Thursday, December 29, 2011

Project Life: A NEW SCRAPBOOKING PROJECT

Disclaimer: I have started this project by getting the supplies from the local scrapbook store and have not yet ordered the ‘Project Life’ kit online because I want to start the project right with the first week of New Year and I am not sure if things will get shipped that fast and I’ll have time to prepare it but I intend to order the basic starter kit soon. So I am not sure if it should yet be called that… “Project Life”
This is a scrapbooking project where you document your life on a weekly basis and so at the end of the year, there would be 52 two page layouts. The best thing about this style of documenting is the little pocket pages where one doesn’t have to wait till the end of the week to bring a page together, it would be more like, make as you go… I am thinking that would be a good way to add kids words, art and restaurant menus etc. that I collect anyways but never bring together in a presentable stage.

I wish this concept was around when my kids were babies and the day-to day changes were more dramatic to capture but I still think that it would be a cool way to document life for this coming year. Actually I am thinking I should transfer all the little milestones for kids that are stored on calendars into another parallel book intermittent with the baby pages that I have already made for their books.

Now I need to make a routine and stick to it because as the past record (Ali E’s a week in life project) suggests things often find their way into neatly labeled envelopes for each day with pictures and all and they group together at the bottom of the drawer to be turned into a book at a later point in time. Yes, that’s what happened to my ‘a week in life’ project and now I am taking an even bigger challenge that would require discipline throughout the year, even or especially when I am busy.


So to start out with the project, I bought an assorted multi pack of ‘We are Memory keepers’ multi pocket page. Although I haven't decided what kind of album I am planning to use but I am thinking that for consistency I will stick with their 3 ring binder too.



Next, I raided my own supply closet for those precious papers that were bought with much ohhhs and Ahhhs and were stored away for special projects. Well, I have since learned that there is no special occasion if not every moment is treated like it. So what better way to use them than to document the everyday moments?

The first pocket size I tackled was 4x6 and then 4x4. I’ll leave the other sizes pockets bare for making then in future as I go. I like the 4x4 size because I assume many of my prints are going to come from instagram, so while I made note cards for some pockets, I’ll use the others for pictures directly.


As I was planning my weeks ahead, I noted important dates, festivals, spring breaks, holiday etc. on the 4x6 that was dedicated for the week. The other thing that I have really liked about making my own 4x6 is using my own quotes. I have a habit of writing inspiring quotes/words on sticky notes and plastering my work area with that and now with this project all those inspiring words will find a home and be documented for future as well.


So, with all these preparation I began and hope to share a weekly lay out here for the next 52 weeks.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

My Birthday through lens

Ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery after lunch at Noodles & Company



Little pastries at midnight or close to it ;-)


Breakfast in Bed





A tour at the James J Hill Mansion


View from the James J Hill House


Waiting for lunch at Axel's


Coffee Mug from girlies...



Birthday gift from Paul J, the perfume connoisseur 


Birthday Dinner cooked by DH


Mussels cooked in saffron and white wine sauce


A leisure walk on Grand Ave


Visit from a friend



My birthday exclamation cake...


A surprise gift from DH, Decorate by Holly Becker



A few quiet moments


Then we filled it with laughter

A very special bookmark 






Birthday rose...


Friday, December 23, 2011

100 miles – Yup, I did it

It was sometime in October that I decided to run a total of 100 miles before my birthday on Christmas Eve. At the time my decision was just a way of getting back into the routine of running and averaged to about a little less than 1.25 miles each day.


There were a lot of things going on in October, including performing on stage twice which also required stage practice on each occasion, Navratri (9 day festival to celebrate goddess of Power and I fast for 8 of the 9 days), Diwali, Mum- Dad’s return from Seattle and a few other things. All the busy-ness boiled down to a whooping single digit, 2 miles total run for the October month.

November was a little less busy but hectic nonetheless. After Mum-Dad left for India, our friends from Colorado visited us for a few days, after that I seriously started the running ritual. I ran as often as the juggle called life permitted and just added 35+ miles to my record.

Before I go on with my saga, this chart will explain how challenges motivate and me and while it was a hard target to meet, I managed to beat it by a day.




When December rolled in and I was still 60+ miles away from my goal, a part of my brain felt that I can probably not make it and automatically assigned a few extra days by increasing the deadline to New Year’s Eve. Here’s where the fascinating facet of human nature shines through and I have yet to fully understand it but there was another part of my brain that took it as a challenge and refused to accept any excuses. I think it was this particular part of the brain that helped me finish my 5K early in May as I said in this post: Thankful for you, my body

I love challenges and it was amazing to see two parts of my brain fighting against each other. Actually only one was fighting; the other just extended the deadline and lay passive. I told a few people about my goal and also mention it here on my blog but there was no one that would care to remember it let alone hold me accountable, so slipping was easy. My passive brain kept telling me that it’s okay to take a little extra time as long as you get to your target that what matters in the end anyways. And against the gentlest persuasion of my passive brain, my body ran and ran.

Most runs were acceptable and mostly ran to the beat of 'podrunner podcast' but there were some awfully slow on extremely tired days and my ears pressed against the distraction of an Audio book or eyes peeled to bollywood movie, I kept on marching and to the end I have come. I am proud of myself for taking on the challenge and meeting it too… I managed a few slow 10Ks which is my goal for next year but it was good to get a head start on it this year and I can now improve upon my speed as the New Year rolls in.

Happy and Content…