Another year has arrived! That means it’s time to review the previous year and welcome the new one, and also to pick a Word of the Year for 2017. So let’s begin!

2016 Closing Ceremonies

2016, what a long strange trip you were. My Word for you was LESS. That was a success, and a failure, all in one. {:

When the year began, I had just started a new outside-of-the-home job, and it was a massive undertaking, even if just for the fact that I’m chronically ill. I was energy-starved the entire year, and I’m not sure how I managed it. But even with that, I slowly pushed my own boundaries enough to keep going. It was very difficult, but I’m in a better place today than I was this time last year, so it is all worth it, ya know?

Because I was so energy-starved, I didn’t work on art projects as much as I had wanted to. I’m sorry to say, I didn’t blog very much the whole year, and let the newsletter get chronically behind. It may have been necessity just to keep my wits about me, but I still feel terrible about it and wish it didn’t have to be that way.

I had less art in my life. NOT ideal! So, I know what to work on in 2017, don’t I? {:

Ok 2017!

I have many goals for this year. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at different calendars and planners to find the right one that would help me to achieve my goals. I’ve talked to people about my plans for 2017, my search for the right planner, my plan to make schedules. The word “plan” has definitely been a big part of my vocabulary. The people I’ve talked to spoke from their own experience and said that they’ve found that you can do too much planning. That you can plan so much you forget to actually Do.

It’s interesting to hear about these different perspectives. It’s also interesting to feel deeply in my soul that I’m in great need of a plan. I see all the reasons they aren’t as focused on making a plan as I am, and totally understand it from their perspective, but I know that I need at least a basic framework, because otherwise I’ll get to December and realize I haven’t accomplished much at all.

So, I need a plan, and that’s where my focus is right now. And I’m committed. We’ll see if that will mean what I intend, or if it’ll mean white strait jackets. :p

Credit: Rusty nails photo by andriuXphoto and sunset photo by Zach Dischner