Unclutter The Interlude: My Space Hogging Hobby

This week our assignment was to declutter the kids' rooms. Since mine are 16 and 19, other than moving the piano out of Emma's room and clearing her floor for someone to access her window to give us an estimate for a replacement, I didn't touch them. Instead, I stayed in the basement and confronted some demons. 

It makes me so sad.

I loved this hobby. I loved scrapbooking our lives almost more than the life I was scrapbooking. I remember I had layouts on the go all the time.

But no one ever looked at them.

the scrapbooks in the dining room

Except my Mom.

But I barely noticed this, or if I did, I didn't think it was important. They would look at them later, I thought, when they are older. I enjoyed making pages, anyway.

I had a goal to be published--and I pursued that for many years. I was published, actually, and I am quite proud of those layouts.

I think they are some of the last I ever did--except for Mom's Annual album. I stopped making that in 2014. Or was it 2015?

I had pretty much stopped taking photos of us altogether by then.

I am not sure why that happened. The problem with not keeping records, of course, is that you have no way of referencing the past.

I started working in the fall of 2013. Maybe that was it?

When you declutter, you essentially force yourself to deal with things you have ignored --either out of laziness, forgetfulness, or disinterest. Those things are easy to get rid of. But things you have been avoiding--as I have my scrapbooking--are much more difficult. I ask myself: why haven't I been scrapbooking all these years? Why did I quit?

I think there are lots of mundane reasons, like it's a messy cluttery hobby, it takes up a lot of space, you have to chase people down with a camera and teenagers don't appreciate that, it feels like an invasion of privacy once the kids reach a certain age, and whose story am I telling, anyway?

OK, so that last one is not mundane. But the real kicker for me was this: our family is, actually, boring. And since our last family trip --to the West Coast in 2014-- we haven't done anything as a family together (except for attending the first Star Wars re-boot movie.) We don't even eat dinner together. And it's been a crushing disappointment. That's what I've been avoiding.

The question is: what now?

Can I scrapbook? Can I accept the reality of our lives now, as well as how they have been? I mean, I do love each person in my family. I have a good relationship with each person. It is just that the four of us aren't a "family unit."

Here are some of my unscrapped photos, filed away in boxes:

On this wall in the basement are most of my tools and supplies (and more photos).

can you believe it? those plastic cases contain albums "in progress." 

Underneath this table are more supplies (paper, mostly):

yes, that's the toilet seat from the bathroom. It is in better shape than the one we have currently, we just can't figure out how to work the bolts properly. (We smashed the old toilet to release it). We haven't given up on it, though.


It is past time to let this all go. As much as I loved it, I don't see scrapbooking in my long-term future. But I'm not quite ready to let everything go. I think I have one more project that needs to be done.

Story albums.

Specifically, the Story of Ben, the Story of Emma, and the Story of Us. I'm thinking of 8 1/2 x 11 albums that begin with Chris and I getting married, then the birth of each child and carrying on until High School graduation. Ben's album will contain more pages about him and what he did as he was growing up, Emma's will have more of hers--and the "Us" album will be both albums in one (minus any duplicate pages, of course, like vacation, and holiday spreads.) To keep it simple, I feel each one should be more "photo album" than "scrapbook."

It seems daunting and exciting all at once. But if I died without doing it, I'd regret it.

I haven't decided exactly how I will do this. Handmade spreads seem exhausting, yet it's the tactile aspects of scrapping I've always enjoyed. I like the idea of creating a digital photobook....but I would have to scan in all the photos!! I have hundreds, if not thousands of physical photos. I have a few digital photos...but they have pretty much trickled down into nothing since 2013. That's a pretty big gap. I have some logistical issues to sort out, obviously.

I've given myself a year and a bit to complete it. Emma graduates high school in June of 2019. My Mom's birthday is July 27th. (She'll get a copy of the compilation album).

I am hoping this will be enough to satisfy my urge to create as I think we are truly done with decorating this house, at least! I'm looking forward to it.

My Creative Space

One of my goals this year is to awaken my long dormant creativity. I am taking two classes this month to help me along. (I would not have chosen to take these classes at the same time, but that's when they were available!)

The first is Photo Freedom taught by Stacy Julian from Big Picture Classes. Yikes! Is that going to be a ton of work! The second is Organize Your Creative Space by Aby Garvey from Simplify101.

My creative space is my dining room/home office. This room:

Photo from 2011

 

Most of my scrapbooking supplies are actually in the Expedit.

Photo taken today.

A few more are downstairs in the basement. They're primarily in (and on!) this dresser and these two old stacked pine IKEA units.

There are also different scrapbook projects in the cases on the shelves to the right of the table. (Under that green cloth is my miniature house project I haven't seen in 16 years!)

 

(I took this photo last year after working on it for a month last year. Shortly after I set up this space to work, my husband and my son turned it into a place to play video games. This is how it looks today! I need to spend some time down here and create a better set up.)

 

 

When I last took a scrapbooking class--and thus knew I'd be scrapping for ten weeks or so--I set up my dining room like this:

 

Everything right within reach. It worked really well.

Of course, this is all cleaned up! This is how things really looked at Christmas while I was putting together the scrapbook calendar:

My problem is, I can't leave the room set up to scrapbook all the time. Never mind the chaos, I need this room for many other things as well.

For example, in my photo Freedom class, I'll be sorting photographs on the table:

For a while, it seems!

So, the challenge for me will be how to figure out how to do scrapbook pages in a casual way, a way that doesn't involve radically changing the dining room but still lets me get a page done now and then.

That would make me happy.

Something to Lose

It was odd, making up this page. I did it on Sunday, my 47th birthday and I felt pretty good about it all. In a month of moving (23/30 days) I've lost quite a few inches. So many, I wondered if I was measuring incorrectly!



Here are the stats:

bust: 1" gone

waist: 2" gone.

hips: no change (poot)

upper arm: 1" (a whole inch!)

and my upper thigh: 3 1/2" (I'd think there's some error there, but I've been doing a low impact aerobics--lots of toning of those upper thighs involved!)

The scale didn't budge. (+0.6lbs is a glass of water!)

But, as I didn't get a chance to work out on Monday, I thought and fretted about it all day long--now I've made some progress, now I have something to lose. I am scared to death of these pronouncements that individuals who "maintain" a significant weight loss do so with 60 to 90 minutes of exercise a day. I haven't got that sort of time--and I panic when I think that may be what it takes. So, I can't let my mind go there.

So, I focus on today. I am ansty for my workout. In fact, I'm anxious for it now, everyday. (yes, everyday.) While I'm sitting here freezing at the keyboard, I know that it will warm me up. I know I'll feel fantastic once I start the cool down stretching and that feeling will last for a few hours. My irritation level will decrease too, making me more pleasant to be around! It will also rev me up and give me more energy.

What it isn't doing is suppressing my appetite--though it isn't increasing it either! (Thank goodness.)

So, this month I want to focus on my emotions, food intake, hunger and fullness. I made a little form to keep track of it all. (Of course I did!) Should I decide to begin restricting my calories (which is not what I'm doing now. What I'm doing now is eating as well as possible.) I hope to have some useful data about how I eat, what fills me up (and what doesn't) and so on. Actually, I'm not entirely sure why I'm keeping track! It just seemed like a good idea. It is making me more conscious about what I'm eating--and that could be a good enough reason all on its own!

Two pages fit on one 8 1/2 x 11 page. Here's today' s (with breakfast filled in):

My resolution to eat more vegetables is going well. Last night at supper, in addition to the prodigious amount of onion in the beef stroganoff, we had boiled carrots, steamed spinach with garlic and roasted sweet potato chips on the side. Dessert was homemade cheesecake with lots of fresh berries, too.

(It was my husband's birthday!)

Moving More, Eating Less: Officially Begun.

I've done this before: set myself up and "declared" I was going to start working out and eating not only better food, but less of it. And it came to naught but egg on my face (except for that stellar effort back in the Spring and Summer of 2009 when I lost 40, count 'em, 40 whole pounds!).



So, this is the layout I created in December when I thought I would start dealing with my weight and wellness issues again. If you read the journaling, you'll see that I was very careful not to commit to actually doing anything. I was acknowledging there was a problem: I was reading all sorts of web-things about how my mind needs to be "tuned" while I get my body reshaped. I took a real-age questionnaire and realized I was much older than my actual years. Things really started to rearrange themselves around in my head though, when I began reading Marianne Williamson's "A Course in Weight-Loss."

Then, I read the Obesity Myth and decided that the most important thing I could do for my health and well-being was to get fit. That's all. No focus on the numbers on the scale, no food charts, no wrestling with God required.

And, as a result, organically and without self-flagellation, I began to move. And I'm still moving.

The Calendar

I cannot believe how long this took me.

I bought a kit in the interests of saving time. I'm not sure it really saved that much: but it did cut down on the mess involved, it was easy to tidy away after each work session, and I certainly made fewer decisions than I would have had to make had I done this from scratch (as I have always done.) I make one "hard copy" version which I give to my Mom--then scan in the pages and make the calendars for two more which I send to relatives. I have the pages coil bound at Staples.

I chose this 2011 Calendar kit by Basic Grey. It's 8x8.

The page backgrounds are pretty much as you see them here. What I attached were the cut-outs and dimensional elements--and a few strips of paper (not very many).

I wound up using just about everything in the kit: very little was left over. Because I wanted to include the tags with the quotations, I sized my pictures to 3 1/2 x 5 (though the instructions call for 4x6). It is to the kit's credit that this caused no difficulties whatsoever--well, OK, except for April. That one was tough.

I used the instructions as a guide. The black and white instructions which came with the kit, though, were fairly useless. Fortunately Basic Grey makes a version in colour available on their web-site.

Without further ado, here are the pages:

January to April:



May to August:



September to December:

(I have no idea why cupcakes were included as the "theme" for September, nor what were supposed to be celebrating, but by the time I got to it, I didn't really care.)



Notes to self:
Punching out diecuts, cut outs and organizing the little bits: 5 hours
Assembling pages: 2 afternoons and an evening (say 13 hours)
Scanning: 2-3 hours
Making up the calendars for the other two calendars: an afternoon (say, 3-5 hours)
Printing two sets of the pictures plus the calendars: 5 hours.
Total Time spent: 28-31 hours
(This does not include choosing the pictures, having them developed, and finding the quotes.)

Coming Up: Project Week

No, not those sorts of projects, the ones that still need doing, like hemming and hanging curtains and so on. No, these are Christmas Projects. Three of them, to be exact.



Top left: the Advent project.

This tub full of small watch tins (which is what they were "officially" known as ten years ago before they were appropriated into spice jars and scrapbook embellishment containers) is put out by Wilton to hold wedding favours. I'm going to make round numbered disks for the top, buy some small chocolates and candy and come up with 25 activities for the kids and I to do. I'm really looking forward to it. This was the inspiration:


from: Ormolu! She also has a lovely Etsy shop where you can purchase these fabulous tags.

And that is....

Top right: the Daily December Album.

Ali Edwards (informally) heads up the annual project. Here are more details, about the project, if you're interested. Yes, in spite of the fact that I have not done my Vacation album, I have not finished my Week in the Life Album--and there are just one or two things left to do on my Me: The Abridged Version album, I am going to do this. I will likely post more about this project as it goes along.

And then....

Bottom left: The Calendar Project.

I bought a kit from Basic Grey --something I've never done before-- and I'm quite excited about using it. I spent about a day wondering why I'd bought it. I enjoy scrapbooking, I don't really need or want to simplify it. Nonetheless, I am rather tired of the whole Calendar thing. It's been several years, now, after all. Buying the kit will make this task go more smoothly--but it won't satisfy my need to play and create. I think that's a large part of why I decided to do the December Daily.

So, that's my weekend and next week accounted for. I'm not exactly sure how I am going to do this seeing as we will also be having our Investment Guy and a Life Insurance Rep in for appointments next week: and the "board room table" cum dining room table is also my scrap table, but I will figure it out!

Me: The Abridged Version

A Big Picture Class by Cathy Zeilske. These are the papers I've chosen.

Page created in last Spring's DYL class and going in the Brag book!

17 layouts in 21 days.
Do-able?

Why not?

My Mother-in-law's 80th Birthday is coming up on August 9th.

For some reason, many years ago, I decided to make a "Grandparent's Brag Book" for my in-laws. I decided it would feature several layouts per year showing the children during a holiday or season (or both.)

The problem with such a gift is that you have to keep updating it.

The last set of pages she has features us on vacation in 2006.

Nope, you didn't read that wrong. Yep, I'm exactly 4 years behind.

Yesterday I made up spreadsheets and flow charts and checklists--everything I need to get it all done in time to photocopy the pages (for my Mom and me) and send it off for her birthday.

Cross your fingers for me.

Calendar Pages, done. Finally.

(This year's "Christmas" photo, scrapped in 8x8 format for the 2010 calendar.)

Right now, I am so glad my mother doesn't read my blog!

I have been slogging away at the dining room table, scrapping my heart out. I've got all the pages done for the 2010 calendar. Yay! Now, I take them to Staples and have them photocopy it onto "proper" calendars. I give one to my Grandmother and one to my Mother-in-law. My Mom gets the originals mounted into a calendar I buy at the scrapbook store that is 8x8."

Like an idiot, last year I decided I would put together an album of the calendar pages I've made in years past. I started making these dratted things with pictures from 2003. The idea, though, wasn't to include just the pages I'd made into calendars--oh no, I was going to go back and scrap the years I'd missed, as well. (My true talent in life, I think, is making things difficult for myself!) So, last year, I started putting it together. The pages' format was all over the place, of course. 2003 was 5x7, 2005 was 6x6 and 2004 and 2008 weren't scrapped at all. I must have done 2004 last year, because when I re-discovered the project (as I was cleaning up the dining room during "office week" it was done.

Here's an example--in the Spirit of the Season-- from each year:

2003:


2004:


2005:


2006: (as the original 6x6)


2007:


I didn't get the pages done for a calendar last year (pictures from 2008): in fact I didn't even have pictures for each month. This year, I just bought a cute pad of paper (from K&Co.) and just scrapped what I could. I did all of 2008 today. I really enjoyed doing them.

2008:


I've one more, just one more page from 2008 to scrap and a few title pages for the album and then I am done, done, done!

Good thing. Tomorrow we put up the tree and I'll need the dining room table to make ornaments with the kids.

January Complete

and I am underwhelmed.

I'm making a calendar for my Mom, my M-I-L and my own Grandmother as a Christmas present. I do it every year (except last year). My mother gets the original pages and the others get copies done up at Staples.

Essentially, what I create are 8x8 scrapbook pages which I affix to a pre-made 8x8 coiled calendar. This year, to keep things simple, I decided to print the pictures 5x7 and stick to one design scheme: a quote, a piece of patterned paper and an embellishment. This year, all the quotes have to do with education (since I had already collected a number of them for a Home school planner I'm making.)

This is what I came up with for January, last night. I'm not sure what to think.


(The picture was taken in January of 2009. That's my nephew in the middle).
Bah Humbug.

Planning for the Holidays

Thank you all so very much for your feedback on the living room and the ottoman, especially. Tonight, when the hubby asked me for my final decision, I was able to say, without hesitation, that I was keeping it. I even quoted some of your comments.

I am content.

Earlier this week, I signed up for a course called Organizing for the Holidays at Simplify 101. Last year I was in such a funk, I nearly missed Christmas altogether. It was sad. The happiest Christmas I remember was when I followed Flylady's Christmas plan, many years ago. I didn't want to return to Flylady: but I feel I need something to keep me on track and moving forward.

This course is structured very differently from what Marla Cilley would do, but it also offers a gallery and message board to help keep each other moving forward which will be helpful to me, I think.

There are lessons: a pre-lesson, 3 proper before Christmas, and 2 after. Our first (pre-lesson) assignment was to create a Holiday Planning Binder with an optional decorated front. I did mine tonight and I'm pleased with it. I'm even more pleased that I was able to put my hands on all the various scrap booking supplies needed to assemble this, even though I haven't scrapped a thing for about two years, now.

That's it up there. (Very 2007, but that's what I had on hand!)

The next assignment is to come up with an "inspirational guiding statement" to bring us through the holidays. I'm working on it!

Fragments

Dear Friends,

Husband has just taken the kids out sledding for about an hour. I thought I'd told everyone I was staying home to catch up on a few things, but they all seemed surprised and the husband cheesed off I was staying at home.

I wish I'd gone. The dratted dog is barking and whining like crazy and it's not quite the peaceful, reflective atmosphere I'd hoped for.

I just cuddled the beast and sat with him for a bit. He's napping now, thank heavens. It's just like having a baby. Did I mention we don't want another baby? Still, he's cute.

Where was I? Oh yes. I wanted to introduce myself, fully, with all my myriad interests and preoccupations. Long before I started this blog, I dreamed of having one--actually, I remember thinking I would love to have a "place" where I could gather all the different places the world impacted me and ruminate about things. This was actually in the nineties, before blogs had been invented. And so now I have a blog. This can be that place, I suppose.

First, as you've no doubt gathered, I'm a bit O/C. I get involved in something and bam, the rest of the world, the rest of my world doesn't exist anymore except in so far as it contributes or gets in the way of whatever I'm doing. I'm exaggerating, of course, but not by much.

So far, you've experienced AT and the obsession I have with all things design related. That's done and we all moved on to WT which opened my eyes to the inner decrepitude of my closet and self-image, the mall's inability to help me rectify it and the world's obsession with celebrities' fashion and "must have" wardrobe lists. I discovered dozens of defensive fat girl sites, too. There's stuff I could say about all that, and maybe I will, but not right now.

I'm in love with books. No surprise there. For inspiration, I read MM-V. I try to keep a chapter book as she suggests, but there isn't always time to write out a passage and my thoughts upon the book and author. Still, I'm always happy to have done so whenever I do. Right now, I'm reading Ann Patchett. Perhaps I can do my chapter entries here, on the blog.

(I just finished this one. I'm reading Taft now.)

We're back at schooling again. That could be an entire blog in and of itself. It's consuming me at the moment. For this, I participate on the message boards at the Well-Trained Mind website. It's utterly amazing to me what homeschool moms and dads will do for people. I've gathered so many resources and ideas from the folks there that I almost don't believe I'd have been able to do this at all without them. And they are all strangers, of course. This, I don't how much to include. Unless you're involved in the day-to-day machinations, it's pretty boring to read about: even when you are, it's kind of weird--like peering through someone's window while out walking in the evening. I admit, I enjoy it. But there always comes a point when I wonder why they haven't drawn the curtains yet.

Nonetheless, as I have found others' sites inspiring and useful, there may be a side bar (or two) coming soon with a list of curriculum and such.

Scrapping. Ah yes, here is another obsession which can quickly take over my life. I used to participate on the message boards here as well as post my layouts. I may do that again. It will keep the blog from being cluttered up with stuff. But we'll see.


(This is one of those I create from time to time that I'm not sure works. It's from our vacation in 2006 for the m-i-l's album)

Housekeeping. OK, I'm never obsessed with it, but it does nag at me--a lot. My favourite site for support for this has been de-activated. It's a shock, really. When I found out, shortly before my connection to the internet went all wonky, I actually felt pain--like a favourite place has been demolished. I've been considering returning to flylady but I have problems with my e-mail and I'm not sure I can face all those reminders on top of everything else every day. (Did I mention that when I re-activated my e-mail after two weeks I had 2,476 messages waiting for me? Only about 10 of which were worth keeping.)

So: decorating/home repair, homeschooling, reading, scrapping, and housekeeping--these are the things which consume me more or less intensely from time to time. I have a spiritual life, too, and that may crop up now and again, but even though I know that in some circles, it should be otherwise, I prefer to keep the details somewhat private. These things and my family, of course, are the fragments which make up my life.

I hope to make the blog rounds this evening and catch up with you all.

Ta ta for now,
Alana

Phase One: Complete

January to December, in order.
I don't think there's any way in h*ll Staples can have the calendars done by Monday, but we can try.