week 3 & 4...

So, I've already been a bit lax in posting my weekly journal pages. Here are the last two. My goal this week is to make more base pages so I can quickly slap a picture down and add a few thoughts.

As you can see by these pages, it doesn't have to be fancy and complicated. The journaling is the important part. How are you doing?

i've got that...

My good friend Molly emailed me this newly diagnosed disorder. I realized I have been suffering from it for several years now...obviously a younger than average case! Anyway, I wanted to post the symptoms here to alert anyone else who happens along.

AAADD- KNOW THE SYMPTOMS.....PLEASE READ!

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:
I decide to water my garden, as I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.
As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.
I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.
I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.
The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.
I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.
I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor and the flowers didn't get much.
So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
The car isn't washed
The bills aren't paid
There is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter
The flowers don't have enough water
There is still only 1 check in my check book
I can't find the remote
I can't find my glasses
And I don't remember what I did with the car keys
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day,
And I'm really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem,
And I'll try to get some help for it.
But first, I'll check my e-mail...
Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!

week two...

Did you think I forgot already about the little album I'm making this year? Well, I haven't. I just didn't post the first page yet, because it will be an 'inspiration with joey' project on the Making Memories blog sometime this month. But - here's the 2nd week!






I'm getting excited about his project...I think it will be do-able and fun. I don't think it will be overwhelming - as long as I can keep up on the pages before hand, making a small reserve to select from each week. Using the Noteworthy Line from MM is perfect since it is so broad and non-specific. I desperately need to find more of it. Everywhere I go is sold out of the journaling pages and usually only has about half of the other papers. You'd think since I live in the scrapbooking mecca of the U.S., I could find stuff easier!


It was Oaken's birthday on Friday - he is now 6 years old. It doesn't seem like he has been with us that long. It also reminds me of how old our car is getting...we bought it a month before he was born. Maybe it's time to start looking for a new one before this one starts falling apart.


He had a pirate party where 7 of his friends came. I was grateful to have Chloe, Isabel, and her friend Noelle here to help herd the stampede of 8 little boys through the house. It was a riot to see them during the treasure hunt running between levels of our house searching for the next clue. The stairs became a bottleneck as you can see.




Here are the clues I made up...giving the boys one to start with and having each lead to another place in the house. The treasure at the end was their goody bags. It turned out so cute!

Our quest will start at the base of this place,
where the outside meets inside, in a nice shady space.

Music a plenty can be heard from this room,
to find the next clue, go where instruments loom.

Up and away to the next level of fun,
to your hosts room a clue, but only just one.

Around and around will these clues make you go,
find the place where the sliding glass meets the snow.

This next clue will make you stop in your tracks,
these are the kind that sound “clickity-clack."

Here is a place where great vehicles stay,
Get there by going the back, hidden way.

Getting warm here is the name of the game,
watch out though and don’t get too close to the flame.

This is it, the very last clue in your quest,
find the treasure at the place moms and dads rest.

organizize...

Yes, the spelling is a little off. But, when you are talking to someone in a excited and animated manner, you tend to start making up your own words. I have to make this a fun word because for me, organizing is not easy. Most areas of my life are in some degree of disorder and in all my years, I haven't yet mastered time management. Oh well - at least I'm having fun!

I'm excited for this month's focus at the Making Memories blog - which is precisely on organization and different ways we can achieve it. There will even be an 'inspiration with joey' post about it in the coming weeks. Yes, I came up with some way in which to organize a part of my life... I'm amazed myself - this is not an easy feat. Check back every day for some fabulous and helpful ideas.

I did want to share one of my favorite ways of organizing ribbons - courteous of Making Memories Embellishment Storage Jars. Not only do they make the top of my shelf such a happy looking place, they are also extremely functional. I have one right above my computer too, with lots of yummy candy in it. My mom loved how this looked so much, she has been bugging me for several months to get some ordered for her. Her birthday is Friday - can you say perfect gift?

a star is born...

Okay - new obsession for the Whittaker family, or actually really for me... Guitar Hero. Santa was extremely good to us this year and brought us our very first game system (XBox 360) - yeah, we have never had one before. Mostly because I know that I would be the one to play it for insane hours on end...but, it was time. Along with the system came Guitar Hero II and III as well as Rock Band. It's my fault really - while at Best Buy a few months before Christmas to buy Chloe's birthday present, we came across these games hooked up and ready to hook anyone who wanted to give it a go. Right away I loved it. With years of playing the violin, I could "sight-read" pretty well and even had the guys who worked at the store commenting on my jamming skills. Naturally, I knew what I would be asking Santa for. Our little ones are a little young to really get into it, but they like to pretend.

It's weird to be back into the swing of things again. The kids are back in school and various lessons are starting to pick up. Taking time off is nice. Makes me want a little more simplification. After all, not having to drive kid A to destination B makes for more guitar thrashing fun for me! We still haven't put our Christmas decorations away - I'm finishing up some assignments for the Making Memories blog as well as an album class for CKConventions. Plus, we need more boxes to put the new stuff in. New house = more need for decorations = more boxes to put the crap in.

I do have a few goals for this next year. I'm not going to say resolution because I think it has a built in failure to finish conntation about it. Goal is better - for me.

1- Daily family prayer is a big one. We are really going to focus and make this one work.

2- Continue spinning classes - hopefully Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays; although that 5:00 AM alarm seems earlier and earlier. I think our family prayer will help us all unwind and settle down to a restful and adaquate nights sleep.

3- I've been reading about these 365 - a picture a day albums. The idea is intriguing but a little too huge for me. I'm going to do a weekly album. Same idea as the picture a day, but I'll pick my favorite shot of the week and do a recap - organizing my thoughts and memories. It will be in a 9x9 format. I hope to post them every Sunday here - we'll see.

4- Other stuff. I'm sure I'll think of something else once I get my Christmas mess cleaned up and put away. There are a few things I intend to do, but don't want to spill the beans yet.