karenika

2012 – Looking Back

2012 was my year to savor. My goal for the year was to slow down, be grateful, mindful, and joyful. I hoped to pay attention and notice all the moments of joy and amazing abundance in my life.

When I look back now, I see that I did savor so many of our moments Even though some of this year was extra-tough for me, I still did a large amount of amazing things that were aligned with my goal to savor and especially when I think about where I am at this moment, I am filled with overflowing gratitude for my life and all the love I am surrounded by. I loved this word so much, I know it will stay with me forever.

Here are some specific goals I had in mind for this year and how they worked out:
Family
1. Read to David daily with a focus on longer, more involved books. (We will incorporate these into David’s Book of Good Memories)
This project didn’t take off as well as I would have liked. Mostly cause our mornings are quite rushed now and as Nathaniel is getting older (but not old enough to follow yet) he’s less willing to sit quietly while I read. I might turn this into a nighttime activity with just David and me for 2013.

2. Take photo of full-family and write updates weekly (Project Weekly Diary).
This project went well and we didn’t skip one single week in 2012. I definitely plan to continue it for 2013. I am loving getting to have so many photos with my family.

3. Write a weekly diary of us and daily gratitudes for me and David (Project Weekly Diary) and the gratitudes are on the left column of the blog.
I did the weekly diary but not the gratitudes. Somewhere along the line, I dropped this practice and I really miss it. I am determined to bring it back for 2013 and have a plan.

4. Continue our family night where we all play games or watch movies together (Scheduled for Sunday nights)
We sort of fell off the wagon for this one, too. We did spend a lot of time together and went out to dinner, etc. But not playing together. I do hope to rectify this in 2013, as well.

5. Create letter-focused spreads and art with Nathaniel each week (Project Letters with Nathaniel)
This one, we did. Both Nathaniel and I really enjoyed it very much.

6. Create at least one crafty spread a week with David about things that made him happy that week (Project David’s Book of Good Memories.)
I am not sure why, but David resisted this project a lot. We still managed to fill up a whole book and now he really loves looking at it, so in the end, it was a success.

7. Volunteer in both David and Nathaniel’s schools at least twice each semester. (I know this doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s the minimum I hope to do.)
In honesty, I am not sure if I did this. I definitely spent some time in both classes but not nearly as much as I would have liked.

8. Schedule minimum bimonthly date nights with Jake
We were pretty inconsistent with these. We skipped a bunch and then did a bunch in a row. All in all, We didn’t have 24 but we probably had more than a dozen.

Health (Project Healthy For Life)
1. Continue running daily, work your way up to 5K a day
Some good news and some bad news here. I ran every single day in 2012. I did manage to make it to 5K a day and did that for a while. But then I sort of fell off and went back down to 1-2miles a day. I am working my way up but it’s been hard.

2. Find a trainer so I can add basic weight-training and strength exercises weekly
Well…I found one and was actually doing exercises every day when some bad life events got in the way and so I now have exercises and need to go back to consistently doing them first.

3. Track the food I eat each day. (not fun!)
yes, well, this never happened.

4. Continue using the fitbit daily with a goal of 10,000 steps a day
This was working like a charm until my fitbit broke in the fall. Since it was its third time dying, i just gave up on it and don’t use one anymore.

5. Get minimum 7hours of sleep every night and 8 on the weekends
I am pretty good about this one. Even though I likely sleep fitfully, I do sleep at least 7 hours each night.

6. Eat at least one serving of vegetables and protein daily
Well I’ve been ok on protein thanks to the amy’s bean burritos but not so great on veggies. My diet is a mess all over the place to be honest. I don’t eat badly (well maybe except the chocolate) but I really don’t eat well either.

7. Start a meditation practice
I did a lot of work on this one. I took a 6-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course that literally changed my life. It was amazing. I also discovered Tara Brach and listened to her podcasts daily. I meditated pretty regularly until the fall and am determined to bring it back into my life. I also took a Science of Mindfulness class which was excellent. Meditation changed my life and I cannot say enough good things about it.

Art
1. Sketch minimum four times a week (Project Weekly Sketching)
done. I did a lot lot lot of sketching in 2012.

2. Art journal weekly using hand-lettering at least half the time (Project Weekly Art Journal)
this, too, i did a lot of and all of them used hand-lettering.

3. Take at least three art classes
I took a lot of classes in 2012. I listed some of them here. I actually took even more than that list.

4. Experiment with at least three mediums
hmm.. I used the Tombow watercolor markers for the first time. I used a little bit of the gelatos. But that’s mostly it. I’d like to do more experimentation in 2013 if I can.

5. Try sketching using different sizes. (Really big+really small)
not so much.

6. Focus on and hone one specific sketch style. (or two or three!)
this one, I think I did. At least one style for sketching and one for art journaling.

7. Experiment with collage once a week (Project Journey into Collage)
also did this one.

Storytelling
1. Continue to create for my design teams (Maya Road, My Mind’s Eye, Write.Click.Scrapbook)
I said good-bye to WCS sometime during 2012 but I did my commitments to all three.

2. Create at least four pages (2-spreads) in my book (The Savor Project)
done

3. Design a class around different ways of storytelling
I didn’t design any classes in 2012. I have several small ideas but I am not feeling motivated to do them for some reason. Interestingly, it looks like Ali’s going to teach a “ways of storytelling” class in 2013 and I am sure she’ll do an awesome job of it.

4. Aim to do 1-2 guest design spots or classes (that I teach) this year
I did teach one class for Debbie Hodge and one for Gossamer Blue and I have a guest spot coming up early in 2013. I also was on Paperclipping Roundtable a few times, does that count?

Reading
1. Read a book a week (Project A Book a Week)
Oh yes, and more. I think I read about 90 books this year. A lot of them are young adult and such quick reads, but still…

2. Read daily to David (longer, more involved books) (Project Reading with David)
covered this one above.

3. Regularly attend both book clubs
I did go to one book club regularly but the other one was a miss for at least half the year. Partly cause of my crazy times and partly cause they picked books I really didn’t like.

Self-Reflection
1. Write at least three long thought/idea oriented blog posts a week
I had some holes in this but I tried to do a lot more of these this year and really enjoyed them.

2. Journal five days a week
Journaling didn’t happen. Can’t decide if I want to resume this one or not.

3. Take at least two self-reflection-focused classes this year (already signed up for Body Restoration)
See above link of classes. I did at least three of these this year.

4. Do the exercises in A Minute for Me, daily
Interestingly, I didn’t do any of these. Not sure why.

Learning
1. Take two classes locally
I took MBSR and The Science of Willpower and The Science of Mindfulness.

2. Take four online classes this year
Done

3. Learn to drive on the freeway
not done 🙁 I did go on both freeways this year so it’s not a total fail but still nowhere close to where I’d like to have been by now.

4. Learn to ride a bike
no progress here.

5. Learn to collage
Up for debate. But I did do a page each week.

Community (This is a particularly hard one for me.)
1. Go out to breakfast/lunch once a week
Not sure I was so regular but I did meet with friends more than usual.

2. Invite guests over for dinner at least once a month
We did so-so on this one. Probably ten this year.

3. Extend an invitation to someone new once a week
hmm.. probably not. But A few new ones nonetheless.

4. Leave comments on blogs I read once a week
bleh. didn’t even do well finding new blogs to read.

5. Respond to comments on my blog + return emails within 48 hours
yes, ok, i really sucked on this one!

I also took four out of the five classes I needed to get my coaching certification and I signed up for the certification process (starting in February) and started seeing clients. A big dream and a large commitment for both 2012 and 2013.

And there we go. 2012 was a year of big ups and big downs. I am quite grateful to get to close it on such a positive note and I still love and adore my word, savor, and decided to keep my ring so I can still remember to cherish and savor my moments and bask in the joy and gratitude of the overflowing gifts in my life.

I am so deeply lucky.

And, with that, good-bye 2012. Thank you for your lessons and gifts.

Journey to Collage – Looking Back

One of my brand-new projects for 2012 was the Journey to Collage. I used a Moleskine sketch book and just had fun with it. I can’t say that each of my pages was a collage and I am not sure I started the year with this in mind, but I still really enjoyed working on this project. And I have 51 pages to show for it.

Here are a few of my favorite pages from my book:

As with my other art, these are colorful, bold and happy. These are the kind of pages that make me happy.

As we look forward to 2013, I wasn’t sure what my plans were for collage but I finally came up with a clever way to keep mixed media and collaging in my weekly list. Let’s hope it works.

December Daily 2012 – Day Twenty-Five

Today’s about Christmas Day. The breakfast and then stockings. Then our family photo.

Christmas Morning:

Us:

and here it is with before:

and after:

And since I ran out of pages right on Christmas Day, I decided that would be it for this year. So I added my final page in my tradition of tulips and my word of the year for 2013.

and here’s the book done:

another year, another December Daily. Here’s to a great 2013!

December Daily 2012 – Day Twenty-Four

Today’s about David’s winter show at the school, Nathaniel and Daddy playing and our family photo.

I also added the program:

and then opening the first presents on the eve of Christmas:

and here it is with before:

and after:

that’s it. more tomorrow.

Weekly Art Journaling – Looking Back

Even though I didn’t journal as much as I did in 2011, I still created quite a few art journaling pages this year. Here are some of my favorites:

The ones I love the most have happy colors and/or sentiments that really speak to me. I am always extra delighted by the ones I drew just because it’s a skill I am working on.

I’ve enjoyed looking at others’ art and trying to recreate it, too. Just to show myself I can do it. I just need to try. Sometimes it’s hard but it’s always fun.

I plan to continue the Art Journaling journey in 2013. It’s one of my most cherished ways to spend time. I have to make a good list of ideas but I am not ready to leave it behind yet. I am so grateful I stuck with Art Journaling enough to find my own voice and my own way of truly enjoying the process.

Here’s to a 2013 full of art!

Profuse Apologies

If you’re getting emails from me by subscription, you might have just gotten 52 new ones from me cause I was trying to remove a category. I apologize profusely and it will never happen again. I am so deeply sorry for the annoyance.

The Savor Project – Looking Back

The Savor Project was my version of Project Life. I had an old Project 365 set left over from 2009 and decided it would be fun to do mini scrapbook pages and use it to tell our stories. I figured it would allow me to savor each of my moments that much more.

And it totally did.

As I look back on the project, here’s what I loved:

Doing the mini-scrappy pages instead of full-pocket photos
Telling the stories and not worrying about having enough or too much one week
Not using any dates anywhere
Including photos of my art
Not worrying about all the details, and just focusing on telling the stories
Getting to add ephemera

And here’s what I didn’t like so much:

The 12×24 layout is really hard to photograph for my lens
I really disliked having more than one album for the year and how bulky it got

So as I plan 2013, I know I want to continue this project because there was so much I did love about it and it feeds my scrappy soul without the larger commitment. To make up for the parts I didn’t like, I have some other plans. I don’t know if they will work but the only way I’ll know is by experimenting so here we go.

We’ll see if it works!

A Book a Week – Ender’s Game

I’ve wanted to read Ender’s Game for some time. I had heard about it a long time ago and it was on my list of books to read to David some time in the future. But before I read it to him, I wanted to read it for myself.

It gets mixed reviews on Amazon but most of the negative reviews are about the author and not the book. So I dove into it anyway.

And I loved it.

There are so many interesting bits to this book and if you’re into the science part of science fiction, I highly recommend it.

I’ve heard the second book is almost as good, if not better, and I’ve added it to my queue too. And when David is older, I will definitely read it to him.

Daily Sketching – Looking back

One of my major goals for 2012 was to continue sketching regularly and find my own sketching voice. I am grateful to say that I think I managed to make a lot of headway in that goal. I have a consistent style now and even though I liked some of my sketches more than others, I definitely can see a unique voice.

Since I made over 300 sketches this year, narrowing down to my favorites was hard work.

As I look at them, I notice that I like the ones that are more colorful than others.

The ones that have more detail and shading than not.

I like the birds-eye-view.

I like drawing cups, bottles, tea, and water.

I like drawing food and daily life things.

As I look toward 2013, I know that I want to continue sketching. I love the joy it gives me. However, I’ve been struggling with picking topics and having ideas on what to draw. My hope is to make it easier on myself next year but I am not exactly sure how just yet.

All ideas are welcome, of course 🙂

December Daily 2012 – Day Twenty-Three

Today’s about the boys playing with and around the tree.

left side:

right side:

and here it is with before:

and after:

that’s it. more tomorrow.

Scrapbooking – Looking Back

2012 wasn’t an excellent scrapping year, especially when compared to 2010 and 2011. But I still managed to create quite a few layouts between my work for My Mind’s Eye and Maya Road. I love both companies and their products so I feel privileged to get to design for them.

Of the layouts I made in 2012, here are a few of my favorites:

As I look toward 2013, I am not sure how I feel about scrapbooking. I still love telling stories, capturing my family’s moments, and playing with the supplies. I do get a lot of joy doing the Savor Project which is sort of like mini-scrapping. I plan to continue that, albeit in a slightly different format, and I will likely continue to do some more traditional scrapbook pages, too. Fewer, likely.

Maybe I can combine it with The Savor Project…