Out with the Old

Happy New Year!

Wow what a year.

Out with the old. The year has come to a close and it is time to recap how it went. I just found my goal and idea list for 2011. Hah! Here goes.

· My One Little Word was Joy. I think that this was my most successful “goal” or intention in a long time. I found this word to be perfect for this year. What really helped this to be a success though was that I took Ali Edward’s OLW class. Each month we were presented with meaningful prompts which kept the word active in my life and at the forefront of my thinking. She prompted us to examine our word through definitions and thoughts, through the use of pictures, through music, through art and more. From these activities I was able to see that joy for me is closely related to getting exercise, getting enough sleep, meditating on scripture, doing things for me, seeing visual reminders of the word and receiving daily or periodic reminders of what joy is (ie emails with happiness quotes, reading discussions on happiness studies etc.).

Interestingly, Drew didn’t feel that I got a whole lot out of this year, as he pointed out that I A) still answer the phone in a less-than-pleasing tone and B) don’t necessarily seem any happier. This may seem true to him but it emphasizes to me that I need to continuously work at having and showing joy. It isn’t something that comes easy to me but I do know that it is something that I can obtain and want to. I therefore do not see this as a failure but as a definite positive learning experience. I’m glad that this word was used.

My other goals for the year were the following:
· Journal once a month using journal prompts [not done at all];
· Continue on 2010 goals. Again a laugh that my word was SIMPLIFY. I don’t feel like I got a handle on this. I was able to finish most of this list. In my TO READ category I still have a few to go. I was able to do 4 out of my 5 items under TO DO: declutter, eat at 5 new restaurants, a blog book, and slides to photos. I was able to do all of my items under TO CREATE (52 layouts in the year, 10 digital layouts and at least 5 started projects. Under TO LEARN, well I really need to take that Sillouette out of the box. That would be a good first step. I haven’t taken 2 digital classes but I have certainly excelled in this area. I don’t know that I have completed 2 online courses but I have certainly done lots of parts of some! And finally, I’m making slow progress in the camera/ photography department.
· Gotta do goals [ummmm – hopelessly behind. Total overachievement bit on my part. Since I have a few short weeks left to complete this list LOL I will follow up on this later]
· Make yogurt [nope, didn’t happen – I like too many flavours and it is too convenient. I would still like to try it some day though].
· My final goal was to research a CSA and join if possible [this didn’t end up being too important – I checked out a few local farms and the farmer’s market. I also grew my own garden. This seemed to be enough].

To sum up – it appears that I like to make lists. (Just noticed my November to do list too!)Hopeless lists that I can’t possibly accomplish. On the surface it looks like I should but as time goes on my priorities change and new lists gets made. I tend to be an overachiever. I also completely forgot what it is like to have an infant/ toddler around in the house. Oh well. I can’t say that I am disappointed in myself. I still feel like it was a great year. It was a happy year. A healthy year. I got to be home with my son. I had creative opportunities. I learned about and experienced great joy. I am ready to leave the past behind and move forward. I am blessed beyond measure.

Stay tuned for what is to come….