Hello! I’m back although I’m not sure if this is temporary or permanent as I haven’t spoken to my IT guy yet . . . but I tried logging in this morning and it worked so I’m publishing this post which was supposed to go up yesterday. I miss you all and I’m hoping I will be blogging regularly again going forward but if you don’t see me here please know that we are working on the problem.
XOXO
Carole

It’s the last Tuesday of the month and I have put my nose to the grindstone and gotten my January OLW prompt done.

There are always a lot of decisions to make when it comes to documenting a new word. I like to have some things be consistent from month to month, so I always want to make sure that I like how I set things up in January since I’ll be following some of the format for the whole year.

And my first consideration for this year was a big one . . . for me, at least. I have always started a new journal for a new word. However, for this year I had some issues with that. First of all, Ali Edward’s new journal has a horizontal rather than vertical format and I wasn’t super excited about that. Also, I still had quite a bit of room in my Practice journal and I didn’t love the idea of having those pages go to waste. So you know what I did? I continued on in the rainbow stripe journal I was already using and I ordered another one so that I’ll have space when this one runs out in a couple of months. This is how I approach all of my other journaling so I’m pretty comfortable with it even if it does feel a tiny bit weird.

I do want to say, I really enjoy the January prompt. It’s always a lot of writing, which I love. And it really helps me to start thinking about my word and how I want to invite it to enhance my life. I took photos of my January pages and here they are:

I really liked having a selfie on the first page of every month last year so I’m continuing that into this year. It was sort of a hassle last year but I think I’ve figured out a way to print out the correct size for the monthly frame that came with the OLW 2023 kit.

My intentions are on a double page spread. And I used those chipboard flowers that came in the winter mini kit to embellish all of this month’s pages.

And my thoughts about the year ahead round out this month’s prompt. I think bloom is going to be just great and I’m excited to see where it takes me.

Today I am sharing my final One Little Word update for practice. This is how I documented December in my journal:

My cover page, if you will, for each month, is a selfie with the month in script and some other embellishments. From there, I tend to interpret the Ali Edward’s prompt to fit my own format and style. December was all about remembering and noting our facts and feelings about the previous year with our word. I read back through my prompts from the previous 11 months, wrote down the things I felt most strongly about, and ended the journal with some random word stickers and the acknowledgement that I have, indeed, come so far.

That’s a wrap on practice as my One Little Word but the lessons I have learned and the impact this has had on my life will be with me for a good long time.

Happy New Year, dear readers! As is my tradition, my first post of the year is to announce my One Little Word. Get ready to . . .

Bloom!

This is actually the word I had chosen for 2022 and then practice came at me at the very last minute so I set bloom aside. I knew I wasn’t done with it, but it just wasn’t the right time. Am I surprised that it stayed in the back of my mind all year? Not in the least.

I’ve been choosing a word for the year since 2014, when I started with joy. In 2015 it was grace, in 2016 it was shine, 2017 brought peace, 2018 was kind, 2019 was story.

And then, starting with open in 2020, my words began to . . . connect. To provide a sort of story arc . . . a map of my personal growth . . . as I went from open to create in 2021 to practice in 2022. Bloom feels like the perfect next step . . . as a culmination of the work I’ve done and also as a new season in which to flourish.

I’m looking forward to seeing what this word brings into my life this year.

I’ve had a really good run with practice as my One Little Word this year and I was doing all of the monthly prompts from Ali Edwards. Until October. The prompt that month was to interview someone about how they saw your word playing out in your life. I knew I could interview Dale readily. I also knew I could ask Hannah or Jo-Ann or some of my fellow One Little Word-ers.

But I didn’t. I resisted it. And every time I thought about asking someone else to talk to me about my word I felt myself freeze up. So I ignored documenting October. But then that meant I couldn’t move on to documenting November. Finally, in a text convo with Kym, she pointed out that I could interpret the October prompt however I chose and that I didn’t have to interview anyone at all.

Phew.

And yes, I realize how silly it is that I needed someone else to give me permission to change it up but that’s how I roll sometimes. I’m a Type A Virgo Upholder and it’s never more apparent than in a situation like this.

Over the weekend, I saw down with my OLW journal and my printer and some stickers and I documented October and November.

I’m so glad that’s done and now I can finish in style (and on time thankyouverymuch) with December.

Have you thought about choosing a word for 2023? I’ll be back at it again for sure.

Did you catch the title of this post and think it was Groundhog Day?

I realized, after I wrote the post for yesterday, that I had totally missed posting my August update. Whoops. Good things it’s my word, my rules, eh?

Here’s the August journal spread:

The prompt was to begin again. It was interesting to consider what it means to begin again in relation to practice because, in many ways, practice is really about beginning again over and over. I used the prompt to remind myself that it’s okay to try and fail, and to use that motivation to get back on the Peloton after a long hiatus. And it’s working! I . . . practice . . . riding the bike weekly now and it feels good. I’m continually reminding myself that it’s not a competition and the only point is to move in a way that’s enjoyable. And that there’s no such thing as failure when it comes to the word practice.

Beginning again (with practice) is the heart of my word this year.