Rena Tom

Here is my second piece of exciting news!

Rena Tom provides excellent resources, advice, and counseling for creative businesses. She has invited me to be a contributor on her website, so every other Tuesday (beginning January 10), I will talk about copy editing and how it can help your business. I have been wanting to do something similar here, and I appreciate Rena giving me a nudge. I hope you’ll all come visit me!

All photos by Erica Midkiff. These photos (and more!) can be found on my Flickr page.
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A New Home!

I have so enjoyed the last two weeks. Some parts were relaxing and some were not, but it was all a break from routine, which I desperately needed.

As I mentioned, I have two exciting announcements. The first is that we bought a house!! We closed the day after we returned from our holiday break (happy holidays to us!). We are working on getting it painted, and having some minor repairs done, but before the end of January we will be all moved in! This is the first home I have ever owned, and I have to say it feels good. A little bit terrifying, but good. More to come as we move in and get settled!

All photos by Erica Midkiff. These photos (and more!) can be found on my Flickr page.
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Organization 003

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HAPPY NEW YEAR // NEW YEAR'S PLANNING

I love new beginnings. If I want to start a new habit, I often wait until Monday so that I can start with a fresh new week, full of possibility. So you can imagine my excitement when a new year comes around!

For the past couple of years, I have been using two resources to plan for the upcoming year. The first is Christine Kane’s Word of the Year. I choose a word to represent the broad scope of what I want to accomplish, change, and focus on for the following year. The second resource is Susannah Conway's Unravelling the Year Ahead. It is based on your Word of the Year, and guides you a little further in making plans for your word.

I have found that, while I can’t choose a word that sums up each individual goal for the year, I am always able to pull far enough back from those goals to find a word that really means something to me. That encompasses all of those goals, and pushes some new ones to the front of my mind.

This year, I am adding a third resource: Rena Tom’s Goal-Setting Worksheet (sign up for her newsletter and the worksheet is free). I want to set more specific, measurable goals that I can track throughout the year, and this will help me immensely.

I then review each of these items about once a month (more if I need it); I stay on track without spending too much time looking at the pages. It’s the right amount for me. I’m looking forward to 2012, and I hope you are as well!

Happy New Year!

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Erica Midkiff   ::   Copy Editor   ::   Twitter    ::   Email

Inspiration 004

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FOOD VIDEOS

Now let's be clear: I don't cook a lot. I happen to live with a trained chef (who also likes to do the dishes!). I eat very well (and I do most of the laundry and all of the budget work). But there is something about the food videos that I've been seeing lately that I'm really drawn to, even if I have no intention of personally making the recipe or trying the technique. Here are the ones that I have found so far. Am I missing any?

: Elephantine
: William Hereford (Select Motion, then Recipe.)
: Kwestia Smaku
: Jacques Pepin - How to Chop Garlic (This is incredible.)
: A French Press Method
: Ribboned Asparagus (scroll to the right, and view other amazing Kinfolk videos while you’re there)

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Erica Midkiff   ::   Copy Editor   ::   Twitter    ::   Email

Happy Holidays

We are heading to San Diego tomorrow to visit M's family, and I could not be more ready for the break. We will return on December 28, and I will have some exciting things to share when we do. Until then, I wish you and yours a very, very happy holiday!

All photos by Erica Midkiff. These photos (and more!) can be found on my Flickr page.
Erica Midkiff   ::   Copy Editor   ::   Twitter    ::   Email