Project Life

I finished and took pictures of week two of my Project Life album and forgot to post them. Silly me. Weeks 3 & 4 pictures are waiting to be picked up at Costco. This afternoon I sent off Week 5. Part of me is really interested in doing a more 'hands on' version. Having the physical pictures, and actually scrapbooking something... But then, when I'm sitting in front of the computer, it's just so darn easy to do it digitally.

Here is Week 2:

What I'd kind of like to do this year, is let the pictures tell the story. Cut down a bit on the journaling. So far, I haven't been that successful. But, I'm trying.

I really admire the gals out there, who are so good at doing things by hand... Love the look of all the little touches. I was just informed that I'm no longer on the wait-list for Studio Calico's Project Life Monthly Kit. Yikes... I'm officially part of the population that will have monthly kit mailed out to them. I'm both thrilled and nervous. [I still have to break it to Barry... There is a minimum 6 month commitment... Eeks] Check it out here...  This is February's kit... How AWESOME is that? I don't get this months kit... I don't think... I'm pretty sure my subscription will start in March. But seriously, doesn't it look awesome? Can't wait!  

52 Lists Project - Week 3

Here is week three. I'm quickly catching up!

52 Lists Project - Week 1 & 2

I do quite a bit of blog surfing. I follow a LOT of bloggers. I  sometimes think it's becoming a problem. At those times, I ruthlessly go through the list of bloggers I follow, and I 'un-follow' a bunch. That's fine and dandy, until I venture onto Pinterest, and then I find a whole bunch more people to  'follow'.

One blogger that I will likely never un-follow is Ali Edwards. Love her. Any way, she had done a blog post on a concept she'd found on pinterest herself. You can read about it here. Well, I might as well tell you, before you go over and check it out, it deals with lists. Any one who knows me, knows I love lists. You know what... That might be a huge assumption on my part. Maybe no one who knows me, knows I love list. But the truth is this: I LOVE LISTS. I have dozens of journal books around the house, all filled with various bits and pieces and lists. I have lists everywhere. On the fridge, on the counter, in my purse, in pockets of jackets. At any one time, I might have 2-3 different lists going. I like lists so much, that if I've done something, and haven't added to one of my lists, after completing the task, I'll add it to a list, only so I can cross it off...

If you're a list person, that just might resonate with you. When you jot things down on lists, then complete them, you see stuff happening. It's like an action has taken place. [And remember, my word for 2013 is action]

So, to get back to my point... There is another blogger, who is has created a project called 52 lists. You can check her out here. She will post a list, every week, and you're to do what it says. So of course, that's right up my alley. Love the idea, and immediately I decided to get on board. So... Since I just stumbled upon this, I'm a few weeks behind. I have completed the first two weeks, and will try to do the next two in the near future. I will play catch up for the next week or so, doing a few lists at a time. Then, I will be doing the weekly list. I'm really excited about this, and feel good about it being something I can keep up with. It's not the type of thing I would consider adding to my Project Life book... Not yet any way. We'll see how this goes first.

Here are my lists for week one and two:

Born in the Wrong Era

I have a sneaking suspicion I was born a generation late. I would have fit in perfectly with the thrifty, make the most out of everything, stretch a dollar generation. I love cooking/baking things from scratch. I love the idea of canning [all sorts of things and especially fruits and vegetables] I like making my own jam. [My strawberry rhubarb jam is absolutely de-lish, if I may say so myself] I like to plant things in my garden in the spring/summer to hopefully be consumed and created in my kitchen when it's harvested. [At this point in time it's only tomatoes and herbs] I love the idea of making my own bread, though it's not something I've done an awful lot of, but when I have done it, it's been good.

Don't be misled here, there are many things I love about where I live, RIGHT NOW. I would be absolutely lost without my Washer and Dryer. I have absolutely NO desire to wash/ring/rinse/hang things to dry. No thank you. I can't imagine not having a microwave. No, it's my very best friend in the event I have forgotten to defrost our dinner. I don't even want to be without my electronics. However,  I love the idea of getting back to the basics.

In fact, I just feel, deep down, the need to get back to the basics. In fact, the other day I made my own pumpkin puree. That's right. I cooked a pumpkin, then scooped out all the lovely pumpkin flesh, then put it in my food processor and pureed it. I now have 2 cups of pumpkin puree, that's going to be made into something delicious in the next few days. It was a lot more work, than simply opening up a can of pumpkin, but in the end, I find such a satisfaction knowing that I made it happen!

 

The toughest part about my living, a generation too late, is that Barry doesn't always understand my reasoning behind things. He thinks I'm crazy to buy a little sugar pumpkin, to bake, scoop and puree, only to turn around and put it into a muffin recipe, when all I have to do is take the lid off a can. He just can't understand why I want to go to so much work to make jam, or can stuff... The time it takes, compared to picking up a jar of jam or pickles. 

I guess I just like knowing, what I'm eating. What I'm feeding my family. Now having said that, my family is pretty particular, and Barry doesn't even like things that are pickled for heavens sake... 

I imagine using my canner like a pro [though I've still never attempted this] making bread on a weekly basis, that the kids adore, and being a master at clean eating [tag word for 2013]

That's all I wanted to say. I"ll let you know what I make with the pumpkin!

Behind Already

I don't know where the days go. I have good intentions... All of a sudden it's past the middle of the month. Remember when I said I wanted to be a better blogger? This isn't quite what I had in mind. I marvel at how so many gals out there, use their blogs as a tool for their lives. Maintaining a blog, is a serious time sucker... I intend to add something small, and 2 hours later, I'm still sitting in my jammies, doing a spell check.

I do have my first week of my 2013 Project Life book done. Yippee for me! I still haven't finished my title page... Have an idea in mind, and just haven't been able to execute it yet. It involves all of us, a camera and my self timer...

For now, here are my pages for week one:

My goal this year, is going to be to have a more 'hand done' feel to it. I love the look of the hand done stuff on all the other blogs I check out. This will definitely have a mixture of digital elements, and old fashioned scrapbooking [with taping, stamping, cutting, pasting, sewing, etc.] I'm also going to round corners for this book. It's another element I'm always drawn to in other people's project life books. I'm planning on using different page protectors this year, and mix them up on a regular basis.

I don't know what day I'll set aside to work on my mini layouts. Last year worked perfectly, because the weeks ran from Sunday through Saturday. This year, January 1st was on a Tuesday... I've started off the week, or 7 days, to run Tuesday through Monday... I think that will be okay. Last year I tried to put some time aside on Sundays to work on the book, perhaps I'll plan to do that this year also. 

I have week 2 ready to be sent off to be printed [the picture part] and the way I'm doing my weeks, week 3 is officially over at the end of today, and tomorrow starts week 4... Ouch... See... HOW does that happen? I'm not totally behind... Yet.

I was just going through my 'week in review' which is an idea I copied from Cathy Zielske. [Created my very own card... Have I mentioned how much I love Photoshop Elements?] Any way, I see that I have a typo tucked away in there... I HATE typos. I also hate when my darling husband points them out to me... Cause I'm only human. I make mistakes. I usually spell check what I've typed, but not always... He also loves to point out to me, that if I did my typing at normal hours and instead of at 3:00 AM, that typing errors might be less likely to happen... Nah... Doubt it. I'm a night owl... What can I say?

I heart faces - January Photo Challenge

So, as part of my word for 2013 [action] I am trying to get a little bit more involved. I thought I would enter this months Photo Challenge on I Heart Faces. They're looking for the best face of 2012. I did a little impromptu photo shoot in the back yard in October, before all the leaves had fallen off the trees and been raked up. I love this picture of my girl. It's my favourite to date. 
 

Final Project Life Pages of 2012

I'm so pleased that this album is done. [In it's entirety]
 
I've already got pictures being printed, for the first week of 2013. In fact, I just received an email that they are ready for pick up. Yay, me!

Here's a look at the last 2 weeks of 2012:

 

 

I added several  6x12 page protectors, that hold 6x4 sized photos in them, to document Christmas a little bit more. These page protectors are the perfect size, and believe it or not, I think I found them at Superstore way back when...

I cut this page protector down and then sealed it closed with SMASH Washi tape, to fit the flyer we got from Mason's hockey Tournament. 

For 2013, I am going to attempt to streamline things a little bit... I have pinned so many layouts that appeal to me, and I'm going to try to take a mixture of what I love and make it my own. I think it will make the process a little more simple. Fingers crossed, any way. I love doing this, but I would love to simplify a little bit more. Every once and awhile, when you get behind a week or two, it's awfully daunting... And let's be honest, that happens. Life happens. I'm still as excited about this project as I was last January. I can't wait to see how it all comes together! I would also like to try and include more memorabilia. For some reason, I seem to struggle with that one. I see other people's examples, and it's great, but when it comes to me, I don't seem to have it sorted out. I'm going to try to include more of the kids personal art work and notes, etc. Looking back through last years PL book, I love that I've jotted down quotes of things the kids have said. That's another thing I'll attempt to do. 

I hope to share stuff on a weekly basis. I hope to be organized enough to!