The 12 days of holiday and... memory-keeping for the year ahead

Well, friends, I'm pleased to say I got every last thing done on my to-do list.

I've rested enough, read enough (actually, can one ever read enough?), taken way too many photos, seen lots of friends, played with the babies and had 3 dates with D.

I think this trick (mind game) worked well for me.

Usually I think of it as # leave days; this time I thought of it as # days out of office. So instead of feeling like the holiday was short (only 5 working days off), it felt lovely and restful (12 days!).

I have slipped into LOTS of bad habits though like going to bed at 1 am every night.... and waking up late.... my productivity soars when I play to my night owl tendencies but (so very) unfortunately, the SA corporate world is not as evolved yet.


By the way, I realised this afternoon we never spoke about the wrap-up to my goals.

I got 88% of my December goals done.

I tallied up my averages and .... my average over the year was 89%. So an awesome year of goals and goal-setting.

 

I still haven't set specific January goals yet.... but I will do so this week.

I finished my Project Life this afternoon and after I hit publish, I need to tidy up the mess - sort out the cards into their containers again because tomorrow I fetch my Cobalt cards from the post office - yay!

In 2013 I actually took a photo a day and saved it in an app called Project 365. What does one actually do with these things now? Jeanette? Anyone? Good ideas for all the iphone memories?

I'm continuing this year but I need to upload last year's stuff somewhere???? because when the calendar flipped to January, I saw last year's pics there!

Ideas?

That's all I'm doing - the same as last year. Instagram and my Mini Album for Project Life (kiwi this time).

What are you doing in terms of memory keeping?



Speaking of memory keeping, these two little ladies are FIVE today. Gosh! In this photo, they're 3 and a half. Where does the time go? A and B, happy birthday to both of you!

Everyday moments 1

gosh, I love good light! This is at about 11 am in the morning

Lego!

gift from a client - I love it! The pink (shiny) pen is nearly done; I've already used it so much

Kendra asked for nail polish for Christmas

I don't know who enjoys this more - D or Connor - and don't worry, I sorted out that messy toy area behind them

are you hyperventilating? I was... but D is right there #thisisfour

finished 20 physical books last year - this was the last one

Christmas presents from my mother - see the gift tags? I love that she uses the things "the kids" send her

for you, Cat!

this boy is into gardening (D and I are not, and kill anything). He wanted to stay home while we all went out so he could garden with Edson! I had to say "no, baby, Edson has a lot of work to do today but you can garden with him next week"

I love the lines...

and Wet Wet Wet

2014 word of the year - SHINE

I started being attracted to shiny things the last month or so which is very unusual for me. I'm not a shiny girl at all, I don't have any bling or sequinny-type clothes, etc.

Goodness, I even selected a t-shirt with GLITTER for a work function. Me - glitter!

I initially thought I was just moving with a trend (is it even a trend?) but one day something just dropped into my heart, "it's your time to shine" and I kind-of dismissed the thought but I still carried on buying shiny things.

 

I thought I might want to start praying and see if this may be God?

So I did and one day while cleaning my rings with those jewellery cloths, I felt God say that just as I was rubbing away the dirt from my rings, making them shine, so He has been rubbing away some of my edges, ready for the next phase of making me shine.

!

 

Some thoughts on this word and how I see it playing out in my life over this year:

1. first of all, it's a very active verb (I like verbs because I'm a take action kind of girl)
2. God polishing me to shine means all this nonsense this year hasn't been totally useless, right?
3. Shining for Jesus (shine, Jesus, shine anyone?) - reflecting His glory (I love that some of you guessed reflect too)
4. When I was unravelling 2013 yesterday, I wrote down some things like "I will no longer apologise for being me. I'm an extrovert and there's nothing wrong with that" (very odd because there's all this business going on about introverts finally finding their place after Susan Cain released "Quiet"). The truth is that this year I went into a shell after being unaccepted for who I am and being constantly told I'm too loud and I talk too much. No wonder it's time to come out and let the real me shine again.
5. And of course, work. I WILL shine again like the star I am, whether it's at my current company or a new one, but that is a non-negotiable. I have written a page of my core desired feelings for any role I may get into, a proper list of job requirements and another list of things I don't want. All worked on, prayed over and very clear in my mind.

I didn't even know this hand cream said this - it was inside this shiny gold bag...

Yes, I feel hope for this year ahead.

This year I want to reflect on my word every month when I write my goals so if I forget, will someone please remind me?

And then for those of you who also have "words" for the year, please also write a post or leave a comment but let's keep each other accountable for living out our words this year.

new iphone cover

What is your word for the year?

PS even if I've commented on your post, please write your word here again so I can find them in one place (can we add bossy to my words? :)).

the picture doesn't show properly but those lines are silvery and shiny

this is a better photo of salt dishes, I believe they're called. I call them paperclip and binder clip holders :) The blue one is holding my rings.

{2013 review} the highlights package - part 2

Right...

So here is part two of the 2013 year in review.




Work

1. Well, got the new job, total misalignment of expectations, but still there are one or two highlights. I'm now an expert in change man.agement  and coaching staff. I got to do a presentation to very senior people including an exco member and I got to run tons of workshops this year. Also learnt a new programme and am better at Excel. And because I took photos of all the top guys on my project one day, I can now say I got paid for my photography :) (that's called looking at the glass half full)
2. I realised that I really value a true collaborative environment, I love to engage fully at work and that I enjoy an environment where my team celebrates my diversity of personality as I do theirs, and when these things don't exist, I'm quite miserable.
3. I've also been networking my little tush off in the hopes of something emerging very early next year.
4. I'm a bit concerned about how this setback will affect my career going forward. I've never been scared of trying new things before. And then something like this happens. Which is usually a defining moment and then I never take a risk again? As far as my actual career is concerned, I have a promise from God to restore to me (or my career) everything that I may feel has been lost, and this I know will happen.

 

Business

1. I was pleasantly surprised that my business grew by about 48% (granted, last year was so bad. So, so bad) even when I cut down SO MUCH this year. I only coached one evening a week and sent one newsletter per month. 
2. I'm grateful to God for awesome clients, a fantastic accountability partner and the ability to use my gifts of curiosity and asking good questions to help people in this way.
3. I have another book on Amazon's Kindle in addition to the first one.
4. I revamped ALL my products and got a blog makeover.
5. Still praying about what I want to do differently this year. Maybe write another book on Time Management or Goal-Setting with an edge? I had bright ideas about doing something with goals for Dec/ Jan but seriously, I was so emotionally depleted I had energy for nothing else other than survival.

Hobbies

1. I classify under hobbies anything I consider fun - reading, photography, creating, etc. 
2. Had a great reading year!
3. I reached my one real photography goal - to be able to take decent (not great, just decent) pictures inside. However, it doesn't always work out and that frustrates me.
4. On the bright side, I'm happier and happier with the quality of my photos. Who would have thought two years ago that I would ever be able to put up on canvas or in frames photos that I'd taken?! Amazing! This still makes me smile :) My two-year anniversary with my big camera was on 1 December.
5. I realised this year that I don't like any crafts other than paper crafts. I have clever plans to unload all the stuff I've amassed. However, my cards and washi tape and some of the punches will be staying. I've made gift tags, note cards, Project Life cards so me + washi = BFF :) Read more about the creating I did here.
6. I did way more than my 25 new recipes in 2013. I'm way too lazy to go check but it was a good year of trying recipes. I think I'll keep up with that this year again.
7. Last but not least, I kept up with Project Life. I wisely decided to only do monthly and I'm so happy with that decision I'll be doing the same next year with a mish mash of Seafoam and Mandy's leftover Cobalt cards :) when they eventually arrive! There is a set of Instagram Project Life that I tried to buy but HSN (?) doesn't ship to SA. Thank goodness because I'm sure it would cost the earth!

Financial

1. I did something extra nerdy but enlightening - I went through, year by year, and wrote down my salary and my bonuses for all the years since I've been working at this company. 8.5 years' worth. 
2. Mostly things have been good this year except for the tiny increase I received (really, really tiny). We have lots of things to do in and on the house this year but I don't mind that kind of spending; I do mind the R400 spent here and R500 spent there that so quickly adds up.
3. Have already half bought a kitchen table with chairs and emailed a man about carpets.

And how did you do in these areas of your life in 2013?

{2013 review} the highlights package - part 1

I'm going to try to be quick with this so that I don't feel tempted to go into too much detail.
Huge fail - even this highlights package is very wordy so now there's part 1 and 2.



God and ministry

1. You know the God parts.
2. I had big plans to run Love Languages workshops at the church this year. Once I saw what the work situation was like, I just didn't feel able to input into others when my own life was so much of a shell (sounds dramatic but there it is).
3. I tried to join a cell group TWICE but I realised a few things - I can't do this once every 2 - 3 week thing as I initially thought, it's all or nothing with me, all cell groups are not created equal and I'm spoilt by the time when D and I ran fantastic groups (totally God, we were just very willing vessels). So I spoke to D and we want to start exploring running a cell again in our own home. Things will have changed a lot in the last couple of years but the kids are a bit easier at night these days and it feels like the right time to start dipping our toes back into ministry. Yay! (Oh, you asked about a secret in that post? One of my secrets is I LOVE leading worship in cell groups. There's nothing better than ushering people into the presence of God!)
4. Last but not least, I used my March "increase" from SARS (for the non-SA readers, in March our minister announces the budget for the year ahead and this always means a very small amount of tax relief) to sponsor a second World Vision child. We now have two, both 4 years old, like K & C. I highly recommend doing this. You won't even miss it yet it makes all the difference in the world to a child in our very own country. I've been sponsoring one World Vision child since 1998 (how old does that make me feel?!) and I honestly don't even think about that money going off. Far better to have impact in real people's lives than to have a new item of clothing, right?

Health and fitness

1. I am a few kilos lighter than I was this time last year. I joined Weigh-Less in March and stayed til the end of November. Lost 4 kilos in that time. By now I've probably added another one with all the Christmas mince pies....basically in 2014, I have to lose the last 2 - 3.
2. I realised (sadly) that despite my stellar self-discipline in most other areas of my life, I just don't have it together in this area without paying for accountability.
3. I need my lovely (21 year old!!!!) personal trainer to kick my butt and make me tone and strengthen my muscles. I'm pleased I managed to stick through it... kind-of... through all the nonsense at work although I did cancel a couple of times when I was just too emotionally depleted (when I would cry if someone genuinely asked me "how are you, marcia?").
4. Zumba has been great - something that's really worked is that Saturday morning gym is a mother-son date and I LOVE THAT. And then the other two started joining us around Sept-Oct, so it's now a family tradition. I dance my heart out and I'm FINISHED after that but always so grateful that my body can still dance like that... and even kick teenage butt!

 

Family

1. Hmmm. The kids had an easy transition to school but I will not be totally happy til Connor is sorted. He has not had an easy time this year and the reason we haven't taken them out is Kendra was sooooooo happy with her teacher.
2. This year there is an even stricter teacher and I just know they're going to put him with her. If that happens, we will have to take them out. I can't have two years in a row like this and a boy hating school at this young age. The school is very non-negotiable with their rules that twins must be separated. There are two other sets of twins in their classes, by the way. I don't know if it makes a difference but they are both same gender twins.
3. D and I have been having regular date nights on the couch, and date afternoons once a month when Nanny S babysits. We already set some goals for next year at our date on Sat and have both already read one of the books we wanted to read together.

 

Social
Read all about that here - hugely successful year


How were these areas of your life in 2013?

Part two to follow tomorrow!