Wreck This Journal: Breakin’ On Through to the Other (Fun!) Side
I know I’ve had issues. I know I’ve had fear. I know I’ve been missing weeks & being down on myself & been wearing my poopypants. I know. It’s been sucky and lame-o for me, too.
But no more.
Wrecking my journal is not a chore. It’s not a scary monster out to make me feel dumb. It is an instrument for freedom, and creativity, & fun. I started here, at this fun/silly/messy place, but came to a complete stop at one point or another. So, in order to start again, I didn’t just do whatever a random page told me to do – like I said I’d do in my last post – but instead, I hand-picked my fun.
“What looks like fun?”, I asked myself. “Oh, this page – where you sample substances in your home based on color. Let’s see what I have…oh, some sunscreen & some lotion, I’ll finger paint that on (& call the mess in the middle “sunotion”)…and oh, there’s obviously some red wine & red wine vinegar, so I’ll pour that on…The red wine vinegar isn’t showing up as red! Huh! Oh well, that’s weird. Now I have this honey for a yellowish color & a few drops of this vanilla to blen-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!” That’s when the entire bottle of vanilla poured onto the book, because, uh, I bake so often that I (didn’t at all, in any way shape or form) realized that the bottle of vanilla didn’t have a top to contain it in any way, so when you pour it out you pour it out.
And y’know what? I was thrilled. I laughed & took in the overwhelming odor of vanilla-y goodness that was my journal, and loved how it soaked through almost every page. To caption it, I wrote “Aah! Vanilla spill! Yummy messy smelly fun!” And I was off and running.
From glitter glue drops….:
…to circling words I like in a random page from a magazine (and yes, “whore” is circled. I happen to like that word… as a word)….:
…to actually opening the set of watercolors I got from the dollar store weeks ago after my last session with my coach inspired me to paint my sign…:
…to pasting a random page from a newspaper (I even closed my eyes and everything, but it must have been camelot* that made me pick not only the real estate section, but the Brooklyn apartment listings, which is where we’re thinking of buying an apartment):
Now my journal doesn’t close. And smells like vanilla. And has an empty pack of gum sticking out of it, which can be seen no matter what page you’re on. And I love it.
I know that The Next Chapter closes this chapter in a week, and I have a feeling that, with the way my coaching has blown up (I’ve gone from 2 clients/wk to 5, with 2 on the way & a group coaching session starting Thursday!), I ain’t gonna be done when everyone else is. But I’m making a promise to all y’all and to myself when I say that I’m gonna keep on wrecking, and keep on documenting it here for the world to witness – me, playing, making a mess, painting, wrecking, & having fun.
* If you now have the title song from “Camelot”, or any song from “Camelot” in your head, award yourself 10 musical theater points.
Tags: Wreck this Journal
July 24th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Cool texture you've got in your book with the wrinkles from vanilla spill
and water colors..
July 24th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Thanks! It's a big fat mess but that's what I love about it…
July 24th, 2009 at 9:08 am
*"for one brief shining moment.." 10 pts please
You are finding your own groove with this and that's great. I just love all the exploration and growth you are discovering. You are truly Living Joyously! Congrats on doubling your clients, too!
PS: I probably on't be done next week either
July 24th, 2009 at 9:09 am
10 points granted, Kim
We should get a list of all the not-finished people so we can continue on this journey together. Would love to know who else is still wrecking & check in with them!
July 24th, 2009 at 9:59 am
YAY!!!!
Delicious!! May the great Vanilla Spill of 2009 be long remembered – and smelled!! hehe
And congratulations on the growth of your coaching practice! That's brilliant news. More lives changed for the better – sweet!
July 24th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I will not be finished with WTJ next week either. Love the smell of vanilla. Still looking for glitter glue.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Jamie, who is better than you? Answer: no one.
I got mine at the dollar store, Susan! Came in a pack of four "pens" in red, blue, gold & silver. I love them, despite the fact I made a pretty glue pen picture & can't unstick the pages together to take a photo. D'oh.
July 24th, 2009 at 11:12 am
oh I bet your blog smells YUMMY now! THANKS for stopping by and leaving such wonderful comments about my journal!
July 24th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I so totally want a journal to wreck! It sounds like so much fun! I think getting out some creativity would be a good thing for me.
Oh and I don't have a song from "Camelot" in my head but will the Camelot song from Monty Python work? : )
Have a great weekend!
July 24th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
omg those song points are soooooo NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you sure you didn't tipple/swill a little of that vanilla while you were at it? (just teasing you a little bit)
You are a total WRECK STAR!!! Keep on wrecking!!!
July 24th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
vanilla is my favorite "real" smaell.. i wore Shalimar for years and people said Ismalled like vanill cookies
GREAT WRECKING!!!
gosh i hate to see this wrecking end
you have been a joy to follow
July 24th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Yea ! you did an awesome job of having creative fun. See ya next wek.
July 24th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Just lovely wreck work!!
July 24th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
You are crazy at this wrecking this week! Way to go! I too will continue on with the wrecking for a while.
July 24th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
What can I smell? It's really strong! Ah! It's the vanilla coming out of your book! Proper wrecking!
July 25th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Thanks guys!!! THIS is why I love this group – the super amount of wrecking support that comes along with The Next Chapter. Makes me want to sign up for the next one even if I haven't finished wrecking.
Sara – You should join us! We only have another week officially, but I have a feeling a whole bunch of us will keep on wrecking. I'm planning on it, so you'll see me wrecking throughout the summer. Otherwise, click on my Wreck This Journal badge in the sidebar to be taken to the page where you can sign-up to be notified of the next The Next Chapter book. I don't know what it is, but I can guarantee it to be awesome.
Barbara – I'll pretend you said "I Loved You Once In Silence", so you can get some musical theater nerd points too! No boozing/vanillaing required
Judi – I love the smell of vanilla too! It definitely could have been worse (can we say The Great Vinegar Spill of 2009?). Keep coming back for more wrecking – there will definitely be more to come from me!
Grammy / Hybrid J / Lisa – Thanks for the wrecking kudos & encouragement! And yes Lisa, that IS my vanilla you smell. Hope you haven't been searching your house for cookies the past week!
Sharon – Yay, another extended wrecker! I'll make sure to keep coming back to you to see the wreckage…
July 25th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
I'm so glad you had some fun with your journal this week. I imagine the smell of vanilla eminating from yours!
I'm nowhere near being done…some weeks are more productive than others and I saved a bunch of pages that I'm nervous about doing for one reason or another…I have a feeling a bunch of us will still be working after next week.
Happy wrecking and thanks for supporting your fellow Wreckers!
July 25th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
What delightful fun. You jumped in with both feet, and all your clothes on too! Way to go. Your glitter page is especially glorious, but nothing can compete with the page that kinda yells out "whore", which is totally wonderful. (Reminds me of a friend I had who wanted to name her first child 'Gonoreah' since it was so "pretty" sounding.)
July 27th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Jean – I'll be there doing the nervous pages with you! I feel a Walking my Journal vlog entry in the near future…..gulp.
Kavindra – That is hilarious. Was the "h" added to the end to make it extra pretty?
July 29th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Wonderful wrecking! Spilling the vanilla (accident or not) sounds deliciously splendid!