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Finish Year week 1

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

I’ve completed week one of Finish Year, and on Jon Acuff’s blog, he asked participators to post their progress in the comments. Like I said this year, I feel that the added accountability will lead to more success.

Here’s my success/failure of week one.

  1. Finish rough draft of my book. I wrote 8 pages this week. I am taking that as a success. In addition to writing those pages, I spent some time reading through old journals for writing material.
  2. Write three songs. Record at least one. I need to hustle more on this one. This one will be my hardest one to achieve. It’s always been easier to run away from my music rather than practice it and do something with it. I didn’t completely ignore it this week though. I practiced guitar (though minimally) and wrote down a few lyric ideas. It’s better than nothing, and I know this goal will take some time to fully achieve. Little steps.
  3. Spend 30 minutes meal planning each week. I meal planned last week and then grocery shopped for all ingredients needed for each meal. And guess what? I didn’t have to stop by Publix eight times during the week to pick up that one thing I needed for dinner. It was all already at the house, ready to be prepared. Plus, I made a couple crock pot meals, which were ready and smelling awesome when I got home. I even made muffins which lasted through the week for breakfast. My one bit of “failure” in this is that I didn’t stick to the weekend meal plan, and we ended up eating out twice. Granted, Drew and I decided to go on a bit of a date on Saturday night, so that was okay. Plus, we had leftovers for dinner tonight. AND, I’ve already meal planned for next week.
  4. Get back into daily quiet time. I have read at least one chapter of Matthew every day this week. I am starting small on this one. So far, so good.

I’m excited to see what I can accomplish this year.

 

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Finish Year

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Finish Year is here, and I am ready. I’ve made resolutions in the past, and have been mildly successful at about 50% of them. I’m hoping that with added accountability (from online communities and friends that know me) I will add to my success rate.

There are “tasks” that will be assigned each week, and this week was easy.

  1. Write down my FinishYear goals. (Physically write. No typing.)
  2. Take a picture of the list and share it with people.
  3. Put it somewhere where I’ll see it everyday.

So, here’s my list.

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4th annual St. marks trip

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

It’s that time of year again… time for Drew and I’s “other” anniversary. Every New Year’s Eve, Drew and I take our annual pilgrimage to St. Mark’s lighthouse, where he proposed (I even ran across the little Altoid tin that had my ring in it this week while cleaning. It’s tucked in my jewelry box.)

The 31st was a beautiful day; sunny, clear, and warm. And unfortunately, Saturday. It was a bit crowded. People in OUR spot, on OUR day. The nerve.

Luckily, it wasn’t crowded enough to be unpleasant, and we had a wonderful day walking, photographing the lighthouse, and holding hands. 🙂

Here are the highlights.

While driving the long, scenic road to the lighthouse, I gazed out the open window at the water only feet away. And saw this.

Apparently they weren’t kidding when they posted this.

Luckily, he was nowhere near where we needed to park.

We got out, took a long, leisurely walk, and enjoyed the scenery and sunshine.

While we took our walk, we ran across this little guy. (Look close. I wasn’t about to wade in the water to get a better shot.)

And of course, we returned to the lookout tower, the exact location where Drew proposed. Our carving, barely visible, is still there. Drew said he’d bring a Dremel next year.

One of my favorite views from the park… right where he proposed.

While there, we took some shots of the lighthouse for a photo collage idea I had. We’ll see if it comes out.

It was a fun trip, as always. Thanks for three and a half fun years, babe. I’m hoping for many more.

See ya next year, St. Mark’s.

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Post Christmas blues

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

I’ve been reading a writing blog by Jeff Goins lately. I highly recommend it. He’s got some great writing tips. Yesterday, he approached the topic of the post Christmas blues, something I deal with annually. He encouraged people to write about it, in order to process through the emotions. This is my effort to do that.

 

I am a Christmas junkie. I love the music, the lights, the feeling of utter peace on earth (except at the mall). Almost everything about the season makes me smile.

I remember as a child making the connection that it was not the gifts that was so cool about the season; it was everything leading up to that. It was the anticipation, the enjoyment of all the things surrounding the season that made me so happy. The week between Christmas and New Year’s was a week of conflicted emotions. January 1st was the saddest day of the year for me, because it was the day we had to take the Christmas decorations down. I hated that day and usually spent the whole time fighting back tears.

As an adult, I still struggle with those post Christmas blues. The days between Christmas and New Year’s are such a let down. The 24/7 holiday music station is back to regularly scheduled programming, stores tear down the holiday displays to make room for Valentine’s candy, and live Christmas trees lie discarded at the end of driveways. Whoa… what happened? Christmas is over, so let’s get rid of all signs of it?

Sometimes I feel guilt after Christmas because I didn’t adequately “enjoy” the season. I didn’t spend enough quiet time soaking in Christmas lights, I didn’t pull out all of my Christmas CDs to listen to, I didn’t bake a single batch of cookies. I want a do over. I’m so busy the whole month of December that I didn’t have enough time to soak in all the glories of my favorite holiday.

I’ve found I have to “wean myself off” Christmas. Though many people enjoy taking the time between Christmas and New Year’s to get all the Christmas stuff down and packed away, I enjoy having the tree up for a little bit longer. Basking in the glow of the tree is a way for me to relax, so I’m in no rush to take it down. While the rest of the world moves on and leaves Christmas in a pile of wrapping paper memories, I take some time to say goodbye.

As Christmas fades away and I try to get back to “normal” life, I remember all the other good things that life has. New Year’s brings a chance to work on and better myself and anticipate what the next year will bring. As I get myself out of my 24/7 Christmas music mode, I’m pleased to rediscover all those songs that I haven’t listened to for a month. I love how my body feels when it’s not gorging itself on whatever sweet crap is lying around. And I remind myself that the baby Jesus is growing up, and He needs to be worshipped too.

Post Christmas is sad and often a big let down, but life goes on, and it needs to be lived.

 

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