I admit that I am getting sucked into all the blogs and plans and inspiration that is out there as I get ready to take on 2013.
I have written down a few thoughts and ideas of where I would like to "go" in 2013 and what I want to accomplish. Of course there is that fear in the back of my mind - what if I fail? What if I flake? Etc. I know myself well enough now to know that I cannot bite off more than I can chew or I will let my goals go. I also know that I love goals and challenges, but how much is too much? The other thing I know about myself is that I can get into a funk and then use that mood as my excuse for blowing off my committments to myself. So, I have been thinking and reflecting on how I can come up with a system so that my mood won't throw me off track.
One of the best ideas I've come up with so far will help me with PROJECT LIFE. First, a little back ground - the past three years I have started with Projrect Life and made it until April, May or July, then SUMMER!!!!! The past two years I have continued to take photos but not update my album. My 2011 album is full of photos & lots of memorabilia but is missing half (or 2/3) of its journaling cards and journaling. The same thing has happened for 2012. But how to tackle 2013 and not follow my same pattern?
Enter, my word for 2013.... GRATITUDE.
That word has been calling to me for the past two years and I am finally relenting. I rejected it in 2011 & 2012 because it wasn't sexy enough even though I knew that is what I needed more of in my life. I've finally given in. And it is already doing wonders for me!
GRATITUDE is going to be my anchor. I call myself "The Moody Photographer." When I'm in a bad mood or shall we be honest, feeling sorry for myself, I stop taking photos. And when you have told yourself you will do a 365 Day photo project, this means you automatically fail. Of course, this kind of project is huge, but it is totally doable for me and totally in my comfort zone except for this one downfall. The other downfall is when nothing of great significance is going on in our lives and I've tired of capturing the everyday (I've been doing that for the past three or four years and some dyas I don't really care what I ate or what shoes my kids are wearing or what time I woke up or what technology I'm using or what my front door looks like or what is in my refrigerator and I won't care in ten years either - ha!), so I don't know what to take a photo of. And now I have my answer!
GRATITUDE!
I will find something I am grateful for and I will take a beautiful photo of that! VOILA! It will solve my photo problem AND it will solve my mood problem. I always feel better when I challenge myself think about things I am truly grateful for. And who knows, I may even pull out a journaling card and jot down a few things I am grateful for during those slow weeks and slide that right into a pocket.
I think I will also consider revamping my weekly PL catch up method. It will be a lot easier to print my photos each week now that I am living in America, so that will be a HUGE, massive help. My workspace is a little tight and I don't have all my supplies, but perhaps that will be a blessing by limiting my choices and helping me make faster decisions. So, anyway. That is a huge relief to me.
I've also decided to make some goals and get them done in 2013. The thought of accomplishing these things makes me very happy. I'm trying, again not to bite off more than I can chew, but I am so excited. I am going through a bit of a challenging time and instead of letting it get me down, I want to thrive, so I am going to expect more of myself. I'm going to stop feeling sorry for myself and BE GRATEFUL & THRIVE! So here are a few (I reserve the right to change or adjust any time as I see fit):
1) Complete two projects a month in 2013. These can be any type of DIY project. There are so many things that I have wanted to try but couldn't be cause I was living in China. I feel now that I have so many stores and other at home supplies at my disposal that the world is my oyster! [make my own stamps, art journal, make my own stencils, make another felt monster in partnership with my 7 year-old designer, Braden, sew something, I'd like to do one photo book (I think about these a lot and never complete), t-shirt, some Xmas DIY project, Japan travel journal, mini book, etc.]
2) Share more about my process and my creations on my blog. Blogging is so much easier and faster while living in the States, it is silly not to. I have also been reading a few blogs over the past several days and I find all they share inspiring. Why can't I do the same? I tend to be private. I tend to be shy. I mostly fear judgement. So silly to let this stop me. Shall I take a risk and see what comes? Again, I often find myself experiencing "buyer's remorse" so don't be surprised if sometimes things suddenly "disappear" from the blog. Sometimes that is the reason!
3) 30 Days of Cupcakes - this is something my husband has been bugging me to do. Actually, he wants me to do 365 days of cupcakes, but I have totally refused that one. I decided I would be willing to do 30 days of cupcakes. Designs (original and inspired by others), that is. I don't do cupcake recipes! I don't eat cupcakes. I just love to decorate them. Notice I haven't decided which 30 consecutive days I will be doing this, but I do think I am ready to tackle this challenge sometime in 2013.
To see more of my CUPCAKES click here or visit MY SET on Flickr.
4) Run 1 Mile Everyday for 30 Days - I'm not sure how this one will work. I may have to make it 3 times a week for four weeks or something like that as running may not fit my schedule. I typically exercise at the gym and so even though I won't be running, I will still be exercising. I have to ruminate on this awhile and see what I will be happy with. But one thing I do want to do is take a photo of my feet (wearing my extremely cool new workout shoes) at every place I run (I saw this on Elise Blaha's blog and thought is was awesome)!
5) "Compete" in one or more FUN RUNs in my community. Hopefully, the next one that comes up. There was one I wanted to do last month and I am still regretting not going for it. I let laziness & (Southern Cal) cold weather get in my way.
6) Project Life - 52 weeks - Blog About It weekly - this may mean just one quick photo of my two page spread because I often think showing all the details, taking the photos and uploading is very tedious and since this is mainly just for me and at this point I don't have a ton of regular readers (or NO regular readers-let's be honest!), who would I be doing it for anyway, right? The minimum of one photo will be a way to keep myself accountable and track my progress.
To see all of my posts about PROJECT LIFE, click HERE.
7) Try One New Recipe a Week - I have a love/hate recipe with cooking and sometimes baking. I hate being responsible to cook dinner for my family every night. Luckily my husband likes to cook and lately he's been able to help me carry this burden. I hate thinking of new meals Every. Single. Day. that my whole family will eat and like (doesn't happen often) and that I think are healthy enough for them to put inside their bodies.
Since I've been back in the States, I find myself salivating over every delicious looking recipe I see in magazines. And actually wanting to make it! I've shocked myself! I finally realized the other day, I can actually try out these recipes. My local store will have all the ingredients (never happened in China), and it will be relatively simple and easy to make (compared to every meal I've made in the past four years). HURRAY! Those facts alone are inspiring me to want to get creative in the kitchen.
No time limit on that one. I'll do it until I don't want to do it any more. Why push myself on that one. I should also create a system to save the recipes we like so that I can find them easily in the future!
8) One Family Photo Each Month - I'm so glad I've kept this up for the past almost two years. I'm not sure I'll continue on with the FAMILY x 12 blog hop, though it is an easy one to organize. Seems a shame not to.
9) More photos of Me & The Love of My Life - again, how often, I'm not sure. This past year, I thinking we have ONE, but maybe I'm wrong. There was a period of time when I was having fun with the self timer. I'll have to go back and check. Anyway, my friend, Jill Conyers committed to taking a weekly photo with her husband. I love that idea, but do I want to commit to once a week? Will I fail?? So maybe another monthly goal on that one. We can always take more, no?
I just took this one NOW. I suppose it doesn't have to be hard, right??
Well, I think that is it! ONe very long post. Self-indulgent. But that's OK because this is my blog after all and today I'm writing this post for nobody else but me.
