Sunday 3 November 2019

Reflecting on 2019 Intentions (Part 1)

Now that November is upon us it's  time to  reflect on the intentions we set way back at the beginning of the year.  I had to go back to the original post, here, to see what I truly had intended to accomplish this year.  Most of the items I was pretty conscious of but it's always good to re-read and see how things changed over the course of a year.  Here we go.


Word of the Year:  PAUSE
Well I started off strong.  I really kept it at the forefront until I completely lost it.  When did I lose it?  I would say August and the anxiety of starting a new job started to take it's toll on the ability to just be in the moment, and then the job and school began and it was lost in the depths of darkness.  I'll be honest, just the last couple of weeks am I even being able to remember to think of the concept of PAUSE.  The sad thing is that I needed to remember it more than ever the last two months, when I felt both elated and exhausted by my new position and pace of life.  I feel like I am getting it back.  I am returning to making it a priority most of the days and am feeling hopeful that I can remember not only self-care but gratitude in the little things, like right now I am at a coffee shop, on a Sunday afternoon, by myself, and my heart rate is slow and my breathing is relaxed.


The lake is where I feel the most at peace.  

Family Time
This I feel is actually going relatively well.  The family unit is still doing many of the things we enjoy such as hanging out and watching a movies, eating supper together most evenings, exploring the outdoors with our pups, hosting friends and enjoying seasonal activities.  Mr. and I are also still going strong with our 2-3 nights a week walk with the pups.  



Learn Something New: PhotographyWell like PAUSE I was doing well until it completely went off of my radar in mid-August.  You guys I  haven't even opened up the lessons since school began, but I've kind of made peace with it.  I just can't do it all.  But not all is lost, because A) I have the lessons forever and B) I gained a lot of skills that I didn't have prior to taking this course.  I've used my camera in manual mode for months now and am super happy with the lessons I've learned.  My one regret is that I didn't take advantage of the FB group that can give you advice and inspiration as you go along, and I know I would have both enjoyed it and benefited from it. Here are just a few of the shots that I took but there are SO MANY.


Dance pictures 2019.

Action shot. I've learned that you need to have shutter speed high when shooting action shots, which does lower your light source.  You need to find the sweet spot between ISO not being too high to avoid that grainy look, but also having shutter speed be able to capture the fast pace.


Pure joy.

I took this with the remote in my hand, which you can't see. 

What is better than grandkids and grandparents.
Artistic photography.  



Hosting:  I was hoping to host more often but you know what I discovered is that I already host a ton.  I enjoy having friends and family on a large scale and on a less grandiose way.  This summer along we hosted 11 + types of visitors in a mere 7 week span.  We just hosted a pizza, veggie, trick or treating evening for our kids and their friends.  It wasn't anything fancy but it got everyone together for a good time.  What I really want is more time, which I don't know how to make.  



Reading: Well, I am going to do a part two and update you on what I've been reading.  Stay tuned and I'll update you at the end of this month.  




How are you doing with your intentions for 2019?  





9 comments:

  1. That trick of finding the perfect shutter & ISO... such an art!!!

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    1. You know it. I love the class I am taking, it's really helped.

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  3. This is such a great post! Wonderful pictures. Your daughter looks beautiful in her ballet costume! Love how she posed with the dog. My daughter is probably about the same age as yours and is a dancer as well, currently having lots of rehearsals for the Nutcracker ballet.

    It's tricky to learn the manual mode of a camera. I've had my DSLR camera for a few years now but sadly I'm mainly using it in automatic mode. I just never seem to take the time to learn how to use it in manual mode...
    Ellibelle's Corner

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words. Yes it's so tricky to learn and that's why I ended up signing up for an online course and even though I've fallen behind, when I have time, I like to go to the weekly lessons and try out a new prompts. Your daughter sounds very busy with dance, I bet she loves it.

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  4. Bo, I hear you on taking those moments to pause and breathe. Sometimes, I feel so overwhelmed by everything that I simply forget and then when I do pause, it’s like I can’t get moving again so I sometimes am afraid to stop! But I am so happy that you were able to find your way back to that intention even in the midst of a chaotic life. Just continue to revisit and reevaluate your intentions along the way and everything seems to fall into place. Thanks so much for sharing this bit of your life with us! Also, thanks for joining my link party.

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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  5. Hey sweet angel, This post spoke to me. My word of the year was peace. And this was my second attempt at achieving peace for my word of the year. But this year, I learned an important lesson. I am never going to get to a place of total peace. Because of LIFE! So instead of striving for peace in every aspect of my life, I am striving for moments of peace every day. Maybe you are doing the same thing with pause. You are pausing during bits of your day?
    Glad you have given yourself some grace on the photography...LOOK at all you LEARNED already!! I signed up for a photography class, went the first day and everyone in the class including the teacher was well over 70 years old. The teacher had never taught! So I didn't return.
    Pause is on your mind again and that is good. Maybe just find ways to build it into your day in one aspect or another. Pause with the hubs when you walk the pups. Pause with the children at dinner. Pause for a few minutes before you head out the door in the morning.
    Proud of you!!

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  6. Thank you for stopping by my blog! I am excited to get to know you, Bo! As I was reading this post, I had to share how much I love that picture of the kids with their grandparents, the way they are looking up at the kids is precious!!

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