13 Things in 2013 : The Final Update

Happy New Year! A bit late, but I figure if I say it now it covers both the 2014 new year and the lunar new year. Two birds, one stone (and a horse…). Seems an age ago that I put together my list of things I wanted to do in 2013. Strange how it feels like the last twelve months has flown by so fast, and yet I can barely remember what life looked like back then. Time is a slippery beast huh? 

I'll admit I do feel more than a hint of trepidation about putting this final scorecard together. The last six months of 2013 threw many a curve ball our way; I'm pretty sure the results aren't going to be pretty! But [insert appropriate quote here about failure and trying and having a go and success] so… 

1. Learn to use Photoshop Elements. B. Not bad, not bad. I can do a simple photo collage, and a logo here and there. I've been playing with brushes and layers and various effects. I wouldn't say I'm competent, but I would say I'm at a level where I can get a result I'm okay with. I feel I've got a good base to build on, I guess. 

2. Learn a new photography skill. D. I did attend a photography course, so that's something. It was Photography 101 taught by Brooke Holm and run by Megan Morton's fabulous The School. It was definitely aimed at beginners, but I still learnt a lot. It was so inspiring to be taught by someone who only shoots in natural light. Really opened my eyes to what is possible without flashes and floodlights and fancy studio set ups. (FYI I've booked in for this Street Photography course with the CCE in April; bit excited about that!) 

3. Do something with my 500px account. And submit some images to Alamay. And put my best ten together to submit to the Getty Images Flickr collection. A big, fat F! My progress on this has been naught, nil, zip, zilch…not a sausage. No excuse either. 

4. Do a monthly project. D-. I managed to get through eight months with Collecting Colours, and then the move and the renovation and just kind of everything got in the way. But eight months - that's a solid effort, right? I really loved working with the diptychs, it's something I want to explore a bit more. And I also want to go back and finish off those last few colour pairs one day too… 

5. Make one pom pom wreath per month. F. I must have been seriously delirious and/or deluded when I set this goal. I think I made three and a half wreaths all up. I still love pom poms though, so when I have a house to craft in again I will make some more. Just not one a month. (Related - crafting out of a suitcase really is hard!) 

6. Get through The Big Project without completely losing my mind. B, and then F, and then C+, and then F. Yep, it's been a roller coaster ride and it's...still…dragging…on. Sigh. I've lost my mind exactly twice. Once when we were pushing for a pre-xmas move in and I could see it just wasn't going to happen and I cried for an entire day. And then just a few days ago when we had to cancel the removalists I''d booked for next Monday, because the house just wasn't going to be ready, and we were going to be 'homeless' again and I'd have to put the dogs back into boarding and it was all my fault, of course. I cried for another day. (Not sure about you but the day after losing my mind I always wake up clear headed and focussed on what needs to be done. My major melt downs may not be fun for those nearby but they seem to be a good 'reset' button for me…) 

7. Do something with my hair. D. I'm still blonde, I still wear my hair up most days. But I do mix it up a teensy, tiny bit more than in the past, and I'm loving my Sydney colourist and hairdresser. Let's see what this year brings! 

8. Remember our wedding anniversary. A+. We remembered it! Hurrah! We didn't celebrate it, there were planes and time zones and different countries in the way, but we remembered it… 

9. Attend a workshop at either Harvest Workroom, Prints Charming or The School. A+. Done. See point 2 above. 

10. Send more mail art. D-. Did I mention all the curve balls being thrown? And the difficulty of crafting out of a suitcase? 

11. Read a book a month. B+. Twelve books read! Though to be honest I'm a bit disappointed that a) I just scraped home on this one, especially as b) two of them were graphic novels. 

12. Maintain my current fitness routine. B+. Some form of exercise is always part of my day now - it's most definably a habit, something that just happens. I may not run (I tried C25K and failed) but whether it's walking the dogs, doing some yoga, or lifting weights at the gym I move every single day and I really notice when I don't. It's pretty awesome. 

13. Make a Collecting Colour calendar for 2014. F. HA! Oh, how innocent and hopeful I was! 

13 Things in 2013 : Another Update

I may have said this once or twice but where the heck is 2013 going? Flying by! Anyhoo, being July 1 it's again time to revisit my little list of things I want to get done this year and see my progress (or otherwise, as the case may be...). 

1. Learn to use Photoshop Elements. B+. I'm learning new stuff all the time (mainly the time when I have a vision in my head and can't make it happen and then yell at the dogs and tweet aggressively and go have a cup of tea and find the answer to all my problems on the youtube / adobe.com. I feel I've mastered the art of creating a collage template, and I managed to make something that could be called a 'logo' for my new blog without too much frustration. So, yay me!

2. Learn a new photography skill. D. I've been googling photography courses in Sydney and I've found two I'd like to do. And I signed up for the Centre for Continuing Education newsletter. That counts as something, right? 

3. Do something with my 500px account. And submit some images to Alamay. And put my best ten together to submit to the Getty Images Flickr collection. F for Fail! No progress here, though I really feel like I am very close to posting some images to my 500px account. Really close. (This is the exact same update from last quarter. So, yeah...) 

4. Do a monthly project. A. Still going strong! I haven't missed a month of Collecting Colours yet (and I don't think Brandi Hussey has either!). 

5. Make one pom pom wreath every month. F. What was I thinking? Really! I love pom poms but one wreath a month??!! Some of those wreaths have over 40 pom poms in them. Take out the days when I'm travelling, swamped with other stuff or just too depressed about the way Australia treats it's Prime Ministers to do anything and it adds up to a whole lot of intensive pom pom making. To be honest I'll be happy if I finish the year with four wreaths under my belt. 

6. Get through The Big Project without completely losing my mind. B. Things have got serious and so far so good. But that's mainly because I have an incredibly competent, cool, calm and collected architect managing things for us, and the most relaxed and friendly builder in all of Sydney. (Relaxed as in 'Yeah sure that's fine if you want us to take delivery of your washer/dryer and lug them upstairs for you and store them for a few weeks. No problems'. Not relaxed as  in 'Yawn, we don't need to work today, do we?'.) 

7. Do something with my hair. D+. I struggle with this. Terribly. It's not helped by the fact that the husband a) laughed at me last time he saw me in a headband; so they've clearly been ditched. And b) doesn't seem to be on board with my idea of employing a handmaiden to elaborately braid/crimp my hair Kahleesi style each morning. Also, I may need a baby dragon. Also, I think if Kahleesi herself came to do my hair the husband might be a bit more keen on the plan. 

8. Remember our wedding anniversary. Still not till July, so... But it's looking like I'll be in Sydney whilst the husband will be in Hong Kong (and then en route to Sydney) on our anniversary date. But, the goal was just to remember it right? I think I can do that. 

9. Attend a workshop at either Harvest Workroom, Prints Charming or The School. F. Time is running out. There's too much to fit in. Arghhhh. I am going to the Problogger event in September, which is super exciting (and a bit scary). Does that count? 

10. Send more mail art. D+. There has been some progress here! I've sent out some collage cards, and some postcards, and I've got two creative penpals on the go (with thanks to Magdalena over at The Craft Revival). 

11. Read a book a month. A+. Six months in and I've downed nine books (three are graphic novels but one of those was quite long...so...). Since the last update I've read: The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith (meh); Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (wonderful, dense, lyrical - and interesting to see the origins of one of my favourite movies); and two more books by Guy Delisle (Shenzen and Jerusalem). But my favourite read thus far has most definitely been Jeannette Winterson's Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?. I inhaled this book. Beautifully written, poignant, honest, inspiring...I pretty much dog-eared every page to mark the sentences I loved. 

Of late my reading has come to a bit of a grinding halt but as you read this I'll be trapped on a big boat somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea, and I'm sure I'll be burning through another book or two. 

12. Maintain my current fitness routine. B+. I've been kicking things up a bit lately at the gym and with my weird yoga-pilates-aerobics hybrid that I do at home. Two things have aided my motivation - our upcoming (now here!) Summer holiday (ughh, have I really turned into one of those ladies who tries to get 'swimsuit ready'?); and the fact I can now almost call my arms 'toned'. Seeing actual changes in my body, my strength, my shape - I get so excited! That's the best motivator for me (regardless of what those stoopid scales say). It's actually got to the point where I travel with a gym kit now! Really! Who would have thought? 

13. Make a Collecting Colour calendar for 2014. F. I kind of got distracted. I got excited about making this a reality after it had been in my head. Oh, making these too. And I've got another project (or two) that I'm working on as well. But I guess I still want to do the calendar thingl. Maybe. 

So, that's how I'm tracking - how are you tracking?

ps. Things will be a bit quiet over here for the next few weeks (I have sunshine to soak up, salty water to swim in and a ton of Italian food to eat!). But, I do have one more Death by Doxie post coming your way, and I'll still be posting three times a week over at asia*.

13 Things in 2013 : An Update

Three months down hey? How did that happen? Time is flying by, yes? Anyhoo, being the first of April (Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy April Fools, etcetera...) I thought I'd revisit my little list of things I want to get done this year and see how I'm tracking so far. By giving myself grades, of course.

1. Learn to use Photoshop Elements. B. Well, I know a lot more than I did three months ago. But I was starting from a very, very low base.

2. Learn a new photography skill. C. I bought a 35mm lens and have taken roughly 735 photos with it over the past few months (I'm drowning in photos that need editing and cataloguing and posting. Ugh). And on a recent trip to Seoraksan (more on that later) I played with some night time shots. But it would be a stretch to say I've actually learnt anything. Hence the middling grade.

3. Do something with my 500px account. And submit some images to Alamay. And put my best ten together to submit to the Getty Images Flickr collection. F for Fail! No progress here, though I really feel like I am very close to posting some images to my 500px account. Really close.

4. Do a monthly project. A. It's happening people! The posts have been a little late some months but it's been awesome (and thank you for those of you who have been playing along and/or leaving lovely comments.)

5. Make one pom pom wreath every month. D-. Well, I made one in January. And I'm about a third of the way through a second one. This was kind of a big ask (what was I thinking?!) but I am hoping to make up ground in the next three months. The husband is going to be travelling, a lot, and lonely nights at home equals loads of pom pom making...

6. Get through The Big Project without completely losing my mind. B. Aside from a few minor freak outs things are going okay. But things haven't really got serious yet. Stay tuned.

7. Do something with my hair. D+. Well, I've stopped wearing it in the half tied knot thing every single day. But I still wear it up every single day. I just can't stand loose hairs around my face. But I have been wearing pony tails and plaits, and experimenting with the odd headband. So not a total fail.

8. Remember our wedding anniversary. It's not till July so...

9. Attend a workshop at either Harvest Workroom, Prints Charming or The School. F. Hasn't happened yet and looking increasingly unlikely considering all the up-in-the-airness of life right now. Maybe 2014?

10. Send more mail art. E-. (Is that even a proper grade?) This should basically get a fail but I did send two giant mail swap packages - not exactly mail art but it's something, right? But I have plans! My lovely bloggy friend, Ronica at Bad Jones Rising, is a rather talented collage artist and she's just sent me some gorgeous collages. Great inspiration to create some paper art of my own.

11. Read a book a month. A+. I've finished four books! Okay, one of them was technically a graphic novel and one was a book I started last year but it all still counts right? So far I've read: George Orwell's Coming Up For Air; The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal; Women of Letters by Michaela McGuire and  Marieke Hardy; and PyongYang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle. I've loved them all but this last one is especially fantastic - humorous and crazy and sad - and if you have any interest in North Korea and/or graphic novels you should run out and buy it now. I've just started reading another three books. Feeling fairly confident about holding my grade on this one.

12. Maintain my current fitness routine. B. To be honest I'm a bit over the current regime of gym and yoga. Luckily I've had a few days hiking mountains and pounding the Seoul pavements. If I find time I'm going to throw in a few bike rides as well. Boredom is the enemy here.

13. Make a Collecting Colour calendar for 2014. F. No progress but come on, it's only April right?

ps. Seeing as North Korea is splashed all over the news at the moment I feel like I should say something about it. I guess I'll just say that life goes on as normal here. These two countries have technically been at war for 60 years and being threatened by the North is nothing new. And although this time things do feel a little more heated the consensus seems to be that an all out war is unlikely (after all, the North is not suicidal). But really, no one knows. And yes, it does unsettle me a little. The move to Sydney (now postponed to August!) really can't come soon enough for my liking...

ps. If you're interested in finding out more I've been tweeting a bit about it, and I also have a 'Korea' list on Twitter which is made up of a wide range of news agencies, locals and academics. It's my main source of news and opinion about anything North Korea related (thank goodness for Twitter!).

13 Things in 2013

I was tweeting the other day about how I'm always a little amazed by the new year posts that pop up in the first week of January. All those posts about goals and projects and words for the year ahead. I'm always a bit in awe of all those people that are so organised and forward thinking. 

I'm the kind of person who is a little taken aback by the new year, a bit 'oh hello, where did you come from?' (and from my twitter conversations it seems I'm not alone). I think I get so fixated on xmas that I forget there's a new year just around the corner. And then when it arrives I'm still eating leftovers and taking down decorations, when maybe I should've been creating some space to think about new projects and new paths. Which is not to say I don't think about those things, I do. I'm just a little late in doing it (hence my love of the lunar new year). 

This year promises to be another fun filled roller coaster ride and through it all there are some things I really, really want to make happen. And whilst I'm not a big fan of goals, I do love a list. And seeing as it's 2013 and 13 is a number I like (the house I grew up in was number 13, and as a kid I remember loudly and proudly telling people that whilst they might think it's an unlucky number I thought it was rather ace!), here are 13 things I'd like to do this year: 

1. Learn to use Photoshop Elements - I just had to renew my enrolment in Brandi Hussey's 'Editing with Elements' ecourse because I've been procrastinating over this so long. But it has to happen, and soon. So today I did the first three sections, go me! 

2. Learn a new photography skill - it might be how to work a flash or use a new lens or shoot in bright light. I'm not sure what yet, but I want to do a short course in something to keep the momentum of last year going. 

3. Do something with my 500px account. And submit some images to Alamay. And put my best ten together to submit to the Getty Images Flickr collection. Yep. It's gonna happen. For sure. (Maybe). 

4. Do a monthly project (like last years Collecting Colour). I pretty much know what I'm going to do here, I just have to put the graphics and the first post together. Stay tuned! 

5. Make one pom pom wreath every month. I've already started on this month's one and it is shaping up to be pretty awesome. 

6. Get through The Big Project without completely losing my mind. 

7. Do something with my hair. I wear it up every, single, day. Pulled back in a half knot/bun type thing. Yawn. Boring. I need help. Help!

8. Remember our wedding anniversary. I was thinking of making this 'remember all friend/family birthdays and send a card' but seeing as I've already missed my stepdads birthday I wouldn't be off to a stellar start on that one. And we always miss our wedding anniversary, which means we miss an opportunity to drink fancy champagne and eat decadently, which is just not on is it? 

9. Attend a workshop at either Harvest Workroom, Prints Charming or The School. 

10. Send more mail art. I have been failing terribly at this, but it's something I love so I will endeavour to make time for it. 

11. Read a book a month. At least. I've got two on the go right now - George Orwell's Coming Up For Air and The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal. 

12. Maintain my current fitness routine. Or maybe even ramp it up a little? 

13. Make a Collecting Colour calendar for 2014. Woah. This is planning so far in advance my head is spinning a little. I think I need a lie down and a cup of tea...