Complicated Simplicity

january 2012 recap

in january:

• i read 11/22/63 by Stephen King
• i kept working my way through watching Cheers
• p and i started watching The Firm and Alcatraz (and enjoy them both)
• i got my basics for project life and started putting it together...so love this project
• i walked a mile a day for the first two weeks and 1.5 miles a day for the last two and a half weeks
• p and i finished reading through exodus and leviticus and started numbers
• i downloaded a wawillion apps and fell in love with instagram, plants vs. zombies, netflix and more
• i took a self portrait every day using the everyday app
• i started and completed a photo challenge
• p and i went to omsi and saw the body worlds exhibit-it was awesome
• we watched the ides of march, moneyball and mr. popper's penguins
• i taught the sunday school lesson twice-the fall and the flood
• wednesday church was cancelled once
• we got a few inches of snow one night
• we tried a couple new recipes-sloppy joes and zuppa toscana, both were delicious
• i started reading the final dark tower book (well, until the new one comes out this spring)
• my sleep schedule got all turned around
• i started babysitting for a little girl from church
• we have had beautiful weather-some rain, but TONS of sunshine this month (way more than last year)
• p got a raise at work
• a coil in our car broke and we had to get them replaced

an intentional 2012...week one

i know it's only week one. i know that there are 51 more weeks in the year. that's a lot of time to forget about my plan to live with more intention.

instead of dwelling on what may happen, i am choosing to celebrate what did happen.

this week got 2012 off to an amazing and intentional start.

for seven days in a row, i intentionally walked at least a mile.

it has been so great. paul has walked with wa and i every single day and it's been nice to spend that time together-away from other distractions. so far i'm feeling great and enjoying every moment. thinking about intentionally increasing my distance by half a mile this next week for a couple weeks. eventually, i want to be doing five to six miles every day (in one or two walks). it's helped me to finally realize that i can walk places we would normally drive to, as well (like target and the library-both places we walked to this week).

for seven days in a row, i have read three chapters from the Bible with paul.

i've mentioned before how difficult it can be for us to read the Bible together. this time, we're just reading. no major discussions. just reading the Bible together. three chapters at a time. the plan is to have read through the entire thing by the end of the year (probably a tad earlier as we started before Christmas, although we took a break while we were in Michigan). we started with exodus vs. genesis because we've read genesis together many, many times. so, we will end with genesis. :-)

for seven days in a row, i have written daily gratitudes.

i write them in my goodness book (mines a different color combo than this one, but otherwise the same). it's such a great exercise and has reminded me to be thankful for both the good and the bad. it also helps me to think/work through the situations in our life and see how i can grow from them. it's been incredible already.

for seven days in a row, i have taken photos.

instagram has been awesome for me. i snap photos all the time. i also have been trying to take one photo with my DSLR as well (generally the ones i post here). photography is once again joyful and i look forward to finding things to capture every day.

for seven days in a row, i have taken a self-portrait.

i use the everyday app. it's awesome. i'm hoping with all the exercise i've been getting, that my face will get skinnier as the year goes on. :-)

for seven days in a row, i have done an intentional act of love.

this one can be hard for me sometimes because things can become boring and routine. saying "i love you" can be just something you do all the time. this has forced me to really think about how i respond toward paul and the things i do for him. it's been really great to evaluate my actions and pay attention to how i express my love to him.

week one was a smashing success, and i'm looking forward to seeing what week two holds!

a mile a day in 2012

every year, i have the goal of getting healthy and losing weight. this year, i decided that instead of a vague, general goal i would pick something small and easy to measure. so, this year, one of my goals is to do a mile every day. i can get that mile in using any human-powered means i'd like-walking, running, biking, swimming, etc.

i know what you're thinking-a mile is not that much. and you're right. it's really not that much and i'm hoping that as the weeks go by i will increase my miles per day until i'm up to five or six.

however, i needed something simple to get myself started. an easy, attainable goal that i could do to change my life. something to get me moving a bit more each day. it's about being intentional with my life and health and level of activity.

my only rules are that the mile has to be attained using human-powered means (obviously), and that it has to be done all at once (none of that, oh i've gotten a mile in from walking up and down the stairs doing laundry-extra mileage from normal day-to-day activity is just an added bonus).

i've been using mapquest's walking maps to mark out my path in order to make sure it's at least a mile. so far, we have two routes we enjoy. one is a straight shot along one of the main roads here, and another is walking around the block (well, more like three or four blocks) twice.

i still wear my fitbit every day to track all the extra movement and have been trying to pay extra attention to how much i move/don't move during the day so i can get extra exercise in as well.

i've also been taking instagram photos of my feet each walk as another way of keeping track (it will make a pretty cool photobook at the end of the year). i'll try to share them here every so often and update on how it's going. :-)

Here are the first two for the year (so far i'm two for two!!!)

jan 01-1.39 miles total

jan 02-walked after dark 1.06 miles total

intention 2012: my goals

i did decent with last year's goals. this year, however, i tried to choose fewer goals and i tried to be a bit more intentional about what i put on my list.

i decided to focus on the things that i really want to accomplish, and added in some bigger-dream items as well. i wanted some challenges, but i also wanted to be able to complete most of them this upcoming year.

some of them are roll-overs from the 2011 list-things i didn't accomplish, or things i did accomplish, but loved and want to do again. often, the number has increased (from 31 days to 300 or 12 books read to 55).

some of them are new for this year. new places to visit and new things to try.

some are more definitive and specific, while others are more vague and open-ended.

i didn't really categorize them this year, i just sort of threw them onto my list as i decided upon them. i may organize them better later on, or perhaps i won't. we shall see.

without further adieu, here is my list:

my goals/intentions for 2012

• Do a mile each day (0/365)
• Get books on around the mountain hikes to prepare
• Bike the springwater corridor
• Play tennis 15 times (0/15)
• Write daily gratitudes (0/365)
• Decorate tree/apt each month (0/12)
• Interior decorate the apt
• Read entire Bible
• Study Genesis-Leviticus
• Get new glasses and contacts
• Deep clean apt in march and september (0/2)
• Become fluent in Spanish
• Read 55 books (0/55)
• Create 2012 mission statement
• Work on family tree
• learn to locate all 50 states on a map (0/50)
• learn the countries of 3 continents (0/3)
• take a workshop
• choose three topics to learn more about (0/3)
• send cards to family once a month (0/12)
• have a weekly date/family night (0/52)
• do an intentional act of love each day (0/365)
• read 12 books with paul (0/12)
• create our 2012 family mission statement
• restock etsy shop with scavenger hunts
• blog 300 times (0/300)
• pair photos with words a la habit  for 300 days (0/300)
• weekly self-portrait (0/52)
• monthly family portrait (0/12)
• make Christmas gifts
• knit a grey scarf
• do 30 crafty projects (0/30)
• sew a camera strap
• make a quilt
• make garlands each month (0/12)
• make felt hair clips
• crochet afghans for littles (0/4)
• make art for the walls
• make 30 paintings (0/30)
• create advent system
• make 30 minibooks (0/30)
• organize iTunes
• create 20 playlists (0/20)
• photograph our home and blog it
• photograph our neighborhood
• photograph our city and blog it
• project 365 (0/365)
• do four photo studies (0/4)
• do four photo scavenger hunts (0/4)
• scan mom’s photos
• design baby book
• halloween costumes
• attend christmas tree lighting downtown
• watch fireworks on 4^th
• visit farmer’s market
• go on 2 picnics
• visit Mt. St. Helens again
• go swimming
• visit Mt. Rainier NP
• visit Cascades NP
• visit John Day Fossil Beds NM
• visit 12 state parks
• go on 5 day hikes
• get in 5 bag nights
• star-gaze 10 nights (0/10)
• explore 2 new towns (0/2)
• explore Seattle
• go canoeing
• go beachcombing/tide pooling twice (0/2)
• ride the aerial tram
• explore 25 PDX parks (0/25)
• explore 6 PDX neighborhoods (0/6)
• visit OMSI
• visit PDX art museum
• go to a festival or concert
• home cooked meals for 31 days (0/31)
• make pizza from scratch
• bake bread
• make homemade jam
• eat at 6 food carts (0/6)
• get voodoo doughnuts
• bake 10 cupcakes from Martha stewart book (0/10)
• try five new recipes (0/5)
• try new kind of food
• get a passport
• find a photo booth
• drive a scenic byway
• hike every mile of trail in forest/Washington parks

an intentional 2012 (my olw)

this year, my one little word came easy. intention. it's at the core of what i want my 2012 to be. 

i want to make conscious decisions this year. i don't want to float through each day simply to get to the next. i don't want to do the same things simply because that's what i've always done, or because it's easy.

i want to make plans and stick to them. to do things with purpose. to live adventurously and spontaneously, while intentionally living in those moments and savoring them.

i want to develop and nurture my relationships. with Jesus. with paul. with family. with friends.

i want to take control of my health. intentionally getting exercise each day and intentionally making wiser choices in the things i eat.

i want to create. to choose projects that i will love to make and love once their made. to record the stories of our life and capture the moments through photographs.

i want to build a home. creating a nurturing and organized environment in our little apartment. finding places for everything and decorating it in a way that is us.

i know the saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions", but that's not the kind of intention that i'm talking about. i'm talking about being mindful and present and aware of the decisions i am making and the things i'm doing.

i want to take every moment, every word, every thought, every action captive this year. i want to immerse myself fully into each and every moment, decision and thing that i do. i want to live with intention-not aimlessly or carelessly, but with an eye toward the goal.

you can view my goals for 2012 here and my pinterest board dedicated to intention here :-)