New Year. New Light.

There is a reason happiness and joy is associated with light, and sadness and gloom with dark. As I pulled back the curtains this morning, something almost magical happened. Suddenly, I wasn't battling the snooze button. A sense of new hope entered the room. I could almost hear the music and see the fairy dust as the morning sun poured onto my fluffy bed and spilled into my heart and soul. 

The light woke me.

It awakened something that had been slumbering deep within me. Hope. Inspiration. Purpose. I was renewed with a sense of fresh beginnings. That's when it hit me: Isn't every morning a fresh beginning? Those slumbering creatures inside me were stirring now and answered with a resounding YES! For so long now, those precious creatures were hibernating in the darkness, and I made no effort to poke them awake. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was lethargy, or perhaps it was indifference, whatever the reason, I couldn't find it within myself to truly hope. It took an outside source to shake them up. Something as simple as a bright, sunny morning and the reminder that my Gob shines upon me. 

I set my alarm to something new this morning. I awoke this morning to the hopeful words of Needtobreathe's song "Slumber." How can you snooze this wonderful song? Please enjoy. 

Shifting Gears in 2013

I don't want to use the word "resolutions" but that's basically what these are. These are ideas that I want to integrate into my daily life to create a happier lifestyle. It goes a little something like this:

1. Become a better wife. 

There's always room for improvement. I want to spend more time and energy making a conscious effort to show Josh how much he means to me by speaking his love languages, show support in his career and encourage him more, and be better about letting go and brushing off little things. No one's perfect, and marriage grows in the grace you show one another. 

2. Support LOCAL.

Our local independent radio station Lightning 100 made an awesome suggestion to go out and support some local bar/restaurant/cafe/store/band/anything at least once a month. What a great idea! The culture of Nashville truly lies in its sense of community. 

3. Get healthier.

Yeah yeah yeah. New Years resolution to lose weight and junk. But really. After 2 years of marriage (that's no excuse), both Josh and I are feeling... uncomfortable. Yes, we have packed on a few extra pounds, but our main concern is feeling good. We joined the Y, and I signed up for a the Color Run in April for incentive. So far I'm loving the Bodyflow class {yoga, pilates and tai chi} and some good old-fashioned running. 

4. Focus on eleventysix.

On what? eleventsix{designs} is just a baby... an itty bitty infant, really. I meant to blog about it but it happened so fast. The preschool I work at has a holiday market, and I signed up to have a booth, made everything for the booth in about two and a half weeks, ran the booth for a week, then filled custom orders for two weeks. It felt really good to have my stuff out there for the world, but also overwhelming. So I need to reorganize my life and really commit, whatever that looks like. I'll keep you posted.

5. Buy a house.

Josh and I really feel ready for this next step. We are ready to settle down in Nashville and make it our permanent place of residence. I'm ready to paint and decorate and renovate and refinish and thrift and tile and make some house a home. This also ties into eleventysix. Apartments weren't necessarily designed for running a crafting business. I need some space. So does Josh. Apartments also weren't designed with drummers in mind. 

So those are the big things we hope will be in store for 2013. And blogging. Need to get back on that horse. 

Cheers,

Haley