Intentions...

I love the new year! I love the fresh start it offers in so many ways. I'm not typically one for making resolutions...I'm not a planner. But I am one for setting intentions. I feel that setting intentions at the beginning of any season {or in this case year} can help to drive your actions.

Certainly, throughout my life, there have been ideas, notions, nagging, tuggings on my heart; messages that keep repeating themselves to me over and over again begging me to listen and give them some attention. For the past few weeks, I have had an overwhelming pull within me to get back to the basics in life; to simplify.

Four years ago, I was pregnant with my second child and had recently left my full time job because I couldn't stand being away from Rayne so much. I had a couple of waitressing shifts but, for the most part, we were all of a sudden living on one salary. Prior to leaving my job, I had been having the same sort of pull towards a more simple life. Then, there I was, making do with so much less than I had been and loving my life so much more. As a family, we were frugal and thrifty and happy to live on love. It was a great time in my life and I feel that I was really living mindfully. It was during that time that I started to really fill out my own skin and discover who it was that I wanted to be.

Four years, two babies, and a home based business later, we are still utilizing many of the changes that were implemented during those very frugal years. We recycle, we cook way more than we did when we were both working full time, we use the fancy new energy-conserving light bulbs in all our lights, we use cloth napkins and cloth diapers, we almost never buy bottles of water, and more of the like. We have, however, out of the preference of convenience and the slight increase in income over the past couple of years {I said SLIGHT} reverted to some of our more indulgent ways: eating out more, buying new instead of repairing, throwing on a disposable diaper or two, etc...

I want to get back to the frugal, making do, living on love place where we were four years ago. I want to do more with less, work with what we have, reap fruits from our own labors. Perhaps some of you who are reading are now thinking "WHY???" And I guess that it's something that only you can feel the need for and, ultimately, develop a preference for.

So, my intention for 2010 is to get back to the basics of life; to simplify. I want to leave it open and broad so that I'm receptive to whichever ways my intention chooses to transform my life. However, God helps those who help themselves. So in an effort to take some proactive steps in the right direction, I have come up with some specific things to work towards {aka: goals}.

1. Cap spending. {use what we have, do without, re-purpose items either from our own materials or from thrifted items}


2. Cook from scratch more {try new healthy recipes, use fresh foods, get the kids involved with meal prep.}


3. Make friends with my sewing machine {to aid in making what we want/need vs. buying new}


4. Re-kindle my love of reading {to quiet and enrich my mind}


5. Get the kids involved in household chores {help them to develop a sense of respect and responsibility for their surroundings}


6. Start journaling again {there's no better way of getting down to the nitty gritty}
7. Deepen my relationship with God {it doesn't get much more basic than that, right?}

Okay, I wanted to have ten goals but I've been writing this post for two days now and I'd really like to get on with life. Plus, I think that the seven I mentioned will provide a great starting off point.

Also, I personally need to remember that these are things to work toward; not things to do all of a sudden or all at once. Nor are they things that I will base any sort of self worth or feelings of adequacy upon. I will do the best I can, keeping my intention in my heart.

I hope that you have all welcomed 2010 with open arms and that you're getting ready...'cause it's gonna be a great year!

My Note From The Universe today read:

I want you to know, Maegan, that I've ordered up another year for you.

Think I'll call it 2010.

I'm going to put most of the same people of 2009 in it, since you all think so much alike. But there'll also be a few new, very cool cats coming to play - give them some time to grow up though.

And I'm going to have things start off pretty much exactly where they left off in 2009, for continuity's sake. Flips folks out too much when I don't.

All in all, 365 more days in paradise... and only one request of you:

DREAM BIGGER.

Coolio?

Let's do this,
The Universe

Do you guys get those? I highly recommend them!

Reflecting...

I've spent a good deal of the past couple of weeks thinking about my intentions and goals for 2010. I've thought in generals and specifics about the ways in which I was going to make myself a better person, improve my quality of living be better for my family, and so on. And I'm getting really excited for the new year and for the freshness and renewal that it brings.

However, like a brick wall, it hit me today that all of my plotting, planning, & goal making gave absolutely no credit to the accomplishments of the past year. And, as excited as I was about my intentions, they were starting to feel more like self criticisms. Yes, I had a big 'ole list of things that I was currently not actively focusing on within my life that I would like to. However, I also needed to make a list of the things about 2009 that I feel really good about.

1. I gave birth to my third beautiful daughter {goodness, can you even remember life without Maya? She feels like such an essential and natural part of our lives.} I'm proud that it was an all natural, drug free birth! {I'm including that because I feel very proud...not because I'm judging any other form of giving birth}. It had been a goal for me last year. It wasn't something I knew I could do at the time, but it was something I wanted very badly for myself and for Maya.



2. I set course on a personal creative journey. Last year at this time I was really just beginning to explore my creativity. I spent the winter months of 2009 throwing myself into a plethora of creative projects in an effort to a) become more creative, b) learn what my creative strengths were, and c) figure out where I wanted to put the bulk of my creative energy.



3. I fell in LOVE with photography! I am so incredibly grateful for the gift of photography in my life. It has taught me mounds about finding beauty in unlikely places, living in the moment, and holding on to these incredible years with my young children. And though I still have so much to learn, I have come such a long way in one year's time and I have learned soooo much. This year, I got my first SLR camera and have started learning how to shoot manually!



4. This year, I put my first born on a bus, all by herself, and sent her to Kindergarten. It was {and still is some days} one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It taught me a lot about letting go and trusting God. I've learned some important things about myself and my thoughts and feelings on ideas that I had previously considered as truth. This single event encouraged me to look deeply at my life and evaluate it's authenticity. I continue to learn and grow from this experience even today, mid-way through the school year.



5. I've learned how to use my photo-editing program semi-proficiently. I've taken my photo editing {including the use of textures and overlays} to a personal new level. I've improved my skills tremendously {especially in the area of black and white conversions} and have opened the door to further learning and skill building. ***I realize that if you are not a photography nerd like myself, that whole paragraph is pretty much gibberish***



6. I have met some wonderful friends and established some really nice connections online. Before this year, I had imagined that meeting people online was best left for lonely singletons and pedophiles. Okay, maybe I was not that cynical but I did not ever see myself truly becoming friends with someone I had never met. I am so grateful for the community here in blogsville and over at Flickr for introducing me to some truly amazing women with whom I share common interests. After living 29 years feeling like a total outsider, it's been so nice meeting like minded individuals with whom I feel at home.



7. I potty-trained yet another of my children. I abhor the task and find it nearly impossible. But, for the second time in my life, I taught a completely resistant child to use the facilities {yay for me and yay for a hu-normous bag of M&M's!!!}
   
8. I accepted and embraced breastfeeding in public places. What once I would have felt completely self conscious about has become pretty much a non-issue. Because, quite frankly, when it comes to keeping your baby fed and happy, you'll do what you have to do. I have breastfed in restaurants, amusements parks, churches, dance recitals, the Baltimore Aquarium, the movie theater, and Longwood Gardens. In fact, on those same lines...
9. I have solely breastfed Maya. I knew I wanted to breastfeed {I had done both with Rayne and had bottle fed Layla} but I never really put any expectations on it with regards to how long I would breastfeed or if I would supplement with formula or not. But I really just went with the flow and let what happened naturally happen. And now here we are, Maya is almost ten months, having been fed only breast milk, and having had a total of 6 bottles in her entire life. {please, again, I'm not judging the choices of others...obviously I've done both and do not view one as better than the other} I am so happy with the very special relationship that Maya and I share as a result.
10. I have made decisions regarding my life that have put the well being of my family {and the well being of myself} a head of other things. I have chosen some things over others, said no, cut back...all in the name of being the right for us. I have fully and completely embraced my role in this family and I love what I do.
    

Now I'm feeling really good about 2009 and I'm ready to enter 2010 with new goals and intentions to continue on my path to my best self. If you are still struggling with your reflections/intentions for the year within your family, I read this great article that can help you to evaluate where you've been and where you'd like to go.

I'll see you tomorrow with my list of goals and intentions!