New Year and New Joy

I have started, erases, started again, then erased again.  With such a long absence from here I am not too sure where to start.  I have been thrown off ever since the New Year and I am not too sure why.  Everything has been so crazy around here as of late I am not too sure I am able to just sit and think (Maybe that is the plan).  The weeks leading up to Christmas were so crazy here at home as well as the studio, I couldn't wait for the holidays to start!  I was trying to make sure that everyone got their pieces fired for presents as well as making sure I got all my orders out as well.  Then I had only a few days to get all the things finished and created that I was planning on for my gift giving.  Christmas Eve I was sewing the seams together on my Mom's sweater.  It was all worth it to see everyone wear their sweaters on Christmas Day!   There was many projects that never made it, and I was sad to not see them given.  If only I had more time.

Time.....  This has been on my mind.  I think about how I spend it and where I am putting my energies.  I have this vision of who I want to be as the potter, artist, mother, wife, sister, woman.  I am always thinking that I am not creating that vision.  Maybe I need to take off the blinders, give myself a break and enjoy the moments around me.  This year I think is one about enjoyment.  I want to create and create for the enjoyment of it.  Run because I enjoy it and Love for the joy!

One of the other things that I want to explore this year is food.  How we think about it, how we eat it, and the kind that we put in our bodies.  When we think about it, my husband spends more time thinking about what kind of oil to put in the van, rather than the food in his body.  I am sure this is true for many.  I am setting small goals for us to change this and in small ways.  Even simple things like only shopping the outside of the supermarket, where all the fresh foods are, no going up and down the aisles.

I am also participating in Hip Mountain Mama's challenge of One Small Change.  At the beginning of the month we state what we are going to do to make a small change on the impact we have on the environment and the earth.  We already do a few things here.  We cloth diaper, use our Green Bin like crazy, us cloth wipes, don't use bounce sheets, as well as turn off lights unless in the room.  I would also like to extend this challenge to the studio as well.  We already recycle all of our clay and this is what I use all the time for my work, but what can we do to create less waste?  I am going to suggest we get a bin to put all the tea cups in.  What small change will we make this month at our home??  Sam starts back to Day Care this week after a small break and I think I will walk and pick him up instead of driving the car.

Maybe this one small change will evoke small changes in all aspects of life.   Stay tuned to see!