oh, zark!

Arkansas sunsets really do it for me.

boom!

I just paid off my credit card debt.  holy guacamole, that felt good :)

Now it's time to put my money to good use and put my career to even better use!  Pretty excited about 2012.  Pretty much.

staple gun fun

please pay no attention to the cat-butt indentation on the couch cushion.

I found this little ditty at goodwill outlet for a whopping $2.  Yes, $2.  I was out of town for a long time, and couldn't be bothered for awhile, so I left it sitting in the back seat of my car until this weekend I realized there would be weekend sales going on.

For $5 (50% off) I picked up 5/8 yard of creamy white vinyl (it's less plastic-y and more leather-y) at Hancock fabrics in Kirkland, then tore up the original '90s teal-green nasty fabric and went at it with a staple gun.  Now I have a cute, clean, COMFORTABLE task chair for sewing and doing my arts & crafts at home (aka, entering expenses for work) and it only cost me $7 + 1.5 hrs of effort!

Dad says he preferred the original.  Mom rolled her eyes. What do you think?

new year

Where did 2011 go?  It felt like once I made the decision to leave my job and join my current firm, time sped up exponentially. And now in December, I'm feeling like 2011 left a lot to be desired. I don't feel like I did much on a personal level.

I've been mulling over goals and next steps.  I want to make 2012 one of my best years, ever, right up there with 2010 and 2008.  Maybe there's something about the even numbered years?  I found an old vision / brainstorm diagram from when I spent new year's in Austin with my friend N, and found a few half-started one note notebooks about goals and resolutions and personal development. It got me excited about potential.  True to form, I started thinking about programs and strategies and experts... and then I read a blog post that helped me level set and cut through the noise.

Until you quiet the resistance and commit to actually shipping things that matter, all the productivity tips in the world aren't going to make a real difference. And, it turns out, once you do make the commitment, the productivity tips aren't that needed. 

You don't need a new plan for next year. You need a commitment. 

-Seth Godin

So, here's to 2012.  And here's what I commit to accomplishing, however it happens to take shape.  I commit to living my year:

• well-read (a healthy mix of genres, a healthy number of books and blogs)
• well-fed (clean eating, not too little, not too much) 
• well-traveled (both domestic and international)
• well-spent (within my means, debt free, excepting the condo, by 2013)
• well-lived (reduced wasted time, busy work, out and about, healthy mix of physical activity and brainpower)
• well-loved (quality time with family and friends, share more of myself with those I hold dear)

xoxo,

Rachel