according.to.kim

PI 48/52: Winter light

I was just going to take a picture of the late afternoon sun glowing throught the snowy air, when this skier arrived on scene. There are some groomed cross country ski trails in the park near my house. I suppose I should try it someday!

PI 47/52: Outside looking in

Taken last Sunday (Jan 15). It was 4:30 pm, I was losing daylight fast, and just wanted to get "something" for this prompt. I went outside to look in at my girls (through the front window) and ended up with a picture I LOVE. :)

Our days over the past week have been FULL. Full of various commitments and fun stuff; too full for blogging -- or any other hobby. But I'm still recording some details on a daily basis and I'll share highlights in my monthly roundup. I'm so glad to have that plan in place, as I can't do more than that these days. Okay, off to bed now. Another full week ahead!

My plans for 2012

This month, I've been doing a great deal of preparing, planning, cleaning, and catching up. I needed to do these things before I could mentally dive into 2012. Now I'm ready. And I have big plans for this year!

Here are my plans for 2012. Some are new, some are things I'll continue doing, and some are things I plan to do more consistently. I don't think I've created such a detailed list before, but this feels right for me, right now. I tried to be realistic, but also push myself to accomplish some things I really want to do -- such as scrapbooking, cleaning, reorganizing, and staying on top of things.

Daily:

1. Reply to email from OhLife.com (continue; I have over 500 entries so far)

Weekly:

1. Clear collection basket (mail, school papers, receipts, etc.) every weekend (more often and more consistent than before)
2. Clean up basement - clean/purge/organize one stack, box, or shelf per week
3. Clean up email inbox and computer files - 30 minutes per week (in addition to regular reading, replying, and filing of new messages)

Monthly:

1. Back up computer to EHD (in addition to automatic Time Machine backups) (more often and more consistent than before)
2. Maintain photo organization (choose best, upload, print, share) (continue; I'm up-to-date with this task)
3. Write and post roundup on my blog.
4. Do one-on-one activity with each of my girls (for their birthday this month, they each received "12 Activities with Mom in 2012;" these are scheduled on the calendar on their birthday day, or close to it)
5. Complete 6 layouts inspired by Twelve with Stacy Julian at BPC (this is only half of the class assignments, but still a big stretch for me)*
6. Use at least one Simple Scrapper template in creating the layouts mentioned above (I receive new templates each month as part of my premium membership at SimpleScrapper.com)**
7. Take an informal family photo (5x12 - based on Tara Whitney's six-people-twelve-times project)

Other:

1. Create and promote BSS Bundle #2 (January)
2. Pare down clothing for all five of us (February)***
3. Purge and reorganize kitchen (February)****
4. Finish taking weekly photos for Picture Inspiration with Tracey Clark at BPC (ends mid-February)
5. Complete unfinished layouts (5) (by the end of March)
6. Participate in Picture Black & White with Tracey Clark at BPC (daily photos in April)
7. Clear 2004-2006 storage binders (distribute photos to category files, mini albums, photo albums, and cold storage) (May-November? may be added to weekly list)
8. Create Photos I Love album (year-long project in BPC class, Twelve; may be added to monthly list)

*I'm aiming for 3 layouts in January since I haven't started yet, and my schedule is very full for the next two weeks.
**Affiliate link. I really enjoy the content Jennifer delivers every month as well as the private community on Facebook. Check it out!
***I've already donated about 1/3 of my own clothing this year.
****I'm taking a week off work in February.

It know it won't be easy for me to stay on top of this list, but I also know I'll be very happy if I can get these things done! I've set up a couple of tools to help me stay on track with my plans: Google Calendar and a spreadsheet in Google Docs. I may also look at Mindbloom as a way to stay motivated for certain projects. (It looks cool!)

Rounding up December 2011

This will be my first of an ongoing series of mounthly "roundups" based on Katie Nelson's roundup concept. I'm taking her class, Roundup Your Memories, at BPC right now. I love this idea and look forward to recording bits and pieces of our family life in a simple, consistent format. Since I'm pretty good at keeping my calendar and photos up to date, and I faithfully write to OhLife.com, it's pretty easy for me to round up my memories. Note: This one is especially long because December was ridiculously full. I really hope future roundups are shorter!

***

1. READ

• The House of Wooden Santas by Kevin Major (read to all three girls)
• 7 Sleeps Until Christmas by Stuart Adams (read to all three girls) - this book is out of print, but I just learned it's now an iPad App - how cool is that?! See 7 Sleeps Until Christmas iTunes Preview
• Mercy Watson books by Kate DiCamillo (Madeline)
• Fancy Nancy books by Jane O'Connor (read to Georgia and Madeline)
• Titanic trilogy by Gordon Korman (Sophia)
• Neil didn't finish his book, and I had no time to read

2. WATCHED

• Bones (Neil & Kim)
• Iron Chef America (all)
• American Pickers (all)
• Hell on Wheels (Neil watched in December; I started watching in January)
• Wizards of Waverly Place (the girls; over and over and over...)

3. EVENTS & OUTINGS

• Ringette games - played by Madeline and Sophia
• Gina's Pampered Chef open house - Sophia and I enjoyed many treats
• Steak night ringette fundraiser at 4Seasons - Neil and I went, and won a gift basket of beauty products
• My work Christmas party - dinner and dance at the Hungarian Club with band, Method 2 Madness
• Self Serve Project work event - pizza & Pat's game at the Brandt Centre
• Christmas potluck at work - Neil made bison stew for me to take - super good! (see recipes below)
• School Christmas concert - at the Orr Centre
• Sophia's piano recital - at Whitmore Park United Church; Sophia played Jingle Bells
• Sophia's class potluck - Neil made bison stew at Sophia's request (with flank steak rather than short ribs) - her class loved it!
• Lunch with my manager, Dana, at Cravings (okay food, but no desire to go back)
• Christmas celebration at Rob & Robyn's - dinner with Rob, Robyn, Ethan, Jordyn, and Kacy (who was ill and stayed in bed most of the time - poor girl!), my parents, Grandma Mantay, Aunt Colleen, Aunt Bev, Aunt Val & Uncle Cliff, Aunt Janet & Uncle Roger - first time seeing them at Christmas!
• Christmas Eve at Weisshaars - with Glenys, Mike, Jill, Lee, Curtis, Darren (briefly), and Mike's family - an annual tradition
• Saw Grandma Louise at Weisshaars on Christmas Day
• Christmas dinner at our house - with Laurel and Bronwyn. Roast turkey, dressing... the works!
• Neil's birthday dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, then DQ ice cream cake at home - with L&B
• Skating with the Pilgrims and Laurel at Cooperator's Centre (B stayed home with friends)
• Pat's game at the Brandt Centre - Neil, Sophia, Madeline, Wayne, and Cole
• Ali's birthday celebration at her house - Laurel, Bronwyn, Shauna, Rian, Georgia, and I went while the others were at the Pat's game - nice to see Darren, Gabe, and Avery, too
• New Year's Eve with L&B and Pilgrims at Laurel's house - dinner, visiting, and World Junior hockey on TV

 

4. RECIPES TO REMEMBER

• Neil's Bison Short Rib Stew
• Celeriac Remoulade (Alton Brown)
• Best Vegetable Salad (Company's Coming)
• Brunch Bake (Michael Smith)
• brine for turkey (Alton Brown)
• Classic Stuffing (#1) (Food Network)
• Golden Rutabaga Casserole (Canadian Living)
• Cranberry-Orange Sauce (Rachel Ray)
• Crustless Pumpkin Pie (Frugal Girl)
• Chocolate Ice Cream (Alton Brown)

5. GIFTS

• my manager and I exchanged Tim Horton's gift cards (same value, too) :)
• Sophia's class played Secret Santa (for each other) the last four days of school
• from Santa:
  - for Georgia, a Bizu Style Studio and 4-pack of animals;
  - for Madeline, 3 sock monkeys (rainbow, grey, and brown); and
  - for Sophia, The Sorcerer's Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter and 3 HP collectibles
• all other Christmas gifts given and received are recorded elsewhere

6. SPECIAL PURCHASES

• Christmas gifts
• comforter for our bed
• blankets to cover sofa
• shelving units for my scrapping space
• blinds for living room
• door knob for front door
• many mouse traps & poison - keepin' it real here

7. HEALTH

• cough & cold (all)
• stomach bug (all but Sophia)
• Georgia had an earache one night

8. ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• finished creating ALL weekly content for BSS on Dec 9 - 6 weeks ahead (major accomplishment!)
• submitted a boatload of expenses/benefits for reimbursements
• at work, posted our first holiday technical support guide (and related answers) before Christmas
• took down and put away all Christmas decorations before the start of 2012
• cleaned up the TV room in basement (major improvement!)
• cleaned and reorganized my scrapping space (love!)
• prepared my inspiration file for BPC class, Twelve.

9. DISAPPOINTMENTS

• not being able to enjoy the girls' Christmas concert thanks to a stomach-bug relapse
• not putting an end to the mice in our basement ceiling

10. GOALS

• didn't get November photos processed in December
• didn't keep up with Picture the Holidays after Dec 12 (but I did finish on Jan 8!)
• The Art of Composition - I submitted photos for coaching in week 11 (square photos), but not in weeks 10 or 12; read and viewed all class content, though - LOVED that class!

11. NOTEWORTHY

• incredibly warm weather and very little snow (until a winter storm on Dec 27)
• the mice that wouldn't die, in spite of significant efforts on Neil's part
• had to have the van towed to Toyota for repair (oil pressure sensor)
• province-wide Max outage - interesting day at work
• the girls saw all of their cousins, aunts, and uncles in the same month
• we all enjoyed the girls' new Kinect game, Just Dance 3
• Neil's 42nd birthday

Sunday morning sunrise

I took this picture yesterday morning. The squirrels are unusually active this winter because of the incredibly warm weather we've been having. Today's forecast is for a record-setting high of 7C. Crazy! It looks like our normal winter temps will arrive later this week, though.

PI 46/52: Say something sweet

The girls enjoyed eating this sweet message! White matte applied in iPhoto.

Picture the Holidays II (31+)

Gather your thoughts: On December 31, I was working on this -- my inspiration file for the BPC class, Twelve, with Stacy Julian. I thought it fitting for the final prompt because this is where I will gather photos and thoughts over the next twelve months (and beyond, perhaps). The jars are for 12 shades of embellishments, which I gathered this weekend. This was challenging! I don't have a huge selection of embellishments. I've also started drafting my topic lists. This class is keeping me quite busy these days, but I do believe the initial set up and planning will be very worthwhile in the long run.

Shaping up: (alternate) I wasn't excited about putting the tomato-as-ornament picture in my printed Picture the Holidays book from Paper Coterie (free for those who had registered for PTH at BPC in 2010), so I took another shot for this prompt. I don't know how we came to have this lovely pine cone, but I was happy to see it sitting on the kitchen counter one day.

And with that, I've completed Picture the Holidays. Hooray! This project was such a struggle for me after December 12th when I was ill and then overwhelmed with the demands of Christmas. Lesson learned. For me, December is not a good month for keeping up with specific daily prompts. I'm glad I finished, though. Now I can order my book from Paper Coterie!

If you're interested and you haven't checked back to my earlier Picture the Holidays posts, I've filled in all the gaps over the past couple of weeks.

Reorganized scrapping space!

I'm excited about the changes we made in my basement scrapping area last week! We bought two new shelving units (the black ones in the top right and bottom left photos) and set up a 36" high table purchased a couple months ago. I will now stand for all of my scrapbooking. I've already done some prep work for Twelve while standing, and I love it! This space is so much more functional than it was. Sorry I don't have "before" photos, and these photos have such poor colour. The room is much brighter than it looks. My OttLite helps, too.

Here are some explanations of what I have in my space. (Click to enlarge these photos if you'd like a closer look.) Fellow students of Library of Memories or Finding Photo Freedom may have a better understanding of some of the labels I used. There are a couple things I didn't explain in the photos: the wooden shelving unit at the far back is just holding a bunch of non-scrapbooking stuff that needs to be sorted and purged, and I have more scrapbooking supplies and books stored under the "extra surface" which is an old dresser with no drawers.

PI 45/52: Full circle

The new wreath I bought after Christmas (60% off). I like how it looks on our green door. I've already put it away for next year as I like to clear out Christmas before the new year begins. I took down our tree and put everything away on December 31. Glad to have that done!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Picture the Holidays II (28-30)

Through the looking glass: I remembered a fellow participant's image of an image in a camera lens on the second day of Picture the Holidays. Thought I'd give it a try. Challenging but fun!

A toast! To productivity! And, to my newly-organized scrapping space. I spent almost all day rearranging and cleaning my scrap area in the basement. It was a big mess, and quite unusable as it was. We set up two new shelving units from Lowe's (the one in this photo holds all of my scrapbooks, photo albums, and memorabilia binders which were in a few different places previously) and a standing-height table I purchased at Liquidation World a couple months ago. I'm thrilled with the results! It's a huge improvement organizationally (much better access to things I use more frequently), and I'm going to love standing instead of sitting while crafting. I had wanted to make this change for a long time. About the drink: Neil made a chocolate-raspberry martini for me to enjoy while I continued cleaning and organizing late into the night on Thursday. :)

Now, there's no looking back! I don't know if this "works" for the prompt, but it's a picture I took in December and I like it, despite its imperfections. I suppose I could say it represents me looking forward (not looking back)... but it's simply a shot I took on impulse. Because I really like taking pictures.