a week in the life

Ali's Week in the Life project makes me so happy every year. Last year was the first year I participated, and I did it by taking photos each day and sharing them on the blog. I think I am actually going to make a little book of them soon since I love all that was captured in that week last year (and how it represents so much of last summer).

This week, I thought I was going to be traveling home in the middle of the week, so I didn't plan to participate because I knew I would put too much pressure on myself to take photos during a time that would be stressful enough (i.e. traveling with a toddler). But then we stayed another week here at my mom's. But I spent most of the week working and didn't take too many photos that weren't self-portraits. BUT somewhere along the way I realized that what I was sharing on Instagram really was representative of our time here and it really made me happy. (Of course you will see that Ellie's grandparents are not in the photos above as I am respecting their privacy.)

So this is going to be the Week in the Life mosaic I add to Project Life when I catch up when we get home. Makes me smile so much.

And can I just tell you yet again how much I love Instagram? Seriously. It is beyond (BEYOND) my favorite social media site. I love seeing the photos that other's share, and I so appreciate the kind words and hearts people share with my glimpses from here. I love it. Like big. And it is an awesome way to keep up with my friends and kindreds and with people in the ecourses I am taking and teaching. (You can find me @lizelayne.)

I also really love sending postcards (to family and to myself) of my Instagram photos using Postagram. Are you using it yet? The quality is fantastic. And it is an easy quick way to send photos off to grandparents AND a fun size photo to add to Project Life or other journaling projects (as in they are finding there way into my Smash journals!). Just learned about their credits program because Sincerely (the parent company) sent me an email letting me know since I am buying so many. Love that kind of customer service.

Hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world...

Blessings,

Liz

week in the life {friday, saturday, sunday}

{friday}

{saturday}

{sunday}

*****

last week, i joined in with ali edwards' week in the life project. today, i am catching up with the last three days. we had family in town for a few days, and i found myself drawn to be more in the experience than document or take notes. altough, as usual, i took quite a few photos of ellie. our girl is moving moving moving, taking steps and spreading joy in just about every moment. 

(all my week in the life photos, including additional notes, can be seen in this flickr set.) 

week in the life {thursday}

notes from today:

paying attention to the light is changing how i take photos.
i wish i could work from my bed every morning
beginning and ending the day with mary oliver heals me
ellie jane's joyful way of living pushes me to let go 

*****

this week, i am joining in with ali edwards' week in the life project. i took quite a few photos yesterday but most of them were of ellie while she was walking, exploring, eating, and so on, which meant quite a few photos of the same scene and many blurry because she is so on.the.move. mostly i was distracted by work/life stuff yesterday and forgot to take photos. but the photos i did capture, especially me dancing with my shadow (more on that soon), really make me happy. there is a lesson here somewhere. always, always the lessons...

(all my week in the life photos, including additional notes, can be seen in this flickr set.) 

week in the life {wednesday}

notes from today:

severely burning one's finger makes it much harder to seek joy in the everyday
somehow joy still appears in the form of her laughter and his silliness and collaboration and quiet truths
holding her when she falls asleep rarely happens anymore, but when it does, it feels like winning the lottery
she can cycle though happy to oh my goodness i am mad mad mad to giggling all in about one minute
i am going to be sad to see this summer end

*****

this week, i am joining in with ali edwards' week in the life project. today, after being deeply inspired by darrah's blog post, i played with the ISO a bit more. i have been shooting on AV for months now and have been adjusting the f-stop and light balance (ahhh...is that what it is called?). i even put the camera on manual for a bit. it.was.a.blast! usually i come up with excuses like "but i am working on a project, i can't play with the settings now!" but that didn't stop me today. it was refreshing. perhaps i knew i needed a distraction from my throbbing finger. burns are no fun at all. can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

(all my week in the life photos, including additional notes, can be seen in this flickr set.) 

week in the life {tuesday}

notes from today:

going outside centers me every time
(today was a day where centering + oreos helped)
after about 10 bites, ellie begins to share her food with millie
late night trips to target mean you buy more than just diapers
lavender lingers 
gratitude punctuated this day

*****

this week, i am joining in with ali edwards' week in the life project. at some point today i thought to myself, "are people really going to want to see all these photos of my family?" but then i remembered why i wanted to do this: to notice the rhythm of our days.
(all my week in the life photos can be seen in this flickr set.)

PS it looks like the mugs are all sold out, but here's a link to george takai's site. 

week in the life {monday}

notes from today:

working in bed while he plays with her down the hall
how her laughter fills the spaces between us
choosing to let things go and just be here
the discovery of splashing means she doesn't want to leave the tub
ending the day side by side remembering there is always love 

*****

this week, i am joining in with ali edwards' week in the life project. i love that ali encourages people to let this week be about whatever feels right for them. i kind of love it when there aren't any rules. my loose plan is to simply let each day unfold as it does and document what i find here. today, i felt moved to use my iphone to capture a few moments. i have to admit that i hope i take a lot more photos tomorrow (and plan to reread through ali's suggestions on her site).