COVID Elephant in the Room

I wrote this at the beginning of March.

Inconvenience. At this point, for me personally, that's all this (still) is. I had to cancel Art Night. My fave hobby - grocery shopping - is limited, filled with new rules. My big Accountability Club goal is in the shitter.

But I am healthy, I have a job and I can work from home. My son is old enough to be at home by himself, and feed and entertain himself. I hate "silver lining" rhetoric in the face of hard times, but I 100% believe in recognizing and acknowledging joy and gratitude in among the shit.

I am always painfully aware & conscious of my weaknesses, but lately I have started paying more attention to my strengths. And I am trying to watch for that in others.

Let's play a game!

Grab a pen and a piece of paper, or open the notes app on your phone.
Write down ONE THING that makes you proud of yourself.
Tape it somewhere you will see everyday. Like your bathroom mirror, or fridge door.

Now, think about a friend or family member.
Write something they have done recently that you admire.
And if you're feeling really daring, call or text that person and tell them what you wrote.

We can do hard things. And hard things are easier when we do them together.

Write Your Gratitude - Thank You Cards

I am a huge fan of writing your gratitude. It is one of my self care tricks when I am feeling low. I write out some things (people, events, etc.) that I am grateful for in my life and it helps me feel better and put things in perspective.

I also know, that there is little to no way I am going to get Lucas writing in a gratitude journal, or even creating a gratitude list. But I do know that I can get him to write a few thank you cards to family after Christmas.

I bought/was gifted these cool personalized cards from some online stationary shop ages ago, and we used the last one with this batch of thank yous. I wouldn't say they were worth the money, but I really like the idea and the design, so I might try my hand at making my own this year.

The only "prompts" I give him are informative: the names of the people and the gift he received from them. He has to come up with the message. And, oh boy, he has some clever messages this year!

Everyone who has received their card so far has been pleased, proud, and amused! I am hoping to expand this practice to more family members and also for other occasions. It is one of those "life lessons" I am always harping on about. Plus it gives him a chance to practice his printing!

FURTHER READING
Some of my forays into "writing gratitude" include:

• Writing thank you cards to my friends
• Creating a Gratitude Jar
• "I am grateful for" scrapbook layout

How do you write your gratitude? I would love to know! Share in the comments, or send me an email!

xo

Mini Album Tradition

At Christmas of 2016, I started what I hoped would be a new tradition for my family. On the night we celebrated Christmas with my Mom, I took Instax photos of everyone in attendance and had them fill out a little card. On it they were instructed to write their favourite part of Christmas, or something they were grateful for.

Once complete, I bound all the photos and cards in a little - teensy really - book.

The act of documenting these memories and moments, combined with the creation of the little book was very special to me, and I hoped to continue it to the next Christmas.

Enter Christmas 2017. We celebrated with Mom a little early this year, on the 23rd, and I had so much going on in my brain that day, that I totally forgot about this little project! I was slightly miffed when I realized my mistake, but was thankful for the opportunity to fix it on New Year's Eve when we all gathered again to play some games at my sister's house.

This time I changed their "assignment" to better reflect the holiday and asked them to note either their:

Favourite memory from 2017

OR

Most anticipated moment in 2018

And the results were wonderful and amusing.


For last year's post, click here. That video is much funnier than this year's video. I also wrote up a little "how to" in terms of building the book, in case you are interested.

I mention in the video that I might purposefully change it up again next year. We are all going to Mexico (!) together in November. I feel like a little album documenting our fave Mexico moment will be quite spectacular.

xo

Mini (Mini) Album

I think I set the bar high last year for a new Christmas tradition.

Here, let this righteous "vlog" do the explaining!


Supplies:
- Corner rounder
- Random paper cut down to 3" x 4" (can also use Project Life or other pocket scrapbooking cards)
- Packing tape
- A couple of small embellishments or sticker letters
- Adhesive (my go-to is Sookwang)

Step By Step (ooh baby)
1. The most important steps are getting the photos and getting the writing. I used my Instax instant camera, but honestly you could just take photos of all your people, and print them later. Remember to take all the photos in the same orientation (landscape or portrait) to make it easier to create the album later.

Since I knew I wasn't going to see both sides of the card, I used some of my old one-sided business cards. The paper is really nice, and it's a shame to let them go to waste! Don't give your people a huge sheet of paper because that is guaranteed to overwhelm, and make them feel like they have to write a damn novel or something. A couple of sentences at most is all I asked for.


2. Since mine was a "Christmas theme", I went through my meager stash of Christmas themed supplies, and pulled paper from there. But honestly, use what you have. I used sparkly papers for the covers because I like gold sparkly paper yo.

If you want to use cards already cut down to size, assemble those. Enough so each picture and card gets a side.


3. Cut all of your paper down to size. I like the smaller size of this album because a) I wanted it to be a small keepsake and b) My Instax photos and the similarly sized cards fit just right! But make it whatever size works for your photos and journaling cards.

Corner round those suckers! Cause it makes it look so fancy schmancy.


4. Decide on your order of cards, photos, and papers and then BIND THEM!

I bind you paper. Bind you from doing harm against others and harm against yourself.

Grab your packing tape. Unroll a little bit, enough to mostly cover the edge of your paper, and cut it. Line it up to one side of your paper and stick it down. Now, butt your other page against the first one and stick them together.

This is honestly a shitty description and I should really do a video showing how I do this step. But I trust y'all and bet you can figure it out on your own.


5. Keep going until you have all your pages taped together. Then adhere your photos and journaling cards to the pages.


6. Embellish the covers as desired, and call it a night!


This was such a fun project to put together, but ultimately I am just SO STINKIN HAPPY that I got photos of and words from some of my favourite people. This is honestly going to become a treasured Christmas tradition.

xo

Gratitude Cookie Jar

So I have this big cookie jar. It actually is terrible for storing your cookies because there is no seal, so they just dry out. Boo! But for some reason I have never been able to part with it. I get that way with things my grandparents give me. And so when I moved, I had to move this big jar, this big useless, taking-up-space jar. And I almost got rid of it. And then I realized what it would be perfect for.

A Gratitude Jar.

Internal Monologue: HA! I just googled "Gratitude Jar" and found untold number of Pinterest idea boards, and "how-to" instruction sheets. You can even buy them on Etsy. Oh my. I will never understand people's need to make a mountain out of a molehill.

How to make a Gratitude Jar, the Lazy Lisa version.
1. Get a jar
2. Get a pen
3. Get some scraps of paper
4. Write something you are grateful for on a piece of paper using the pen
5. Put it in the jar
6. Repeat as needed

I actually think the simplicity of this project is what makes it so wonderful, and so powerful.

You don't need ribbons, or etched glass, or a fancy die cut machine and customized vinyl words adorning your jar to be grateful and to record your gratitude. Those things are nice, but not essential. In fact, they can be overwhelming, and they can get in the way. I mean, whatever, if your gratitude jar has to be pretty to make it work for you, then who am I to argue. But perhaps ask yourself if it really needs to be pretty...

Voila, my Gratitude Cookie Jar. I've got my scraps of paper and a pen at the ready (in a beautiful vase that came to me filled with Valentine's Day flowers from my Dad...can't get rid of this one either.)

I can't remember when I started it, but I have years and years until this jar will be full. Gosh won't that be a beautiful sight!

I don't write a note everyday because sometimes I forget. And that's okay.

There are two notes in there from BFF & Dude. Those are already my favourite.

The scraps of paper aren't pretty. Hell, I've even got some old business cards of mine in there from my Student's Union days because the paper is really nice and again, I couldn't just throw them in the garbage. Ahhh "memories and nostalgia that guilt you into keeping things you don't need." My favourite. Ugh.

And there are some Instax photos in there as well. Because where the hell else am I going to put random Instax photos other than scattered everywhere in my house? That's literally my current storage system for those. Me thinks I best be looking into a better solution....hmmm...

This is the sad little corner in my kitchen that has been "livened up" with the jar, some lights from Target (before it went out of business in Canada...grumble grumble) and some lovely string art that Dude made for me.

Please note: This space is never ever ever this clean and tidy. I literally moved a bunch of towels and dirty dishes out of the frame so I could get this photo. The Internet Lies.

I will say that I most definitely recommend starting a Gratitude Jar. Or a 30 Days of Gratitude Project. Or a Gratitude Journal. Or whatever else floats your boat with the purpose of recording the things, moments and people you are grateful for in your life. I can't fully explain how this has improved my quality of life, and I don't even work on it everyday! Imagine how I would feel if I did!!

I am grateful for this place, in which I can send my thoughts out in to the world. Thanks for being here.

xo

I miss...I love...

Last week A couple of weeks ago now Nadine posted a "Currently" list. And one of the items on her list was "battling the comparing game dialogue - she can make it work and makes it look easy, why can't I?"

I think about that shit all the time. But it's getting better, and less bitter. And more worldly even. Huh.

I know that very few people have it "all". I have met many people in my life that appear on the surface to have all the money, freedom, looks, luck, brains, nannies that they could possibly desire and they still are worried and self-conscious about something. They play the comparison game as well.

I thought I would do a little exercise here in self-exploration and expose some of those comparisons I make within myself. Sometimes it doesn't even take an external force for us to start comparing and complaining about what we have or do not have. (Or want...)

P.S. I might come across as a wee bit of a narcissist with all the upcoming photos of my gorgeous self, BUT I also think it's a kind of spectacular and necessary thing to splash real life lady-bodies all over the Internet. Like, everywhere. Chubs and all. Especially the chubs.

I miss blogging / I love not feeling stressed and obligated when I miss blogging

I miss having free time in the evenings / I love cooking for BFF and exploring the ravine with Dude

I miss the good old (less stressful) days at my job / I love my job!

I miss the past / I love the choices I've made to get me where I am today

I miss cable (some days...) / I love reading before I go to sleep

I miss the gym / I love working out in my underpants

(Tell A Story Interlude: Sometimes when Lucas is getting dressed - or undressed - he tells me he is going to take off his "overwear" and leave on his "underwear". Yes, it is super adorable. You can say "awwww" and giggle now.)

I miss having my own studio room / I love that I can create (read: make a mess) wherever I want

I miss scrapbooking and Project Life / I love this hobby and am still finding time and space for it in my life on my own terms

I miss financial security / I love being purposeful in my spending & saving, only getting the things I truly want or need

I miss Dude / I love being by myself

I think that this proves that the comparison game is only helpful if you can use it to look inside and see what a truly fucking awesome life you lead!

Or as an excuse to post dorky outfit photos of yourself on the Internet. As if I need an excuse!!

xo Lis

Like Riding A Bicycle

I will admit that I was strangely nervous going in to my class on Thursday night, and I can't quite explain why. Perhaps it was just energy and excitement! It has been quite some time since I taught my last class at Treasured Memories, and I was glad of the friendly faces.

We were painting houses...

 

It's serious business. Just kidding! My classes are so laid back, I think sometimes the students forget there's a teacher...

My teaching style can best be described as "go with the flow" and "loosey-goosey". I want to inspire you and give you the confidence and basic tools to DO SOMETHING WITH ART! That's all. No pressure, and no expectations.

This was a fabulous group of ladies. I am so grateful for their kind words and compliments! And while they say I have inspired them, I think the reverse is also very true.

I only have one more class scheduled, but I have loads of ideas for more! If you want more info, click the link below or call Treasured Memories (780.414.1540)

Live It Out - Basic Watercolours

Thanks for stopping by!

-Lisa

This post has been brought to you by: My Summer Manifesto

On Gratitude...and raking

On Monday night, after Lucas & I had finished with our bedtime stories (Kit Feeny and Jabba the Puppet for him, Small Island for me) I went outside to rake. It was late, close to 10. The sun was almost fully set, so it was by the light of the streetlights that I raked.

At that moment I was feeling very nostalgic and very grateful. I remember the days when Mom used to rake our big yard. With that big heavy metal rake! That thing was so heavy. I'm surprised she didn't have bigger arms...

I am grateful that I have a big yard, even if it is going to take me another 4 days to rake the whole thing! I am grateful that I am healthy and strong enough to do it. My (borrowed) metal rake makes a clink noise every time it hits the ground. It is small, but heavy enough that I feel the pull in my shoulders immediately.

There is a slight breeze in the air, with a wetness that comes at night in the spring. It isn't cold, but it is chilly enough that I am thankful for my Kimberley hoodie. I am wearing only my pajamas underneath my hoodie. I was just in bed reading stories after all. The lamp in my living room is on, as is the outside light. My house appears to glow. It looks so warm and inviting. It looks like home.

In this brief moment I am not thinking about a hundred other things. I am not thinking about work, and how stressed and busy I have been lately. I am not thinking about how I feel lost and alone. I am not thinking about money, or stuff, or relationships, or anything else that has been pressing hard on my mind lately. I am thinking about all the fun I will be having on my deck and in my yard all summer. I am thinking about buying some grass seed when I get a chance, because the sod the city "installed" (last summer perhaps?) does not connect to the rest of the lawn and is pulling up in some places. I am hoping that all the people who walk their dogs down my street (of which there are hundreds) are responsible pet owners and that my rake isn't picking up any surprises as I go.

I didn't spend much time out there that night, 20 minutes or so. But it was alovely, normal, boring, useful, practical, satisfying 20 minutes.

-Lisa

Thank You!

I absolutely believe that expressing your gratitude for things and people in your life makes life better. It's a Lisa-Guarantee.

This can be as simple as a post-it note on a fridge or as complicated as a gratitude journal. I personally like to keep it simple and varied. I have been known to send handmade notes to friends who are special to me. I write gratitude lists in my journal. I instagram my gratitude.

This is my go-to activity when I am feeling crummy, sad, down-in-the-dumps, etc. It makes me feel better, and I hope it sets a good example to others.

Last month I was approached by Tiny Prints to see about doing some sort of blog collaboration. The ball was in my court to think of something, and they would help me out as best they could. And so I started wandering through all the gorgeous options on their site! Address labels, and photo cards, and calendars, and invitations, and more. It was a teensy bit overwhelming. So I went back to something that is a no brainer for me...gratitude. And that led me to their thank you cards. And I knew I had it.

And this one is sparkly...so...yeah.

I started with the easy ones, the people who I could write a million thank you notes to and never scratch the surface. These are the people that deserve fancy cards in the mail everyday, and so much more.

Speaking of fancy cards, don't forget to make your mark on the envelope.

Washi tape fixes everything.

And I have loads of cards left, for when I am next feeling like I need to express a little gratitude and spread the love. I even used one as decor in my "office". They are just that special.

I am thankful that I was given a sweet opportunity by Tiny Prints.

I am thankful that I have people in my life who believe in me.

I am thankful that I still have some permanent stamps in my collection. Damn Canada Post...

What are you thankful for?

How do you express your gratitude?

later loves

Disclaimer: So, I got my thank you cards for free, but only after I had already decided to buy them! Ha! So while I was technically compensated for the product, the content and the sentiments are all mine! Now, go buy some Tiny Prints! Wink...

Grateful for a Little Bliss

I won't have my What to Wear post ready until tonight...after I've done a little Trick or Treating with the Dude! Go figure that the two Halloween parties I've been invited to are both this coming Saturday. Geeze whiz people!

Until then, you can get your Lisa-fix at Bliss-ologie, where I am writing about being grateful and expressing my gratitude.

And don't you worry. There are totally photos of my feet. Enjoy!

later loves

I've Found The Connector > It's A Reflektor

today I am grateful for

watching the sunrise over the prairies

waking up slowly to Dude stroking my arm and my face and giving me tiny kisses

my sister and her boys

hot beverages

homemade cookies

strong arms, and legs, and mind

fresh air and the changing season

sexy shoes, laughter, gin + beer, perfect silences

those extra 2 seconds

the strong men in my life

heated seats, warm mittens, thick socks and homemade quilts

Jane Austen

loving and feeling loved

knowing that dreams do come true

Happy Thanksgiving

later loves

What People Like

I might not know much about most people. Or really anything about people in general. But I do know one thing that people like. They like emails. Not spam, not a request for a donation, or the upteenth email from that mailing list you wish you hadn't signed up for. People like personal, written-just-for-them, emails.

Trust me. I know this from experience; from every out of the blue, "hello" email I have ever sent. The responses I get are full of happy excitement! And sometimes surprise. But I almost always get a lovely email back, and I know I did the right thing. And I know that whatever I said in that email was the right thing to say, and it might just have made someone's day. Know that someone out there in the giant anonymous world of the Internet was thinking about them. And wondering if they are well, and happy.

I send an email to my best friend every Monday morning. Sometimes it is the biggest load of garbage that has ever graced the Internet (well, maybe not ever), and sometimes it is just a short note just to say hello. And sometimes it's a lengthy diatribe involving something along the lines of: "Hey! Thinking about you. I read an article about beer you might like. Did you see the moon last night? I watched this Burt Lancaster movie the other night that was just amazing. I really need another coffee. I'm not getting any work done! Hope your Monday doesn't suck the big one." Or whatever. Literally, that's it. Heck, some of my emails might actually have some of those exact words in them...hmmm.

And sometimes (usually...) he doesn't reply. But I know for a fact that he enjoys them, and appreciates receiving them. Yep...we're just weird like that.

So today, do yourself a favour and write an email to your friend. And say: "hi, how are ya?"

It will be worth your time. And the good vibrations will come soaring back to you tenfold.

Be grateful for those warm fuzzies, and for the friendship that warrants them.

later loves