So… It might be a little late, but I’ve been thinking about plans and goals for the year. No resolutions though. As Dave just reminded me, resolutions are like pet elephants – they’re hard to keep. (I really want a pygmy hippo though)
Goals are concrete and measurable, and you can make step by step plans to get there. And I figure I might as well write them down. I’ve heard of a study (it sounds like it ought to be true at least, although I saw conflicting opinions) that putting your goals down on paper helps you achieve them.
Whether that’s because you’ve taken the trouble to form and visualize where you want to be, or because it makes you somewhat accountable, even if it’s only to a piece of paper, it doesn’t matter. It won’t hurt.
Well… Unless you get a paper cut, because those really sting. Why is it that the little stuff tends to hurt so much?
Anyway… High level goals:
Writing – I want to finish a book. I have three and a half rough drafts and I like the stories, but they need to be polished and revised before I can consider them done. I’ve signed up for Lani Diane Rich’s Revision class which is excellent so far and I’m working through my latest story with it. I’m looking at going to a local writers conference, and I also want to do NaNoWriMo again this year. I might even put up a basic writer’s website on the fake it till you make it principle.
Art – Sculpt some abstract animals as an experiment. I’m not really sure what else I want to accomplish at this point. There’s lots of things I could/should do – finish organizing the studio, update my website, learn/practice metal techniques, take a lampworking class, try Etsy, make a series of one particular animal in different styles, etc. I reserve the right to revisit this later on 
I will be teaching a workshop on how to make polymer clay buttons to a local weaver’s guild in a couple weeks.
Life – The usual – get down to the gym more often, lose weight, clean the house, keep Dave laughing, serve the cats as the pitiful little human servant that I am, etc. These sound more like resolutions don’t they? And you know what that means…
I got a new laptop! *insert Happy Dance here*
Dell Inspiron 14R – I’ve only had it a few days but I like it so far. Of course, I’m having to get used to the sheer weirdness of it – Windows 7, a Delete key in the wrong place, wide screen… (My old one was about 6 years old)
But I like the fact that it doesn’t grind to a halt when I have ITunes, Scrivener, 3 browser sessions, etc, etc all open at once. (I added extra RAM just in case)
I have the new version of Dreamweaver on order and I’ll need to pick new image editing software. I had an old version of Paintshop that I loved, but it barely ran on XP, so I’ll have to compare the current version to Photoshop Elements. Maybe I’ll finally get around to updating my website. It’s been quite awhile.
And I gave my laptop a name – it is my Minion. I just have to clone it and have an army of minions! *Evil laugh*
Now if I could just teach it to clean my house….
I’m not even sure where 2010 went, never mind what happened. No particular disasters, but I was looking at my goals for the year and um… well, let’s just say, most of them fell by the wayside.
I was going to list all the things I didn’t do, but I’ve decided I’d rather concentrate on the positive. Have you ever noticed that it’s much easier to remember your failures than your successes? I can wallow for hours in past regrets if I’m not careful, but when I’ve done something great, it slips right away.
Dave helped me set up a small bench for basic metal work and we used bolt bins to organize all my beads and findings on the wall. It looks great. Just watch the piles on the floor when you walk in – I’ll get to those eventually 
I took a wonderful class called ‘Out of the Box Photography’ with Howard Rubenstein. It was all about seeing things differently, and what it means to be creative, and it taught me quite a bit more than just photography. You can find another world at ground level, or looking up at the sky. Looking at any situation from another angle can lead to something astonishing. I also found I like abstracts, and I’m going to try some sculpting experiments.
I sculpted an elephant in relief for Dave that I’m proud of. I still need to frame/hang it, but once I do, I’ll try to post pictures.
I was the demo coordinator for the ClayConneCTion retreat, and taught a few demos myself, including an impromptu one on how to sculpt a tree in relief. I had no idea how many people would be interested in that – maybe I’ll have to write that up as a lesson.
I finished NaNoWriMo this year (50,000 word novel in 30 days). I did it in 27 days because we had to drive a moving truck to Texas for Dave’s parents. We took a cd on learning japanese with us. I can now pick out a few words when I’m watching subtitled anime.
I read a ton of books – at a conservative estimate, 250+. Of course, I neglect everything else when I read, so maybe I should read less.
I learned about writing. I read writers blogs, agents blogs, books on writing and story structure, listened to podcasts, and took an online class with Alexandra Sokoloff.
And I’m sure I did a bunch of other things that I can’t remember So, maybe not such a bad year after all.
I figured NaNo wouldn’t be too much of a problem this month. I’ve done it twice before, right?
Yeah, well, the night before it started I came down with the cold from the Evil Slime Dimension. I spent the next two days in bed, and another two weeks getting over it. I swear a colony of brain eating slugs took up residence in my head. It’s pretty hard to explain how I felt otherwise. (Can you tell I’m writing about aliens? I’ve got plenty of tentacles but this just made me realize I probably need to add more slime to my story)
Anyway, I’m only starting to feel better now and I still have a cough. Needless to say, it’s affected my word count a bit. But I’m happy to say, that I’ve caught up with where I should be again. I’m at 30000 words, 3/5ths there.
I’m just not exactly sure what happens next in my story. I hit these spots every few days and that tends to slow me down too. I’m going to try to make it though. My heroine still has to rescue planet Earth after all.
Current NaNoWriMo Stats
It’s NaNoWriMo time again, and I can’t wait to start writing.
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
This will be my third time doing it. I made it to 50,000+ words each time, but I haven’t revised the first one I wrote, and I still haven’t finished the first draft of the second book. Next year, I really need to concentrate on editing and finishing something. I’ve completed a couple first drafts (short YA length novels) but I still don’t have a book that I would consider done.
Anyway… this month, I’m going to have some fun. It’s going to be a kid’s book – midgrade or YA, depending on how the story develops. I’m not worrying about whether its going to be good at this point. It’s going to be pure fun, with no stress. Well, except for finding the time to write the 1667 words per day. I know I can do it, but things do seem to come up.
I’m going to be writing in first person point of view this time:
I did this… I did that… I hate lima beans, and that nasty, starchy taste that sticks to the roof of your mouth when your parents force you to eat them, and you can’t slip them under the table to the dog… I ducked as the ninja lobster flew towards me…. And so on.
I’ve had a character name kicking around for awhile (Spaghetti Q. Tweaking – courtesy of a spammer’s email) that I’m finally going to use, and I’m going to go a little crazy with just throwing things into the story. At minimum, I plan to include: an orange tentacled alien in a Glinda the Good Witch dress, a blue teleporting frog-type alien with eight legs, and ninja lobsters. And I’ll toss in some flying monkeys if I can figure out a semi-reasonable rationalization.
I haven’t quite decided on my working title yet. I’m sure it will change again before I’m done but here’s a few ideas:
Spaghetti Q. Tweaking and the Interstellar Spam of Doom
Spaghetti Q. Tweaking Sells the Planet
Spaghetti Q. Tweaking and the Alien Menace
Spaghetti Q. Tweaking Takes Over the World
I had an inquiry about manatees so I thought I’d post these. They’re about 2.5 inches tall, molded in Premo, and antiqued to bring out the detail.
I’m not sure what it is about manatees, but they fascinate me. Elephants of the sea, mermaids – they almost don’t seem possible. I’ve sculpted a few different versions of them.
These two were made from a silicone mold of my own sculpted original. I like being able to make my own molds. It allows me to try out different variations, and I have to say I’d probably never sell anything otherwise. It’s difficult giving up the original, and it certainly wouldn’t be for any reasonable price. I spend too much time on each one
March was the month for decluttering, and I think I did pretty well. I have a lot more I could and should do – I haven’t gotten to most of the closets, but I accomplished quite a bit.
It’s amazing how restful a clean, empty surface is.
I also did pretty well on personal decluttering – I’m about 7.5 pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of the month.
Continuing my Spring Cleaning theme, for April I’m tackling the studio. It’s time for a major reorganization and purge so I can find the floor and the surface of the tables.
I think I may pack up my kaleidoscope supplies for now. I haven’t been making them lately although I think I’ll get back to them eventually. I let myself lose momentum when a couple promising designs didn’t work out, and kits never feel like they’re completely mine. I seem to go through phases anyway – I’ll dig all the stuff out again when inspiration hits.
I want to set up a basic metals station instead. I’m not sure I’ll do much soldering (although I may play with my little butane torch) but I want to at least be able to make sheet metal frames without worrying about metal shavings in my clay.
We just went up to spend a long weekend in NH and visit my grandma. The weather was gorgeous and we spent most of the time outside. We didn’t see too much wildlife but we did see recent evidence of a moose.
While we were up there, Grandma took us to Wolfboro and a gallery run by the League of NH Craftsmen. Simply beautiful work in all sorts of materials. I got to handle some work by Sandra McCaw – her work is just as meticulous in person, and I hadn’t realized how thin some of her layered feather pins are – very intricate and delicate.
Dave got me an early anniversary present. I’ve always admired Barbara Sperling’s work and now I own a pin, similar to this piece. It’s just amazing – everything is so cohesive, even the back of the pin was decorated. Makes me want to take my own work to the next level.
You can see more of her work on her website BeadUnique.
I’m going to review goals/accomplishments every month and see where I’m at. I may be a week late on the blog but I did this at the beginning of the month.
I did! Really! I’ve got it written down in my planner and everything…
Anyway, I have to say I achieved my goal of having no goals in February admirably. It was extremely difficult, but somehow I managed to accomplish nothing at all.
Ok, actually I got back into an exercise routine (30 min cardio during lunch 3 days a week, an exercise class during lunch, some light weights and ab exercises, regular stretching…) and that’s really helped. The hip/back alignment issue is still there but getting better. I got a couple books on trigger points which helped as well – they helped me find and release muscle knots all over the place that I didn’t know about and which may have either been contributing to, or an aggravation of the problem.
Either way, I’m starting to feel better. It really sucks when you can’t sit in any position for more than five minutes without nerve nibbling shrews running up and down between your back and your ankle. And it’s hard to get a good nights sleep. I’ve been catching up on that too.
I didn’t do any writing but I did do some clay – my favorite batch of Dragon’s Eyes yet. I’ll try to put up pics at some point. I lost about a pound in February, but my clothes feel looser than that, so I think the exercise is helping on that front (and behind) as well.
So, on to March…
My goal for March is decluttering. I’m not a hoarder or anything (except for arts and crafts supplies – and those are IMPORTANT) but we have too much stuff that doesn’t have a place. It might be Spring fever but I just want all this extraneous stuff GONE. No more piles of papers or things that might come in handy someday, clothes that don’t fit, clothes that fit but I don’t like, etc, etc.
And how did I get three whisks anyway? I use one maybe three times a year to make gravy. Do they multiply in the utensil drawer? I really don’t want to think about that. I am avoiding all thoughts of whisk reproduction and I suggest you do the same.
Back to goals… I also want to declutter myself and get rid of a few more pounds. And do a little writing and sculpting, even if I’m not in a regular habit again yet.
I’m not sure I’m going to tackle organizing the studio yet though… That may be a separate month’s project all in itself. The main problem there is that having a clear workspace inspires me. It’s a very good reason to organize, but it means as soon as I have a square foot clear, I think of all these cool projects I want to do, and end up with more supplies scattered around than I had before.
Reviewing my goals… Hmm.
I’ve got an SI alignment issue that acted up the past couple months so that sitting for too long’s been rather uncomfortable. After eight hours at work, the last thing I could face was more. That got me out of the habit of writing, so I didn’t finish my Median draft. Anyone know how to type lying down?
I did a little cleaning and organizing, but not much. That goal is always wishful thinking.
Not too much on the art front either… I did make a few basic word beads although they haven’t been baked or antiqued yet. And I did make a bracelet using a few different beads I had hanging around. I rather like the asymmetrical styles I’ve been seeing. They’re great when you have one or two cool beads. The clay guild is having a Clay Day on Saturday. I think I may make some more dragon’s eyes. They’re pretty popular and I’m out of them.
I did lose five pounds this month. I’m getting back to eating better (Is it possible to have a sugar addiction? If so, I think I need a 12 step program for it.) and my regular exercise routine, so on the whole I’m counting this month as a win.
I’ve decided to have no goals for February. I want to concentrate on health and exercise/stretches so I can get the rest of the kinks in my back straightened out. Clay, writing, cleaning the house… if I get to any of that, great; if not, that’s ok. Sometimes things work better with no pressure.
