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Finally on Christmas Holidays!  I have two full weeks off of work now and to come clean, Saturday was the first day in a very long time that I did absolutely nothing and refused to feel guilty for it.  Frank and I lounged in sweats the entire day.  I finished the Christmas wrapping once and for all but other than that, remained largely a mess.  I did not make the bed, start the laundry, attempt to clean the house or workout.  And it was wonderful.  By Sunday we were over it and ready to get back to business.  Everything is ready for Christmas now.  I’m up early this morning to get some painting time in before we shut it down for the holidays and head to my parents house to celebrate one more fabulous year together.  Before I go, I did want to let everyone know that I am taking a much needed Christmas break, so no blogging again until the New Year.   I need some time to recharge my creative batteries, and I think the best way to do that is to let go of the guilt for not posting as regularly as I would like and to make time for what I love doing, and what got me started in the first place: painting.

Alas, I will leave you with one last thing: My 2013 Blogging Resolutions.  In no particular order:

• A card for every occasion: In the last month, guess how many of my friends had babies? Three.  Guess how many baby cards I had on hand for that?  Zero.  #fail  This year I will be armed and ready for anything that comes along.
• With this in mind, I’m going to change the focus of my store to cards and stationary but promise you that any illustrations from the blog will always be available upon request.
• I am going to redesign my blog header with something a little more permanent and classic.  Although I loved the idea of changing up the seasons originally, I think I want it to look a little sleeker and clean moving forward.  Look for a new header soon!
• I am going to establish a blogging editorial calendar – has anyone ever heard of IFB?  I stumbled onto this site back in September right around fashion week when they were holding a two day conference in New York.  This site is a goldmine of information on ways to achieve blogging goals, using social media, books to read, you name it and it is there.  What I love about it as well is that it’s geared towards the classic fashion blogger, so with my illustrations in mind I can tailor it to what I want to get out of it.  Anyways.  Editorial calendar – this will help me with what my themes are for posting each month, and save me time and stress when it comes to creating upcoming posts.
• A new about page – a new look.  My wonderful husband has agreed to spend some time with me to help me give the blog some needed updates and a polished look.  Moreover, I worked with the absolutely insanely fabulous Courtney Johnson over at the Rule Breakers Club to establish a new about page for myself that will be up as soon as I have the needed painted content to accompany it.
• I am going to be much more clear about the services I want to provide my customers, spelling this out on a new page of its own to be added soon
• Finally, I made a list of things to accomplish with this blog for 2013 – and I’m terrified!  You know how they say if you dreams don’t scare you they’re not big enough?  Well here goes nothing!  In 2013 I will have my blog featured in:
  • The Calgary Herald
  • My originals will be up in some venue or another the entire year
  • I want to contribute at least three times to the Downtown Calgary blog
  • I want to be featured or do a guest post on the blog Modern Socialite
  • I want to get into Avenue Magazine
  • I want to create the illustration for ‘Twas the Night 2013 at the Core

Terrifying!  And I can’t believe I’ve just made this public!  There it is, my 2013 aspirations.  Everyone, enjoy your holiday break, I will be back in January and look very forward to an insane 2013!  Merry Christmas!