Resolving to Blurb

There's something about the phrase "New Year's Resolution" that strikes a sour chord for me.  Years ago, I did make some sort of declaration each New Year's Day, but I don't recall what any of them were.  I imagine they were the typical things; lose weight, go to the gym more, be less irritable, write more faithfully in my diary. 

Later, I began thinking that making a "resolution" was putting too much pressure on oneself, and because I wanted to be unique (like everyone else), I decided resolutions were for the sheep, not for me.  I don't know what changed my mind - perhaps it was a desire to stop behaving like a pretentious git, but whatever the reason, I began setting a yearly "goal" for myself, rather than a resolution.  It's lead to some satisfying results.

My goal is often something small and usually involves a plan to finish one of the many projects I've begun in previous years.  I am an impulsive beginner who suffers from chronic incompletion.  With my yearly goal setting, I focus on one of my many projects, set up a schedule of incremental steps with a month to complete each step and by the end of the year (often sooner) I have achieved my goal.  It's not an original idea, but it's worked well for me.   It's help me complete scrapbooks, organize closets, and meet some wonderful people I now call friends.  This sense of accomplishment has proved incredibly encouraging in terms of two of the projects I took on this year: my daily blog and my father-in-law's memoir.

For 2012 my goal is to organize the photos of two recent vacations - our road trip down the Oregon Coast, and our 25th anniversary trip to Tahiti.  Though it may sound like a lot of work, thanks to Blurb it couldn't be easier.  I discovered the Blurb website in 2008 and became addicted to creating professional looking photo books from my our vacation shots.  To get an idea of what you can create check out this link to one of the books I've made - I recommend the full screen view.  For some real creativity and professional know-how, have a look here.