Announcing a new series - Make a Change Monday

I will FREELY admit that when I posted a "tell me your New Year's Resolution" giveaway on my FB page a few weeks ago, my plan was to read through the answers, pick a winner, and move on.  Instead, I got 67 honest, heartfelt, funny, REAL responses that made me stop and take a good look at the idea of (and difference between) resolutions, goals, changes and growth. They also moved me to get out a piece of paper and start writing down some ideas about what I wanted my 2012 to look like. I forced myself to make all of the ideas POSITIVE (instead of "lose 10 pounds" it was "find healthy recipes I enjoy"), and I put this piece of paper in the notebook I carry EVERYWHERE (I am obsessed with lists - but that is a blog post for another time) so I could refer to it often and use it to make choices about how I spend my time, money and energy throughout the year.  It was just for me - I wasn't even going to show it to my husband.

Then, last week, my friend Stephanie Howell posted about HER 2012 goals on her blog.  I love Stephanie's honesty and how comfortable she is sharing a bit of herself with the world.  She and I have talked about my struggle to share "me" here (I tend to stick to craft projects and an occasional recipe or two - I must have emailed her 69 million times before I published this blog post), so I decided right then and there to add "be a little more Beth on my blog" to my list and share it with all of you.  

With that said - I am proud to announce my new series "Make a Change Monday".  For the next 50 or so Mondays I am going to share with you the changes I am making in my life in 2012.  I'll share successes and struggles, revisions and additions to my list (and some deletions - let's be real), and stories from other people who inspire me along the way.  

I am so excited about this opportunity - to be accountable to you and to myself, to record and reflect on my own progress throughout the year, and to see and feel some real changes in my life.  I do not think it is a coincidence that my first post falls on the day we remember Martin Luther King Jr., who dedicated his life to changing the world.  While I may not change the world in 2012, I know I will change me - and hopefully somewhere along the way make a difference.

So without further ado...here is just a sampling of my list.  I hope you'll join me and make one of your own!

Learn how to take better photos Free myself of the toxic people in my life Find an "exercise" activity that Don and I can do together Do a better job of letting people know I am thinking about them/appreciate them Try really hard to like cilantro Learn how to sew Make the time to (re)connect with friends Improve the appearance of my blog Find healthy recipes I enjoy Finish what I start Be more "Beth" on my blog Use my stash - aka use up my old scrapping stuff while still enjoying my new scrapping stuff

Here's to the next 50 Mondays!