Meeting Becky Higgins...

Every week is different in regards to what happens in my life. Sometimes nothing out of the ordinary happens, and other weeks, all kinds of extra-ordinary things happens all at the same time. So its continues to be an exciting few weeks for sure.

My SIL, Betty, who is no stranger to being named in my blog and the source of many of my inspirations called me on Thursday to tell me that Becky Higgins (the creator of Project Life) was going to be in town visiting Treasured Memories, a fairly local scrapbook store in Thousand Oaks.  How cool is that! I'll be honest, I wanted to go, but I wasn't sure I could make it a priority, BUT after I thought about it, I had to go with Betty to see her!! This kind of thing just doesn't happen often!

So Betty and I drove out Friday night to Treasured Memories with both our iPhones/ cameras, and PL albums in hand. We got there with plenty of time to shop a little first which is always fun, and around 7:30pm, Becky Higgins arrived at the store. I saw her walk in and I totally got nervous (silly me), but honestly I think she was just as nervous. She was so cute.


She introduced her husband, and went through her life in the scrapbook industry and how she came up with the concept for Project Life. She's so young, and yet hearing her story she's been there and done sooo much in the industry its no wonder she's so successful. What I loved about her is that she was so real in what she was saying. She was down to earth, super sweet, and answered everybody's questions so honestly.  We could totally relate to her journey as she has gone through many of the same stages many of us in that room have gone through with our own scrap booking journeys that it just made her the Real Deal! You couldn't help but love her!

After she answered some questions,  we all lined up to get a chance to meet her individually, get her autograph, and a picture with her. The store had actually cut out somei PL inserts for all of us to take home.

When it got to be my turn, I showed her my album so far, told her a little bit about me, and that it was my first year doing this project after having watched Betty for a few years. I also happened to show her that I had Christian participating by having him journal in the album in his own writing and she loved that soo much that she asked me if she could take a picture of it. So I took a picture of her taking a picture of Christian's journaling, lol!



And to my surprise, later on that evening Becky had posted the picture she took on both her Facebook page and on Instagram. Omg..She's the best!  I was thrilled to say the least and even Christian got a kick out of it by saying, "I like her already." ;)

 

Next was Betty's turn and she too had herself a little conversation with Ms. Becky and her picture taken with her.

Then we made sure to get one with both of us together.

We were so excited, we didn't even feel like leaving the store.  But most of all, we were just soo happy we had made the decision to go at all. Its just one of those rare occasions you can't miss out on, and we totally enjoyed it!

Thank you Betty for asking me to join you to meet Becky.

You (& Bobby) helped me start Project Life, and I thank you for what its means to me today.

I love that our creativity brings us together to share moments like this,

and I can't wait to do this again with you soon. ;)

XO

A Birthday lunch, WB & Harry Potter all in one...

Amongst the many birthday wishes, phone calls and texts I had received for my birthday included one from my best friend since 2nd grade, Jessica, that told me she wanted to take me out for my birthday. Awesome! Then a couple weeks later, I get the following text:

What?? Omg..how cool! I LOVE surprises and I am not one to ruin them by asking too many questions, so we just set the date for April 25th, and I waited for the day to come with much anticipation.

So yesterday, I met up with Jessica and she revealed that she came up with the idea to surprise me with the help of Maribel, a mutual friend from college who works at Warner Bros, to treat me to lunch at the Commissary and to take me on a tour of the Warner Bros. lot. YAY!!!

So of course, I was excited as it took me back to my days of working at FOX and for anyone who's ever worked at any studio lot at some point in or another in their lives, there is just something magical about doing so, and being at this one was no different.  However, since its been a while for me it was hard for me not to have my iphone in hand as soon as I got through the gate to start taking pictures. I'm such a tourist!!

 Maribel started her tour right away as she pointed out as many behind the scenes tid bits as possible.

The possible stairwell where Spiderman kissed Mary Jane hanging upside down, the different stages and all the city street facades used in gosh knows how many movies. Love this stuff!


At the Commissary, we each had a delicious Chinese Chicken salad paired with some amazing onion rings and sweet potato french fries that made me a convert! (They were delicious!) As we sat during lunch, Jess and I tried to look around the area any Hollywood types without looking totally obvious, but unfortunately we didn't see anybody in particular.

Then on with the tour...

 

 

Huge fan of Friends so to see the Central Perk sign was so cool!

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 I was soo excited to see this when Maribel pointed it out.  We are all big fans of this show at home so I had to get a little proof to show the boys!  Christian was not happy that he wasn't there with me. Sorry babe, next time!

 

So as we were coming to an end of our walking tour, the girls left the best for last! They took me to Warner Bros. Museum, which I had heard about and kept asking about, but they were smart enough to ignore my blabber, and I'm so glad they did.  What I so appreciated is Jessie, being the best friend she is, knows just how much I LOVE all things Harry Potter, as we've even done a couple of midnight HP book reveals together in years past, and she knew that this museum visit would be really exciting for me and she along with Maribel made that happen!

Fortunately/Unfortunately, the museum is kept under tight security to the point that they have lockers for you where you have to put EVERYthing away including your phone because they were very specific when they told you that you CANNOT touch anything or take any pictures whatsoever! So I don't have any pictures for you to share from here, but what I can share with you is just how happy I was in there! They have an amazing collection of the actual costumes worn by many of the HP actors (dirty and everything, aahh!), all these recognizeable props, prototypes, dementors, wands, broomsticks...Oh my!!! I was like a little girl, and aside from giggling nervously, I kept hugging Jessie and thanking her for bringing me here. It meant soo much!

One of the first things Maribel had me do when we got in there, was to sit on this stool (yes, the sorting stool...yeeeee!), and a voice pops out of from over me and says "Ah, another Weasley...I know what to do with you...Gryffindor!!!" I actually "Woohoo'd" people!!! Yes.....yes, I did!(lol) And the fact that it called me a Weasley and sorted me to the "appropriate" house...Omg, it just made my day!! I should be really ashamed to tell you all of this, but I have no shame when it comes to my love for HP...so, say what you will...it was too much fun!!

So we finished off without Maribel, as she had to go back to work, but she had Jessie take me across from the lot to another WB building that had a Starbucks with more Harry Potter memorabilia that I could actually take pictures of, so of course I did!

 

What can I say??
It was such a great surprise lunch and afternoon totally worth the anticipation and the wait.  Again, I honestly love surprises and what I appreciate the most about them is knowing that someone went out of their way to make something special for you.

Jess and Maribel,

I had such a great time with you guys yesterday.

I can't Thank You guys enough!!

Jess, Thank you for knowing me enough to plan this for me. It means sooo much!

Maribel, Thank you for taking that time out of your work day to spend with us 

and for your touring expertise! ;)

Love ya girls,
XOXO

Have a great weekend everybody!!

Project Life- Week 14 and 15

So much for back on schedule! I'm done with fighting against time so its Week 16, BUT I am here to display Week's 14 and 15 for you all.

WEEK 14

Week 14 was the first week of April...OMG! It included April Fools Day, and I feel like we're all being fooled with how fast this year is going by, but it just is.

This week was also all about COREchella! This event is based on the all popular Coachella music festival, but put on by the CORE magnet program at Chris' high school to display the over abundance of musical talent this "Humanities" magnet has within its walls, and its one of the biggest fundraisers of the year. Although Christian had auditioned with his own band, he  had also been personally asked by his Philosophy teacher, Mr. Basinger to play in his teacher band called "The Truth!" So he had the privilege of playing in the event after all and NO ONE was as excited as Christian was.

As parents, watching him play was so exciting!  He did an amazing job and we could tell he was having just having the time of his life. He totally cut loose for the first time on stage and he worked the crowd. His Uncle Bobby and cousin Jordan showed up to support him as well. It was a night he'll never forget!
So for this layout I had him write out his feelings and what he remembered most about this experience. Again, I want to make sure I have his words in his writing saved for later.

Week 14- Side by side

WEEK 15- Although this week was busy, it got more interesting as the weekend came. We had an In-N-Out event at CHIME, I had a bag party on Friday, and the CHIME carnival on Saturday afternoon that we all enjoyed.

After the carnival, Saturday however, went from being a sleepover with Zach, Mikey's BFF to an emergency room visit for Mikey due to a typical "boys being boys," playing swords gone a bit wrong accident as Mikey got his eye hit with a tree branch. Everything is ok and Mikey's eye is thankfully just fine!! But yes, it was definitely a scary moment for all of us, and it became a long weekend of hospital ER visits to 2 different hospitals because we had to get Mikey checked out by a specialist. So what did I do with this moment...I took pictures... of his eye! What? Yes, I know some of you might think I'm crazy but honestly, these daily pictures I actually ended up sending to the doctors in the days to follow, (how great is technology) to help them determine just how severe the injury was and how it was healing.  See, not soooo crazy! Lol, so of course, they had to go in as part of the week's story.  Next week will include more healing pictures just for continuity sake and to show he has healed pretty much 100%.

All in all, it made for an interesting page layout and a chance to document a story in Mikey's perpetual 9 lives to show his future girlfriend/wife. He's going to hate me for it, but Oh Well!! ;)

Week 15- Side by side

I have to say that after finishing these two weeks, and taking time to actually look back at what I have so far, it was the first time that I felt the impact of this project and realized just how much it means to me. The fact that I can already see just how much we've done this year, how much has happened, and to know that I have pictures in place, and in order to re-tell each story and bring back specific feelings and memories is SUPER powerful to me. Omg...I LOVE this project!

So even though I get overwhelmed sometimes, the time I put into this project is all well worth it...100% worth it!! This has given me encouragement, if I've ever needed it, to continue working on this faithfully and I can't wait to see what the whole year will look like.

Just FYI- I will be sharing these 2 weeks on The Mom Creative.

From my corner to yours...I appreciate you stopping by to take a look.

Have a great day!

Currently...

Trying...to get through this week after the craziness that was last weekend
Drinking...at minimum two glasses of water for every cup of coffee I have...I need to keep hydrated 
Watching...the Boston memorial service, the Texas blast, and what seems to be just constant bad news
Mulitasking...always between work, home, and school stuff
Weather... Beautiful, sunny and a little windy
Feeling...grateful that Mikey's eye is healing pretty nicely and that it was nothing too serious
Listening...to the wheels spinning in my mind
Wondering...how I'm going to EVER catch up with anything in my life
Digging...a little something unexpected
Wanting...to upgrade my camera really bad? or maybe a new purse?
Excited...about the few things I ordered
Knowing...that none of these things matter in the big picture while this world is going crazy in front of our eyes
Hoping...that we all get some answers soon
Praying...that my boys, my hubby, and my family will always be watched over wherever they are
Finding...that I've had soo many situations to help me grow this week
Wishing...everyone a SAFE and SANE upcoming weekend! :)

Catch you all guys soon with more from my little corner!

Thanks for stopping by!


(List idea from Amy Tangerine)

Extra time for a picnic lunch for two...

So I've been home with Mikey this week as his school gives the kids (not so much the parents) the 'lovely' gift of an extra week for Spring Break. I'm honestly not the biggest fan of this concept, and not because Mikey is home (which I LOVE having), its just that when there's only 1 out of 3 kids  home alone, it makes it just that much harder to make any special plans without leaving anybody out.


Anyway,  I was determined to do my best to keep him busy while I work and get through my normal daily routine this week.  So Tuesday, being our first day on our own, I decided we would make it just about my lil' partner and me.

We took a nice morning walk around the neighborhood together and that was a lot of fun. I felt a little bad though because I have a naturaly quick pace so he had to double step it to keep up with me, but he hung in there! Lol

We also had beautiful weather that day, so for lunch I figured we do something we've never really done before. I set up a picnic lunch right outside in our backyard! Mikey was pleasantly surprised with the idea as loves doing stuff like this too. We made mini pizzas, tossed some salads, and poured out some drinks in some fancy goblets and headed outside.

 

 

 It was REALLY nice just to enjoy the warmth of the sun, and the peacefulness of our backyard. It was a little warm, but after lunch we laid back and just talked until it just too hot to be outside. 

 Mikey is my youngest boy and getting time to do simple things like this means a lot to me. He's the last one that I will get the chance to do this stuff with because honestly I know its not long before he hits puberty when he may or may not appreciate hanging out with his mom as much. Hey, I have to be realistic, right.  I know how that goes, but its all good...I get it.

We had a great afternoon together, and I know that he appreciated it because he couldn't wait to tell his brothers and his dad what we did, and I got a few extra hugs that day from him. Can't help but LOVE that! ;')

The rest of this week has been taken up by play dates with his friends from school, Buck and Cole (of course I forgot to take pictures!!!), and just hanging out. A great extra week for Mikey and me after all!

Here's to special times with our kids!

From my little corner to yours...Have a wonderful weekend!!