Category: documenting

  • project life 2012 : weeks 29 – 30

    This is August 12 – 25. Still doing two weeks at a time.

    This was when Meredith really took off walking. I also started my project of cataloging and organizing all of my books. We started a bedtime routine, David’s car got totaled & his parents gave us theirs, and M. turned 13 months.

    On the right side is just some odds & ends. I included a couple receipts from the night we went shopping as a family and a fortune I got in a fortune cookie. “Happy news is on its way to you.” I had to blur some personal journaling because it’s not my place to share it with the Internet.

    I only have a couple hours each weekend to work on personal projects uninterrupted. I’m trying to get myself on a schedule where I do Project Life one weekend and work on the blog the next. Right now I’m not yet caught up but I’m getting there!

    David was looking through my album the other day and he was surprised when I told him I plan to continue next year. I do though; it’s still so fun and rewarding! I do plan to purchase a core kit for next year though. When I saw the new seafoam edition I knew it was something I could really use, and some premade cards could save me valuable time.

  • project life 2012 : weeks 27 – 28

    So far still combining two weeks into one spread and it’s working well for me.

    These weeks aren’t my most inspired or colorful, but that’s okay. It’s what happens when I have to finish them on a week night after a busy work day. I’m just grateful for a husband who likes to take the baby on errands with him to give me some time to myself.

    Stuff is kind of out of order here. I took a close-up of Meredith’s feet to signify her taking her first steps, and I will probably dedicate more to her walking on the next week since that’s when she really took off. On the bottom is a picture of David and I when we were hanging out watching the Olympics together on a night that Meredith went to bed early. It doesn’t happen often so I had to document it. At work I did an interview with my mentor and we made it into the hospital magazine so I cut out our picture to include.

    At some point I received a book in the mail (from Bookmooch) and I cut out the stamps on the package. Then I wanted to highlight a perfect little moment I had with Meredith one day, so I gave it its own pocket.

    I got a picture of me writing in a patient’s chart at work – several things from work made it in this week and usually there are none – and included an update on the cross stitch project I’m working on. Of course I had to do a little summary of VEDA since that’s a big part of my life at the moment, and then there’s also a photo of me and my two best coworker-friends, one of whom just transferred somewhere closer to home.

    I used a lot of neutrals this week so next I think I need some color!

  • a first birthday scrapbook

    Like I mentioned in Meredith’s first birthday post, the thing that was most important to me about the event was doing something to remember it by, including a sort of guest book. After all, she won’t remember the party, and I knew it would be a blur for me, too. (It was.)

    At first I tried to think of something unusual, but in the end what I kept coming back to was a simple scrapbook, because that’s what I love. My idea was that I’d buy an Instax Mini camera, have everyone take a picture with Meredith at the party, then decorate a page and write her a note. (This idea may or may not have been influenced by the fact that I’ve wanted an excuse to buy an Instax for awhile now.)

    So that’s what we did!

    I set up a station with instructions and supplies, thusly:

    There was also a box with color coordinating papers. Then I just went around telling people what to do. My husband was great and took the camera around and made people take pictures. He knew how important this scrapbook was to me and he made it happen! (That M was a chipboard letter that I covered with washi tape.)

    The result was amazing! Everyone made a page except for one family (my aunt, uncle, & cousin) who were late.

    The nice thing is that by the end of the party it was done! It gave people something fun to do while they were there and now Meredith will have a special book to look back on.

  • project life 2012 : weeks 25 – 26

    I combined the last two weeks into one spread again because I really wanted to get caught up.

    Most of this was centered around Meredith turning one. This isn’t the primary spot that I’m documenting her birthday (there will be a blog post about her party next week, a scrapbook we made, her baby book, and her birthday book) which is why I didn’t do an insert.

    Here we have one of her 12-month-old pictures and updates, a movie ticket stub from the date David and I went on, a photo of M. on her actual birthday at dinner with David’s family, a clipped-in Instax photo of us with my uncle who was in town, and a cute picture from the party – with the few seconds that Meredith actually wore her tiara. The pink banner above the quote was one of the cupcake toppers. :)

    Photos of M. with my aunt & uncle and a rare family portrait up top. The “thank you” card came with a CD that I got Meredith for her birthday and inside I wrote down the other gifts I got her. Then there’s a shot of M. at the doctor’s office, the weekly rundown, and a card from Einstein Bros. where I had brunch with a friend. On the bottom is a picture I love because everything is in focus except Meredith, who is blurry and on the move, but you can tell she’s smiling. Then I thought it would be fun to put in one of our grocery lists.

    I still love this project, but I am thinking that I might start combining weeks like this regularly so that I can keep up without being overwhelmed. I only have limited free time to myself, and there are other projects that I want to focus on as well like decorating our house, revamping my blog, and finishing some cross stitch. But the great thing is that this scrapbook style is so flexible, and anything I choose to document is better than nothing!

  • project life 2012 : weeks 20 – 24 (& what’s been up with us)

    Hey there. I have so many things to write about and share here, but let’s get caught up first, shall we?

    A lot of different small-ish factors converged at once to bring me to the point where I had to take a break from blogging until things calmed down. The tipping point came when we had to cancel our cable and Internet temporarily, but we are back up and running again and life has generally resumed its former normality.

    In the meantime I’ve mostly been keeping up with Project Life, so I thought a good way to recap what’s been going on with us would be to share my spreads.

    Here we go.

    Week 20 (June 10 – 16)

    This week:

    >David went on a fishing trip with his dad and brothers, then later that night we gathered to eat what they caught.

    >I made my first from-scratch pizza (and ate it instead of the fish because ew).

    >Meredith slept better than the previous hellish week, but still had a few rough moments due to teething.

    >We went to the wedding of an old church friend and saw a lot of our favorite people we used to see every week when our church was still functioning. My brother and his wife babysat for the first time and Meredith did great with them.

    Week 21 (June 17 – 23):

    This week:

    >For Father’s Day I let David sleep in and we had brunch with his family. A little later we went to see the play my brother directed (Godspell Jr.) followed by dinner with my family and dessert with David’s.

    >Meredith turned eleven months old (the blank spot in the bottom right corner is where I’ll eventually place her monthly update once I get around to writing it).

    >David’s Aunt Lorraine came to visit from Pennsylvania so we spent a lot of time with his family.

    >We went on a one-day road trip to Austin – documented with an insert.

    Week 22 (June 24 – 30):

     This week:

    >I had book club where we discussed Nicholas and Alexandra.

    >Had to lower the crib all the way to the ground.

    >We closed on the refinance of our house – always a stressful time (this is our second one).

    >I was in charge for two days at work (not my thing).

    >Saw my nutritionist and got the ‘OK’ to quit taking the myriad of supplements I’ve been on since before I was pregnant.

    >Had a girls’ night with a couple of coworkers. It was the longest I’d been away from Meredith and the first time I’d been to the movies in six months (we saw Rock of Ages).

    >Meredith got her hair cut.

    Weeks 23 & 24 (July 1 – 14):

    This spread is two weeks combined. The first week:

    >I made and sent Meredith’s birthday party invitations with the help of my mom and my friend Lauren.

    >M. & I went to the neighborhood pool.

    >I completely reorganized the nursery to make it more toddler-friendly.

    >For the 4th of July David had to work, so Meredith and I walked in our neighborhood’s parade, then spent the afternoon hanging out with my parents and had dinner with David’s family.

    The next week is what I’m referring to as “The Lost Week.” We didn’t have cable or internet, we were under severe financial stress, work was busier than ever and I was coming home late every night, it stormed constantly, David and I hardly saw each other and when we did we were arguing.

    Thankfully the weekend brought a respite from work and bad weather, and we were able to spend some much-needed quality time. We got back on our feet financially and talked through some things, and now happily all of these issues are in the past.

    That brings us closer to the present, although I’m still a week behind. Meredith’s birthday party was last weekend so I’m kind of in recovery mode. But!

    Right now…

    We’re getting our groove back. I’m carving out time for blogging again and dreaming up projects. I want to finally start working on our house (the bedroom! the office!), set a budget and stick to it, and figure out how to be more active. I’m eating a lot of chocolate. Still reading, all the time reading. Dipping our toes into the water of a new church. Loving my one-year-old, soon-to-be toddler, and growing my marriage.

    Glad to be back.