[luckyladybug]

I just have to say how much I love Ro's Life Book idea. I have been looking forward to her daily step by step life mapping lessons, and I'm fully on board here. These are just common sense lessons in personal effectiveness, brought into a format to be enjoyed by those of us whose most introspective moments come with our passion for digital scrapping. Self improvement and life mapping while engaging in my favorite passtime? Well that's just a no-brainer!

Here is the real beauty of the thing for me: as a scrapper, I often find myself spending a bit too much time and creative energy looking back. While capturing and documenting memories is an important and valid exercise, I can lose track of the present moment. Life books exercises bring my favorite art form into a fully temporal experience--past, present, and future. Working the exercises brings me a holistic forward thinking experience. 2012 is looking like a really great year for me. Thanks for the direction, Ro.

[Ro]

I'm so glad you like it! As a note, I've ended up switching the name to Life Scrapbooks. As it turns out, Life Books is a trademarked name. I didn't think to check it beforehand because I didn't realize what a big reaction I'd get to the idea.

But Life Scrapbooks wasn't trademarked so I've just put in the application with the government to trademark it. That way, we can talk about it all we want without worrying.

I think we're in for a fun - and productive - year!

[KayMitch]

I think so too Ro and it's so exciting. Kay

[Syndee]

It's all so exciting!

[Sara Arell]

I've been writing my Life Book for almost a year now and each memory that comes to mind leads to another memory and I'm just amazed at all of the things I thought I had forgotten - I'm up to 200 plus pages now - I wrote mine to my children starting when Rich and I got married and there are so many memories in 45 years that I delight in finding.

Good luck with your Life Book - it's so much fun to remember the little things that ean so much and I've loved every minute of writing about my "remembered memories" - I wonder sometimes if I will ever finish it!

[Smiles]

Sara, as long as you are alive, there will be new memories

[Bride]

So true, Gayle! Everyday is a memory for tomorrow!!

[Sara Arell]

Gayle and Lei - you are absolutely right - if I am writing about a memory about Mark, then a memory of something Brian did creeps in and then suddenly I remember what Debbie was doing at the same time! Oh, I wish I could have been good about keeping journals of every little thing they did - one leads to another and another and another. I thought it would be so easy when I started but it is so not easy. I jump from one memory to another - just hope they aren't totaly confused when the day comes that they read it.

The next baby shower gift I give is going to be several journals so that new Moms can do what I did not always do and keep a journal of who, what, when, where and why for each child! Mothers do remember the first everything's their children did, each illness they went through and details of a child's behavior but when you are writing about four - three of them military brats - it's hard to reember where we were when they did what they did! LOL

One of my favorite memories is that my Mark took his first steps the same day our astronaut walked on the moon! That, I will never forget - I remember first real injuries, how I reacted, how they reacted, etc. etc........I'll get it done - it may be "scattered" reading but at least they will know how much they were loved as they reached each milestone in their young lives!

I love to just sit and write and have those "aha moments" suddenly pop into my head!

[Sara Arell]

Bride, on 31 December 2011 - 04:15 AM, said:

So true, Gayle! Everyday is a memory for tomorrow!!

'

........and that is so true, Lei - memories are being made at this very minute - memories I should be journaling so that when I go to my book to write, I will remember the details - I think a Mother's heart is just so filled to the brim with memories it's hard to sort through them all! LOL

[Jo Corne]

I have loved reading Ro's newsletters this past week about her Life Scrapbooks... and I really would like to get mine in action... must put that on my to do list, LOL

[luckyladybug]

Sara Arell, on 31 December 2011 - 03:28 AM, said:

I've been writing my Life Book for almost a year now and each memory that comes to mind leads to another memory and I'm just amazed at all of the things I thought I had forgotten - I'm up to 200 plus pages now - I wrote mine to my children starting when Rich and I got married and there are so many memories in 45 years that I delight in finding.

Good luck with your Life Book - it's so much fun to remember the little things that ean so much and I've loved every minute of writing about my "remembered memories" - I wonder sometimes if I will ever finish it!

As to if you'll ever finish it--I hope not! I hope that you spend each and every moment of your life making new delicious moments to remember :)Enjoy every bit of it!

Thanks for the writing inspirations!

[Sara Arell]

luckyladybug, on 01 January 2012 - 05:01 AM, said:

Sara Arell, on 31 December 2011 - 03:28 AM, said:

I've been writing my Life Book for almost a year now and each memory that comes to mind leads to another memory and I'm just amazed at all of the things I thought I had forgotten - I'm up to 200 plus pages now - I wrote mine to my children starting when Rich and I got married and there are so many memories in 45 years that I delight in finding.

Good luck with your Life Book - it's so much fun to remember the little things that ean so much and I've loved every minute of writing about my "remembered memories" - I wonder sometimes if I will ever finish it!

As to if you'll ever finish it--I hope not! I hope that you spend each and every moment of your life making new delicious moments to remember :)Enjoy every bit of it!

Thanks for the writing inspirations!

I may change my title to "Unfinished Stories from Mom" - new stories pop up every day and I've worn out my brain and my keyboard tryig to stay caught up with them all. Sometimes I write for hours and I have little notes everywhere that I wrote when an idea popped into my head so I could remember to elaborate on it when I get back to my computer. The memories are all so sweet - I find I don't wrote alot about anything really negative but tend to focus on the sweet and positive stories - my kids will think that they were surely angels all the tie. I'm trying to keep up with adding a layout as a page as I write and that slows me down but I want it to be filed with picture AND words!

[luckyladybug]

Sara Arell, on 01 January 2012 - 05:12 AM, said:

luckyladybug, on 01 January 2012 - 05:01 AM, said:

Sara Arell, on 31 December 2011 - 03:28 AM, said:

I've been writing my Life Book for almost a year now and each memory that comes to mind leads to another memory and I'm just amazed at all of the things I thought I had forgotten - I'm up to 200 plus pages now - I wrote mine to my children starting when Rich and I got married and there are so many memories in 45 years that I delight in finding.

Good luck with your Life Book - it's so much fun to remember the little things that ean so much and I've loved every minute of writing about my "remembered memories" - I wonder sometimes if I will ever finish it!

As to if you'll ever finish it--I hope not! I hope that you spend each and every moment of your life making new delicious moments to remember :)Enjoy every bit of it!

Thanks for the writing inspirations!

I may change my title to "Unfinished Stories from Mom" - new stories pop up every day and I've worn out my brain and my keyboard tryig to stay caught up with them all. Sometimes I write for hours and I have little notes everywhere that I wrote when an idea popped into my head so I could remember to elaborate on it when I get back to my computer. The memories are all so sweet - I find I don't wrote alot about anything really negative but tend to focus on the sweet and positive stories - my kids will think that they were surely angels all the tie. I'm trying to keep up with adding a layout as a page as I write and that slows me down but I want it to be filed with picture AND words!

What a remarkable gift that will be for yourself and your family. Enjoy the journey!

[Sara Arell]

luckyladybug, on 02 January 2012 - 11:34 PM, said:

Sara Arell, on 01 January 2012 - 05:12 AM, said:

luckyladybug, on 01 January 2012 - 05:01 AM, said:

Sara Arell, on 31 December 2011 - 03:28 AM, said:

I've been writing my Life Book for almost a year now and each memory that comes to mind leads to another memory and I'm just amazed at all of the things I thought I had forgotten - I'm up to 200 plus pages now - I wrote mine to my children starting when Rich and I got married and there are so many memories in 45 years that I delight in finding.

Good luck with your Life Book - it's so much fun to remember the little things that ean so much and I've loved every minute of writing about my "remembered memories" - I wonder sometimes if I will ever finish it!

As to if you'll ever finish it--I hope not! I hope that you spend each and every moment of your life making new delicious moments to remember :)Enjoy every bit of it!

Thanks for the writing inspirations!

I may change my title to "Unfinished Stories from Mom" - new stories pop up every day and I've worn out my brain and my keyboard tryig to stay caught up with them all. Sometimes I write for hours and I have little notes everywhere that I wrote when an idea popped into my head so I could remember to elaborate on it when I get back to my computer. The memories are all so sweet - I find I don't wrote alot about anything really negative but tend to focus on the sweet and positive stories - my kids will think that they were surely angels all the tie. I'm trying to keep up with adding a layout as a page as I write and that slows me down but I want it to be filed with picture AND words!

What a remarkable gift that will be for yourself and your family. Enjoy the journey!

Last year I asked my daughter to read a few pages from my book (still on my computer and not yet even printed out to see for myself in print) and there were a few things where she would say, "Mom, I don't remember that being like that" or "No, Mom, you have this all wrong" and that's when I decided to preface "my book" with "this is the way I remember things" (and not necessarily are my memories 100% correct, but they are more like the way I felt when certain things happened - the joy, the sadness, the anticipation of yet another move, how I felt when I knew I was pregnant again) - the FACTS mattered to me at first but as I wrote I realized that I was really writing about feelings more than actual FACTS. Most of the FACTS are correct but I may have the color of a room wrong, the exact location of a neighbor's house wrong - but I just remember the little details that made something a memory.

I have to tell you one memory that not only brought Debbie first into hysterics but then into hysterical tears and that was right after the birth of my first son (all of my first three children were 5 years apart - not on purpose -just happened that way) and I had found out that my Mom had learned that a girl I went to high school with was also married to an active duty AF guy and was stationed at Keesler AFB too although I had never seen her anywhere on base. My Mother, bless her heart, called Carol to tell her I was there and arranged for Carol to call me and Carol and her husband (who was a Major and Rich was then a TSGT, asked us over for dinner. I hadn't seen Carol since high school but I remembered her as being a very sweet, yet very plain girl (we didn't wear much makeup when I was in high school - in fact, all I wore was a little lipstick) and Carol wasn't particularly outgoing in school either. God had blessed me with growing up in a very, very comfortable family and I was fortunate in that I was in the group of high school girls that were called socials (I didn't know then that that just meant I was a pure snob!)

Anyway, Carol called me and I was so excited - so excited that I forgot for a few minutes that I had a 5 week old newborn and that I had weighed 180 lbs at delivery AND I had NOTHING pretty to wear - (in high school (just a few years before, I would have had a huge selection of clothes from which to choose) - so when it dawned on me that I was going to Carol's house for dinner two weekends away, I panicked - first, who did I trust to leave my newborn son with (I was very overprotective) and then I realized that Carol's husband was an officer and mine was an NCO and, sadly, then, officer's wives and enlisted wives seldom interacted socially, (I was very, very proud of my husband - the separation of NCO and Officer's wives had never bothered me before - it was just a fact of life) AND I lived in the Base Trailer Park in a mobile home that we were so very proud we had been able to buy......but, because I had nothing to wear and no money to buy anything to wear, I began to "dew" (LOL LOL) all over. In other words, I was really sweating this approaching dinner with an old friend. She hadn't sounded so different on the phone, but something told me that she had "grown" in ways I had not yet "grown" (except for my post-pregnancy fat body) and so the next phone call I made was to my Mom. "Mama", I said, "I have nothing, nothing, nothing at all to wear!"

Well, that was the polyester period of wearing apparel and Mama said not to worry that she would send me something of hers that she knew I could wear. (My Mom was 99 lbs, dripping wet) but I trusted that she would choose something from her huge wardrobe that would look good on me) The package arrived just two days before the dinner date and when I opened it, I saw the most beautiful polyester outfit I had ever seen (YES, POLYESTER was pretty then) - it was a dress and had a long vest that went with it that I am sure Mama felt would cover all of my pregnancy bulges that remained with me still. It was going to be fine. Debbie was soon to be 6 years old and like most 6 year olds was totally 100% honest in her observations. She was also very grown up for her young 6 years and had been my best friend for her entire little life and had never told me a fib - not once. When I put the outfit on and came out of the bedroom to see what she thought, my little red-head with the frizzy little curls all over her head, looked at me and started giggling - she said, "Mommy, you look just like Maude" - (now for those of you who don't remember Maude, as best as I can remember, she was a sit-com star, very tall, big boned, and had a deep, not very feminine voice - was very well dressed (and ALWAYS wore dresses or pants with a long vest to match her outfit). So, you see, Mama had chosen something that really was very much in style (in the civilian world that is)! Debbie was practically rolling on the floor in hysterics.

Did I take what she said with a grain of salt and trust that my Mom knew what she was doing by sending me the prettiest outfit in her closet? Yes, I did - for a brief second, and then I turned and went to my room and cried.....and cried...and cried some more until Rich came home and I told him the whole story. By then, I had taken the outfit off and was contemplating excuses of how I could get out of going to this dinner. Rich, bless his heart, told me I looked beautiful and that everything was going to be fine. He had to tell me about a million times before I believed him, but he convinced me that I was beautiful and so, I didn't call Carol and cancel the dinner.

Big night arrives and after giving the only friend in the whole world I trusted with caring for my daugher and my newborn (and Debbie, quite honestly, could probably have taken care of Mark herself) we left for Carol's house. We drove up to this beautiful home - off base - and knocked on the front door. Way too quickly, the door opened and there was Carol - Carol, the plain, no personality at all high school friend of mine - she had on a skirt that flowed beautifully on her tiny, tiny body and a little tank top that I can't even describe - her short, curly hair was no longer short and no longer curly, but instead, straight, beautiful and reached past her waist - she was incredibly beautiful. It was only seconds, this first glimpse, but already I couldn't breathe. How could this be? How did I go from the pretty little high school social snob that I was to a fat and lumpy, bumpy, person who couldn't breathe, much less speak? But, I did. And the tour of that beautiful house began - room to room that had surely been decorated by a professional interior designer. Even the garage, which contained two huge motorcycles (yes, the beautiful swan and her husband rode motorcycles together and they were housed in the garage parked next to the biggest boat I had ever seen) - Was I jealous? No, not at all - just completely dumbfounded and wondering how in the world I ever let my Mama get me into this! (Her intentions were good - and not being a military wife or knowing anything about being a military wife, she thought I would be thrilled to find an old high school friend living in Biloxi not 5 miles from where I lived) She couldn't have known that I wanted to hide under the first thing I could find big enough to cover my enormously huge body and that suddenly, I knew that not only did I look like Maude, I WAS Maude!

On to the dining room, which was as elegant as the rest of the home and although there was no maid there serving dinner, the table was set with the most beautiful china and flowers at both ends of the table adorned with huge silver candlesticks. There was champagne (I don't drink) served in the most beautiful champagne glasses that bubbled out at the top and had the prettiest stems on them I had ever seen on a champagne glass.....to be polite I took a very small sip, while Rich scoffed his down ( I KNOW HE NEEDED A DRINK RIGHT ABOUT THEN) and Carol moved about gracefully as she went into the kitchen and with perfect serving manners (these, I DID know, having been brought up as a Southern Belle but as I watched her, I was trembling) placed delicate china salad plates in front of each of us and I do remember thinking how delightful the salad tasted (maybe it was the delicate china - maybe the salad really did taste good - I wasn't sure by this point) and once everyone had finished their salads, she just as gracefully, removed the salad plates and replaced them with more elegant china with some of Biloxi's famous giant shrimp and huge mushrooms artfully arranged as the main course in front of each of us. OK - by now, I am really getting worried - my sweet Yankee husband, who, then had not an ounce of tact in him (it was still a course in progress I was teaching him) DID NOT LIKE SHRIMP AND HAD NEVER ONCE EATEN A MUSHROOM........I knew for sure I was probably going to just pass out when he blurted out that he didn't eat shrimp or mushrooms, but he surprised me - he ate every bite and then, just as we finished, he said, in his most polite Yankee manners (which...well, let's just say they were questionable at times) "Normally, I don't like shrimp and I never eat mushrooms, but this was a delicious dinner!"

By now, I was sure that Mama had been completely wrong about Southern girls never sweating (we "dew" or "glow") but I WAS SWEATING! Carol, in all of her elegance and Southern manners style simply said, "Well, I am so happy that you enjoyed it." and she began clearing the dinner dishes to make room for the most wonderful Southern dessert made with lady fingers (which Rich had never seen before either) -

"Maude" and Rich made it through that night and Carol and I stayed in touch until orders took Rich to Alaska and me back home to Hendersonville - It's comical now, but it was so not at all funny that night.

Giggly, bubbly, curly-headed little Debbie, still up when we got home, in all of her young wisdom, told me that I was prettier than Maude and asked if I had shown Carol a picture of her. Of course I did - and it was with much pride that I shared some stories of my babies with Carol and her husband that night. They never had children, and of course, I didn't realize it then, but Carol's beauty and her elegance could never have competed with what I had at home - home, in my beautiful, wonderful, all paid for, mobile home in the Base Trailer Park, right across the road from the flight line where my babies went to sleep at night lullabyed by the touch and go landings of the F-16s - And I couldn't have known then that although I would never be as elegant and as beautiful as was she that my life would be filled with the blessings that God had in mind for me. Motorcyles and boats, silver candlesticks, and long flowing skirts would never be my style, but a child tugging at my Maude outfit with chocolate hands would be my elegance in life.


Sorry this is so long - it's just an excerpt from what I'm going to put my children through when they have to read about "who I was" and this is just one of my stories - and oddly enough, even at 5, almost 6, it is one story that even Debbie says I remembered correctly!

Thanks for reading it - I hope I didn't bore everyone to tears!

I really do apologize for making my excerpt so long - I didn't mean to do that and I could have included a shorter story - I was just told that my post was way too long to take the time to read and I really do apologize - it was just one of the funnier (I thought) excerpts I remembered so chose to copy it. I'll leave it for now, but if anyone else feels it's too long I am really, really sorry. That was not my intention at all.

This post has been edited by Sara Arell: 03 January 2012 - 08:09 AM

[KayMitch]

Wonderful writing and memories Sara. I loved reading your story. I'm sure your children will really love knowing all about their Mum & Dad. It's a wonderful legacy you are leaving for your children. Kay

[satippetts]

I'm excited to put my own together, as I've been working on one for the last couple of months, and have gotten addicted! I've made too many pretty layouts for just the artistic purpose, but now that I'm actually trying to record and save our family's history I can't stop!

[Sara Arell]

satippetts, on 03 January 2012 - 07:49 AM, said:

I'm excited to put my own together, as I've been working on one for the last couple of months, and have gotten addicted! I've made too many pretty layouts for just the artistic purpose, but now that I'm actually trying to record and save our family's history I can't stop!

It is hard to stop, Shalae, but at least you've got your layouts first to start with - I started writing too long ago and now have to go back and do layouts for those early days that I've written about but of course wasn't doing digi-scrapping then - I want it to be filled with layouts and words - lots and lots of both and I'm afraid I've "bitten off more than I can chew" - LOL It's fun, but I think I got started backwards so be glad you're doing yours the right way!

[Smiles]

This and the how did you meet your sweetie thread are making me want to record and scrap the early days of our relationship.

[luckyladybug]

Wonderful story, Sara! Thanks for sharing your delightful memories. These storys are the gems of blessings in a life well-lived.

[KBCustomCreations]

Just loving this idea. I think what I'm going to do is scrap a page for me and then one for my children. I'll go back to my earliest memories, scan photos that are away in boxes. What a great way to remember little things they say and do. Most of my family has passed away, and I want my children to remember their heritage, the memories that at this point, only I can pass along to them. Oh, gotta get out some paper and start making notes.

[Ro]

KBCustomCreations, on 07 January 2012 - 02:16 PM, said:

Just loving this idea. I think what I'm going to do is scrap a page for me and then one for my children. I'll go back to my earliest memories, scan photos that are away in boxes. What a great way to remember little things they say and do. Most of my family has passed away, and I want my children to remember their heritage, the memories that at this point, only I can pass along to them. Oh, gotta get out some paper and start making notes.

Me, too. That is why I am doing it. I'm realizing more every single day that this is a very important job I need to do. Suddenly scrapbooking has become more than just a hobby for me. I GET it. My mom and grandma have been so good about passing family things down. It's my turn. (You'd think that the owner of a digital scrapbooking company wouldn't have been so slow on this point, wouldn't you? But I almost had it before. But not quite. Now, I feel like i do.)