Goals Roundup- Week 1

It's not even been two full weeks and I have fallen off the New Year Goal wagon already (I haven't worked out in 4 days!)! I realize that I need some accountability to hold me to these goals. so... here we go...

1. 365 project: So far, I'm on track with this one!

1. Day 1, 2. Day 2, 3. Day 3, 4. Day 4, 5. Day 5, 6. Day 6

2. Work out at least an hour a day: well.... I think an hour might be an overly ambitious goal, especially with the wii fit. It seems that for me to accumulate an hour of workout time on the wii, I need to devote at least an hour and a half to it.

12/31- 30min

1/1- 1 hour

1/2- 1 hour

1/3- 30 min

1/4- 1 hour

1/5 & 1/6- NONE :(

I took the weekend off, and now it's Wednesday and I haven't worked out since Friday. Looks like I have a date with my wii tonite.

3. Cut out sugar and eat fewer carbs eat more veggies: That's a pretty vague goal. I'm going to ammend this to eat more veggies (at least two servings a day) instead of less carbs. I drank my coffee this week (with the exception of some truly awful diner coffee) sans sugar. But I did eat some cookies and had some chocolate. For the most part, I did well on the living without sugar. I can do better, though.

4. Finish Projects: First project nearly complete: felted clogs. Only one more step left before this one is knocked off my list! My yellow scarf is nearly complete. I estimate that this will be completed next weekend.

5. Home Projects:  Happy to report that the last two curtain rods have been puchased. One curtain rod has been installed in the loft and and has temporary curtains--this of course means that the bedroom now has none so we'll call this goal half complete.

Hopefully posting this will keep me accountable, honest and on track. I would love any encouraging words, or any tips you have to help me stay on track with these goals. Oh, and feel free to call me out when I don't post (most likely due to me slacking with one/all my goals). Sometimes, I need tough love!

Let's do this!

New Year, New Goals

Since it's early January (3rd day as of this writing) I've been feeling the need to work my resolutions, er... goals, for the new year. Usually, I make my goals around my birthday, but I suppose last September I was a little preoccupied. So, here they are:

1. A 365 photo project. (Did I hear my friends groan? sorry...) I've been feeling terribly uninspired lately, so I'm hoping that by forcing myself to take a photo every day, it will spark some creative juices. I'll be posting these on my flickr account.

2. Work out at least an hour a day. (I know, how original...) My wii fit just told me that my size 12 ass is obese. If that's not a motivator, I don't know what is.

3. Also, cut out sugar and eat less carbs. All this working out isn't going to amount to anything if I don't quit eating nutella straight out of the jar (sorry, nutella... I've got to break up with you. Again.)

4. FINISH PROJECTS! I'm terrible at finishing what I start. I get so excited to start a project and about halfway, I completely lose interest (I'm onto the next new project!) I have so many half finished projects going on, it's a little out of control. My top three things to finish first? A pair of clogs i've been knitting for over a year, a scarf, and a granny square blanket that I started over 2 years ago!!!

5. Watch less TV. Seriously. This never used to be a problem, but G watches a lot of TV and has introduced me to some seriously well made shows (hello, Games of Thrones, I'm talking to you...) I would have much more time to workout (see goal 2) or finished projects (goal 4 and 5) if I spent less time in front of the boob tube.

6. Start working on miscellaneous projects around the house. There are a ton of things that need to be worked on and I haven't done much in the year and a half since we moved in. Top three things to fix/work on in the house? Get curtains for the loft and craft room (oh, hello everyone watching me workout to the wii!) I would like to get drawer pulls for the kitchen cabinets, and a new light fixture to replace the broken one in the downstairs powder room.

I have high hopes for actually completing these goals (of course, this is just the top 6 out of a list of about 82...) I already bought curtain rods for the upstairs rooms, and have been researching drawer pulls/knobs for the kitchen. And, I have a date with my good friend, R, on Sunday to finish up those darned clogs...

Okay, 2013, bring it! I'm ready for you!

The 10 Most Popular Blog Posts Ever (well, the 2012 Edition)

Despite not posting very often last year, there were a few post that were wildly popular!

Here are my 10 ten posts for 2012:

1. Crafty Connections- March 15

2. Granny Square Mania!

3. Wednesday Inspiration- April Showers

4. Cookies, Old School Style...

5. Crafty Connections- January 18th

6. Crafty Connections, April 26th

7. Wednesday Inspiration- Blizzard

8. Possibly the Best Cupcake Ever (Salted Caramel Cupcake)

9. 7 Tips to Help You Take Amazing Photos on Christmas Morning

10. Crafty Connections- May 10th

Goodbye 2012! A year in review

via katievaz

Hello! Happy New Year!

It's time for my obligatory "what I did last year" and my top 10 posts of the year (to be posted tomorrow.)  Unfortunately, I didn't post very often this year. To say it was a little hectic is putting it mildly! 

In January, I started (and failed!) a new 365 project. I made it through a few weeks only. (don't worry-- this year, I'll do better!) The year also started out with a touch of sadness-- my little bird, Pegleg, passed away.

February started off really well. My partner and I had the opportunity to photograph the sweetest newborn and family ever. G and I took a super fun long weekend trip to San Antonio and Austin, TX.

March was quiet. I'm sure I was planning wedding stuffs (not!)

In April, we suffered another little sadness. My other bird, Scooter, passed away to the great big birdcage in the sky. It wasn't all sadness in April, however. It was my turn to be the in front of the camera for our big engagement photo shoot (what a fun experience that was!)

May was a tough month. My grandma fell twice in one day and was rushed to the hospital. She spent a few weeks in the hospital recovering (she hit her head pretty badly, hurt her wrists, and twisted her knee) She was transferred to a rehab facility in early June.

June and July was spent mostly going to the rehab place every day to spend time with grandma to make sure she would eat at least one meal a day. She had a really really difficult time adjusting to being in the rehab facility (we all had a difficult time adjusting!) Oh, and I was still trying to plan a wedding somewhere in the middle of that mess.

We were able to photograph another awesome family in August. I also made my third trip to Texas for work as an Art Director for a few product video shoots. That was an incredibly cool experience. And I got to see my friend Robert and his wife, Vickie, once again. If you ever get a flat tire, Vickie is the babe to change it for you!

And the highlight of the year? September, for sure.  I got married! (3 1/2 months later and it still seems strange to write that...) We had a lovely small ceremony and reception. It was perfect. (Almost) exactly what I wanted. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. We left the next day for Maui and had an amazing time. (omg! I want to go back!)

October was spent getting settled into married life (still sounds weird to say that!) We also did a super fun Wizard of Oz themed Halloween  photo shoot with the world's most photographed little girl. November was nice and quiet. Spent Thanksgiving morning with my mom and G's dad for breakfast. Spent some time with Grandma at the nursing home in the afternoon, and had dinner with G's mom.

December honestly flew by. We had a maternity photo shoot early in the month (seriously, this job is so easy when the family is so good looking!) The rest of the month was spent being crazy busy at the real job and obtaining the perfect gifts for the families! And here we are! 2013 already!

7 Tips to Help You Take Amazing Photos on Christmas Morning

Hi! Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner? This month, heck, this year, has gone by so quickly! I'm looking forward to spending time with family, eating good food (some of which I will be cooking!) and having a few days off of work to unwind. 

But, before I begin my mini-vacation, I wanted to leave you with a post I wrote for A Different Light Photography detailing 7 simple steps to help you take amazing Christmas photos.

7 Tips to Help You Take Amazing Photos on Christmas Morning

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! See you in the new year!!!

-a