a day in my life.....Saturday

and so ends this week in my life pages. not an exciting week, but that is what this project was all about -- -just a week of my life, photographed, journaled and now ready to go into the album. this was a fun project -- and i'll do another one in the future. try it - you'll have fun.

a day in my life.....Friday

Friday.

a day in my life.....Thursday

another day another page......

a day in my life.....Wednesday

and the week continues on .......

a day in my life.....Tuesday

And the week continues.......

a day in my life.....Monday

Day 2 of the continuing a day in my life series - I decided to keep the layout design similar throughout the week's worth of pages that will be stuck in my All About Me album. (sidebar: I'm loving my new camera and learning how to use it. This project has it working overtime.)

a day in my life.....

Ali Edwards (scrapbooker extraordinaire) has posted a challenge to scrapbook a week in your life. Doing a page a day with photos and journaling to capture what you do for a week. I love challenges and joined the challenged.

Now, I've gotta tell ya --- when you become labeled an empty nester, retired woman without any obligations, life can look a bit dull. You've traded in the chauffeur hat for going where and when you want to. You've expanded your meal planning to what you like - not just the picky eaters in the household. The alarm clock gets dusty. The remote is all yours - all yours! Laundry can be done on one day (heck, one hour) - not three or four. The calendar looks a bit empty, but so does the house. And it gets quiet - real quiet. Yup, that's me and I'm going to document what I've done for one week ...... here goes.

Journaling: Technique #9

Technique #9: Stream of Consciousness
A great intuitive journal technique is using the Stream of Consciousness to fill a page. You begin by just beginning. Start with a word, a thought or phrase and start writing wherever it leads you. Continue writing until you run out of paper or words. This is another don't think - just keep writing. Your thoughts will start to jump. Need a start? Randomly open the dictionary and point to a word and use it.

Journaling: Technique #8

Technique #8: Time Capsule
This technique is autobiographic. It's a good way to sum up what's happened, significant events, moods, people, places and things, achievements, projects or simply journal about the previous week or month. You can start by writing a word or phrase that best describes the topic.

Tip Toeing Through The Tulips

Took a day to go tip toeing through the tulip field - I say field, because we were about a week late and most of the fields had already been cut. We did find some spectacular reds and I practiced my new skills using the Big Girl camera. It was nice being outside, in a field of color with no one around but us late bloomers. After a breakfast at a fabulous cafe in LaConnor we headed home via Chuckanut drive --- that in itself was worth the trip south.

Journaling: Technique #7

Technique #7: Dialogue

This is a journal technique that is a written conversation --- where you write both parts. It may feel like you're making it up (and well, you are!) but if you'll let yourself be a little bit uncomfortable, you might surprise yourself with how much useful information you'll give yourself.

You can write a journal dialogue with anyone or anything. Give your partner a name and refer to it in the dialogue. Something like this:
ME: Dialogue Partner, will you talk with me?
DP: Sure, Just ask me any question or make a statement, and I'll respond.
ME: Feels a little silly.
DP: You'll get the hang of it, just start writing

You can dialogue about a conflict with a person and start to see their perspective or write what is on your mind and write their response. You can dialogue with a part of your body to further understand what's going on (that ache in your side). You can dialogue with a feeling about an issue, circumstance or memory (was that really such a bad birthday?). You can dialogue with object (just what is that dining room table thinking). You can dialogue with something that keeps bugging you (the "honey do" list is still not done). etc. etc. etc.

Give yourself plenty of time. Have fun and expect the unexpected. If you hit silence - just wait, close your eyes and breathe - relax. Thank your dialogue partner and ask if you may speak again. Trust the process - trust yourself - trust your journal. (summarized from Kathleen Adams' Journal to the Self workbook)

Practice Practice Practice

Recently, I started a photography class at Jessica Sprague.com with Candice Stringham called Oh! Shoot. When I gave myself a new digital camera with all the bells and whistles, I was totally overwhelmed, confused and it sat in the box for a couple of months. Not so anymore!

I've got that puppy out and playing with all its features and I'm actually learning what they are, where they are, and how they work. I'm in week 3 of the class and the above photo is from this week's assignment --- manual mode and metering. The Big M's! Yikes ---- it took a while, but the information and instruction finally sunk in and I had fun with it.

With our couple of weeks of overcast, cloudy, rainy days, it was great getting outside, yesterday, in the sunshine and shooting. We have the perfect weather to be out and about -- chilly, sunny and amazing clouds floating above. Now, to get myself down to the tulip fields and take this new camera & knowledge with me to capture some color and maybe spot an eagle or two. (plus remembering all the fun we had last year tip toeing through the tulips.)

Journaling: Technique #6 - again

Here's a list of lists to consider when using the List of 100 from yesterday's technique topic.

1. 100 things I'm grateful for
2. 100 things I'm good at
3. 100 things I like about myself
4. 100 things I love
5. 100 things I hate
6. 100 things it's time to let go of
7. 100 things I miss
8. 100 excuses I make for myself
9. 100 movies I love
10. 100 mistakes I've made
11. 100 adjectives describing myself
12. 100 ways I hide out
13. 100 things it's time to face
14. 100 things I could write about
15. 100 talents I have
16. 100 fears I have right now
17. 100 things I'll never do again
18. 100 things that make me laugh/cry
19. 100 things I want for my birthday
20. 100 marketing ideas for my business
21. 100 skills I have
22. 100 childhood memories
23. 100 ways I waste my time
24. 100 things that turn me on
25. 100 things to write a list of 100 about
and so on and so on and so on...........

Journaling: Technique #6

Technique #6: Lists of 100

Lists are great for itemizing, clarifying, noticing and gathering. They are useful in journaling when you want to find out what's going on beneath the surface of an issue. It's hard to think of 100 things, so repeats are acceptable, just write the next thing in your mind.

You start with a statement, e.g. Things I like to hear.......
then just start writing them down, e.g.
1. Yo Yo Ma
2. A child's laugh
3. I love you
4. The springs bird songs
5. A live performance of the Bee Gees
6. A babbling brook
7. laughter
8. sighs of release
9. the ring of the door bell
10. the ocean
11. the ocean on a northwest beach
12. playing "my" music loudly in the car
13. bamboo wind chimes
14. a distant train whistle
15. thank you
16. tires rolling on gravel
17. a cello
18. a crackling fire
19. the quiet of the morning
20. a waterfall
21. a pine cone dropping in the wee hours at a campsite
and so on and so on and so on........

Journaling: Technique #5

Technique #5: Captured Moments

We've all had the camera ready to capture those special moments in our lives. We document our histories, we mark the occasion, we enjoy reliving those moments and some of us go as far as to scrapbook those photos for prosperity.

You can also do this with the written word. Captured Moments are written photographs, focusing on a feeling we remember, the scene, the memory. These are often short vignettes, only a paragraph or two, describing your captured moment. An emotional experience or a meaningful memory, something you felt during that moment in time captured and recorded with the written word. These are a lot of fun to write. They bring those fond memories flooding back and enjoyed a second time around.

(taken from Kathleen Adams' Journal to the Self workbook)