Project Life 2012: May part 3

I will be linking up with The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday, as always. If you've hopped here from there, a big welcome; and if you haven't visited yet, drop by for inspiration and lots of fun stuff.

It's been a while, huh? But my blog-silence has been for a very good reason - I found a job, hurrah! Ok, it's only a short term contract, just for 6 weeks, but it may lead to other things, and it's so rewarding to be back in the workforce once more. So I have been busy getting to grips with the new job and the office and the people and, well you've been there,  it's like new girl on first day of school!

So, after the birthday extravaganza of my last PL entry, this one is much more everyday. It's bits and pieces of what happened in the rest of May.

Here's the whole page:

I was very proud of myself for making this yummy looking pavlova. I had a craving one day, and my friend sent me this foolproof recipe from Delia Smith, so I put on my apron and got to work. This was the rather delicious result of what seemed like hours of old school whisking by hand (I think meringues taste betterand have a better texture hand whisked):

Chloe's love of all things Instagram continues. This is her latest profile pic on facebook. I know I am biased, but how gorgeous does she look?

A little mini story about my return to working life:

Scotland had a very rare mini heatwave the week after Miss C's birthday. My parents thought it was a good reason to BBQ. Chloe took this photo of my dad getting all alpha male with the BBQ:

We are so very lucky to live so close to Glasgow. Chloe and I love nothing more than a girls' day out in town. Usually that revolves round shopping and eating, but we do try to find something different to throw into the mix. This time it was a visit to GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) which is in the centre of town, unlike the other galleries which are on the outskirts. Miss C, my budding artist, was very taken with the Karla Black exhibition. This piece on the ground floor is huge in scale, and quite something to experience. Outside GOMA is the Duke of Wellington statue, which is capped with a traffic cone! This is a long-standing tradition in Glasgow, and has become something of an attraction in itself.

While in town, we also saw these drummers and pipers taking some contemporary and well known songs and giving them the Highland fling treatmeant. Their rendition of We Will Rock You complete with dancing was fabulous. Obviously, it was for the tourists really (we don't all wear kilts and play the bagpipes) but as a proud Scots lassie, I can't help but feel a patriotic stirring when I hear the pipes.

Lastly, a little card documenting my love of the deli opposite work. Noodles to go at lunchtime, mmmm.

And that is pretty much that! This weekend (2-6 June) is a weekend of celebration in the UK and Commonwealth. Celebrating 60 years since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth to the throne, there have been events all weekend. Street parties in some places. And we have been given extra public holidays, so we are off today (Monday) as I write this, as well as Tuesday. Thank you, ma'am. I'll be sure to include some royal touches in next week's layout.

Till then, have a fabulous week, all

Project Life 2012: May part 2 Chloe turns 15

I will be linking up with The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday, as always. If you've hopped here from there, a big welcome; and if you haven't visited yet, drop by for inspiration and lots of fun stuff.

After a break last week, I'm back! Rather than a regular PL page, I have a spread all about one very special occasion - the celebration of my amazing daughter Chloe turning 15! I'm finding it quite hard to believe she is actually 15 now, as it really does seem like just yesterday that she was a toddler and following me around everywhere! However, she is turning into one fabulous young lady, and I'm privileged to be her mother.

Chloe's birthday fell on Sunday but it was a whole weekend of celebration - friends came to stay - one on Friday and two on Saturday, we went out to eat on Saturday evening at our local Chiquito's and the girls chilled on Sunday after Chloe had opened her cards and gifts. It was all about the fun, food, moustaches, bubbles, giggles and more fun! Oh and Adam, there was a lot of Adam, especially when he tweeted her happy birthday. She hasn't stopped talking about that.

Rather than my usual talk around the photos, I'm pretty much going to let the photographs speak for themselves this week. I used a mix of digital templates (wonderful Cathy Z tiny templates are much in evidence here, Simple Stories Happy Day range, Echo Park This & That and Charming range, as well as lots and lots of photos.

The double page spread:

The left side:

The right side:

Left side close ups:

Right side close ups:

Looking back, it was a busy old weekend. That would explain why I am feeling a little sleepy right now!

Till next time.

It's not all cupcakes and sparkles

I don't know why, but people do associate me with being optimistic and generally cheerful (with the exception of a not infrequent bout of sarcastic banter).

It could be the name - you don't really imagine a Julie or Jules being sad or overly pensive, do you? It's kind of an upbeat name!

It could be because I'm a big girl, and we all know that 'big girls don't cry'; they're a jolly sort.

It could be that, yes, I do try to see the positive in most events and people. If I were a betting girl, I'd always bet things will turn out ok rather than predict an inevitable disaster. [Sidebar here: note that,  while I don't bet on disaster, I'm so organised that if there were one, everything we'd need would be in my bag.] I'm a great believer in you get what you give, and that if you expect and work towards things to turn out well, they generally do.

Like everyone else, life has thrown me some curveballs and challenges in the shape of cancer and other health issues, work issues, family issues. At times when I was dealing with a health challenge, people have asked me how I remained so happy with it all. I'd tell them that while I couldn't control what was happening to me, I could control how I handled it, and that I'd made the choice to be as happy as I could.

That isn't a one-time deal. That's still a choice I have to make. Being happy doesn't come automatically to most people I know. Every day we wake up and we make that choice.

For the most part, I do make the choice to be happy, even through the challenges. There are times, when I just don't have the strength to do that. Some days I just can't quite get past ok into good. Heck, some days I don't even make it to ok. Life isn't all cupcakes and sparkles. Some events you can't just get over straight away. Some times you need a small window to grieve something not turning out how you'd hoped, or to deal with unexpected bad news. So I take those times to be sad, to acknowledge the loss, to work through it in my mind.

Those days are inevitably when someone asks me what's up, why I am so miserable, it's so unlike me, I'm normally so bubbly. Yes, I do KNOW that but I smile anyway. Then they tell me to cheer up, that it's not the end of the world.

I want to tell them that no, I am not fine, but I will be. I want to tell them that you need to be sad sometimes to really appreciate being happy. That it's ok to be sad, as long as it's for a purpose, that it's part of the journey to being happy again. I'm grounded right now, but I will fly and soar again.

So, blog readers and friends, remember that - it's ok to be sad sometimes; just don't forget your wings.

Image credit: unknown, someone sent me this image in an email. Apologies.