Out with the Old, In with the New

It's that time of year again--time to reflect on the year that just zipped by, and look ahead to 2014.

2013 was a challenging year for me.  It was busy, full of unexpected curve-balls, and flew by at break-neck speed.  When I look back at my 2013 resolutions, I'm not overly pleased with my results.  On the one hand, I feel pretty good about my art progress.  I can put check marks next to most of those goals, and I even had the courage to "officially" throw my hat into the illustrator ring.   I had something artistic to show for every month of the year, and that makes me pretty happy.  :)

But when it comes to my 2013 writing and personal goals, I derailed across the board.  And that does not make me happy.

I don't want to end the year on a bad note and feeling like a cotton-headed ninny-muggins, so here are some bonus 2013 events of happiness which I never had time to blog about:

I celebrated my 5th anniversary with my hubby.  For the big day, I attempted to re-create a mini version of our wedding cake, which was turquoise, tropical-themed, and just lovely.  Mine was not quite as lovely, but a noble effort nonetheless!  We enjoyed bringing out our old cake-cutters and champagne flutes to toast five wonderful wedded years together.

I attended "Symphony of the Goddesses," a concert that consisted of music from The Legend of Zelda video game franchise.  I'd wanted to see this show since the concert series was first announced two years ago to celebrate Zelda's 25th anniversary, and it finally came to Columbus in October.  It was beautiful.  It was mesmerizing.  It was amazing.  It was hands-down one of the best things I've seen in my entire life.  If it came back every year, I'd be a very happy Kathryn.

This awesome thing was released...

And it was quickly followed by this awesome thing...

I now own both awesome things, the latter of which contains a brand-new Zelda game.  (And those don't come around too often!)  It was a good year to be a Zelda dweeb.  ;)

I went to Disney World (and the Wizard World of Harry Potter) with my hubby.  It was our first real trip together since we got married, and it was wonderful.  I know I already blogged about the trip, but it bears repeating since it was by-far the best part of 2013.  :)

Now comes the part when I look to the future: 2014 Resolutions

In all honesty, I'm setting the bar pretty low this year while I get my life back on track.  So here's my plan:

Writing
Keep moving forward.

Art
Keep moving forward.

Personal Life
Spend more time with my family, friends, and pets, and do things that make me happy.

And that's it.  As I learned in 2013, you never know when a ferret-snuggle might be your last, or dreams might have to be put on the back-burner for a while.  If I can just keep moving forward and appreciate the blessings in my life, then 2014 will be a great year!  :)

I hope you had a wonderful New Year's and are ready to approach 2014 with confidence and optimism.  I wish you a healthy, happy, and inspired 2014!

Note: Art summary meme was created by user DustBunnyThumper on deviantArt.  link  It's a lot of fun to fill out and see your art progress over the past year!