The Year 2010 was a JOURNEY. However, it was not an artistic journey. This blog has been gathering a LOT of dust this past year, as have most of the supplies in my art studio.

Instead, I have been juggling my many new, old and important roles in life.

Dog Mommy: We adopted an 18 month puppy this June. Frankie is a Great Dane/ English Mastiff/ Greyhound mix. He is a bundle of energy and anxiety. He has adjusted and blended into our family mostly well. Charger is 13 years old now, and the new puppy has brought him back to a playful age. But the cats have been relocated to the basement. Training classes are going to be a part of the new year as we work on better leash manners and deal with separation anxiety.

middle school art teacher: 2009-2010 was a great school year but so far 2010-2011 has been a stressful year with over loaded classrooms and troubled kids, slashed budgets and more committees and responsibilities than ever. This part of my life takes up the most of my time and energies. I do make a bit of art in this realm when I am making samples of projects for lesson demonstrations. But nothing worth sharing here, usually I write about those happenings on my school and teacher blogs.

Athlete: I have been working on being more fit and healthy over the past few years, mostly by participating in triathlons. In 2010, I really ramped up this part of my life. I worked towards a 100 mile bike ride, did 3 triathlons and really began to SEE myself with the new identity of an athlete. This part of my life has been a wonderful journey and utilizes a great deal of my time and energies, as well as finances. I blog about this part of my life quite frequently. As part of this journey, I have also been working with a nutritionist to change my food and eating habits, while also gaining a bit of a hobby in cooking.

Artist: This part of my life has been in hibernation for over a year now. Part of me is very sad and misses this. But part of me is fulfilled by the new parts of my life. I did start the Beaded Journal Project in 2010 and did a couple pages. I tried to give myself a little word challenge over the summer. But very little got accomplished on either of these projects.

So what about 2011?

There might not be much eye candy or art action on this blog. I have many fitness goals including completing the Seattle to Portland Bicycle classic (A 2-day 204 mile ride in July) If you want to keep track of my progress on this goal, follow me on my fitness blog. I am not going to make an art related resolutions or goals for 2011, but will certainly allow space in my life for art and share it as it happens.

I hope you all had a wonderful year in 2010, and I wish you the best in 2011.