Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Project Life - What is it and Why I do it

Before you were born I use to scrapbook full digital 12x12 layouts. I would fill galleries, but I did it more as a "job" since I created scrapbooking layouts. My focus was to simply sell a product. Once you were born, scrapbooking became more of a passion as a means to document and preserve the memories and the life of my daughter. That's how this blog came about as well, I wanted a way to get down all the thoughts and stories I wanted to share with you. When I became a mother, that form of scrapbooking no longer worked for me. I believe somewhere I still have a few layouts I tried, but I didn't love. I tried to create and find new ways. It was after you reached about 6 months I found a new approach- Project Life. Specifically I found Ali Edward's approach. You'll find me speaking of this lady often since she's one of my biggest inspirations. In the last year or so I've come across some of the most amazing women. What I want to do is to share my project life with everyone and hopefully inspire a few more to take on project life. 


capture life.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Journal: Refusal to wear a diaper.

So here I'm sitting on the computer looking through all the amazing blogs, blog hops, stats, and all the logistics to make this blog keep going and continue to grow.. blah blah right? 
While I do this you sit and watch your Preschool Prep company videos. Literally the best learning tool for learning Alphas, Numbers, colors, and shapes... but at the same time THE MOST ANNOYING videos for mommy. 
M... M... M... M......... M........M............ M M M M
yeah that continues until it switches to
N... N.. etc you get the point.
I peek up from my laptop to look at you, like I always do, and you are just sneakily staring at me. You reach one had up and start to pull at your diaper... You KNOW what you are doing but you keep doing it. You then go after the other side. 

yep no more diaper.

I really feel like you are ready to take on this potty training stuff, but at the same time I'm unsure if you are completely ready! 

The only solution I've found to have you keep the diaper on so I don't get poop on the floor is to put you in overalls!! ha you haven't managed to learn how to remove those yet. 

I'm just going to continue to watch for the potty training signs, keep talking about it, and continue to see if you are ready. 
Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

Project LIfe- Scrapbook the everyday

I have something fun planned for everyone...

over the year of researching, documenting, creating, and evolving my project life album has been one of the greatest and most rewarding things I've done. I want to share with everyone what I've learned, who to see for inspiration, and I want to put together easy simple links and shopping carts to help ease the inevitable stress of project life.

so I've started:

Scrapbook the everyday- Project Life- Simplified scrapbooking 

A project life series 
I'll be posting 

HOW TO
SCRAPBOOKING SUPPLIES
INSPIRATION
TIPS
TRICKS
SAMPLE KIT PURCHASING
LOOK INTO MY ALBUM
VIDEO ALBUM
PHOTO STEP BY STEP
DO'S AND DON'TS

and 
more!
I'll be doing it the entire month of August. 

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Photo Finds- mommy/daughter matchups

I seen this photo of you and thought hmmm I remember a photo of me as a baby making the same face.. well I went searching through old family photos and I found the one I was looking for, but OMG I never really thought of how much you and I look alike. Everyone says you look like daddy, but for sure as a baby you look like mommy!


I love awesome photo finds ;)


Everyday Recipes- Funfetti Cake Dip

So I've been posting crazy amounts of recipes over on Pinterest. I never end up making them, but I decided to start. I found this recipe by Eat Yourself Skinny. check her out she has an amazing amount of recipes over there. Of course I will always put my own twist on things, I will not measure things out, and I will not stage what it looks like, honestly I just want to make it and eat it.
my take:

mix-
cake mix
yogurt
whipped topping

Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix (just seemed the way to go)
tub of Whipped Topping (off brand.. a difference?? really?)
and 
two containers of Vanilla yogurt (I mixed that up because I just wanted the rest of the vanilla to eat later.)

pretty basic and simple.


then just dip with graham crackers... or like em does and leave them behind for later ;)


once mixed and graham crackers found... eat and enjoy!! 
btw its healthy ;)

Friday, July 27, 2012

Dear Emma 7/26

Dear phone licker-
You've turned a 200+ dollar phone into a chew toy. Is it taste?? I wonder what it would taste like, it seems to have your attention. Usually you use my phone for its more logical uses such as making phone calls. Whoever you call it seems to go like this " ahah la ahh ehh i uv u - then it always freaking sounds like dada. I uv u dada!" I always seem to continue to give into the insane idea that my cell phone became a chew toy.... or else this happens


I have tried to solve this issue with your play flip phone...



but its only somewhat cool. Hopefully ill have my phone slobber free one day
Love wet phone owner

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Everyday Stories- True love

So many times i get asked how i make it work. How have you and your husband made it 9 years?? Is it that storybook romance of true love ... in a way yes, but it never came as easy as some would think. Fairytale loves never do. Look back at everyone of those Fairytale couples, they encounter real life hardships in metaphoric ways. Belle struggles the beast as do we sometimes- that hidden resentment and anger one might feel and need to overcome. I see Ariel who would do anything to change to be with the one she loves. She evolved herself into the person she WANTED to be and found the love she was looking for with him. Like them my fairytale love didn't come without sweat and tears. They still occur even now 9 years later. You actually find yourself unable to know yourself without the other one. You no longer are one but two in one. You find that you would sacrifice everything, give your entire being to that other person.



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

how to keep a 2 yr old entertained


  


lobster- Dafont . pacifico- FontSquirrel . josefin- FontSquirrel . Governor- LostType . Otoma- FreeTypography . Champagne- FontSquirrel . Bebas- FontSquirrel .

Dear Emma- 7/25

Dear sippy cup thrower- 
How I feel right now, is angy. I had a really hard, very sturdy blue munchkin sippy cup hurled at my head. You have the tendency to be very demanding when you want a drink. Usually you force your cup into our hands. We are trying to get you to say more like juice or milk.. which you do sometimes. It sounds more like uice and choc milk. I do not know what was behind the very angry demand for more to drink that proceeded the head bashing. I literally had blood pouring out of my mouth. That is not an understatement either. Oh by now I'm completely over it, its just the one thing I'm working on with you. You have hit those terrible twos and the hitting and meanness has started. Hopefully this wont go on for very long, but I seriously doubt it. I'm figuring it will end 15 years from now :)
love one very understanding mom.

Friday, July 20, 2012

planning project life



So I finally had the chance to work on pl album today. You slept for 2 hrs. I was actually able to catch up all the house work, and get all the pages planned out. I finished up journaling for this week, I'm only 3 weeks behind!! oh yea.

I keep myself planned out directly in my pl album using a four set of post-its. I usually use the pink ones for dates/date cards, the blue ones for journaling, and the orange ones for photos. Then I take the yellow ones and add notes of the inserts I'll want to use. yeah they are all mixed up in this one because I lost the extras ;) emma..... 

Project Planning: year 3 pl album.... smaller??

I found amazing inspiration today!

a blog from an amazing everyday scrapbooker


I'm just so in love! thickers, wood paper, big photos, ink on photos, and SIMPLICITY!! I'm in LOVE

so I took on pinning some more of her pages to keep seeing the inspiration. I went through her entire album so far, and its truly inspirational.

here are a few more of my favorites:

I love the white pen on photo. I was wanting to get some Ali Edwards ones, but when I want them to say names etc. this is so the way to go!! 
Vee also takes the same approach. I've notice that my 12x12 same layout spread is beautiful and I love it... but I seem to get behind sometimes.


phewww I love a night of great inspiration!!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Project Life 2013?? will it happen??

Well I'm pretty much planning on it at this time. I absolutely LOVE documenting and creating my pl binders. I know when you get older you'll love to look at everything I've captured. (pretty sure anyway)

Well what got me motivated was when I stopped by Ali Edwards blog and checked out her weekly project life post. She is always motivating and helps you keep up when those weeks don't seem like its worth keeping an album like this. Sometimes it gets seriously overwhelming and you stop and think is this interesting enough? or is it the same stuff every week??? will you actually look through these when you are older?? She shared that Becky Higgins has put up all kinds of new info and product photos for whats to come the rest of this year. I'm always so excited to see everything early because I get started 3 months before everyone else.

her full update is here-
http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2012/07/full-update-on-project-life-products/


so as always I wanted to share my thoughts and what I love. 

So My thoughts so far for 2013 is to keep with my standard 12x12 wrmk lilac albums. the albums are 29.99 and shipping depending on where you go can very between free on amazon with a large purchase or 12.99 on specialty scrap store sites. Thats why I usually save and purchase all my albums, core kits, and page protectors in one big shipment. This year I'll buy as I think stock will go. If a pl core kit becomes available I'll purchase it THAT DAY! no additional thought because it will be gone within days. 

what I want to do different is get a variety pack of the page protectors.
these are 24.99
the one thing I hated the most this year was EVERY page was laid out exactly the same... just inserted with a few more pages like 8x10 and 4x6. BTW watch what 4x6 I used because I'm using ones you have to manually punch to get them to fit. 
I also want to pick up some of the new variety packs I'm seeing revealed. 



and these-


I'm not sure what the going prices of these will be... but I still love them so they will be on my wish list. I feel like the new variety of page protectors will increase the look of my pl albums!!

next choice will be my core kit. My thoughts wont become definite until late July early August when they reveal the new ones. Im considering Colbalt and the 2 new ones as of now. I've already owned Clementine, and turquoise is too boyish for me. Amber and Cherry haven't peeked my interest enough.


She recently went through and spiced up the core kits!! way more versatile. Just what I like to see.

there will be more cards and front and back cards!! makes my day ;)

and this is what she left on:

{ coming november 2012 }Two new Project Life editions, of course! The two designers are already working on the two fantastic new looks, and we’ll reveal who they are later in July or early August.

nice. ^_^ 

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

currently: Meet the Robinson's

so a little recap on current loves, likes, life, and all around details of the Robinson's... 

oh and yes I went there ;) let's Meet The Robinson's


oh wait that's not us... not terribly far off though. 

So lets start off with you of course.
Emma-
loves Preschool Prep Company videos-

these videos are an amazing way to learn your shapes, numbers, colors, and letters. I would really recommend these to any parent with a toddler.
and
Mott's medley fruit snacks-

they are so delicious I even steal them ;)

Mommy-
 is just loving this show- true blood is based on a favorite set of books called the Southern Vampire Diaries or Sookie Stackhouse novels. All in all just a crazy show that I've become strangely hooked on. Don't ask me why...


and i just love like always to keep up with my project life and my smash books, though it wouldn't seem like it since I'm days and oh wait weeks behind. I swear by the end of October I'll have documented your entire 2nd year pl style and have completed your entire 1st year Smash Book style. Then I'll stop and think nice and hard about how I want to document your 3rd year.


and Daddy!!

He's been hooked on this new game- Portal 2. its a really unique mind and puzzle game. He's awesome at it and I'm trying, and I've really gotten the hang of it.


and he's always checking out reddit. Its totally the guys version of pintrest.com. They post funny articles, pictures, and all around total dude stuff.


Sunday, July 1, 2012

A new outlook on life... new motivation and new love for life.

So I've spent so many days and so many nights trying to simply understand myself and my life. Yeah it sure takes a lot out of me. Its been recent that I just came to the final decision... I'm tired of coming up with excuses, I'm tired of just being tired. So I'm doing it and I'm writing it here to keep myself accountable to you. When you are old enough to remember mommy she wont be this overweight self conscious girl she'll be the strong and confident woman that I pray for you to be. I've been surrounded by family members either struggling with weight loss or doing what needs to be done to fix it. There is two who are my most inspiring people. Your Uncle Ryan and your Aunt Shannon. Let me see if I can find a before and after photo of your uncle. Well it looks like I don't have one before, but this one is during the process in 2008...


and this is after in 2011...


your uncle lost over 100 pounds, shoot I want to say 150 even. One day he decided he was going to eat better, exercise, and just loose the weight. He made the decision and followed through with it. Now sadly I'll show myself when I was young 2004 when daddy and I first met...


then in 2010 after I gave birth to you....


I put on over 100 lbs. since christmas of 2010 I've been doing better but to be honest we are coming around 2 years later and I'm maybe only back down to 170. hey 30 lbs IS A BIG DEAL! its just that I know I can do better. This is me now.


you can see a different but not as much as I would like to see. I'm getting older and the pounds wont shed off just eating slightly better or walking a little more. I need to actually step it up!! 

My goal

for the first time actually check and document my weight 
read blogs and motivational information
use spark people 
start the couch2-5k.

I've tried the couch25k in thought only and I used sparkpeople.com for like a day.... yep thats it, but I was reading a blog by a woman who lost a ton of weight in a short time and thats exactly how she did it.


So here it goes... DAY 1 ;)

always have to start somewhere. I'm going to go buy a scale, find my weight, and do my first run couch25k style, and start my spark people profile.