project life sales pitch :)

here's what you need to know about me, first and foremost: i'm not crafty. i'm definitely not a scrapbooker. and yet, my husband knows that if our house is on fire, he is to get mikey and these project life books out before anything else. my sister introduced me to becky higgins a few years ago when she was doing her first round of project life [back then it was still project 365, right hojo?] i was in awe, impressed and kept thinking - if i ever get married, i want to do that! then i got married & even got myself a baby... i blogged about our first year of marriage pretty thoroughly, but didn't start project life... decided when i got pregnant that i was going to do a book for my baby's first year. [when mikey was born, there was only the cherry edition offered] even started a new blog to help me keep up with journaling. [highly recommend that, i know from holly's experience that getting behind was a b!tch... my getting behind was only ever just needed to get pictures printed, getting the journaling actually printed onto the journaling cards - but it was done from the blog...] ok. so mikey's first year was up. i took a little bit of a break & decided to do 2012 on shutterfly, using the clementine edition. honestly, the biggest set back for me was using the digital elements at first. i had to get used to it, i had to build my confidence and patience, and then the other thing was just not having the actual book in my hands as i went. that is a huge plus for the paper. even though with the digital, i could flip through the book online, i wanted it in my hands. oh well, i survived. and now, i've just purchased the baby edition for him paper style & am dying with how cute it is. seriously, i'm overwhelmed with putting it all together because there is so much and it is so dang cute. and then i decided that i also wanted to do a family 2013 book. i'm doing a digital layout that i'll get printed and put into 12x12 pages and put in protectors and in a binder. i'm dying with excitement overall about doing this. so maybe i'm more of a documentor than scrapbooker...  i have to admit i like the creativity that is involved, even if my style isn't super specialized or developed. ok. on to the pictures:

cover:

 back:

thickness: 

 size comparison to mikey's baby book:

 and thickness:

 just some of my layouts. i designed these, using the elements on shutterfly.

 every single page is personalized... so it is all my style. 

every layout was a 2 week spread 

 there is plenty of journaling in here.

some of these pictures make my heart melt 

while 95% done on instagram, i did insert a few pages throughout the year with real camera pictures, typically special events... or photo shoots with hojo. 

 introducing the baby's book. this is just the title page & it makes me squeal. 

can't wait to fill these pages out & get some pictures put in there. oh dear! 

 seriously, the book is to die for cute.

when mikey saw me with the real camera out, he said, "take pictures of me? i cute!" i had to oblige. 

i am so thrilled tonight with this book. and excited about the baby's new book. and our family book this year. and the new baby coming. LIFE IS GOOD. document it!

things are changing around here...

so. we're in our 3rd week of our second round of feeling great in 8, this diet/health program that we're doing. the first time around, it didn't click for me, diet wise. i felt limited & hungry. i struggled. all in all, i lost 8 pounds - but i'm pretty sure that was more that i was exercising than eating all that great.

this time around, i'm easily getting in my fruits and veggies & i'm not resenting it at all. whole wheat - everything? not a problem. all in all - i'm motivated this time around. i have goals that i'm working towards, short term and longer term. i'm rocking this.

by the end of this week, i'll hopefully be up to 8 pounds. by week 2 - i'd lost 6.5 pounds. i'm enjoying the exercise. and i'm not craving too much junk. [though, honestly at bookclub last night, i wanted some of that apple pie being passed around & typically - i can give or take the pies. but i didn't cave.]

i found this lady's blog a few days ago. and i'm finding her totally inspirational. she started off my size-ish. she has made me think that maybe i can get down to where i was when i moved into my house 7 years ago. something i never thought i was going to get to. heck fire, i had told myself if i could just get down to the weight i was at when we got married, i'd be good. but now, i've set my goals even higher. or lower. you get it... being a size 6 again - not impossible for this girl.

i bought a couch to 5k app today. and i just did the first workout. it wasn't bad. which means if all goes right in 8 weeks, i could be able to run a 5k without stopping. i hope i make it. i'm going to try real hard to talk garrett into doing it with me. 

what am i doing right now? eating between 5-10 servings of fruits and veggies per day, drinking 64 ounces of water, eating whole wheat stuff - no white flours, not eating junk & fried foods - which is big for me, doing 45-60 minutes on the wii fit plus every day and walking for a half hour on the treadmill. the wii fit plus is not too hard on my back and i can feel the yoga is paying off with my back. and i'm watching shows on netflix while on the treadmill & loving that. 

p.s. on that blog - she took a picture every time she lost 10 pounds & it is amazing to me. you betta' believe that i'll be doing the same thing. i'm not sure if i'm brave enough to post those belly shots on here. maybe in the end when i have so much to be proud of. :)

day 16: long exposure

i'm not a photographer. i don't know how to do a long exposure picture. so i'm going with a play on words of sorts. mikey has had a long exposure to books. he loves to sit and look at them himself. we read to him everyday. before bed, we try to read 3 books. the last one we read to him every night is goodnight moon, a favorite and classic. [he loves pointing at the red balloon when he sees it!] i hope that he grows up loving to read. the teacher in me will be so proud, i will feel like i did something right, at least - no matter what. i love his bedtime routine. we take turns - switch off nights, cause i didn't want mikey to get too dependent on either one of us, in case i had book club or something. we make sure he's not thirsty, we brush teeth, we read books. we used to sing some lullabies but haven't been doing that for a while & he's just fine. we lay him down and give him his blankey and stuffed animals. most nights, no tears. i love it. i feel like he's a happy, well adjusted little man. i feel positive about the habits we're helping him form. ok. that's my long exposure... goo' night.

day 15: sorta silhouette

this is as close as we could come to a silhouette. i do love those cheeks.

day 14: eyes

i was going to do a picture of my eyes, after "yesterday's post" about my beautifiers...  but then i didn't put an ounce of makeup on today so that was a no go for take off. then tonight, mikey was playing on the keyboard for garrett's ipad. i kept trying to take a picture of him and everytime i would talk to him, he'd try and swat me away. i was buggin. so finally i just decided to capture his intense eyes. i love them.

day 13: me & 13 things

13 very important beautifiers...  1) flat iron - though i only use that for my fringe these days. 2) eye lash curler. 3) hair rubber band. i can't do without these guys. 4) tooth brush - to keep the cavities away. 5) phomollient - momma like the smell. 6) confixor - momma likey that it keeps my hair sort of under control. 7) oil mattifier - for my greasy forehead. 8) age defying eye cream. duh. 9) eye primer - to keep the eye shadow in place. 10) oil free moisturizer - cause i have a few crazy dry spots of skin that so far only this bad boy can take care of. 11) aveda mosscara - P-dub introduced me to this & i enjoy. 12) eye liner - taupe. 13) eye shadow brush. everyone should have a nice set of brushes for their makeup. they just should. it makes a difference.

i'm not saying i'm pretty, but i do get complimented on my eyes & i have a few tricks. but these things help me. i'm 32 and i don't want to age my skin, so for almost 10 years, i've been using age defying products. i like when things make my hair smell good - cause i can't always keep the frizz away. anyways...

day 12: sunset

i don't have a sunset picture today. there was no sun. it was completely cloudy all day long. all of a sudden it was just dark out. i do have this cute head to share though. sorry...  i know, another mikey picture. good news: no fever today. one of these days, i need to catch on video how we "charge" each other & then wrestle. it is my favorite. you know how on elf he says "smiling is my favorite"?  well this is my favorite. i love making that little dude giggle. it is wonderful.

got a sunset last night... 

day 11: something blue

i should've posted this last night, i took the picture yesterday, but then forgot til i was laying in bed. i didn't feel like getting up to do it. it was a long day. he had a fever for the third day in a row. which came with "crabbiness and fits of energy but mostly just wanting to be held. by daddy." in the afternoon, his fever kinda broke. then he went back up again to 101 before bed. who knows. for now we're all just sort of blue waiting to find out what is wrong with him. 

day 10: a childhood memory

when i was pretty little, i wanted to be an astronaut. i wanted to go to the moon someday. i had a telescope and loved reading books about the planets. garrett took this picture of the moon tonight - it is huge! i love it. [and yes, i pretty much still love looking at the moon and imagining.]

day 9: someone i love

i apologize for not posting this yesterday, i did take the picture yesterday. it was just an awful, busy day... mikey had a 102-103 degree fever yesterday. in the morning, he was happy spirited, maybe just wanted to be held more than normal. by evening - he was lethargic and cranky. it had me really nervous. mikey wanted nothing but his daddy. he loves his daddy so much. i love the kind of dad garrett is. i tell mikey all of the time that he will probably never know how good he has it. 

day 7: fruit

i saw on pinterest that if you take your bananas apart, they'll brown slower. i'm testing them out this time. p.s. mikey loves mango. loves. i love him. love. all is good in the world. [see how i can make anything about mikey? its a trick i've learned.]

day 6: low angle

mikey's favorite thing to do these days - walk this little bike/car/walker dude. i love that this picture is blurred because he's always moving. he loves it. i love watching him go away from me because his bum is so stinking cute the way it shakes just a little. and then i love watching him come towards me because he is so proud and happy. i love this boy. 

day 5: from a high angle

we were practicing walking this morning. but he couldn't concentrate while i had the camera out. 

day 4: something green

mikey was wearing his adorable green camo jammies this morning, but garrett went and got him dressed on me. mikey loves tossing the tennis ball around with anyone willing to participate. funny mikey-ism... we've decided he's part wolf. when he's angry, he puts his head back, chest out & howls. tonight, he was also crawling around chanting, "die!" - we're hoping that he doesn't really know what he's saying. he was also having a lot of fun walking across the room tonight. i love that he's really getting the hang of walking. he can stop and catch his own balance if he wants to. mind you, throwing himself at either one of us is still more fun sometimes. but he can do it! i love him. this week, as i've seriously had zero energy and just all around felt like crap - his little self is the one thing making me still smile. this has been a nasty stomach flu!

day 3: clouds

these clouds aren't nearly as dreary as my day was. it was a very hard, very long day. i hope tomorrow is better. 

day 2: what i wore today

today is recovery day from yesterday's flu. still not feeling 100%. i say that you all should just be happy that i put makeup and a bra on. yoga pants are my favorite to lounge in. 

day 1: self-portrait

i think this was supposed to be done in october, according to wherever i found it. i think on pinterest. i can't remember and i'm still a little sicky from yesterday. [stomach flu has pretty much wiped us all out in the last 3 days.] i managed to get a picture yesterday, but i didn't have the energy to sit at my computer to post. so today is catch up day.

my self portrait is kinda forced. believe me, you do not want to know what my face looked like yesterday. [not that it is any better yet today.] my foot is in the picture. along with the feet of my 2 favorite people.

oh & i'm going to try and find a few minutes later today to download halloween pictures, so don't worry, mamasita.

mix tape mania 2011

Remember back in the day when blogging was fun? (yes, that is a dig.  at you. at me. at all of us.) When we made new friends and we were all obsessed? Before Facebook and smart phones took all the personality out of blogging? Back when I was angry and cynical and needed a forum to vent about my students. My life. I loved blogging. I still do, but because this has always been a public journal for me. Not some way to whore out my craftiness (since I have none) or business (I was a terrible Mary Kay sales person). Just a good ol' fashioned place to interact and share. One of my favorite things we did was mixed tape sharing. Of course the tapes were CDs, but you get my drift.

I'm going out on a limb here and organizing a mix tape mania shares*alot. You have until Friday to let me know if you want to participate. Then I will email everyone over the weekend and let you know how many people are participating and how many copies you'll need to send. You'll mail to me, I will then mail out everyone's mix combos. I would like to have everyone get their copies to me by the end of next week & then I will try to get them mailed out ASAP. It could be fun if you balls up and participate. Leave a comment here if you want to do it with your email address.

the irony of this post is that i typed 95% of it on my iPhone. forgive my hypocrisy. please still participate. i've already thought up a lot of my playlist... think: adele + ingrid + gaga + florence... i'm excited!

1000 posts

i started blogging in april of 2007. at the time, i was a wounded, struggling, cynical, emotional mess. i had been hurt pretty bad in the love department & at the time seriously doubted that i'd ever find true love. i wasn't even sure i wanted it. i surely didn't think i'd ever be where i am now,  a wonderfully happily married woman with a baby, living a life i'd always dreamed of but didn't really realize would be so dang perfect for me.

sometimes when i look back at how blogging has changed for me, it makes me a little sad. i didn't start blogging to become an internet sensation of popularity. i started blogging because i wanted to have an outlet to write, to journal, to vent... i knew i hadn't done so well with an actual journal in the past, so i thought i'd give this format a go. it has worked well. but, i didn't realize how much i'd like sharing my thoughts with people. and getting their responses. i blame the convenience of google reader for things changing - and yet, i still use it. along with 2 of my sisters, we formed a little group of blogging friends. i never thought i'd make friends over the internet... kinda laughed at that, but it has happened and now that those friendships have sorta faded, i miss them. some of those people rarely blog anymore, some made their blogs private, whatever the reasons - the personal touch has faded. sad. i still blog, because like i said, i never blogged for popularity. i blog for me. i just miss the good ol' days of blogging a little. but i am much more content with where my life is now, so i'll cope.

i will continue to blog to journal, to vent, to write. i used to be bugged with blogs that only posted about their kids...  yes, i realize i'm a hypocrite & that i'm becoming one of those people. but in my defense, my baby is very young [in other words he consumes my whole world] & i'm trying to write about other things, too. and while my ranting and hanging out labels used to be my most blogged about, now geekiness and my little family are making their way to the top - i couldn't be happier about it, even if it makes me a little bit of a hypocrite.

in an attempt to make blogging what it used to be again for me, i am going to be a better commenter in 2011.

"hey, look - no hands!"

earlier this week i got pictures printed for project mikey. i can not even begin to express how glad i'm doing this. this is going to be work, sure - but an absolute treasure. tonight, i got all caught up on the journaling part [which by the way isn't that tough to do because i just copy from the blog.] 

while i was doing the journaling, garrett was holding mikey & perfecting a new trick. no hands. now that is talent. does mikey even realize how lucky he is to have a dad who is so tricky? i doubt it, but someday he'll appreciate.