What happened to the time? Seems like yesterday was January and I was getting started on my Carol's List Of Things To Do for the coming year. I don't do New Year's Resolutions. I do a To Do list. I had some success this past year accomplishing some of the things on the List. I finished Paul's quilt. I was accepted into all the Art Societies I wanted to be a member of. I got work published in a magazine (actually 3 magazines). I sold more prints off my website and through a third-party. I had some of my art displayed for sale in a store. I got back in touch with some old friends. I paid off a few bills. I started the Kriya Yoga course. I read a few books on that never ending books-to-read list. I did my final Reiki attunement and am at Master/Teacher level. I did some other things of a personal nature I won't list here. All in all, I got some stuff done.
There were also things that happened that weren't on the List. I started a Reiki clinic with my friend Paul called Open Hands Reiki Natural Healing. I made a couple of new friends. I taught art classes at the local college and privately. I came up with a redesign for my website (yet again) that I really, really like this time. I developed to a stronger level spiritually with my Tarot readings. I was contacted about a great art project which could be very profitable - and am working on it now - have two paintings done and three more in progress.
But, ya' know, a sad number of things on the List didn't get crossed off.
Damn.
Y'all know what that means, don't ya'?
Oh yeah.
I have to tack 'em on to the List Of Things To Do, 2008.
Damn.
I guess it's a good thing I plan to live until I'm 102.
So I went to bed last night thinking about the List. What, besides the leftovers from 2007, will I add to the List for the coming year? Hmmm, let me go get a cup of tea and think about that for a minute .....
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Carol's List Of Things To Do 2008
This is what I've got so far ....
1) Do more art. Of course, this means just exactly what it says ... Do.More.Art. I would like to attempt to do a minimum of at least one painting per month. This doesn't include some other things I have in mind, which leads to ...
2) Do more small art. Get busy doing things like my greeting cards, ornaments, bookmarks, and so forth. I enjoy doing them and they don't take a lot of time to do. It's like a "quick fix" when I feel the need to create something but don't have an idea for a full size painting ... or when I'm stuck on a work in progress.
3) Cafepress. Time to get that ol' Cafepress account dusted off and fix the files for having t-shirts, coffee cups, journals, etc. available on my website. Getting all the image files sized and such is time consuming and yeah, I've been a slacker. But I think it would be a really good addition, like the aforementioned small art items, to the shopping area of my website.
4) Get new website design complete and published by end of January. That's a daunting deadline. When I think about all the work needing to be done I cringe. Yet I know the new design is a good one, it really fits me and is so much more suited to the way I want my online presentation of my work, and my self, to be. In the long run, the amount of work will be well worth the effort.
5) Work on children's book. Oh how this weighs on my shoulders. In my mind's eye I can see the book completed. The problem is getting it worked out on paper. Sort of in a stuck spot with it. My muse isn't being very helpful.
6) Make quilt for bed. Actually, this is more of a part of my plans for redecorating the whole bedroom. Drives the husband crazy that I take so long to make up my mind when it comes to decorating. The bedroom decorating had been several years in process because I just can't settle on the colors. After all, considering the time it takes to make a quilt, which will be the focal point, I want to get it right. I want to be able to walk into the bedroom and sigh with satisfaction.
7) Work on snuggle quilt for best buddy Kasey. This project has been a long term work-in-progress. Kasey has a lovely sense of style, is particular about color and fabric design, and I want to make a snuggle quilt she will love snuggling with. So, collecting appropriate fabrics is taking time.
8) #6 & 7 means I need to get some more fabric collected.
9) Submit art to art shows. Now that I am a member of several large art groups like the National Watercolor Society and the International Acrylic Painter's Society I want to submit work to their shows. It's all juried, so being a member doesn't guarantee acceptance into the shows. But if my work was accepted, it would travel around and gain exposure for my art.
10) Spend more time with Zachary, my Godson. I can't help it. Kids just wig me out. I love tiny babies but when they start crawling or walking and can start getting into stuff it makes me a nervous wreck. It's that three-four year range when you can't take your eyes off 'em for a second or they are stuffing everything they get their hands on into their mouths or pulling anything breakable off into the floor. They can't talk so you don't know what the heck they want, which usually leads them to a minor, sometimes major, meltdown.
But Zachary will be four this coming year. He can talk and communicate his needs. He understands "Don't touch that." He knows how to "behave" long enough for me to go to the bathroom without fear he will be choking to death or fracture his skull while I'm out of the room for 30 seconds.
11) Spend more time with all my friends. 'Nuf said.
12) Get camping gear out of closet and re-waterproof all my stuff. Repack backpack. GO CAMPING! I love camping. I love camping alone. I miss camping. I haven't gone in a couple of years. That's bad. I really need to go camping.
13) Take a real vacation, maybe two vacations. When I got the keyboard desk for the husband this year the agreement was that I, in turn, could take a solo vacation in 2008. I'm still slightly undecided as to destination, but that's okay. Most likely it will be the beach because the husband doesn't like the beach and it's not a destination he would enjoy. Dragging him along wouldn't be much fun.
But he and I are due for a real vacation somewhere. It's been a couple of years since we have gone anywhere. Last trip was to visit his mom and step-dad in New Mexico. Maybe we'll go to see his brothers and sisters in Texas this year. He owes me a real cowboy hat from San Antonio. Shoot, I might even wrangle me some boots from Houston, too! Yee haw!
14) Advertise Open Hands Reiki Clinic. Paul and I opened the clinic at the end of September but, as things often go, I didn't get to spend as much time promoting the business as I wanted, as needed to be done. I think this area is desperate for alternative healing resources and Reiki is an excellent choice for anyone and everyone. Thing is, people here are old school and need to be educated as to what Reiki is, and that it is available.
15) Make all my Christmas ornaments for next years' tree. I wanted to do that this year. Yeah. Well. Didn't happen. Because it didn't happen I ended up not even bothering to put up a Christmas tree at all. For those who know me that's a biggy. I LOVE Christmas trees and for many years (until I got the monster tree I have now) I put up two trees. I don't care if I don't have any other decorations as long as I have my tree. Alas, this was the very first year that I can recall not putting up a tree. I suppose it was because I have in mind my "dream tree" and I knew, even though I love the tree I have, I love all my ornaments I've collected or been given over the years, it wasn't what I truly wanted. The tree I envision having is specific; I want all hand-made ornaments, very organic and earthy, and pagan in theme. Yep, I'm going to have to make making my ornaments a priority for the coming year.
16) Blog every day. This is tough. Weekends will automatically be out of the running 'cause the husband will be home. I know it's weird but I'm just not comfortable writing my posts when he's home. He likes to come see what I'm doing and I while I don't mind if he reads it I don't like having him lurking over my shoulder while I'm trying to compose the post. It gets me all out of kilter. I need quiet and alone time to write all this crap.
17) M.E.B. (private and will not elaborate on that)
18) Garden. Ever since we moved into this house I've wanted a real garden. Both flowers and vegetables. I want to be able to grow tomatoes and can my own sauces. I want to fill my big freezer with stuff. I want fresh herbs, and to be able to dry them for later use as well. Unfortunately, this is something that has always managed to find a way to the back burner. There are various reasons, but it's a List item that gets carried over every year.
19) Redecorate the living room. Now, the first few months we were here in the new house we had 'donated' furniture from my Aunt Zelda. We were still what you would call newlyweds. I had sold everything I owned when I moved back home the year before. The husband lost what little he had in his divorce from his first wife. Combined, we didn't have much. Aunt Zelda had moved from her house into an apartment and was stuck with extra furniture ... we gladly accepted the hand-me-downs. Anyway, after awhile we were finally able to afford to buy our own stuff for the living room and dining room. So, technically, those rooms are already decorated. Thing is, I'm sick of the look of the living room. The husband, on the other hand, could live with it for the next 50 years and still be content. It's taken me a couple of years to nudge him into being okay with a redecorating venture. I won't be changing the big stuff like the sofa and chairs (which he promised I could have reupholstered in 10 years after we bought them 'cause I wasn't crazy about the upholstery to beging with - I've still got three years to wait), but I will change the curtains and such. A few small changes will give the room an entirely different look.
20) Shopping. I tried to get this organized last year and only partially succeeded. The game plan is to go to the grocery store once a month for the major stuff and once a week for small stuff, like the fresh strawberries and bananas the husband thinks is a must have for his sundae/movie watching fests. Sadly, strawberries don't last a month.
The part I did manage to get working into monthly (or less!) is the Wal-Mart shopping. I don't like Wal-Mart. I don't like going into Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, in a town as small as where I live, there aren't many alternatives. It's the only place which sells some of the things we use on a regular basis. Believe me, I've looked everywhere else in this town and it's a no-go.
21) Health care. Generally speaking, I'm a healthy person. I'm still working on making the complete switch to being Vegan, but I began that process knowing I would do it slowly, therefore less traumatic and problematic. I got the treadmill from Mother and have been walking for at least 20 minutes a day, five days a week. But I do need to get outside and do things in the fresh air more. It's sometimes difficult when I'm working in the studio all day.
The health care areas I'm talking about is stuff like going for an annual physical exam. I'm pretty slack about that. I also need to truck myself to a dentist's office. Haven't been in years. I've got some ancient fillings that probably need to be replaced by now. I would also like to check into having the fillings replaced with something other then these amalgam of metal filling which are composed 50% mercury. Scary. I would like to have the alternative, white resin fillings, if at all possible. Heck, we pay for dental insurance ... why not use it???
22) Working in the studio. Here's an area I've tried to get going for a couple of years. Another carry over to the List. As much as it shames me to admit this, I'm not as dedicated to being in the studio on a regular basis as I should be for a full-time artist. My goal is to work in the studio, on whatever, for at least eight hours a day, just like a real job. Don't answer the phone. Don't zip into town for a quick errand. Don't sit down and watch a movie 'cause I'm stuck. Don't do anything until after I've been in the studio for the day.
It doesn't have to be militarily regimental, but it does need to be regular. Done with dedication. If I want to do the things up at the beginning of this list, then time in the studio is a must. If I want to seriously make a good living with my art, then time in the studio is a must. Granted, there will be time at the computer because of the website redesign, and that's okay because it's still in the "art" work spectrum.
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I'm sure this List will expand. It always does. Heck, by the time I hit the "publish post" button and walk away from the computer I'll probably have twelve more things to add. While I'm in the shower, hair full of shampoo, I'll think of more.
Yep, it's a darn good thing I will live to be 102.
Namaste y'all ...
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