To The New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR and Happy Birthday, Stacey!! (My wonderful sister was born..ughh 21 ?...years ago today...lol)

I have been a bit off this past month as I needed some downtime. Chasing rainbows as I call it took a lot out of me. But I survived and will thrive because that's 'the way I roll.' But this year I will really try to keep up with the posting as I find it more theraputic then anything and I need to make it more constant.

I guess I should start with updates that I have left hanging in the wind:

Challenge Me: We had a scrapbooking meetup last weekend, where I chose a winning challenge from my previous Challenge Me! blog. I started on the project and should be completing it this weekend. The lucky winner will be chosen at that time and the prize distributed. So challengers, keep your fingers crossed.

Operation Get Stacey Reading Paranormal: Well she borrowed three books from my "library" and she managed to read all of the Twilight series. She's a vampire/werewolf addict at this time, and loves Twilight in general. (She now has the soundtrack and googles the books and movie for more information). My niece and I have created a monster, and we love it!! Welcome to my world, Stacey, where vampires, shapeshifters, witches, monsters etc., RULE! lol

Operation Studio: I have finished unloading the last (I think) of the boxes of clutter for separation and finding a home for everything. My new shelving unit rocks the house, and I wish I could have a room full. I'm currently working on my art journals and inspiration has struck to get some "inspiring" pieces for my room so that I can look at them and remember why I want to create and need a wonderful, clutter-free room to get it done. I plan on getting all my artsy-inclined friends to help me get some pieces so that when the room is finished I'll have the inspiration already waiting to be put up from people who inspire me every day.

Writing: I submitted a story this month. I critiqued a creative nonfiction piece and revamped a previous prose poem that I wrote in my creative writing class at the beginning of last year and made it into a short story piece. Those two pieces have been sent to my critiquers for review. I have compiled a list (30+ pages) of submission possibilities and have started a short story for one of the magazines on the list. So I have started the ball rolling toward my writing goals for 2009, which leads to my next update.

Writing Goals 2009: Finish, revise, and critique current novel, with the working title of Wolf Moon; send out at least one submission a month; write one new piece: poem, short story, exercise, etc., a week; attend writers’ conferences: Nola Stars, Jubilee, WGA, BWG; give an art journaling workshop; join an online critique group; try an unfamiliar genre; get published; stay in school - work toward that degree; art journal regularly; get organized in the submission process; stay on top of my tax deductions during the year; be on the lookout for all freelancing opportunities; and most importantly - WRITE MORE!

New Years Eve was a wonderful experience. I joined some friends for a night on the town to celebrate my friend Tanya's birthday (HAPPY BDAY!!) and the new year, complete with a limo to transport us from place to place so that we could "drink responsibly." It was a fun-filled night complete with thrills, chills, spills, and all kinds of stuff, including the best damn pizza I've ever eaten at 3am. lol (I have pics to share as my lovely camera suffered last night and the corpse may have to be buried this morning) but I'll get some posts in as soon as I get some pics from my friends.

I keep saying 2009 will be my year, and a tiny piece of my heart is crossing its fingers, pulling daisy petals, and wishing on shooting stars in hopes that it will be. Like any other year it will be filled with its ups and downs, which I will survive from either way because that's what we do. But I seriously need some happy moments this year.

In 2008 I stepped closer and closer to the person I used to be, joining with the person that I always thought I would be, mixed with the person that I am. I remember the girl I used to be, with all of her lovely flaws and gems, and I miss her. But she had to change, to grow, to become stronger, smarter, less naive. She lost parts of herself yet gained others. The parts that are integral to her true self were not lost completely I have found but merely hidden.

This past year I have managed to find some and merge those pieces of me with the person that I have become. It's a beautiful thing really. And I guess I needed those years in between of nothingness to gain the power and the desire to make the changes in my life that are making it all possible. I will continue to look for her, and I will continue to miss pieces of her for as long as I am able.

And it's the girl that I used to be that made me able to chase those rainbows this year. Though the ending did not come out to the fairytale that I had imagined in my heart, I found myself needing to go through with the whole process, excitement, fear, freaking out, ache, disappointment, happiness - because I had not let myself feel these kinds of things about the chase. So in 2009 I vow to continue chasing those rainbows because I won't find what I'm searching for hiding under a rock.

2009 Hopes:

I hope to have all of my friends, family, and loved ones with me throughout the year and beyond.
I hope you know how much your love, support, help, friendship, and beauty means to be.
I hope you get all of the things that you need in life.
I hope you have happiness in yourself and all that you do.
I hope that you find the thing that you love doing and make time to do it.

M