Still: Goals, Hopes and Dreams for 2012

Yesterday I shared that my One Word for 2012 is Still.

Today I want to share some of the ways that I'm hoping to flesh out that word in the year to come.  Some of the goals and dreams I have for 2012.

Physical

• Get back into a routine of yoga
• at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity - walking, yoga, situps, whatever - just make the time to move
• Continue to adapt my eating habits towards healthier choices
• Continue the habits that have improved health - vitamins, flossing, winding down for sleep at night, medications etc.
• Drink lots and lots of both tea and water

Emotional/Spiritual/Relational

• Continue to cultivate the friendships that have become important - the ones that are open, honest and like family
• Continue the practice of daily time in scripture by reading through the Bible in a year again
• Start the year by cultivating a more regular practice of listening prayer, using a 40 day devotional "Rivers from Eden" by Brad and Eden Jersak, then carry on a practice of daily prayer/meditation/listening, using in part "Common Prayer" by Shane Claiborne, and "Can You Hear Me?" by Brad Jersak
• Continue seeking help from professionals when needed (something that became invaluable in the last year)
• Cultivate deeper relationships with the people I gather with on Thursdays for House Church
• Study carefully and prayerfully to prepare for the times I lead and teach at House Church
• Consider the possibility of meeting with a spiritual director and/or taking further classes in spiritual development/theology
• Finish reading "Boundaries" by Cloud and Townsend
• Look for opportunities to widen my circle of friends and meet new people in a way that is comfortable for my introverted self

Mental/Educational/Creative

• Start the year by revisiting several books that have challenged me personally and creatively - "The Echo Within" by Robert Benson, "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Donald Miller
• Focus, discipline and excel wherever possible in my nursing studies.  I've been waiting a long time for this, and it's worth it to me to work hard at it.
• Find time to learn even little bits of a Spanish.  Even if it's just a word here and there.  There are apps on my phone to help with this if needed, and friends who are fluent who can teach.
• Find new authors to read, and read broadly, feeding the things that fascinate me, and opening myself up to new thoughts and ideas.  Read a minimum of a book a month, but aim for more.
• Time on pinterest - this has been a huge boost to stirring creativity within me over the last number of months, and that's a part of myself that I want to continue to cultivate.  This also plays into the mental, emotional, and spiritual parts of myself.  I feel alive when I'm creating with my hands - whether it's in the kitchen, sewing, crafting, or knitting.  There is a part of my soul that cries out for this, and I've discovered it in new ways, and want to help that part of my being come alive more fully.
• In that vein, craft something, anything, once a month at least, and continue to try out new recipes, aiming for a minimum of once a month.

Financial

• Continue to support various friends and ministries
• Continue to give to Kiva
• No new debt except student loans - live within my means (this means finding a job, and living simply)

Personal/Random

• Buy a pair of Toms (the third year in a row that this is on my list - maybe this will finally be the year for it?)
• Find a more suitable living situation
• Simplify - sort through belongings and pare down - less clutter, no holding on for "someday".  Balance beauty with usefulness and necessity.  I'm not hunting for a spartan lifestyle, just a simpler, even less consumer driven lifestyle.  This also means finding ways to reduce, reuse, recycle wherever possible.
• In the note of consuming less - hang more clothes to dry (my exceptions here are sheets and towels - I just like those softer and smelling pretty); recycle more - it's simple thanks to the blue bin program; I just have to be willing to go out of my way a bit.  Buy used when possible.  Reduce the clothing I buy, and consider the versatility of various pieces.

It seems like a crazy list when I look at it all written out like this.  And yet, the vast majority of these things fit with "Still" for me.  They are nearly all things that call me to a quieter, deeper, and fuller life, or are a continuation of habits and practices and passions that are already in play in my life.  They're not hard and fast rules for me.  In my mind and heart they're simply the fleshing out of the way the word Still came to me.  They're guidelines for living out the words that have already made themselves at home, and for welcoming Still to grow and shape me.  I'm looking forward with joy and anticipation and much hope and peace to seeing the way these things play out within me. I enter 2012 with more anticipation than any year in recent history, and I'm so excited to see where it goes!

Looking Back Before Moving Forward

One year ago tomorrow, I announced that my One Word for the year of 2011 would be "heal."  That same day, I posted a list of goals, hopes, and dreams that went with that word in my head, heart and life.

Before I post the One Word that found me for 2012, tomorrow, I wanted to take time today to revisit that list and add some comments on a number of the things it contained.

Yoga:  this one started out strong, and then petered out a bit as the year and my plans changed.  The yoga studio I fell in love with closed somewhat suddenly.  I started working for the temp agency, and ended up at the job that took a huge amount of my time.  I did fall in love with yoga, though, and I'll definitely be working to reincorporate it into my life and schedule in the year ahead.

Scripture Reading:  I finished the chronological trip through the Bible just a few minutes ago.  This was the first time in a long time that I've made the commitment to get through the entirety of scripture in a year.  I'm so glad I did.  I admit that some days I very much skimmed, but it has been good for me (if hard at times) to make time in scripture on a regular basis again.

Cook:  I lost count of how many new recipes I tried this year, but it was definitely more than twelve.  Pinterest brought new life to my attempts at cooking and baking and was the source of many recipes and much inspiration.  Some favorites included pumpkin snickerdoodles, chocolate, peanut butter pretzel cookies, and even peanut butter fudge brownie trifle.

Read:  Yep - way more than 2 books a month.  More like 2 a week (I haven't totaled up the final tally yet).  So good to devote a lot of time reading this year.

TOMS:  Not yet.  I'm still going to buy a pair - hopefully in the coming year, but it will all depend on how my finances look as I take on full-time studenthood again!

Kiva:  I did it!  I made several loans (about 7, I think) over the last year.  The first investment has more than come back to me, and I keep reinvesting.  I love this program, and I think you all should take part and invest.

Those items are kind of the highlights.  It was a very unexpected, but very good year.  I'm glad for it.  I'm glad for the way that all of these things played out.  I've even glad for the way the things that didn't quite go as planned, played out.  I'm looking forward to seeing which thoughts and ideas present themselves to be played out in the year to come.

Laughing at Myself

I'm chuckling this morning.

I wrote yesterday that after vascillating for a couple of days, I'd chosen the word "Heal" to be my "one word" for 2011.

I was going through a few old blog posts this morning and realized that the very first Reverb 10 post that I wrote asked me to pick a word to describe 2010 (I chose deconstruction or duckless), and then to choose the word I'd like to define 2011.  I'd totally forgotten that I'd written that post.

The word I picked at the beginning of December?  Healing.

Which made me laugh this morning in a "oh God, you're funny in getting your theme across" kind of way.

Because the word that was on my heart at the beginning of the month, is the word that I almost didn't choose.  I'd pondered it as a word, but then picked something totally different. As I was sitting with my journal yesterday and writing out a list of hopes and goals and dreams for the coming year, shaped by my one word, I felt very strongly a conviction that the new word was one that would have to wait.  That I needed to go with my original gut instinct and choose "heal". 

And then I discovered this morning that that was the word I'd chosen earlier, too.  And I smiled at the funny little confirmation of timing and choice.  The whisper that speaks to my heart that this is a theme that God has for me for the year to come.

A Healing Story: 2011 Goals/Hopes/Dreams

I just wrote a post declaring that my "one word" for 2011 is going to be Heal.  And that my overarching word theme for my life is "story," as in "write a better story". 

For the last few days, as I've been reading blog posts and articles about new year's resolutions and healing, and happiness and mental health, and minimalism, and simplicity, and all the other topics that inspire or capture me, I've been jotting notes on a slip of paper, tucked in the back of the notebook in which I've recently been making the daily "to do" list items that don't quite make the list of "to do's" that I keep in my phone.

This morning I spent about an hour, curled up under a pile of blankets, translating that slip of paper into a mulit-colored journal entry, creating a list of goals and dreams for 2011.

I wasn't going to do it by hand this year, but I'm glad I changed my mind.  There's something therapeutic about writing by hand, planning and dreaming for the year to come.

When I finished, the page of goals and dreams looked like this:

 

(I did mention that I like to use multiple colors of ink, right?)

These are the items that list contained:

• Yoga.  Do 10 minute yoga at home at least twice a week.  Use up the 40 yoga class passes for a local yoga studio that I purchased when they were the deal of the day on Living Social.
• Scarf wearing.  Totally a random thing, but I want to wear a scarf at least once or twice a week, just because I love how they look, and how I feel in them.
• Curly hair.  Ditto to the scarf wearing.  Wearing my hair curly also means I spend a bit more time caring for my appearance.
• One Word.  Do the project for the class each month.  Basically a way to inspire creativity and focus on my theme word of "heal" for the year.
• Vitamins.  Keep up with a regular routine of taking them.  The same for the natural health treatments, using my SAD lamp, and a couple of other natural health steps I've been taking.
• Scripture Reading.  This only works for me if there is some kind of discipline involved.  I'm crappy at just picking up the bible and reading consistently.  So, the goal is to read through the Bible in a year.  Choose a plan, and stick to it.  Read ahead, catch up, whatever, but read through the whole Bible in the 1 year time frame. 
• Cook.  Same idea as last year, and another way to stir creativity and to find joy in doing something I love.  Try 12 new recipes total.  Half of last year's goal, but more feasible given my lack of a kitchen of my own.
• Write real cards and letters.  A fun way to build friendships, express gratitude and love, and just generally appreciate people.  At least 2 per month, and keep a list of who they've gone to.  (Bonus points for taking the time to make the cards by hand.)
• Budget.  2010 saw the end of all debt except my student loans (which will likely be increasing instead of decreasing for a while now, given that I'm planning to go back to school).  Let's keep it that way.
• Read.  At least two books a month.  Or listen to unabridged audio versions.  Whatever.  Just take in new information and challenge my brain along with stimulating my love affair with words.
• TOMS.  Buy a pair.  Probably these.  Because friends swear they're comfy, and because I love shoes and think the concept of donating a pair for every pair sold is very cool.
• Kiva loan.  Loan at least $50 to kiva projects over the course of the year.
• Write.  On paper.  In a journal.  At least once a week.  For something different.  I think it takes different brain cells to write on paper instead of online.  And I find it therapeutic, but don't do it nearly often enough.
• Blog.  Keep up the daily 5.  Aim for about one other post other than the daily 5 a day, at least on weekdays.  Keep working on the Grey's Monologue's blog project I started as a hobby.  Finish transcribing the monologues from the past season's of Grey's.
• Risk.  Try new things and give old things a second chance.  It's okay if you hate it.  It's okay if nothing has changed since you tried it in the first place, but be willing to give it a shot.  (As an aside, I lived this one out on Christmas day when I tried eating crab in two different forms.  I still hate it.  It did nothing to change my position that if it lived in water when it was alive, it should most definitely never cross my lips.  But, I did try it.)
• Get my US passport.  Because then I can say I legally have two passports, and that's fun, right?
• Travel.  Someplace requiring an airline ticket. (And preferably the crossing of an international border, even if it is just the border to the US.)

There are other things that I'll continue with in 2011.  Other things that have shaped and will shape my life.  But these are the sort of fun, shape my ability to live joyfully, and shape who I am as a person goals.  And these days, those are the sorts of goals that I most want to set and live out.  Because they are the ones that shape the story I tell with my life, and shape things like whether or not 2011 is a year where the word that defines it is "heal".

One Word: 2011

For years now I've been watching as Ali Edwards has blogged about choosing one word to shape her year.

Last year I also watched as Alece did something similar.

Last year I somewhat informally played along.  I quietly chose a word, and wrote a list of goals and plans for the coming year that were shaped by that word.

Honestly, I accomplished almost nothing on that list.

The word I chose last year was "story".  As in "I want to write a better story with my life."

And even though I managed to accomplish almost nothing on last year's list of dreams and goals and hopes because of all the (to quote Anne of Green Gables) "bends in the road" that life threw my way in 2010, I think I did actually take a lot of steps towards a better life story.

And I think story will be the word that will become the overarching theme for all of the years to come.

And so, this year I decided to play along a bit more formally.

(I even registered for this class online that Ali Edwards is teaching, to help me focus a bit more creatively on the word I've chosen over the next twelve months.)

I picked a word.  And then I changed my mind yesterday.  And then I changed it back this morning as I sat with colorful pens and my journal and prayed and made a list of hopes/goals/dreams for 2011.

(I'll share that list of hopes/goals/dreams a bit later today.)

My word for 2011?  (keeping in mind the overarching theme of writing a better story)

Heal.

It's going to be fun to see where this one takes me!

Reverb 10: Day 18 - Try

Today's Reverb 10 Prompt:

December 18 – Try

What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it?

(Author: Kaileen Elise)

My list of goals for 2010 was completely and entirely derailed.  Life took crazy turn after crazy turn, and I didn't manage to complete almost anything on that list, including things like trying 2 new recipes a month, taking a real yoga class, oh, and seeing U2 live.

Next year I want to try to live deeply and fully - whatever twists life brings.

I want to settle into a new place.

I want to try cooking new things, and maybe even eating a few new things.  (Scallops, I'm going to try scallops.)

I still want to try taking a yoga class live and in person, instead of the video workouts I use.

So basically what I'm saying is that I want a "do over" on 2010's list of things to try.

I want to be more aware of my own needs.  That's a big thing for me to try to work on.

Oh, and I want to try to see U2 live.  That concert from 2010 that didn't happen has technically been rescheduled for 2011, so barring Bono having more unexpected back surgery, or more crazy life twists in my life, in 2011 I want to see U2 live in concert.

New Recipe Project Update

Here's the update on the new recipe project.

The goal is to make at least two brand new recipes a year (either something I've never eaten before, or a recipe I've had somewhere else, but never made on my own.)

For April, the new recipes were as follows (unfortunately, I don't have photographic proof of these ones at the moment... need to check my camera at home, maybe there are photos there!):

1. Chocolate-Coconut Macaroons
2. Hot-Crossed Buns
3. Blackberry Cobbler

Last night I made the first new recipe for the month of May:

This is Tomato-Beef Chowder.  L and I used to cook it all the time, but she always made it.  It was her recipe.  We were both surprised when I actually liked this soup.  First, because I don't tend to like soup.  Second, because it has ground beef and is tomato based, and I don't love either of those things either.  But I really like it, and now that L. has moved to the UK for a while, I wrote her asking for the soup recipe.  When she sent it, I immediately set out to make it as soon as possible.  That was last on Wednesday.  And it was so tasty!

In other news...

I was thinking that these random morning posts are becoming something like an exercise a bunch of my artistic friends used to do.  It was from a book by Julia Cameron, and called morning pages.  The whole idea was that if you started out your day by simply sitting down and writing 3 pages of just whatever was on your mind - shopping lists, things you're thinking about - whatever, then this regular practice stirred creativity.  I actually find that by stopping here and writing down the random things on my mind, I feel more free to really write at other times.  Like writing down the random things creates space for the deeper things stirring within me.

I'm sipping green tea and hoping it will calm my stomach.  I woke again with a terrible stomach-ache and heartburn.  It's been happening every few months, for no discernible reason.

It's raining outside and they're promising it will turn to a whole pile of snow by tonight.  Last week it was 20C and I was wearing skirts and capri pants to work.  Today we have a "winter storm warning" in effect.  Only in Calgary.

Actually, I blame my dad for the snow.  Everytime he leaves the country it snows.  Doesn't seem to matter what time of year it is.  He and mom are enjoying poolside weather in Phoenix with my aunt and uncle this week.  And we're having snow.  It's just how it works, I guess.

Yesterday's plans to have coffee with a long-time friend were postponed to today.  I'm hoping they happen today, anyway.  He can be a little bit flaky.  (He's actually forgotten that he was my ride home from somewhere.  Twice.)  But he's a great friend, the one who was with me on that odd night nearly five years ago now when my depression was healed so suddenly and unexpectedly.  And I hope I get to see him.  I could use some time right now with the kind of friend who has all the details.  Who's been around through it all, and we can just talk honestly with each other.  And a hug.  I could use a hug from that kind of friend too.

Last night, after months of deliberation and research, I joined the cult of iphone, and I'm quite looking forward to discovering all the fun things it will let me do.  I had thought that I was going to need to wait another six months, until my current phone contract expired, and then switch phone companies, as a different company had far better rates.  But, I called my phone company, and negotiated, and they decided customer loyalty (I've been with them for years) was worth rewarding, and comfortably matched the price the other company was offering.  So, I took the plunge, and I think I'm going to love it.

I also have a hair appointment tonight.  The annual getting other fun colors added to my existing natural state appointment.  I only do it once a year or so, because it's expensive, but it's always fabulous.  Getting my hair done and being pampered at the salon I use is right up there with getting a massage for me.  So relaxing and it makes me feel beautiful and feminine.  (Plus, being able to treat myself well, without feeling guilty for it, was on one of my lists of goals for this year, so any appointment like this is a step in the right direction.)

And with that, I'm off to dive into the stuff the day will require.

Back later!

Daily 5 - Day 233

Today's Daily 5:

1. Made it to a church service this morning (even if it was a bit odd for a Good Friday service)
2. Made both of my two new recipes a month for April today (great news, since this will be a busy month!)
3. Home made hot-crossed buns
4. Some news from a very dear friend
5. Got my wedding shoes in the mail, and they fit and will work with the dress, I think.

New Recipe Project: March #2

The second new recipe for March was Mediteranean Beef Pitas.

All the fixings, lettuce, parsley, lemon, hummus, tzatziki, feta, the beef, and pitas.

The beef.

My assembled pita.

Daily 5 - Day 227

Today's Daily 5:

1. 2921 posts here over the last nearly 5 years
2. Reading Renee's Lenten Daily Grateful 5 lists on facebook each day.
3. Discovering that there are only about 80 pages left to read in a book I'm slogging through for the purposes of writing a review
4. Made the second new recipe for March tonight: Mediterranean Beef Pitas
5. Went to Palm Sunday mass
6. had a frank conversation with my parents regarding some stuff that affects my living situation.  Was grateful that they were open in answering my questions.
7. A hug from mom
8. Actually getting a bit of sleep last night
9. Slow, lazy morning, but also quite productive
10. Grandma being out of the house all day... so much less tense for me, and I got most of my usual Sunday tasks done, meaning that I think I can probably go to the zoo tomorrow.  It's been too long since I've visited "my" gorillas, and I still haven't seen the newest baby giraffe.
11. The "I am a rockstar" reminder I posted earlier, from Kelle's blog post tonight.

New Recipe Project: Update

One of my goals for this year was to cook at least two new recipes a month.

These are the latest results:

The second recipe of the month for February was Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies

The first recipe for the month of March was Arroz con Pollo with Apple

I'm still really pleased with this goal.  The food I've made so far has all been quite tasty, and I'm getting the chance to expand my recipe repertoire and my cooking skills.  Plus, I'm having the chance to feed lots of other people.

After I moved into Grandma's and cooking became a bit more of a challenge, I was wondering if this goal would have to die only two months in.  Instead, I got a little bit creative, phoned my mom, and asked if she'd be interested in me cooking dinner at their place twice a month.  Since both of my parents work from home and tend to be fairly busy, and mom has never particularly loved to cook (though let me add that she is a good cook) she jumped at the opportunity, and even volunteered to buy the groceries since I'll be feeding any number of extra people.  Her only stipulation was that she wanted to invite my brothers and their girlfriends to come for the meals from time to time.  In any case, cooking at mom and dad's is how I'll likely be finishing out the new recipe challenge for the year.

Daily 5 - Day 193

Today's Daily 5:

1. Getting some interest in the couch and loveseat that I'm selling on kijiji.  However, one of the responses was laughable - I'm selling both pieces for a total of $20, and the ad clearly says that I live in Calgary.  I received an email today wondering if the furniture was still available, and would I be able to deliver it to a small town about an hour and a half away.  Umm... No.  I won't be making a three hour round trip to deliver furniture that I'm only charging a total of $20 for.  The selling price would barely cover the cost of the trip, never mind my time!
2. Baked another new recipe today - the second one for this month.  Didn't think I was going to fit two in this month with the busyness of moving, but I did, and that left me with a great feeling of satisfaction.  Plus, the Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies that I made taste pretty good too.
3. Got a refund without question this morning for the water bottle I purchased in January that was recalled because of breakage issues.  Since I returned one for that issue before it became a common one, and had another one break since, I was delighted to get a refund without any trouble.
4. Did some research into smart phones today while I was at the mall.  I'm thinking that my next phone is going to be an iphone.  Any opinions out there?  Or thoughts on how large a data plan I'd be likely to need?
5. Got caught up on my Lenten readings.
6. Painted my fingernails and toenails
7. Did some filing I've been ignoring (needed to finally do it before the move so that stuff didn't get lost because there were some pretty important papers in the pile - stuff I'll need to file my taxes soon.)
8. Read a couple more chapters in the book I'm working on for reviewing herre.
9. lounged and watched olympics while working on some of the aforementioned tasks
10. Had a great snack lunch today - love hummus and laughing cow cheese and blueberries and melba toast.  So tasty and simple.

Daily 5 - Day 181

Today's Daily 5:

1. Payroll (which was far more complicated than usual this time) went smoothly this morning
2. Made a new recipe (part of the 2 new recipes a month goal) for supper tonight.  Couscous stuffed peppers.  photos to come...
3. Had a rather profound moment of realization, and meeting God on the train/walk home from work tonight, while listening to a sermon preached by Shane Hipps
4. Quiet evening, and time to write about the things that so struck me
5. my roommate helped me straighten my hair tonight.  First time since the accident I've done that.  My injured shoulders won't let me hold my arms up in the manner that the straightener requires for very long, and L. was willing to help when I asked.  Grateful for that... will be nice to not have to pull my hair back for work tomorrow.

Reading Update

A quick update on the progress I'm making on my goal to read (or listen to an unabridged audio version) at least one non-fiction book a month.

This week I finished a book of essays on faith and life.  Titled "The Best Catholic Writing 2004", it was a good read, though some essays were definitely slower than others, and, because of the time frame in which the book was compiled, at the height of the abuse scandals that rocked the church, the book was a bit heavy on content dealing with that scandal, and the way forward for the church.

I also finished listening to the audio book I've been listening to for the last couple of weeks.  Titled "Traveling with Pomegranates" by Sue Monk Kidd and Anne Kidd Taylor, this is one I'd highly recommend.  It's basically the story of several trips a mother and daughter made together, but it's so much more.  Laced with Greek mythology, faith, illness, and themes of transition in life, it was a truly beautiful story.  I had to laugh at the way some of the themes I was listening to were paralleling conversations I'd been having with a dear friend.  It was definitely a timely "read" and one I'll be listening to again, as well as possibly purchasing in book form.

Daily 5 - Day 160

Today's Daily 5:

1. Day 160!  How cool is that?
2. Laughing through a conversation with my roommate tonight.  I've been pretty stressed out lately, and feeling pretty irritated with her, so it was nice to just laugh and talk for a while.
   
3. actually getting stuff done off my list, without getting too stressed out.  (did a bit more purging of stuff - some shoes this time...)
4. Working on a notebook that I'm going to use for lists, and for organizing and sort of tracking some of my goals for the year
5. dreaming about ways to live more simply, and greenly
6. searching my heart and being a bit surprised at what some of the priorities in it are right now
7. got another yoga workout in
8. found two glass waterbottles today - hoping to make the switch from plastic.  really hoping they're durable... will have to see!
9. Got a bit of reading in, and actually have a list of some books that I want to go through in audio form.
10. really thankful for a night off.  no social stuff.  wasn't my turn to cook dinner.  so nice to just work my way through the things I needed to do, but slowly.
    

The New Recipes Challenge

One of the goals for 2010 that I mentioned at the beginning of the year was that I would cook at least 2 new recipes a month in an effort to expand my repertoire a bit.

So far, I've managed to make three new recipes, and I have photographic proof!

Steak with Spinach Couscous

Hasselbeck Potatoes

Feta Chicken with Zuchini

Daily 5 - Day 159

Today's Daily 5:

1. totally random Olympic Torch experience.  Not sure yet if it's annoying or just funny, especially since I really wanted to avoid seeing it for a lot of reasons.  But I did have to laugh at the irony of trying to avoid it and then being right next to one of the transfers.
2. Made another new recipe tonight and it turned out fairly well.
3. Got a treatment from my mom.  Hoping that will help me sleep tonight, and balance out some of the other health stuff until I see my regular practitioner on Saturday.
4. Managed to fit a bit of reading in while trying to convince my computer that it wanted to stay connected to the internet, and not only stay connected (wireless is finicky tonight), but upload photos.  (Watch for some more photo posts in the days to come.)  Was really glad to at least get the reading in though.
   
5. Pleased to be at verse nineteen in my memorization.  Also pleased that the memorization is very much a forced meditation on the scripture, and I am getting the chance to consider Philippians verse by verse in a way I never would have.

Daily 5 - Day 147

Today's Daily 5:

1. Skype with A.  So good to catch up on life again.
2. Cooked the first new recipe for my goal of cooking at least two new recipes a month for 2010.  Tonight I made steak with spinach couscous.  I think we'll definitely make it again, though I'll make a few alterations.  It was tasty.  I took pictures.  Pictures to follow at some later date!
3. Driving to and from work - was nice to be back in my car, and to work on my Philippians memorization as I drove.
4. A lovely quiet evening - after skyping, more time simply reading a magazine, and clipping bits and pieces for various projects or interests.
5. Another good day at work - kind of odd to have so many good ones in a week, but I'm enjoying the balance of tasks this week.
   

The Alphabet Project

Yesterday I wrote a post that included as one of my goals for 2010 that I would work on an alphabet photography/scrapbooking project.

I bought this great set of rub-ons on a trip to the scrapbook store the other day (on 70% off clearance no less!) that was the alphabet with a word for each letter, and all of the words seem to fit well with my ongoing theme of choosing life and joy and hope.  So, the plan is to take a photo (or several) for each letter and word, and create a scrapbook page with journaling explaining why that photo speaks to that word/theme for me.  I'm not much of a scrapbooker anymore, but I like the challenge of needing to come up with photographs for more abstract words (remember that another goal was to develop a bit at photography), and I feel like 26 pages over the course of the year (just over 2 a month) is a very doable achievement.  Plus, I like that it pushes me to pull out and use the supplies I've accumulated over the years, and to need to be creative in making a page that suits the letter and the photo.

So, without further ado, let me share the alphabet with you.  (Let me know if you have good ideas for any of the words!)

A is for adorable
B is for beautiful
C is for cute

(okay, let me just pause for a second and say that in those first few letters I'm clearly going to need to arrange to spend time with some of the friends who've recently had babies.  because an evening of cuddling a baby is going to be a real hardship for me!)

D is for delightful
E is for elegant
F is for fantastic
G is for generous
H is for happy
I is for industrious
J is for joyful
K is for kind
L is for loving
M is for magical

(LP/CA - I sense you might not only have some travel ideas for me, but also a suggestion for the letter "m"!)

N is for neat
O is for original
P is for pretty
Q is for quiet
R is for real
S is for silly
T is for thankful
U is for unique
V is for vivacious
W is for wonderful
X is for X-citing
Y is for youthful
Z is for zany

I haven't decided quite yet if I will do these in order, or just do them as I manage to capture a moment that fits a word, or maybe some of both.  I do like the idea of mostly doing them in order, just for the fact that it forces me to really create vivacious, or real, or cute, or industrious (or whatever!) moments - to be deliberate in creating the story with my life.