{Day 5}

In five days of being part of this process I have already learned a lot. Some of the things are superficial and related to my goal - i.e. I don't drink enough water and I eat for comfort. Others go a little deeper - i.e. trust myself, take the risk, try something new. I've been doing that with these pages and last night I totally got sucked into Photoshop and started creating some things for fun...but then I decided to give Cafe Press a try and really have it out there as something tangible. (That's all in my first post of the day)

Moving on though, here is my page for the day. I've been trying to recreate Rhonna's designs but I veered off the color scheme today because this Fusion paper was just talking to me. I love that I got to use up some 'x' stickers!

I am Out of My Box!!

I did something today......I've been playing around with some digital images in the last few days and finally came up with something that I think is fun.....I've always wanted to do some kind of design work so I took a big step.....put myself out there and opened a shop at CafePress. I only have only design up so far but am working on some more and I'm totally excited about it. Even if I never sell anything I have put myself out there and taken the risk!!

http://www.cafepress.com/juliebergman

Check it out and let me know what you think :)

Learning During the Process

Yesterday I learned something about myself.....should have already known....but I eat for comfort and out of frustration. I was doing great yesterday but by 7:30 the kids had worn down my nerves and I headed to the ice cream cake for comfort! I really think writing it down will help!!

Many people have commented on how neat they thought the brown pages were. Actually I am using a photo album that my friend picked up at Aaron Brothers for 1.98 on their clearance table!! I'll post a picture of what I did to the cover in today's post. Also I included a look at how I am doing my journaling. At the end of the day I take notes and post feelings in the memo section next to my meal recap.









Once again the art is totally inspired by Rhonna! I admire you even more today than I did yesterday...I started trying to play with Photoshop last night and holy cow digital is hard!!




On a homefront note, Kade and I went rollerblading at 6am before he left for school and Keira just told me I must have got out of the grumpy bed this morning since I told her "no she cannot play Calliou on the computer until mommy is done blogging!"

Have a great day!!

i LOVE this challenge!

I feel like I am back in elementary school being encouraged to color out of the lines! I love scrapbooking, don't get me wrong, but I think that I try to be exact, kinda let my OCD take over. This challenge is going to be more than just a better eating goal for me.....I hope to be more free in my creating too and really just enjoy the process. Which I have totally been doing with these pages....hopefully by the end I will even be more free!!

Rhonna has created amazing digital images to go with the quotes each day. I have decided to try and recreate her images with my tactile supplies....which in itself is so cool because I am breaking out some of the old stash stuff that really needs to get used. Can't wait to see what she comes up with tomorrow!

Oh, by the way, the journaling is on the facing pages and lists everything I eat each day. Let's just say ice cream cake for dinner last night was a little embarrasing to write down....that's the point though right??


Title Page

The Challenge

I'm really excited about Rhonna's 21 Day Challenge. I am sooo enjoying the process.....not done with a lot yet but I do have the intro page to the album

and the page that I guess you would consider the title page. I journaled on the opposite page about my goal for the challenge....I need to eat better!


So I'm going to track everything that goes in my mouth for these 21 days....maybe actually having to write it down and be accountable for it.


On to other news - tonight was Daddy Night for Keira at school. She had to have everything "perfect"...the perfect dress, tights, shoes, hair....she's only 3!! I can't even imagine what it will be like when she goes to a prom. When Greg got home from work she took him into his closet to help him pick out the "perfect" outfit for him to wear. Oye vey!! Will have some pics tomorrow!

the 21 day challenge

Do you have a bad habit you need to break? Do you have a good habit you need to start? Then you should check out the 21 Day Challenge that Rhonna Farrer is hostessing.

The cool thing about this is that you get to do it in an art journal format to keep you motivated. This is the 2nd round of this challenge that she is hostessing....the first round looked cool so I decided to jump in this time.

I'm going to be posting on my blog as I try to develop and commit to my new good habit!

Wocka! Wocka!

I saw this cute Muppet quiz on Jen's blog....I'm quite surprised with who I turned out to be!

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!"You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up.If only your routine didn't always bomb!You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

My Gram

Four years ago today this incredible woman left our lives. I had no idea what a huge hole her passing would leave!


This is a picture of her and her brother Harry in England in 190? (can't find the date right now!!)

I have grieved her a lot....grieved what our family lost.....grieved what I lost....but today I decided I need to stay focused on what I gained from her presence in my life.

So I'm sure the tears will still come.....but I am hoping for more laughter. I want to live my life in a way that I know would make her proud. I want to make sure Keira realizes that her middle name has an extraordinary history behind it.



Maybe that's why I actually feel so happy today....I may have actually been able to replace 90% of my sadness of her loss with 90% happiness because of what I gained from her.

Miss you Gram and Love you always!!

Some Days You Feel Like You've Done Things Right!

Kade's teacher stopped me yesterday and says "I need to tell you something"......oh those dreaded words. But it was good!!

She said they are getting ready for state testing and she was passing out testing carrels or "privacy boards" as she calls them. Kade asked why they had to have these. She said so they wouldn't look at each others tests. Why in the world would you look at someone else's test, he asked. She stopped right then and told him how awesome it was that he was such an honest kid....that some kids look at other people's papers when they don't know the answer and try to copy.....he was shocked.....

And I was happily shocked that Kade still has retained some of the wonderful childhood innocence!

Batter Up!

Well baseball season has officially opened. Kade moved up a league this year - Minor B's with live pitchers. He looks so small!! I had a huge knot in my stomache all morning anticipating the game. I really wanted him to do well.....boost his self confidence.....he knows he's a lot smaller than all the other kids out there......

so......

My boy batted 1,000 today!! His first hit was a single, his second was a double and he scored the first run for their team. He played 2nd base and centerfield...made a great throw from center to first. Go Giants! His face was priceless....and of course the batteries on my camera were dead. UGH!

So I'm holding on to this day....we decided it was Kade Day and he could do whatever he wanted. Next game....Tuesday night!

Popcorn

WARNING:::::You may never think of popcorn in the same way after you read this!!

Keira was sitting so sweetly on the floor putting on her shoes when.....toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, toot......and she says "Oh listen, there's popcorn popping out of my buddha" (fyi she says buddha in place of booty :))

Kade and I started busting up thinking it was so funny....but what made it even funnier was that she was dead serious....she really thought she had become a popcorn popper. I guess she had eaten some popcorn over at her friend's house so it made perfect sense to her.

Oh I love the things that kids say!

Irony

I'm struck today with a huge sense of irony....so much so I'm almost laughing about it. Actually I am laughing about it.

Greg and I are in the process of making some changes in our lives....not sure of the direction....but change none the less. Now you would think that the people that are your "friends" would support you, right? Help you, encourage you, just be there for you. Today I find that it's not true in some situations. Not a big surprise but still it's and AHA moment.

I got a call today from someone that I would consider an "acquaintance"....she and I have spent a little time together, had a few conversations....I think she's a really nice person but I haven't had the opportunity to get to know her on a deep level. Anyway, this gal called to see if I was okay and just chat a bit.....seems that someone who I would consider a "friend" had shared with this woman, and a whole group of people, about the changes Greg and I are considering and really spoke of us in a negative light.....basically that we aren't really their "friends" because if we were we wouldn't be changing. Hmmmmmm......... so the friend that should love and support me isn't, but the aquaintence who has no real emotional investment in me is..............

Now, what to do? Talk to the "friend" about it? Blow it off? I don't know.....there are so many levels to this.......but here's a quote to ponder that seems to fit this situation well.....

"One's philosphy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes......In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves." Eleanor Roosevelt