Hello Twenty Thirteen

There are going to be some changes coming this way. On this blog. I feel like I need to re-vamp/re-style/re-do. I want to simplify. I want to make things easier, not daunting. I need to sort it out in my head a little bit first, and then it'll make it's way here, to this space. 

I feel like I didn't blog totally the way I wanted to in 2012. There were too many days between posts. There were too many things left unsaid. There was too much that happened, that didn't get touched  on. Now having said that, I COMPLETED MY PROJECT LIFE BOOK! [I just sent weeks 51 & 52 off to be printed tonight. I send my pictures to Costco, it's cheap and there's a quick turn around. I see a lot of the Project Lifer's out there that a majority of them print their pictures at home. I would like to, but when I print pictures at home, the quality just never seems quite as nice as an actual photograph, like the ones I get from Costco] I went sideways there, sorry. As I was saying, I have captured many things in my Project Life album, little snippets here and there, but I do like to have my blog as a place to 'record' stuff.

I sometimes think I'm a little over the top... With all this documenting life stuff. Tonight, after his hockey game, Mason told me that I was always embarrassing him... To 'stop with all the pictures already'. And I want to respect his wishes, but I just don't think I can. I don't go ANYWHERE without my camera or iphone/camera. I don't let a minute slip past without snapping a picture... I explained to him that I'm capturing the moments that he enjoys sitting on the couch and flipping through. He got very quiet [because this kid goes through my scrap book albums, ALL THE TIME. He knows pictures are an important part of the process] I hope he comes around, and will continue not to be bothered by my incessant need to take photos. [Fingers crossed]

In my last blog post, I touched on the fact that I was going to continue on with Project Life and planned to carry on into 2013. I am so excited to do so. I am working on my title page now. I've already got 2 days under my belt.

I plan on sharing my layouts a little bit better this year.

I have also chosen a word for 2013. It is: ACTiON

My word for 2012 was completely insignificant last year. I realized that, when I couldn't remember the word I had chosen [which ended up being Renew] I think I thought about it fleetingly last December, picked it and promptly forgot about it.

This is a word that gets me excited about what twenty thirteen has in store for me. I need to step up and out of my comfortable little place. This word fits with every aspect of my life right now, and I hope that come this time next year, I don't have to go back to the archives and look up what this years word was. 

Here's a picture from the hockey game tonight, of Madelyn and Baba [my Dad] Madelyn hasn't got onto the 'taking pictures embarrasses me' kick yet, but it's only a matter of time. She is a little monkey do after all...

Thank you to my devoted Mum and Dad, who have come to nearly every. single. game. Back in September and October, you came to more practices than you should ever have had to... It's so great that you come and support Mason like you do. It's so neat to be able to watch how far Mason has come since he first started in the fall, with you. It's nice to have a warm bodies to sit close to, since his Dad is on the bench with the kids. It's nice that Ama's purse is full of never-ending things, for bored Madelyn. It's even fun to threaten kids from the other teams [under our breath of course] together. You guys are awesome.

A Fresh Start

Wow, it's twenty twelve. Crazy. We're in the process of de-Christmas-ing the house. Every year I enjoy December with the house decorated for Christmas. I love the lights. I love the decor. I love to eat sweets from morning to night. I love to admire real candles flickering so nicely. Then, I love to take it all down, put it away in a box, and have my house back.

I went to a New Year's Eve Party, and our lovely hostess wanted to go around the table and talk about our resolutions for the new year. And you know what, I hadn't really thought about a 'resolution' up until that point. I haven't really done resolutions for the past couple of years. In my opinion, making a bunch of resolutions, is setting yourself up for failure on or the night before the very the 1st day of the year. If you fail to keep your resolutions [which I typically do] It kinda just hangs out there... It's certainly not what I would consider a builder upper. The last few years, I've focused more on my word, than a resolution. And it's worked well for me.

Now, despite what I just said, I did indeed have a 'resolution' for the crowd, because believe me, I didn't want to be pigeon holed into a resolution they thought I should have... [Sorry about that Nola...] So I said that one of my resolutions this year was to Simplify... Which I do wish to do, but it's hardly a resolution. It's more a way of life. [Wish me luck, I live with Barry]

Last night, Barry and I got to talking, I told him about my resolution quandary. How I'd said what I said [simplify] to appease the crowd, but how I thought it was important this year that he and I make it a priority, or a resolution to spend more quality time together. In Oct/Nov, I had originally thought I would try to plan a date per month for 2012 and give him all the pre-planned dates as a gift for Christmas. [I read about the date ideas here] One night, when I sat down to work on it, I realized exactly how much work it was. A ton of preparation, and some things are just to hard to plan that far in advance.

I didn't end up doing it. We agreed last night, that we do need to spend more adult time together, and planning dates for each other is, something we'll focus on this year. Taking turns. The bonus is, he thought it was a great idea. So I get to plan January's date. [I mean it makes sense that he plans February, what with Valentine's Day and all]. And we'll plan dates for each other, every other month. How cool is that? I'm excited about it for sure.

To me, the new year means a new start. A fresh beginning. A do-over. A look forward, not backwards. To be successful and be positive. Some of the things I'd like to see this upcoming year are:

- a healthier diet, for sure. Serious commitment to meal planning. [Usually I do well in this aspect, but December was atrocious] And I would bust something right now, for a nice green salad.

- exercise [teeheehee] But I have to put it in there, don't I?

- setting up a schedule to clean a bit each day [like Nicole, but with way more flexibility ;-)]

-to spend more quality time with my kids [notice a bit of a trend?]

- use my new iphone, to do 365 days of instagrams. Seriously, I'm SO excited about this one. I've been imagining it for a few years now...

- to be a slug on the couch a LOT LESS frequently.

- to sort out our basement, so I don't die a little bit inside if an adult [that's not Barry or I] goes down there. Seriously. It's bad... I mean, it's not hoarder bad, but it is bad.

- de-clutter.

-spend more quality time with girlfriends... Seriously, the 2 times we've met for coffee since our kids all started school in September is kind of ridiculous... I want to see them more...

-get my December Daily book finished and sent to the printers before I lose interest. [Because I KNOW I'll be so grateful I took the time to finish it, next December.]

All this kind of brings me to this year's word I've selected: Renew...

There are a lot of things I thought I would do, with 2 kids in school full time. But it didn't happen in September [or Oct/Nov/Dec] I have the opportunity to make it happen now. I'm going to renew. I'm excited about this. I'm looking foward to this new year. Welcome twenty twelve!