ParentGrapevine | Parenting, Traveling with Kids, Pets and More: A Little Reflection

Okay, so it's time for a little update on my Project Vision 366/2012. I see wholeheartedly how making "out loud" declarations can be transformative (my word for the year btw). The connection between the declaration and the mindset is amazing. It brings clarity to your life. It creates opportunities that didn't exist before. It's like yoga for the soul.

I posted my "out loud" declarations in January. Here's a recap on my progress:

Photography - My declaration: "continue with my second Project 365+1. Make a concerted effort to seek images that reflect who I am and what I love. Images with interest, with a story, with heart. Enter some photography contests or have one professional published. Seek out a professional photographer-mentor who can challenge me to grow and improve my craft." Update - I am continuing with my Project 366 and have been including iPhone photos via Instagram. This year has been easier, more fun and more fulfilling than last year. I am using my Canon DSLR more and I even upgraded to a Canon 5DMarkII. LOVE IT. Small jobs are popping up in unexpected places and I am improving all the time. I think that's one of the reasons I love photography and art in general, because you can always improve, always. I sought a mentor, a seasoned photographer, and he agreed to coach me. I hope to start shadowing him on a few wedding shoots to gain more photography insight.
Here's a link to my Project 366/2012 Flickr slideshow:

Write - My declaration: "last year I started getting paid for my freelance writing. Mid-way through the year I nearly stopped writing to help care for my amazing big brother when he became terminally ill. This year I'm going to resume my writing and stick to a regular writing schedule. I'm going to keep track of ideas and inspiration. I want to think about potential book ideas (this is a 5 year goal). I love writing movie reviews so my goal is to write more of those. Update: I'm back to writing which I love as much as photography. I have to say the photography is taking way more time than I anticipated, but that's all good! So anyway, opportunity came knocking and I have a writing gig at Canvas Press in addition to Yahoo! where I write for Shine and Yahoo Voices. I've racked up over 700,000 page views, a bunch from movie reviews. I'm loving it!
Exercise - My declaration: "I hate to exercise. But this year I bought a jump rope and have been jumping (jumping to conclusions, as my husband likes to say) regularly. I like that it is portable and I can take it wherever I am. Or I don't have to leave the house. It helps me warm up on cold days. My goal is to jump for 20 minutes every other day. So far I'm up to 10 minutes every other day. Hey, it's a start. Plus I want to take a yoga class." Update: Well, I have to admit, the first 3 words are still true "I hate to exercise." I have NOT kept up with jumping rope but I do still love to jump to conclusions. All the time. But I HAVE kept up with a new Yoga routine and am taking classes 2x a week. I will slow down a bit for the summer, but plan on resuming full speed in the fall when school is back in session. I have to say, I LOVE YOGA. There, I've said it. My teacher is phenomenal.
Cooking - My declaration: "I am going to learn a new recipe each month from my friend's food blog, Jeanette's Healthy Living. I'll do this with my youngest daughter who has a passion for cooking and I want to encourage that skill." Update: uh, again a bit of a slacker here. I think I should also have stated "I hate to cook" - I've never been that great of a cook and when I do, I don't find the fulfillment that a lot of people do when cooking. I'm not that much of a foodie either. So there you have it. Don't like to cook, and I'm not a foodie. BUT, I did buy a new Oster 8-speed blender and I made breakfast smoothies yesterday. Now that I do love. In the summer I plan to cook and bake more with my youngest daughter who does love to cook.
Travel - My declaration: "review my bucket list and keep checking places off that list. I need to start planning my family's Spring and Summer vacations." Update: My family took a trip in April to Mexico where our team built 10 homes for the impoverished (click on the link to the left). It was an amazing, incredible experience. It tested all sorts of aspects personally, from how much I can tolerate camping without a flushing toilet nearby to making an incredible contribution to a wonderful family by building a home from start to finish. Without power tools. With just pure manpower. What was even more amazing was watching 2 of my daughters (the other was in college) blossom and experience this too. It was, in a word, TRANSFORMATIVE. My kids told me it was life changing for them. For me as their parent, it meant so much when people on their team would come up to me and tell me what a contribution my girls made. They were hard workers and team players. I am so proud of them.