A Week In the Life, 2011 (finally!)

I just completed the finishing touches on my Week In the Life project. It took much longer to complete than I anticipated, but here it is.

I participated in this project last year during the month of May, and I had used this American Crafts binder that still had plenty of room in it (this project doesn’t really take up enough space for an entire album, in my humble opinion), so I used the same album for this year’s edition, as well. The first half is 2010, and I made a “bookmark” as a divider and labeled it for the second half, which is 2011.

Not overly decorated, like most of my albums…I’m a minimalist when it comes to these things. I’ve had too many covers come apart, and it’s just not worth it since they will be put on a shelf anyway.

I started my Week In the Life (WITL) project on Monday, July 25, just like Ali Edwards (the head master/guide/initiator/guru of this annual memory-keeping experience). I ended on the following Sunday, and you may notice that some days have more photos than others. There are just so many pictures I can take at work (HIPAA rules), and at other times, I just plain forgot to get out my camera (really!). Some of the times on the photos may be incorrect because I was literally guessing at times, since I was not very good at writing times down when I took a photo, and it didn’t occur to me to look at the photo’s meta data until after the fact (doh!), and I really didn’t feel like reprinting everything…I’m using so much ink and paper with this!

So, please forgive the fact that this is so imperfect, but the bottom line is that I have documented my life for one week, and it will be really interesting to look back on this later on in the future.

Intro page

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

The end page.

Not showing are the notes I took which I put into page protectors and included in my album.

Originally, I was not going to include these, but then I thought, why not? These are my thoughts and the details of my doings, and it saves me time and money if I don’t rewrite them onto journaling cards. I credit Ali with giving me the idea; I think it’s a good one. Including your hand-written notes and journaling into your memory-keeping makes that memory more authentic and special. Your handwriting is a part of you, and your notes can include some important details you may not want to forget!

This was a great project that you don’t have to wait to do. Once a year, Ali Edwards (aliedwards.com) puts on this project, inviting anyone and everyone who has an interest in documenting their life for one week to participate.  It costs nothing to join in; it’s not a club, and you do not have to do anything you don’t want to. She puts it on during a specific week which she chooses each year, but there’s no reason at all why you can’t decide to do something like this for yourself any time you choose. You can also put your documentation into any sort of medium: an entirely digital album, a mini album, or something like Ali does, but with your own twist on it.  It’s just a form of inspiration which you may take a closer look at your life; pay attention to the little details, take note of what you really do/feel/say/observe/eat during a typical week in your life and document it for posterity’s sake. Can you imagine how your life will have changed 20 years from now? And imagine your grandchildren and their grandchildren getting to experience your life through your eyes, and really getting to know who you are. Fascinating.

Enjoy!

 

Class update

Whew, it’s been busy in my studio lately! Taking these classes has been quite a challenge, and I probably wouldn’t take so many at one time again, but I have to admit that I have really learned quite a lot, and the pace and challenge has been good for me. I’m learning to scrap faster, prioritize better, and I feel like I’m doing a better job with my finished layouts. Here are the latest finished assignments:

Colour! Or, is it Color? week 5: the color purple

The Mother LOAD week 5: putting together a layout in 30 minutes or less. I did not.

Design Challenge #10: using photo strips in a layout.

Now, this week is also the ‘Week in the Life’ project, which I am participating in, however, I have not had the time to post any more of my daily photos. I have just been too busy keeping up with class assignments. Next week I will be gathering my notes and photos and putting them together in a nice form to show here. As for today, I am tackling Design Challenge number 11, and updating my summer journal. See you next time!

Week in the Life, Day 1

Today I begin documenting the week in my life. I started doing this last year, and it was really fun. I look forward in later years to coming back to this to see how my life has changed. I also enjoy paying attention to the little things; what do each of us do all day? How do we live, what do we eat, how do we feel? I find it so interesting to look at Ali Edwards’ blog during this project to see how each of our lives are unique and similar. Legal voyeurism.

My day contained no adventures, no special happenings, no chaos, drama, excitement, or even interest, really. I got caught up on my class assignments and projects, finished printing out some cards (now that my printer is working again) for a personal project, met with an insurance agent and talked about long-term care benefits with her and the hubby, participated in an online class chat, and received a package in the mail. I grilled some chicken for dinner, and finished up some work after dinner. I always read my book in bed and try to get to sleep before 11 pm. Wow, I know that’s just too much excitement for some of you, so try to contain the yawns, please. Here is a “snapshot” of my day:

Day 1

And, the two layouts I did manage to complete:

Using blue in this assignment for "Colour! Or is it Color?"

Using my favorite products for this assignment of "The Mother LOAD"

I know that sometimes the photos don’t do the subject justice. One of these days, there will be such thing as an affordable large-size scanner, and it will be mine.

I’ll be back tomorrow for the next episode of A Week in the Life…

I want to explore.

Yesterday I signed up for another class. Yes, I have an itch to enrich. This class is called “Explore” and is taught by Shimelle Laine. I have no idea what to expect, except that every day will introduce a new scrapbook adventure, and by the end of the class, I will have a journal filled with exciting new ideas, and my mind should be filled with inspiration!

Next week I am partaking in Ali Edwards’ “Week in the Life”, as I have done last year. This is a fun week of paying attention and documenting the everyday of my every day. I’ll be back giving updates of what I’m up to with each class. Can’t wait!