For me, I accomplished PiBoIdMo, joined That’s My Folio (an online directory), contributed to four books for Klutz, did some surface design work, and most importantly, cultivated more friendships with creatives.  I’m not being snotty, I have other friends who do things different from what I do. They love their careers as much as I do. But I miss the designers and artists I used to work  with side by side, and I feel like Twitter fills that void. We Skype as well, and there’s Twitter chats for creatives on various nights. It’s nearly like being able to peek over the cubicle wall and chit chat.  Having things in common is important, and I’m able to meet one of my friends who’s a writer/presenter once a month (or more, we get busy!) for coffee and a good creative talk! Most creatives are champion chatters, so calls and meet ups are loooong ; ) I’ve also started going to our SCBWI-IL Illustrator meetings, and I’m so excited for January’s! In other news, we got four major home improvements off of our to do list, which really took the stress off of us.

A couple weeks ago we went to the Dr. Seuss exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Our older son and I were in there for a couple of hours (Kev was enjoying the trains with our younger son). I wasn’t able to get photos inside, but I did get a few outside of the exhibit. The man was a genius! Even by today’s standards, I believe he would be considered quite an innovator. I’m reading his biography now, and even though humans are humans whether or not they create for children, there were things I’d rather I didn’t know about him. They don’t change my view of his work, but I don’t have him on a pedestal like I used to…

2011 was such a great year for us because we were able to really move forward with a lot of things. Procratination is such a creativity killer, but it messes with family life as well. Every year I vow to procrastinate a little less than the previous year. I know I’ve said it many times: I don’t set up new year resolutions. I just feel they’re not right for me. I feel they’re doomed to fail because the goals are so enormous, that after three weeks I realize how unattainable they are. I instead try to come up with a theme. I didn’t invent it, not my idea at all. A Betterment Theme (I don’t even remember where I heard it) is actually a collection of small goals that all relate to a larger goal. I am going to use the word unresolution. If you want to lose weight, a smaller, attainable goal would be to choose to take the stairs instead of an elevator, switching out a sandwich for a salad once a week, one pc of pizza instead of two. It’s a smaller change that doesn’t impact your day to day life so much that you won’t do it. When we work toward a larger goal with smaller, managable ones, we allow ourselves slip ups and mistakes. For some odd reason, when we make a resolution, and we slip up, we then give up.

Two large goals I’m aiming to acheive this year will be honing my skills and staying on task. But my unresolution-achievable goals are to doodle and file receipts right away. Just keeping my desk clear will also help! Another large goal is a whole new revamped book, but one piece at a time is surely more managable, and, leaves room for things that crop up unexpectedly, three new pieces are better than none. I am more likely to reach my long term goal with more realistic expectations. : ) AND I found all three of my portfolios. I had the medium one, found the small one in a drawer in my studio during a cleaning, where I also had found the large filler pages. That meant I had a large book somewhere. Sure enough, in the basement! Woot! I’m halfway there already! ; )

I really do have to be sure I’m drawing every day. Sounds like a no-brainer, but I’ve never been a 24/7 doodler. I like to, and Kev has often said, “you go to Starbucks enough, take your sketchbook with you.” But I have a difficult time getting into something so when I’m interrupted, it takes me that much longer to get back to what I was doing. Folks going back and forth would easily distract me. I’m trying to get over that. Another small goal ; ) What will make it a little easier is I rec’d some lovely Field Notes from my good friend Nina for the hols, they’re just the right size to fit into my purse (and this *gorgeous* scarf she MADE)  Thank you, my dear friend, I am better for knowing you!: )  The most important thing I’ll take from all these smaller goals is, I’m allowed to make a mistake. I’m allowed to slip up, because, the next day, I can start over.

2012 is a leap year, and I’m totally living up to that by taking some leaps of my own: a PB dummy challenge (which may take a while), an Adobe Illustrator presentation to our SCBWI illustrator group (so I’ll be asking for some advice from my friends who do a lot of these), attending our 1st SCBWI-IL Illustrator’s Day in the spring, and I’m hoping to get to a larger SCBWI conference eventually. Baby steps, but it will all come together : )

This is my last post of the 2011 year (I’m planning to post more for 2012) and I couldn’t close it out without sending best wishes to my friends (online and local) and family. You all are very important to me and keep me focused and positive. So here’s to 2012!! To all *three* of my boys, thank you for being you, and I can’t wait to dive into the chinese food tonight, ring in the new year, and enjoy the whale exhibit at The Field tomorrow with all of you! Love you : )

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I found his first helmet. It’s blue. Covered with stickers. All the kids get stickers for achievements. Then I thought, this helmet would be great, on a snowman…I imagined how my 9yo, would make it: a little himself, a little Calvin and Hobbes, a little Charlie Brown…Dirty snow and tinker toys…

I’ll probably add a little color… : )

For so long I was burning the candle at both ends and wondering why I was having difficulty getting new ideas and creating new things. That’s been getting better as I’ve been more uncluttered. Anyone could find anything they’re looking for in my studio. And yesterday, I had everything I usually do in the evening, done in the afternoon, so I could have the entire evening to myself (two of my guys were at hockey). I read with our 7yo, and I did end up sketching a bit! Even when I thought my whole day was a washout, because I was taking care of other things during the day, I managed it. Amazing…

I was rarely truly organized, although I seemed that way. I was always doing the inevitable chores at the last possible minute. I never had a problem with deadlines, I would put any assignment ahead of other things, and should. But outside of that, I was constantly chasing my tail, constantly playing catch up, constantly feeling like I had to time for me, and blaming “all the stuff I had to do” for that. Even my workouts were on the backburner for something else.

But, it was not the organization that put me in the right place mentally and emotionally. Well, part of it was, but primarily, it was my lack of procrastination.

Usually when we use the word lack, it’s in a negative way: lack of self control, lack of drive, lack of time. But in this case, it’s a positive. By not putting things off until later I was able to free my mind. I don’t know many parents who love laundry, washing dishes, changing sheets, etc. I also have the added responsibility of making sure that the boys’ extra stuff is done as well: homework, school extras, sports stuff is clean, etc. But by getting those things done as soon as we can, we free our brains to be open to creative thoughts, and expanding ideas, resolving challenges in a creative way. At some point we all find ourselves saying “I have my best ideas in the shower” or bathroom, watering plants or whatever. Because those are mindless activities, we don’t need to think to do them, so we’re free to think about other things. I tell our older son constantly, kids who maintain their space have more time to do all the stuff they want to. Kids who don’t, spend their weekends cleaning. It’s getting in there, wish I’d listened when I was a kid!

Know what else? I also stretch, before I get out of bed. I need to stay flexible. How can my mind be flexible if my body isn’t? I also power walk or run every day. I do this as soon as the kids are on the bus. Sometimes five miles, on rare occasions six, usually four. There are days when I only feel like one or two. It’s something, as long as you get the heart going for even a small amount of time, it’s something. THAT is better than nothing. This also unclutters your mind. We need to “empty the cache” on a regular basis. I’m told constantly you have to “work out” ideas in drawings (I have such difficulty with metaphors), why wouldn’t you work out the physical muscles too? Exercise is good, for everything…

I’m relearning to enjoy myself, my husband and my boys. I can think clearly, I can write again, which is nice, I read more, and I’ve remembered a few dreams (but they’re not exactly what I want, perhaps I need different books)! Yet, I have the same amount of hours in the day, and actually more responsibilities as our boys get older. Lack of procrastination seems too easy, that fixing it couldn’t possibly change your life. We all tend to put things off, rob time from one activity to give to another, which we’d also robbed time from that activity for something else. Collectively though, these things are exercises in focus and discipline, and should be our priorities. The hour you’d spent on FB or Twitter you could have finished something else. I love Twitter, I will never give it up, but, I have slotted it for a certain amount of time per day. I only spend time on it after I’ve finished all the “have-to’s”.

Maybe it’s being in my forties, maybe it’s because I find myself giving advice to our 9yo that I should be taking myself, but I’ve had a complete overhaul in my thinking and doing. Lots and lots more thinking and doing! : )