Tumblr

I created a site dedicated only to Meredith, and for now it is password-protected because it makes us a little bit nervous to have her out there like that. I try to update it every day with a picture or at least a sentence or two. I think it’s a good place for my family to keep up with her, and it’ll be fun to look back on later, too.

Journaling

I got the Mom’s One Line A Day 5-year journal for Christmas, and since the first of January I’ve been diligently writing a tiny bit about each day before I go to bed. I love this; it’s so easy, barely takes any time at all, and encompasses almost everything we do.

Smash Book

My mom bought me this little scrapbook which I already love. The pages are pretty and it comes with a pen/glue stick combo and the idea is to just smash everything in, no stress, do it as you go. I’m not positive how I’m going to use this yet, but I’m thinking of making one for every few months and using it for our life as a family as a whole. So far I just put in a little memento from the wedding we went to over the weekend, but I have lots of ideas. If I like how it’s turning out, I’ll share my progress with you.

Instagram

I’ve also been neglecting Instagram, but I plan to start using it a lot more and printing the pictures with something like Printsagram to add to the Smash book.

Book blogging

Reading has always been a huge part of my life, and it’s still my primary hobby. I’m working on reviving my book blog, and one of the rules I’ve imposed on myself is that I can’t start a new book until I’ve written up the last one. I’m getting better at taking notes while I read, which helps, and I have other ideas for the blog too.

Please tell – how do you document your life?

Yesterday I got let off work early, so I came home with an entire evening to do whatever I wanted since I hadn’t planned on being there. I thought about cleaning, or starting on a project around the house, but in the end my exhaustion won me over again and David and I collapsed on the couch with Chinese food.

Even though I haven’t done much about it, for the past few days I’ve felt the urge to create. This is not to be confused with being creative, because I am nothing of the sort. I don’t ever come up with ideas on my own. No, I’ve just had the desire to make something with my own two hands. So this weekend I’m going to try to wake up out of my trance, and these are some ideas I had:

Cook something. I’m embarrassed to admit how long it’s been since I’ve done this. I am not a cook and don’t pretend to be one, although I’d like to one day get to the point where it’s no longer a stressful activity. However, when I have the time and there’s no pressure, I find putting together a meal quite satisfying.

Work on the front room of the house. I love this room, but I never spend time there. It has a grand piano and a wall covered in bookshelves. I would love to add a cozy place to sit and read, but am not sure how. It also needs some decorating, and I’m sure I could find some things around the house to spruce it up.

Break out my clarinet. I played this lovely instrument for ten years until I dropped out of band halfway through college, but that was more due to the inconvenience of practice times than distaste for playing. My favorite band Over the Rhine features a clarinet solo in their song “Desperate For Love” and ever since I heard it I wanted to learn how to play that part.

Compile favorite quotes & inspiration photos. The other day I was reading Holly’s post about making a graphic sign for your wall and I got to thinking, what quote would I choose if I were to make one of these? That led me to thinking about all my favorite quotes, from books, songs, plays, movies, etc. and how I’d like to have them all written down somewhere to read through. It also got me thinking about what I want to put on my own walls and what I want my house to look like, for that matter.

The usual hobbies, cross-stitching and card-making. I joined a Stampin’ Up club so I’ve recently become the owner of an idea book & catalog for putting together cards and it has me wanting to break out all my neglected supplies. And of course my cross-stitching project isn’t going to finish itself!

Hopefully I’ll find myself doing one or more of these things in the coming weeks. But first, I need to clean my house because I’m one of those people that can’t go to sleep if there are dishes in the sink or clothes on the floor. No way will I be able to let myself play around if the floor is still coated in dog hair. :)

My all-time favorite book is The Lord of the Rings, and it’s been a deep sadness of mine that David doesn’t share my love. He’s never shown any interest in reading the book, and according to him he “suffered” through the first movie when it came out in the theater.

But it’s been a month since he’s had to be home from work, and he recently got it into his head that he’d watch the top 50 movies from imdb.com. Guess what? All three of the LOTR movies are on there. And since I already own them, he started watching them at home all by himself. I was so proud!

The best part is, he actually likes them now. He uses subtitles so he can keep track of all the names and places and he doesn’t mind them being so long since he’s in the comfort of his own home and can pause anytime he wants to. He even started reading The Hobbit! And yesterday he took a trip to Half Price Books and came back with The Children of Húrin, the only book about Middle Earth that I haven’t read because it was published after Tolkien’s death.

I know it took a lot for him not to buy anything for himself, but he saw this and had to get it for me. He’s the sweetest. :)

***

I’ve been making more progress on my hopelessly antiquated cross stitch project. It’s not my style at all, but it was free & still so much fun to see it come together. Working on it in front of a movie has become my new favorite way to unwind, and I’ve already found some projects I want to take on after this one is complete. Some of them are: Sherlock Holmes silhouette, birdhouse tree, hidden lily, and so many things from this Etsy shop.

***

It’s true that our pups aren’t always a source of happiness, like when I’m trying to sleep in and they decide to use my bed as a wrestling ring, or when we’re trying to relax and they won’t stop pawing at us, or when we’re watching a movie and someone walks by outside and they flip out like it’s the most! exciting! thing! ever! but gosh, I love them so much that I can’t imagine life without them.

Every cuddle, every lick, the way Oliver lies upside down all twisted, the way Eddie tilts her head to one side, how when Cleo gets excited her whole body wags, I can’t get enough of any of it. Our house may be covered in a thin layer of fur, and we may not always get the peace and quiet we think we want, but it’s so worth it.

***

All pictures taken on the Hipstamatic app from my iPhone.

Cleo wanted to come along, but I had to tell her no.

The Prius was a champ, and we packed her full. Probably overpacked, but we were like first-time parents worrying about every possible little thing. You can never have too many towels or batteries! we said to each other. Turns out that yes, you can. But it didn’t matter.

We chose a shady little spot just a few steps away from the bathrooms and the lake. Prime.

We set up camp and then got busy relaxing.

We played games and cards.

We went on a guided nature hike.

We saw a crazy flying thing.

We cooked yummy food, like my classic hobo meal. Tip: when you’re going to be cooking your meal which is wrapped in foil on the coals of a fire, make sure you a) choose a sturdy brand of foil, and b) double wrap it.

And there were s’mores, of course. I don’t even like graham crackers or marshmallows particularly, but there’s something about a s’more that is irresistible, wouldn’t you agree?

We read, we talked, we swam (at least I did), and of course enjoyed the company. David’s brother Scott, his wife Vanessa, and even my nephew Lucas came along.

He was a little trooper.

My brother David and his girlfriend Maggie came too. Maggie can go ahead and be my personal chef as far as I’m concerned. The food she made for us was practically gourmet.

We survived the heat by staying mostly in the shade, and we made it through the night thanks to some fans we brought along. I don’t think any of us would choose to go camping again in the Texas summer, but it was worth it.

Just watch, one day we’ll either buy an RV and travel the country, or go hard core and hike the Appalachian Trail. Either way, it all started here.

I think the colors are soothing, it’s clean without being boring, and the paragraph I wrote hopefully portrays me as someone my patients will trust.

Other than sleep in, watch some World Cup games, and work on our budget a bit, that’s what I did with my Friday. What about you?

Today I had absolutely nothing planned, the weather was lovely, and I decided it would be a perfect day to do one of my favorite things: ride my bike. My new year’s resolution was to enter a bike race, and in order to do that I’ve got to actually ride my bike. I haven’t been doing much of it lately because I’m busy and stuff and blah blah blah. But I rode today! My shoulders and legs will be sore tomorrow, but no pain no gain, right?

My view of the trail

Just a picture of my bike because I love it.

So there you go. I rode my bike! Really exciting, right?

And inside it:

This is a journal that three of my best college friends and I began in 2003. Angie, Julie, and I gave it to Becca for her birthday that year. They had recently graduated (I was a year behind), and we would no longer live close by each other. The idea is for one person to write in the journal and then mail it to the next person. Eventually it gets back to the person who started with it and another round begins.

Here is the inside cover, where we posted a picture of us with directions of how to use the journal. We also keep stickers there along with other miscellaneous things from time to time.

It’s the most fun when we put in pictures and other little things like that, and when we make notes in the margins of each others’ entries in response. Although we do keep up with each other through e-mail, some phone calls, and the occasional visit, the journal is infinitely more fun. I have to say that we aren’t always the best at keeping up with it, some of us keeping it for up to a year at a time without sending it on, but we try, and it is so worth it.

Here is an example of a page I entered back in 2006:

I encourage you to give it a try! For more information and ideas, visit the Circle Journey website.