Funky... not in an "Earth, Wind and Fire" sort-of-way

This would be the fourth blog post I've started. The other three? Well, they were never finished. I guess I'm in a funk. It's not necessarily a bad funk. I'm not depressed per se, although I do always see a dip in my mood post-Christmas. The mood dip has nothing to do with "failure" of the Christmas festivities, quite the opposite. It seems that the better the holidays are, the bigger the dip for me. So, I guess this year was pretty good.


If you couple the funk with the fact that right after Christmas my boss was on vacation, which left me in charge of all things work-related, that we had a couple of large proposals to do and I had a tradeshow (well, 3 tradeshows) to do work for, that sucked up a lot of my time. Couple that with a bump in a medication I take which tends to cause extreme stomach upset and fatigue, and well, there you have it! That's encompassed my life as of late -- an overall funk.


I've done a few projects -- a couple of scrap pages, a mini book and layout for the Scrappin' Attack -- but that's it craftwise. I have been taking lots of photos. Mom got a new camera for Christmas and we've been going out and taking photos on the Sundays she has off. It's been fun. The photo above is one I took recently. I like simplicity of it.



I do have some plans.

1. Now that we've finally gotten the Christmas decorations packed up (and re-organized to a degree), and the house is almost back in order, I'm going to pull out the sewing machine and finish my apron that I started and hem the skirt I made in sewing class. I also purchased a bunch of $1 on-sale Simplicity patterns. Sewing class starts again in a few weeks. We're making dresses this semester... I'm excited to learn more.
2. I'm also purchasing books to expand my embroidery skills. I like embroidery and what I can use it for (sewing, crafts, scrapbooking, maybe a blanket or some new towels or napkins). I hope to work on some projects and make them available.
3. I'm also working on some other projects with fabric and paint and I hope to post those, along with some notecard sets and photo prints in my newly-forming Etsy store. If you've never been to Etsy.com, there's a little linkity-link in that left column. As soon as I've got the store set-up, I'll post a link directly to it.
4. The photo business is still up and running. I've got a few shoots set-up already this year and I hope to have a website soon. I'm putting together some packages that I think will help clients decide what kinds and quantities of photos they want. I can't wait to expand my business!
5. I'm going to keep up with the spontaneous photo sessions with mom. They make me happy.

So, I've had several posts put together related to resolutions for 2008, but never have finished one to get it posted. Here are the basic goals:

• Grow the photo business. Work to establish it as a viable, full-time profession for myself. Take classes, expand my skill set, take more pictures and learn more techniques. I'm going to a seminar on Feb. 17 and taking a Photoshop CS3 class this Spring. I'm on my way...
• Get healthy. This past fall I learned some things about myself and my health. I'm working on resolving the issues I have with my weight and just working to improve my health and well-being overall. This includes re-establishing a regular exercise routing, staying on-track with healthy eating habits, revitalizing my walk with God and discovering new ways to bring more peace joy into my life to improve my mental health.
• Keep being creative. I've found that the more I regularly do something creative, the better I feel. I need it in my life. So this year I will establish a routine where I take more photos, create more scrapbooking pages/mini books/journals/art pieces/expand my sewing and embroidery skills, cook new, healthy dishes and create some of my own and work to make our home space clean/invigorating/organized and creative itself.
• Love more. Spend more time with those people who I truly love and value. Try and stay in touch more with people I care about. Seek out time with people who have my best interests in mind, and I theirs.

General and not mind-bogglingly (is that a word?) different as a set of resolutions. Yet, I'm not trying to be different. Just better. More contented. It's a life "marathon" and I'm jogging the first few steps.

Oh, and I picked a word for the year... more on that this weekend!