An Update on Open
At the beginning of each year, I choose a word that will be a guidepost on my journey throughout the year. I started following along with this project (originally created by Ali Edwards) in 2013, and I’ve been picking a word ever since. For my word this year, I chose Open. You can read my original post and goals for the year here.
Here’s what I wanted open to look like:
- Open is an invitation to let my guard down, to experience vulnerability, and to invite people in.
- Open is an invitation into wonder and delight. To get outside, go for drives, and take in the natural beauty around me.
- Open is an invitation to enjoy rhythms over routines. To try new things. To allow flexibility and spontaneity.
- Open is an invitation to dig deeper into God’s word and truly experience solitude with the Lord.
- Open is an invitation to really live in the margins. To stop scrolling and spend my time doing things that fill my cup.
- Open is an invitation to a peaceful, deep, and joy-filled 2020.
Open (adjective)
allowing access, passage, or a view through an empty space; not closed or blocked up.
exposed to the air or to view; not covered; unprotected; vulnerable.
with the outer edges or sides drawn away from each other; unfolded.
freely available or accessible; offered without restriction.
frank and communicative; not given to deception or concealment.
not finally settled; still admitting of debate.
Open (verb)
move or adjust (a door or window) so as to leave a space allowing access and view.
unfold or be unfolded; spread out.
establish (a new business, movement, or enterprise).
make available or more widely known.
MORE // LESS
MORE rhythms. LESS routines.
MORE long hugs.
MORE intentional purchases. LESS stuff and things.
MORE drawing from an overflow of rest. LESS running myself ragged.
MORE deep, vulnerable conversations. LESS hiding, not asking for help.
MORE championing others and celebrating small wins.
MORE quiet. LESS noise and distractions.
MORE boundaries. LESS have tos.
Less scrolling (always).
MORE simplifying. LESS complicating.
MORE open.
Quotes
While I am learning to make peace with the plans that fell apart, I am learning to breathe deep and keep an open heart and the hope-filled possibility that there is more ahead of me. – Morgan Harper Nichols
We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. – Unknown
Documenting in 2020
Kevin recently shared how he documents his life over on the FinalVibe blog, so I thought I’d take some time to share a little about how I document mine. We are a little different in how we like to see our memories but regardless, we both find so much value in visualizing our journey and how we got to where we are today. Both come down to pictures and words, and being intentional about looking back to see how we’ve changed and how we can inspire our future selves.
1. Project Life
Eight years in and I still love memory keeping with pocket pages. I love the opportunity to be creative and change my process on a whim while still having the cohesive photo sizes. For the past couple years, I’ve done monthly layouts in 12×12 albums which has allowed me to use just four albums over the eight years. One of my biggest fears about this project is how much physical space they take up, but there’s just nothing like having printed pictures. Kevin sometimes sends me photos, too, and I just love getting his perspective in our albums. This project helped me to document through college, graduation, engagement, marriage, pups, and becoming homeowners. Looking back on photos of my college duplex, friends living next door, random celebrations, and first days with our pups are such sweet reminders of the blessings in this life.
One of my favorite things to do as a kid was look at photo albums when I was at houses of family members. I love the way that photos capture stories and feelings. Words do, too, and that’s why I always make sure to include them, even if it means tucking them away behind photos. I always want these to be books we can flip through to remember all of our favorite moments.
2. Chatbooks
Chatbooks are photo books made with your photos on Instagram, Facebook or camera roll and only takes 30 seconds to set up. I keep my scrapbooks in my craft room, so I like to have something smaller and less precious to have on the coffee table in the living room. These have been a piece of cake to make and are always a talking point when we have guests over – everyone picks them up. We go with the softcover edition and print one with highlights from the year and one for each vacation.
Price-wise, these are super reasonable at $10 (+ free shipping). You can get your first one free with my code JACQUELINEREAPE-TXQQ.
3. Hobonichi
I started using the Hobonichi Techo last year after going down a rabbit hole on YouTube. It’s technically a planner but I use it for daily stream of consciousness journaling. It has both monthly spreads and a day per page, which is a great contained way for me to journal (aka I have to keep it short and sweet). Also being that the pages are numbered by the date, it keeps me motivated not to get behind. This space is more raw and unfiltered than project life and includes fewer photos in comparison. I don’t plan on anyone reading these but me.
These notebooks are A6 (4-1/8″ x 5-7/8″) and believe it or not, the ones pictured above started out as the same size. I love how chunky they get as they are filled up over the year. I think I’m going to switch from the Hobonichi band to Stalogy next year, but I definitely plan to keep up the process as long as it’s working for me.
4. The Blog
We’re coming up on 11 years of blogging! I haven’t always been consistent but I truly treasure what I have been able to write in this tiny little corner of the internet. I love doing regular posts such as my currently series, because it’s so fun to see those stack up over time.
Even though I’ve considered quitting more times than I can count, I’m thankful for the fact that the internet seems more concrete and “forever” than physical photos and paper. I look back on posts from 2010 or even just last year, and can get such a clear picture on who I was at the time and what was going on in my life. It might not feel that way for other people, but that’s why I continually keep doing this for me.
Kevin makes a point in his post that you have to document in a way that makes sense for you – but at the end of the day, you just have to start and then stay consistent for long enough to see the effects of being intentional with a practice like this.
What are you doing to document your life and visualize your legacy?
Daily Delights // Monday
Psalm 16
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.[b]
4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.[d]
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.[f]
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
The FinalVibe Playlist
Our friend, Josh, who is the curator of the playlist Summer Hits of the 2000s (with over 70,000 followers) is killing it with this new FInalVibe playlist. Listening on repeat.
What It Means To Center Ourselves In Conversation—And How To Practice Decentering Instead
“Centering ourselves means that instead of truly listening to someone’s experience, we derail or challenge the conversation by sharing our own. This harmful refocusing is always unsolicited and is an attempt to protect our privilege and make ourselves feel comfortable.” (Read more of this article by Emily Torres)
The Soothecast
icy ❄️ – soothecast
Half-Marathon Vlog
Thoughts on 13.1
I did it. 13.1 miles.
Completing a half-marathon has been on my bucket list for over 10 years. It’s always been one of those dreams that sounded awesome, but I secretly wondered if I’d ever actually ever make it happen. I’m not fast or a runner by nature, and for some reason I thought that if I couldn’t do it while running the whole thing, then why even bother.
Earlier this year, I started focusing more attention on my health and fitness. I started tracking my diet and doing my best to get more workouts in. I got even more serious at the end of February when I decided to kick the whole thing up a notch by participating in Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard Challenge. (You can read more about my experience with that here.) I was nearing the end of the challenge when Kevin and I started talking about FinalVibe and I virtually attended Rachel Hollis’ Rise x Live Conference. I had all of these people around me saying “yes, you can” and I realized that the only person that was holding me back was myself and my mindset.
I mulled over it for about a week, when I finally decided to just go for it. With 75 Hard, I had been unofficially training and had done up to about 7 miles at one time. I realize that’s not super close to the 13.1 it would take to complete the half-marathon but I figured most training programs have one or two long mile training days that don’t quite get you to the full race length anyway.
I didn’t even map out a tentative path or really tell anyone what I was up to, but I did start recording a little vlog to document myself as I went. I started around 9am and took our pup, Willow, with me. I knew she was good for the 4 mile loop from our house, to the trail, and back around where I would drop her off and keep going.
Once I dropped her off, I went back for a similar loop but added on another couple mile portion that would get me a little closer to the distance I needed to be at to not have to do the same loop 3+ times. Throughout the rest of the walk, I listened to an audiobook (which happens to be my favorite when I’m getting those steps in). I was listening to 168 hours by Laura Vanderkam which talks about how we have enough hours in the week to set strong priorities and make our dreams happen if we take action, chuck out our time, and get over the lies we’re telling ourselves about what we’re doing. It was a motivating one for sure!
On this particular day, it was partly sunny and only 51 degrees fahrenheit. I got lucky, because it was beautiful out. We have a stunning trail system that winds around the area where we live that has lots of shade from the tree canopy. These trails and my neighborhood made up the entirety of my walk, which I’m super thankful for. Aside from the audiobooks, I love looking at the different trees, animals, and flowers that catch my attention. I can’t imagine not having a place like this to explore.
I started having some low-back discomfort due to some tight hamstrings and ended up stopping twice to stretch in the 9th and 10th miles. Between the stretching and this section being the most “busy” part of the trail, these were definitely the slowest of my splits when it came to time per mile. Part of the 11th mile was a zig-zagging path up hill and I about keeled over, but I knew if I stopped, I’d probably never start again. I was getting tired.
I passed by the house around the end of the 11th which was the perfect timing for my pups and Kevin to cheer me on! It makes all the difference knowing that people are excited to see me hit this huge accomplishment. For the last mile or so, I felt like I was crawling, and my mom (who checked in multiple times throughout the morning) called and cheered me on through the end. It felt like it all came full circle, as my mom and I virtually walk together almost every single night.
I was really hoping that everything would wrap up nicely and I’d be stepping onto my porch as soon as I hit 13.1 but ended up needing to go another 1/10th of a mile to make it home – not too bad considering absolutely zero planning went into the day. It was a little after 1pm when I wrapped up, and the errands I had planned (like walking around stores and picking up a 40lb bag of dog food) seemed a lot less fun with the new blister that had formed on the bottom of my foot.
Blister and low-back aside, I felt so good and managed to do 90 minute workouts in the days following. I kept describing it as an “on top of the world” feeling and I cannot imagine what doing a half or even full marathon surrounded by other people doing the same thing would feel like. Hopefully I’ll find out soon enough.
As I’ve thought back on this, I can’t help but ask myself “what’s next?”. I really want to continue improving on my time and start incorporating even more running into the mix. I’ve continued walking (though not at anywhere near this distance) and I’d love to do something more “official” next spring, or maybe even in the fall.
Even though it feels kinda silly to post, I need to know the numbers I’m going to beat next time. So for now, here are my stats:
Total Distance: 13.20 miles
Total Time: 3 hours, 43 minutes, 10 seconds (9:06 AM – 1:08 PM)
Average Pace: 16 minutes and 54 seconds / mile
Fastest Mile: 16 minute and 17 seconds
Slowest Mile: 19 minutes and 24 seconds
Total Calories Burned: 1897 calories
Elevation: 561 feet to 730 feet (481 foot elevation gain)
Average Heart Rate: 160 BPM
Weather: Partly Sunny, 51 degrees fahrenheit, 81% humdity
I’d love to hear what you’re accomplishing and help cheer you on. Thanks so much for reading.
About
Hi, I'm Jacqueline - believer, learner, and all around hobby enthusiast. I'm married to my highschool sweetheart, Kevin, and we live in the midwest with our sweet pup.
On this blog I share all kinds of things about my life - from my faith journey to the garden in my neighbors backyard. I've been blogging for almost eight years and use this space as a way to document my daily life.
Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the internet.