Chilly

 It's one of those days when I can't seem to get warm. The temperature is hovering a little tiny bit above freezing all day and that's the temperature I struggle with. It is going back down tomorrow and will hover (daytime high) around freezing. I have decided to turn the little heater on to help try to warm me up. I haven't just been sitting still all day but it doesn't seem to matter how much I'm moving around! 

I walked this morning. It was dull, gray and icy. We didn't see a lot of anything except some robins. The lake is lightly freezer except for a track the beavers must be making from their lodge. My walking friend and I walked around for a little while and got in nice walk. I had no errands to run today so went straight home. 

I did some crafting. I also began tidying up a bit in the craft room. I know that I got some things ready for projects, but when the holidays came I tucked them away. So now I have to find up the bits I bought that were supposed to work together so I can work on the projects. It might be messier before it starts to get better. Hopefully once things are tidied up I shall be able to find the things I want a little easier. This is part of my year long goal. I had been working on the craft room and then the holidays came and it all went...well, I didn't get it done. There seems to be a lot around the house that is that way.

I am thinking of where to head next regarding photography. I've thought a little about opening an Etsy shop but that would require some research. I had - you might remember - thought about creating some cards using photos. I liked that idea and did get some done and then - you've guessed it - I got distracted. That seems to be the story of my life!

Photo today - some prints I ordered when the print place had a good deal. 

2021 - Create - My Word

 Happy New Year!

It was a happy, yet slightly tearful chat with Mum as we saw in the new year together. We are both hopeful that I will be able to go visit this year. She was glad she stayed up when the firework and light display came on. I didn't stay up for the US midnight ball drop. To be honest I just couldn't be bothered. Hubby had already gone to bed as he had been up since 4.30am for work and son was downstairs playing video games. I watched some of the New Year's Eve thing on the telly but it wasn't really that interesting so I went to be. 

This morning we managed to get out before the freezing rain started. We took a really cold walk along the beach. By the time we made it back into town the freezing rain had started. I spent my afternoon tidying and doing some crafting. 

I have chosen a word of the year this year. Create. I think I've picked this word before, but it really sums up what I want to accomplish this year. I am not doing a bunch of resolutions as once broken or a slip up occurs I tend to give in and give up. Instead I think that goals will help me plod along and, if I do slip up, I can get right back on the wagon and try again. 

Create :-

* A decluttered, tidy home. As we are spending more time at home I find myself wanting to get rid of things that don't make me happy. I am not purging everything and it won't be in huge chunks, but more a little at a time, manageable goals.

* Lists to help me with time management and to keep on track with goals. I have slipped on doing this, but I find they do really help. I want to get my time management under control this year as I find myself becoming distracted and not getting things done around the house that I want, instead I spend time on things that bring me joy. There's an imbalance here that does not make me happy. 

* Meal Plans. Slipped on this. I like meal plans, at least weekly plans that give me the option to switch things around. I find this helps with the food budget and it helps me not stress out about what's for dinner. I also need to plan more meals for me as I tend to just cook for the guys (they are meat-eaters) and I end up not eating very healthily. 

* Budget. I must admit this is not a strength of mine. There are places where we could save money. I know this. It's not about giving up everything, just being more aware of how I am spending money. 

* Crafts. I really enjoy doing all manner of crafting. Sometimes that means that things don't get used or I buy things for a project, put them aside and by the time I get around to them I've forgotten what the project was!  Last year I was pleased to work on some cross stitch projects that had been sitting around for a long time. I want to continue doing this. This crosses with time management as I tend to be watching birds or doing photography and not as many crafts. 

* Photos. This has really kept me going this past year. I find it really stress relieving. I find myself  losing time as I am walking talking photos or watching birds and taking photos. There are so many goals that I want to accomplish in my photography life this year that it will be a separate post once I've managed to get all my thoughts together. 

Seems a little bit garbled and I'm sure I've missed something, but I wanted to get some thoughts down. I think they all lead back to the Create Word though. 

End of the Year/New Word of the Year

Yikes. It feels like the last few weeks have just flown by! I can't believe it's New Years Eve already. We won't be doing much of anything. I do ring my Mum and 'see in' the new year with her. It's something we've done for years now.

Daughter made it home. She said it got a bit hairy around the bottom of Lake Michigan - near white-out conditions, but when she got past that it wasn't too bad. Just a long drive. It ended up taking her close to twelve hours. At least she made it home safely. Middle son came up to visit though I wish he'd stayed home as it snowed a little more, the roads are really bad and there have been a lot of accidents. People still seem to drive really fast for the conditions. Hopefully once he's home my stomach will settle.

The New Year got me thinking about a new word for the year. Do you ever choose a new word for a new year? It's a word you're supposed to choose that best describes what you would like to obtain in the new year. That's the way I take it anyway.

Last year my word was ADVENTURE. I wanted to try new things and go new places. Overall I think I did pretty well. Hubby and I had lots of new adventures - we went to some new places and did some new things. It was a really good year for adventures though we never reached some of our other goals. I've been trying to think of my word for next year. I wanted one that could encompass lots of different things. I've thought about using BOLD - I'm shy and an introvert so that would be daring, or CREATE - something I definitely want to do next year, but I settled on EXPLORE.

I think it's pretty similar to last year, but it sets up nicely what I plan on doing - explore new places and new things, explore new ventures in life, explore new creative things I'd like to give a go or finish. So that's my word.

I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve. Stay safe and warm. See you next year!