Happy New Year!

Welcome to the new year, a time to reflect on the past year and a time for new beginnings.  I want to remember and be grateful for the good in the past year, let go of the bad, and make plans for the new.

Overall, 2011 was a very good year for me!  I had my left hip replaced in March and my right hip replaced in May.  That may not seem like cause for celebration to many people, but my life is so much better for it.  I have so much less pain and I get around  much better now (not perfect, but better).  Also, 2011 is the year that I finally took the step to start selling some of my handmade items and original pattern designs!  I won't be making it to the pages of Forbes anytime soon, but I am enjoying the experience, and that counts for a lot to me.

As for the not so good things that I will be leaving in the past year, there is the very slow and painful recovery of the 2 surgeries.  I have to give credit to the Angels of Hibard Nursing Home, who did their best to give me comfort and encouragement as I healed.  I can't really think of anything else bad to try to get over, so I will again state that it must have been a very good year!

Moving on, I have very high expectations for 2012.  I am working with a vocational rehab program to try to get back to working.  I am desperately looking for a car that is reliable, safe and within my meager price range.  I want to keep selling on Etsy and see what else I can learn or develop in my crafting repertoire.  Also, I want to go back to school.  Going back to school is probably a long shot since I don't have transportation or money, but it doesn't cost anything to dream!

Now, you may have been expecting a list of resolutions in this blog, so I will try not to disappoint you.  I really dislike that I usually fail at these, so I am going to try to make them "reasonable" resolutions.

1. Lose 25 more pounds. (I'm trying to be reasonable here)
2. Blog at least 3 times per week. (realistically, once per week would be an improvement)
3. Learn to steek! (it scares me)
4. Complete my SIL's afghan that I started around 3 years ago.

I guess that is as much as I am willing to list and possibly publicly fail at.  So, how was the past year for you?  What are you hoping for in the new year?  Please leave me a comment so that we can all work together toward our goals!  Happy Creativity to you all.