become another distraction from getting my stories told.

In the photo above, see that icon, the one with the line through the lightening bolt? That is how I take 99% of all of my photos now. The only time I adjust the camera is when I'm in a low light-high movement situation, like the rink or in a gym.

Because I am no longer thinking about adjusting white balance, aperture, exposure, and all that other mumbo-jumbo, I can experiment with angles, lighting and composition. I'm happy to stick with the fun stuff!! I'm not going to be a professional photographer and I'm so happy to finally give myself permission to stay on "auto".

Tell me, do you have hobbiest photographer's guilt? Do you feel pressure to move off auto? Is there something wrong to simply settle on "auto"?

Living in the Age of Distraction

I am a HUGE fan of Leo Babauta over at Zen Habits. Very clearly he lives his talk and I greatly appreciate his dedication to his life, understanding and improving it regularly. What I appreciate more is that he shares his philosophy. One of my greatest wishes would be to adhere to his guidelines far more closely.

In his entry on Friday, he wrote How to Reclaim Your Attention which got me thinking. Yes, warning, I'm thinking again! I was amazed at how many of his points rang true, and that my children hear, but I don't practice, regularly or at all.

According to Leo's formula, here is how to reclaim your attention:

1. Limit your friends. Not real-life friends, but social network and blogging and forum friends. Not that these can’t be good relationships, but having too many makes them meaningless. And each friend will take up a little bit of your attention — when you read their updates, click on their links, reply to their messages, look at their photos, and so on. The more you have, the more attention they’ll require. Limit them to just the essential.

This is one I practice, regularly. I found this to be an interesting comment, especially since it is the one that opens Leo's list, surely by design. I have limited my friends (both in "real life" and on line) so that I can focus more on the meaningful relationships around me. I've limited my message board participation as it's true, the more people you know, the less meaningful the relationships. In "real life" I have no doubt that I can be considered rude by some since I do not engage, but the reality is that I am simply being silent, listening and discerning whether or not I'm interested in further engagement. In certain situations I've been silent for months! Oh, and I can be very blunt. Always honest. But sometimes blunt and honest is not the best way to win over people :) This point is one of the constant battles with my children. It came easily to me to limit myself, my kids want to participate in the "more friends" contest on social networking sites. Claire and Cole are super social, so I've limited them to 150 friends and 200 in total (the other 50 are relatives of which we have oodles!). I'm at 300 in total and I have many more years of life and knowing people, though, I do feel a purge coming on! For a wonderful commentary on being on-line and judgment of choices read: here.

2. Limit your feeds. Blog subscriptions, newsletters, other updates and news subscriptions and so on. Limit them to a handful of essentials, and let the rest go. The more you have, the more attention they require.

Ooh, I struggle with this one! Another one "limited" to 300. I quickly scan through all of them every day. Usually I wake to 80+ feeds to read and at the end of the day there are about 60+ feeds. That's a lot of reading, but since I'm just scanning, I only stop and read those that really capture my attention. I struggle with deciding which is essential since some are essential just at different times.

3. Limit your communication time. Going into your email inbox? Just give yourself 10 minutes to read, reply, delete, and get out. Going to do Twitter? Give yourself 5 minutes. Seriously, set up a timer. Don’t let these things take up all your attention.

There are many different philosophies about this, but I've limited it so much that the only one that demands my immediate attention is our family e-mail which is the one that comes to my blackberry and only a handful of people have. I give myself 15 minutes to reply to the comments here on the blog. I really do not use Twitter and am considering closing my account. I've just discovered Tumblr and Formspring.me which take almost none of my time.

4. Give up on news. It’s a never-ending cycle. And if you’ve paid attention to the news as long as I have (I’m a former journalist), you know it’s all the same, year after year. Unless your job depends on it, the news is usually a waste of your attention. Let go of the need to stay updated. Even if your job does depend on it, keep it limited.

I'm a news junkie! This will be hard, but he's right.

5. Be brief. Write brief emails, tweets, updates, blog posts. With some exceptions, of course. But make brief your de facto. Read more.

I do try to do this but I can be a bit ... verbose. At least I do make an effort to be entertaining!

6. Give your attention to the important. This is the crucial part: choose what you give your attention to, and do this choosing carefully. What is important to you? Writing? Photography? Design? Coding? Creating a new business that helps others? Your kids? Figure this out, and give this the majority of your attention.

This is something I really have to embrace. Sometimes I'm paralysed by a combination of things: too many choices and abject fear of failure. I know in my head that the only failure is doing nothing. Now I just have to grab on and go.

7. Become conscious of your distractions. Once you’ve decided to focus your attention on the important, become more aware of distractions as they come up. Make note of them, and as you get the urge to be distracted, learn to pause, breathe, and return to the important.

Epic FAIL. So bad at this I can't even tell you what the distractions are. Oh yes, I can. They even have names: Claire, Cole, Chloe and Caden. I just have to learn to be more focused on the important things when they are not around to demand my time! Oh, and I suppose I could turn off the TV, just do the laundry and *gasp* shut down the computer, eh?

8. Surround yourself with the positive. If you want your life to be positive, let the positive have your attention. This applies to blogs, people, projects, and more.

This I have done. I don't read the angry mom blogs no matter how popular they are; but, I love the I am woman hear me roar blogs and those who walk their talk and bring me joy. Unfortunately the majority of my time is spent going from one kid activity to the next and often my friends are not the parents of my children's teammates, schoolmates or other participants. Though, I have to say, when you are able to connect with one or two it is pure bliss! My projects, with the exception of housework, all bring me joy at most and at very least a sense of accomplishment. I'm doing my utter best to fill my life with positivity. To that end, I shall plug the Happiness Project, again. Wow. Both by book and by blog, I'm now Gretchen Rubin's biggest fan ... ever!

So, it looks like I've managed to reclaim three out of these eight distractions. Still plenty to work on! I appreciate my flaws because it makes me human, I just wish there weren't so many of them!

March Forth on March 4th

Photo found here.

The very inspiring Amy Krause Rosenthal, she of Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life and The Beckoning of Lovely fame, has come up with March Forth on March 4th.

It's kind of a New Year's Resolution: Redux.

I have been quite good about my word. FOCUS has been front and centre since in my life since it's selection in January and has remained on my mind every day. Every single day. It has impacted every aspect of my life and I've accomplished a ton since being more aware and mindful of my surroundings.

In that long week between Christmas and New Year's, I posted three entries focused on what I was planning to do:

Creative Endeavours

Most of which I've managed to attempt or maintain, though, sadly the two I was most interested in I have not figured out how to put in my creative diet! I would dearly love to figure out how to add more Creative Everyday and Creative Therapy into my life. I'll get there, really I will. Though, some of my creative endeavours have exceeded my outline and that makes me very happy!

Resolutions, Plans, Intentions and Goals

Never did I expect Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project to be such a part of my February, now March. I have been reading her blog since forever and didn't "get it" until I picked up her book. The book is PHENOMENAL. I am a book person, clearly: it is a tangible source of inspiration, something I can see, read and reference, quickly and it's portable! I had no idea when I wrote my entry in December that this would be so relevant in March, this project resonates, completely! I had planned to implement the Happiness Project and with the addition of the book I can implement it more, if that makes any sense. The old adage "never say never" is old for a reason!

Word 2010: Focus

My list of things to focus on, as posted at the end of December was:

 

FOCUS: Lose 10 pounds each month
RESULT: Um, no. I have been good about eating better, way better. It has not lead to any weight loss. Clearly my body requires a one-two punch of diet AND exercise. I have lost 25 pounds since September, but I can still afford to lose a lot more!

 

FOCUS: Walk 10,000 steps each day

RESULT: So not doing this and think about it every.single.day. I'm such a loser. Thinking is NOT doing. Excuse: Cole has MY shoes at school in his locker and though I have asked for their return every day for over a month, they are not home. Solution: Buy a new pair. But really, come on. He does have to give me my shoes, doesn't he? (Since he reads my blog, maybe it will serve as a reminder. What do you think?)

 

FOCUS: Read 2 novels each month
RESULT: Okay, I've read only one (A Wrinkle in Time - YA, but reading for Chloe now that Cole is done and LOVED it!) I re-attempted The Shack, no go, again - after almost losing one child it's a difficult read and takes me back to places I don't want to be. So one book is better than none, but still not good! I have to stop with the "other" books that entice me so: What The Dog Saw and The Happiness Project are my parking lot reading choices currently.

 

FOCUS: Complete 365 layouts by September 30, 2010

RESULT: I'm a binge-scrapper. I think I'll make it!

 

FOCUS: Continue to say "yes" as often as possible

RESULT: Due to circumstances - um, my life - parenting often takes priority to what I'd like to accomplish. I have to say that I have implemented the "yes" strategy with great results! There is far more humour in our house, everyone is less tense, far more kind to each other. When I say "no" it is done nicely, but they really listen and respect my response. Love it!

 

FOCUS: Organize all photographs - digital and physical

RESULT: Whoot! This has been done on the computer - for the last two years. Now I really have to focus on the physical prints I have littered all over my studio. I'm very pleased with my liberal use of the delete button! The only time I can use the word liberal :)

 

FOCUS: Monthly Field Trip to ROM, AGO or a play, in Toronto

RESULT: This may have been a bit ambitious during hockey season, but there are plans in the works!

 

FOCUS: Take kids to swim with dolphins

RESULT: Research has been done. I think I know where we're going but hockey plans for next year are getting in the way of confirming any plans. I'm thinking we're going to go the first long weekend in September or October. We'll see.

 

FOCUS: Clean out and synchronize Macs regularly

RESULT: This has been done once, and it turns out my blackberry is involved. So good to have everything organized and in sync!

 

FOCUS: Blog every day to exercise writing skills

RESULT: I have not missed a single day since starting this blog (actually, I haven't missed a day in almost two years). Some days are harder than others. I've learned a lot: time management and scheduling posts!

 

FOCUS: Complete all incomplete creative projects

RESULT: Due to the LOAD push, I did manage to write and complete my Me: The Abridged Version project taught by Cathy Zielske, inspired by Amy Krause Rosenthal. Right now I'm in the thick of organizing, scanning and writing my Yesterday and Today project. Wow. Even more wow: there are more projects to do!

 

FOCUS: Send real letters and birthday cards, not electronic

RESULT: As my kids say "epic fail". Do not be waiting by your mailbox. It didn't help when I synchronized the first time I lost a TON of data!

 

additionally ...

 

FOCUS: Participate in Weekly Gratitude Project each week

RESULT: I have participated, though I have not posted each week. Monthly. Still not good enough! But better than not doing anything.

 

Clearly my “eyes were bigger than my stomach” and I chose far too many new things to incorporate into my life. Too much to do all at one time. I’m hoping by the end of the year to have added those things I’ve failed at … so far!

So today, MARCH 4th I will MARCH FORTH and continue on my journey to maintaining and fulfilling the promised made for the New Year :) What about you? Have you maintained your commitment or abandoned your intentions. Can you get back on?

Blog + Business Workshop

I'm sure you all know I'm a huge fan of Marta over at The Dear Diary Stories: Marta Writes, and have been since, well, since I started blogging. She is so creative and energetic. Not just that, she is GENEROUS with her ideas and her time. THIS WEEK she is offering:

So, I headed over there yesterday and was BLOWN AWAY. I headed back over today and again, WOW.

If you are looking for oodles of blogging goodness covering all manner of topics

click here for agenda

you will find yourself in a wonderful place filled with inspiration, knowledge, understanding, expertise, and ideas, brought to you by Marta and her expert panel of expert bloggers and online business people.

Aren't those topics compelling? This is a do-not-miss course opportunity. I think she's delightfully crazy to offer it for free, but hey, crazy is not a bad thing, right? Currently I am lurking over there, just absorbing all of the wonderful posts, comments, ideas, all of it. I'm sure by Saturday I'll gather the confidence to participate!

Wellness Wednesday: Done

Can you believe it? I've finally completed my Me: The Abridged Version project!

Why is a completed album a Wellness Wednesday post? Well, it is because we all know how good you can feel to have projects completed, especially a project like this! Not only has it been sitting around for a few months, mocking me every time I entered my studio, but one that has so many different elements, thoughts and photographs to gather together and have all available at one time.

What a tremendous process putting this album together. I percolated a very long time over my words and ideas; paper choices and fonts; representative photographs; for months. The Me: The Abridged Version course was taught by the lovely and engaging Cathy Zielske over at Big Picture Scrapbooking last October. The idea that sparked her first album was Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, which in turn sparked the course. The book is a fantastic concept, very engaging. If you're a wordie, like me; and clearly, like Cathy.

For some reason, I chose to tackle this album project during this albeit short but still crazy-busy and emotionally exhausting month. Sometimes the best time to get things completed is when you're firing on all cylinders. What's that saying? If you need something done, ask a busy mum; well, that was what worked in this case.

Done.

And, lots of lessons learned. I started out strong in October choosing all of my words and developing the corresponding photos. Then life got in my way! The problem I ran into was that by the time I was typing everything out this week, four months later, most of my words had changed. So, I chose a bunch of new images to correspond with my new words and headed back over to get them all developed (no, I never print my album or project photos at home). I also chose to change my font from the original to reflect my two current favourites: Amelie and American Typewriter. I figure this album is to reflect who I am, right now, at this moment. Those small details will provide some insight to some reader of my esthetic tastes long after I'm gone.

I am a big believer that every album you make is a reflection of you. I'm not one of those types who feels some form of drudgery making albums for everyone else because they really are mine: the photos all come from my camera, the stories are all from my perspective. Every album I've ever made had a part of me in it, some more than others. This album is all about me.

I made some changes from the formula because, as much as I love Cathy Zielske (and my friend Lorraine can attest that in the presence of the wonderful CZ I behave in a strangely giddy, she-is-a-rock-star fashion) I don't need her signature Archer type to identify the project as hers, so I made this album a bit more hybrid by adding American Crafts white felt letters.

It is also suggested that we go through this process every couple of years, and if I do manage to do it again, I think every five might work just fine. After all, I'm in my mid-40s, not some young upstart with lots to see, do and explore. No need to take a photo of every costume worn, every mess made or every event attended by my splendid offspring. My album is far more reflective than anything else. Though, I am considering making an album for each of my kids when they hit 15. Maybe a modified version with just one word per letter. We'll see. It really is easier to do for someone else. You know how we always put ourselves on the back burner, right?

I'm going to be using part of this post to fill in the back page blank you'll see in the first image, above. We were asked to hand-write a bit about the process and tuck it in the back of the album. Here it is, let me know if you've done your own Me: The Abridged Version and provide a link in the comments!

 

Whew!

Thanks for looking :)

Wellness Wednesday: A more FOCUSED life

As anyone who reads here, or knows me in person, is aware that our family has one of those crazy activity-driven schedules that kicks-in every day after school. Unfortunately, with Claire playing volleyball and timekeeping for hockey and Cole playing hockey for two different teams, that schedule can be somewhat inconsistent. Chloe has a bit of crazy with her choir performances and our slow-and-steady Caden provides a bit of relief as his practices are Saturdays and his games on Sundays. It makes for some pretty frantic hours between 3:15 (pick up of the youngers) and around 9PM (when we pull into the driveway from a hockey event).

In December, I managed to put together a couple of Excel files in an effort to keep my life in order. As I mentioned it on my Focus post, I had a bit of a break-up with lists and routine with less than stellar results. Here is my mid-month report card to show what I did and whether I met with any success. The most success? I now know what I'm doing and when I'm doing it - for the routine, repeated events. The older I get the less capable I am of staying on task and believe me, I need it!

Here is a screen shot of our weekly schedule (modified for publication):

It was really important for me to map out my don't forgets (plenty) and my free time (surprisingly little) and make it all work as seamlessly as possible. Once I realized how my time was spent, it was important to delegate it well; which lead me to the Personal, Blog, Health, Household and Dinner categories. Of course, 10PM has my favourite shows so I know not to forget it. I'm more than tired of realizing the next day and later that I had missed The Good Wife!

How do you keep yourself on track?

I know it seems insane to start dinner prep at 2:30 most afternoons, but it really has worked out well. Some days, especially when it's a quick meal to be made (Tuesday and Wednesday) I make both on the Tuesday and just refrigerate the Wednesday meal. Since my kids prefer raw vegetables (just like their mama) we eat a lot of salad and sliced tomatoes, avocado, carrots and celery. Potatoes are almost always mashed with the skins on but I'm thinking of introducing baked potatoes with a bunch of different toppings from which to choose.

Anyway, this is how the 4-week meal rotation works out:

The kids aren't nearly as regimented in their eating of meals prior to dinner, Claire and Cole are fed a hot lunch at school every day, but I want to keep myself on track. It's working well! I think. We'll have to see.

I've just run off a bunch of recipes I found on the Prevention website as well as quite a few from Martha Stewart. I'm considering making Experiment Night a weekly, rather than monthly event. It's always nice to find some new things for my kids to eat. They are all now of an age that I can have them eat things that they used to greet with a hearty "eww" and a shove of the plate. I never coddled their palates, but now that they enjoy more selection, I'm introducing it at our home table. What are your family favourites? Anything your kids particularly enjoy?

I am finding it hard to stay on track only because Cole has just recently had a tournament, as has Caden. Chloe had a choir event and Claire has been spending time at the rink timekeeping. Even I spent time at the rink convening a hockey game so Louis could attend a meeting.

LIFE is getting in the way of my schedule!

Ah well, the freezer is reaping the benefit.

In addition to my schedules, the new "control journal" includes:

• A 2010 Calendar & A list of things on which to FOCUS in 2010
• Monthly Reminders with every birthday and special event listed
• My Creative commitments and workflow
• My list of things to do (big and small) around the house, by room
• Bloggy notes and Digi Notes
• Books to buy

Anything else is kept in my handy-dandy Blackberry which I've learned to sync with my computer so anything I miss is out of sheer stupidity.

HUGE change, but I really hope all of this keeps me on track.

Focus: A Simplicity Manifesto

I am thrilled to have something to file under "serendipity"!

Over the New Year, I spent the better part of a day clearing out my Google Reader. Not a normal day, but a why can't I have more than 10 minutes to spend on any project kind of day at which point I realized my kids were still on break and it would be a while before things get back to "normal", whatever that is. Purging should take far less time; but, nonetheless, a day well spent.

I have to say it was lovely to reduce my Reader from 321 blogs to 234. I'm not quite to my target of 200, as I've added a number to my Digi and Photography categories. It really gave me a chance to purge and settle on my priorities.

I got rid of anything pretentious and difficult to understand; I purged anything that started with "I'm so sorry I've been away so long" dated from last fall; I deleted anything that made me feel uncomfortable even if it's considered popular and "edgy"; and, anything crafty but not practical, well, practical in my world. When I purged the blog with 3,813 followers I felt terrible, wondering what was wrong with me and realizing I'd love to have 3,813 followers. Imagine expressing something that many people would be interested in reading? Then again, I felt equally terrible when I purged the blog with 16 followers. (Oh, as of today, this blog has 35 followers - the now defunct Lemons2Lemonade had 138 and LINARstudio enjoyed 114).

The serendipity part?

Because of the purge, I had time to read what was left in my reader. Even among those, I have a handful of absolute favourite blogs, those that talk to my soul. On occasion, I forget and they get lost among all of the craft, design and domestic articles highlighted to be read, those that talk to the rest of me! I found this one special blog in the fall of 2008 and am thrilled with the success Leo has enjoyed. This was posted and while I was revelling in his list of accomplishments, I was struck by his new book venture, Focus. I'd only just chosen Focus as my word for 2009. Could it be that I can merge the principles of my beliefs and desire of a calm and simple existence with the craziness that is my life? 

Ah, with Leo's help, this may indeed be the year of FOCUS :)

Word 2010: Focus

Do you see all of those water droplets on the spider web above? They would be a pretty good representation of those things I have going on in my life on any given day. There are big droplets, little droplets, fuzzy droplets, droplets that just happen to be there to make the web look pretty, and droplets completely in focus.

This wet web is the perfect photographic metaphor for my life, now, today.

Sometimes my life can be overwhelming, but most of my days are no different from those of anyone else. There is always something to do. There are always things that are more and less important.

After my year (at least) of spinning in place, I really need something else. I considered the words "order" and "control", and; though they both came close, neither offered the spontaneity required in a busy family with kids in various sports and activities. In as much as there is perceived order in a sport and school schedule, we have to be constantly available and prepared for a change: an added practice, a re-scheduled game, a new concert, a sick child, the never-ending chaos I would give up for nothing else!

First order of business? Put a system BACK in place. My home is my "work", raising my kids is my "work", writing is my "work", and for years I had a system. It was a Control Journal,  à la Flylady, which was a guideline for the chaos of raising four kids who were born within a span of five years, who were at an age that there was some sense of schedule. The past couple of years that control has gone by the wayside, by necessity, but is sorely needed now. I twigged on this when I considered my word for 2010 and when I read this article on The Boss of You. I need a system. Something not quite as involved and rigid as my Flylady Control Journal, but one that would add some control into the break-neck pace of our now-entering-adolescence existence. I need to FOCUS on what works best for our family and go from there.

Over the next week, I'll share my ideas and the format I'm planning on using to incorporate more focus into my 2010. The idea of getting things organized, lists made and gaining some focus is very freeing, in a wonky way. You'd think putting a plan together might make you feel all tied up, and I suppose for some it does, but, for me? I feel free, lighter, joyful.

Loving the idea of FOCUS so far!

My List of things to FOCUS on in 2010
(aka, my accountability list)

Lose 10 pounds each month

Walk 10,000 steps each day

Read 2 novels each month

Complete 365 layouts by September 30, 2010

Continue to say "yes" as often as possible

Organize all photographs - digital and physical

Monthly Field Trip to ROM, AGO or a play, in Toronto

Take kids to swim with dolphins

Clean out and synchronize Macs regularly

Blog every day to exercise writing skills

Complete all incomplete creative projects

Send real letters and birthday cards, not electronic

additionally ...

Participate in Weekly Gratitude Project each week

I'm looking forward to scratching each of those items off the list as they are completed and thoroughly enjoyed. What are your plans for 2010?

(I cannot remember when or where I stumbled upon the photo, and I neglected to keep track of who the brilliant photographer might be and who to thank for this visual. For that I am immensely sorry.)