Project Life 2012: Week 19

I didn't know how good I had it when I was all caught up with Project Life. Heck, I would work on it almost every day because I could and I couldn't wait to play with it. I was having so much fun with it. Remember how giddy we were when we first started Project Life and you couldn't wait to put it together at the end of the week?

I've got to admit being behind takes some of the shine off of it. It's so easy to miss one week and then somehow it turned into several weeks for me. I know we're not suppose to worry about those things -- and I wouldn't say I'm worrying about it. I'm more frustrated by it. I hate playing the catch-up game -- always running but never getting there. Just feeling a little low that I'm 5 weeks behind. BUT, I'm not going to give up. I've been putting in extra time here and there trying to move forward. I know I'll get there, I just needed to share how challenging it can be sometimes when you're behind. Hope you are hanging in there too!

Anyway on to what I have accomplished - Yeah me! Week 19 . . .

Full-Week Spread :

Left-Hand Side :

Right-Hand Side :

I used this cute "heart this" journaling card from www.splendidmissm.blogspot.com. Washi tape is from Target.

For my Mother's Day collage, I used this template from Paislee Press.

"The Details" card came in this cute set of journaling tags from www.daintydream.com

I used one of Cathy Zielske's Tiny Templates for this photo of my son and his friend.

 

I love these arrows from Ali Edwards.

 

I use this "Week in Review" journaling card a lot -- it's from Jana and can be found here.

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 so much for stopping by!

Summer Reading

As the days seem to slow down, I find more pockets of time for my favorite activity -- reading. I've got a stack of delicious books on my nightstand just waiting to be devoured. So when I crawl into bed at night, I'm never too tired to read a chapter or two. I like to read by a book light in the dark of my bedroom. I think it reminds me of when I was a little girl and I use to read by flashlight under my covers.

I often read late into the night or morning, when I'll jolt awake with my book on my chest and my booklight still burning bright. It always makes me smile that I actually can fall asleep reading. My body is telling me it's time to go to sleep but my mind wants to keep reading.

I just finished the above book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it's fantastic that it's her 1st novel and that lets my own dreams of writing a book take flight. Her book is sweet, clever, and a really fun read. It kept my attention all throughout. So if you are a fellow book lover, I would highly recommend it. Happy Reading!

Project Life 2012: Week 18

I'm making good headway on Project Life and actually scrapped 3 weeks of it over the past weekend. I'll post them separately as you know what a big job it is to make the layout, take decent photos, upload the photos, then upload the post etc. That is to say, I only have "make the layout" stuff done for the first week. One week at a time and I'll catch up . . .

Here's Week 18 . . .

Week-at-a-Glance |

Left-Hand Side |

Right-Hand Side |

Close-up of We Love Cereal where I used one of Cathy Zielske's 4x6 Tiny Templates. You can buy these at Designer Digitals.

Here is another photo template that I used. This 3-photo template is free from Paislee Press and can be found here. These come in handy when I have a lot of photos from one event and don't want to use up (3) separate 4x6 slots.

I love to keep track of what I've read.  Recently Reading Journal card is freebie from Plucky Momo and can be found here. Washi tape is from Target.

Just like books, Project Life is the perfect place to record the movies our family watches. We're avid movie watchers so I include these movie images every week.

I love the circles on this free Week in Review journaling card from A Vegas Girl at Heart. You can find it here.

 

Here's an example of including a business card in you Project Life. I also snapped a photo of the worker's truck. I don't usually include tradespeople that come to my home in my PL. But I don't know about you but we were having a huge ant problem and ants were driving me CRAZY so the Ant Guy is my Hero! Washi tape is from Target.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

My Mom forgets who I am

The calendar has flipped to a new month since I last posted. Life passes me by. The sun keeps shining. And yet, my life feels like it's at a standstill.

Along with my own struggles, I'm trying to help my aging parents deal with theirs. My Mom has Alzheimers and it feels like I've already lost her just as much as if death has taken her. I mourn the Mom I knew and loved who knew me and loved me. She is a mere shell of herself and I can only imagine the fear and suffering she must be feeling. I cry just thinking about how scared she must be.

My father is struggling to deal with this cruel illness that has afflicted his wife of 53 years. So it's up to me and my siblings to step in and try and make sure she's getting the care she needs -- things as simple as taking her medication, which she refuses to take because she doesn't believe she is sick.

Yes, I am one of the growing sandwich generation where adults are still raising their own children and also caring for their elderly parents. There's a wonderful book called The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. She shares her struggles of raising children while battling her own cancer and dealing with her sick father. Her memoir told of the day-to-day challenges of being in that middle place sandwiched between caring for your children and your aging parents while you also struggle with your own problems.

Oh, unfortunately, how I can relate. I'm raising 3 teenagers, struggling with depression and chronic pain, going through a divorce after 23 years of marriage, and taking care of my aging parents, one who has Alzheimers. Stick a fork in me -- I'm done. But I can't be done. I can't fall apart. So I take it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. And I remind myself that the sun keeps shining.