Boganuary WordPress Challenge Jan. 1
The New Year 2023 Started with some good omens, sunshine for one- always welcome in my corner of NW Oregon at this time of year. The other was my 60 lb Cattle dog mix, Mars, jumped in the shower with me. Since I got him 2 ½ months ago he’s always seemed fascinated with the shower, sticking his head in and catching streams of hot water. This morning, thinking he really did want a hot shower, I said “come”, and he gleefully joined me. If you are a dog lover you would see the delight in that. Plus, it’s an easy way to wash your dog.
I gave up the New Year’s resolution tradition years back seeing it as a recipe for disappointment. Instead, I have a word (or words) of the year that can act as a guidepost for my annual journey. I keep them posted in my journal and day planner to deep up the intention. Last year’s were commitment, generosity, and focus (focus was a repeat from 2021). I am happy to report I had a decent outcome with those.
So without further adieu, drum roll, my new word of the year is JOY. After 3+ years of pandemic and political turmoil, a knee injury, and the passing of numerous friends and family, I’m ready for some. I have this saying, “ spend as much on yourself as you do your car and your house.” I’m so due for a little repair and maintenance. This includes…
- Shopping for some new clothes and ditching my threadbare clothing
- Monthly massage & chiropractic for my poor aching back
- Artist’s dates, library dates, field trips, and other little self-care tidbits that put some spark back in my life.
Author and home organizer, Marie Kondo begs the question “does this spark joy?” That will be mine for the coming year. I hope you take some time for joy too in 2023.
A Toast for 2023 It’s the season of new the Earth has spun through the heavens and arrived at the place we call the beginning a bookmark we humans have put in the order of things the New Year, the first day of the first month of the 23rd year of the 21st century All is new, yet all the same a cycle in a continuum of millennia yet a comfort that we have a fresh start in our minds Shall we proceed then with our new slippers virgin calendars full of exotic pictures day planners devoid of marks and forge on with gusto? for we have been given another turn a blank canvas to paint another 12 months upon Let us mix up our palettes with new intentions hope, faith and the unseen circumstances that will surely find us stroke, splash, and drip with abandon make your marks with love, touching others with color bringing forth new memories painting this Earth a brighter place
The New Year is always full of good intentions. I just began my online class “A Year of Painting” taught by 
It’s been a learning process. One thing I’ve realized is to have a series of deadlines mapped out. Otherwise, when you finish one there is a sense of disorientation that can set in. Paying for guitar lessons and showing up weekly has definitely insured progress. My writing and visual arts practices have been trickier.
CHECKLIST
Gas molecules will fly all over the place unless held in a container. That’s what I’m like . Unless I am contained in a structure, I am all over the map. As a result, I can feel inefficient and anxious. Ironically it appears that in order for me to “think outside the box”, I need to be in one
Recently I sent for books on the subject. Currently, I am reading , Goal Setting for People Who Hate to Set Goals.” This small book by Keith Ellis is helping me prioritize & set measurable goals step by step. Today I am going to sit down, write out my goals and create a visual flowchart to follow. For me, unless I write things down and have a visual posted in a place where I see it consistently, all will be a wash.
By Alanna Pass 