Welcome to my happy place of DIY, homemade, homegrown, handmade, nourished & crafted, whole hearted living. Finding magic in the mundane & growing some roots in the process.
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Hello 2017!
It feels so strange to say that, and yet so wonderful too. 2016 wasn’t a horrible year for me, but it wasn’t a fabulous one either. There were no huge defeats and no great triumphs. It just sort of was. I felt stagnant and hopeful at the same time. I wanted to move forward but my feet stuck in mud. It was like the whole year and me had a layer of haze heaped on top.
It was still beautiful, but not breathtaking.
photo by Calvin Kan
Haze seems like a funny way to feel when your word is FOCUS, right?
Despite the blah, I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge how much the word taught me.
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Now back to the post…
I accomplished major growth while learning to focus. Yeah, I’m still not great at it. The squirrel is strong in my DNA, but I learned little tips and tricks that are slowly helping me find strength in my weaknesses.
For instance, writing lists and keeping a planner save my bacon. You guys, I’ve fought having a planner for years! I hated them, they made me feel so burdened and tied down. But oddly enough, I think that one thing is my biggest tangible takeaway from last year.
I can remember the smallest detail from when I was three but I forget meetings and things I need to do as soon as someone tells me. In one ear and out the other. I’m a very visual person so to be able to see everything I have going, planned, or ahead of me in a day or week is incredibly helpful. I tried on my phone but that didn’t work. It’s like somehow when I write it down where I can physically see my handwriting, it sticks. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but it’s working for me and nothing has worked for me in a very long time. I’m going to continue my planner love in 2017 and found a darling planner on the day after Thanksgiving. It’s like an Erin Condren but I got it for $9.99 which is way better for my pinched budget. So cute and colorful!
To go along with my Focus theme, I set up a monthly focus for my family and that turned into an awesome experience. Focusing as a family on qualities, concepts, and characteristics helped each of us to grow. Me, especially. I realized that I am a more powerful teacher than I ever thought. I also learned the things that I want my children to have ingrained in their hearts.
Last year wasn’t incredibly successful, but in some ways I am unbelievably better than when it started and learning about focus had a lot to do with that. Which leads me to my one word for 2017. A year of focusing has helped me see that despite the haze and my natural urge to be “free”, I can’t thrive willy-nilly.
I need to live consciously, intentionally.
On purpose.
photo by Dustin Lee
I’m not quite sure what that means for me or this blog.
I have some guesses and some hopes. It may take me a while to figure out. But I have faith that if I am more deliberate and intentional in my marriage, my mothering, my spirituality, my health, and my business that I will find more freedom in my creativity than ever before. I can’t help feeling that if I have purpose, the haze will clear and I’ll find that golden spark I’ve been missing.
So here I start anew.
My childhood literary friend once said, “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it, yet?”
Yes Anne, it’s very nice.
Happy New Year, my sweet friends. I hope that this year lights your spark, too.
All my best, Mis