a resolution completed. year after year.
i make my goal(s) attainable and decided back in 2011 that i would tell very few people of my goal(s). i read somewhere once that if you say you’re going to do something and then decide to broadcast it to the world, you’re actually giving your brain that immediate satisfaction of an accomplishment and will be less likely to complete your goal in the long run. don’t go seeking praise from family and friends about something you’re GOING to do…go seek it AFTER you’ve completed and accomplished what you set out to do.
ideally, you will be happy with the result and the praise from family and friends will be genuine.
so what goals you ask?
in 2011, it was to always use the stairs.
never escalators or moving sidewalks or those short elevator rides in malls. the exceptions that i put in place were, if i was with a friend (i always gave the option, and most times they chose to take the stairs with me), and if i was in a building where i needed to travel to a very high floor (i used to live on the 29th floor). very happy to report that i completed my goal and it became second nature. i didn’t stop taking the stairs after that point. my legs feel great!
in 2012 it was to write once a month on this thing i call a blog – and i did that. once a month for all of 2012.
in case you’re curious, my blogs birthday is – January 7th, 2012.
in 2013, i told myself to learn something each month. i didn’t put any perimeters around how or what i was going to do and ended up falling into some pretty fun stuff. what i mean to say is, i fell back in love with photography. i started the digital photography program at George Brown College.
JANUARY a barreworks class and photo 101 by this lady who used to run nicole’s classes.com to get the basics down. my fabulous brother, who was soon to depart to australia let me borrow his nikon d40 as a starter.
FEBRUARY – i took a cooking class at williams-sonoma and watched a few broadcasts of photography workshops on creativelive.com.
MARCH – 2 “world function classes” (they no longer exist) – geared towards blogging. preparation for the day i’d see martha stewart.
APRIL – a cast iron cooking class at williams-sonoma.
MAY – JUNE – digital photography 1 and photoshop basics at george brown – i decided to get slightly serious and willingly went back to being given homework. yet this time around, it’s fun! i bought myself a starter camera, d7100. yup – i’m a nikon gal.
JUNE – alt summit nyc. Josh and i headed to the big apple so that i could attend a super cool blogging conference.
JULY – AUGUST – digital photography 2
SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER – digital photography 3
NOVEMBER – DECEMBER – night and low light photography.
i took advantage of the toronto library system and took out plenty of books. cookbooks, photography books, children’s books, you name it – i’ll look to anything for a smile and a little inspiration.
in 2013, i also did “no make-up mondays.” this was the second resolution i made to myself that year. i mean truthfully, i don’t wear make-up that often anyways – my routine really only consists of eye liner, eye shadow and mascara. the odd occasion i’ll throw on some lipgloss.
the above picture? i woke up, dragged my ass outta bed, grabbed my camera & remote and snapped this photo. just me.
makeup is cosmetics applied to the face. cosmetic is defined on Bing as cos·met·ic [ koz méttik ]
- beautifying substance: a preparation that is applied to the face or the body to make it more attractive, e.g. lipstick
- superficially attractive aspect: something added or done to something else to cover up defects
- intended to beautify: intended to improve somebody’s physical appearance
We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.
Malcom X
many thoughts and ideas run through my mind every time i read that quote, it’s so powerful – for this instance and for me, wearing no make up meant being closer to a truer me. accepting the skin i’m in and nothing more. and let’s be honest, to be able to press that snooze button one more time on a monday morning.
well – could you? give up your make-up kit for any length of time? and if not – why can’t you live without it? i’d love to know.
you are beautiful – wherever and whoever you are.
don’t forget it.
in 2014, i wrote to both of my grandmothers once a month for the entire year. i didn’t know what to expect out of it when i first started, but what i got out of it was… priceless. i felt as if i found a way to connect where i wouldn’t have if i had just picked up the phone and had, maybe, a 10 minute conversation. it allowed me to get to know each of them as individuals a little more than i ever had before. i’ll treasure those letters forever. that turned out to be one of those resolutions that once you start, you realize you don’t want to stop. i continued to write to my grandma siddall until she passed away January 27th, 2016 and continue to write to my grandma on my mothers side still.
in 2018, i made it my goal to reduce my single use plastic consumption.
here are the changes i made specifically during that first year.
disposable razor = safety razor and blades
plastic toothbrushes = bamboo toothbrushes
plastic bags = reusable shopping bags
plastic produce bags = not using a bag at all or bringing a cloth or mesh bag
plastic bagged food items = going to the bulk section or store with a reusable container, taring it, filling it and paying for what i want
plastic milk bags = making my own mylk – cashew is my favourite because i don’t strain it.
have you or do you enjoy my blogging? tell me! i like to think there are others out there – and not just me, myself, my computer and i. let me know that you exist and lets start a conversation.
my current resolution?
silly question. don’t ask. i’m not going to tell you until it’s completed.
