Project Life Prompts- May 2013

Hello & Happy Spring blog friends!

How are your projects coming?

Mine are actually moving along- amazingly enough.

Our 2013 PL is a little behind, but the photos are there & the notes are taken, I just need to get them into the album. 

Little Man, of course, takes up the majority of my day, but Daddy has recently started giving him a formula bottle just before bed causing Little Man to SLEEP most of the night instead of waking me up to nurse every hour & half or so!

Hear that??

Those are angels singing in praise of one bottle per day.

Since Mama has finally gotten myself a little sleep, I have recently remembered that there are other things in my life besides Little Man to photograph.

Like this guy.

And these two cuties.

How could you resist them?

Little Man is of course, the one I get the most pics of, but I'm pretty sure that's just because he's the only that isn't capable of running away.

Yet.

So, for those of you whose subjects do run away any time they see you with a camera in your hand, here are some thoughts for May.

52 Lists in 52 Weeks

• 10 nice things that other people have done for me lately
• Things I would tell my 17-year old self
• Things I wish I could change about the world
• Songs I totally ROCK at Karoake
• Lessons learned from Mom
• Movies I wish they would make 

One Little Word
This month I'm going to do a collage of photos that represent my word.  I'm thinking I am going to do it by hand, rather than using software, on a 12x12 background and maybe add my word over top with some ghost letters.  I've got  gobs of ghost letters in my stash.  If you don't, you can cut your own with the Cricut out of leftover product packaging.  Or you could use stamps or stencils to add your word.  Or you could leave the word off & just go with the photos.

Project Life 

Monthly Themes:

• Family Wellness Month: Record all of the things that you do to help keep your family healthy.  I see pictures of hand washing, fresh veggies, long walks with the dogs, sunscreen, daily vitamins, etc.  
• National BBQ Month: Get pics every time you put something on the grill this month.  We are frequent grillers in my house.  I love me some burgers off the grill.  And the smell of grilled chicken always reminds of me the frequent Chicken BBQ fundraisers that my Granddad's volunteer  fire department used to host.
• National Bike Month:  Snap away anytime someone in your family hops on their bike, be it motorcycle, bicycle, tricycle, Big Wheel, exercise bike or whatever.  Maybe this theme will motivate me to pedal a little more!
• National Smile Month:  A month's worth of smiles.  What could be better than that?

Other Monthly Themes to Consider:

• National Family Month
• Community Living Month
•  Clean Air Month
• Get Caught Reading Month
• Go Fetch! Food Drive For Homeless Animals Month
• Motorcycle Safety Month
• National Egg Month
• National Asthma/Allergy Month
• National Military Appreciation Month
• National Photo Month
• National Salad Month

Weekly Themes:

• Be Kind to Animals Week:  This would be a nice time to document all of the furry (or feathery, or fin-y) friends in your life. 
• Teacher Appreciation Week:  Get lots of photos of your child and their teachers or your own teachers this week. Anyone you learn from counts!
• Work At Home Moms Week:  Take a page from Ali Edwards' book & document everything you do this week.  I bet your kids would be surprised by how much you do!
• National Backyard Games Week:  What outdoor games does your family play?  How often do they play them?  This is a good time to capture them.
• Mud Madness Week:  It is spring after all and mud abounds.  How do you react? Do you get frustrated & spend you time cleaning up?  Do you go out & play in the puddles? Make mud pies? Go off-roading? Go on a 5K adventure run with friends?

Other Weekly Themes to consider:

• Chose Privacy Week
• Children's Mental Health Week
• Drinking Water Week
• Kids Win Week
• National Family Week
• National Raisin Week
• Food Allergy Awareness Week
• National Transportation Week
• Salute to Moms 35+ Week
• American Craft Beer Week

Daily Ideas:
5/1  Great American Grumpout
       *Also*
       Batman Day (and really, who can be grumpy on Batman Day?!?)
5/2  National Day of Prayer--who are you praying for right now?
5/3  Paranormal Day- time to make a record of any odd things that you've experienced
5/4  NATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY!! The official holiday of my people!
5/5  Cinco de Mayo
5/6  No Homework Day--what fun things will your kids do instead?
5/7  Accountant's Day-- who is the accountant in your house?
5/8 No Socks Day-- get a pic of your latest pedi, or of your need for one
5/9 School Nurse Day-- do you know your kids' school nurse?  How often do you see her?
5/10  Child Care Providers Day-- Get photos of the people who care for your little angels when you can't
5/11  Stay Up All Night Day-- well, this one isn't really optional for me, but if you don't have a newborn in the house, what would you be doing if you were up all night?
5/12  Mother's Day -- you & your Mama, or you & your kids 
5/13  Frog Jumping Day
5/14  National Chicken Dance Day
5/15  National Chocolate Chip Day-- It's a good excuse to bake a batch & snap pics of all of your helpers (my Claire Cat looooves her some cookie dough!)  Make sure to include your recipe.
5/16   Get an updated pic of the front of your house.  Are things blooming?
5/17  National Bike to Work Day-- I would love this, but a car seat & 9 bags of baby gear make this one out of my league for now-- maybe I'll document why it won't work!
5/18  I Love Reese's Day-- one of my most favorite holidays.  I could live on Reese's!
5/19-- Visit Your Relatives Day-- reach out to a family member you haven't seen in a while.  Get caught up-- and be sure to get a pic.
5/20 Eliza Dolittle Day-- What would be loverly right now?
5/21  National Wait Staff Day-- do you have a favorite server at your favorite restaurant?  Get a pic of them & document why you like them.
5/22  National Maritime Day-- Get some pics of the boats on the water or your view of the water from your home.
5/23  World Turtle Day-- who is the "turtle" (slow but steady) in your life?
5/24 Brother's Day
       *also*
       International Tiara Day (I NEEEEED a tiara!)
5/25  National Missing Children's Day-- ok, not a fun holiday, but maybe a reminder to hold your little ones a little tighter tonight & talk to them about stranger safety.
5/26  Have you brought out your summer wardrobe yet?  Document your closet change over.
5/27  Memorial Day
5/28  What are you watching right now?  Shows are coming to a season's end-- make notes or screen shots of what you loved this season.
5/29  Lear About Composting Day-- do you compost?  Document how.
5/30  Heat Awareness Safety Day-- how do you protect your family?
5/31  What You Think Upon Grows Day-- what's on your mind or growing in your head lately?

*This is your monthly reminder to back up your photos!!*

I hope you all have a wonderful month!

Project Life Prompts- April 2013

Happy April Fellow PL-ers!!

I hope your albums are coming along!

I'm taking many many many more photos these days, but spending even less time in my studio doing anything with them.  

This guy might have something to do with it. 

Straight to business this month!!

52 Lists in 52 Weeks:

• Things I Love About Spring
• Things I Dream of Doing When My Day Turns Sour
• Things To Do On a Rainy Day
• My Favorite 80s Song List
• Things I Could Eat All Day, Every Day
• Some Things Are Better When They're Tiny

One Little Word:
 This month I have a business that I can't really run, construction that has torn up my driveway & forces me to listen to large machinery breaking up concrete for hours at a time, 2 ticked-off cats, 2 insane seven-month old puppies, hundreds of house guests, a fiance that's never in his life held a baby,  a nursing newborn and an incision that prevents me from being able to put my own socks on.  

I have decided that I need a large, visual reminder of my word if I am to survive.

So this month, I am working on  a 12x12 layout that I will frame and hang in the hall outside my studio with my word on it. Later on, I will add it to my album, but right now I need to see it.  

At this point, I have no idea at all what it will look like, but it really doesn't matter.  It just needs to remind me to Breathe. 




Project Life:

Monthly Ideas:

• National Car Care Month:  Document everything about your car this month.  You can start with the basics-- make, model, mileage, that kind of thing.  But also, get pics of oil changes, car washes, the interior-- is it neat as a pin, or a total mess?  
• National Garden Month:  April is the perfect time to start documenting your garden.  Tilling, weeding, planting, all kinds of fun stuff goes on.  Make sure to get pics of yourself in the process too.  Don't forget all those little details- your dirty gloves, mud on your boots, the big, floppy hat you wear to keep the sun off your face, etc.
• National Humor Month:  Get  photos or screen shots of all the things that make you laugh this month.  My Facebook friends tend to post lots of MeMes that make me laugh, so I'll be saving some of those to use too.
• Couple Appreciation Month:  I see 2 ways to approach this one.  1) Spend the month documenting the other couples that you & SO spend time with.  Who are they?  How do you know them? What sorts of things do you do together as couples?    2) Document all of the things you & your SO do to stay connected as a couple.  Does he make your first cup of coffee for you in the morning?  Do you lay out his shirt & tie in the morning?  Do you text or email each other during the day?  Do you chat on your lunch hour?  
• Yellow:  Look for all things yellow in your environment this month

 Other Monthly Themes to Consider:

• Alcohol Awareness Month
• Autism Awareness Month
• Child Abuse Prevention Month
•  Defeat Diabetes Month
• Grilled Cheese Month
• Global Child Nutrition Month
• Home Improvement Month
• Celebrate Diversity Month
• International Twit Month
• Month of the Young Child
• National Card  & Letter Writing Month
• National Decorating Month

Weekly Themes:

• Explore Your Career Options Week:  Even if you are totally content with your job, it never hurts to think about your options.  What other careers could you go to if you had to?  What would you want to do if you could do anything?  
• Hate Week:  Face it.  We all hate things.  Use this week to get it all off of your chest.  Get pics of stuff that you just flat out don't like.  
• National Volunteer Week:  How do you volunteer your time?  Make sure to get lots of photos & make notes about why you choose to help out the way you do.
• Preservation Week:  What are you preserving?  Memories?  Heirlooms? Fruit?  Document it!
• Sky Awareness Week:  I'm going to take a photo of the sky over our backyard every morning this week at 8am.  I think it will make a neat layout to see how it looks from day to day.  It would be fun to do a night-time version of this too if you have a tripod & camera with a delayed shutter option. 

Other Weekly Themes To Consider:

• Golden Rule Week
• International Pooper-Scooper Week
• Laugh At Work Week
• National Window Safety Week
• National Library Week
• National Animal Control Appreciation Week
• National Park Week
• National Karaoke Week
• Money Smart Week
• National Playground Safety Week
• Safe Kids Week
• National Pie Championships

Daily Ideas:
 Apr 1: Tater Day-- your favorite way to make spuds
Apr 2:National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day-- What is your favorite sandwich?
Apr 3: Find a Rainbow Day-- If there isn't a physical one in the sky above you, find a philosophical rainbow in your day
Apr 4: National Walking-- take a photo while out on your daily walk today, even if it's your feet on the move
Apr 5: National Deep Dish Pizza Day-- Where do you order pizza from?  Why do you pick them over someone else?
Apr 6: International Pillow Fight Day- Do your kids have pillow fights?  Do you & SO fight over the pillows at night?  I listen to the pups fight over theirs all night long, so that's going in the album today!
Apr 7: National Beer Day-- Document your favorite brew! Is it local or something more exotic? Do you make your own? 
Apr 8: No Housework Day-- This is a holiday I can be on board with!  If you took all of the time today that you would normally be doing housework & spent it doing something fun, what would it be? Or maybe, this is a time to document your housekeeping routine.  
Apr 9: National Cherish an Antique Day-- Are you a collector? Or do you just have a family heirloom or 2?  Document what you have, where it came from & why you love it.
Apr10:  National Sibling Day-- Get a photo of you & your sibling(s) today.  If they live far away, you could make notes about how you keep in touch with them (maybe grab a screen-shot of an email or Skype).  
Apr 11:  One Day Without Shoes Day-- Celebrate your sense of touch today.  Where did your feet goes without shoes?  What do you love about being barefoot?  OR do you just hate everything about it? 
Apr 12: Walk On Your Wild Side Day-- How do you demonstrate your wild side?  Fashion?  Hairstyles? Tattoos? 
Apr 13: Scrabble Day-- Do you play Scrabble or Words With Friends?  Document who you play & why.
Apr 14: Dictionary Day-- Pick a word that defines you today & use it as your POTD
Apr 15: Tax Pay Day-- Did you get your taxes filed?  Tuck your receipt into your album.  I think it would be fascinating to read 10 years from now!
Apr 16: National Stress Awareness Day-- What stresses you out &what do you do about it?
Apr 17: Blah! Blah! Blah! Day-- Who do you know that just talks all the time?  Is it you? A friend? Your child?  Get a pic of that person today.
Apr 18: National Wear Your PJs to Work Day-- Make sure to take pics!  How fun!
Apr 19: National Hanging Out Day-- Where do you like to hang out?
Apr 20: Husband Appreciation Day-- Document some things that you do to show your hubby that you appreciate him.
Apr 21: National Chocolate Covered Cashews Day-- Yummy!  I'm  going to make some today in celebration.
Apr 22:  Earth Day-- Do you recycle?  Do you drive a hybrid?  Use solar power?  Document your efforts to help protect our planet.
Apr 23:  Movie Theater Day-- If you can't get to a movie today, you could make a list of the ones you want to see.
Apr 24: Take a photo through the windshield of your car today. (Please don't do this while the car is in motion.)  What sights do you see?
Apr 25: Take Our Sons & Daughters To Work Day-- If you have kids, ask them what they think you do for a living.  The answers might surprise you.
Apr 26: Arbor Day-- Take some pictures of your favorite local tree-filled space today.
Apr 27: Babe Ruth Day-- Baseball Season is in full swing!  Who does your family root for?
Apr 28:  Sense of Smell Day-- Get some photos that represent your favorite scents today. 
Apr 29:  Pin Hole Photography Day-- I thought this would be a fun experiment!  What cool photos can you take today using this technique?
Apr 30: Bugs Bunny Day--  Did you watch Bugs as a kid?  If not, what cartoons did you watch?  Today is a good opportunity to document a piece of your childhood.

**This is your friendly monthly reminder to back up those photos!!!**

I hope you all have a wonderful month!!

Project Life Prompts- March 2013

Good morning crafters!!

2 months down!

How are you doing?

I hope you are continuing on.

I am finally getting it together.

I finished 2012 this month & got started on 2013.

I also got Lil Man's PL album started.

As of today, he is not here yet, but his album is ready to go when he makes his appearance.

And his Daddy is living with my crazy hormones & threats of death, dismemberment & sleeping in the garage until he's old and grey if he doesn't take gobs of pictures at the hospital.

(I'll let you know how that one goes!)

Here are some ideas for March

52 Lists in 52 Weeks:

• Things I Collect
• Books on my "To Read" List
• Things That Make Me Crazy
• Movie Families I Would Be Happy to be Part Of
• Today I Will... 

 One Little Word:
 This month I plan on making a technique-filled, photo-less layout with song lyrics that contain my word.  Choosing a song was super-easy for me.  Lil E is due to be born this month and he has a song that Steve & I think of as "E's Song".  My word is in the title & lyrics.  Not something that I planned at all.  In fact, I hadn't even thought of it until just a couple of days ago when Steve noticed that I had added a new charm with this year's word to my necklace.  He asked me why I chose "Breathe" & after I explained it to him, he mentioned that this is also the name of E's song.  That's when the idea hit me to make this page with the song lyrics.   Think ATC on a larger scale.  Not something I do....ever really, so it should be a fun way to exercise my creativity & think outside the box. 





Project Life:

Monthly Themes:

• National Craft Month:  I think this would be a super-fun monthly theme.  Just photograph anything crafty that you do this month.  For me, this would be motivation to finish up a ton of little projects that I've been wanting to do & haven't gotten around to. 
• Green:  March is a great time to start looking for green!  Spring is on the way, the weather is warming up, things are starting to bloom.  I love spring!
• Three: Look for  triplets in the world around you.  We have 3 cars, 3 baby strollers (for one baby!), and 3 bicycles in our garage.  That's a good start on 3's.  I bet they're everywhere if you start looking!
• International Expect Success Month:  Document everything you do that is a success this month-- and the things that aren't.  Maybe you will find patterns that can help improve your successes.  You never know what you might notice about yourself.
• National Caffeine Awareness Month:  Document ALL of the caffeine that you consume this month.  Is it a lot or just a little bit?  I never even gave caffeine a thought until I became pregnant & I have definitely noticed a change in how I feel now that I only consume just a small amount.  Maybe you will too.

Other monthly themes to consider:

• American Red Cross Month
• Child Life Month
• Music In Our Schools Month
• National Color Therapy Month
• Ethics Awareness month
• National Nutrition Month
• National Women's History Month
• Optimism Month
• Sing With Your Child Month
• Youth Art Month

Weekly Themes:

• Write a Letter of Appreciation Week:  I can think of lots of people (some living, some not) that I could write letters to.  How about you?
• Celebrate Your Name Week:  Notice (and photograph!) all of the places that you see your name. First name, last name, doesn't matter.  Just notice how often it pops up around you. There's a pizza place here in town that has my first name & a collector's shop that currently carries an autographed poster of a football player that shares my last name, so that's where I'll be starting!
• Act Happy Week:  Photograph all of the happy faces you can find.
• American Chocolate Week: Photograph all of the chocolate in your life this week.  With all of the Easter candy floating around right now, it shouldn't be hard to find.  And after 12 weeks of refraining due to Gestational Diabetes, I am SOOOO looking forward to indulging a little! (For the sake of my PL, of course!)
• National Cleaning Week:  Document your weekly cleaning schedule, the products you use, etc.   I love to include basic, daily life things like this in my albums. I love to see this kind of thing from my Mother's & Grandmother's era,   because they are things that change the fastest.  Products change.  Technology changes. The way we live changes.  And I find it fascinating.  Even in my lifetime, how different these basic routines are, so I like to get them in my albums for the sake of posterity.   Maybe when I'm 80 I can show these pictures to my grand kids & tell them what life was like when I was younger.

 Other Weekly Themes to consider:

• National Ghostwriters Week
• National Cheer-leading Week
• Festival of Owls Week
• National Procrastination Week
• National Words Matter Week
• Read an E-Book Week
• Women in Construction Week
• Teen Tech Week
• National School Breakfast Week
• American Crossword Puzzle Week
• Wildlife Week
• Yoyo & Skill Toys Week

Daily Ideas:
Mar 1: World Compliment Day-- who do you know who could use a compliment?
Mar 2: Dress In Blue Day-- self portrait time!
Mar 3: What if Cats & Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs? Day-- what kind of shenanigans do you suppose your furry family members would get up to?
Mar 4: Daughters & Sons Day-- get pics of your little (or not so little) monkeys
Mar 5: Fun Facts About Names Day-- No photo necessary today!  Document the meaning of your name & the names of  your family
Mar 6:  Namesake Day-- write the story of who YOU are named for
Mar 7: Cereal Day-- get a pic of the stock of cereal in your pantry.  What are your family's favs?
Mar 8: International Working Women's Day-- get a picture of what you do for a living
Mar 9: Panic Day-- get pics of your Doomsday Preparations (or lack thereof.  We have 2 gallons of water in the garage and a first aid kit.  If the Zombies come tomorrow, we're screwed.  Maybe we should work on that!)
Mar 10: US Paper Money Day-- Get a photo of how much cash you have on you right now.  No cheating & going to the bank the day before!
Mar 11: World Napping Day-- take a nap.  It's OK. You have my permission.  Make someone else take a pic of you while you do it.
Mar 12: Organize Your Home Office Day-- well, this one's pretty self-explanatory huh?  Make sure to photograph your efforts.
Mar 13:  National Agriculture Day-- Get a photo of the current state of your garden or yard or maybe your plans for planting this year.
Mar 14: Potato Chip Day-- Document your family favorites & the size of your stash
Mar 15:  Companies That Care Day-- Photograph or screen-capture the logos of companies that you buy from or places you shop because you agree with their morals. Make sure to journal WHY you use them.
Mar 16: National Quilting Day-- Get photos of your current project.  If you aren't a quilter, maybe you have a hand-me down or gifted quilt that you can document.
Mar 17:  St. Patrick's Day!-- This one is huge for me.  My family are Irish, and St. Pat's is one of my most favorite holidays!!  And it will be Lil E's first FIRST holiday!  I can't wait to dress him in his little shamrock sleeper!  Get a self-portrait in your green!
-OR-
Mar 17: International Sports Car Racing Day-- document your racing team or favorite race car
Mar 18:  Forgive Mom & Dad Day-- what torture have you inflicted on your kids that you could ask forgiveness for?
Mar 19:  National Chocolate Carmel Day-- Today you must eat chocolate or caramel.  I know it's tough, but try to remember that you're making this sacrifice for the sake of art.
Mar 20: Won't You Be My Neighbor Day-- Document your relationship with your neighbors.
Mar 21: Spring Fairy Fun Day--  Photograph any signs of Spring that you have noticed around you
Mar 22:  International Goof-off Day--  What do you do when you are goofing off?
Mar 23: Near Miss Day-- have you had any "Near Misses" lately that you can document?
Mar 24: Document the contents of your purse today. What bizarre goodies are you lugging around?
Mar 25: National Medal of Honor Day-- Do you know anyone who has one?  Document it. 
Mar 26: Make Up Your Own Holiday Day-- If you could create a holiday, what would it be & why?
Mar 27: Quirky Country Music Song Title Day-- What is the first one that comes to mind?  Make a 4x6 ATC-style card documenting why it amuses you
Mar 28: Weed Appreciation Day-- I don't know about you, but my yard is way more weeds than intentional plantings.  I've decided that as long as they don't have thorns, they can stay.  Otherwise, weeding would be a full time job.  Photograph your own battle with weeds, or why you've decided not to fight this fight.
Mar 29: Texas Loves The Children Day-- Well, my Little Man should definitely be here by the 29th.  We have a cute little T-Shirt that we bought him from the TX State Fair that says "Made In Texas" on the front.  I thought this would be a perfect photo-op  to celebrate this day.  If you don't have a newborn with a cute TX T-shirt, you could use this day to document where your children were born. 
Mar 30: National Day of Unplugging-- I think we could all use this day once in a while- certainly more than once per year!  Photograph the things that your family does when you aren't plugged in.
Mar 31:  Easter Sunday-- Easter is an easy day for photo ops.  Just start snapping away!
OR
Mar 31: National "She's Funny That Way" Day-- photograph some of your personal quirks.

Off we go into another month!

Take tons of pictures, make lots of notes and most of all-- Enjoy it!!