project life - week 16

Week sixteen, still playing catch-up.

It's really a matter of just collecting all of my photos and getting them printed!  I'm really hoping to catch up with the 2-3 weeks I'm behind this weekend/upcoming week, but between kayaking adventures, baseball (lol I totally just wrote "babeball," that's gotta be a thing somewhere but I'm scared to google it) games, and just general decompression/hang-out time, it's been tricky to hunker down in front of a computer, edit photos, and then make the trip out to Costco. 

This week felt like a bunch of little things, nothing momentous, but that is also so important to capture -- it's what this project is all about!  It's about real life, not "real life but only the prettiest parts, duh," right?

Not entirely satisfied with my week marker and that "goodbye April" card, if we're being honest, but I was working on this in a bit of a rush right before a social commitment.  That real life thing again, though, right?

The card on the left is from the latest Studio Calico Project Life kit... and unfortunately it's a bit hard to read when captured in a page protector with not-the-greatest lighting.  I circled "PERFECTLY IMPERFECT," and an arrow pointing to the photo of an iron burn that happened when I thought it was a good idea to do crafty things while at home sick from work.  Lesson learned.

Don't tell the left side, but I definitely prefer the right side of this week's spread, if only for that screenshot of the epic Oakland A's 19-inning win and the awesome journaling card beside it.  It makes me warm and happy.

Epic!

The bottom right is a photo I snapped of Jordan and I on the couch, where I drank tea and watched him play Bioshock Infinite.  The "you're my cup of tea" stamp is from the Give A Girl A... "Tea for 2" stamp set, and pretty much everything else is from Studio Calico.

Still very much in love with this project, but I can see how getting behind can throw your "system" and schedule all outta whack!  I blame that whole getting married business...  ;)  I'm also very much looking forward to the availability of the PL Midnight Edition core kit, though!  Perhaps that'll breathe new life into my process.

How are my fellow Project Life-rs doing?

adventures in kayaking

Jordan and I have been trying out different ways to stay active lately, and it's been a bit of trial and error.  He tried running, which he really enjoyed, but suffered terrible shin splints; I hated going to gyms and felt like my yoga practice could use some supplementing... so when Jordan brought up the idea of taking a sea kayaking class, my head went:

Hey, that's a great idea!  That would be a lot of fun----OH SHIT WAIT IT'S WATER AND OCEANS AND A LITTLE BOAT WITH ME IN IT WHAT HAVE I DONE

Some backstory:  Despite growing up in Phoenix where I somehow survived 120-degree summers, I hated swimming.  It started around the time I was about 10 and went on a school field trip, I got caught in a riptide while at a beach hundreds of miles away from home.  Since that incident, I may dip my feet if I'm feeling ballsy, but for the most part I'll stay on land. This fear overflowed into swimming pools as well, but had morphed into something a bit different -- I just found the concept of bopping around a hole in the ground filled with water rather silly.

Seriously, though, let's think about this for a minute -- I can jump out of an airplane, but I can't flop around in an ocean? Whatever.

But for the sake of being brave, trying new things, seeking adventure, and staying active and healthy, I put my foot down and said "Hey fears, STFU!  Let's do this!"

So the day comes along, we have a hearty breakfast, we head out, we go through training, don the wetsuits and life vests and splash skirts, and drag these heavy-ass single-person kayaks down to the dock.  I get into mine with little issue, manage to paddle my way into our designated "classroom" area of the bay, and all in all I'm doing pretty alright until our lunch break, which a) gave me time to think, and b) meant the next half of the day was focused on rescuing.

Rescuing.  Meaning, like, if you fall over and your boat is upside down in the middle of the ocean with you in it, here is what you do.

I understand the importance of this, I really truly do, but it didn't keep me from going into a panic for our lunch hour.  Like a full on I can't do this this was a terrible idea why did I think I'd be able to do this I am terrified I'll sit it out I'll just go home I won't be able to breathe I'll get stuck inside the kayak I will totally drown despite the fact that I know how to swim and I have a life vest on and the kayak isn't as constricting as it seems I will absolutely definitely definitely drown today

Jordan was very sweet and reassuring, and by the end of the lunch break I managed to get to "I'll just fucking do it and get it over with, it might not be as scary as I'm making it out to be and there are professionals there to save me if I am about to die."


And so I did, I did it, and the part that I was worried about -- the tipping myself over and escaping my boat in order to get to the water's surface and back to air part -- was the least of my problems.  I'll tell ya, I had a hell of a time with self-rescue.  Water is heavy when it's absorbed into all of your shit.  It's a fine line between being bundled enough to not freeze, and not having enough clothing on to keep you from being able to easily lift yourself onto a kayak.  Sneakers were a bad choice.  A slightly-too-loose life vest was a bad choice.

I had a hard time.  A really hard time.

But I made it.

However, after the rescuing portion was over. when the instructors said, "Okay, we have about 45 minutes -- who wants to go back to shore and who wants to go over to that area over there with all those waves and all that wind to see a pretty view and put those skills to the test?" Needless to say, I opted for going back.  I was cold and grumpy and just wanted to get into dry clothing and go home and take a nap.

This ended up being a very smart decision, as Jordan and the other student who went to that "pretty view" area of the wavy-ass ocean ended up flipping their kayaks several times, and Jordan even ended up with some motion sickness once he arrived at the dock nearly an hour later.  Meanwhile, I'm dry (and unfortunately going commando, because of course I remember Q-Tips but not underwear) and happy as a clam to be on land.  Hell, I was even proud that I made it through the rescuing!  And doubly-happy that I'd kept up with reapplying sunscreen so I didn't walk out of there painfully beet-red!

All-in-all, I am proud of myself for pushing through my fears and completing the class, as well as knowing my boundaries.  I don't regret going.  I'm not sure if I'd do it again anytime soon, but maybe something will click down the line and I'll find myself drawn back to it?  Today, right now, I'm glad to have my feet planted on earth and my clothing dry.  I think Jordan is planning on giving it another go, so perhaps his experience will pull me back to it as well.  After all, the hardest part - the learning - is over, right?

(Also, for the record:  sorry, but salty frizzy "beach hair" is not sexy, it's gross.  Just sayin'.)

pining for greenery

Without fail, springtime and sunshine bring a terrible itch for me to plant things and grow things.  Last summer, Jordan and I started an admittedly ambitious potted garden on our back porch, which...  it didn't fare so well. 

So what is one to do when they're itching for pretty growy green things, but their thumb is anything but green?

Succulents and air plants.  Duh.

I've been scouring Etsy for ideas, and I've stumbled across quite a few gorgeous set ups that I am determined to use as inspiration for my own journey into the world of succulents and tillandsia.  The neat thing about air plants - aside from the fact that they need very little attention - is that they can grow in all kinds of different environments, so the creative options are endless!

Here are a few of my favorite succulent and air plant Etsy finds:

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And I would be remiss if I didn't include this one (which I have to sit on my hands not to impulsively purchase immediately, though by the time of this blog post, I promise nothing):

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Oh, Etsy, you inspiring hub of awesomeness, you.  I'll be sure to share what I come up with when I manage to make it to one of our local nurseries!

project life - week 15

Week 15!  Playing catch-up!  Almost there...

A relatively simple, quiet week.  Lots of trips to Ikea (since we're not moving nearly as soon as we thought we would be, I think we're nesting...), lots of coffee, lots of sunshine.

It's somewhat unfortunate that since subscribing to the Project Life kit from Studio Calico, I've been neglecting the Seafoam core kit that I started this Project Life excursion with!  Tried to pull that out again, even if just for the "THIS IS WHAT LIFE LOOKS LIKE" card.  The color aqua seems to be my jam lately, so it works perfectly.  Not to mention it seems to match the skies we've been seeing a lot of here in the bay area this last week!

Loving the super-cute Tea for 2 stamp set from Kellie Winnell/Give A Girl A... considering how much coffee and tea I drink, this stamp set had to belong to me!  Also used the Dear Lizzy "HELLO THERE" stamp from her 5th and Frolic line.  I am very pleased with the orange polkadot rug and teal curtain duo I picked out for my room - really brightens the place up!  Pogo appears to agree.

Using my favorite white pen from Uni-Ball, the Signo white ink pen.  Seriously, this pen is rad - writes perfectly, thickly, and easily on photos!  The DC Deck Building Game was played many times this week.  Also, that honey?  OMG DELICIOUS.

I took that self-portrait (not a selfie; perhaps I'm in the minority but I hope that word dies a painful fiery death) outside of our favorite breakfast/brunch spot, where Jordan also works as a busser once a week.  He had texted me "orange poppyseed pancakes today!" and I grabbed my purse and ran out the door.  Needless to say they were incredible!!

Almost caught up with PL!  One more week and I'll be good to go.  I am still so in love with this project, and so thankful that it's made documenting one of the biggest years of my life so easy and fun!

life lately.

Life lately has been sick days, quiet days, baseball days, catch-up days, caffeinated-beverage-heavy days.  Days where you look down on the ground and see a piece of paper with words written on it that are always good to hear, something you needed to hear, confirmation that you're making progress but that there is still work to do.  It's discovering amazingly delicious tea, tears being shed over glorious nineteen-inning wins.  It's laughing, crying, and being moved in a movie theater full of like-minded nerds as your favorite starship captain gets assimilated into the Borg. It's watching my husband play the bass guitar and sing songs about robot takeovers and radioactive Godzilla and dates with zombies.

It's scrambling for blog content, sweet text messages from blog buddies letting me know I'm missed, it's finally beginning to understand how to sign my name without hesitation and mild confusion.  It's selling my car and trying to forget about that money in my savings account.  It's productive, quiet Sunday mornings.  It's reevaluating priorities.

It's all good.