It's a New Year...

Each year I try to choose a word or phrase to keep in mind and work on throughout the year. This is where I want my focus to be ("focus" was my first word!). And hopefully by creating something with my word, I will keep it in my mind and heart the whole year through, and not forget about it by June! Ali Edwards calls it "one little word", but I could  never get away with one word...I over think things...so this year it's a phrase for me...

I think this year I want my word to reflect the new person that I am becoming. And the new realizations I have come to in the past couple of months. So my phrase of the year, 2011 edition is:

"Make It, Mend It, Earn It, Sustain It"

Make it: Instead of buying something new, I will make it. I will improvise and DIY the heck out of life! I will make time and make art.

Mend It: Goes with #1 up there. I will mend and make do with things instead of buying new. I will fix things that are broken (physically or emotionally).

Earn It: It's hard for me to put this one into words. I know that the only way my dreams and desires are going to become reality is if I work at it and do all that I can to really earn it. I don't want to take anything for granted, and I don't want to be taken for granted. I want to show that I deserve every praise and every attention. That I earned it.

Sustain it: These goals, this phrase. And live more in line with the green side of things.

It sounds like it belongs on one of those terrible inspirational posters hanging in every office in the world. Eeww! But this is what I feel, and I have a little notebook full of brainstorming that got me here! And I already completed my canvas for the phrase...

I'm going to be hosting a workshop at TM where you can come and explore the new year and your word or phrase of the year! Check back here or here for more info as I make it available.

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And here are some of my specific "resolutions", so-to-speak, for the year ahead.

Play More. With my paints. With my journals and my scrapbooks. With my son. (Make It)

Teach More. Pass on what I have learned from playing. I want to teach, I like teaching, but my classes seem to always fall flat. I want to focus on being the best teacher I can be, and create the best classes, the ones that I am in love with! Hopefully others will love them if I do. (Earn It)

Start working out again. I want to get back what I lost (or rather, I want to lose back what I gained!).

Spend time wisely. Make sure I spend time with each "love" in a day (or week)...Lucas, Russel, Arts and Crafts. No more to-do lists, because those were too stressful. But I need some way to get all these things done and still have time for the more tedious things that I hate, but have to get done (stupid dishes).

Organize and clean. De-clutter. Feel less like a hoarder and more like a human! Focus on one room at a time and get things sorted and put a system in place so things don't get back to their original chaotic state! I have three rooms that I really want to get a handle on before the month is out: basement, main floor bathroom, my studio. I've already made a big dent this week, but there is always more, and this is an ongoing struggle (Sustain it)

Laugh. I think that I am funnier than I actually am. It's hard to be objective about oneself in the funny department. Russel rarely laughs at my jokes, and Lucas just stares and then repeats them back to me as if they were his in the first place. And then he usually gets more laughs then me! I want to laugh more in the new year. And find joy.

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last night we spent New Year's with Amy, Sean and Jacob. That was special. We missed going to my friends house for drinking and chatting, but I think the small family games night was what we needed. Lucas got to stay up until midnight, and he was very very excited. He kept telling me all day how he was going to stay up past 8pm, but Jacob would have to go to bed! He is very annoying after about 9pm...and hungry too! Wow! Where does he put all that food??

We played Trivial Pursuit (Sean won) and Sorry (Sean won again!). We ate tacos, and brownies, and chips, and ice cream. We drank beer, Jamaican rum, coffee, and egg nog (not all together!). We watched Back to the Future (it was playing on three channels at one point...geesh), and Seinfeld, and Inspector Gadget. We complained that there isn't an Edmonton-friendly New Year's program on TV. Who wants to watch Rick the Temp and that Hickey woman blather on-and-on in the rain at Niagra Falls? We hugged and kissed at the end of the night, then headed home.

Happy New Year! And thanks to all of you who have stuck with me, through all the ups and downs, and made my blogging life a little sweeter. A lot sweeter actually! I write for myself, but I also write for you...

later skater alligator
Lisa