Hello, Happy Monday!
Whew, we have been busy around here lately. Jasmine has started back up on Tae Kwon Do, and we are so happy about that. So far, the class is kicking her butt every session as she gets back into shape with the drills. TKD is a twice a week class, with the optional Saturday class for forms (katas). We attended the Saturday class this weekend, and it felt like we were completely immersed in all things Tae Kwon Do. Sunday mornings are occupied with church and Jasmine’s involvement with the kids’ choir. But, I know it is doing Jas some good. Last night, as she was going to sleep, she said to me, “Mommy, I am so happy.” Both TKD and church provides her a well rounded set of activities that touch on improving her mental fortitude, physical endurance, and spiritual awareness.
I’ve been trying desperately to catch up on our Project Life album since I slacked off so much during summer and vacationing in early September. I finally have some pages to share. A few things to note about my Project Life approach:
- I do my PL on a monthly basis. I did a weekly approach for my 2012 album, but I find the monthly approach gives me more flexibility to work on the album as time allows. It also gives me freedom to have however many pages I want to have dedicated to each month. I don’t stick to a 2 page layout per week, or 4 page layout per month. The activities we have on a given month will dictate how many pages I do.
- I tuck in most memorabilia into the photo pocket pages so that they are already in the appropriate month.
- If I have time, I will do a journal card for a specific memory or quote I want to capture before starting on the page layout. I tuck those into a page protector to create a placeholder for the appropriate month.
- I limit any typewritten journaling and just go with old fashioned handwriting. To me, journaling goes faster this way, and it also provides my loved ones a memento of my handwriting.
- I include text on the photos I print that provides a short blurb about the photo. Again, I do this for expediency’s sake.
- I use a mix of PL kits and cards I cut from my patterned paper collection.
The page below is the last page of July. My son TJ has been seeing his girlfriend for a few months now and she has a son who is a year younger than Jasmine. We finally got to meet him in July. Jasmine and he bonded over Minecraft. Always a plus when kids have similar interests. The entire page documents their visit and our awesome day at the beach with them.
Page 1, August 2013.
I realized I haven’t been including food pictures in my PL lately, so I included some this time around. My 2012 PL was filled with lots of food related photos, and it was actually great to look back on those pics because it gave us some ideas on what meals to incorporate back into our rotation. Rob and I laughed about the Before and After Spam pics. I snatched up the Becky Higgins PL Kit by Dear Lizzy – 5th & Frolic at my local Michael’s store, and I started using it starting this month.
Page 2, August 2013.
- A visit to the Library – We overdid it on the books we checked out. We didn’t finish all of them and didn’t renew any since we were scheduled to go on a cruise soon after the due date.
- A weekly trip to Adventure Island – We had a week day membership to Adventure Island. Fridays were the only days we could go due to work and school, which limited our time there, but we sure did enjoy ourselves. We made lasting memories for sure!
- A soccer championship win! The surprise from Daddy was an Adventure Time Lumpy Space Princess plush doll. Jasmine can do a perfect imitation of LSP and we crack up every time she does it.
Page 3, August 2013.
Back to School for Jasmine! She was so excited for her first day back. We bought her some really rad black faux leather Guess shoes and they were blinged out with studs and rhinestones. When she got home from school, she was so happy because her teacher was so nice.
Page 4, August 2013.
Rob and I had lunch with Jasmine at school on Friday. It’s always nice to do because we get to meet some of her new friends. We have been hooked on Whole Foods lately. We love that everything is organic, and we can get some delicious prepared foods for the weekend.
Looking on the bright side of being so behind on Project Life: As I was organizing and editing the pictures I took months ago to work on my PL spreads, it was almost like opening gifts when I found pictures I forgot I even took, and going through the photos is such a nice recollection of those moments.
Why do I love Project Life?
- I love creating an album that provides details about our day to day life throughout the year. I have very few pictures of me during my childhood, and I know how important it is to document these memories.
- It gives me a great way to display all the photos I take throughout the year, instead of the 1-2 photos on a traditional 12×12 or 8.5×11 layout. The divided photo pockets in the page protectors make it a fairly quick exercise as well, granted I am not behind.
- The process makes me grateful about our wonderful life together, no matter how ordinary or spectacular the event. Each photo I work on makes me smile.
- I love that my family will come into my office when I am working on the album and they look through it. Jasmine will do this every time the album is open. Sometimes she’ll remark on the specific activity in the album, or her own photo: “I like/don’t like that picture of me.” Then the next time she gives me a hard time about taking her picture, I remind her how much she likes looking through the album.
- It gives me a creative outlet when I have time to be more artsy, and it gives me the freedom to be as simple as I need to be when I don’t have much time.
Would love to hear if you do Project Life! What are you loving about the project so far?
[ Work in Progress ] 