birthday weekend and a new year

I celebrated my birthday this past weekend. I had a lovely day relaxing, making waffles with my new waffle maker that I got for Christmas. I had it on my wish list for quite some time and I am so happy with it. If I could I would make Belgian waffles everyday.

I went out to lunch, went to an arcade and played some fun games, watched an amazing hockey game at an arena, went out to dinner and then enjoyed this little chocolate cupcake for dessert, but not before I photographed it!

My birthday brings in a new year and new goals. Before my birthday each year I work on a list of accomplishments I have reached during the past year, that way I can look back and see what I accomplished in the past year. I think it is important for all of us to have goals and dreams, and to not only keep dreaming of them, but to go out and attain them.

I took a look back at the past year and saw I started Black Feather my jewelry and accessory shop which I love. I have always loved creating, but creating jewelry has been especially fun and rewarding. I get to hear from people all over the world contacting me about why they are buying a special gift and why this certain piece means something to them. For example, I sold a skull bracelet to a person who wanted a little extra strength during his recovery. These stories and more make me feel connected to the world. I created a mini map with dots on each country my items have reached and when I see all the little connected dots I smile knowing that someone out there in a far way place is wearing a little piece of my creation with them.

This past year I have spent a lot of time trying to improve my skills in taking photos, setting up props, selecting exposure and aperture setting, it's been fun journey and taking a look back at some of my photos I can seen an improvement.

Another accomplishment of this past year was getting back to a healthier weight and lifestyle. Over the past few years I had stopped paying attention to what I ate, and this caused a cycle of not eating well and I lacked motivation and energy to do much else. When I started eating better, fruits, vegetables, and raw foods, and stopped eating over processed foods and any foods with artificial flavors and preservatives I started feeling better instantly. My body was now fueled with the energy it needed to want to go out, walk, run, hike. This allowed me to pursue my next accomplishment.

I started training in TaeKwonDo and recently got my first belt. This has been one of my greatest accomplishments and it is an on-going one. I have wanted to train in a martial art since I can remember, the only thing I regret is not doing it sooner.

These are just a few of the goals I accomplished this past year and I have quite a few I will be working on and accomplishing this upcoming year.

I hope you were able to reach goals and dreams you wanted this year and if you did not, its not to late to make it happen today!

Happy New Year!