my attempt at keeping a daily journal

like i mentioned before, journaling isn't really my thing. but i decided to give it a shot this month, with a twist; i decided to try making a list a day (a la 30 days of lists). because i like lists -- i'm good at lists. and with that in mind, i figured i would actually stand a chance of completing this little exercise in journaling.

i liked the exercise, but i'm not going to lie, it wasn't super successful. i just couldn't write something everyday; it's really hard. and it's even harder to be consistently reflective. i'm totally in awe of those people who find that kind of time or who have that kind of motivation. plus, i honestly think i'm not that interesting. (it's an insecurity i have and i'm working on it.) i have no interest in reading about my thoughts, feelings, or everyday aspects of my life, so my thinking is why would others be interested? i even have a hard time writing email updates for my friends -- i just can't understand why people would be interested in the things that i'm doing, thinking, or feeling. i know then, that it seems counter intuitive to have a blog, but i wanted a place where i could go and look at all of the pictures that I take. and i wanted a place for my family and friends to see what i've been up to without me actually having to talk about it. in fact, my dad has always said talking to me about my life is like pulling teeth, but i think that's just because talking about my life makes me so bored -- i've been there and done that, why do i have to talk about it?

              

all of that being said, maybe my blog is my journal, or my form of journal. i think that over the past 2+ years that i've had this blog, i've been more reflective. and i've been even more so since january, when i actively decided that reflection about my everyday life is a good thing. but i still have a hard time writing every day. in fact, i write most of my blog posts all at once and then stagger their release. i guess i have to be in the mood to focus on writing. 

at any rate, this 30 lists project was a fun exercise and i hope that in the future i will have the patience (and the time!) to continue journaling, in whatever form that may take.

              

how do you journal?

2013 -- week 10 -- a mexican catamaran vacation!

is it weird that we keep going back to mexico for our vacations? 

 i guess our thinking is that mexico is huge and awesome -- why not explore all of it's bits and pieces? this time we went to the gulf of mexico to spend four days on a catamaran with friends. it was kind of amazing. (minus the nauseous feeling while on the boat and the rocking feeling while off the boat.)

i must admit, i was very nervous to travel to cancun a week before spring break season officially started, but this vacation was relaxing. and we got to see some really nifty stuff. my favorite was our dingy ride through a lagoon to the oldest church in latin america. it was overgrown with weeds and overrun with bats, but it was amazing to see something so old, so unchanged, and so hugely monumental to the history of a nation, region, and people. (history is the coolest.)

click here or here if you are interested in reading more about my 30 days of lists.

and a special thanks to dh for the use of your awesome panoramic photos of isla blanca.

#30lists

as you know, one of my goals for 2013 is to work on my blog -- rename, rebrand, and relaunch -- but i'm not there yet. i'm not sure where i want ice cream & sunshine to go. i have ideas, of course. but i need to do more research. in doing that research, i've stumbled across a million more things that i want to try my hand at. one is the 52 lists project from moorea seal. from there, i've been introduced to a bunch of new blogs, and new ideas. the latest one i've found is 30 days of lists. 

i know, i know. i'm a little list happy at the moment. 

i've never understood journalling. sure, i had a diary when i was younger, but i wrote in 5 times, maybe. and even then i wrote in it because that's what you did as a young girl -- you wrote about your first kiss or a heartbreak or whatever so that you would have something to look back on when you're older. i think i liked the idea of a diary, but only in so much as i love notebooks. i have a million of them, all barely used. but i just can't resist buying them; they're small, cute, and clean. and they are perfect for making lists. which brings me back to my current state of being list happy.

(ps. don't these photos look like they're crooked? it's driving me crazy!)

i started 30 lists because it combines two of my favorite things: lists and tiny notebooks. and it's a cheater's way of journalling.


instead of buying another small notebook, i decided to make my own notebook using index cards. i did this because pinterest always has such crafty things on it, and instead of just looking at others' cute homemade things, i thought it was time for me to make my own. to do that i got 33 index cards together, punched holes in them, and glued different pictures, quotes, and printables to them.

some of the resources i used were:
persnickety prints: hello. chalk cards
persnickety prints: wall art
ziggle designs: instalife january 2013 pack a
sweet shoppe designs: a wink and a smile date bits
striking truths
you can also add photos and quotes from magazines and catalogs.

do you like to make lists? why?

2013 -- week 9 -- some kittenz, a taste of mexico, rcg's day in the life, and a #30lists sneak peek

it's funny how the week before you go on a trip seems so busy, but really you're doing nothing of importance. you're prepping -- getting yourself and your house ready -- and therefore, you are, in fact, very busy, but as a result, you're doing nothing extraordinary. so this week, while we were prepping and stressing, i decided to spend as much time with the kittenz as possible, because sometimes snuggling a furry belly is all we need to help us clear our head.

i have so much to say about our latest trip to mexico, but i will wait -- be sure to check back on the blog over the next week for pictures and stories of places we saw, things we did, and some recommendations for traveling to mexico in march.

since january 31st and february 28th both landed on a thursday, i thought it would be fun to get a peek into what rcg's day looked like, rather than having two identical months for me. he was more than happy to oblige.

(don't you just love the contrast in our methods? he's a man of few words, but lots of pictures, while my day in the life is much heavier on the minute details of everything i do. i love it.)

i found another list project, 30 days of lists. this is just a sneak peek of my lists -- check back in a couple of days and i will write more about it!