The Alphabet Project

Yesterday I wrote a post that included as one of my goals for 2010 that I would work on an alphabet photography/scrapbooking project.

I bought this great set of rub-ons on a trip to the scrapbook store the other day (on 70% off clearance no less!) that was the alphabet with a word for each letter, and all of the words seem to fit well with my ongoing theme of choosing life and joy and hope.  So, the plan is to take a photo (or several) for each letter and word, and create a scrapbook page with journaling explaining why that photo speaks to that word/theme for me.  I'm not much of a scrapbooker anymore, but I like the challenge of needing to come up with photographs for more abstract words (remember that another goal was to develop a bit at photography), and I feel like 26 pages over the course of the year (just over 2 a month) is a very doable achievement.  Plus, I like that it pushes me to pull out and use the supplies I've accumulated over the years, and to need to be creative in making a page that suits the letter and the photo.

So, without further ado, let me share the alphabet with you.  (Let me know if you have good ideas for any of the words!)

A is for adorable
B is for beautiful
C is for cute

(okay, let me just pause for a second and say that in those first few letters I'm clearly going to need to arrange to spend time with some of the friends who've recently had babies.  because an evening of cuddling a baby is going to be a real hardship for me!)

D is for delightful
E is for elegant
F is for fantastic
G is for generous
H is for happy
I is for industrious
J is for joyful
K is for kind
L is for loving
M is for magical

(LP/CA - I sense you might not only have some travel ideas for me, but also a suggestion for the letter "m"!)

N is for neat
O is for original
P is for pretty
Q is for quiet
R is for real
S is for silly
T is for thankful
U is for unique
V is for vivacious
W is for wonderful
X is for X-citing
Y is for youthful
Z is for zany

I haven't decided quite yet if I will do these in order, or just do them as I manage to capture a moment that fits a word, or maybe some of both.  I do like the idea of mostly doing them in order, just for the fact that it forces me to really create vivacious, or real, or cute, or industrious (or whatever!) moments - to be deliberate in creating the story with my life.

Daily 5 - Day 141

Happy New Year!  Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, here's the December 31st edition of the Daily 5.  We'll revisit the whole new year/new decade/dreams/plans/hopes/resolutions/goals thing in the morning, after I've slept for several hours.

Today's Daily 5:

1. Brief conversation and "e-hugs" with a dear friend who understood in a way most wouldn't have
2. A few great deals at the scrapbooking store this morning, including something that will I think be a challenge for the new year
3. Finishing a book I've been reading for months (more on that to come as well)
4. Finishing the rather larger than I originally thought project of organizing all of my recipes
5. Mostly enjoying a quiet day alone, even if it was one of the harder days of the holiday season for me
   
6. cooking hamburgers for lunch on the George Foreman grill my parents gave me in August for my birthday  - the George Foreman definitely ranks up there in terms of birthday gifts - or at least in terms of really boring "practical" birthday gifts :)
   
7. Hanging with my parents and their friends tonight - better than being alone I think - though I've got to tell you that I've got tons of dirt for the next time they accuse my brothers and I of having warped minds!  After several hours with all of these people, some of whom we're related to, and some of whom we've basically known via the church since birth, well, I think I know where we got the warped minds!
8. Watching the cooking movie "No Reservations" while I typed and sorted and organized recipes (thought it seemed appropriate)
9. Loving the new straightening styling product I picked up at the salon yesterday.  the second attempt at flat ironing my hair when quite a bit more smoothly than the first, thanks in large part to the new styling product.
10. 141 days of daily 5 lists, to round out a really challenging year - grateful for the way it does help me think through my day and see things differently, recognizing the things I can be so thankful for.
    

Cozy.

My roommate just came into the living room and remarked that I looked "cozy".

I suppose I am, though mostly it's the lamplight that's doing it. Throwing that atmosphere of cozy warmth, and compensating for the fact that it's now well past dusk, and too dark to count on natural light for seeing.

I finished another book tonight. I'll be adding it to the list in my sidebar shortly. Anne Lamott, was, I think, just what my heart has needed this last little while.

I made a quick trip to the scrapbooking shop after dinner tonight. I had a coupon, and wanted to buy something to organize my cardstock. I'm still working on sorting and unpacking the last several boxes. Most of what is left contains craft and scrapbooking supplies, and I am hoping that if I store it in a way that is organized, but also visible, I will feel a bit more regularly inspired to make use of some of it. Organizing what's left is going to require another trip to Ikea, but I know what I need now, and think it's totally doable to get this all sorted out.

It was a really nice break to not have to cook dinner tonight too. My roommate made frittata for us (and it was great). That meant that when I got home from work I could relax, instead of immediately diving into cooking and cleaning up in the kitchen. I sent a few emails, and did some reading.

The ability to relax like that created the mental space, too, to finally sit for a while with a journal. I've been avoiding my journal this week because there is so much going on in my mind and heart and it seemed overwhelming to try to write and capture it.

As I sat down to write, I remembered a piece of advice from Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird: Some Thoughts on Writing and Life" and decided to just capture what fit within a "one inch picture frame". I gave myself permission to only journal about one pressing topic, and it is helpful to me to have finally written it, and prayed it out in writing in the pages of my journal. It feels someone more sorted within my head.

Yes, there are still many topics that I need to capture in those pages. And yes, there are still so many thoughts outstanding within my heart, so many deep things that Jesus is speaking and nudging and causing me to wrestle with as they surface, but for tonight, I captured that which was most pressing, and in that I found some rest.

And now, now I'm off to run through my nightly devotional routine, and then to rest. Sleep was deeply marked by intense dreams, filled with themes that grabbed at my heart last night, and I find myself tired. I'm praying for rest and dreams of Jesus tonight.