this year i put a bit of structure around a few different areas which i wanted to focus some thought and energy into improving. they include personal growth, home life, family connection, health and something just for me.
personal growth
saying hello when i see someone i recognize
i am inherently a very shy person. i have been all my life. and i have found since being home with finn and out of the traditional work force, that i have really reverted back to being quite quiet in many situations that i had once improved. one thing i have noticed a lot lately, is that i dont normally acknowledge people that i might have previously known or met. unless they say hi, i am really bad at speaking up and being the first to start a conversation. this might sound like a silly little thing, but since moving to vancouver, there are MANY situations that i find myself in where i have met someone before (many years ago while visiting here, or they too are from calgary, or i follow them on instagram) and nine times out of ten i will smile but break eye contact immediately and scurry away. i just really want to force myself out of my comfort zone to simply say hi. its something jeff does often and i admire very much, so really, i need to start doing this.
home life
purge / declutter / organize
we really have too much stuff, so it's on my list to reduce our load greatly. i am a big believer in astrology- call me supersticious perhaps, but a lot of mine (and jeffs) 2014 forecast are calling for change- particularly around careers and where we live, so if we are going to be moving once again, i don't want to be carting around half that junk we have. my motto for 2014 is 'away it goes'.
family connection
limiting screen time
i loathe how much time i spend starring in front of a screen. texting, emailing, instagraming... its all too much. and i know its setting a horrible precedent for finn. he sees me and thinks its ok or normal. having a few hours a day where i disconnect, and working up to a weekly disconnect day (or days) is my hope. this also applies to finn though. too much ipad/dvd watching and its definitely starting to show. again, creating some structure around specific times for watching shows, and disconnecting outside of those hours.
health
eat more greens and spend time outdoors every single day
since moving here we have definitely increased our outdoors time, but i still find there are days where we keep cooped up inside. days when it rains or is chilly and we opt to drive rather than walk. lately we have discovered a few really wonderful forest wandering spots and finn has started to really enjoy exploring, so i would love to spend some more time doing this- every weekend if we can. and to really try to get outside every day- even if its just for a walk around the block. also- more greens. that's a constant goal in life- if we could eventually eat as many green vegetables as our naturopath recommend, that would be amazing :)
something just for me
create more
last year i learned a lot of new things, but none of them very well. i tried and dabbled and explored, but didn't finish much of what i started and didn't perfect anything i really enjoyed. this year will be about strengthening those skills. finishing projects, making more and buying less, getting back into things i once really enjoyed- gardening, photography, cooking, sewing, crafting, letter writing... and of course trying a few new things along the way.
