Project Life 2012 - Week 2

I finally got the finishing touches on my Project Life week 2 layout! So here it is:













The Left Side:





















The Photos:

Monday sticker is from the Turquoise Edition Digi Kit. Font is Courier New.


















































The tag is from the Clementine Edition digi kit. Font is Courier New.
















The journaling cards:

This card recolored from the Turquoise Edition Digi Kit. Font is Courier New.
















The Right Side:





















The Photos:

The Good Stuff square element is from Cafe Press















The tag is from the Clementine Edition digi kit. Font is Courier New.



















































The Journaling Cards:

All cards are from the Turquoise Edition Digi Kit. Font is Courier New. On this card, I used a shrunken down version of one of the paper elements from the turquoise kit for the little red dotted border.















On this card, I resized it and used the green paper from the turquoise kit as the background.















I didn't mess with this card from the kit! But I did add the "1" from my American Crafts Thicker collection:

















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Project life is a system created by Becky Higgins to simplify how we document life and preserve memories. You can find out more about Project Life here. You can find more of my Project Life posts here.

Project Life 2012 - Week 1

I am very excited that I have actually stayed on top of this project this year! I am especially excited that I told Jonathan about it and there have been several times he has picked up the camera to get some photos for it too!

I have had week 1 done for several weeks now, just haven't had a chance to photograph it and get it posted, so here goes. Project Life 2012 Week 1:













THE LEFT SIDE:






















The photos:


























































The journaling cards:

From the Clementine Digi Kit. I used the grid part from a title card and used the polka dot from a background card. Font is CK Becky's Hand.















Card and arrows are from the Clementine Digi Kit. I forget the fonts though!















Card and Thurs sticker are from the Clementine Digi Kit. The font is Courier New. I am liking the typewriter look on others pages and am thinking I may have to check out Goodwill for an old typewriter so I can use some of my own journaling stickers from my stash!
















THE RIGHT SIDE:






















The photos:





























The "Cherish the Everyday" stamp is from the Cobalt Digi Kit
















The Cards:

Both cards are from the Clementine Digi Kit. Font is Courier New and the little floral border across the top of the card in the middle is Stampn' Up.















Card is from the Clementine Digi Kit. Font is Courier New.















Card is from the Clementine Digi Kit. Font is Courier New.

















I have gotten a little more experimental with changing colors and mix and matching kits as I get further into this project. Eventually I want to add more physical elements from my stash and maybe even make my own cards too. That all requires time, though, which is something that is in short supply around here with an 8 week old! In the mean time, I am still really enjoying the fact that I am staying on top of these every week and getting these done!

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Project life is a system created by Becky Higgins to simplify how we document life and preserve memories. You can find out more about Project Life here. You can find more of my Project Life posts here.

January 2012 Roundup #1

I started following the blog of Katie the Scrapbook Lady because I loved her concept of a monthly roundup. Not only does it sum up your monthly activities. but it's a reminder to keep on top of your photos and get them tagged and backed up, which is something I really struggle with. It normally seems a daunting task to me, because I am so behind and have so many to do, but this month, I decided to follow her round up and at least get this month tagged and backed up, and it only took a few minutes! If I actually stick to this, maybe it won't seem so overwhelming after all. Anyway, here is my Roundup...

1. What reading/learning did I do this month? (books, blogs, magazines, ebooks, podcasts, classes, etc.)

I read:


















Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. There were a lot of medical terms that were way over my head but the base story was very touching and sad. I cried quite a few times during the story but the most at the end.






















Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long. This was a quick read and a little irritating. The main character was pretty dramatic and self absorbed and took a LONG time to make any personal growth. What I did like is the cryptogram saying her dad left her in a notebook. I liked decoding some of them before they were revealed in the text!

I don’t know what the deal was, but I chose two books that both contain stories of babies dying. I think that’s part of why I cried so much during both of them. Being a mom now sure has made me change my perspective on grief and loss. Just the thought of ever losing my little man tears me up inside. I need to move on to happier stories in February!


2. What entertainment did I watch/listen to this month? (movies, tv shows, plays, music, concerts, etc.)


















Before being parents, we watched lots of movies every month. Now that we have much more time invested in a third person in our household, we were only able to hunker down and watch a couple. We watched “Friends with Benefits” and “The Green Lantern” on DVD. “Friends with Benefits” was funny, but “The Green Lantern” was horrible!


3. What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?

We had Mark and Brenda over for the final playoff game of the 49er’s versus the Giants. Whoever won went to Superbowl XLVI. Sadly, the 9er’s lost in overtime and things were very sad in quiet in our house after that game!






















We spent some time with Mae-Mae and Papa at their house, breakfast with Papa and Mel and Isabella, and Papa came over to our house a couple of times to say hello and drop off some baby items for us. I hope to continue spending a lot of time with them as David grows.






















We also went to the Home and Garden show with the Intiso’s. This was our first real adventure out with David. Sadly, the bottle we packed had the wrong top and we couldn’t use it, so I got a chance to test my first public breast feeding. We did ok, but I think because it was so awkward, David wasn’t eating enough and ended up being really cranky! We survived three hours at the show, but he was definitely ready to go and be at home again.


4. What gifts did I give and/or receive?

We received a bunch of baby items from Shawn and Liza including a video baby monitor that will be put to good use soon.


5. What special or unusual purchases did I make?















I bought a lot of stuff relating to scrapbooking and Project Life. I also bought some fabric in hopes of quilting it someday.


6. What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

We’ve been a bunch of sickies around here. David has been congested since New Years and is finally starting to sound better. Jonathan had a cold twice! And I managed to stay healthy until the 30th! At least everyone else was feeling better before I caught it.


7. What were my accomplishments this month?


Surviving our first month of parenting was our main accomplishment. I feel a huge sense of achievement if I accomplish anything on top that. Just taking out the trash or getting a little scrapbooking done feels SO good!


8. What were my disappointments this month?

I am beginning the search for day care and feel a lot of disappointment with the process. There are not a lot of day cares in the area to begin with, let alone ones that are accepting infants. There are slim pickings and I feel like we should only be leaving him with the best of the best. Unfortunately, there probably won’t EVER be a place that is perfect in our eyes since it won’t be home with us. I just hope we can find a place we are at least comfortable with.


9. How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals)

I had hopes of getting back to the gym now that Dr. Cueto released me. But alas, that has not happened yet. I am not sure how I am going to work it out yet with timing, but I am sure we’ll figure something out.


10. Anything else noteworthy to include?

Huge milestones in David’s growth have been achieved. The one that is most notable to us is that he recognizes us and smiles when he sees us or hears our voices. It is such a delight every time we witness this in him and makes me fall even more in love with my little man!


My Favorite Photos from the month:

I Think I Finally Get It, too...

I subscribe to a LOT of blogs and don't tend to read the lengthy ones unless there is a cute scrapbook page or great photos that catch my eye. Sometimes not even then, I will just cheat and skim over the images without reading a word.

But somehow, today, this one caught my eye. Maybe it was the title "Holy Sh*t, I Think I Finally Get It", or maybe it was just intuition that kept me reading, but by the end I was in tears and when I continued to the article she attached, I cried even more, laughed, and ended up feeling somewhat normal again.

Being a mom has brought me great joy, but it's also been a challenge too. Something a lot if people neglect to tell you as you go through this process. But today, after reading both of these, I think I finally get it, too.

A Comparison

I had the hardest time finding anything in my little one that resembled me. Everyone agreed he looks so much like Jonathan! But my step mom brought up how she hadn't ever seen Jonathan's baby pictures to compare David to. So I had to put these together to do a little comparison. The second I brought up my baby photo, I knew everyone was wrong, he looks like me after all.

That is Jonathan on the left (when you are looking at it), David in the middle, and me on the right on the blue blanket.










What do you think???

Hello 2012!

Wow! Not a single post in 2011! Life ended up being a little busy, but little did I know how much more busy it could get!

I spent most of 2011 baking my little boy in my belly. It was a challenging pregnancy full of almost six months of all day sickness, bouts of bed rest, and lots of pain from a torn muscle in my side. But all ended well, with the arrival of this little guy on December 15, 2011.
















Welcome David Michael Ashcraft. 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and 21 inches long. Of course, he is three weeks now, so he is already bigger and growing way too fast!

In order to help document his first year of life, I have every intention of participating in Project Life this year. So far, I am on track, but it is time consuming, so I am hoping I can keep up. This project is geared toward documenting the every day. I think about how awesome it would be to have an album like this of my first year of life or my parents first year... or any year, and I can't help but be excited about what this will mean to our little guy when he grows up.

My plan of attack is to just keep shooting photos and try on the weekend to keep up on journaling. I am also planning on using the Monthly Roundup that Katie the Scrapbook Lady came up with. I figured even if I can get a monthly two page spread together using the roundup as a base, I will have a years worth of photos and memories documented in Project Life. So far, I have been able to keep it weekly (of course we are only one week in!), and I hope to keep it that way, but my goal has been a monthly spread, so if I end up finding weekly too overwhelming, at least I am not too disappointed to go back to my original plan.

So far I am doing a combo of paper and digital. I hate my handwriting so my journaling is all digital. But I plan to print everything, including photos and put them in the book with some paper and 3-D elements. Here is my week 1 spread. When I print the photos and actually get it into a book, I plan to round the corners, but in the mean time, at least the digi version is done!













I look forward to what other creative sparks will fly in 2012!

2010 To "Do" List Warp-Up

I started out 2010 with my one little word to live by: “Do.” My list of things that I wanted to do in 2010 was pretty intense, but overall, I think I did pretty darn good. In honor of the close of the year, here is my wrap up of what I as able to ‘Do”:

* Learn something new - I am not so sure I learned something new every week, but I did stick to the list and learned a bit more of sign language, took a class on using my sewing machine, not only learned how to quilt, but completed one, and also took my camera out more and started reading the manual.

* Try new recipes – Maybe not one a month, but here is a list of the new recipes I did make this year: French onion Soup, Chicken Picata, Twice Baked Potatoes, Truly the Best Frosting I Have Ever Tasted, Chicken Fried Steak (from her book, but the Round Steak recipe found here is close), The yummiest Mashed Potatoes I Have Ever Tasted , Friend Mozzarella Sticks, Butter Toffee, Creamy Pesto Chicken (I forget where I got this recipe), A delicious pulled pork with apple cider vinegar (I can’t remember where this one was from either), and even though I have eaten plenty of it, I have never made it myself, so I count my Mother-in-Law’s Rocky Road candy. My crowning achievement of the year was learning how to properly make gravy for the very first time! I was SO proud when the gravy actually came out the right consistency (and tasted good too)! So, though they may not have been one per month, I did make at least 12 new recipes this year!

I have found new love for my kitchen after cooking all of this yumminess. I was not disappointed in a single recipe. In honor of my new found love, Santa was very good to me this year and brought me lots of new kitchen gadgets to try out next year. I think I will continue this part of my to “Do” list for years to come.

* Read more – Though I didn’t necessarily get through a lot of classics I have not read before, I did get through a lot of books. I joined a book club and the first four months I have been to during 2010 involved Jane Austen classics that I have ready over and over already. But I read them again for the meetup and got a refresher, so I count them! The books I did read this year were: Classics: Daniel Deronda , The House of Mirth, Dangerous Liaisons, Pride and Prejudice (re-read), Mansfield Park (re-read), Sense and Sensibility (re-read), and Emma (re-read). Modern: Eat, Pray, Love, The Help, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

I also consider it a pretty big accomplishment that I decided to tackled Clarissa this year, of which, I am about half way through. It really must be THE longest book in the world and something like 8000 pages. I am determined to finish this one soon. Not that it's bad, it just is really really really LONG.

* Take more pictures - I think I had the hardest time with this one this year. Although I did have a LOT more camera clicks this year because I went to a lot of model events, and did start a business which actually brought in some paying photography jobs, I found that I am not pulling out my camera for the everyday stuff I was hoping to capture. My hope is that everyone gets so used to me carrying it around with me everywhere that it becomes part of me. A friend I don’t see very often saw me earlier this year at an event and said hello to me in passing when I arrived. I came back later with my camera and he said “Oh there you are! It was hard to recognize you at first without your camera.” That’s who I want to be all the time!

* Move more – Another tough one. Although I did not establish any regular routine, I do take the dog out for a walk more often after work now. I did walk a gazzilion miles while on vacation on the East Coast (especially New York, and I did lose 20 pounds over the course of the year and have managed to keep it off through the holidays, EVEN with the all the awesome cooking going on in my household (refer above).


So goodbye to 2010. I believe I checked off quite a bit from my to “Do” list. Now I have to think of a new word for 2011 in the next few hours!