Enthusiastically, Dawn

Hello, Friends. Welcome to Random Journal Day on this Easter Weekend. Our link is gathering a little late this Friday but I will be keeping it open until Tuesday at six in the evening. If you are new to Random Journal Day, an extra hearty WELCOME! You can check out the details HERE. Make yourself comfortable, grab a beverage, and get ready to enjoy one of the most wonderful activities a journal keeper can take part in…peeking in other Journal Keepers’ journals!

****************

First, I’d like to introduce you to our Featured Journal Keeper this month, Wendy Roberts. I discovered Wendy within the past year as I stumbled into the Planner and Journal communities that thrive on You Tube. I fell in love with Wendy’s videos and she quickly became my favorite You Tuber to follow. Not only was I intrigued with her particular style of journal keeping, but I adored her easy-going way, down to earth manner and most of all, her laughter. Her laughter is contagious! Her  self effacing disposition also caught my attention. Soon we began communicating regularly through e-mails, Social Media, You Tube comments and eventually Skype. I now consider Wendy a friend and I am so grateful she  jumped at the chance  finally was persuaded to join us here so I can share her wonderfulness with all of you.

Wendy’s style of Journal Keeping is much different from mine, as she confesses she has mixed feelings about revealing her innermost self on paper. Partially to blame was that she had the dreaded experience all journal and diary keepers fear: another person exposing words meant not to be shared in a humiliating way.

“I LOVE the look of journals that have nothing but writing in them.  I wish I could do that, but when I begin writing a bit more in depth, I am fearful that someone will read it, so I don’t.”

Fellow Journal Keeper Stacy, had a similar experience which she shared on a prior RJD gathering. In some ways writing in journals can be risky, but the rewards for the journal keeper are many. Wendy participated in the 21 Days of Journaling in January and has been stretching beyond her comfort zone more recently in her journaling journey. Still she confesses, “My favorite type of journals are ones that record your daily events or life happenings.”

Wendy shares her own journal regularly in videos called “Flip Throughs”. In these short films  she pages through her current journal, commenting on the details. She calls this, her favorite journal, her Fauxbonichi,  which is a less costly or homemade version of the popular Japanese style of Planner/Journal Hobonichi. Trust me, I had heard of none of this until the land of You Tube, but there are some serious journal loving peeps in that there place, friends. In this journal Wendy documents her days in creative, colorful fashion using pens, paints, magazine clippings, a plethora of stationary and ephemera.

Wendy says, “When I write in my journal I list what I did that day, where I went, what my kids did, and maybe other little things I would like to remember.  Then I add color, paper, pretty stickers, tape, any thing to dress the page up.  Sometimes it has something to do with what happened that day, or it may be a paper I thought was pretty so I added it.  Each day is different.”

Wendy has a unique way of expressing that she had a bad day in her journal. So as not to stir up negativity or rehash an old hurt she draws pictures of cherries to acknowledge that things did not go well.

“One habit I do now that I will continue is not listing negative things in the journal.  I have bad days just like everyone else, but I don’t need to list the reasons, as it might bring up bad feelings again.  So I will draw, write, paste pictures of ‘scattered cherries’. ” 

Isn’t that brilliant?

Anyway, Wendy has made a special 5 minute video for those of us here at Random Journal Day this month sharing from her journal. I am also linking her most recent peek into her Journaling Journey. I know you are gonna love her journal!  By the way, if you want to hear Wendy’s contagious laugh, you’ll need to watch the second one. Please be sure and make Wendy feel welcome here so she will want to write all of her deep, dark secrets and come back to share with us! OK?  Ok…well you know what I mean.

Hoodlumsx4 is the name Wendy goes by on her You Tube channel. She is married, has 4 sons and Lives in Virginia. She enjoys running with Dinosaurs, hanging out with her family and discovering bargains while shopping anywhere. Wendy loves the color pink, Harry Potter and owls.  When she is not crafting or making You Tube videos you can find her working on writing her first novel. (OK, I made that last part up. Hee-Hee! But ya never know, Wendy!)

 *************************************************

OK, let’s get this party started…YIKES! We are really starting later than usual. Reminder: The link is open until Tuesday- share RJD with friends who might enjoy joining us here, and remember to leave footprints of love (via your comments) wherever you visit! Whoohoo! 

Oh, and let me know how the new link up works. I just purchased a membership, so I look forward to your feedback. Click on the link to link up and visit at InLinkz.