Project Life 2012 - Week Fifty One

Today, I'm sharing Week 51 from my 2012 Project Life album.

This week includes the last week (it was really only a two day week) of school for Lily, and Ian going on holidays from work. Unfortunately we didn't really do a lot, as summer finally decided to arrive in Perth (seriously, it had been raining the week before), and it was HOT!

Main Spread, without Extra Inserts

Sorry for the glare, I didn't realise how bad it was until I uploaded this photo.

I have to reprint that photo on the bottom left, as somehow I managed to cut off the tiny bit of text that I had on the photo!

This week I included the first photo from my 30-Before-30 challenge (is challenge really the correct word for it?), anyway as I mentioned in this post, the main recording of the event/item will be recorded in the journal, and I would more than likely just add a photo into my PL album.
This is the photo I chose to include:

Main Spread, with Extra Inserts/Insert One

Back of Insert One/Insert Two

Sometimes I swear I'm CRAZY for attempting it as the beginning and end of each year, but then I look at the photos of the kids from these times, and am amazed at just how much they have grown. To really appreciate the growth, you have to look at the photos side by side.

Lily

Benji

Even though Benj, isn't school aged I still like to take a photo of him too. Who knows, by the time he is school aged he might be so used to it, that he will stand and pose without me getting frustrated!

Another thing I included in the album was a free prinatable I found on the internet, (and sorry right now the link seems to be missing, but as soon as I find where I wrote it down, I will be sure to include it), all about Lily's favourite things (it has American spelling on it, and that was a fun discussion trying to explain to a 5 year old about how the same word can be spelt two different ways depending on where you live!)

I love seeing how her favourite things have changed (or stayed the same), but more than that there is a huge improvement in her writing and drawing skills.

Lily said that she couldn't fit everyone in her family portrait, so she "just drew Mummy and Lily"

52 Weeks (2013) - 1/52 & 2/52

I have seen this idea floating around on the interweb and a few blogs that I read (in particular Rhonda's blog), and so I meant to post about it last week, but somehow life got in the way, and I'm only just getting to it now. Oh well, luckily I at least remembered to snap photos in the mean time.

Basically the idea is to take a photo of your child(ren) every week for the year. The idea was started by Jodi...check out her blog HERE

I have decided that some weeks I may get a photo of the kids together, and some weeks it may be individual photos. I'm going to try and not stress about it. Since successfully documenting 2012 in the form of Project Life as well as doing Familyx12 (which I will also be continuing), I have realised that for me to be successful and committed to a year long project, I just have to go with the flow and take it as it comes. No point stressing out! An individual photo of each the kids, is better than no photo at all!

My aim at the end of the year is to get the photos printed into a photo book (must start saving my pennies now!).

1/52

The kids at the movies on New Years Day (we saw Wreck it Ralph),

 it's become a bit of a family tradition (going to the movies) and one 

we hope to continue for a few more years yet!

2/52

Benji playing Peek-a-Boo - I was trying to get a photo of him in his 

new hat, and he was being silly - the result was this photo.

Lily spinning in her new party dress.

Linking up with Jodi's Post HERE

Project Life 2012 - Week Fifty

I successfully completed my 2012 Project Life album(s), but I got a little slack at the end of last year, and wasn't updating the blog.

Over the next week or so, I will share the remaining weekly layouts from 2012, and then move on to showing my 2013 layouts.

Main Spread without Extra Inserts

I went super simple this week, and added 3 4x6 photos on the left hand side, and cut up a 12x12 photo for the right hand side. I love this look (the 12x12 photo) and will definitely be continuing it into my 2013 albums(s). 

I will try to have a post up during the week, with what my plans are for the coming year, in terms of how I will be approaching Project Life.

Main Spread with Extra Inserts/ Insert One

Even though I added a 12x12 photo (which may indiciate that I didn't have enough photos to fill the spread [which was not the case at all, I just chose to only add one large photo from the Christmas Pageant], I still added a couple of little inserts).

Insert One was a photo of Lily with her teacher - don't be shy to ask if you can take a photo of your child and their teacher(s). I always get a little embarrassed asking, but Lily has only been in school for 2 years (Kindy in 2011, and Pre-Primary in 2012), and in that time she has had two teachers, and five Education Assistants (one for kindy, and two for Pre-Primary), and I have a photo of her with each of them. I know that it's something that she will appreaciate looking back on, and so each year I will hide my embarrassment and ask for a photo. 

*I should add that no teacher/EA has actually ever said no to me, I just get embarrassed asking for the photo*

Back of Insert One & Insert Two

The back of insert one is of Lily and her Education Assistants (I'm so annoyed with myself, I accidentally put the flash on and so one of the photos has a strange yellow colour to it, but I didn't notice until we were home already, and unfortunately that EA wasn't scheduled to work in our class again before the end of the year). 

I went to an author talk and signing, so I slipped the flyer into the album too - I love all the little things that I have collected over the course of the year and slipped into my album.

Back of Insert Two

Lily's school had a graduation assembly during the week, so I slipped the program into the plastic, and then on top slipped in a little certificate that Lily received the two EA's that took her for a little extra help during the year.

Top 12 Books Read in 2012

Honestly, I have no idea why I decided it would be a fun and easy task to narrow down my 12 favourite books from last year, let me tell you....it was neither!

I read a lot of books in 2012, initially I set myself the task of 12 books (thinking even an average of one a month was ambitious!), well I showed that silly part of my brain that wanted to play it safe!

I actually read two more books than are listed on Goodreads. One was a re-release of a book with extra content/scenes, and Goodreads doesn't think that counts as two books! And the second was an Australian release which wasn't added to the database until early 2013. 

Taking my yearly total to: 122

I read from a huge range of genres including: 

Young Adult
Romance
Chick-Lit

Fantasy

Dystopian

      New Adult    &

  Rural Romance

I also discovered a variety of new favourite authors, including some awesome Aussie authors who I was lucky enough to meet and get some of my books signed. 

My Top 12 Of 2012 

(in no particular order & includes books I read in 2012, and not exclusively books published in 2012)

All books are linked back to their Goodreads page, so I won't be doing a review of the listed books, you can read the synopsis over there.

Jilted & Man Drought by Rachael Johns - I'm not off to a good start my first book and I already cheated and added two books as one! But in all seriousness, I loved both of Rachael's books equally, and I can't pick a favourite between them.

Rachael is one of the awesome (West) Aussie authors I was able to stalk meet a couple of times in 2012, and already once in 2013!

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma - this is not a book that would appeal to everyone, it has a very *difficult* subject matter, but it was a book that I could.not.put.down! After reading it, I then forced suggested my sister and friend read it, and they both loved it too.

Slammed & Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover - these books are part of a series (the third is yet to be published), and were the first "New Adult' books that I read. I can without a doubt say, that it was these books that made me fall in love with the New Adult genre. I loved these books so much that, I not only have Kindle copies of them, but also bought the paper back versions when they became available in stores!

The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots by Loretta Hill - this was the first Rural Romance (RuRo) book that I read, and I fell in love. Since reading Steel-Capped, I have read a variety of RuRo books, and this one stands out as one-of-a-kind. It isn't set in, or around small farming communities, but instead focuses on the booming Fly-in, Fly-out workforce that dominates northern Western Australia.

Loretta was the first author that I meet in 2012 (and in my life, actually), and I'm looking forward to seeing her again, and hearing her talk about her latest book in a couple of weeks time.

Putting Alice Back Together by Carol Marinelli - it was more like watch Alice fall apart, but I loved this book, and I truly believe we all have a little "Alice" inside us!

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - another book like Forbidden, in the sense that it's not going to appeal to everyone, but I couldn't put it down! I just hope that I never meet anyone like either of the two main characters, if I did I would very quickly run in the other direction!

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young - I don't know what more I can say about this book that all the fangirls haven't already said on Goodreads! 

Want by Stephanie Lawton - I made this assumption before reading this book, that it was about your standard teenage girl on summer break before starting college. I.was.wrong! It was so much more. I don't normally cry while reading, but this book had me weeping like a baby!

Arranged by Catherine McKenzie - the synopsis sucked me in right from the word go! A successful professional woman who decides to have an arranged marriage...say what!?!

The Sea Breeze Series & Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines - I love all these books equally, in my mind Abbi Glines is a genius! 

Divergent & Insurgent by Veronica Roth - these are books 1 & 2 of a trilogy, and I can't wait for the final book to be released later this year. Although, a title and cover would satisfy me for now!

The Family Farm by Fiona Palmer - a RuRo book about a girl sticking it to the boys and taking over the running of the family farm...yes please! I was also lucky enough to meet Fiona last year, and listen to her story about what made her want to start writing.

There's my (slightly more than) Top 12 of 2012.

Family x12 in 2012

One of the goals that I set myself last year, was to take a family photo every month. It seems easy in theory, but in reality often I am the one behind the camera, and so there weren't many photos prior to last year where all four of us were in it, usually it was Ian and the kids, or the kids and I.

I'm very happy that we succeeded in getting at least one family photo every month in 2012! I won't lie, some months were easier than others, and some months came right down to the wire, and we only just managed to snap a photo in the last few days of the month.

Whether the photos were posed (as was February's when we had a family photo shoot), taken at an event/outing (such as January's, April's, May's, July's, August's, September's and November's), or just taken around the house (June and October), they all evoke memories that I am glad to have recorded.

January

February

March (x2)

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

I love looking back at all of these photos, and seeing how much we have all changed over the course of the year (not so obvious in Ian and I, but the change in the kids in amazing)!

This is definitely something that I will be continuing into 2013 (and beyond!) and once again incorporating the photos into my Project Life album.

New Memories Jar - 2013

With yesterday being New Year's Day, the interweb was full of awesome new ideas on ways to document/things to do in the coming year. 

My friend Sarah posted something on her facebook page (the idea was originally posted here), and as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for our family.

2013 New Memories Jar

The idea with the jar, is that every time we do something (either as a family or individually) that we think is worth remembering we write it down on a piece of paper and pop it into the jar. Then on New Year's Eve 2013 we open the jar and read all the notes we put in there, during the year.

I can not wait to start filling the jar with awesome memories from 2013!

The label on the front on the jar, is a free printable from HERE

Twenty Twelve Christmas Card Album

This year I collected all the Christmas cards we received (including the ones Lily got from her school friends), and I stuck them to the wall near our Christmas Tree.

This isn't all the cards, but silly me forgot to take a photo of 

all the cards, before we took them down!

Once we took them down, I knew that I wanted to something with them (other than just shoving them in a box!) I actually made something a while ago for Lily's birth congratulation cards (you know the cards you get when a baby is born), and another one for Benji's first birthday cards (although neither of them are actually finished!) Anyway, with that in mind I made a little chipboard album for the Christmas cards.

I used the same paper on the front and back cover  (although 

now I'm kinda regretting it, that red chevron makes me dizzy!)

Close up of the title:

The album is pretty chunky, but I didn't want to leave any cards out:

On the inside cover, I decided to stick in one of the family Christmas photos we had taken, I think it will be nice to look back in the years to come and quickly and easily see what we all looked like. 

I also put in a little 4x6 plastic page/photo protector on top of the first card, so that I could also include all the little cards that were too small to be punched and added in by themselves.

I didn't actually use *proper* scrapbooking chipboard, as last night when I decided to make this album my local scrapbooking store was already closed, and I'm way too impatient to order things online and wait (espeically with all the public holidays between Christmas and New Years). So, instead I went to Officeworks and I bought a sketch album  (it was only $3.00), and the back of that was nice thick, sturdy chipboard...best of both world's really, I got the chipboard I wanted, and the kids now have some nice, thick paper to draw/paint on.

This is the book I bought, but there were a few different 

brands, I just got the cheapest, in the size that I was after.