one little word®

Simplify.
http://girlhysterical.blogspot.com/2007/01/word-ali-edwards-challenge.html
...241 isn't bad

Wow! What a great idea! I had to think for a while, because I didn't quite know how to sum up what I wanted into a word. I think that word will be SIMPLIFY. I need to simplify my schedule. I need to simplify our home (including not spending money to buy more things that we don't really need). I need to simplify my day by finding more time to relax and definitely more time to pray. I need to simplify my finances by getting things paid off. I need to simplify my outlook on life so that I am happier with simpler life.

breathe

Mine would be POSITIVE.
I admit I have a short fuse. Not just in personal situations, but more so when I'm at work. When things get busy and there's no time for B.S. that's when I find myself getting more irritable and more negative. I'm not one that hides my emotions well, so if I'm irritated at work, it shows. I'm also in the midst of planning a wedding and I know between now and the wedding, times will get stressful. So my word for this year is POSITIVE. I need to find the positive side of things and learn how to control my emotions in all situations.
Thanks Ali!!

So kewl that you would do this. I had already been thinking about my year, and this has just cemented it all.
My word for the year is LEARN
Heres the link to my journalling that will appear on my layout http://deesutton.typepad.com/country_photographer

Balance - I always work toward balance as a general thing, but I'm really in "working on things" mode and that's becoming more and more clear as my focus. Balance btwn me the worker/provider, me the mama/provider and just me who I am. Balance btwn work and home. Gaining balance all around. Also happen to be a Libra and balance is key. Being out of balance in one area affects all other areas, etc, etc, etc.
(All this typing of balance is making it look like it's spelled wrong! LOL)

My word for 2007 came to me as I sat on the Winter banks of our beautiful, wild, full-to-the-brim, rain filled Skookumchuck River.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ flow ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As in:
"Go with the...flow." (Relax!)
"Over....flow" (Thinking along the lines of "My cup runneth over." as opposed to "Where's the Liquid Plummer?")
"Let tears...flow." (Grieve and let go of the tension of smiling through it for everyone else.)
"Like a river." (Kayak! Get out on the water more!)
With days that have so often been all starts and stops as I care for my son with Type 1 diabetes, I can get very knotted up. Working, creating, managing the lives of this family - squeezing all of that and my "self" into the nooks and crannies around his carb-counting, worrysome, shot-giving medical schedule have often left me choppy and fragmented. YUCK.
The days where I relax and create ~ ~ ~ flow ~ ~ ~ with art, breathing, and generosity, just sparkle and shine. They move along with effortless ease and everything is a wonder to me! YUM.
My new word is calligraphed, typeset, scribbled and Sumi-a -ed. My new word lives on my fridge and in my car, in my studio, and rests on my bedside table ~ where I can see it when I finally tuck in for the night.
Heartfelt thanks for this simple and powerful idea.
Thanks for {A} Word to the Wise.
:-)

Hi Ali,
What a wonderful challenge. This challenge has really made me think about my life, how it was, how it is, and how I want it to be. I'm 37 and I don't know how many times I have thought of how I would have changed or did things differently 20 years ago. When I am 57 I do not want to look back at this time in my life and be having the same thoughts. So this has really made me think about the person and life I have now. There a few things I would change (which I am determined to do), but overall my life is great. Therefore, my word for this challenge is BETTER:
be a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, a better daughter, a better sister, a better teacher, a better manager of time, a better planner of fun, a better life artist . . . Just add some improvement to everything I do now and hopefully in twenty years I will reflect back on my late thirties and say "YEAH, that was a great time of my life."
Karen

My word for 2007 is "Freedom". With my husband's new job, there are so many possibilites for our family this year. I can have the 'Freedom' to be debt free, after his bonus checks roll in of course. I have the 'Freedom' to be able to pay the bills on time, and have money left over to save...I feel a weight being lifted of my shoulders already. I have the'freedom' to take the kids on a real vacation, the first one ever, and that is badly needed. I have the 'freedom' to be able to move back to Iowa to be closer to friends, family, and the Remininsce scrapbook store again..ha ha. I have the 'freedom' to buy scrapbook supplies, and not feel guilty because I did. I hope to have 'freedom' to love myself the way that I am and let my demons of weight problems dissolve...along with 30lbs.! I think everyone needs to feel 'freedom' from the issues that concern them and there families...the 'freedom' to live and enjoy life.

I thought I was being original when I thought of the word JOY as my word for the year. I am taking a Big Picture Scrapbooking class, The Art of Choosing Joy, in part because, as my two sons grow up and move into new phases of their lives, I am looking for ways to remain joyful and to enjoy their new stages. John will graduate high school in May and head off to college in August. Aaron will be a high school freshman! Yikes, when did the boys grow up? I will be looking to maintain the snese of joy that I have when I spend time with them--hiking, horseback riding, going to baseball games, watching them in marching band. This will be my word--JOY.

Ali,
Thank you for the challenge. My word is EMBRACE.. This year is a big one for me. I will be embracing the second part of my life - my 40s. My oldest daughter is becoming a teenager. I resolved to EMBRACE the challenge of better health, financial freedom and just life in general. Can't wait to see what the year holds.

Love this idea...I've been thinking about what I want for myself this year. My word is committed. I'm committed to getting healthy, finding joy in my everyday regardless of the circumstances, committed to being a better wife and mom. Thanks Ali for this and for inspiring us. You're awesome!

My blog post is going to be about this on Monday morning - I'm going to use your idea with a twist and choose one word per month.
My January word is "Simplify"
Thanks for the inspiration Ali :) and I love seeing Simon grow and progress on your blog! Thanks for sharing a little bit of the autism journey with us.

Ok - this one brought me out of "lurkdom". My word is also EMBRACE and glad to see other "embracers" out there. To embrace some some changes I need to make, new job, and possibly venture into buying a house. Also I want to EMBRACE the moment, time spent with my kids, husband and friends. Too many times I think I pass by special moments so I I want to hold onto them a little longer this year. I also want to EMBRACE all aspects of ME and be okay with it! Thanks for the inspiration!!

My word for 2007 is FANCY. I was surprised by all the various definitions when I looked it up. As a noun...The mental faculty through which whims ,visions, and fantasies are summoned up, imagination. As a verb...to visualize, imagine, like. And of course as an adjective...highly decorated!
I plan to let my FANCY FREE in 2007!

Was totally inspired after reading your newsletter that I just HAD to take a break from studying and create a digital layout about my word!! :D (I chose DREAM) Can't tell you how great it feels to put into words what I've been thinking and feeling about how things have been lately and how optimistic I feel about the new year. Found myself just typing whatever came into my head and it came out sounding okay :D Haha! Thanks Ali! :) I'm looking forward to attending CKU in Anaheim, hope you're going to be there! :D
Here's my layout: http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1053294

Ali, thankyou for the inspiration. My word is ACHIEVE. Achieve what you have set out to achieve and be proud of your achievements.

My word for 2007 -- something to inspire my ideas, my quiet times, and my creativity -- is ELEMENTS. I want to spend 2007 looking for the details -- being blown away by the minute stuff in life and not being too busy to touch the contents of each day.
Here's the layout I created:
http://jwriterblog.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/09/one_word.html
Julie

Here's mine http://www.jenwilsondesigns.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1994&cat=507. Thanks so much for this inspiration/challenge, it allowed me to look at my resolutions in a whole new way which takes the "pass/fail" out of it. Thanks!

Ali: Thanks for the inspiration. I hope you have even a small appreciation for the goodness you inspire! Thank you!
My word is Passion - for the everyday momenents, for my husband (2006 was a 'ships passing in the night' type of year), passion for my work, passion for me (which includes making time to exercise!!!), passion for my work and last, but not least, passion for my kids and their interests...this is their time!