+ The shaggy Dachshund that lives across the road from my house
+ A fresh, new little red Moleskine for keeping ideas in
+ Lovely lady dates involving cake
+ Dipping chocolate chip biscuits into hot Milo with my toddler mate
+ Putting together little packages for nice people
+ A pile of zines to read by the bed
+ A roaring, crackling fire
+ Finding pieces of fruit under furniture after Theo has gone home with tiny teeth marks on them
+ Packages bound with twine
+ Going out to see a great comedy show with my friend Jaine
+ Books that give great advice
+ Theo playing with the wooden train set I bought him for hours on end
+ Compliments from customers on my new glasses
+ An opshopping adventure in the works
+ Making up little melodies while I'm in the car
I've not been feeling much like myself lately. Getting out of bed each day has been especially difficult (not helped by the temperature being somewhere near zero each morning). I am trying to do some nice things for myself and have some nice moments. I just wanted to say so, to commit the feeling to paper and try to move on from it. I hope you're doing okay.
Here is my yearly list to-do list.
- Make another zine
This has been on my to-list for some time but I really want to make it happen this year. I love zines and I love making them. I'm flying to Sydney in May to go to the MCA Zine Fair (let me know if you're going too) and I'll take a few copies of Paint It Black for swaps.
- Keep bettering my graphic design & illustration skills
I've made a lot of progress on this in the past year but I want to keep learning. I've really enjoyed my new course content so far (even if I've fallen way behind) and I'm learning so much. I'm also pretty addicted to Skillshare.
- Practice mindfulness daily
I use an app called Smiling Mind and try to do daily activities mindfully and I'm finding that I have a lot less anxiety, so I'd like to continue with it and get better at it.
- Get my bike fixed and ride it lots
My bike has a bit of issue with gear changes (it will only stay in second or fourth gear) and while it's still totally rideable, it's only a year old and I'd really like to be able to get full use out of it, even if it might cost me a bit to get it fixed.
- Get the ball rolling for having my own little art show
There's a little gallery near my uni called the Powerhouse, which I'd love to have a little show in. This year it is one of my main goals to apply for a show.
- Do my final university unit and graduate
I have one first year elective left until I graduate and I just enrolled in a little ceramics class for next semester which I'm really looking forward to. Once that subject is finished up, I get to walk through Albert Hall in a funny hat and get my degree!
- Keep a sketchbook
I really love keeping sketchbooks for ideas and play and I'd like to keep one regularly. Now to find the perfect sketchbook to get started in.
- Pay off my credit card
Moving house wasn't kind on my finances, so my credit card bore the brunt. I make regular payments, but I'd very much like to get it completely paid off and not have to think about it any more.
- Make more time for being active
I use a Fitbit daily and I really like being able to quantify and monitor my activity, and that in itself has made me more active. I'd like to set higher goals and start doing more regular, fun exercise.
- Write three songs
I wrote a couple of songs last year (and even played one in front of a crowd) and I'd really like to write more, even if it's just for my own ears.
- Get my passport
Another recurring item on my yearly lists. 25 is going to be the year I get one! Then I can snap up cheap flights to New Zealand and Japan when they pop up in my inbox from time to time.
- Eat well
In January I did the Whole 30 and I got a lot out of it. I've carried through a lot of the eating habits from that month (except for, um, eating chocolate daily) and I've been feeling a lot healthier (less stomach aches, 10kg down, better sleep).
- Get photos printed and make an album for each year of Theo's life
I started a Project Life album when Theo was 6 months old but I haven't touched it in over a year. I'd love to just get some photos printed and make simple albums of Theo. I look through photos on Instagram and my iPhone regularly, but it is so nice to have something tangible.
- Have friends over more often
I've had lots of friends over at my new place so far already and I'd love to keep catching up with friends more often.
- Start a favourite recipe journal
I've been meaning to do this for a long time. I find cooking for myself pretty uninspiring at the moment and I really need to compile a go-to collection of my favourite recipes for myself.
- Do fun, creative activities with Theo. Play. Relish my time with him. Don't be distracted.
At the moment Theo stays with C for 5 days of the week and is with me for 2 (as I work and study and C is the stay-at-home-parent), but I see lots of them on other days as I visit often or meet up with them in town. I really enjoy my two full days with Theo each week - I can abandon anything that has been stressing me out and just dedicate all of my time enjoying him; playing, going for walks, watching shows together, going into town, eating meals together. It's a really mindful, special time in my week.
- Make more fun free stuff for my blog
I'd love to make more downloadable stationery and wallpapers and all kinds of goodies.
- Use my phone in bed less. Read instead.
I am really bad at this and even if I get into bed at a reasonable time, I end up going to sleep much later, getting lost in an iPhone trance. I keep a bunch of great books next to my bed and I've been getting better at picking up one of them, instead of my phone when I'm in bed.
- Make an ezine
I thought I'd just throw this one in as a bit of a challenge - it's something I've always wanted to do.
- Organise and de-stash my art supplies
There are boxes and boxes of miscellaneous paper and supplies hiding underneath my bed that I swore I wasn't going to bring over until I'd gone through, but I thought it was better just to have everything in the one space. I really need to spend a day or two going through them and throwing a lot of it out or passing it on - I can't wait until it's done!
- Continue making my apartment a cheerful, creative and organised space for myself
My apartment is my happy place and I want to spend lots of positive, productive time there over the next year.
- Illustrate a set of mindfulness cards
I'm really looking forward to doing this. It will be my little side project I'll work on for a few months.
- Get up before 8am more often than not
Because I work late nights, I tend to sleep in the following day and then my days off feel wasted. I hate having to set alarms, but
- Go to three places I've never been before
There are still so many places in Tasmania I've never been. I'd love to go to Cradle Mountain, Stanley and Mariah Island for starters!
- ...
I've left this one blank because a year is a long time and I think I'll fill this one in at half way.
- That beautiful, indescribable scent on the top of his head. It is delicious, it is calming, it is pure happiness. It is like an instant antidepressant for me. I know it will go away one day and be replaced with other, possibly less pleasant scents, but I so wish I could hold onto it forever in a little vial!
- The way he tilts his head, raises his eyebrows, looks to the side and smiles really sincerely when he really wants something.
- Watching him play and run; so upright, so precarious, so fast, so joyous.
- His little head on the pillow next to mine. He has his own single bed now which I put him to sleep in when he stays with me, but sure enough, at some point in the night he’ll wander out and make a beeline straight for my bed, where he’ll immediately curl up and fall back to sleep. I know that him sleeping in my bed will be a temporary, fleeting thing, that one day he’ll stop wanting to do, so I relish it. I love his little sleeping sighs and snores. Sometimes I'm even lucky enough to get woken up by a wet little kiss on the face.
- His gorgeous little baby body, quickly turning into a little boy’s body. Living in a reasonably cold climate, we don’t get the opportunity to let him run around nude very often, but he loves it when we do and I love that round little belly and bottom! I love looking at his little hands and feet and noticing what his features really look like. I love kissing his big, soft cheeks and looking at his little teeth (with the cute little gap in the middle at the front) and tickling his neck and trying to push his hair to the side so he looks like a little boy from the 50s.
- That I see so much of myself in his face and expressions.
- His communication. I love the way that when he really wants something he'll say "Moooooooooore", getting higher in pitch as the word ends. I love that anything round is a "Ball" and most animals are "Cats". I love it when he loses something (usually his dummy) and turns his hands out and says "Wheredigo?". I love the way he says thank you (or “chan chu!”) so often, without us ever stressing that he say it - today he said it to the bus driver when we exited the bus. I love that despite not being overly talkative, he has extremely good comprehension and can be given directions.
- His interminable cheekiness. Oh that cheek. SO MUCH CHEEK.
- His dancing. So many moves, no self consciousness. He can’t help himself but dance when there’s music on. I hope he keeps doing that for a long while!
- Watching him observe. It is just such a joy to watch him experiencing and taking in the world. It would have to be one of the best things ever. Is it a highlight of my life.
- The irresistible aroma that emanates from the pizza shop on the corner of George & Paterson Streets in the early evening (though I’ve never eaten there)
- The Winter fog
- The people who maintain the beautiful parks (often very early in the morning, so you never see) and always look like they enjoy their jobs
- The bustle of the outdoor mall on any given day
- The facades, oh, the facades
- The monkeys in City Park, especially the baby ones (and the fact that there are always people there watching them)
- Looking up at the houses in Trevallyn on the hill from the Seaport walk
- The clocktower’s reliable, comforting chimes
- The characters (stressed walking man, Robert the Westbury Road walker, the girl with the plaits, hoodie girl, etc.)
- Saturday mornings at the Harvest Market
- All of the food vans (but especially Wanderlust, Burger Junkie, Eats with Beats)
- The abundance of fruit hanging over fences for passersby to grab
- The change of seasons, which are impossible not to notice (esp. autumns glowing trees)
- The cherry blossoms in City Park in Spring
- The arcades and alleyways filled with happy little shops
- Seeing black swans and people rowing in the river while walking along the levee
- The attention seeking seal at Tailrace
- The passengers on the ferry that wave to people walking to the Cataract Gorge
- Cheeky peacocks and tame wallabies at the Gorge (also, the scones with jam and cream)
- Teenagers jumping off the rocks into the First Basin
- The view from the top of Upper York Street (though the walk up is a killer)
- The map paintings in the Town Hall building
- The old Kodak sign above the Shaver Shop
- The cobblestones along the curbs
- The water lilies in Princes Square fountain
- The bike maintenance station at the Architecture School
- The tram conductors that give slightly too long, friendly waves
- People watching at Morty’s Food Hall
- The Launceston Cycling Classic
- The buskers in the mall, always of an exceptional quality