Tag: Cultivate what Matters

Filling my Cup

When the days get hectic, my posts become a bit farther apart but I thank you for sticking with me this summer as I have dusted off this blog and given this a try and posting more regularly.  As I shared at the beginning of the summer and you will find as we continue, this will not be a daily blog update but typically I will share one or more times a week.  I have had several posts outlined out but not quite finished so hopefully I can get a few extra ones scheduled for next week.

Yesterday, was a day of recharging for me, a vacation day I wanted to take a couple of weeks ago but with several commitments at work recently this was the best day to put it on the calendar and make it happen.  I know of myself that sometimes I just have to put a day like this on the calendar to allow myself time to recharge.  Often in our family we remind each other that we are only able to be the best we need to be when we take care of ourselves first – we like to remind each other of this with the image that we are to “put on own own oxygen mask first” just like they tell you on an airplane with the safety instructions.  So whether I am “Filling my Cup”, “Putting on my Oxygen Mask” or another cute way to remember to make “self care” a priority, I know that this is important for me.  It is necessary for me to be the best version of me for those around me.

How do you like to recharge?

  1. Time alone: For me, it typically requires some time of being by myself with an unscheduled, block of time and having that time at home.  For those of you who have studied the Enneagram, I am finding that I am very much a #2 and I want to be a helper to everyone around me – which sometimes can be distracting from the things I need to do for myself and can be exhausting when I am trying to sort through the needs of others and can’t even figure out what is on my own lists.  To recharge, I have to have some time to think about what I need and then I can be more focused when other needs are weighing on me.  (If you are new to the Enneagram, I recommend the book The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile or the summer series EnneaSummer on the Podcast: That Sounds Fun by Annie F Downs)
  2. Time with my people: Connecting with my closest friends and family is an important part of recharging to me.  Time to hear how they are doing and to talk through the challenges and celebrations I am facing.
  3. Time to make progress: Typically a part of recharging for me also includes making progress on my to do lists.  It may be running errands, projects around the house, work with my own photo projects or other projects I have had on my lists whether it be a mental lists or one of the many post-its or notepads floating around.  Sometimes even the act of regrouping my lists can be helpful too.  I know my fellow lists makers can understand this one.

It sometimes takes work to make happen but I have been blessed with a few things sprinkled over these last few weeks that have helped fill my cup in both big and small ways.

  • Lunch and dinner catch up dates with dear friends that I haven’t seen in months – oh how it sometimes takes us way too long to make those happen but they are so sweet when we finally connect.
  • Hugs from kiddos I love and time hearing what is important & exciting in their lives.
  • Checking items off my list of to dos and errands – this list is finally starting to look a bit shorter. It might need to get below 90 degrees on a weekend I am home for me to tackle that mulch project I didn’t get done this spring.
  • I received flowers (shown in the photo above) from someone at work as a simple thank you for the work I do.
  • A wonderful unscheduled day off from work to have the space and the room to think and dream a bit.

I would love to know how you find your rhythm with recharging.  What fills your cup?  We are all different and motivated by different things.  Do you need time to yourself or do you need to be with others?  Do you seek out a day every few months or do you have a routine that let’s you recharge more often?  Do you crave a few hours or a day to recharge?  What activities help you feel more grounded and ready to tackle what life throws your way?

This doesn’t always fit in a neat box or in my timing but I know that it is work fighting for and making sure I get it scheduled and make happen on a regular basis.  I hope you find your own way to take care of yourself and fill your cup so you can be the best YOU for those around you too!

The Story of the Sunflower

I have a great hope of a day when I have a yard with flowers and plants that can be enjoyed regularly and maybe even mulch that is put down at the correct time of the year but until then I will celebrate when I have a few living flowers in pots or keep the grass alive another summer or the clay dirt is not too exposed in the flowerbeds. 

This past spring my mom was helping me re-pot some flowers that we had hoped might survive another season and shared with excitement that she had picked up some sunflower seeds and that “WE” should plant them at my house.  This “WE” in our family normally means one of us has a great idea and all of us are going to “get the opportunity to” participate in some form.  So off we go, right that moment to the back yard and size up a good spot for our seeds to be planted.   The encouraging part to me was as my sister read the package that these seeds needed bright sun but that actually thrive in bad dirt.  Good thing because I believe that any beneficial top soil was scraped off my lot long before my house was complete and I have some mighty fine packed clay to work with in this little yard.

We proceeded to plant our little handful of sunflower seeds along a flower bed I had started to prep a few years ago.  Like I said we have some fine clay underneath that thin layer of mulch but needless to say we planted our seeds and hoped for the best.  I did my best to remember to water them and watch for how they were doing and sure enough after a few weeks, we had a few sprouts and then those sprouts began to grow.  It has been fun to watch this out my back window and see as I go and come each day from work.  When the weather has brought heavy rain and even hail a few weeks ago, I was quick to check and see how our sunflowers were handling it.  A few leaves and one of the stalks did show some damage but the main stem was still strong and growing.

This little plant has been a great reminder of all the lessons we can learn through a garden – even a garden of just a couple of sunflowers.  This plant didn’t require good soil – it makes the most of where it is planted.  It weathers the storms that come it’s way.  It needs nurturing, water, sun and a bit of tending but no matter what how much help it gets from those things, it still kept growing.

This weekend it was fun to wake up and see the first peak of yellow pop through.  I don’t know how many flowers we may get this summer but this one bud beginning to open has been a treat and blessing to watch.  I am reminded of how it started from a simple seed in the dirt.  If you haven’t had a chance to read the book Cultivate by Lara Casey, she makes a great parallel to our lives about how Good things grow in the dirt and It is OK to Grow Slow and my favorite – Little by Little progress will add up. So as I continue to watch the slow and steady progress of this beautiful flower, I will remember the other progress I am working on in goals related to health, projects around the house, work assignments, etc and remember that the little bits of growth and progress can turn into something very beautiful in just the right time.

 

Celebrating Vacations, Trips & Adventures

As I scroll through my Facebook and Instagram feed it is clear we are in the full swing of vacation season.  The last several years my family has taken our vacation the end of May.  It makes for a nice time before many places get super crowded and it helps me not to be too jealous when all of my friends start taking fun trips throughout the summer.  Honestly, I do live vicariously through all the fun photos shared and dream of trips to new fun places each time I see a new post – my list is quite long these days.

Have you been on a trip recently, maybe another type of adventure where the photos tell such a story of the memories made?  I really like taking our family photos and capturing the story of our trip in my photo albums or through canvas prints to display in my home.  With the amazing 50% off sale this week with Forever, I don’t want you to miss out on the great opportunity to jump on this special and have a simple and fun photo book or canvas to celebrate your latest vacation, trip or adventure.  Maybe the photos you want to celebrate aren’t that recent – there is no rules on how recent that latest vacation, trip or adventure may be when I share this.  No matter where you went or how long ago it might have been, have you thought about how you want to be sure to enjoy those photos beyond just social media or scrolling through them on your phone.

I know that some of you may be new to Forever and especially our online PRINT service.  We have an amazing software program called Artisan where we can create lots of fun projects (I am happy to teach you this too when we have more time) but when it comes to “Quick, Easy and DONE”, my go-to is the online PRINT Service.  Our books typically start at just $20 for a simple 8×8 or $35 for a 12×12 with options to upgrade and enhance in various ways or add pages.  With a 50% off sale, it is a great time to try this out and even try one of our upgraded options.  Also, I have a great opportunity to help you get $10 or more off your order too – on top of the 50% off sale.  That can make these books almost FREE.

Want to give it a try this week?  I am offering 2 opportunities to learn more – One in-person and One online!  Each will include a 30-45 minute step by step instructions with 30 minutes afterwards for additional questions or time to work on wrapping up your project while I am nearby to help if needed.  There is no cost to attend but I do ask for a RSVP to reserve your spot.

Celebrating Vacations, Trips & Adventures Events

Online – Wednesday, June 26, 2019 at 8pm

In-Person – Thursday, June 27, 2019 at 7pm at my home in Apex

You can sign up with the form below or e-mail me with the answers to these questions.

3. Which event do you want to attend?(required)

 

I will walk you through all of the details at either event but if you are curious about what type of photo books you can create, check out this short video I shared a couple of months ago for a previous sale. Sample Photo Books

Do you know someone else that might enjoy joining us?  Be sure to have them use the form above to get things started with signing up to attend one of the events this week.

I would recommend that you have 25-75 photos from your vacation, trip or adventure to have the best options for a photo book project and 1-10 photos if you want to try the Canvas Print option.  If you are like me, most of my trips have many more photos – if you have time, pick your favorites from the trip to have about this number.  We can always add more pages to books if you have that need – 99 pages fit in these books!

I look forward to living vicariously with you this week as we celebrate the trips & adventures we all have taken and experienced.

Cultivating Joy & a New Routine

 

With a cup of coffee and a few moments of quiet, I have enjoyed many weekend mornings at my kitchen table with my Write the Word Journal and my thoughts.  It has been a little over a year and a half when I learned about these journals and got my first one from Cultivate what Matters. I have done Bible studies and other devotionals but there was something about this that was simple and the perfect fit for what I needed this time.  This has not been a daily journal or even a weekly journal but more of a simple way to center me with a passage of scripture that I would write out in my own handwriting and a place to journal: I am Grateful for… and what was On My Heart Today. It was only 2 simple pages so when I could carve away a few minutes on a day I didn’t have to hurry out the door, I would sit and complete one day’s entry.  This journal has been a place to record my thoughts, my heartaches, my celebrations, my struggles, my progress and even my dreams for what may come.  There is nothing magical about this little book but it has served as a very useful tool to carry me through a season of seeking and searching for the next step I would take with my career as well as the things that happen each and every day.

I have wrapped up my first journal, Cultivate Joy earlier this week.  I can’t wait to jump into the pages of my next one Cultivate Hope but before I place my Joy Journal on the shelf, I have flipped back through the pages one more time.  I am reminded that I had no idea what was ahead for me when I started this nor did I set a specific timeline or expectations for completing it but as the days and weeks have passed and my thoughts have been noted, it is interesting to see how God has taken this process and these 2 simple pages I have completed to help me nurture my faith and Cultivate a sense of Joy and Gratitude within the pages of this book.

As many of you are here visiting my blog regularly this summer with a photo focus, I offer this comparison to you.  What if you looked back on this summer from the other side – maybe it is early September, maybe it is at a gathering with family and friends over the holidays later in the year.  What if you could look back and see that the little steps you made in June, July and August with your photos have paid off.  What would that look like, would it be sharing the precious gift of a photo that you found and love and now can share it with the people you love?  Would it be a gift you share with a friend of a photo you took that has special meaning?  Would it be that you have cleared out that courner of the room or closet that has been cluttered with photos or project supplies and now you have room to enjoy this space again.

This too does not have to be a daily project, a weekly project or even a regular routine but I promise you when you take little steps forward, one and then the next, no matter how small you will be amazed when you look back at how far you have come when you add them together.  Each time I pulled out my Joy Journal, I spent only 15-20 minutes.  I can tell you the blessings that have come from that investment of time have been far greater than those minutes would suggest.

If you are following along with our Lighten the Load Photo Challenge, I hope you have picked your project, area, or focus.  If you have not yet, pop back over to the Welcome Post and be sure to share with me once you decide.  If you can’t decide where to start, please message me, comment below or reach out and I will be glad to help you with a starting point.

I will leave you with this additional thought from the Cultivate What Matter‘s team about Summer – are you ready to get in there and cultivate, prune and tend to what we need to so we can reap the rewards later?

Whether it is a photo goal or a personal goal, what can you spend 15-20 minutes on this week to make progress forward toward something you want to see done.