How Project Life Rocked My World

So....Pinterest.  It gets us all in trouble...as in, I want to learn 3897 new crafts....before tomorrow....because I saw it on Pinterest.  HOWEVER, this time Pinterest did not lead me astray....it led me to the scrapbooking promised land.   I was scrolling Pinterest...because that's what I do when I'm sleepy.  It's like warm milk for my brain.  THEN, a friend had posted a pic of a Project Life layout.   My brain stood up, shook off the warm milk and was hooked!  I googled Project Life, I hashtag searched, I YouTubed Project Life videos during my morning treadmill time....you can see it's developed into a *smidgen* of an obsession new hobby interest.

Let me begin by saying, I am not a scrapbooker.  I tried once, bought three sheets of coordinating paper, and a folder thingy to hold those three sheets of paper.....and they sat there for...hmm....I think I only had one child at that time....that's been a while.  I just couldn't commit.  I have lots of friends who scrapbook and create amazing layouts...but I just couldn't do it.

Project Life is super different...tiny little pockets, to fill with lots of beautiful paper, little snippets of our week, day to day photos....maybe that's what hooked me.  I revel in our day to day.  The adorable things our kids say, funny Instagram photos, all the poop jokes that seem to pop up at the dinner table (I live with three men)...it's all awesome and makes up the entirety of our life.  It's basically scrapbooking for life, rather than occasional special events.  I. LOVE. IT.

Oh, and it indulges my penchant for squirreling away every little bit of paper/ticket stub/business card.....

The first week of 2014 lasted for...I'm pretty sure....eleven years.  I was so excited to get my first photos from the year developed and jump into my first layout!! I've decided to do a two page spread for each week (unless we have a super boring, everyone slept all week, kinda week)  One layout= one week, for the entirety of the year.

 That grapefruit photo = Love.  One of those things I would probably forget Marshall ever said....but now I have it captured.  I just keep my journal with me, laying on the table, in my purse, whatever, and just jot down quick tidbits of the day....then at the end of the week I go through my dslr, my Instagram pics and the journal and pull out the good stuff.  No staging, no fancy stuff, just our real life.

My folks are gonna be all over this.  Can't wait to show it to you Mom and Dad!!  Now if I can wrangle in "artist" Jen and let the layout come to rest rather than fiddling it to death and we'll be all set!!  I'll post a pic of the finished layout when it settles in!

love and light,
jen

Listening From Inside

I love Christmas.

I love preparing for Christmas. I love thinking about Christmas. I love Christmas music.  I love decorating for Christmas.  I love buying "the perfect" gifts.  I love food.  I love cookies.  I love spending time with family.  I love Christmas movies.  I love snow.  I love being a Capricorn.

I love you man.

Basically when the kids threw off their Halloween costumes, the holiday season began at our house.  For real.  I bought gifts early, wrapped gifts early, felt super prepared.   The "festive" level at our house was at Def-Con 5.  

Then the real world happened.

I worried, I fretted, I obsessed about something (that will remain nameless to protect folks' privacy).

As I read the other day, I "borrowed trouble".  Why do we do that?  Worry about the unknown?  It's that...it's unknown!  Isn't that stupid?  Worrying is like rocking in a rocking chair. It's something to do to pass the time, but it's not going to get you anywhere.

The festive went on, I stayed pretty festive.  But the worry would creep back over me, like a fog.

And then.

I had a dream.  Do you believe in the power of dreams?  I mean...not like I wished for a unicorn before I went to sleep and then woke up riding one....not that kind.

Do you believe you can receive messages when you're not so darn busy worrying about stupid things?

I do.

At least I do, until I let the worry creep on me again.  I'm naughty like that...human I guess.

This dream, which was very warm and full of yellow and orange, if that makes any sense, told me everything is all right.  Everything is going to be all right.

I've received messages in dreams before...but I shant go into those right now, for fear you already think I'm fit to be shipped off to the looney bin.

Believe your inner voice, friends.  It won't lead you astray.

The holiday season went on......AND THEN....my message came true, I was filled with joy and laughter and giggles and remembered why we shouldn't borrow trouble.  It takes away from today.

Oh, and I let my kids play video games until they fell over in exhaustion.  Don't worry, this one reads more in his free time than you, me and the rest of the free world put together.  It's okay to break rules sometimes.

And listen to the messages that lead us to lives of happiness.

love and light, 

jen