Project Life Confessions

We are currently already into week six of 2014, it is February already people.
And I have yet to finish a project life layout, not one.

hmmm.
I totally love PL.
I am kind of obsessed with all things PL.
So I'm asking myself why am I not actually doing it?
I completed a monthly PL album for 2012, last year I did every week. EVERY WEEK! And its soooo awesome.

But this year, 0.

I have a cool album, 70 design A pocket pages ready to go, a monthly subscription to the coolest PL kit out there from Studio Calico, and the awesomest at-home photo printer.  Seriously, its just slipping photos and cards in pockets. It's beyond simple.

I have a pinterest board full on inspiration. I have TOO many pictures of #projectlife from instagram on my phone. I read and reread many blogs about it. And enjoy all the eye candy, I can handle.

And yet, I'm completely unmotivated to move forward here at home, in our little corner of OK.

I have several theories. [Insert the Man rolling his eyes here as to say "of course, she has a theory or two"]

Theory 1 - My scrap space while not completely organized & clean but totally functional is now in the quilted-off playroom, now know as the "deep freeze".  Our playroom/sunroom/scraproom/dining room is a poorly insulated boxed in porch with 14 windows on the north side of the house.  Out of necessity we have hung quilts up to block off this room completely from the house.   Our energy bill will reflect this and we will be happy about it.

Therefore with the current temperature outside in the teens and the house at 68, the scrap area is a balmy 49 degrees. I kid you not. Buddy used his science class energy kit's thermometer to gather that data for M.E.

I know, I know, I'm kind of whining when so many people don't even have a scrap area.
And believe M.E. I'm extremely grateful for the Man who supports M.E. in trying to document our boys as they are growing up.   He gets it even if he's not into it and let's M.E. have this space.

With that said, my fingers and toes and nose, don't want anything to do with the area of the house, its just too cold.


Theory 2 - I'm kind of feeling like I'M not really getting it. I'm just sticking photos and cards in pockets, which is what's so wonderful about Project Life right, but at the same time, I'm not capturing IT, our life.

I'm not capturing the stories.
I'm not capturing the feelings.
I'm just getting photos off my phone so we know what we did. It's become a chronological timeline of this, then this, then we did this, and we went here and etc. etc. etc.

It doesn't feel authentic. gasp. I said it. I'm not being authentic.

So, I'm reevaluating.  I still think pocket scrapbooking it the WAY to go!  I still love all things PL, but I'm going to have to get more stories and more feelings it. Maybe more eye candy for pause and breathe and balance.  Just because I have 1500 pictures on my iPhone doesn't mean that I have to use them all.  Taking photos has become so convenient with smartphone technology, I take dozen daily for what ever reason.  I take these photos because its something I liked, a moment I wanted to capture, something to put here on the blog or on Instagram, inspiration, or something funny.

I don't think all these photos need to go in PL or do they?!

It's the little bits and pieces that the boys and I are going to want to remember, right?  I mean I've never been into scrapping events, holidays and such.  What I have always liked scrapping is the little things that I know I totally would have forgotten or already have.

For example, I snapped this photo as a reference for the Man so he could get new uniforms for the baseball team to match. It's a reference photo - insignificant, right?

Turns out they no longer have this particular style of baseball uniform and the whole team will likely have to get new ones so they all match. Therefore it'll likely never be worn again and now that I have a photo, I can slip it into PL and bam, its preserved forever.

But here's the next questions?  Will I or Buddy or anyone who ever opens my PL care what his baseball uniform looked like in the 4th grade?

I don't know, and its these little decisions that make M.E. crazy.

But what I do know is that writing all this here has already helped M.E. realize a thing or two.  I've been focused about getting these photos off the phone and I'm forgetting to include the why, the reason, the WORDS, the STORY!

It's not about embellishments (even though they are so cool) and its not just about getting the photos in or about color schemes and blah, blah, blah.  It's about who we are and although a photo may capture 1000 words somethings they need a narrator, an introduction, a conclusion, a frame-of-reference or explanation.

I want to look back on these albums and see, feel and experience 2014!

So here's to writing more, here's to journaling and here's to trying to capture a week at a time or maybe a moment at a time. And maybe just going with the FLOW!

Thanks for reading!