Life Lists

Last year I broke my finger. You know, just can't walk and chew gum at the same time. Several friends broke ankles trying to do things like put on a coat while walking down the stairs. It prompted me to begin a list of good habits/rules for living safely. I call it my Life List.  The first few are obvious...

• Always wear a seatbelt
• Always wear a bike helmit

But new additions...

• Always look in the direction you are walking
• Hold a handrail when walking down the stairs. 

The other day I heard the funniest story. A friend's friend had taken a shower and wasair drying when she decided to get something in the garage which required use of a ladder. Yeah, you know what happened. She fell off the ladder and broke her leg. She was lying on the garage floor absolutely naked trying to figure out her next move or lack thereof.

So another life rule...

• Don't climb ladders naked. Sorry for that one but who knew?

I'm sharing a favorite nature photo I took recently. What is that cactus flower doing?

Ha-ha!

14 in 14

Over the past few years, I've heard all kind of schemes to bring focus to a new year. Word for the Year is about using a single word on which to focus.  Capture Your 365 is about taking a picture a day. New 52 is about trying something new each week. I can't say that I've tried them all but if they help one to bring focus to what they want, I say go for it. The most recent one I've heard mentioned is "14 in 14". That can be a list of things to do, accomplish, fix, change...just whatever in the year 2014. Should  I start down this path...I can't imagine figuring out 14 things at the beginning of January for the entire year. What if a new opportunity shows up. I have a start but think I prefer to see how the year unfolds.

My word for the year is a repeat because I wasn't good enough with "Encourage".

I would also like to view the world with more humor. sort of like this:

I like learning new things. They keep me mentally nimble.

• I'm learning Spanish compliments of the folks at Duolingo. Try it, its absolutely free.
• I'm taking a quilt class online through Academy of Quilting. It's being taught by Elizabeth Barton. She is top drawer.
• Next month I start a year long class with Katrina Kennedy called "Practice." It's about choosing a subject and photographing it in depth over the course of a month.
• I want to continue learning Lighroom. Last year I learned the cataloging feature. This year I will catalog my photos and learn to process them in batch.

And that clearly seems like enough for me for now. Maybe my word should be "Pare Back" but then that's two words.

This year, have more fun!