13 in 13

It seems this year that resolutions really got a lot of bad press. So many people had terrible things to say about resolutions – why wait until January 1st to start something, no one follows them, they’re completely forgotten by March… I asked so many people if they set resolutions this year – and only one person reported that they did.

I’m kinda sorta overly obsessed with setting goals, but I’ve never really been into New Year’s Resolutions. I like to reflect and goal-set around my birthday instead of the calendar year. My birthday just has more meaning to me than January 1st. But, given the bad rap resolutions were getting, I couldn’t help myself and came up with 13 projects I want to complete in 2013. And, since I think writing down and sharing goals helps you stick to them, here they are:

Organize my office closet
Clean and organize my garage
Work out 3 times a week
Take a daily multivitamin
Complete a photo a day challenge
Organize my closet
Frame and hang art from my travels
Create a Hawaii photo book
Stick to our family budget
Improve my front flower beds
Hydrate
Try container gardening
Finish discs 1 and 2 of Rosetta Stone

B. Whimsy Photo Shoots

At November 19, 2012
By juliaandruswilliams
In 11. Improve photography skills, 30 Before 30, From My Camera, Journal
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In addition to the branding work that I’ve done for B. Whimsy, I’ve been taking tons of photographs for them to show off the awesome clothes, floral arrangements, and home decor items they have in the store. (Visit their website or Facebook page for more photos.)

To really show just how cute their clothes are, we’ve had a few photo shoots. It was really fun to think about photography in a commercial way – thinking about how to best show off the clothes, while still trying to capture portraits that the girls would be proud to see online. I’m really happy with how they turned out – and hope they are too!

Here are a few of the photos:

An Angel’s Face

At July 16, 2012
By juliaandruswilliams
In 11. Improve photography skills, From My Camera, Journal
0

This is simply too sweet not to share.

Happiness Project :: March 19

At March 19, 2012
By juliaandruswilliams
In 11. Improve photography skills, Journal
0

19 :: Photography. I’ve always loved photos – looking at old family photos, taking endless pictures with my friends, and now composing and taking photographs. I love photographs because of the history they capture, the emotions they elicit, the art that they are. I love the challenge of creating and capturing a moment in time – and the satisfaction I have when I can actually turn a picture I have in my head into something I can hold in my hands.

Happiness Project :: March 07

At March 07, 2012
By juliaandruswilliams
In 11. Improve photography skills, 29. Enjoy life with Russell, 30 Before 30, From My Camera, Journal
0

07 :: Drinking wine. Outside. With my hubby. That’s really 3 things to be happy about – but, when combined, it’s pure bliss.

Happiness Project :: March 06

At March 06, 2012
By juliaandruswilliams
In 11. Improve photography skills, 30 Before 30, From My Camera, Journal
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06 :: Carbs. Carbs make me really happy. Pasta. French bread. Chocolate cake. And these cookies.

Happiness Project :: March 05

At March 05, 2012
By juliaandruswilliams
In 11. Improve photography skills, 30 Before 30, At Home, From My Camera, House Renovations, Journal
0

05 :: My kitchen. It’s so pretty and light and functional. I absolutely love to cook and bake in this kitchen.

Happiness Project :: March 04

04 :: Sprouting seeds. In preparation for our spring and summer garden, we started some lettuce seeds last week. It’s so fun to watch the tiny plants appear from the soil and grow so much each day. I’m looking forward to another year of gardening!

Happiness Project :: March 02

At March 02, 2012
By juliaandruswilliams
In 11. Improve photography skills, 21. Move back to Texas!, 30 Before 30, From My Camera, Journal
1

02 :: Texas! Wide open spaces, the stars at night, BBQ, Shiner Bock, football – and everything else that makes up Texas. I’m so happy to be living in the Lone Star State again. Happy Texas Independence Day, y’all.

Happiness Project :: March 01

At March 01, 2012
By juliaandruswilliams
In 11. Improve photography skills, 30. Be genuinely at peace, From My Camera, Journal
0

I’ve been reading The Happiness Project off and on for almost a year now. It’s one of those books that I read until something intrigues me, then I put it down and reflect on that something for a while, and then pick the book up again later.

Most recently, I’ve been intrigued by the concept of micro journaling and the author’s “One-Sentence Journal.” A manageable and structured way of chronicling life – the everydays, the big things, the things that don’t seem to matter but really they do.

I’ve decided to couple that concept with another project that I’ve been wanting to do – a photo a day project. Originally, I thought about doing that for my New Years resolution, but that was just too daunting to think about. A month though – I think I can handle that.

So, today I start my own mini happiness project, sharing a photo a day for a month of something that makes me happy. In no particular order. At the end of the month, I hope to have a collage of good feelings and happy photos – something to lift my spirits when I’m feeling down or to look back on when life has given me different things to be happy about.

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So, to kick off the happiness project….

01 :: Blooming flowers. Today, as I walked inside after lunch, I noticed that some flowers in our front flower beds are blooming. So happy that Spring is around the corner.