Happiness is... {a list}

...finding a piece of chocolate in your pocket that your middle son gave you from his own Valentine gift.
...getting a 3 pound bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans from your hubby for Valentine's Day.
...getting a huge hug and "I love you" from hubby after he looks through the scrapbook album you made for him.
...taking a nap and reading a book in the middle of the day.
...eating a meal out as a family and not having to make lunch or dinner (this should be a new monthly tradition).
...thrilling the boys with the gift of books for Valentine's Day

this one for Logan:

  

this for Camden:

and this for Maddox

 ...having a lazy weekend without deadlines and worries.

Resolution Check-In

Well, we're one month into twenty-11, so let's take a look at how my high hopes for the year are doing, shall we?

1. create everyday--{check} this will be my "safety" for the year, the one that above all else will stick
2. remember today--{umm, almost check?} I'm not at 100%, but I'm a lot better off than I was last year!
3. be more efficient and productive--{check} I think I'm doing pretty good here, as long as you can count playing Cover Orange and Cut the Rope on my i-pod as productive!
4. drink more water--{ugh!} you would think this would be a no brainer, but I struggle so badly with this one
5. exercise regularly--{nope} I did go to Pilates once this month; if number one is my safety, this one is my "reach"
6. have more patience--{yes!} number one is helping a great deal with this.  Loving my life helps, too!
7. catch up on unfinished projects--{kinda} "catch-up" was my word for the month of January, and I had high hopes of completing lots of unfinished projects.  I didn't anticipate how many new projects January was going to throw at me.  I did manage to get all my 2010 photos organized and backed-up, no small feat, really. Which brings us to number 8:
8. organize and back-up photos monthly--{yup} January is caught up too!
9. learn something new every week--{hmmmm} I bet I have, like the other day when I learned about QR codes and created one for my blog address (see above)
10. send more cards--{whoops!} gotta get better at this one!
11. teach more classes--dropped the ball on this one 
12. read one book a month--{check} but admittedly, it was my second reading of said book
13. complete 120 LO's this year--{yippee!} 10 down, right on track for the year
14. complete an art journal--{uh uh} did one page, but I really want to fit this into my creative routine--working on this for Feb.

Well, the year is young.  There's 11 more months to perfect my resolutions!

Lists

I love lists.  Lists keep me organized, motivate me, and even let me sleep better at night.  Lists are quick to write, don't require a lot of words, or even a lot of thinking.  Lists can be utilitarian, like those for the grocery store, reminding, like those to-do ones, or recording, like those that name the books you've read or the cities you've visited.

Tonight I visited an inspiring blog, and thought I would adopt her idea for a bit.  She (Sherri Pelletier) did 52 lists last year, and she created each one on a mini-art journal page.  Here's the beginning of her project, and here is the ending.  I am smitten with this idea.  Sometimes I can come up with my own ideas, and well, sometimes others ideas are just too good to pass up because of the mere fact that they are not my own.
So here's my first list for 2011.  Not sure I'll be able to turn these into little works of art like Sherri, but at least my lists will be recorded:


What is on my desk right now:

• roll of crepe paper in turquoise
• pack of 4x6 photo paper
• calculator
• empty tp roll
• bottle of tacky glue tipped on its side
• corner rounder
• printed photo of my hobbies
• clipboard with calendar
• 4 CK magazines
• ATG gun
• package of multi colored binder rings
• ear phones for ipod
• memory card reader
• post-it notes
• 18" metal ruler
• book of to-do lists
• paper trimmings
• Colorbok punchout pad
• Collage Unleashed book
• envelope mini album
• sketch book
• can of spray adhesive
• paper doll notecards and envelopes (a gift from a friend)
• CK Manchester calendar of classes
• spool of pink gingham check ribbon
• and then all the other stuff that always sits on my desk: paper trimmer, cup of pens and tools, inspiration and sketch books of all kinds, external had drive, mini photo printer, laptop, set of drawers, telephone, wooden organizer, pack of pens,