Wednesday 4 January 2012

My One Little Word for 2012 - why I chose it - and a quick recap of 2011





I've thought excessively about 2012 and the direction I want
it to take.  I do realise of course that it's not ALL up to me
and that life happens and God determines my path...
Still - I think to get anywhere it helps to have a map :)
  I've chosen BALANCE as my One Little Word.
I have a lot of subsidiary words too!!

My word for 2011 was FOCUS.  I did so well on that that I
changed it towards the end of the year to PRIORITIZE.
That one also went very well and I got a lot achieved.

The downside was that by the end of the year I was
exhausted.  In fact by the end of October I was exhausted.
Nonetheless I was amazed that I continued to "operate" -
but that's what I did...operate, not LIVE, and it wasn't
enjoyable without the sleep I needed nor was it a great
example to my kids or fair on my husband, let alone myself.

I love all that  I do and wish I could do more - more of
everything - it's frustrating that there are only so many hours
in the day but I know I must be grateful for all the
possibilities that are open to me in this modern age & temper
my ambitions to fit my responsibilites.  I need to cut down my
studio hours so that other areas in my life don't suffer as a result.

Hence the word BALANCE. A place for everything & everything
in it's place (on my schedule that is...) so I've got quite a few
sub-sections this year - my "subsidiary words" are ENCOMPASS,
ORGANISED, EFFICIENT, SELF-DISCIPLINE, PRIORITIZE,
OVERCOME and LIVE.

This blog has been an integral part of my life for over 3 years
now & I have my reasons for why I really wanted it to be a
success.  Anyone can say they have a blog but not necessarily
an active blog with an active readership, that not only looks
good but is also worth the time and effort that goes into
maintaining it...It's taken me 3 years to get that &  it makes
me deeply satisfied to finally have got to this point.

I've had some disappointments with it along the way, the fact
that none of my family (not the ones in my house but the rest)
have ever visited this blog or even paid one iota of interest has
been a bitter pill to swallow...But I've succeeded even without
their interest and support and am so happy and grateful that
there are actually people in the world who want to follow my
blog and take the time to comment too.  I started 2011 with
36 followers and ended it with 182 so I can confidently say
that 2011 was finally my scrappy/bloggy year of achievement.

Thank you all for coming along for the ride :)




12 comments:

Evgenia Petzer said...

oh so many true words!

tania said...

love the honesty of this post,yes! that is why i stop here so many times:)

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Awesome OLW!! And I love love love this post!!! I am glad I found you in 2011 and wouldn't trade our friendship for the anything! Thank you for always inspiring me! :):):):):):):):):):):)

Mitralee said...

Agree with Tanya whole heartedly. And Julie too!

Lea said...

I truly enjoy following your blog. There's so much inspiration and you're so honest with your layouts, they never seem to sugar coat reality. Looking forward to what I find here in 2012!!!

Bellaidea said...

I can tell you one thong, I like to visit you!
May your dreams came true!

Denise Price said...

Congratulations on reaching so many of your goals. You are a hard worker, and I'm sure you'll achieve your new goal of finding balance. I'm really glad that I came across your blog in 2011 and got to know you. Looking forward to continuing our friendship in 2012!

yyam said...

Hehe...love that you've got "subsidiary" words.

You've definitely accomplished a lot in 2011 and I'm sure 2012 will be even better. You are immensely talented. Don't worry about family not appreciating what you do...they will eventually. No real life friend/family reads my blog. But I have regular bloggy pals who support me. Like you do.

Kirsty Vittetoe said...

Great post!!! and thanks for a year of friendship, I am looking forward to more of you beautiful work in year 2012!!!

Lynette Jacobs said...

Wonderful post and a great word...BALANCE is what we all need in our lives. I actually prefer my family NOT to read my blog...that way I feel safer...sad, but true.

xx

Eila Sandberg said...

Oh Helen, we know how family members are, don't have any pals visiting me either. None of them have a clue what scrapping is, except they want handmade cards and that's it. So happy I have wonderful, loving and warm cyber friends like yourself to share with and visit, you gals are the reason I have a blog. Always here to see you and have a chat Helen, always. xoxox

Michelle said...

That is a great word and all the subsidiary words as well. Don't feel bad for not having extended family read your blog. Mine could care less either. Honestly they have done a really good job of isolating us from the rest of them (both mine and DH's side). Their loss. I have spotted your work around the scrappy world lately. I really love it all!! Beautiful pages!!! I hope you had a great weekend. :)