The Best Laid Plans - Obligatory New Year Post

Despite my best laid plans, I did not spend this past weekend at crafting weekend. I'm not sure if you've heard anything about this, but we've been having some crazy nasty weather as of late and between the -35 temps and blowing snow/terrible visibility, in the end, I opted to spend the week at home with my new kitchen gadgets. So apologies for lack of baby photos or harrowing crafting tales that follow. However, a makeup crafting weekend has been scheduled for May, so all is right with the world.

As sad as it was to miss out on crafting weekend, I was happy to spend a quiet weekend puttering about the house. Truth be told, I was suffering from holiday sensory overload - too many new shiny things all vying for my immediate attention! It felt right to whir up a batch of chocolate chip cookies with the new stand mixer in record time (that beast be powerful), test out the  yogurt maker, take down the Christmas decorations, and yes, even to clean the bathroom. It was a lovely, peaceful way to herald in the new year.

Speaking of which, hello there 2014, you beautiful thing. Are we all ready to make 2014 the best year ever? If there's one word I want 2014 to embody, it's "forward." It's time to put the wheels of change in motion and start going confidently in the direction of my dreams. No more mampy, pampy stuff. As Maggie says over at Gussy Sews, let's have 2014 be the year we stop watching and wishing and the year we start acting and accomplishing. 

I've known for a while that I'm ready for change, but I've been unsure of just how to create it in my life. To help me craft a successful, exciting, and rejuvenating 2014, I spent a portion of the last two weeks of 2013 (and a couple days in 2014 too), filling out Leonie Dawson's 2014 Create Your Amazing Year workbook. The workbook helps you break down your goals, wants, habits and so much more to get a clear vision of just how you want to shape the year ahead. While I know you could do the same exact thing with a pen and paper on your own, to me it felt right (and more inspiring) to have a "special" colorful workbook to work with.

Since Leonie's really into breakdown your goals into bite-sized chunks, the workbook felt much more helpful to me than just scribbling out a bunch of new year resolutions. As a result, I've set a pretty ambitious income goal for 2014 - one that should lead to wonderful things in 2015, like a trip to Ireland and perhaps some changes professionally - along with a bunch of other totally do-able personal goals.

One of my favorite exercises was making a list of 100 things to do in 2014. 100's a lot of things and my list is only in the 50s at the moment, but I've actually already completed two of those things: making a batch of firestarters (holy cats, those things really work!) and finally dealing with a Christmas sock project (don't even ask) that's been hiding in the Christmas decoration bin for the last five years. A smattering of the other things to accomplish in 2014: take a nap, pick berries, fix my hockey skates, sew something, finish the current writing project, etc. etc. 

Over the last couple months, I've already been working to change up the status quo around here. I went on a major purge this autumn, donating clothes that were never worn, getting rid of or fixing stuff that wasn't work, donating and selling stuff that no longer meets a need. While this might seem a little "woo-woo," I do think the cabin feels more peaceful now and it's nice to know that if you pick up a flashlight, it'll actually work. I also started investing more time in creative writing and as a result, I'm over halfway done with a draft of my current story. It feels like I'm starting 2014 ahead of the game and it makes me excited for what the rest of the year will bring. I hope you feel the same.

Whatever your dreams for 2014, I hope they all come true.

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Fall Resolve

Forget New Year’s Resolutions. It’s when the weather takes a chilly turn towards fall that I feel the real motivation to make vows of improved performance and more thoughtful living.

In January, it’s the middle of winter. Other than the passing of the holiday season, the world’s lacking any natural change when January 1^st rolls around. But autumn? That’s when we batten down the hatches and prepare for the winter season to come.

The last few days have blown in windy and drizzly. Suddenly the mornings seem so much darker. It’s so easy to talk to yourself into early bedtimes and it so very hard to drag yourself out of bed in the morning. In short, it’s been hot cocoa and good book weather.

But as much as the weather prompts a reemergence of wool socks and down vests, I’ve always found the arrival of a nip in the air synonymous with a kick in the butt. Fall has always symbolizes a change for me: either a return to school or a change in jobs. When autumn rolls around, I always find myself with some reason, either internal or external, to really knuckle down, to grab one more cup of hot coffee and really mull over my editorial to figure out how to make this little thing called potential work for me.

The 2010 writing goals I drew up in January are starting to fade from where they sit by the window on my desk. Maybe the goals were a little optimistic. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough. Maybe I could predict what this year would end up bringing me. Regardless of what happened, the goals which were meant to be a push have ended up as a fail although I’m hasty to point out that in spite of the lack of check marks on my writing goal lists, things have still gone inexplicably well in life and writing this year. Plenty of time remains in 2010 to complete several of the lingering goals. Still the whole sending out a query every week goal? Not happening . . .

It’s easy to fall into a bit of stupor when fall rolls in, bring in a lull after a busy summer season. But I’m pulling out the Post-its and my day planner, scrawling out goals and deadlines, using this quiet, cool season to prepare for the long winter ahead.

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