Getting Things Done ~ Conscious Awareness and Just Do It!

Do you have a bucket list? Do you have things on it that you intended to do in a certain time frame? Do life circumstances keep you occupied in such a way that it sometimes seems you may never accomplish the activities on your list?

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I was feeling that way recently. Blindsided by the number of items still left un-done on my 50@50 list I decided it was time to reevaluate my list and to analyze why more of it hadn't been accomplished. And my first thought was to let go. What I mean, is to reevaluate each item on the list and decide whether it was still important to me. Was, for example, completing a meaningful piece of art still something I wanted to do? After contemplating the value of each item, I decided that each item was still important and that I was not willing to take anything off of the list. Okay. So now what?

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The next thing I did, was to decide if my time frame is realistic...and this is where I made the first change. I decided that it is not important that I accomplish all of these items in one year. In fact, I really don't care if it takes me five years. What is important, is that I make steady progress toward completing every item.

Just after "training" :-)

About half way through the tour ~ Ashley made us do this! :-)

So, I decided to make a conscious effort to put some of the items on my calendar, or to otherwise make space for them in my life. For example, Rick and I have decided to get out of our post-grad rut. You can read about it here. Saturday, I made reservations to take the Desert Ridge Marriot Segway Tour! DONE! It was so much fun and was everything I had hoped it would be. Now I can confidently mark it off my list. Incorporating the things on my list into our week-end fun and annual vacations will ensure that activities like learning to kayak, taking the light rail, and swimming with the dolphins get done. Once a week I will be more aware of my menus and I can consciously try out a new fish recipe and I can do one meatless meal per week and try out a new vegetarian dish. I can pay attention to techniques that work well and to mistakes I make, and I can learn from them. Before I know it, I'm sure I'll be pretty good at both :-)

What is on your bucket list? What strategies will you use to accomplish the things that are important to you?

50@50 ~ Number 8 ~ Everyday Extraordinary: Capturing God Moments

These two photos are numbers 9 and 10 of my 50@50 project in my quest for the best of the best in representing those God Moments that take my breath away. This first one is the view I see as I turn the corner off the main street that leads into our little subdivision. People visit here from the East and always comment on how brown it is here. Yes, it certainly can be seen that way, especially in light of the lush green that blankets most of the East. However, I have learned to really look, and I mean really look to see the marvelous architecture of our desert plants and trees. Every time I turn that corner, I am reminded how great God is and how gracious to create such amazing beauty for us to enjoy. Aren't those tree trunks amazing? And notice how the long pink flower spikes are leaning out to sun themselves.

My neighborhood

My heart always seems to skip a beat when we are up in the mountains and approach the elevation where the Aspens make their home. Aspen trees have long been my favorite sort of mysterious tree. I'm not sure why I find it so magical; perhaps it's the quaking leaves, or the fact that it is the largest living single organism in the country with it's roots spreading throughout Colorado nurturing new seedlings that will grow and thrive. I captured this shot on our vacation in the Rocky Mountains this summer. I had long appreciated the work of photographers who shot photos up through the trees and only lamented that I would never get the opportunity. Yet here it is, and I love it, as it transports me right back to that moment when I felt new as one of the seedlings being nurtured and protected by these two grand trees.

Capturing a dream

In keeping with our determination to stay out of the rut, the hubs and I are off on a Segway Tour of Desert Ridge out in North Scottsdale this weekend. I'm excited about the opportunity to capture some fun shots. They probably won't make it into the coffee table book, but I will share the fun here next week. Have a fun-filled weekend. ~ Blessings, Janet

You've got the power ~ But are you using it?

Just when you think it's just another Monday morning. "Back to the salt mines" mom used to say after a leisurely weekend. She, of course, was referring to getting back to work, to a job she was supremely good at, but like many people, it wasn't her dream job. So I ask you, are you working in your dream job? I'll even go a step further. Are you living your dream life?

Do you feel like this today?

One of the things that supports me in living a life that I love, and that keeps me positive, is connecting with good reading material. I come across a lot of people who are yearning for something different in their lives, and who are not sure how to achieve their dreams. Sometimes they get depressed and anxious, feeling like life is passing them by. I always tell them, "You are only an instant away from happiness."

You see, it's a choice, and you have the power to make that choice. Power? Yes Power! Check out the trailer for Rhonda Byrne's new book The Power (She's the author of The Secret)

Now, I have to share that I haven't read it yet, but it's right sitting here on my desk and I wanted to share it with you right away because I found her first book, The Secret, so powerful. Perhaps we can read it together. I'm going to start tonight :-) Let's talk about it as we go...