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  • project life 2012 : weeks 43 – 44

    Finally, I’m all caught up with sharing these spreads! My goal is to wrap up 2012 on time so I can spend all my energy focusing on moving forward. I love my album, but it is my first try and I view it as practice. I think next year’s is going to be easier and better. :)

    Awful photos today, sorry about that. My camera died and I had to use my phone. Anyway, here we have the second half of November, including Thanksgiving.

    The top right quote card is again from the Project Life freebies page. A couple random photos, David’s “meal planning” post-it note, and some talk about work because it’s been crazy there lately.

    I love how he was planning what dish to cook in what…but they all ended up saying “pan.” :)

    Thanksgiving pretty much took over this side. Mostly just photos. Meredith and I also had lunch with a friend of mine one day so that’s in there too.

    A little write-up of the holiday. I love making my own simple journaling cards with stamps and washi tape.

    From here on I hope to share with you two weeks at a time, the following week. I’ve been keeping up with it so far and I think I’ve got it down!

  • self-care resolutions chart

    So after I wrote this post last week about how far my reality falls from my ideal in the area of self-care, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. My original intention was to incorporate these things into my monthly goals for next year, but I was inspired so I decided to do something about it right away.

    Most of the changes I needed to make were small and all I really needed to do was get them incorporated into my routine. To that end, I made myself a self-care resolutions chart.

    chart

    Right now I have it hung on a clipboard that’s on our refrigerator, and I glace at it a few times a day to make sure I’m not forgetting anything. I put check marks where I’ve completed a task and x’s when I don’t. I know I won’t have to keep using this forever, but until it becomes habit I am very motivated to fill it out.

    There are three things on the list that are big changes. Daily Bible study, family dinner, and exercise. So far I have made the first two happen (although it’s only been half a week). In order to have some spiritual alone time I’ve had to move my wake-up time back thirty minutes. It’s tough to wake up at 4:30 but I go to bed super early so I don’t notice the difference after I’ve had my coffee, and it’s a much better way to start the day. (More about this soon.)

    As for family dinner, it’s really just a matter of planning ahead. Over the weekend I picked out four meals that are extremely quick and easy to make and we did the grocery shopping. If I leave work on time I get home anywhere from 5 to 5:30 and I’m cooking by 6, we eat by 6:30. If a meal takes longer than thirty minutes to make it has to get saved for the weekend because it’s just not happening after work.

    The last big change is exercise, and truly right now I’m stumped as to how on earth I’m going to make this a regular thing. I already wake up at 4:30, and after dinner it’s time to shower and get ready for bed. I go to sleep at the same time as Meredith which is around 8 or 8:30. I could do some kind of workout on the weekend, but once a week isn’t optimal (although I know it’s better than nothing). It’s sad but this might have to be saved for when I’m at a different point in my life.

    Anyway, the resolutions chart has been working for me so I wanted to make it available to you if you think it’s something you could use. Find it here on Google Docs, then just save a copy and edit away. I don’t have a reward system in place at the moment (nerd alert: the feeling of accomplishment & how much better I feel about myself is reward enough for me) but you could totally do that.

    Note: I have a post coming about how I use essential oils for health. Also note that I am not currently eating all that healthy but I haven’t mentally worked up to that change yet so it’s still to come. :)

  • Winter Loves

    // Moleskine smart notebook paired with Evernote. This is a note-taking, list-writing match made in heaven. I use Evernote for a ton of different things, but sometimes a physical list does the job better for me. So I bought a Moleskine smart notebook which is already super high quality, but this one has special paper (or something?) so that if you take a photo of the page an upload to Evernote your text will be searchable. I used fabric tabs to separate my notebook into four sections and I keep it with me at all times.

    // DUKTIG Mini-kitchen by IKEA. This is one thing Meredith is getting for Christmas. I have seen it in real life and it’s very cute. I love that it is neutral and simple in style so it will go with anything, but I can also dress it up if I want to.

    // Young House Love by Sherry & John Petersik. We met the popular bloggers on their tour and I have had a lot of fun paging through their book. Can’t wait to tackle some more house projects.

    // American Crafts Christmas roller date stamp. I am becoming obsessed with these date stamps and this one is perfect for so many things during the holidays.

    // Gap cozy classic stripe scarf. I can’t find a link to the black and white one online, but I want it. I may have to go find it.

  • december daily week one

    After one week of this project I can very surely say that although I love the idea of a holiday minibook, I will not be doing this as a daily project next year. Not because I can’t keep up with it – I kept the format simple for that reason and it hasn’t been difficult – but because I just don’t have something holiday-related to document every day.

    Truth be told, most weekdays it’s all about work, trying to get home before Meredith’s witching hour, and surviving until the next day. So next year I’ll just do a holiday minibook, not a daily album. That said, I know I will be happy to have this one! Here are my pages so far.

    It’s really simple (and kind of boring, but oh well). Notice that a couple of days I don’t even have a photo, because I was too busy or there was nothing noteworthy. On those days I just stamped a random pattern on the cardstock. Also, I originally bought a set of brightly colored red- and green-patterned washi tape to use, but I just didn’t like it in here so I ended up using what I already owned. I guess I’m just not a bright color person, but hopefully I’ll find something to use it on.

    Enjoy your week!

  • project life 2012 : weeks 41 – 42

    And I’m almost caught up! These weeks are from November 4-7. Next week I hope to share the rest of November and then I’ll be on track.

    It’s almost like two full spreads because I included a 12 x 12 insert.

    I really like this side. It’s neutral but graphic. I stuck in the ticket I got when I voted (they weren’t handing out stickers), a picture I adore of David and our nephew Lucas, a random one of Meredith at my mom’s, and the photo of my book of lists, because I launched the project that week.

    This was my favorite pocket, describing our weekend morning routine. The days of the week are cut out from a Paper Source wall calendar I have.

    Here is the insert I did for a random day off I took. It’s pretty self-explanatory, I think.

    And the right side. The quote in the top left pocket is a printout from the Project Life freebies page. Included a few random pictures from the week, my ticket for Breaking Dawn, some of the Advent calendar I made, and a little explanation about my uncle’s hospitalization. Is it sad that one of my goals is to set up a better place to take self-portraits other than my bathroom?

    I love this project so much.