Writing goals for 2016 - and writing dreams in general...

I would like to try and respond daily to the prompts I get from this site.

I would like to re-establish the habit of writing my marketing blog.

I would like to return to writing the blogs about my children.

I would like to write content or my own business site.

I would like to write enough content for m y social media pages, personal and business alike.

I would like to start writing a style tips blog.

I would like to write my memoirs about Germany and hope that I remember enough so that it becomes a funny book about the cultural quirks.

I would like to write my memoirs. period! So that my kids will be able to read them after I die.

Maybe one day "I can become a content icon.

Though probably if I am to write enough content, I need to hire writers...after all economies of scale is what creating a web presence is all about.

Maybe once day I can out some of my blogs and other scribbles into a book form.

I need to find all my idea scribbles, they are scattered about the house is different notebooks and stickies.

I want to just write for fun and for posterity.

Yep! new and old techniques do nicely for me...2016 - here I come, with keyboard, paper and pen!

2016 I will...

New year's resolutions are a  drag...You never really get through them, and then you feel bad. A little bit like the Bridget Johns movie.

But any life coach will tell you that setting goals for yourself is important to take a step forward. Well, I do set goals and I also list tasks and then go methodically through my lists and hack them off when completed. So I guess I am doing ok.

So I guess that if I am to target something for the new year and the whole year it would be in a more generic level in my life.

In 2016 will see more of my kids and not work into the night.

In 2016 I will try to get more positive energies into my life

In 2016 I will have found what it is that I am searching for.

Now I just need to break these goals into baby step plans, so I can tick off every task accomplished on the way to the great goal. Just like a good strategy coach does. :-)

Happy new year

Ofra

Things that I am grateful for - a holiday season spirit blog

I am always trying to teach my children to think positive. We talk about positive energies, saying "yes" instead of "no" (there is a book for children here about a teddy bear that always says "no, no" and what happens to him...) so this prompt is just right there with the list of things to discuss.

In the spirit of Christmas this prompt gets even more extra meaning, as the holiday is all about recognizing the richness one has and thus being able to give to others. Richness is not always about money, as is giving or generosity = the currency here can be so varied. Good deeds are conducted in many ways.

So what am I grateful for? All the good people and things in my life,  and all my experiences (even the one's that are not so enjoyable as they occur) that make my life a richer one.

First and foremost I am grateful for my two adorable children, who have created a totally new and overwhelming identity in my life, in fact overtaking any other identities, as I am now a mother! My children's friends recognize me as "XXX's mom", they do not always know my name. In the Arabic world a man get to be names after his first born son. I love it that I am named after my children, who are my greatest achievements!

I am grateful to my husband who tolerates me and lives with all my quirks, I can only wish to be more forgiving toward his quirks.

I am grateful for a loving and supporting family and for loyal amazing friends who have been with me for years.

I am grateful that I am living in a modern era that enables quick and international communication, and that fills life with interesting possibilities. After all, my current profession did not really exist 15 years ago and I grew and developed as  my profession grew and developed. I am grateful for innovations and technology that makes my life more convenient and that can help save lives.

This post makes me feel like a writer who is writing the thank you notes for a book. Well I have not yet written a book, but I do my best to write the daily prompt here - I am grateful for this tool and the opportunity it gives me to write.

Merry Christmas

Ofra

Are you happy with your current work?

Its all still too new, even after almost a year, to say that I am happy. So much changes in recent months have all made it a bit hard to digest, but its all for the best , I believe

Its all still in the making. the transition from hired employee to freelancer is  not simple.

In many ways I am still a hired employee. I go to the office and need to deliver at certain times, but I no longer have the salary rather I need to submit an invoice.

The disadvantages:

I have more than one client, so I have more than one boss.

Everything in the business depends on me, so if I am sick, I do not get paid and the work does not get done.

I am limited as to how much work I can take on, the business is not yet stable enough to take on an employee.

The advantages:

I work mostly from home and my hours are more flexible.

I can be near my kids and not in a remote office all day.

I get some tax benefits because I now submit invoices (e.g. deduct home expenses to some extent).

I can raise my hourly wage.

I can work from anywhere! A laptop, Wifi Internet and a power extension is all I need.



I am still at the beginning of a log road. Its a wide wide way...

Ofra

Circles of plenty

Like a hand full of currents, I have many blessings in life. the currants are like little circles, circles of plenty...

The original prompt was: "What are you missing in your life today? "

Considering that its 01.18 at night here, I am probably missing sleep.

I could also use a few more hours a day to get everything I want done finished.

I miss more time with my kids.

I miss flexibility in time management, I juggle kids, school, work and its just exhausting!

I miss having free time - a mother an a wife rarely has time to herself.

I miss my friends, its been ages since I had the opportunity to get together.

I guess a larger income can never hurt.

But why dwell on what i am missing in life, when I can count my blessings?

For an enhanced quality of life, well-being and happiness, I am trying to stay positive. Its not always an easy lesson to learn for a grumbler like myself... But as I demand my son to always think positive, about what he has gained and not the TV hours he has not had the time to watch... I remind myself that I too, should dwell on what is plentiful in my life. Its just a happier state of mind! It really works!

so here we go again..."circles of plenty" approach this time...

Considering that its 01.18 at night here, I am probably missing sleep.

YES, BUT I ENJOY THIS WRITING EXERCISE, SO TS WAS WORTH STAYING UP

I could also use a few more hours a day to get everything I want done finished.

TRUE, BUT SOME THINGS CAN WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW. ITS JUST WORK OR HOUSEWORK, NO NUCLEAR BOMB GOING OFF OR ANYTHING SO DESPERATELY URGENT!

I miss more time with my kids.

YES, BUT ITS JUST GREAT TO HAVE THEM AROUND.

I miss flexibility in time management, I juggle kids, school, work and its just exhausting!

YES, BUT I AM NEVER BOARD.

I miss having free time - a mother an a wife rarely has time to herself.

YEH, EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF ME...COULD NOT HELP THIS ONE BEING A BIT N THE GRUMBLE SIDE, BUT HEY, THINK WHAT A COMPLIMENT THAT IS...

I miss my friends, its been ages since I had the opportunity to get together.

TRUE, BUT I TALKED TO TWO OF THEM ON THE PHONE THIS WEEK AND WE SMS ALWAYS, MODERN TECHNOLOGY GOES A LONG WAY TO KEEP US BUSY BUSY BEES IN TOUCH.

I guess a larger income can never hurt.

YUP! BUT I AM NOT STARVING EITHER , THANK GOD!

All is well in my world and writing this has just made my smile a bit bigger - its really works! proportion in good for the soul.

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite...

Ofra

Describe your bedroom. What makes it special? What would you like to change/add?

This is the post that got me to aggregate my prompt responses also to a blog format.
I realized that is some random way, I am writing my personal experiences, opinions and feelings  = that means I am writing my memoirs. So I wanted this to be on an online diary format I can access at any time...for posterity...for my kids...

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Describe your bedroom. What makes it special? What would you like to change/add?

(actually this is NOT my bedroom...)

My bedroom is not so special. Like many such rooms, it contains a double bed for my husband and myself, a cupboard fr our clothes, divided into "his" and "hers" and two counters on both sides of the bed - but the counters are not matching.

What makes it special is that the bed is actually  constricted from two skeletons of single beds (actually my childhood bed and that of my sister) with extensions - an improvisation that has enabled me to move the bed from one apartment to another with ease. They just do not make them this way anymore..the materials are good and the structure strong, so I saw no reason to change. the mattress is new of course...

Another interesting feature is that the room leads to a balcony, which I enjoy using in the spring and summer months. Last year my son started sharing this joy and announced that the balcony makes him feel like he is on a summer holiday/vacation. The sunset is nice from the balcony.

The two bed-side counter do not match. One is made of two Ikea stools piled one on top of another - to get the right height but keep stable. The other counter is a relic from my teen years, a set of drawers I repainted since.

On the wall there are a few pictures of the family - its been growing as the family grows. A thank you card we got during the 2nd Lebanon war from a family we let stay in our home after they could not stay in theirs on the border, and an African carpet. But the featured pictures are two portraits of myself, from my molding years, drawn by an anonymous American Painter.

Every night, as my children prefer to fall asleep in my bed, "because ts warm and large and we can all cuddle together" says my son, then my bedroom becomes extra special.

That is, until I move the kids to their own beds, so that I to can get some sleep.

Good night


Ofra

Who's one person you want to be more like? Why?

Love thyself!

I want to be more self assured like my mother

I want to be more loving like my son

I want to be more knowledgeable like my brother

I want to be able to take it easy with a touch of escapism like my husband

I want to have more positive energy like my daughter

I want to be more successful like my elder sister

I want to be diligent like my twin sister

I want to be more calm like my father

I want to be a better

I want to work at my hobby like my good friend the DJ  and my good freind the municipal council member

There are many people I admire, but mostly my family and close friends, from each of whom I can learn to become a better and more complete person.

However, I am not so bad as I am :-)

Happy holiday

Ofra

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This one is my second featured response, in just 2 weeks of writing to prompts
I guess I have the talent...:-)