« December 2010 | Main | February 2011 »
Today I am grateful for the quiet. I love Sundays, especially when I get to hang at home.
Today I’m feeling better about getting some things done. While my to-do list is still long, I am moving forward and that’s a good thing.
Today I spent some time creating and that felt good.
Today I took a short walk and treated myself to a Starbuck’s Chai Latte.
Today I enjoyed the sunshine. Today was a good day, even though...
| | |
| | |
I am motoring along on this little project that I began on the first of the year. Still happily engaged, I marvel at how much of my life can be captured in just 5 minutes a day.
Week three was a very busy week here at the Miller household. Mark and I watched my nieces for the weekend, always good fun. My pages for this week document Liv locking herself in the bathroom and the details of a day off from school.
There was football on Sunday, as there has been every Sunday and snow. So after a long weekend, a 2 hour delayed opening. The birch tree in front glistened in its icy frosting.
Mark and I made a provision run to Brooklyn on Wednesday and spent some quality time with Jess. So good to see my baby! We lunched at Pies and Thighs but failed to take a photo of the establishment. What was I thinking?
I need to remember that now I have a place for all my daily ephemera and the taking of photos to document this spectacular journey of mine is essential. It was during Week 3 that we also received some interesting mail, and that prompted some decision making regarding this project. Moving forward I have ordered additional page protectors, specifically the 6’ x 12” size so that I can include stories that make it to my blog. I have realized that there are some stories that cannot be told on a 3” x 4” journaling card. And, there are those interesting pieces of mail that really do not fit anyplace else.
This is a work in progress and as the year moves on I am sure that I will need to adjust the process to account for my daily happenings. I will also need to have on hand an assortment of page protectors so that the documentation takes place immediately. Once I have to put something aside to handle later - well, it never gets handled.
I was right to select this particular project to document this year - it is going to be a doozie.
| | |
| | |
and moving forward.
Today I drove Mark to the airport and I thought, I’m okay with this. I know it is only for the short term. I know that it won’t be long until we can be together again. I know I can get through this.
Tonight, not so much. The house is really quiet. There is no clicking of the keys coming from the back room. No lights illuminating the first floor. No one to give me a hug when the loneliness creeps in.
There is so much that needs to be done to keep us moving forward but right now I feel like I am stuck. Telling myself to get going is not helping.
Today I took one of those hokey self-portraits that I love at the airport. We never take pictures at the airport but I am hoping that this is the last time we will be leaving each other this way. Next time, here’s hoping, he’ll be coming back to stay.
| | |
| | |
I cannot believe that we are now in the fourth week of the new year. Boy how time flies...
So here I present for you - week two in my Project Life project. I am having such fun doing this each day. I love that I have a photo printer that actually works. I love that when I decided I needed to do this Mark understood completely and ordered it from Amazon so that I could have it in two days. I love that this is turning into a year more spectacular than I could have anticipated.
Week one, we decided to get married. Week two, time to break it to the kids. We had Jason in a restaurant in south Philly and Jessica on speaker phone in Brooklyn. Not the way I would have chosen to share the news, but hey, I can be flexible! They were happy. We, we were very happy. The snow was falling outside the restaurant creating a very picturesque view. A very happy night captured forever because I took just 5 minutes that evening to record the details of our evening and to print the pictures out.
Page two records the snow in our yard as taken from the laundry room window, thoughts about boy colors and girl colors from a little first grader that I tutor and of course a special birthday celebration with one of my favorite first grade buddies.
I am loving the process and loving the opportunity to create something so way cool with just a few minutes set aside for creativity each day. It is a win win as far as I am concerned.
| | |
| | |
Allowing at least a little time each day to create has worked for me, so far, this year. I believe that working on my Project Life helps me to feel as though I am a wee bit creative each day. I usually add the day’s photo and my journaling just before going to bed. I print the photo and walk down the hall to Mark’s office and work in there while he is writing. So far the whole set up is working out well.
I wanted to share a bit of the project with you, but you must forgive the pictures. I am still trying to figure out the best way to take pictures so that the information can be seen. The page protectors make that a bit difficult!
This is Week One. First the left hand page...
I started the week on Saturday since that was the first of the year. I like that the last day of my work week is the last day to be featured in a spread. Now, the right hand page...
I have so much going on that I have had to use multiple journaling cards in the smaller sections just to include our story for the year. I am happy that I figured out how to print my photos small and that I can use those smaller photos on journaling cards that fold over. The White Christmas photo, for example, includes the story of how we decided to get married. This is going to be a year of great change and exciting new opportunities. So glad I decided to document our stories by using Becky Higgins Project Life. Here’s to creating memories!
| | |
| | |
We took today off. No housework. No schoolwork. No writing. Today was a day set aside for me and Mark indulged my request.
In just a few short days Mark will be heading back to Seattle and other than our wedding, three months from today, we have no firm plans for anything. I wanted, for myself, to settle some things today. So, off we went to Ocean City, in search of the perfect dress and a jeweler to make our wedding bands.
The day was blustery. No, I take that back, it was freezing. Our first stop, the Flanders Hotel to visit my scrapping ladies that I was missing so much. Next year I will again be a part of the gang. I promise!
Next stop, Scully’s on Asbury Avenue. They have great salads and, as it tuns out, great soup! We traveled down the street, just a little further, to look for a dress.
Bunkie and I had seen a dress way back in July, on a day that we were taking a quilting class, that she felt would be perfect for a wedding, should I decide to get married. On that Saturday afternoon, in the heat of the summer, the dress fit like it was made for me and it brought tears to my dear friend’s eyes.
Today, to our surprise, the dress was there, in my size! While I was trying the dress on, Bunkie was busy paying for the dress. Did I ever mention that I am blessed with the best of friends? Mark, Rucci, Bunkie and I had a great little visit before they rushed off for their massage appointment. Mark and I left with the dress in tow. Another item to check off my list!
A quick trip south brought us to A Lucky Find. An interesting little jewelry store where Mark had bought me a beautiful necklace last year. Wanting to shop local and support local craftspeople, we were hoping that we would be able to have our wedding rings made here. Unfortunately, the store was closed. January is probably a very slow month.
We wandered over to the boardwalk and enjoyed a cold but pleasant walk.
Okay, perhaps pleasant isn’t the best word to describe the experience. We do look a little cold, don’t we? It was so cold that we did not see many others out and about. Only one open store. Yup, it was cold!
I love visiting the beach in the winter. The colors are muted, almost monochromatic. The sky seems to blend into the water, which seems to blend into the sand.
The day didn’t stop there. We had plans for dinner with my mom - homemade stew and biscuits, great stick to your ribs food for a cold evening. Relaxing and calm.
Our final stop for the evening was Jen and David’s. We needed to pick up the van for a Philly run on Sunday. The girls were delighted to see us and quick to offer congratulations. David had bought an ice cream cake so even though we were stuffed, we needed to have just a taste! Yummy!
As I was sitting here at my computer table I happen to catch a glimpse of the fortune I received in my cookie on New Year’s Eve. “Your wish is about to come true.” Hmmm, how did the cookie know when I wasn’t sure myself?
| | |
| | |
My little friends from last year’s kindergarten class are now a year older. We still get to meet, visit and sometimes have lunch together, but they are growing older and I sense that our relationship is reaching a new stage.
Last year the little ones would eagerly run up to me and hug me, regardless of who might see them. This year, not so much. Oh, I still get hugs but it is not the same.
They are not as little as they once were, go figure. Each one of them stands just a little taller and a little more self confident than they were just a year ago. No longer the youngest in the school, they know it and are very mindful of their new status. They speak about the kindergarteners as if they were never that age.
These first graders know all about recess and lunch time, they manage themselves accordingly. I am missing the little ones I once knew...
Tonight I ventured to the talent show at school and was blown away by the talent of the first graders. But none impressed me as much as my little buddy. Tonight he was accompanied by his mom, dad and baby sister but was thrilled to have me there to cheer him on also. He did a hula hoop routine to the Cha Cha Slide. I have never seen anyone hula hoop quite as well. The audience was up and cheering as he encouraged their clapping. I am so glad that I was able to see him in action.
Afterward Mark shot a picture of the two of us together - perfect...
| | |
| | |
I lost track of when the full moon is actually supposed to occur, but last night Mark caught a glimpse of the moon through the picture window in the loft. We both took out our cameras to try and catch a glimpse of its beauty. Who am I kidding, we were trying to capture a moment in time, digitally. My favorite shot is this one with the Christmas tree in the foreground. Jess says the moon looks like an airplane. I guess you will all need to take my word for it, it was the moon to be sure!
| | |
| | |
Today, quite reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed and back to work. It certainly helped to have a two-hour delayed opening, but I was really getting into spending time at home.
The sky, late last evening, showed signs of a storm but today dawned brighter and icier. The snow lost to the freezing rain at some point during the night.
This morning the ice on the trees made the yard look like a fantasy land. Everything glistened.
I was reluctant to drive at first but then realized the the roads were mostly slush. I am grateful that I did not have to negotiate the roads in the wee hours of the morning when everything was still frozen. Definitely the benefit of the delayed opening.
While the two-hour delay helped with the commute, trying to squeeze 6 hours of instruction into 4 is stressful and I admit to not being very good at it. Well, tomorrow is another day. Perhaps we will catch up then!
| | |
| | |
This was our first “girl’s” weekend since Mark has arrived and it was a huge success. The girl’s really enjoyed having him around and even though he was interupted while he tried to work, I think he really enjoyed their stay.
My nieces are so well behaved and they are so comfortable in my house that they go about their own business. Coloring supplies are set up for easy access. The board games are stored under the television. Playing cards and mini-Pooh friends are stored in the family room in the cabinet. The buttons are always a fun activity. They can be sorted and stacked for hours.
Saturday they also enjoyed pillow fights and dancing, talk about silly. I really enjoyed hearing the gigglingWe finished the day with bubble baths after brownie sundaes featuring the brownies we made before dinner.
The funniest part of the whole day was when Liv got locked in the downstairs bathroom. You need to know that the girls never close the door when they use the bathroom so the fact that the door got closed was a real surprise. Unfortunately there is no door knob on the door. She was giggling behind the door and we wouldn’t spring her until I got the perfect shot.
Emma needed to check to be sure Liv was okay. We were all laughing so hard we were crying.
The girls left early Sunday afternoon. The house seemed too quiet after they left. Miss them.
| | |
| | |
