Project Life Week 16: Happy week

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Another great week. It’s great to look back in pictures in our life. One thing to note that I don’t think we memory keepers/family historians rarely do is that we most often capture the fun and good in our lives. The fussing and fighting and angry faces rarely make an appearance in our scrapbooks. It can leave viewers wondering why their life isn’t always so happy. So have no fear, we are not perfect and we have tough moments in our lives too. However, I treat my scrapbooks like my visual gratitude journal. I try to capture the things that give me joy. I like this process because it helps me to slow down and find good not just in the extravagant but the ordinary. So when I start off saying another great week, it was not without hiccups but overall I am forever grateful for the time.

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Now, onto week 16, I liked this title card because I simply had to add the numbers and the word April to make it work.  I used this cute wooden embellishment for the photo I took of the lake I walk. I love how you can still see the lake through the letters in it. Very cool.

The weather finally warmed enough for me to start taking the boys to the playground again. So Apollo took the opportunity to play on this spinning wheel. I don’t know what they call it. Do you? I always think back to my hamster Hamilton I had growing up and watching him run in his wheel.  I also captured them sitting on the deck steps soaking in a little sun.

Nicholas loves his comics and one day he lined up Apollo’s stuffed animals and put the corresponding hats on them and lined them up on the couch to look like Huey, Dewey and Louie! Of course I also captured my dinner at the Yardhouse. A new favorite dinner for me.

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My insert this week was a print out from a blog post talking about my evolution of my e-readers. I figured, why reinvent the wheel when I don’t have to?  I attached the packaging for my newest tablet/e-reader – Kindle HD Tablet to the back of this insert. It will be fun to look back 5 years from now at what was the “cool” technology we had.

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I included pictures from my day-long crop with my crafty gal pals. It’s always so much fun. I can’t go back until the fall because from this point forward, my weekends are dedicated to family. But when I go, I love the talk, the crafting and the food we all bring – yummy!

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This time around my first book I downloaded on my Kindle is a book about cooking. Not really a cookbook but a book about how our habits around food and cooking have changed over the past 50 years. I find it fascinating and it is helping me to redefine my own habits. I included a picture from my Zumba video. I have been doing pretty good incorporating it into my workouts.

week16eRarely does Nicholas smile for my pictures so I was all over this one and processed it in black and white.  We visit my in-laws most Sundays and on this week, I had music playing and it was so great to see Vovo and Nicholas dance and then Apollo danced with her too. It’s a great memory for us all. They are blessed to have able-bodied grandparents that can play and dance with them. I never take that for granted. Especially since both of my parents have passed on, I try to ensure our boys spend lots of time with Leao’s parents.

Great week. I’ll see you next week with Week 17.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Project Life Week 13 – My Week into Wellness

projectlifelogo1Week thirteen was a week that was filled with my journey towards living a more clean lifestyle. If you remember one of my goals in my One Little Word project is to Connect more with my body.  What I mean is to find ways to learn more about improving my health, moving more through exercise, really connecting to what’s going on right now with my body so that I can treat it right, and of course connecting to better nutrition on a daily basis.  I really wish that nutrition were really taken seriously in school when I was growing up as well as today. Just think how much healthier our country would be if we all knew more. Like the saying, “If you know better, you do better”.  Knowing and truly understanding are critical so I have begun a journey diving into nutrition books to learn more.

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I started buying cute smaller plates for my meals to keep it fun and to help with my portion control. Because, I am pretty sure you might find that ‘Seconds’ is my middle name on my birth certificate since I love going back for seconds at dinner!! I also started looking up clean breakfast options. I found a cute 3×4 card that was titled, “Hello my name is” and it made me think of the sticker you put on your blouse when you go to a meeting so people can see your name. I took it a step further and added letter stickers for my name and wrote a brief description underneath and included it in this layout.week13b

This winter we had so much snow that my plow guy, pushed too far and damaged one of my pots and raised vegetable bed. I knew it as soon as I saw the snow line and had to wait until the snow melted so I could see how bad the damage my raised bed took.  Not as bad as I thought and Leao said he will fix it despite the fact that my plow guy said he would fix it.

week13cSince books are a large part of my life, I had to include pictures of a great book haul I had that week. I realize now that this week was primarily about me. Which isn’t a bad thing. But it still feels strange to only have one picture of Nicholas and noone else.

I also bought a foam roller to start to help release the tension in my shoulder area as well as other areas of the body. I will say this, it is not for the weak at heart!  It hurts like when you get deep tissue massage because that is exactly what it does. I will figure out how frequently I will do it but glad to add it to my arsenal of wellness.

My sister always finds the funniest cards and sends them to me. Easter was no exception and I pretty much wet my pants the first time I read this one so I included a photo.

This week, was a hard week for Nicholas who came down with something viral that left him without energy and appetite. Eventhough I knew he would recover, it didn’t make it less stressful. It’s the worst thing to witness your child unwell.

The last photo is a Zumba photo I sent for check in with my workout partner and friend, Maria.  We have been doing this for a long time now and she keeps me motivated and honest on this journey. Everybody should have someone in your corner when you are trying to get in shape because it is essential to long-term fitness. I fess up when I cheat and share when I am doing good. It’s great to know someone else is there and going through the journey with me. Love it!!

Ok, I have to go enjoy the sun. 80 today!!

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Project Life: Week twelve – My girlfriend weekend

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Hello! I think my week off with the boys zapped my organizational skills because I thought I had already prepared this post before vacation and scheduled it for today. Only to find out that none of that was true. So I had to process this photos for this post and gather my thoughts to share. Here it goes…

week12aWeek twelve!! Well, this was a highly anticipated week because it included my 4-day girlfriend creative getaway.  As many of you may know, I go away once a year with the most talented and inspiring women I know. So this week, was extra happy because I was anticipating the fun to come.

week12bI took a picture of both boys the day I was leaving to share with my friends. Apollo did some kind of pose that looks like he might be dancing.  Nicholas took the time to show off his March Madness t-shirt he would be wearing later that day because he volunteered to help. Each year, I feel bad because March Madness always coincides with my girlfriend weekend so he doesn’t go. But this year, Leao took Apollo and Nicholas. They had great fun.

I included a funny picture of the “happy pills” my friend Kathryn left on my desk one morning. She gave them to all of us and inside was fun candy in the shape of pills. It was funny to see each of our reactions to the case on our craft tables.

Down the bottom was my daily selfie shot that I sent to Leao and the boys. I usually took them in my room or at my craft table so they could see me and what fun things I worked on.

week12cI tried to contain myself when it came to including too many photos and finally gave in to some inserts.  Another selfie, photos of the scenic view while Ashley drove and of course our favorite place to stop for  a sandwhich before finishing the last 40 minutes of our journey.  On the left, I found it fun that a journal Leao had given me that I brought to write in, coordinated with the linen on my bed and pillows.

week12dHad to include breakfast pictures. They are so yummy. I worked on some sunflowers that I had pre- cut on my Silhouette. Then I took a picture of this amazing baby blanket Cathy made for Ashley’s new baby girl. Cathy even made me a pretty knit hat. She is another one of my talented friends who pretty much can do it all, sewing, knitting, paper crafting. Such an inspiration.

week12eI had to include a packing organization picture since that is part  of the process the week prior to the trip. I included my organization of my watercolor and stencil supplies. Since I wanted to try out some watercoloring.  I also included a funny screenshot of a conversation I thought I was having with Ashley to coordinate what I was bringing. Only it turned out that I was texting Leao and even though he responded to tell me, somehow I missed this fact for a few more texts!! I almost wet my pants when I finally realized I was texting him instead of Ashley!  Another great thing is that only another crafter gets how much stuff you bring to a crop or weekend away.  So I included a photo of the final bag total before loading it into the car.

week12fI love that I can get the same room every year. I love the fireplace and layout of the room. I decided a picture of me relaxing in my room would be a great thing to reflect on when I get home so there you have it.  I focused on coloring with different mediums this time around so not just my Copics.  I had new watercolor paints and gave them a try. I also had watercolor pencils. Very fun.

week12gDown time is great because there are all sorts of conversations going on and always something to eat or drink available. I always think I am going to really eat too much but I think with the exception of breakfast, I do pretty good.

week12hOne night we had take out brought in for dinner and I had to snap a photo of all the food waiting for us. I had the most delicious salmon that night. Totally ordering that next year.  I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Well I will be back next Monday with week 13. Wow! We sure are cranking along here aren’t we?

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Project life: Week ten

week10eHello Everyone and welcome to week ten of my Project Life Album. I typically use 4×6 cards as the weekly title card but this week, I had many photos and the 3×4 card was the perfect option. I circled the week and added letter stickers to spell out Week 10.

week10aThis was a fun week. I included mostly photos from the weekend since that is when I took the most photos. I also didn’t stress about placing the photos exactly in the order they happened.

week10bI was listening to a podcast the week before this one and the topic was about preserving memories in multiple formats. I always take pictures but I am guilty of not using the video camera on my iPhone to capture picture and sound. I know that I cherish all audio I have of my mother’s voice and wish I had even more.  So I decided to start incorporating some video in my memory keeping practices.

My brother-in-law came into town for a surprise visit with my mother-in-law so I took the opportunity to capture a little bit of video to hear the discussion especially with the boys. It’s funny, I always force Leao and his family to pose for group photos and they always comply knowing I like pictures. A cousin even dropped by and I dragged him into the photos too. I loved listening Apollo talking to his uncle about his new iPad mini. Apollo was so serious and wanted to provide all the details.

week10cNicholas rarely poses for photos so when I saw him willing to pose with his Vovo, I snapped away. I also had to include the cutest photo of the boys at their annual physical. They do it together ( I know these days are limited) and they looked so cute in their hospital gowns. No shots…yeah!!

I went on a nail detox for myself. No nail polish for several months so I took a photo of my first day back to color play on my nails.  I often won’t wear it, if I am working on projects for Belinda’s Crafts because there is nothing worse than coloring and preparing a product only to smudge your nail polish on them the last 5 minutes of work.  Not fun. I usually scream and toss the project aside to hopefully salvage at least for my personal use.

I participated in 30-day coloring challenge and I included a photo of me “coloring on”. I love that challenge. Out of the 30 days I believe I did about 17 days which I wish was more but glad I did it and would like to continue on my own.

I also ordered Zumba and I included a picture of me watching the videos for the first time to get acquainted with them before I begin using them. It’s funny because I am laying back with my feet up. Sure wish that I could burn calories watching rather than actually doing the exercises!!

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I loved using the wooden embellishments from my Cocoa Daisy kit. It’s so pretty I almost didn’t use it.

Well I am off to do some work. I hope you are having a blessed Monday.

I’ll be back next week with week 11.

Belinda

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