Monthly Archives: May 2013

Monday Summary

Monday Summary

Yesterday was extremely busy, and I didn’t cart my camera all over. So I didn’t get shots of party supply shopping, or my husband’s birthday movie and dinner. I did get a few good shots of some of the things we did:

My oldest making himself a lunch for school.IMG_4962

My youngest giving his father a birthday present.IMG_4981

My mother starting the piñata for my youngest’s birthday party.

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Just a few good shots, and quite a few more not so good ones. But Monday’s documented in words and pictures. What did you document?

 

Quick Monday Note: Getting Started Documenting

Quick Monday Note: Getting Started Documenting

A quick note to show you how I am using the printables I gave you last week.

I printed out a copy of each of the journaling card prompts and two sets of the stop, drop, and write list.

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I’ve got a copy of the list on my refrigerator, and started the stop, drop, and write exercise as soon as I got going this morning. I’ve also got a sheet for keeping tally marks of how many sodas we drink, and loads of dishes and laundry we do as well. I find it to be useful to keep track of just how much routine stuff I do.

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I’ll use the prompt cards as my family does something interesting. I think I may use the “She did what?” card right now, and document this morning’s fiasco. You’ll have to wait to see what I write till next week. 😀

Have you started documenting your week? You will love being able to look back at this later!

Week in the Life: What to Document

Week in the Life: What to Document

When many people think of documenting a week of their life, they immediately put up road blocks. “My life’s not interesting,” “I don’t do anything,” “I’m boring,” are all phrases I’ve heard people say when approaching the idea of documenting daily life.

First of all, none of those statements are true. You don’t really think your life is boring, do you? Aren’t you utterly absorbed in what you do every day? That’s not boring, that’s routine. While you may think your routine is boring, it really isn’t, especially when you realize that it changes over time. By documenting it now, you are making yourself your very own time capsule, that you can dig up at any time.

Second of all, stop putting yourself down. When you are saying your life isn’t worth documenting, you are devaluing yourself. You are worth knowing. Your life is worth sharing. Please take the time to do a project like this. You’ll be surprised at how much you do, and when you look back, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ve forgotten.

One of the realities of life is that horrible experiences are so much easier to remember. The good days, the routine days, those are easily forgotten. If you document your daily life, you’ll be able to hold on to the wonderful bits that make life so worthwhile just a little longer.

The other big road block people create when they think of this project is to say that they can’t take that many photos, or record everything they do. True, this may be harder than usual, but it is easier than you think.

First, try to keep a camera handy regularly. Use the camera in your phone if you don’t have your actual camera in hand. Put your camera next to the bed, so it’s the first thing you see in the morning, and you’ll remember to use it right as you start your day. Try to enlist your family to help. I’ll be trying to talk my husband and kids into taking pictures while they are at work and school, but they may not play along. If you run out of ideas of things to take pictures of, I’ve got a list you can print out with lots of ideas for you.

Microsoft Word - Photos to take.docx

Downloadable Photos to Take Printable

Second, keep a few little notebooks handy so you can record random thoughts during the day, and the things the people around you say. The photo print out will also work as story prompts, and I’ve got two printables with some tried and true journaling techniques for you as well.

First up: download stop drop and write. This is a couple sheets formatted to be printed on a Simple Stories journaling insert. Set a timer to go off at half hour intervals throughout the day, and write down what you are doing or thinking, or what is going on around you. Keep it short and sweet. Twitter, not Michener. Next, I have some he said, she said prompts you can print right on your 4×6 journaling cards. These are intended to be used when someone says or does something that you find very memorable.

Remember, this is a project you CAN do, and you will treasure it when it’s done. Next week, I’ll be sharing up some of the pictures and stories I capture, and the following week, I’ll work on assembling the album with you. This is a fun and extremely do-able project. Are you going to join me?

Supplies for Next Week’s Week in the Life Project

Supplies for Next Week’s Week in the Life Project

You may remember that I am planning on doing a Week in the Life Project starting on Monday, May 6th. If you decide to play along with me, you may want to use supplies similar to what I have.

I will be using the Simple Stories binder in orange, with an additional pack of page protectors and a pack of journal inserts. (I’ll add affiliate links to everything below.) I’ll also be using card inserts from Me and My Big Ideas (MAMBI) that I got at Michaels.

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I’m going to try to go story and photo heavy with this project, but if I do decide to get artsy, I’ll be reaching for my kits from Messtaken Identity.

What sorts of things will I be recording? Daily life in all its minutia. To do that, I’ll be making up some forms and lists that I will share with you later this week.

Will you join me on this little adventure? You won’t regret having a detailed record of your life!

Recommended Products:

Simple Stories binder

6×8 journal inserts

page protectors

3×4 cards: I’m using MAMBI cards which are only available at Michaels, but the Simple Stories ones are gorgeous, too.

Other alternatives:

Project Life

We R Memory Keepers’ Albums Made Easy