I don't know when it happened, but something changed in me this year. Over the winter, in the thick of school and worry (and probably mid-cup of tea) it hit me: if not now, when? It sounds corny, but after a year of plans falling through, it was like being hit by lightening- I have to stop planning and start doing. I have to find the energy inside myself to stay positive and charged up, all the time, and I have to do it like my whole life is at stake.

It sounds dramatic, right? But this is my reasoning: if all we have is what's happening right now? Then in every decision, my whole life is at stake. And in that case, I want to be paying attention and going to bed tired because I've given everything I can. I want to make this life joyful and creative, and I want it to count. I have to start now – if not now, when?

So after a lot of thinking this is my birthday list. It's big, it's beautiful, and it's all mine.

This year I will…

Start a real, official business and open up shop on etsy. I've filed all the government paperwork for this, but it won't feel real to me until I see the cheques with my company name on them (which I'm so excited for!). I've been dreaming of different product lines all spring, I'm in the final stages of logo design with an amazing illustrator and this summer I'll have lots to show you!

Be passionate, determined and single-minded. Working on Four Little Pots and doing more freelance work in the spring taught me an incredible amount about how much I can get done when I focus in and refuse to let anything shake me. Working on projects that I love energizes me. I'm aching for long work days and glue on my fingers, and I'm excited to dive in.

Get involved in the local scene. There are wonderful meet up groups, knitting clubs, yoga studios, and craft mafias where I live… and I need to get out there. The idea of making more friends who share my interests makes me really happy- I want to build a fantastic circle of local friends to complement my girls who are far and wide.

Remember my passions & invest in them. I have so many interests that have fallen by the wayside since university: city planning, religion, history, cheesy sci-fi, film noir, theatre, real literature – these all make up part of who I am and they surface in wonderful ways. I need to keep exploring, no matter what my main focus is.

Make lots of time to play with Mister. Because he's amazing. I never imagined that another person could be so fundamental to my whole life, I never even imagined that marriage could change me, and yet here I am. Loved & fed & kept up to date on movies, American holidays, and state of the art puppy wrangling techniques. I want us to have more good food, belly laughs, field trips and adventures together, just to be gratuitous about the whole love thing.

Love this little blog! Connecting with you in this place makes me so happy, it's one my most rewarding projects. I am so proud of what it has become! Making friends and learning the ropes of blogging has been an amazing journey so far. I want to keep making this space more and more me, and I can't wait to see where that will take it.

Stay present. A lot of the time I get caught up in spinning narratives for myself – about anything from work to friends – and more often than not it ends up causing me to get stressed out and vacate what's actually going on in this very moment. I'm working on living more intentionally and being slightly less day dreamy. Just slightly.

Stretch. I want to grow my comfort zone by challenging myself- this can be anything from starting to volunteer to getting a table at a craft show, or going to a professional development workshop. I want to stamp out the little voice that suggests I count my self out and tune into the one that wants to deliver above and beyond expectations.

Stay focused, work hard, and pay attention to the positive thoughts. Because the alternative really isn't an alternative.

{Like the idea of a birthday list? Check out  Sandy's & consider making your own!}