figuring out 40

may 12 on 12 : take twelve

An insert for last week...

project life : week eighteen

Welcome to the first week of volume 2! It was fun to change things up a bit - but I also feel like I was struggling for creativity. Hopefully I can get my mojo back on track (can anyone say mojo with a straight face? i can't.)... week 18 full - changing up the date card convention this time around - planning on patterned paper, thickers, and a label. I only have about 539 pkgs of thickers laying around :).  week 18, left side. that iphone only card? that's what to do when you've run out of steam and still have an empty 4x6 slot! i think that i am the world's worst selfie-taker. seriously! (thought bubble courtesy of Digital Design Essentials) one of the things that i love about digi supplies is that you can alter them to meet your needs. for this card, i carefully erased "this" in PSE, and added "having Hope home." (Becky Higgins Turquoise Kit, digi edition) week 18 right side.  added in a spring recipe (thanks for the inspiration Barb!) and a song that was on repeat all week. 

No inserts, but they'll make a triumphant return in week 19! Hope to post that tomorrow, and then I'm back on track. Woot! 

(Past Project Life posts are linked on the right -->. More info on Project Life can be found on Becky Higgin's site.)

hello monday 05.14.12

hello to a rather melancholy, just kinda "off" mood today. apparently i'm not hiding it well b/c my bff co-worked nailed it the minute that i walked in.

hello to delicious left-over broccolini salad mixed in with arugula. i could seriously eat this every day.

hello to finishing the opening pages of my Project Life : Volume 2 album last night. So very happy with it (after a brief amount of frustration over the 2.9 x 4 pockets)

(courtesy of Mondo Beyondo)

confession - I patted myself on the back for the brackets around the months thing. 

hello to juicing this am - apple, beet, celery, cucumber, and ginger. trying to get back into a routine of juice only until noon, then mostly raw until dinner. drinking green tea like it's my job to get me through.

hello to reading The $100 Startup in about 2 days. Crazy inspiring! 

hello to only 6 1/2 weeks until Costa Rica! Wooo hooo!

what are you saying hello to today?

(hello monday is a lisa leonard inspired practice)

photos on friday...

I have been a bit of a slacker with photos this week - not sure what that's about. I might be reaching when it comes to Project Life spreads! Speaking of - I'm intentionally a week behind. Waiting for new page protectors to arrive tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a few instagram shots from the past week (actually reaching back to last Saturday!)...

(okay - dummy me didn't realize that the widget would auto load instagrams - so it's become a continuous feed. Doh!)

menu cover from flatbread | words of wisdom | Hope turns 20

double chocolate cupcakes w/nutella | tofu lettuce wraps | the waterfront

miss Hope | corona lime cupcake (on cinco de mayo) | sweet potato & kale taco

20 and 10.

On May 8, 1992, I was 21 1/2 years old.Today, the baby girl that made me a mommy is 20 years old. This fact has spun me over the past few weeks. Twenty. Two decades. The same age as when I married her father. It's unreal. 

Inspired by Lindsey's beautiful post, here are 10 things that I want my 20 year old daughter to know: 

1. I am so very proud of you. I can't say this enough. I'm fortunate to be your Mom.

2. Try to choose kindness. Life can be pretty unforgiving, and you'll likely meet people who will stop at nothing to get ahead. Choose to be kind.

3. Do what you love...even if it's not your primary paycheck. Passions are worth pursuing. 

4. It's okay to make mistakes. Figure out what to learn from them. Hindsight is always 20/20...let it help guide you moving forward. 

5. Please don't marry the first guy who tells you that he loves you. Trust me on this. ;) 

6. Travel, travel, travel. See Europe. Go to Hawaii. Enjoy the Caribbean. Travel as much as you possibly can. (and don't forget to send your mother a postcard!)

7. You are beautiful. Every single inch of you...your pale skin, your freckles, your crazy-thick hair, your brown-almost-black eyes. Hold on to the confidence that you have now. 

8. It is almost never about you (borrowing this one directly from Lindsey). Everyone is wrapped up in their own issues & their own lives. Don't take it personally - it's really not about you. 

9. Be willing to apologize, and be willing to forgive. Hurt feelings happen. Try not to hold on to hurt, and don't hesitate to say (and mean) "I'm sorry." 

10. Take care of you. Don't let anyone tell you that it's selfish to want to be happy. Put your own oxygen mask on first. 

I love you, Hope Elizabeth. Happy Birthday! 

 

 

05.07.12 : Hello Monday

hello hectic morning getting 3 of us out the door on time (Hope interns at the company that I work for - so we go to work together)

hello to a lack of control over certain situations. I hate that feeling, but am learning to deal.

hello to healthy food choices and walking whenever I can.

hello to having a twenty-year-old tomorrow...how in the world did that happen?

hello to not feeling like working on Project Life this weekend...and letting that be okay.

hello to new flowers, veggies, & herbs in the garden. 

what are you saying hello to today? 

hello monday is a lisa leonard inspired practice

weekly eats 5/6-5/12

Random fact: Having one extra body in the house somehow results in approximately $40 more in groceries.

On the menu this week - 

Sunday (been there, ate that) - baked haddock, mashed red potatoes, green beans

Monday - tofu lettuce wraps

Tuesday - heading to American Flatbread for Hope's birthday. (I'm already planning on ordering the veg special - Wild Ramp Pesto, Amir’s Shiitake Mushrooms, Baby Spinach, Vermont Butter and Cheese Company Chevre)

Wednesday - black bean & brown rice enchiladas

Thursday - fettucine with broccoli & romano 

Friday - sweet potato fritters & salads

Lunches will be a variety of salads + leftovers + hummus & pita chips. 

Note to Kirsten - I had your comment in mind today while I was grocery shopping - bought a bag of black beans & a bag of chickpeas instead of canned!

foodie friday: w(h)ine & cheese

(source)

I don't have any fun foodie friday recipes to share, really, so this is really just going to be a few rambling, possibly incoherent, thoughts that may involve food...

• I eat a fairly healthy diet. I eat very few processed foods. Some might say that I'm a bit of a food snob. Despite all of this? I am 16lbs heavier than I was at this time last year. I know that this has as much to do with my descreased activity level (thanks to the hip/back injury) as it does the food. Still. I'd like to see a bit more benefit. 
• Virtually my entire office is currently doing WW. I think it's a fabulous benefit for the company to offer, and I applaud the members' efforts to lose weight. So, for those co-workers reading - this is not about you. I have done WW many times in the past, and had success. However. There is NO way that I could spend my life counting points, AND I have processedfoodsnob issues with the boxes of low-points pseudo food that they sell. That's all that I have to say about that.
• I need to start bringing more interesting lunches. Any veg ideas? I think that I'm going to see how many different salads I can come up with. Can You Stay for Dinner has a great post on building a 400 calorie salad. 

That's all that I've got for today! 

let the rain.

I want to darken in the skies / Open the floodgates up / I want to change my mind / I want to be enough / I want the water in my eyes / I want to cry until the end of time / I want to let the rain come down / Make a brand new ground. (sara bareilles: let the rain)

A song that I've played on repeat many a day lately. I've had a fascination with Seattle for a long time (even before McDreamy), and the question that people always ask me is "but how would you deal with all the rain?" Hmmm. Well, I don't really know. It's been raining a lot here lately, and I've monitored my reaction a bit...I guess to see how I'm dealing with it. (I still dream of moving to Seattle one day) It's an interesting reflective exercise. 

So. Today I'm just going to let the rain come down. 

project life : week seventeen

Here it is...the last week of volume one. This was also Ali's A Week in the Life. I didn't really participate, but when I started to ponder the week, I realized that I had been a bit more mindful about the everyday. So, a seriously modified rendering of the project.. what?? no inserts this week! Just a few highs & lows from each day. (and Gina drinking from a chicken.) As I mentioned, I'm calling this album a wrap - volume one. I had the backside of a page protector to fill, so I did an infographic-style spread. Super easy!  Excited to start volume two...