Dreams taking flight

Like around 900 other creatives, I am joining Tam on her Heart, Art & Healing. First up was banishing fears and insecurities. I took things a step further and decided that setting a few goals out into the atmosphere might be a good thing (plus it fitted rather nicely with the Three Muses' Wings on Things theme this week!). I don't often art journal so this was rather a pleasant change for me.

So here are a few goals (with wings from Iktupulli). The girl represents me - though I look nothing like that. I think I might have been influenced by watching Star Wars at the weekend (I don't think I will ever get tired of watching that film! My son loved it by the way and wanted to watch The Empire Strikes Back straight after!).

1. Start that book. Yes, yes, I know. I keep writing this goal. However, I have some thoughts... a few seeds germinating in the corner of my subconscious... It could be time... It really could...

2. Be published by Stampington. Oh how I adore Artful Blogging and her sister publications. Now all I have to do is get myself organised, check out their submission guidelines and topics and SEND SOMETHING OFF!!

3. Revamp, rebrand and relaunch my Etsy shop. I have completely neglected my shop. It's partly because I have so many ideas for it - involving a new name for a start - that I feel a touch overwhelmed and have ended up barely starting anything. I've decided that The Wright Stuff doesn't really match my artistic output and could get confused with my blog. So, time for a change. I'm also looking into getting prints made up of my work and bogged down with what printers to choose, what papers, what service...

4. Lose 5kg and fit in that dress. The diet is working. I have lost a little weight, but and that's a big BUT I have toned up considerably and the dress now does up (if a little tightly). It's rather linked into point 5 - you see I'm going to an awards ceremony in November at a posh London hotel. The 5kg is to get me back to my comfortable weight so other clothes fit too!

5. Win something. Team efforts count here too. At the posh awards ceremony we're finalists for two business awards. I wrote the entries so certain amount of pride here! I was also doing well with the Dorset Blog Awards but some baking lady is beating me by about 10 votes... Hmm, muffins obviously proving popular. Perhaps I should paint cakes for the rest of the month...

Happy talking

"You gotta have a dream; if you don't have a dream; how you gonna have a dream come true?"

Well, this evening I am planning on writing a happy post for I have many reasons to be cheerful. I also have many excuses for using words like joy and delight.

The first being that Ange has given me a Happy 101 award which is jolly nice of her. As usual these awards require some form of acceptance speech and seeing as I missed out on a Golden Globe (again) this year I just happen to have one I prepared earlier - but more on that later as I am still rather busy explaining to you why I am writing Happy posts.

Another gleeful reason is that I am once again joining Jamie Blogger and her merry band of Ridlers (or have I got that confused somewhere along the line?) in a blogtastic book club. Jamie is rather skillful at choosing books with little in the way of reading required (see numerous Wreck this Journal posts back in the Summer of '09); which at first glance may seem a little odd for a book group, but bear with us, for The Happy Book requires the readers to do the writing. As a reaction to these credit-crunching times she also hit upon the marvellous idea of sharing the book so we're passing it among us and don't even have to buy a copy. What a jolly wheeze! As I'm near the bottom of the list it could be some time before said book arrives on my doorstep - the question is - will the dog ears have to be quarantined? Of course, being in a book group where you only see said book maybe six months or so into the project could be dull. Worry not dear readers, for clever Jamie is running a blog where we can all meet up every Friday and share what makes us happy which I think is a lovely idea. You may have gathered by now that this is therefore my first post on said subject. Hello Happy bloggers!

But now, my audience awaits and I must struggle up the stairs in an evening gown that was never designed with movement in mind and gracefully accept my Happy 101 award.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I've read so many posts recently about bloggers' words of the year - a great way to focus thought and direction. I thought first what my word for 2009 retrospectively should be. Stronger. I was stronger last year, not all of the time but I felt that word propping me up throughout the last 12 months. This year I feel the Universe tugging me in a 'Happy' direction so who am I to argue?

What makes me Happy? In no particular order... (am I supposed to do 101?)

1. A small boy age 5 (nearly 6)
2. A big boy age 44 (nearly 45)
3. Cuddles
4. Making art and... making Art of the Week on Mixed Media Monday! I was so excited I emailed most of my address book
5. Singing and dancing (not necessarily at the same time). Regrettably this does not necessarily put a smile on the faces of those around me and would give Simon Cowell good reason to shudder, but I like it!
6. Writing. I bet you never would have guessed it...
7. Being my own boss (this probably warrants a whole post in itself so I'll save it for another day)
8. Girlie days or nights
9. Strangers walking up to me in the street and gifting me several hundred thousand pounds (no strings attached). This hasn't actually happened yet, but we live in hope
10. Friends, Romans, Countrymen
11. Being silly
12. And finally, for this post anyway, I just laughed my socks off when a neighbour's cat poked it's head and left paw through our cat flap intent on stealing some my moggies' food. I often catch him in the act and tonight we had a 'battle of the stares'. He backed down first and reversed back out still hungry. That's 15:0 to me I think!
    

I've enjoyed compiling this list, in face I might go so far as to say it made me very happy! I'm looking forward to sharing some more next week. I think we all need a bit of happy sharing every now and again.

Speaking of which... one of my favourite comedy sketches of all time which never fails to provoke some loud chuckles...