Welcome to my blog 52 Weeks Of Wonder!  

I’m doing it!  I have thought of starting a blog for years and this is the year I act instead of think!

I am a curious person.  I wonder about a lot of things.  Then I spend a lot of time thinking, questioning, learning and planning.  I have exciting ideas and am constantly wondering about things.

For example, I wonder….

What if I intentionally planned creative ways to connect with my family and friends?

What would it feel like to have an organized, clean home?

What if I changed some of the habits that don’t serve me?

What if I planned and experienced the vacations that I dream of?

What if I acted on these “wonders” and asked others to join me?

What will be the ripple effect?

What if this time I acted instead of getting stuck when it comes to taking action?

What if I challenged myself to try something new each week and my accountability was to blog about it?

Introducing….

#52WeeksofWonder Challenge

What is it?

#52WeeksofWonder is a 52-week personal challenge.  Each week I will challenge myself to try something new and will blog about the effect.  The intent is to try the things I always wondered about instead of just wondering about them.  There are so many ideas, habits, and experiences I have wondered about since becoming a full time working mom.  Now I will make the time to try them out.

No more excuses.  

This is the year!  I can be a mom, have a full-time job, have new experiences, and make changes that improve my life.  I also hope it inspires you to try something you always wondered about!

What will the challenges be?

I did a big brain dump and listed all my options for the challenge.  As I brainstormed all of the things that I have wondered about implementing into my life I came up with four big themes.  

1. Personal Development
2. Simplifying
3. Building Connections to Family and Friends
4. Trying New Experiences

Each Sunday I will

1. Post the upcoming challenge for the week.
2. Post a reflection of a challenge I completed the week before and the effect it had on me and/or my family.

I LOVE it!  How do I join?

1. Follow my blog at www.marniepauly.com
2. Sign up here  to subscribe to my 52 Weeks of Wonder Newsletter where you will receive weekly updates on the challenges, tips, and free resources. If you sign up now you will also receive a free copy of the WONDER Workbook to help you start working on your own goals.
3. Stop wondering and take action!  Do something you have always wondered about!   Share on social media with #52WeeksOfWonder and tag me @MarnieLPauly on Twitter, Marnie Pauly on Facebook, and @marniepauly on Instagram. Don’t forget to Like my 52WeeksofWonder Facebook page.

Remind me why you are doing this again?

By sharing my 52 Weeks of Wonder (by the way – shout out to my daughter for coming up with the name of the challenge) I hope to inspire you to reflect on all the ideas you have wanted to implement.  To take the things you wonder about and start experimenting and taking action to see if these ideas help you create the life you always dreamed of.

What’s the first challenge?

I will warn you, the first one is a big one.  Once you see the pictures you will understand why!

Week 1 Challenge: Capsule Wardrobe    

Category: Simplifying      

You know that great feeling you have when you walk into your closet and you stand back and think, “Look at all these beautiful clothes that fit me just perfectly!  I can’t wait to get dressed today!”

Yeah,  me either.  My morning goes a little more like this.  It begins with wondering what I should wear and what I wore yesterday.  Because you can only imagine how embarrassing it would be to show up to work in the same clothes as you wore the day before.  Not only do you look silly, but you have shared with the world that you didn’t wash that shirt you are wearing…unless you count spraying with Febreeze washing…which I sometimes do.  OK!? Don’t judge, you know you have done it too!

The other morning I literally was on my hands and knees looking through a pile of clothes for a black shirt with my phone flashlight!  Instead of finding my shirt, I found a dog bone! A DOG BONE!!

Why the are you crawling around on the floor with a flashlight?  It’s simple. My time is limited and I didn’t want to wake up my husband or disturb our sweet dog taking a morning nap on my side of the bed.  Because I just do not have time to let him out again while I am dealing with the wardrobe drama!

Clearly, this is not the best way to start my morning.  There is a need for some serious simplifying and organizing.   I know some of my other challenges this year will include examining my morning routine and this is not an acceptable barrier to me anymore!  

Below are my before pictures.  My closet and my pile of clothes that I meant to sort months ago.  Did I mention that I was good at starting things and not finishing? This is where I discovered the dog bone!