What's your Goal?

We are over half way thru 2018?  How did that happen??????????

I thought since I sorta abandoned the New Year's Resolution updates in my monthly (well, sometimes monthly other times quarterly) blogs, I would do it here.....and this is one of those blogs that is really for me to maintain accountability in goals I set.  I hope it's not to boring for the rest of you...

Resolution #1
At least 26 'Something to Think About' Journal entries.

my journal and a page prompt.

I have done 10 and I am completely ok with that number.  I'm not as consistent with them as I thought I would be, but I've noticed a trend in my journaling-from April to August, I don't typically write as often, but from September to February, I'm a writing machine, March can go either way..  I may not get to 26 by the end of the year, but I've definitely done more that any other year.

Resolution #2
Bucket List items

Here's why I think Resolutions are such a good thing to tie with Bucket List items, 3 of my resolutions are actually on my Bucket List.  

Resolution #3
Get outdoors more!  Hiking, snowshoeing, x-country skiing, rowing, camping, etc

It's funny on this one, because sometimes I think nature is against me.  The winds have been blowing this summer and it has kept me off the lake and rowing less than I would prefer, but they are not keeping me off completely.  The other thing I've realize about this goal, you have to plan and make it a priority if you want to get out there, otherwise life will get in the way.  I made a goal for the summer to go out once a week for a small mountain adventure.  I'm now aware of it and look for days to go and make the actual plans...

Resolution #4
See if the idea in my head really is a novel

This is a slower process than I believed it was going to be....  The characters may of been in my head, but the plot had massive holes in it.  I saw a quote in January from a writer that basically said always have an outline of where you want your novel to go otherwise you can write yourself into a dead end faster than you will ever believe.  I have the opening and closing chapters written, but have spent the majority of my time planning in a small notebook plot lines, characteristics of the main and secondary characters.  This matters to me more than I thought and I want to do it right...I don't know what I'll do with the end product, but I will finish this.

Resolution #5
More water

Every month I have set a goal which has increased until June when it hit 80 ounces of water a day.  Somedays I go way over 80, but 80 is a reasonable and healthy number for me.  I have for some crazy reason missed 1 day every month, not by a lot, but every dang month...

Resolution #6
 Work on my lettering/calligraphy

I bought a kit from Crayola and started from there.  I thought I couldn't ruin Crayola markers while I self taught myself pressure and shapes and I think it turned out somewhat ok.  I did a 30 day challenge starting in February where I practiced everyday and made HUGE strides.  I'm still working on creative placements and finding my own style and still learning...  On July 19th, I took a workshop from Melissa Esplin whose work I really admire and is a distant relative. Utah has a ton of well known letterers (who knew), so I got some in person help there.  Being a leftie in this has had its challenges and the hardest is that my natural slant is slightly different from all of the others that I see, but the workshop helped me to embrace my natural style, now I just need to get consistent with it.....

some of my practicing.....

Resolution #7
Try something new every month....a restaurant, activity, etc

This is the list of restaurants I am working from.  All that I have been to have been AMAZING!

I keep a list of what I do in my written journal every month.  It just makes me happy to see my world expanding from new restaurants, classes, museums, etc...

Resolution #8
Find and maintain my Meditation Practice

This is still a work in progress.  I'm finding that once a week I do a formal meditation of 20 minutes or longer and it's not the same day of the week, I just do it when it feels right.  The thing I am noticing the most, is that I am doing mini meditations almost daily, I am taking time to do 5-10 deep breaths and just stop and focus.  This has been a very happy and welcome addition in my day to day life.

Resolution #9
Travel Solo

My plan is still in motion.  I'm not going to say more than that for now, but this is going to happen.

Resolution #10
Penny savings challenge

I have a plan, but I switch up weeks according to whim and knowing how my money is in certain months.  I am on schedule and very happy about this.  Here's to almost $700 by the end of the year for fun stuff during 2019!

my money jar...

Creating for Happiness....

7/13/18 Just a Note...I have had this blog written for basically 5 months, but just haven't put the art in it.  I have no idea why, but I finally did, so here you go and a friendly reminder, if you want to see a larger version of the photo, just click on it.....I hope you enjoy it :)

my small art journal where all of this took place...it's about 6 x 4 inches

I saw an evolution in my art during this...

During the month of January, I set aside at least 15 minutes to do something creative.  I thought it would be just a fun way to use some of the art supplies that I had purchased and gain some value out of them but as it progressed, it turned into something more--this is the story of how it happened ..

Signing up for Creating for Happiness was a....

Almost every Tuesday evening, you can find me at Purple Flamingo Studios, owned by my now friend Marti and run with another pal Melissa,  for open studio.  It's part art time and part time with some amazing people I have the honor to call friends.  We range in age, talent, background and almost any category you care to put us in....the one thing we have in common, we love to create.  This is a fairly new concept for me to describe myself as creative and yes, even, an artist.  The group on Tuesday gets quite upset with me when I say I'm not creative or an artist and making the switch in my mind has been a process......

this was day 2...about letting go of my fears of doing art

Near the end of December, Marti posted on Facebook that she was going to participate in something called 'Creating for Happiness' and invited everyone to join.  As I am a big fan of mini challenges and had been wanted to use my art supplies at home, or quite frankly open some of them up, I jumped at the opportunity and signed up.  It is free and is done thru a daily email and facebook.

a page about taking time for the things that matter

"Creating for Happiness is a gentle program to get you creating, build happiness and set a solid foundation to your daily creative practice.  It provides daily motivation and tips that help you build creative habits.  Just be warned - gentle does not equal easy, superficial or frivolous.  This will be a rich, deeply personal and rewarding experience."  From the guidebook for Creating for Happiness.

finding your own personal style.

As I read the rest of the guidebook, I soon realized that this was, like most things, not just about one thing.  You needed to look at why you wanted to do this, and while I'm not going to share my reason with you, let's just say it surprised me.  The reason you do anything is so important, because when your inner critic jumps up and down saying you can't do something, your reason can say, OH YES, I CAN.  Your reason will also help you eliminate all of the reasons you may not make time for creating.   Now onto the guidelines of the program.

            Number 1.  15 minutes, just start with 15 minutes.  There were some days I barely made the 15 and others I went WAY past, but having a minimal time requirement took the pressure off.

I love this quote and wanted to do a page with it...

            Number 2.  Figure out your route.  I was a bit confused by this for a moment, but quickly understood.  Eliminate the prep of gathering supplies, figuring out what you are going to work with or on, because if you have ever taken on a creative project, you know that just getting everything ready can take a while and poof your time would be up.   Have it ready so you can just start.  I chose a small art Journal and bags of my different supplies.  I chose the bags of coordinating supplies to figure out what I liked and what I didn't.  To be technical, you are supposed to only have one supply group, but when I explained to the facilitator what my goal was, she said,  go for it.

Travel as often as you can.....even within your own city

             Number 3.  The flexibility.  You got to chose when, how, and why you were doing this.  There was someone in the group that pieced together an amazing quilt, someone who drew variations of a blue bird, and someone who did a little bit of work on large painting; I could go on and on and on with how each individual approached this.  We varied in skill, artistic medium, age, nationality, and just about every other category you could find, but the one thing that we had in common, we were and still are very supportive of each other.

And that's it....for instructions at least, now it was time to start my Creating for Happiness challenge and I did.

about a week in, this literally went off in my brain...

Some days I doodled, essentially, and others were layering and playing.  Some pages took 2 days to do....

inspiration...Japanese ink drawings.

I was tired of all the senseless talk that day...

got a little braver in my drawing that day

It kept building and I got braver as I went...

This one just made me smile...

a doodle day...

we had been having winter weather and I just wanted to get outside...

my own version of something I had seen.

As I finished the first 30 days, I decided to continue on, but by practicing my Lettering/faux calligraphy and I did.  When that was done, I did something I didn't think I would ever do, sign up for a drawing class and found out something quite amazing.....I can draw.

You never know what will happen when you try new things,

I'm just happy I decided to Create for Happiness....

Melissa

Resolute....updated...

A couple of days ago on Facebook, a friend of mine defended New Year's Resolutions in a succinct and powerful way.  She posted,

 "It has become fashionable to put down the tradition of making New Year's Resolutions.  To be cynical ('you won't stick to them').  To be judgmental ('why do you need a date on the calendar to decide to change?').  No.  Make your best New Year's Resolutions ever.  Infuse them with resolute sacred intention.  Claim them:  "You know what?  THIS is the year that I will....."  And then lean in.  Right now.  This is a ritual that we actually need.  Love your resolutions and encourage those of your loved ones.  xo"

That post summed up better than I have ever been able to express why I still make Resolutions.  It's a chance to challenge, grow, explore and build upon my experiences in my life.  People ask 'Why?', and I say 'WHY NOT?'  Because even in the missed attempts and errors, you will still learn and move forward.

So with that, I hereby present my 2017 New Year's Resolutions.....

1.  Limit social media and screen time.

Facebook, Instagram, apps and all of that have a place, but throughout 2016 I felt them going a bit sideways sometimes and it made me realize that at times, I was not in control of it and it was starting to control me.  Not good.  With a lot of my groups that I get together in real life communicating and organizing things on Facebook, I can't leave, but I can make sure that I set limits and involvement.

Update:  I set limits and found my balance with social media.  I found my reason for being on them and just as importantly I found I can be without them.

2.  Write letters, cards, in my journals, etc.

Picking up a pen and writing....what a concept!  This came out of a realization from a 2016 resolution that I found really value something hand written, so why shouldn't I spread this to others?

Update:  As you know my absence from this blog, I found my voice off line this year.  I also found that I LOVE drawing little doodles on envelopes I send, so now I look for a reason to send a card to someone.

3.  A New (to me) Restaurant a Month

I live in an insanely wonderful neighborhood for food!  The local and healthy options outnumber fast food options.  While I eat at the local options, I still have a tendency to eat at the same one over and over again.....  Eating good food and supporting local businesses, sounds like a good deal to me...

Update:  I missed a couple of months, but had multiple restaurants in others, so this was a success.  I am working off of a list I found and will continue this in 2018.

4.  Be a tourist in my town and state

This one started simmering in my mind in July when some family came to visit and I had done NONE of the things we were suggesting for the group to do.  Really?  Not only will I have a better idea on what is worth it and what is not, I will break up the mundane of day to day life.

Update:  I went to more museums, attractions and events this year than I have in multiple years.  What I found, SLC has a lot to offer.  What I learned, if you want to attend an attraction (zoo, aquarium, etc) more than once in a calendar year, a membership will pay for itself and then you can go more than once!

5.  Take time for self care

I admit I am not always the best at this.....  I don't mean taking a spa day, I mean taking 5 minutes to breathe or turning off my phone during the day or any of the other little things we can do for ourselves to calm, protect, energize or whatever else we need.   My resolution of last year of a daily walk started this realization, so I decided to expand a bit.  The reasoning behind this is the classic airplane safety instruction, 'Put your own oxygen mask on before helping others.'  No matter our situation in life, married or single, with children or without, young or old, we all need to take care of ourselves.

Update:  Just having this as a reminder this year helped.  I journaled.  I rested.  I knitted.  I let go.  I hung on.  Self care took many different forms and really didn't take time away from other things, in fact, I think it opened up time, because it helps you figure out what is important.

6.  Do at least 3 30 Day Challenges

I consider 30 Day Challenges mini resolutions.  I have a couple picked out-- a cardio/exercise one, a photography one, and a self care one and will probably add another.  It's a way to focus and make a jump forward in things in my life.

Update:  I LOVED this! I did a couple of exercise ones, a gratitude one, a happiness one and considered all of them successes!  They ended up being jumpstarts for new habits.

7.  Travel solo

There is something freeing in travel to begin with, but to do it on my own (not meeting a friend or family member somewhere, but knowing absolutely no one) seems both freeing and comfort zone pushing at the same time.  I have an idea where I am going to go, but am still working on the details.

Update:  didn't happen, but I'm ok with it.  In 2018, more solid plans are in place.

8.  Reduce my throwaways...one and done, straws, bags, etc.

I'm pretty good about using reusable grocery bags, but I wanted to do something tangible for the earth and environment and reducing my plastic use seems like a good place to start.

Update:  I changed my toilet paper, it's no longer made from trees and everything about it is better for the environment.  I have pretty much eliminated ziplock bags thanks to Bee's Wrap and food grade silicone bags.  I do not use disposable utensils, I keep a set of recycled bamboo utensils in my purse along with a glass straw.  This was a mind set change and it was a daily thought pattern of "What can I do to eliminate my throwaways?'  and it is now a habit that I will continue.

9.  Do something once a month out of my comfort zone.

I have a pretty eclectic life, but still have a tendency to stay within my comfort zone.  I'll probably vary the way I do this, but if you never try something, you'll never know....

Update:  Every month, something cropped up that challenged me a bit.  Some were easier than others, but others took a bit of courage.

10.  Bucket List items (shocker I know, as this has been on the list for the past 4 years)

It always surprises me which items get done each year and which ones that I had planned to do don't, but every year, I have crossed items off my list.

Update:  A trip to Rocky Mountain National Park was the only one that I really expected to do, but it wasn't the only one that was completed.  I love having a list of things I want to accomplish in life...

It's funny, I say that I need 10 Resolutions, but the last couple of years, I have ended up at 10.

Here's to another trip around the sun...
Melissa

ps.
If you are really curious about how last year's turned out, I updated my post laying them out with the results.  You can read it HERE

Double your Pleasure or Double Trouble?

Since yesterday was Easter, I decided to take the day off of my 30 day Bikram challenge and spend the day with family and friends and enjoying a very yummy Easter dinner.  The consequence of the decision is this..... I have to do a double Bikram today.  What does that mean?  Two classes in one day.  180 minutes of the torture chamber.  :) (I think...)

There are a couple of ways to accomplish this..  Back to back classes (stick a fork in me now, cause I would be DONE), or the way I am doing it.   I attended a morning class, got all sweaty, stretched and survived, and at 8pm tonight, I will go back and repeat.   The approach I'm taking allows me to rehydrate, refuel and rest between classes.  It's a nice benefit at my Bikram studio that they have so many classes thru out the day to allow the options.

I am nearing the end of my 30 day challenge, just 5 more days left.  I can't believe it, in a good way.

Well, I'm off to get more fuel in my system.
Melissa