A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was participating in Ali Edwards' "One Little Word" workshop at Big Picture Classes (to read more about my approach, read this post). My chosen word for 2013 is "plan." I hope you will follow me in this journey as I share with you reasons why I chose this particular word and how it is making its appearance in my life.
So above is the title page for my album. Those who know me may be surprised that I didn't go with a pink palette, but I figured I can step out of my box a little bit for this project! I chose greens, yellows, blues along with a neutral gray for my color scheme.
Our first prompt from Ali was to create 12 intentions with our word and explain a bit of how the intention will become part of our life. My intentions are laid out above and I will focus on one each month here at September Blue.
Before I can get into this month's intention, it only makes sense to look at what "plan" means:
These words can also be associated with "plan:"
So with January being the beginning of the year I thought it would be appropriate to start with a:
I am using January to organize my workflow in various areas of my life-developing a plan of action for running the house, growing my presence in the digital design/scrapbook community, keeping a regular exercise routine, spending quality time with Chris, getting together with friends, etc. All of this takes scheduling and consistency and consideration of how one area effects the other. Take for example the household task of grocery shopping. I have always been a menu planner. Ever since Chris and I got married I have always planned our meals one to two weeks in advance. I remember going grocery shopping with my mom when I was young and she would just pull things off the shelves, deciding what she was making for dinner that week as she strolled the cart down the aisles. I don't know how she could do that. I know I can't! Anyways, when I sit down to menu plan I take into consideration what is going on in the evenings during the week–are we hosting a dinner, do we have official events to attend, is Chris away on business, my workout schedule. For instance, I work out with my trainer on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and don't get home until after 6pm. I don't want to be cleaning the kitchen at 9pm, so I know to plan a meal in the crockpot on Tuesdays so it is ready when we get home from the embassy. We will then have it as leftovers on Thursdays. This whole menu planning is extremely important to me. It just makes things flow more smoothly during the week.
Even the best laid plans may need some tweaking, which I have found out already in how I'm scheduling my blog posts. And there is really nothing wrong with the schedule, it's the timing of the behind-the-scenes prep work that needs to be slightly changed. But that's nothing for you to worry about! It's something I have to work out on my end and that is okay. January is about developing a system that works for me. And if there are parts of the wheels that need a little bit of oil, I just need to plan on adapting!
You can count on my "One Little Word" posts to show up about once a month around the middle of the month. I figure this will give me a few weeks into my monthly intention to see how it is making a difference in my life so I can share it with you!
The products I used in my title and intentions pages include:
My Mind's Eye: green dotted paper, pin-stripe paper, yellow patterned paper
October Afternoon: Chevron
Crate Paper: gray patterned paper
September Blue: diagonal paper (not available for purchase...yet)
JillyBeanSoup: Alphabet letters
Doodlebug Designs: baker's twine
Jenni Bowlin: Chipboard tabs (these are covered in washi tape which I don't know the manufacturer)
Bazzill Basics: All cardstock and chipboard brackets (brackets are colored with an ink pad by Close to My heart).
