The year is more than half over, so I thought it would be good to do a mid-year check-in to report and review my creative projects and life in general. It's beneficial to take a step back and look at where you are once in a while. It gives me perspective and motivation to figure out what I still want to accomplish.

Life:

It turns out that the general act of everyday living has been somewhat more difficult for me this year. I have spent a fair amount of time trying to get through my ongoing leg issues, which seem to keep worsening. Even since my last update, I've had a cortisone shot and been put back in a walking boot. Living with constant pain is exhausting and has affected many areas of my life. I'm not cooking, exercising (other than physical therapy), and not getting out much. I'm using a cane and feeling like I'm not old enough to be in this stage of my life. You can read more about it in my latest Instagram post.

I'm trying to be extra careful with my healing process over the next few weeks to be ready to help my daughter out when her baby arrives (due August 8th). It’s hard to believe how close it is, and we are really excited to be grandparents! Because Riley has diabetes, she has had a high-risk pregnancy. Thankfully, she has done quite well and she has been very healthy.. Her blood-sugar numbers have been excellent. Her doctor is watching the baby closely to ensure he doesn't get too big, which often happens when the mother has diabetes.

Generally, we are all doing well. Can you believe that none of us have had Covid? We've been extremely cautious, but we've had some actual exposures over the last two months, and we have been lucky to avoid getting it. My husband had to travel to a work conference, and almost everyone he traveled with tested positive. Because Jeff and I are over fifty years old, we were able to get the second booster.

I'm not feeling sick, but I have lost my voice. It started about five days ago, and it's driving me crazy. I'm still testing negative, thank goodness. I guess it's just some strange little bug I've got.

Creative Projects:

Thankfully, I can sit down for most of my creative projects. I'm feeling grateful for my laptop computer, iPhone, and iPad. Thank you digital scrapbooking and designing! I've been having my most prolific design year ever, and I have released forty-nine new products so far in 2022! I'm working on another collection that will be available before the end of the month.

I'm also still working on more video tutorials and lots of layouts. One of the biggest projects I've been working on behind the scenes is changing to a new website platform. I still love Squarespace, but it's time to switch over to Squarespace 7.1 because there are so many more options. I ran out of room in my online shop and couldn't post any more products unless I made the change. It wasn't something I was looking to do this year, but I know it will be worth it. I hope to go live with the new site at the end of the month - unless that grandbaby comes a little early!

Once the website is up and running, I plan to focus on creating and sharing a lot more content. I also have big plans for many memory-making and memory-keeping activities.

Goals for the rest of the year:

As always, family is the most important thing for me to focus on. I'm hoping that the rest of the year will entail a whole lot of family time and opportunities to just enjoy being together. This takes some creativity when part of your family lives several hundred miles away, but we are good at figuring that out.

I think the next BIG thing I need to work on is getting more mobile and improving my leg situation. Because these injuries are a related to an issue I was born with, I may always have some struggles. I do want to be able to go on walks, get around my house, and travel. I still have a lot of things I want to do! So these goals need to be a huge priority.

Finally, I want to lead a creative and enjoyable life. That includes the activities I love like scrapbooking, designing, reading, building LEGO, making our home a beautiful place, and spending time with the people I love.

This is a great time to do some reflecting on your own mid-year progress and decide what you want the rest of the year to look like.