One Little Word | 2017 Album Flip Through & 2018 Prep

January 09,2018

I’ve returned to one of my childhood passions this past year: memory keeping.  It brings me such joy to capture and document my stories about my life and family.  Finding Ali Edwards‘ content has helped me so much on this journey.  She has become my memory keeping guru!  Her simple and manageable approach to memory keeping keeps it fun and realistically doable.  I very much enjoy her blog, workshops, and products.  One of my favorite classes I took from her last year is called One Little Word. 

One Little Word is a year long self-reflection memory keeping project in which you select a word that speaks to you at the beginning of the year and follow monthly prompts via videos and handouts from Ali that help you carry, nurture, and live your word throughout the course of the year.  Taking this class in 2017 was quite impactful on me and truly shaped my experience of the year.  I think it’s common for many of us to set an intention in January, but how often do we actively connect with it on a regular basis for the whole year?  One Little Word kept me connected to my intention in 2017 and I can’t wait to jump in again with a new word for 2018.  I thought I would share more about my experience with this project in the hopes that it might inspire those who are interested to take the leap.

In this video I flip through my 2017 album, show you the products I purchased for this year, and talk about my 2018 prep:

I hope you enjoyed this look at my 2017 One Little Word album and my thoughts about the project.  I’d love to know what word you’ve chosen for the year if you’re participating in One Little Word or something similar.  Please leave a comment if you feel comfortable sharing!

* This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are genuinely my own. *

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11 comments

11 thoughts on “One Little Word | 2017 Album Flip Through & 2018 Prep”

  1. Jen, thank you so much for sharing such a personal project with us. I checked Ali out when you first started talking about this project and I’m so glad I did. I’m excited to be embarking on my first OLW journey and after watching your video, I feel confident that I can do it!

    My word for 2018 is Serenity. I don’t mind sharing why, this is actually kind of therapeutic for me. Serenity is something I’m striving for in light of how last year unfolded for me. I dealt with a lot of stress: high workload and tight deadlines, infertility and now being over 35, a move to a city in which I know absolutely no one. Unfortunately, how I reacted to these “storms” got to the point where I didn’t recognize myself anymore. My poor ever-supportive partner felt terrible for not being able to do anything to make me feel better. I realized that but at the same time, I became so focused on the stress I felt itself that I neglected him in the process. That has to change! I want to regain my footing, be calmer, be at peace with who I am as a person, learn to accept my circumstances, be grateful for all I have in this life even if that does not include a child of my own, foster positive thoughts and not keep them to myself, and grow my long neglected relationship with God.

    Short order, right? 😉

    Reply

  2. Love your Pretty Neat Living site, thank u for sharing the “One Word,” Project. You have inspired me to delve in. I am signing up for Ali’s course.

    Oh, how’s Winnie, the doggie?

    Best wishes w new baby on the way…

    Reply

  3. Thanks for sharing. I have not done this before, but I signed up in December after hearing you talk about it and I ordered my kit and signed up for the class. I’ve been sick for 23 out of my 30 years of marriage and my 2 kids who are 25 and almost 27 year old boys have ever really known a sick mom. And I have a totally awesome husband who has stood by me through thick and thin and knows more about my health then I do! The past 3 years have been the hardest for me health wise. My husband and I had also been in a very bad family situation at our house, very unhealthy living with extended family for way too many years and never knew that toxic environment was actually making me sicker, who knew. We sold our house July 2016 and started to build a new home for ourselves, a rancher which would be so much better for me to get around as well and me moved in the end of March 2017. It was the best decision we made. My health has improved, but I still have good days and bad days. We too are huge Disney fans and we were able to go with our youngest son to Disney the beginning of October and it was my best trip since our trip in 2011 (I’ve had 2 more trips since that one, not including the 2017 trip). I thought my husband was going to cry in the airport on the way home because of how well I did. Unfortunately I’m facing a set back right now and no one can give us concrete answers. But one thing is for sure, no one is stopping me from traveling 8 hours next week to meet our first grandchild who was born December 30th and I don’t care how much pain the trip causes, we’ll be driving there and back and I will suck it up because I will be meeting that little girl. When I decided to do “The One Little Word” I had a word picked out, that word has now changed. Not just because of the journey of healing I’m on, but because of the family drama we are also dealing with (remember the extended family? hubby’s sister kinda stabbed us in the back). Plus on top of that my siblings don’t speak to me because of crap that went down when our Mom passed away in the Fall of 2014. There is a lot of healing to be done. So my word is “Heal”. I had chosen “Journey” but after what I may be facing this year “Heal” it is. Thank you for sharing your story, it’s personal, we all have them and we thank you for sharing yours.

    Reply

  4. Hey there,

    First, thank you for sharing! I understand how personal this can be, and I appreciate your courage in sharing it with the world. I’ve thought about taking the class for the last two years or so and never have. I decided to sign up this morning after watching your video and reading your post yesterday. I’m looking forward it. I haven’t quite decided on my word yet; but I’m ruminating over ‘courage’, ‘effort’, or ‘action’. I’ve been stuck in my head for quite a few years – plenty of dreams and wishes, but too scared to move forward on many of them. I think it’s time to get out of my head and stop hiding and maybe this year long project will help me do just that. Thanks again. ~ Erika

    Reply

    1. I find that Ali’s class is great as a gentle yet effective way to keep your intention in focus all year. I hope you have a good experience, too!

      Reply

  5. I love hearing about your memory keeping projects, and I also really enjoy finding out what people are focusing on for the new year. I’ve never really done a word of the year before, but this year I am, and it’s going to be “health”. I’ve been putting myself on the back burner for a few years because of the stresses of life, and it’s time to start getting my mind and body back to a healthy state!

    Reply

  6. Hi Jen,
    Thanks so much for sharing your journey! You have been such an inspiration in my growth for me being and doing things my way – being okay with it!
    I am so interested in project life – I have a few things in a cart, and want to give it a go this year. Get the pictures off my phone and into an album we can look through.
    I picked a word at the beginning of the month “Intention”
    Wishing you the very best 2018.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Amy-Lynn

    Reply

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