In the Storm

Project Life 2017 | Week 25

You might have noticed that I have skipped slash missed a week here and there. Weeks' 17, 18, & 24 (two weeks ago). I have even completed several one-page weeks when I've had fewer photos. All this said, I have no worries about missing the weeks, and guilt-free about completing one versus two-page spreads.

We are still adjusting to Jeff's out of town work, me more so than Jeff, I think. Planning a weekend to join him instead of him coming home for a change of pace, plus I can visit his jobsite.

I had fun putting these pages together with a mini-eventful week. From Jarrod alphabetizing our over a thousand DVDs of movies and television shows, taking them out of their individual cases, and then inserting them into three single cases that hold over 500 each. This bit of organization sends me to a happy place.

I have also been 'practicing' Whole 30 off and on, trying out meals that are Whole 30 compliant to prepare me for my Whole 30 start date which begins July 10th. I'll be sharing here and on a Facebook Whole 30 local group about my progress. The meal above of chicken and vegetables will definitely go on my Whole 30 dinner rotations during those 30 days of eating whole and clean.

After work one afternoon, I went to the movies! By myself! I watched Wonder Woman which was fantastic! The theatre I went to and that Wonder Woman was showing in at 2:10 in the afternoon had recliner seats with tray tables and big aisles. It was wonderful watching a movie in the theatre, relaxing, with my feet propped up.

I have read some great books lately, but, one of my favorites thus far this year is definitely The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Such rich history written entirely through letters. A delightful story line. This book is vying for the top spot of favorite book read in 2017.

While Jeff was home we watched Lone Survivor, in memorial of those who lost their lives on June 28, 2005, many who were in Jeff's former military unit. We bawled our eyes out.

We made some delightful additions to our front porch: a few pillows, an outdoor rug, and two umbrellas. We've already enjoyed some wonderful, relaxing conversation - and time away from distractions - on our porch.

Project Life 2017 | Week 22

I knew this was coming. Another one-page Project Life versus two-page layout. This page went together very quick; we were just sitting here watching television in the quiet of the evening, not looking forward to tomorrow when Jeff heads out of town again for his out of town job. We - are doing ok. I - am still finding a groove, but, I'm getting there.

I have to be purposeful about capturing photos and I caught quite a few this week. Enough to tell the stories; tell what happened. For the page itself...digital, of course. I used One Little Bird Designs digital kit Irving Park. What a cute kit this is! Loved working with it. Normally, I'm prone to change colors but I decided to keep it really simple and let the colors stay true and I think the embellishments compliment the photos well.

People. Salmon. So good!

Peace Like A River! Beautiful book. Reminiscent of To Kill A Mockingbird; it is that good!

Project Life 2017 | Week 21

Jeff was home for the weekend from his out of town commercial construction job. This is a totally new thing we're navigating. I haven't found my grove thing yet. I have an idea of what I'd like my week to look like but I haven't quite gotten there yet.

Since it was a three day weekend for Memorial Day we did a bunch of relaxing which was nice. Leisure making. Jeff did some honey-do's around the house, at his own pace: those book shelf ledges he hung on the wall for children's books for my grandkids. Knocked it out of the park on that one!

We made it out for a mini-date, dinner at Vinnie Van's...love their pizza. Sooo, good! Jeff put together two end tables that had just been delivered for our front porch (still loving!).

Three of the four of us visited Metro Diner for a Saturday morning breakfast. Ye-es!

Digitally, I knocked out these two pages quickly using mostly One Little Bird Design digital products. I am trying to use my stash (Read: I HAVE SO MUCH!) It's try you can hoard digital product too.

Project Life 2017 | Week 20

I took some time yesterday to complete my Project Life 2017 Week 201 2-page layout. I wouldn't say pocket page scrapbooking is my favorite way to scrapbook but it is pretty close to favorite. This was not necessarily an event-filled week but it was full. From Mother's Day to the culmination of a weeks worth of solid labor-intensive, back-breaking work from Jeff and with help from the boys, our front porch is complete.

And.

It is gorgeous!

Digitally, I used thick days of the week abbreviated brushes. Love them. Plus, word labels. I've decided they are going to be my go-to digital embellishment. I love them, too.

Every day I came home from work I was welcomed with more accomplished on the porch. Giddy.

And, there it is. My porch. Sorry, our porch.

Project Life 2017 | Week 19

I have missed these past couple of weeks on this project. I may still return to those weeks and at least do a one-page spread but I decided to go with the stories most fresh in my mind - this past week. This week was cram-packed busy, mostly towards the latter part of the week.

I really like this half of the two-page spread. Sure, I like the pages together but I love how this half turned out. The colors, the embellishments, the words seemed to come easy and flowed nicely. Digitally-speaking, most of the page is my usual, Ali Edwards Design digital products. She doesn't create products that are fussy and that is so not me so these work really well for me.

I like how I began with May stories on the first page and ended with Mom stories on this page. Mostly, little stories, but the stories surrounding the Boston Butt cook are always BIG. Again, digitally, I used Ali Edwards Design, and also, One Little Bird Designs.

Project Life 2017 | Week 16

Continuing Project Life with Week 16 and a week filled with Easter joys and hard times. It was an eventful, emotional week in many ways. I wanted, no, I needed to keep these pages clean and simple. I used several repetitive ploys in the days of the week photo cards and the photo cards in the middle.

See the good journal card is from the April Monthly kit and appropriate for this weeks - events. I'm reading up a storm, so much so, that this may be a record month of books read. Still loving Salads in a Jar. And, my poor truck. Yet, so thankful we are only sore and stiff. We got in a couple games as a family, too.

Date night - such good food on Friday! We also had a date lunch, so, doubly good. Jeff and I worked together to resolve a discrepancy in our accounting books. Team work found the error!

Good week! Hard work! Seeing the good, even in the difficult.

what I've been reading | april

 

 Today, I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy for her What I'm Reading Lately: the new and the notable. I cannot say enough how thankful I am that I found MMD's website, a site based almost entirely on reading, because she provides seriously useful insight on a host of potential good reads. I'm not sure how many I've found from her site, added them to my Amazon cart, have them on my bookshelf, or have already read. Scores of them I'm sure.

Now, I know what you're thinking. If I plan on meeting my reading goal I really need to up my reading game. This is true. But, I'm not worried in the least and comfortable I'll hit 100 New Books in 2017. Without further ado...

 
The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson. I'm not sure I've ever read this sweet tale, but the illustrations are adorable, especially when the Emperor dresses in his new clothes and parades about his town. This is one of many books, hopefully, that I will add to my basket of books I'm putting together for when my grandkids come to visit. 21/100

 

 

 

The Women of Easter by Liz Curtis Higgs. I read this beautifully written, conversational, - and lovely book as part of my Lenten reading. I'm so glad I picked it up at the last minute (I already had another book I was reading for Lent). Bring tissues. You'll want to let loose with fresh tears when you meet three women who are forever changed when they meet a loving, forgiving, and tender Savior. 22/100

 

 

 

 

40 Days of Decrease by Alicia Britt Chole. Because I'm also studying the book of John for Lent I kept my readings to the devotion, the reflection, and the coming-at-us-from-a-unique-perspective kind of fast: fasting from comparison, fasting from neutrality, from being an armchair Jesus follower, from stinginess, from spectatorship... this is a spirit-filled book and I love how reflecting on the liturgical season of Lent, and Christ, in this manner, through an intentional and disciplined study has been invigorating for my spiritual growth. 23/100 

 

 

 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Gorgeous! Exquisite! I adored every page from beginning to end of this skillfully written and truly believable literary masterpiece that primarily takes place in Nazi-occupied France during WWII. I loved the short chapters told in alternating character voices that swiftly moved the story through time rather than laboriously moving through the 500+ pages. As I read I kept saying to myself, "the words Doerr crafted together are so beautiful! Every word is perfectly placed, perfectly stated." I felt like I was experiencing first hand, walking beside the characters, drawn in to their experiences. Just beautiful! 24/100

 

 

Generous Justice by Timothy Keller. It is a book that looks deeper into the Bibles call to justice. Statements such as, "Radical generosity," "One's heart attitude toward the poor reflects one's heart attitude toward Christ,"  "If people obey God as they should there should be no permanent poverty that exists." Keller reminds us that there is common grace given to all by God, thus non-Christians (and Christians, both) will make acts of kindness and self-sacrifices because of common values and God will display his glory and goodness through general revelation. And then there is the chapter on who is your neighbor... 25/100

 

 

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de La Peña and Christian Robinson. This is the second children's book I read this month. This one was a little short but it did get its message across. I just wanted - more, I guess. Loved the colorful pages and I cannot wait to read this to my grandkids. I'm collecting books to read aloud to my grandkids, as three of the five will be moving close enough I'll probably get to see them a couple times a month. I want to have books on hand to read to them. It holds a Coretta Scott King Award and is a Caldecott Honor and Newberry Medal book - definitely worth of awards! 26/100

 

She Reads Truth by Raechel Myers and Amanda Bible Williams. A spiritual memoir slash devotional in the spirit of their devotions on their website www.shereadstruth.com. I've always loved their writing voices so, honestly, I knew I would enjoy their book and I did. 27/100

 

 

 

 

Now, digitally speaking, I created a 12 x 12 digital pocket page filled with product from Ali Edwards' Story kit READ, and One Little Bird Designs High Street Stories. I'm not making a separate album this year as I've done in past years but I will include all of my What I've Been Reading Lately pages will go in my Stories 2017 album

Project Life 2017 | Week 14

Today I am sharing my Project Life 2017 spread for week 14. It leaves me feeling really good, even giddy, that I have stuck with this project this year for this long and haven't missed a week. Sure, some weeks have been slim on photos, not this week though; or, slim on stories, yep, this week; but, I'm comfortable with, and know that, these stories are just one week of our bigger lives, bigger stories, even smaller stories.

For these two pages I took Ali Edwards lead from her Week 12 project life that she just posted this week on her blog and used 1/2 circle or oval chipboard from her Story kits and light pastel journal cards with lots of space for journaling to complete the easy-put-together pages.

I have enjoyed this short season of Jeff working out of the Savannah office rather than a jobsite because it has allowed him to come home at a decent time (leave work between 5-5:30 rather than 6-6:30 with an hours drive). We sat down to eat as a family and we've had time for evening activities. He enjoyed some time outside, thanks to beautiful weather, and almost finished up his deer stand (in preparation for this next deer season), so, no scrambling to get it done.

I began eating salads in a jar and found that they are superb and long lasting. Day three salad was just as fresh as day one. This is the beginning of a whole new lunch practice. Eat more salads. The key is making the time on Sunday afternoon to put together the salads for the coming weeks lunches.

And then there is all the other good food we enjoyed this week: a deep dish pizza in a cast iron skillet - new recipe here. And, our coveted homemade tacos that we absolutely adore and even though they are insanely fattening, and addicting, they are a staple in our home.

A date night on a Saturday (Jeff had a boy scout thing on Friday) and we had dinner and a movie. We went to see Boss Baby. Yep, a cartoon - and laughed out loud - a lot! I loved Saturday. It was a good day that started at the Breakfast Club on Tybee Island with more delicious food. The bank, groceries, housework, and Jeff and Jarrod gave all three trucks a little tender loving care.

Project Life 2017 | Week 13

I was making out a to do list yesterday morning at the start of my day, those top tasks I'd like to accomplish for the day, a list of about 10 things. I had about three things on the list that were absolutes, which I completed by the way, but by mid day as I was checking items off and lining through tasks it hit me that another week had gone by and I hadn't even thought about making a weekly Project Life page. 

I'd taken several photos last week, although it was a quiet, typical week, but hadn't even put a plan together as I most often do for how I'll put together a 2-page spread, 12 x 12 using a modified template for maximum photo coverage.

So, I added completing a Project Life spread for Week 13 to the top of my list (of those I had yet to accomplish) and when I got home worked on these two pages.

Because I have a process down it took little time to insert the photos into their slots (I'd already uploaded most of the photos for last week) then I set about finding journaling filler cards for the 3 x 4 slots, plus embellishments...and journaling the little stories.

This week was mostly bits and pieces so that cute little journal card from the Project Life Everyday kit fit beautifully. That led to scouring through the remaining kit and inserting only cards from the same kit and making it easy on myself. I did, however, do some recoloring for a more uniform, cohesive page. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Project Life 2017 | Week 12

This is one of my favorite 2-page Project Life spreads of 2017. I kept the process of putting the pages together extremely simple. I used 7 different Ali Edwards Design Story kit journal cards. I journaled on each card either the day's story or just a story that happened that week. When you are documenting each day of the week, each week of the year, if something occurred on a Monday versus a Tuesday, it truly is not something that bothers me. I also added one embellishment to each photo (mostly from the Story kits, as well) and Ali Edwards Design thick days of the week brushes.

Called it really good.

Giving a taste of my two punks in Star Wars 'costumes', outfits; Jarrod is a Sith lord, and John is a Jedi. I say taste because I am definitely going to scrapbook their 'costumes' and Lightsabers as their own story.

It was family pizza and movie night this week. Always good!

Jeff building his deer stand.

Me, doing tons of prep work for pizza, small group dessert, and Elevate volunteer breakfast - and lots of cleaning.

Sometimes our weeks are slam-packed busy, but other weeks are get up, go to work, come home, eat, watch a little television, sleep, repeat. Routine. Routines are worthy of being documented too.