SYL Week #2 Define your Personal Values

Debra Writes:
Week 2 challenge: Go through the process and define your top 5 core values including ranking them. Share this information however you want next Monday (not on this post) – if you want please elaborate on your choices, talk about any difficulties in the process, any surprises or changes that came about. Blog it and link up, comment on next week’s post, share a journal entry or scrapbook layout, whatever method works for you…

I had actually done everything Debra suggested and somehow published and then lost my almost complete post.  Dammit!!
Given it’s so late at night I’m going to summarise what I had.
The values I ended up with were:
Love
Authenticity
Compassion
Inspiration
Contribution
I am having trouble with the fifth value. Right now I’m leaving it as Contribution but for a while there I had Courage. For now I’m going to add Courage in to Authenticity.
To me each of the five values I ended up with were chosen because to me they encompassed other words that I cut down to get to my five core values.
Love – Family, Nurturing, Hope, Intimacy and Positivity
Authenticity– Integrity, Honesty, Loyalty, Trustworthiness, Dependable and Courage
Compassion – Sensitivity, Open Mindedness, Understanding and Acceptance
Inspiration – Imagination, Dream, Intuition, Originality, Creativity, and Success
Contribution – Support, Connection, Intentional and Community
Debra defined that values are not Goals, Permanent, Universal or Another “should”.  So with that in mind, I think my list works for today.

What went right in 2011? - SYL. Week# 1

Like many others, I joining in with Debra Dane over at Home Life Simplified and her Simplify Your Life 52 week challenge. click on the button to visit and check it out.

Here's what she has to say about the challenge for Week 1.

At this time of year most people are focused on what they want to change, where they feel they failed or did not meet their expectations or previous “resolutions”.

We will start in the same tone as my blog and this challenge – positivity! 

What you focus on will grow and as much as you are here for change I can bet money that you had some successes and blessings in 2011.

For me, 2011 was an interesting year.  There were a few things that made me 'stuck' but I also had things which made me happy. Some examples are my family, coffee with friends, coffee (it's my adult or just plain old me time), helping children in Girl Child's class and our long awaited holiday to New Zealand. I think perhaps I wrote most of these things down when I linked up with Maxabella in her Grateful for. I felt at peace, when I got enough sleep and when life was stable and when I had enough me time to replenish myself.  Taking me time helped me related better to other and most importantly to my family.

I ended up spending a lot of the year having semi regular coffee dates with other Mums from school.  One who was already a friend but a few others became friends.  That was lovely and some of us managed to catch up for dinner twice during the year.  That is not something I would have really done previously.  I also pushed out of my comfort zone by going to some Nutrimetics demonstrations and actually learning how to apply makeup.  I managed to catch up with Leanne from Deep Fried Fruit a few times for lunch and it was great to talk blog stuff as most of my IRL friends don't know that I blog.  I raised about $1200 for the Leukemia Foundation by shaving my head.  But before I did that I was brave and had multicoloured hair for a few weeks and then a Mohawk for a few more before I shaved it off as well.  I had the Mohawk done at Girl Child's school assembly which I am very proud of because I tend to like to be in the background.  It's a little hard to do with multicoloured hair!  Best of all I wrote 50,000 words of a novel in November for NaNoWriMo.  That was very impressive.

Boy Child started High school (Year 7) in a school which we felt would meet his needs better than the local high school.  I was very relieved that it did meet his needs and he blossomed academically and received a Faculty Award for Year 7 for English.  He managed to catch the bus and cope much better than we thought he would with public transport, a new school and making new friends.

Girl Child made friends and her reading ability was recognised on at least two occasions. With her dance and gross motor activities she has grown in terms of strength and flexibility. She is maturing and that has been very noticeable socially as she has been invited to play dates and had friends accompany her to the pool.

We had a lot more contact with the extended family on both sides and lots of contact with my family during school holidays and for family occasions.  My children seem to be building a positive relationship with the other children in the extended family which is lovely to see.

So it seems that 2011 was more positive than I expected.  I am very grateful for that.

I'm Grateful For 7 Jan 2012

This is the last Grateful over at Maxabella's as Grateful's are moving over to Kidspot.  I've never been over to Kidspot (in my mind it's a place where mother's of young children chat about nappies, toilet training and preschool - stuff that hasn't been part of my life for a long time) so I'm not sure how I feel.  I guess I should drop by to actually see what Kidspot is about.

Anyway,  it's grateful time. 

Today I am grateful for our few days interstate and all the cool things we did while we were there: IMAX for Happy Feet Two, Harry Potter Exhibition and Boy Child went to his first concert since the Wiggles!  A huge thing for him.  My family put in for his ticket as a Christmas present and one of them took him to the concert.  Boy Child had lots of fun.

I am grateful for bloggers and blogging.  I am also grateful for Maxabella and this Grateful Linky, Chantal's January Photo A Day Challenge and Debra from Home Life Simplified's 52 Week Challenge.  I'm participating in these challenges to stretch myself and to learn more about me and my life.

Maxabella also wanted people to join her for a ' One Word ' link up. Post the One word that sums up the year you plan to have in 2012.

I think for me the word is OPEN.  I want to become more open in my relationships with others and I want to be open to new opportunities.

A huge thanks once again go to Maxabella for this Grateful Linky.  While I'm here I'll post the last few January Photo a Day photo's I've taken.

Day 5 - Something you wore.  My old shoes.

Day 6 - Something that makes you smile. Blog comments

Day 7 - Favourite.  A photo of Mr E and I on our wedding day.