New Year Happiness!

Last year is gone and I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a Happy New Year to start. I know it's really just the next day on the calendar. However, we do place extra meaning to the flip of the calendar each month and at the change of each new year. This year may be a bit more meaningful than other past years. We felt the impact of a global pandemic, which is still raging, and each of us faced challenges we didn't expect.

Fearless!

One of my lessons from 2020 is that I need to always face life fearlessly. There were many goals and accomplishments that were still available to me throughout the year. I didn't always take advantage of this fact. So, to begin my new year, I'm picking a “word of the year”. This year my word is Fearless!!

Instead of allowing the circumstances of the world block me from my goals, I've decided to venture forward fearlessly. Toward the end of 2020, I began working my way through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. If you are not familiar with the book, it is a guided journey to unblocking your creativity.

One major take-away from my journey is how much my fears block me from achieving my best life. Some of my fears are really quite silly but others are rooted quite deeply in my past. Regardless of how I acquired my fears, I've become more aware how much the choices I make with respect to how I internalize fear affects me. My determination to work through my fears is why I’ve chosen “fearless” as my word of the year.

New Year Goals 2020 - a Recap

I set some big goals last year but got side tracked by a pandemic. You may know the feeling. While I wasn’t able to pursue my original goals, I was able to make progress in other areas, like my creativity. Here is a recap of last year's goals and my results.

1. Eat Healthy. I can’t say I did well with this one. There was a lot of snacking during the quarantine and I ended the year 20 pounds heavier than I started. This is definitely an area of my life that needs some change. I'll start with fewer snacks and sweets.
2. Run a Marathon. This one I accomplished with the help of my friend, Patty. See my post here.
3. Complete 12 UFOs. I did very well on this goal, completing twenty of my quilt projects over the course of the year. My original goal was to average one a month. I may need to up my game on this one.
4. Continue Daily Blogging. While I did not write my blog daily, I did keep it going throughout the year. Toward the end of the year I decided to only write during the week, limiting my posts to Monday through Friday. This strategy worked better for me and I hope you enjoyed it too. I plan to continue writing my blog on a Monday through Friday schedule.
5. Release Six New Patterns. While it did not release six quilt patterns, I did write 100 paper-piece block patterns during my #The100DayProjectMysteryQuilt challenge. So, I’m calling this one a win. I shared all of the patterns in a private group on my Facebook page. While this group is now closed, I have new plans for the patterns created there. Stay tuned in 2021 for more to come with this project.

So, that makes four out of five goals for 2020 accomplished. Not too bad considering the year that 2020 was.

New Year Goals - 2021

Now, let's take a look at some of my goals for 2021.

1. Eat Healthy and Lose Weight. Yes, I've added losing the twenty pounds I gained in 2020 to this goal. I can't believe I let that happen and I'm determine to turn things around. Since it’s now 2021, maybe I should lose 21 pounds. My strategy includes keeping a food diary, reducing sweets and snacks, and moving more.
2. Daily Meditation. Meditation is an effective stress reliever but there are other benefits as well. I decided on this goal to help center and focus myself at the start of my days. Kona already loves this one since she likes to curl up in my lap (a bit difficult because she is just a tad too big for a lap dog) and listen to the guided meditation app with me.
3. Draw daily. This goal has been weighing on my heart heavily through all of 2020. I can't explain my mental blocks to drawing, but those blocks are why I embarked on the The Artist’s Way journey. I’ve decided to start with a proposition to start a 100 day challenge. And, day one is later today.
4. Complete 24 UFOs. I did so well on this one last year I decided to go for two UFOs per month. I expect that to be the average because I have a number of UFOs that will take longer than one month. Others are shorter so two per month is a goal with a little stretch to it.
5. Release 6 new patterns. This time I’m going for actual quilt patterns. Follow my blog, Facebook and Instagram to see my progress and to be the first to know.

What are your plans for 2021?

Until next time,