At the start of 2019 I wrote out 13 goals and achieved 8 of them as follows:-
- Grow veggies
- Complete Photo Year Book for 2017
- Complete Photo Year Book for 2018
- Complete Photo Year Book for 2019
- Complete Photo Book for Week in the Life for 2019
- Complete Photo Book for The 52 Project for 2019
- New bedroom carpet and paint for kids wing
- New bedroom carpet and paint for master bedroom, walk in robe, bathroom
Things I weren't able to cross off on my goals were:-
- Win new 4WD for the family
- Loose 10kgs - I lost 5kgs
- Professional family photo shoot with kids
- Complete Photo Book for Week in the Life for 2013
- Complete Photo Book for Week in the Life for 2015
In terms of what I did set out to achieve I'm thrilled with. I have many years of wonderful photos on my hard drives and it seemed like such a big task to get them into books. Each year I do two photo books using Blurb and they are "The 52 Project" and the "Week in the Life" books. The 52 Project is basically an individual photo of each of my kids each week and then however many family ones I can take of the 3 of us. These books are easy because they are the same format every year and I update the photos each week for The 52 Project photos. The Week in the Life [WITL] book I have now simplified over the years and it's the same format each year and super easy to complete.
As for my Photo Year Books I am so thrilled to have 2017 and 2018 printed and 2019 all the photos are in the templates which is about 90% of the work so now I just need to resize photos and add a few words which is the fun relaxing part. When I went digital I made my 2013 Year Book and that's it and it was a bit scrapbooky [if that's a word] using digital paper. I have gone for a super clean template now that I got from Cathy Zielske and all my pages the same. 98% of my photos I take are horizontal photos and when I get the occasional vertical photo I just adjust one box in the template. I use Photoshop for these templates. The pages below are from a little 30 minute photo walk my daughter and I did with our cameras in our neighbourhood. The Year Books are 12x12 inches square with a nice big white border around the images. I use the templates and then save the whole page as a jpeg file and upload that for each page.
My two girlfriends and I all print photo books and we get together to do "photo club" which is basically going through our photos on our laptop, selecting and editing and then putting them in books so they can get printed. It's a great way to catch up with a coffee, chat and achieve something at the same time. I really got stuck into the Photo Year Book process in September and pumped out the 2 year books and had 2019 90% ready. This makes me so happy to have them in print.
I painted and carpeted 4 bedrooms, a huge hallway, walk in robe and painted the ensuite which was a huge task and one I couldn't have done without the help of my wonderful sister. We put the music on and get to work and have lots of fun laughing and painting. She is amazing and I couldn't have done all the work on my own. There is one room left to go in terms of painting and carpet which is the 2nd living area which is large and that will be tackled at the end of 2020.
On the weight loss front, I lost 5kgs in the first two months of the year and then stayed within 2kgs the whole year as I would exercise for a few days and then nothing for 2 weeks - itt's not what I need to do. My goal is to "Lose 20kgs in 2020" so I can get back to a healthy weight range. In 2017 I lost 14kgs doing Sam Wood 28 minute workouts and eating healthy [JERF - Just eat real food] ie no processed food which is in line with "Addictive Free Lifestyle". I lost my way when a family member got cancer and I fell apart and never really stuck to it when I should have. I have restarted this week and today is day 3. The food is always amazing, the exercise takes 28 minutes and you can do it in your lounge room. All I need is a mat, step box and some weights all from Kmart and my computer. Sam also has an app on the phone as well however I use the computer for my workouts.
I had booked a family photo session at the beginning of the year however I ended up cancelling it because I wasn't feeling great with the excess weight and if I am spending money on beautiful photos I want to feel and look great. At the same time I had a large car repair expense pop up which was a priority. That's not to say I didn't get in my own family photos during the year with my kids because I do that now by using the self timer and getting in the pics with them.
My first family photo session was done in January 2018 with Cindy Cavanagh at Bribie Island and here's a few images.
What a life-enhancing post - I feel quite cheered and moved by all that you've done and achieved, and how you are reminding us that we can do more than we think. The photos are beautiful, though I think your own are every bit as lovely as the photo-shoot ones. Sending you every good wish for achieving that 20kg goal in 2020: having popped in for many years and been wowed at how much you have already achieved, I have no doubt this will be ticked off this time next year :).
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words and encouragement Alexa much appreciated.
DeleteWOW you achieved so much in the year! I look back on my year and think what the heck did I do! 🤷♀️ I want to be goal focussed, but it’s not in my DNA, but I’m equally tired of being swept along wherever the river takes me! I’m not sure how to alter that, perhaps your book suggestion would be a good place?
ReplyDeleteJump onto her website and sign up for her newsletter....she sent out a couple of emails about her process for her goals. First of all what she achieved in 2019 and how did she feel about it. Then in 2020 you write down how you want to feel...ie I want to feel more organized, I want to feel healthy etc. and then your goals can come from those "feelings". It was a great way to think about things.
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