2015 in review

Annual year end review workbook 

I can't believe that 2015 is over.  It feels as though it went by in a whirlwind.  In my annual tradition, I am ending the year with a look back to acknowledge the year's accomplishments and evaluate the misses and then set intentions for the new year.  I find that the busyness of life means I don't always get to savor some of the accomplishments as they happen or don't take enough time to take a look at what didn't work and why so I can make corrections or be at peace with letting go.  I know this doesn't work for everyone, but taking just a few hours for this makes me feel as though I am setting myself up to make the most of the coming year.  This process helps me put things into perspective and it's interesting and rewarding to see what I was able to accomplish and how differently some things turned out from what I imagined.

Last year's word was embodiment and I dug deeper into a few topics and projects that I had been dabbling in for awhile to see where they might lead.  I enjoyed my explorations which are leading to more changes ahead and my word for 2016 which is transformation.  This is just the beginning of the changes to come, and I look forward to sharing them with you.

Here are a few highlights from 2015:

Volunteering at the DC Food Bank 
My son and I usually volunteer at the DC Food Book once a month and we were able to make 8 times last year.

1.  Sorting food into bins  2.  View into the warehouse

Road trip to an ancient forest

A day trip to Beall Woods State Park in Illinois which is a forested area that has not been logged or altered and remains today pretty much as it was hundreds of years ago. 

Fall Craft Cornucopia with Hyattsville Aging in Place
A great day of demonstrations and teaching crafts along with some of my neighbors who are also crafters and artists.  I enjoyed teaching the participants how to make collaged gift tags.

Starting in the upper left:  1.  weaving demo, 2.  felting wool, 3.  some of the seniors group working on their needlework and sharing stories, 4.  my table with supplies for making tags, 5.  upcycled old t-shirt, 6.  origami instruction, 7.  wool for felting projects, 8.  origami examples, 9.  reclaimed t-shirts cut into strips ready for weaving, 10.  weaving on t-shirt strips on a stick loom, 11.  t-shirt weaving examples

Garden adventures
Lots of hard work in the garden yielded abundant harvests and filled our freezer for the winter.

Art exhibition at the Popcorn Gallery
Two pieces of my mixed media collage were chosen for an exhibition using reclaimed materials.

Thank you for reading and wishing you all the best in 2016!


Resources:
Unravelling the Year Ahead
Zen Habits: The Practice of Year-end Reflection

Sunflowers in the garden

Expansiveness - year in review

Taken at the US National Arboretum

For more than a few years now, I have completed a review of the successes and lessons from the year before and crafted an outline to help guide me through the new year.   A few of my words from previous years include:  focus, serendipity, mindfulness and last year, expansiveness.  Looking back over my year of expansiveness, 2014 was full of  new adventures in learning through workshops, classes and exploration to nudge me out of creative stagnation and a feeling that I was adrift of my core values.  I am not one that naturally looks back to fully savor past experiences; I'm more of the kind that is always focusing on completing the current adventure while looking ahead and leaning full tilt into the next.  So, through annual reviews, monthly aspiration setting and quarterly check-ins, I am beginning to choose my adventures more wisely as well as embody my experiences more fully. 

For this reason, I have chosen embodiment as my word for this year.  For me, embodiment means to embrace, incarnate and take in with the eye and mind...in essence - to enjoy the journey.  Some supporting words will be simplicity, mindfulness (again!), passion and savor.  

I encourage you to explore setting your personal core values, conducting a year in review and guide for the new year. Although most of us instinctively know our core values, we may not be able to articulate them easily.  Having them accessible for reference has helped me make decisions much more easily when testing an opportunity against my values list.  It's less painful to let an enticing, but inappropriate choice go when I can see how it's not going to work with who I am and strive to be. 

Here are the resources I used for both exercises:

Living Your Values free how-to by Steve Pavlina

Unravelling the Year Ahead free downloadable workbook by Susannah Conway

Tranquility Du JourAnthology beautiful memoir and workbook by Kimberly Wilson

Citrus ready for juicing

Finally, I thought I would share some of the highlights of 2014 - my year of expansiveness:

Successful suburban gardening season from start to finish

Photography featured in an exhibition at Annemarie Sculpture Garden and Art Center

Got dressed up and went to high tea at the Mandarin Oriental with fabulous neighborhood girlfriends

Volunteering through One Brick at the Capital Area Food Bank

Attended an intro and two 4-week Zen Photography workshops at the US National Arboretum

Enjoyed performing at local cultural festivals with fellow dancers

Attended a week long Main Street Vegan Academy course

Said goodbyes to former coworkers when they put on a vegetarian farewell potluck (they rock!)

Was greeted by new coworkers with a vegan welcome lunch (they rock too!)

Posted some healthy cooking favorites:  collard green egg rolls and coconut peanut butter bites

Attended fantastic milestone birthday that included a scavenger hunt in an historic mansion

Attended a beautiful milestone birthday/anniversary party complete with jazz band and cabaret singer

Savored neighborhood cookie baking party and holiday caroling events

I hope your 2015 is off to a good start, and I look forward to sharing my adventures during my year of embodiment.

Thanks for reading!

Dreaming of spring and a giveaway!

Inviting table at a cafe in Ellicott City, MD

We're getting a reprieve from the bitter cold and snow this weekend.  As my thoughts turn to spring, here are some of what's been going on lately:

My 2014 sketchbook is online for viewing in the digital library and headed out on tour in the mobile library next week.  If you get a chance to see it in either venue, leave a comment at The Sketchbook library to let me know you stopped by.

I was inspired by attending DC Rooting's annual Garden Conference to pull out my seeds, books and plans to start plotting my spring and summer gardens

    

Posted the Zen Gypsies spring schedule of classes at TPSS-U.  Join us at the Takoma Park Co-op for workshops covering natural beauty products, dance, healthy eating and creating vision boards to help you realize you dreams all with a dose of mindfulness.

...and a few more creative adventures 

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar on tap at the Breadery bakery

A day trip to the historic district of Ellicott City, MD to enjoy a sunny day and visit to the nearby Breadery natural bakery complete with olive oil and balsamic vinegar on tap.

Completed a couple more of the required books (The Food Revolution and Becoming Vegan) for my upcoming Main Street Vegan Academy certification course.

Excited to be doing the pre-work in preparation for starting B-School next week

And, finally, in celebration of the promise of spring...

A Giveaway!

Handcrafted art journal and vision board embellishments

This winter's weather has kept my favorite crafter, Joanne (aka Mom), indoors turning out beautifully made embellishments for me to use on my vision boards, art journals and other mixed media artwork.  The box was bursting with such vibrant abundance, that I want to share some of it with you.  One lucky reader, picked at random, will win a packet of embossed paper, die cut shapes, quilled paper flowers, and more to use in your creative works.  By Thursday, March 20, 2014 (the first day of spring!), just leave a comment below sharing how you like to add creative touches to your everyday. 

Thanks for reading!

If you like this post, you may also enjoy:
Sources of creative inspiration
Sketchbook project - 2013
Creative inspiration - Philadelphia