The Life Makeover - October

 

 

My goals for September were somewhat achieved. Some things I feel were accomplished quite well, and others were not.

 I Feel Great About:

One of the most important goals that I made for myself was a success! I wanted to develop a comfortable evening routine with my daughter. One that consisted of dinner, homework, and a suitable bedroom routine (bath, snack, brush teeth and hair, bed). And making lunches the night before is a major plus! Towards the end of the month, I even started adding some activities to make our evenings more enjoyable.

Making time to see my friends has been really great, too! It can get lonely living on your own with no adults around to talk to, so it was really important for me to get out and see people. Every weekend I managed to see at least one friend, sometimes way more! Sidney really enjoys getting out to see our friends, too.

Big Fail:

My big fail was not picking up my exercise bike, which means I didn't use it for 20 minutes a day.

I'm Okay With That:

My apartment got a bit more organized. I bought a few small things for around my place that makes me happy! And I did switch around some of the furniture. I didn't get nearly as much done as I initially wanted to, but I'm okay with the results.

My budget got done, but like I mentioned, it was pretty loose and I could have done a better job.

It's now October and I have new goals:

1. Health: I still want to get that damn exercise bike! It will get done this month! But my main health goal for October is to eat a healthy breakfast every day, which is something I've neglected to do since school started. Awful, I know! In the mornings I get Sidney all set up for breakfast and while she eats I do my hair and makeup. However, if I get up 15 minutes earlier and do that before Sidney wakes up then the two of us can sit down and eat together. Which is really good parenting, too.

2. Parenthood: I mentioned that my last month's goal for parenting was to develop a better evening routine, and that has worked out awesome, and I also mentioned we started to do more fun activities in the evenings and it's been a lot more fun. So that is my goal for October - do more fun activities with Sidney! It's October, the best month of the year! Walking trails are gorgeous, the weather is amazing and all sorts of fun things are happening! Corn mazes, haunted houses, apple picking! So much to do!

Plus, I have a birthday party to plan for Sidney, who will be turning six on Halloween!

3. Relationships: I've made time for friends, but I forgot to include my family. I haven't seen my parents or sisters all month! In October, I want to see family more often. And because Sidney and I will be doing all sorts of fun fall activities, I'm sure my family will want to get in on the fun.

4. Home: My redecorating and organizing has been going well - let's continue with that. But more specifically, I want to organize my filing bin and set up a more organized system for all that junk.

5. Money: Budget has been made! Now it's time to stick to it... My spending got a little crazy this past week. And I only sent out a few resumes. With the holidays approaching more places will be hiring, it's time to get looking for work! As a single mom, I need moneyyy!

6. School: I'm getting things in on time, and have yet to be late. However, I keep leaving projects until last minute so I need to stop procrastinating. And there are a ton of bursaries, scholarships and awards deadlines coming up in the next two months. I need to get my applications filled out and sent off to at least give myself a chance of getting some extra money for school!

Do you have any goals this month?

Thanks,

Cole

Week 3 Review of The Life Makeover

 

 

Time goes by too fast. I haven't updated since my Week 1 Review. So here's a bit of an update!

It's been three weeks since I decided my life needed a complete makeover and started working on some small changes.

So far I haven't noticed much difference in my life. I feel like I need to get out more, I feel like I need to get more organized and that I need to just do more. But, I'm only working on these goals right now.

 

September Goal Update Week 3:

 

Health: Well, so far I have just failed this one! I still have not picked up the exercise bike yet and if I'm being honest with myself, I probably won't any time soon. It's too hard to get around without a car! On the plus side, I do walk a lot.

 

Parenthood: My goal to maintain a good evening routine has been pretty successful so far. We manage to eat dinner, and get ready for bed just fine. And now that I have made Sidney a chore chart that includes bedtime, she's much more willing to go to bed and stay in bed. Recently I've been trying to do more fun activities in the evenings. On Thursdays I get home pretty early so we have more time together to do things. For example, today we went for a walk and collected leaves to use for crafts.

 

Relationships: Over the past year or so I haven't really spent any time with friends, or even family. I've secluded myself and I would like to start going out more. So far I've had my younger cousin and her boyfriend over once, my friend Sarah and I have gotten together a few times and I even went out with my other cousin last weekend. And I'm actually starting to get back in touch more with older friends, thanks to Facebook.

 

Home: I got two new end tables for free. I've changed Sidney's room around, and organized the big closet which is more like a storage unit. Still on the hunt for more furniture and such, but it takes time to find the perfect pieces.

 

Money: Errr... I did make a budget! A very loose budget, so that's probably not very good, but it's technically done... Yeah, I should fix it up more.

 

School: Maintaining good grades, handing in every assignment on time and arriving early every day. Assignments and tests are starting to pick up now so I really need to stay focused.

There's only a few more days left of September and I feel quite happy and confident with my progress so far.

However, October brings new and exciting adventures and I'm going to have to start thinking of new monthly goals. Seeing how things have changed, and reflecting on myself I have a few ideas of what needs to happen next. Time to mind-map again!

Thanks,
Cole

Gratitude and Learning to Accept Myself

 

I've been dealing with a lot of changes, and emotions are stirring around in my head that I don't quite understand. Sometimes I feel like it's too personal to discuss on my blog, but I enjoy sharing myself on here. So this week on Grad-itude 101 I'm going to share how I'm trying to feel grateful for who I am and to accept myself.

 

Learning how to be grateful has had a huge impact on my life. I can now look around and see how truly lucky I am instead of always feeling like I don't have enough.

 

One of the biggest challenges I face in life is accepting myself. I often feel like I'm not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, talented enough, or whatever might apply to what I'm doing at the time.

 

For example, after I handed in my first news story to be graded I just kept hoping that I would at least pass. In my mind there was no way it would be good enough to even get more than a passing grade. I even talked to one of my classmates about it afterwards, and asked her for advice on how to write a news story considering she has experience. But when I got my news story back, I got a really nice surprise! And I was surprised, because I got 100%.

 

Even though I managed to get 100% on my first story, as I wrote my second news story and handed it in I kept thinking, "Man, I hope I at least pass. There's no way this is good enough to get more than a passing grade."

 

Well, I won't know for sure until later. But my point is, no matter what I'm doing I always feel like I'm going to fail and that I'm not good enough.

 

It's frustrating and I so badly want to at least like myself so I can become a better role model for Sidney and accomplish more in life. The way I see it, if you don't have confidence, you hold yourself back instead of pushing yourself forward because you constantly feel like you're going to fail. That's no way to live.

 

This week I'm going to write a gratitude list based on myself.

 

1. I am grateful for my arms, hands and fingers that give me independence and allow me to do so many different things.
2. I am grateful for my sight, so that I can see all of the beautiful things in this world, and all of my family and friends.
3. I am grateful that I can hear music, and voices, and movies.
4. I am grateful for my height, because I'm not too short and I'm not too tall.
5. I am grateful that I am relatively healthy, and everything works good.
6. I am grateful for my natural talent at drawing, which provides me with great pleasure.
7. I am grateful that I have been getting really good grades in school so far.
8. I am grateful for my sense of humour that allows me to laugh so often and at even the simplest things, because laughing is amazing.
9. I am grateful that my teeth aren't too crooked even though I've never had braces.
10. I am grateful to have the willpower to try and succeed no matter what.

This list took me a while to write. I had a difficult time coming up with things so I started with the basics, and the further I got down my list the more difficult it got but I refused to allow myself to lie.

 

How about you? What do you like about yourself?

 

Thanks,

Cole

The Self-Love Book Club

I came across something pretty awesome on this wicked blog I've been following, The Laughing Medusa, and it's called The Self-Love Book Club!

 

Okay, I have always wanted to be part of a book club, but no body I know wants to start one and the ones around town aren't really my style.

 

However, this particular book club which will be entirely online is not just a book club but it's also a way to help you fall in love with yourself! And I think that everyone could use some self-love. I know I definitely can.

 

 

I immediately jumped at the opportunity to sign up, and I also entered the giveaway to win the first month's book Red, Hot and Holy by Sara Beak. And to my surprise, I won! I've never won a giveaway before, and the fact that I won a book is super exciting. There are very few things in life that I love more than a new book to read. Obviously things that beat new books on my favourites list includes friends, family and definitely food, but books are right up there!

 

There's plenty of time for you to join in, too. It doesn't actually start until September 1st. If you're interested, head on over to Sarah's blog The Laughing Medusa to check it out! And I suggest you stick around and read her blog, because it's pretty awesome.

 

Thanks,

Cole

 

 

 

What I Learned At D3 Artworks Inc.

 D3 Artworks Inc.

If you're wondering what D3 Artworks is, I'll tell you from my own perspective. 

It's a youth program here in my city to help young individuals gain the experience and skills they need to find employment. It's also an art studio lead by a group of amazing artists. They taught me way more than just how to draw, paint or take a decent photograph. Those were all great lessons, and I continue to apply them to my own hobbies, but the greatest lessons I learned were about myself. 

Through art I was able to build self-esteem, discover what it is I want in life and it gave me direction and goals to work towards.

My Experience There:

Before starting D3 I was extremely confused. I had no idea what I wanted in life and so I sunk into a pretty bad depression.

When I came across an advertisement for D3 I jumped at the opportunity to do something. I had no idea what to expect that first day, or the next. Every day we were learning something new. We did still life, sketched landscapes, learned to draw using a grid, Munsell colour theory, painting with acrylic, photography lessons with a real professional photographer and so much more! We went on field trips to  see past projects that they had done, which was quite amazing. And as part of the program we had to do workshops on resumes, interviews and careers. I actually enjoyed that part, too. The best part of all was that as a group we had to design and complete an art piece for the Grand River Film Festival.

It was quite the experience.

Since my time at D3 ended in September (2012) 

• I've opened an Etsy shop, started blogging and applied for college. 
• I continue to write for myself in my journals
• I write short stories and attempt poetry
• I continue to draw, paint and take pictures for fun.

Leading a creative life isn't just about the outcome of your project, it's about the experience you have making it and the lessons you learn on the way.

That is why I think art is so important for everyone.

Here are some pictures from my time at D3:

My work space at D3

Group art piece we did for Grand River Film Festival

Sarah (right) and I (left) 
at the opening gala for Grand River Film Festival

Munsell Colour Wheel:

What I Will Be Discussing On My Blog

 

 

 

For the past few years I really didn’t have much direction or any idea of what I wanted in life. The truth is, I’ve been absolutely terrified to do things that make me happy instead of doing what I felt was right.

I felt very confused.

For a long time I felt that I was too different to fit in with the rest of society and that something was very wrong with me. I couldn’t stand the idea of working most of my life to benefit someone else. All I wanted was freedom and hardly anyone I knew could relate to how I felt.

Eventually I discovered that there are a lot of people who feel this way. Mostly through blogs and websites, I came across a ton of people who were working on becoming their own boss and leading a life they made for themselves.

There was a problem though.

Most of these individuals were different than me.

They were either:
a) older 
b) had no children
c) had a spouse who made enough money to support them
d) single and independent
 

Well, I’m 23, I have a daughter, and my husband is in the same boat as me.

We have bills, debt, very little education, and a daughter to support.

I’m not saying that because of these differences I will have a harder time in building my own career and life. It’s difficult for anyone, no matter what their situation. All I’m saying is that I have yet to come across someone in the same situation as myself, who blogs about it.

After 5 years of trying to do things the “right” way and having it fail every time and being completely miserable, I finally said to myself and to my husband, “Okay, that’s it. No more! We’re going to do what we want to now.”

And here’s what I’m currently working on to make that happen:

1. College
I’ve been accepted into a journalism program at college. I’m working on getting funding, or at least a student loan. It took me a long time to figure out what sort of program to go for. I considered business, accounting, photography, fine arts, interior decorating, marketing, and a ton more.

2. Health
After gaining 60 lbs. through stress and depression I finally told myself that it was time to get back to being healthy. I’ve been walking a ton more, and eating a lot healthier. Eventually I will get back into Hatha Yoga and meditation. I’m seeing a counsellor and trying to be more optimistic to conquer this depression.

3. Money
Since I’m going to college I won’t be able to work. Hopefully I can make some money online again, or find some other form of income. My husband is working part-time right now but is looking for a different job. We’re also trying to find ways to save money, which is really hard because we already don’t spend any money as it is. Not to mention, I want to pay off my debt.

4. Photography
I’ve always enjoyed photography but never thought I was very good at it. I still don’t, but I’ve been slowly teaching myself photography in my spare time. Maybe I will even take a couple classes.

5. Writing
Well, after doing a bunch of work I hated I finally admitted to myself that I want to be a writer, hence why I’m going for Journalism. Writing a blog daily has been a lot of fun and a great help at getting better. I also read a lot, and I have been trying to increase my vocabulary as well as doing writing exercises.

I’m finding that there are a lot of people in similar situations as myself.

Going to college, supporting yourself financially, chasing dreams. It’s all very complicated and sometimes writing about it and reading other people’s experiences really helps.

If things work out for me, I will share how I made that possible. If things fail, I will let you know what happened so that maybe you can avoid making the same mistakes.

I’ll be sharing healthy recipes I enjoy, money saving tips I discover, photography advice that works for me, tips and tricks I learn about writing and personal life stories on family, school, friends and most importantly, self discovery.

As well as this being a creative outlet to help keep me sane, and possibly get positive feedback and encouragement I also hope I can inspire others to chase their dreams and live the life they’ve always wanted.

 

Thanks,

Cole