OBSERVATIONS: Another week of Project Life which found me computer-less. (Okay, I consider borrowing and working on my daughter's laptop to be computer-less. I know. Indulge me.) But I would like to say one thing to everyone reading this blog today, and for all time: HAVE A BACK UP SYSTEM FOR YOUR COMPUTER!
I had a back up system in place, and thankfully, all 1.5 TB of information—my photos, my music, my work files—have all be safely restored to my newly revamped computer. All for the cost of about $159 and a nice Western Digital external drive. I use the Mac software called Time Machine to handle my back ups. It has been about as seamless as a can be.
Now, aside from my external back ups, I've decided to sign up for CrashPlan as well. My "cubicle mate" Ali Edwards says it's working like a charm for her. Good enough endorsement for me.
I don't mean to go on about this (well, actually I do), but it's just a friendly reminder from your friendly bloggin' fool who would have really been sad if I'd lost it all. (See, the therapy IS working!)
Here are my pages from this week, a week where my iPhone was my main photo taker.
Yes, I finally did the old one photo in multiple pockets. I had so few shots this week, so I took advantage of the situation. I love the result.
See that cute little chevron pattern? I made that following this tutorial.
This shot below is my favorite of the week. Why? Aidan snapped it from her iPhone just as Cole and his classmates were lining up to get on the bus for their weeklong trip to the Badlands. Only one more day until the boy comes home!
And that is all I wrote still on borrowed machines for Week Thirty-Six.
p.s. Get a back up system in place. Love, Cathy
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Tere says
CZ, I love your work. TC
Bonnie says
I use Carbonite for my backup. I tried external hard drives, but it just didn’t work for me. So I went to an online backup. It took well over a month, close to 6 weeks I think, to finish the initial backup. But the daily backups are small and it’s so easy. I feel so much better knowing that my backups are taken care of!
amyellen says
you still rock pl even without your computer!
could you please give us a review after you start using crashplan?
a few years back I lost my whole hard drive, and years of photos. i now have an external hard drive(thank you timemachine for backing up for me!) and back up to flickr but have been wondering if crashplan would be worthwhile.
cathy says
Why, thank you.
cathy says
Yep. I will gladly do it!
: )
c
Teri says
I’ve considered online backups, but I’m a little paranoid about hacking. Any tboughts on that?
cathy says
You know, I just dont have that worry. They use sophisticated encryption, and they have information about this on their site. : )
ErikaB says
Love your project life pages this week! how do you do the one photo multiple pocket option?
cathy says
Erika, I sized/cropped my photo to be 6 wide by 8 tall, then sent it to print on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of photo paper. First I trimmed the top to be a 6 x 4. Then I cut the remaining image to be two 3 x 4s. Then, I actually trimmed off a tiny bit from the inside edge of both the smaller photos to make them fit into the pockets. : )
Fatima says
So, Cathy… are you telling us to have a backup plan? ;0) My computer was running kind of quirky a few weeks ago, so the husband wanted to just crash the system and start over…. so BACKUP MY PICTURES BEFORE YOU START, FELLA! I started to think that I wanted an external/online backup plan in case the computer AND the external drive go bad. I think I’m more paranoid about that than getting hacked.
Love your layouts. Makes me think I don’t have to be so “fancy.” :0) Thanks for the inspirtation.
dawn says
I LOVE LOVE that first day of school picture, so cool of them. Great job on cutting them up to fit, I did that this week too. How awesome that Aidan took that picture and surprised you with it.
Thanks for the reminder on back up everything, this happened to me early in the year. I lost everything and cried for days. Glad to see yours is saved.
So what kind of trips are the kids on?? Are they school related? How fun they get to miss school right in the beginning. I’ve never heard of this before so just curious what it really is.
aawww read your empty nest post, isn’t it wonderful when the kids are gone. I find myself more in love with hubby too. We just enjoy the quiet house and quiet meals just for the two of us. Good for you both!
Tricia says
Thanks for the reminder. I lost a lot of data about five years ago, and sadly still haven’t learned the lesson. I should really back up this weekend…
Love the way you’ve split up the first day of school image!
Gypsy Chaos says
I solemnly swear to find a power supply for my Western external HD. ASAP. Thanks for the reminder kick!
Your layouts are wonderful – short but packed with vivid details.
And OMG – Aidan! That child of yours is ab-so-lute-ly YOURS. She looks more like you with each passing season. {{Aidan, dear child, that is a compliment.}} I love how she’s rocking the blue nails just like the First Lady did during the convention!
oh – from an old mom: Junior year is the worst year. So much to do, so much to think about, so little time to sleep. College is looming ever closer on the horizon – big city / small town; close/far from home; mega-kids/medium crowd/just a few. It is a very emotional time for everyone. Oh and then there’s the $$ side.
Just remember that we can always change our path, even in old age. {says the unemployed 50+ yr old trying to do just that}
What a year this will be for all of you! PL will certainly help keep you grounded in the here and now.
libbywilko says
Looks like a great week ! I love your pages and I think your variety of photos is great; photos of each member the family balanced with real, day to day life so terrific. I also want to say Thank You for the clear photos of your pages where we can see both the photos And the journaling and you even do close ups.
Thanks for sharing it and yourself each week. PS. Backing up is Stressing me out… I Promise to do it tonight!
Morti says
It’s funny you should be talking about online backups etc – I’ve recently started using one in the UK, unlimited storage for a modest £5 a month, but then I have less than 30GB to store as opposed to your immense quantity! I’ve been the victim of a complete burnout on my PC too, with no backups but luckily a very clever friend who managed to rescue 98% of my files. That’s not happening again, I can tell you!
On Project Life, I’m only just starting week 10 and have an AWFUL lot of catching up to do. I love your pages, and was instantly struck by how much Cole has physically grown up this summer – his hands and forearms are those of a young man and not a child any more. Funny how little things suddenly get noticed…
Morti says
Thanks for this info! Kind of makes sense really, but helpful to know we’re thinking along the right lines by having you confirm it!
Morti says
Ooh – thanks for saying that Bonnie – I’ve just started using Livebox in the UK, and was wondering if it was going to take forever to backup initially!!! V reassuring…
cathy says
They are school related trips. They go to a Montessori K-12 school, and the school really believes in what they call Key Experiences that get the kids out into the world, where they work together in their grade communities. Pretty cool. They do work doing the outings, too.
Cole comes home today!
cathy says
Get an external drive…. toooo dayyyyyy! : )
cathy says
Yeah, the topic of college and $$ has been coming up a lot around here! Gulp!
cathy says
Good for you! Just back up and you will feel better!
dawn says
Sounds cool and great for the kids. How nice for them to be at this school, not sure we have any around here but something I’d want for my kids. Welcome home Cole!!! Thanks!
Lori says
Hey Cathy – I love your layouts. I’m considering jumping in and trying Project Life. My kids are grown but our son just got engaged yesterday so it is a fun new chapter I’d love to capture. My question – do you use one of the kits? I’m not crazy about any of them to be honest but I love your clean look. I’m feeling I can just get the pocket pages and then go from there for my cardstock, etc. What do you think?
Margot Perry says
Hi Cathy! I need your help or at least some advice. I finally made the jump and bought a Macbook. I am both excited and overwhelmed at the same time. I have no idea where to start. What is the best way to get and stay organized using iPhoto? Do you have a process for going through your photos and printing them? I have a huge backlog of photos to go through and print, as well as trying to keep up with my PL and my MMEW albums. All my photos are currently on my PC, although I have successfully copied over all my photos from my iPad and iPhone using the photo stream in iPhoto. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!
Ashli Nixon says
I love that you came across my chevron tutorial and that it helped you out! Love your blog! — Ashli
catherine says
I noticed Cole’s hands, too! Reminded me to enjoy the tiny people in my house since they will be teenagers before I know it.
cathy says
Lori, you can TOTALLY do that. I mean, more or less, thats what I do. I love, love the plastics so much, and I love to design my own stuff to go inside. I usually use one piece of the kits each week, or not. It really depends! Although, the new Seafoam kit that is coming? I think i will use that kit more next year!
cathy says
Hey Margot, first off, congrats on your new Mac! : )
Heres how Ive always done it: in iPhoto, I have folders set up by year, and month. All the way back to 2003, thats about as extensive as my photo org goes, but its surprisingly helpful. Now, I know you can tag photos, which i would do if I had the time, then it might be even easier to find things, but alas, Ive never gotten into the habit.
This year, I just upload photos and only print out the ones Im using for Project LIfe. I feel this snapshot of the overall year is enough, that I do not need every last photo printed and placed into an album, you know?
This is how I do it. Hope that helps!
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