Katie the Scrapbook Lady

Goodbye to another month–Roundup for April 2012

When my hubby and I woke up yesterday morning (May 1st) we both said something very similar to “Goodbye April! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” Overall, it was not a great month for either one of us. The great thing about doing roundups (even for a tough month) is that it does help you to realize all the good things that happened during the month. It also gives you a chance to process and get some perspective on the less than fun things as well. Compared to the problems that many people are dealing with, ours are very minor. And we certainly have a ton of happy things to be grateful for!

 

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?

I went to a overnight church camp with my daughter. We celebrated a nice low-key Easter Sunday. 

We had a great time at a Utah Jazz vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA game. We love the Jazz!

We tagged along with my husband on a Las Vegas trip (he had meetings). We went to M&M world, the Hard Rock Café, and the Beatles Cirque du Soleil show. I’ll be blogging/scrapping about all of those soon!

 

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

We gave wedding gifts to 2 couples. I received a very thoughtful gift of badges (if you listen to The Digi Show, you’ll understand) from a digital scrapbooker that I’ve never even met. I was so touched that Lynette would go to all the effort of collecting and mailing these buttons to me! I still smile every time I see them!

 

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

I didn’t make many purchases at the first of the month since my debit card got hacked. It was a pretty boring month for my bank account overall – just bills and groceries.

 

What were my accomplishments this month?

I scrapped 3 layouts (images are linked to the post where they originally appeared)

   

I found a lot of old documents while I’ve been converting old Word Perfect files to Word format. So fun to find treasures!

I recorded 4 digi show podcasts with Steph and Peppermint and guests Heather Hess, Anna Aspnes, and Jennifer Wilson.  Pretty cool! Each graphic is linked to the individual podcast.

   

 

How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals)

I kept up on my iPhone photo of the day project and I completed another month of the 12 on 12 project. Go me!

 

I’m proud of myself for getting my roundup done! I kept it pretty short and simple this time, but I’m so glad that I took the time to do it. Have you done your roundup yet? You can start at any time – you’ll be glad you did!

 

P.S. You can be part of my Roundup Posse! If you want to leave a link to your own roundup – head on over to the bottom of this post and fill out the new linky tool. So fun!

…

Time to Roundup April 2012!

I came up with the concept of recapping the events of each month back in January of 2006 and I haven’t missed a month since. My monthly roundup is by far my most useful memory keeping tool! The basic idea is to take some time to close out the ending month before you forget the details. If you take a few minutes to jot down your memories, you are more likely to remember them and you will have an organized system to refer back to for your scrapbook journaling. You will also have a great keepsake whether or not you ever create any scrapbook pages from this simple exercise.

All you need to do is to answer a few questions at the end of each month. Jot down your answers on a blog, in a journal, or in a word document – whatever works for you. Don’t worry if you miss a month, you can start again at any time. Of course, the more months you do your roundup, the more you will have to refer back to. Before you know it, you will have a monthly index to help you reference your own life!

 

1. What reading/learning did I do this month? (books, blogs, magazines, ebooks, podcasts, classes, etc.)
2. What entertainment did I watch/listen to this month? (movies, tv shows, plays, music, concerts, etc.)
3. What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?
4. What gifts did I give and/or receive?
5. What special or unusual purchases did I make?
6. What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
7. What were my accomplishments this month?
8. What were my disappointments this month?
9. How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals)
10. Anything else noteworthy to include?

These are the 10 questions that I use as prompts for each roundup. I don’t always answer every single question, but I find that they help me explore and record the memories of the past month in a simple and concise way.

Sometimes I answer the roundup questions with a bullet list, and other times I may write a paragraph or even more explaining the events that occurred. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to do a roundup, just try to include as much detail as you want to remember. You can add more questions if you want or you can choose to answer only a few, feel free to customize this tool to best meet your needs. You might want to explore my years of roundup archives so you can see all the ways I’ve utilized this monthly exercise to help me keep track of my own memories.

If you want a little roundup pride badge (I love badges!) to display on your own roundup post, feel free to copy and paste this one. I'd also love it if you would link back to this post or my blog when you share your roundup so people know where to find the idea.

Links to other roundups

Some of my roundup buddies suggested a linky tool here each month so they can share their own roundups. It’s always inspiring to see how others use the roundup tool to document their month of memories. So if you feel like sharing, we’d love to see your roundup! Just fill in the linky tool below.

March 2012 roundup done

It’s hard to believe that March is over and April is here! I love spring though, so I’m happy to see blossoms on the trees and I’m especially happy that there are only 8 more weeks of school left! Before I get too ahead of myself, I guess I better wrap up March in roundup fashion!

 

What reading/learning did I do this month? (books, blogs, magazines, ebooks, podcasts, classes, etc.)

I’ve been listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with my kids on audiobook. Yes, again – lol! We just love the series so much that we start it over every few years and have just as much fun as ever with it. I started The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and I’ve been enjoying it so far. I’m only half-way through it so don’t tell me anything about it if you’ve already read it!

I’ve been learning all about World Geography, Fine Art, Earth Science, Health, and many other school-related subjects with my kids. Geography has been my favorite subject this year.

What entertainment did I watch/listen to this month? (movies, tv shows, plays, music, concerts, etc.)

We saw Zorro the Musical on my birthday and it was so fun! I love the Hale Theater productions, they always do a fantastic job!

I barely watched any TV in March and I guess my only real report in this area is Survivor. This has not been one of my favorite seasons because I’m not really liking most of the people. I think the men vs. women tribes was a bad idea and created the scene for so much negativity. I do love watching the show with my family though – we have a great time and we are always amazed and entertained.

The only movie I can remember watching was The Muppets on DVD. It’s silly and cute!

 

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?

Threw myself a Lego birthday party!

Ate apple pie for Pi Day (3.14)

Visited Bryce Canyon, Zion’s National Park, St. George, and even drove an ATV!

My Mom came to town and we played hard and ate WAY too much!

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

My hubby bought me flowers on my birthday and took me out to lunch and to a play. He also bought me some new books.

 

Hubby also sent me a beautiful plant & flowers for our 21st Wedding Anniversary.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

I treated myself to a brand new iPad! I’ll have to blog about it soon.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

My lungs still hurt for a good part of the month and I started to think I might be getting a cold again. Fortunately, I was able to fight it off with a few doses of airborne. I think I’m finally feeling like myself again after the brutal round of pleurisy I had in January.

What were my accomplishments this month?

I scrapped 4 layouts and I really enjoyed working on all of them. I need to scrap more! (all layouts are linked to the post where they originally appeared)

   

 

I recorded 3 digi show podcasts (didn’t get to go to Vegas ) with Steph and Peppermint. Oh, and I got to visit with Ali Edwards and Jessica Sprague as well. Pretty cool! Each graphic is linked to the individual podcast.

   

 

How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals)

I revamped my roundup tasks and turned them into a regular organization prompt called “Mid-Month Management”. So far, this has been a great plan for me and I’m happy to say that I’m getting my documents in order and working on some memory-keeping management.

I took 12 pictures on the 12th. I’m excited about this project and think it’s a great way to capture every day life once a month!

 

I’ve kept up on my iPhone photo-a-day project but I’m behind on getting them uploaded to Flickr. I need to do that today.

Anything else noteworthy to include?

I don’t usually like the special flavors of Hershey Kisses, but I tried these coconut crème ones and they are SO yummy! I didn’t need to know about these!

 

I’m proud of myself for getting my roundup done! For some reason, it was harder to get motivated about doing it this time, but I’m so glad that I took the time to do it. Have you done your roundup yet? You can start at any time – you’ll be glad you did!

 

P.S. You can be part of my Roundup Posse! If you want to leave a link to your own roundup – head on over to the bottom of this post and fill out the new linky tool. So fun!

…

Time to do the Roundup! (March 2012)

This is my 7th year of using my roundup tool at the end of each month and I can say without any hesitation that it has been the single most useful memory keeping tool I’ve ever used! All you need to do is to answer a few questions at the end of each month. Jot down your answers on a blog, in a journal, or in a word document – whatever works for you. Don’t worry if you miss a month, you can start again at any time. Of course, the more months you do your roundup, the more you will have to refer back to. Before you know it, you will have a monthly index to help you reference your own life!

 

What reading/learning did I do this month? (books, blogs, magazines, ebooks, podcasts, classes, etc.)
What entertainment did I watch/listen to this month? (movies, tv shows, plays, music, concerts, etc.)
What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?
What gifts did I give and/or receive?
What special or unusual purchases did I make?
What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
What were my accomplishments this month?
What were my disappointments this month?
How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals)
Anything else noteworthy to include?
These are the 10 questions that I use as prompts for each roundup. I don’t always answer every single question, but I find that they help me explore and record the memories of the past month in a simple and concise way.

Sometimes I answer the roundup questions with a bullet list, and other times I may write a paragraph or even more explaining the events that occurred. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to do a roundup, just try to include as much detail as you want to remember. You can add more questions if you want or you can choose to answer only a few, feel free to customize this tool to best meet your needs. You might want to explore my years of roundup archives so you can see all the ways I’ve utilized this monthly exercise to help me keep track of my own memories.

If you want a little roundup pride badge (I love badges!) to display on your own roundup post, feel free to copy and paste this one. I'd also love it if you would link back to this post or my blog when you share your roundup so people know where to find the idea.

It’s always inspiring to see how others use the roundup tool to document their month of memories. So if you feel like sharing, we’d love to see your roundup! Just fill in the linky tool below.

Katie’s February 2012 Roundup

The cute calendar image can be found here.

 

It’s time for my February 2012 Roundup! It was a very busy month in my world so I have plenty of details to record. I’ll also say that for being a short month, February sure felt long this year!

 

What entertainment did I watch/listen to this month? (movies, tv shows, plays, music, concerts, etc.)

We got ready for our trip to Disneyland by watching Mary Poppins on DVD. I sure wish I could clean up a room like she does! I watched some episodes of cake challenge on Food Network and Phineas & Ferb on Disney with my kids. We all watched the Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl. We also started on the new season of Survivor. Can I just say that I’m a little disturbed with how little clothing is being worn this season? It also seems like everyone got plastic surgery done to get ready for their stay on the island. Just sayin.

 

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?

We love board games and puzzles around here. We are working on a challenging puzzle right now. We had fun with a new version of Haunted Mansion Life and Loaded Questions is a real favorite – it’s hilarious!

The big event of the month was our trip to Disneyland! Hubby had to work but we tagged along and spent our days playing in the parks. We had to work extra hard the week before to get ahead with our K12 virtual academy to pull it off. The high school program isn’t nearly as flexible as the earlier grades and with two high school students, it was a challenge. Totally worth it though!

 

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

My sister-in-law had a birthday and we gave her an Amazon gift card and some Easter candy. We also went out to dinner with my hubby’s entire family to celebrate.

Steph totally surprised me by sending me a ton of Disney goodies when she went to Disneyland at the first of the month. We definitely share a love of Disneyland and she said these pins could be my badges! lol! Long time Digi Show listeners will appreciate the cupcakes reference here since I wish for cupcakes and butterflies in my life.

And since we are both “nerds” (we prefer the term “geeks”)

It was definitely the best package of happy mail I’ve ever received!

 

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Sweatshirts, books, games, and pins at Disneyland. Someday, I need to scrap about our pin collections. I bought all 4 of us each an “Ellie Badge” (you’ll understand if you’ve seen UP).

 

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

I was still quite sick at the beginning of the month and it’s taken me so long to recover from that awful bout of pleurisy. My lungs still hurt and it’s hard to take deep breaths. I still cough when I get laughing. I probably should go back in to the doctor, but I can’t imagine what they would do for me since I already had my lungs x-rayed once.

 

What were my disappointments this month?

Well, I can’t complain one single bit about our awesome California trip, but I was just a little sad when I ran into this sign in Downtown Disney! The big Lego store was closed and they only had a lame temporary one up while it’s under construction.

 

What were my accomplishments this month?

I took a picture with my iPhone every single day. I’m totally in the groove now with this project!

 

I recorded 5 episodes of The Digi Show with Steph, Peppermint, and various guests. Each image is linked to the individual show. I honestly look forward to chatting with all these amazing scrapbookers each week and I always come away with a new perspective and tons of ideas and picks to try!

  

  

 

I redesigned my blog and finally got it working the way I wanted it to be. What do you think of it? I still have a few more minor things to add, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I’m a big fan of clean and simple blog designs.

 

I’m a little disappointed that I only digi scrapped two layouts all month. I really need to be scrapping more to feel fulfilled in this area. The images are linked to where the layout was originally posted.

 

I did create this infographic for a post at The Daily Digi. I think it’s worth including here because it felt like making a really tall layout. lol!

 

February 2012 was a good month overall, and now it is saved in roundup format! Have you done your roundup yet? You can start at any time – you’ll be glad you did!

 

You can be part of my Roundup Posse! If you want to leave a link to your own roundup – head on over to the bottom of this post and fill out the new linky tool. So fun!

…