Project Life 2012. . .Week 3

we are into week 4. . .and I was happy to wrap up week #3 on time.  I am not happy with the layout. . .this is the one I like the least so far. . .it seems "flat" and I feel like I have nothing to say.

. . .looking at it this morning, I would add something to the Title Card. . . write on the empty journal card. . .put in chipboard letters that say "walk" on the bottom row picture of my feet. . .

maybe I can add those things while I put together week 4 this weekend.  I downloaded the Day One App and the prompts are helping me to capture more about my day. . .I am really liking a numbered journal card with a brief list of what we did that week.

how is your Project Life coming along?

catch you soon -

wordless wednesday. . .

catch you soon -

how-to. . .organize the game cabinet

we have a small-ish wooden cabinet we got at Ikea, years ago.  it sits at the bottom of the stairs and serves as our catch-all for games.

we got several new games for Christmas, so I figured it was a good time to clean out the cabinet.

before re-organizing

first, I took everything out and grouped like things (by size or style) together to better asses my storage needs.  then i purged the things that were lost, broken, out grown or not played with.  there was NOTHING in out not played with pile (part of why we have space issues)

I set aside the giant-piece puzzles that Owen can put together in 3 minutes. . .I set aside Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders.

I realized that we had  a lot of small games and cards. . .so I got 2 plastic shoe boxes out of my stash, labeled them, and made one for Cards and Card Games and one for small games.  then i played around with the boxes until almost everything fit.

I ended up taking Perfection out of it's box - the small pieces store in a compartment underneath, and the game fit perfectly without it's giant box.  I also set a small tin with a "extra pieces and instructions" label on it inside the cabinet.  when I find a piece, it goes in there until the next time we play the game.

we still have a few games elsewhere around the house. . .but for the most part, our games are neat, orderly and contained.

after our re-organization

what's an area of your house that needs organizing?

catch you soon -

menu plan Monday. . .

and another Monday rolls around. . .some weeks they seem to come faster than others don't they? 

I am scrambling this week. . .everyone is busy and there is lots of stuff going on. . .so our meal plan is a bit of a jumble. . .but here it is:


Monday - Pork Roast in the Crock Pot with Carrots, Potatoes and Salad.
Tuesday - Dad's away for dinner so Pancakes sound yummy!
Wednesday - Ryan's Band Concert is at 6:15p so Mac-n-Cheese it is.
Thursday - Spaghetti and meatballs
Friday - Pizza Night
Sat & Sunday - TBD

what are your favorite recipes to turn to when life gets busy?

catch you soon -

Project Life 2012. . .Week 2

first let me show you the "final" pictures from Week #1. . .

here are some close ups of the pages. . .

as I'm perusing the web, I'm realizing that I need to journal more. . .I feel like my life is "boring" - full of mundane, everyday tasks like dropping the kids off, cleaning, working, cooking, cleaning, working. . .you know the drill. . .

i'm missing out on the little stuff. . .the stuff that makes life so great.  perhaps "missing out" isn't the correct term. . .I'm here for it. . .I just don't record it. . .

so I'd like to pick up some cute labels (REALLY want the Martha Stewart ones from Staples - but they aren't in stock yet)

and here are some pictures from Week #2. . .

and some closer shots of the details. . .

i am proud to say that Week # 3 is already coming together and I plan to work on it Saturday evening and Sunday.

how do you remember the "little" things that happen everyday that make your life so precious?

catch you soon -

places we go. . .the NJ State Museum . . .

thanks to Jersey Family Fun. . .we spent a day of our winter break exploring Trenton, NJ.  I may be a Jersey Girl, but I have not spent much time in the Trenton area.  but knowing it has historical significance and it is the state capital. . . we knew Ryan would love it and hoped Owen would too.

our day started at the NJ State Museum. . .while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive, we explored the Natural History exhibit.

my kids loved how there were exhibits you were "allowed" to touch. . .complete with small signs that said "Please Touch".

We were treated to some fascinating facts from Field Station: Dinosaur Exhibition paleontologists,  (the first 20 years of dinosaur discover happened right here in New Jersey!)

sang dinosaur songs with Sam the Dinosaur Troubadour, 

and even got to meet a "real" T-Rex. . .Ryan loved this dinosaur experience, but Owen was less than thrilled with how "lifelike" the eyes and "voice" were.  It was truly remarkable and such fun.

after all this excitement, we got to see a 3-D holiday laser light show in the planaterium.  prior to the holiday themed music and show, we were treated to a look at what the sky looked like when George Washington crossed the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War.  the laser light portion of the program was even in 3-D.

from there we headed over to the NJ State House for a guided tour.

photo courtesy of Sherry Aikens of www.babypop.com

our tour guide, Barbara was a lovely woman that provided us with plenty of information and entertainment regarding the legislature branch of the NJ Government.  She explained much of the symbolism used in various seals, flags and emblems.

we even got to see the outer chamber of Governor Chris Christie's office.

after our tour, Ryan participated in a Make a Law Program in the Visitor's Center where he learned how a bill becomes a law.  he LOVED it and they even passed one.  Owen and I walked back to the museum to check out the exhibits we hadn't seen in the morning.

it was a wonderful day - full of history and entertainment for both kids and adults.

If you go - both the NJ State Museum and the NJ State House are open to and free for the public. (there is even free parking)  the planaterium has a fee to see their program.

catch you soon -

menu plan Monday. . .

and so it goes. ..a week where i hit a big mental block. . .i just don't know what to make. . .nothing is appealing. . .


does that happen to you? what do you do?


i'm muddling through with this plan:

Monday - leftovers (we ate a big lunch out)
Tuesday - Chicken Cutlets, Mashed Potatoes, Veggie and Salad
Wednesday -seafood (fish or shrimp), veggie and couscous
Thursday - Tacos
Friday - Pizza Night
Saturday & Sunday to be determined

uninspired. . .but done and healthy.

catch you soon -

Title Page & Week One of Project Life 2012

i have mentioned before that I am officially joining the Project Life party for 2012.  it took me a while to make the decision, and when I finally did, the preferred style of page protectors were sold out.

this may seem like a little thing. . .but I learned it was a big hindrance to my "getting started".  my opened kit and empty binder was like a blank Blue Book  (remember those? do they still use them?)

i hemmed and hawed and poured over Becky's, Monica's, Lisa's, Cathy's, Elise's and Ali's blogs. . .I discovered and followed new scrapbooking friends taking off on this adventure through twitter and pinterest.

but i had to just sit down. . .and start.  my plan is to run my weeks from Saturday to Friday, so I have Saturday and Sunday to complete the prior week.  I plan to post my updates on Thursdays.

someone had the idea to keep journaling notes on their iPhone - so I set up a paper and have recorded something for each day. . .Cathy is using an App called Day One - I'll be checking that out this weekend.

i finished my Title Page. . .I do not love the 4x6 in the upper left hand corner. . .it will do . . .the rest I am pretty happy with.

i have week one planned out. . .but not completely pulled together.  again, i struggle with words. . .what to write.  ironic, since i am a blogger right?  but somehow committing that pen to paper is so "permanent". . .such a big chance to get it "wrong".  i KNOW there is no wrong - it's MY story and however I choose to tell it is perfect. . .but it's still daunting.

two other things i learned so far. . .my date stamp only goes to 2007. . .clearly I have not used this tool in a while.  and secondly, i should not have selected True Digital Prints when I ordered photos. . .I am planning to print most of my photos at home from now on.

so onward and upwards. . .trying to remember to take pictures along the way of my day. . .save bits of things to use, and jot down what we did, where we went, what we said, etc.

are you playing along with Project Life?

catch you soon -