compensation in disappointment

In a month full of resolutions and new found motivation, I have found two contradicting feelings that I'm trying to work out.  Happiness & Failure.  Since my husband works out of the country for weeks at a time, I try to fill up that empty with mini-goals, projects, me-time and anything else that distracts the days of missing him.  This time around I knew he would be gone for a month and I really wanted to focus on my own health and weight, which is one of the main factors in my fertility issues.  Somehow all these days passed me by and instead of losing anything, I actually gained 5lbs and a lot more in other ways.

In the midst of this failure, I found small successes.

• I explored new-to-me places in my city
• Hosted my first event for West Elm
• Didn't flake out once on any plans with friends
• Met a few new friends too
• Built a table for my studio (I've been dreaming about it for 10 months)
• Started focusing on my new shop that I can't wait to open
• Read 2 books
• And tried a few new foods

These are all just a handful of things that stood out to me from this great month I had.  Even though I'm extremely disappointed that I slacked on something as little as working out a bit more or actually focusing on a healthy goal for myself, I made up for it in other ways.  Maybe those other things wouldn't have happened had I been busy counting calories and sweating it up in hot yoga.  The upside is that there is always next month and my 33 wishes can be worked on all year long!

33

As my birthday was approaching, I decided that I really wanted to make thirty-three wishes.  I figure each year we age we should earn an extra wish.  I'm not one to make resolutions during the new year, but I think that my wishes are sort of my own version of a year long resolution for myself.  As my next birthday rolls around I can see how much I accomplish and I will look forward to an extra wish when its time to turn 34!

01 // practice patience 

02 // always be kind

03 // try to be early to appointments

04 // no diets, just healthy changes <-- slowly implementing this plan!

05 // buy a house!

06 // adventure to a new place each month [jan feb mar apr may jun jul]

07 // grow my hair (this has been a wish every year!)

08 // stop being scared to make new friends 

09 // nourish the current friendships I have [this is always a work in progress & i'm proud of myself for it]

10 // compliment and appreciate my husband more  [this one has been fun to do *wink*]

11 // be fully present when with others [STOP.LOOKING.AT.MY.PHONE]

12 // stop caring about what strangers from the internet think

13 // read all the books 

14 // volunteer or donate more often

15 // make art for me, not for profit

16 // learn new hand crafting skills

17 // start a personal journal

18 // stop cursing at idiot drivers =)

19 // bake more

20 // send more letters in the mail

21 // say good bye to justlove.ly & hello to aspen summit 

22 // work up the courage to launch my new shop

24 // do more home projects 

23 // send surprises to loved ones more often

24 // take more baths [i'm not a bath person, wish me luck!]

25 // go on adventures for me, not just for blog content

26 // stay authentic through trends

27 // love my puppies and give them a happy little life

28 // never feel envious of strangers

29 // make this place true to me

30 // support more local small businesses

31 // beat temptation and make healthy choices in all aspects of my life

32 // figure out this infertility thing

33 // take care of me.

And those are my wishes.  To be a little more accountable I'd love to share a monthly check in on how they are going, if you have a birthday coming up and want to do something similar share a link of your post so I can cheer you on too! xo