Week in the Life | Day 1
One of the last photos I took today. Geoff and Trey rehearsing his lines for the next CVHS play.
My friend Ali has created a super-cool 7-day documentary project called Week in the Life. She hosts this project on her blog (with an optional custom-designed kit) 2 or 3 times a year. I have know Ali for many years, but I have never attempted this project with her, until now. Back in early March, I saw a photo of the current kit and was smitten. I ordered almost immediately and received my kit in the mail 2 weeks-ish before spring break. The problem? I didn't I open the box!
What?
I know.
Weird, right?
Anyway, I kept thinking I would open it, but my sister was in town, Trey was in the annual musical at the high school, and well ... all the usual daily to-dos took over and I just never got around it ... until this past Monday evening, April 17th—the first official day of the project. Unfortunately, some of the most FUN and colorful elements in my kit were missing. I received the album and protectors and some transparent page dividers and stickers, but no journaling cards and embellishments. Fortunately, I reached out to Ali and her awesome assistant, Katie and they arranged a reshipment ASAP! My new, complete kit is on it's way to me, scheduled to arrive next Wednesday. I'm driving to Utah next Wednesday, so I can see my daughter-in-law, Lauren walk at BYU graduation. The gap between my week of intense photo-taking and the time that I can begin to compile my project is growing and I'm a bit nervous that much of what I'm experiencing this week in terms of thoughts and feelings and detailed observations will have evaporated by then. All of this to say that I'm going to be blogging my photos and story-notes for my pending project here on the blog, and then post-dating my entries to they will be super-EASY to reference. Most of you reading this already know Ali well, and are familiar with her Week in the Life concept, so I probably needed no explanation at all. But, there are a few that may need this introduction.
Week in the Life: Monday's photos
I took me the better part of Monday to hit my stride with taking photos. In other words, I spaced it until I was with Trey at his orthodontist appointment! I have forgotten or missed some good photos this week, but for sure one of my take aways is that the more you take photos, the more you see opportunities to take photos. I LOVE that.
11:19am \\ On Monday, I was still recovering from a little back injury/incident last Friday, so I had an appointment with Dr. Chamberlain at 9:45am. He adjusted me and I also got a lazer treatment. I scheduled that appointment so that I could go immediately afterward to our orthodontist, Dr. Ralph and meet Trey, but ... I got a text from Taft—he had forgotten his graphing calculator—so I had to run home in between both appointments after all. So much for my efficiency plans, ha! Anyway, I met Trey at 10:40am because he is super anxious to get his braces OFF. He still has a small gap between his lateral incisor and his first canine (upper left) that is not closing. This is because his lateral incisor is actually a dead tooth (long story for another post.) Trey mom to tell Dr. Ralph to remove his braces. He is done, meaning mentally finished. Can't do it anymore. WANTS HIS BRACES REMOVED. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to communicate his frustration and that he wouldn't be taken seriously. So, I went. I said, "We're good with the gap. He has the lead in the final theater production of the year and he wants to graduate WITHOUT braces!" Dr. Ralph was on board. He is now scheduled for removal on May 9th. This photo shows his final set of pink bands and his approving SMILE.
2:38pm \\ Back at home, cleaning up and doing Monday-ish chores, I checked my phone and I got an email from Karen Grunberg, who used to teach classes at Big Picture Classes. I sat down at my computer to email her back and decided to visit her blog, which inspired me to post a video and short story to my blog. It's been a LONG time. As usual, I have a handful of drafts written that only need finishing touches AND I have plenty of ideas—but boy do I struggle to sit down and WRITE. My One Little Word this year is WRITE, so I'm not giving up. I will keep at this. On again, off again. Just keep (trying) to write.
2:59pm \\ I just really like this little corner of my office. This yellow chair makes me happy even though I rarely sit in it myself. My husband will sit here if he comes home for lunch and my kids will sometimes sit here to read or just be in the same room with me, if I'm on the computer. I just recently replaced an older, faded pillow with this one and yeah, I like it.
3:00pm \\ Was back in the kitchen when I had this thought: I should take a photo of myself at the beginning of this project. Then I thought, 'Nope. bad idea. Not looking very presentable—no makeup.' Then I thought, 'Are you going to be authentic and real, or not?' and then I thought, 'You know how you look back on earlier photos of yourself, when you thought you didn't look good or you weren't thin enough or whatever, and you're grateful now that you have that photo and in hindsight you weren't chubby or whatever it was?' I took this photo. Someday I'll be glad and perfectly ok with it.
3:05pm\\ Making Taco Soup for my friend, Janene, who had a baby a few days before I left town for spring break. I wanted to go see her in the hospital, but I was sick and now she is like 3 weeks old! Taco soup is easy and yummy and since I didn't tell her I was making her dinner, it's something she can use tonight or another night this week. It's flexible, you know?
3:06pm \\ I'm clearly now on a photo-taking roll. These are some of the cans I opened to make my soup. The youth at church are planning a Cinco DeMayo dinner/party on May 5th, and we're going to decorate tables with Mexican-looking cans and tissue paper flowers. Hence the other reason I made Taco Soup!
3:19pm \\ Baked eggs. I haven't baked eggs in a while, but I love having them in my fridge. I put cupcake liners in a muffin tin, spray them with cooking spray and break an egg into each cup. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. cool and store. I eat baked eggs for breakfast and/or snacks. I like them with avocado or guacamole and a small dollop of homemade mayo for a snack too. I baked these eggs this morning, but didn't think to photograph them, so I pulled them back out and took this pic!
8:01pm \\ Addie getting crafty, which she does often. She is prone to lay out her markers or pencils or whatever and busy herself, while we're doing our after-dinner thing. Tonight we had Family Home Evening and I shared some thoughts about the importance of know who we are and why we are here, so that we can make better choices and prepare to help/serve others. Addie generally conducts this little meeting and asks someone to choose a Primary song and someone else to say the family prayer, then she might wander off if the conversation gets to long or uninteresting for her. I took this photo after we were done.
8:07pm \\ Addie got Trey involved in making these paper fortune-tellers—printer paper folded up with little numbered flaps that can reveal your future! Trey says all the time, "Addie, you are my best friend!" and sometimes I really believe it. They legit PLAY together a lot.
8:10pm \\ Geoff helping Trey memorize his lines. Trey is the lead in the final play of his high school career. He attends Central Valley High School and loves theater. This spring they are performing an Alfred Hitchcock comedy, 39 Steps and Trey has been cast as Richard Hannay. He needs to memorize LOTS of lines, including a 3-page monologue ... in a British accent!
8:16pm \\ iPhone screenshot. Last photo of the day, when I wished I had taken more photos AND when I realized I had forgotten to snap a photo of my friend's new baby. This view of my text conversations reminds me of and reveals some details of my day that didn't get photographed.
