Project Life Week 2

For my week 2 spread I used Studio Calico's Elmwood Park kit + add-ons.  I recently purchased a white Gelly Roll gel pen and I used it like crazy on this week's spread.  I wrote all of my journaling on the photos with the white gel pen.  I also used the die cuts and printables from the Day By Day class at SC.

Project Life Week 1

My first week came together nicely.  All of the backgrounds and journaling cards are from the Seafoam Edition and grid cards.  The embellishments are from Studio Calico's Elmwood Park kit + add-ons and some washi tape.  The journaling on the photos was done in Photoshop.

 I had everyone write their resolutions on grid cards (I actually wrote my husband's card because he was busy). 

I saved the visitor sticker from a trip I made to my son's school and used it in this spread.  I am trying to remember to save stuff when I am out and about.  My favorite picture on this page is of my hubby and his vacation beard.  When it's time to go back to work, he likes to shave his beard into different styles to make us laugh, before he shave it all off.  Matt keeps us all in stitches!

Still Here!

Wow!  The month has just flown by!  Our family has been busy with sports, appointments, finals, clubs, etc.  Well, I'm back with lots to share.

I have been working on a new project as of the January 1st called Project Life.  For those of you who don't know, Project Life is a scrapbook of your everyday life one week at a time.  Becky Higgins has some great simple to use products that make this project very easy to do.  I am using her digital Seafoam Edition, but I like to embellish my spreads, so I am using lots of other products as well. Most of my embellishments come from Studio Calico kits.  They have beautifully coordinated kits for scrapbooking, card making, and Project Life.

This is my title page.  I used some Cathy Zielske printables and Seafoam Edition.  I kept this page simple and clean looking by printing the photos in black and white and only using one color, yellow, to make the page pop.  The "W" stamp was a dollar find in some craft store a few years back!  The other stamps are from Studio Calico.  The grey bow is a homemade embellishment, our last name is made with small alphas, and the black stripe was made with glitter tape.  I love this page, mostly because of the fun memory that comes to mind when I look at the photo of the kids.  That was on New Year's Eve at the D.C. harbor fish market.  That was the first time our kids were going to eat crab legs, but it was so cold that we ate in the car!  It was a memorable end to 2012!

Bocce Ball and Basketball

Today was a busy day for us because both of our children are in sports.  Both of them had their first games today.  It was a fun and exciting day!

Our son, Marcus, plays bocce ball for his high school.  Most of the kids in the bocce ball league have some kind of disorder.  Our son is autistic (Asperger's Syndrome).  My son's team has been practicing twice a week since November and it totally paid off.  They won all three of their matches today!  The kids and the coach were so happy!  The last game was a nail biter!  Our guys tied it up at the end and then they won in "sudden death."  The parents were hootin' and hollerin' when our guys won!

Our daughter, Kaitlyn, plays basketball for the Mustangs on a city rec league.  This league doesn't keep score, and you know I forgot to keep track because it was so exciting.  She was so nervous because she has never played or watched basketball!  She did a great job!  She is very tall so her coach was telling her to keep her hands up to block and catch the ball!  At the end of the game, she was surprised that she did so well.  She said she had no idea what she was doing!  She must have liked it because she was outside (it's 35 degrees!) tonight practicing her dribbling!  Good for her!  In the first picture below, Kaiti is 3rd from the left.  In the second picture, she is the tall one right in the middle!

I am so proud of both of my kids!  They are both good sports and do their best.  What more could you ask for!

It's 2013!

For me, 2013 is a fresh start.  There were so many things that I didn't get done in 2012 that I was left with an unsuccessful feeling by year's end.  It is time to let go of 2012 and make the most of 2013!

My "One Little Word" for this year is DO!  I am not going to say it, or think it, or wish it.  I am going to DO it!

My resolutions are as follows:

1)  Lose 50 lbs!  I know everyone does the weight goal thing, but I need to do it now.  I need to use my gym membership, stop eating out so much, and maybe join Weight Watchers.  I want to be a lot lighter by my 40th birthday in December and I want that damn plantar fasciitis in my left foot to go away!  I am currently 200 lbs and sick of it.  Yep, I just posted my real weight on my blog!  OMG!  I have been inspired by Shelley and Cason and their amazing transformation over the last year.

2)  Get a job!  I have been putting off doing this because of my family obligations and my desire to be the best mom I can be.  I have a husband in the Navy and 2 children, ages 10 and 15.   I graduated from nursing school in December 2009, but life has a way of changing your plans.  Things have calmed down around here, so it's off to work I go!

3)  Do Project Life!  My friend Adrienne has been encouraging me to try it out, so I am going to give it a whirl.  Project Life is a kind of scrapbook that documents a whole year of your life.

4)  Blog!  My blog was an epic failure in 2012.  In 2013, I am going to post my scrap pages, cards, projects, stories about our family life, etc.

5) Simplify my life, starting with the house!  I am tired of having things around that we don't use or need.

6)  Be organized!  I used to run a very efficient house.  Then I went to college.  Enough said!  Everyone else thinks I am super organized and I am glad that is what they see, but I feel scatterbrained and a mess most of the time.  I am going back to a personal schedule, at least until I start feeling as efficient as I look!

7)  Be Positive!  I am going to stop beating myself up over the things that I didn't get done.  I am also going to keep my not-so-positive comments to myself.  Like when I am driving and someone cuts me off and I start calling them an idiot, sometimes in front of the kids.  I don't want my kids to see me that way!  I want to enjoy my life and not get angry at the "bad drivers" of the world.  Speaking of drivers...

8)  Teach my son to drive!  Yes, it's true!  I have a 15 year old son who has daydreams about taking my husband's 1990 Camero and painting green with black flames!  He will have to settle for my 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan.  It's green, but sadly, no black flames!  All joking aside, I can't wait to teach him how to drive!  I might be more excited about it than he is!  I just remember how I felt when I got mine!  My husband has no problem with letting me do it.

9)  Stay in touch!  My family is far away and spread out.  My parents were never really good at staying in touch with our extended family, at least from my perspective.  My siblings and I don't talk often enough.  We are the product of a military life.  I am going to make the effort to keep in touch.  They may think it's weird but I going to do it anyway!  I want my kids to really know them.  They are a cool bunch!

Well, I hope that all of you have enjoyed the first day of 2013!  Good luck with your own resolutions and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!