I cannot believe summer is almost over. There’s only a week and a half until the girls go back to school. Where has the time gone? Our summer has been filled with:

Paddling – Isobel has paddled most mornings this summer. She’s out there in a kayak or some type of canoe in the early morning. She’s really enjoying it and I can understand why. It seems to me like such a nice way to start your day.

Volunteering – Meredith applied and was accepted as a volunteer at our local children’s library. Her duties included signing children up for the reading program, helping out with the promotional materials for the program and preparing crafts for the drop in programs, and of course, reading when things were slow. It was the perfect volunteer position for her and I believe she now has all the hours she needs to graduate.

New York City – We took a week in July and spent it in the Big Apple. Wow. What an experience. We were go go go the whole time we were there and while we saw a lot, there was still a lot we didn’t see. It was a great trip and I’d love to go back there one day.

Port Dover – We went to the beach a couple of times. What a great little beach town.

Jumping – We got a trampoline for the backyard. The girls have spent many hours jumping and jumping and jumping. They desperate for me to get up there, but I’m afraid I’ll break a hip. Or pee my pants.

Park time – The town has installed a new playground in the empty school yard next to the house. Isobel has spent many hours over there happily playing with friends.

Exploring – Meredith discovered an area out on the east end of town that she loves to visit with her friends. It’s right next to the lake and beautifully and peaceful. She took me there one day and I was very impressed. She’s got a great group of friends.

I’m sure there’s more but that’s it for today. Here are my “Year In Our Ordinary Life” pages. Enjoy the rest of your summer!!

 

A Year In Our Ordinary Life

I really enjoyed my Project 365 albums that I did in 2009,2010 and 2011, but I found it affected my photo taking and my scrapbooking in ways I’m not sure I did like.

When I was doing my P365, I found when I took photos, I was more focused on getting that one shot that represented the day and I lost sight of the bigger picture. (No pun intended!) I used to take my photos with a scrapbook page in mind. But with the P365, I was just taking a handful which didn’t leave me with enough to choose from for regular layout. I know my scrapbooking is going to change as my children get older. It’s going to move from event based pages to pages that are more about our life and what happens on a day to day basis. Pages that let them know how much they mean to me. I don’t want to lose that in the flurry of 365 pages. Instead of doing complete layouts I was focused on putting together the 365 pages without writing down the details that accompanied those photos. I love the 365 format but that one single sentence isn’t enough to adequately convey the details of our life.

I did the P365 album for 3 years in a row and now it’s time to change it up. Instead I’m doing an album called A Year in Our Ordinary Life. I downloaded the template as a bonus when I purchased Computer Tricks for Scrapbookers. (A great publication, by the way!) Each month of the year will have a dedicated double page layout with 15 photos that most accurately portray our month. I’ve completed January through May so far.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do for 2013. The idea of the Project Life album certainly appeals to me but I have heard that it is a lot of work. But I'll figure that out when I get through 2012!!!

I'm Back

Hello . . . hello . . . hello . . .

Is there anybody out there? . . . out there . . . out there . . .

It’s been a long time since I contributed to this blog. Over 6 months since I’ve posted anything at all and close to a year since I did anything regular. I will admit that I have missed it. I stopped because I wasn’t really sure anyone was reading it. Was it missed? Did anyone miss hearing about the minutia of my daily life? My rants and my musings? I’m not sure.

I have to admit comments were important to me and the lack of comments played a large role in my absence. A part of me needs that feedback that yes, what I’m writing is worthy of someone else reading. What I’m writing is actually being read by someone other than me. But what I realized lately was that I do the same thing with the blogs I read. I read them religiously every single time the author posts and I thoroughly enjoy them but I don’t comment. Why is that? I know as a blogger getting that positive reinforcement is important but I don’t do that myself.

I was reading a friends blog recently (and I don’t think I commented – my sincere apologies – you know who you are) who was also contemplated giving up her blog. This particular friend has a large following and I’m sure they read it regularly but they don’t comment. She came to the eventual conclusion that that was okay with her. She didn’t necessarily blog for other people. She, like me, is a scrapbooker and if nothing else, the blog posts become journaling for future pages. I think that’s a great way of looking at it. I read another blog of a woman I don’t know who has actually given up blogging specifically because of a lack of comments. Her blog was a bit different from mine. She posted scrapbook page layouts for others to use. She had a design team who would do pages based on her sketches and those would be posted too. I loved her sketches and her design team’s layouts but I never commented. I will miss her blog tremendously and am left wishing I had left her some love. Perhaps if more people had we’d still have her incredible talent to spur our scrapbooking projects and creativity.

So, I guess what I’m saying here is that I’m back. You certainly don’t need to comment but I’d love it if you did. I’m going to make a conscious effort to comment on the blogs I read regularly so that they don’t disappear. For me though, this isn’t as much about who reads it anymore but more about journaling about what is important to me. Sharing what makes me laugh. Recording what occasions, thoughts or events I don’t want to forget that may become a scrapbook page one day.

Finally, P365 2011 Is Complete

I doubt anyone out there ever checks this blog anymore. I know it’s been a long time since I posted but I did just manage to complete my P365 pages for 2011 so I wanted to share them here. I hope you haven’t given up on me.

I don’t think I’ll do a P365 for 2012 but I promise to document our day to day lives somehow.

Keep checking back. I’m sure I’ll post again one day.

Today's Laugh

I got this in an email today and thought it was too funny not to share. Thanks for the laugh Joanne!!

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?
20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.
24. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

Heal the past, live the present, dream the future.

Enjoy life!!!   

We had a great weekend. There was lots of lying around the house. Lots of BBQ and lots of swimming. There was even a migraine but even that did not put a damper on my good mood.

We went out to the Chicopee Tube Park where they have a zip line, a eurobungy trampoline, a vertical playground, summer tubing and a spider web climber. I didn’t do any of the climbing or jumping things and I have to admit the tubing was lame but the zip lining was awesome!!

You climb all the way up the hill, and climb up to the top of the wooden platform where you wait until it’s your turn. Then, when the light goes green, you open the gate and step out onto a tiny suspended staircase that has no railing. From there you slide or jump off and scream your way to the bottom. It’s only 300 metres and you’re at the bottom in about 22 seconds but it was so much fun. Even Isobel was able to zip down.

The place was not crowded nor was it expensive. I would absolutely do it again.

Next up is the Eco Adventure Tour in Collingwood as soon as Isobel is 85 lbs. Or bungee jumping.

I think I might be an adrenaline junkie.

tick, tock - summer is flying by!!

Summer is certainly ticking along. I don’t know about you, but the time just seems to fly by.

Here’s a brief glimpse of what we’ve been up to!!

High School? No Way!!!

A few short weeks ago, Meredith graduated from Grade 8.

I can’t believe that this girl will be going into high school in September:

Where did the time go?

She had a great graduation day. She went to school in the morning for rehearsal, but had the rest of the day off to get ready.

We took some photos in the backyard and I have to say they captured her personality perfectly.

 

The ceremony took place at the high school. It was spectacular to see the kids all dressed up in their best. I can remember a lot of these kids from preschool and Grade 1. They’ve all grown up so much. The girls’ outfit ranged from floor length gowns to casually pretty summer dresses, from high sparkly heels to flip flops.

It is hard to believe that next year, I will have a child in high school.

I’m so proud of you, Meredith. I’m proud of the person you are and the way you present yourself. I’m proud of the way you treat others and how much you care about the world. I’m proud of how hard you work at school and how you don’t give up when you don’t understand things. I am just plain proud to call myself your momma.

Go get ‘em, sweetheart!!!