Project 365

Here's my layout for last week's pictures for project 365. I'm very disappointed in the scan of this. I really tried to keep my camera out of the automatic mode (except Tuesday and Friday's pictures which was taken on Matt's point and shoot). I did a lot of playing with aperture and shutter speed and was very happy with the results, but the scan doesn't give them justice.

Today the boys are off school as it's a PD day. I think we'll get out of the house (after we do a power clean) and maybe go see a movie.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Random Things

1. I have a hard time coming up with interesting ideas for my TT lists.

2. I had great plans for yesterday. It was a snow day and I planned on staying in my PJs and scrapbooking all day. I didn't! I was very lazy and ended up just planting myself on the couch and thinking about doing stuff.

3. Today is exam review day. Matt and Spencer have to go in and see how well they did on their exams. I really hope there are no surprises.

4. I need to get to the police station and get a police check done. Here in Ontario, if you want to do volunteer work with children, you need to have a police check done. Mine has expired and I'm going on a field trip with Cameron's class so I need to get a new one.

5. I had a nice lunch with Michele yesterday. We had to get together to do some planning on our Scrapping Vacation for September.

6. I really don't get the whole twitter thing. I mean, I'm OK with Facebook as a means to keep up with friends and family, but why would I want to post what I am doing all the time for people to see? ...and better still, why would anyone really care that I'm going to the store to get some milk? Are we that self centered that we think that everyone would be interested knowing everything we do?

7. Hmmmmm ... it would be nice if the boys twittered ... then I could see what they are up to all day long, LOL!

8. I wonder when the last time was that Cameron fed the fish. It's still swimming around, so that's a good sign. Poor neglected fish!

9. John is away on business right now. Why is it that when he's away the house goes to pot? ... OK, I know the answer to that ... it's because I become lazy and don't do anything around here.

10. I think we've narrowed down our vacation desination. Now I need to call the travel agent and get it booked. It will be so nice to get out of the snow!

11. Matt is in the process of looking at college programmes. He's got some firm ideas of what he wants to apply too. I need to get him on the computer over the next couple of days to make some decisions so we can apply. We will all feel better when it's done.

12. Matt and Spencer are both studying for their G1 driver's license. We have graduated licensing here so this is the first step to becoming a full-fledged driver. I don't know if I'm excited or nervous. I think they will both be good drivers ... I hope they will both be good drivers.

13. Time for a cup of tea and then some scrapping time. I still need to get my last week's project 365 layout done (as well as the first week).

Have a good Thursday everyone. If you want to play along with the Thursday Thirteen, go here: http://thursday-13.com/

Outside my window...it is dark and cold. Apparently there's more snow on the way.

I am thinking... that I'm going to be sore tomorrow. I spent some time on the treadmill today and then did some strength training on the wii fit. My legs were pretty tired afterwards. I think I over did it.

I am thankful that ... Matt and Spencer are done with their exams. I'm thankful that the academics come easily for them and they both think they did well on them. Now they can sit back and enjoy a relazing week before the next semester begins next week.

From my scrapbook room... I am enjoying the Project 365. I am up to date with all my photos, but need to print last week's pictures and get the layout done. I can't afford to get behind on those layouts.

From the kitchen... I made chicken enchilladas tonight ... it's one of the boys' favorites. I was their favorite person tonight.

I am wearing... yoga pants and a sweat shirt. Hmmmm ... it would appear that I always wear yoga pants on a Monday, LOL!

I am creating... nothing at the moment.

I am going... to the doctor tomorrow. I need to have my thyroid medication renewed.

I am reading... the new Scrapbooks Etc. magaizine that I picked up yesterday. Let's hope I find some inspiration.

I am hoping... that we get our trip for March Break booked soon. We are both tired of looking and searching for places.

I am hearing... John call me to look at more vacation packages online. Arghhhh!

Around the house... is evidence of boys living here. I think I need to have a mom only spot in the house.

One of my favorite things... is my new ipod touch. I'm in love!

A few plans for the rest of the week: tomorrow I have a busy day with the doctor's app't, running Cameron to Burlington for a two-hour band practise, and then running to Toronto for a meeting at Church.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Thursday Thirteen

I just found out that the Thursday Thirteen went down. Fortunately, there are many who couldn't let it go. You can find them HERE if you want to participate.

So, on to my list.

Thirteen Things I Say Everyday to My Boys

1. Ewww! Gross! (OK, I'll admit that I say this one more than once every day!)
2. Ummmm .... are you wearing that?
3. Have you done your homework?
4. Get up. Get up now. GET OUT OF BED!
5. you're going to be late for school.
6. You need a shower!
7. Who farted?? (usually followed by Ewwwww! Gross)
8. Get off the TV (or computer, or wii) you have things to do.
9. your room is a mess! Didn't your mother teach you to pick up after yourself?
10. Don't make me come up there!
11. You are your father's son!!!
12. You are how old??
13. Leave your brother alone!

Project 365

I have to admit to cheating a little this week as I didn't get a picture on one of the days and had to double up on another.

I love days like this!

It doesn't happen very often, but this weekend is a free one for us. We have nothing on our agenda, except for Church tomorrow morning. It is just so relaxing not to have to run from one thing to the next ... especially after such a busy Christmas season.

Last night Cameron had a friend over. They played wii and played on the computer. After supper, we went out to see Mall Cop. Both John and I weren't expecting much from this movie, but we were both pleasantly surprised. It was pretty funny. The boys loved it.

I really tried to sleep in this morning. I woke up around 7 a.m. and then spent the next two hours forcing myself to sleep. I finally got up at 9. John was already up and after having breakfast together, we decided to hit a few stores. It was very relaxing for us (even though we went to costco and it was crowded) Since we really had no list of things to get, or time constraints, it was nice. After that we found the new Panera Bread that has opened in Mississauga.

Have you tried Panera Bread?? The first time we tried it was in Panama City Beach last March. Since then I've been twice more ... once in Virgina Beach and once in Buffalo. So ... when we found out they had opened one in Canada ... and near us ... we were so happy. Yum! You gotta try it if you find one. You won't be disappointed!

I planned on coming home and scrapbooking, but instead I ended up playing on our new Wii Fit. I gotta tell you that I actually felt it in my legs when I was done. It was amazing how the board was able to tell if my positioning was right in doing the excersizes and told me so.

So, I never did make it into my scrapbook room today ... but I did get quite a bit done this week so that's OK. Here's one I did this week:

Last night after we were all cleaned up from supper, I decided to head into my scraproom to play around for a while. My room is on the main floor and is right beside the family room. Spencer was in there on the computer doing his homework. The two of us worked for a while quietly.

At 8 o'clock American Idol came on so I flicked on the small TV. This TV is only about 9" but it works fine for me as I don't really watch but rather listen.

Somewhere around 9 o'clock, Matthew made his way in there and sat on the floor propped against my desk to watch. Keep in mind that the family room is right beside my room and has a big TV. There's not alot of room in my room at the best of times so it was pretty cozy with the three of us in there.

Not long after that John and Cameron showed up. John brought in a chair, Cameron plopped on his lap (with the cat too!) and there we all sat, watching American Idol, all crammed in, while a large TV sat in the dark, only yards away.

I've been trying to get my scrapping mojo back. Unfortunately it got put away over Christmas, and I've been having a hard time getting it back. This past weekend I went to a crop at Cathy's house. She had a few friends in. I stayed overnight and then the next day went to a birthday crop for my friend, Joy. I had a lot of fun, took waaaaay too much stuff in hopes of getting a lot done, and managed to get some done. I worked on a few different things, but didn't complete any of them. Argg!

I did my first layout for my Project 365. I took the pictures and scrapped the layout for January 4 - 10. I have the pictures for January 1 - 3, but have yet to do that layout.



The layouts are going to be very simple as well as the journaling. I want to just focus on the pictures.


In other news, the semester is winding down for Matthew and Spencer. They start exams next week.

John is sick right now. He caught the head cold that I had last week.

Spencer got his braces last week. Due to his age (most of his peers are long done braces) and the fact that he still needs to be able to play his cornet and trumpet, we opted for the Invisalign braces ... they are the ones that are clear liners that just pop over his teeth and are almost invisable. They are like a skin over his teeth. He takes them out to eat, and brush, and can take them out to play (if they are affecting his sound). Every two weeks he changes to a new liner. Each liner is slightly different so that they slowly move his teeth. The benifit to the Invisalign (other than the fact that no one will know that he's wearing them) is that they are half the time. Hopefully in eight months time, if not sooner, he will be done. Wow!

I found out today that my friend, Milena, has a blog. I've added her to my blog list on the left side. I'm so happy that she's able to come and scrap with me (and the other girls, lol) on Tuesdays now that her girls are both in school and her schedule has changed. We met a few years ago, when Cameron and Merideth were 4. We would scrap while the kids would play. I'm so glad that we have reconnected.

I had an appointment with the eye doctor last week. The inevitable has happened ... I now need reading glasses. Fortunately enough I only need the weekest of perscriptions so I can make do with a pair from the drug store.

OK, I'm doing it!

There's been a lot of "buzz" in the scrapbooking world about Project 365. From what I can tell by doing a little research (and I mean just searching a little on google) Taylor McKnight started Prject 365 when he decided just to take a photograph everyday to document his everyday life. What ended up happening was that he learned a lot about photography, but more importantly it helped him to see the things that are truly important in his life.

Now, in 2009, Creating Keepsakes Magazine (and Becky Higgins) has started their own version of Project 365. They are challenging people to take a picture a day of some aspect of their life, and then get it into an album. It sounds like a very daunting task, but in the end, a very rewarding one.

I shyed away from doing this because I'm trying to keep things simple this year, but then after getting an email from
Barb and seeing how she's approaching this challenge it got me thinking. It will be a lot of work to remember to take the photos, but what better way to celebrate the simple, everyday things of my life! So, after going back and forth a lot this week, and chatting with a couple of girls about it again last night, I have made my decision.

I'm going to tackle this project. I'm both excited, and nervous (that I won't complete it) but I'm giving myself permission to cheat on the occasions that I forget to snap a picture (and need to borrow a photo already in my files).

If you haven't given this any thought yet, check out the link above and also read about it on Becky's Blog. I'm sure it will be a very rewarding project to take on and to be able to look back at the end of the year and reflect upon.

Real Friends

I saw this a few weeks ago on my blog surfing and it has stuck with me ever since.

1-A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.
A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself and doesn't feel even the least bit weird shutting your 'Pepsi drawer' with her foot!

2-A simple friend has never seen you cry.
A real friends’ shoulder is soggy from your tears.

3- A simple friend doesn't know your parents' first names.
A real friend has their phone numbers in his address book.

4- A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.
A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.

5- A simple friend hates it when you call after they've gone to bed.
A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.

6- A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems.
A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.

7- A simple friend wonders about your romantic history.
A real friend could blackmail you with it!

8- A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A real friend calls you after you had a fight.

9- A simple friend expects you to always be there for them.
A real friend expects to always be there for you!

10- A simple friend will bail you out of jail.
A real friend will be sitting next to you saying, “Man we sure screwed up this time.”

11- A simple friend will lend you money.
A real friend will give you his/her last dollar without asking why you need it.

12- A simple friend will tell you, your hair looks great, when you know it doesn’t.
A real friend will tell you, you look like crap, let’s go buy some dye and fix it.

13- A simple friend will ask if you’re okay.
A real friend will know when something’s wrong.


I have been very blessed in my life to have a few true friends. Simple friends are plentiful and they come and go. True friends are with you for life, no matter how far apart you may be. In my experience, simple friends are a lot of work. It always feels like you have to work to keep the friendship going. True friends are comfortable and natural.

May you have the blessing of a few true friends in your life.

Looking Ahead.

Well, the year hasn't started off so well. I came down with a wicked head cold on New Years' Day. We spent New Years' Eve at Cathy and Don's and ended up sleeping there. During the night, by throat started burning and I knew. By the time we left there I was really starting to feel it. We were going to go to the inlaws for dinner, but instead I went home ... to the couch ... and there I stayed.

It's been 5 days now, and while I'm feeling a little better, I'm still sick. It has now moved into my chest.

Cameron has been so sweet. He keeps coming and asking me how I'm feeling. He makes me soup and makes me tea. He will make a very loving husband one day (if she can endure his constant state of messiness.)

Anyway, as I stated in the last post, I didn't do as well as I had hoped with last year's word "embrace." I didn't take as much time as I had hoped to embrace life, to enjoy the smaller things of life. I always seemed to be too busy to take the time to stop and smell the roses.

This year it's all about simplifying. While I know that we can't get away from being busy, I would like to just simplify things and spend more time doing the simple things that really make me happy. It's all about just spending time with the people who mean the most to me. Time. Time to spend with my teenage sons who will be moving off into their own lives soon, time to reconnect with friends that somehow get pushed aside for obligations that creep in, time to focus on a hobby that I love but haven't found the time to do lately, time to spend alone, time to enjoy the tastes, sounds and sights around me. Time!

So, my word this year is SIMPLIFY.