Good bye, 2007!

Well, this has certainly been an eventful year! It's been a year for change and progress... Lots of changes over at my website, Chris losing his job and starting his own business, my various attempts to take my business in new directions, studying Chinese, etc etc. I think that 2008 is going to be even more exciting, though, so I am looking forward to it!

Just for fun, I think I'll post a list of my goals for 2008, and in a year, we can revisit that list and see how I did! This list is in no particular order, of course.

1. Move into a house. Okay, this is quite literally number 1. I hate my apartment, and Chris is finally on the same page with me on our need to move on.

2. Do at least one Faerie Festival or Fantasy Convention or some such. I've got to stop relying entirely on my website to generate business. And while we're on that topic...

3. Open an Etsy shop. This is the first 2008 goal that I'm likely to fulfill. Watch this blog for more news on that!

4. Explore new-to-me materials and techniques. I want to increase the variety in my selection. I've already started that with the addition of Earthenwood Studios beads and pendants (which you'll start to see in my next update), but I hope to do even more expansion in 2008.

5. Do more polymer work. I've barely touched my clay supplies all year. This is another one that I'll probably get to early in the year -- maybe even starting on the 2nd.

6. Get published in at least one bead magazine. I've made some attempts in that area this past year, but in the coming year I'm going to put a lot more effort into it.

7. Network. I worry that I've become too insular. I need to make more friends and business contacts, and spend more time communicating with the ones I already have.

8. Dance. I haven't danced in months, and I really miss it. One problem is that sometimes I get bored just dancing for myself and/or Chris. I know I'll never dedicate the time to being a professional dancer, but it would be nice to find a few opportunities to dance for other people. Whether this turns into dancing for my friends, or the residents of a senior center, or dancing like a madwoman in my front yard, the change would still be nice.

9. Organize my time better. I have a lot of hobbies, and I can't seem to find the time to juggle all of them AND the things that I have to do (stupid housework). I know that there are people out there who do even more than I'm trying to do, and they're serving as my inspiration. In 2008, I will waste less time and accomplish more things.

10. Various and sundry personal goals. These are all too private to post about here on my blog where the whole wide world can read them. However, there are a lot of little things about myself that I'm dissatisfied with. Things I've never learned or accomplished, personality flaws that hamper my social life, that sort of thing. I hope that by the end of 2008 I'll be a better, more well-rounded, happier person than I am at the end of 2007.

Everyone be safe tonight, and I'll see you in the new year!