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project life 2015 : may 1

I’m trying to catch up on sharing my spreads with you! I have them printed through May, and I have them created (in the app) through June. This spread covers the first half of May.

So this was kind of the beginning of summer. For this side of the spread I decided to number my photos and caption them all on one card. I stamped them and wrote the journaling after printing.

On the right side, all I did after printing was handwrite some journaling and glue down a couple of movie tickets.

One thing I notice is that I didn’t balance my handwritten journaling very much. I’m still getting the hang of creating these spreads in the app and finishing them up after printing. I do still love the process though, and how much simpler it is.

I’m actually thinking about simplifying my everyday documentation even more starting with July. I’ll keep you posted!

July 6, 2015
around here // worn out
I’m reporting to you after what felt like a very long week, and rarely have I been more grateful for a 3-day weekend with zero plans.

Liam was sick with fever for two whole weeks. What started as a virus led to an ear infection and then to a stubborn sinus infection. I mean, 17-month-olds barely even have sinuses, but whatever Liam has wasn’t very happy. You can imagine that he also wasn’t sleeping well and was pretty fussy.

Thanks to incredible support from my mom, mother-in-law, and of course my husband, I only missed one day of work and went in late another day. It’s stressful because I have already been “verbally warned” about unscheduled days off at work even though I’m doing the best that I can with a son who has been sick literally ten different times in the past half year. Obviously, I am so grateful that his illnesses aren’t major and that I have a job – and my director is so understanding, she even hated to give me the warning but she has to be fair. So that’s been the undercurrent of life lately – classic working mom probs.

Some other stuff I’ve been thinking about…
- Establishing a solid strength training routine
- Meredith’s 4th birthday party – it’s just for family (25-ish people) at the park. What’s the cheapest way to feed everyone (no grills)?
- A good night’s sleep…I daydream about it.
- Ice cream. I want it all the time.
- How to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible.
Alright, let’s have a great, restful weekend and meet back here on Monday. Sound good? Okay!
July 3, 2015
what i read : june 2015

The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman – This was the third in the Magicians series, and the whole thing was just so much fun to read, and each book was better than the last. Supremely satisfying conclusion. (5 stars)

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – This one has had so much buzz and has been recommended highly, but I’d been avoiding it because everyone talked about how much they cried during it. Even though I believe in the idea of being present for suffering, I tend to avoid it in my personal reading because it can affect me strongly. Finally I read this for my postal book club, and although it definitely addressed a heavy topic and had an emotional ending the characters were just lovely to spend time with and it didn’t devastate me like I expected. I enjoyed the whole experience thoroughly. (4 stars)

The Hundred Year House by Rebecca Makkai – I listened to this on audio, but I actually wish I had read it and I’d probably enjoy a re-read. There was a lot to untangle and with a story that has so many layers of truth and myth it was hard to keep straight in my mind without being able to look back. Maybe because of that, the more I think about the story the more I like it.

At the center is Laurelfield, a stately mansion built in 1900 which began as a family house and morphed into an art colony, to a house and back again. The story is told backward, beginning with the contemporary inhabitants in 1999 and ending with the plot of land and the reason for its building.

It made me curious and drew me in deeper and deeper. I was mildly interested in the characters during the first half, a little more when some details of the past were revealed, and when the shift in time happened I was all in. I wasn’t deeply emotionally affected by it, but I think it’s very well done and I recommend it for almost all readers. (4 stars, audio)

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter – I really liked this. There is a lot going on, and it jumps around a lot (in time and between characters), but even though some characters don’t appear all that often I still felt like I really knew them and cared what happened to them. I’m glad I waited until summertime to read this, as it is pretty light in tone for the most part, but does have emotional depth. My favorite scenes were those from the 1960’s in Italy, and I loved the two main characters, Pasquale and Dee. Overall it gave me a hazy, warm, nostalgic feeling that was quite pleasant. (4 stars)

July 1, 2015
LIGHT : june
I’m continuing on the fairly positive path I started on at the end of April regarding my journey with the word “light.” I’ve pretty well recovered emotionally from a rough couple of months before that, and now I just have to keep the over-achiever in me at bay.

When I look at each area of life that I’ve been focusing on – spiritual, emotional, physical, relationships, and creative, I see that there are a lot of positive things happening in each one, but also progress to be made. Right now I’m choosing to focus on the positive.

This month was a writing-heavy one, kind of like a mid-year reflection. It was a helpful exercise.

I looked back at the action items I wrote down a couple of months ago, and I was pleased that I had made some progress. I was also pleased that they still resonate with me, even though I acknowledge that I won’t be accomplishing as much as I expected.

I really liked the last couple of questions in this exercise; they asked what one specific action I’d take this month to move forward, and also what three things I’d like to accomplish before the end of the year.

What I did this month was to choose a mantra from a Bible verse that I can recite to myself constantly to bring the focus back to my word. 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” And my new mantra is walk in the light as he is in the light.

The three things I want to accomplish by the end of the year are:
1. Have a solid workout routine involving strength, running, and yoga.
2. Actually clear guest room of items to be donated.
3. More prayer: alone and with the kids.
Here are the monthly reflection cards for May and June:

Halfway through the year and I still feel very connected to my word!
June 29, 2015
link roundup / 28

>I loved Elise’s monthly photo project documenting her & her daughter’s year, and I super love the photobook she made from it. I just might have to do something similar (see photo above)!

>Gorgeous blog about home life, and as far as homekeeping goes one of my strengths is tidiness. Loving this series about keeping things clean.

>I’m so inspired to start a strength training program!! Now who wants to be my workout buddy?

>These summer outfit ideas are just my style.

>Speaking of style, here’s another year-round wardrobe that I love.

>One couple is restoring a mid-1700’s chateau in France. I’m SO into this.

>Even though it’s so hot outside now, I still love a hot cup of coffee in the morning (probably because my husband keeps the house so cold). BUT I’m switching to iced coffee for my second cup! I use a cold-brew press (this one which is unavailable, but you could also use a large, regular French press), then dilute it with water 1:1 and add a little milk and simple syrup.

What do you have planned for the weekend? The only thing on my schedule is book club! I’m going to try and finish the book I’m reading for fun and hit up the library. Maybe get crazy and tackle another decluttering project, who knows?? Have a good one!

June 26, 2015