My attempts at simplifying my life have been interesting, to say the least! Thanks to a recent three-day weekend, I was able to do some reorganizing in my cozy little studio space. Really just a few new containers for jewelry findings and spacer beads and some hooks and boxes for storing finished work, but every little bit does help. I still have to simplify my storage for mixed media projects, but that may have to wait until the next long weekend...yay for Presidents' Day in February!

Once the supplies were a bit more manageable, I was able to spend a few evenings creating some new jewelry for my Etsy shop. Continuing with the idea of simplifying, I pulled beads and findings to fit the months of January and February...faceted garnets and carnelian, some pink quartz, a few Czech beads with a heart theme, and a few Toho and Swarovsky beads to compliment the stones. This is a big change for me, since I usually waste many minutes, if not hours, wandering through everything in my stash before settling on a design and actually producing a finished piece!

Another time waster for me is dinner prep after a long day at school. I'm usually tired and would much rather put my feet up with a cup of pomegranate green tea and my iPad, but hubby gets crabby with hunger and his idea of preparing a meal is getting in the car and picking up Skyline, Five Guys, or City Barbeque. So if I want to each anything reasonably healthy, it's up to me to do the planning. So my next goal is to simplify my dinner prep by planning menus and grocery lists in advance...hello Pinterest! I'll weigh in on this effort in my next post.

Once upon a time...in a world far, far away...
                        from reality...I dreamed a dream of finding...
                                                BALANCE!
A peaceful, calm, and yet busy world, where I managed a household, worked a full-time teaching job, hit the gym to work out four times each week, designed and sold jewelry in my successful Etsy shop, and visited my distant grandchildren several times each year.

And then...I woke up...
                     to dusty furniture, dirty dishes, an extra fifteen pounds;
                     to ungraded lessons, and only five Etsy sales ...
                                               BUT WAIT!
I did spend Easter break week, ten days in both June and July, Labor Day weekend, Thanksgiving week, and the entire week after Christmas with those precious grandchildren!

Are you with me so far?
             Been walking a few miles in my Sketchers?
                          Been feeling some of that same frustration yourself?

Late on the evening of that most promising night of the year...the night when all the failures of the previous twelve months are laid to rest...the night full of the promise of new beginnings...I found myself scrolling mindlessly through my Facebook feed and I stumbled upon a post that made me stop...drop...and take notice...
                                                 #oneword365
What a concept! Choose a word to be a focus for the coming twelve months...live it...blog about with like-minded "one worders" to hold oneself accountable. But then I remembered that single word hanging on my craft room wall...the one from last year...
                                               BALANCE

Yup! Been there, done that! Just not with #oneword365, but with Darla Kirchner of Creative Biz School. And I had failed miserably. By mid-March of 2015, I had pretty much given up on finding BALANCE and was just trying to make it to the end of the school year and the blessed relief of summer break. When August rolled around, I tried to revive the effort, but by mid-September, I was once again mired in the struggle to find that elusive work-life BALANCE.

However, I am a creative soul with a hopeful spirit, and I am going to try, try again. Not with another Facebook group, not with another blog link-up, and not with the same word (although I did consider just that for the first few days of January). No, this time I am going to take my inspiration from Joshua Becker, author of Simplify and blogger at www.becomingminimalist.com. My Word for 2016 is going to be
                                              SIMPLIFY

If there is a way to make my life a little easier by doing less, I am going to let unnecessary tasks wait until later...or not do them at all.

If there is a way to make my life a little easier by having a little less, I am going to get rid of the unnecessary clutter.

I know it won't be easy to clean out those closets and under-the-bed storage bins. I know it won't be easy to say "no" to a social invitation when my calendar is already full or when I  just need time to recharge with a good book and a cup of tea. I know it won't be easy to simplify my cooking and create clean, nutritious meals so that I feel energetic and ready to take on my world, but I am determined to try.

And maybe, just maybe, by learning to SIMPLIFY, I will rediscover that long-lost BALANCE!

                                    
If what you've just read resonates with your creative soul, leave a comment and share your Word for 2016...or your thoughts on balance and simplicity...or just say "hello" to a kindred spirit. I'd love to hear from you!