That Jolie Girl

The Catalyst Course

 

When my friend, Jen Neitzel, told me that she had created The Maven Circle with Jena Coray of Miss Modish, I was thrilled for her! Jen's face lit up when she talked about all the great ideas they had to help others ignite their spark. I can't think of anyone better to help motivate others to achieve their goals.  

About 6 months ago, Jen made an off-the-cuff comment in passing that hit me to my core.  It helped me change my outlook on crafting and I made a fresh new blog start at the beginning of 2012.  

And now it's February...and I've stalled.  I have lots of excuses and some of them are even pretty darn valid, but the fact remains that I haven't done much towards the goals I set up for myself for this year.  

I'm hoping that this will change soon.  I've signed up for Jen's and Jena's first online class called The Catalyst Course.  Just reading about it makes me feel like I can get back on track.  I know I will find the motivation and support I need to ignite my spark.  

 

 

Watch this video to learn more about this course. You can also find more info here.  The class starts in March and there is still time to register.  I will be blogging about this 6 week class and the changes I make because of it.  I can't wait to start!

 

Walking Through 2012

 

I decided that in 2012 I'm going to focus more on my walking blog.  I started That Jolie Girl Walks last January as a project to get me walking more.  It worked.  I love the combination of photography and walking. The main goal is walking, so I take pictures as fast as possible.  

 

I  love the simplicity of this blog.  I decided to only use one Hipstamatic setting (Pistil film, John S lens) on my iphone, because I liked that look, I knew how that lens worked, and I wanted to make sure my pictures would turn out.  I don't edit any of the pictures.  I also post pictures in the order of my walk with the exception of the first picture.  I write about pictures if I feel there is something to say.  Other times I'll post pictures with no text.  The number of photos varies with each walk.  Sometimes I happen upon lots of amazing things; other times, not so much.  I always post at least one picture to mark that walk.  

 

The ease of posting really helps make this blog a reality.  Everything about the entire process is fun and I get the benefit of talking long walks.  It's a win-win.  I have a button on my side bar, so you can easily access my walking blog.  I hope you check it out!

 

Vice President of Localization, Simplification and Healthification

 

Almost exactly a year ago, my husband promoted me in the household.  He made me the VP of Localization and Simplification. He thought that since I was working part time I could devote a few of my new found hours to simplifying our lives.  It was a great idea and I loved having a title, but I did nothing with the title for a year.  It sat on the back burner while life continued to be hectic and awesome and just life.  

 

I kept coming back to this title and all of it's possibilities.  I really liked everything about it, but it didn't feel complete.  If I wanted to really create a better life for us, I needed to add one more item to better round out this project.  I am now the Vice President of Localization, Simplification and Healthification.  Now, a new year is here and it's time to fully embrace my vice presidency.  

 

Localization - We are proud Oregonians and Portlanders.  We are also devoted to the local movement.  I firmly believe in the power of voting with our dollars. While we already buy local often, I will work on doing more.  Besides consuming local products, as VP I'll work on getting us more involved in our community as well as taking advantage of the amazing cultural activities Portland has to offer.  

 

Simplification - This is all about creating more time by finding ways to organize all aspects of our life. From time savers to space savers, I'll be finding new ways to carve out more precious free time from our busy lives.  

 

Healthification - While looking for a word to describe this third arm of the presidency, Healthification popped up on google searches.  It's defined as: the process of getting your health groove on.  This is the perfect term that I wanted.  Healthification will cover everything from eating healthier to getting more exercise to finding ways to decrease stress.  This will be a conscious shift to improve our health.  

 

Becoming the VP will help me in my quest of crafting a better life.  I hope you join me on this journey and maybe even learn a couple of things that you can incorporate into your own life.