Things I'm Proud Of

I absolutely love lists, and despite the fact that I just returned from a fantastic trip to England (for my sister's wedding) and Marrakech (to have some fun) and should blog about that - I'm going to create a list instead of blogging about that.  (Although I'm sure I'll be posting pictures at some point)

I've recently been following a lot of coaching blogs and one of the blogs I've been following for a while now is written by Jenny Blake (author of Life After College).  I just watched a short video that she posted, where she puts out the challenge to reward yourself for the things you are proud of.  Her assignment is to list the 25 things you are proud of, today, this week, last month, last year, or your entire life.

Here's my list:

1. Travelling on my own for the first time all the way to Japan to visit my sister
2. Losing 90  lbs and keeping it off
3. Being physically fit enough to realize my childhood dream of portaging in Algonquin Park with my dad
4. Developing a great reputation as a trainer at work
5. Taking the initiative to enroll in a Managment Skills certificate program in order to further my career
6. Finally being the successful candidate for a supervisor role (after many unsuccessful attempts)
7. Smiling every day
8. Signing up for my first 5K and starting the training this week
9. Being supportive of my family and friends in everything they choose to do
10. Sticking with my commitment to living a healthy lifestyle by going to the gym on a regular basis
11. My various food successes - lots of trying new recipies all the time
12. Having a strong relationship with my family, even travelling to Ottawa for a week with my mom
13. Buying my own home
14. Furnishing that same home
15. Finding joy in continuous learning
16. Travelling to Manila to work for three months - away from my family and most of my friends
17. Riding a camel in the Sahara
18. Being brave enough to ride roller coasters at Canada's Wonderland or Disney World in spite of my fear of falling
19. Speaking in front of a crowd of over 150 people and having someone I respect tell me I did a very good job
20. Continuously working to overcome my fear of speaking in a large crowd
21. Learning to drive standard (and loving it!)
22. Learning how to play the piano, and passing my Grade 9 Royal Conservatory Exam
23. Starting a blog
24. Setting specific goals in all areas of my life for 2012
25. My self awareness

Wow!  The first 10 were easy and it got progressively more difficult.  I need to do this more often and I think it would become a lot easier.  Plus, it would keep me focused on all the positive, great things I am doing in my life rather than focusing on the things that I think are missing or are incomplete.

Pictures...

Okay - so another thing I'm interested in is taking pictures and becoming better at taking pictures.  To be honest most of my pictures are landscape and architecture.  Why?  Because in general trees, rocks, and buildings don't move!  People scare me.  They get blurry and change expressions too fast.  I have a hard time capturing the moment that I want to.
People are fleeting and this is definitely something I need to try and capture more often.  As with anything I'm sure it's just a matter of practice and taking a lot of pictures.

Here's one of the pictures I took from a trip to England a couple years ago...I love doorways.  And I really like having the flower bush in the foreground to offset the brick and structured door frame.  I also like that I mixed up the composition by not having the door right in the centre.  I think it adds a bit of visual interest and a bit of a sense of depth.