It's that time of year again. The time when I'm planning New Years Resolutions, etc. And usually I wait until New Years Day to post them. But this year I am approaching things a little differently and I'm already in the slow process of starting this. Not drastically different when it comes down to it but just a little different.
Usually I start the post by reviewing last years resolutions and stating my progress to them. Not this time. I know how I did with them, not as well as I liked, but better than years past. That's all that needs to be said on them. They are the past where they shall remain.
Next I tell you my resolution and how I plan to carry out each one. But it seems to me I go above and beyond and give myself too many to accomplish and to many restrictions on each one. That's why this year is different.
This year I'm defining me. There are parts to me that I like, there are parts to me that I want to indulge in an become better at, and there are parts to me that I don't explore that I keep hidden. There are things that I don't do just because I feel guilty. No one does this to me, I do it to myself.
This year, outside of the daily grind of things that have to be done - you know the little things you told your parents that you would never do because you wouldn't have to when you made the rules because you didn't understand how life worked - I'm going to focus on ten areas in my life. They are split evenly down the middle between crafts and interests and eight I do already and want to improve upon or just simply enjoy, two I have said for at least three years or more that I want to learn. (Which brings up a little rule I have for myself, if I keep desiring to do something for more than two years, I should do it because it's obvious that if the thought has been there that long it's not just a passing fad).
Another point of doing this, is to encourage me to get rid of some of the junk in my life. I have too many things that I don't do anything with. If I know what I'm going to be doing and not going to be doing, I have a reason to get rid of things. This will be carried out as soon as possible.
So here they are, the things I plan on indulging more in to make myself a happy well rounded person because I want to.
Crafts:
1. Yarn Crafts - Knitting, Crocheting, Spinning, and anything else that go with these. If you know anything about me you know that this is a driving point and I always come back to these types of things even if I take a hiatus from them. The tools needed for these crafts are varied - yarn, needles, hooks, ball winders, stitch markers, etc - but I always look at them (even if it's bits of scrap I'm recyling) and instead of saying I might do XYZ with this I say I WILL do this with whatever it is.
2. Digital Photography - while it is self describing and is quite obvious I enjoy this I put this in the craft section due to the gifts that I enjoy making from doing this hobby and that gain in recipients every year. Digital photography for me is not only taking pictures but involves the tools for the basics of scrapbooking/self publishing - paper, scissors, hole punches and bindings, etc. Again, everything I use for this is obvious to me in that I say I WILL do this with this object for this craft as opposed to the "well I could or I might do this."
3. Cross-Stitch - The simplest of all fine (read small and intricately detailed) needlework crafts (at least how I understand it) that I know because of the minimal amount of stitches and skill required. I do enjoy the products I get from it and it can be worked on various medias - but defined medias. I don't have the depth perception for needlepointing and cross-stitch gives me what I'm looking for from this. Once again the tools and materials needed I look at and know immediately what I WILL do with it (there seems to be a trend here...)
4. Beading and Claywork - Not something that you would usually lump together but in the small projects I do with them I already have the majority of tools that go with the projects that I do. For me, I do them so infrequently, but enjoy the crafts that I do, that they go together and there is no need to seperate them. They are small and for enjoyment. The reciepients of these projects enjoy them. They also include what I'm finding to be my favorite phrase that I used in picking my crafts "I WILL do this..."
5. Sewing - I have said for quite sometime now that I want to sew. I own a sewing machine that I can sometimes operate (yes, sometimes, right now the machine and I are having a disagreement that's keeping me from finishing a project that I want right now.) There are many practical reasons to learn to sew - from the fact that I'm short and need to alter pants, to the fact that it will compliment my yarn crafts (for those knitters out there I'm thinking steeks) and also many selfish reasons to learn to sew (quilting).
Interests:
1. Karate - I know you're not surprised to see this on the list. I truly enjoy my classes, when I've been out of class to long my body starts to long to be blocking, kicking, and punching again. There are so many things I'm going to accomplish for karate this year in that I am getting higher up in rank and have a burning desire to become a black belt. That means there are things I'm doing to work for this goal and I'm excited about it!
2. Reading - I got back into reading a little bit this year and I still have missed reading like I used to. There are so many books that I'm glad to say that this is going to be a more integral part of my life from now on.
3. Writing - from my little stories that I have in my head to the "journaling" that I do on this blog, I'm going to re-expand writing into my life as I have reading. I enjoy this, I need to stop ignoring this.
4. Cooking - I want to be better than "I can follow a reciepe exactly". In five years Chad has watched my skills improve and now I'm starting to see what he has been seeing in the last six months. I want to get better at this and not be paralyzed by premade and resturants as I have been. The basics are there, I just have to get them out.
5. Gardening - the interest that I know nothing about and the outside landscaping of my house shows it. I want to have a pretty flower bed and plants to enjoy. Simply said, I have desired to learn more about this for a long time.
So, this is me. These things are who I am and what I enjoy. Time to stop ignoring them for silly reasons and indulging in them more. That's what 2009 will be for me. A year to indulge.
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