I'm not really a New Year's resolution person, but I like the idea of thinking ahead for the year and asking myself what I'd really like to accomplish. If I pin this list over my desk it will inspire me every day. If I post it here then it's even more official! Except for the first goal, which feels the most important to me, they are in no particular order. Here goes:
- HELP OTHERS. I'm still working out what I mean by this. It's pretty easy to donate money to good causes (and I need to do more of this regardless), but I think it's time I got more involved. I'd like to start an ongoing relationship with at least one organization that's a good fit.
- READ 25 BOOKS. I used to be a "take-a-book-with-me-everywhere-I-go" kind of girl, but somewhere along the way I became more of a bedtime book reader (which doesn't get me very far because I fall asleep). I think I have a hard time stopping "being productive" to sit down and read a book during the day. It feels so decadent and maybe even lazy. But that's ridiculous! So I am vowing to become a book girl again. I have so many books of my own, and I've since added a huge chunk of my Mom & Dad's collection, so I have plenty of material to get through.
- SING. You know that question: "If there were no money, what would you do if you could do anything?" Well, it's a no-brainer for me. I'd be a jazz singer. So, this year, I want to dust off my red velvet dress and get out there. Since goals need to be specific, I want to have five songs ready to go and I want to sing in public five times. More would be nice!
- SEW THROUGH MY FABRIC STASH. Since setting up my Mom's sewing machine and figuring out the basics, I've made a few pairs of pajama pants, a new favorite skirt, a jersey long sleeve t-shirt, and I've altered a bunch of other things so they fit me right. I've also spent many giddy hours in New York fabric shops and at Sew to Speak up in Worthington. I LOVE that we have such a great independent shop close by. Anyway, I have now amassed a (still growing) collection of fabric-waiting-to-become-something-grand. It's terrible but I can't help it: What if the store runs out of this beautiful (insert coveted fabric here) before I know what I want to do with it? Buy it now!! *Sigh* The stack in the photo is only a selection of what I've got in the closet, BUT it is my goal this year to make something out of everything in that pile.
- LEARN 5 SONGS BY HEART on my ukulele and play them in front of people. I can sing jazz standards for an audience until the cows come home, but for some reason I am soooo nervous playing an instrument in front of people. It was the same with piano. The shaky hands! Ugh! I loooove my ukulele and I'm getting better at playing it, but I want to get over my stage fright (I even messed up playing "Happy Birthday" for my brother!?) so I gotta play in front of people more often. Look out... next time I see you you'll get a shaky-hands concert!
- MOVE MORE. Okay, I admit it, I'm sort of a couch potato. I work at home doing things that involve sitting, or only small bits of moving around, and I don' t like the word "exercise." In seventh grade I did aerobics until my legs practically fell off but now, yeah, not so much. I used to do a lot of yoga too... dunno what happened to that either. No, I don't need to lose weight, I just want to be healthy, so I want to do every day (or at least most days) that involves moving my body for a little while. A walk, a bike ride, polka dancing... whatever. One of the projects I started last year but didn't finish was fixing up my old three-speed. It doesn't look as bad in the photo as it does in real life but it's pretty busted. I took it apart to clean the whole thing and now I can't remember how it goes back together. Hello, bicycle repair shop...?
- LEARN TO FLY AGAIN. It's been a looong time since I was up in the air by myself. It was hard to find time to fly regularly when I was helping my brother take care of my Mom and Dad, and eventually I just let it go. It's okay. I now have "my" little Aeronca Champ and spring is just around the corner...
- PLANT A BETTER GARDEN. I learned a lot from my first year of keeping a garden. So this year? More flowers, more herbs, fewer vegetables. We just didn't eat enough of what we grew to make it worth the effort.
- FINISH UNPACKING. It's been a year and a half since we moved. It's time to open the rest of the boxes and also put away the things I've already unpacked but are just stacked in piles all over the house -- it's hard to keep a clean house when every available surface is covered with something. Besides, I finally want to have a housewarming party.
- HANG UP ARTWORK & FINISH DECORATING. I finally put up some of my photographs and a few of my Mom & Dad's prints and paintings, but I want to finish putting books on shelves and hanging my artwork on the walls. It makes me sad that some of my favorite pieces are still living in a giant box behind the sofa.
- COME UP WITH A GOOD STUDIO/OFFICE ROUTINE. It's a catch-22: I'm a night owl, but that means waking up late and feeling like the day's already passed me by. Then I put things off because there's no official deadline for projects. Or I'll get distracted by my sewing machine. Or -- Ooooh! It's a gorgeous day! -- I'd so much rather be outside! Artists & freelancers out there, you KNOW what I mean. Ugh. I gotta figure out what works for me.
- FIND 25 GIGS FOR MY FLYING ADVENTURES BOOK. Readings, workshops, exhibits - whatever. I want to make a concerted effort to get the word out, and if I don't have a specific number goal, then I'll be lazy about sending out queries. I think 25 is a doable number... they don't have to be all in one year, just 25 places that say yes and put me on the calendar somewhere.
- USE MY PASSPORT. Life is short and the world is big. I know I will never see all of it, but I'd like to make a dent.
So those are the big ones! I have a few smaller ones: drinking more water, keeping a neater house (which should be easy once boxes are unpacked - ha!), and coming up with a system to stay on top of editing, archiving, and printing my own personal photos. Oh yeah, and keeping up with this blog! I'm proud that I've kept up (mostly) with my weekly posts.
I know I'll find some things to add to the list along the way, but for now this is a good place to start. I wish you all the best with your own resolutions and goals for 2017... cheers!!