It’s really easy to write down all the things I’d like to accomplish over the coming year. What’s hard is remembering I only have so much time and energy.

This is from a Weight Watcher’s exercise about mastering your time.

While the list below is long (really long), I’d also like to think it’s doable over the coming 365 days. Not all at once…

Painting

• Keep painting
• Finish the commission that is taking FOREVER
• Do RB homework
• Write at least once a week (goal on Sunday) about your art
• Attend critique group
• Enter both WSO shows
• Enter the Equine Art Show (Emerald Downs)
• Submit to the AAEA Show
• Submit to both NWWS Shows (new goal for 2018)
• Submit to Emerald Art Center show
• Organize and attend Ruth Buchanan workshop (2018 drawing)
• Participate in local art group Artists in Action
  • Participate in Paint the Town
  • Fall Studio Sale with Artists in Action

Health

• Go to Weight Watchers regularly
  • Eat more vegetables
  • Eat less sugar
  • Eat more fiber
  • Drink water
• Participate in walking challenges (particularly with the dog)
• Find a source for yoga and/or meditation and go to it
• Go to physical therapy; improve knee and foot
• Write at least once a week (goal on Wednesday) about your weight loss
• Get 8 hours sleep (this means going to bed early)

Reading

• Goodreads 2018 Book Challenge: 104 books
• 2017 goal – 86 of 104
• 2016 goal = 100 of 100
• 2015 Goal = 100 of 100
• 2014 Goal = 80 of 90
• 2013 Goal = 118 of 125
• 2012 Goal = 111 of 200
• 2011 = 56 of 50

Writing

• Edit and finalize the book I “finished” during the 2017 NaNoWriMo
• Participate in the 2018 NaNoWriMo

Pets

• Do a walk afterwork, hike on the weekends
• Get Key Odor Recognition Trial (ORT) certified
• Participate in 4 trials (including ORT)
• No more cats if Bob dies

Home and Garden

• Water my new front yard to ensure the plants don’t die
• Put in my Little Free Library area
• Improve kitchen table area

Environmental

• Continue 2013 goal of not taking plastic bags at the store
  • Use reusable bags
• Continue 2014 goal of using coffee cups at coffee place
• Continue 2015 goal of picking up after the dogs every time
• Continue 2016 goal of not consuming palm oil
• Improve on 2017 goal of scaling back on car use
  • Bike to work at least 3 of 5 days per week
• 2018 goal: energy audit my house

Knitting

• Finish four projects
• Investigate a knitting group

Money

• Let’s just put it out there that I can improve…
• Donate to charity

Volunteering

• Church – website and tech team
• WSO – website and fall convention
• State Food Drive planning
• Decide on a volunteer project (either Food Bank or Fostering Dogs) and do it!

Career

• Remain employed
• Say hello in the morning

Random

• Go camping at least once
• Explore the local art museum (Ford)
• Visit the Salem carousel
• See 150 species of birds
• Remember that alone time is an important part of my mental health

Painting

• Keep painting
• Write more exclusively about art in my blog
• Attend critique group
  • Investigate Salem group
• Enter both WSO shows
  • April (actually already done! But unsuccessfully…)
  • October
• Participate in local art group Arts in Action
  • Join (done)
  • Attend meetings
• Enter the Equine Art Show (Emerald Downs)
  • July
• Submit to the AAEA Show
  • Spring (March deadline)
  • Fall (June deadline)

Continue to work on my lifestyle improvement project

• Go to Weight Watchers regularly
  • Eat more vegetables
  • Eat less sugar
  • Eat more fiber
  • Drink water
• Participate in walking challenges (particularly with the dog)
• Find a source for yoga and/or meditation and go to it

Reading

• Goodreads 2017 Book Challenge: 104 books
  • 2016 goal = 100 of 100
  • 2015 Goal = 100 of 100
  • 2014 Goal = 80 of 90
  • 2013 Goal = 118 of 125
  • 2012 Goal = 111 of 200
  • 2011 = 56 of 50

Pets

• Come home at lunch to walk to dog, do a walk afterwork, hike on the weekends
• Take another training class with Key
• No more cats if Bob dies

Environmental

• Continue 2013 goal of not taking plastic bags at the store
• Continue 2014 goal of using coffee cups at coffee place
• Continue 2015 goal of picking up after the dogs every time
• Continue 2016 goal of not consuming palm oil
• Scale back on car use
  • Bike to work at least 3 of 5 days
  • Use the bus more often

Knitting

• Spin my 2013 fleece
• Process (clean, card, & spin) my 2015 fleece
• Finish four projects
• Investigate a knitting group
• Go on a Traveling Ewe adventure

Money

• Let’s just put it out there that I can improve…
• Donate to charity

Home

• Put in a rain garden

Random

• Remain employed
• Go camping at least once
• Do at least three “bird loops”
• Explore the local art museum (Ford)
• Visit the Salem carousel
• Find somewhere to volunteer and do that once a week
• See 125 species of birds (downgrade from last year, expecting to do few bird festivals)

On this last day of 2016, I spent the day on a bit of a birding quest, trying to find the last five birds to complete my goal of 150 species in 2016. In the end, I remained at 145. Still, I am feeling good about this goal.

Looking at this list, there is NOTHING about the following:

1. Putting on the WSO show
2. Adjusting to new house
3. Getting new dog

I think that’s a pretty good summary of the year: Coming very close to goals I established and succeeding at unexpected challenges.

Summary

(Accomplishments in red) (sort-ofs in purple)

Painting

• Keep painting
• Write more exclusively about art in my blog
• Enter both WSO shows
• Enter OSA Shows (end up not relevant)
• Do an Artbiz course
• Enter the Equine Art Show (Emerald Downs)
• Submit to the AAEA Show

Continue to work on my lifestyle improvement project

• Go to Weight Watchers regularly
• Participate in walking challenges (particularly with the dog)
• Continue going to yoga twice a week
• Note: Overall this was a spectacular failure

Reading

• Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge: 100 books

Pets

• Walk the dog as much as possible
• When I loose enough weight, start taking riding lessons

Environmental

• Continue 2013 goal of not taking plastic bags at the store
• Continue 2014 goal of using coffee cups at coffee place
• Do not consume palm oil

Random

• Remain employed
• See 150 species of birds (I made it to 145)
  

The end of 2016 marks the end of my third year blogging. A year ago, I posted about my second year of blog progress compared to my first. So, in the spirit of true numbers geeks everywhere, I am adding this post to continue the tradition!

Posts and Other Numbers

I posted about half as often as in previous years; readership responded accordingly.

Data Trends

As you can see, I lost some progress this year. In the summer months of 2015 I had peak readership that has not repeated itself in this year.

It appears as though the number of users is remaining pretty constant and maybe even growing slightly.

Google Analytics

2014

2015

2016

Most popular posts (by month)

Still, readers did appreciate the things I posted. Here’s the favorites by month.

Jan 18 – Raptor Sketching

Feb 27 – Corgi Found

March 6 – No name but beach trip was fun

April 17 – Goodbye, Bella

May 8 – I finished a painting (miracles do happen)

June 15 – Ruth Ellen Hoag, Day 3

July 22 – North Fork Sanitam and Opal Creek

Aug 28 – Student Issues

Sept 17 – It turns out no one walk on… water

Oct 25 – Red

Nov 20 – Another year, another 6×6 painting

Dec 17 – How to have fun in the cold

Conclusion

My next post will be about how I did on my 2016 goals. After that, it’ll be 2017 with a list of new goals. I’ll be taking the information about into account.

Painting

• Keep painting
• Write more exclusively about art in my blog
• Enter both WSO shows
  • April
  • October
• Enter OSA Shows
  • June – Rose Show
• Do an Artbiz course
• Enter the Equine Art Show (Emerald Downs)
  • July
• Submit to the AAEA Show
  • June Deadline

Continue to work on my lifestyle improvement project

• Go to Weight Watchers regularly
  • Eat more vegetables
  • Eat less sugar
  • Eat more fiber
  • Drink water
• Participate in walking challenges (particularly with the dog)
• Continue going to yoga twice a week

Reading

• Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge: 100 books
  • 2015 Goal = 100 of 100
  • 2014 Goal = 80 of 90
  • 2013 Goal = 118 of 125
  • 2012 Goal = 111 of 200
  • 2011 = 56 of 50

Pets

• Walk the dog as much as possible
• When I loose enough weight, start taking riding lessons

Environmental

• Continue 2013 goal of not taking plastic bags at the store
• Continue 2014 goal of using coffee cups at coffee place
• Do not consume palm oil

Random

• Remain employed
• See 150 species of birds

It is definitely that time of year. In the blogging world, bloggers are posting recaps and plans for the new year.

Facebook is filled with “Year in Review” and “Most” lists.

So, obviously, I have to post my own accomplishments.

The 2015 List (Accomplishments in red) (sortofs in purple)

Painting

• Keep painting
• Write more exclusively about art in my blog
• Enter both WSO shows
  • April
  • October
• Do both Open Studios of Beavercreek shows
  • June
  • October
• Do the CC Artist Exhibition show
  • Unknown
• Two two rotations at the TRAG Gallery
  • Unknown
  • November & December rotation
• Enter OSA Shows
  • January – volunteer show
  • February – ensemble
  • March – juried
  • April – nautical
  • June – Rose Show
  • July – not just black & white
  • September – juried
  • October – not just portraits & figures
  • November – 200 for under $200 (I will consider)
  • December – Urban & Rural Landscapes
• Do an Artbiz course
• Enter the Equine Art Show (Emerald Downs)
  • July
• Submit to the AAEA Show
  • June Deadline

Continue to work on my lifestyle improvement project

• Go to Weight Watchers regularly
  • Eat more vegetables
  • Eat less sugar
  • Eat more fiber
  • Drink water
• Participate in walking challenges (particularly with the dog)
• Continue going to yoga twice a week

Reading

• Goodreads 2015 Reading Challenge: 100 books

Pets

• Walk the dog as much as possible
• Continue volunteering at SEO
  • If possible, join VEEP
• When I loose enough weight, start taking riding lessons
• Play with the cats
• No new pets this year

Knitting

• Go on a yarn diet (after January 1)
• Learn continental knitting
• Process (clean, card, & spin) my fleece

Money

• Get credit card debt back to $0
• Build savings (including property tax money)
• Live on a budget every month

Home

• Do a better job keeping up with weeding
• Finish painting window surrounds
• Clean garage rafters
• Declutter more
  • For Lent, do this: http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days-2014/

Environmental

• Continue 2013 goal of not taking plastic bags at the store
• Continue 2014 goal of using coffee cups at coffee place
• Use doggie pick up bags even when hiking

Random

• Remain employed
• Go camping
• Go to Chinese Garden
• Go to Japanese Garden
• Go to the Oregon Zoo
• Go to the Portland Art Museum
• Don’t drive on Sundays / take Sundays as a day of rest
• See 150 species and keep track (102 Currently)

Thoughts

On first seeing this list again I was struck by two things: 1) Gosh, that’s long list, and 2) I really got off track.

I think that’s a pretty fair summary of the year. Long and off track.

But I think there are a few things to talk about.

Painting. While I didn’t do much in the way of original painting, I had a great year for my paintings. From the solo show through Clackamas County Artist Exhibition to my entry in the American Academy of Equine Art, it was a good year for my paintings.

For this next year I will need to focus on actually painting more while not still hitting important deadlines.

Lifestyle improvement project. On this, I basically went backward. But I’m not giving up. Tomorrow is always a new day (or a new year…)

Reading. 100 books seems to be a good number. Easy enough to do, hard enough to challenge me.

Pets. This category may be an entire situation next year, but I’m excited I didn’t break my “no more pets” resolution.

Knitting. I am taking this off my list. It’s not a priority.

Money. Rather unexpectedly, with the sale of my house, things really got paid off. Now the trick will be to keep it that way.

Home. Huh.

Environmental. While I didn’t do as well as I hoped, there is always next year…

Random. I think I’m going to move this off my list too…

Conclusions

Clearly, I get off track and I need to focus. Basically, the same thing my website stats of yesterday showed me!

Last year I published a chart that showed this website’s readership progress. I can find the chart, but unfortunately not the Excel data that made it up.

Readership does seem to be growing, though certainly not as much as the first year. I can see that my readership wants more focus (when I stop posting about painting, things drop off.)

The Google Analytics data shows about the same trends.

2014 sessions

158 posts

2899 sessions

1262 users

9790 page views

2015 sessions

124 posts

7081 sessions

5108 users

13586 page views

Most popular posts (by month)

So, what posts did you guys like?

• January – A good start to the year
• Feb – Bean goose and winter deer
• March – Stay-cation or unemployment?
• April – Resolutions vs. Goals – Doing Less
• May – The ducks have got this thing figured out
• June – 37 years
• July – And away they go
• August – Giving myself a little break
• September – Multnomah Falls Hike
• October – Where to start…?
• November – I think I blocked a few things out
• December – The odd fish of the sea