One Word 2015

     Happy New Year! Last year I leaned about One Word 365 and decided that instead of using resolutions, I would choose 1 word to guide me throughout the year. (You can read that post here.)  Last year's word was rejuvenate and although I do not feel completely rejuvenated, I can see the impact that that word had in my life last year. Here are some examples:
- A renewed love in being close to God and trying to remain close when it would be easy to run away.
- The ability to say no to things that will not be rejuvenating.
- The courage to try art, just for my own enjoyment.
- Rejuvenated relationships and intentional time with friends and family.
- Giving up my department head position at school in order to have more time at home and less time being anxious about things that weren't really my issues. This was a huge decision for me, and one that many people did not understand, but it was a very healthy decision.

     The word I have chosen for 2015 is CREATE. I had thought of my normal goals like "declutter" and others but I found that sometimes if I concentrate on something that seems negative, my attitude goes in the same direction. Being a music teacher, you'd think I'd be very creative but I'm pretty limited in my creativity. This year I plan to create:
- Art (Mail art too. Always inspired, encouraged and challenged by my friend Ashley on this one!) I'm starting my first art journal this year, thanks to some awesome gifts from my sister-in-law Anne. I am also going to be working through some prompts at Daisy Yellow.  If you enjoy art and encouragement, Tammy is amazing and I have learned a ton this year from her prompts and by looking at art that others have submitted. Check it out!
- Friendships. I would like to be open to taking a risk and developing friendships with some acquaintances I do not know well.
- Opportunities- For myself, my family and my students.
-Space. (Declutter?) I have TOO MUCH stuff. I have been organizing and purging items from my apartment this week and I'm starting to see (and feel) a difference. I would like to live somewhere that I feel relaxed and at home. Currently I feel buried in all the extra stuff that is all over the place. (As I was cleaning I realized that I have a TON of extra paper, journals, notebooks, etc. No more buying these until all are used up.)
- Experiences- Again, being open to trying new things or pushing myself outside my comfort zone.
-Music. Celebrating the gifts God has given me and sharing them with others.

      I think that focusing on creating all these things will bring me much joy in the upcoming year. It will also help in some goals I always have- getting the house organized, losing weight and getting more healthy in general and growing in my relationship with God and the people He has put into my life. I am also going to restart my 366 project in the hopes that I will actually finish it this year. First letter of the year is going out today to Donna in Canada.
   
     What are your goals for the new year?

Miss you too!

   I got a kind "PS. I miss your blog." from a friend, so here I am! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. Mine was good. It was just the right balance between relaxation/busyness, family time/alone time (extended verses small family) and gifts/budget. My only "complaint" is that the hamster Timmy got from Santa died the next day. So, we got a new friend, Blizzard. She's a biter. I'm hoping this will stop when she gets used to us. I'll put a picture of her at the end of this post. It seems to be messing up my formatting at the moment.
    Tomorrow I will show you some cool cards and gifts I have gotten over the past month.
     I was thinking about New Years earlier and about resolutions/goals. Last year I didn't make resolutions, I chose one word to focus on for the year (rejuvenate). First of all, it feels like yesterday that I picked the word- which made me think that I really did think about it quite a bit during the year.
     What are your resolutions/goals/focus words for 2015? I'll talk about mine in a few days.  Happy New Year if I don't see you before then!

    Meet Blizzard.