I wrote recently about personal projects and how much it refreshes me when things get too hectic. Picking up my camera for something that isn't labeled as work. "Work" turns out to be a pretty powerful word in the grand scheme of life. If I am doing it for pleasure, it's takes on new life.

I am so happy that I have decided to pick this particular person project back up, especially since the past week, the first of the new year, has already been a little wonky.

Every week, I will be sharing a photo of my daughter, Reagan, just doing what she does. Coloring, lounging, being adorable. Ideally I would like to capture something every single day, but that's just not feasible right now.

At the end of 2017 (or beginning of 2018) I will make a book of her 52 weeks to add to the first one from 2015. 2016 is just going to have to be the year that was lost. I'll blame the craziness of my day job.

I hope you all enjoy it and come back every week (probably Sundays) to see what Reagan-poo has been up to! This week's photo is catching her in an almost-naptime moment. She likes to sleep in her pack and play still at my Mom's house. And of course, she has to have 1,259,250 stuffed animals with her while she sleeps.

Also, I am curious about your own personal projects? What are they? What do they entail?

You love your family. We know you do. You know you do. So, why aren't you SHOWING people that you do?

When I go into people's homes, there's nothing I love more than to see a big portrait of their family. Bigger than an 8x10. Like 24x36 kind of BIG.

Right now, I have a large canvas of my daughter staring me in the face in my office. It's my favorite photo of her EVER, and if a larger canvas would fit on my shelf, I would have a bigger one. I love this photo that much.

I'm not saying that a gallery wall of 8x10s means you love your family less. But a big piece makes a statement.

Have you ever imagined your walls with BIG art? Do it now. Do you have photos that would work? Photos that are sharp and exposed correctly and professionally printed and mounted on archival paper in a beautiful frame? Look at your walls right now.

Now let's decide when your portrait session should be!

 I used to have a personal blog. I wrote all sorts of things there. Poetry, rants, nonsensical essays, lists. Stuff that I couldn't fit into a journal and was faster to type than write. I didn't renew my domain name last year, and my blog went by the wayside. And I have to say that besides giving up Project Life, it was one of the most freeing things I have ever done. Blogging had become something that I felt I had to do to be consistent and retain followers, but it wasn't something that I loved anymore.

One thing that kept my blog moving forward was personal projects. I started my favorite, a 52 week photography project in 2015, and I took a photo of Reagan once a week every week for the entire year. In January, I compiled them and had her first book made.

This year, I stopped at around week 6. It has been a busy and crazy and exhausting and stupid year, if I am being truthful. I had no energy for a personal project, and it had somehow become just another thing to mark off the to-do list. Now, I am sad that I didn't keep up with it. I also realize just how much GOOD it did me to have that few minutes every week to plan a different photo than the week before. It helped my creativity and gave me that calm I need.

Looking forward to 2017, I plan on picking back up on the 52 week project for Reagan. One day, I will truly, truly cherish every single moment I have in those books. I don't want to regret not having them just because I got overwhelmed.

What kinds of personal projects do you keep? Are they something you really love? Or are they a chore?

(If they're a chore, cut that crap out now. Life is too short to waste on something you don't love.)