I thought I’d try something new this year and not wait an entire 365 days to report on my vision statement progress.
I’m at my art studio, waiting for the wax to heat up to a molten state so I can start painting; seems like a good time to write a little. I miss writing. I had a call today with my writing partner about some tweaks to our screenplay and I felt that pull to sit in front of a laptop and empty my brain into another story. I love writing. I need to do more.
So, how are things going so far? What happened in January – March?
Family:
- Goals
- Did a family vacation together and unplugged our devices for at least one day (it was wonderful to do this during my New Zealand trip in 2018; need to disconnect from social media more often). Not yet. Planned for this summer.
- Spent time with my parents. Julia and I got to see them and my brothers for my brother Patrick’s 50th birthday.
- Bonus:
- I finally met the partner I’d hoped for and we are building a life together. Not yet. Still hopeful. 🙂
- Enjoyed a Vegas Girls’ trip with my mom, during a month when it was warm enough to sit out by the pool! Planned for Q3.
Friends:
- Goals:
- Had a fun trip to Sedona with my girlfriends. Such a fun trip, although I was coming down with a bad cold. Did some awesome hiking.
- Bonus
- Hosted a dinner party for my friends. Super fun, hope to do another one later this year. I’m grateful to have such amazing, supportive friends in my life.
Work:
- Goal:
- I started a Women@GBM group and helped support women in our org. Not yet.
Community:
- Goals:
- Started teaching yoga and mindfulness classes with Veterans Yoga project. Not yet, will finish my training in June.
- Continued supporting veterans transitioning to tech by participating in Facebook’s Vets group and speaking with groups like Breakline. Not yet.
Me:
- Goals:
- Fitness:
- Earned my 200-hr yoga teaching certification so I can teach yoga to veterans. In progress! I’ve really been enjoying this training. Lots of studying!
- Can do a press-up handstand. Hahaha, not even close…
- Competed in a pole dancing competition. Not yet, but in progress.
- Music: Since buying myself a digital piano for Christmas in Dec 2018, I completed an online piano course and can play at least 4 of the following songs. : In progress. Embarrassing accountability videos are below. I’m almost done with the Entertainer, halfway through La Valse d’Amelie (although it’s really rough), at the beginning of Glitter in the Air, and deciding whether or not to continue on Between the Lines. I love the song but it is freaking difficult. NOTE: Not sure why the video images are upside down, but it’s normal once it starts playing.
- Fitness:
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- Flying: I fly every 3 weeks or so and enjoy taking friends up for flights. Did a couple of cross-country camping flights and enjoyed sleeping under the stars. I’ve taken a couple of friends flying on Bay Tours. Next up is my mountain flying checkout so I can go camping in the foothills. I’m also looking at getting my aerobatics check out, as straight and level is getting boring fast. 🙂
Bonus:
- Writing:
- I sold the screenplay/teleplay I wrote in 2017 and wrote another one.Still trying to sell it.
- I blogged monthly well, maybe quarterly?
- Travel: I visited two new places this year (thinking about Sedona, South Africa, Copenhagen, Prague, Berlin, Costa Rica). Edinburgh is next!
- Painting: I set up my art studio space in San Jose and completed 20 paintings, enough to sign up for Open Studios. I have posted my paintings to my art website, encaustech.com, and have sold a few. I’ve begun talking with Facebook about doing an encaustic installation on one of the walls at work.
I rented a super cool art studio space in San Jose!

Move-in Day
I have been focusing on yoga teacher training, so I haven’t been as productive in the studio as I would like; however, with the sun setting later every day, I’m hoping to paint more. Here’s a painting that’s almost done, and one that is just beginning: