This is my last BUJO and RLT post of 2022. I’m proud of myself just a wee bit. I’ve managed to get a post out every week. The only exception is the first week of January. I think that was before I decided to be more diligent with my posts.

I also want to take this moment–the rest of December will be a mess, so I can’t be sure I’ll remember to do it–to thank BookWormMom for her continued participation in creating super-duper recipes (and pictures–I always forget the pictures) for us.

So December. The last month of 2022. Crazy. To me anyway. In a few short weeks, my husband and I will celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary. I tell people I’m 29 and holding, and until just this moment, I didn’t realize that meant I was married before I was even conceived. HAHA

Okay, enough about nothing. On to today’s post.

I wanted to change my front door wreath. I no longer cared for its tired and old decor, so I snipped of the bits I didn’t like. I’d bought some new stuff and sat down to create. In the end, I didn’t use most of what I’d bought (not for the wreath, anyway). I went super simple with just a bow and a little, wooden plaque in the center, which isn’t even attached to the wreath, but fits PERFECTLY.

I made the bow, but couldn’t find my floral wire–still haven’t found it, hmmm–so I improvised and used a LONG ornament hook and twisted it to hold my bow in the proper shape. I think I did a good job. 🙂

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I don’t have a lot of pictures of my December spreads this month. Most of them are identical to November. So I’m just showing you a few.

To finish my Zen Doodle theme, I created my Christmas tree and put in the designs.

I didn’t want to JUST color it, so I decided to use watercolor instead. Since my paper is not super thick (learned that lesson the last time), I went very minimal with the water. It worked pretty good, if I do say so myself. 🙂

On the facing page is my final LISTEN verse for this year. Keep reading for my word for 2023.

God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near. Rev 1:3 NLT

So in 2022, I wanted to make my bujo work for me. I semi succeeded. I did use it to remind me of the upcoming events for each month, but other than creating the pages, I rarely used it. Later in the year, I added decoration to the outside to make it look more appealing. My thought process is kind of wonky, but if it’s pretty on the outside, I’m more likely to open it. Right?

Didn’t work. First the stickers wouldn’t stay stuck. I even went so far as to use Mod Podge on it to hold them down. It worked better, but if you look closely, you can see that some of them are still lifting from the cover. It looks too busy and out of sorts. At least, that’s how I see it now. haha As a note, the front of the notebook is not dirty. That dark spot is a shadow of some sort. 😮

For 2023, I wanted something that looked slightly more classy. I found a design in my Silhouette Studio and cut it out on my Cameo. It took forever to weed those flowers, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way it turned out. My word for next year is PROMISE. I’ll talk more about it in a future blog post.

No more pictures of this.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to being more diligent in my bujo this year. I can hardly wait to get started. haha

That’s it for this month’s bujo chatter.

Now on to Real Life Tips:

• When my youngest son was a toddler (he’s 18 now), he had the habit of walking forward while looking backward. One day, while walking a busy hallway at church, I told him, “Stop looking backward. You’re not going that way.” I’ve seen this as a quote recently, but I’d never heard it before I said it to my son. I’m not going to claim authorship, ‘cuz that’s not who I am, but the sentiment stands. Sure, we all need to glance over our shoulders once in a while to see how far we’ve come, but don’t make it your focus. You can’t go back. You can’t fix the mistakes, erase the sins, unspeak the angry words, or speak the ones that should have been spoken. But you CAN live in the present and look forward to the future. Learn from your mistakes, but don’t make them your focus.
• Take time for yourself during this busy month. Have a bath. Go shopping for something on your private wish list–the one that no one else sees. It doesn’t have to be an expensive item–a bath scent for the aforementioned bath, a toothbrush, a pair of fuzzy socks, or a cozy sweater. Take yourself to lunch. Invite a friend, if you want. Do something for you. I failed to do that when I was younger. It was all about the family–and there’s a lot of them and only one of me. I got worn out, and honestly, I think my body still feels the effects of my non-stop lifestyle back then. 🙁   God gave us the Sabbath for a reason.

Poll results:

• Worship Wednesday/Devotion: 10%
• Bullet Journal: 0%
• Real Life Tips: 30%
• Guest Posts: 20%
• Serial Story: 20%
• Recipe of the Month: 20%
• Vlog: 0%

So, instead of doing my Bullet Journal entries, what would y’all like to read/see?

I’d like to say I could give the Serial Story its own week, but I’m not writing a ton at the moment. Though, to be fair, that may be the impetus to write more. 🙂

And that’s a wrap for this week. I won’t be writing much in the coming week’s post, so I’ll take this moment to say:

Merry Christmas!

 

I pray your holiday is blessed and full of love, family, and friends.

Thank you for making 2022 a good year. Your support and encouragement mean the world to me.

Blessings,

Ginger