Winter Projects & The New Year
Forcing myself to take time off. Planning 2024 trips. Reflecting on a big year.
It’s snowing as I write this — really snowing, finally. The leaves fell from the trees months ago. Everything has been brown ever since. The snow is a nice change.
I forced myself to take some time off between Christmas and New Year’s. It’s challenging to pull myself away from my projects for more than a couple of days, due to a combination of excitement for what I am working on and the desire to achieve.
What’s the saying…”your eyes are too big for your stomach”?
That’s what my brain is like. I want to explore and achieve a mountain of creative things, but the reality is that I would need 20+ clones of myself in order to move at the pace I desire to accomplish those things. I often have to remind myself that I am one person, adjust timelines and priorities appropriately (or try to), and accept that that’s ok.
After a day or two of wrestling with my brain, I got going on holiday meal prep and felt like I was starting to settle into my “break”. We had a delicious Christmas Eve meal, just the two of us. I made tortellini with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, homemade focaccia bread, fruit salad with maple orange dressing, roasted green beans, and a pumpkin cream cheese roll for dessert.
Probably the best meal I’ve ever made. Hands down.
Holiday Projects
After spending Christmas with family, I started (and completed!) two non-work projects that I’ve been pushing off for a while.
The first project I finished was making our 2021 scrapbook. Every year since 2012, I’ve created a scrapbook (I use Shutterfly) with photos and descriptions from that year’s trips, daily life highlights, our cats, and sometimes memes :-). I’ve been avoiding our 2021 scrapbook simply because 2021 was a tough year. It feels good to have it done.
The second project was planning and booking our first major trip of 2024. Fingers crossed — we will be going to Iceland!
For the first time in 3 years, the primary emotion I felt while planning a big trip was excitement. Not anxiety. Not apprehension.
Travel anxiety has been a significant barrier for me over the last 3 years. And no, the main cause was not Covid times. I may write more about it someday when I feel ready. But, for someone who flew to Australia and New Zealand for 3 weeks in 2019 like it was no big deal, I cannot tell you how hopeful it makes me that I am feeling so excited about going to Iceland.
I spent many, many hours researching hikes and photography locations and put all points of interest into a custom map. I do this for all major trips that we take. Besides the actual trip, the research is one of my favorite parts. Organizing, finding patterns for locations of interest, optimizing, etc. We won’t be visiting all of the spots I’ve marked, but based on how they cluster, you can see which areas we’ll be spending most of our time.
Reflecting on a Big Year
I don’t set New Year’s resolutions. They would just get lost in the very long list of things I want to do. I can’t be bothered lol.
Instead, this is the time of year when I like to sit down and journal about accomplishments, challenges, gratitude, sad times, and best memories. It’s always a nice way for me to close out the year and find clarity/perspective on my intentions for the coming year.
2023 was a year of significant change and personal growth for me.
I left my science career of 15 years to dive into self-employment and see what life might be like when I get to more fully embrace my creativity. Leaving my job was emotionally difficult, slightly terrifying, but also exciting. I have no regrets.
2023 was also filled with travel to many beautiful places — Hawaiian beaches, Italian vistas, moody Montana hikes, and exploring more of Lake Superior’s North Shore. We even got to see the aurora from our home in Iowa.
There was sadness and grief. But, there were also nice walks in the forest, food and coffee with friends, and time to reflect. Incredibly, I read 67 books last year! A new personal record.
Thank You
I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who purchased a print, notebook, or calendar during the holiday season.
This was the first year that I added calendars to my shop and that helped to bring in more traffic. Most sales were in the U.S., but I was delighted to also have sales to Italy, UK, Germany, and Norway!
And, thank you to anyone who has liked, commented, or shared any of my posts. The little things make a difference, especially when Instagram and Facebook significantly reduce my post impressions any time I mention anything related to my shop.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Any support truly means a lot.
Final Thoughts
I may not do resolutions, but I do have a few intentions for 2024.
Create. Learn. Grow.
What are you looking forward to most this year? Let me know in the comments!
I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday and are having a great start to the new year.
P.S. if you are looking for a journal for the new year, I’ve got a few options in my shop!
In my next newsletter, I will share all about our autumn camping adventure in Minnesota! Expect that in the coming weeks.
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Thank you so much for reading. Happy New Year!
Until next time,
Steph
Where else can you follow me & some of my projects?
Photography & Travel: @stephcoffmanphoto (Instagram)
Print Shop: StephCoffmanPhoto on Etsy
Nature films: @travelatmos (Instagram, YouTube)