{"id":29273,"date":"2019-01-20T09:47:24","date_gmt":"2019-01-20T16:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adoptedjoy.com\/?p=29273"},"modified":"2019-01-20T09:47:26","modified_gmt":"2019-01-20T16:47:26","slug":"january-doldrums-and-feeling-the-creative-urge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/?p=29273","title":{"rendered":"January Doldrums, and Feeling the Creative Urge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover has-background-dim is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\" style=\"background-image:url(http:\/\/adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030058N1WEB.jpg)\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Ugh. I&#8217;m struggling this month to keep my &#8220;hopes and dreams alive!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nah, it&#8217;s not that bad, but the Christmas bug hit me just after the new year, and I&#8217;ve been fighting a losing battle with it ever since. I finally got to urgent care last week and got meds for a sinus infection, but they have been slow to provide relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My nights have been hellacious, with nonstop paroxysms of coughing keeping me sitting upright at my computer. I&#8217;ve relied so much on my oldest son this last week especially, and he&#8217;s been a rock, taking care of the tinies while I rested during the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m finally beginning to see some improvement, but here I am, another week sitting at home on Sunday morning while the family goes to mass without me. Lord, let me get to see you in February at least!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The upside to this month long stall has been that I have had a chance to explore some avenues for self improvement. If any of you have read or used these resources, I&#8217;d love to get your take on them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I watched a<em> <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wZDAMryvtsk\"><strong><em>Patrick Coffin vid<\/em><\/strong><\/a> in which he touted these two books, so of course I bought them. (It&#8217;s what we do. We buy all the books. We hope we will actually read them, but there&#8217;s no guarantee, because we are infinitely distractable.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/613D-sCSsoL._SX342_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/smile.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B07B7C4F9C\/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0\">The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future<\/a> <br \/><\/strong><em>by Ryder Carroll <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51W-ZL%2BQRlL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/smile.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0143126563\/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0\">  <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/smile.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0143126563\/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0https:\/\/smile.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0143126563\/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0\">Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity <\/a><\/strong><br \/><em>by David Allen<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>My friend Jenni Groft, a fellow creative, writer, mother of many, and all around super-woman, turned me on to this book toward the end of last year, so I am going to give it a try. It &#8220;guides the reader through a fascinating (and fun) 12-week-long program of exercises and explorations that help loosen up one\u2019s artistic self.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51gzv263hIL._SX413_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/smile.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1585421472\/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1\">The Artist&#8217;s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity<br \/><\/a><\/strong><em>by Julia Cameron<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And I have a few other projects noodling around in the peripheries of my brain, but this is enough to challenge me for the moment. Hopefully I&#8217;ll have lots of progress to report in the coming weeks as I apply all the bullet-journaling stress-free productivity tips I am learning! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ll finish off with some lovely memories of our quiet, homey Christmas vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"http:\/\/adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030042N1WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030042N1WEB.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030042N1WEB-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030042N1WEB-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030042N1WEB-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030042N1WEB-640x427.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"http:\/\/adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030058N1WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030058N1WEB.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030058N1WEB-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030058N1WEB-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030058N1WEB-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_030058N1WEB-640x427.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"http:\/\/adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_03000101N2WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29283\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_03000101N2WEB.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_03000101N2WEB-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_03000101N2WEB-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_03000101N2WEB-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181230_03000101N2WEB-640x427.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"http:\/\/adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181231_004520N1WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181231_004520N1WEB.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181231_004520N1WEB-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181231_004520N1WEB-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181231_004520N1WEB-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/20181231_004520N1WEB-640x427.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ugh. I&#8217;m struggling this month to keep my &#8220;hopes and dreams alive!&#8221; Nah, it&#8217;s not that bad, but the Christmas bug hit me just after the new year, and I&#8217;ve been fighting a losing battle with it ever since. I finally got to urgent care last week and got meds for a sinus infection, but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[628,502,753,3,49,748,117],"tags":[751,750,749,354,752],"class_list":["post-29273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adopted-joy","category-books-entertainment","category-creativity","category-family","category-health","category-self-help","category-writing","tag-creativity","tag-self-help","tag-self-improvement","tag-sickness","tag-writing","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29273"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29288,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29273\/revisions\/29288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.adoptedjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}