You Won't Find This Here

The first step to getting back on the blog-wagon was to get back in the habit of jotting down ideas for posts whenever they popped into my head. It created for some weird to do lists - more coffee, shower,  call Mom, How I get My Life Together on Sunday... (that's an excerpt from a camp list, I only have to write shower on my to list from May-August, the rest of the time it comes naturally).

I also started thinking about the things I wouldn't blog about, and realized that a lot of them are pretty popular topics. Which is maybe another factor that contributed to my blogging break. I (subconsciously) felt like I didn't fit into any of the niches - either the category didn't apply to me - you've got to have kids to be a Mommy Blogger! Or I wasn't interested in that particular topic - I'm not a runner. 

So while I'll 'never say never' here's some topics it's pretty unlikely you'll be reading about around here. 

Diet/Fitness 

I operate under the 'everything in moderation' principle. I enjoy pop and I enjoy water. I like BBQ steak and I think veggie burgers can be delicious. Sometimes I eat three well balanced meals and drink water. Sometimes it's 6:00 p.m. and I realize the only nutrition I've gotten in the last 48 hours is from coffee and bagels. 

Blogging

This is a hobby not my career. I have no idea how to have the best SEO or get Nordstrom to send me free clothes...I've never even been inside a Nordstrom. I'm absolutely open to doing the occasional sponsored post, participating in link ups or exchanges but this isn't how I make my money. I'm not going to lose sleep over page clicks or "my brand".

Fashion

I spend 4-5 months of the year wearing some combination of jogging pants, neon Nike running shorts, tie-dye, camoflauge, plaid shirts and an array of hoodies. Sometimes I wear the same combination of those clothes for a couple days in a row. I'm happiest in leggings and hoodies, if you're happiest in leather pants and corsets all the power to you. 

(To be clear - the other 6-7 months of the year I dress like a grown up. Fun Fact : sometimes campers/camper families don't recognize me in the "real world".) 

Singleness

I'll almost certainly blog about my interactions on the dating scene and the colourful cast of characters I would have no idea exist in the world if it weren't for dating apps. I'm not going to blog about my "plight as a single gal in my late 20s". It's too easy to go deep in the rabbit hole of being unhappy, being self-conscious and feeling not good enough. I know that's not true. I'm a catch! 

Travel

I can totally get on board with fun weekend getaways every few months and maybe a bigger vacation during the year. I have no plans to start galavanting all over the world on a bi-monthly basis anytime soon. And when I do travel my focus is going to be on spending time with whoever I'm travelling with (I definitely won't be travelling solo!) and taking photos for scrapbooking but not for blogging. I'm happy to hear about your adventures in Bali but you won't be hearing about mine. 

Do you have things on your 'No-Blog List'? I'm also hyper sensitive to what kind of personal information I'm putting out in the world. Which is sometimes frustrating when I plan on posting a photo or two and realize after the fact they have super identifying features. But it's also not the end of the world and it's good motivation to take lots of photos so there's lots to choose from!

Hello, Blog!

It's been 10 months since I published a blog post. A few times I've attempted to get back on the blogwagon, but it never manifested into anything I felt like publishing. 

And it's not for lack of content. 2018 has been quite the ride. 

I went on a blind date. Fell head over heels. Had all sorts of magic & butterflies. Found myself in a long distance relationship. Got dumped at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning. 

Felt unfulfilled and overwhelmed at work. Started thinking about returning to a camping career. Got a phone call the Camp Director at my former camp gave his resignation and the next thing you know I'm a full time, year round Camp Director...beginning in the middle of the summer. 

Entered the world of Dating Apps. The world is a strange place full of even stranger people. 

Went on a fun filled girls trip and did all the touristy things.

Moved into a lovely condo. And into the city...still working on loving that aspect. 

Celebrated birthdays, mourned breakups, read books, tried new recipes, made some crafts and didn't blog a single bit of it. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about blogging and you might even notice that things look a little different around here but never did mange to add more words.

Things are settling down now and I've more or less gathered all the pieces of life that were scattered in every direction. Which means it's time to build new (or old) habits. I'm not sure what my return to blogging will look like, I miss writing, so it may turn out to be pretty frequent. And it also might be when I occasionally have a good story to share. Which, if I'm going to catch up with the last 10 months could be a post every hour on the hour for the next 10 years. 

Either way it feels good to be back...I think...

Are people still blogging? I thought I was up on current trends and then I worked with a bunch of seventeen year olds and realized I'm old and out of touch with technology. 

Favourite Things 2017 Edition

Along with the end of the year comes the invitation to reflect and compile all that reflection into lists. And since there are few things I find as comforting as lists it's the perfect motivation to dust off the keyboard (literally) and document a few of my favourite things from 2017. 

Book: You Are A Badass - Jen Sincero. I loved this book. I've read a lot of self-help type books and things that generally fall into the 'self-help' category but this one was different. The information was familiar but it was presented in a way that made it fun and friendly. A friend recommended it to me and then I recommended it to another friend and now I have this little pod of people who are all equally as interested in the power of positive thinking and encouragement. 

Show: The Ranch I came across this show in July and it quickly became a favourite. There's something about the way it balances humour and drama, it feels real and not too ridiculous. Of course, some of it is kind of ridiculous but in the same way real life is ridiculous. There's a lot of swearing, which generally turns me off of a movie/show but it works in this context. I like it so much that I'm not even binge watching the most recent season because I want to savour it! 

Move: The Fundamentals of Caring This is a wimpy favourite...I'm not even sure I watched this movie this year or towards the end of last year. Either way I don't watch a lot of movies and when I do watch movies I watch the same ones. I'm including it because it was a decent movie and every other movie I watched this year I either didn't really like or was made in the 90s. 

Song: I'll Name the Dogs - Blake Shelton A few summers ago a friend consistently pointed out that country songs are ridiculous and when I first heard this song I thought about how much P. would dislike it and how much I like it. It is silly and it's also incredibly sweet and I listen to it on repeat at least once a day. 

Podcast: The Lively Show This started as a one off listening to an episode about work/life balance and I really liked what she had to say so I kept listening. I haven't made it through the entire library of shows but I'm slowly making my way through them and keeping up with recent episodes. It might be a little out there for some people and sometimes it's a little too out there for me but it is really interesting and usually motivating!

App: Instagram Nothing too exciting here, I was briefly addicted to a game called 'Cookie Jam' but Instagram was definitely the most used overall.

Photo/Moment: I had a lot of feelings during/after visiting camp in the summer but afterwards a group of us went to a friend's cottage and I snapped this photo. It illustrates a whole lot of my favourite things from people to places and is the perfect reminder that life is weird - and it always works out. I'm immensely grateful for these people and the place that brought us together even though it wasn't something I planned or wanted. 

Usually people choose a word at the beginning of the year to set the tone this year I've been thinking about a word to sum up all the events of 2017 and I've come up with disorientating. On paper and in practice life was pretty good and at the same time totally not what I envisioned. And maybe that's not a bad thing but time will tell. 

Linking up with Momfessionals.

September/October Life 2017

Personal Life// At the beginning of September I moved to a new apartment which was a majorly positive change. I'm struggling a little to get out of the work-place bubble. I really miss being involved in Guiding but the closest units are about 45 minutes away and that's just not practical in winter. A coworker/friend is determined to set me up with someone, the first guy hasn't worked out because he moved out west for work (much like most males in my dating age bracket). Now she has someone else in mind so stay tuned for those developments. 

Hobbies// I've managed to catch up as far as mid-June in my Project Life album so that's coming along. It's been awhile since I've done any pretty planning in my planner but I did buy a new sketch book and have done a few pages of what many would consider 'art journalling'. Books have been gathering dust in favour of re-watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. I usually read about one book a month but could (and should!) be reading more.

Career// Some days I feel like it's starting to come together. Other days that statement couldn't be farther from the truth. 

Spirituality// I still really like the idea of Bible Journalling but haven't done a darn thing to make that a reality. I'm still journalling and keeping a gratitude journal with an acceptable level of consistency. Recently I discovered a really great podcast that I've been trying to listen to and reflect on at least every second day.  

Health// It's ironic that one of the reasons I'm spending some time blogging this afternoon is because I've somehow acquired a cold and lack motivation to move from my couch. I was in a good rhythm for a while with eating & sleeping & hydrating and then I made a hard left. Now my sleep schedule is inconsistent, I've been eating weird meals and drinking too much coffee and not enough water. 

Goals// I've been doing some research on 'goals' versus 'intentions' and it's really changed my perspective on the whole topic. The difference between setting a goal to practice self care implies that there's a time limit on it and once it's achieved it's done. Having the intention to practice self care implies that it's not just something you do and is done but something you are constantly considering when you're thinking about goals. Moving to a new apartment was definitely a goal because now it's accomplished and it's not something I need to think about again for a while. All that to day I'm doing some reevaluating on what are my goals and what are my intentions. 

I have some drafts kicking around that I'm going to attempt to edit and get published this week. First though I'm going to eat some soup and watch an episode of Grey's before summoning all the motivation to move off the couch. 

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The First 100 Days

The week leading up to camp has always been full of little rituals and traditions. Things that made me feel prepared to start the summer. I would spend an evening assembling welcome bags for all the staff, an afternoon making warm fuzzy envelopes and many hours trying not to overpack but also not run out of clean clothes before the next laundry day rolled around. I would make sure to include a meal of three cheese pizza pops & pepsi into my camp prep, taking time to reflect on the beginnings of my camp love. And on the night before I would often craft the perfect pre-camp playlist to listen to during the drive. Instead of doing all those things I found myself navigating the complexities of palliative care. 

I always had a mini-celebration when I hit the "100 Days Until Camp" day and so I had decided that I would celebrate "100 Days" of this new life, which happened to fall on May 11. I had originally planned to celebrate by drinking my very last can of Vanilla Coke (that I had been saving for when I got a year round camp job), eating chips & dip and maybe watching The Parent Trap. I ended up spending the day in one of our organization's homes, which seemed like a much more fitting celebration. Even if it didn't involve any Vanilla Coke. 

On Friday morning after a full week of waiting for the inevitable, our community member passed away. Today there will be a wake and tomorrow a funeral. And amid all of those emotions I'm also trying to figure out how to navigate summer life without camp. The combination of all of that has made me a bit of a hot mess these past few days. Saturday I did three loads of laundry and debated asking the neighbours if they had any to do. Yesterday I got groceries and tidied by apartment and watched too many episodes of Grey's Anatomy. This morning I am going to help set up for the wake and then likely spend some time at the office. Even though it's a long weekend I need to be busy and productive because otherwise I'm sure I'll find myself pacing the living room. 

And maybe what I really need is to stop trying to keep myself busy and just let things settle. To give myself permission to be sort of sad but also excited about the possibilities of a summer without camp. 

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Little Things Lately

I always find it challenging to start blogging again after a hiatus. I'm never sure if I should start with an update or skip through all that and start current. I did manage to keep up with What's Up Wednesday and What's New With You so there hasn't been total radio silence around these parts but it still feels like there's a gap to be filled. And the best way to fill a gap is will a list!

{one}

This was my view most nights last weekend. It my turn to be 'on call' with the emergency phone so I wasn't straying too far from home. Instead I watched a few episodes from the new season of Mind of a Chef on Netflix, indulged in pop and made simple but delicious pitas. 

{two}

For February & March my schedule has been filling in at one of the houses on Sundays & Mondays, working in the office on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday and then my weekend being on Friday & Saturday. It's been rather exhausting trying to balance everything all at once but it looks like starting in April I will start a regular Monday-Friday full time in the office schedule and I am really looking forward to that happening. 

{three}

I loved Full House, Mary-Kate & Ashley were everything I aspired to be as an elementary schooler and I adored the fact D.J. & I shared the same first name. When Fuller House premiered I didn't watch because I didn't want to ruin the magic and I was pretty skeptical of the whole thing. Last Thursday I was searching for something to watch that was light hearted and I could leave on as background noise and ended up playing the first episode of the series. I found myself texting a friend about how terrible & cheesy it was but I kept watching....all week long. And last night I reached the end and realized I had become re-attached to D.J. and the Tanner/Fuller/Gibbler Family. Now I need a season three and another show I can actually use as background noise and won't find myself sitting on the couch passionately texting R. all the reasons D.J. and Steve need to be together. Suggestions?

{four}

I've spent my entire life working/living at camp in the summer which means my summer wardrobe consists entirely of neon Nike running shorts, tie-dye t-shirts and a handful of sundresses, jean shorts and tank tops I wore on my days off. My new job is pretty casual...but it's not that casual. So I've been busy doing inventory and figuring out what I need to add to my closet before the warm weather arrives. The exciting part about that is camp has a very strict closed toe shoe policy, flip flops & sandals were for days off only. It has been years since I got to wear sandals all summer and I am so excited to buy some new summer shoes! 

{five}

The past six weeks have been hard in all the ways I thought they would be and challenging in a bunch of ways I wasn't expecting. I am finally starting to see glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel. There are still days when I feel like I was handed the keys to a sinking ship but if the last five years of camp taught me anything it's that sinking ships can be repaired and restored. 

Linking up here. 

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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. 

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. 

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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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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2016 Year In Review

Here's the thing about 2016. It was pretty terrible. Which might sound overdramatic when I also add that nothing truly earth shattering in my life happening. There wasn't one big event when the world collapsed around me but more like 300 moments that strung together to leave me feeling defeated and generally unhappy. And maybe 2017 will be different, but maybe it won't, it could get worse. 

January// I rang in 2016 with J. and had dinner with his family which mainly revolved around his sister sharing her tales of adventure from the night before. Then I headed off to Florida and got to experience Disney World. Turns out I was very wrong in my thought process about not enjoying Disney because I don't like rides. Disney World is a magical place. I turned 26 and didn't do much to celebrate because I was working. January was also the month that I committed to spending a fifth summer working at camp. 

February// I celebrated four years of blogging in this little space. And spent the rest of my time working at the office job and planning for the summer. I had a very low key Valentine's Day celebration and didn't blog all that much. 

March// At this point I was working seven days a week. In addition to working Monday-Friday I was also working overtime on Saturday & Sunday. I forget exactly how many days I worked in a row but I know it was a lot. 

April// My contract for the office job ended towards the end of the month and as soon as it did I hopped on a plane to visit H. in Ontario. We hit up all the major tourist attractions and had the best time catching up. 

May// I transitioned into working at camp full time and right from the beginning it was a bit of a gong show. Blogging moved to the back burner to the back of the fridge and then became that thing you put in the freezer that you keep meaning to defrost. 

June// More camp, no blogging. I ended things with J., which was probably my best decision of 2016. Camp was one tale of adventure after the other. I wish I had blogged more but I did keep a written journal and I documented everything using Project Life so I'm letting myself be okay with not blogging. 

July// R. arrived home and since we were in the middle of an epic staff shortage she came on board and also moved into my room. We made a lot of jokes about being 26 working at camp and having bunk beds. I think we passed the ultimate friendship test sharing a room, working together and still going on weekend adventures. 

August// R. and I went on many weekend adventures and camp continued to teach me a lot of things about human resources. 

September// We ran our first two fall camping events! Which was really exciting and also meant I didn't leave camp until mid-September. I started blogging again and also started seriously pursuing year round camp jobs out of province...none of which worked out. I did start helping out with a new Spark/Brownie group which has been a lot of fun!

October// We had some serious weather over Thanksgiving weekend. I got back into the groove of blogging and participated in the Back to Blogging Challenge hosted by Alyssa Goes Bang which really got me back in the blogging groove. I finished off the month with a weekend trip to visit H. & R. and continued to reach a lot of dead ends on the year round camp job front. 

November// We had our enrolment ceremony at Sparks/Brownies and celebrated my grandparents 50th anniversary. I was feeling really discouraged about the job hunt but tried really hard to embrace the journey.

December// I embraced the mantra always forward for the remainder of the year because the search for full time, year round employment is still coming up short. I continued to apply for positions and try to be in the moment rather than worrying about what happens next.

I have no idea what 2017 will have in store. I hope that it brings an amazing new job, that I get to spend lots of time with H. & R. and I can keep working on becoming less of a worrier and more of a savourer. 

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