:: top 15 layouts in 2015 ::

Happy New Year!

The Paper Issues Creative Team and a few from the Paper Issues {Friends & Fans} Facebook group are reflecting a bit on 2015 and highlighting our top 15 of 2015.  Here are mine:

From left to right:

:: you are my sunshine :: mad hatter :: time :: 

:: just spokin' :: jumpin' puddles :: lovely :: a splash of fun ::

:: wonderful, brave, and happy spirit :: currently :: what a BEAuty :: from where she stands ::

:: dream, imagine, & explore :: b awesome :: happy fall y'all :: end of an era ::

Thanks for stopping by!  See you soon!

:: my why ::

Today, I would like to share "my why". The difficult part is, there really is more than one reason for my obsession with memory keeping. There is all of that surface stuff; I love paper, I love playing with paper, scissors, glue, paint, etc.  I love getting crafty! And that is definitely important. It's one of the ways that I get the stress out, calm down, relax. And that is definitely enough of a reason. This post is meant to put into words all that other stuff; the other whys. 

My Why is because I want to remember everything. There are so many things in my life that I have already forgotten about. So. Many. I can't tell you how many times someone from my childhood as told a story, and I don't remember it at all. So, writing stuff down; capturing the everyday with photos and words is important to me. I could just journal or write it down in some way -- but scrapbooking and Project Life lets me get that "crafty" in, too.  Win, win!

My Why is because time & life moves too fast. This year I will turn 44. Yep, that's MID-FORTIES if you are keeping track. ;-)  I feel 22, maybe 23, most of the time. Whoosh, all that time as gone by and my daughter grew up, my parents grew older, I met my One True Love, I had another child. There are so many things that have happened in the last 20+ years, and I want to be able to see it, and sometimes feel it again. Over and over.  And I want my daughters to be able to do the same, see it and feel it.

My Why is because people die. I could've said that softer. I could've said, "life it short" or something like that, but truth be told, I don't feel soft about it, people die.  It seems like our family has had it's share (and then some) of people dying suddenly, and way too young. Keeping memories doesn't stop that or make it go away. However, for me, it helps me slow down, remember, appreciate. It helps me capture people and events in photos and words and keep them safe. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone except me and it doesn't really matter. That doesn't mean that I only do this for me…

My Why is is getting it all down for myself, for my family right now, and anyone coming down the road that might find it interesting.  I think it would be so cool to have something 'like this' created by my mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother.

I'm passionate about memory keeping. I keep exploring all kinds of different ways to make that happen and keep it fresh for me. What is your why? Please share, I'm totally interested!

:: projects abound ::

Oh blogger friends, how I have missed you.  I am alive. I didn't fall off the face of the earth. Something did happen, though.

School started.

and not just for Charlie and me........

first day of preschool

But first she had a birthday....

This time of year is so crazy! It seems most things get neglected. I have managed to get in a bit of craftiness here and there....

this week we camped...there was an insert

I'm taking a class at BPC called "Project Life Lessons".  One word -- awesome.

here it is without the insert

left

right

insert front :: the food

insert back :: the beach

I've even spent some time in my art journal. This Bob Dylan quote made me do this:

And I even made a few layouts...

all about brushing teeth....

and playing in the water.
that background started white....and then i got out the gelatos and stamps
those letters were white...you guessed it...gelatos (so fun)!

Yep, she still loves Batman. She really wants to be him when she grows up.  However, she has discovered that Batman isn't real (he is just in the movies - gasp!). So....now she wants to go to California, so she can "be" Batman in the movies, when she grows up.  Or today.

I. Love. Her.

:: firsts ::

So many "firsts" this past week :

• first hair cut
• first time registering for school (4-year old preschool)
• first time school shopping

These are all significant things. They are each a step that deepens my understanding that my baby is no longer a baby, or even a toddler (as if I couldn't tell from the outgrown shoes, long legs and thinning face).  She is a Little Girl! I have to admit that I am sad about it. But, I have to be happy about it. Have to! Every stage is just that, a new stage to experience and enjoy.  Before I know it she will be tying her own shoes (won't that be nice?), reading books (magic), and eventually we will have the same shoe size!  I realize, of course, that the shoe thing is a long way off, but I also know from raising my older daughter that this 'long way off', comes so unbelievably quickly (and how awesome it will be to have twice as many shoes)!

Over the next couple of weeks we will have a "home visit" with her teacher, attend open house, and she will go to school for the first time. She will have a teacher named Miss Amy, and she will continue to become more and more independent. And I will embrace it, be proud of her, and  never let her know I'm quietly grieving the passing of that baby stage. I only want her to see me be excited with her.

Because, after all, it is magically exciting.

my mom

My mom has always looked and acted much younger than she is. In fact, it is unbelievably easy to forget that she is seventy-six. Her attitude and heart are clearly still somewhere in their thirties…maybe forties...and she looks at least twenty years younger than her chronological age. I took this photo a year ago, on Mother’s Day. After our celebrations were over and I was home looking at all the photos on my computer, this photo of her hand reminded me, she is in her seventies. I am so lucky that I have my mom. I don’t know what I would do without her.

There were other memories that came flooding back when I saw this photo. I used to sit on my mother’s lap and play with her hands.  Specifically, I would hold a finger from each of her hands and click the fingernails together. I don’t know why I did this, I just remember that I felt safe in her arms, and somehow doing this was comforting. I always wanted to grow up and have long nails like my mother (I don’t, by the way).  I also remember that her hands and fingers seemed so big compared to mine. This memory must be from when I was quite small because her hands are tiny compared to mine now! I think it’s interesting that something that seems so minor, clicking my mother’s fingernails together, is really such an important memory; and that this photo strikes such an emotional chord in me. 

matching socks -- from just a few weeks ago!

at the fair last summer

at grandma's last summer

..:: currently ::..

Currently I am...

hearing  my Soul Mate play guitar often, sometimes accompanied by our three year old daughter on her pink guitar. 

loving what I’m hearing. 

feeling overwhelmed at work, happy at home.  I feel like I am at a decision making point with my job.  I'm not sure what will be next for me, or when it will happen, but I know that I am longing for something different.

missing Mikaela

counting my blessings on a daily basis.  Today I am thankful for my mom, my daughters, and my One True Love.  I am lucky to have them in my life.

smelling fall; my favorite season, full of changing leaves, cozy sweaters and football games (and an abundance of orange).  B. and I have had several conversations about the pretty leaves. Sometimes I wish it could always be autumn, but then I remember spring.

enjoying having the windows open so we can feel and hear nature around us.

drinking coffee in the morning and wine in the evening.

cultivating creativity in myself and our daughter.

digging Bob Dylan’s newest record.

hoping to hear him live again soon.

preparing for 31 things in October.  I didn't take the original class, but now I've purchased it as a self-paced class from Big Picture Classes.  I hope to be able to make it happen for myself in October.  I'm thinking a minibook is in order.

obsessing over instagram

anticipating my birthday season

Ali Edwards invited her readers to join her today and publish a post about "right now".  Check out her post here.

~ a week in photos and words ~

c is for contagious

d is for drinks

e is for enjoying the iPad with elmo

f is for fork

Friday, I got a call from daycare...fever and complaining of an owie in her ear.  So I made an appointment, and after an hour and a half of various tests (none of which made her happy) we came home with nothing but a 102.9 fever and a diagnosis of virus.


Saturday evening, my older daughter watched B. while we went out for supper to celebrate with friends.  A close friend of mine turned 40 and her husband pulled off a surprise party. We almost didn't go because about a half hour before we left, B. vomited. I like this iPhone photo because the drink is the focus, but the party is still shown in the background.  We came home after just a couple of hours to a kiddo with a 103.5 fever! Scary!

lime light (g is for green)

h is for hearts

Sunday was a little better.  Still a fever, and stomach things, but times of "normal". I love this photo because1) B. set it up. She wanted the blankie on the floor (I helped) and then she set up the gorilla, and they played with the iPad.  2) The hair twirl.  She twirls our hair and her own, especially when tired, or sick.



Monday, I was home with B all day.  While still a bit pale and cranky, overall much better and no fever! Yay!  Continuing with the alphabet theme...I chose a for, macro style  for "macro monday".





Tuesday was my first night of class for this semester, so a quick shot of a lime for g is for green!









Wednesday I decided to try an idea that my older daughter, H. found on Pinterest! Fun shape bokeh.  H is for heart, of course! (and I had to get a bit of orange in there somewhere)

I've been thinking a lot about my word; balance. Sometimes I think I even see it in the distance, but mostly it hasn't found me yet.  :-)  I need to go to a show or two I think!  I miss music and spending time with C., just the two of us.  Since B. has been sick I have gotten to spend more time with her, which is nice (the time, not the sick, of course).  And I even had a minute or two to work on a layout (not quite finished, but will post soon).  So maybe balance isn't so far away after all. Notice I haven't mentioned any sort of exercise though!

One thing is for sure, I have not been spending enough time with my parents.  And even more important, B. hasn't been spending enough time with them.  It doesn't help that she has spent the last two weekends with a fever!

Over the last few weeks my father has had several procedures to remove cancerous and pre cancerous cells on his skin.  He worked outside most of his life, so it isn't surprising that it would be catching up with him at this point!  This most recent procedure required quite a bit of tissue to be removed from his nose (dead center, of course), enough to necessitate skin grafting.  This is something they will actually need to knock him out for and it makes me nervous!  He suffered a stroke nearly 15 years ago, and we do believe that there have quite likely been other mini strokes in recent years (there are signs).  Also since the kidney transplant, over four years ago, his health has deteriorated a bit due to the drugs that they have him on to keep him from rejecting my kidney.  AND he has diabetes.  So all of these health concerns are why I am a bit anxious about this upcoming event.  It will be weighing heavy on my mind over the next week!

In my near future:
1.  A show (or two).  I have several on my calendar and I'm ready to go!
2.  A night away with my soul mate.  C. and I have several ideas about how to make this happen.  It involves grandparent babysitters and reservations!
3.  Finish that layout!

And I leave you with a B. story that makes this literacy coach very happy.

B. brings me a pile of books and says, "Mommy, talk these with your mouth."  And that's what I'll focus my orange-colored-glasses-view on this week!

~ january reflections ~

Wow.  I am in too many projects right now!!!  I'm not sure how I can find or maintain any sort of balance in my life with all this stuff going on!  Unfortunately, you can see it in my photos, which doesn't make any of it fun.  I should just embrace the fun that is creating and go with it, but I've been stressing over every. little. thing.  I'm sure it's because I am spreading myself too thin!

Speaking of which, the month of February brings "February's Alphabet Fun" over on flickr.  I'm doing it, of course.  Feb. 1 = a is for....  Feb. 2 = b is for....you get the idea. I'm sure explore will not find me this month!

a is for apple

b is for breakfast

Both of these photos were also placed in the group We're Here!, and part of my 365. So three-fers, bonus. 

I've noticed that this 365 attempt is quite different than my first failed one; both good and bad differences.  I'm probably taking better photos overall.  Like before, I am thinking about it often and looking at life through that lens, so to speak.  I find myself, often, thinking, "Wow, that would be a great picture".  Or thinking about the lighting, the composition of what's going on around me -- can what's going on around me have composition?  I'm not sure how to word that!  I think you get the idea.  But a couple of differences:  I'm caring too much about it. I am completely stressed out about the fact that my last few uploads have been...not so hot.  Isn't that the silliest thing ever?  I know it, but I can't seem to get past it.  Also, I'm not taking nearly as many photos of my family.  The whole purpose of buying the camera and getting back into creating scrap book layouts was to take better photos to document our lives.  How did I stray!? 

I enjoyed the OLW blog hop!  As I'm looking around at all of the creative fun around me I'm wondering "How do these people do it??"!  And I haven't even started back to class yet!  Next, week I start a new graduate class, but it's OK because this time next year, I will be DONE (or close).  Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is a good thing, but I'm not sure how I to balance it all between now and then; family, work, photos, OLW, scrapping.  YIKES.

So, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed today.  "Really?" you say,  "I couldn't tell!"  On the upside, look at all of the orange in the photos above!  Whew!  Awesomeness!