A Package Deal.....

So I forgot to write in November and just barely realized it, so to finish the year of monthly blogs, you're getting a double dose....

I got kinda of quiet to close this year out.  It wasn't a depression, it was more of a massive inward reflection time and I do not regret it at all.  I cut back on things, but did not completely disappear.  I hung out with AMAZING people and had fun, but I said no to the chaos.  It was WONDERFUL!

I'm going to confess something, I am so over the commercialism of the Holliday season.  The ads that start WAY too early, the store displays in OCTOBER, the BUY, BUY, BUY for one day.  I struggled with finding my Christmas spirit when I was so annoyed with that aspect of the holiday season.  It's something I need to work on...

I did my Christmas agreements again this year and that was nice and kept some traditions that I love and enjoy doing.  I spent a lovely Thanksgiving with extended family and yes, stayed out of stores all weekend long.  I connected, not shopped.....

I think that is what this past year has been about for me, connections....  How to maintain, how to re-establish, how to just connect in a world that seems to be about the go, go, go..  Letting go of what people think and just doing what feels right.  I know that for the most part I don't go with the flow much anymore, I'm finding my own current and my wish for you is that you find your own.......

Feeling reflective,
Melissa

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...

Here We Go Again...

Hi.

New Year's Resolutions get such a bad rap and a significant number of eye rolls, but I like them, so I am sticking with them and I ask that you don't throw anything at the computer/phone as you read what is coming up in this post....

Here we go for 2016!  (ok, I guess my first one should be to type 2016 within 4 tries....)

#1.  See a movie in a theater once a month.

        I managed to see 3 movies in the theater this year.  THREE!!!  It's not like I didn't have opportunities because I did, I just never seem to make it.  This also seems like a fun resolution to do.

Update:  I saw 15!!!!!!!  It was such a fun thing to do and I found out that I like going to the movies on my own.  I never thought I would say that...

#2.  Daily walk.

       As I went outside today and froze, I was questioning this a bit, but here is the thing, being outside is so dang good for me and an added little boost of exercise is never a bad thing either.  I'm not setting any conditions on this but, trusting that each day, I will make the right choice for me.

Update:  I missed on average 3 days a month but this was a sanity saver this year!

#3.  Celebrate a Weird/non traditional  Holiday a Month

        Why you ask?  Why not?  I found a great website that I made my selections from and have a plan.  I plan on writing about most of the adventures, so it will help keep me writing on here as well.
The link for the website is Here

Update:  I had so much fun with this!  I tried new things, ate new foods, and realized that there is an opportunity to celebrate everyday!

#4.  Validate the People in my life more.

        How often do you tell the people in your life they are loved? doing a good job? or that you appreciate how much they do for you?  I realized I could do a lot better in this.  I'm going to take different forms on how I do this, but I believe this is a good focus for the year.

Update: I did well with texts and phone calls, and I definitely told people what they meant to me, but I realized something this year that I really value the written word.  Sometimes you just need to put it on paper, so I will be incorporating that into my 2017 resolutions...

#5.  Classic Book Challenge

       Yep, the reading challenge is back.....  I LOVED doing this in 2015 and as I was finding my books, I realized one thing, I had not read a ton of the 'Top Books to Read' and in noticing this, I found that there are A LOT of Top 50, Top 100 book lists out there, and was wondering what list to do and then I found it.  This WEBSITE solved my conundrum, due to the fact, the person behind the website crunched all of the data from all of the booklists they could find and statistically ranked the books.  I am going to read the top 50 this year, which seems like a lot, but as you'll see due to last year and a little rule I put in, it's really quite doable.

Update:  I am not going to lie, this was rough....although I found some books that I loved, I also read some books that I never want to read again.

#6.  Don't Relapse on Things I have been Working on

       There is nothing more frustrating that having to start over once again.  My intention in setting this resolution is that I keep moving forward and not stall or slide back on any of the things that I have worked through or have found that keep me in the present.

Update:  I maintained in some areas and considering what I dealt with this year, I am a-ok with this.  Other areas, I moved WAY forward....

#7.  Break a Bad Habit

       I have a couple of bad habits that I want to break, but I am going to focus on one and then see where I'm at.  I may or may not keep you updated on here depending on which one I chose, but know that I am working on improving my life.  :)

Update:  Made progress on one, and completely eliminated one.  WAHOOOOOO!

#8.  Do a Food Challenge

      I found a Food Challenge from the same group that did my Reading Challenge last year and I decided to tackle it.   Here is a LINK to it.  I'm going to tweak it a bit, so there will be more information to come....

Update:  I have 6 items left to do, but this was a fun thing to attempt.

#9.  A Perfect Form Push Up

      Are you ready for a confession?  I struggle (and by struggle, I mean I am unable to do them correctly) with push ups, even the so-called and somewhat insulting (yet, appropriate for me) girl push ups.  It affects my yoga practice; it puts me at risk for injury due to weakness; and at the end of the day just ticks me off!!!  I have been doing research for a bit and have found a program that starts at a very beginner level and builds from there....  Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.

Update:  I can do 1 really well!!  This was rough, especially with the health adventure I went on this year..

#10.  Bucket List stuff

       Were you getting worried that the item that has been on my Resolution list for the past 4 years wasn't going to make it?  Never fear, here it is....

Update:  Once again, I did ones I did not expect and didn't do ones I thought I would, but I still love this being a resolution, because it keeps it on my radar.

My list seems to get longer each year, but this one has a number of light hearted items, and I went with what felt right.

Here's to another year!
Melissa

2015 Resolutions!

Yep, I'm doing it again....

Resolutions...
I have defended them,
I have completed them,
and I have left some incomplete,
but still I resolve.

In 2015,
I make resolutions to....

1.  Celebrate more!!
      People, not just on Birthdays or major events, but on Tuesday just cause...  Events, I said no a lot last year, for no reason.  Saying yes is a positive thing and I want and need more positivity in my life.  So if you ask, and if I can and I am able, I am IN!  And if I can find other ways to celebrate life, I'm going to do it.  This resolution was inspired by a quote I've been seeing a lot lately...
                    Until further notice, Celebrate EVERYTHING!!

2.  Exercise with the intention of Love, not Fear.
     If you read my 2014 Resolution Recap, you know why I am doing this...It is a simple concept that I have recently embraced and want to keep going.

3.  Twice a month (minimum) get my camera out and take pictures.
     I have a tendency only to use my camera when I am on vacation.  My photography will improve by shooting more and just as important, I love spending time with my camera.  The city that I live in is beautiful and I need to document my view of it....and so are the people and animals that inhabit it.

4.  Do a Money Savings Challenge.
    Redo from 2014, I had no plan last year, but I do now and it's a twist of a popular one seen on both Facebook and Pinterest.  I will be doing a post on my plan in the next week or so to explain....

5.  Get the piano tuned and then find a piano teacher and start taking lessons again.
     Throughout 2014, I began to miss playing the piano consistently.  When I was playing, it was a great stress reliever.  I had certain pieces that I would play when I was upset or frustrated and I would take it out on the keys and pour my passion into it.  The piano in my house has been left alone for years, and if you know pianos, they need and loved to be played to stay healthy.  I, first, need to come up with funds to get my piano happy again, and then I want to take lessons and play again.  I miss the joy of playing a new piece.  I also want to see if by being a little older, my fear of playing in public will of lessened or if I will need to overcome that as well....

6.  Do a Reading Challenge.
     I am a voracious reader.  I read a lot.  I mean A LOT.  Having said that, it does not mean I have been reading great novels or a wide variety of books.  I have fallen into a lazy reading pattern and with this challenge will break out of it.  I found my challenge on Pinterest, of course I did you are thinking, and will be doing a post with categories and my planned books, but if you don't want to wait for it, here is a link to my Pinterest post, 2015 Book Challenge.

7.  Cross more Items off my BucketList.
    Yes, more National Parks will be visited in 2015, but I am also planning on some of the more service oriented items as well.

8.  Don't Let Things Sit (emotions, projects, or you name it).  Stay in the PRESENT.
     When I deal with things immediately, I do well..
     If I let them fester, I don't....
    I need to stay in the PRESENT, not the past, and not thinking about a future that I can not control.
    For the projects, working until completion and enjoy the process....

9.  Journal consistently, at least twice a month.
     When I journal, I deal with things immediately...(see above)
     I also just get it out of my head, so my mind quiets.
    I plan to do traditional journaling, journaling with questions to guide, and SoulCollage cards.
    During my Yoga retreat, every afternoon, I hung out in a hammock and journaled and I began to feel better....and I realized how much I needed journaling in my life.

Another long list, but once again, it just feels right.
Here we go 2015.
Melissa

In or Out of Motivation...

Have you ever had a thought or idea that keeps getting presented to you?

It has been happening to me a lot lately, in terms of a deceptively simple question.

Are you doing something in fear?
Or out of Love?

Over and over again, I was asked that question..
and I realized something.

I had been doing something right for the wrong reason.

It was not something that was easy to admit or sit with, but it explained quite a bit.  It explained why I had never been consistent for the long term and why I was having to start over once again.

I asked myself if I was doing it out of Fear?  Or in Love?

Sounds simple enough right?  The kicker, once you ask the question,  it really is.

I was exercising out of fear.

It dominated every moment of my workouts.  If I missed a workout, it meant I was wrong and made me feel guilty.  It made me a neurotic mess on race day mornings, because if I did not make a certain time, I was not good enough...

For fear, it is never enough....

Love, on the other hand, accepts....

Love accepts that today you felt like going for a long walk around your neighborhood, instead of a run that you were dreading doing because you were worn out and tired.  It is just happy you did something active and healthy for yourself.

Love accepts you are today.  It does not require you to be 20 pounds lighter.  Love does not require tight abs.  Love wants you to accept yourself as you are today.

Love wants you to find a passion that goes beyond race day or whatever goal you have set.  It wants you happy on race day and beyond.

Since I have been home, I have been planning my workouts out of a place of acceptance and love.  I have moved a workout by a day and felt so much better for it.  I went to a restorative yoga class instead of a more vigorous one and felt better for it.

The most important part of it all,
I have not felt guilt once.
I have felt love.....

Melissa