Sunday Links No. 28 - Lino Cutting, 100 Year Old Man & Inner Excavation Along

I hope everyone had fantastic Canada and Independence Days last week. My fireworks photo look like a nebula - love it!

Here are some links that caught my eye last week:

This video has inspired me to get my lino blocks and tools out today.

I have been catching up on Project Life and am getting ready to start a new album. I am going to use this idea as my cover page.

Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time), I forget to go back and look at all of the amazing things I have pinned. Here is a round-up of unique ways to wrap gifts.

I took this book out of the library on a whim and am enjoying it immensely.

I have had the Inner Excavation book by Liz Lamoreux for some time but haven't really done anything with it yet. I am going to follow along with Liz's Inner Excavation Along and I am sure some of the exercises will be shared here on the blog.

Have a great week!

Take It All In

I have been going, going and not stopping to listen to the "mom, come play with me!" pleas. Yesterday I said yes. Yesterday I stopped to take in all the joy that is running through a field of long grass with my boys.

The picture and words are in response to the prompt "take it all in" over on Focus on Everyday, a  collaborative photography blog. Hop on over to see Gabi's take on this week's theme.

Sunday Links No. 27 - DIY Papertowels, TV Magic & Science Inspiration

We are in full heatwave heat right now. Time to break out the homemade frozen treats, sprinklers and trips to the lake.

But before I go get my summer on, here are the Sunday Links:

We as a family try to reuse and reduce (and recycle) as much as we can. We don't use papertowels; this tutorial would get my sewing machine out of its hiding place.

I don't believe in full-on homework during the summer vacation but I do insist on a bit of learning every day. I can be a cool mom and try to make it fun. This list of science inspiration will be put to good use.

I have a guilty pleasure of enjoying Family Guy. And Seth MacFarlane cracks me up. Couple that with Jimmy Fallon and you have TV magic.

So smart, why is this not already a thing? Samsung - make this happen!

Right now, Facebook and I are on a break. Sorry Facebook, it is you, but I know I will be back for more. When I am back, I am going to check out these groups that promise to have:

1. No icky spam

2. Useful, correct advice

3. Helpful, engaged people

My Week

This week:

• Gabi and I revitalized Focus on Everyday. The above picture is my response to the prompt "ready". Click through to read the words that go along with it and see Gabi's picture.
• I had my first emergency visit to the hospital with my oldest son. I was 45 minutes away, he was at a friend's house and they couldn't reach my husband. Not a situation I want to find myself in again. He is fine - 9 stitches and a story to tell.
• Finally feeling caught up in my work. So caught up that there is time for this blog post and to shut the work e-mails down for the weekend.
• My blood sugars are slowly getting under control. I am still increasing my insulin dose every 2 days but I am getting closer to where I need to be. 
• It feels good to be in this space again.

Welcome Summer 2015

Welcome summer! You have been missed and I can't wait to get reaquainted.

I kicked-off the season with some pictures. These 2 decided they didn't want to be photographed today, but allowed me these few.

I hope it isn't a trend but a one-off. I have to respect their boundaries. They love to take pictures so maybe if I let them take pictures of me they will let me take pictures of them. It would be a double-win as I am sorely lacking in the pictures of mom department.

Picture template credit: Paislee Press

Sunday Links No. 26 - Funny Tweets, Grandpa's Sweater & Popsicles

In honour of Father's Day, check out these tweets that sum up what it means to be a parent. My favourite, "Apparently I pack an apple in my 5 year old's lunch so it can get out of the house for a few hours."

With summer vacation looming, I am going to use these questions as journal prompts for the boys.

I never knew grandpa's sweater could be so cool. This has been added to my knitting to-do list.

Lava flow popsicles!

I want to dedicate a wall to pictures using this method.

37 Things Before 38

Over 2 weeks ago now I turned 37. We were on vacation at the lake and it was perfection. Just me and all my boys, I couldn't ask for anything more. As I tend to mentally age myself early (I've been calling myself 37 in my head for a few months now) I was already adjusted to the age change.

One of my goals on the 36 Things Before 37 list was to write my 37 Things Before 38 list ON my birthday. And I did it!

I can't say the same for everything else on the list. I didn't make it to half of them, but:

• as a weak excuse, I created the list 6 months away from my birthday and didn't have a full year to complete them.
• I didn't put a lot of thought into all of them and they weren't what I truly wanted.
• some things made it onto this year's list as I still want to do them.
• I am okay with all of the above.

37 Things Before 38

1. Take a pottery wheel class
2. List 100 items in my Etsy shop
3. Do the de-clutter challenge (I started this on August 1)
4. Create a blogging schedule
5. Take pictures with my DSLR every week.
6. I need to listen to my doctor and get down to my ideal weight to help with my diabetes and high blood pressure
7. Try my hand at some Fair Isle knitting
8. Go to yoga once per week
9. 5 new date night adventures
10. Sign Connor up for the babysitting course
11. Take boys to Whistler
12. Book dentist appointments (done, we go this month!)
13. Make my bucket list
14. Play new song on the piano
15. Print out the family mantra I created
16. Sleep outside with the boys
17. Go thrifting with Gabi
18. Organize the playroom
19. Make new kick-ass workout playlist
20. No snacks after dinner except on family movie nights
21. Work through all my old personal training plans
22. Drink 4L of water per day (this is going well 2 weeks later)
23. Finish my first Project Life Album
24. Climb Golden Ears
25. Go to the gym 3 times per week 
26. Refinish the filing cabinet I scored from work
27. Go for a family bike ride on the dykes
28. Book our 4th Shuswap trip
29. Donate all the clothes I haven't worn in a year (be brutal)
30. Organize my craft desk (that new filing cabinet will come in handy)
31. Paint my bedroom side tables
32. Get my piano tuned
33. Buy a paddle boat or kayaks for item number 28
34. Brush off the children's stories I have written and start submitting them again
35. Send in queries to magazines for some new articles
36. Create and implement a chore schedule for the boys
37. Write my 38 things before 39 on my birthday

 It's a good sign that I'm exciting about this list. It is going to get DONE!

Sunday Links No. 25 - 55 Movies, Make-up & Hair Clips

This is the real behind the scenes of me trying to get a group shot. Maybe this is part of the reason I love my lifestyle/candid style of photography. Please note that my husband is holding the sign upside down and I took many shots past this one before I noticed.

After a brief hiatus, here are my Sunday Links:

I am trying to grow out my bangs (after having them for less than a month). This clip is perfect for when I am on job sites!

Those who know me, know that make-up isn't something I do a lot of, or well for that matter. But this tutorial is something I can get behind.

We bought a projector yesterday so we can watch backyard movies on a giant white sheet. These 55 movies are a must.

This bookmark is going to be my new method of tagging great parts of books. Move over post-it notes.

I came home to over 1200 unread posts in my blog reader. I ended up clearing them all (sorry, I just couldn't justify the time to spend a day reading blogs). I am so glad I read this post before I hit "mark all as read".

My boys love pierogies. I am going to give this recipe a go and make our own.

And here is the final picture of my family that I got (even though I had to photoshop the face of one of my boys in from another photo as not one shot was "perfect").

PS I pin a lot of photography tips, including posing guides and photoshop tutorials here.