2015 here I come!

This is going to be a short entry. I have my 3 major goals for 2015 and also my mantra.

1. Travel

2. Photography

3. Create Life

Play by my own rules.

May 2015 be your best year yet!

Images: here, here and here

What are your major goals for 2015? What are you most excited about to achieve? Let me know in the Comments below!

Goals for the first week of December

Usually, I don't do weekly goals. Actually, I've never done weekly goals. But my horoscope by Free People for the first week of December is so good, that I decided to make an exception.

This is my basis: "Personal growth, adventure, self-expression, love, creativity, travel, inspiration, fun—it’s all possible when you tap into the positive flow of energy."

Monday: personal growth

Tuesday: travel

Wednesday: self-expression

Thursday: creativity

Friday: adventure

Saturday: love

Sunday: inspiration

And throughout the week I'm determined to have fun.

Do you have certain days consecrated to certain goals? Like you have an Inspiration Friday or something like that? Do you prefer weekly or monthly goals? Let me know in the Comments below!

November tally

So here's the crude summary of my November goals' achievement:

1. Consecrate time to myself: I totally did this. And whenever I did it, I instantly felt better. It's something I want to turn into a habit and keep on doing. First, it's important and second, recently, I've been learning so much about myself! From time to time the image of my ideal self shifts. At the moment, I'm experiencing another shift and like always I feel, if I reach this new ideal me, I can be very proud of myself. So right now I'm brimming with enthusiasm.

2. Find a new job: I have gone to the local unemployment office with a new CV, but I think, I could still polish it some more. Is there anybody else out there hating their CV? I've accomplished some great things, but it's just so boring! I've taken more help and used more information to find a new job than previously, but I'm still not satisfied.

3. Make a plan for next year: In my head, I have some vague ideas about the areas I want to focus on more, but I didn't really sit down and plan. So this one still needs to be done.

4. Go to France for my birthday: I did it! And it was my favourite goal for November. I went to Metz as my friend has gone completely AWOL, and it was an amazing experience. I love architecture and photographing old buildings and I've seen so many beautiful ones. By the time I've arrived home I was bursting with positive energy and inspiration. As a birthday present for myself, I bought the Christmas issue of my two favourite (French) interior design magazines.

What was your favourite goal for November (on your own list)?  Anyone else who loves traveling for their birthdays? Let me know in the Comments below!

Birthday wishes

Today, it's my birthday. Recently, I've been regarding birthdays as New Year's Eves, aka resolution making days. So here are a few things I want to do (differently) being 32.

- spend quality time with myself regularly

- less shoulds

- start doing 'something more' with my life and start realizing my community based goals

- be braver

Spend quality time with myself regularly: It's funny, I've never hated myself, but if I want to be honest, I have to acknowledge that I don't really love myself. I mean, I think I love myself, but if I look at the way I treat myself, it's sure not the way to treat someone you love. I believe, I deserve the best things in life, but I hardly ever give the best from myself. It's time to act upon my words and beliefs.

Less shoulds: It's time to cut the crap. Recently, I've often told myself, I should do this or do that and I didn't feel like doing any of those things. So maybe I should just start doing what I feel like doing and stop wasting time on the shoulds.

Start doing 'something more' with my life and start realizing my community based goals: I have a few causes I've always dreamt about supporting, yet I haven't joined any organisations supporting or fighting those causes. So it's time to act.

Be braver: You know that cliché about amazing things happening outside your comfort zone? Although, I've changed a lot, I still have shy and/or introvert days, when I find it really hard to speak to people. But I love hearing people's stories, so I want to be brave enough to walk up to them and ask.

Do you make birthday resolutions? What does your ideal birthday celebration looks like? Let me know in the Comments below!

4 Goals for November

It turns out October was not that full of energy as I initially felt, so it's up to November to get things moving forward. Here are the goals I hope to achieve this month:

1. Consecrate time to myself

2. Find a new job

3. Make a plan for next year so that I know what needs to be done in preparation

4. Go to France for my birthday

So my November list is slightly shorter, but the goals are also somewhat more bulky.

Consecrate time to myself: I realized, that if I want to have more energy, I shouldn't simply not work during the weekends or 'relax', but seriously consacrate quality time to myself, when I do things I enjoy, no matter how impractical those things may be. Like solving a sudoku puzzle.

Find a new job: It's time to finish polishing that CV and go to the local unemployment office and take all the help and information they offer to find a new job quickly. Like always, I look for a job I enjoy, where I'm inspired and motivated and that finally grants me financial security, paying a salary matching my expertise.

Make a plan for next year: If you don't know what you want, no wonder you don't move forward. So it's time to get clear. It's time to define those vague ideas.

Go to France for my birthday: I write France, because I'm not sure if my friend will take me to Paris, or I'll go alone, but then only to Metz. Either trip will be great fun, so I really look forward to this.

What do you look forward to achieving in November? It's Thanksgiving at the end of November, does that influence your November goals? Let me know in the Comments below!

October tally

So here's the crude summary of my October goals' achievement:

1. Meditate more: Well, funnily, I meditated less, but I read a lot about mindfulness and meditation. I feel that I've moved forward on my spiritual path, but I haven't achieved the actual goal I planned out for myself. While back at the beginning of October I felt modifying my meditations was just one step forward, now I feel it has drifted farther from me and it'll take a real effort to realize this goal.

I think, I'm also afraid.

2. Update CV: At the moment, my contract expired at the 15th October. I'm currently spending my dismissal period. I've updated my LinkedIn profile and worked my way through the book Brand You, but I haven't applied the gained information yet, so I still have to tackle that. October was a month of baby steps, apparently.

3. Travel more: On the last day of October I got myself and tried to realize the goal of travelling to 3 different places. Originally, I wanted to go to Remich only, but I've never been there and the tourist information office is currently closed, so I decided to go to Echternach. I could have gone to Saarbrücken, but I did not want to spend that much money. On my way home I decided to pop in Diekirch, where due to the weekend holidays, almost all the shops were closed. So after half an hour I went to Ettelbrück to catch my train home.

4. Create positive energy: Finally, a goal I feel I've fully achieved. It also helped that I'll soon get rid of the initial negative situation. Lots of positive and rewarding experiences gained here. I'm happy.

5. Walk more: I didn't. But on the rare occasions I was out I really did feel immensely happy and I tried to make the most of my time out. Also, on a single occasion, but nonetheless I made myself stay out longer. It was difficult, but it was worth it.

6. Photograph more: I didn't. And I didn't even take a lot of photos when I did take my camera out. But I had some nice, uplifting experiences and I even discovered a new feature of my camera, though I still have to figure out how to use it and for what.

What were your goals for October? Which achievement are you the proudest of? Let me know in the Comments below!

6 Goals for October

September has whizzed by, but October feels to be full of energy, so I'm trying to take advantage of it to move my life forward. Here are the goals I hope to achieve this month:

1. Meditate more

2. Update CV

3. Travel more

4. Create positive energy

5. Walk more

6. Photograph more

Meditate more: This seems to be pretty random, something that's difficult to measure, but actually I have a very clear idea of what I want. Usually, I do general meditations; I sink to level Alpha, relax my body from head to toe, but I always feel too tired to practice focused meditation that is devoted to particular goals.

I've always wanted to have my own meditation texts and ceremonies, but I often chicken out and search youtube which most of the time provides disappointing results. Recently, I have allowed myself to linger over images my mind offers up, like walking through a market place and plunging my hands into sacks of colourful spices. (Guess, my mind is sending a memo to spice things up in reality, too?)

But with this, I'm still only halfway there, because it may be more exciting and personalized than the relax my body from head to toe process, but with this I'm still not focusing on my goals nor I am moving forward with them.

So what I want is to practice mindful, personalized meditations.

Update CV: My current contract expires at the end of December. Also, I'm not too happy with my current job, so it's high time to start looking and researching my next dream job, but that requires a killer CV.

I already have the toolkit: Brand You by John Purkiss, but I just can't find the time, energy and the mindset to go through it and create my CV.

So this is one goal I definitely have to tackle in October.

Travel more: Yet another seemingly vague goal, that I can easily make precise. In October, I want to travel to 3 different places: Saarbrucken, Remich and somewhere in Luxembourg, perhaps Echternach.

Travelling is a big lifetime goal for me, but I find it very difficult to realize. I'm always saving up money, not daring to squander on travelling, but it's not right. Also people with less time travel more. I have to be more organized about this. I don't even have any excuses, I just let time pass by without going anywhere.

So I have decided that in October I'm travelling.

Create positive energy: The reason I'm not happy with my current job, is my boss and the negativity coming from my boss that I constantly have to counter-balance. A negativity that comes from insecurity and lack of confidence. Unfortunately, this affects my life in such a great measure, that I have to do something about it.

The solution I've come up with instead of trying to continuously counter-balance is to set out to create positive energy in general. I've been doing this previously on occasion and obviously it makes me very happy when I succeed. So I'll try to be more mindful about it and practice this act more consciously in the hope that it'll affect my life in a positive way on many levels.

It sucks to feel desperate, so in October, I get proactive about ensuring that I don't have to feel that way.

Walk more: Whenever I'm out in the city, I feel immensely happy, yet I hardly ever find the time or energy to get myself out of my tiny box of a room and go for a walk. It'll never cease to awe me how the things we truly love can prove just as difficult to do as the things we hate.

I've also had plans to plan walks, but boy! So I'm starting with just walking. At least 3 times a week in October.

Photograph more: This is closely related to my walking goal. I used to have photography walks, but now I rarely ever take my camera with me. Previously, I had a deep photography crisis of which I'm finally getting over. Recently, I've had some nice success, so I just need to keep going and learning to use my camera again.

In October, it's time to remind myself, how much I love photography.

Do you have monthly goals? What would you like to fill October with? Let me know in the Comments below!

My New Year's resolutions 2013

Here are my New Year's resolutions created in 2013. And I so have to work on this list!

1.  Put a positive thing in every day
2.  Socialize
3.  Have constant extra income
4.  Visit France
5.  Travel for an exhibition
6.  Write my own story
7.  Do what I really want
8.  Leave flowers on the grave of a stranger
9.  Visit Portugal
10.  Pay it forward 5 times
11.  Decide on a cause to support
12.  Learn etiquette
13.  Thrown a grandiose tea party
14.  Have a cheese and wine party
15.  Try Etsy, Amazon, eBay
16.  Create seasonal decor

Do your lists of New Year's resolutions change or you have the same types of goals years after years? What are some of the recurring goals on your lists? Let me know in the Comments below!

My New Year's resolutions 2012

Here are my New Year's resolutions created in 2012. As you can see, I still have to work on some of them.

1.    Move to Luxembourg (achieved)
2.    Get a payrise (achieved)
3.    Read a poem every week
4.    Let love find me
5.    Find time for inspiration (achieved)
6.    Write a novel
7.    Create a style book for myself
8.    Get a little black dress
9.    Walk more and regularly
10.   Keep exploring
11.   Blog regularly
12.   Be spontaneous
13.   Adopt an owl or eagle (virtually) (achieved)
14.   Make a new tracklist (achieved)
15.   Fly a kite 
16.   Create a vision board
17.   Revamp my wardrobe
18.   Overcome my fear of calling people on the phone
19.   Get an antique mirror
20.   Get antique glass objects
21.   Get a hat for everyday use
22.   Learn to write with my left hand
23.   Volunteer (achieved)
24.   Get rid of constraints
25.   Be nice to others (achieved)
26.    Smile everyday (achieved)
27.    Find free things to do for fun (achieved)

What kind of goals do you have on your New Year's resolutions lists? Do you manage to achieve all of them? Let me know in the Comments below!

Live and act like a lady of my standing

Build up my ideal life

Try 10 of the world's best breakfasts

Learn to use my digital camera

Travel for visiting exhibitions

My current list of goals saved from 43 things

So these are the goals I've been working on up till the closing of the site.

1.      Build up my ideal life.          

2.      Live and act like a lady of my standing.         

3.      Do the a-z author challenge.      

4.      Learn to use my digital camera.           

5.      Treat myself to 43 simple pleasures.     

6.      Get the French wardrobe.           

7.      Try 10 of the world's best breakfasts.     

8.      Spend an hour a day pampering myself.      

9.      Expand my personal and professional network.  

10.     Learn to tie scarves.        

11.     Create a new costs plan for 2014.          

12.     Start reading a book in the middle.        

13.     Try 10 wines.        

14.     Try 10 cheeses.      

15.     Travel for visiting exhibitions.          

16.     Upgrade my life.            

17.     Prepare myself for love.            

18.     Get a stool.        

19.     Try something new every week.       

20.     Create a beautiful uplifting morning routine.    

21.     Give myself 43 gifts.      

22.     Revamp my wardrobe.   

23.     Be in a movie.    

24.     Visit Italy.      

25.     Improve my maths.       

26.     Read the diary of Virginia Woolf vol. 3.    

27.     Read mistress of modernism: the life of Peggy Guggenheim.        

28.     Get a radio.      

29.     Create my own signature look.    

30.     Collect my ideas.       

31.     Realize 10 ideas I fell for.       

32.     Hunt down a vintage plaque with a lovely inscription.      

33.     Travelling a-z europe.      

Do you have any of them on your own lists? Do you feel inspired to take up any of them? Let me know in the Comments below!

Learn juggling

The other night, a friend took me to a multicultural event, where you could try out some juggler's equipment. I decided to learn how to spin a plate on a stick and it was an amazing experience. At first, I needed help, then I pretty quickly figured out how to do it and I was bursting with pride and happiness. I can't wait to do it, again. :) So whatever you want to try out, go for it! You can do it and you'll be so happy afterwards!

Have you ever tried juggling? What was the last thing that made you feel ecstatic with happiness? Let me know in the Comments below!

Take part in an art project

One of the museum newsletters I'm subscribed to, contained a call for artists. (See, it's so worth being subscribed to museum newsletters!) They were looking for people for a performance, who are trained in dance, meditation or martial arts, or who are simply naturally careful with their movements. I fell into this latter group. After a try-out, where we had to manipulate and interact with an object, I was selected among 6 other people. Then we had a month-long training period and now the performance is 'live' until the beginning of September. During the performance we compose and then take apart an installation. It's one of the most special of my experiences. So if there's anything you really want to experience, but might be out of your comfort zone or your league, go for it!

Have you ever participated in any kind of art project? Are you subscribed to any museum newsletters? Let me know in the Comments below!

Buy a mobile phone

In my home country, if you don't have a house or flat and you don't pay your own bills, you can't buy a mobile phone from any of the telecom companies. So it didn't matter that I had a good job, as I lived in a rented apartment, I couldn't have my own phone, it had to be obtained by my parents. I moved to another country and decided to buy an independent phone, then go to the telecom company with the best subscription plan and get it all set up. I'm really proud that after long years I finally have my own phone and subscription plan paid with my own earnings. Somehow it made me feel independent.

Do you own anything, that gives you a sense of independence? What acquisition of yours are you the most proud of? Let me know in the Comments below!

Try turkish delight

I love trying national or local specialties. This time my Greek friend brought back a box of Turkish delights from her visit home. It was amazingly delicious and though it was just a bite, I suspect, it works like the English pudding: it's so rich, that a bite is more, than enough. In colour it was brown and contained bits of walnut. :) I can only urge you to try it!

Do you enjoy trying local specialties? What's your favourite of the foreign foods you've ever tried? Let me know in the Comments below!

See fireworks live!

I wanted to see the national day fireworks, so I talked to a friend, because I didn't want to go alone. We stood at a safe distance, so we could breathe and we weren't crushed, yet our hair still ended up full of debris. It was a very interesting experience. The show of course was beautiful. If you're considering watching a fireworks show live: safety first!

Find time for inspiration

It's amazing how it improves my life when I make the effort to find time for inspiration. This goal is one of my resolutions for 2012. So, it actually took me more than 2 years to achieve. Inspiration is like air for me. So you can imagine how achieving this goal has improved the quality of my life. I find inspiration in people's stories and blogs on design, gastronomy and travel. And at this moment, my life is full of inspiration. 

 

What helped me achieve this goal was my positive attitude and creating time for myself.

 

Where do you find inspiration? What blogs do you read for inspiration? Let me know in the Comments below!

Socialize

This goal comes from my resolutions' list for 2013, so it took me a bit more than 1 year to actually achieve it. I totally believe in interest groups. I'm a member of a women's networking group and a knitting circle. Both have gifted me with some amazing people. I'm also taking part in a performance, which is great fun and again, has brought some fantastic people into my life. And at this moment of my professional life I network like crazy and due to this I get to meet inspiring people from whom I can learn a lot. And yes, sometimes I'm very very tired, but it totally is worth it. Should you want to go out and mingle: go out and even if you don't feel like opening your mouth, smile!

Visit a design studio

I love behind the scenes or backstage experiences, so when I heard that local designers would open their studios to the public, I knew instantly that I wanted to go. I visited a branding studio, where I talked to an older man, who was quite bitter about the situation of getting work as a designer, and where they ignored me for several minutes. So despite the awesome philosophy of the studio that I checked before online, I had a negative experience. Then I visited another studio that does research about your target audience and had a fun time. Here the guys were very creative, I really liked their service and we're still in touch.

Have you ever visited a design studio? Who are your favourite designers? Let me know in the Comments below!