Ideas for Scrapbooking Changes Over Time September 14, 2010

Have you ever said or heard the phrase “They grow up so fast”? Kids aren’t the only ones who change (quickly or slowly) over time, though. Another great example would be pregnancy – possibly the most rapid and visible change a women will ever undergo! Or, for you green thumbs out there, do you love watching your garden go from a square of black soil, to a lush expanse of greenery, to a colorful crop of ripe goodies or fragrant flowers? Scrapbooking a single photo of your garden in full bloom or your child at age four is great, but scrapping a page about how that child or garden changed over time tells a fuller story. And it’s just so much fun to see those seemingly-small changes week by week (or month by month, or year by year, etc.) add up over time to a much bigger change! In the examples here of my weekly belly photo scrapbook pages, if you compare one week to the next there’s not much change. But looking at the beginning and the end of one trimester shows quite a difference! (Click on images for full credits)

It takes commitment and discipline to track changes over time. I’m terribly forgetful – despite reminders set on both my phone and my husband’s, we would often forget to take a picture until right before bedtime, or even the next day. But even if I was tired, or didn’t feel like it, I made myself take that picture. Often it was in front of my bathroom mirror, or holding the camera out in front of my belly myself!

Here are some other ideas of what you could track over time: child’s growth (daily, weekly, monthly, and/or yearly), your yard, your garden, a single flower or vegetable plant (from planting all the way to blooming), a room in your house, school classroom, haircuts, your body (especially if you’re on a diet or trying to lose weight – maybe pair each picture with your weight that day/week/month?), holiday preparations (photo a day in December?).

All of these examples are things that may not show a big difference day to day, but it’s fascinating to see that series of photos side by side – a vivid representation of the passage of time.

To help you get started, here’s a few templates I found that are perfect for scrapping changes over time (images are linked!):

Here’s one specifically for babies, but could definitely be used for any pictures/theme!

Scrapping with Liz at Scrap Orchard offers this set of templates to scrap your goals:

Now I’d love to hear your thoughts! What are some other changes you can capture over time? Do you have a great template or other resource you can link us up to?

Too Busy to Get Anything Done September 5, 2009

I’m embarrassed to say this, but I’ve barely been home all month. It feels like I haven’t slept in my own bed more than two nights in a row in ages. From church camp to pet sitting, from weddings to movie shoots, I’ve managed to pack my schedule so tightly that I have barely had a chance to catch my breath.

It’s my own fault, really. I’m the one who tends to try to do too much, and I binge on people. It’s only when I start to see certain signs that I realize that I am overwhelming myself with activities and people.

Take, for instance, the fact that I have been in and out of my house so often that my laundry has exploded across my room and I still haven’t fully unpacked from camping, which was at the beginning of August. I spent a good hour last weekend trying to find a shirt before giving up on it. I found it while cleaning tonight. It was still in that bag from camp.

The same thing happens with my purse. I’m running so often over a significant amount of time that I start to cram everything and anything into my purse. (People who were at the last secret sister revealing at Evergreen can attest to that.) I have receipts spilling out of every pocket, and I can’t ever find anything, especially a pen or the change floating at the bottom. It becomes so weighed down that, when I take my camera out like I did yesterday, I begin to think I’m not carrying a purse because of the noticeable difference in pressure it puts on my arm.

Then there’s is the whole forgetfulness cue. I know that I have certain things to get done, but I always get distracted with what is at hand. I have several people to see, but I start being late for appointments. That’s never a good thing. To attempt to get on this, I’ve created “to-do” lists, but they just stare back at me, overwhelming me with the number of projects I’ve started and have yet to finish. (And, yes, I have read Ashley’s post on that.)

Worst of all, I have to deal with the fact that I don’t make time to work on my job search. I’ll confess: this last month has been far less than stellar in respect to the number of jobs I have been applying for. When I have a significant amount of free time, I tend to send out a half dozen to a dozen applications or resumes a week, whether by email or by walking into a store. This month, I’ve probably done a week’s worth in the entire month.

You would think that I would learn after having done this to myself on a regular basis. But I haven’t. I still go on people binges, hiding away in my room to edit photos for days at a time whenever I get the opportunity until the itch to replace Adobe Photoshop with humans reaches me again.

Maybe it’ll ease up a little bit again once I find a job that has more consistent hours. But, until then, I need to find myself some free time to fill out more applications and hopefully cram in an interview or two.

Sometimes it’s good to be picky August 10, 2009

On a recent shopping trip, I stood in front of the fitting room mirror examining how a shirt looked on me. It covered me and I didn’t look like a circus tent, but I decided not to buy it because I didn’t love it. I’m tired of wearing clothes that are just ok; I want to start wearing clothes that I think look good and maybe give me a little boost.

This principle applies to time also.  Money and time are both limited resources  and if I spend them on things that are just ok, I can’t spend them on things I love.

Now do I love cleaning the sink or folding laundry? No, but they need to be done so they have a category of their own.

But why spend time reading books that are so-so when there are so many great books? Just so I can say, “I’ve read it but have no recollection of it because even though my eyes were reading I was actually counting the tiles in the ceiling.”

And why spend time applying for freelance jobs that I don’t really want just so I can say, “I did something?” Does my half-hearted attempt at an e-mail response even count for “something?”

So I’m cutting back. I’d rather apply well to a few jobs that excite me (and let my cover e-mail show that) then send a generic message to five posts a day because I’m desperate.

Here are things I’m getting rid of, to make more room for what I need/love

1.Finishing articles, magazines, movies, blogs, books and songs that I’m not really interested in.

2. Watching TV shows I don’t enjoy just because I’m in front of a TV.  (This changes a little if Joel or another family member is enjoying it.)

3. Mindlessly playing computer games or surfing the internet.

5. Cooking food I don’t look forward to eating.

6. Applying to jobs I don’t want.

7. Taking on commitments that feel like a burden and aren’t a need.

After making this list it’s amazing how much I do that I don’t enjoy. And I don’t even have some moral obligation telling me to.

How about you? What could you get rid of to make more room for what you love?