Colour and Texture

An older photo of me from the fall.

Daily Photo

Sketching out some ideas today...

Simplicity in Open Spaces

Daily Photo

Where the thoughts will go in the coming months...

Goals for 2011

There is a lot on my mind these days as I think about 2010. Honestly, I'm not even sure what I really achieved last year, but it helps to revisit the previous posts and think about what I do want to do this year. I feel like I am in a bit of limbo, wondering what is going to happen, and if I am really happy with where I am right now. I'm not sure if my current career is a good fit with me, and I think in the coming weeks that I will have to think hard about what my plan is for the next few years.

With that, I have thought about the following, though it will likely be tweaked a bit as 2011 moves along, I think I have a good idea of what I want to accomplish this year.

Balance and Mental Health

• Find out what is important to me and where I want to be in 5 years - this could mean more school, a new career, a new city...
• Focus - on what is important to me, and what will help me feel balanced and live with grace
• Identify my stressors - both personal and work
• Focus on my personal relationships

Physical Health

• Train for a race (5k & 10k) - the goal is to try for a half marathon in 2012 (thinking about the Toronto Waterfront race)
• Work out regularly (2-3x a week) with a focus on strength and endurance training
• Practice yoga 2-3x a week
• Eat for enjoyment, whether at home or out

Inspiring Design

• Take daily photographs, learn to use my LX5
• Start to write and take note of daily inspirations
• Streamline my wardrobe, reduce the clutter and assemble a style
• Revisit painting and create a series of painting this year
• Learn how to sew and invest in a sewing machine

While these are great, a set of monthly goals came to mind as well. Having these will help to keep me focused as I move through the year. My main problem seems to be focus - I get lost in the day to day of my life and forget about myself and my interests.

Monthly Goals

• Design - new concepts, ideas, themes, anything that comes to mind
• Read a book
• Try a new recipe - more experimentation, particularly I want to learn how to make breads
• Have a date night
• Have 'me time' of about 3 hours a week
• Volunteer
• Learn a new song on guitar and piano

They say writing your goals down helps you to achieve them. We'll see what 2011 brings!

Style Inspiration

Housekeeping 2.0

This blog has been quite neglected - I guess life just simply got in the way, but I will update based on the previous post, which talked about goals for 2009. It has been a crazy two years since moving up to the somewhat-great white north, and some things have definitely been accomplished since then!

Personal Well Being

1. Mental health and well-being - I have dedicated much more time to myself in the last two years, and have cut down on overtime at work substantially. Though periodically I have been close to burn-out from work, I have been better about getting to a happy medium.
2. Fitness - I am at a healthy weight following 40lbs of university weight gain after 3 long years of trial and error. Now I am able to work out 3x a week at the gym or play sports, with a focus on strength training, whereas before my schedule would not allow for it. Though my weight is still settling in to where it will be eventually, I am in general, quite happy regardless of how much it moves on the scale, keeping in mind it is only one of many indicators of good health.
3. My relationship with food - I no longer keep a food diary or count my calories since re-learning how to eat and enjoy my food, and it's nice to be able to eat without focusing so much on what it is, rather on how tasty and delicious it is! My focus is now on whole, natural foods, while indulging in the good stuff in moderation.
4. Volunteering - I was involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters for 2009-2010, something that was a lot of fun! Unfortunately, my Little moved away recently, but I still consider myself lucky to have had the time with her and to explore being a mentor. Haven't decided whether I will match up again, as I don't know if I will be moving within a year, however, I am still volunteering with the organization when I can.
5. Relationship - Getting married next year, which will be an adventure in itself! Still working away at making it better and better, as there is no room for resting! We still enjoy each others company, and the time that we have apart from each other.

Personal Goals

1. Design - play, enjoy and think about it on a daily basis, whether I create it or not! Photographs, digital media, blogs! Also, think more seriously about how this will apply for future schooling when I get to it.
2. Music - play more, start to compose again
3. Personal wardrobe - slowly but surely start to refit it with classic and trendy pieces. Since becoming fitter, my wardrobe of what I can wear has shrunk substantially (and donations to the Salvation Army have increased!). I will be in Hong Kong in the next month, so perhaps that's when I can start to think about what to buy! I think I am more settled in my size, which will give me more freedom in what I can buy and wear.
4. Food - make and enjoy! I have been lazy... perhaps it's time to take more pictures of what I eat! Time to try out some new recipes!
5. Wedding - plan a small, budget friendly wedding. Hopefully this will be relatively stress-free and I will enjoy the process!

Wishlist Update

Seems that I have obtained three of the five from 2009, all except for the tablet and the DSLR, which I am okay with. With the upcoming wedding, I am happy to leave those aside until I have the income and the time to play with those types of things. In the meantime, the music and the art will still keep going in the household! Now that I have a new digital camera (Panasonic LX5), I am steadily taking pictures again, documenting things as I go along.