Dec 31, 2017

Wow. I honestly can’t believe it. I vividly remember last year, sitting on the couch in the living room at my in-laws’ house as we got ready to celebrate the New Year, thinking about what goals I wanted to make. Knowing I was pregnant and going to have a baby this year, I purposely chose not to make any goals I couldn’t keep during those times and with an extra little one on my plate, so on what was mostly just a whim, I decided I’d make the goal to write on my blog every day.

To be honest,–and I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating–this has been some of the worst quality writing of my life and it’s a little mortifying to have it hanging out there in public, especially on my business site that I use as a kind of creative portfolio. It’s sprawled all over the place where I’d really rather there just be a very curated collection of my very best. But perhaps there’s something to the fact that, while each day’s piece may not be worth a re-read, the year as a whole is something I’m proud of. I’m all for quitting things that don’t serve us, things like bad habits and book clubs that never seem to read books we actually like, but this was one of those things I wanted to quit several times and just couldn’t. I couldn’t quit it. I had to finish and I think it’s because I needed the example for myself. To be able to look back on this year as I look forward into next year’s goals and remind myself that if I can make the time to sit down and write every day then I can make time for other things I want and need to do too. I didn’t have time to write, but I made it a priority and made it happen.

There have been other good things that have come out of this year of writing too. I’ve learned all over again how useful it can be to make lists and write out ideas and just plain spend some time thinking. Doing that every day this year has led to me take classes and start projects and take action on the things I want to do to improve and grow and stretch and be better at. This writing has also been a way to process and work through things on my mind as well as an exercise in choosing what things I like to share publicly and what thoughts or ideas or plans or feelings are things I’d prefer to keep private.

If there’s one post I meant to write and didn’t, it was about budgeting. I know, how boring. But honestly having a real budget has been sincerely life-changing for me and it’s a gospel I’d preach from the rooftops. If I had written the post I would have gone on and on about this website/phone app that we started using a few years ago and still use because it’s been really user-friendly and effective. I really like their philosophy and it’s just simple and straightforward. Plus it’s free to try and cheap for the yearly fee and just so incredibly worth it, especially if you don’t already have a good system in place. It’s freed me from guilt and given me so much peace of mind knowing where our money is coming from and exactly where it’s going. It puts me in control and holds both my husband and me accountable in really positive ways. We’ve tried a handful of other programs or apps or random ideas we came up with on our own and this is the one that’s stuck.

As to blogging in the future, the three (ok, maybe twelve) of you who actually still read this will be the first to know–right here and now! One of my big goals for my business this year is to publish a new tutorial here each month, so twelve new tutorials this year. My plan (though this could change or shift depending on where my focus lies) is to create and publish twelve projects (one each month) that are made from easy-to-find materials (most likely things in the recycling bin), easy to make, and that spark and inspire creative play. I’m planning for these to go along with the kitty finger puppets I’ve been making, but ideally they’ll all be fun to make and play with regardless of what toys you might already have at home.

I also have some other personal goals for this coming year, but they’re boring to talk about, so I’ll leave it at that. Thanks so much for following along, reading, commenting, and supporting another human being. I think you guys are great! Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!