My January in Numbers

A could do a traditional month in review, but this is a different way to think about things:

180 -  hours I've spent in the office this month (who knew January was a busy month for me??)
1 - little puppy who will join our family soon!

456 - pictures I've uploaded from this month in the attempt to complete my Project Life layouts

0 - actual layouts completed in Project Life :(

28 - pounds of ground beef I've cooked up in the last week so I won't have to spend as much time cooking in the evening (meatballs, hamburger patties, seasoned ground beef, etc.)

325 - wedding invitations made for Brent & Saranne (I'll post pics as soon as they're mailed...)

1 - snow day taken so far this year, though this week isn't looking great...

15 - awesome family members at lunch yesterday in celebration of Whitney's graduation. Congrats, Master!!
3 - sweet little cows living in our barn. Norman came home on Saturday and I already love him to pieces.
2 - hours spent at lunch with my sweet friend Jessi last Friday - so good to catch up with her!

Dates I'm looking forward to in February:
14th - when my nephew turns 5. I can't believe he's growing up so quickly!
2nd - when it's 3 years since I first met Mike
8th - when my friend Patty turns 30!
20th - when we get to throw Saranne's sweet wedding shower
5th - when we celebrate with the village of Unadilla at Groundhog Day!
13th - when I finally get to see some new friends of mine instead of just chatting with them on facebook

Oh, For Heaven's Sake...

(I say Oh, for Heaven's sake all the time and someone told me last week she hadn't heard that phrase since her grandma passed away...which made me smile, because I picked the phrase up from hearing my grandma saying it while we were growing up)

Here I thought writing that post earlier in the week would get me back on track with blogging and taking photographs. I thought once things calmed down, I'd get right back into the swing of things. Ha. When I saw how long it had been since I posted regularly, I actually said, "Oh, for Heaven's sake" under my breath, to myself.

Apparently, I'm more worn out than I thought. I took a nap last night when I got home from work...it lasted 90+ minutes! Then I was back in bed not 2 hours later and slept through the night. I guess I needed the rest.

So, in honor of that, how about some heavenly bedrooms? (Groan)

(All the above pictures are from Country Living)

(Ashley Ann's daughter's room...so stinking cute!)

(I can't remember where I saw this, sorry!!)

And on a completely unrelated note...I want my dining room table to look like this when we get our giant table....

(Also from Country Living)

I'm really aching to get started on my dining room makeover (at least the parts I can do now), but I haven't done anything because I'm still looking for window treatments. I don't want to just settle on something because I feel like I did that the last time I decorated the dining room, but I'm getting so impatient!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Here's the Skinny...

I'm failing miserably at life, beyond doing exactly what I have to do. There are just not enough hours in the day!

I wish I had Project Life updates to share. I don't. I've been terrible...I haven't journaled, I've barely taken pictures, honestly it hasn't even moved off the desk in my dining room I put it on after week one. I'm sad...because I'm so excited about this project and I haven't made it a priority.

Here's some links to people who are actually doing what they're supposed to do:

Ali Edwards
Michelle Wooderson
Simply Autumn
Super Organiser Mum

If those ladies don't inspire you, I don't know what will :)

The good news is that after tonight, life seems to be calming down just slightly. I might actually have time to get some sleep at night, which I'm really looking forward to!

In other exciting news...Mike & I should be going to meet the newest additions to our family this weekend. First, another new little moo should be joining our family. This one will be named Norman (Normie for short). Anyone who gets that reference is awesome in my eyes. The second addition will be a husky puppy. We'll hopefully get him or her in the next few weeks (they were just born a couple weeks ago). Mike & I have been talking about getting another dog for awhile, and I couldn't get him completely on board. I know he's always wanted a husky (just like I always wanted my bratty little pug), and the other dogs I suggested to him didn't really get a reaction from him. Then he heard about these huskies and is genuinely excited to get one, so who am I to argue? Plus, they are freaking adorable! I'll hopefully have pictures of all the creatures to post next week.

And finally, we butchered this weekend and now have a freezer full of meat. Which means I'm inspired to cook again, so hopefully I'll have some yummy recipes to share in the coming weeks (that I'll also be including in my Project Life layouts).

I hope everyone is off to a fantastic start to this week. If you're local, enjoy the weather, it's awesome!! (If you're not local, it's about 25 degrees outside, which is like a heat wave compared to the weather we had last week.) I see you, Spring!!

Project Life: Photograph Prompts

Hi kids!

I wasn't planning to post anything today, because I didn't really have anything to say. Work is crazy, invitation making is crazier, and that's that. However, I've been thinking about Project Life and making sure I'll stay accountable to myself and my personal goal. While I never intended this to be a POTD project, I do want to make sure I'm taking photographs regularly throughout the week. Some days, I may use 3 or 4 photos (especially during important events), and other times, I may skip 3 or 4 days.

Anyway, if I'm ever looking for prompts or ideas for photographs, I intend to come back to this list. If you're doing PL, hopefully this might give you some ideas for things to take photos of. (all the photos I've included are mine from my P365 last year, that I failed miserably at!)

Food & recipes - I've talked about this before. Each week (or most weeks anyway), I'd like to take a picture of my finished meal, and include the recipe on one of the bi-fold journaling cards.

(Meatball pizza...yum)

Nature - I've talked about this one too. Definitely want to capture all of the beautiful places around us that we see daily...and the changing of the seasons (This would be fun whether your nature is the farm like us, or a bustling city)

Decor - this is such a hobby of mine and I spend so much time thinking about what our house should look like, it only makes sense for me to record how our house looks. I can take photos of different vignettes, or seasonal displays that I put together. When I re-decorate a room, photographs (before & after) will be a must. And when I'm shopping for just the right item (like a huge rug for my mudroom), I can take photos in stores for inspiration.

Project Life - where am I in the project, photographs of me taking photographs, pictures of the supplies I use, etc.

Hobbies - what books am I reading, what shows or movies are we watching, what craft projects am I working on.

(One of my storage units in my craft studio)

Events. Duh. :)

Pets - how they grow over time, enjoying different seasons, interacting with each other or their friends, interacting with guests

Goals - write them down (that'll be fun to look back on later), and photograph things that relate to them. We have a goal of being 75% self-sufficient within the next 5 years...what are we doing to work toward that goal? (Take photos of our garden, the canning process, butchering, etc.)

Ordinary tasks - keeping a schedule is never ending in our house, so we could take a picture of our full calendar. Or the laundry pile. Or clean dishes after a holiday meal. Or my china stacked up on the dining room table before a big dinner. Or a freshly made bed, because the dog can mess it up. I also would like to keep grocery receipts or receipts from filling up gas in the cars (hello, $3.09? Gas was around $1.00/gallon when I first started driving, just 11 years ago)

Work life - for both of us, work is a huge part of our daily life. Between the drive to/from work, and actually being at work itself, we're talking about 12 hours a day. So, when I can, I'll take pictures of work situations or things I do at work. And the commute - 3 hours a day in a car is a big chunk of my life in a year (780 hours or 32 and a half days...gah). Seems silly to leave that time out of my PL album.

People in our lives - do you have all the same friends you had 5 or 10 years ago? Or even last year? Chances are, the answer is no. Document friendships that are important to you now. Take photos of new additions to your family.

(Quite possibly the cutest child ever!)

What I wore - it's always so hilarious to me to look back at what I was wearing a few years ago (and what I wouldn't be caught dead in now).

Gadgets - think about all the technology that crosses your path every week: cell phones, computers, ereaders, video games, etc. I should really take a picture of myself texting in one hand and holding my Nook in another hand (as is often the case on weekends)

Anti-gadgets - what I mean by this is, are there things you still do the old-fashioned way? For example, I won't read a newspaper online...I have to buy the real thing. Or are there certain books you won't buy on an ereader? Or old school video games you love to play? (We still have an original Nintendo gaming system at my dad's house that my brother and I break out whenever we are there and have some spare time)

Must-haves - are there things in your life that are absolute favorites right now? (Mine would be dr. pepper & cupcakes) Maybe it's a starbucks coffee. Maybe it's your next Sookie Stackhouse book (that's on my list too). Maybe it's a specific kind of pen or your favorite shoes. Whatever it is, document it with a photo and explain why you love it so much.

(One of the SS books, I had to buy in hardcover because I just couldn't wait)

You time - I don't know about you, but I don't get much time to actually do something for myself, by myself. When I do, it's worth documenting. Like a trip to the bookstore for some coffee and browsing. Or maybe a shopping trip. Use the self-timer on your camera!

(From one of my many trips to the craft section at B&N)

The not so great moments - they're part of life. Find a way to document them. If it's a death in the family, maybe have lunch at their favorite restaurant and share memories. Or include a card that was especially touching. Or maybe it's a mishap at home. In 2010, for us, we had snow issues like crazy and our scheduled propane delivery wasn't able to happen...which meant we were in danger of not having heat in the middle of January. Here, I took a photo of our thermostat, but I could have easily taken a picture of us cuddled up under blankets all weekend, or sleeping in hoodies with our hoods up, or enjoying a ton of hot chocolate. Did your basement flood in those crazy spring rains? Take a picture of your kids in their rain boots, splashing in the puddles. Sure, the flooding isn't fun, but you might as well find a silver lining, right?

(We turned the head WAAAY down to conserve propane)

Whatever else inspires you - the key to this is always having a camera with you. Whether it's your bulky DSLR, a small point & shoot to keep in your purse, or even a camera phone - the quality of the photo doesn't really matter all the time. I think it's so much more important to just capture the memory. A grainy camera phone photo of my dog sitting on my desk last year on Take Your Dog to Work Day is so much cooler than risking her jumping down while I looked for my P&S in my purse. I laugh every time I see this picture.

(Miss Molly, when she insisted on jumping on top of my desk at work)

I hope that's helpful to someone out there other than me. But I know this list will help me keep on track if I'm not feeling inspired, or feel like I'm taking the same pictures over and over again.

Let me know if there are other things you want to be sure to include in your PL - I can use all the help I can get!

PS: I think these are good hints for scrapbooking in general. Up until a few years ago, I was only concerned with taking pictures at major events in my life (weddings, graduations, holidays)...I missed so much. Even though I haven't actually scrapbooked much in the last few years, I finally did start taking some photos of things that make up my everyday life.

I'm Dreaming Of...

• The ability to hang up my coat when I come home in the evening (our coat rack fell down on Christmas day. We've decided to retire it and figure out a new alternative.) Oh, and maybe a reason to have all those adorable little coats.

• Having a table next to our sofas so we can actually set our drinks somewhere other than the floor (where Molly likes to share.)

• This kind of ridiculous organization in my pantry. Hello, gorgeous.

• This bathroom. And the ability to shower without walking into my freezing cold basement.

• Having a reason to have a closet like this.

• Turning this (my current potting shed, on the left...sorry, best picture I have of the ugliness)

             Into this

• Curling up here

Happy Dreaming!

Snow Day!

Howdy, ya'll.

Monday was a snow day for us (as was Sunday, but we didn't really have anything scheduled anyway). So, how did we spend our snow day? Well, I stayed in my jammies (which was glorious) and napped some. Mike played some game on the computer, and we topped it off with a Law & Order: Criminal Intent Marathon, some Bachelor craziness, and a (sad for us) Auburn win of the BCS National Championship.

Saturday was a really great day with family and friends. Lots of giggling (in fact, I'm pretty sure I pulled a muscle in my side from laughing so hard) and the discovery of Bubble Gum flavored Vodka. So yummy. Go out and buy some immediately!

Sunday & Monday (when I wasn't napping) was embossing the heck out of some very pretty wedding invitations for Brent & Saranne. If possible, I'm more excited to see their finished product than I was to see my own wedding invitations. Cross your fingers that I'll get them all done in the next 10 days!!

For those of you doing Project Life, how has the first week gone for you? Mine actually went really well, and I think I'm going to break my rule about ordering photos monthy just so I can get a layout done to share on my blog. I'm so excited about everything. I thought it would be extremely hard to find enough pictures to fill 7 slots each week, but last week was a breeze. This week, I've already been having a harder time, just because we've had lazy days or extremely busy days, but I will make it happen! And, by the end of the week, I'll be able to show you my first layout.

Have a great day!

It's Here!!

My Project Life kit, that is!! I'm so stinking excited. I almost answered the door when UPS came. (I didn't, but I thought about it...I'm not a fan of answering our door. Yes, I'm a freak.)

Anyway, here's a sample of just about everything that comes in the kit (I got the Amber kit).

There's 12x12 cardstock that you can use for whatever you'd like in the album (there's no specific purpose). The flyer comes with as sort of an introduction to the project, as well as instructions on how to set things up in the album to get it all started.

The page on the left there is the beginning of the album, and there's a similar set up for the last page. I went ahead and put those together first. There's also a title card for each week, so I set all those up for all the weeks.

The album is already getting thick! (That's part of the last page in the picture.) (By the way, excuse the lighting in these, it was terribly dark and I couldn't wait to take pictures!)

So, in addition to all of that, there's also journaling cards that come in these cute little card boxes:

This one is my favorite pattern of the card boxes, so it's going in my purse for journaling on the go. There's a ton of different patterned cards in each of the 4 boxes.

I'm entirely too anal to use two of the same design of card in one layout, so I shuffled mine up "Go Fish" style.

Then I went ahead and put them back in their boxes, but this way, I won't accidentally reach for the same card two days in a row.

So, here's just a few things I'm thinking about for how my album will go over the course of this next year:

1. I plan to get my photos printed in bigger batches. I get emails from Shutterfly.com all the time for 50 free prints. So, chances are I'll get one of these offers at least once a month through one of my accounts and I'll go that route. I like the quality of their photos.

2. Because I'll get my photos printed in batches, I want to make sure to keep up on my journaling after I figure out which pictures I'll use. I plan to journal on a regular basis and then add my pictures once they're printed. Like this:

3. I was trying to figure out what I plan to put in my weekly layouts. My life is fairly boring, so I need to figure out some things that I can take photos of every week. One thing I want to do is take a picture of my surroundings. I'm constantly amazed by how beautiful it is living in the country (I hope that doesn't go away no matter how long we live here). So, why not take pictures of all the awesome things I see on a daily basis? Like this one, I took of our sunset through a bush:

The other thing I want to do each week is pick a recipe, take photos of the finished meal, and write the recipe on my journaling card. There are larger journaling cards included in the kit that are pre-folded and fit in the same pocket the journaling cards do, so I'll probably use those. I think it'll be interesting to look back at the meals we make and how they differ over the course of the year...and how my cooking habits change over the years. (I would have never guessed some of my typical meals would be what they are when I learned to cook a few years ago. Or that I would even learn how to cook.) Anyway, I think it will be fun to have 52 of our favorite recipes along with the photos of our everyday lives.

(I reserve the right to change my mind on any of these ideas if they don't work...or if I get lazy!)

Needless to say, I'm so happy that my kit it here and I'm finally able to work on things. I hope that I'll manage to stick with it all year, but I'm glad that it's flexible enough that I don't have to worry about falling behind and giving up.

Community Sadness

I tend to keep things pretty light-hearted around here, but occasionally, something serious does come up. Yesterday was one of those days.

In case you aren't local (I know the incident made national news as well though), there was a shooting at a local school, Millard South High School. One principal was hurt, and a vice principal was killed. By a student, who later took his own life.

While I don't know anyone at Millard South personally, I feel very connected to the Millard district since I lived there when I lived in Omaha. I also know of people who go there (relatives of co-workers, mostly).

To say this is awful is an understatement. For the poor woman who was killed. For the man who was injured. For the parents who lost a son. For the students who had to go through the whole incident. For the parents who worried about the safety of their children. For our community, as we are rocked once again by a senseless shooting.

Omaha is a big small town. Those of you who live here know that. Everyone's connected and there's the sense that we are all part of a small community. So it makes perfect sense that we're all shaken by this, and reminded of what happened at Von Maur just a couple years ago.

When the Von Maur shooting happened, I think everyone in the city had to come to terms with the fact that this kind of thing can happen in our community. I know I did. I'm experiencing that feeling all over again.

From everything I've heard, the administrators throughout the Millard district were amazing through the entire incident, including the lock down in all the schools afterwards. It's heart-warming to know that there are such competent, caring, responsible individuals working with the children in our community every day. I've also heard the Omaha Police Department worked swiftly and efficiently, and kept the situation as safe as possible. I feel blessed to work in a community where we can trust that law enforcement will keep us safe and protect us from the actions of those we can't understand.

Please pray for everyone affected by this terrible tragedy, and hope for peace in all of our communities.

Family Photos

Remember this post that was a sneak preview?

I can finally post these without ruining any surprises! My sister-in-law asked me to take pictures of her and my brother-in-law for the purpose of Christmas cards, so Mike & I planned to cruise the countryside with them for an afternoon in November. Then we decided to ask our other sister-in-law if she and her family would like to join us and we'd take a giant family photo and give it to my in-laws as a Christmas gift. Brilliant!

So, here's just a few of the photos (and you saw the whole family yesterday in my Twenty+Ten post):

So, over 1100 pictures later (literally), we came up with an awesome family picture that Ma & Pa loved and hung on their wall immediately. It was a really fun (long!) day, and I'm so glad we did it this way...especially since Lexi & Angel left right before Christmas. I'm glad we have photos of our entire family. 

Twenty + Ten

Seems like most blogs are doing a year in review post, and I'm not entirely sure my memory is long enough to get back to January. (Isn't that weird? Can't remember the last year, but I can still tell you the names of everyone in my 6th grade class. Loony.)

So, instead, I thought I'd tell you my 20+10 list...20 things I accomplished or great memories from the year, and 10 goals I have or things I didn't accomplish last year but will this year. Sound good? Let's get started (in no particular order).

Twenty
1. I was promoted to Marketing & Fundraising Director for our organization. Woohoo. Not only was this awesome because I really do love this piece of my job and all the challenges that come with it (I'm still doing a day a week in HR as well)...I was just thrilled to be working full time again. My hours were cut January 1, and I was back to full time by the beginning of May. Thank. Goodness.
2. I started this blog, launched Vogt Design Co. & finally figured out what I want to do in my life.
3. Mike & I celebrated our 1st anniversary in Estes Park, CO.

4. We met our amazing foster nieces this year (Kayla, Angel & Lexi) and love them to pieces...and already miss Angel & Lexi like crazy. 

5. We welcomed Scooter & Buster (our calves) to the family, and I'm adjusting to all sorts of new (disgusting) smells on our farm. (The picture is of Scooter, we got Buster later on)
6. We started our new patio & my awesome brother-in-law finished it, and we were able to enjoy it for the first time this fall.
7. I participated in the Week in the Life project and haven't put my album together yet, but at least the pictures and the journaling are there :) (You can read all those posts in my May archives)
8. I rediscovered my love of junking, and spent many hours in antique and junk shops, and Mike & I made our first trip together to the Walnut, IA antique walk in June.
9. Mike got me the most amazing birthday present ever, my new DSLR camera. I still love it to pieces and think it's the best present imaginable.
10. Miss Molly made it through 2 years of her little life, and quite frankly, I'm shocked. She has no idea how dangerous some of her behavior is (playing in the street, chasing tractors, licking cow hooves). Don't think we don't try to stop this ridiculousness, but she inherited her mommy's stubbornness.
11. We (Mike & I & his family) canned over 12 dozen jars of pickles and at least 4 dozen jars of peaches. It was a good year for produce in our family.
12. I spent much time at craft shows trying to get rid of some of the stuff I make :)
13. There was much home decor going on, including my living room (which has changed again since this post), my guest room, and my craft room.
14. Mike & I became Night Hawks fans (the Omaha UFL team) and spent an evening at one of the best football game I've ever been to, and many more evenings listening to their games on the radio or computer.
15. We also spent our fall evenings attending many Elmwood-Murdock volleyball and football games. Great way to spend a fall.
16. We spent a lot of summer evenings at Game Night with Mike's family til the wee hours of the morning...ah, Phase 10, I love ya.
17. We hosted Christmas eve dinner at our house, and had one of the most relaxing holiday weekends of my life...we're truly blessed to be able to take part in all the celebrations we do.
18. I discovered many of my favorite blogs this year, and spend countless hours reading my favorite ones over and over.
19. This has been an amazing year for good news in our family (and extended family of friends) - Brent & Saranne got engaged, Kara & Javier had beautiful baby Raven, Eric & Karie got engaged, Jessica & Paul had handsome baby David, Sean & Danielle got married, Maria & Andy had precious Nora (who I finally got to meet the other day...such a sweetheart!), Amber & Josh got married, my brother met Nicole (and I love her to pieces), Cheri & Kevin had little Kirstin (who I still need to meet!)...and I'm sure there's more I'm not even remembering right now. Seriously, this was an amazing year so many people in our lives, and us by extension.
20. The best part of this year is that I got to spend it with my husband. Sappy is it sounds (and is), I'm so glad that I got to experience all of this with my very best friend and the love of my life!

Ten
1. I will redecorate my dining room. Has to be done.
2. Project Life will happen. Maybe not in the way I'm currently imagining it, but it will be a completed project by this time next year.
3. I'd like to actually think about starting a family this year.
4. I'd like to come up with a way to be more organized at home. Seems a lot of our time is spent running around, catching up, being tired, and entirely too busy. I want to enjoy the things we do rather than thinking about the next thing we have to get done.
5. I'd like to make some progress on my Etsy store, and gain some business for Vogt Design Co. in some way or another.
6. I want a new puppy. I think I've almost gotten Mike talked in to it. Molly needs a friend :)
7. I'd like to learn more about my camera and photography so I can take better pictures and really use my camera to it's potential.
8. I want to take more time for things I really enjoy...whether it's sitting down and reading a good book (on my new Nook...thanks hubby!), or spending time with friends scrapbooking and making cards. I need that time for me to make my life more balanced.
9. I want to cook more meals...I've gotten into a very bad habit of going out for lunch, and picking up fast food on the way home for dinner. It's so ridiculous and expensive. I love to cook, I just need to get back in the habit of doing it every night.
10. I want to redesign my garden in such a way that I can actually keep up with it....we always get plenty from our garden, but I can't imagine how awesome it would be if we gave it the time and attention it deserves. We'd definitely be on our way to being more self-sufficient.

Whew! That was harder than I thought it would be...especially the Twenty part. I remember having a really good year, but the details took some thinking.

Anyway...I hope 2010 was great for you all, and that 2011 will be even better! (I also hope my Project Life kit comes today...I'm seriously obsessing!)

Happy Tuesday!

Hello, Organization

Are you like me? At the start of the new year, do you get obsessed with organizing? I do a little spring cleaning, but most of my "spring cleaning" stuff seems to happen around the first of year. I want to de-clutter and organize and think about how we can make our house run more efficiently.

Why is it that I don't want to cook dinner at night? Well, probably because I'm too lazy to take meat out of the freezer each morning, especially if I didn't already have to walk downstairs. What solution can we come up with for this? (I'm thinking we'll have a bin that goes from the deep freezer in the basement to the refrigerator upstairs, and I can plan out what meat I'll need for the week. Then it can defrost all at once, and I don't have to wait on it each night when I should be cooking. Plus, my lazy butt can handle one trip to the freezer each week.)

Why is it that when we do go grocery shopping (which really only happens every 6 weeks or so), I can't find room to put things away? Well, probably because even though I have a huge pantry, it's not exactly organized. Everything has it's place, but when the cereal box won't fit on the cereal shelf (as 50% of them don't), it ends up on the snack shelf. And let's face it, I'm not going to be eating rice chex for a snack unless they're covered in the seasoning for chex mix and baked at 250 degrees for an hour. But when the rice chex are in the spot for my Lays, and the Lays are left out on the counter, guess where I go for a snack? Why, it's right to the bag of 'tater chips that's hanging out on my pantry counter.

Speaking of pantries, how beautiful are these?

The first one is from Becky Higgins' pantry makeover, the other two I've managed to lose the sources for.

(By the way, do you feel like it's a sign that you're getting older when you start thinking pantries are fun to look at? Or when you're excited to get a new vacuum? My husband says I used to be fun...)

Oh, and how about this for organized? (Also from Becky Higgins)

We don't have a ton of bathroom "stuff", but as we're looking in to moving our master bedroom to the main level, we'll be combining our "linen closet" with what will become our dresser. (Our dresser doesn't actually fit into any of our bedrooms, but it's currently hanging out in the hallway just outside our bedroom. However, there's absolutely nowhere for it to go on the first floor, so it will become storage for now until we have kids living on the second floor.) In order to fit all of our bathroom stuff, plus dresser stuff in this one built-in closet and 3 drawers, it's going to take some real organizing.

I'm going to try to be motivated and not let my follow-through issues get the best of me this organization season. Traci at Beneath My Heart and her sister Cyndi are hosting a series of tips on Organizing your Heart & Home. I think I shall join in, for at least a couple of the projects (their series includes closets, kitchens, bathroom and laundry room).

How about you? Will you be joining in? Which area in your home needs the most organizing? And when do you find yourself getting that urge to get things in order?

Happy Monday, all!

Follow-Through

One of my biggest struggles in life is my lack of follow-through. This is not a new issue for me or one that I haven't been able to recognize. It's just part of my make-up, for whatever reason, annoying as it may be.

I'm an ideas person. I always thought I'd be a really great consultant for something. Come in to a project before it starts, think up all sorts of good ideas, brainstorm, and come up with an outcome. And then walk away and not have to do any of those pesky tasks that come after the initial brainstorm. I'm a problem-solver. I come up with solutions. I think outside the box.

Life isn't only about the initial idea though. Some things do actually have to get done, at some point.

Even things I'm genuinely excited to do and have tons of ideas for, never seem to get done in a timely manner, or done completely. Take Christmas decorating, for example. I have a TON of decorations I love, that bring up so many great emotions. I love to decorate, and I love the finished product. The weekend after Thanksgiving, Mike & I hauled all the decorations up from their storage spot in the basement. I thought, this year is finally the year I'll have my decorations up in the first week of December. Enter my lack of follow-through. I wasn't finished decorating until about 2 hours before our dinner guests arrived on Christmas eve, and I didn't even get half of what I wanted up. Yeah, it was a super feeling. Maybe that's why I leave my decorations up until Valentine's Day. :)

So, I have all these great ideas for 2011...both professionally and personally. Things I'm very excited to do (launching a new website at work, redecorating our dining room, learning more about my camera and photo editing programs, some product ideas that would eventually end up in my Etsy store...well, the list goes on and on). Will I do them? I genuinely hope so. My intentions are good.

I just have to figure out how to make it happen.

I hope everyone had a great NYE. I know we did!