Ready, Setty, GO!

Before I race off half cocked into this brand new year I need to settle a few things.  When the grand kiddies and I start art class we sing, "If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands, (3x) if you're happy and you know it then your ART is gonna show it..."    It is probably a given that we want to be happy and make 'happy' art.

I'm also thinking of the quote that ends ...makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

Healthy-
I'm not sick but I know I can feel better than I do if I would quit eating improperly.  I'm gonna embrace the JERF diet which is simply eating real food and then using food as medicine.  There may be a few cranky posts until I get the 6 week fresh start, which includes no coffee, under my belt. ha!
Another thing that makes me cranky is exercise but healthy involves some kind of exercise. I may start out with grabbing my camera and going for nature walks which are excellent for restoring health and creativity which leads to mental and spiritual health .  :} 

Wealthy-
My bank balance is invariably 3 digits.  $1.99  Aw, did ya think I was a chick of means?  But I am wealthy.  I have enough, more than enough.  I have family and friends, natural and virtual.  I have found my tribe!   I have stash supplies that threaten to avalanche whenever I threaten to remove something.  I have books, magazines, DVD's.  I have access to Google and all its knowledge! And I have a song in my heart!   "If you're happy and ya know it..."

Wise-
Now there is the rub!  Mistakes aren't wrong unless you keep making the same ones over and over.  I am getting wiser.  I hate analyzing myself but if I want to learn from my mistakes I must look them in the- make it bellybutton!  I will work my way up so to speak.

According to some Successful list on my friend Google-

1)Write it all down.  If it lives on paper the brain doesn't expend energy remembering it.  My problem is I scribble down everything- I just never look at it again.  :(  I think blogging helps with the write it down.  It also motivates me because I am a people pleaser.  Oldest child and all that don't cha know!

2) Prioritize or Die! The Rooster has been telling me that I can't Have it all.  I'm getting it.  Now I need to reconcile I can't Do it all.  :O  I have way too many hobby categories and storage logistics certainly helps with prioritizing as I reclaim prime real estate.

3)Forget multitasking.  Switch to single task.  This I have arrived at.  I'm an all in or all out kinda girl.  Monday mixed media, Tuesday techniques, Wednesday wips, Thursday threads and Friday fibres was frustrating the heck out of me.  I'm still thinking on how to best do all this.

4)Make things automatic.  Decisions exhaust/paralyze.  Therefore build routines and habits so you're not not deciding but just doing.  I am catching on to this from The Happiness Project.  It might be age but routine has become my friend.  phew, finally some enlightenment on the path.  ;^)  

5)Work like an athlete.  Sprint-rest-sprint. Plan for work and plan for rest.  ah, I thought it was a marathon and it turns out a dash or even a relay!  :p 

That said:
-I may actually come up with a to-do list.  I got half way through 2014 and then...
-I am prioritizing.  Fibre is my focus much as I luv messing with paint and paper.  Of course fibre can incorporate mixed media.  :)
-Single tasks will lead to a bit more continuity on the blog especially as working in a series really appeals.
-Automatic?  Routine?  Does that mean simplify things?  I'm surely trying.
-Work and Play.  This intrigues me because my bad habit is to play (mixed media)  before work (sewing). I haven't found a reward that motivates but perhaps a paper/paint play day could be a rewarding rest for doing the fibre work.  I just may have found a golden egg! :))

I'm READY because I realize I need to change some of the ways I do things.

I'm SET because I learning my limitations.  I need external accountability,  routines/good habits, single tasks, balance,  and FUN!

I'm GOing because life is better lived on the track than sitting on the sidelines.   They do have a lane for junior senior citizens. ;^)

 I'm still learning to optimize my happiness factor so I am also carrying (rereading)  'The Happiness Project'.
Because it is all about choices and that means mistakes and THAT means that I've been trying different things!  :O
Therefore:

This little race is taking place at the Coop and I'm gonna set up the refreshment stand, lay some fresh straw down on the track, make sure the nest boxes are comfy and then do a few laps inside.  Stay tuned to watch the feathers fly and perhaps I'll even lay that golden egg!

Bring on 2015!!!!

(sorry for the lack of photos but I've been busy cataloguing UFO's for tomorrow's post!!!)