Project Life 2013 - Week 19

Have you heard about Project Life? It’s a back-to-basics approach to memory keeping that l am using to document our year. Check out my initial post on Project Life here.

To be honest, l'm glad this week's layout is complete.  For some reason l just wasn't feeling super inspired about it, and struggled to get it to a point where l was happy.  I think the problem was trying to include too many of the simply divine Studio Calico Project Life kit cards and embellishments.  As l complete my weekly layouts l'm quickly learning that a more simple, clean approach is what gets me humming along.  I ended up only including two 3x4 Studio Calico Project Life cards and putting the rest of them back in the box for another day. 
 
Apart from my usual weekly spread, l've included two inserts this week.  One documents the arrival of my new car, and the other includes some Mothers Day gifts from Bella.

Some ideas l thought l would share from this week’s layout...................

• Include vital statistics I love lists and they’re a super easy way to include more journaling in your layout .  On the 6x12 insert l included two identical 6x4 journaling cards where l listed the vital statistics of my old car and my new car.  I included things like the make, model, year, where we bought them from and how much they cost and then l included some random thoughts on each car.  I really like how easy the lists make it to compare the two cars and the period when we bought each of them. 
• Daily tv line up Is there a particular day or evening where you look forward to a line up of great tv shows?  For us we love Thursday night, because there’s a string of shows one after the other that we all love watching.  I wouldn’t call any of them high quality, but they’re tv shows that make us laugh….a lot. On a 3x4 journaling card l listed our current Thursday night line up, with the names of the shows, the time they are aired and on what station they are shown.  To accompany the list l also found an image of our beloved GatorBoys to include in a 6x4 pocket.  It was only a matter of time before they or Turtleman ended up in a layout!

Till next time…..

Please click on the images below to see them in more detail. Some journaling has been covered for privacy.

 

 

Supplies used this week
Becky Higgins page protector Design A

American Crafts - 6 x 12 Photo Protectors for 4 x 6 Photos – Horizontal
Marbig A4 Sheet Protector
Project Life Seafoam Digital Edition
Amy Tangerine Thickers - Journal
Studio Calico 3x4 card from the Spencer Project Life kit
Studio Calico stamp from the Spencer Project Life kit
Studio Calico 3x4 journaling card from the Neverland Project Life kit

Today l am hooking up with others doing Project Life on The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday.

Check out my other Project Life posts Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 9 Week 10 Week 14 Week 15 Week16

 

Meet the animals in rehab – Holly

I’ve always been an animal person, and wildlife caring has become an important part of my life.  I’ve been a member of the Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers since 1999, and actively rehabilitate injured and orphaned native animals at our home.  All the animals rescued have their own story to tell  

Name                    Holly

Species                 Short-beaked Echidna
Date rescued      12/05/2013
Location               Wardell
Reason                 Found on side of road.  Members of public were worried about its safety.

‘Holly’, a short-beaked echidna, is our latest animal in care. 

 

Holly was found sitting on the side of a busy road.  Worried for her safety, the people who spotted her rung the Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers' 24hr hotline.  The Northern Rivers sure is a small place, as when we arrived to rescue the echidna we realised the people who rang were old neighbours of ours.  We named the echidna after their youngest daughter who called the hotline.

 

 

It’s not unusual to see echidnas out during the day, this time of year.  As temperatures drop, echidnas become more active.  Other times of the year, when the weather is warmer they're much less active and seldom seen.  May and June marks the beginning of their breeding season and it's this time of year when they are most active and turn up in the most unexpected places on the search for a mate. 

Finding an echidna on the side of the road is usually not a good sign though, and often means they’ve been hit by a motor vehicle.  Thankfully for Holly, she was rescued before she was injured.  Busy roads are not a safe place for an echidna and the people’s quick actions certainly saved Holly from injury and possibly death.  After a short stay in care, just to be sure there were no underlying injuries or illnesses, Holly is now ready for release. 

I was really taken by how beautiful Holly was.  Such a fit and healthy animal, it’s always a joy to see animals that have been coping and doing well in the wild. 

Holly was released back into the area where she was found, although some distance away from the roadside.

Recording information as they grow - Bella's 5th birthday interview

With Bella turning 5 last weekend, it’s time to run through our annual birthday interview questions with her.  I’ve seen this idea floating around on the internet for a while, and last year we started what l hope will be a tradition that will continue for years to come.

The concept is simple, you choose a set of questions to ask your child every year, on their birthday and record the answers.  As you do, you create a magical record of your child and their interests over the years. 

Here are this year’s responses….

Favourite colour              Pink

Favourite toys                  New Ariel doll Aunty Shell got me for my birthday, my Barbies and
     my new Cinderella doll from Wilson

Favourite fruit                  Strawberries

Favourite tv show            ‘Funny Boys’ (what Bella calls The Big Bang Theory), Turtleman, Gator Boys. 

Favourite movie               Scooby Doo

Favourite breakfast        Pancakes, crunchy bacon and maple syrup

Favourite lunch                Cheese, prawns or McDonalds

Favourite dinner              Spaghetti and meatballs

Favourite drink                 Popper of chocolate milk

Favourite outfit                 Princess dress up

Favourite game                 Playing rough with Dad

Favourite animal              Giraffe, Elephant

Favourite song                  Firework by Katy Perry and I like to move it, move it by Will I Am

Favourite book                 Guess how much l love you and We’re going on a bear hunt

Favourite friends             Daddy, Mummy, Alyssa, Miley, Rayissa

Favourite outside activity             Playing with the dogs and going for a motor bike ride with Dad

Favourite holiday             Visiting Bindi Irwin’s Australia Zoo

Favourite thing to take to bed    Nothing

What you want for your dinner on your birthday    McDonalds

When you grow up what do you want to be             A wildlife carer like Mummy, a ballerina or a singer like on The Voice

If you’re interested in doing something similar you’ll find a ton of inspiration on the internet, but l’d suggest checking out what Nicole Reaves has come up with on her blog. Nicole is super talented and l really like her 20 questions book.

The other information l have been recording as Bella grows are the answers to a series of questions for me.  I’ve been recording the following information since Bella was 5 weeks old…but unfortunately missed a few years before picking it back up again.  I’m not going to let that worry me, rather choose to focus on picking up and continuing this great tradition.
So when Bella was 5 weeks, 7 weeks, 9 weeks, 11 weeks ,15 weeks, 3 years, 4 years and now 5 years old I’ve recorded the following information…..

What we did the week of her birthday

Current favourite toys

Current friends

Words to describe your personality

What you eat (or how much you drank when you were a baby)

How much you sleep

The best bits for Mum and Dad

The not so good bits for Mum and Dad

What you consider the best things in life

Biggest accomplishments

Other things Mum and Dad have noticed

It’s a lot of fun to look back over these and see how much she’s changed.

I'm still thinking about where and how l ultimately record all of this information.  At this stage this years interview might end up as an insert in my Project Life album but l’ll continue to think about how best to pull all this information together.  My main focus is to capture this information, because she’s growing up way to fast…l simply can’t believe my angel is 5.

Wildlife Column - May, 2013

Australia's wildlife has always been a passion of mine.
I’ve been a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for the past 15 years and to help raise awareness of native animals, I've written a monthly column on behalf of the Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers for the Ballina Shire Advocate newspaper since 2000.
This month’s column highlights that start of echidna breeding season and urges members of the public to be on the look out for roaming echidnas.

 As appeared in the Ballina Shire Advocate on Thursday 9th May, 2013.

Motorists urged to look out for roaming echidnas

This winter, the Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers are urging all motorists to keep a look out for roaming echidnas.  It’s the start of their breeding season, and it’s this time of year when they’ll be regularly seen trying to cross roads in search of a mate.  

Echidnas are rarely seen any other time of year.  They don’t cope well with warm weather and spend most of spring and summer, sheltering from the heat.  The cooler temperatures of winter enable echidnas to be active both day and night. 

Roads are hazardous for echidnas, with many injured or killed by motor vehicles every year.  Pictured here is an echidna rehabilitated by the Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers, after it was hit by a car last year.

Roads are their biggest hazard, with many echidnas injured or killed by motor vehicles every year.  An echidna’s natural defence is to curl into a ball, presenting only their spines, until whatever is threatening them disappears.  On sensing an approaching car they dig into the bitumen and curl up, leaving them very vulnerable.

Echidnas can often sustain serious, life-threatening injuries after being hit by a car- yet show no outward sign that they are hurt.  Many injuries are only identifiable by x-rays and ultrasounds, so if you suspect that an echidna has been hit by a car it is important that you ring the Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers so it can receive prompt treatment. 

This winter if you find an injured echidna please call Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers on their 24 hour rescue hotline 6628 1866 for further advice.  People are encouraged to store the rescue hotline number in their mobile phone for easy reference. 

 

A joyous occasion – Bella’s 5th birthday party

When my Mum was diagnosed with advanced, terminal cancer in January l made her a sign which said....

“There is still much joy and happiness to be experienced”

At the time l hoped it would remind her that there was still good things to be experienced: birds would still sing, the sun would shine and there would be laughter to share.  Cancer couldn't stop those things from happening.

Five days after my Mum’s funeral it was Bella’s 5^th birthday party. 

The invitations had been sent out weeks in advance, and l knew there was no way Mum would have wanted us to cancel or postpone Bella’s party…..so party we did.

We had decided before Easter, because there was so much going on, that holding the party somewhere other than our home would be easiest.  We chose the Goonellabah Sports and Aquatic Centre an indoor, heated pool which turned out to be the perfect venue for an Autumn birthday party.

The Goonellabah Sports and Aquatic Centre even has it’s own indoor waterslide, which you will see was put to good use during the party. We chose to have a hosted party where the pool staff organised the catering, and kept the kids safe and occupied for a good few hours! We were more than impressed with how the party went, and would strongly recommend it as a party venue.

Please click on the images below to see them in more detail.

 

 

 

Looking through these photos today, l realised how joyous the party was.  The children's ability to be totally in the moment and enjoy life to the fullest was infectious. It’s true that there still is joy and happiness to be experienced.

Happy Birthday Bella, and thanks Mum for the reminder.

Thanks also to my friend Sarah for taking most of these amazing photos and sharing them with me.  Just amazing what you can capture through the lens of a camera.

Project Life 2013 - Week 16

Have you heard about Project Life? It’s a back-to-basics approach to memory keeping that l am using to document our year. Check out my initial post on Project Life here.

Looking back at this week’s layout, l can’t help but thinking that life is nothing but a crazy, jumbled up mix of random events.  As mentioned here this week we edged closer to saying our final goodbye to my Mum.  I acknowledged her final week in some journaling (that has been covered for privacy) in the top right hand corner.  But also happening this week was........... crazy hair day at pre-kindy, the Boston Marathon bombing, a princess birthday party and the season finale of Downton Abbey.  Just struck me how many different things can be happening at the same time, big, small, historic, momentous and routine.  Love how l can use Project Life to record them all in the same place and how therapeutic it is to work on each layout. 

Some ideas l thought l would share from this week’s layout...................

1.      Use web images as photographs Using web images can really help when you want to include a visual reminder of an event that you may not have been at or could photograph.  This week l used web images of the Boston Marathon bombing, and Matthew Crawley’s death in the season finale of Downton Abbey.

2.     Focus on creating a time capsule As mentioned before l’m aiming to create a time capsule with my Project Life albums.  A record of our year: the things we did, the events that happened, the tv shows we watched, the music we listened to…… So this week l included the first few pages of the newspaper which covered the Boston Marathon bombings as an additional insert.  I just simply folded the newspaper in half and put it inside an A4 protector.

Till next time…..

Please click on the images below to see them in more detail. Some journaling has been covered for privacy.

Supplies used this week
Becky Higgins page protector Design A

American Crafts - 6 x 12 Photo Protectors for 4 x 6 Photos – Horizontal
Marbig A4 Sheet Protector
Project Life Seafoam Digital Edition
Studio Calico calendar 3x4 filler card
Dear Lizzy Die Cut Cardstock Shape
Dear Lizzy Large Tag

 

Today l am hooking up with others doing Project Life on The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday.

Check out my other Project Life posts Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 9 Week 10 Week 14 Week 15

Project Life 2013 - Week 15

Have you heard about Project Life? It’s a back-to-basics approach to memory keeping that l am using to document our year. Check out my initial post on Project Life here.

I continue to be really impressed with how well Project Life captures our week.  The flexibility allows you to make it whatever you want, and include pretty much whatever you want. 

As mentioned before l’m aiming to create a time capsule with my Project Life albums.  A record of our year: the things we did, the events that happened, the tv shows we watched, the music we listened to……Along with my photographs, l believe these little snippets of everyday life will create the perfect record of our year.  In years to come l want to be able to look through my Project Life album and be transported back in time to now. 

Some ideas l thought l would share from this week’s layout.

1.      Seasonal observations. I really enjoy the change of season, and this year l’ve purposely noted the small changes that herald Autumn’s arrival.  I included a list of them on a small 3x4 journaling card.

2.     Make your own filler cards. I’m enjoying using up some of my supplies by making my own filler cards.  It’s a great way of not only using all those supplies we tend to collect, but it will also give your layout a truly unique look and feel.  Again…the possibilities are endless, and depending on how much time you have..you could get creative as you wanted to.

Till next time…..

Please click on the images below to see them in more detail. Some journaling has been covered for privacy.

Supplies used this week
Becky Higgins page protector Design A
Project Life Seafoam Digital Edition
Amy Tangerine Sketchbook Paper Pad
Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic Paper Pad
Amy Tangerine Bits Die Cut Cardstock Shapes

Today l am hooking up with others doing Project Life on The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday.

Check out my other Project Life posts Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 9 Week 10 Week 14