Project Life

" Project 365" was my big undertaking for 2009....I took at least one photo (almost) every single day throughout the year, and tried to journal a little about what we did that day, what the photo represented or just some memory I wanted to jot down so I wouldn't forget. It was a lot of work, and there were times when I had forgotten to take a picture that day, and I was grabbing my camera at 9pm to take a shot of the dirty dishes :) At the end of the year, however, I was so very glad that I had put in the effort.....I love the end result!!

This year, I decided not to do another year-long project.....I wanted to get back to my "traditional" scrapbooking roots. I saw all the hype about Project Life on Becky Higgin's blog, and I resisted. But as the days flew by in January, I realized that I missed having a way to easily document my family's daily life.......so........ short story long :) I ordered Project Life and started working on it last night.

Instead of taking a photo each day, this year I am going to do a 52 week project. I will take photos when I feel like it, but I will also fill each week's pockets with the "stuff" of our life.....letters, tickets, receipts, school stuff, grocery lists, invitations, etc..... I know that I will take a least one photo each week (and usually hundreds more!!!), so I will just get back into the habit of developing photos on a regular basis, slipping them into the pockets, journaling a little and call it a day. So excited about this!!

balance

It's a constant theme in my life......the issue of balance: how to find that sweet spot between being in the moment, being utterly grateful for what I have, and also pushing myself forward, growing, reaching for that next dream. It can be maddening at times, this back-and-forth tug between growth and acceptance, yet the more I read about it, the more I speak with other women, the more I realize how universal this feeling is. The trick is to let yourself lean into that feeling of unrest, to allow that feeling to motivate you, to move you to your highest calling, without letting it consume you with feelings of fear, desperation, anxiety and envy......much easier said than done!

I have been reading (devouring) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin the last few days, and I can not recommend it highly enough. It is insightful. It is practical. It is just what I needed. The book chronicles Gretchen's year-long attempt to become happier by tackling a new set of self-imposed resolutions each month. I have dog-eared LOTS of pages...lots of little tidbits, bits of wisdom.

Some highlights:

"It is by studying little things," wrote Samuel Johnson, "that we attain the great art of having as little misery, and as much happiness as possible."

"Happiness," wrote William Butler Yeats, "is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing."

"One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself."

One of the big take-aways for me, was the reminder to simply TAKE ACTION. When my mind is swirling with ideas, to-do lists, wishes, dreams and judgments, the best thing to do is something. I have a tendency to become overwhelmed with all the things I could be doing....all the things I should be doing, and that feeling often causes me to become stagnant (which only worsens the problem).

My new mantra is to Do it Now: make the phone call, send the email, write the letter, wash the car, fix the cabinet, clean out the closet, schedule the dinner, send the invitations, make the meal, do the taxes, make the appointment, buy the present, organize the drawer, floss, take the vitamin, do the exercises, get outside........I can't do it all in one day, but I can start somewhere. I can quit putting off something that will lighten my emotional load as soon as it is checked off the "list," and hopefully, I will be happier for it :)

my dream list

I mentioned before, that I am taking an online class right now that is all about turning your dreams into reality. We were recently asked to write down our wildest dreams, put the list in an envelope, seal it up and not look at it for a week...........until today!!

I opened mine this morning, and although I am a little intimidated to share the entire list, in the interest of being vulnerable, brave, flexible, open and trusting, I decided to share most of it here with you :)

MY DREAM LIST:

Own a bookstore

Write a book & have it published

Own a home on the beach in Seaside, Florida

Learn how to knit

Travel around the world with my husband and kiddos

Build our dream home: lots of trees in the backyard, a porch swing, a red barn, a mud room, a craft "house," a playroom with chalkboard walls

Learn to ride a horse

Speak Spanish fluently

Create a home that is comforting, artistic, inspirational, fun, cozy

Build close friendships

Have people over to our home more often

Become a photographer & take beautiful, inspiring, touching photographs

Have beautiful photographs hanging in our home

Plant/Grow a garden

Host monthly "crafternoons" with cupcakes, candy & glitter

Travel around the world teaching other women how to create a life we love (documenting our journey, mommy balance, etc...)

Post videos on my blog (tutorials)

Have a long chat with Heidi Swapp

Have a craft studio that is in the trees behind our dream home

Be a fantastic mother

Have wonderful relationships with my children & enjoy every stage of their lives

Teach

Travel to Australia and New Zealand

Learn sign language

Take yoga regularly

Be calm, centered, at peace

Live a life with the Lord at the center

Be a mentor

Have an organized home that is filled with only the things we love or we use

Help others by finding a cause I truly believe in & volunteering my time

Have a blog that is beautiful & inspiring with lots of followers, lovely comments, where I can connect with like-minded people and we can inspire and encourage each other

Keep in mind that when I wrote this list, I set a timer for 10 minutes and just wrote.....no judgment, no stopping, no criticizing. This is the list that came to me during those 10 minutes. Here's to turning dreams into reality!!

contemplating

I didn't get to catch the Oprah show last week about driving while texting or talking on the phone, but I have been hearing about it in bits and pieces the last few days, and it really has me thinking. If I am in the car, I can most likely be found with phone in hand....checking email, texting, checking facebook updates or simply chatting away. It has become a crutch, something to fill the time as I journey from point A to point B. What I learned from the show (and truthfully what I already knew in my heart) is that this is an unnecessary and quite dangerous habit....I don't recall the statistics exactly, but apparently, it is even more dangerous to text while driving than to drink while driving!!

From now on, no texting while driving, no checking emails or facebook status updates, and I am going to limit calls to only those that are urgent (if I see the number to Sienna's school, I am definitely going to pick it up!!). It's not going to be easy, but when you know better, you do better....right???

i love this stuff

I must confess, I have a love-hate relationship with Martha Stewart. In some ways, I find her very inspiring, in others....just plain intimidating!! I am, however, totally smitten with one of the women on her team. Darcy Miller is the head-wedding lady at Martha, but the reason I find her so inspiring is because of the way she has chosen to document her family's journey. She is a "scrapbooker" in the non-cutesy, cheesy sense. She is super-talented, creative and classy (she created a 50 pound wedding scrapbook that is unbelievable, and I spent at least 30 minutes yesterday looking at all the shadow boxes she created here). To be honest, I had sort of forgotten about Darcy Miller for awhile, but thanks to one of my favorite blogs, I was reminded of her greatness all over again.

This is the stuff that inspires me!

swirling thoughts

Something has changed in me recently......a slight shift maybe, but I can definitely feel a difference in my own soul. I find myself getting excited again about things that have inspired me in the past, but that I haven't felt energized by in long while. I am so very grateful!!

1. I am inspired to tackle the craft room/play room again......work is in progress to turn this room into a place that we actually want to be, a place that contains all of my scrapbook goodness, a place where we can have movie night, a place where the kiddos' toys are actually organized, a place where we can create wonderful messes :)

2. I am reading again like crazy!! I remember this feeling......wanting to spend time at the bookstore, tearing out magazine pages with book recommendations, a stack a mile high on my bedside table, looking forward to curling up at night with my latest find, this feeling that there simply isn't enough time in the day to read all the great books I have on my list.

3. I am writing again (thanks in part to my one little word project). I have kept journals for as long as I can remember....off an on, with long stretches where I hardly wrote anything at all. This year, I am inspired to start a daily writing practice. I am reading books about great journal-writers, and I am working out a schedule that will allow me some quiet time each day to sit and write whatever comes to mind. In the past, I have often been drawn to my journal during particularly rough times in my life......now, I want to make it a point to write in my journal during the particularly wonderful times of my life as well....these are the times I want to remember!

4. I am slowly working to improve my eating habits and to take better care of my body. I emphasize the word slowly, because I know from past experience, that if I go full-force, I will inevitably give up all together. Instead, I am enjoying adding fruits, yogurt, green-tea, and nuts into my diet, and eliminating as much meat as possible. I am also stretching, and doing a little exercise with the kiddos in the afternoon....they think it's fun and I am able to sneak in a little cardio without really noticing it :)

"To everything there is a season," and I believe this is my season for truly living....for getting out there and making the most out of every single moment. I have lived long enough and experienced enough heartache to know that there will definitely be tough times ahead...no one is spared that, but I also know that this is not a dress rehearsal....life is for living!!

inspiration

I just finished reading my first mondo beyondo lesson this morning, and the assignment was to journal your feelings about this question:

"Who inspires you to take a chance on your dreams? Whose example challenges you to be more open to your unspoken dreams?"

My first reaction to this question was uncertainty.......my instinct was to feel nervous that I didn't have the "right" answer. But when I let myself really think about who inspires me and who gives me the courage to pursue my dreams, I realized that those people are all around me...sometimes I just take their inspiration for granted!!

My husband is a definite dreamer. He always has an idea in his head....thinking about new adventures, new hobbies, new business ventures, ways to help others, ways to improve our planet, etc.... If I am honest, I will admit that this has bothered me a bit in the past. I tend to be more of a realist....always dreaming, but much more cautious about giving my dreams a voice, much more worried about the end result and how I could ever get "there." But his positive attitude and believing spirit is something I admire and aspire to.

I have also been greatly inspired by women I have "met" only through the world of blogging. Women that are mothers, artists, photographers....women that have found a way to be a mother, a wife, a friend, a sister and not lose themselves in the process. Women that have carved out a space in their world where they can express themselves creatively and still get dinner on the table :) Women who aren't afraid to speak their minds, to tell their truths, to dream their own dreams.

These are women like: Heidi Swapp, Ali Edwards, Karen Russell, Maggie Holmes, Becky Novacek, Melody Ross

I am also greatly inspired by female authors....women who have that special gift of writing words that we actually want to read, books that we just can't put down. I just finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert's second book "Committed" (the author of "Eat, Pray, Love") and it was so very inspiring....such beautiful writing!!

And finally, I am inspired every single day by my children. I am inspired to leave a legacy that encourages them to go after their own dreams, to listen to their own inner voice, to never ever give up!!

this and that

So here we are.....already 11 days into 2010!! Like most of us, I have been looking back at all the wonderful things that happened in 2009, and thinking about the ways that I want to improve, change and grow in the coming months. I heard something at church yesterday, though, that put things in a new perspective for me.....something that I am so glad that I heard at the beginning of the year before my priorities got too far out of whack. I was reminded yesterday that in ALL we do, our ULTIMATE goal should be to glorify God!! It is that simple. That is where my focus should be. In everything I do, I should be asking myself "Will this glorify God?" or "How can I handle this situation to best honor the Lord?"

That really made me stop and think about what is truly important, what is worthy of my time and attention, what is a worthy goal or resolution. So although I will definitely still have goals....lists of things I want to try, experience, learn, etc....the overarching "theme" if you will, will be to glorify God in all that I do this year and every year.

One way that I intend to honor God this year, is through relationships. I want to honor my friendships by spending time with friends, and letting them know how much their friendships mean to me. Here is a look at 2 of the pages I did at the beginning of last year to document some of the Christmas cards we received. I used divided page protectors and cut the cards down so that a portion of them would show through the window. Obviously, most of the cards were too big to fit into the opening, so I cut out parts that I thought looked good and just went with it.....I tried not to get too bogged down in who/what was cut out. The first page is the cover/title page and the second is just one of the pages that I filled with various photos. Now off to work on 2009 Christmas cards!!

i have learned

I recently took an online class here by Ali Edwards, and although I am way behind due to the holidays, I have really enjoyed working on all the layouts for the class so far. The 2 page layout above is 8.5 x 11.....the first page is just a simple title page (Ali was encouraging us to use some of the beautiful papers just as they are, with very little embellishment), and the second page is nothing but text.... sentence after sentence of things I have learned along the way.

One thing you will notice about this layout is that there are NO photos. That is definitely a new concept for me, but I love thinking about scrapbooking in many different formats....scrapbooking as storytelling. My scrapbooks are filled with layouts about my children (birthdays, holidays, firsts, etc..), but I also want to spend some time this year making layouts that give my children a little glimpse into who their mama is and what she is all about.

I really enjoyed thinking about things I have learned thus far in my life. Obviously, the list is not exhaustive :) and I basically just opened up a document on my computer and jotted things down as they came into my mind. I love it!!

looking back/looking forward

This past year, I didn't scrapbook in the traditional way as much as I have in past years....instead, I focused on taking one photo every day for the entire year, and journaling about our journey along the way (Project 365). I must admit, I missed a few days here and there, but overall, I am happy with the amount I captured, and I feel so blessed to have this little peak into our life in 2009!

This year, I am excited to tell the story of our lives in many different ways: through photographs, journals, scrapbooks, blog entries, lists, letters, etc... I just ordered a new book that I read about here, and I am really looking forward to becoming a "Storycatcher" this year!

"Story is really all we leave each other. Even the most precious heirlooms, including the ones I tend in my own home, will not last: someday they'll end up in an estate sale or a house will burn down or they will simply lose meaning. What has the most lasting value is the story of who we are, who we come from, where we aspire to go. What good this will do them, how stories of family will serve them in a future I won't live to see is a mystery. What I know, is that seemingly insignificant stories of my parent parents parents have meaning to me that they could not suppose; and this leads me to believe that my stories will have meaning in the future that I cannot suppose. So I gather and preserve stories and trust the mystery."

I am inspired and encouraged by this concept, and I am holding onto the belief that being the storycatcher in my family is an important, even vital role!!

one little word 2010

I have finally decided on my one little word for 2010: WRITE

That means, that for this entire year, I am going to focus on writing: writing in my Mother's Notebook, writing on my blog, writing letters to my children, to my friends, to my husband, writing down the stories that I have been meaning to tell, and then actually telling them.

I am so excited about my word.....so excited to really focus on writing this year, something that I really love but have let slide by the way side. Focusing on this one little word for the year will be the push that I need to make writing a priority again...to remember that photos are an amazing way to capture our memories, but they aren't always able to tell the entire story.

This year, I am going to be more intentional about writing down my prayer requests, writing down my dreams for our future, writing down the ideas, goals, and inspirations that swirl around inside this head of mine, writing down my New Year's resolutions, writing down all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) books that I read this year, writing down the silly, profound things my children say, writing down all the things I have to be grateful for, writing down the places I want to visit, the adventures I want to take, the people I want to thank.

So here's to a new year, a new beginning, a fresh start and to writing down as much of it as I can!!