There has been some serious Getting Serious work going on around these parts. In fact, I’ve been so busy Getting Serious that I’ve totally neglected blogging about it. But fret not, I’ve documented everything and promise to share it all in due time.

First, however, I want to share our plan, list style. I’m sure that there’s going to be plenty on the list that won’t quite make sense quite yet, but just hold tight; explanations are forthcoming. Also, in addition to breaking things down by category (health, home, finances, & career) we’ve decided to prioritize and divide by quarter, so this is our list for the first quarter of 2012. Having only three months to complete things will (I hope) provide more of a sense of urgency and keep us from slipping back into procrastination mode. So, without further ado…

First Quarter Get Serious To-Do List

Health:

• Lose weight/Get fit
• Monitor diet to determine cause of allergic reactions

Home:

• Complete kitchen mini-remodel
• Complete basement remodel
• Finish what we’ve started

Finances:

• New management plan
• Research refinancing options

Career:

• Take the GMAT
• Update professional blog and website
• Start certification process

Overall, I think everything is totally doable in the time allowed. And remember, this is for both J and I, so some of the list items only apply to him and others only apply to me. I can’t wait to share our progress so far! But that will have to wait for another day.

So this year I’m not doing resolutions. Instead, for 2012, J and I have adopted a theme. This year is time to “Get Serious.”

What does “getting serious” mean exactly? It means it’s time to stop putting things off. It means it’s time to take control of our lives and start working towards the life we want to be living instead of accepting that which falls in our laps. It means it’s time get serious about our home, our health, our finances, and our careers. We’re both overdue for an overhaul. What better time than now to start?

So look for our “Get Serious” posts throughout the year. I have a whole list of them planned already…I can’t wait to share them with you!

Credits:
Notebook paper background
Tape Strips

I hope you have a safe and joyous New Year’s!

Unfortunately, my tree is a bit on the small side. We’ve decided (and I’m really trying) to keep things simple this year. That means no big tree. So the ornaments are going to have to find another home. I have a few ideas, but I haven’t decided for sure where they’ll go. Luckily, there’s no shortage of inspiration on Pinterest.

All I know for certain, is that I won’t be making a wreath. I love them; I think they’re beautiful. But I’m a klutz, and I live with three animals (J included). It wouldn’t last a week around here. So I’m looking for ideas that will offer these precious, vintage items a bit more security. Perhaps some sort of vessel would suffice.

Any ideas?

…Anyway, I have to say it was a pretty good day. I J bought me a pair of cute boots…

…which I wore to meet my mom for lunch in Cincinnati. After lunch, we went shopping at Ikea.

It was my mom’s first time. She was an Ikea virgin.

We even stopped to have coffee and apple cake.

Then I went home to have dinner with J. We had planned to go to the Half Moon Brewery, but I was a little later than planned. So we headed to a local Mexican restaurant instead.

All-in-all, a pretty good day!

Me at 33

For the cover I used an old photo album I’ve had lying around (since high school – yeah, I’m a bit of a hoarder). I covered the outside with kraft paper and used vintage wrapping paper on the inside.

The pages are 4″ x 6″ – a mini album, for sure. Less page area = less pressure for me. I also chose not to number the pages. This way I can move them around based on what works best for each day. In other words, I can fit the page to the day rather than trying to make the day work with the page.

I included a lot of pockets & envelopes for all of the bits & bobs I’m sure to collect. And since the pages are so small, I wanted to be sure to have a place to keep all the things that can’t be attached directly to a page.

The pages are a combination of the 12 Days of Christmas collection from My Mind’s Eye and Dear Lizzy Christmas from American Crafts, as well as few vintage papers and others from my stash.

The above page is made from a piece of (Red) wrapping paper I bought at Hallmark several years back. Luckily I still have a few pieces left, so you’ll likely see it in future projects.

The pockets are made from a baseball card holder I cut down to fit. In the top pocket I put a little faux snow and the phrase “let it snow,” then I hand-sewed it shut.

I plan to include hole-punched 4″ x 6″ photos throughout the album, as well as add smaller images to the existing pages. Hopefully this will inspire me to take more pictures this month.

The doily page is just vellum I stamped using the Martha Stewart Crafts doilies stamp set and Staz On Opaque Cotton White.

I love this aqua & candy cane card! It was a late addition to the album; I just picked them up from the dollar section at Michaels earlier this week. Love that dollar section! You’ll see the coordinating red envelope as a later page.

Another baseball card holder sheet…I love embellishing these.

In the very back of the album I added an envelope to keep extra photos in. It’s actually the envelope you get with your receipt when you order from Anthropologie. I love it when I can reuse things like that.

There you have it! I’ll share the finished pages as I go, so stay tuned. See the list below for links to the products I used. And if you want to see larger images, you can find them on Flickr.

Supplies: 

My Mind’s Eye – 12 Days of Christmas Collection – 12 x 12 Paper Kit	Merry Memories Varnish 12X12 Dear Lizzy Christmas Paper By American Crafts	Tidings & Tinsel Glitter 12X12 Dear Lizzy Christmas Paper By American Crafts	Garland Greetings Glitter 12X12 Dear Lizzy Christmas Paper By American Crafts
Poinsettia Glitter Lace Paper by Little Yellow Bicycle	Core’dinations Cosmo Cricket Cardstock Collection 12 x 12 Neutrals Assortment Pack	Martha Stewart Crafts – Clear Acrylic Stamps – Doilies	Staz On Opaque – Cotton White
QuicKutz 4×8-CHOCOLAT-MU Chocolate Mini Unicase Alphabet Dies	Doodlebug Design – Doodle Twine – Ladybug

1. Time management – I don’t understand where all my time goes. (Maybe it’s spent wondering where my time goes?) I should have all the time in the world to do the hundreds of things I want to do, and yet at the end of the day I’m left with a long list of things yet to be done and a big blank on the “things I did today” side. I could blame the internet. My instinct is to name it the spawn of the devil and feign a lack of willpower to resist its beckoning call. But I know that’s not entirely true. The problem is really…

2. Lack of motivation – I get dumpy. I wallow in self-pity over my lack of luck in the job department and envision a lifetime of woe to follow due to my incredibly unprofitable taste in professions. It’s hard to get motivated to do the laundry when you’re busy worrying about how in the world you’ll ever be able to save enough for retirement after you’ve swallowed your pride and taken that minimum wage job at Meijer. And I’m only 32. Yeah, I worry…A. Lot. And all of that worry sucks my will to do…anything. I haven’t felt creative in quite a while…not productively creative anyway…you know, the kind of creativity that leads to something tangible. I haven’t posted here much because I feel like all I would be doing is complaining, and I don’t want to turn this place into a pity party. This is supposed to be my happy place.

So…solutions? I’ve tried setting a schedule for myself, but I’m self-defeating. I say to myself, “F@#k you and your schedule!” like I’m both the authority figure and the angst-ridden teenage girl. (hmm…that may actually be a pretty good description of myself) I like the idea of a schedule, but I don’t know how to make myself follow it. Suggestions? Do you ever struggle with motivation? How do you deal with it? How do you manage your time and ensure your to-do list is shrinking rather than growing?

Okay, enough mopey bullshit. Just to prove that it’s not all gloom and doom around here, I’ll share some pics of the kitties. Kitty pictures make everything better, right?

Remember these guys? They’re getting big. They had a checkup yesterday and should be ready for adoption in another two weeks. Oh, and they have names! The grey tiger striped one is George. We call him Georgy-Porgy. The light grey and white one is Fred. And the calico one is Kahlia, Kali for short (of course). She’s a sweetheart. Very loving.