My Learn 12 in 12 List ...

A few weeks ago I came across a blog that was challenging readers to learn something new every month. They called it "Learn 12-in-12" (I think. I apparently didn't bookmark the site and now can't seem to find it! Argggg.)

I thought it was a great idea ... there are SO many things I'd like to do or accomplish and/or learn that I never seem to get around to or that I put on the back burner (with all the other pots) for "someday" when I have the time.

Maybe if I make it a point to make it a focus point it'll happen? Worth a try.

So -- even though I can't find the original site to link up to I decided to make up my own "Learn 12-in-12" list and give it a go.

Here's what I have planned:

September: Learn the basics of Photoshop

October: Learn some jewelry making techniques and try out polymer clay AND learn to use Microsoft Office 2010

November: Learn the basics of Illustrator

December: Make quilt for guest room. This will mean learning to machine quilt.

January: Learn the basics of Cardmaking

February: Learn how to create a photo cookbook to put on CD

March: Learn how to do basic dog grooming

April: Start a running program

May: Start a container garden

June: Make plans to attend a Blogging Conference

July: Learn about lighting techniques in Photography

August: Start to learn to speak Italian (I'm dreaming of a trip there some day.)

That should be a year's worth of learning. But it really isn't enough. I already know that I won't be able to hold off learning a few of these things. Like photography techniques ... ideally I would like to break it down and focus on learning different aspects of photography each month -- perhaps focusing on pet photography one month, outdoor photography another, portraits in yet another,

I guess I'm saying that I'm expecting this list to change. And I think that's OK. The goal isn't really about accomplishing each of these things in a one-month period of time, it's about getting started. (Maybe I should have chosen easier things to learn -- some people listed things like learning to crochet or knit, learning to make bread, etc. I think the problem there is I've done all the easier stuff. I'm getting to the bottom of my "learn to" list and everything is time consuming now!)

For now -- I'm focusing on learning Photoshop. I've signed on with Lynda.com to get some great visual training and I've downloaded a trial version of Photoshop CS5 to work with. My goal isn't really to learn photo-editing techniques (although I'm very interested in that too!) -- right now I am trying to learn the graphic design end of things so I can pursue blog design.

Which is really what I should be working on now ... so ... I'm off!