!Happy New Year!

• I love New Years! I love the fresh "clean" feeling you get from starting something new! I love making lists, and checking things off those lists... I love starting new journals, I love making new goals for myself and my art! Maybe it's a little weird, but I am never successful starting diets on any day other than a Monday (a "new & fresh" week), and I love squeaking in under the deadline wire...(too many years of graphic arts I guess...) I love the challenge of beginning something to change myself for the better. What better time than a fresh new year! Since I soooo love checking something off of my list, I've set a few of this years goals as small, incremental tasks so I can keep track of how I am doing on my way to bigger life changes.

• Right now, I am in the middle of a major health crisis. My overall goal is to get healthier this year. To that end, I have vowed to do 1 thing each day that is better and healthier for me than I would have done in the past. Small, measurable...plus, I am going to try and document these tiny steps in a journal.

• Organization. Goal number 2. I would like to have my house a little more organized. So the smaller step is that I am going to try and average organizing 1 drawer or 1 shelf a week. I'm not going to sweat it if I miss a week, or if I do 2 or 3 in one day, as long as it averages 1 a week. By this time next year, I should be feeling dandy and more settled about the clutter that seems to build.

• Art goals are every bit as important to me as any other area of life. This year I resolve to try and create one new technique or project every month. Big or small- it does not matter, as long as I am not just simply repeating what I know, but truly experimenting and trying new things. It is merely a target, and I will not get stressed if a fully formed project does not evolve each month, as long as new ideas are being explored.

• Also, I resolve to clear out the "clutter" of other peoples art projects and ideas that suck me dry of time and energy, and pull me away from being able to create for myself. I will be limiting the number of swaps I participate in, and limiting the number of civic and professional groups I participate in on a regular basis, in order to have more time to do what I really am passionate about. Last year I missed out on at least 5-6 really great swaps I wanted to do, because I was working on so many others. (All of which I enjoyed, but sometimes felt really stressed because I was booked so far in advance and had no time for spontaneous things that came up.) I resolve to participate in more unusual events that truly truly challenge me as a participant.

• I hope you will join me this year, as I try to be held accountable to these goals here. I'll try and report periodically as to how I'm doing! I've found that feeling I need to "report" or be held accountable goes a long way to inspire me on days I feel less than energetic... Bring it on 2010!