New Year, New Blogging Style

It's a fresh new year and I am ready for it! I went totally dark on this blog over the summer months. I completely intended on returning, but to say I lost my mojo was an understatement. A few years ago my blog had evolved from a relaxed place where I would touch base with my friends and let them know what was going on in my life to a blog that was more and more about crafting tutorials. The process of having to photograph each step of the crafting process along with loading and editing the photos became daunting and it made writing posts less fun for me. I almost dreaded the idea of posting because I didn't feel like I could write if I didn't have a craft to share and I didn't feel like crafting just so that I would have something to write about.
Instead, I focused my energy on my garden ( that's a whole other blog post) and was drawn completely away from this blog. My apologies, friends. Let's start fresh. I just cracked open a new planner kit and began plotting and scheming. I haven't gotten as far as digging out my stickers or washi tape but it's a start. I have the tendency to make a huge mental list in my head and overwhelm myself feeling as though I have to complete everything all at once. Today, I decided to make it a goal to stop doing that. My husband is always telling me not to overdo it, to rest, to stop exhausting myself. Since I will be turning 40 soon, I want to start the next forty years of my life being more relaxed. I worked as far as I wanted with the planner for the day and when I was fulfilled, I set it aside to resume more work on it tomorrow.
I began my day ( and my new year) by cleaning dog poo off of my kitchen floor before I could even brew a pot of coffee. Once the animals were fed and the dogs let back inside, I got myself dressed and shoveled my driveway as we were struck once again by the snow fairy. I didn't want my husband to attempt to shovel since he'd been poorly most of the weekend and he needed to get to the airport by 10:30 in the morning. I wanted him to rest as much as possible. After he woke up and got himself some coffee he found me outside and insisted on helping but I refused. Once I was done I was able to enjoy a coffee and spend at least an hour with him before he headed out to the airport. the rest of the day I enjoyed (truly, I did) some light cleaning and more shoveling. Tomorrow, the temperature is going to drop back to the single digits and I don't plan on doing any outdoor work then.
It's a grey and gloomy afternoon; I am sipping my latte and listening to the wind whip about my yard. The windchimes are quite noisy at the moment. For now, all is calm after the hectic holiday season. I still have my tree up, as well as all my other decor. I have no plans to remove it until Sunday. On Saturday I will be hosting one final holiday celebration and then I can put away the decorations for another year. I will keep some decorations up for a while yet, as some things are just nice to have a while longer and winter isn't going anywhere any time soon. So, my mini wreaths and snowflakes shall remain on my kitchen cupboards and my snowflake cushions will stay on the couch. I will even keep my outdoor snowman wreath on my backdoor. However, any decorations that are red and green or depict Christmas shall be tucked into bins and put back into storage.
I don't mind the ritual of holiday decor removal because it makes room for new holiday decor. I like to decorate for all seasons and many holidays. As such, I am never sad to see the decorations go for the year. I will keep you updated more this year than last now that I am letting myself off the hook and will have more fun with this blog. Expect to read very random thoughts throughout the year and enjoy the occasional craft or baking story. Here's to a new year and a new blog!
Until next time~ Toodahloo!