Lisa Call

Upleveling

As long time readers know, I began working with Christine Kane in December of 2007 and since then my life has changed in amazing and positive ways. Christine calls this Upleveling.

My journey to improve my life began after listening to the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert in the summer of 2007. A truly awesome and fun book.

From there I attended Christine’s retreat and then participated in her Uplevel your Life Mastery Program home study course (she called it something different back in 2008 but it is the same thing – although I think it’s even bigger and better now). I redid both the uplevel program and attended a second retreat later in 2008.

Now in 2009 I am part of Christine’s platinum coaching circle. It’s all amazing. Christine is amazing. The group is amazing. Life is truly wonderful.

I knew I wanted things to change in my life and Christine provided the tools by which to make those changes.

Recommendation

I wrote a testimonial for Christine’s Uplevel your Life Mastery Program and since then I’ve gotten quite a few people asking me about her. Wanting some assurance I meant what I wrote. Indeed I did mean it.

So now Christine has offered an opportunity for me to recommend her further by creating an affiliates program, which means if you sign up to do a program with her I will get a percent of the price (her affiliates payout is 35%).

I have signed up to be an affiliate because I 100% believe in what Christine is offering. I also signed up because I spend a lot of time talking to people about Christine and it takes time away from my art and my art business. It’s nice to have an opportunity to be compensated for my time.

Free Teleseminar

If you want to see what Christine is all about and if she has something you might be interested in she is going to be giving a free teleseminar on June 10th in the evening. It’s titled 5 Simple Action Steps to Take Your Life to the Next Level this Summer.

You can sign up here (this is my affiliate link): Sign Up for Christine’s Free Teleseminar

Yes – the teleseminar is free – costs nothing and I get paid nothing. It’s only later if you do sign up for one of her programs that I will receive a payment.

So this is a chance to not only check out Christine’s amazing coaching talents, but also support me in my journey, currently all for free.

My Journey

What follow is the post I wrote on Christine’s blog last December about my word of the year Courage, it’ll give you and idea of the changes I made in my life in the past year (as will looking over the last few years of my blog posts).

I’m Not That Kind of Girl

When I first saw the information for Christine’s Great Big Dreams Retreats I thought with a bit of regret, I’m not the type of person that does things like this, and went back to my very busy life. Female bonding and getting all touchy-feely was not my thing, being the ever so competent INTJ.

Upon recommendation from friends, the internet and the universe, I listened to the book Eat, Pray, Love in the summer of 2007 and, like so many other people, it had a profound impact on me. I realized I was not living the life I wanted, yet I had no idea how to create the life I wanted. I wasn’t even sure what that might be. I was just sure it wasn’t what I was doing.

Taking a Leap

That fall my father passed away and a long term relationship came to an end and I was exhausted. It finally pushed me over the edge and even before selecting my word of the year, courage, I took a huge leap and signed up for the December retreat.

I thought, maybe if I were the type of person that did these retreats I would have a life I liked a lot more. Unfortunately I learned the single room I had wanted was sold out.

In an act of pure clarity (and a lot of experiences I did not wish to repeat), I declined the chance to attend and share a room with someone else and asked to be put on the waiting list for a single room, of which there are only 2. At the time I didn’t realize my chances weren’t all that good for getting this, I just knew what I needed for the retreat to work for me, and I knew I needed to attend.

So I was very happy, but not at all surprised, to get an email a few weeks before the December 2007 retreat that a space was available.

I am that Girl

So off to Ashville I went and not only did I survive my girl bonding weekend, I loved every minute of it. It wasn’t nearly as touchy-feely as I feared and I was welcome to be whoever or whatever I needed.

During that amazing weekend I had one aha-moment after the an other. Yes, I could indeed create the life I wanted, as I now had a treasure chest of tools to help me do just that.

I started by setting aside my usual beginning of the year ritual, that of setting dozens of aggressive goals and jumping in getting things done, and instead I choose just a single word to focus my year around.

Courage

I selected Courage. Courage to slow down. Courage to listen to myself. Courage to find my feelings. Courage to listen to the tiny voice that was my true desires. Courage to follow my dreams no matter how foreign the territory or scary the path might be.

I’ll be the first to admit, 2008 has been an incredible fabulous year for me. I thought of my word often and have managed to free myself from many of my old limiting beliefs. Every day I choose to create and live the life I want to live.

The list of positive changes I have created in my life over the past year is astounding, from health improvements, to an upcoming amazing vacation in Africa, to deeper and closer friendships, to an art career that turned a profit for the first time ever. I could write for pages on all that has come about this year. But this is a blog and I’ve already rambled on for longer than recommended, so I’ll just touch on one which took great courage.

Leaving the Burbs

One of the first things I tackled upon arriving home was to declutter my house. I rather smugly sat through the discussion of clutter during the retreat thinking I had very little. When I got home I discovered I just had a really big house to hide it all in. Clutter was everywhere. Er oops.

No wonder I was stuck. Did I really need a box full of 18 year old hand made mints from a marriage that ended 7 years prior? Tossed were the ski equipment, racquetball, scuba diving, etc, etc, etc. I gave away furniture, clothes, toys, keepsakes. I tossed it all. (Although I admit I kept the frog made out of icing that was on my birthday cake when I was 8 years old because you never know when a 37 year old amphibian made of sugar and fat will come in handy. Don’t tell Christine.)

After a few months of freeing myself from things that only served to drain my energy, I found the courage to admit to myself that I didn’t want to live in this big beautiful house anymore. The suburbs no longer appealed to me and it was simply too large.

I had always been afraid to admit this because the thought of moving was too daunting. As the house emptied out, it became very doable to pick up myself and my 2 kids and move to the city, close to both my work and their school.

So that’s what we did. In early April I talked to a real estate agent and 2 months later I had the house fixed up and ready to hit the market. I told her repeatedly the house would sell in 1 week or less, and yes, this was during what was supposedly a very difficult housing market.

I learned my lesson in 2007, getting really clear about what I wanted resulted in it manifesting, be it a single room at a retreat or a fast home sale.

So that’s exactly what happened. The house sold in 1 day and after a bidding war, sold for substantially more than my asking price. So much for the buyers market.

A few days later I found a small house within walking distance to my kids’ school and we moved at the end of June, less than 3 months after first having the thought that it was possible. I’m a 3 on the enneagram, the achiever, I don’t just sit around and wait for the universe to do it’s thing, I take action and help it along.

Dream Home and Studio

I first told myself this was a temporary move and after the kids were out of the house I would move again, because I could not afford to live in Denver long term. I stopped telling myself this story when it was clear I didn’t want to live in a 900 sq ft house with no studio, even temporarily.

That took about 5 minutes. Who was I kidding, I was not going from a 600 sq ft studio to a non-existent studio so I could claim some virtue about living small. I had this idea that I would find it easier to start selling and marketing my art if I had a tiny house, cause I’d look more like I needed money.

That’s crazy. I sell my art because it provides value to the world and people connect to it, it enhances their lives so they want to own it, not because I live in a small house with bad electrical and broken plumbing. I can’t create the art I want in that environment.

So enough playing small, I had the courage to admit I wanted a bigger house and I hired a contractor to build me my dream home and studio. Why wait? I could have both the art career and the cool house and big studio if I wanted it. And so that is exactly what I am doing. I found the courage to admit I deserve it and to take the steps necessary to make it happen.

 
PS – Here’s that link again if you want to attend Christine’s free teleseminar: Sign Up for Christine’s Free Teleseminar, 5 Simple Action Steps to Take Your Life to the Next Level this Summer.

To celebrate the coming of the new year I want to first honor my accomplishments for 2008.

1. Selected Courage for my year to guide me through a year of big changes.
2. I smiled more in 2008 than I did in 2007.
3. I sold my house of 12 years in a single day for over my asking price.
4. I bought a new home in Denver saying goodbye to the suburbs.
5. I hired an awesome contractor to build my dream studio on the back of my new house.
6. I have enjoyed the first 3 months of construction of my new studio.
7. I spent 446 hours in my studio making art (that an average of just under 8 hours a week. I had a few months during my house sale and move when I made no art)
8. I spent at least 700 hours marketing my art. I didn’t track it as closely as studio time but it was the lions share of my art career in 2008 as it was something I could do while the studio was inaccessible during the moves.
9. I created 4 new textile paintings in the Markings series.
10. I created 13 new textile patings in the Structures series.
11. I started new series inspired by my new house, called Home, and created 8 textile paintings – .
12. I started a new series of small works mounted on painted stretched canvas and created 21 textile paintings in the series – Lines.
13. I created 27 new ACEOs.
14. The result: I created 73 new pieces of art this year.
15. I set a goal of writing and sending 4 studio newsletters in 2008 – I met that goal by sending the 4th newsletter on New Year’s Eve.
16. I ended the year with 431 newsletter subscribers, exceeding my goal of 400.
17. I wrote 174 blog posts.
18. I joined twitter.
19. I wrote 1588 tweets (in about 4 months).
20. I ended the year with 400+ follows on twitter meeting my goal of 400.
21. I became more active on facebook.
22. I ended the year with 201 friends on facebook meeting my goal of 200.
23. I had a solo show of my Markings series in Boulder, CO in February.
24. I had a solo show of a few of my Structures textile paintings in Lincoln, NE in April.
25. I curated a group show at the Lux Center for Arts in Lincoln, NE in April.
26. I gave an artist talk at my February show – and love it.
27. I exhibited 6 large textile paintings at the Butler Museum of Art in Ohio.
28. I attended the opening of the Butler Museum show.
29. I was juried into Form Not Function for 2009.
30. I was asked to exhibit art at the Danforth Art Museum in 2009.
31. I exhibited Structures #60 at Art Quilt Elements (AQE).
32. I sold 2 small textile paintings in the gift shop during AQE.
33. Structures #60 was mentioned in the review of AQE in the SAQA journal.
34. I participated in the Artist Breakthrough program with Alyson Stanfield
35. I did a podcast interview with Alyson for her online book tour – my first podcast.
36. I was quoted in Alyson’s new book: I’d Rather Be in the Studio.
37. I enjoyed Alyson’s series of artist interviews this fall.
38. I attended my second retreat with Christine Kane in November
39. I had a nice family vacation in Montana in July.
40. I signed up to go on a tour of Africa in 2009 with Nancy Crow.
41. I turned profit in my art business for the first time ever.
42. I sold 2 textile paintings to the Cleveland University Hospital collection.
43. I sold many textile paintings to supporters and collectors.
44. I received dozens of supportive and loving comments from fans.
45. I dyed a couple hundred yards of fabric in my backyard under a crab apple tree in my new house since I had no where else to do it. I didn’t just give it up for the year.
46. I set up a temporary studio in a small bedroom after leaving a 600 sq ft studio to continue making art while my new studio is being built.
47. I create a project and wrote a chapter for a crafters how to book to be published in 2009.
48. I participated in several online interviews.
49. I sold enough PDF fabric to others to keep my account open with Kaufman.
50. I created a webpage to sell my artwork directly to collectors.
51. My direct sales of art were better than I imagined.
52. I did yoga almost every morning for 3 months in a row. I am still following a 3-4 times a month routine (most of the time).
53. I journaled in the morning on a consistent basis.
54. I wrote a gratitude entry in my journal 5 or 6 times a week.
55. I went on some beautiful hikes.
56. I experienced the magic of an aspen grove near it’s peak fall color.
57. I had a wonderful relationship with Jim for a few months.
58. I recovered from the end of the relationship by focusing on Joy in December.
59. I visited the Denver Art Museum numerous time through the year.
60. I visited the Contemporary Art
61. I taught myself how to mount my textile paintings on canvas.
62. I bought a new laptop for my art business.
63. I enjoyed several wonderful meals and outings with my artist friends.
64. I started a rewrite of my website with a design I really love.
65. I defined what success means to me as an artist.
66. I applied agile software management techniques to manage my art business.
67. I sold work in the artfulhome.com studio sale in the spring.
68. I sold work in the artfulhome.com studio sale in December.
69. Structures #39 appeared in the artful home holiday catalog.
70. Three textile paintings were selected as covers for Myers Briggs Booklets.
71. I received good compensation for the use of my images on the book covers.
72. Participated in Christine Kane’s Great Big Dreams E-Seminar – twice.
73. Made an investment in myself and signed up for Christine’s Platinum coaching circle for 2009.
74. Participated in small art showcase.
75. Listed in Fine Art Department.
76. Wrote guest post on Christine’s blog about my choice of the word Courage for 2008.
77. Received innumerable wonderful, supportive and informative comments on my blog.
78. Maintained a daily photo journal of the progress of my new home and studio construction.
79. Donated and gifted 10% of my gross art income.
80. Became comfortable and defined my career to include selling affordable art in addition to having museum shows with my Big Art.
81. Worked a fulltime job as a software engineer.
82. Thoroughly enjoyed being a mom to my 12 and 16 year old kids.
83. Wrote a series of blog posts about energy, and why I get so much done.
84. Survived my Quilt National 2009 rejection (the first rejection from QN in 4 shows)
85. Ordered new business cards.
86. Spent a weekend in silence.
87. Completed one ink drawing – Lines #4
88. Purchased 3+ beautiful new works of original art by artists I admire.
89. Baked an amazing cake for Christmas dinner.
90. Gave away a good percent (30%? 40%?) of my belongings to move from a 4000 sq ft home to a 900 sq ft home.
91. Was interviewed for inclusion in a book about art quilters to be published in 2009 or 2010.
92. Spent time with some wonderful old friends.
93. Spent time with some new amazing friends.
94. Let go of some friendships that were no longer serving me.
95. Through the use of acupuncture, yoga and intention, quit taking advil and aleave ending a 20+ year dependence on the drugs for pain relief.
96. Bought myself a big box of See’s candy’s in an act of serious self care.
97. Gave street people money and didn’t worry about what they might or might not do with it.
98. Tried out some new bright colors in my smaller textile paintings.
99. Used a purple christmas tree for the topping off of my construction.
100. Dressed my cats up for the holidays with no serious repercussions.

When I first thought of this list I knew my studio time (~8 hours a week) would see so small compared to my prefvious years goals of 20 hours per week. And then I look at everything else I have accomplished and I wonder where I found those 8 hours plus the 12-13 hours a week for marketing my work.

Gratitude for all I have done this year feels like the perfect way to end the year.

Tomorrow – my words for 2009 – Expansion and Integrity.

Happy New Year everyone.

Markings #25
©2006
8"x 10"
Sold

Selling Directly From My Website

I’m excited to introduce my page of (mostly) new small affordable artwork available for sale directly on my website with paypal "Buy Now" buttons: Affordable Art for Sale.

Paypal inventory control will ensure that if they let you buy it, it’s available for sale. So you don’t have to email first and ask if something is still available. I’m not super fond of the big yellow buttons but they have become some what of a standard on the web so for now I’m sticking with them for now.

If you have any problems with the system please let me know. You will be charged shipping when you check out (if it doesn’t seem right let me know and I can fix it). Also those in Colorado will be charged sales tax now. Woohoo – I’m official.

The Inspiration

Markings #25 above (along with ACEOs #23 and #24 and Lines #3 – Lines #5 on the art for sale page) were inspired by Markings #3. I love this color combination of minty greens and purple.

Markings #3    ©2006    74"x66"

Great Big Dreams

I have much to say about why I’m making small affordable art and how I feel about it and how it might effect the image of my larger artwork but no time to write about that today as I’m leaving tomorrow for another of Christine Kane’s Great Big Dreams Retreats and need to pack. I went last December and believe it was the start of a new path for me. I’m really looking forward to spending another weekend in North Carolina looking at where I’m going next.

Remodel Update

Things haven’t been all that exciting yet this week so not many pictures. I put up a few from monday and tuesday here: Construction Photos Nov 10 and 11.

The excitement in framing will start today and continue the 4 days I’ll be gone. In addition to starting the framing out back and putting in the new sewer they will be starting the work inside my house. I’m tearing down a few walls to create 1 big room for my livingroom/kitchen. They will also frame the location for the new door, which will be at the front of the house instead of the side.

I have to move all my furniture 4 feet away from the walls that are being removed and reframed before I leave. This could be a trick – there really isn’t room in here for all this stuff. Stay tuned for photos upon my return!

Scrum It Is

I’ve decided after my last post on my Scrum Master training, and the positive response and my interest in the subject, to do a series of posts about scrum and the aspects I think are relevant to my art business.

Although scrum is a project management process for groups, and a lot of the focus of the process is on group dynamics, there are other parts of scrum that are quite useful for an artist maintaining a solo art business.

Today I’m starting with a concept that will fit into the larger framework of scrum later. But I want to just introduce it today as it feels like a good place to start (maybe because I feel I’m spinning my wheels some and not completing anything).

Quality and Done

One of the things scrum does an excellent job addressing in the software development cycle, is the issue of quality. Writing really good software takes time. Unfortunately time is something that there is generally not enough of during a development cycle. The result is almost always a compromise on the quality of the software.

Scrum addresses this by focusing a lot on the definition of Done and declaring that a feature is not to be delivered to customers unless it absolutely meets the definition of Done. Absolutely no exceptions are allowed if one truly follows the scrum model. In software this is difficult because management wants what they want by the date they want it. So to implement scrum correctly requires buy in from upper management.

For an artist we only need ourselves to buy into this. I know I’ve been bitten a few times by saying that a bunch of artwork was done when really it wasn’t. Then show deadlines approach and I end up having to stay up late to actually finish the art (add hanging sleeves or finish bindings, etc). Or I’ll ship some art out the door without the proper images in my database. The work sells and then I never get the images and when needed later I’m out of luck.

I’ve informally worked on defining what it means for my art to be done over the past years (from creating it, to the hanging sleeves, to logging it in the database and photographing it) but I never finished. Now I’m going to formalize this with a definition of what it means for a textile painting to be done, then I’ll hang it on the wall and remember my agreement with myself as to what this means and I’ll ensure that all artwork is completely done before dropping it from my

Business Done

I think this has a lot of relevance for the business side of art also. Many a project gets started but it never gets finished. I just move on to something else. Leaving behind many "gee – I should finish that" ideas and projects that pull me back in as I didn’t tie up all the lose ends.

Certainly blogging and other ongoing tasks like updating mailing lists and writing newsletters are never done. But each of these has a discrete component that does have a definite start and ending. I am going to work on focusing on my art business projects with more thought on completing the projects in their entirety before moving on to something else. And again thinking about what it means for these things to be done.

The sense of accomplishment that comes when something can be marked off a list and declared truly done is great. And I need to find that a bit more often.

The House Remodel

After a month+ of work, I decided to scrap the remodel plans. I had been concerned they were going to be too expensive and yesterday I got the first hint of numbers and it confirmed I was right. I had hoped I could turn this house into my dream home/studio/kitchen but the neighborhood and my checkbook can’t support the cost of doing that.

So after an afternoon/evening of sadness I got over it and went back to basics. Why did I move to Denver? What were the goals? I’ve decided while I might love this house and neighborhood this is not the right time in my life to build my dream home. Instead it’s time to live as cheaply as possible so I can retire as soon as possible. This was about downsizing, not dream home.

Although as much as I love this house, I can’t live in it for 6 years as is. First there are all the fixer-upper things that need to be fixed – like mold, electrical, quack quack. Then there is the issue of lack of studio space. My previous dream home list "must have" list included more bathrooms, a study, a bigger kitchen, master bedroom, and of course the 600 sq ft studio.

The new "must have", I really am downsizing, list:

• A studio with room for my 2 tables and some floor space – probably under 300 sq ft
• A second bathroom – but just a powder room – after flushing my cell phone down the toilet yesterday I decided this was really important. The kids and I will still share the single bathroom with a shower.
• A laundry room – again a bit of a luxury – but having the washing machine in my kitchen and dryer in the garage isn’t great for resale
• Fix the broken/hazardous stuff
• Add insulation and replace all window for energy efficiency
• Remodel the existing kitchen and bathroom with very simple features
• An air conditioner (I’m not crazy Alyson!)

So still a big project and certainly costly, but not ginormous and too expensive. The result should be a house that fits wonderfully into my neighborhood and is a cozy, happy place to live.

The Great Big Dream

Yesterday I went through a bit of mourning over the dream home that isn’t going to happen. I loved the floor plan we came up with and it would have be really wonderful. But I’m not giving up the dream. I’m just recognizing now is not the time for that particular dream to come to life. I’m not going to stop believing I can build my dream studio – cause I know it’ll happen eventually – when the time is right.

The river at the Bend of Ivy Lodge at the Great Big Dreams Retreat – 2007

 
I got back from the Great Big Dreams Retreat today. What an incredible experience. I learned much, listened to much, thought much, laughed much and found this to be one of the most rewarding weekends I’ve spent in a long time.

I’m now enrolled in Christine’s Great Big Dreams e-seminar to continue following the path I started this week. The money I’m spending on this retreat and seminar is usually earmarked for an art workshop but I’ve decided this a much better use of money right now. I’ve felt a need for a change for a while and instead of ignoring it and continuing on as usual I’ve stopped and listened and now I am doing something to make sure the change happens.

My art is super important and I know it will continue along fine without additional instruction at this time. It’s time to get help on the bigger picture – me.

 
This year I’ve decided to list my accomplishments for 2007 without comparing them line by line to the list of goals I set at the beginning of the year (art making goals – business goals). I stopped worrying about my specific goals part way through the year because of my dad’s illness and my preference to spend as much time as possible with him.

My accomplishments/gratitudes for 2007, and in keeping with my plan of taking a more holistic view of my life they are not restricted to just art.

1. I worked in my studio around 865 hours this year – over 16 hours a week on average.
2. I complete the 13 major pieces started prior to 2007 in my Structures and Markings series: Structures #47, Structures #48, Structures #49, Structures #50, Structures #65, Markings #4, Markings #5, Markings #6, Markings #7, Markings #8, Markings #9, Markings #10, Markings #14. No more piles of unfinished work from years past to sap my energy!
3. I completed 6 new major pieces in my structures and markings series: Structures #66, Structures #67, Structures #68, Structures #74, Markings #15, Markings #16.
4. I started 4 additional major pieces in the Nancy Crow workshop that I will complete in early 2008: Structures #72, Structures #73, Markings #17, Markings #18.
5. I challenged myself to do some smaller work and completed 23 pieces: Structures #69, Structures #70, Structures #71, Structures #75 – Structures #94
6. I kept my art business records up to date each month and will be able to hand my paperwork over to my accountant as soon as I receive all the forms from banks and employers and such.
7. I wrote 150 blog posts about my art and being an artist.
8. I updated my computer system with more memory and an external hard drive and avoided having to spend thousands to buy a new machine for a few more years.
9. I sent out 2 postcards to my mailing list.
10. I started an email mailing list that I will use in 2008 for my studio newsletter.
11. I was asked to curate a show at the Lux Center for the Arts in conjunction with my solo show coming up in April.
12. I sent out many solo show proposals.
13. My work was included in the Blogger Show so I had my first piece included in a show in a New York City gallery.
14. I did a minor update to my website midway through the year.
15. I got to display my work at a Ferrari dealership
16. I came very close a few times to getting my email queue down to 0.
17. I have learned to love my day job instead of spending 8 hours a day wishing I were in my studio instead. My life is now more peaceful.
18. I entered 7 juried shows and was accepted into the Visions Quilt Art Gallery Member show, Artist as Quiltmaker at FAVA, the Arvada Center Holiday Art Show, Materials Hard and Soft, and Art Quilt Elements.
19. I completed Matisse The Master, by Hilary Spurling and A Woman On Paper by Anita Pollitzer and have started a biography on Picasso.
20. I listened to many good books on tape, too numerous to list. My favorite by far was Eat, Pray, Love. Reading this book was a large factor in taking charge of my life to make it what I dream it to be.
21. I traded artwork with Tracy Helgeson and then received one of her Pay It Forward pieces. I’m thrilled to own 2 of her pieces now.
22. I gave away 3 small pieces of art via my blog.
23. I stopped complaining about what the art quilt world was doing.
24. I helped my daughter’s class make quilts for their teacher and the silent auction fund raiser.
25. I made a commitment to go complaint free.
26. I helped my daughter make quillows and pillows to sell for her class project. She came close to selling out her booth and grossed over $300. I earned about $100 of it as her employee, which I spent buying things from the other kids in her class.
27. I put aside money each month to purchase art and bought a few small pieces from artists who’s work I admire.
28. I made 3 artist trading cards and sold 2 of them. This one is still for sale Sold.
29. I got to see my piece, Structures #36, hanging at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design a few days ago.
30. I took the big step and put my work up for sale online, on my blog, my etsy shop, guild.com and my cafepress shop. From this I learned more about how I want to sell and market my work and what feels authentic to me.
31. I won the Lydia S. Golomb Memorial Award for Outstanding Use of Traditional Materials at Fiberart International.
32. I took a 2 week workshop with Nancy Crow and spent 2 amazing weeks completely immersed in my art.
33. As the year came to a close I returned to yoga, hiking and searching for the truth of what I want from this life.
34. I maintained a gratitude journal for a good part of the year.
35. I continued to build my investments focusing on my plans for retiring early.
36. I canned 2 batches of homemade salsa with tomatoes from my garden.
37. I went to Kansas to help my mother say goodbye to her husband, a really cool guy.
38. I spent more time with my family this year than I have in a long time. It’s been wonderful, even if not always in the best of circumstances. I appreciate my relationship with my mother, sister, brother and Shirley and am lucky to have them in my life.
39. I was able to say goodbye to my father in a comforting and loving way before he died and have no regrets. This was the hardest thing I did this year and I am very thankful for the friends and family that were there for me.
40. I left a long term relationship that was not working out, which took a lot of strength and courage as there were some good parts, but the bad was no longer acceptable.

 
Thank you to each of you that read my blog, whether you comment or not. I appreciate the support and kind comments so many of you have left over the years.

Happy New Year everyone. May the year bring you everything you dream of and more.

Monday I decided to take the 21 day challenge.

No complaints, criticisms or gossiping for 21 days. In a row. I complain, I start over. According to the new book based on the Complaint Free World it might take me from 4-8 months to accomplish this goal.

Monday went pretty well for my first day.

And then tuesday morning I got an email I’ve been hoping I get for the last few months. Back in October I tried to sign up for Christine Kane’s Great Big Dreams Retreat but it filled up as I was working through the registration process. I was bummed but I asked to be put on the wait list.

Sure enough, I got an email from Christine there was an opening for exactly what I had hoped for. I just bought my airline tickets and I’ll be headed to North Carolina at the end of this month.

I post a lot about my goals for my art career in my blog and in other places I track other goals in my life – financial, personal, family, etc. My desire for 2008 is to take a more holistic approach to my life and to think about how all of it ties together and make broader plans for how I will fulfill my own great big dreams.

I’m looking forward to starting down this path in a few weeks with Christine as I love her blog and her outlook on life.