My 2025 has got off to an interesting start. Yesterday morning (the 1st) on our morning walk, Key’s collar just fell off. The leather had worn away and it just came off. We made it home (he’s not going anywhere) but the event unsettled me. I’ve never had a dog outlive its collar. I had to change one dog’s collar due to a skunk, but I have not had to get a dog a new one due to wear and tear. I have found the event oddly unsettling. Today, we went down and picked out a new collar. Red.
I can’t get over how different he looks.
Then this morning (the 2nd) we went out the front door and stopped to admire the birds at my feeder.
Things come in threes, so I’m a little nervous about tomorrow. But the days march on and goals aren’t going to write themselves.
When I look ahead for the year, I try to remember the things I am working toward, then backtrack into steps that will help me get there. The steps can’t be too big or grandiose. And they have to be about things I can control. For example, I can only enter a show; I can’t make a piece sell or win a prize.
| Type | Organization | Description | Time | Goal | Actual |
| Art | |||||
| Art | Alaska AIR | Apply | Winter | 1 | |
| Art | Art on the Edge | Committee | |||
| Art | Art on the Edge | Participate | Spring | 1 | |
| Art | Emerald Art Center | Apply | Spring | 1 | |
| Art | Equine Art Show | Participate | Summer | 1 | |
| Art | ISEA | Apply – International | Spring | 1 | |
| Art | ISEA | Apply – Member | Winter | 1 | |
| Art | ISEA | Apply – Member (juried) | Fall | 1 | |
| Art | ISEA | China Committee | |||
| Art | NWWS | Apply | Fall | 1 | |
| Art | NWWS | Apply | Spring | 1 | |
| Art | Pacific Artists’ Co-Op Gallery | Have a new show for featured artist in May | Spring | 1 | |
| Art | Pacific Artists’ Co-Op Gallery | Keep commitments | 12 | ||
| Art | Pacific Artists’ Co-Op Gallery | Switch out art each quarter | 4 | ||
| Art | Western Fed | Apply | Fall | 1 | |
| Art | WSO | Apply | Fall | 1 | |
| Art | WSO | Apply | Spring | 1 | |
| Art | WSO | Find & attend a critique group | 10 | ||
| Art | WSO | Jean Pederson workshop | 1 | ||
| Art | Blog posts | 24 | |||
| Art | Newsletter | 4 | |||
| Friendships | Develop a new friend | 1 | |||
| Health | Continue Qi Gong | ||||
| Health | Drink water | ||||
| Health | Eat breakfast | ||||
| Health | Get 8 hours sleep | ||||
| Health | Hit 10,000 steps daily | ||||
| Knitting | Finished knitting projects | 2 | |||
| Leftish | Decide on a volunteer project | ||||
| Leftish | Donate to charity | ||||
| Mental Health | Alone time is important | ||||
| Mental Health | Do NOT overextend (boards, volunteer) | ||||
| Nosework | Elite 1 | 1 | |||
| Nosework | L2C | 1 | |||
| Nosework | L3C | 1 | |||
| Nosework | L3I | 1 | |||
| Nosework | Participate in trials | 4 | |||
| Reading | Goodreads Challenge | 90 | |||
| Travel | Travel adventure | 1 | |||
| Writing | NaNoWriMo | Take advantage of resources | |||
| Writing | SCBWI | Take advantage of resources | |||
| Writing | Willamette Writers | Take advantage of resources | |||
| Writing | Mystery Series: Polish 2 | ||||
| Writing | Mystery Series: Polish 3 | ||||
| Writing | Mystery Series: Shop series | ||||
| Writing | Mystery Series: Write 4 | ||||
| Writing | Young: Finish and shop “DDD” | ||||
| Writing | Young: Finish and shop “Whimbrels” | ||||
| Writing | Young: Start “Cows” or “Pelicans” |
2025 looks to be a very different year for me, even more so than 2024. At the start of 2024 I knew I was facing an employment change. Now, I am trying to pursue a goal (authorship) that I hope can be made into a career. At this stage, I see art and writing as interchangeable, though practically each utilizes its own skill set. As such, it seems reasonable that the vast majority of my goals have to do with art or writing.
Both writing and art are “fun” for me, so I am trying to keep my goals dealing with the things that aren’t fun. Applying to shows, pursuing opportunities, shopping out manuscripts for publishing. Ugg. These are the steps that will lead me to my goal of being a self-supporting author. So, they are worth it.