It's how it seems to go - originally posted February 5th

Do you ever get really great ideas, get super-excited about them, make detailed and deliberate plans to get all the various balls rolling, get started, and then....wham....something hits you to knock you off track?

That seems to be the name of the game these days.

I love new beginnings and I launched into 2014 with big ideas, exciting plans and all sorts of creative goodness brewing.  I had a list (ok, several lists.)  I had a schedule.  I wrote goals and objectives, people.  Goals. and. Objectives!

Note to self:  writing goals and objectives might just be the quickest way to throw a wrench into the works.

Since then, a whole lotta stuff has shown up to collide and complicate.  Nothing terrible, tragic or insurmountable, just "being a grown-up/responsible citizen/good mother" stuff, but it has been almost constant and annoyingly persistent.  Even minor but persistent annoyances add up over time.

So right now, today,  I am calling a halt on the "but I wanted to do this" and "I had hoped for that" and am instead focusing on the realities of where I am at, right now.  Today.  I'm working on getting my focus back where it should be and I am reassessing priorities and setting strong and clear boundaries.  I'm taking a hard look at what stays, what goes and what needs to change and then I'm putting the steps I need to take in those directions into action, one little step at a time.

Because even little steps add up over time.

January 12of12 - originally posted January 15th

Another year, another chance to play along with one of my favorite projects- the 12of12 Challenge.  My very lovely friend, Amy Gretchen, is the brains and talent behind this project (she'll say it wasn't her idea, but I say she's the one who rallies behind it every month, so she gets the credit.)  The idea is to post 12 photos of your day on the 12th day of the month, for 12 months of the years.  I've participated for a few years in the past, and I still love to look back and see how my life looked on those particular days.  You can take a look at a few of my previous 12of12 challenges here, here or here.  I used to use graphs and I may go back to that format again, but not today.

So, here is what January 12 of 2014 looked for us.

[caption id="attachment_46" align="aligncenter" width="625"] The Girl takes her card games very seriously.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_51" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Matchy-matchy[/caption]

Laundry for days.

[caption id="attachment_52" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Doesn't everyone sweep in high heels, a pink cape and sunnies?[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_43" align="aligncenter" width="625"] I'm obsessed with grapefruits right now. I could eat one for each meal.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_53" align="aligncenter" width="625"] working on her back stroke at swimming lessons.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_47" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Our new mattresses were delivered on Monday, so we had to pull the old ones out on Sunday. Perfect makeshift fort.[/caption]

She's such a goofball. I have no idea where she gets it from.

[caption id="attachment_50" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Bedtime treat.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_40" align="aligncenter" width="625"] I'm trying to keep flowers or flowering plants in my home, especially during the winter months.[/caption]

I'm trying to document the little corners of my home that I love so much.

[caption id="attachment_49" align="aligncenter" width="625"] my favorite capture of the day.[/caption]

2014 Word Of The Year - originally posted January 6th, 2014

To sit and listen to my own voice.
To grow in the ways my spirit and soul desire.
To expand in my chosen work.
To ride and run and swim and climb.
To fill with the playful sounds of those I love.
To allow another a place in my world.