Jaded Jennifer

Our theme this week was “memories.” This was a tough week for me. It would have been simple enough for me to post some old pictures in our group like most other people were doing. But MY challenge is to take a self-portrait each day. So I’m insisting for myself that a part of me be in each photo, even if it’s just my hand or my foot or something. That made this theme a little more challenging for me but it was fun to play around with different ideas. However, what REALLY made this week hard for me is that the theme required me to go through a lot of old pictures. And old pictures make me sad. The memories are nice but sometimes I don’t like being reminded of all that I’ve lost.

Anyway, on to my pictures for this week:

065/365 - March 10, 2013. As a teenager, I called myself a “Flower Child.” My room was covered in peace signs and I constantly wished I had been alive back in the 60’s. Today I told Wren I was going to dress like a hippy in honor of my childhood. And he informed me that, apparently, I still AM a hippy.

066/365 - March 11, 2013. There are a lot of memories on this shelf. This is my “Dad Shelf.”  The bookshelf is full of his Louis L’amour books and his picture hangs above it. The kids put some of his other books on the top by his bronzed baby shoes, his Dad coffee cup, his Seahawks mug and a framed photo of my dad and my 2 brothers.

067/365 - March 12, 2013. I’ve been dying my hair since I was 12 years old. I’m pretty sure my natural hair color is dark brown now, although I’m also sure if I let it grow out natural it would probably lighten up (and be full of gray). Not that I’ll ever do that; I like the change too much. Here’s a sampling of all the colors my hair has been over the last 5 years, with a pic from today in the center.

068/365 - March 13, 2013. When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with France. I had a giant map of France hanging on my bedroom wall, and I used to lay in bed and look at it and plan out where I would go. I always wanted to see pictures of France, and in high school I could talk for hours to my French teacher about the experiences she had there. For the record, though, I never really cared that much about going to Paris. I wanted to go there for like a day, just to say I had been. But then I always wanted to go down south to Cannes and Nice and then travel over into Italy.

069/365 - March 14, 2013. It seems that I am always playing in this fountain at Manito Park. The picture on the right is me at 16 years old. The picture on the left is from today. The left picture was obviously taken during the summer when it was hot out and the cool fountain was refreshing. Today, though, it had a few inches of murky, cold water in the bottom. So my feet ended up soaked and cold. Ah well.

Oh, also, today was Pi Day!!!!

I made mini-pies for everyone!!!

070/365 - March 15, 2013. We’re just a few weeks shy of 10 years together and I can’t imagine my life over the past decade without him in it. Been going through my pics and pulled out a few of my favorites over the last 10 years. Those first 2, top left, were actually taken before we were even together. Back when he was my best friend.

Also, my picture is in a book!!

We participated in GISHWHES (The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen) last fall and the book we ordered arrived in the mail. It has so many pictures from other teams and was a lot of fun to look at. But it was exciting seeing a full-page picture of me and of course, Katie is thrilled because she did my hair that day AND took the pic.

071/365 - March 16, 2013. I still look the same, right? Right!?!

Ok, that’s the end of my week of memories.

This week, in our Facebook group, the theme was “imagination.” I downloaded some new games on my computer last weekend so I spent the first few days of the week just playing them.

058/365 - March 3, 2013. Today I’m a tribal warrior, battling polar bears and tigers, rebuilding totems and discovering artifacts. (I was playing Island Tribe 3.)

059/365- March 4, 2013. Today I am a farmer. Tending crops, milking cows, collecting eggs. (I was playing Farm Tribe 2.)

060/365 - March 5, 2013.  Today I am a wood elf.

061/365 - March 6, 2013. Today I imagined that I DIDN’T have to go spend 3 hours with a vocational counselor. It didn’t work. I still had to do it.

062/365 - March 7, 2013. Today I am a bookworm. I went to Walmart last night to buy some hair dye and bought this book instead. Priorities, people.

063/365 - March 8, 2013. Today I’m imagining that I’m NOT old enough to be the mother of this 20-year-old man who is about to celebrate his 1 year wedding anniversary.

Also, here’s me with my oldest kid and my youngest kid.

064/365 - March 9, 2013. Today I’m imagining it’s spring. It sure feels like it outside. But, of course, I know that winter isn’t quite done with us yet.

That’s it for this week. I am very much growing weary of this challenge. It would be simple enough to just snap a quick photo of myself each day and post it. But then the pictures would all look the same and I’m making an effort to think of new ideas each day. The themes actually help with that a little bit. But it also means this challenge is taking up way more of my time than I ever thought it would, and I worry I’m going to burn out before the 365 days is up.

This week, in our Facebook group, our theme was “body part art.”

051/365 - February 24, 2013. Today was my ex-husband’s 40th birthday. The kids all went to his party. Wren worked late. I was feeling kind of sad and lonely.

052/365 - February 25, 2013. Ears. The better to hear you with, my dear.

053/365 - February 26, 2013. I feel crabby.

054/365 - February 27, 2013. Eye candy.

054/365 - February 27, 2013 Part Two. I had 2 different ideas for a picture of my eye. I couldn’t decide which one to use so I decided to just use them both.

055/365 - February 28, 2013. It was a #projectclothespin day. 99 clothespins, 2 people, 2 states, 1 day. We had a lot of fun and I really needed this day.

056/365 - March 1, 2013. Hand art. Also, proof that I have WAY too much time on my hands.

057/365 - March 3, 2013.

And that’s it for week 8. I find myself growing weary of the themes. Sometimes, I really like them because they help me think of new and different pictures to take each day. But sometimes they feel like too much of a chore when I’d rather just take a pic that signifies what I did each day. It’s possible that I’m just growing weary of the daily picture taking. But since I’m not working right now, it gives me something to do each day. When I start working again, I expect I’ll just be taking snapshots of my face and doing very little editing on them.

My friend Corinne over at  Wabi Sabi Living started a new movement a few months ago called #projectclothespin. It’s a great way to do random acts of kindness and spread a little bit of cheer and positive energy into the world. Me and the girls have had fun buying clothespins, sitting around painting them, thinking up positive messages to write on them, and leaving them around town for people to find.

For the month of February, Corinne wanted to get 99 people to pin 99 clothespins. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it, with all of the other stuff going on and the fact that I’m pretty much house-bound right now. But earlier in the week, I realized that Wren had the 28th (the LAST day of the month) off and we would actually have some time to pin some clothespins. I bought a few bags of them earlier in the month, so me and Wren spent 2 nights on our bed surrounded by clothespins, brushes and paints with season 19 of Amazing Race playing on the computer. And this morning we set off on an adventure, with 99 clothespins in tow.

We had some errands we had to run first, so we headed off to the car wash to clean out the car. And we left clothespins everywhere we could think of.

At City Hall, when Wren went in to pay our water bill, he pinned some bicycles and cars (including a police car!).

Then we went and had lunch.

If you’ve never been to The Elk in Spokane, Washington you really need to go there. Awesome food, great atmosphere and the place is always hopping. The service is wonderful too. So our waitress got a clothespin.

After lunch, we were off to Idaho. We went on a clothespinning frenzy. From the shops by the Coeur D’Alene Resort to the Spokane Valley Mall, from Hobby Lobby to Safeway, from gas stations (where we pinned EVERY pump) to bathrooms, from shopping carts to car door handles, we pinned everything we could think of.

From gumball machines…

To GIANT gumball machines…

I even pinned a moose!!!

Ok, ok. So I really pinned the ear of the mouse that was sitting in the antler of the moose, but whatever.

It was quite a day. It feels nice knowing that we potentially brought happiness into the lives of 99 different people. And even if only half of those people appreciate the sentiment, it was all worth it. Can’t wait to go out and pin some more!

**If you’re interested in joining in the Project Clothespin fun, go visit Wabi Sabi Living for more information**

Our theme this week was “super powers.”

044/365 - February 17, 2013. Super crochet powers.

045/365 - February 18, 2013. I have no super powers today.

046/365 - February 19, 2013. This is my supreme super powers of laziness. Haven’t brushed my hair. Haven’t put on makeup. Haven’t gotten dressed. Just laying in bed, watching House and playing with my Sims.

047/365 - February 20, 2013. Watching Survivor with my Wren.

048/365 - February 21, 2013. Super powers of introspection.

048/365 - February 21, 2013 Part Two. I had a bit of a breakdown and ran away from home.  The sun, the trees, the river, all helped my mood.

049/365 - February 22, 2013. Super drawing powers.

Here’s the picture and the drawing, side by side.

050/365 - February 23, 2013. I am Super Jennifer.

This week, in our Facebook group, our theme was “Love.” Since I’ve already taken pics of most of the major things I love, I decided to focus on specific little things that I loved each day.

037/365 - February 10, 2013. I love bubble baths.

 038/365 - February 11, 2013. I love lazy days where I can snuggle under my blanket, watch tv, and create things. Wren spread his sickness through our house so me and Katie spent the day in my room watching Law and Order: SVU.

039/365 - February 12, 2013. I love frogs and they love me.

040/365 - February 13, 2013. I love comfort foods. And the man who worked all day and still went grocery shopping, cooked me comfort food, and served it to me in bed. 

041/365 - February 14, 2013. I love my newest creations, Crombotz. They’re my crocheted zombie robots that I’m selling on etsy.

042/365 - February 15, 2013. Love.

043/365 - February 16, 2013. I love group hugs with my girls. And I love our “girly days” where all of the boys are gone and we spend the whole day together.

And that’s the end of week 5.

 This week, in our Facebook group, the theme was “Alice in Wonderland.” I went with the theme with some of my pictures but it was a really bad week for me. Realizing I’m not going to be able to go back to my job and trying to figure out how to survive, then finding out my income tax was taken to pay a debt after I was reassured 3 times that it WOULDN’T be taken, the stress was eating at me all week long.

030/365 - February 3, 2013. Today I feel ugly. And vulnerable. And scared.

031/365 - February 4, 2013. I’m putting on a happy face today.

032/365 - February 5, 2013. One pill makes you larger. One pill makes you small…I’m making some big life-changing decisions today. And none of the options are very good.

033/365 - February 6, 2013. Today I have definitely gone down the rabbit hole.

034/365 - February 7, 2013. I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then. Cigarettes and teddy bears are what got me through the day today.

035/365 - February 8, 2013. This is my dream. I’ll decide where it goes from here.

036/365 - February 9, 2013. Through the looking glass. I’m entering new worlds. And I’m feeling optimistic.

That’s all for week 5.

This week, in our Facebook group, the theme was “show us your character.” Wren has been participating in the group too so we had some fun this week planning photos that we could do together.

023/365 - January 27, 2013. Today I was incognito. I hid out in my bedroom all day and worked on a few projects that I wanted to finish.

024/365 - January 28, 2013. I was feeling creative. This is my creative side.

025/365 - January 29, 2013. I haz a beard. Also, I transferred my book to my Nook so I could take it into the living room. Then I spent the afternoon in my recliner with my fuzzy blanket, my snacks and my notebook, and started doing a read-through, writing down issues that I need to fix.

026/365 - January 30, 2013. I told Wren I needed an apron so I could be Suzy Homemaker. He laughed. He said that’s just not me. Psh. Whatever. I am SO Suzy Homemaker.

027/365 - January 31, 2013. This is the best I could get today. It’s just me. All whiny and shit. I am emotionally and physically drained. Stupid PCE (Physical Capacities Evaluation) took everything out of me and now I just want to curl up in my bed with some chocolate and cry.

028/365 - February 1, 2013. I don’t quite feel like myself today…

Wren feels pretty

GAG REEL

I love this picture. I’ve printed it big to hang on my wall.

029/365 - February 2, 2013. He said I was cute one too many times.

Wren is my Fairy Princess

GAG REEL

This is what happens when the Fairy Princess and the Bunny Rabbit Face-Eater get together.

Also…

029/365 - February 2, 2013 Part Two. The boys were all gone so I sent the girls to the store to get snacks and then we had a girl’s day (and evening). We hung out in my bedroom eating junk and watching Law and Order SVU.

Whew. That was a lot of pictures for this week. I really need to stop taking quite so many. lol

This week, in our Facebook group, the theme was “show us how you work.” I loved this theme because it gave me a reason to take some creative pictures highlighting all of the different things that I do. However, because these pictures weren’t always what I was actually DOING that day, I ended up with a lot more than 1 photo each day. So here’s my “whole bunch of photos per day” project.

016/365 -  January 20, 2013. It’s National Penguin Day!

016/365 - January 20, 2013 Part 2. I’m such a good mommy. I introduce my kids to the classics.

017/365 - January 21, 2013. This is how I write. 45 minutes on the internet, 10 minutes writing. Repeat. I’m very dedicated….to internet browsing.

Oh Yoda. You’re such a diva.

018/365 - January 22, 2013. I’m a princess. NOT a domestic goddess.

018/365 - January 22, 2013 Part 2. I <3 my fur babies. I spent the day cleaning my room and hanging out with the animals. And now my bedroom is all clean. It’s just not organized yet…

019/365 - January 23, 2013. This is how I work. Or at least, this is how I WISH I worked. It was a really long, painful day. Went to sleep at 11pm, got up at 3am. Left the house at 4am, didn’t get home till 5pm. This princess needs a full body massage.

020/365 - January 24, 2013. I paints good.

GAG REEL - I always take test shots beforehand when I’m using my tripod and flash, so I can check the lighting. This is what happens when one of my kids walks in right when I’m taking a test shot. I’m pretty sure they all think I’m crazy.

020/365 - January 24, 2013 Part 2. Family movie night!! Bring on Frankenweenie!

021/365 - January 25, 2013. I draw pictures.

GAG REEL - I’m pretty sure my cats think that THEY drew these pictures. Don’t tell them it was me. It will kill their fragile egos.

021/365 - January 25, 2013 Part 2. I started my 365 Project scrapbook today.

022/365 - January 26, 2013. I’m a photographer.

022/365 - January 26, 2013 Part 2. I am Princess Baconetta and this is how I play with…I mean, this is how I COOK bacon. Bacon mustaches are the shit. It went with my outfit. I’m all about accessorizing. Also, I realized my favorite store at the mall has a lot of bacon stuff and a lot of mustache stuff but they don’t have any mustaches made out of bacon, or bacon shaped like mustaches. I think I just came up with a great new product.

And now….on to week 4.

It’s week 2 of Project 365. This was a weird week. My knee was hurting so I didn’t go to work the whole week. Instead I dealt with very little sleep and a lot of pain, doctors and L&I. But I still took my pics each day. Also, in the group that I’m in on Facebook we have weekly themes. This week the theme was cake.

009/365 - January 13, 2013. Rawr. No cake for me today. I’m cleaning my bedroom (or at least pretending to). Don’t mess with me. I’ll eat your face.

010/365 - January 14, 2013. My knee hurts. And I haz no cake. I’m feeling sorry for myself today. You should feel sorry for me too. This is really all I’ve done today: sat around feeling sorry for myself. I haven’t brushed my hair. I haven’t put on makeup. I haven’t gotten dressed, although I DID put on a bra. That’s the extent of my “being presentable” today. I think I need cake.

011/365 - January 15, 2013. This is Dukeulele, aka The Duke. He arrived yesterday. I already love him. He matches my hair. And the shirt I’m wearing today. He’s much better than cake…although my fingers hurt already. Oh, and I cheated a little bit. The second picture was actually taken last night when the UPS guy dropped off my package. But I had to include it because it shows how happy The Duke made me on a day when I really needed it.

012/365 - January 16, 2013. I didn’t have ingredients to make a cake so instead I whipped up this cupcake hat. It really didn’t taste good but I forced myself to eat the whole thing. There are starving kids in…..somewhere right now.

012/365 - January 16, 2013 Part Two. It’s not cake. But pie is pretty damn close, right?

013/365 - January 17, 2013. Doctors offices are scary. And there’s no cake there. Now I get to go have a Physical Capacities Evaluation, which doesn’t sound at all fun.

014/365 - January 18, 2013. Spent the day with my Wren. He thinks I’m cake.

015/365 - January 19, 2013. This is how princesses eat cake.

015/365 - January 19, 2013 Part Two. Princesses are messy eaters. And I got cake and frosting on my tiara!!! And in my hair, and in my eyes and up my nose…

And one last bonus photo, also taken on January 19, 2013.

Katie and Mikaela spent the night at J.R. and Kelcie’s house. Hunter spent the night with his cousin. Dustin went to the mall. Wren was at work. So I spent the day with Boogie. We had pizza for dinner, cookies and milk for dessert and played with paper dolls. It was a good, lazy Saturday.