by Sarah | Dec 31, 2018 | 50 before 50, All About Family, All About Indiana, All About Me, All of Us, Bucket List, Florida Dreaming, Redefining Perfect
Honestly, until last year, I’ve never picked a word for the year before. Not for lack of trying, but being the verbose nut that I am…coming up with just one word for a whole year seemed impossible.
Then, last year at the end of 2017 – a pretty darn good year where I kicked a few bucket list items out of the park, after I’d planned for some big things in 2018…I kept hearing this one word in my head.
MOMENTUM.
I thought that’s just too weird a word for an annual selection.
Still, the word kept coming back to me…and so, I ran with it.
A friend of mine does word art for year words and so I requested she make me some art with this crazy off-the-wall word.
And boy…what a YEAR it has been! There’s been ups and downs, all with such high intensity.
Books were released and re-released.
Friendships were ended.
Friendships were deepened.
We decided to make a HUGE change in our lives and are now planning to move to Florida to be near our son – and we’re working on it. Hard.
Our washer went out.
Erik had some pretty hefty health concerns.
I took big steps to further my career and learning.
I took a step back from writing.
My momentum crashed somewhere around September…and sort of went in reverse for a while.
I bordered on depression, but didn’t feel tipped over the edge.
I got to see my son 3 times – but didn’t get to see Florida once (~sigh~)
I found a great challenge near the end of the year to help me deepen my faith.
I quit smoking.
I failed to quit pop.
I’ve begun to refocus on my Oola again.
I’ve been up beyond ups….and pretty damn down at some times. This year passed by like it was on warp factor 9.9 with no time to breathe sometimes. I overworked myself, and then underworked myself. I struggled to find happy mediums, but happily spent some time in peace and quiet.
It’s been time to pick my word for 2019 again for a little while – and I did so about a month ago. It’s another weird one…but it has me pretty darn excited for what’s going to come in the new year.
You’ll see…pretty soon. 😉
by Sarah | Dec 31, 2015 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Home, All About Indiana, All About Kennedy, All About Marriage, All About Me, All About Molly, All About Ripley, All of Us, Blogging Life, Disney, Make-A-Wish, Redefining Perfect
Tonight is a night of reflection. When we all look back on the year that’s past and examine it, and then look forward to the coming year and anticipate what’s coming.
A breath of hope.
Of change.
Of life.
To look back on my 2015 I can sum it all up with one simple word.
More so in the last 1/3 of the year, but definitely, all around, chaos.
There was much good to be had – Disney (again), getting my son back from the land of emo teenager, book releases, returning to the community theater stage (w/ my whole family, no less) good moments with friends and family.
There were also rough times – my dad’s downward spiral into some pretty bad Parkinson’s symptoms, working triple time at the day job, my publisher closing, and some pretty hurt feelings on my part (sorry, vagueposting that).
The last third of the year it felt like I couldn’t even take a breath we were so insanely busy. Between the play, Disney, work life and home life, I got hardly any writing done, hardly any breathing done.
Now it’s time to step back and take a breath. To look to the upcoming year with hope and excitement.
I see more chaos in the coming year for certain. I see myself setting more lofty goals for myself. I see big changes for my family’s dynamic as one bird flies from the nest. I see growth for my book sales, and moving closer to my dream of being able to stay at home again. I see excitement as more of my Buffalo family moves to Indiana.
So I welcome 2016 with a certain level of anticipation and calm acceptance.
I look forward to whatever it brings me.
by Sarah | Aug 30, 2015 | All About Indiana, All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Indianapolis Zoo, Photography, Redefining Perfect, Snapshot Sunday
One of my absolute favorite things to do is to head to the zoo with my camera. I love photographing animals (when they’re cooperative. My dog, for example, is not). Some of my favorite photographs of mine are of animals.
So when the family finally made a trip to the zoo recently, I was all too happy to take along my camera for the ride.
As always I took way too many pictures, so I’m splitting it up into a couple of weeks. I’ve got a lot of weeks of pictures to catch up on, actually as I’ve been way active with the camera, much like I’d planned. And trust me, I’m not complaining about that.
Now, onto the photos from the zoo!
Stag Beetle.
Hiss
Orangutan in the sky.
Timon.
Kiss-Crossing SeaHorse
Soaring.
And that’s it for this week! More to come next week…considering I get my camera back out 😀
by Sarah | Jul 26, 2015 | All About Indiana, All of Us, Photography, Redefining Perfect, Snapshot Sunday
Continuing with the storm pictures from a couple of weeks ago. Most of these are from the local park, along with a couple of my never-ending cloud pictures.
What? I have a thing for clouds.
Anyway, onto the lot of them.
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Fluffy.
Bark.
Water at the side of the road.
Sun Breaching the Clouds.
Is it Water or Sand? Take a Guess.
Bridge Over Troubled Water.
That’s Not A Bird On That Wire.
And that’s it for this week! More to come next week…considering I get my camera back out 😀
by Sarah | Jul 19, 2015 | All About Indiana, All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Photography, Redefining Perfect, Snapshot Sunday
We had a heck of a storm system blow through Indiana. While my house suffered with some flooding in our crawl space, I was able to get out and snap a few good pictures of the aftermath.
A walk in the park and some cleanup around the house found me a few good shots that I’m happy with.
Enough shots that this is going to spread out over a couple of weeks, I think.
Storm drain.
She survived the storm a little worse for wear.
Emptying the crawl.
A Troubled Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Emerging Beauty.
Reflections.
And that’s it for this week! More to come next week…considering I get my camera back out 😀
by Sarah | Feb 12, 2014 | All About Erik, All About Indiana, All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Indiana State Museum
This weekend the Indiana State Museum is hosting their 11th Annual Art Fair!
And the best part, is preview night is on Valentine’s day!
I’m not usually a big hearts & flowers – “I LOVE Valentine’s Day” type of girl. In fact, Erik knows that if he gets me something on Valentine’s I’m more likely to be annoyed than all lovey-dovey about it. I don’t like to make it a “thing”.
However, this year? When I got the option of going to an Art Fair filled with art by 60 Hoosier Artists representing 21 countries, along with some cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on this big romantic day – I was all over that. Erik and I are going to make a date of it.
I love that we can view, and even buy, beautiful pieces of work from local artists. You can preview some of the artwork now on the Indiana Art Fair Facebook page. I, personally, would rather spend the night enjoying beauty and supporting local artists, than worrying about flowers and hearts. It’s the ideal compromise for me – it’s a date, without the pressure of the label the day brings. It’s a total win-win.
The Indiana Art Fair Preview night is on February 14th from 5:30 to 8PM. Tickets are $20 for members, $25 for non-members (as a bonus, your admission ticket to the Friday evening reception can be redeemed for free admission to the Indiana Art Fair on Saturday, Feb. 15).
If you can’t make it on Valentine’s Day, you can still see the Art Fair from 10AM-5PM on Saturday the 15th – and the cost is included in the regular museum admission ($10 adults, $9 seniors aged 60+, $5.50 child aged 3-12).
Have you been to the Art Fair before? Do you plan on going again?
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*Disclaimer: In exchange for this post I was given two tickets to the Indiana Art Fair. All opinions are my own.
Honestly, until last year, I’ve never picked a word for the year before. Not for lack of trying, but being the verbose nut that I am…coming up with just one word for a whole year seemed impossible.
A friend of mine does word art for year words and so I requested she make me some art with this crazy off-the-wall word.
