Happy New Year! Is it too late to say that? 2015 crept in slowly. It was hard to get back to an early morning routine after a handful of blissful days without one. Sleep. As much as I protest it, I am secretly in love with it. The plunging temperatures returned us to leisure mode as schools were canceled due to the bitter cold. Our family got to hang out at home a bit longer, which made getting back into a productive state something to look forward to.

Long ago, I stopped thinking about the new year as a time for making resolutions. As a former consummate list-maker, having resolutions started to feel like just another list of things to do. It wasn’t something I wanted to hold on to. After awhile I realized I was doing resolutions to check a box. And honestly, if I wasn’t already doing the things on that list, I’m not so sure how writing them down and putting a date next to them was going to help. So I stopped.

What I’ve figured out is it’s not so much the list-making I’m drawn to as it is the idea of being productive. I haven’t always been sure about what this should look like, often measuring what I’ve done by the job I went into every day, or the freelance assignments I was getting. But I’ve come to realize that being able to put effort into every area–family, friendships, work, hobbies–is all productive and so incredibly worthwhile. Spending time making a meal, or reading with our children, or calling my parents! all define what’s getting done. And in ways that really matter.

I’m looking forward to so much in 2015 (and beyond!)

I’ll be starting a “Motherhood” series. I’ll be profiling moms who find creativity in (and around) their work and family. It will speak to how they got started, how they balance their lives, and also what motivates and inspires them.

I’ll be taking more photos. Before I started this blog, I thought a lot about what kind of niche it would fill. To be perfectly honest, after spending a lot of time trying to devise the right angle for it, I said: Ah hell, I’ll just start. And while it’s been a little all over the place at times, being able to create structure while also finding recurring themes has been the best part of all. Capturing images is as meaningful to me as finding the right words. I’m hoping to take a lot more pictures to share with you.

And I’ll be worrying less … about pretty much everything. By spending more time doing the things that matter most, I’ll find new ways to achieve calm and still get everything done that needs to be done.

What about you? Do you have any (non)resolutions for the year? I’d love to know about them. And, most importantly, thank you for reading and staying tuned. I’m excited for the year ahead with all of you.