Remabulous

the new year awaits

this will be one of the last of my cheating posts. at least the last in which i am still writing about last year. it is a strange thing, being able to fill in the past, while trying to stay present. i think this is something that we often do without realizing it. trying to get current by resolving things that are hanging out in the unresolved- and often unresolvable past.

here are tips to get out of last year...

gracious giving

this holiday, my family continued a tradition that i have really appreciated the past few years: paring down gifts in favor of a trip together. this year we spent a few days in new york. it is rare to end christmas day both delighted and free from anxiety. it seems that focused giving is the way to go...

image: H Dickins via flickr

on cheating... a little

i realized this morning, that being january 5th, that i am able to plan for and post to future dates, and have also realized that this applies to past dates as well. with this in mind, i plan to fill in on the vast wide expanse of no writing i have done the past few weeks. between running around from holiday stop to holiday stop and integrating a new relationship into the mix, it was a madhouse this holiday season. here's what kept me sane (and what didn't).

the gratitude list

as we come to the end of 2007, i find myself reflecting on what has happened during this crazy year. a lot has changed in my world, from starting my own business, diving into the world of networking, connecting to the wide and wonderful world of blogher, to finding a pretty amazing person to start 2008 with. i find that it is an especially important part of being a sole proprietor to take this kind of inventory. if you don't have board meetings or any meetings at all, be sure to know what is working for you in your business so that you can expand on it. here's what went right in 2007:

image: maher berro thanks his community on flickr.

i couldn't say this better myself...

i found out about leo buscaglia on zaadz, that powerhouse of a networking and community-building site that i wish i had all the time in the world to play on. i was so moved by the quotations from buscaglia that i received in one of several newsletters i am always happy to see in my inbox, that i just had to read the whole book. and i am so glad i did. it is a goldmine of the kind of juicy positive sentiment that we need to inject into our systems. this book is everything that was good about the seventies. and it is not only good for thinking about who you love (good for being in a new relationship...) but also what you love and why. someone thinking about work, life, and creativity will be just as charmed. i couldn't possibly presume to paraphrase, so below please find one of my favorite discoveries from a morning spent reading in the bath:

image: kool skatkat on zaadz. click the link to see another buscaglia quote.

finding the right collaborator

coming back to the blog, i feel a little bit like i am coming out of hiding. these past few weeks, i have been going back and forth on whether or not to talk about the issue that was foremost for me: the anticipation of a visit from someone who was significant in my past and has now become even more significant in my present. it is a strange thing to work for oneself, because the line between public and private is much thinner.

as an entrepreneur, the business i have is 100% me. and i am 100% it. i work for myself, promote myself and who i am as much as i promote what i do for a living. this is both exciting and scary and it makes it hard to know what to hold private. as i have been waiting for michael, my boyfriend, to return from the middle east and to come and see me and see if we did, in fact, actually want to be together it was nearly impossible to think about writing about anything else on here. i think this is because part of this relationship highlights something most people need, even if working alone is the right fit: a collaborator, or at the very least, a confidante.

calm before the storm

service industry, thy busy month is not december. after feeling like a crazed lunatic this last month banging out a whole novel (50,000 words- let me pat myself on the back a little), traveling to the east coast for thanksgiving, and now preparing for the holidays, december feels strangely calm by comparison.

it seems people put off thinking about their dreams to think about others this month. kind of a nice thought, actually. and here is what you can do with your december if it is a bit sludgy to be sure that you take advantage of the momentum of the new year when it arrives...

photo: caroline donahue for remabulous via flickr