Welcome to the This is Me Challenge!

Welcome to the TIMC! 

 

This blog is my personal history brain child--something I came up with trying to get my parents to record their personal histories for me.  I started off doing email questions, but then I figured there are probably plenty of people out there who also want to get their parents, grandparents or even their own personal histories recorded.  So I decided to start this little blog in an effort to help anyone who wanted to get their stories recorded before they got forgotten!

After 3 years of diligently doing the challenges and recording many facets and facts of my life, I found that I no longer had the time needed to keep going on...plus so much was already covered that I couldn't really think of many more questions.  I decided to call it quits on the new challenges, but I've left the blog up for any newcomers.

Here's a quick explanation of the different things you can find on the blog:

If you would like to do the challenges as I gave them out, I'd suggest starting with the Challenge Link List.  It has all of the questions written out, plus a link to the original post so you can see what I and my team members came up with to give you ideas!  Some of the challenges are different questions than the norm.   There are also 10 bonus questions as well!

If you are itching to record your history in a timeline/subject format, check out the Personal History in Depth page that goes through all the questions you could use to record an in-depth personal history.  You can also use the list for interview questions when visiting an elderly relative.  Get out the voice recorder and ask away!

If you have children, you can start recording their histories with some ideas found on the Personal Histories for Kids page.  Lots of fun ideas there to remember some of those special milestones!

The idea of this blog was that not everyone likes to record their stories in the same way.  Some like to write, others are comfortable with video, and still others are into scrapbooking.  There are many more ways to record your story.  Check out some of them and maybe get an idea for how you'd like to record your story on the Ideas for Completing the Challenges page.

If you like just short, simple and sweet questions, check out Fast Fact Fridays!  They were five little questions I gave out on Fridays for those who just wanted to record their lives in quick and simple ways.  At the end, I started using questions from the personal history in depth to help people get their histories recorded quickly if they wanted to. 

And last but not least, if you find you are loving these challenges, share the blog with your friends who may also like a fun way to record their stories! 

Thanks for stopping by!  And enjoy recording your history!  -Emily

Challenge #75—The End

Well folks, this is it…our last challenge. 

I will still post on here every once in awhile if I find something that I think can help in the cause of recording personal history. 

But today’s challenge is basically the end of things, in more than one way.

What’s on your bucket list?

If you’ve seen the movie, “The Bucket List”, you know what this is all about.  If you  haven’t, it’s basically a list that you write of things you want to accomplish before you kick the bucket. 

Alternatively, you can make a bucket list for this year, for this month, or any number of years from now. 

Write out your list, scrapbook it, find or take some applicable pictures and put them on an inspiration board, blog it, or anything else you can think of to complete this challenge!

Here are a couple of examples for you.

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What Laura did:

She made a traditional scrapbook page with her list of things she wants to accomplish this year.   

Supplies:  Bazzill cardstock; Heidi Swapp sticker; AC Thickers; Studio Calico chipboard; Bella Blvd sticker

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What I did:

I made a digital scrapbook page of my life bucket list.

Supplies: Template with some embellishments, Scrapping With Liz.  Papers and other embellishments, Amanda Heimann. Fonts, Bombshell Pro, My Own Topher, CK Ali’s Writing.

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Well, I guess this is it!  This blog has taken more time of my last 3 years than I ever thought it would, but I am grateful that it gave me an excuse to get my personal history recorded.  I’d love to give a big thank you to all of you who have read, supported and shared this blog.  You are the reason I put time into this.

I personally want to give a big ol’ thank you to all of my team members who’ve helped me out and helped to give you some examples as well!  I could not have done this blog for this long without their support.  So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to Laura, Kim, April, Rachel, Lindsey and Allison!!!

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Now I challenge you to get your bucket list recorded!

Challenge #74—The Best Year Ever

Have you ever tried explaining to someone how the world has changed since you were born?  Well, if you haven’t or even if you have, today’s challenge is a good way to document the big changes that have taken place in the world!

What was happening in the world when you were born?

You can do this about the day you were born, the month or the whole year.  There are many different things that you can record.  Here’s a list of some things you could include:

The weather on the day you were born
Famous people (don’t forget things they did)
Movies or TV shows that were popular
Songs, albums and musicians who were at the top of the charts
Companies that started and are now successful
News events that happened all around the world
What was going on in your home town or with your family

To find info on what was going on, try doing a search like “what was the number one song on (insert date)?” or “world events in (year)”.  I found quite a bit of information from 3 sites, and I was blown away by the things I learned! 

Also, don’t forget to ask your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or anyone else close to you who may remember what was going on.  They may even have pictures to share with you!

This is also a good challenge to do with kids right now while it’s easy to find pictures and info.  Plus I know my kids would love to see what was going on when they were born even though it was only a few years ago. 

Here are a couple of examples for you:

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What Laura did:

Laura typed up some of the events that were going on the year she was born and put them on a Word document.

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What I did:

I made a digital scrapbook page with some of the information I found online and put them into categories.  I also copied a few pictures from a site and inserted some pictures that I got from my mom which showcase a little bit about the era (like my fancy stroller, he he). 

Supplies: Paper and embellishment, Persnickety Prints.  Fonts, Lane-Narrow, CK Groovy.  Pictures, peoplehistory.com and Mom. 

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Now I challenge you to record some things about what was going on when you were born! 

Challenge #73—Fail On

No one in this world is perfect…in fact, if you’re like me, you’ve made PLENTY of mistakes.  The thing about making mistakes, is that if you don’t learn to laugh at them, it can make for an unhappy life.  So, today’s challenge is going to help us all learn to poke fun at ourselves and our mistakes.  (Plus, I think it helps those who come after us to realize that we were human too!)

What is a fail that you’ve had?

First of all, I just HAVE to post a few things to get your minds rolling…and get you to giggle a little bit too. 

Source

Source

Source (plus a few more if you’re still craving some laughs!)

Here are a couple ways to do this challenge:
*Make a list of some different fails you’ve had—you can give a few details about each one. 
*Go into detail on one fail.  Write a story, a blog post or make a scrapbook page about it.

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What I did:

I actually made a scrapbook page a few years ago about a fail I’d done.  I didn’t have time to do a different one right now, so I thought I’d share this one.  I made a scrapbook page poking fun at myself for my little fail about accidentally baking a batch of brownies where the spoon fell into the batter and I didn’t know it until I cut the brownies up!

And since I made this a few years ago, I really have no clue who made the supplies, otherwise I’d list them…

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Now, I challenge you to record one of your fails! (Or more if you want! )

Challenge #72—Personal Records

Our first challenge of 2014 is finally up!  (Sorry, I’ve kind of been out of the habit, so it’s a day late.  Please forgive me…)

If you read the last post, you know that we are only going to have 4 more challenges and then we’ll be done with new challenges.  So, I’ve come up with four fun challenges that I think and hope will round out anything that we’ve left out.  This one was a bit of a challenge at first for me, but the more I thought about ways to do this challenge, the more excited I got!

What are some of your personal records?

Here are some ways I thought of completing this challenge:

*Record one thing that you’ve done that was a record and tell about it in detail.  Maybe you won a pie eating contest, or did the longest plank at the gym.  It could be something you did a long time ago—like winning a softball throw in 2nd grade or getting a 4.0 your entire high school career. (No, I haven’t done any of those things…these are just examples to get your mind going.)

*Record as many personal records that you remember setting.  (If you can remember all of them, that is a record itself!)  They can be serious records, like miles run in a week, or silly things like the ability to touch your tongue to your nose!  Be creative and think outside the box!

*Record the records you’ve set within a certain time period.  It could be this last year, or during college/high school/summer camp/etc. 

Remember that you can complete this challenge in any way your heart desires!  Write about it, do it in pictures, write a poem or song about it, scrapbook it or any other way you can think of!

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What I did:

I decided to record some of my records for 2013.  I thought it’d make a nice little wrap up of my year!  I think I will do this every year too, so I’m going to keep track of some things this year to record about.

I just made a digital scrapbook page of 7 records I set this year.  (I blurred out my kid’s names, just in case you’re wondering what those weird gray marks are.)

Credits: Digital template: Scrapping with Liz.  Patterned and solid papers: Meredith Cardall.  Fonts: Century Gothic (journaling), Bombshell Pro (title), Georgia (year). 

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As you can see, this challenge is a fun one! 

Now I challenge you to go and record about some of your records! 

Plans for 2014

Happy new year!  It's hard to believe that another year is gone and a new one begun.  Time sure does fly quickly!

At the end of 2013, I spent a lot of time contemplating about this blog.  It's gone on a lot longer than I'd ever thought, reached more people than I ever dreamed and helped me record more of my personal history than I'd ever imagined! 

That being said, I feel it is time to come to an end.  My life is pretty busy right now, and maintaining this blog is just one more thing that takes time away from my family and other things I should be doing.  So, I've decided to finally be done with it.

We ended up with challenge #71, but I thought that was kind of a silly place to stop, so we will go for two more months, to challenge #75 and then be done.  I believe 75 prompts are quite sufficient to help you record your story and give you ideas.  The blog will stay up--it's not going anywhere, and I may even post occasionally when I come across something that I think will help.  But there will be no new challenges beyond the next four. 

Thanks to all of you who have supported me in this journey these past few years.  I've enjoyed it, and I'm grateful that I have a part of me recorded for my posterity.  I hope you'll take the time to record your life too!

Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth #12

Sorry about the delay in getting today’s FFF up.  I finally had some time to sit down to do it, so here we go!!!

 

Today’s theme is: Food!  Now,  who doesn’t love food?!?

1. What are some of your favorite foods you like to eat and some you dislike the most?

2. Do you like to cook or bake?  If so, what types of foods or meals are your favorites to make?

3.  Do you have any family recipes that have been handed down to you that you would like to pass on?  (This would be a great time to record those and even pass them down to your children and grandchildren if the timing is right.) 

4. Where do you like to go to eat out?  (You can be generic here, ie: Mexican, Chinese, Italian, etc., or list specific restaurants.)

5. Do you have any food allergies? (This is quite important to record for posterity’s sake—especially with the growing trend in food allergies.)

Alright, now go ahead and get some recording done!

P.S. Thanks to those who participated in the 30 day self-portrait challenge.  Winners have been notified via Instagram, so please send me an email if that was you!

Challenge #71—So Grateful

Today’s challenge is a little different…

A number of years ago, I was at a training and the speaker had us pull out a piece of paper and a pen.  Then he explained that we had to make a list of the things we were most grateful for—there was a catch though.  We had to pretend that whatever was on the list we got to keep forever—and anything not on that list, we would lose forever.  (This made us think about what was most important in our lives.)  Oh, and we had two minutes to do it in as well.  So…ready, set, go!

Set a timer for two minutes and write the things you are most thankful for.

You can do this on paper or type it up (I typed mine because I’m much faster at that than writing).  Then, you can be done with the challenge, or you can do something else with it if you like.  (Scrapbook it, make a video of it, or anything else you want to do!) 

Here’s what we did.

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What Laura did:

Things that I am Most Thankful For

My children

My husband

Family

Food

A house over my head

To be able to drive a car

A phone

That I have a job

Friends

Books

TV

Clothing

The sunshine

Coca Cola

Computer

A bed to sleep in

My health

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What I did:

I typed up my list in Photoshop and put it directly into a digi scrapbook page.  Simple and easy!  It’s kind of drab, so I may change it up a bit to something with more color.

Supplies: Kraft paper—Meredith Cardall, Fonts—Bombshell Pro, Pea MissStaker

Now I challenge you to do this fun little timed gratitude challenge!

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PS—I totally did not realize today was the day for the gift card drawings.  I should’ve done a reminder yesterday, so I’m extending it by 23.5 hours.  I will draw 3 lucky people tomorrow at noon, MST.    Be sure to hashtag your IG photos with #timc30days for a chance to win!

Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth #11

Welcome to Friday my friends!  Who’s ready for some personal history recording?

Today’s theme is religion.  For many, religion is central to how life is lived, and it’s important to record this!  If you are not a religious person, you can at least record why not, or just skip today’s FFF. 

1.  What is your religion?

2.  How did you come to be a part of that religion? (Born into it, joined later, etc.)

3.  How has your religion helped you in your life?

4.  What religious ceremonies have your completed or participated in? (Baptism, Blessing, Communion, Bar Mitzvah, Endowment, Sealing, etc.)  If possible, list the dates of these ceremonies, even if it’s just a month and a year.

5.  What do you love best about your religion?

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Okay, that’s all—now don’t forget about the 30 day self-portrait challenge!  Enter to win one of three $10 Amazon gift cards by using the hashtag #timc30days on Instagram.  Contest ends in only 5 days!  (Novemeber 20th at noon—Mountain Standard Time.)

Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth #10

Yeah, it’s Friday! 

We only have 5 more weeks of the Personal History in Depth questions for our Fast Fact Fridays. 

If you haven’t taken the chance to do these questions, take a few minutes and do some of them—even if you don’t have time to answer them completely in depth for now. Just a little start is better than nothing.

Today’s theme is grand-children/grand-parents.  The first set of questions is for grandparents.  The second set is for anyone who has grand-parents.  (So, you may actually have two sets of questions today…)  There are only 3 questions per set today.

Set 1:

1.  What are the  names and birthdates of your grandchildren?  (And any great grand children as well.)  Be sure to reference who their parents are.

2.  What are some of the unique traits and talents of each grandchild?  (You don’t need to go into depth, just a simple list will do.)

3.  What are some traditions you have with your grandchildren?  (Any that you’ve carried over from your children or new ones you started as a grandparent.)

Set 2:

1.  What are the names and birthdates of your grandparents?  (List whether they are your maternal or paternal grandparents.)

2.  List any known traits or personalities of your grandparents.  (If they passed on before you can remember, you can ask others.)

3.  What are some fun traditions you had/have with your grandparents?

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Alright, that is all for today’s questions. 

Don’t forget to Instagram your 30 day self-portrait challenge pictures, and be sure to use the hashtag #timc30days to be qualified to enter the contest!  If you’re private, you can either go public on Nov. 20th so that I can see your pictures, or if you want to stop by my profile and let me know that you are doing the challenge I can request to follow you.  I will then unfollow you after the contest.  My Instagram handle is @emils24. 

Challenge #70—Bon Voyage

Raise your hand if you like vacation!  I’m sure everyone is raising their hands, right?  (Even if you didn’t do it physically!)

So, think back to all the vacations you’ve been on, the people you were with, the place you stayed and the things you did…now…

What was your all-time favorite vacation?

You can go about this in a few ways. 
-Describe the details of your favorite vacation.
-Make a top 10 list of your favorite vacations if you can.
-If you can’t narrow it down, just record what a favorite vacation is for you.
-Think outside the box—it doesn’t have to have been the most expensive and lavish vacation you’ve been on.  It could even be a fun staycation where you explored your own stomping grounds!

Here are some examples.

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What April did:

When thinking of my favorite vacation I came up with the time we took our kids to Disneyland or when my husband and I went to the Bahamas for our honeymoon or when I went to Europe after I graduated from High School. But the one “vacation” that I truly loved the most was not really a vacation in the sense of going somewhere exciting. On September 26th-28th, 2013 my husband and I had the amazing opportunity to attend 3 Key Elements’ “Royalty & Romance” couple‘s seminar taught by Kirk and Kim Duncan at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy, Utah. This seminar was an AMAZING experience for us and it has changed our life. It was fun, entertaining, and informative. My husband and I have grown so close since attending and we are already planning on attending again in the future!

Credits: Font: Bellevue, Photos taken from 3 Key Elements’ facebook page and website as well as my own photos.

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What I did:

This was a really hard topic for me.  I’ve had some amazing opportunities for vacations—so narrowing it down was hard.  I decided to do a kind of cop out, and tell a little bit about my favorite type of vacation, just my hubby and me.  I just typed it up this week because I’ve been so busy.  I hope to find some pictures from these vacations and make a scrapbook page with this journaling. 

Family vacations are awesome.  I love spending time doing fun and different things with my family and not having to deal with the daily grind of life.  But as awesome as they are, my favorite vacations have been those with just me and Quinn. There’s something about just spending complete alone time with him that just can’t compare to family vacations when we have the kids to worry about too. 

Here is a list of the fun vacations (and staycations) that have been just me and Quinn.  (I didn’t include the many times we’ve stayed in SLC for Quinn’s work conferences which were mostly work anyway.)

*Our honeymoon—Cancun, Mexico.  December, 2002 Saw lots of ruins (Chitzen Itza, Tulum, Coba, and spend time on the beach).
*Oahu, Hawaii—December, 2004  Toured everything we could on the whole island!
*Salt Lake City—August, year I don’t remember and need to look up.  Stayed at the Little America and saw the Broadway musical Lion King. 
*Chicago and Nauvoo, Illinois—October, 2010  Spent 3 days seeing the major sites of Chicago, then spent 1 day in Nauvoo.
*Anchorage, Alaska—August 2011  Saw many things between Palmer, Whittier and Seward. 
*Salt Lake City, Utah—December, 2012  Celebrated our 10th anniversary close to home with a night at Little America, a movie, shopping and a snowshoe hike to Donut Falls.

There is nothing I love more than spending some one on one time with my best friend in the whole world.  It doesn’t matter if we do something extravagant or even just have a night at home alone when the kids are at grandma’s.  As long as I’m with Quinn, it’s my favorite!

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Alrighty, now I challenge you to go record about your favorite vacation or vacations if needs be!

Also, don’t forget to be working on the 30 day self-portrait challenge!  Use the hashtag #timc30days on Instagram for a chance to win one of three $10 gift cards to Amazon!  The more you post, the better chance you have!  Also, see my note at the bottom of this post about what to do if you have a private Instagram account. 

Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth #9

Hello Friday!!! 

It’s time for another round of Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth!  I sure hope that there are some of you out there who are diligently doing this and getting your personal histories recorded!

Today’s theme is children.  (If you don’t have any children, but you have nieces and nephews you can adjust your answers accordingly, or you can just skip today’s questions).

1. What are your children’s full names, dates and places of birth?
2. What were some of the special circumstances at the births of each child? (Basically the birth story.)
3. What are some unique things about each child?  (Some quirks, habits, strengths and weaknesses, hobbies, interests, etc?)  If your children are adults, you can record how these have changed or stayed the same through the years. 
4.  What are some things you specifically like to do with each child?  (You can list this as a whole or individually.)
5.  What are some of your favorite activities to do together as a family? (Any family traditions you did or still do, favorite places to visit often, or new traditions as your family has aged.)

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Okay, that’s all for today’s Fast Fact Friday. 

***Now, don’t forget, we are still doing the 30 day self-portrait challenge!  If you would like to have a chance at winning one of 3 $10 Amazon gift cards, don’t forget to post your picture on Instagram and use the hashtag #timc30days for a chance to win.  Novemeber 20th is the day of the drawing.  I’ve seen some fun pictures!  If you are a private user, I can’t see yours—you will either have to go public on the 19th (and then revert back to private after the drawing) OR, you can stop by my feed (@emils24) and let me know that you’re doing the challenge.  I can then follow you and see your pictures!    And I will unfollow you after the challenge—I’m not a stalker, I promise!   

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth #’s 7 & 8

So, um, I have had a really busy few weeks—like crazy busy, and I totally spaced the past two Fast Fact Fridays.  It’s Saturday night, so I’m going to catch up a bit late…gotta love the craziness of life!

Here are two sets of questions for you to get your story written down!

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Set #7—The theme for this one is play.  We all love to play, right?

1.  What were some of your favorite ways to play as a child?
2.  As a teenager?
3.  As an adult?
4.  What are some hobbies  you’ve had over the years?  (How have they evolved?)
5.  What are some of the most adventurous things you’ve done throughout your life? (Bungee jumping, sky diving, scuba diving, high speed race track, or safer things like running a marathon that took a lot of training.)

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Set #8—The theme for this one is marriage.  If you’re not, or never have been married, then you can just skip this one. If you’ve been married more than once, use these questions for each spouse—even if it’s hard to write about or record, it is a part of your history and life.

1.  How did you meet your spouse?
2.  What are some important dates? (First date, first kiss, exclusive dating, engaged, married, etc.)
3.  Describe some of the details of your wedding day. (The location, the ceremony, the attendees, the reception, the colors, any funny stories, etc.)
4.  What traits do you most admire in your spouse?
5.  What are some of your best memories you’ve had with your spouse?

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Alright, now go and get some of your personal history recorded!

***Also, don’t forget to participate in the giveaway on Instagram.  Whenever you get a picture of you, use the hashtag #timc30days to be entered.  Contest ends Nov. 20th.  So far you have pretty good odds of winning one of those gift cards!  If you are a private user on Instagram, I can’t see your pictures even if you tag them.  You will have to go public on the 19th and stay that way until the 20th around 1 pm MST if you want to be in the drawing.  Sorry, I now realize there are many technicalities that I didn’t think of before. 

Challenge #69—Click, Click (Plus a giveaway & a freebie!)

I’m so excited about today’s challenge!  I follow team member Laura on Instagram, and a few months ago, she participated in a 30 day photo challenge that I thought would make a fun challenge here!

I know there are some of you who will just totally stop reading right here because you don’t want to take pictures of yourselves, but first let me tell you why you should do this challenge! 

#1: It can showcase a little bit about you and your life right now. 
#2: A picture is worth a thousand words!
#3: It’s easier and less-painful than you think!  (Even if you’re like me and HATE getting your picture taken.) 
#4: There will be 3 $10 Amazon gift cards given out to three lucky people who participate with us on Instagram!

Here’s the official challenge:

Take one self-portrait of yourself everyday for 30 days.

You can take these yourself or have others take them for you.  You don’t have to take pictures of just your face either—here’s a list of ideas of things you can do for your 30 pictures:

A mirror shot
Hands
Feet
Hair
Favorite body feature
With a loved one
A hobby
A silhouette
Holding a favorite something
Doing an everyday experience (mundane or fun)
Full body shot
In a favorite place
In a common place
Doing something unpleasant
Side view
With a recently acquired or purchased object
Writing your name
A birth mark
Something that shows a lesson you learned
At work
At play
A quirk or something unique about you
With an addiction
With a food you like
Doing something with someone (friends or family)
Trying something new
A tradition
A habitual stance or pose
Something funny you like to do
And of course the traditional headshot with a myriad of faces

There are so many ways that you can record this as well! 

Do a blog post with all your pictures
Do an Instagram post everyday (use the hashtag #timc30days to be entered into the giveaway!)  Please keep it clean
Make a paper or digital scrapbook page
Print them and put them in a small album
Use an app on your phone (Try the Collect or Day One apps at the App Store or the Smart Album or My365 apps at the Google Play store.)

Here are a couple of examples for you:

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What Laura did:

Laura posted her self-portraits on Instagram for her 30 days, then got her favorites printed out to make a scrapbook page.

Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill; Real Life button, arrow, smile phrase - Studio Calico Kit; love this photo phrase - Elle's Studio; word stickers - Sn@p by Simple Stories; number stickers - Basic Grey; title - Heidi Swapp

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What I did:

I did take my self-portraits for 30 day, but I didn’t post them anywhere (because I want to do some during the challenge time as well and didn’t want to overwhelm my family & friends with pictures of me twice …).  I ended up making a digital scrapbook page with all 30 pictures, and even wrote a little bit about each picture.  I did mini titles with hashtags to kind of summarize what the picture was about.  I used the Rhonna Designs and Letter Glow apps on each picture to spruce them up a bit as well.  It just took a few minutes everyday to get it all done.  Even though I don’t like selfies, I really had fun with this and I’m glad I did it!

And just a side note, I recently listened to a podcast where a couple of moms were talking about pictures, and one of the gals said that her mother went through all the pictures and cut herself out of any that she didn’t look good in. And now that daughter (the podcaster) is sad that she doesn’t have many pictures with her mom in them.  So, if you’re worried that you don’t look good enough for a picture, remember, especially if you are a parent, that it doesn’t matter to your children if you look like a model or not. They will be happy that you are in a picture.  *You may notice there are a few pictures of me with no makeup or hair done because it was a special moment that I decided to get on camera because I wanted to capture the essence of it, not my “beauty”.  Don’t be afraid to share your true self! 

Supplies: Digital template, me.  Designs & fonts on pictures: Rhonna Designs and Letterglow apps.  Fonts: Century Gothic, Landeliebe

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Today’s Freebie: If you’d like to use this template I made up, you can grab the first page here and the second one here—in a layered PSD file for quick recording!    You’re welcome. 

***Giveaway details: Upload your pictures to Instagram and use the hashtag #timc30days to be entered into the drawing starting now until 12:00 noon MST November 20th.  3 winners will be randomly drawn out of all entries and emailed a code for a $10 credit to Amazon.*** (I’m sorry to any of you who don’t use Instagram or don’t have a tablet or smart phone.  I couldn’t think of any other way to do a giveaway on FB or Twitter or anything else that was this easy to get others involved. )

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Now I challenge you to do the 30 self-portrait challenge with us! (And don’t be afraid to think outside the box!)

Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth #6

Is anyone else so glad that it’s Friday?  I know I’m stoked about it!  And today we have another installment of our personal history in depth questions.  

All of the questions have side questions, to help you think or jog your memory of some responses you might have.  Just answer these as simply or elaborately as you have time for!

Today’s theme is work.  I know, not as fun as play, but it’s something we all have to do!

1. How did you learn how to work? 
(What chores/jobs around the house did your parents have you do? How did they teach you how to work?)

2. What was your first paid job?
(What did you like or dislike about it?  Describe your duties, and pay if you remember.)

3.  List all the places you have worked.
(Record  the dates if you remember them (even just the years), salary and duties that you remember.  Add in any co-workers and bosses that you remember.)

4.  What tips/tricks/shortcuts did  you learn at any of your jobs that you still use?
(For example when I was a hotel maid I learned some tricks for cleaning and making beds that I still use.)

5.  Which job was your favorite job and why?

Alrighty, there are today’s questions!  I hope there are some of you out there who are using these questions and getting their personal history recorded in depth! 

And just a little story to add to today…I was talking with a friend who is in her older years the other day.  She and her husband are working on recording their personal histories right now, and she said two things about it.  #1 that they are having so much fun reminiscing about their lives, and #2 that she wished she’d done some of it a little earlier in her life so she could remember the details better.  So, even if you’re young, you can still record things from your childhood—in fact doing it now is better than later when you have 60 years in between to fog up your memory!  I really do hope that no matter your age or time constraints, you make a little bit of time to get your life recorded, even just a little bit! 

Fast Fact Friday--Personal History in Depth #5

So yes, today is Monday, not Friday.  I know that, but somehow I totally spaced FFF on Friday, and we will never get it all done if we don’t keep on track…so here’s today’s special edition of FFF—Personal History in Depth!

Today’s theme is: School 
(A branch off of question #4 on FFF—PHID#2 found here.)

1.  Name all of the schools you attended, and where they were located.  (From preschool to your highest level of education.)

2.  Who was a teacher who made an impact on your learning and/or future? (Can list more than one!)

3.  What were your favorite subjects to study though the years?

4. What was a memorable/embarrassing school experience/lesson learned?  (You can choose just one, or one from each school, grade or year.  However much you want to record!)

5.  How did you decided what you wanted to be “when you grew up”, and what schooling did you do for that?

 

Okay, that’s all for today.  More questions coming THIS Friday…if I remember. 

Challenge #68—Yum, Yum

Food.  We all eat it!  We all enjoy some or a lot of it! So, this is what today’s challenge is:

What are some of your favorite foods?

You can go about this a few ways. 

• Focus on your very favorite food, whatever it may be, and go into the details of why you love that food. 
• Make a list of all your favorites.  You can even add things you don’t like if  you want. 
• Focus on your favorite meal for each time of day  (“My favorite breakfast is ________.  My favorite lunch is ________.  My favorite supper is ________.”).  Or you can focus on just one meal you would eat a lot if you could. 
• Don’t forget dessert and drinks!  If you have any favorite desserts or drinks, you can add those as well!

Here are a couple of examples for you. 

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What April did:

Fonts: Bodoni, Benguiat, Goudy Catalogue Italic
Page Embellishments: Chandra Element Pack by DesignerDegitals, Misc. Embellishments
Papers: Kitty Dots, Shabby Princess-DiamondPaper, Promise Paper-CreamDots

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What I did:

I made a list of my favorites in each type of category.  (Also some of my least favorites mixed in there as well.)  This would be easy to do by hand or type up quickly if you’re short on time.  Remember, just get it recorded somewhere, somehow!

Fonts: Wish I Were Taller, CK Higgins Handprint. Template: Scrapping With Liz. Paper: Creativity By Crystal. Photo Source here—lots of great ideas on the Clean Eating way of life (which I am personally embracing and loving!).
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Now I challenge you to record this little bit of information about you!

Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth #4

It’s time for another round of Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth version! 

We are going to back track a little and go more in depth in certain areas for the next few weeks instead of continuing on in the timeline. Today there are only 3 questions, since they are pretty deep and may take awhile.  If you’re short on time, just answer these questions with the bare bones and fill in when you have a minute or two. 

Today’s topic is: Home through the years

1.  Tell about the homes you’ve lived in.  (The actual, physical homes—how many bedrooms, in a cool apartment complex, any traits you remember about it, the addresses, etc.)  If you’ve moved a lot, you could record what you do remember about where you lived, or even just make a list of the places you’ve lived. 

2. What was your favorite thing about each home?  (A certain room, the yard, the people, etc.)

3.  What things are special about your home town(s)? (Specific places you visit(ed) often, getting around town, the cool things, the bad things, etc.)

Alrighty, now get to recording!