The winner of the free gift certificate is…Donamuree!

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It’s that time of year!

And yes, from my polling earlier this month, I know many of you never make a list of resolutions because you feel as though you’re setting yourselves up for failure, but how about those “soft promises” to yourself?

I’m a list girl. Always have been, and the older I get, I lean on them harder. If it’s not on my list, it’s not on my radar sort of thing. But my lists are usually compiled of very finite goals and almost always aimed at writing projects. So—work-related! Not at all a “soft promise”. So far as those go…

I don’t usually set weight goals because, like many of you, I always let myself down. But when I had a health scare a couple of weeks ago (I’ll say it out loud—I had a mild stroke!), I did some soul-searching and decided: Now, is the time. No waiting for the first. The day after I spent an afternoon in the ER, I ordered a box of Nutrisystem. It was a very mild stroke, transitory. No lasting effects, thank goodness! But I think it was a wake up call. I’m seven pounds down, and while I have no desire to be reed-thin, I do want to feel better, so that’s my goal. Feel better in 2016!

Then there’s the whole smoking thing. Yes, I love nicotine. It’s my drug of choice, or one of them. The other’s caffeine, and there’s no way I can give that up—I’d be comatose at the keyboard. But there’s the whole living thing. All I have to do is think about what it felt like to realize I was slurring my words and feeling muzzy to know something’s got to give, so smoking’s going to give. Already, I’ve cut my daily habit by half.

Then there’s the art thing. Writing is my creative passion, but the past couple of years, it’s felt more like a job. I show up every day at the keyboard and pound out words. I’ve been feeling a little empty, like the creative spark needed a new outlet. I’ve been making jewelry, but it doesn’t always feed my need for color and freedom because wrapping, linking, beading doesn’t feel explosively creative. When I took a zentangle workshop last summer, I felt that burst of creative pleasure. I’ve been experimenting with watercolor and mixed media art, and so, come January, I’m going to keep an art journal  for the year and make little dates with myself to fill it up while I practice different approaches to my art education.

Lastly, I want to learn to be a saver. I’m luckier than most in that I won’t have to depend on Social Security when I’m in my dotage. I have a couple of retirements that will kick in when I hit 60, but I’d love to feel more in control, and to take some lavish trips. So, with Iceland and Bora Bora in mind, I’m taking the 52-week savings challenge. It’s small beans, but I hope it will help me learn a little discipline. No, I don’t need another paint brush or the latest tablet. Not that I am any good at denying myself little treasures, but one thing I learned about myself this past year is that I get EXTREME pleasure from treasure hunting at flea markets and yard sales. Those pretty buttons, odd beads, and small machinery finds help feed my art habit. So, maybe I don’t need a new Michael Kors bag, but I can get my shopping on looking for just the right piece of bric-a-brac for the mixed media piece I’m working on. For instance, this didn’t cost a thing—my daughter had a fanfold of picture matting swatches—just the right size for tearing apart and making a bunch of painted bookmarks. I scarfed those up. TREASURE! Be expecting to see pictures of some of those in the coming months. 🙂

So, that’s my soft list of resolutions. Not a huge list, and I won’t attack them with any “all or nothing” ambition. Plus, I didn’t wait until the 1st to begin.

So, how about it? Do you have a “soft” resolution?
Something you’d love to do for yourself this coming year?

If you comment, you’ll be entered to win a small Amazon.com gift card.  ~DD