Sunday, January 5, 2014

Three goals for 2014 that will make my life easier and more interesting.

I usually set New Year's resolutions on the first or second and promptly lose interest in them by the fifth. So, this year I thought I'd start on the fifth. Let's see how I do. If you have not been successful keeping your resolutions, I suggest you follow along with me to see how I do. And, if I inspire you, start your own goals.

Goal One - Organize. I've been thinking a lot about hoarding lately. Am I a hoarder? Everywhere I look in my home, it is stuffed with my things. They are things that I believe show my love for my home and for my life. I think my husband fears I am a hoarder, though. His hobbies and interests are more simple and fewer. And, like many other people, he has no problem letting go of things he's finished. I keep lots of family items that belonged to my parents and my grandparents. Isn't that what a historian does? My home is filled with furniture I've painted or refurbished, jewelry I've made, items I've sewn or crocheted and a ton of things I love that are unique and unusual. But as my interests have expanded so have my treasures. So, my first goal is to get it all organized. And to get rid of the "fluff". Taking care of the fluff takes time away from things I really love doing. Today I organized my makeup and toiletry area in the bathroom. I threw things away and started the box that will go to the local Goodwill Store.

Goal Two - Blog. I love to write. Throughout my life, I've written many things. Most people who read them think I have a good writing style and would like to read more. It's not been a very structured interest though. I write when the mood strikes me and when I find time. I've never made it a priority and set time aside. As I've read through lots of blogs about blogging I found that setting a daily time goal and forcing yourself to do it is the golden rule of blogging. So my goal is five minutes a day. This should result in a blog post every three or so days. In between I'll make notes. So far, so good.

Goal Three - Create. As I said, I love to paint, crochet, make jewelry and do all kinds of art. I see beauty everywhere - the way the wind blows the snow, how my grandchildren look when they don't know I'm watching, the way books stack on a shelf. And my mind races to capture that beauty. When I have time to myself I do my best to re-create it. Or at the very least the spirit of it. Putting my own spin on something I've seen is the best part of creation. I love the look of freeform crochet and have been investigating it for the last few weeks. I belong to a website called Ravelry - www.ravelry.com - where I got a pattern for a paisley design. That's one shape I can use in freeform. I also have a pattern for a freeform crocheted scarf that I got from Red Heart Yarn - www.redheart.com. It has several shapes in it that I would like to learn. I think I'll work on that.