December Reflections - 2019 - Vision Cards Part 2

As promised, here are the vision cards I made for this year.  I have used basically the same six themes but tweaked them a little bit.  They are the same size as last year, an 8-1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock cut in half. 

Last year I had "Health" but this one is "All About Me" because now that I have lost a significant amount of weight, I know I need to focus on other aspects of my wellbeing.  It is time to do a little more exercise rather than just walking the dog.  I need to get some strengthening in my arms and tighten the core muscles.  I also need to focus on my mental health as well.  Self-care is an important thing that gets overlooked a lot. 

"Money" is now "Show Me The Money."  The goal is to get some of our debt paid down and continue to save for the things we want to do.  Hopefully more work and some attention to non-essential spending will help with that.  Fortunately we on Social Security got a raise!   

"Connect" is now "Making Connections" and I think it continues to be important to keep the connections with friends and family as a top priority.  Sometimes I get so caught up in the work that I don't take time to be with the family.  As an introvert, social gatherings are hard for me and I need to try and get over that a little.  

"Home" is "The Old Homestead" and again, we can't afford much but we do need a new fridge and could use a fence around the front yard so Benny can go outside sometimes and play.  I'm still holding out for my fire pit in the backyard too!  I love cacti as a garden because they don't need much care and can be really interesting.  

"Go Places" is now "Experiences" because the focus will be on new experiences in familiar places.  The beach is free and so are things like walking across the Golden Gate or just getting in the car and driving to the City to do touristy activities or down to Carmel and Monterey.  Even Yosemite can be relatively inexpensive.  Gotta get out there.  

Last but not least, "Craft" is now "My Crafty Business."  I loved the word Phoblographer because that encompasses a lot of things.  The goal chart is to help me get more specific with the direction I want to take my business in.  Plus, as part of the self-care, I have a lot of personal projects that I want to work on, not just to be sold.  The kids each have an album that is seriously behind and my concert album is certainly not up to date.  Those things are important too.  

If you are interested in making your own vision cards, I highly recommend the class by Jamie Ridler.   If you'd like to see some of my past years, here are the links:

2014, 2015, 2016 are in one post.

2017 and 2018

Again, one of the main reasons that I like doing these cards is to take the pressure off of having failed an attempt at a "resolution."  As you can see, some of the things that I wanted in 2014 are things I still want but there has been a lot accomplished in each area as well.  I know that Jamie makes 10 or 12 cards but I think six is about all I can handle, at least for now.  So what do you think?  What would your vision cards be about?  Love to hear your ideas.

Juicy July - 2019 - Vision card updates

Back in January I wrote about the Vision cards I made for this year.

About this time of the year I go back to them and see if I've accomplished anything.  I make notes on the back to document what I have done and what still could be done in the next six months.  

Travel was one of the cards and unfortunately we haven't been able to do much of that.  I don't see it happening this year either but we did make a plan to go to Yosemite with some friends in July 2020.  I'm not giving up on this quite yet though.  We went to some San Jose Sharks hockey games which were new experiences for me so there is that.  

Health was another category and I'm pleased to say I made a big change in this department.  In March I started following a Keto plan and to date I've lost 29 pounds.  Still have a way to go but I'm happy with 29 pounds in a little over three months.  Walking our new dog is helping but also really paying attention to what I'm shoving in my face is the biggest thing.  

Money is an area that needs some serious work for the rest of the year.  We had a small setback because a job I contracted for did not last as long as anticipated.  We'll be okay but it will take some good planning on our part.  

Connecting with family and friends is on my list.  We have gone to a couple of baseball games and out to dinner with different friends so far this year.  This weekend I'm taking my mom to visit my sister who we don't get to see very often.  

My crafty business is a top priority and I've done some things to try and increase my presence online and in my Etsy shop.  I have made a couple of sales and I am about to make a presentation to a local sweet shop who rents their back room for parties.  I'd like to offer to make mini-albums for sale to their customers.  Cross your fingers!  I also did the YouTube video of my studio. 

Finally there is Home.  We've done a lot of shifting things around with the addition of the studio in the backyard.  That made it easy for me to take craft supplies and put them all in one place.  We reorganized some of the storage in the kitchen too.  The biggest addition to the home though has been our new dog, Benny.  He is bringing such fun into the house.  

I really like this way of making my goals turn into realities.  It is much better, for me anyway, than just making a list of "resolutions" at the beginning of the year.  I don't feel like I'm failing if I can get at least one thing accomplished.  How about you?  Have you taken a look at where you are mid-year?  

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July.  We will be lighting the safe and sane type in front of our house as usual.