OLW Blog Hop - Catching Up

Welcome back to the One Little Word Blog Hop! For those unfamiliar, OLW is a year-long class offered by Big Picture Classes and Ali Edwards. Each month, Ali puts together a prompt that explores a different aspect of our word, as well as a creative project that reflects the month's theme. This year, my OLW is dream. You can see all of my OLW related posts here.

Due to recent events, I missed out on last month's blog hop. But I have completed the prompt. In August, we were tasked with a self-portrait and a loving message to ourselves. I used a photo taken with my iPhone.

For this month, we went back to deeper thinking. Ali challenged us to choose a battle worth fighting for in relation to our OLW. She also asked us to identify a battle that we are willing to surrender.

Powerful stuff.

I chose to fight for my dreams by enrolling in Mondo Beyondo, an online course devoted to dreaming big. I had seen the class many times before and was always interested...but I had not been ready to take the plunge. Shortly after watching Ali's presentation about choosing our battle, I received the Mondo Beyondo newsletter. It seemed serendipitous that the Fall Session started September 12th. I registered immediately. I am LOVING this class.

One of my favorite exercises so far was identifying my core values. I'll leave you today with my list:

Acceptance – Giving myself permission to dream big & small and then being open to what I discover. Having the courage to believe in the goodness of myself and others. Seeking more gratitude, less judgment in my beautiful everyday life. Weathering the storms of life with grace, wisdom and humor.

Authenticity – Keeping it real & owning my own particular brand of crazy. Being true to myself in all my varying roles. No comparisons, no competition. Seek to add value in all the I do. Admit my frailties. Allow venerability.

Balance – Set priorities for family, work, household and creativity. Adopt and keep a schedule to avoid becoming overwhelmed! No more paralyzing fear of imperfection. Know it’s ok to be ok. Learn to say no, kindly but firmly. Celebrate the wins.


Commitment – Keep pushing to improve dedication and reliability. Follow through. Self-motivation. Work harder at marriage & motherhood. Heathy habits are now imperative! Manage chronic disease, eat better, move more.

Love – Hold fast to “the greatest of these is love.” Let this be your anchor. Kindness first. Generosity of spirit and materials. Honor my husband. Support my son’s move to independence, guide him without guilt or smothering. Learn to love from afar. Grow my spirituality. Take care of our earth.

Next up on the blog hop is  the wonderful Nicky. Check out her post here.