Write.Click.Scrapbook. December

Here it is, a layout for Write.ClickScrapbook.'s December gallery, Holiday Traditions:

This layout is more about how one particular tradition has changed a bit over the years; The Chanukah Wishlist. Sam, in particular, has taken this gift-y time of year very seriously, so the story is really about him.

This year, as the kids have gotten older, their lists were really smaller. Which allowed me to buy them some little gifts that in years past would have been a disappointment; slippers, a bathrobe, PJ's. Since their lists weren't filled with too many requests, or even a small amount of big expensive ones,  they seemed to appreciate these little surprises. 

It's only the beginning, but I am enjoying this year's holiday immensely.

A Pinterest Fail, That's Not From Pinterest

A few weeks ago, I saw a link to this DIY menorah on Facebook:

It was Sunday morning, and I said, "Kids, I know what we're doing today! We are making this menorah."

Well, Max had play practice (more on that to come), but Sam was happy to oblige. But in the process, Sam made a major change. He decided to make a menorah out of Legos. Which is good, because I was having trouble drilling holes in some of our toy dinosaurs.

Turns out it was difficult to get the right sized hole in Legos too. After much searching and drilling through different materials, we found these rubbery things that say they were meant for using candles in an oil menorah. Then, Sam spray painted the whole thing silver.

Perfect, right?

It was, and Chanukah arrived, and Sam lit this baby up.

We sang, exchanged gifts, and all that jazz.

And a little while later, a strange smell was coming from the living room. So, it could be the spray paint, or the rubber candle holders, both of which seem flammable to me. Either way, it was a little bit too well lit, and had to be put out.

 Sam declared it a Pinteret fail, even though Pinterest was never involved in the first place. But, it seems like the type of project that would be found on Pinterest.

Since this post is a story of Sam's craftiness, I will share this layout here. Same craftiness, different story.

Happy Chanukah, and Happy Thanksgiving!

On Inertia, Getting Started, and Blogging Your Heart

Oh, 2013, you have been a wonderful year, so far. A perfectly ordinary, life has its ups and downs kind of year.

It has not, however, been a great year for my blogging life. Which is okay, I guess. At some point, I decided blogging regularly just wasn't a goal for me anymore. I can't do it all, after all. But, now I would like to start again. For weeks, I have been collecting ideas. I have real notebook pages, and digital notebook pages filled with plans and words to get me started. I just didn't get to the starting part.

That's the power of inertia at work. Starting is hard.

But I came across Stephanie Howell's Blog Your Heart series. I'm using it as the nudge I need to get started.

So now I did it. I just have to keep doing it.

Let's move on to exercise. I had a pretty good rhythm going in 2013. It felt great.

Bike riding, with generous doses of Ellen Barrett DVD's,  (one day, I should write and scrap all about Ellen Barrett), had me feeling healthier than I ever  before.

But about a month ago, I was having some leg pains that could not be ignored. I didn't do anything crazy like, say, go to the doctor, but I realized I needed to take a break and heal. Stopping exercise is quite relaxing, I should tell you. It frees up some time, that's for sure. But, I feel  inertia lurking behind me, waiting to take over, so that another decade or two can go by before I start again. Because starting is so hard! So before inertia could fully work its evil magic, I tried a workout. I took it a little easy. One of the things I love about Ellen Barretts's approach to fitness, is her focus on paying attention to how your body feels. "If something doesn't feel right, modify it..." The next day I thought I really overdid it, but I realize now that was just the sore muscles talking. 

Ok, this is not the world's most interesting and/or earth shattering blog post. But it's a start.

Write.Click.Scrapbook November

Here's the layout:

  The theme for this month's gallery is "Dreaming." And, I felt a little weird using Comic Con pictures for said gallery, but really these guys have been dreaming of this day for months and months. In the summer, they were telling me all the things they needed to make their costumes, and I was like, "Why, oh why, are you talking about this now?" But all that dreaming and planning paid off, because their costumes kind of rocked.

They have already started thinking and planning and dreaming (Dave actually had a dream about his costume) for next year. I won't give away any details yet, but I will say  that Sam has been "working out," (on a sprained ankle, no less) because we have mentioned that we are not buying a muscle suit for a costume. So he's trying to build up some actual muscle.

Max was worried about walking through the streets and taking public transportation while sporting his costume, but before he even walked a few blocks, some admirers yelled out praises to him from their cars, and it made him feel pretty, darn good.