Holly Daze Reflections

Happy New Year! I hope you are excited for 2011. I am eager for change, learning, and stretching. I can't believe this is my 75th blog entry on Limitless Grace. Isn't that crazy? Who knew that my writings would grow in this way. I wanted to thank the handful of people who have taken the time to stop by and read along. I hope that this year brings more adventure and inspiration into your life!

So, it is time to reflect and review from last month - the last installment of 2010. Things I'm looking forward to and dreaming about in January 2011...

1. Continue spiritual work: Change is a brewing. I can feel it. I hope to be able to meditate on this upcoming change and grow spiritually. I'd like to do a weekly meditation/prayer, attend church weekly, and work on my morning pages 3-5 times a week,

2. Yoga! Yoga! Yoga!: I've really enjoyed attending Yoga Ananda classes. And, I hope it inspires me to work on my home practice. I'd like to go to yoga class x2 a week and at home 2x a week. Then I will be diving into a 40 Day Yoga Program! I look forward to the growth and challenges that will be ahead in my personal yoga practice.

3. Creativity: I will give myself the same challenge- work in my studio 2x this month, clean out my studio, and produce one new piece of artwork. I would really like to start a creativity circle or a class. Lord, please give me the courage to grow in this area.

4. Personal Health and Growth: I'd like to finish Artist's Way and SEED. I am almost there! I'd also like to continue logging in my food intake and exercise (spin class once a week, running 2-3 times a week, and strength training twice).

5. I have a few other projects coming up that I'm excited about: French class which starts next week and is in preparation for my trip to Europe. Also, I've signed up for the Austin Half Marathon happening in February.

December Dreams Reflections
1. Simplicity - What matters most this Christmas? Family, friends, fun, and festivity. It's hard not to get carried away with the craziness. I just hope to have spent some time with people I love dearly. My cousin Sheila is very sick right now, and I hope to spend some time with her before her surgery. Please keep her in your prayers. -
Done! I was so thankful to get to spend a lot of time with my family. I was able to hang out with my mother as she showed me how to work on her sewing machine, spend some quality time with my brother in his new home, catch up with my sister who was in town from Vancouver, and get a lot of rest. We baked cookies, watched lots of movies, and caught up on Glee episodes. :) We also got to visit Sheila while she started her chemotherapy treatments. You should have seen how much happier and easier it was for her to manage her pain. The whole family gathered in her swanky and spacious hospital room and celebrated Christmas there. It was a real blessing. During my second week of vacay, I was able hang out with Jacob, Yushan, Albert, Thuan and many other friends. It was so much fun to spend the evenings listening to vinyl, dancing to Michael Jackson, and counting down the last few hours of 2010 with my close buddies.

2. Crafty - I've scheduled in a couple of artist dates for the this month. One will be a sewing class and the other one is my truffle making class. I hope to put in some art studio and yoga studio time, too. At least yoga twice this month and art studio time twice this month as well.

Done! I thoroughly enjoyed both of these classes! Sewing was a bit of a challenge for me especially since I haven't taken a class in YEARS. But, I was amazed by what one can produce with some time, fabric and a machine. The truffle class was absolutely delightful, too. The process was easily explained, and I had a good time rolling up my truffles and sharing them with friends. I also went to Yoga Ananda quite a bit and even recruited Jacob to join me. I logged in 8 classes, and I love the feeling of doing something good for my body. Now as far as studio time... mmm... yeah, that hasn't been too successful. I have worked on my morning pages, done some collaging, a clutch for my roomie and labeled my Christmas cards very creatively. So, I have been putting in doses here and there... just not in the studio.

3. Spiritual - I made this really neat "Creative Prayer" booklet. I'll probably blog about it in a future post. It helped me to stay centered and remember how important it is to connect with God and spirit. I'd like to create an altar space, continue going to church, and have better quality alone time in scripture, prayer or meditiation.

Work in progress- I attended midnight mass with my family, but haven't really made it to service much besides that. I am hoping that my quality time does improve. I have an altar with a great vision board and have done quite a bit of meditating over the past month. So, I look forward to continuing my spirituality in January.

4. Cardio - I'd like to continue to keep up with my workouts. I really enjoy spin class and running. And, we only have three more Athletic Conditioning classes before the end of the semester. (sniff! sniff!) So, I will need to continue to stay motivated through the holidays with some creative workouts.

Work in progress! This was definitely hard for me this month. I started off pretty good, but with the holidays and lazing about with family and friends, it was quite difficult to put in the cardio time. Last week, I did go running twice, attended spin class once, went on a couple walks, and lifted weights with the beau. So, it wasn't a complete loss.
5. Foodie - I'm so excited about my Food Network magazine issue. I'd like to try and cook something at least once a week this month. With potlucks and parties coming up, I don't think that will be hard. Done! This was actually quite fun. My brother and sister had an afternoon of baking. Afterwards, we devoured cookies and watched movies. It was very fun. I also had a great time in the truffles class as mentioned before, and last night Jacob and I enjoyed a nice pot of chicken and veggie green curry. So delicious and cozy for a cold winter evening.