The blog that's gotten one comment ever! Thanks mom!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Coloring again

Horsetooth sunrise

For the last two weeks, my friend AB and I have been getting up before five on the weekend, and driving up to Horsetooth Mountain. There's a series of well maintained trails belonging to the county up there, and although it's been anywhere from 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit to start, we're both well geared. Last week, we climbed Horsetooth Rock, and encountered deer both on the climb and on the way back down. This week, AB's dog Ben accompanied us. We skipped the summit and instead did an additional loop out to some radio towers on a peak north of Horsetooth. It's been lots if fun, we're back home by 9 or 10, and it is helping us get ready for warmer weather and the two or three backpacking trips we have planned this year.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Reading books

Tousins

Anna squeeze

Playdough

Here are Vi, Tade & Anna playing with playdough @Aunt Tara & Uncle Drew's house.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

From scratch. Test Kitchen recipe. It has to cool for another hour and a half. Torture.

Vision Board How To


The beginning of a new year is a great time to set goals.  Unfortunately, it's so easy for New Year's resolutions to be pushed
aside and forgotten over time.  Want a way to make them stick? Try vision boarding!

A vision board is a big board used to post your goals and dreams.  The process of creating one helps you clarify the exact results you want to achieve. It also serves as a reminder and motivator every time you
look at it.

Steps:
1. Write 4 or 5 specific goals
2. Envision/clarify results
3. Gather supplies
4. Put pictures on your board
5. Hang it
6. Celebrate

Details:
1. Write 4 or 5 specific goals
On a piece of paper, write down your goals/dreams and leave plenty of
space between them.  Starting with too many can be overwhelming, so just pick a few. You can always add more later.

2. Envision/clarify results
Underneath each goal, write down the specific results you want.  Ask yourself the following questions:
How will I know I am finished achieving this goal?  How will I measure my progress? How will I feel? What does it look like? Where do I picture myself when I've achieved my goal? What am I doing? For
example, underneath "Get Healthy" , I might write  "Feel sexy enough to wear a bikini to the pool this summer." and "Meditate during yoga so my mind is peaceful and happy". Try to stay focused on positive action statements instead of writing down things you wish to avoid.  For instance, instead of "Eat less junk food", change it to "Eat more
fruits and vegetables".  This will help you prepare for the next step.

3. Gather supplies
You will need:
Cork board (or a large poster board)
Stack of magazines
Scissors
Thumb tacks (or tape)

Go through the magazines and clip pictures that will remind you of your goals. Cut out large words or numbers if they are important to the goal, but if possible use exclusively pictures. They are much more descriptive than words. Scrap booking aisles are a great place to find stickers you can use. I recommend cutting out stickers and not peeling them off of their backing so you can move them around and enable yourself to reuse the cork board later.

4. Put pictures on your board
Using the thumbtacks (or tape), place the pictures onto your board in groups. As you work, new goals or ideas will probably come to you. Add as much as you want, and re-arrange as needed.

If you think of another image you can use, go back to the previous step and gather more pictures.  On my first vision board, I replaced a picture of a baby boy with some little pink baby girl footprints, and within 2 months I was pregnant with a baby girl.  Be specific!

5. Hang it
Hang your board somewhere you will see it daily. Hanging it in the kitchen is a good idea if you wish to enlist the help of your friends
and family in achieving your goals. If your goals are a little bit more private, perhaps a bedroom or a closet is a more suitable place to hang it. If you feel an urge to hide it, ask yourself why. Showing it to someone you trust, may help you move closer to your goal.  There is something very powerful about broadcasting your desires out into the
universe.

6. Celebrate
Accept progress towards your goals in whatever form it comes.  Sometimes you will achieve a feeling that you wanted (e.g. happiness, peace-of-mind) in some other way than what you originally wrote on
your list of goals. Recognize and celebrate each time you achieve something on your board. Once your goal is completed, remove it to make room for another goal, or add another picture if you'd like to work on another aspect of the same goal.

May all your dreams come true!

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