Welcome 2015!

Happy New Year to you!  I am happy to welcome 2015!

Do you believe in setting up resolutions for yourself each year?  Personally, I am not a resolutions kinda girl, but I am all about setting goals and dreams!

It is deeply important to pause and take a minute to reflect on the previous year.  What where my blessings, lessons, challenges, achievements, from the prior year?  Everything from the good to the bad deserve celebration as it all made me the person I am today!  I remind myself to be proud to be still standing!

Strongly, I believe, that we all get braver, wiser, stronger, and beautiful if we embrace life and all its lessons. As I reflect on 2014, here are some beautiful LIFE LESSONS I learned in 2014....

•  CREATE.  Creating has become a life force for me.  I recognized that I am happiest when I am using my hands to design, paint, drawing, doodling or create something. 
  
• ENDURE.  I have razor sharp focus.  When I have my mind set on something, usually nothing derails me from my course and I can overcome any life's challenges. 
• CHANGE.  I can only be responsible for my own personal growth. I can actively support and encourage others in their own journey, but understand that is NOT my journey, it's theirs.
• EXPLORE.  I am open to experience my life and the adventures it takes me on.  Truly open to embracing my life's journey.  Having an understanding that because of being open to explore and expose my true self, I am growing mental, emotionally, and physically.
• LETTING GO.   Being someones vision/version of who they think I should be.  Still on the path of accepting that life is not about being perfect 100% of the time.
• HAPPINESS.  Choosing to be happy.  I have begun to understand that I create my happiness, not others.  Others are in my life to  share my joy and love that is manifested by and through my happiness.

Some of my LIFE DREAMS came true in 2014....

• HEALTH RESULTS
•   I started my healthy lifestyle changes in March of 2014. First by embracing eating more healthy, embracing exercise into my busy life, took control of my medical issues.  

• Lost 46 lbs in 2014
• Walk 5-6 days a week, averaging 3-5 miles
• Use FitBit to monitor my steps, reaching daily goals of 10 flights of stairs and 10,000 steps a day.
• Having gastric sleeve surgery, or vertical sleeve gastrectomy on December 22, 2014. 
• Being diabetic medicine free!  What a relief!

•  PROFESSIONAL RESULTS
• Reaching my goals at work= a great sense of accomlishment.
• Continuing my education, successfully passing with "A"s in Business Communication and Business Math.

•  PERSONAL  RESULTS
• Attending my first art retreat in Olive Branch, Mississippi called "Art Is...You Dixie"  One of the most profound life moments as I was  surrounded by others that share the same love and intense passion to create.  Sal and Ellen put on such a wonderful and memorable retreat that I will  be forever be grateful to them for letting me join their "tribe".  
• Meeting and taking a class by my art inspiration, the talented Jane Davenport.
• Attending a local art weekend called "Create".
• Taking my first road trip alone to Memphis, TN aka Olive Branch.
• Selling a piece of art I posted on my FaceBook page.
• Creating t-shirts using one of my paintings called "Rock Girl".
• Exploring online art classes:
• Supplies Me, Jane Davenpor
• http://www.instituteofcute.com/brands/Jane-Davenport.html
•  48 Weeks Workshop with Donna Downey 
•  http://www.donnadowney.com/artist-profile

I find great satisfaction and gratification in the process of accomplishing my dreams and goals.  It truly excites me to check off  items off my "to-do" list as each item represents another step forward to my personal and professional growth.  The actual process of listing my goals/dreams tend to drive me, as it is a personal commitment to myself, no matter if they are short or long term.


So what is next for this RockGirl to accomplish in 2015?

• HEALTH GOALS 
• Continue to exercise daily.
•  Walk 5-6 days a week, averaging 3-5 miles.
• Go to gym 2 days a week for strength exercising.
• Use FitBit to monitor my steps, reaching daily goals of 10 flights of stairs and 10,000 steps a day.
• Journal my blood sugar twice a week, food intake, exercise log.
• Post my progress on a  weekly basis on my results from my gastric sleeve surgery, after 3 months on a monthly post.

• Run two 5K races by October 2015.

• Be healthy enough to be entirely free of daily medicine.

Make two new meals a week, post my results on a weekly basis.

•  PROFESSIONAL GOALS
• Reaching my 2015 goals at work.

• Continuing my education
• Spring course: Payroll Accounting
• Summer course: Comprehensive Spreadsheets
• Fall course:  Intro to Office Software 

• ART GOALS
• Attending "Art Is...You" retreat in Minneapolis, MN in September.

• Creating a horoscope series of paintings.

• Creating new Creepy, but Cute drawings.

• Create a series of Day of the Dead canvas art.

• Sell 10 paintings this year. 

• Attend an art walk.

• Participate in art online classes, post weekly of any projects created and works in process.
• Willowings: Life Book 2015  http://www.willowing.org/life-book-2015/
• Art5Academy: Documented Life Project http://www.art5academy.com/the-studio/the-documented-life-project-free
•  Christy Tomlinson: SheArt and Art Society
• http://www.scarletlime.com/workshops.html
• monthly art project: The Art Society  

•  TRAVEL GOALS
• Paris, France

• New Orleans, LA

• Portland, WA 

•  BLOG GOALS
• Post the following:
• Monthly goals update
• Weekly post new recipes
• Weekly post health update/sleeve progress
• Weekly post new art
• Increase follower on blog and Facebook

As a commitment to myself, I will be using the RockGirl blog to post my progress throughout the year.  I will be posting numerous updates per month, so you can check in on my progress as well! (Oh boy, I think they call this "being held accountable!")  

May your New Year Sparkle and Shine!