Goals? Who needs goals?

 It's only one week into the new year and I'm already stalling on my goals!  The living room is still topsy-turvy from the holidays (see below)

 and from the home-improvement project my DH started back in November, which is not quite finished yet.  He's enlarging his former home office so The Middle Child can have her own bedroom and one of a decent size, with a closet.  He's doing a great job - it's coming along nicely and we're nearing the end:  the carpet is scheduled to be installed on Thursday.

But meanwhile the family room/TV area looks like this:

My studio/play area is adjacent to this, so it's gotten quite crowded again and difficult to work in, even when cats aren't sleeping on the fabrics I've pulled!  So it's been hard to even consider coming up with new year goals!

And actually, I'm beginning to think I'm way too goal oriented as it is;  it makes me feel like time's a-wastin' if I'm not doing something constructive every minute.  After a busy fall and Christmas season, I feel a bit like I need some R&R, some lazy down time, some of "la dolce fa niente," as they say in Italy (from the movie Eat, Pray, Love , it means "the sweetness of doing nothing").

But last week, I did manage to review my goals from 2012 and I did pretty well.  I updated the look of my blog, made my 18"x 8' totem piece, persisted with Etsy and finally made my first few sales!  Those were good steps forward.  My website, however, is now defunct due to Apple changing their iWeb functions, so I need to add more pages to my blog to take the place of the website.  I think that will more than adequately serve my purposes for now.

I also approached two local shops in hopes that they might carry some of my charm bracelets, but neither of them took me up on it.  One was somewhat encouraging, but I'm not sure where I want to go from here.  When we were on vacation on the Jersey Shore this summer, I thought I might spend some time this winter making up some beach-themed jewelry and fiber art that I could photograph and print on postcards to mail to appropriate beachy boutiques.  Now that I've sold a few things on Etsy and I don't need to share my profits with a boutique, I'm not sure I want to go that route anymore.  I'll have to wait on that one.

I did revisit and resubmit my seahorse manuscript to another publisher this fall, with another rejection to my credit.  I know many authors who are being proactive by self-publishing.  That has always been in the back of my mind, but it means completing all the artwork for this book on my own, without the benefit of any professional guidance.  Could I complete several illustrations this year?  Could I find a way to simplify and speed up the process so I'm not a grandmother by the time they're all completed?  I don't know... another goal I have to mull over.

Some things that I'm still working on from last year are at the top of this year's list:

• Continue to search for my authentic artistic voice in all my creations
• Continue to experiment with adding words and text to my fiber art
• Continue to replace all negative thoughts with positive ones

In addition, I want to

• add two pages to my blog, one "about me" and one or two gallery pages
• complete a piece for the annual FANE show at the Mahopac Library in May (due in March)
• complete a "kimono" style piece of fiber art for our special exhibit of the Northern Star Quilter's Guild show, also in May (due in April)
• experiment with my big Christmas present: a Silver Artclay kit!

But for now, I just want to:

• Get the living room, family room, and new bedroom finished, clean, and organized
• Be loving and patient towards my family, coworkers, and neighbors I encounter
• Spend a few minutes every day in prayer or quiet meditation
• Do less laundry; eat more chocolate!
• Figure out what we're having for dinner and go cook it!