In Tune With June - 2017 - Vision Card Update

Every year for the last few years I've been making Vision Cards, as introduced by the wonderful Jamie Ridler.    Half the year is gone so it's time for me to check in and see how I'm doing.  Here are the ones I made for this year:

The first has to do with self-care.  I have done pretty well with my Hungry Girl eating program and have lost about 18 pounds since January (44 total since last year).  Not a huge amount but at the same time I don't feel like I am depriving myself or starving.  We eat out occasionally and I certainly don't kill myself exercising but for the most part, I am happy with the way things are going.  In the last month I have really stepped up my walking, taking a walk around the neighborhood almost every day.  I have set myself some weight loss goals and so for the next six months I am going to make a more focused effort in that regard. 

Next has to do with my creative life.  My goal is to be able to increase my income by either selling the cards and mini-albums I make and/or earn some money through affiliate programs.  I haven't really worked very hard in this area yet, although I am now an affiliate for both Blitsy (an online craft store) and Creative Live, an online education resource.  You can see both of those on the right side of this blog (if you are seeing it on Blogspot - I haven't added them to the WordPress site yet).  I have been taking some of the free courses offered on Creative Live about how to utilize my Etsy site better and be found in search engines.  In the second half of the year I hope to put all the research I've been doing into practice.  I do have one craft fair scheduled in November.   

Travel and Adventure is the next card.  I think we really covered that well with the Big City Hunt that we went on last month in Reno.  We have the voucher for one in San Francisco that I want us to do now that the weather is getting nicer.  I'd still like to hit Carmel and Monterey but I'm not sure that will happen this year.  












Finances is something that is a never ending battle it seems.  Just when I think we are getting ahead, something happens to stall us.  I'm not giving up though and will continue to work toward making our retirement less stressful.

Finally, we have our home.  The makeover it got last year did wonders and I wanted to continue the trend.  We used up our financial resources for the most part so the things we do now need to be at minimal cost.  We have made a great start in the last month in two areas.  The backyard, where I have started to detangle the jungle that has grown there and the garage where my husband has really made huge improvements on cleaning out and organizing.  It is a tricky area because I can only offer my opinion when asked as the things in the garage are mostly his.  I wouldn't want him to come and organize my craft room though, so I totally understand. 

Not too bad for half a year.  I really find making these cards more helpful than just making New Year's resolutions.  I know I am not going to get everything accomplished in every area, but having the cards and checking in with them periodically keeps me focused.  

How about you?  Make any vision cards?  New Year's Resolutions?  Have plans for the next half of the year?  Love to hear about it.    

Jubilant June

June 29 - Half a year gone already.  Seems like just yesterday it was January and I was making my vision boards for the year.  Now we are almost at the end of June and I am reflecting on what I/we've accomplished so far this year and what needs work on for the next six months.  Using my vision boards I can see that there actually has been quite a bit of progress!





Starting with the "Home" card, I think this is where we have made the most changes.  We got a new mattress, and purged some things from the closets, but most of all, gave the outside a much needed facelift!

Isn't she pretty?  Next comes yard work, but we need to build up our financial reserve a bit first.  For now it will be just making some dump runs and using the weed whacker to clean it up. 

The other card that has gotten a lot of attention is Travel.  

I really wanted to get away, just my husband and I, for a few days to relax.  I guess we could have picked a calmer place than Las Vegas, maybe somewhere in the mountains?  But, I knew that he's been wanting to go to Vegas for a while now so that's where we went.  We did get to see the Grand Canyon, and we did spend time with each other, without the distractions of our usual surroundings.  Maybe later in the year we'll go to Carmel...

The next card is about finances.  

You might think that we are deeper in debt now because of the home improvements, but with a bit of creative money juggling, we actually are not that far in the hole.  We were able to shave $4000 off our "pre-remodel" debt and now that hubby's Social Security Disability has been accepted, we will have a better income than we have had for the past year. 

Business is another card.  

This is one of the areas that I think I need to focus on over the next six months.  I have two things going on, the transcription business that is my real job and the crafting business that I want to be my real job.    

I have read the book by Marc and Angel Chernoff about being happy and successful and found that a lot of their ideas I was practicing already, so I know I'm on the right track.  Here again, organization and planning will help, so I have made an inventory notebook of a lot of my crafting tools (stamps, punches, templates, etc) so that will help when I am looking for something particular and so that I don't buy duplicates.  I also participated in one vendor fair and have an application ready for another.  They won't buy what they can't see, right?  

I am hoping at some point to be able to transcribe less and craft more, but I still have some learning to do about different techniques and how to incorporate blogging and a website into my creative endeavors.  I'm thinking about adding videos and showing how I make some of my projects. My main goal is to be able to continue to work for myself from home and not have to go back out into that jungle.  

And last but not least, is the Healthy Me card.  It seems that I just get started on a healthy program for myself and something happens to derail me (or I should admit, I allow myself to be derailed).  I need to realize that I am worth taking the time and effort to be the best person that I can be and also to know that I am pretty darn good right now as well.   

I am taking steps to get more activity into my life, as I feel my joints starting to stiffen up from sitting so much and I already have bad knees and diabetes.  I know I am capable of following a healthy eating plan because I have done it and had some success.  

But it is important to have mind and spirit health as well as physical health and to that end I am going on an "Inner Excavation" with Liz Lamoreux.  It is a six week exploration of self-care and the inner me.  I started it last year but didn't finish.  I'm hoping to get farther along this time.  You can read all about it here.  Feel free to join in!  

And that is how we end the first half of 2016.  I am sure there are many more adventures awaiting us for the next 6 months, after all, we still have 8 concerts to go to, include ADELE, that I just was able to score tickets to.  You will remember what a hard time I had trying to get them when they were first on sale.

How about you?  Did you have goals set for this year?  Are you meeting them?  Love to hear about your experiences!  Leave me a comment :)

 

Jazzy January 2016

January 9 - Vision Cards

For the last three years I have been making vision cards, something I learned from watching Jamie Ridler.   She shows us how to use vision cards to channel your focus on the things that you want to make happen in the year ahead.  She makes 10!

I made three the first year...

Health 

Craft Business

Our House

By using these cards to remind me of the things I wanted to work on, I was able to work toward some goals for each area.  While I did not accomplish everything on my list, I did make some movement in each area. 

In 2015 I made four cards:

Our House

Healthy Me

Craft Business

Finances

Our house and fixing it up remained one of my priorities, as did getting myself healthier.  

Increasing my craft presence by blogging and getting out there selling my creations was still a desire and I added a vision card to remind me about planning our financial future.  We are getting older!

Again, each area got some attention.  In the "Home" area we got a new fence and had a clean out of the backyard.  For my health I had a physical and started taking steps to lower my blood sugar.  In the crafty sense, I participated in some blog challenges and had a table at two craft shows.  Financially, we got some credit cards paid off and plans for our retirement started.  Not bad.

For 2016 I have made five cards.  I love the process of deciding my focus points and then gathering pictures and words to bring them to life:

The process

Our House

Finances

Our house is still a big one but this year instead of just concentrating on the outside, I want to do a huge cleaning and reorganizing project.  The dynamics have changed with the kids mostly gone so it is time to get things more functional for two instead of five.


Finances are still a big issue as well, with Bill turning 65 this year and with his Workers' Comp claim coming to a close, thank goodness.  We will be experiencing some income differences I'm sure and I'm going to need to keep on top of what our options are.

Health

Craft Business

 My health is also still a priority.  Healthy eating with the Hungry Girl plan and continuing to monitor my diabetes is key.  I am still not a fan of exercise but there is a new craze called "housewalking" that I may try.

As far as the crafty business, I need to organize the space I'm in and concentrate on making more items, in addition to finding new ways to get the word out there about all the neat stuff I can make.  Adding some new products will help there.   

Travel

                                                                                                                                                                    

My fifth card is Travel.  We did some traveling in 2015 but they were quick trips and for specific purposes (the family reunion in July and Oregon at Christmas) and they were fun but not relaxing.  I have something more like a romantic getaway to Carmel or a splashy trip to Las Vegas in mind.  (The finances card is going to come into play for this one as well!)

Well, those are my vision cards for this year.  I usually do a follow up after about six months to see how I am progressing.  

What about you?  Ever try making vision cards for your goals?  Love to hear about it!