Becoming Better

Explore how one of your hobbies made you a better writer.

I believe that my bullet journal has helped me become a better writer. It has shown me that not all writing has to be stories and essays. Not all writing has to be fluid and articulate. Sometimes my words are bulleted lists. Sometimes my lists turn into other lists. Sometimes my words are art. My bullet journal has also made me a little bit of an artist (note that I said a little bit!) Here, let me share a little bit of my bullet journal with you!

This is an "Ideas for self care" page I did. I started out wanting to put them all over the page. That didn't happen. They ended up on the lines. So, if you are wondering why "Sit in the sunshine" is crooked in the corner, that's why! 

This is what a typical monthly calendar looks like for me. An overview of the month. 

This is the first month of my gratitude log. I tried the boxes for this month and it worked but I didn't love setting it up! It looked very pretty though! 

This is a Halloween/Autumn bucket list I made but there aren't any check boxes, so I don't know how I am going to mark it off when we are done with things. 

This is my October gratitude log. One line a day. I think I like this one better. Black and orange alternating. 

Then my October monthly. The pink circled ones are the days I have the girls at my house. Got to love shared custody! 

This is what my weekly log looks like. A more detailed look at my week. This would usually get a little more full but this was the week that Stephen was released from the hospital so we didn't do a whole lot out of the house. 

Finally this is my daily log. Please, no judgement! Lots of stuff gets put on the list so I can check it off. Makes a girl feel good to check the stuff off the list. And yes, shower is on there, and yes I got it done even though it isn't checked off. 

And there you have it. A quick glance at my bullet journal. I usually do a quick journal entry about my day underneath the list. Maybe a quote I found that I really love or a bible verse. Nothing too fancy. This one has lasted me since May 5. I figure I will have to break the new one out in November. 

Did You Know?

Write a Things You Don’t Know About Me post.

After years of blogging and being on social media, there is very little that goes unrevealed in my life. I am basically an "open book" to my readers (as few as there may be!). However, I always love the opportunity to talk about myself, so here is a fun, "did you know" post all about me!

1. Did you know that I was born in Florida but sadly can't remember the sunshine state?

2. Did you know that all three of my girls have two middle names as a tribute to a friend I lost? I later found out it was a Dutch tradition (part of my heritage) and it was a happy coincidence for me. I'm really glad I did it, but I'm a little worried it will bite my girls in the butt later in life.

3.  Did you know before I moved to Idaho I had never lived more then 15 minutes away from my parents?

4. Did you know that I had all four of my grandparents until I was 27.

5. Did you know my favorite color is yellow and that is the color I picked to paint my high school bedroom?

6. Did you know Mavrick is my very first puppy? All the other dogs I have owned came to me already adult aged.

7. Did you know I consider my ex husband's new wife one of my closest friends? Four years ago I didn't even know if I wanted to meet her and now I couldn't even imagine my life without her. She is my girls "other mom" and I can't imagine doing it with anyone else.

8. Did you know none of the bones I have broken have been able to be helped by modern medicine? I fractured my finger and also had a compression fracture of my T7 vertebrae.

9. Did you know I consider sarcasm my second language? I found a waterbottle at walmart once that I still wish I would have bought that said "I'm not always sarcastic, sometimes I'm asleep" Perfect Betsy bottle, don't you think??

10. Did you know that my Bullet Journal is one of the only "creative" things I have really kept up on for more then a couple weeks. I feel like it has allowed me to blend my journaling with a planner with a scrapbook in a way that I didn't think was really possible.

So, there you have it. Ten things you might not have known about me before. Anything new? Let me know in the comments if anything surprised you. 

31 Days of Free Writes: Create

Creativity is something we all have. I know that it isn't something I would say I have a lot of. In fact, I'm sure if you asked me, the only thing I have been working on lately that is even remotely creative is my bullet journal. I love that I am able to use my small creative ability in my journal. There are some that are really elaborate ones on Instagram. I look at them and am consistently amazed. Don't believe me? Search the hashtag #bujo and see what pops up. 

I have a really really hard time with comparison stealing my joy. Its a problem in many areas of my life, but this is an easy one for me to notice and try to control. When I see myself trying to compare, I stop and look at my own journal and find things that I love about it. Mine might not be as fancy but it is practical and helpful for me in my life and is helping me to document mine and our family's lives.

Honestly, I think it is important for everyone to find a way to flex your creative muscles. Make sure you are stepping out of your comfort zone. Last month I did a "doodle challenge" to try and learn to draw a little better. If I had no idea where to start, I googled "___ doodle tutorial" and came up with some easy enough ones. Here are a few of my favorites:

I think creating is important for our mind. It allows an outlet. Even if you aren't even drawing real pictures, just getting pen to paper is good for your soul.

Bullet Journaling

So, I have been doing some research and watching videos online about bullet journaling for awhile. There are quite a few unused journals in my house, so I took the plunge this weekend and started my first bullet journal. I think I am in love!

Bullet journals mix lists with writing with doodling. I freaking love what I've come up with so far. Let me show you just a couple things I have been working on.

This is a weekly spread (my first one!)

On the left, the circle shapes are my water tracker (met my goal two days now!) and on the right is each day of the week, with what I need to do in each box. Plus one extra box for things for next week. As you can tell, I made a few mistakes but I also really enjoyed it. I think it looks pretty good for a first timer!

This is my adapted weekly schedule. Still a box for each day of the week, with an extra for next week. At the bottom of each box is my water tracker. At the top you can see my first(ish) attempt at a banner. Not too shabby! 

This is the first of my daily spreads. I give myself an opportunity to write about what I did. There was one day (when we floated the river) where I put notes about what to remember next time. I like that I can do short, concise entries. When I don't have enough to fill the page, I can add doodles or other charts like this one:

As you can see, my box needs to be measured a bit better, but I still love it. This fills in the space and gives me a chance to look at a few things that I was doing.

I have also been working on my doodling. My artistic talent is zilch, so I am working on it. Like anything else, it is a skill that can be learned (right?!) so I figure practice is perfect!

So, that's what I've been up to lately. Have you ever tried bullet journaling? There are TONS of ideas on pinterest and also groups on facebook. Super supportive community. The greatest thing about it is that you can modify it to your life. I have a headache tracker in mine as well as a fundraising tracker for my suicide prevention walk. There is also already a list of the stuff I want to add. I love that I can journal my life without pages of writing. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I just never look back that way. Hopefully with this journal, I will use and enjoy it.