Goodbye 06, hellooooo 007

Well I must admit I will be quite happy to see the end of this year and to usher in '007. As I said in one of my previous posts, it has been a bit of a hard year. That said I have accomplished a lot and am proud of where I have gotten with my illustration work this year. I'm also really glad for the friends I've made through this bloggy world. Thank you to everyone for your generous comments and support! It has been great e-meeting you all. So with that foundation, on to 2007 I say because it is looking bright!!!

Biggest of all is that we are going on a big overseas trip. We have been planning it for quite some time and it was in doubt for a while there because of A's father's health, but now that he is more stable, we are confident to Go Travelling For 4 Months!!! This is going to be a bit of a last hurrah trip before we make a few additions to our family so we are making it big! :-) The main thrust is to visit my family and to visit New Orleans, which is the birthplace of the music Andy loves to play. (hopefully it won't be too depressing to see it post-Katrina.)

SO, we'll be doing a big road trip from the Northwest of the US where my parents live, down to New O, then up to Boston where my brother is, and then up to Montreal to show A my hometown, with a little jaunt down to Mexico possibly too. So if anyone along that general path would like some visitors let me know!! ;-) Also will be heading to a few points in Europe and then a beach holiday in Thailand before returning home. So that takes care of 2007 from March to July!

For the rest of the year I hope to keep working solidly on my illustration and hopefully get some more children's book work. Hoping to join the stylefile to help with that. Oh, and while I'm travelling I want to keep a visual diary of our trip which I'll hopefully be able to post here! fun fun fun.... very excited....

So to everyone out there I wish you a fulfilling and creative 2007 with lots of happy days with friends and family and quiet evenings alone. lots of chocolate (or vice of choice) and healthy living to balance the vice of choice. Lots of things to celebrate and moments to savour. Lots of morning coffee smells and fresh laundry smells. I think it will be a good year.

I'd just like to leave you with something from my diary/daily planner thing for 2006. It is a sustainable living diary and on each page (for each day, actually) it has a little tip or handy fact. I hardly read them at all (I hope I absobed them by osmosis) but yesterday sat down and read the 'big uns'. So here are The Top 10 Little Things you can do for yourself and the world:

1. Eat more vegetables. More people die from cancer as a result of lack of good food than from smoking. Fresh unprocessed food is vital for good health.

2. Exercise (a brisk walk is good) for 20 minutes at least 3 times a week. Every day is better.

3. Ventilate the house to remove off-gassed chemicals. The home is nowadays filled with pollutants that affect our health - especially the young. Some of the worst pollution you will experince is inside your home. Use natural cleaners and personal care products wherever possible.

4. Deal with stress if it is getting the better of you. Seek help from a friend or professional.

5. Buy green power for the home. It's one simple phone call.

6. Minimise your use of the car - a trip here and there adds up over the year. Holiday closer to home because aircraft consume lots of fossil fuel (*eek! guilty of this one! l-k) Subscribing to Greenfleet can offset travel impact. (* I WILL do this! New Year's resolution number 1!)

7. Buy local produce, especially meat. Meat is energy intensive to grow and is often transported a long distance to the consumer. Eat at least 1 meat free meal every week. Shop at farmers' markets.

8. Recycle Reduce Reuse. have one bin for recycling, one for waste. in the kitchen add a bin for food scraps.

9. Do a water audit. See where you use water and fix those leaky habits. use greywater on the garden or install a rainwater tank.

10. Eliminate weeds. Grow local.


See you next year!! xx l-k.