30 Days of Lists! My September 2014 Minibook!

It's that time again! 30 Days of Lists! I knew I would be super busy to do any sort of high-maintenance #30lists project for this month so I spent an afternoon last week getting my book all ready to just write my lists and be done!

Let me take you on a tour!
 

The front cover is kind of a yellow/gold vellum sheet laid over some yellow cardstock. I love being able to see things peeking through. I did this same sort of cover for my last minibook and loved it so I just had to do it again.

After the "Title Page"/Cover I made a little introduction type page. I thought maybe it would be a bit odd just to jump into lists without any sort of explanation included. Just picked out a couple Project Life cards to paste in.

Here's my little write up about 30 Days of Lists. I used a sketch pen in my Silhouette to do the writing. You'll see more of that in a bit...

And here's my layout plan for each day's list:

• On the left of each page: patterned side of paper with a 4x4 photo and a little strip of washi tape and a stamp of that day's date.  
• On the right of each page: Plain white with nothing but the prompt so it's all ready for me to fill out for that day's list.

See? Easy-peasy! Ready for me to fill out each day and not too much crafting at all so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it. (Note: "Today's To-Do List" prompt taken from the 30 Days of Lists, March 2011 list!)

Picture, washi tape, and date on the left....

Prompt and space to list on the right...while assembling my book I already included all the prompts and used the Silhouette sketch function to draw out the prompt header for each page.

The book is 6x6 inches because I hit the easy button and used a bunch of paper from two 6x6 paper pads. I decided this was an awesome way to make a mini listing book because:

1. I already had a couple 6x6 pads to choose from. (I love when I can use supplies I already have!)
2. I didn't have to cut anything -- it was all 6x6 inches to start with.
3. I was able to have pretty paper on one side so I could pretty things up but I also was able to use the white backs of the scrapbook paper for a clean, easy-to-read list.
4. It looks so uniform! And put together! (Well, at least in my opinion, hehe.)

There you have it! I'm excited to start listing! I'm glad I took the time to put this book together. It just looks so official. I got the binding done at Office Max for around $3. Well worth it, I think. I got the super big coil because once I add the extra photo and matte on each page I expect it to fatten up quite a bit. If not, I can always get a smaller coil. :)

If you're a #30days lister and participating in the blog hop please feel free to leave your link! I would love to see what everyone else is coming up with for next month! Alternatively, check out the other posts on today's blog hop by visiting here. You can also find more listing goodness by searching #30lists on social media or visiting the Flickr group.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share!

- Mrs. 246

P.S. If you'd like to see my 30 Days of Lists from last September 2013 (Project Life Style), click here. Here's a quick peek of what I did for it:

Weekly Goals {Week 35}

Yep. That's right...I'm channeling the big guns: Oprah Winfrey. It was an alright week. Felt kind of crappy physically and mentally. Called off sick one day for that same combination of crappiness in hopes a day of rest would fix me. It kind of did. I almost skipped this week's post but I'm pushing through in hopes that making goals for next week might at least keep me somewhat on track. Here's how I did:

GOALS MET IN WEEK 34: 8.5/13

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Have a full Luna/Mommy day on Thursday.Yep! We hung out in the morning, went to storytime, had a special McDonald's lunch and played dollhouse before she took a nap.

2. (Family) Spend more time at home instead of stores. Success!

3. (Marriage)Annoyance hugs...see last post for full explanation. I actually didn't need these, but Mr. 246 has. Haha.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!(Continued from last week!) Success! Doesn't keep me from being tired however. I think work is just too much. Lol.

5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! (Continued from last week!) Still tracking! It counts!

6. Write a "Two Minute Journal" each day. Half credit! I did it a couple times but not every single day.

7. Keep the end in mind! Make some long-term goal reminders and place them where I will see/remember them. Didn't end up doing this, though I thought several times this past week how useful it would be. Sigh. Maybe next week.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x3. Half credit. Worked out twice.

9. 9,000 steps/day goal. Big fail apparently. Only averaged about 6700/day. However, I didn't wear my FitBit fully each day so not all my steps were counter. I'll be honest though, even with those extra steps I'm pretty sure I didn't reach my goal. I've been lazy lately.

10. No fast food or restaurants alllll week. Psssshhh....I don't know why I make this goal anymore. I'm a horrible eater. Lol.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Work on OPERATION: PROJECT LIFE CATCH UP! I got prepared to work on it, but no -- I didn't work on this yet. Half credit, right?
12. Work on #30lists book. (Oh, and sign up for #30lists!) Yes! And got my book all ready for September!

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Yep!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Read at least 3 books together everyday.

2. (Family) Plan something special for next weekend. (My weekend off!)

3. (Marriage) Game night at least twice and a movie at least once.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget!
6. Finish reading The Giver and start reading the next book!
7. Be nice to myself.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x3.

9. 9,000 steps/day goal.
10. Track all food eaten for at least one day.
11. Drink more water! 

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

12. Finalize which crafts to make for the Back to Hogwarts Craft Swap.

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

I'm going to try to be nicer to myself. I've been in such a flux lately with my moods. Monday, let's do this. Let's aim for a lovely week. Not awesome, not kick ass, just a nice lovely week would be perfect. :)

How do you stay motivated when you're feeling bleh?
-Mrs. 246 

Ruffled Polka Dot Toddler Dress!

When I saw this pattern at Joann's I immediately fell in love with it. I had visions of Luna prancing about barefoot with flowers in her hair having a fairy tale childhood. Truthfully (and sadly), that's just not the type of life we live but I still made my attempt at the dress. And when it was all done she pranced about the zoo in tennis shoes just fine. Maybe not as magical I had originally planned but good enough!

I started this dress waaaaaay back in February. I did about 85% of it in a day or two -- the only thing I had left to do were the bottom ruffles. I finished the bottom last week. As you can see, there is only one ruffle. It caused me so much hatred that I refused to do the second ruffle for my own sanity.

I think I would enjoy sewing more if I had more patience. And skill. I always love having something nicely done in the end but the process, in my opinion, is more work than relaxation. I don't think my skill or experience makes it for a relaxing time.

Luna's Play Dress:

• Fabric: Stone Hill Dot Green and white leftover fabric I had.
• Time: 5 hours total (Estimated.)
• Size: Supposed to be about 2T but it fit a tad bigger.
• Fun: 6/10. I honestly think I just don't care for sewing that much. The only reason it's a 6 is because Luna looks so gosh darn cute in it. Buuuut, I did learn alot while making it!
• Techniques I Learned: I always learn as I go. In this project I learned: how to make ruffles/gathering, how to do a lined yoke, and afterwards I learned I should have used some sort of rolled/folded seam on the bottom ruffle because there is some major fraying after washing. :(
• Pattern: McCall's All-Sizes-In-One-Envelope Toddler Tops/Pants/Dress/Shorts/Capris
• Help: Google. I am not the one to ask for help. Haha.

Thanks for looking! If you (or someone you know) has made any cute super easy toddler girl dresses and have some sort of tutorial online leave a link and let me know! I'm open to trying new patterns!

- Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 34}

 

This past week wasn't the awesomely amazing week I wanted it to be. I was blind-sided by a terrible bout of PMS accompanied by extreme fatigue and general annoyance for the world. That kind of mind frame isn't the most conducive to being a happy, productive individual. All issues aside, I didn't do too bad. Let's check out how I did:

GOALS MET IN WEEK 33: 10.5/14

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Find and do a book-related craft with Luna. Yes! We had Go Dog Go and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie coloring and we made a hat after reading Hooray for Hat which we picked up from the library this past week.

2. (Family) Have official family dinners every night. Official enough! We cooked at home every night! :)

3. (Marriage) Mr. 246 is on break between semesters for the next two weeks so my goal is to spend some quality time in the evenings since he won't be studying! Okay, so I didn't do the best at this during the week because I was just so drained. We did have a lovely movie night, though, where we made pizza and Noah.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!(Continued from last week!) This. And then some. Gosh, I was just so tired all week.
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! (Continued from last week!) Success!
6. Keep utilizing new planner daily! Yep!
7. Write a "Two Minute Journal" each day. Eh, I did it about 3 days. Truthfully I forgot on the other days. This week I'm going to add it into my to-do list.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x3. I worked out exactly once. Ugh. I was all set to go the second time on Friday night but then my mind wandered and I forgot to go, lol. Sucks because Friday night Zumba is the best!

9. 9,000 steps/day goal. 9689 steps/day average. Pretty good considering my amount of laziness this week!
10. No fast food or restaurants alllll week. Half credit. We really did eat at home all week except for Saturday when we were at the Sacramento Ikea. We were hungry and far from home and I really didn't feel like packing a picnic to go to Ikea. Lol. We ate a Ikea and technically that's not really fast food or a restuarant, right? It's more like a household store food court. The goal didn't mention anything about that. Haha!

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Finish (or at least finish 75%) of Luna's sweater. This was the one thing I was motivated about this past week and let me tell you -- it is awesome! I can't wait to show you guys! It's a tad wonky in some places but I'm pretty proud of it!

12. Plan out next month or so of crafts that need attending to. Check! Lots of fun stuff coming up!
13. Catch up and post on the Harry Potter Craftalong. Done!

14.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Fail.

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Have a full Luna/Mommy day on Thursday.

2. (Family) Spend more time at home instead of stores.

3. (Marriage) After PMSing last week and being generally annoyed with everyone and everything I found myself being very "snippy" with Mr. 246. Yesterday I started giving Mr. 246 a hug everytime I started to feel annoyed. Lol. It helps the moment "pause" so I can reset and who doesn't love hugs?! 90% of the time I felt annoyed and snippy it was just my general bad mood and really had nothing to do with Mr. 246 or his actions. (He's a saint I tell you, putting up with me! Lol.)

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!(Continued from last week!)
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! (Continued from last week!)
6. Write a "Two Minute Journal" each day.
7. Keep the end in mind! Make some long-term goal reminders and place them where I will see/remember them.

HEALTH: (keeping all the same ones from last week!)

8. Work out x3.

9. 9,000 steps/day goal.
10. No fast food or restaurants alllll week.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Work on OPERATION: PROJECT LIFE CATCH UP!
12. Work on #30lists book. (Oh, and sign up for #30lists!)

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

Well, let's hope this week brings more motivation and energy than last week! If you'd like to check out previous Weekly Goal posts, visit here to check them out.

And to help me out with some ideas for next week I pose a question for any readers:   
Do you have any fun short term marriage goal ideas?
I'm needing some inspiration and I'd love to hear any ideas!

-Mrs. 246 
 

Weekly Goals {Week 33}

Okay, I'm not gonna lie -- I kicked Week 32's butt. I've come the closest I ever have to completing all my goals for this week. You may wonder what changed and brought on this sudden surge of motivation and perserverance and I credit two new changes to my success.

1. I got a new planner. I love it. It's nothing particularly fancy but I like the colors and I like the amount of space. I enjoyed using it all week and crossing things off and it just worked lovely. 
2. I created a "Goals" table in an Evernote note. I made a table to keep track of my goals and other information for the week and I filled it in every day. (Goals/info tracked: weight, steps, amount of water drank, did I go to the gym, did I blog, did I complete my journal, did I go to bed on time, did I track my expenses). It was kind of fun to fill it in everyday and it was a good visual device to see how I was doing and what else needed to be done.

I plan on doing the same thing this week. Slooooowly I am become more organized. It's not necessarily organization that is an issue for me (or anyone really) but finding some sort of organization or system that works for yourself. I'm hoping maybe that I've actually found it.

GOALS MET IN WEEK 32: 11/12

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. Do a painting project with Luna at least once. Yes! I had Luna do a little watercoloring and she liked it! Last time we tried painting she wasn't that into it but we'll definitely be doing more soon!

2. Family outing next Saturday on my weekend off! Success! We went to the San Francisco Zoo yesterday and had a blast! We even had some time to go walk along the beach as well. :)

3. I thought of a fun little goal. I'll keep it a secret til next week in case he decides to read this. Hehe. My secret goal was to write little notes to Ryan all week. Truthfully, I had one day with multiple notes but I'm still counting it as a success because I managed to fit in at least something small and sweet to do for Ryan.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights! I actually did this! My body was very grateful as well.

5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! I did this too! We're using "You Need a Budget" and it's actually kind of fun to do. Already managed to save a big chunk of my savings goal for this month.

6. Read and reflect every night before bed. Take much needed mental breaks. Maybe perhaps not the relaxing I imagined but I was successful in crocheting and watching PLL before bed each night. When you're into a show it takes you to a different world that's not your own. To me that's the best kind of mental break.

HEALTH:

7. Work out x3.Success! I know I was making it my goal to go 4x a week before but it was much more manageable for me to go only 3 times. It gives me a cherished afternoon back. And also the opportunity to just not go to the gym after work if I've had a long terrible day.

8. 8,500 steps/day goal. Killed it! My average was 10464 steps/day!
9. No fast food for the rest of the week. (Except for possible Saturday family outing.) Largest fail of the week. I broke this goal earlier in the week and then said "Screw it!" for the rest of it. (Side note: since I'm tracking all my expenses, I can actually see and visualize the ridiculous amount of money we've spent in this first 10 days of August on restaurants/fast food and I am newly motivated to start fresh for this week.)

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Send off Yarndale mandala. Check! You can read more about it here!
11. Three more colors on my granny stripe blanket. (Note to self: I'm on dark purple right now.) Check! And now I've started on this amazingly awesome toddler sweater for Luna.

12.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Check! I even wrote three posts this week. Wahoo!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Find and do a book-related craft with Luna.

2. (Family) Have official family dinners every night.

3. (Marriage) Mr. 246 is on break between semesters for the next two weeks so my goal is to spend some quality time in the evenings since he won't be studying!

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!(Continued from last week!)
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! (Continued from last week!)
6. Keep utilizing new planner daily!
7. Write a "Two Minute Journal" each day.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x3.

9. 9,000 steps/day goal.
10. No fast food or restaurants alllll week.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Finish (or at least finish 75%) of Luna's sweater.
12. Plan out next month or so of crafts that need attending to.
13. Catch up and post on the Harry Potter Craftalong.

14.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

Let's see if I can keep up the momentum from last week! Could I possibly complete 100% of this week's goals?! We shall see!

What's your number one goal to finish this week?

-Mrs. 246

My Yarndale Mandala

If you're familiar with the internet world of crochet you probably know of Lucy and her blog, Attic 24. She crochets amazing, colorful, awesome things and is one of the organizers for Yarndale.

Yarndale appears to be an awesome festival of all things wool and yarn related. I wouldn't actually know since it's all the way in England and I'll probably never get to attend. Last year at Yarndale there was an amazing display when Lucy put out the call to fellow crocheters around the world to send in granny bunting. This was the jaw-dropping result:

Picture courtesy of Attic24

This year she put out a request for just one mandala and since I never actually sent my granny bunting triangle last year I really wanted to participate in making a mandala. So, the above pictures are my mandala. It's a little late so I don't know if it'll actually be included or not but it's possible!


Yarndale Mandala:

• Yarn: Leftover Simply Soft Yarns
• Hook Size: 4.00mm
• Time: One evening.
• Size: 7in diameter
• Fun: 9/10. I like pretty much anything that's quick and colorful.
• Pattern (ish): I started out by making this Little Spring Mandala by Made In K-Town then adding a couple rows of my own making to get the proper size.
• Help: There are links on the original Yarndale Mandala post by Attic24 for various tutorials.

So, there you have it! I can't wait to see updates after Yarndale to see all the amazing mandalas people have made. Hope you enjoyed seeing mine!

-Mrs. 246

Right Now {August}

Right now I am...
reading // Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
papercrafting // Nothing! Not even PL which I'm behind on!
crocheting // Granny Stripe Blanket
crafting // Just finished a dress for Luna and curtains for my new table!
listening // This American Life app. Best app I've ever purchased. Totally worth the $4.
watching // Pretty Little Liars
craving // Fall!
loving // My new project table/area!
playing // Skylanders SwapForce and MarioKart8 (still! lol)
wanting // For work to go a bit smoother tomorrow.
hating // This terribly hot weather.
thankful for // Having enough funds to do the things we want to do.

Right now Mr. 246 is...
reading // "Occasionally I'll open a book. Most recently I read the first chapter of Dune." 
playing // Skylanders SwapForce on the WiiU and 3DS, and Devil Survivor Overclocked
watching // Bored to Death
listening // The radio! (Weird, right?)
looking forward to // Trip to the zoo this weekend and being done with this semester!
wanting // "Elves. So they can write my last paper for me."
hating // Any days above 90 degrees.
craving // "Nothing. I just ate a bunch of food."
loving // My new minivan! And slackline!

Right now Luna is...
reading // Lots of library books! Most recently "How to Lose a Lemur"
playing // Make believe!
watching // Madagascar!
listening // Any songs that Violet sings.
saying // "I'm odd!"
loving // Her new violet, the new minivan.
laughing // She laughs at herself making a "happy face."
learning // Her personal information (name, age, last name, mommy and daddy's first and last names)
mastering // Hopping.

What have you been up to lately?

 -Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 32}

I'm going to admit...I haven't been doing so great lately in the goals department. I kind of sucked at Week 30 and then for Week 31 I didn't even make goals. You know what? I could definitely tell the shift in my life from making goals and not. I was much less productive. (I only went to the gym once last week!) 

Honestly, I didn't even feel like making this post today. That's the thing with letting things "slide." When you do it once it makes it easier to let it slide the next time and then the time after that. Then, before you know it, you're off the wagon. I'm not going to let that happen. So, allow me to visit my not-so-great Week 30 and we'll make some new goals for this week!

GOALS MET FROM WEEK 30: 8.25/13

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Take Luna to the park at least twice. Check! I think we may have even gone 3 times.

2. (Family) Go swimming together. Check!
3. (Family) Take more pictures! (Ongoing and repetitive but necessary to include: must take more pictures!) I made a conscious effort to take more. Whether I actually took more or not I don't know but I did pretty alright.

4. (Marriage) At least 2-3 times, when I get things ready for the morning, get his/Luna's things together to so he can have a little bit more of a break in the morning. Twice I did this then never again. Lol.

PERSONAL:

5. Start reading the new book I got: The Opposite of Loneliness. Yes, I started it. Then stopped. I wasn't loving it as much as I thought I would.
6. Save all receipts/update budget twice. Stick to my budget!During week 30....no. I'm doing a bit better right now though!

HEALTH: (We'll try this again...same goals as last week.)

7. Work out x4.Three times. I'll take 3/4 credit.

8. 10,000 steps/day goal. Nope. It's been so hot lately I haven't wanted to do anything.
9. 8 glasses of water a day.The hot weather has its benefits. I've been drinking my water!

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Finish Yarndale Mandala, take pictures, and send it off! Half credit! I made it and took pictures. I just haven't got it ready to send out yet.
11. Make an HP Craftalong post Yep! All caught up and I found a new app for keeping up with forums to use for Craftster...pretty neat. (It's called Tapatalk. Check it out!)

12.Work on PL at least one night.

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Erm, no. Sorry!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Do a painting project with Luna at least once.

2. (Family) Family outing next Saturday on my weekend off!

3. (Marriage) I thought of a fun little goal. I'll keep it a secret til next week in case he decides to read this. Hehe.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget!
6. Read and reflect every night before bed. Take much needed mental breaks.

HEALTH:

7. Work out x3.

8. 8,500 steps/day goal.
9. No fast food for the rest of the week. (Except for possible Saturday family outing.)

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Send off Yarndale mandala.
11. Three more colors on my granny stripe blanket. (Note to self: I'm on dark purple right now.)

12.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

Okay week 32...I'm gonna kick your butt!

-Mrs. 246