Living Intentionally

{EAV:612b21b8016d3501}
To live with intention.  To be proactive rather than reactive.  


I'm not a natural planner, more of a "wing and a prayer" type, so my last few months of attempting to plan, be proactive and get organized have been a series of hits and misses.  Made some routine checklists, but have only  been slightly effective at implementing them. (Mostly a miss.)  Tracking what I eat and how much I exercise, every day! (Hit! Yay!)  Writing a budget, coming close to sticking to it. (Mostly a hit!)  Keeping my kitchen, bathroom and living room de-cluttered, well, the bathroom is clean. (Half and half.) Finishing my to-do list for promotion at work, every day! (Another hit, Whoop!)


Even though I've made some good progress, I find it so easy to get derailed and disheartened by the things I haven't yet succeeded at.  Thankfully, I have some amazing people in my life to keep me moving and motivated!  My best friend recently relayed a story to me from a blog she had read.  The woman in the blog talked about how she didn't like who she was, (prior to a weight-loss), and that now she knows who she is and likes herself.  Both my best friend and I are on a quest to be healthier people.  Losing weight is a nice side-effect, but we both just want long, healthy and happy lives.  


I like who I am, and even if I stayed at this weight, this level of organization, unable to quite stick to a budget or keep my house clean, I will still love myself.  My goal to be more proactive, organized and healthy isn't going to be measured solely in quantifiable ways, but in the added enjoyment I find from having an extra hour from my planning to spend with my daughter, or an extra $20 for a trip to the zoo, the extra energy I have to play outside with my family from eating healthy and exercising.

~ Liz

Messy, Messy...

So What?

I'm a bit of a messy person by nature. Messy when I scrapbook, my hair is messy, my room is messy, my purse and the diaper bag are messy; but somehow, through it all, still rather organized. You may not be able to read my handwriting, but my planner has every obligation I have written in it. That pile of papers may look like a mess to you, but I know exactly what is in it, and why it is sitting where it is. You may not be able to find anything in my purse, but I have exactly what I need and can find it too :)

Slowly, I am becoming a much more "organized" person in the traditional sense of the word. This is due, mostly, to my DF, who sometimes wants to pull his hair out at sight of one of my messes. Being a mom, working outside the house, effectively running a business, finding time for my DF, and juggling all my other relationships and committments have all coalesced into a great motivator for being more organizationally inclined.

My leaps and bounds in organization became apparent to me this weekend, as I have been driven to distraction by several hitches in my latest design project. A particular client needed an EXTREME rush job (7 days from first contact to album finished and in hand), and after some discussion, I agreed to accomodate the time constraints. Then the first hiccup: overnighting the materials was pushed back by a day, client was sick. Second hiccup: overnighting delayed again, client was having trouble sorting her photos. Third hiccup: my cousin was killed, we have to leave on Tuesday for the funeral (design project due on Thursday). Fourth hiccup: Package was overnighted, but was not delivered on the corresponding day.

So now, here I am, trying not to tear my own hair out while I decide how to divert from my previously tight schedule, and finish a 22 page album design in less than 24 hours. And all this while upholding my committments as a mother, an employee, a business owner, a fiancee and a friend...