Amazing.
So many of last night's events blew my mind: the concert, the moon, and beyond. The Bronx was bursting out the seams. The energy was electric. It doesn't get more 'New York' than Jay-Z, then times him by the venue: Yankee Stadium. Then multiply him and the venue by the lyrics of 'Empire State of Mind' and a crowd of thousands of people. Our New York egos reached the moon. The moon was round and full last night; it's cup runneth over.
Thanks for visiting.
Wish you could've been there.
With my one little word {MAKE} implanted in my head, I had set out at the beginning of March to MAKE MYSELF SMILE. Heck, after February, I needed an intention that would upturn the corners of my mouth a bit.
Turns out...a lot made me smile in March, grin ear to ear, infact:
March 01 to March 30 - The 30 Days of Lists challenge made me smile from concept, to design, to execution, to guaranteed washi-tape play...this project was where March was at for me.
It was fun, creative, happy, and got me through from February >> to >> April. I was so incredibly grateful for it. It was just the right project at just the right time. :)
Find out more about it HERE.
March 02 to March 20th-ish - Mission SKINS & PRITS, my March movement challenge.
I started it at the beginning of the month with INSANITY and hardcore food-journalling. In the first week, I lost over 7 pounds! I mean, Hey! THAT made me smile. Then, it kind of trailed off into ZUMBA on wii, etc...okay. ...and LATELY, I've been sick, so it's be next to nothing. I plan to get back to regular exercise and better eating when I kick this sinus cold crap.
In the meantime, I got two adorable PL inserts from the thing. That always makes me smile.
Saturday, March 23rd - There was little on this day that wasn't going to make me smile. For one, it was the first day of Spring Break (hello!); two: I knew I was going to spend it getting pampered and pretty...
This exact list was lived and lovely.
This was a good day.
Sunday, March 24th - I bought myself a new bike! What?!
It was love at first bike, for sure. I hadn't planned on getting a new bike this month, but you saw the smile at the end of that video, right? Holy smitten!
Thursday, March 28th - The wide open space of 'me time' that came with Spring Break on this day made my whole body smile. Due to a homework prompt given to me from the blog course I was taking called Blog Boss, I spent a lot of that time on my Macbook doing some minor updates to this blog. One of the most noteable was the NEWSLETTER feature I added to the 'ABOUT' page:
Everyday I want to get closer and closer to creating better design, and this, for me shows how far I've come...it's a possible promise of where I could go, and this truly made me smile.
Friday, March 29th - Deciding to wake up and do another round of Ali Edwards 'Day in the Life' documenting challenge gave an energetic and focused smile...and when it finally comes together in the form of a Project Life insert:
...my smile grows even bigger.
Saturday, March 30th - I woke up to find that the Everything Typepad blog listed my Easter egg post as one of the Spotlight: Hippity Hoppity Easter-themed posts to go check out. This made my heart smile, especially when I read
"...we've rounded up some of the best of
Typepad's bloggers for an Easter craftacular!
Click over and visit, stay awhile, and soak up
the atmosphere in these great Typepad blogs."
I'm the best of Typepad's bloggers?! Mine is a great Typepad blog?!
GET OUTTA HERE!
(I made sure to thank them in the comments for the ego boost.)
...and finally...
Easter Sunday, March 31st - I made myself smile by tossing some plastic eggs on the floor, and dressing my cats and myself in our springiest easter best, even though it was cold cold cold outside. My cousin and I had a quickie photo shoot which I edited in a flash over a perogie brunch with my aunt, mom, & sis.
I will be coming to you tomorrow with my one little word intention for April.
See February's here and here.
See January's here and here.
Happy Friday!
Yesterday, I traveled some miles away because
"I had to see about a [bike]." -- Will Hunting.
I ended up purchasing this bike.
I'm visualizing everything you see above along with it:
this helmet to be tied down with these bungees,
and this basket to hold this bag.
I have a dress similar to that one from Old Navy, and
I plan to wear it with brown boots that match the handle bars.
Spring Fever = Bike Fever
...and I'm burnin' up, baby!
Want some more? See my bicycleLOVE pin board.
This is a post reflecting on my first year doing Ali Edwards' one little word practice.
To learn more about it, read here.
In a few days, I will share with you all the one little word I've chosen for myself for the new year, but before I go into a post on that, here is my reflection on 2012, my year of { movement }.
The word awkwardly and profoundly chose me the last week of 2011 when I wrote my all-important post about 'the shift' that occurred, when I expressed starting 2012 feeling "stuck...and not knowing what to do about it."
{Movement} appeared in my New*Years*Eve post 2011 >> 2012 where I said I was "hoping with all my being at the stroke of 12 midnight that this is the year movement will be made," and then I added,"...please, in the right direction.
I had wrote in that hopeful post that physically I wanted to run more. I wanted to bike as much as possible. I wanted to take up salsa again. I wanted to roller-skate. I wanted to swim. I wanted to play in the sand.
Emotionally: I wanted to examine where my relationship is, and where will it go.
Mentally: I wanted to move toward making firm, executive decisions to do things that will bring me long-term happiness. Decisions about money, job, vacations, organization, hobbies...how I want to live; where I want to live; who I want to live with...
Even if in inches or millimeters, I wrote back in that first olw post, I wanted some kind of movement in the right direction taking place.
... AND BOY, DID IT EVER!
I moved the first day of the year by bike:
There was a grandiose movement of my perspective of how I thought about my teaching job that I had grown to hate.
Movement was made visual with a sweet little | Year 1 on Instagram | video I made back in February.
I got movin' to The Brooklyn Flea...
...where my heart was left amongst the knick knacks and trinkets. See post here.
I got through the dreaded month of March by creating a doable Movement Challenge for myself:
...and approximately 52 miles later, this movement challenge got me to April in one piece, where I kinda sorta did another movement challenge. Woot woot!
I moved a bit to the whole-page scrapbook layout side of paper crafting:
It was a fun little visit, and I hope to do more when inspiration strikes.
I can't believe there was { movement } in the gardening department:
...even if it was a measly classroom garden of marigolds and moonflowers. Heck, I got twelve Special Ed 3rd graders to make their garden grow! One day, I will have a grandiose tomato and fresh herb garden, but this here...this little window-sill plant party, this is where it started.
{ Movement } in the right direction, documented. :)
With my one little word of movement, I found myself taking relish of even natural movement: the movement of seasons. The movement closer and closer to Summer was like an internal mini firework party:
Memorial Day weekend made me so happy. <-- (I'm obsessed with this post.)
Once Summer hit, there was time and peace for { movement } in the right direction to occur.
It came in the form of teaching myself Photoshop Elements 10:
...and well, DUH! OPENING UP MY STAMP SHOP:
This was a major form of { movement } for me. Hip hip hooray, say I, in the most joyfully quiet sentimental way possible.
From my creation of my stamps to the opening of my STAMP SHOP, to a movement down the east coast on a road trip I'll never forget:
So much movement!! From Savannah, Georgia, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Ocala, Florida, to Myrtle Beach, SC, to Washington D.C. ...this east coast road trip moved me all the way down and back up the east coast, and moved me as a human a little bit. I did so much growing up and realizing on that trip.
Next greatest example of movement was the late-August Sweet 16 Photoshoot I conceptualized, created, and shot:
I love working on my photography skills, my creative backdrop-making skills, and everything involved. This was a lot of fun, and has been a long time coming. Plus, when you have as much family fun as we did this day on this 'shoot'...come on! Movement well made.
Then, there was movement to a new classroom, and school started up.
Muddy movement was a must:
The rest of Fall's been a bit of a blur, but these past few months have address the hardest
{ movement } of all which might be movement apart from my guy.
I'm left in a bit of confusion about that part of my life, but everything else, because of this year of {movement} has been made more clear. I have moved in the right direction this year, even if ever so slightly, but it feels good to have had some positive change occur, or any change occur for that matter. So much of 2011 was stagnant and still and stale, and declaring movement as my one little word a year ago got the engine running.
Even when I wasn't whole-heartedly declaring "MOVEMENT" as motivation for something with my fist in the air, it was really with me all year, in everything I did. Sometimes it was a little spark in the corner of my eye, but sometimes it was pounding in my heart as hard and strong as a waterfall.
I am so grateful for this one little word practice. I am thrilled movement's been my word. I believe it will never leave me, just give birth to challenging and appropriate other words, acting like the grandmother to each new little word that my future brings.
I am so excited to share with you all my word for 2013 in the next few days.
I hope to see you back here for that, and link up to any one little word related posts you may have written in the comments. I'd love to read them.
Happy almost 2013!
I decided to start my December Daily from Thanksgiving, and do it all the way until New Year's.
Here's Thanksgiving - November 22:
My [I ate this.] Yum. stamp is sold out at the moment from Amanda Rose's STAMP SHOP, and will be restocked with the release of my New Year's stamps in the next weeks.
-------------------------
Black Friday - November 23rd:
Home, home, and home.
You won't ever see me out in the crazy on Black Friday.
We went all-out Christmas decorating...anythin to get my mind off it.
---------------------
Saturday, November 24th:
Shrunk this in PSE, and adhered it to the back of a paper strip.
...and there you have it so far, folks.
If you've started your December Daily already, I'd love to see it!
Link to it in the comments.
Off to a field trip today!
I don't think anyone is more excited than me that it is Summer.
Today is my first official day of Summer Vacay-YAY-HEY-cation, and I am dancing and singing in the streets of Queens, people (some of those posts might make it here...I mean, it's Summer, I'm off, and who knows what I'm capable of!)
That's a big chunk of why I'm so excited: I have big plans for this blog here, big plans for projects, and some mega {movement} going on. Yeah. Remember...{movement}? My one*little*word for the year 2012? Well lookie lookie who's got some time on her hands to make moves in the right direction! I like to move it, move it! You like to...MOVE IT!
Heck! I already got one box checked off my Summer Manifesto list:
The picture of that chubby-tushied bikini-glad Baywatch wannabe at the start of this post? Yeah. Me. The boyf and I beached it with friends on Sunday, and I pretty much had a ball. I basked in the sun for 6 and a half hours...and got the ill sunburn to prove it.
. . .
Oh my God...ear to ear. I am a giddy goose.
I abosolutely love the Summer.
I absolutely am its bitch.
Happy happy.
Love & enjoy your Thursday, pretties.
xOxO,
The strangest thing happened the other morning.
My dreaded Monday morning to be exact.
I opened my eyes around 3AM and blurrily watched one of the first scenes of The Pursuit of Happyness, with Will Smith. I saw it a few years ago, and remembered I liked it, but watching it Monday morning was different.
In between sips of coffee and lesson-planning for the day, and avocado-toast biting and worksheet-hunting, with a new set of eyes -- a set that has been searching frantically for their own version of happyness -- I watched the whole movie.
After watching this man face obstacle after obstacle after obstacle in the pursuit of 'getting happy' and making the life he desired for himself and his son, I realized it was a sign for me to persevere...to persist and maintain my purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement.
The movie came to me -- that Monday morning -- at just the right time.
Chris Gardner (who Will Smith portrays) had to cram his pursuing in about 6 months time.
I'm going to be doing specific pursuing with a deadline of 5 weeks.In 5 weeks from today, it'll be May 31st. By the end of May, I want to have sent out what I need to send out, and feel like the month of May has set me up for BIG and GREAT things come June, July, and August...my happy months.
I've already re-joined WeightWatchers -- ready to get my health back on track.
I'm preparing for the rest of this school year to be as painless and smooth as possible.
I'm going to be spending all my free time these next five weeks pursuing...
...trying to create positive and productive {movement}.
xOxO,
...and we're in April!
I'm so happy to have gotten through March in one piece. I feel my March|movement|Challenge was a BIG reason why.
I had set out to walk/jog/run/bike/move for at least one mile every-other-day in March, and as you can see, I did much more than that. I'm proud of myself because my goals were attainable. I am one to set crazy, outlandish goals, never achieve them and hate that I failed. This time around, I was real with myself and real with my schedule.
Below is the awesome result:
I love pairing exercise with documentation. Each picture is like a cheerleader.
I shall continue to document my movement (<--my {one little word} for 2012, in case ya weren't aware) for the next few months via instagram and here occasionally. I like to. It makes me happy. I reminds me to continue taking care of my body, so it can take care of me. It reminds me to be grateful for all it allows me to do.
It definitely needs a #hash (...and that's how I can tell I'm a social-media-dweeb. I categorize everything in my mind anyway, but now I need it #hash-tagged on all my devices. Lawdy Lawdy!).
I shall get back to you when I've decided on a #hash for my next movement/documentation project. For now...
...YiPPEE! It's April! We made it. We moved it. Now let's move some more. ;)
xOxO,
As much as this post seems like I'm dying to 'put it out there', this |movement| challenge is something I needed to declare for ME.
If I post it and hashtag the crap out of it, it puts the added pressure I feel I'm going to need this month to get 'er done.
I NEED TO MOVE.
I'm a mover, and I have not phsyically made a conscious effort to exercise my body in...oh dear...I've got to start haulin' ass.
However, this month scares me. Point blank: I'm terrified of March 2012. It comes just after my 9-days-off February YAYcation lovliness (which in-and-of-itself is depressing), and will consist of six straight FULL weeks of teacher-work including the second round of parent-teacher conferences, another observation by my principal, a superintendant review of the school (and possible entering & judging of me and my classroom), five IEPs (which are detailed, typed up student reports) + a meeting with parents for each of those reports, and an on-going test-prep marathon with my students to 'ready' them for the New York State Test in mid-April that's going to be way too hard for most of my specieal-ed kids anyway. OH. MY. GOD.
As bad as January turned out to be, I fear March will be ten times worst. The only edge I have, I think, it that I'm prepared for it to be. I NEED to set time aside to relieve the inevitable piles of stress 'bout to come my way.
ENTER: my do-able MARCH |movement| challenge of walking/jogging/running/biking/getting-out-there-and-moving for at least one mile every other day in March. It starts today.
If you want to play along on instagram or twitter, then during your walk/jog/run/whatever snap a quick phone pic and upload it with the tag #amileeveryotherdayinMarch.
This |movement| challenge along with this |photo| challenge are going to be the in-between-the-bullshit releases to get me through this month, I think.
Don't mind me OVERhash-tagging and OVERposting the stuffing out of them in the next month. (You're allowed to too.) ;)
Best of luck, lovies!
xOxO,
