Being a Student Again

There's a reason I haven't been around to post on my blog for awhile. I've gone back to school to update my Masters in Library Science. I earned my Masters many years ago back in 1995 when I was a young mother of a toddler and attended graduation with baby number two on the way.

Flash forward to now and I'm a full-time mom to 3 teenagers, one in college himself, and I'm going back to college part-time. It's surreal. But when my husband asked me for a divorce I realized I was going to need to go back to work in the near future. At first, I panicked because I haven't worked in 19 years since I stayed home with my 3 children. Granted, I have a Masters, but my work experience is really out of date. That's when I realized I needed to go back to school to update my rusty skills. So much has changed in my library information field and I was definitely feeling like a dinosaur.

With no local library science masters program to go to, I decided to research online schools. Once in the program, I actually had to take a class on how to take online classes because they are so technology-driven and specific to each university. That was a whole new learning curve in itself. My first semester was a shock to my adled brain which hasn't read anything more serious than Pride and Prejudice but I made it through. Now I'm loving the challenges that being back in school offers. Sure it's cut down on a lot of my crafting and pleasure reading time, and my house is in a shambles. But I'm keeping the kids fed and in clean clothes for the most part.

I'm now half-way through the program, which will give me a post-masters certificate in Library Intermediation & Instruction. In some ways I wish I could just keep going to school -- it's a nice safe environment that I love and have become accustomed to. I'm a little nervous to venture out into the workforce after all this time away. But given my circumstances, ready or not, in a few short months I will step off and fly.

We are all beautiful

Such an important video. I've always loved Dove ads, but this one really is one of their best. Why can't we as women see ourselves as we truly are? We are all beautiful.

Project Life 2012: Week 26

I'm at the 1/2 way point -- half-way through the year and it feels great! I didn't post last week because life was pretty hectic but I'm back at it. In fact, I've completed two more weeks of Project Life but I don't have them photographed yet. So one step at a time.

Week 26 was a special week as we had lots of family visiting for my father-in-law's 75th surprise birthday party. It was great for the kids to catch up with some of their aunts, uncles, and cousins. Here's our week . . .

Week 26:

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I found these cute journaling spots that looked like stamps which was perfect for my trip to the Post Office. I also used an airmail label to add the date and add more to the "mail" feel.

 

I love this photo I caught of my son. It's him riding his bike on his way to his friends's house on a Summer Day. I could almost feel the freedom he felt as he rode off on his own with the whole day spread out before him.  I just added some washi tape to the journaling card to add some color.

 

I was thrilled to catch Meghan looking through our scapbook albums. It makes me so happy when the kids look through the albums I've made for them. I wrote my journaling on a little tag for a change.

 

I like including tickets from events we attend. I added a "file tab" I punched to the top of the ticket.

I used Paislee Press' free template to put all three photos of my kids reading birthday letters to their Grandpa.

 

I love this photo of my daughter sitting in my studio's window seat. I just added some washi tape to the journaling card for a pop of color.

 

That's it for Week 36. Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life 2012: Week 25

Another week down. And I'm still loving this project. I'm at week 25 and I can't believe I'm almost at the halfway point! This was a nice normal summer week filled with fun activities for the kids. The highlight was that Kyle attended a week-long creative writing program at the local university. As a high school student and aspiring author, this was a fabulous opportunity. While their big brother was busy writing, I took Eric and Meghan summer clothes shopping at a beautiful outdoor shopping mall. We had a fun day shopping and my daughter and I even got some make-overs. The rest of the week consisted of life's regular routines: grocery shopping, favorite TV shows, reading, etc.


Week 25:

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Love this Week in Review journal card from A Vegas Girl at Heart. You can find it here.

At the outdoor mall, they had these beautiful hanging baskets of flowers everywhere. I used a digital brush from Ali Edwards to express my delight with them.

 

My daughter and I love to watch Pretty Little Liars together -- it's nice to have something to share with my 13 year old daughter. :) So I included an online image plus a NetFlix envelope since we watch it on NetFlix. I added some washi tape, and a label from Martha Stewart's Office Depot label line.

This scroll-work journaling card reminded me of the iron work holding up the beautiful hanging flowers. I found this journaling card here from Miss Tiina.

 

When I'm grocery shopping, someone usually makes a joke when they see me loading 5 gallons of milk into my cart. For example, they joke "Wouldn't it be cheaper to get a cow?" ha ha! So I thought I would journal about how much milk my 3 teenagers drink and include the receipt too.

 

That's it for Week 25. Another week in the album!

NOTE: As you can see, I'm doing my own thing when it comes to Project Life. I'm using a different album than most everyone else but I hope you can still enjoy my process. And the most important thing is we're all preserving our memories.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life 2012: Week 24

I'm inching closer to being caught up. I actually have two weeks ready to go. I will try and post the other week in a day or two.

This week is a mix of highs and lows. Not everything is upbeat and perfect in life. Some rough stuff happened with my parents who are in a retirement home. I didn't even write some of what happened down because it was just too personal. I just wrote down some basic stuff so looking back it will jog my memory and I'll know what I was referring to. Sometimes life is too painful to process in a scrapbook or we just need more time. For the most part, life is good. And I try and focus on that but I also want to be true in my albums. It's finding that balance.

Thanks for stopping to look.


Week 24:




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I love the blanket fort my daughter built this week in our living room. That's the good stuff for sure!

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This is a close-up photo of my laptop which broke down. As you can see, only half the screen works - bummer. I did a lot of squinting at the screen this week. Love this Today journaling card from Valorie Brown Designs which you can find here.

I love this pretty Doily journaling card that I found for free at Digital Design Essentials. I just added a ticket with the Tiny Attacher to add some interest. The blue and orange card is from Eva Kipler.

This cute Camera journaling card is from the talented MissTiina. I added some washi tape. Just a little photo of my quick trip to the grocery store. This is one of the reasons I love Project Life -- it gives me a place to document the everyday routines that make up my life.

I wanted to document that my 16-year old son turned in his 1st summer job application this week. I included a business card from the place where he'd like to work. The cool cashier card is a freebie from www.spendidmissm.blogspot.com. I really like the vintage look of it.

I read a lot so I will get a lot of use out of these Currently Reading List cards! The free set of cards also includes Current Watching, To Do List, etc. The Currently Reading List is from Valorie Brown Designs.

This week I finished up my online writing course 31 Things taught by Ali Edwards. I took a photo of the rough draft of my last story. The Numbered journaling card I used is from www.srapbookprintables.wordpress.com. I added some printable washi tape from www.libby-bonjour.blogspot.com.

This week was important because I got to meet my oldest son's girlfriend for the first time. I thought this Hello journaling card was perfect for this and it's from www.misstiina.com

So that's it for the week. The good stuff definitely outweighed the tough stuff. Not every week is like that I know. But that's one of the best things about Project Life. It helps you pause and reflect on all the small, but good, moments that make up your life. And usually the small good moments add up to one ordinary but lovely life.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life 2012: Week 23

Hello . . . This week in Project Life is mostly about my oldest son's high school graduation. I had so many photos I wanted to include so I devoted 1/2 the weekly spread to it. The other side is regular life -- trips to the library, doctor's appointments, movies we watched, etc. I also found a quote that I really liked and it was a perfect way to start the week. Here we go with Week 23!

Week-at-a-Glance:

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I used this ledger banner tag on top of this library-type card to tell about my trip to the library. Then I added some red-striped washi tape from Target.

The aqua hexagon card sticking out under the exam table photo can be found at Write Click Scrapbook. The grid journaling card underneath the business card is from Miss Tiina and can be found here.  I also used some printable washi tape from MissTiina and then I cut it out. You can find it here.

 

The Moments journaling card is from Linda Tieu of www.backtopaper.com.



The Remember This journaling card can be found here at Splendid Miss M.

 

I wanted to capture that my teenage son and teenage daughter have been watching all the Harry Potter movies together (unusual & sweet that they are hanging out together :o). Plus, I included part of a brochure from where we got our pizza that Friday night. The label is one of Martha Stewart's Avery labels from Staples.

 

Love this quote I found online by Mary Anne Radmacher. And I thought it was fitting with Kyle graduating from high school this week.

 

NOTE: As you can see, I'm doing my own thing when it comes to Project Life. I'm using a different album than most everyone else but I hope you can still enjoy my process. And the most important thing is we're all preserving our memories.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life 2012: Week 22

Hello . . . I'm plugging away on Project Life and I hope to be caught up soon. I actually feel pretty good about where I'm at now (not as far behind as before!). I think I'll get all caught up in the near future and if I don't -- hey, I'm close enough. I hope you're in a good place too.
This was a pretty typical week for us . . . I even wrote on one of the journaling cards " I wrote, shopped, picked up kids, scrapbooked, cooked meals, exercised, and watched movies." That about sums it up except for the washing machine broke down on me so I couldn't do our laundry at home. I had to use my mother-in-law's washing machine but it's better than going to the laundromat! Lately, it seems there's always something breaking down in our house. Last month it was the dishwasher. But I guess that's part of life.

On to Week 22 . . .

Full-Week Spread:

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I love to use Cathy Zielske's Tiny Templates to fit lots of photos and journaling in one photo collage.

I thought this digital brush from Ali Edwards was perfect for this stormy weather photograph.

I like how the text popped off the water pouring out of my washing machine. I don't like that my washing machine is now broken. :(

I combined a journaling card from A Vegas Girl at Heart and a journaling tag from www.DaintyDream.com. I attached the tag with washi tape from Target.

I used another Tiny Template from Cathy Zielske - really love these!

Love this journaling card from Write Click Scrapbook.

 

In the following two photos, I downloaded images from the internet of the TV show and movies that I've been watching. I love including these cultural images in my Project Life album.

Thanks for stopping by!