January 2023 Check In

Can you believe how fast January went by?  Well it seemed fast to me.  We had a sad loss in our family.  My beloved Uncle Frank passed away.  It wasn't entirely unexpected but still...you are just never ready and it was sooner than I expected.  I'm glad though that he didn't linger on and on and he seemed ready and my cousins, his daughters, got to spend a good quality day with him the day before he passed.  I know that he and my brother are probably in Heaven playing golf on the the most beautiful course and no fees! My dad is sitting in the golf cart with the pups and watching them play.  It just seems so strange that all of my dad's original family are all gone now.  His parents and his 3 siblings are all gone from this earth.  It is just such an odd feeling.

There were also a lot of celebrity deaths, it seems, in January 2023

Adam Rich
Jeff Beck
Lisa Marie Presley
David Crosby
Lance Kerwin
Lisa Loring
Gina Lollobridgida
Annie Wersching
Cindy Williams

Enough of sadness...let's move on to how things are going.

Bible/Prayer Time: Going well.  I am current on my daily Bible reading and I have been taking extra time in prayer - there is SO much to pray for, SO many people to pray for.  I could pray 24 hours a day and still need more time.  

Crafty Time: Going well.  I completed 2 prayer shawls and started a third. Project Life pages are up-to-date and I even started a separate project called 52 Weeks of Me.

Healthy Time: I had a follow up doctor's appointment and things were great! My blood pressure, cholesterol, A1C and basically ALL blood work was improved and in the normal ranges.  The only thing not in the normal range...my weight...but it was down from the last visit and my doctor seemed optimistic.

Project Time: No progress yet but January was a busy month for me and that is totally ok. 

This month I completed 4 books, went to see the final show of the B-52s (K.C. and the Sunshine Band opened - what fun!) and went to the Harry Potter Experience - very cool. I discovered a few new TV shows, "Accused", "Alert: Missing Persons", "Will Trent", & "That 90s Show".  Also, one of my old time fave shows "Drop Dead Diva" has been running daily on Hallmark Movies and Mystery channel. I also had a weekend get-a-way to visit my mom!

My life has been very busy but other than going out of state for Uncle Frank's funeral, life has been pretty good so far in 2023.  My family seems healthy, my kitty cats seem healthy, we have homes and jobs...what a blessing that things are going pretty well so far.

2022 Year in Review & December Project Life

Well, 2022 is behind us now and we are in 2023.  That sounds so odd to say to me...I mean, it honestly doesn't seem like 23 years ago when all the hullabaloo about Y2K was going on - that was 23 years ago!! My godson was a new born babe and now he is a grown man, living on his own with his beautiful girlfriend and is a police officer...wow!

So...How did I finish with my 2022 Goals?

1) Daily Bible Reading/Prayer - I was doing great and then the holiday season came upon us and well..I slipped a bit and didn't finish my 2022 reading plan, but I did read the Bible almost every day.

2) Weight Loss/Eat Healthier/Exercise - I didn't meet the weight loss goal I had in mind but I do weigh less at the end of 2022 than I did at the beginning, so that is a plus.

3) Watercolor - a bust.  I didn't do any painting at all in 2022 - how sad...

4) Crochet/Knit - pretty good - I crocheted 20 hats for the homeless and a prayer shawl and started a new afghan.  All were crochet and looking back, I am surprised I didn't knit anything in 2022. 

5)  Personal Journaling - good - I didn't journal every day, but I did journal, which is more than I have done in recent years.

6) House Projects - very pleased!  I got 2 MAJOR projects done, with my friend, Susan's, help.  What a blessing that is to have completed those projects...I feel like a giant weight was lifted.

7) Scrapbooking/Project Life - excellent! I stayed current all year and I am just waiting for a sale in the Project Life app to order my pages and put them in a book.  In addition, I put together a recipe book, something I have been wanting to do for years and now I have one!

8) Genealogy -good.  I wrote out my actual family tree connection to the Mayflower and added several new photos and documents to my family tree.

Overall...with all my goals - I'd give myself a score of 90 out of 100.  

Speaking of Project Life...here are my December pages (click to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

Edited to add:  It is funny how I read and re-read my journaling on my Project Life pages and now that I am reading them again, I find errors.  I'll go back and correct them in the Project Life app before I print the pages, but just wonder how I miss some of these at the time.  But you know what, it is okay...I'm not perfect and if I look back at something years later and see mistakes, well, that is just part of who I am, right?

November 2022 Recap

 So...here I am updating my long ignored blog.  Let's check in on my 2022 Goals for the year...

1) Daily Bible Reading/Prayer - I'm a little behind.  Not too far, but a little...I am sure I will be completed before the year is up and I plan on reading the Bible all the way through again next year!

2) Weight Loss/Eat Healthier/Exercise - Just ok.  I haven't really lost any weight but I haven't gained any..my eating habits could be healthier and my exercise habits NEED a lot of work.

3) Watercolor - well...nothing to report...instead of water coloring, I've been coloring, coloring...like in Adult coloring books...doubt I will get any watercolors done before the year is up but hey, it can be a goal for next year, right?

 

 

4) Crochet/Knit - Haven't quite had the mojo lately.  I do have a prayer shawl that is about 75% finished and an afghan in progress...but haven't had the energy lately at the end of the day to dedicate to it.

5)  Personal Journaling - Just ok...I did journal this morning and journal about weekly, but I want to push hard and journal a little each day.

6) House Projects - EXCELLENT!!!  I got 2 major projects done, that I have been putting off for a long, long, long time.  It felt so good to get them completed.  There is still a little bit to do on those 3 major projects but they are 95% completed.

7) Scrapbooking/Project Life - EXCELLENT!!  I placed my order for my recipe pages that have been completed so far and  put then in a book...I have managed to stay up-to-date on my daily photos and I am really enjoying it.  I am SUPER excited because a particular layout that I have been wanting in the Project Life app since it was first launched in 2014 was finally added in the the last update and that is going to be my main design for next year - switching it up from "Design A", which I have used since Day 1 to Pack 15 #1, which is what I used for my very first Project 365 in 2008 (paper version, way before the app came to be).  I have been asking for this design for years and I am super happy that it was finally added....it isn't much different from Design A that you see in all my Project Life pages posted here, but it is what I want - can't wait to start using that one!

8) Genealogy - good but a bit slow - just not a lot of time to work on it lately.  I did find a lot of family photos recently and decided that would be a "retirement" project...looking forward to going through them all and updating.

So, overall, I'm feeling pretty good.  Other than water color painting, I've made quite a bit of progress on all of my goals so far this year...some more than others, but still..they are steps ahead and going my way.  I'm already starting to think on next year's goals...some will have the same theme.

 

 

July - August 2022 Project Life

 I'm a little late posting, but here are my July - August photo a day pages.

Click on the photos to enlarge

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 2022

June and July are busy months for me, especially July.  Hopefully, this time next year, I will be retired and I can actually have a real summer!

 Because I've been busy, my blog has been neglected a bit.  Not that I have a ton of readers sitting on the edge of their seats or anything just dying to know how my goals are progressing - ha ha!

So how are the goals going?

1) Daily Bible Reading/Prayer - Fantastic....as of yesterday, I have read 200 straight days!! I'm not Catholic but I have chosen to read the 7 books that are in the Catholic Bible that are not in the Protestant Bible.  Side note:  Martin Luther decided to follow the newer Palestinian canon, which includes only books originally composed in Hebrew or for which a Hebrew text was available in the late first century A.D. Therefore, 7 books were removed. The King James version follows Luther on this matter.

2) Weight Loss/Eat Healthier/Exercise - Just okay. I am maintaining my weight but not losing but I haven't been really doing what I need to lose weight.  I know it sounds like an excuse and part of it is...but it has been too freaking hot to exercise! Plus, I have been so busy with work!  I know I could exercise in the early hours of the morning, which is what I was doing before I started slacking.  This is really something I will focus on in the upcoming weeks.

3) Watercolor - again, no time to paint recently.  I have ideas swirling around in my head though.

4) Crochet/Knit - Not much crochet/knit time in June...still have a prayer shawl and afghan that I am working on.

5)  Personal Journaling - Pretty good - I'm not writing daily but I am about every 2-3 days so that is an improvement.

6) House Projects - Nothing new in June...again, several ideas swirling around in my head but need more time and money to accomplish them.

7) Scrapbooking/Project Life - very good.  I am up to date with my weekly layouts.  I do want to catch up my "cat" book for the year - maybe this weekend I will be able to do that.

8) Genealogy - Good but again, just very busy.  I haven't had a lot of time to work on it.

So how do I feel? OK - I am most excited that I have kept up with my Bible reading because normally I have stopped by mid-March/early April. But I need to work on thing like better health and house projects.

Here are my Project Life/Scrapbook pages for June - click on photos to enlarge.

 

 

May 2022 Project Life

 Here are my Project Life pages for May 2022

I noticed I used very similar pictures in weeks 20, 21 & 22.  They were all taken different days, guess it shows that my kitty cats are creatures of  habit and apparently I am too, since I keep taking pictures of them - ha ha!

Click on the photos to enlarge

Project Life - April 2022

As promised...here are my Project Life Pages for April.

A nice person in a Project Life Facebook Group - showed me how to display my layouts as they are meant to be shown (as a 2 page spread).  You can click on the photos to enlarge.

This doesn't include special pages I did for my family's visit.  Perhaps I will post those another time..we shall see.

I did find a typo on one of these pages (and have fixed it in the app so the final printed page will be correct).  I also realized that I posted a picture of my flower card twice (different pictures) - the card brought me some comfort so I felt it was ok to include it twice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 10 2022 - A Day In The Life

Ali Edwards suggests doing "A Day in the Life" each year and this year was March 10th.  I try to do this each year, but sometimes forget.  This year, I remembered though...so hear are my layouts for that day.

I'm not quite as fancy as Ali and do not buy her Day in the Life kits - the Project Life app does the trick for me.  Click on the photos to enlarge

 

 

 

 

 

April 2022 Recap

Time for the monthly check in to see how I am doing on my 2022 goals

Looking back, I see I didn't do a March check in - in fact, I didn't blog much at all in April.  I had a lot going on though and that is okay!

 So...here are how things are going.

1) Daily Bible Reading/Prayer - Excellent - I am 100% current with my daily reading.  I had company for 2 weeks so did get a little behind but...I caught up this past weekend and today will mark 122 days of reading. 

2) Weight Loss/Eat Healthier/Exercise - Ok - Good, but needs a little improvement.  I did start going back to the gym in March and was going 4-5 times a week...until company arrived 2 weeks ago.  My intention was to rise early and go to the gym before the company was awake but....I was also off work and took the opportunity to catch up on a little sleep myself.  So I haven't been to the gym in the past 2 weeks.  However, with company in town, we went everywhere and walked a lot - so I did get quite a bit of exercise in after all.  My eating was not the best while they were in town because I wanted them to enjoy our city's great restaurants - we ate out almost every meal!  BUT...I did well and ate small portions and sometimes shared a meal.  It must have worked because I lost a couple of pounds.

3) Watercolor - no painting so far this year...I have been thinking of ideas but just haven't put the brush to the paper yet.

4) Crochet/Knit - Working on another prayer shawl for church.  The pattern I am using is not very well written and I don't especially like the colors I am using - they are okay, but I don't "love" the colors and that makes me kind of set it aside a bit.  I plan on picking the current shawl up tonight and hopefully will finish it this week.

5)  Personal Journaling - Good - I am still not journaling daily though, which my "Achieve Anything In A Year" book says I should be doing.  I don't always have a lot to say, but according to my book, that shouldn't matter...I should still journal even if I write "I don't have much to write" - ha ha.  It's a work-in-progress.

6) House Projects - I got a lot done last month...of course still a lot to do...2 projects I had really, really, really been dreading are complete now - yea me!!  When I look at those completed projects, it brings me happiness.

7) Scrapbooking/Project Life - Excellent - I am current with my Project Life pages for the year.  I completed a book for the first year of my cats and I am though November 2021 on their 2nd year.  The first year took a long time because it was weekly, but the 2nd year is going faster since it is monthly.  My regular weekly pages are up-to-date - I pretty much keep up with that daily.  I do want to do some pages from my recent family visit.  I just can't decide if I want to incorporate it with my current year PL book or make a separate book.  I guess I will see how many pages I get first and go from there.  My inclination is to incorporate it with my current 2022 book - we will see.  I will post pages tomorrow.

8) Genealogy - A little progress - did some work on looking at the 1950 census, which finally was released - whoo hoo!  I added some references to some ancestors lines.  I really, REALLY, want to somehow put all this in a book...but how?  I have ideas and resources but it can get overwhelming.  I sure wish  Becky Higgins would offer a course on Heritage documenting...she just has a way to make everything seem easy and do-able. 

In SUMMARY - so far so good - some things are right on track and other things haven't quite gotten there, but if you look at the big picture, I'd say all my 2022 goals are going quite well.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Project Life pages.

Project Life 2022

 Here are my January 2022 Project Life Pages

I am using the "Project 52 Fresh Edition" this year. 

(Click on image to enlarge) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

 Do you say this on the first day of the month?  I read about it a few years ago and I always TRY to remember to say it on the first day of the month.  When I first learned of this tradition, I discussed it with my friend, Amanda, who is originally from the U.K. and she said she does this.  We often text each other on the first with "Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit"

"Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit" is a superstition found in Britain and North America wherein a person says or repeats the words "rabbit", "rabbits" and/or "white rabbits" aloud upon waking on the first day of a month, to ensure good luck for the rest of it. It should be the first words you say.

 It is February 1st, and I remembered to say it this morning, so I guess I will have a lucky month.

 

January went by fairly quickly, at least to me it seemed that way.  So I thought I would do a check in with my goals that I established at the first of the year.

1) Daily Bible Reading/Prayer - Good - I will admit that I am a few days behind in my reading plan.
    However, yesterday, on my off day, I set up a reading plan that will have me caught up-to-date
    by this coming Saturday.

2) Weight Loss/Eat Healthier/Exercise - Good - Weight loss is slow, but I am eating better and have
     incorporated Intermittent Fasting...I did some exercise in January, but not as much as I would
     have liked. So this is an area that needs a bit more attention in the upcoming month.

3) Watercolor - no painting in January and that is okay.

4) Crochet/Knit - Great - I completed 20 crochet hats for the homeless.

5)  Personal Journaling - Great - I am not journaling daily (yet) but I am journaling on a regular basis

6) House Projects - Good - haven't started the 2 big projects that I want but feeling more positive
    about tackling those projects than I have felt in the past.

7) Scrapbooking/Project Life - Excellent - I am current with my Project Life pages for the year
    (I'll post about that tomorrow)
    But the best thing this month was a took a course with Becky Higgins - it was a Documenting
    course that she held live for about 2 hours every day.  It was FULL of information and tips and
    inspiration.  I just love her! I have been a fan of hers since her Creative Keepsakes days.
    I remember when she had her son, Porter.  I met her (and the fabulous Lisa Bearnson) at a
    Scrapbook Convention when Porter was just a baby, and my friend told her how much she
    loved the name "Porter".
    Now, Porter is serving the first year of his LDS Mission. Wow!

8) Genealogy - Good - worked on my Ancestry site about an hour this month.

 I have several books that I use daily.  I think it helps to keep them out and visible at all times.

From Bottom to Top

• Personal Journal
• Daily Planner
• Question A Day
• Notebook Companion for ...
• Achieve Anything in Just One Year (daily tasks to help you reach a goal)
• One Year Bible (daily reading plan to help you read the Bible in 365 days)