a look back and a peak into the new year...

Happy New Year to everyone!  I don't usually make new years resolutions, I have told myself that they are silly, and that I won't stick with them anyway.  I got to thinking though that maybe I wasn't giving myself enough credit...  I can stick to things if I put my mind to it and really WANT  to embrace change,  I can honestly say that for the first time in a long time I have felt a wonderful stirring in my soul about the possibilities of a new year.

I have goals set for myself, my family, and our home...

I love my time here in blogland

so many of you have inspired me to really dig deep into the creative recesses of my soul

to release the fear of trying new things, one of those things being the idea to share what I've created with all of the blog world, without fear of rejection or being misunderstood...

to make what pops into my head and then post about it, and sell it.

I have to say a huge THANK YOU to those of you who opened my eyes to the world of JDL, oh my gosh, I am in love!  That is definitely the direction that our home is going to take, white, warm, industrial,  with natural wood elements and romantic.  Who would have thought that industrial and romantic would work together?  I love it!   So I am going 'shopping' in my little white barn and hauling my finds in the house.  I have been doing this a little at a time, but now it is time for a major overhaul by swapping out some of the decor in here.  Right now I would say that the house just have too much stuff!  i can't  believe I'm even saying that, but believe me Duane is happy to hear me say it!  So the things that come in must have purpose as well.

I don't want to look like this guy anymore!  I have hung on to some things thinking that they were bought to be sold, but have yet to list them on etsy or get them over to Lambs Gate.  Well, this is the week that I will be getting this stuff out of here one way or another!  I want theoldwhitehouse to take on a new look and so will be going in a new direction with it.  I am so excited to actually HAVE a direction!  Really!!

 The dining room was my jumping off point!  More makeovers are on the way!

I want to look more like this guy, peaceful and content...

I want to do more of this, sewing and sharing, so you can expect more tutorials than before...

I will be making more of these because I love wearing them and so love to share them!

I see my art taking on a whole new direction as well...

I think I've always been pretty organic in my artwork, but I see even more on the horizon...  I've repurposed for so many years that my kids probably thought that was the only way to create something, I am excited to create again, these last couple of weeks all I've done is crochet scarves for my family so I can't wait to get out the glue and junk and jewelry again!

and then there is my baby...

my line of natural laundry soap and lavender dryer sheets, I believe more deeply in this product than anything I've ever done before.  I feel like even in a small way I am making a difference ... not only the green impact that I feel I can make but a impact on my families income as well.  So this means alot more work and dedication on my part, but I feel it will be worth it.

 2011 is going to bring more 'green' into the lives of the Hein family in more ways than my soap... Hannah and I have become vegetarians.  John was home for a longer period of time than usual, he is a vegan and so was a great teacher and motivator for us.  I am thrilled and empowered by the feeling of giving my family a healthier lifestyle.  Even though not all of us will be vegetarian, the ones that are not will still benefit by having more vegies and grains in their diets!  I gotta believe that part of the positive feelings I have for our new year is that I am starting it off right!  I didn't want to just start another diet, they have never worked for me, I felt deprived and starved and so would cheat every chance I got... this doesn't feel like that, it feels right.   This is one of the reasons that I did not do new year resolutions in the past, they seem so redundant.   I will be 50 this year, and I want to be a strong role model for my children.  I also want to show them my fun side, they see my silly side on a regular basis but I wanted to show them the side of me that likes to play too, so for Christmas I asked for Just Dance 2 for the WII, and oh my gosh it is so much fun!  We played again last night and it feels good to dance and get excersize without feeling like it's work!

Thank you all for stopping by and leaving comments, they mean so much to me!  Blogging has brought so much LIFE into my life!  Thank you.  I hope that I can inspire you this new year and give back a little of the inspiration that you have given me.
                                                                   Love,
                                                             Theresa xoxo