Season One Wrap-Up (Finally!)

It's been so long since I posted, that I'm tempted to skip it! However, I feel the need to say something about Season One before I start Season Two! Participating in the Challenge was a pretty amazing experience for me. I wasn't as active toward the end as I would have liked to have been, but I still benefited from the experience. I was so much more present during my day and more focused -- that in itself made the experience worthwhile, even if I didn't get anything else out of it.

I think my "problem" (for lack of a better word) was that I took on too much during my first Challenge. I got overwhelmed and stopped doing anything. I won't make the same mistake during Season Two. I'll drastically pare down my actual practices. This season, I'm only going to do three or four things on a daily basis. I really found the daily worksheet to be valuable, so I'll make up my own worksheet to use for accountability. That helped me really stay on point. I like marking things off!

The thing that really stands out from my Challenge was the success of my Featured Artist Show. My show looked really good and I sold three pieces. Considering that my style of art is different from what is usually shown in the Gallery, I thought that was pretty good! The day of the reception, I was on Cloud Nine. Lots of friends came by and it was wonderful, seeing their reaction to my art display. My husband was away at Guard duty, but he sent beautiful yellow roses, and my best friend from home (Arkansas) was there to share the day with me. If you'd like to read more about my Featured Artist Show, stop by my personal blog.

Since the Challenge has ended, good things have continued to happen for me. I had an Administrative Hearing for Social Security Disability in December and my attorney said it went well. The vocational expert that was part of the hearing (hired by the state) even testified in my favor. The only "problem" is that I came across too well, sounding too competent. Additionally, my husband got a great job that bumped our income up about three times! He started on December 01, so he is still getting his feet wet. In fact, between traveling for training and working at home on "professional development" it seemed as though he was never going to actually start work! Great job if you can get it! I've also come into contact with some old friends. I'm not really rekindling old friendships, but rather building new ones with people from my past. I've also recently began building a friendship with a local artist that I admire and have wanted to get to know better for quite some time. All of this is pretty exciting for me.

I'm starting Season Two on January 15. I'll post again before then and update my intentions, etc.

It's nice to be back.