Monday, January 28, 2019

The Best of 2018

As with most years of my life, 2018 was a mix of fantastic, average good and very sad.

I got to visit Huntington Beach, CA (work trip), Boone NC (with my sis), New York City (family trip), Ocean City NJ (family vacation), Orlando FL (work trip), and Kauai, HI (getaway with Jay).

I made NINE trips to Maryland for work - gone an average of 3-4 days each time.

We lost our beloved pet Kira in August.  She was 17.  Thankfully, her sister Ashley is still going strong.  Ashley had been very sick in 2017 and we thought we were going to lose her then, so the fact that she has outlived Kira was a surprise to us.

Made with Tami Miller Designs Love Birds kit, currently on sale HERE.

I PLAYed more.

I lost some weight and gained most of it back (story of my life).

We had a lot of good family time.

I got a new car!  2019 Honda Pilot, dark grey.  Very nice ride.  I don't miss the Odyssey at all.

Becca passed all her PTA program exams and just has this semester of clinical rotations to finish, then the Boards and she'll be a Physical Therapy Assistant.  Lots of anxiety getting this far, but we are on the final stretch.  Mom could not be more proud!

"Life is like a roller coaster. It has its ups and downs. But it's your CHOICE to either scream or to enjoy the ride." (unknown)    I'm choosing to enjoy the ride!  How about you?

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Welcoming 2019 - Time to Get HEALTHY!

Saying goodbye to 2018 took me some time.  I'm still working on getting myself fully organized for 2019.

2018 was my year to PLAY - for six months I mostly kept up with LifeBook 2018 and enjoyed the new art ideas to which I was being exposed.  Then I joined a Creative Team whose designer passed away from cancer two months after I signed on, joined three other creative teams from her shop only to have the shop close, and followed those designers to new shops.  All of which completely distracted me from LifeBook.  I was still PLAYing - albeit it digitally - so I considered my word and my involvement with it to be a success.

This year I'd like to get back to the LifeBook version of art-ing.  I've signed on for LifeBook 2019, but so far I haven't even managed to get through the first lesson.

Totally aside from PLAY, during the first six months of 2018 I focused on my health - my weight and my physical condition.  I joined WW and lost some weight; unfortunately gained the majority of it back during the second half of 2018 - between trips to the Jersey shore and Kauai, travel for work, and the holidays.  Honestly, I will probably always struggle with my weight.  Bad combination of insatiable appetite and slow metabolism.

So... 2019.... knowing that I really want to get HEALTHY so that I can enjoy and actively participate in the rest of my life - rather than merely surviving it or suffering through it - I decided to make HEALTHY my word for the year.  My primary focus is on my physical health and I have some goals in that regard.

 I am participating in Ali Edwards One Little Word class this year, but probably won't be doing many of the album prompts this year because I'm adding this to my daily planner rather than keeping a separate album.  I want everything together where I see it all the time.


I'm also thinking about my mental, emotional, and spiritual health - as well as having a healthy home, healthy marriage, healthy relationships... you get the idea - healthy can truly encompass the entirety of your life and being!

I've started classes at a local gym (began in December) and I've signed up for the Whole Life Challenge that starts this coming Saturday, the 19th.  Check it out HERE and think about joining me - I'd love to have some of my blog friends on my team!

This challenge ties in so neatly with everything that I'm trying to do this year, and the price was quite reasonable, so I couldn't not give it a shot!

To keep myself accountable and be fully transparent about what I'm doing, here is my "before" picture, complete with belly.  Ugh.

I've also joined Cathy Zielski's FIT class again, but that's mostly for her monthly inspirational audio.  I'll be tracking my stats in my daily planner:

I really like that this keeps everything together - how well I slept, how many steps I took (which for the winter months isn't as important to me as getting in some exercise classes), how much water I drank. The facing page tracks my weight and measurements, my monthly goal, and how I did.  Not quite ready to share that.  I'm also writing in a page each month of daily gratitude entries.

So those are the plans... and here are some of the goals for the year:



Created with Tami Miller's "Love Life" kit which released today at Scrap Girls.

What are your goals for 2019?