My almost empty nest

It is surprising how much thought my one little word has taken this year. I don’t remember ever taking so long to make my decision. (ironic when you know my word) I had thought I wanted a word for “just enough” so that it would help me with keeping only what I need to keep in my house, and eating only what I should eat, etc. However, I couldn’t get my head around “just enough” as a word for the year.

I spent some time looking at various words until one finally hit me. I did an exercise where I thought about an ideal day, and concentrated not so much on the word I wanted, but on how I wanted to feel. Then the word came pretty quickly. I’m happy because I feel it is a positive and non-limiting word, which I have discovered is important to me. So, my word for 2016 is CHOOSE. It puts me in a place of power and positivity. I can be the one who chooses what stays and what goes, what I eat and don’t eat, what I do in my spare time and don’t do, what my attitude is and isn’t. I hope you’ve thought about a word for the year.

Full Definition of choose

chose play \ˈchōz\ cho·sen play \ˈchō-zən\ choos·ing play \ˈchü-ziŋ\

transitive verb

 

It’s the new year. As a self-proclaimed self-improvement junkie, there is no better time of year. I have new calendars and books and plans and goals, and oh, it’s just the best. My December was crazy busy, in the best of ways, but it left me a little behind on the New Year goal setting and planning.

For several years, I have been following along with Ali Edwards as she chooses her one little word for the year. I have chosen various words, some of which made a big impact on me and some that I forgot by July. For many years, true to my personality, I chose words like “better” and “discipline” which were very hard to live up to, and frankly, not much fun. Last year, my word was “content.” While this helped immensely in keeping me from buying things just for the sake of buying them, it also led me to have no progress on my weight. I was a little too content.

This year, I’ve been struggling to find a word. I admire people who pick words like Up and Light and Happy and Energized, but those are not really my kind of words. Years ago, I had some wooden letters (a too-long-procrastinated project left me with a-z) and I wanted to paint the letters and put some words up in the house. At the time (1999), things like Dream, Cherish, and Wish seemed to be all over the decorating magazines and catalogs, and I thought I would do something like that. When it came down to it, I decided I didn’t want my kids sitting around wishing, and so I painted the words READ and THINK. You can send your sympathies to my children.

I’m currently trying to work through what I want my word to be. I hope to have it by the end of the week. Part of me wants it to encompass having Just Enough. Not too many clothes, not too many things in the house, not too much to eat, etc. I want to be happy and content and have just what I need. I’m working through some exercises and reading a lot of lists of words hoping something will resonate soon. I have some goals, too, which I will share on Friday.

The good news is, while I disappeared here for the month of December, I finished my December Daily on December 27, a record for me. I will share finished pages of that this week, too. It’s kind of cool to see how it worked out.

Do you have a word for the year? Will you share it?

My gratitude album fell a bit by the wayside as I tried to ready my December Daily so that I would be ready to go with that next week (!). So unfortunately, I will not have an adorable little album from 2015. However, the little album is almost ready, which will make it very easy in 2016 when I want to do one again. Frankly, Cathy Zielske says you can be thankful in any month, so I might go for another month all together.

I didn’t want to let the month pass and not say anything about my gratitude, so here is a simple list of some of what I am grateful for in November of 2015.

1. My husband, Mark. He is a really good match for me. He’s been gone on business a lot of this month, so I am extra-thankful when he is here. He helps keep me even-keeled (I tend to get emotional and excited about things- shocker!). He is always so steady, and a great provider, and a good dad, etc. Too many good things to say about him.
2. My kids- All three are really nice young adults. Tony has recently taken a new job which will take him to Florida instead of Alaska, which is a win in my book. So proud he was able to get a new job that seems to have a lot going for it. Alex has been hanging out with me every evening, watching T.V., writing her own blog posts, and sharing things from the internet with me. She has kept me from being incredibly bored with Mark gone so much, and I really enjoy her company. Alyssa comes home today! Hooray! It’s been too long since I’ve seen my youngest- I’m so thankful she is doing well in school and enjoying Florida. She is a blessing.
3. The library. The concept is amazing- take some books, bring them back, take more. Without a membership fee or anything! (well, I do have to pay fines sometimes…) Just the past two weeks, 4 books I’ve been waiting on came in as my holds, and I got to just go and pick them up. I love the hold system, too, and that I can do it all online. I’m also thankful that the library is on my way to work.
4. My dogs. Sometimes they drive me crazy, but for the most part, they are unconditional love. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been gone, or what I have or haven’t done, they love me just the same. Also, I’m thankful for the incentive they give me to walk every day. I don’t think I would be as faithful if I didn’t have their little faces staring at me.
5. I’ve been taking more photos for work, and I’ve gotten a few really good pics. Those few good ones remind me how much I love taking good photos. Pulling one up in Photoshop and not having to do very much to it is amazing! I’m thankful for the ability to have a digital camera.
6. My small group. We’re in a (not so small) small group from my church. There are 25 people in it, I think. I’m so thankful for a place to go where I can share prayer requests, talk to others about pressures on our lives and our kids’ lives, and my husband has lots of friends there, too, which I am extra thankful for.
7. Crafty things. I started working on something new for my mantle for this Christmas, and it just reminded me how much I like to make pretty stuff. Crafty things help me keep my sanity a little bit, too. I’m thankful for that.
8. Friends that are far away. My friend Susan lives far away, but we talk more than I talk to some of my local friends. She is my only scrapbooking friend, really, so we discuss all sorts of things scrappy and non.
9. I love cookies. I’m so thankful I live in a world with cookies.
10. The Internet. I’m thankful for a place to look up all the answers, to find inspiration and instruction.

Just a few of the many things I’m thankful for. I hope you take a minute to think about what your grateful for this month.

This month, my husband was out of town for a bit. This causes two reactions in me-how many projects can I get done while he’s gone? And yay! I don’t have to cook as much this month, giving me more time for projects and books. (there is also the missing him reaction, but after being a Marine wife for 25 years, a business trip isn’t so bad.)

Cleaning Things Out is Hard, but Liberating

I mentioned before that I could never have a capsule wardrobe, but I was interested in Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. So, I decided to tackle my closet while he was gone. We share a small-ish walk-in closet, and it was impossible to navigate before he left. I had crap all over the floor, hangers jammed in at all angles, and shoes everywhere. Kondo recommends taking everything of one category and putting it on the floor and then going through it one piece at a time. So, I took all of my clothes, out of drawers, out of under bed boxes, seasonal things that were stowed away, and everything hanging or folded in my closet and put them on my bed and the floor. I had to do the floor bit one type of clothing at a time- too much to work around otherwise. My bed was a mess. So I started with tops, as she recommended. This whole process took me about two and a half days to complete. My closet is now a joy to walk into (and you can actually walk into it!) and I know all of the clothes fit me and I like them. I no longer have to have things stowed away, because everything fits into the closet and dresser I have. I’ve put together a few new outfits from my old stuff, and I’m really enjoying it. Sometimes I open the closet door just to look at the order that was crafted from the chaos. It makes me happy.

I need Adult Supervision

When my husband is gone, I tend to stay up too late and not eat well. It’s easy to let myself go and not think about the consequences. Reading until 3 in the morning doesn’t seem crazy when there’s no one in the bed next to you sleeping. Having my daughter home with me helped this time, so at least my bedtime stayed pretty much the same.

Deadlines (artificial or not) Motivate Me

Knowing the day my husband was returning spurred me on to completion on a few things that I might not have finished by now without that artificial deadline. My husband really doesn’t like clutter and projects that require things to be left out over a period of days, so I use that to make me finish certain things by the time he gets back. Having a dinner party serves as the same deadline effect. Lots will get done in the days leading up to a party, or to the day I leave on a trip, or to the day my husband gets home from a business trip or deployment.

Preparing for Something Heightens My Appreciation for It

This past week, I prepared the foundation pages for my December Daily album. Just pulling out all of the supplies and things to get it ready made me anxious for December. I love Christmas so much, and working with those Christmas themed products made me love it even more. I can’t wait for the holidays!

Today I’m sharing my December Daily foundation pages. This is one of my favorite scrapbooking projects of the year. I’ve made a daily December album for 7 years- this will be my 8th. Ali Edwards is the creator of the December Daily concept, and she has tons of information about it on her site, if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Adding making a daily album to the craziness of December can seem, well, crazy, but I really do love these albums. One of the keys to getting this album done is doing all of this foundation work before December. So I’ve created a fairly basic layout- there is no embellishment in this album yet, as that will be added after the words and photos.

My cover, with a metal A I got from Michael’s. It was black, but I spray painted it gold. I also snapped the metal ring off the top of the A.

Title page. I tried to emboss the word daily underneath the December, but that didn’t work, so I added some word stickers to cover the mess. I may add more to this before it’s all over. Ali Edwards embossed stars on the inside of the cover, so I might add something there, too. I used Ali Edwards’ main December Daily kit, some Claus&Co papers, and various and sundry other things that I’ve either picked up this year, or still have in my stash from previous years.

I cut the page protectors with 2″ squares down by one row (I just used my paper trimmer). I like it when the pages are different sizes and there are things not in protectors, and interactive elements. It’s easy to punch hole in random things you want to include.

Day 1. One of the hardest things about viewing this on line, is where pictures will be, it is transparent, so things don’t always look the way they will.

I missed photographing Day 2, but there are so many photos, that I’m moving on. Day 3.

Day 4. I like the full printed page, but I may add some embellishments to it before it’s over.

This is the page between 4 and 5. I got the felt A from the Target dollar spot. I’ll decide what paper to put behind it, but I might just affix it to the outside of the protector, because it’s pretty thick. Following Ali’s lead, I bundled the 1-5 tags together, and attached them to one of the rings. I plan to do some sort of “5 best” list and put small photos on the backs of the tags.

Day 5.

Day 6. I cut another one of the 2″ square protectors down for Day 6. These numbers are from a Heidi Swapp kit I got at Michael’s.

Day 7. I’ve slipped that Believe in Miracles sticker in but haven’t stuck it down yet.

I love this transparency that says It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Day 8.

Day 9.

I had this small envelope for a long time, and I added a little Jolee’s wreath, also ancient. Hoping for a photo enlargement on the left.

Day 10.

Day 11. I trimmed down the 11 tag for this one.

Day 12. This number is from Claus&Co.

Day 13.

Day 14. I’m sure I’ll tie some ribbon to the top of these tags. The Joy wood piece is also Claus&Co. I may emboss that.

Day 15. The DEC is from Ali’s kit.

Day 16.

This felt envelope is also from the Target Dollar Spot. I may put the kids’ wish lists inside. Or maybe my wish list.

Day 17.

Day 18. There’s a clear overlay in that bottom right pocket, it’s from a Project Life kit add-on. There will be a photo behind that.

Day 19.

Day 20.

Day 21.

I love this paper, too. I may add something red to it, maybe stars on either side of jingle all the way.

A kraft paper bag from Target’s Dollar Spot and a transparency on the right.

Day 22.

Day 23.

Day 24.

Day 25- I left several empty protectors at the end for Christmas Day photos. I can also move those in between other pages if I need to.

Obviously, this is all subject to change as I move through the month. I hope to update the pages as I do them on the blog. I am not 100% a daily updater, but I will try and show all of my pages, even if I update 3 or 4 pages at once. I really love enlargements, and I hope to do a few full 6×8 ones and possibly a 12×8 that spans the album. That will require my sending those out to a developer, so I won’t be able to do those the day of. My holidays have changed a lot recently, with kids being out of the house, so I’m giving myself permission to do a few different things as I go, like include Christmas memories or recipes. This is my 8th album, so I may have to get creative.

We are at the beginning of (if you’re not one of those people who are already through with their Christmas shopping) the holiday season. While it is my favorite time of year, it can be stressful, and as the chief cook and present-buyer, a lot of that stress falls on me. I have a few things I’ve come to rely on that help me through the season. My love language is gifts, so permission to buy things for people I love with abandon is so much fun for me. However, I have learned through the years that a few things make my holidays even better.

Sugar Scrub

Last year a friend of mine gave me a jar of a Coconut-Lime Sugar Scrub for Christmas. I wasn’t using the “body scrub” because I kept forgetting to take it in the shower. Finally, another friend who had received the scrub mentioned that she kept it next to her sink for when she washed her hands. My hands dry up the minute the heat comes on, so this was life-changing for me. Scrubbing whenever I was washing my hands in my bathroom (so normally morning and night before bed) kept my hands from being dry at all last winter. It was seriously amazing. I didn’t get the recipe from her (sort of hoping I get another jar…) but here’s one I found on Pinterest that looks close.

Sugar Scrub

Meal Planning

This is a biggie for me year-round, but I know lots of people think it takes too much time. During the holidays, it’s a must. I start with the calendar. There are so many commitments this time of year, it helps to see if there are nights you’ll be out at dinner time or if your prep time will be limited. Once I look at that, I plan the meals. I don’t use some fancy system, or nicely printed cards that I keep in a file box. I use a spiral notebook. On one page, I plan the meals for the nights in question. On the next, I start the grocery list, so as I’m looking at the recipes, I can just add anything I don’t have to the list. I’m still a cookbook user- the Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast series is the most used set of books I’ve ever had- and a Pinterest pinner. Pinterest can be hit or miss, but I’ve cooked for so long now that I can tell from the ingredients if it’s going to be good, most of the time. There are notable exceptions. I also use Blue Apron sometimes, which eliminates a couple of meals from the planning. My other caveat is ONLY PLAN FOR ONE WEEK AT A TIME. For a long time, I went to grocery store as rarely as possible. This meant I stockpiled food, just in case. I had no plan, so I would pick up pasta, frozen Tilapia, chicken, all kinds of beans and more produce than my refrigerator could hold. Then, I would be incredibly frustrated to find that I couldn’t really make anything without running back to the store for one more thing. Then I would pick up more “basics” until my pantry was overrun, and I still couldn’t make dinner. Buying for one week at a time, for just the number of meals you’re cooking at home, is so much easier. It’s also easier to leave an impulse purchase on the shelf knowing you can pick it up next week if you still want it.

Making Lists

Also a perennial favorite of mine, lists help me manage all of the things that I used to think I could track in my head. During the holidays, I keep lists of candy that I’m making, people I’m inviting to my brunch, menus, gift lists of course and shopping lists for things like scotch tape for wrapping so I don’t forget them when I’m out. I love notebooks, and I really love marking things off, so I do a lot of handwriting of lists. One thing I use my phone for is Evernote, a list app. When my kids (all in their 20s) send me a gift idea list, it usually comes in an email or a text. I copy those lists and put them in my Evernote. Then whenever I have my phone (always) I have their lists with me. Any notations I make on those lists are only visible to me, since I have a habit of leaving my notebooks lying around. Even if you don’t normally make lists, the holidays are hard to handle without them. Budget lists, while not fun, also really help with the stress of the holidays. Not sticking to them only causes more stress. It’s good to know what you’ve got and how much is left.

Scheduling Break Times

I’m not the best at this, I’ll admit, but when I do it, it makes a huge difference. Putting yourself on your calendar helps you keep your break times sacred. Sometimes meeting a friend for a quick lunch or coffee (hot chocolate for me) while you’re out shopping is all the motivation you need to get a few more errands done and you get an energy boost, too.

And finally, the biggest change I’ve made in helping me enjoy the season,

Enjoy the Holiday Prep– it is the Holidays

A few years ago, I noticed that my attitude at Christmas was, “As soon as I finish all of these lists, I can enjoy Christmas.” When I finished one thing, I added something somewhere else. I never got to the end of the lists. Christmas morning was the first time I thought everything was done, and that was only because I couldn’t actually do anything else. I came to the realization that the prep is the holidays, especially for moms. That is the fun part, or the part you can make fun. Playing Christmas music in your car, having a mug of hot chocolate or a glass of wine while you do things at home, like wrap gifts, spread out decorating the house if it stresses you out (or do it all in one weekend if you can’t stand having the boxes sitting out), taking breaks for Christmas movies on TV, whatever it takes, enjoy your season. You don’t get a lot of these, so try and make it the best season for you, too.

I recently hosted a fall dinner party for 8. One of my favorite things about entertaining is the setting. I love dishes, centerpieces and seasonal décor. I love entertaining, but I do get a bit stressy about things, so I don’t do it as often as I’d like.

Here’s how I set the table for my fall dinner:

I used a drop cloth from Home Depot as a tablecloth. I folded it in half and spread it on the table- the rougher canvas texture was perfect for the atmosphere I was going for. I used the lighter off-white one, but there is a darker one that would make a nice statement, too. Really, either one would be perfect at a Thanksgiving dinner. I have a longer table, and I hate buying expensive tablecloths, because inevitably they get stained.

I made wooden placemats from a $12 sheet of plywood. I had the man at HD make the cuts for me, sanded the edges with an orbital sander, and stained them with a mahogany stain. After they were stained, I stamped a letter A in the lower right corner and used a spray sealer on them. These really added to the atmosphere I wanted. Maybe because I waited to the last minute to do them and the aroma of the wood was still pretty strong. I had him cut them in 18” squares, but with hindsight, I would have preferred 12×18”. The ones I used on the ends of the table were perfect. I used a combination of marigold and teal napkins because I was trying to avoid the orange-y pumpkin feeling.

Place cards were simple kraft paper (from my scrapbooking supplies) handwritten with a spring of rosemary stapled to the top. I used a tall skinny print when I wrote them, which could be easily replicated with this font, this font, or this font. On each plate, the place card was on the napkin. I was trying to make sure that I split up the husbands and wives around the table, and I placed my most vivacious guests toward the middle, which helps with the energy level of the party.

I bought 2 bunches of roses (24 in each) from Costco and one bunch of greenery. I didn’t use much of the greenery in the roses, but the rest of it ended up in the powder room in a vase. I had two cubicle gold glass vases in my closet, so I criss-crossed scotch tape across the tops and cut my roses really short. The tape helped hold everything up. I hate tall arrangements when you’re trying to talk at dinner, so these were perfect. They were full, and the colors were fall without being typical mums or sunflowers.

If you’d like to have a fall-themed dinner party, but you don’t really want pumpkins and gourds to be your centerpiece, this is a great way to go.

Welcome to November, the month of gratitude and thankfulness. This is a great month to start a gratitude practice. The whole country and Internet is with you. Of course, I would love to maintain a daily gratitude practice all year, but I figure one month of daily practice is better than none. Here are three different ways to document your gratitude.

30 Days of Thankful– a scrapbook project by Cathy Zielske.

I completed this last year, and on the spur of the moment, I ordered the new class for this year. She always includes the digital files for cards/title pages, journal cards, etc.

Cathy is kind enough to give you the PSDs so that you can make them whatever color your want. But if you don’t want to mess with photoshop in any way, she also provides a color-coordinated set of pdfs ready to just print.

I love this little album of mine from last year. Last year’s album set was for a 4×4 album, and I believe is still for sale at Designer Digitals.

This year, it is a 4×6 album. These sizes don’t overwhelm me.

30 Days of Gratitude- a social media experiment.

I did this 3 years ago on Facebook, and thanks to Timehop, I’m reliving it this year as well. I just wrote a post of something I’m thankful for each day. It is a remarkably easy practice, remembering to post every day was the biggest issue for me. If you’re looking for a no stress way to get a record, social media is a great way to go. I wasn’t on Instagram three years ago, I don’t think, but that would be an even better place to keep a visual record, if you like photos.

Daily Gratitude- line-a-day journal

If you’re someone who can maintain a daily journal writing practice, this is a great way to keep up with the gratitude project. Some 5-year line-a-day journals exist that would allow you to see what you were thankful for on that same day each year for five years. Kind of an analog Timehop.

However you decide to keep your gratitude practice, even if it’s just remembering to be thankful for something when you wake up or before you go to sleep, I think thankfulness is an important part of being content.

My favorite things for this fall month.

Candy Corn– I know some people find it sickeningly sweet, but those people are wrong. I love candy corn. To the point that I only allow myself to eat it during October. This requires some restraint as candy corn starts hitting the shelves in August. Little mellowcreme pumpkins are a secondary treat.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins– they already have their own post, so I won’t say any more except, if you haven’t tried them yet, what are you waiting for?

Denim Jacket– I rely on this piece more than any other to layer, particularly in the fall. Yesterday, I wore a sleeveless black dress with tights and boots (it was 71 degrees) and my jacket made me look like I knew what season it was without making me sweat. It is also perfect in my office, where I almost always need a another layer.

Laser Hair Removal– bought this with a groupon in the summer to do my bikini line, just added my underarms today. TMI, I’m sure, but I never thought this would matter so much. It is fabulous! I feel almost nothing, and the technicians keep telling me I have a high pain tolerance (which is a bit of a joke in my family). Regardless, definitely worth it. Highly recommended. (spared you the image with this one.)

Noonday Collection Jewelry-I have a lot of this, and fall seems to be a great time to wear it because so much of it is earth-toned and muted.

I particularly love these earrings, which seem to go with almost anything,

this bracelet, and

this combo. From their site, this is their purpose: We partner with talented artisan entrepreneurs to make a difference in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. By developing artisan businesses through fair trade, we empower them to grow sustainably and to create dignified jobs for people who need them. Together we’re building a flourishing world where children are cherished, women are empowered, people have jobs and we are connected.

Trays-I’ve embraced the tray. In my kitchen, I have two, one with my utensils, salt and pepper and olive oil on it, another for the coffee pot.

In my family room, I’ve utilized a boot tray from Target as a way to corral my décor. I’ve been loving it. I also have a small jewelry tray on my dresser.

Fall Color in Virginia– this is my second favorite time in this fair commonwealth- my first favorite being the colors of spring, as it means the light is coming! The only thing dampening my love for fall is knowing the dark is coming with winter.