do 2013 :: mile-a-day

One of my "do"s for this year is to run/walk a mile-a-day.  Let me just be completely upfront here.

I. Am not. A runner.

Yup. That pretty much sums me up.

I wish I could be a runner because there is just something so romantic about it.  Being alone in your thoughts, music pounding in your ears as your feet pound the pavement, feeling your heart thudding inside your chest, knowing that you are are going somewhere on the sheer will of your body and mind. 

And then I awaken from the romanticism of it all: my thoughts are focussed on how badly this hurts, how loudly my heart is pounding in my chest, how I can't catch my breath.   All I can see is the darn treadmill screen and when will it finally tell me I've reached a mile.  My feet flail and flap ungracefully on the treadmill mat, and my heart is racing so rapidly in my chest I begin to worry I might die.  I mean really, truly worry that "the Big One" is about to strike me down right here in the depths of my basement.

But I did it.  I survived month #1: a total of 31 miles.  Woot!!

And I learned a few things:

Don't run 30 minutes after eating a 7" sub sandwich.
Running is hard work (those people jogging merrily along the side of the road make it look easy).
Some days you're not gonna want to run.  Do it anyway.
The breathlessness of doing it feels way better than the guilt of not.
Commitment, discipline and will power are in my vocabulary.
It does get easier the more you do it.
Some days are better than others.
The mind is a powerful player in how hard you can run.  So is good music.

Slowest || Day 1 || 13:25
Fastest || Day 31 || 10:41

And look: I made it onto the "You Rock" board!

Has anyone else committed to moving more this year?

a crochet hat

I had two goal "do"s last week.  One was to make a hat for my brother's birthday.  The other was to finish this stocking that I began crocheting before Christmas:

I only completed one of them, but it is darn cute!

I used {this pattern} by Jen Spears and then did not follow the pattern correctly added my own little twist on things.

Thanks for looking!

one little word :: do

I've lived with my One Little Word {do} for 2 weeks now.  

When I'm feeling unmotivated, my olw whispers in my ear, "do."  

When I'm doubting my abilities, my word gently tells me, "do."

It lives in the quiet corners of my mind to encourage, push, and remind: do.  Take action, move, create, learn, search, talk, listen, make, play, finish, live.  Do it . . . now.  Don't wait.

The year is only beginning, there is still so much to "do," but I am ready to see how this one year unfolds.

thank you!

I 've missed blogging lately.

Sometimes it seems like a chore, like this thing that hangs over my head.  I don't like feeling that way.

But then I sit down with a screen full of photos, and I spend an hour or more cropping, editing, playing around with actions, and I fall in love all over again.  I get excited to share a story, a project, maybe something that will inspire someone.

Occasionally, I get an email from someone sharing a project they created after being inspired by something I made:

lifemadecreations This totally made my day! One of my blog readers emailed me this picture of a journal she created for her sister (inspired by one of my projects) How cute is that?! And she's only 17! Thank you, Salina, for sharing that with me! #iloveblogging

10 days ago | Photo Filter: Amaro

Or, I'll receive a note of thanks like this one from Sonya and be left with warm fuzzies inside:

Hi there,

I “accidently” came across your lifemadecreations blogspot…and really love what you do….you have an amazing gift which is clearly having quite an impact on your kids too!

I love to scrapbook and do some creative things…but don’t always have the time to do so…but after reading your blog (which I came across after joining pinterest)…I have been reinspired  and just wanted to thank you.

It always makes me smile when I find my projects pinned to other's boards on Pinterest:

These are all reminders of how grateful I am to be living this life of creativity.

And how grateful I am to people who stop by to read my blog and take the time to let me know that they were here.

So thank you!

a new year

Happy New Year!

I hope your holiday season was filled with light, warmth and peace.

Ours was.  It was also filled with

baking

wrapping

and wishes fulfilled.  

Oh, and lots of happy family time.

I am sad to see Christmas go this year; still haven't taken down the tree and decorations.  But I am excited for this new year, excited to see what 2013 holds for us.

I have decided to take on a word for the year.  A word to inspire me and push me, a word to live within me for the next 365 days.  I'm hoping that it will bring about change in my life, force me to look inward, to examine, to reach deeper (after all, I am about to enter the final year of my thirties).  

My word for this year is do.  

It's a short little word, but in just three days, I am already discovering its power.  My word is getting me moving, it's forced me into action, and it's brought me to write this first post of 2013.

So often, I have good thoughts, the best of intentions, and sometimes even bright ideas.  But most of the time they stay in my head.  I don't act on them, sometimes out of lack of time, but usually out of fear.  This year will be different.  This year I will do.  2013 will be all about taking action.

I will be documenting my year-long journey on Instagram #do2013, in my Creative Chaos binder, and occasionally here on the blog.

Here's what I wrote on January 1st to help me clarify my word:

Now is the time for action.  If not now, then when?  There's no better time than the present.  Life's not getting any longer, and I'm not getting any younger.  Stop thinking and start doing, stop planning and just begin, stop dreaming and make it happen.  Do more of what I love, more of what makes me happy.  Do what's best for me and my family.  End the fear, the what-ifs, the I-can'ts.  Shout out the voices of negativity, the ones that say, "you're not good enough," "you'll never make it."  Scream back at them, "I can!  I will!  Now watch me do it!"

So, how about you? What do you want to get out of 2013?