bandwagon you say?

yeah, not really. this will be my third year doing project life, and i'm still excited by it. amazing. it's fabulous that so many people have decided to join the revolution this year - i personally love to look at all the different pages and probably spend waaay to much time doing so! anyway,  i've found that this type of memory keeping is much more me than traditional scrapbook pages....i love the lifeness (is that a word?) of it and including stuff. it's almost like a laid out junk/smash journal (i just started a new one of those as well), and it really resonates with me. i am a regular gal with a regular family and a regular life, so my pages are pretty basic; not a lot of extras are added though i love all that, and secretly wish i had that flair - but that's ok because plain or fancy, it is still holds memories. right now i am using leftovers from the past 2 kits i've used (i have no idea which ones they are at this point) and some freebies i've gleaned from the interweb - God love all those talented people out there that can do what i can't! i would love to win a kit (turquoise please!) but i just may break down and buy stuff later on. 

ok, enough. 

with some trepidation, i give you:

project life 2012, week 1

 you'll have to forgive the quality of the pics, it's quite overcast today so not a lot of light, plus this was a kind of spur of the moment decision - and kind of do it now or loose your nerve - so i probably didn't choose the optimal place to take the pics....hopefully i'll get better!

random journaling cards from the 2 old kits, and while i'm not in love with my handwriting (or even my writing skills) i like that i (mostly) journal by hand. my daughter's new glasses. watching 'shaun the sheep' - have you seen it? it's a spin off from the wallace and gromit movies. hilarious!

 a new pet. a cute kitten. a silly picture of my fingers that makes me smile, and a very unhappy tween. oh i am not looking forward to the full on teen years.

a simple insert with the printout of my best bowling game ever (you can kind of see the pic i took of the scoreboard over there to the left)

and the other side, a note from the safety patrol at school saying that my 5th grader will be switching to the morning shift starting february 1st. yuck.

week one, fini.

i'm in love

and her name is #14 and you can find her at ulta.

i've been on a search for the perfect lipstain, and i have finally found it! super easy to apply with one of those little foam applicator things (for some reason easier for me than the pens), it is shiny but oh so not sticky when it goes on, and here's the best part: it does not suck all the moitsure out of your lips as it dries! i think it actually moisturizes! i can't speak to the other colors, but #14 smells and tastes like cherry, a nice cherry, not the obnoxious super fake smelling kind. and honestly, it lasts a good 6 hours or better.

better hurry and buy some, since i found something i love and wear every day, they'll probably discontinue it!

it's happened to me

holy funnelcakes. i never thought i would have to utter theses words, but it's true; i am addicted to a computer game. i totally never understood how this could happen to people. until this week. i started playing wizard 101 with oldest go-go-gadget-girl this week and now i can't stop. seriously. we spent all day yesterday - a beautiful sunny day - on the computer playing this game. 

although we don't have any type of gaming system, i'm not totally adverse to them; and i am a product of the 80's so of course i played pac man, ms. pac man, frogger, etc. but they were just something fun to do occasionally. but this game has just sucked me in. i think it's because the more you play, the 'stronger' you get and the harder your quests become. there is some mental aspect because you can fiddle around with your clothes and objects to increase power, health, shields, etc to some degree. but mostly, it's just about running around these 4 worlds (still don't know what the 4th is) collecting items and fighting  characters within the realm with spell cards. i know. i know. but i can't help it. i want to level up. i want to get the next spell card or training point. i want my pet to grow. sigh. i'm sure i'll grow out of it soon, i mean really, with 3 go-go-gadget-girls at home who could spend every day doing this? but, if you're ever in krakatopia, make sure to look for rowan pixiepants!

the unexpected

is not always bad! sometimes i forget that. but today i had a great reminder of this oft overlooked fact; in the mail, there was a funny envelope from a prize distribution center. cripes, what kind of junk mail is this, i thought. good thing i looked, because inside was a $25 gift card from safeway! earlier this summer i played one of their summer sweepstakes games and won the g.c. i was supposed to get an email to verify my address. it never came. i forgot all about it. until today. when i opened my mail. maybe i should go buy a lottery ticket.......

why is it

that people put their kids in the wrong level when they sign them up for classes? the go-go-gadget girls have been in swimming lessons on and off for probably 3 years now. 2 of them are going great guns, the other not so much - she is still in level 1 after several classes. 

this summer we ventured into a new realm: the local outdoor pool - which is only open for 3 months. i like the concept of every day for a half hour classes for 2 weeks (and because we're residents, it's a bit cheaper than the other localish lessons we've done). it's worked really well so far. even the smallest g-g-g-g is enjoying herself and actually frustrated (for the 1st time) because she hasn't moved out of level 1, and mom is getting a respectable tan. 

anyway, the point of my story is this: parents either totally over estimate their children's skill level, or they just pick the lesson time that is convenient to them. this is especially evident in oldest g-g-g-g's lesson. she is at the level where they are perfecting their strokes; or they should be. there is one little girl in her class who can barely do the crawl; she does maybe 3 very shaky strokes and then starts to flounder and dog paddle. the instructor always has to grab her, hold on to her, and walk her the rest of the way down and back. it. is. very. time. consuming. it is the same with all the strokes. it takes a lot of time away from the other 4 students. trust me, i get that it is all a learning curve (remember, littlest g-g-g-g has been in level 1 for at least 7 sessions) but that is what the other levels are for! why put a kid in a level they can't possibly succeed in? i would imagine it would be frustrating not only for the instructor, but especially the child in question. 

so who's responsibility is it in these situations? should the parents take the kid out? are they being selfish if they don't? should the facility step in and move her to the appropriate class? it's been 2 days and i'm not hopeful either way.

sigh

i didn't win the silhouette....did you?

even MORE

chances to win! i am determined to do everything possible to win the coveted-by-me silhouette. and since i am such a giver, i thought you might like 2 more chances to win as well! head on over to Mom Advice and A Soft Place to Land for your chance. while you're there, make sure to poke around the sites. i've been a fan of soft place for a while, and while it was my first trip to mom advice, i found it quite enjoyable. ttfn!