Posts from — January 2010

Photo caption: We Heart It

I’ve seen on a several of my favorite blogs that people have been posting their word for 2010. I love this idea and have given it a lot of thought. I also think it’s a new tradition that I’ll bring into each new year. My problem is that I had some trouble coming up with one word, so I may have to cheat (my excuse is that this is going to be a huge year since we’re having a baby and completely changing our lives). Is that fair? I’m not sure.

My first word of the year is BALANCE. This is something that I’ve been lacking this past year, and I think next year it will be more important than ever to keep this word, this idea, in the forefront. I feel like I need to strive for balance in so many areas.

One way that balance comes to mind is balancing motherhood and my individuality and all of those things that make me me. One of my fears is going into such hardcore “mom mode” that that’s all there is to me. My awareness is there and I am striving to not let that happen. I don’t think this is coming from a selfish place, more of a “I need to keep me to be happy” and to make others happy place. I think I need to hold onto things that make me me to be a good mom, to be a good partner, friend, etc. I think some people can manage the being a mom thing in a full fledged way because they are HAPPY being a mom inside and out (I may be wrong about this?) but I know that for myself I need to be creative, need to do things that are just for me, and it will keep me at peace which is good for everyone in the long run.

Another thing, somewhat related, is balancing all of this newness of a baby and our changing family with the relationship that Dave and I have. I don’t think Dave is worried about this at all and I’m pretty hopeful that we can keep our pact to still be “us” but just plus one. I know that everything changes once this new, amazing and magical person enters the picture so it’s difficult to anticipate how things will fall into place, but I’m hopeful and aware of the importance of balancing us.

Lastly (for now), I need to balance work vs fun time/life time. This is where my second word comes into view: ENJOY. I want to enjoy all of these moments in life, and there will be plenty of them this year! I want to find something to enjoy, even if only for a moment, every day (for example, the few pieces of my cereal this morning that had this crazy amazing crunchy cinnamon flavor!). And I want to have a mild awareness of this enjoyment. I don’t want to pick it apart and analyze it but I want to recognize it. To do this, I need to balance work and the other side of life. I focused a lot on working in 2008 and 2009 and this is the year to manage my time better – to balance my time better. I can spend less time working if I’m more focused when I am working. This one is going to be a tough one. I am easily distracted and I love taking on freelance work (it’s a transitional thing). We’ll see how it goes!

Maybe that wasn’t exactly last, in all of this balance I want to also balance my friends and family and be better at keeping in touch. I need to realize that everyone doesn’t like to stay in touch via email and make more phone calls and write more letters. I want to make sure I always send a birthday card and just be a better friend/sister/daughter/aunt/niece/granddaughter in general. Whew. Done.

That’s all for now.

Happy New Year! What’s YOUR word for 2010?

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This is definitely a work in progress. It’s daunting to make a list of 100 things that I haven’t done and tempting to throw some in that I’ve already done (and cross them out immediately) so it feels like I’m accomplished, but here’s to the Mighty Life List which I expect will evolve and change and grow… Thanks to Mighty Girl!

1. Get a tattoo
2. Pierce my septum
3. Write a yearly letter to my kid(s) (starting this year when #1 arrives!)
4. Take a romantic trip to Italy, stay in a villa, and drink wine
5. See the Northern Lights (in person)
6. Go on a yoga retreat
7. Plan an all-girl art, love, relax retreat
8. Start my own design business
9. Hire an accountant for freelance until above is done
10. Give birth
11. Visit all 50 states (drive throughs count)
12. Organize all of my photos (digital and film) (Slowly, slowly working on this)
13. Print and frame my favorite photos
14. Live in another country
15. Read Atlas Shrugged (I’ve started it 3 or 4 times. One day I’ll finish it.)
16. Meditate regularly
17. Learn to make baby food
18. Enter design competitions regularly
19. Kayak camp again
20. Take a lock boat trip in Canada
21. Take a long train trip (several days)
22. Live in a foreign country
23. Live on the west coast
24. Read Walden
25. Buy a house (maybe just a vacation house!)
26. Go on a honeymoon (Does Asheville & Naples with our daughter count?)
27. Go sky-diving
28. Ride in a hot air balloon
29. Visit each continent (North America and Europe, check)
30. See each ocean (Pacific and Atlantic, check)
31. Grow my own vegetables
32. Publish a book
33. Go to SXSW
34. Learn to silkscreen
35. Learn to play guitar
36. Think before I speak
37. Volunteer again
38. Throw an art party
39. Enjoy something completely each day
40. Have a piece of my art in a gallery
41. Attend a fancy charity ball
42. Take a ride in a helicopter
43. Visit a tropical island
44. Visit Tahiti or Fiji
45. Simplify
46. Go to Burning Man
47. Go whale watching
48. Host a dinner party
49. Be an awesome mom
50. Be a better photographer (Always in progress)
51. Visit Machu Picchu
52. Take an adventure vacation
53. Pay off my credit card debt
54. Go on a date once a month
55. Make time
56. Balance
57. Paint a wall (or two or three) with chalkboard paint (Does a door count?)
    
58. Live off the grid for at least a month
59. Visit Yosemite
60. Visit the Arches in UT
61. Donate regularly again
62. Learn my family’s stories
63. Visit Mexico
64. Have a hammock in our yard
65. Keep it green(er) (I’ll leave this one open because there’s always room for improvement)
66. Donate bone marrow
67. Visit the ruins in Greece
68. See the Great Pyramids
69. Relax on a private island
70. All girl road trip or long weekend (May 2011!)
71. Do yoga on the beach at sunrise (Hmmm. Maybe sunset instead. I’m not up for doing anything at sunrise actually)
72. Visit Dry Tortugas again
73. Surprise Dave with a trip
74. Keep in touch with friends (slowly but surely)
75. Get tattoo rings
76. Improve my focus
77. Make a list of places I want to visit
78. Visit a jungle
79. Laugh every day
80. Have an art studio (I have a very large portion of our finished basement now. We each have our own section!)
81. Start or be very involved in a non-profit
82. See a Día de los Muertos parade/procession
83. Sleep in once a month (but preferably once a week)
84. Completely eliminate TV (I still watch some shows online)
85. Organize my art supplies
86. Own a pair of blue cowboy boots and rock them!
87. Build a savings account together (We opened one. Limited funds in it. Does that count?)
88. Visit Portland
89. Visit Seattle
90. Visit Baja
91. Hike 10 new trails
92. Learn how to make an amazing ice cold dirty martini (vodka, shaken)
93. Be strong enough to do Pincha Mayurasana (forearm stand)
94. Take and be in more photos every year
95. Learn how to make homemade chicken noodle soup
96. Create a birthing plan (throw it out the window)
    
97. Create a business plan
98. Regularly do crafts/art with kids
99. Get back into a regular yoga routine
100. Love every day

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I’m not sure if I would call it a resolution, but more of a theme for 2010. I’m going to keep it simple here (you can read the elaborate version here).

Prompt from The Mindfulist

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