{Project Life | Week Two}

Here is week two of Project Life. These are very picture intensive and there is not much journaling. I am starting to get a hang of this and adding a little creativity to my pages.

{Project Life 2012 | Week One}

I had this post all ready to go last night and when I logged in this morning it was gone. I have no idea what happened. Any who, here is my first week of Project Life. As I was putting my pages together this weekend I noticed that the majority of my pictures are of K. There's really nothing wrong with that, but I went into this project with the thought that this would document our entire family's life not just K's life. So in the upcoming weeks I am going to be working on taking a more variety of pictures.

{Christmas...A Review}

We had quite a busy Christmas holiday. We started on Christmas Eve day by going to my parents house for Kalie to open dare I say too many presents. That kid is spoiled! She was a little hesitant at first, but once she got the hang of it the game was on! Ripping into that wrapping paper like it was nothing. She's a smart little one if I do say so myself. We stopped half way through to have a little lunch, but she was back at it before everyone was even done eating.

On Christmas morning Kalie had more presents to open from Santa. And then we went to church with Grandma and Grandpa Boyack. After church, Grandma and Grandpa came back home with us and we had a tasty meal (I made my first ham in a crock pot!), opened gifts and enjoyed the day together. Unfortunately, my picture taking was severely lacking on Christmas day but here are a few of Kalie in her Christmas jammies.

{A New Year}

As 2011 comes to an end, it is time to reflect on this past year and look forward to the next. I realize that this blog sits idle way to much and I am going to try to rectify that. I am going to be doing Project Life this year. If you have never heard of Project Life you can watch Becky Higgin's video explaining it out here.

Ali Edwards also has some great inspiration here. I will be doing digital layouts and having them printed as 12 x 12 pages. That way I can add them to a scrapbook and also add memorabilia and other size pages to my book. Hopefully, if all goes as planned, I will be sharing my weekly pages every Monday. Below are my two title pages. The first is a 6 x 12 that will overlay over the 12 x 12 below. When they are layed out properly you will be able to see the small page and the right side of the larg page. Then flip open the small page and you will see the entire large page.

This is a very large undertaking but I am so excited about it. I am asking you to please give me a little push (or shove) if you don't see me posting my pages weekly. I may need it. I can see myself doing this for years to come, documenting our everyday life. The great thing about doing this digitally is that I will easily be able to make a photo book out of these for K so that she has them when she is grown.

I am working on a Christmas recap post that should show up sometime this week.

{Another Year Begins}

Yesterday I turned 29.

So, in the spirit of my birthday and the new year I have tried to take a step back and look at my life. At the beginning of every year, Ali Edwards picks one word, one little word to sum up her life for the coming year. I have been trying to come up with a word for a couple of weeks now and one word just kept popping up in my mind.

–verb (used without object), strove or strived, striv·en [striv-uh

n] or strived, striv·ing.

1. to exert oneself vigorously; try hard: He strove to make himself understood.

2. to make strenuous efforts toward any goal: to strive for success.

3. to contend in opposition, battle, or any conflict; compete.

4. to struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance: to strive against fate.

5. to rival; vie.

There are so many things that I want to do in my life, so many things to do with Kalie, with my family.

take mommy & me swimming lessons with Kalie * run a 5k * learn to knit

plan a memorable 1st birthday party for Kalie * eat more veggies * read at least 3 books from this list

breastfeed Kalie for 1 year * take a trip to the beach with our little fam * improve my photography skills

explore religion * be a better wife * be a better mom * write a will * document our lives

have more patience for everything/one * have fun and enjoy life

I am so unbelievable grateful for every second of this last year. All 31,556,926 of them. For some reason I feel as if I have just begun to live. This past year has been an amazing one with the arrival of our beautiful daughter. A year ago I couldn't even imagine being a mom and today I couldn't imagine not being a mom. She is the most amazing and beautiful little girl and the light of my life. This year was one for the record books. It has been the most amazing, wonderful year and I am so excited to see what is to come this coming year, my 30th year.

Taken by Auntie Kimmie.

Taken by Aunt Courtney.

This year was a very good year. My heart has grown with love and admiration and I know it will only grow even more as I strive to be the best me I can be.

{Fix It Friday - July 23rd}

Here are my edits for I Heart Face's Fix-It Friday.

Below is the original image.

Here is my edit.

{7 Days}

Wow, I can hardly believe that Kalie's expected arrival is about 7 days away! It feels like we just found out we were expecting yesterday. The time sure does fly by. I think we're pretty much ready for her appearance. Everything on my checklist below is done. I even have birth announcements all made and waiting for a cute little picture to be added to them and then printed. I finished her nursery a could of weeks ago and must say that I am very proud of it. It turned out exactly how I envisioned it. Here's a little peek.

I am very proud that I was able to make so many things in the room including those cute little birds on top of the book case. I also made her name above the bookcase, the valences on the windows (I hadn't sewn since 7th grade prior to making these and the burp clothes I made) and a few pictures on the other walls. I still need to get a white lamp, but I was thinking of painting one we already have instead. I've never done that before so I'm not sure how that will turn out and I will be waiting until after Kalie's arrival to do so.

So for now it's just a waiting game. I'm kinda hoping Kalie shows up a little early but the very latest the Dr. will let me go is Aug. 5th, 1 week after my due date.

I Heart Faces

Last week I came across a new (to me) blog called I Heart Faces. The blog is a photography site "that focuses on the art of capturing faces and their various emotions." They have have different challenges throughout the week and also have tutorials. I have really enjoyed reading this blog so far and am sure I will keep reading it.

One thing that caught my attention is the "Fix-It Friday" challenge. They post a photo that you can download along with a few edits that others have done and then it's your turn to try! Today is my first try, however since photo editing is defintely a skill I would like to improve I am going to try to do this every week. Below is my first edit.

{Lots to Do}

It seems as though my "Baby To Do List" is growing instead of shrinking. On Thursday I will be at 32 wks, which means we are only 8 wks away from the anticipated arrival of our little girl. Here is my official to do list. Hopefully it will be getting smaller in the coming weeks instead of longer.

Finish baby album templates.
Put together crib.
Find matching lighting to go with bedding and decor.
Make the baby's name for the nursery wall.
Move guest room to my studio.
Go on L&D tour - scheduled for June 3rd.
Wash baby clothes.
Make closet size sorters for clothes.
Sort clothes into appropriate sizes.
Set up nursery.
~~Start birth announcements.~~
Buy Thank Yous for shower.
Move my clothes into guest room/studio
~~Order bedding - ordered May 28th.~~
Make burpies - started May 30th.
Find fabric for valences and make them.
Sew embroidery picture to hang in nursery.
Order other items for nursery...pictures, changing table, etc.
Paint white stripe in nursery.

The plan is to finish the burpies tomorrow night (hopefully) and then clean up my studio before I start another project so we (or should I say B) can rearrange the furniture. Then the crib can be put together and the white stripe can be painted. I would like to get the stripe painted next weekend.

{What's in a name}

Tomorrow I will be 28 weeks pregnant. According to babycenter.com that means that our little one should be able the weight of a Chinese Cabbage (about 2.25 lbs). I go for my glucouse test on Saturday. Hopefully I will pass so I don't need to take the 3 hour test (crossing fingers).

I feel like there is so much left to do. We order our crib on Friday. We are getting it in a honey pine color. I really wanted to get a white crib, but the bedding that I picked out is cream colored so the white would not look so great with it. Once the crib comes in, I am going to start decorating the nursery. Although we need to move the bed that is currently in the nursery to my studio. It will be a tight fit in my studio but I am positive that I can make it fit with my other stuff in that room.

What else.....oh we have come up with 3 names. Brianna, Adison and Kaylee. It is going to be hard to decide which one to go with but I really would like to decide before she arrives. I want to hang her name in the nursery and I know I will have more time to make the letters before she comes.

I am also working on creating a baby book. I know, I know everybody has told me that they never finish theirs. My album from when I was a baby is proof! But I think my idea might just work for me. I am going to creat digital layouts and have them done before the llittle ones grand entrance and then I can just drop pictures and words into the templates. Once they are done I will get them printed in 8.5 x 11 size and put them into a scrapbook album.

It's a Girl!

We found out on Tuesday that we're having a girl!

It looks like I am following the Springer family tradition of the first child being a girl. My Mom and her 3 sisters all had girls first. I know it had pretty much no bearing on what sex our baby would be but it is pretty wild to think about. Our little one will also be the first girl great-grandchild on that side of the family following 2 boys just like I was the first girl grandchild following 2 boys. I know all coincidences but still kinda cool.

On to my book reading. I have yet to finish Anne Frank. I did read a bunch yesterday. It was probably about 70 degrees outside (and it's only March!) so I sat on the deck while the dogs ran around in the yard and read. It was so nice to be outside without all of that snow on the ground that we got this winter. I hope these temps stay through the summer but somehow I think that they won't stay.

{Top 100 Books}

I love to read. Lately, I've been thinking that I would like to start reading some books with more depth to them, instead of just the normal "beach reads" (not that I don't enjoy the beach reads). I ventured over to GoodReads and found a list of the Top 100 Books of All Time. I am going to start reading these books. I may only get to 1 a month, but any amount that I read will be fine with me. Below is the list that I am going to attempt.

Key

BOLD: Read
UNDERLINE: Read previously and plan to re-read
ITALICS: Replacement book for one I don't plan on reading
PINK: Currently Reading (or I have the book in line to read)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) by Ken Kesey
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) by Ronald Dahl
1984 by George Orwell
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Robin Buss (Translator)
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Odyssey by Homer
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Dune by Frank Herbert
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand 569 people voted
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Emma by Jane Austen
The Iliad by Homer
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by Reduced Shakespeare
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Don Quijote De La Mancha by
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
On the Road by Jack Kerouac

{Februrary Goals}

As part of my new "try" to keep up with writing a blog, I am going to start listing some goals that I would like to accomplish for each month. Hopefully, this will keep me on track to actually completing them. Then at the beginning of the following month I will follow up with what I did and didn't finish.

So here it begins. My goals for February:

*Organize all of my digital files. This is a very big undertaking as it includes all of my pictures on my computer as well as all of my digi scrapbooking files. I think this might take me some time, but I am going to try to follow Stacy Julians's Photo Freedom book to keep it kinda simple. I really wanted to take her Library of Memories class this year, but circumstances did not allow that. There's always next year!

*Read at least 1 book. I found a list of the Top 100 books of all time and I would like to tackle these. Some I have already read or tried to read but most I have not. More on this later.

*Make birthday cards for the year. I want to have a stash of birthday cards and others this year so that I am not scrambling for them last minute.

{1 Month}

Wow! I can't believe it's been 1 month since we found out we were pregnant.

It has definitely been a lifestyle adjustment for me, having to watch what I'm eating and what I carry around at work. Although I was in complete shock when we found out, I am getting more and more used to the idea of being a mom everyday.

I have my first doctors appointment next Monday. Hopefully we will be able to narrow down a EDD then.