Right Now-October 2014

1. Right Now I am reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey) and listening to the audiobook of Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins).

2. Right Now I am thinking about what I will be doing for Christmas gifts

3. Right Now I am 3 months into my journey to become fit after 40. I have completed the PiYo workout and am 5 weeks into my first round of P90X3. I feel great!

4. Right Now Jason and I are eating cleaner than we ever have. I have lost 21 pounds so far.

5. Right Now I am attending Beautiful, the women's small group ministry. But I'm thinking about getting back into choir. Jason is doing the tech team.

6. Right Now Jason and I have been attending Grace Family Church Waters Ave for about 4 months. This is after attending Grace on Van Dyke for 5 years.

7. Right Now Emery's most-asked-for shows are Peppa Pig, Dora, and Doc McStuffins.

8. Right Now I am enjoying my assignment for this school year with the charter team. It's busy and it's mostly testing and meetings, but I like the variety of settings. I have 16 charter schools.

9. Right Now I love Emery's school, and that her teachers love her.

10. Right Now I have inadvertently moved Emery's bedtime back to about 7:30-7:45. She's usually in bed by 7:30, but we still have to read our books and say our prayers.

Scrapbooking the everyday pictures

Here are my "everyday" layouts for the months of January, February, and March of this year. I had begun the pocket scrapbooking style last year, as an effort to record the memories, but I was trying to do it by week, so I only lasted a couple of weeks. But this year, I have been buying the monthly Storyteller Collections from Just Jaimee designs, and I LOVE them. Those along with the page templates from Becky Higgins for the digital project life, make it so easy to finish layouts now. I focus more on grouping together pictures I've selected from that month to make as many layouts as I need to. So far, it's been about 3 for each month.

In January, I focused on Emery playing, random photos I had of her, and our weekend trip to Jacksonville for our nephew's birthday party. Emery was into the show Super Why then, and the book Goodnight Moon. She also started wearing socks to bed, but she wanted them to be different colors. So I had to take pictures.

And this is February...

 And March...

I'm excited at how quickly these are coming together. I think if I go back and do 2013 in a similar fashion, I'll have a whole book in record time. Since documenting the memories is one of the main reasons that I do this, the everyday pictures are a large portion of the memories when you look back later.

Why I Scrap: Documenting and Creating

I've been reading a lot of different blogs lately from different scrap sites and designers. Some of the focus has been on why you scrap. So that got me to thinking about why I scrap. My initial thought, of course, was that I scrap to document the memories. And while that is true, I have realized that I do enjoy the act of creating almost just as much, if not more. I get a lot of pleasure from making something beautiful, while being able to document that memory. Because, essentially, posting pictures on facebook or Instagram is a kind of digital memory keeping. But that does not give me the same type of gratification that creating something does. There is something that I love about putting a layout like this together: picking a template, choosing the pictures, selecting the embellishments, and then seeing the finished product. I love it.

A-Splishin' and A-Splashin' (left)

A-Splishin' and A-Splashin' (right)

The only thing is that it takes longer to do (at least for me and my borderline-perfectionist tendencies--when creating), than I have time for in order to get everything that I want to done. I mean, I STILL am working on "My Story of Us" album, and I've been married for 8 years now.

So, I've discovered pocket-style scrapbooking, which has been the trend for a couple of years now. (I did some pocket-style pages in 2013, shown here, but then I stopped to create more layouts.) It does help to move things along much more quickly. I also find it ideal for all of those random photos that I take, which wind up being the everyday things that you want to remember. Half the time, on a regular layout, I struggle with embellishment placement. You can only do so many flowers, even for a layout about a girl. So, since the pocket-style has pre-made journaling and filler cards, it makes it so much easier to embellish! And there is still that element of creating.

Items by Just Jaimee

The bottom line, though, is that I plan to do a combination of both. Overall, the stand-out photos or events may get layouts, while the more everyday photos (or even those stand-out events with lots of pictures) may get the pocket-style page. It's just whatever I want to do at the time.

Turning 2 (Well, 9 months ago)

I've been really behind on posting things that I've wanted to on this blog, so I'm trying to catch up now that I'm on my summer schedule. This was supposed to be posted some time in the fall. 

Emery turns 2!

Emery turned 2 last September (so she's really almost 3 already). It's so hard to believe that she's not a baby anymore. She literally has grown up right in front of my eyes. Tinkerbell has been the theme of the year, since she has become a favorite character of Emery's. First, she referred to her as "the girl," then "Tink-a-gul," but now she says her name correctly. So I went with a Tinkerbell theme for the birthday, which resulted in purple and green as the colors of choice. My mom made this great tutu out of a combination of tulle and other fabric. She also got this great little Tinkerbell motorcycle. She likes to ride it for a few minutes at a time.

Right Now...

This post was started back in March, and I'm just now finishing it...

I recently looked back on one of my previous posts from a little over a year ago, and was glad to see some detailed information about what Emery was doing at that time. (Here's another one, too.) I keep thinking about how good I've been about getting pictures of Emery, but I haven't been as good at specifically recording the different things she was doing at different stages. So I want to use this blog to help with some of that. 

So, here are some of the things that Emery is doing (or saying) now...

1) I made up a little song with her name, and she has started singing it. But she says "Emery Elibazeth"

2) When she has an itch, she tells me that she has bugs. I'm sure that it started with a mosquito or something, but every time that she says it, I wonder if her teachers think that she's dirty.

3) 

Well, that was all I had written, and I'm glad that I had even that little bit, because I'd already forgotten about the bugs. And I don't know if I had a #3 in mind already, but if I did, I don't remember what it would have been. Another reminder for me to record these stories, and just what's going on, more often.

So for now, in June:

1) She currently likes watching "Caillou" and Disney movies. Her current favorite is Cinderella. I love that she calls her "Cindery-rella." So cute.

2) Of course, Frozen is a favorite, too. I think it is for most little girls, from what I've heard. This includes wanting a braid -"on my neck", singing "Let It Go" (with the hand motions), and watching YouTube videos of random girls singing "Let It Go." 

3) She catches a lot of what is going on around her and is really into people's names. When American Idol was on, her favorites were Alex and Jena. She remembered their names from week to week, and asked where they were. She knew the last names of a lot of her school friends.

4) She's learned that red means stop and green means go. Yesterday, I was pulling up behind a line of cars where the light had just turned green, so I had to stop. She said, "What are you doing? It's green." I tried explaining it to her, that you can't go right away, the light had just been red, but she was adamant that it was green. (Which leads to another topic...how extremely odd it is to see yourself in your child.)

5) Our typical morning routine right now is that when she wakes up, she sits on my lap for a few minutes, watching whichever show or movie she's requested, drinking her milk, before we get dressed. I know those times won't be possible for much longer, so I enjoy it while I can.

6) She has pretty strong opinions about what she wears right now. Some days I can get by with giving her 2 or 3 choices of shirts that she's not too crazy about, and some days it HAS to be what she wants. She currently is into dresses. You know, because she's a princess.

7) We attended 3 weddings within about a month back in the spring, and her teacher got married around the same time, so she was really into noticing when people were wearing fancy dresses. The other day she saw one of our wedding pictures and told Jason that that was when Mommy got married. Jason was like, "I was there, too," but she didn't buy it.

Emery First Year Weekly Photos

I'm excited that I've finished another scrapbooking project. (I actually finished it in September, but didn't get it printed until around Christmas, and I'm just getting around to sharing it here.) I have taken a picture of Emery at least once a week since she was born. We originally started trying to do a picture each day, but that only lasted until I went back to work when she was 7 weeks old. So, I switched to once a week (also known as Project 52). I decided to do a simple photo book of the first year weekly photos...no journaling, just chalkboard layout, the date, and how old she was. I'm getting "behind" now, since she's 2, but at least for now, I'll enjoy another project completed.

I printed this through Blurb, 8x10 size. (Note: make sure you check the printing specs before making a layout. I had to redo all of these, since Blurb's actual print size is not quite 8x10.) I made my own template, and used a chalkboard paper by Melissa Renfro. The fonts I used were: Bergamot Ornaments, FFF Tusj, Grutch Shaded, Hungover Outline, and Chalk-Hand-Lettering Shaded. This picture shows thumbnails of all of the pages. It's so fun to look back and see how small she was, and how much she changed in just that first year.

One Word (and Maybe More)

Last year I discovered a concept that's been around for a few years now, called "One Word." I've seen a couple of variations on it, but the main gist is that instead of New Year's resolutions, you choose one word to reflect the changes you'd like to make for the upcoming new year. I did come up with a word for 2013, fulfill...but I didn't really focus on it the whole year like you're "supposed" to. I don't think I ever really told anyone about it, either. Apparently, you're supposed to make it public, too.

For 2014, I thought I'd try again, though. According to the things I've read about this idea, you either choose the word, based on what you'd like to see changed, or you just "happen" upon it, and you know that's your word. So, I thought about it a bit as 2013 was ending, and I first thought of the word "focus." I figured I could work more on being focused since I have a tendency to be disorganized and distracted at times. But, as I continued to ponder, I realized a bigger need that I have...one that not only my husband has expressed for the last 7 years, but my father has, too for at least 30 years. So, it's a pretty big undertaking, I guess. But I have a big tendency to take things too seriously, so I decided that the word "light" was going to be my word for 2014.

Then, I thought about the word "enjoy." I thought about how I need to enjoy life more, and along with that, to be more content. But then I felt like that may seem too flippant, so I went back to "light."

I started off by looking up the definitions in order to figure exactly where I wanted to go with this, because I know that words with multiple meanings can provide a fuller experience. I'm going to share a few of these definitions that I've liked in order to state what I'd like to see. 

1) not very profound or serious; amusing or entertaining

Well, that's pretty much in line with what I'd like to do...not take things so seriously, lighten up. Obviously, in important things, I will still be serious, but the things that don't matter as much, I'd like to be lighter. 

2) free from trouble, sorrow, or worry; carefree

That's even better, and that's in line with my faith. Yeah, I'm going to have troubles, but they don't have to weigh me down, because I believe that God is in control. I'm supposed to cast my cares on God. In Matthew, Jesus tells the tired and burdened to come to Him, for his yoke is easy and His burden is light.

3) a gleam or sparkle, as in the eyes

and 4) to cause to brighten, especially with joy, animation, or the like

I put those together, because that's a related (but also desired) component of what change I'd like to make. (See why you want a word with multiple meanings?) A bit about me...I'm not a very outgoing person, but I am nice (at least, I consider myself that way) if you reach out to me. I like to have friends, but I'm not always the best at reaching out, which in a sense, I guess, makes me unfriendly. But I want to be friendly. And part of the way to do that, is just with a smile. And to light up my face more. 

5) spiritual illumination or awareness; enlightenment

I definitely could use some of this in 2014. I'd just like to see some changes in certain circumstances in my family's life, but I want to know that it's what God has for us. I think about a book by Stormie Omartian, that I read a few years ago, called "Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On." I'm only going to be given a little direction at a time, so that I keep following God. 

But, that's it...my word for 2014. (Although, I do think "enjoy" also gets at some things that I think I need to remember...such as being content and just enjoying the people and things I've been given, so maybe I'll go against the "rules" and do Two Words.)