Nellie Windmill

In my last blog post I cautioned against writing overly long lists of dreams or resolutions, which have a danger of being un-actionable (because of their scale) and unfocused (because they don’t distinguish between the important and the not so important). So, without further ado, here is my overly long list of dreams… I can explain, it’s for a good cause!

I’m very excited to be a part of Andrea Schroeder’s new online group “Creating Dreams Come True“. Turns out, our first assignment is to start a list of 100 things we want to do, be, or have! Her theory (in direct opposition to mine) is that to come up with 100, stretches you to dream bigger and really expands your ideas of what is possible. So, in the interest of being open to new ideas and having a bit of fun, I’m going with it. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

1. Go on a hot air balloon ride somewhere spectacularly beautiful
2. Successfully sell my collage papers on Etsy
3. Successfully sell my paintings and digitally altered photography on Red Bubble and Image Kind
4. Find my community and make true friendships with other creative, kindred spirits
5. Build a wardrobe full of flattering, quirky, beautiful clothes with lots of skirts, gorgeous footwear, and accessories
6. Have several side projects that earn an income from our travelling – photography, e-books, blog, etc
7. Learn bookbinding
8. Be an accomplished artist
9. Be an excellent conversationalist
10. Own an original Heather Haynes painting
11. Learn how to make pottery
12. Learn to sew
13. Create a children’s book
14. See the aurora borealis
15. Travel Canada in our motorhome
16. Travel New Zealand in our motorhome
17. Make friends in every country we travel to
18. Accept, forgive, and let go
19. Learn the story of my adoption
20. Go paragliding somewhere spectacularly beautiful
21. Practise yoga
22. Join a lively, fun, and friendly book club
23. Patronise contemporary and jazz dance productions
24. Patronise the theatre
25. Own a cozy, rustic cottage in the hills with a studio and an open fireplace
26. Continue to travel Europe in our motorhome
27. Hike the Alps
28. Patronise classical music concerts
29. Attend the Venice Carnival
30. Experience the midnight sun
31. Live in Ireland
32. Live in Paris
33. Live in London
34. For Mike and I to meet our target monthly income from our creative endeavours alone
35. Get to know my brother’s fiance and be a part of my niece’s life
36. Practise meditation
37. Travel Tasmania, Australia, in our motorhome
38. Feel strong and powerful in my body (I totally plagiarised that from Andrea but her wording was just so perfect!)

Wow, over a third of the way there and there’s still such a long way to go! I can see what Andrea means, I really am going to have to get a bit outrageous to make it to 100!

Do you like a sexy website? Then check out A Tasty Pixel. I unabashedly and oh so biasedly testify that A Tasty Pixel is the super swankiest software website you’ll come across this side of eleven cyber rivers.   It’s amazing to think that just a year and a half ago the most creative thing I’d done since high school was a few doodles whilst conducting market research over the phone. Now with a bit of digital rendering magiks by my partner my doodles adorn a real life business website and I’m so proud of the little guys. A Tasty Pixel is the new face of my partner’s not so new software development business. He makes nifty apps for the iphone amongst other things and he’s super passionate about it. It’s his bag. We’re both really happy with the concept we came up with. It’s very playful and whimsical and injects the business with a good dose of personality. Click through the different pages to see a different illustration on each – my favourite is on the contact page and my other favourite is on the Talkie page. Please let us know what you think!