1. Start a new chapter of our life with enthusiasm and purpose-Well, we turned the page WAY more than I even expected. We found out I was pregnant a week to the day after we moved into our new house, so mostly I am proud of us for getting through (so far, at least)! I was feeling like we didn't do well enough at keeping things fun, especially with the house which has been a challenge at every turn, but the beauty of year-end reflection is noticing we actually had lots of fun and great days between the roof leaking and the appliances giving up. I feel good that even at those moments we were often having fun (and Arby's)! So between the two of us and setting up a new home, I feel like we achieved this goal.

The baby stuff was all kinds of scary, but especially now that he is here, I feel like we are learning and enjoying it. But all in all, this was a perfect start to the goal list, because basically everything this year is new.

2. Get back to reading more difficult material, going to galleries more often, sharpening my critical thinking- I got a job at a gallery and another working remotely on artsy, so I feel like I have been thinking critically (and practically!) in ways I didn't expect, but am grateful for. I still wish I read more theoretical and dense material, so I will work on that more that this year as I continue to push my way into the art scene here.

3. Visit at least one new state-Done! We ate our way through New Orleans, a city I would happily return to. Only 9 states left to go for me.


4. Take more photographs with a good sense of depth/ play with my aperture more-I actually worked pretty hard on this before the baby came with the hope I could take good pictures of him. I don't know if I got any better, and as a whole it was not my best year for pictures, but I still made some progress in developing my style.

5. Write more honest and substantive blogs-Eh, maybe? I kind of doubt it, but I am still writing consistently, so that is something, right?

6. 500 Stickers, 5 million steps- Haahahaha oh golly. Not the year of banner fitness, I'm afraid. I am glad I kept at it before, and I try to step up (oh puns) my walking every day now, but that precious 6 week mark is still 10 days away.


7. Figure out how to teach conceptual art to children-I did this! I kicked off the new year teaching underserved 3rd graders to do critiques and talk about their choices. I am really proud of the work I did there, and I have mourned moving away from my California jobs all year. Trying to have faith that I will be teaching again soon in some capacity.

8. Take more leadership roles in my volunteering-Eh, this is another goal that suffered from moving early in the year. I have been doing a few volunteering things in Seattle (though not much now), but I am back to wiggling my way into various communities. If anything, my work at CoCA moved me from a pure volunteer to a leader. That's pretty cool!

9. Defrost the Seattle Freeze-This feels like my biggest failure this year, though I can ride the coattails of The Boy's success. I have tried quite a bit, but I haven't really connected with anyone in a big way here yet. Lots of pleasant acquaintances, which is the definition of a Seattle social life. I hope to make some better friends in the coming year.


10. Make at least one thing a week (the blog no longer counts!)- Fail! I HATED the art class (I am not an online learner, it turns out. I have been making things and writing project ideas all year, but the work I got has changed so I wasn't making things as much as part of everyday life. I am not sure this one will improve in the coming year, but maybe I will be happily surprised.