ROW80 Update (July-February)

Let's see.  This is sort of a summary of the last 8 months.

Last April, I switched my type of ROW80 goal-making.  Instead of having a dozen specific goals in multiple categories, which just stressed me out and/or got ignored, I made 1 general goal for each category.  I wanted to be satisfied when I met a goal, rather than disappointed or ashamed when I hadn't addressed something several weeks in a row:

 I did something a little different with this block...Instead of focusing on numerous, specific goals, many of which felt like chores to be avoided, I chose the 2 categories I'd given the most attention and interest to during the Jan-March block, and I assigned a frequency to them.  Instead of "3 sets of 3 exercises 3 days in a row, and get outside" I settled on "Exercise/get outside 5 times a week."  Blog, sketch, and crafting-related goals merged into "Do something creative 5 times a week." 

APRIL - JUNE 2015 ROW80 GOALS  

[X] 1) Do something creative: 5x a week. 

[X] 2) Stretch, exercise, or get outside: 5x a week. 

[   ] 3) Do something towards a futuristic goal: 2x a week. 

[X!] 4) Hit 100th blog post for the blog's 2-year marker on May 3rd!

I also finished and published a whole ABCs sketch series on my blog in April (see my Hedgehog series, above)!

So, how have the last 8 months gone?

Future Goal/Planning:
I have recently been doing a lot of research into some online classes and programs, and it's time to make some tougher decisions. I am looking at a spring intro class in a program field I have been researching, to see if I feel suited to that type of work and willing to invest the time.

Exercise:
Apart from some days where I get an extra spurt of energy, I have largely been sticking to my earlier "3 sets of 3 exercises at least 3 days a week" mantra.  I still hope to keep that up, and maybe increase it to 4 or 5 exercises per active day.  But, I am happy to say, I am currently on Day 20 of a walking streak (with only a few days missed the 2 weeks preceding), and I have been slooowly increasing the distance.  I discovered that I am much more eager to walk if I have generalized cabin fever or anxiety paired with a wish to see refreshing blue skies and sunlight, a chatty walking companion, or musical accompaniment (the 3 days I walked by myself without any music, I felt like I was walking against an invisible barrier).  Perhaps I will be able to turn this into a regular habit, after all!  However, here in Southern  California, we have already had a few weeks of 85 degree weather...So I have already had to play around with my walking time, and I may have to start supplementing my walking with swimming again, just to survive the oncoming heat (in March!  I know!).

Crafting:
During the fall, I made a couple baby shower plushies (dragons), and  discovered that one of my more popular plushie designs online was actually my bat.  Maybe because they are a more specialized animal?  I also started designing fabric ornaments as Christmas approached.  I am particularly pleased with the 2 flower ornament designs that I came up with, especially because flower ornaments can be kept on display throughout the year.  I would like to experiment with these designs a little more, as well as post tutorials for the original 2 designs on the blog.

Writing:
I can definitely trace when I was busy with "real life" by when I stopped writing up longer blogs last winter.  But I got another spurt of writing energy in February.

I've been mulling over the notion (hah) that I should re-visit a sketch series idea that I had last year involving sewing and textile notions (the little gadgets and tools that make different kinds of textile crafting possible).  The challenge, I think, is that quite a lot of notions start with the same letter, or fall under the same category (for example, "quilting supplies," "quilting awl," "quilting tape," etc.).  So should I limit each letter to a single notion?  Or try to address them all?  Additionally, would this be a sketch series?  Or a writing series?  Not all of these notions may be familiar to the amateur sewer, who could benefit from a short description.  But I definitely slowed down production of my ABC sketch series last year as I got further into the alphabet.  I started out with a couple weeks scheduled, and by the last few letters, I was publishing the day's sketch the night before or even the same day.

Other Creativity:
I am continuing to Instagram my walks and my crafting, and my experiments with baking.  The cooking definitely ebbs and flows, depending on budget and season.  I also altered thrift store and personal clothing into 2 costumes for costume events --a steampunk Lady in Red (in my bridesmaid gown with a handmade satchel and a tiny handmade steampunk hat!), and a Browncoat/Space Rebel.  And I have 2 or 3 dozen sketches that I have not posted anywhere.  But there have definitely been many weeks where I felt tired and uninspired to create anything.  And that can feel very discouraging.

JANUARY-MARCH 2016 ROW80 GOALS (Progress)
[X?] 1) Do something creative: Every week (Bonus: writing & crafting).
[X] 2) Stretch, exercise, or get outside: 5x a week (Bonus: 3 KINDS/day).
[X] 3) Publish blog post: Every month (Bonus: 2-4x a month).
[ ~] 4) Do something towards a futuristic goal: Every week.

It sure looks like you've done a lot when you only summarize it a couple times a year!

Blog Adventures: ROW80

 

I did something a little different with ROW80 this block.  I made a smaller, simpler set of goals for the Spring block.  Instead of focusing on numerous, specific goals, many of which felt like chores to be avoided, I chose the 2 categories I'd given the most attention and interest to during the Jan-March block, and I assigned a frequency to them.  Instead of "3 sets of 3 exercises 3 days in a row, and get outside" I settled on "Exercise/get outside 5 times a week."  Blog, sketch, and crafting-related goals merged into "Do something creative 5 times a week." 

 

Then I posted my goals in April, and set them aside.  Also different.  Instead of posting about my goals once or twice a week, I gave myself a creative blog challenge.

 

My big goal for the April-June block was to reach 100 posts by May 3rd, the 2-year anniversary of my blog.  I though it would be a nice round number and time window to celebrate.  I haven't done tutorials lately, or felt much of a writing urge, or crafted as often this spring.  Or finished projects.  so I was feeling kind of creatively stagnant.  And I wanted to do something creative and try using my blog in a different way to meet that goal. 

 

One thing I had been doing with consistency (since my NaNoWriMo/DigiWriMo blogging challenge, somewhat ironically), was sketching and posting my doodles in my blog posts.  I had started playing around with sketching a little hedgehog interacting with various objects based on the letters of the alphabet.  I had about a dozen sketches done, from all over the alphabet, and I decided that what I would do was start posting that series. 

 

I ended up fulfilling two (or three--four?--lets just say, multiple) birds with one stone--I was somewhat regularly creative, I flew past 100 posts 3 days early(!), I published my series online on multiple social media platforms, I had the pressure of publishing the sketches to push me to finish the series, and I succeeded in finishing a creative project.  And I finally tried one of the ABC/April blog challenges, where you try to post something every day of April (I did take weekends off and continue into May, but the spirit was there!). 

 

It was really neat to watch my sketching style morph as time went on.  Early letters were very monochromatic and featured isolated objects on a white background.  Later letters became humorous and whimsical narratives set in multi-colored landscapes, and featured much more variety in scale. 

 

You can find my finished series here!

 

Now, I did experience the (inevitable?) burn out as I neared the end.  I was scheduling a few of the last sketches on the days they were meant to post, and I obviously haven't posted anything here since I finished my series 2 1/2 weeks ago.

 

But I blew past my creative and blog goals for this block :)  In addition to sketching, I have been altering thrift store clothes, reading, and catching up on movies with friends.  Good times.

 

Regarding my other goals: It's been super hot and muggy, and I have been burnt out from work.  Cooking and errands have been things to be avoided (less good).  But I am doing my bare minimum of stretching and getting outside.  I definitely feel the difference when I get fresh air, but I am having to fit more of it into the cooler weekend mornings and weekday evenings.  I really, really do want to up this goal and become more habitually active, but this continues to be a challenge.

 

Progress towards future plans/goals: This continues to be a bit too big and back-burner right now.  But I do feel that I achieved my overarching April-June goals of choosing to focus on goals that brought me enjoyment while still offering myself a new challenge.

 

APRIL - JUNE 2015 ROW80 GOALS

[X] 1) Do something creative: 5x a week.

[X] 2) Stretch, exercise, or get outside: 5x a week.

[   ] 3) Do something towards a futuristic goal: 2x a week.

[X!] 4) Hit 100th blog post for the blog's 2-year marker on May 3rd!

--This post makes 124!

LA Festival of Books/Kate Mulgrew/ROW80

This weekend marked Los Angeles' 20th Festival of Books weekend.

 

It was a beautiful day in LA!

 

The jacarandas were in bloom all over the USC campus:

The Festival was full of book tents, and many authors spoke at panels and signed books.

 

Some of the fun interactive areas of the Festival included:

A collaborative Crossword Puzzle (we actually finished the whole thing!):

A Mad-Libs tent:

A reading tent, complete with comfy couches:

Other memorable spots:

An interactive festival Banner:

A booth offering Jane Austen tours around Europe:

 

Another highlight was the Library Store, a museum store on wheels.  Museum stores always have such fun, unique items!

 

All in all, it was a lovely, albeit exhausting, day.

Close-ups of my new buttons:

 

  

And as a final bonus...My friend pointed out that I was standing a yard from where Kate Mulgrew was signing her memoir!  She did a Q & A later in the afternoon.  She was as gracious with her fans as always, and answered questions about her roles at Captain Janeway and Red.  It was very exciting to see her in person!

 

*************************************************************************

I'll finish up with a quick ROW80 update:
 

 

APRIL - JUNE 2015 ROW80 GOALS

[X] 1) Do something creative: 5x a week.

[X] 2) Stretch, exercise, or get outside: 5x a week.

[   ] 3) Do something towards a futuristic goal: 2x a week.

[91/100] 4) Hit 100th blog post for the blog's 2-year marker on May 3rd!

 

Creativity, exercise/outdoor time are mostly on track.  And I think I will make the 100 post goal! Futuristic goals are seeing less progress.  Work is picking up, and I am often quite tired.  We shall have to see.

 

My sketch series featuring a Little Hedgehog & the ABCs starts tonight!

 

Good luck with your own ROW80 goals!



ROW80: My April-June Goals

Welcome back to "A Round of Words in 80 Days!"

 

I've been reflecting on what I want to get out of this block's set of ROW80 goals.

 

During the last two ROW80 blocks, I tweaked and tweaked my goals with every update post, and added more and more goals (or chores), and never got to the ones I didn't really want to do (I never finished updating my photo galleries, for example--feel free to check out my initial November-December and January-March goals, if you want more details).  I reliably got to 2-3 goals a week, but rarely more.  And I was OK with that.  Just thinking about my goals had gotten me to make a few of them more frequent and/or constant in my life, which was still a win.  I was blogging more often, and I was being more creative and more physically active (ish).

 

I also found myself veering away from creative writing, and back towards doodling.  I'm currently working on an alphabetized series of doodles, and thinking about different ways I can use my blog to play around those kinds of ideas.

 

In thinking on goals and motivations, I've decided that I really want to keep my ROW80 goals devoted to things I actually enjoy and WANT to pursue, rather than things I think I OUGHT to be doing or feeling guilty about avoiding.

 

So for this Spring Quarter of ROW80 (my mind automatically called it "The Quarter Quell!"), I have decided to try paring my goals down to the absolute minimum of what I THINK I really want to get to, and trying for those:

 

APRIL - JUNE 2015 ROW80

1) Do something creative: 5x a week.

2) Stretch, exercise, or get outside: 5x a week.

3) Do something towards a futuristic goal: 2x a week.

4) Hit 100th blog post for the blog's 2-year marker on May 3rd!

 

Good luck with your own ROW80 goals!



Goodbye, March?? (ROW80)

Um, Excuse me...

 

How is it the end of March AND of this Block of ROW80 already??!

 

 

A quick look back at my ROW80 Goals for the January - March Block:

On the one hand, I feel like I more consistently did the things I wanted.  I stretched and wrote or was creative more often (although not every day).  Read more, got out more.  However, I still only focused on a couple of my goals a week, and was very prone to doing the "bare minimum" to complete those.  I mulled over a few project ideas, but did not really dig into them.  I would also sort of vacillate between blogging three days in a row, or skipping two weeks because I was tired and just wanted to eat or read or watch something, and generally wind down after work.  And it was much easier to focus on my ROW80 blog posts rather than working on writing/photographing material for a post based on crafts.  I majorly put off whatever goals I didn't actually want to get to, but thought I ought to work towards as goals (like finances and decluttering).  I really do revert to the "Avoidance Tactic" a little too much.  It's not like it makes me happier...

So...I think I feel generally positive about this round, but I do wish I had been/would be a little more creative a little more often.  And that I was better at getting the "Must Do" things in life out of the way more quickly, instead of pushing them away until I HAD to give them attention.
Mulling over how I would like to re-vamp my goals for Spring.  Someone mentioned a "Minimum/Maximum" goal chart, like you have a totally doable bare minimum version and an exciting-but-also-possible stretch goal for each topic.  I like this idea, but I also feel, in trying it with exercise, that it would possibly discourage me if I failed to meet too many "Minimums" in a week...

Perhaps also slim-line the goals down a lot, and add one "Do One Thing Less Exciting But Necessary Per Day/Week"?

I hope all of your own ROW80 blocks ended well!  Enjoy the close of your week!

************************************************************************************
My JANUARY (5th) - MARCH (26th) ROW80 GOALS:

Part A (Creativity & Social Media)
[x] 1. 1-2 blog posts per week (Ideally: 1 ROW80 post, 1 crafts post).
[~] 2. Do something creative every day.  Doodles still count.
[~] 3. Social Media: Check in with all accounts/communities every week.
[~] 4. Catch up with/update blog & Facebook photo galleries.

Part B (Catching up with life):
[~] 1. Exercise--Ideal goal: 3x3x3 (3 sets of 3 exercises for 3+ days). 
[x] Bare minimum: 1 set of stretches.  Get outside on weekends.
[~] 2. Get my finances in order.  Also, address insurance, taxes and a new budget ASAP (however vague).
[  ] 3. Declutter and re-organize SOME OFTHE STUFF everywhere.
[86/100] 4. TRY to reach my 100th post in May for the blog's 2-year anniversary).
************************************************************************************

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (ROW80 Check-In)

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia/Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian:
(n.) Also known as "Sesquipedalophobia," or "the fear of long words."
From "sesquipedalian": a long word, or a person who uses long words.

 

 

It's Wednesday again, folks!

Time for a quick update on my ROW80 Goals from the past week:

It's been a little cooler the last couple days in Southern California, and we're expecting a little rain again, yay!  The radio is always full of pieces on small towns that are rationing their last drops...Guess we'll just have to see, won't we?

So what's new with me?

Well, I went two weeks without any blog posts, and then this week I'm back to 3 blogs in one week.  I guess I'll just have to figure out how to accommodate this repeating sine-curve of energy and motivation and inspiration levels.

Work is picking up.  I still run out of steam quickly in the evenings, but I have noticed that with the time change, I feel more prone to take care of things around the house when I get home.  Conversely, I'm still waking up at 4:30 in the morning, because my body isn't sure what time I'm supposed to get up anymore, but it knows it's sometime when it's still dark...But I'm still stretching at least once a day, and getting outside for a little exercise and social time on weekends.  Weeded and hauled wheelbarrows of mulch on Saturday, and then met up with some friends for snacks and board games on Sunday.  It was nice to see people.

In other news... I had a stressful Monday, came home, and...I wrote 1 1/2 pages of my story!  This is my NaNoWriMo story that I really liked, and slogged to the finish line with, and then never touched again.  I don't know if I got burned out from November, as some other people have stated, or if it was just that I was (and am still) stuck about how to resolve my central drama.  But this week, I just skipped all of that and wrote another scene from a different part of the story.

So that was exciting!  I've been a bit creative off and on this quarter, drawing doodles and working on a knitting project, and writing this blog, but I hadn't actually ever gone back to my creative writing project.  I'd been feeling more and more guilty about neglecting it.  So we'll see where that goes...I've also learned that I've already forgotten some of my supporting characters' names, whoops!  I still don't know how all of the bits that are not actual scenes can properly fit into the story, but I'm fond of all of them, and I hope I can use them.

If you are curious about my ACTUAL ROW80 goals and their progress, you can peruse them below.

************************************************************************************
My JANUARY (5th) - MARCH (26th) ROW80 GOALS:

Part A (Creativity & Social Media)
[x] 1. 1-2 blog posts per week (Ideally: 1 ROW80 post, 1 crafts post).
[~] 2. Do something creative every day.  Doodles still count.
[~] 3. Social Media: Check in with all accounts/communities every week.
[  ] 4. Catch up with/update blog & Facebook photo galleries.

Part B (Catching up with life):
[~] 1. Exercise--Ideal goal: 3x3x3 (3 sets of 3 exercises for 3+ days). 
[x] Bare minimum: 1 set of stretches.  Get outside on weekends.
[~] 2. Get my finances in order.  Also, address insurance, taxes and a new budget ASAP (however vague).
[  ] 3. Declutter and re-organize SOME OFTHE STUFF everywhere.
[84/100] 4. TRY to reach my 100th post in May for the blog's 2-year anniversary).
************************************************************************************

Tiny Steps (ROW80 Goals)

So how have all of you been the last couple weeks? I have been tired and hot, and a little stressed.  We had a couple rainstorms (with GORGEOUS clouds) while the rest of the country was battling snow and freezing rain, and then this week our weather swung right back around to 80-90 degree weather again. We've had to break out the shorts and the fans.  I get overheated and dizzy just driving home from work, yuck.  And I've been waking up too early, in the dark, every morning this week, checking the time because of that old pal, Daylight Saving Time.

We've got less than 2 weeks of this ROW80 period left--crazy!

Reflecting On My ROW80 Goals

In thinking about and re-evaluating my ROW80 goals for this quarter, I have been reviewing some motivational opinions, as well as other ROW80 posters each week.

I have come to a couple conclusions.

1. I am more likely to reach for a goal that is small and easily attainable.  "Bare minimum required" means I'm less likely to talk myself out of pursuing the goal, or just get it over with.  I would like to see a steady increase, but I don't appear to have enough energy to do that right now.  So each week, I seem to choose a couple goals to focus on, and a few chores to get to, and I consider that a win.  I am stretching a little almost every day, and doing something creative MAYBE every 1-2 days, and getting outside to volunteer on weekends.  I have not really addressed big goals relating to the future, or new Life (or Written) Chapters.  Tiny steps.

2. A large list of things to get to is intimidating, even if they really are things I need to or "want to" address.  See the point above.  I will gradually get to the more urgent of each goal set, but I cannot or will not address all 8 goals each and every week.  I will look at the lists, and tweak them where pertinent, but I will not check them all off.  My store of "discipline" or "motivation" is limited, and if I let the list get too big and negative and guilt-inducing in my head, it becomes an opponent rather than a friend.

3. I read one person online who recommended making fewer, vaguer categories, all positive, so that you want to meet them, or are happy and eager to check them off. You may of course have tougher things to get to, but you'll know that this particular set of goals will be enjoyable and will add flavor to your life.  You WILL read more of or even finish the awesome book, or you WANT to research that neat knitting technique, or you WILL check out that new restaurant on Yelp (done, done, and done--in the last two weeks, I read "Julie & Julia," which made me hungry and lead to a surprisingly successful Microwave-Hollandaise that I plopped on a frittata dinner, I tried and failed to master a new knitting pattern, and I tried a neat little vegetarian Indian/Thali place down the street with friends.  I also went to a friend's birthday party, and another friend's concert, which were not specifically on any lists).

Another way that I have been practicing this method is with how I have been trying to post about ROW80 things that I have accomplished--those little steps forward in creativity and exercise and consistency and outside-time.  I'm trying not to dwell on all of the goals that I'm not actually getting to in a given week, or list every goal and how it has been met or "failed" in great detail.  This method works great for other people, in terms of accomplishments and accountability, and I admire them for it.  But in my experience it just bogs me down into apathetic inactivity.  I'd rather focus in on the 2 goals I've gotten to each week, and celebrate the little stories around them that made life more interesting.  No, I am not writing or drawing or crafting or studying as consistently as I would like, but I am devoting more energy to being positive and creative and social, both on social media and in person.  Tiny steps.

If you are curious about my ACTUAL ROW80 goals and their progress, you can peruse them below.

Happy Weekend!

************************************************************************************
My JANUARY (5th) - MARCH (26th) ROW80 GOALS:

Part A (Creativity & Social Media)
[~] 1. 1-2 blog posts per week (Ideally: 1 ROW80 post, 1 crafts post).
[~] 2. Do something creative every day.  Doodles still count.
[x] 3. Social Media: Check in with all accounts/communities every week.
[  ] 4. Catch up with/update blog & Facebook photo galleries.

Part B (Catching up with life):
[~] 1. Exercise--Ideal goal: 3x3x3 (3 sets of 3 exercises for 3+ days). 
[x] Bare minimum: 1 set of stretches.  Get outside on weekends.
[~] 2. Get my finances in order.  Also, address insurance, taxes and a new budget ASAP (however vague).
[~] 3. Decluttering, and re-organizing/re-claiming my room.
[81/100] 4. TRY to reach my 100th post in May for the blog's 2-year anniversary).
************************************************************************************

Meanwhile, in California...

 

It's raining. For the second or third time today.  No more 80 degree weather for Southern California.  Meanwhile, friends and family on social media are posting photos and status updates about growing snow mounds and ice-covered driveways and leaking windows...

 

I had a decently busy week, and met several of my personal goals.  Feel free to check out my many specific ROW80 goals at the end of this post, but I would say that one thing I am learning is that I seem to only be able to prioritize a couple of my goals at a time...So I've been basically switching around which ones get attention each week.

So, work was busy, and I had to juggle a bit, and I was still very tired after work, but I found myself having better discipline this week at home.  I'm not completely clear on if I'm just getting used to the new schedule, but, in terms of the overarching goal of turning little changes into lasting habits, I'll take it!

EXERCISE
I started a new thing with my exercise goal/daily routine this week.  Basically, when I drive to and from work, I do my side-to-side neck stretches at red lights (lean to one side and hold for 30 seconds).  Obviously, the stretch gets broken up into many small parts, depending on the lights, but I think it's probably good to be stretching in little intervals all day, anyway.  So by the time I get home, I've more than passed my minimum exercise goal of one set of stretches for the day.  And it's probably one of the most helpful stretches to do regularly, since my neck and shoulders get tender after a day at a computer.  And knowing that I've got an exercise to fill in on my little exercise chart later seems to encourage me to just get one more exercise done so I can write that down, too.  It also helps that I like to exercise in threes, so if I start a new set, I try to finish another three to reach six, or nine.  The last eight days, I've done between two and nine kinds of exercises over the course of the day, many of them for more than my minimum three sets.  My minimum goal of one set of stretches daily, and my stretch goal of three sets of three exercises for three days in a row, have both been surpassed.  My stretch goal should really go back to being my minimum goal, honestly, but I figure that any kind of exercise that's regular and increasing is a positive.  And making sure that at least one of those activities during the weekend is outside is also helping.  It's raining now, but I got to the college farm to volunteer yesterday, and I went on a 3-mile walk around the neighborhood with friends this afternoon.  We got caught in a shower, but it was still nice to get outside and get some fresh air and social time (and another goal on my list, and another exercise to check off on my chart).

COOKING/CLEANING/DECLUTTERING
I have also continued to cook during the week, for lunch and dinner.  I tidied, but have not decluttered or reduced.  I noticed that several times this week when I just wanted to climb under a warm blanket and become a sloth, I made myself do another exercise, or go back into the kitchen to do my dishes.  I'm hoping that this is a new discipline habit forming, but of course only time will tell.  I am given to short bursts of novelty enthusiasm that trail away, so hopefully the progress and streak of the last couple weeks will keep me going.

BUDGET/INSURANCE
I am still figuring out budget stuff, and I still need to do my main taxes, but I did figure out my 2015 insurance.

SOCIAL MEDIA
I continue to dabble on Pinterest and Facebook, and I post on Instagram and ROW80 each week.  I am on Twitter daily, since it has the most real social interaction.

CRAFTING/WRITING
I'm still running out of steam here.  It makes me feel a little sad, but I also have a limited amount of (mental and physical) energy right now.  I did work on a brainstorming list for a new set of short blog posts, and I finally started cropping my photos for the blog post that was mostly finished in December.  And I wrote this blog post.  But that's about it.  I also figured out a few more work outfits, which also sort of qualifies as creative time.  But I need to catch up on a sewing project, and take in a few pairs of pants.  And update my photo galleries, and add some items to my Etsy store.  And start some new projects.  Things that keep not happening.

I'm still a bit of an emotional rollercoaster with all the changes going on in life (tired, sad, and flustered at times).  But I was really pleased by the number of things that I got to this week, both in work and life.  And I do feel like watching the goal tallies rise this week encouraged me to check off a few more, and then a few more.

************************************************************************************
My JANUARY (5th) - MARCH (26th) ROW80 GOALS:

Part A (Creativity & Social Media)
[x] 1. 1-2 blog posts per week (Ideally: 1 ROW80 post, 1 crafts post).
[  ] 2. Do something creative every day.  Doodles still count.
[x] 3. Social Media: Check in with all of my accounts/communities every week.
[  ] 4. Catch up with/update blog & Facebook photo galleries.

Part B (Catching Up With Life):
[x] 1. Exercise--Ideal goal: 3x3x3 (3 sets of 3 exercises for 3+ days). 
Bare minimum: 1 set of stretches.  Get outside on weekends.
[~] 2. Get my finances in order.  Also, address insurance, taxes and a new budget ASAP (however vague).
[~] 3. Decluttering, and re-organizing/tidying bedroom.
[80/100] 4. Aim for having my 100th post in May, the blog's 2-year anniversary.
************************************************************************************

 Good luck with finishing up (or reaching for) your own February goals!

It's Sunday! (ROW80 Check-In)

Well, this last week was a nice week, productivity-wise.  Feel free to check out my ROW80 goals at the end of this post.  But, in summary:

I was still tired.  But...

I researched insurance, and posted 3 blogs--in fact, I've posted 4 out of the last 5 days!  That's doubling my posts for February, in less than a week!  And two of them were about crafting last weekend (a double-win--some weeks, as you know, I just blog about blogging).  And I ate a lot of great home-made food, both at work and at home (spring rolls, fresh ceviche, eggplant parmigiana, seaweed salad, chipotle fish, fresh baked goods, milk tea, and my homemade red bean mochi--yum!  I'm getting spoiled...).

Knowing me, I'll probably reach a slump, or turn my attention to a different kind of project in the near future, but it's still fun to see the blog post counts rising so rapidly, and the cooking inspiration bubbling!

Now, how about the coming week?

I still need to review my budget, and get in some more exercise.  I also need to finish a blog post that I've been sitting on since mid-December.  I have all the ingredients, and most of the post--I just need to pare down my photos, which can be a toughie, especially when you're me and you have 5 photos that are ALMOST, but NOT QUITE, identical.

And I need to catch up on a crafting project, and clean up/declutter a bit.

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My JANUARY (5th) - MARCH (26th) ROW80 GOALS:

Part A (Creativity & Social Media)
1. 1-2 blog posts per week (Ideally: 1 ROW80 post, 1 crafts-based post).
2. Do something creative every day.  Doodles still count.
3. Social Media: Check in with all of my accounts/communities every week.
4. Catch up with/update blog & Facebook photo galleries.

Part B (Catching up with life):
1. Exercise--Ideal goal: 3x3x3 (3 sets of 3 exercises for 3+ days). 
Bare minimum: 1 set of stretches.  Get outside on weekends.
2. Get my finances in order.  Also, address insurance, taxes and a new budget ASAP (however vague).
3. Decluttering, and re-organizing/re-claiming my room.
4. Aim for having my 100th post in May the blog's 2-year)>>At least try...
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I seem to be constantly paring down and re-defining and tweaking my goals.  How about you?  Do your goals bear any resemblance to the goals you started with in January?

HOW is it WEDNESDAY already??

In brief: Greetings--2nd weekend of February--how?--tired--Galentine's Day.

A review of my JANUARY (5th) - MARCH (26th) ROW80 GOALS:
Part A (Creativity & Social Media)
1. 1-2 blog posts per week (Ideally: 1 ROW80 post, 1 crafts-based post).
2. Do something creative every day.  Doodles still count.
3. Social Media: Check in with all of my accounts/communities every week.
4. Catch up with/update blog & Facebook photo galleries.

Part B (Catching up with life):
1. Exercise--Ideal goal: 3x3x3 (3 sets of 3 exercises for 3+ days). 
Bare minimum: 1 set of stretches.  Get outside on weekends.
2. Get my finances in order.  Also, address insurance, taxes and a new budget ASAP (however vague).
3. Decluttering, and re-organizing/re-claiming my room.
4. Aim for having my 100th post in May the blog's 2-year)>>At least try...

Let's see. No doodling.  Averaging one post a week.  Thinking about some new posts.  Still being tired during the week.  I did cook and eat a lot this week, which was a win over my uninspired meals last week!

Friday, I finally took some pictures to finish up a mostly-done blog post.  Saturday, I puttered around the local farm during volunteer hours (I was too short to prune muth, so I "supervised," but I did help weed).  Then in the afternoon, a friend and I made valentines, which was social AND crafty. 

Some of us are getting together on Saturday to have a "Galentine's Day," a la "Parks and Rec"--a girls' brunch with card-exchanging and games.  There will be tea, scones, crepes, and brunch-related games that include "Elevenses--the Card Game of Morning Tea," a kickstarter-funded game, and "Marrying Mr. Darcy," a game where ladies from the book compete for various skill points to try to bag a "Pride and Prejudice" gentleman (an "Old Maid" can roll to become Jane Austen, so all is not necessarily lost if you don't make a match.  Although I eloped with Darcy last time, as Caroline Bingley.  Just saying.).

I have been doing bare minimum on the exercise & life catch-up goals.  In terms of social media, I finally went back and added to/opened up my Pinterest boards.  I'm not sure if I'll maintain them that often, though--I like posting original content and comments on Twitter, and photos on Instagram, but Pinterest seems more passive.  But the visuals can be inspiring, and I like how YouTube writer/director Yulin Kuang uses Pinterest to construct environments/flavors with her set decorators.

I have been thinking about possibly attempting a crafts-based A-to-Z in April, a series of short crafty blurbs inspired by the alphabet.  I was browsing through a Twitter-Buddy's blog, and I saw that she did a lovely story about a relationship through photographs, 5-sentence texts, and other writing prompts.  I liked the condensed, emotional effect.  And I've never tried the April A-to-Z Writing Challenge.  I'm always tired during the week, so I would probably have to start early.  And I don't want to make it so complicated that I give up.  But I am thinking about that, and possible topics.  So we'll see where that goes.

LACMA & The Tar Pits: ROW80 Check-In

February, how did we get here already??

JANUARY (5th) - March (26th) ROW80 GOALS:
Part A (Creativity & Social Media)
1. 1-2 blog posts per week (Ideally: 1 ROW80 post, 1 crafts-based post).
2. Do something creative every day.  Doodles still count.
4. Social Media: Check in with all of my accounts/communities every week.
5. Catch up with/update blog & Facebook photo galleries.

Part B (Catching up with life):
1. Exercise--Ideal goal: 3x3x3 (3 sets of 3 exercises for 3+ days). 
Bare minimum: 1 set of stretches.  Get outside on weekends.2. Get my finances in order.  Also, address insurance, taxes and a new budget ASAP (however vague).
3. Decluttering, and re-organizing/re-claiming my room.
4. Aim for having my 100th post in May (my 2-year marker for the blog!). At least try...

So where were we?

On Thursday night, I was moaning on Twitter about not having enough energy to blog, and one of my writing-buddies goaded me to finish up a draft and post a blog about wanting to blog but being drained.  So she helped me tick off that box!  (Thank you!) Overall creativity is still down as I adjust to a new routine.  However, all week there have been lovely rain clouds and sunsets, and as I drove home Friday evening, I got to drive towards a rainbow.  All of its colors were visible in distinct bands, from purple to red.

Saturday was a very nice day.  January 31st is "Museums Free-For-All" Day in Los Angeles, so some of us got together and went to "Museum Square" for a day of wandering around the Page Museum/La Brea Tar Pits and the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA). 

The Page Museum:

 

 

We saw a very wide range of dead animal skeletons (kind of morbid, but extremely well-preserved).  These 404 dire wolf sculls and several hundred eagle leg bones represent a fraction of the museum's collection of each:

 

"Pit 91," a tar pit that is still being excavated.  There are little flags marking bones from different kinds of animal remains.

 

Then we took a break to stroll along an entire block of food trucks to choose our lunches (I chose a falafel wrap over fish tacos or pupusas--a tough decision--and I also grabbed a lavender milk tea with mini-boba). 

The air was cool and cloudy, and the LACMA had a wonderfully broad range of artwork, both 2-dimensional and sculptural (a light piece and some inches-thick paintings we saw could qualify as both). 

These are Matisse portraits of one woman, Jeannette, as he pares her down further and further:

Two musician sculptures:

 

Some more of the paintings and sculptures that caught my attention.  You'll notice that my interest is usually sculptural:

 

 

 

An installation piece representing smoke fills up a large, sunken, indoor courtyard:

The Japanese Pavilion's architecture could be an installation piece all by itself, but it also housed some beautiful kimonos, swords, and scrolls. 

 

I took several dozen grainy pictures, got some fresh air, and hung out with nice people and a sweet little dog.  So it was a good day.  The nice things about museums is that the art can give you inspiration, and also trigger thought-connections that you might not have otherwise had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today (Sunday) has thus far been pretty quiet.  I reviewed my 2014 plushie sales in preparation for taxes (and learned a lot about the California Sales Tax form).  It was neat to see that I've had 18 sales since I started developing my plushie prototypes in December 2012, 13 of them this year alone!

Some friends have been over this afternoon, designing characters for a game in the warm, sunny living room.  We've had 60-70 degrees this weekend, so the windows are open and letting in a breeze.  I need to catch up on some crafting, and I still need to finish going over last year's expenses, but I think that the change in routine yesterday really did recharge some mental batteries and emotional states.  So here's hoping that that feeling lasts.  My head has been all over the place this year.

 

I continue to stretch when I am already sore--before would be better.  And I have started doing a couple short meditation sessions during the week, in the hopes that it will help me stay calm and positive when I'm tired and veering towards low spirits, which has been happening fairly often.  Some of my stretches are a bit meditative anyway, but I'm making a more conscious decision to be in that headspace.  I hope to use some of the energy from the museum day towards projects of my own.