Nihao, Cupcake!

2013 Day in the Life: March [Pictures]

My plan this month was to document Friday, a busy ordinary weekday, but about lunchtime I realized I had forgotten to document anything. So I switched to Saturday. As Friday continued on, I sort of wished I had documented that day since it was a "good" weekday with lots of extra things like meetings and sports games and volunteer work during the day. 

I find these things the most difficult to capture on film because I get self-conscious. So, I was looking forward to the challenge & the photos as a result of overcoming my nerves.

Next month!

And I ended up I loving documenting Saturday.

I did get a late start. I didn't realize I was meant to document until I got home from my yoga class at 10:30 AM! So before that, the documentation is in words only. But that is OK because I wanted to focus more on the words this year and this month. So, that works out.

I ended up jotting down a bunch of notes in my notebook. I will be re-typing when I transfer everything into my DITL template in Photoshop. I will get times from my notebook as well as the metadata on my photos. I love including exact times.

Watch in Week 13 for my Day in the Life insert.

To see last month's Day in the Life layout, go here. To see it in my Project Life album, go here.

I'm linking up here at Ali's blog. Check it out, there are others who linked up as well offering great inspiration, as well as a nice article regarding the Day in the Life process.

Thanks for stopping by!

Day in the Life: February 2013

I am so happy to have my February Week in the Life complete!

I was determined to do Week in the Life this month having missed January. It appealed to me for so many different reasons. My calendar alerted me, I set up my camera next to my bed the night before as a reminder. I had paper ready for documenting and Wednesday morning got off to a great start. But then my mood. My mood got in the way and I lost all motivation to take pictures or document. I'm not sure why but that does happen to me on occasion.

I gave Thursday another attempt but I wasn't as prepared and it just didn't happen and then between last week and this week what little I did have documented from the first half of Wednesday went missing! And still is!

Despite all that was against me and all the self-sabotage, I still wanted to go ahead with it.

1) It is more than I would have documented had I given up completely.

2) Good for my general creativity.

3) Feels good completing a project I set out to do even though it is more imperfect than perfect.

4) Good practice for next month.

I've got March marked on the calendar already. Do you?

Look for the final product in my Project Life post next week - typically published on Monday, though sometimes as early as Sunday. 

I've linked this post up at Ali Edwards' blog for Day in the Life February 2013.

On Saturday, March 9, one of my Project Life layouts will be featured here:

Feel free to stop by and check out the inspiration.

Week in the Life 2012 :: Day 3 Photos

Here is a photo from our afternoon (Day 3 was our Saturday). This post will be updated soon with the rest of the photos from the day. But there was something fun about this one, that I had to share now.

Week in the Life :: Day 2 Photos

 

I just lost the last 5-6 photos I was posting. Slow internet sucks! I've got to publish this and go to bed! Thanks for stopping by.

Week in the Life :: Day 7 Photos

 

 

 

 

My route on the way to yoga.

Passing by the set-up for the premiere of a movie at a local theater.

Yet another Starbucks opening soon. The second one in a 1.25 block radius. And the seventh Western coffee shop in a 3 block radius.

While I was on my way to yoga, Nicholas' class was watching this performance next to the city wall of Pingyao. I should have had every member of my family take a camera along with them today to see what each of us was up to.

Looking down from the city wall.

Pingyao resident.

Meanwhile in Beijing, I'm shopping for feta cheese. 60 kuai for a small package. That is over $10 USD!!

And back in Pingyao, visiting China's first bank.

A stop at one of my favorite import markets after yoga before I head home.

Sights on my walk home...

A statue the kids have noticed since the first week we moved to Beijing.

Sidewalk cafe, Beijing-style, at lunchtime.

The newstand on the corner.

What Nicholas saw on his walk around Pingyao.

No homework during Experience China Week so finishing up some arts & crafts.

Such concentration on the handprint dragon.

Middle school still had homework so this is a common sight every week night. Reece wears his house shirt for sports day today. He's in the blue house, Temple of Heaven. He thinks his team may have won the event. He'll find out later in the week.

Recipe for Mediterranean lasagne online.

Fun with the self-timer! I set up my camera to take 10 photos in a row. When this kid gets wind there is a camera in the midst, he insists on being in front of it.

Nighttime in Pingyao. Pretty good attempt at low light photography by my 11 year old. I'm one proud "enthusiastic amateur photographer mama"!

Well, that's it for Week in the Life 2012! The documentation period is over. I will admit that it was a tough week for me - some days I felt alot more in the mood to take photos than on other days. I've documented with photographs several times in the past and have one completed Week in the Life album (July 2011). I also feel like I am constantly documenting the details of my life with my passion for photography in addition to my Project Life albums from 2010-present and my participation on Ella Publishing's Take 12 Design Team (taking 12 photos the 12th of every month). So, I gave myself a break when I didn't feel like picking up the camera every moment of every day. I didn't save as much ephemera from the week as I did in July. But then I am constantly saving bits and pieces of life for my Project Life album.

I feel like I couldn't document any more than I already do. Would any one want to read any more detail about my life? Probably not. Every moment is not meant to save and relive. Some stuff is just meant to be lived in the present and never to happen again. Sometimes the documenting has to be paused so that life can be lived to its fullest.

The photos that I do wish I had taken, were a foot massage with friends (I still plan to get one of these taken and slide it in my album since this has become an almost weekly habit - they are cheap and good here), lunch out with friends at a fun restaurant and I was hoping to visit a gallery for a photography exhibit, but a bad driver and heavy rain kept me away.

I still hope to post my favorite photos from my Day 3, 4 & 5. I'm also going to tally all the photos I took each day and the total for the week. I definitely take more earlier in the week, but I think that is normal.

How did your week go? What did you find the most fun? The most surprising? The most difficult? Do you think you will make an album? And finally, will you be doing this project again?

Week in the Life 2012:: Day 6

For some reason my internet is running incredibly slow (but it's par for the course here in China). This means that any photos I want to publish to Flickr take a tremendously long time and I get kicked off constantly (I publish to Flickr through Lightroom). Since I post photos for my blog via Flickr, this means I can't post anything until my photos are on Flickr.

Saying good-bye at 6AM in the morning. Off on a 3-night school trip. I'm still in my PJs.

Didi (Little Brother) is always a ham for the camera. I was taking a close up of the fruit and he insisted on being in the photo WITH the fruit!

Watering our plants.

Lots of rain today in Beijing and on Er erzi's journey to Pingyao. View from the train.

Self portrait at the restaurant where the class learned to make noodles.

Back in Beijing, using one of our favorite recipes for dinner.

Can't keep the kids away from a computer.

Silly bands from the store downstairs.

 

So, right now all I have are these photos for you from my Day 6. My day 6 was Tuesday because I started last Thursday (over a week ago now)! I will do my best to update this post as my photos are published on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by to have a peek at my world. I took a lot of photos of the things on the streets that make this Beijing. The things that I will never see where I am from. So, those will go up as soon as I can get them published. So sorry about the delays. It really is disappointing not being able to share my photos along with everyone else.

Week in the Life 2012: Day 5 Photos

This post is my Monday in photos. I started the project last Thursday, so this is my Day 5. I will post my other days soon (out of order) but I wanted to link up today on Ali's blog where it is Day 5.

 

 

 

I will update this post with more photos as they are published on Flickr so keep checking back. All photos are straight out of the camera. No time to edit yet.

Click here to see photos from Day 1 and all the other posts from my Week in the Life 2011 project including my finished album.

Week in the Life 2012: Day 1 Photos

I'm joining in on Ali's Week in the Life project this year. I started my week on Thursday. This post are some of my favorite photos from Day 1. They are all straight out of the camera, so excuse the darkness (I shoot in RAW).

354 Photos taken! Two cameras used: my DSLR (Canon XSi/450) & my point and shoot (Canon SX10IS)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm linking up at Ali's blog for Day 1. Thanks for stopping by!

Are you doing Week in the Life this year? To see all of my Week in the Life posts for last year, click here. I did it on the cheap, so there is info there on how.

Happiness Blog Hop {November}:: Mindfulness

Welcome to my blog for the Happiness Blog Hop hosted by Stephanie at Scrapworthy Lives.

A little background on the hop for those of you that are new here. Each month Stephanie of Scrapworthylives.com chooses a theme for the hop based around themes in Gretchen Rubin’s book: The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. Basically all themes from the book are applied to the overall theme of SCRAPBOOKING and how it leads to more HAPPINESS in our lives.

This month's theme is MINDFULNESS or in other words, PAYING ATTENTION.

In no uncertain terms, I see how scrapbooking makes me more mindful of my life. This has happened in direct ways and indirect ways. 

For example, many of the scrapbooking projects that I participate in by nature cause me to pay attention to the details of my daily life.

For example, A Week in the Life, a project inspired by Ali Edwards, requires me to take photos of as many ordinary details of my life as I can. For the entire week, I am conscious of taking photos of ordinary details that are important to our everyday lives like where we eat our meals, what we have for breakfast, what we might wear for the day, how we relate to each other around the house, how we get places, what our surroundings look like, where we go each day, etc, etc, etc.

I also pay more attention to the paper and other ephemera that surrounds me. I decide what to keep that will represent our daily lives. For this week, I pay attention to every thing. In my efforts to create this album, I am mindful of how to tell a story that accurately represents our daily lives in that week.

 

I find that the daily practice of a photo a day and recording (as much as I can) in my Project Life album is also a catalyst for AWARENESS.

 

SCRAPBOOKING is indirectly responsible for me coming upon writing prompts like the one below that I found today on Lee's blog (who I 'met' in an online scrapbooking class). Prompts like these cause me to pause, reflect on my life and record some of the mundane, yet important details of my life right now.

Not to mention, filling out quizzes like this makes me HAPPY and always has. Maybe it is because it causes me to be mindful and pay attention to the details of my daily life? What do you think? Do you like quizzes?

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? Braden, my six year old, after I had picked him up just a few hours ago at the bus in our apartment complex campus. I remember noticing how soft his skin is.

2. Are you outgoing or shy? Both. Socially, I have grown to be outgoing. As a child, I was definitely SHY! Now, I am only shy when it relates to my own accomplishments and then I am PAINFULLY shy. Only a handful of friends IRL even know about this blog! 

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? My friend, Diane, when she (hopefully) comes to visit me in Spring.

4. Are you easy to get along with? I think I am easy to get along with. But the older I get, the less I worry about it.

5. Have you ever given up on someone? Yes. But I do keep the door open, so to say. 

6. Do you enjoy school/work? Yes, especially now that I only study/work on something I want to do.

7. What person do you think about most often? It rotates between my three boys and my husband depending on what is going on in our various lives.

8. What does your most recent text say? "No problem. I'll be at The Place at 1. See you then." (The Place is the name of the mall next to my apartment.)

9. Who did you last speak with for over 30 minutes? Emilie when we were out taking photos today.

10. Do you believe in good luck? I believe in being prepared for good luck and taking advantage when it finds you.

11. How do you feel in a big crowd of people? If they are raucous then I might be nervous or scared especially if I have my kids with me and I'm worried for their safety, otherwise I'm excited because there is probably something fun going on. And I'm used to crowds after living over five years between China & Japan.

12. What was the best thing that happened this summer? My husband survived & fully recovered from a scary brush with full-blown sepsis.

13. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Yes, by all means.

14. Do you think there is life on other planets? Yes. 

15. Do you still think about your first crush/love? My first crush was in Kindergarten or 1st grade and I just told my kids about him the last time I was at home and we walked past his house. His family hasn't lived there for a long time.

16. What bad habits do you wish you could break? Lately it has been spending too much time on the computer. I've already improved and plan to keep whitling it down within reason.

17. What's the first thing you do when you wake up? Take my Synthroid for my thyroid.

18. Did you dream last night? About what? Not that I can remember. I also need to get more sleep so I can have time to dream.

19. Who is the most comfortable person to be around? Abby, Stacy, Diletta, Yukiko, Paul

20. What made you happy today? Getting back to yoga after a week off and having a really good class.

21. Which celebrity would you want to date and why? George Clooney and I might be talked into Brad Pitt. 

22. Do you enjoy playing sports? Yes. But I don't play much.

23. When was the last time you wrote a thank you note? In September for two very nice birthday gifts.

24. Would you rather live without TV or music? TV. Now with the internet, who needs a TV?

25. Are you currently keeping a secret from someone? No. Last week I was keeping my son's birthday gift a secret!

26. Do you think age matters? Yes.

27. What was the last store you went into? Jenny Lu's for food.

28. What is your dream job? National Geographic Photographer choosing my own stories and paid in full before I fly to the job in its extremely exotic and gorgeous location covering very friendly and fascinating people. :)

29. Do you believe in second chances? Yes.

30. Do you smile at strangers? Yes.

31. Is your voice quiet or loud? Loud.

32. Would you rather go to space or to the bottom of the ocean? Space. 

33. What are you most afraid of? The death of my children or husband.

34. What is the nicest thing someone ever said to you? I love you.

35. Have you done anything you hope no one ever knows about? No. 

36. If you could write a book, what would it be about? Photography - because I would like to be that good.

37. Do you enjoy bubble baths? On a rare occasion.

38. How would you describe your perfect day? On holiday in a location similar to Hawaii (I love the warm weather and warm ocean water), a relaxing swim, a massage, homemade ice cream, a healthy yet delicious breakfast, Wahoo's shrimp tacos for lunch, a few hours to take some great photos doing fun things, playing a game with my whole family, a nice quiet dinner with my husband having a good glass of wine and chatting. 

39. Would you rather lose your vision or your hearing? Hearing.

40. What astrological sign are you? On the cusp of Virgo & Libra.

41. Do you know the meaning of your name? If I do, I can't think of it right now. I was named after my parents' friends' girlfriend!

42. Do you prefer indoors or outdoors? Outdoors especially if it involves nature - I'll take beach or mountains.

43. What was the name of your first pet? Tulus the IV.

44. Do you have a crush on someone right now? No, unless you count my husband.

45. Where would you travel if you could go anywhere? Nepal or Europe, maybe the Italian Riviera.

46. What do you do during an awkward silence? Talk.

47. What part of your body do you love most? My legs.

48. Who did you last say "I love you" to? One of my children or my husband, I can't remember since we say it most days.

49. Did you make your bed this morning? Yes.

50. Are you who you want to be? I'm well on my way.

 

This is also perfect material for a future scrapbook page. Perhaps I'll make one and post it for you at the next blog hop. Because as we all know, scrapbooking definitely makes me happy. I think all the steps to making a scrapbook page, from taking photographs, selecting materials to use, to crafting a page, all require mindfulness. Maybe that is why it makes us happy?

 

If you are so inclined, copy and paste the questions and answer them on your blog and be sure to post a link to your answers in the comments. I would love to pop over and hear more about you!

 

And I still plan to sign up for Your Story Matters to bring even more attention and awareness to my own story - not just my kids', who I tend to scrapbook and photograph 90% of the time. That said, I am planning a Top 10 List on Thursday of my best Self Timer Photos for Shimelle's Ten on 10.

 

I plan to particpate in  www.onedayonearth.org which takes place this Friday 11.11.11 when the world will come together to DOCUMENT ONE DAY around the globe. What better way to bring AWARENESS of all kinds of interesting things in our world to one another? Check it out and why not join in too? I think it sounds like an incredibly cool project.

 

And before I send you off, an article I found the other day on happiness. I love what he says about routine and how he reduces every day stress in his life. I'm taking it to heart and trying to see how I can incorporate those behaviors into my own life. His answers weren't necessarily ones I have heard time and again. Give it a read and let me know what you think.

Dr. Weil Interviews Dr. Oz at Everyday Health

 

Next on the hop is Nuggets. If you should get lost along the way, feel free to come back here for a list of all the blogs or find your way to our host, Stephanie at Scrapworthy Lives. Thanks, Stephanie for hosting! It is always a lot of fun. 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll come back again.

 

Fun Mama

Kiss & Tell Scrapbooking

Melissa’s Blog

Nihao, Cupcake! <--- You are HERE.

Nuggets <--- Go HERE next.

Our Life with Spiky Potatoes

Pie for Breakfast

Scraps & Sass

Scrapworthy Lives

Scrap Your Life

Slice of Life

Take a Picture and Remember This

This Kalil Life

1200 Some Miles

Scrapping Mojo

Your Memory Connection

31 DAYS OF CREATIVE INSPIRATION: Day 3 {Passion for Scrapbooking Blog Hop} & Week in the Life 2011 Album-Complete

Welcome to my blog! Not only is today the Happiness Blog Hop hosted by Scrapworthlylives.com, but it is also:

Day 3 in my 31 Days of CREATIVE INSPIRATION Series.

Today's creative inspiration is all about SCRAPBOOKING. And what better way to be inspired than to hop around the web visiting other scrapbookers who are finding HAPPINESS in their PASSION for the hobby?

A little background on the hop for those of you that are new here. Each month Stephanie of Scrapworthylives.com chooses a theme for the hop based around themes in Gretchen Rubin’s book: The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. Basically all themes from the book are applied to the overall theme of SCRAPBOOKING and how it leads to more HAPPINESS in our lives.

This month's theme from the book is pursuing PASSION.

As Stephanie points out on her blog, in the book, Gretchen Rubin identifies four tasks for pursuing a passion (that will then bring more happiness into our lives):

• Write a novel
• Make time
• Forget about results
• Master a new technology

I can easily relate to MAKE TIME & FORGET ABOUT RESULTS.

Title page for my Week in the Life Album

Since late in July I have been working on my Week in the Life Album. As explained in this post, I was hoping to get it finished in a timely manner and post the link of my finished album on Ali Edwards' blog. Although, I did make a lot of time to make progress on the album, I did not allow enough time to get it completed in time to post on her blog.

That didn't mean I gave up on my album. I was determined to finish it! And the occasions of the 31 Day series and the blog hop were just the motivation I needed to finally MAKE THE TIME and LET GO OF THE FINAL RESULTS (perfectionism) to complete it today!

The bonus for me was that I also got to MASTER A NEW TECHNOLOGY (or more accurately renew my knowledge of an old hobby I hadn't done in over a decade).

I finally set up my new (to me) sewing machine and taught myself how to use it and sewed on several page protectors to make them the size I wanted them to be. I had a few false starts but when I was finally successful, I had a wonderful sense of accomplishment which I would imagine helps me achieve greater happiness for the day.

And it also gives me great pleasure to share with you my final album!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed THE FIRST FEW PAGES in my Week in the Life Album (to see the rest of the pages click here. Finally getting this huge project accomplished in just over two months is a HUGE accomplishment for me. I am one of those people that is afraid to start a themed album of any kind for fear that it will never get finished!

 

I hope the fact that I can get something like this finished INSPIRES some of you to give a similar project (or any scrapbooking project for that matter) a try! With a plan and a little determination, it is possible.

TO SEE ALL PAGES OF THE ALBUM, CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT ON FLICKR.COM.

 

WHAT WORKED FOR ME TO GET MY Week in the Life Album COMPLETED:

**finding a space on my desk where I could keep the album open at all times and work on it at any time

**compiling a small basket full of supplies that I would be using for this album and keeping that out on my desk

**having a loose plan before the week of the project started (see this post for more information).

**working on it in small chunks so that I wouldn't get too bored

**finding inspiring designs online that I could adapt for this project - simple yet elegant/sophisticated

**printing out my journaling papers all at once (I ended up doing this 3 or 4 different times but had I planned better this would have saved me time and allowed me to finish faster)

**pre-cutting my patterned paper rectangles

To see all my posts related to the making of this album including my loose plan, click here.

 

Thanks for joining me today. Be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 4!

Tomorrow will be all about Project 365/Project Life & Everyday Photojournalism.

31 Days of Creative INSPIRATION Series (Links to Past Posts)

Introduction

Day 1: Design Your Own Cupcake

Day 2: Storytelling Sunday

Day 3: Scrapbooking (Week in the Life Album)

Day 4: Project 365/Project Life (Everyday Photojournalism)

Other topics in the works for my 31 Days of Creative Inspiration Series: 

Photography - I answer the question, 'Should I buy a DSLR or upgrade my Point & Shoot Camera?', Find out who INSPIRES me; Photography Pet Peeves

Recipes - my husband's delicious salsa, HealthIER (Yet Still Delicious) Recipes

Scrapbooking - My favorite mini album, 30 minute scrapbook challenge

Family Photo Fun, Cupcake Ideas, craft ideas...

AND LOTS, LOTS MORE (I'm posting for 31 Days straight, remember?!)

 

NEXT STOP ON THE HAPPINESS BLOG HOP

There are a lot more blogs to offer you plenty of SCRAPBOOKING INSPIRATION today. The next stop on the hop is Kiss & Tell Scrapbooking. There is a list of all blog hop participants below in case you get lost.

Scrapworthy Lives

My Creative Days in Beijing

Kiss & Tell Scrapbooking

Your Memory Connection

Slice of Life

Take a Picture and Remember This

Scraps & Sass

Pie for Breakfast

A Week in the Life 2011(on the cheap): Photos

Even though I have not been posting regularly, I am still working hard at my computer just about daily to get my Week in the Life album done. Ali was not kidding when she said it is a big project! Of course I could make it simpler by doing it all digitally, but I've been wanting to do this since I first heard about it in 2007 or 2008 (I attended a CKU in Anaheim and I wasn't able to take the class she taught on this subject), so I want to do it 'right'! Or what is right for me!

So far, all of the digital work I have done is similar to Ali's example, except for my main title page and my daily title pages. I will be using an 8x10 photo and add words in a more traditional scrapbook style.

ALBUM & PAGES

Since I was not confident enough in myself to believe that I would actually complete this album (I've documented full weeks in 2010 and 2008 with photos, words and collecting ephemera, but never completed even one scrapbook page, let alone a full album), I didn't want to spend much money on supplies. Therefore, my album is being housed in a three ring binder from Big Lots that I picked up for $2.50. It is an ugly blue color.

My 8.5 x 11 page protectors (which are acid free and archival) are produced by the office supply company, Avery, and came in a pack of 250 I purchased at Costco last year. My nine-pocket pages (also acid-free and archival quality) are actually baseball card holders by the company Ultra. They do have one distracting feature and that is a hologram on the plastic between two of the ring holes that assures the consumer they are authentic Ultra high quality baseball card holders. Afterall, the serious baseball card collector cares as much about preserving their treasures as we scrapbookers do about ours!

This 100 page pack cost me $10.99 through Amazon.com. I have many other ideas for the remaining 9 pocket pages.

The next few days I plan to cut up all of my rectangular photos, select which ones I am going to use and put them in my 9 pocket pages along with journaling cards I will embellish and ephmera I have collected throughout that week. It is on the canvases in the pocket pages as well as the way I handle the daily title pages that my own creativity and design will come through. The rest of the album is basically the same as Ali has done in hers.

You may notice that I printed out 18 rectangular photos for each day and yet I plan to include journaling cards and ephemera in those pockets as well. This just means I have delayed the final photo selection process for when I compile the 9 pocket pages.

The selection process is organic for me. I do it in stages. First on highlighting my favorites during the initial download. Then when I go back through to rate photos and decide on the ones I store in file folders that I'd like to print, again when I work in Photoshop making my templates for each day and then finally (my next and final step) when I put together the actual 9 pocket pages with journaling cards, embellishments and ephemera.

I'm so excited for this next and final step. This is the fun part! I'll be sure and share it here as soon as I am done. I can't wait until I can link up on Ali's post where she shares her complete album.

If you are interested in the supplies I plan to use, go to this post here.

Stay tuned as I hope and plan to post my final project in the next few days. Best case scenario before the end of the weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Week in the Life 2011: Documentation Wrap Up

WRITTEN ONE WEEK AGO (AUG 1):

Well, I made it through the documentation stage of another A Week in the Life. It is a fantastic accomplishment in and of itself. I always enjoy taking photos of our daily routines. I am getting better and better at taking photos that I want to take and not being shy about it. It has taken a lot of practice over the years. The photography classes I've taken, the weekly photo walks I used to take with my friends in Beijing as well as many challenges I've taken over the years like photo a day, this Week in the Life project as well as a few other Big Picture classes everyday documentation challenges have helped. I get better at it each year. With the photo a day project, I am in the habit of taking photos just about every day. Many days, I take many more than one. That mindset helps with a project like this - I rarely blank out and forget.

But when I do, as I did a few times this week, here is one of the ways I cope. I am creating a list for my album titled PHOTOS I DIDN'T TAKE.

Here is my list:

*Reece playing with his friend Elliot in the garage. They were working on their movie script and had the folding table & chairs set up as well as movie props and writing materials.

*Nicholas working with Mr. C, his tutor

*Our late night (9 PM) grocery store run to buy snacks and lunch for the Dragon Boat Races

*Attending The Wiz at a local high school.

*Shopping at Trader Joe's with Reece

*Serving ourselves fro yo at Yogurtland (still might do this and add it in) - boys won't mind being gineau pigs!

 

When my week is over, as much as I am relieved that I don't have to be taking photos any more, I also miss it too and feel like I am missing something when I don't document our every move. I'm exaggerating a little, but I definitely miss it and keep taking more everyday photos for a few weeks after wards.

I loved the inspiration I saw on other websites. I got some good ideas for self-portraits I would like to try. I'm not overly creative with those.

Now it is time to get to work on my album.

I want it to be super simple or else I will not do it. I like doing hybrid/traditional. I am using a format very similar to Ali's. I will choose one 8.5 x 11 photo - portrait orientation for hte first page for each day, one page of 9 pockets - both sides and one 8.5 x 11 photo collage on the last page. I plan to print out grids on some white or kraft paper to use as journaling papers to put at the bottom of my full page photos as well as at the edges of my photos in the 9 pockets. I will use a similar style to Ali's digital designs for this year, but I will make them myself and do it traditionally.

Here are the products I've picked out to use for my A Week in the Life Album. I'll explain what I plan to do in a post soon.

UPDATE: WRITTEN MONDAY, AUGUST 8

I have been working hard on selecting my photos, creating templates for the photos that go in the 9-pocket pages and it is taking much longer than I had anticipated. I do not have a photo printer here, so I was hoping to get them printed at Costco before I go back to Beijing, but I am not sure that is going to happen. Of course there are a few glitches that cost me more time, but I keep plugging away.

How is your album coming? If you've posted your progress after the documentation stage, please let me know as I'd come see what you've done so far.

 

BIG PICTURE CLASSES FREE SUMMER CLASS

My kids go back to school on August 15, so I will be ready with plenty of free time (ha!) during the day to enjoy BPC's Big Idea Festival 2011. It's free! Click on the icon below for more details.

A Week in the Life 2011: Day 7 (Saturday) in Photos

A few of my favorite photos from Day 7 (Saturday) out of 254 (YIKES!):

Early morning drive to Dragon Boat Race festival.

Go Pirates!

Go Team Pirate!!

Opening ceremonies complete with drumming and Dragon dances.

Playing games while waiting for the race to start.

Team Pirate's turn.

Hanging out in the team tent between races.

Played in the sea (right in front of the team tent) between races.

Our team is boat #6 -2nd place!! Even though it looks like we are in 3rd or 4th place, we are actually in 2nd place. The first two boats are adult women racing against each other at the same time as the elementary teams race.

Celebrating their second 2nd place win of the day. Go Pirates!

Heading home.

Art work brought home yesterday from the last day of Summer School. This is the Hungry Caterpillar.

I am now officially done with the photo portion of documenting my week. Next week, I will do my best to get my album done. I hope to post my plan tomorrow.

A Week in the Life 2011: Day 6 (Friday) in Photos

A few favorites from Day 6. Total number taken: 80 + 18 taken by my 10 year old who took it to his last day of Summer School.

Banana Phone!

Playing back silly videos made the day before.

Let's go shopping!

Released today. Kids want to go see it.

Listening to movie reviews on the radio. They pan The Smurfs saying it is insulting to children and lots of product placements. We will skip it.

Lunch before shopping.

Trying on a bunch of stuff at Nordstrom Rack.

Time to check out.

Another store looking for shirts and more pants.

Waiting for a dressing room.

After watching The Wiz at a local high school, we stop at the store return home by 10 PM and I have to make sandwiches for the Dragon Boat races early Saturday morning.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll post my last day (Saturday) tomorrow.

Happy Weekend!

A Week in the Life 2011: Day 5 (Thursday) in Photos

Some of my favorite photos from Thursday's total of 147:

My ideal breakfast. Sadly I can only have it when I am in the States.

Dad calls from Beijing to chat before summer school.

A hug for Grandma before driving to school.

Mom and Reece stop for a quick morning snack. I had coffee, R a cup of soup. He made cracker sandwiches. Interesting.

We spent the morning school shopping.

Hoping to find some good deals on books. Prices not so low yet and not much to choose from.

Boys making some of their fun videos. All three of them jumped over the camera as it was recording.

Braden is the camera man as they stage a fake fight.

Mom's afternoon snack. The fresh lime makes it.

More videos and acting. Grandma was gracious to allow them to use her catsup and an old shirt to cut up!

Braden did find a book he wanted for 20% off. It included a read-a-long CD.

Another new book for a bedtime story

Thanks for joining me on my Day 5, Thursday. It is now Saturday and I am documenting my very last day since I started on Saturday. Tomorrow I will post photos of Friday, my Day 6.

Are you playing along too? What is your plan for getting your album done? That is the part I have a hard time with. I have yet to complete AWITL album. I'm more prepared this year and have a plan so I am optimistic. I hope to share more about my plan this weekend.

A Week in the Life 2011: Day 4 (Wednesday) in Photos

Some of my favorite photos from Day 3 (Wednesday):

I stole Ali's idea and set up the camera the night before and used the self-timer as soon as I woke up. I have my camera take multiple photos in a row to give me a chance to set myself up and relax. It can only take 4 in a row and the rest come at varying intervals as my camera catches up to itself depending upon how many I set it for. For this photo, since I was already in place and wasn't moving, I took 4.

My link on Ali's blog for the day (#100)! : )

 

A good-bye hug at the airport. Have a great flight! Hope to see you in Beijing in Fall!

 

When in Beijing, I promised him Red Vines when we were in Calif for our summer visit.

 

Taken out the window of my car. This was one of my dad's all time favorite breakfast places.

 

We bought a new wiffle ball & bat at Ralphs.

 

This dog is motion activated and laughs and rolls around any time someone walks by.

 

The boys planted him behind the couch to trick me.

 

Catching up on some Oprah's that I recorded on DVR. I don't get her in China, though she airs there.

 

Grandma's nightly red wine - doctor's orders! (Really)

 

We've been playing lots of Master Mind this summer.

 

You are never too old for sidewalk chalk. I drew the rainbow. He drew the leprechaun and pot of gold.

We finished off the night with a game of Wheel of Fortune!!

Thanks for looking at my favorite 29 out of 134 total photos for the day. How many photos do you typically take on a day in A Week in the Life?

These are how many I took on my other days:

SUNDAY - 273

MONDAY - 79

TUESDAY - 162

Thanks for stopping by!

A Week in the Life 2011: Day 3 (Tuesday) in Photos

Some of my favorite photos from Day 3, Tuesday:

Getting ready for summer school.

He used to be the first one out of bed every morning, but he turned 13 this month and now everything is changing!

The toys sitting outside of the shower door. Still there from last night's shower.

Grandma helps with laundry.

Braden took this photo. He wanted to take a pear to eat at recess but then forgot about it.

Braden took this photo too.

Brothers.

A favorite shirt the past THREE summers!

My necklace fell down the hole by the emergency brake, but I managed to fish it out!

Not sure if his class went in yet - but we spot his teacher down the hall, so back outside.

On the way home, stop off at CVS to pick up more wrapping for Braden's broken thumb.

Picking up some lunch to bring to the fun center!

So determined to pass up his big brother.

First time trying California rolls and he loved them (except the avocado - just like his mom).

Walking home from a lovely dinner.

A beautiful surprise growing out of the sidewalk. Braden wanted to know how on earth this was possible.

I love our neighborhood. What amazing views on our walk home.

This week's homework - done lickity split!

Getting ready for bed.

 

ONE LITTLE WORD STUDENT'S (Ali's class at Big Picture Classes)

If you are a student in Ali's class and want to participate in our monthly blog hop on August 1, please send me an email (link on right side of my blog). I will send you the details. We go live at 8 AM PST, please come back to check out all the inspirational projects from the class. To see past blog hops, click on the link to the left of my blog.

A Week in the Life 2011: Day 2 (Monday) in Photos

My favorite photos from Day 2:

*note: many were left out because we have guests in town and I want to respect their privacy.

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OLW MONTHLY BLOG HOP PARTICIPANTS:

Never fear the letter for the August 1 Blog Hop will be in your in-box by midnight tonight. Sorry for the delay, but the show will go on! : )

A Week in the Life 2011: Day 1 (Sunday) in Photos

My favorite photos from Day 1 (Sunday):