Onwards & Upwards

If you've been reading here for any length of time you'll know that since finishing university almost five years ago (holy cow, I feel old!) I've only ever worked contract jobs. My summers were always spent at camp where I worked as the assistant director. My winters were most often spent working a super boring, well paying office job. And my springs and falls were a mix of the two depending on that years budget for both organizations. Towards the end of this summer I knew something needed to change. I was exhausted from bouncing between jobs and totally switching gears every 4-6 months and I needed something more consistent. So I started looking.

More than anything I wanted to stay in camping. I had a degree in camping. My entire existence revolved around camp. As much as I hated the thought of relocating far from family and friends it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. I applied to and interviewed for jobs in almost every province, plus a couple of states. And none of the worked out.

Sometimes I made it to second round interviews, sometimes I sent off an application and never heard a word. To say I was disheartened and discouraged would be a massive understatement. One thing that I kept coming up against again and again was candidates who had prior experience with the organization. So when I saw a posting in early November with a non-profit that I have been interested in for years and that is known for hiring from with in I didn't bother applying. And then I got turned down for a position that I thought I had a really good chance at. And by got turned down I mean that I had an interview that lasted an hour and a half, they seemed really pleased with my answers, discussed setting up a second interview and potential start date. And I never heard from them again. 

Reluctantly I quickly changed a few words on my cover letter and resume to make them less campy and sent off my application to the previously mentioned non-profit. Weeks went by and I didn't hear anything. I assumed that they had an extensive pool of internal candidates and/or they couldn't see how my camp experience would translate to the position they were trying to fill. 

I reached out to camp and said that I was essentially done with the job search, I would most likely be returning to my role as AD in the spring (or sooner depending on the budget). After much discussion the decision seemed obvious. All of the no's were clearly an indication that I was supposed to spend another summer at camp. The day I was planning to publish a post announcing my decision I got an e-mail from the non-profit offering me an interview. 

I accepted and felt confident that I did a good job, but knew that most (or all) of the other interviewees were internal, I wasn't expecting anything to come of it other than give me something to do on a Thursday morning. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I was invited for a second interview. This one was entirely scenario based. Again, I was confident in my responses but knew that I probably could have done better with more direct experience within the organization. 

And then last week I got a job offer. If you had of told me at the beginning of all this the end result would be a position with an international non-profit for disabilities as human resource coordinator I never would have believed you. I also wouldn't have believed you if you told me that instead of trekking across the country or continent I'd be relocating two hours from home. 

My first day is Thursday and I'm still not entirely sure what I'm getting myself into, but I'm trusting that this is the way. The next few weeks will be full of change and transition and general chaos so stay tuned for many tales of adventure. 

Weekly Favourites

{one}

I mentioned in my What's Up Wednesday post that I had finally given the avocado for breakfast trend a try. I wouldn't consider it a life changing experience but I have been enjoying this newly discovered breakfast. It consists of an everything bagel, bacon, cheddar cheese and avocado. Breakfast is my least favourite meal of the day but I attempt to eat it because apparently it's important. I probably have a success rate of two or three times a week. Maybe someday I'll be a breakfast enthusiast. 

{two}

I feel a little obligated to include an update on the job front, especially since it's positive. I've been interviewing for a position all month (not even exaggerating). Earlier this week they officially offered me the position. I'm meeting with them on Monday to discuss details. Hopefully everything will come together and I will finally be done with job search stress. (And can move on to moving & starting a new job stress!) 

{three}

It has been extra dreary outside this week. The weather has shifted between snow, rain & freezing rain with lots of high wind. Coffee has become a top of my favourites list this week. When I first got the Keurig I was much more adventurous with my coffee choices. Now I usually stick to McDonald's brand with the occasional Starbucks or VanHoutte thrown in depending what's on sale. What are your favourite coffee pods? I think choosing McDonald's Coffee over Tim Horton's coffee might make me a bad Canadian but I think I make up for it with my love of Ketchup Chips. 

{four}

I spent an entire afternoon this week sorting through my stash of scrapbook paper. I got rid of anything that was too tiny to ever be useful. Since I've converted to Project Life my 12x12 papers were essentially useless, so I cut a bunch down to 4x6 which will make it much easier to incorporate them into my PL albums. I need to come up with some creative ways to use PL cards because I have way too many. I'm thinking I will use some as Valentine's Day cards and search Pinterest for more information.

{five}

I may not be interested in the antics of The Bachelor but ask me about almost any TLC show and I will happily have an in depth discussion. Whether it's the latest news from the Brown family or the adorableness of the Busby's, the fascinating psychology behind My 600 lb Life I can carry on a conversation. I have abandoned the Duggar's, but only sort of. I don't watch the show but I read up on their happenings from time to time. I like to think I'm not alone in my love of TLC, but I'm also pretty certain most folks choose to ignore the world of TLC. 

Word of the Week January

If you've been reading around here for awhile than you probably already know about my 2017 system of 'Words of the Week'. If you're new around here I'll get you up to speed. Instead of choosing One Little Word for the year, I chose 52 words. One for every week of the year. When I decided to use this strategy I didn't really know what it was going to look like and even a month in it's still evolving.

I choose my word (from this list) on Saturday or Sunday. I don't have any particular strategy for choosing a word. I pick whatever one happens to be speaking to me or a word that I think might relate to the week ahead. Then I search for a quote to go along with that word. It's a simple way of reflecting on the words and figuring out how I want to focus on it for that week.

I write my word and quote in the sidebar of my planner so that I see it everyday. 

For the first week of the year I choose the word abide and a quote that reminded me that when things are confusing and uncertain faith remains. And abiding in that faith that things will improve or work out the way they are supposed to is the best way for me to handle the unknown. It ended up being good motivation to take a few leaps and trust where I felt God was leading me. It was a good way to start the year. 

Thanks to some of those leaps I chose flow as my word for the second week of the year. As in, go with the flow. Little did I know that just when I thought I had a plan for how things were going to go I was an offered an interview with an organization that I had applied for weeks ago and wasn't expecting to hear anything from. And so plans sort of changed but I went with the flow. It was the perfect word for the week and even though I didn't have any particular reason to choose it 'flow' was exactly the thing I need to focus on that week. 

Last week I chose spark. I thought it would be a fun word for my birthday week because I associate sparks with candles and the beginning of something. It ended up being the word I connected with the least. I'm not sure if it was because I had other things going on that week but I wasn't feeling it. Possibly one of the best things about this Word of the Week strategy is the ability to let go of a word when you're not connecting to it the way you had hoped.

This week I'm embracing joy. This was a very conscious choice because I'm expecting to hear back about that job interview this week. And regardless of the outcome I want to choose joy. There's not a lot of excitement happening in my life right now and it's impossible to make plans when I'm never entirely sure if there will be an interview (or a job) around the corner. So my focus is choosing to find joy in all circumstances. Just because the situation may not be joyful, doesn't mean there's not joy in there somewhere. 

Originally I had thought about making a 6x8 album to document my words but I realized that wasn't something I wanted to commit to doing all year. So for now my words are documented in my planner and in my journal. I'm not really creating any rules around my words, I might continue to choose a quote for the week but I might not. My only requirement for myself is to choose a word for the week. So far I haven't wanted to carry on a word from one week to the next but I'm not ruling out the possibility of that happening. 

If you chose a word for the year are you sticking with it or has the initial enthusiasm wore off?

What's Up Wednesday - January 2017

My goal for the year is to participate in this link up every month so I have a consistent way to document the little currently things. So, let's get started with what's been going on in January!

What I'm Eating This Week: I finally gave the avocado for breakfast trend a try and enjoyed a bagel with bacon, cheddar cheese & avocado. It wasn't life changing but it is a good way to get more veggies (fruit? Someone let me know where avocados belong ) Also on the menu tacos, pasta & broccoli with Alfredo sauce, homemade pizza and sausages & rice.

What I'm Reminiscing About: I guess I'm just sort of reminiscing about everything that's happened over the last few months. 

What I'm Loving: Planning! You can check out my first month using my Happy Planner here. 

What I've Been Up To: This month I celebrated my birthday and got back into the swing of things after Christmas break. A lot of the month revolved around job searching and multiple rounds of interviews. And it looks like things are taking a turn in the right direction! But more on that later. 

What I've Been Dreading: I'm not great with change and I do believe there is lots coming my way. It's not the worst kind of dreading but the idea doesn't excite me. 

What I'm Working On: The past few days I've been busy completing paperwork for a Spark/Brownie sleepover in February. The girls will be there for less than 24 hours and there is still a mountain of paperwork that needs to be completed and submitted. 

What I'm Excited About: February looks like it's shaping up to be a pretty great month. I have concert tickets, a sleepover with my favourite girls and Valentine's Day. February is my favourite winter month because it goes by pretty quickly and then March feels so much closer to spring. My grandparents are also getting a puppy next week so that's exciting! 

What I'm Watching: I started the month watching Lock Up and being fascinated (and disturbed) my the jail/prison system in the US. Then I switched back to Friends because that never disappoints. I also watched Audrie & Daisy, which if you haven't watched it yet, you need to carve out some time and make that happen. I also sort of started watching Master of None and Scrubs. I'm looking for a good sitcom to watch so if you have any suggestions let me know. 

What I'm Reading: Currently reading Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. The history is fascinating, although the story is a little choppy. I'm only about half way through but I'd still  put it on my recommend to friends list.

What I'm Listening To: There have been multiple times this month when I've found myself listening to Run Devil Run by Crowder on repeat. Mostly though I listen to Friends for background noise.

What I'm Wearing: Fleece lined leggings and comfy long sleeved tees. I know I've already mentioned a few times that I found the most amazing leggings at American Eagle just before Christmas. They have pockets. I bought two pairs. 

What I'm Doing This Weekend: List making is the first thing that comes to mind! 

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Moth: I love Valentine's Day and I also happen to love Groundhog Day. And starting a new adventure

What Else Is New: It's been a mostly regular month around here!

Who Is Your All-Time Favourite Bachelor?  I've watched exactly one episode of The Bachelor, last year when I was on vacation with my ex's family his mom and sister were into it. I was kind of horrified by the whole thing. I still can't understand why girls volunteer to participate and why they behave so terribly on the show. I'll take my reality TV in the form of Survivor and Big Brother, please and thank you. 

Happy One Month, Happy Planner!

I decided in the fall that I was going to give MAMBI's The Happy Planner a try for 2017.  I've been using my Happy Planner for a full month now so I thought it was time for a little update. My two biggest concerns were the vertical layout (although, they are available in horizontal) and the disc bound system. I can officially declare that I am in love with vertical planning! I'm not sold on the disc bound system though, I'm indifferent about it and still worry about it holding up over the course of the year. I didn't realize when I bought this particular planner that it was undated, which I don't particularly enjoy, but I did buy a set of Heidi Swapp numbers meant for her memory planners and used them in my Happy Planner so I made it work. Speaking of stickers...

I don't have any interest spending $30 a week on stickers to decorate my planner, it's just not going to happen. I did purchase four of the Happy Planner Value Sticker Books because with coupons they are pretty affordable. I probably spent about $45 on all four sticker books and after using them for almost a month I've hardly made a dent in them. I was tempted to pick up the 'Faith' sicker book as well but it is really similar and contains a lot of duplicates when compared to the 'Quote' book. I did order some gas pump, birthday and Canada Day stickers from Etsy because they aren't included in any of the books but I don't have any plans to order more Etsy stickers anytime soon. 

I use my planner for daily to do's, paying bills, appointments/meetings and for recording three thankful thoughts each day. I  decorate my planner but it's still incredibly functional. 

My first attempt was very clearly a first attempt. I wasn't sure how I wanted to use the boxes if I wanted to go all out in terms of decorating or if I wanted to keep things mostly pen. 

 Week two was actually the first week of 2017 and I got a better feel for how I wanted to use the boxes but was still working out what I wanted to keep track of and how I was going to go about documenting things. 

I didn't start to feel like I was getting into the groove of things until week three. 

And week four was also noticeably improved. I'm not going to win any awards but I'm also not trying to. I need my planner to be a place where I can keep track of life things, Guide things and interviews. With any luck eventually I will also get to use to keep track of work things but that's a different topic. 

My life doesn't work in a way that I can sit down on Sunday evening and plan out the whole week. Last week for example I ended up with an interview, lunch with my grandma and some e-mails about Guiding paperwork. I do start my week on Sunday though. I choose my Word of the Week (more on that soon!) and record anything I know will happen. I stick in a few decorative stickers and checklists and go from there. 

This is how my week looked last night:

Are you experimenting with a new planning system this year? So far I think I made a good choice, but there's still lots of 2017 left! 

**Incase you're wondering, I wasn't compensated in any way, shape or form for this post. MAMBI has never heard of me and probably doesn't really care what I think of their products. 

27 Wishes

I seem to have accidentally started a tradition of making lists on my birthday around these parts. When I turned 24 I created a list of 24 wishes, I hadn't read that post in years but I am happy to report that 4.5 of those wishes came true! And on my 25 birthday and 26 birthday I made lists of relevant 'fun facts'. The majority of the fun facts on those lists are still accurate and since I could use some wish magic in my life right now I'm going to go ahead and grant myself 27 wishes.

1. Full time, year round, permanent position that I love. Ideally with a camp or similar organization.
2. A kind, attractive, outdoorsy gentleman who is interested in long term commitment.
3. An all inclusive 10 day trip to Walt Disney World for myself and three friends. 
4. A fully stocked and fully functional craft room.
5. A sleepover with the Pioneer Woman. (That way she could make me supper, breakfast and multiple snacks.)
6. All you can eat mozzarella sticks once a month for the rest of the year.
7. The ability to teleport.
8. A talent for sewing.
9. A fully stocked and organized pantry. (Similar to Ree Drummond, I may have an obsession.)
10. A Starbucks date with Taylor Swift.
11. To wake up to fully cooked breakfast every morning. Not breakfast in bed, but I want to be motivated by the smell of bacon.
12. Power to pick & choose when I will be blessed with a good hair day.
13. Lunch with Becky Higgins, creator of Project Life.
14. A quirky animal sidekick. 
15. Happy mail on a regular basis. 
16. A boost of confidence. 
17. The opportunity to visit all of the Girl Guide/Scout World Centres.
18. A week long camping trip.
19. A super chic coffee bar set up.
20. Motivation to become someone who does yoga on a regular basis.
21. Consistently neat handwriting.
22. An avocado tree in the backyard so I could time my ripe avocados appropriately. 
23. A month long trip to Australia.
24. Pizza Party with Kate Middleton. 
25. Ice Cream cake.
26. Can I have two trips to Disney World?
27. A year full of good things & happiness. 

Eight Favourite Characters

Today I'm linking up with Tuesday Topics to share my eight favourite characters from books/movies. Before I unveil my choices it's important to remember that I'm a quirky person and my menagerie of favourite characters completely reflect that trait.

1. Ted Mosby I relate to Ted and his plight to find true love so much it hurts. I love that he is an eternal optimist and never loses hope. I also love that he has quirky interests and his friends sort of think he's a ridiculous person, but also love him because he's a ridiculous person. I relate to his extreme nostalgia and sometimes getting carried away with the idea of how life is supposed to look at any given time.

2. Stargirl I read this book for the first time in elementary school and it was a little over my head. By the time I read it in junior high I got it but didn't love it. When I re-read it in high school I fell head over heels for Stargirl. I mentioned before that I ended up using a Stargirl quote for my senior quote because not only is the character great but the writing is beautiful.

3. Charlie Brown I love that Charlie Brown can't catch a break, I get it. Again with the eternal optimism though, even if he winds up throwing chocolates into the river it didn't stop him from buying them in the first place. 

4. Meredith Grey Meredith knows how to put on her big girl undies and get things done. Bad things happen to her frequently and on an alarming scale but she deals with it and moves on. Not always in the best ways but she does what she needs to do even if she's not confident it's what she wants to do. 

5. Meeko I love Pocahontas, but the real star of the show for me is Meeko.

6. Phoebe Buffay She knows who she is and doesn't let a darn thing stand in her way of doing what she thinks is right. She puts everything she has into everything she does (cups & ice anyone?) and even though things can get a little weird she goes with the flow. 

7. Princess Mia I feel like I grew up with Mia, we're close to the same age and as each new book was being released it felt like she was growing up with me. The first movie is great (we'll pretend the second one doesn't exist) but I love the Mia from the books. 

8. Amelia Bedelia These were my favourite books to read when I was first learning how to read. I loved reading about Amelia's misadventures and I still love reading these books to the littles in my life.

Doesn't that sound like the guest list to the best dinner party ever? Bonus fun fact, Amelia is my absolute favourite name for a girl and if I ever have a daughter I want her name to be Amelia. I attribute this love in large part to the two Amelia's above, which I happen to think are excellent namesakes.

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Monday's Matter #3

As always let's start with some of my recent favourite reads. Renee from Mulling Over My Morning Coffee wrote this short devotional about how things don't always go according to our plan. Elissa wrote about her choice to take a nap. And Callie shared her thoughts about old school blogging. 

I'm on my third Word of the Week and I love switching it up every week. My original plan was to wait until I had made it through at least four words but I'm only starting the third week and I'm already itching to share. So far I've used Abide & Flow and this week I'm working on Spark. 

Even though this is the first Valentine's Day in two years that I've been single I am the most excited about celebrating. Mostly because I get to celebrate with twenty 5-8 year olds! I found the cutest fun patches online and ordered one for each of them (and the other leaders). My plan is to make little tags to serve as Valentines and they will be adorable. Plus, mailing Valentine's Day cards because that's a fun thing to do too. Maybe it's a consumer holiday but for someone who's love language (aside from chips & dip) involves words of affirmation Valentine's is my jam. 

For as long as I can remember I've been labeled as 'shy'. And it's only in the last few years that I've kind of embraced that label. BBC published this article about Celebrating Shyness  and it completely resonated with me. I think it's worth a read regardless of whether you consider yourself shy or not. I think it's hard for people who aren't shy to understand shy doesn't mean rude or standoffish. And I also think it's important to designate the difference between being shy and having seriously severe social anxiety. 

It also seems fitting to share my favourite Obama article, Obama After Dark. I happened to read this article while I was at camp and I related to so much of it, especially the no good decisions part. There are days when selling plain white t-shirts in size medium on a beach in Hawaii sounds like a viable career choice. 

I'm still in the waiting phase of things unfolding with the job search. And realistically it will probably be the end of January before I have a solid plan, but at least the end is (hopefully) in sight. With that in mind my quote of the week is from the amazing Julia Child. I assume she was talking about food, but I think the sentiment is transferable, especially after last week's Patience Make Pancakes revelation. 

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Friday Things on Friday

This week started off in one direction and then sort of veered off course, which worked out fine because my Word of the Week was flow. More coming on that process soon, I'm planning on making a post about how that's going once I'm a full month into the system.

{one}
Puzzle = Complete!

It was a bit of a close call, I had everything put together and then realized I was missing two pieces. Thankfully one of the cats had just knocked them off the table and on to the floor so I found them pretty quickly. Usually I don't re-do puzzles, but I really liked this one and it was a gift so I will hang on to it and complete it again some time. I took a sharpie and wrote 'January 2017' on the inside of the box so I can remember when it was last completed.

{two}

A hilarious antidote from yesterday's interview. I asked a question related to the typical structure of a work day and was met with a very enthusiastic response about that being a great question and they totally over looked that information because everyone else on the interview list has previous experience with the organization and is familiar with the daily structure. Awesome. I'm pretty sure that's code for, you're totally qualified for this job based on your resume but we're only interviewing you for optics. This job is going to an internal candidate.

{three}

In case anyone asks the way to my heart is plain, rippled chips and Philadelphia brand onion dip. We happened to have both of these things in the house this week and that makes my heart (and stomach) happy.

{four}

Via E-Patches & Pinterest

I'm searching Pinterest for cute Valentine's ideas for my Sparks/Brownies. Since my cute Christmas craft plans went awry I sent them each home with a Kinder Surprise so I'd like to reclaim some of my craftiness for Valentine's Day. Even though I'm also considering just ordering cute 'Valentine's Day' or 'Girls Rock' crests online, attaching a little tag and calling it a day. Parents of littles, what are your thoughts? Cute Pinterest inspired Valentines or more practical crests? (I think I might already know the answer to this.)

{five}
This song has been on repeat this week. It's so catchy and not about getting drunk making poor life choices, which seems to be the theme of most catchy songs these days.

This weekend my plans include reading my second (!!) book of the year, continuing to listen to Run Devil Run on repeat and finding a new show to watch on Netflix now that I've made my way through all of Lock Up. 

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Patience Makes Pancakes

Last week a friend sent me this story:

I have no idea where it came from but I'm a big fan. And I've been mulling it over in my head since she first shared it with me. I've never been good at the whole 'wait and see' thing. I want to know what happens next so I can make plans accordingly. But for the last however many months life has been one huge 'wait and see' moment. And I am not a fan. The process of filling out applications, sending resumes & cover letters here, there and everywhere. Making it to secondary rounds, being offered interviews and then hitting a dead end feels like mixing together all the ingredients, discovering you're short a tablespoon of lard and tossing the whole thing in the trash. 

Last night I was making pancakes for supper because I forgot to take anything else out of the freezer. And as I stood over the stove waiting to see the batter bubble so I could flip it to the other side I was reminded of the biscuit story. Even if you have all the right ingredients the oven still needs to be set at the right temperature. And you need to keep things cooking until it's finished, nobody wants a pancake that isn't cooked the whole way through. 

Coincidently, yesterday I was also offered an interview for my 'pancake job', the job I applied for because I had most of the ingredients even if it wasn't my favourite food. The deadline for applications was three weeks ago and I assumed that since I hadn't heard anything it meant that I wouldn't be, which I wasn't surprised about. Again, most of the ingredients but not all and it was a very quick "search & replace" job for a few words on my cover letter. 

This most recent development also coincides with my decision to re-consider leaving my current camp. Less than a week ago I sent an e-mail to the organization explaining that my job search hadn't gone well and I may still be interested in my usual seasonal contract unless something changed. I was making peace with the idea that my work at that particular camp yet wasn't done yet and the universe was making sure I was put back there. I still had/have a lot of reservations though and wasn't entirely confident I was making the right choice. 

Now I find myself staring at two completed recipes and only enough room in the oven to bake one of them. And I'm waiting to see what the universe wants me to make. If I get a job offer from this interview then I will happily enjoy biscuits after being given a lot of plain flour over the last few months. There are a lot of benefits to it, the biggest ones being it wouldn't involve moving to the city and it's full time, year round and permanent. And if I don't get the job offer then that will be the confirmation that I need to go back to camp. 

So stay tuned because either way there is a glimmer of light (and a plate of snacks) at the end of this tunnel. 

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Winter Waves

Friday night I officially finished off my Project Life albums!

Look at all those finished pages!! I didn't do a final count but it's close to 100, which means there are thousands of photos printed and documented within those pages. I'm working on a post to share some of my favourite pages but my spread photography needs a lot of practice. 

Saturday I started the morning off with coffee, a cinnamon roll and more work on my puzzle.

The trickiest part about the puzzle is the sheer number of Mickey Mouses, Cheshire Cats and Chip & Dales. Plus since it's a pile of trader pins everything is sort of upside down and sideways. The rest of the day Saturday I watched far too many episodes of 'Lock Up' on Netflix. I don't know why prison shows fascinate me so much, but they do. Except for Orange Is The New Black...after a few episodes of that I was thoroughly disturbed and stopped watching. The book was a good read though. Saturday night I continued with the Lock Up episodes and did some serious decluttering. I went though all of my scrapbooking stuff and got organized to start Project Life 2017. And tackled the photo boxes I had been dumping memorabilia in, anything that didn't get put into an album over the course of the year went in the trash. And the pile of ticket stubs and cards from J. also got tossed. A quick swiffer and I was ready to continue my 2017 streak of thankful thoughts and bedtime devotional reading. 

We were supposed to get a storm Saturday night and into Sunday but we ended up only getting 20-25 cm of snow instead of the predicted 40+. Everything was cleaned up by the afternoon so I headed to my grandparents to take some photos. The waves were huge from the storm and if it wasn't so bitterly cold I would have spent a lot longer on the beach. 

Just as I was starting to loose feeling in my fingers the sun started to poke out and the sky went from grey to blue.

I would have stayed longer but there was coffee and more cinnamon rolls calling me from my grandparents' house. Not to mention kitty cuddles from their cat who was very interested in my wool socks. 

Last night I watched more Lock Up (Seriously, I'm glad there's only one season because it's starting to give me crazy dreams) and got ready for the week. Which consisted of choosing my word for the week, setting up my planner and planning out some blog posts. 2017 is still a winner in my books, let's hope the trend continues!

Linking up with B Loved Boston

Epiphany Friday Favourites

It's been an odd start to the year, but I think things are (finally) headed in a good direction!

{one}

I'm going to be a little 'cryptic blogger' right now because even though I've tentatively started wandering down another path I'm not sure how it will all play out. I do know that even if it's not at all what I had in mind six months ago it feels right. And yesterday I came across this verse which kind of gave me goosebumps.

{two}

I bought Savor last year but it was March by the time it arrived and even though I would occasionally read a few pages here and there I never made a habit of it. This year I got to start from the beginning on January 1st and it's become one of my favourite parts of the day. 

{three}

Over the course of the last week I've lost track of how many eagles I've seen. During my drive home from H. & R. on Monday I spotted at least six (maybe two more but they also might have been seagulls) and yesterday I saw another one while I was driving. Eagles aren't necessarily a rare sighting around here, but close to a dozen in one week is out of the ordinary. Since one of my intentions for 2017 was to listen to the universe I'm going to go ahead and be encouraged that eagle sightings are often interpreted as a sign of new beginnings, stamina and courage. 

{four}

Monday R. & I went on an adventure and checked out a local bird sanctuary that I sort of knew existed but have never actually investigated. Turns out there are all kinds of hiking trails, friendly chickadees that will eat from your hand and so many squirrels. At one point I was standing on the trail and there were eight squirrels surrounding me. It was magical. I felt like a Disney princess.

{five}

I got the last of my 2016 photos printed yesterday so I'm excited to spend the weekend adding the final few pages to my Project Life album and getting started on 2017. I love that I've found a memory keeping system that works for me. When I counted a few weeks ago I had close to 100 completed pages! Do you know how many pages I have completed for 2015? None. I have one large Smashbook  from the summer but that's it. I don't think I'll ever be a retro-active scrapbooker but I'm happy that I have a system moving forward!

January Life 2017

One of my favourite Christmas gifts last year was a 'Question A Day' journal similar to this one. I was super diligent about answering the question every night before bed and my enthusiasm hasn't diminished any as I started answering the questions again this year. One of my goals for the year is to document life and one of the ways I want to do that is by being consistent about the things I reflect upon each month. 

I decided on six categories - Personal Life, Hobbies, Career, Spirituality, Health & Goals to write about each month when the What's New With You link up rolls around. 

Personal Life// I'm so ready for a new year! I rang in the new year wearing sweat pants, on the couch with R. We watched the 8:00 p.m. family friendly fireworks display and were in bed by 1:00 a.m. The year isn't starting out the way I imagined (I was operating under the assumption I would be starting the year with a new job) but I still feel okay with it all. Nothing lasts forever and if I just keep taking one step at a time I'll get to where I'm going. 

Hobbies// H. gave me a puzzle for Christmas so I have been working away on that. It's this Disney Trading Pin one and it's so challenging! I've figured out a system and am making progress but it's one of the harder ones I've done since I started doing puzzles. I'm anticipating finishing off my 2016 Project Life album by the end of next week and then starting on 2017's album!

Career// As of this moment still very much unemployed. I do have a couple tiny side projects that I'm working on and I've reached out to a few different people. I'm hopeful that something will work out...even if it's not my ideal something. I'm making the effort to embrace what the universe has in store and reminding myself to 'bloom where you're planted'. Hopefully I'll have some bigger updates on this next month.

Spirituality// Last year I bought Shauna Niequist's Savor Devotional. I read it occasionally but it spent more time on my bookshelf than in my hands. This year I've added it to my bedtime routine. I fill out my question for the day and then spend a few minutes reading the devotion for the day followed by journalling in a notebook that I'm using exclusively for the devotion. It's only early in the year but so far I'm also keeping up with my gratitude list, writing down three things each day.

Health// I've been making a conscious effort to drink way more water and so far it's working. I keep telling myself I'm going to take advantage of the hundreds of free yoga workouts on YouTube but short of digging my yoga mat out of the closet I haven't made any real progress on this.

Goals// This month is all about the number one. I want to read one book, watch one documentary and try one new recipe/restaurant. 

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Goals, Ambitions & Intentions 2017

In 2017 I will...

Listen to the universe.

Take photos.

Write things down.

Document life.

Embrace & appreciate the ordinary.

Spend more time outside.

Share more Project Life & Planner spreads on the blog.

Commit to a daily devotional and prayer.

Remember that little things make big things. 

Be peaceful, patient and kind. 

So there you have it, nothing particularly ground breaking or exciting but it feels right. I hope the year ahead is full of happy surprises and reassurance that there's more to life than lowering your expectations. 

Linking up with Lauren. 

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