  
On Wednesday I did a recap of my intentions from 2012 – and said I’d be back the next day to talk 2013. Well, a nasty cold caught be between that time and I’m only now getting around to it. Such is life.
I love the excitement of newness, how everything feels fresh – in reality, I wish I felt that way every morning (because it’s a new day really is the truth) but at least once a year it seems mutual and overwhelmingly so. Newness. And though I could probably spend another few years growing my intentions from last year, it’s a new year, and that means a new theme!
So without further ado, my mantra/intentions for 2013:
Fill life with beauty and live it with grace.
I first thought of these two words because of the meaning of my name – Annabelle means grace and beauty. The more I thought about it, those two words started to symbolize what I wanted my life, not just my name, to look like. This year, 2012, has been a year of challenges and hardships that I was not expecting – days that felt a bit like groundhog day for both my husband and I – but on the days I focused on the beautiful parts of life, things were just the slightest bit easier. I’m a doer by nature, so this year’s intentions are a little bit anti-doer. On purpose.
Beauty
In 2013, I would like to make it an intentional focus to fill my daily life with beauty and create beautiful moments. Not so much to outward, superficial kind of beauty, but the good stuff. I want to think beauty and create beauty and seek out beauty in places and people. I want to intentionally fill my thoughts and moments with the simple joys that bring me happiness – whether that is picnics with my husband or a long run in the park. I want to shift my focus onto things that are lovely.
Grace
In 2013, it is important for me to live my life with grace – in my walk with God, in my relationship with my husband, in how I serve others, and in how I treat myself. I want to have grace in life when things don’t happen the way I expect them to and we need to suddenly change our whole plans; when surprises come, and hurts come, and twists come, I want to remember grace. Towards my own self, I want to be open to making mistakes, not simply holding up an impossible standard of perfection. I want to have an attitude of grace in my relationships with people, as I continue to serve in my marriage and in my church and in my work. Because none of us is perfect, and none of us are without hardships and struggles. This life is not simply about me getting what I need or want. One of the few things that have stabilized me through difficult times is reaching out to help, mentor and give to others.
These are things that I want to be known for – not for checking everything off my list (though there are some things that I do want to “check off” in 2013, let’s be honest).
So here’s to 2013 – may it be a beautiful and graceful one!
Happy new year, everyone!
The themes I set out for myself at the beginning of this year were Simplicity, Creativity, and Bravery. It’s funny, I feel like every year I set up these lofty and giant ideals for myself, and by the end of the year I am questioning whether or not I was truly successful. But as they say, if you shoot for the stars, you may not make it but at least you will end up much farther along than if you had never jumped at all. And I definitely feel like that’s true for 2012.
I wanted to set boundaries in my life – for more unplugging, more quiet, and less excess. I definitely saw some pluses and minuses in this area. We cancelled cable in August, and since then I’ve been reading more (one of my goals). However, I am way too attached to my phone and computer and even though I took several intentionally unplugged weekends, I do not think it was nearly enough! This year has for the most part continued full force forward, which has left me overwhelmed and burnt out at moments. We did get into the mountains more than ever this year and spent more time outside. It was those moments of quiet that I did make happen that carried me through the year and gave me a lot of rejuvenation and hope during some difficult and stressful times. I definitely did more purging this year, and was more intentional about purchases, which is a win in the simplicity area. Clutter has a way of piling up in a small apartment! This was definitely a bigger-than-one-year intention, and I’m sure I’ll continue plugging along, but I think I made some good progress.
This is probably the intention where I saw the most improvement. First of all, there are the 160 blog posts that I wrote, which is a huge creative endeavor that I am tremendously proud of. I pushed myself to finish National Novel Writing Month in November, which reminded me of the importance of being creative every day. There are definitely things, like my songwriting and painting, that have not received as much emphasis this year, but overall I feel like I have been successful at making creative expression a fundamental part of my life! There are also other areas where I have applied a creative spirit – such as the two 30 x 30 challenges I did this year to remix my closet and look at my clothes more creatively. I have been trying and learning new recipes that have helped me to be more creative in the kitchen. I just can’t imagine life without a creative outlet, and I’ve made several for myself this year. I really appreciate you, my awesome blog readers, for following along. There is more goodness to come!
Of all my intentions, I anticipated that this one would be the hardest for me. There are definitely moments this year where I was very brave – we faced a lot of challenges this year. Bravery, in the way that I wanted to see it happen in my life, had a few different facets. Beyond the aspect of pushing myself beyond what I was comfortable with so that I would be able to grow, it also mostly it meant learning who I am, what I truly want, and being able to stand up for that. That is surely going to be a longer process than one year. 2012 has definitely been a year of self-analysis and discovery, particularly in the career area, and although I do not have any concrete answers for myself, the process of turning dissatisfaction or complaints into an opportunity to figure out what I really need and want out of my career and my life has been an important one. Overall, I think I have made huge strides in this area and it has set me on a good footing for where I would like to go in 2013.
Tomorrow I’ll be sharing my new words for the new year!
Phew! I love the clean slate that the turning of the year brings – how did your 2012 go?
I’m having one of those days (or rather, there have been a few strung together lately) where it feels like my head is about to explode. Can’t decide if it’s because of this cold, or because of the sheer excitement that my anticipation of a new year always brings. Full of ideas and hope and inspiration, it always seems like December is that way.
So today, while I’m curled up on my couch, cuddling with a giant mug of tea and a tissue box, I am going to daydream that I look this glamorous while sick (ha – big dreams today, people) and that my view from the couch looks something like this:
Here’s to Thursdays and big dreams!
{original images here and here}
I am pretty bad at resting. In fact, even my time off is filled with side projects, to-do lists, organizing the house, random errands – very little empty space. Recently, through a sad turn of events (the passing of my grandpa – thankful that I was home with my family when it happened), I was given a whole week of paid time off of work. My productive side really wanted to kick in, because how often are you just going to be GIVEN a week off of work? I mean, think of everything I could accomplish. Is that horrible? You see, I am horrible at resting, and in this case, slowing down enough to be sad about something. Easier to keep moving.
But I did my best to put those feelings to rest (literally) and decided that the only things I would plan into my day were things that would be productive for my mental health. I did a ton of writing at coffee shops, because that helps me sort things out. I ran almost every day, for much the same reason. I made time to sit at the piano and create beautiful sounds that would make my heart happy. And most of the remaining time, I spent outside. Walking mostly, sometimes talking to my husband who is the best kind of companion.
And at the end of it all, I felt human again.
So, I guess that is what rest is about.
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Love the idea of all things new! Not in a literal sense, but a new sense of appreciation, a new sense of drive, a new sense of organization and a new sense of adoration for the beauty in the mundane.
Absolutely! And a new chance to do something awesome! 🙂