Katie the Scrapbook Lady

Time to roundup July 2009!

The end of the month is a great time to take a few minutes and roundup your memories. You can do this by looking over your calendar, blog posts, or whatever records you may keep, and simply filling in a few quick notes using a simple format. I've been doing this for 3 years now and I can't even begin to tell you how much easier it has made memory keeping for me! I am constantly referencing my monthly roundups for ideas for scrapbook pages and I always have material for journaling now. After I answer the questions I just post them to my blog and my roundup is done. If you don't have a blog, just save them on your hard drive or print them out.

Here are the questions I use:

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

What were my accomplishments this month?

What were my disappointments this month?

Anything else noteworthy to include?

When you combine these roundup prompts with a few month end tasks, you will find that you are much more organized and ready to begin a new month!

Here are the tasks I try to make sure are done by the end of the month:

• All digital pictures uploaded to my hard drive, uploaded to flickr (or any offsite photo storage site), and backed up to DVD. Ideally, these activities should be done every time you process any pictures through your computer so you don't lose any precious files.
• Choose photos or digital layouts to be printed out and get it done while you are thinking about it.
• Backup any other documents or files as needed. I use an external hard drive, I use backblaze as an offsite backup, and I also upload many documents to Google docs. I don't like to lose stuff!
• Backup your blog if you have one. (Typepad backup or blogger backup)
• Clean off work area and empty inbox or clear up papers that have been piling up. I always end up with a  messy desk by the end of the month and it feels good to get it under control again, even if it doesn't last long.
• Clean off your computer desktop as well. Unzip files and put them away. Here's my digi organization system if you are interested.
• Change desktop background to something new for a fresh start to the month! Free desktop resources right here.

If you post your roundup on your blog, it would be great if you could give a link back to me so others know where to find the roundup tool, but it's not a requirement or anything. LOL! Also, feel free to edit the questions and tasks however you want to make them useful for you.

Today you... a hodge podge challenge layout

It's been quite a while since I did a hodge podge art blog challenge. This one really appealed to me though and I'm so glad I took the time to create a page with this theme.

This week’s challenge is a journaling prompt.

Your journaling needs to start with “Today You…”

and then you need to list 10 things the subject of your page did that day.

 

 

I did my journaling a little different for this. Instead of a numbered list, I just wrote about 10 things that my daughter did that day.

Journaling reads:

Today you spent hours working on the new skill of knitting that you learned the night before at a Young Women‘s activity. You sat patiently in the living room most of the day, knitting rows and undoing them until you got it right. You didn’t even ask me for help (you knew I wouldn’t be able to help you anyway). Lunch was one of the few things you stopped for (just a quick plate of Lyn Wilson Tamales from the freezer). After a time, you decided to listen to your ipod while you were knitting and that seemed to help you focus and stay motivated.  You finished a small patch of knitting and decided that it would be a new invention called a “toe warmer”.  Your toe was warm from wearing it for the rest of the day.  Thankfully, your knitting instructor had given you a website to visit for knitting tutorials so you spent about an hour watching online knitting videos. After your initial success, you started planning out much bigger projects. You were so proud of yourself for learning how to knit.  Way to go!

 

Papers, dust spray, & flowers by Catherine Designs (Bisou kit from After 5)
Green paper by Jen Wilson (Jen Wilson Designs)
Overlay by Ali Edwards (Story of Today from Designer Digitals)
Template from Amy Martin (The Lily Pad)

a summer day

Ali Edwards December Daily template pack from Designer Digitals
Painted paper from Kate Hadfield at The Lily Pad
Word art by Taylor Made designs at OScrap
flower by Holly Designs at Shabby Pickle

Doodling is so much fun!

I decided to try something different and I signed up for a doodling class. The class is taught online by Stephanie of homegrown hospitality and it has been a fun and relaxing thing to do. I've been sharing my newfound joy with my daughter (who is much better at doodling than I am) and we have had a lot of fun creating doodles together. If you are interested in taking Stephanie's class, she had another round starting in August. You can sign up on the sidebar of her blog. 

She is also 1 of the Stephanies that make up Stephanie2 at The Daily Digi. I love all their doodly goodness! (all images are linked)

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If you love using doodles on your digital projects, then you probably already know of the amazing Kate Hadfield. I think I have almost all of her creations! (all images are linked)

   

 

Be sure to check out this amazing doodle-filled blog post from French Toast Girl - Every Day in May

Memory Monday - 15 books that will always stick with you.

Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you for better or for worse. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

Here are my choices in no particular order:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I read it when I was quite young (maybe 12?) and I can still remember the details vividly. Strong characters and tough subject matter.

2. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. I read this when I was about 14 and I honestly felt ashamed to be white after I read this.

3. The Secret Garden by by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I was probably about 10 when I read this book. I loved it! I was going to grow up and have a garden hidden by walls. I read this book to my kids last year and fell in love with it again all over. Still wish I could have my own secret garden.

4. The Firm by John Grisham. Shortly after graduating from college with a degree in English Literature, I was longing for a "beach read" type of book. I devoured The Firm and all of Grisham's other books for years. They were a fun escape. Sadly, I think his newer books are extremely boring.

5. Harry Potter - ALL of them! I think Book 4 might have been my favorite one to read but I honestly love these books. I think JK Rowling is brilliant and I love her for creating books that people lined up for. I LOVE the cds of the books, Jim Dale does such an amazing job. The movies are just ok for me, nothing compared to the books. I feel sad that the series is over. I'm not sure there will ever be another Harry Potter.

6. When Fish Fly: Lessons For Creating a Vital and Energized Workplace From the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market by John Yokoyama and Joseph Michelli. This might seem like an odd choice and it is just a short little book, but it had a real impact on me. It was the first time I realized that people have "stories" that color their interactions with others. I love the way he overcame his challenges.

7. Emma by Jane Austen. Jane Austen was the author I chose to focus on when I went on a literature-based study abroad to England. I gave my presentation on the book Emma right on the lawn of Jane Austen's house. That was back in 1989. What an experience!

8. Activity Schedules for Children With Autism: Teaching Independent Behavior (Topics in Autism) by Lynn E. McClannahan; Patricia J. Krantz. I have read A LOT of books about autism, but I think this one was the most useful from a practical standpoint. I probably read it in 1999. I used the ideas in this book and made actual schedules for Alex that I know helped him in many ways. I even taught 2 parent training classes at the Pingree School based on what I learned from this book.

9. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. I read this book a few years ago after hearing a speaker at a science awards dinner talk about it. It's not like this one is a real "page turner" but it made me think hard about how our world has changed. Every time I see this one on my shelf I want to be better about giving my children the experience of growing up with an appreciation of nature. This is a real challenge for us.

10. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. How could this not be on my list? I majored in English Literature for Pete's sake! I especially love British Literature and the Bronte sisters are a big part of that passion for me. One of the highlights of my life was actually visiting the moors that inspired this book. Yes, I ran on the moors! Loved that college study-abroad trip.

11. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I read all the Anne series books when I was young (maybe 9 or 10?). I was an avid reader and thankfully, my Mom kept me well stocked with books. I couldn't remember much about these books except for the fact that I loved them so much. I re-read these with my daughter last year and enjoyed them so much.

12. I read a book about the Donner Party in 7th grade - it was required reading. I don't remember the title of the book, but I know I was horrified that people actually ate other people. It stuck with me for a long time.

13. Native Son by Richard Wright. I read this in college when I took an African American literature course. It is one of those books that stays with you forever. Very disturbing in many ways, but an important work in African American literature. It deals with so much racial hatred and sadness.

14. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown (and most of his other books). I know people get all worked up over this one, but I really loved it. Even if it was all true, it doesn't really bother me, in fact it would make sense to me in many ways. It was a wonderful book to get lost in, one of those you can't put down. I really like his other books also, especially Deception Point. I did not care for Angels and Demons though, and I have no desire to see that movie or the movie of the DaVinci Code.

15. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. One of those books that just stays with you. I must have been about 12 when I read this and I still remember it so well. I love the episode of Friends where Rachel makes Joey read it and he has to put it in the freezer when it gets too sad. ;)