Progress on New Year's Resolutions

January is almost over, and it's time to revisit my New Year's Resolutions.

1: No-TV January has been a success! I cheated one time, to see the end of Project Runway All-Stars (while fortuitously clearing a bit of space on the DVR). But I'm holding firm on avoiding television into the last week. Next Friday night and Saturday morning will probably find me birthday-weekend-binge-festing on shows I've taped.

But the truth is, I wouldn't be too sad if my DVR fritzed out and all the shows were lost. There are only only two programs I'd seek on DVD later: Downton Abbey and Merlin. I'd survive fine not knowing what happened on the others.

I've spent my newly found free time watching movies (including all the Hornblower, Firefly/Serenity, and Lord of the Rings discs from my shelves), reading for enjoyment (the stack of books I bought in August has finally been conquered), looking at various sites online (Ted lectures, Crash Course videos, and Lynda.com training videos), and correcting student work (editing major papers in all 5 classes, some using Google docs, which takes FOREVER). The reading, especially, has been a revelation. I always feel like I don't have time to indulge until summer. Turns out I do.

I don't think I've made a life changing decision akin to the "Start my own publishing business!" of February 2011, but lately I've come across quite a few inspirational quotes and stories that encourage me to continue teaching with enthusiasm, knowing that the work I do with kids is important. Not so much the teaching of grammar and reading strategies, more the importance of personal contact and impact outside of the Language Arts curriculum. Where I usually lose my focus in that respect during the dark months of winter and feel like I'm deep in the school year tunnel, no light to be seen until the March thaw, I am heads-up happy to be face to face with the new generation. (Most days.)

2: Better habits regarding my nails. Epic Fail.

3: Using my treadmill desk every day. Three valiant efforts, and then Epic Fail.

4: Learning Illustrator and/or Photoshop. Semi-successful. Here is a show and tell to prove it:

I made invitations to my birthday party, using Adobe Illustrator to create the balloons. I have to admit to defaulting to Adobe InDesign (I love you, ID) for the overall design, but I couldn't have done the little twisties on the balloons without Ai.


5: Posting more regularly on this blog. Once a week! Yeah!

Although I suppose 50% is not considered passing in most realms, I consider my 2.5/5 a stunning success. I plan to continue Resolution #4 and #5 into February, so maybe I'll share more art on this blog as I create it.  I hope your New Year's Resolutions are going well and you find yourself bravely creating and impacting the lives of others!