Today is the day people think about their New Year’s resolutions, those things they are going to do better in 2010. These resolutions are really a good idea since conjuring them causes us to think about self improvement. They also help many health food gurus, fitness specialists and diet clubs. Book stores love them because many flock in to pick up the latest self-help editions.

Most New Year’s resolutions are positive. For example, they might include things like this year, I’m going to . . . speak kindly even when I’m angry. . . walk the dogs every day . . . call friends more often . . well, you get the picture and could probably fill in a litany of your own ideas. Here’s the problem with these resolutions. I don’t keep them and then I feel worse than I did before I made them!

This year is going to be different. Let the NOT resolutions flow! (cheer, cheer) Here are a few of mine.

• I resolve NOT to worry if the dinner dishes are still on the kitchen counter at bedtime. Eating is more important than cleaning.
• I resolve NOT to feel bad when new lines appear on my aging face and new bulges appear . . . you know where. Some things in life are inevitable.
• I resolve NOT to fret when friends and customers find my house in a mess. I’m helping them feel better about their own places.
• I resolve NOT to try to keep my studio neat and tidy. Creativity does often arise out of chaos . . . if you can stand the chaos.
• I resolve NOT to iron my mother’s clothes when she tells me I let them get too wrinkled. I’ll just run them through the laundry again.
• I resolve NOT to feel bad when we run out of bread. Someone else could have gone to the store, too.

These NOT resolutions could go on, but you’re probably getting the idea. Why don’t you try a few of your own. Go ahead. Take a little pressure off. It could make for a happier 2010!

I hate to clean! There’s just no way around it, though; it has to be done. Whether it’s cleaning the kitchen after cooking, cleaning the house or cleaning the studio, I just don’t like it. As we can all attest, cleaning doesn’t last. Yet, ever once in a while, I decide that I just can’t stand it any longer and I plunge into the chore with great gusto. Today, was one of those days.

Today was the day I finally cleaned the inside of my car. Anyone who has ever lived on a ranch can easily tell you what the inside of the ranch vehicles look like following a few days of muddy weather. Not only was the inside dirty, the outside of the car window had been licked by several hungry cows who thought the car might be housing their food. Muddy boots, shoes and jeans certainly left their mark on the inside of the car. I could, of course, go into great detail about the yuk I cleaned up, but I’ll just let you use your imagination. Be sure to apply all your senses, including sight, touch and smell to the conjured image!

Some say that out of “yuk” may come something good and today it happened. It’s always interesting to vacuum my car because I can’t see what’s under the seats and the cleaning often finds all sorts of things. Today was no exception. I found my long lost emery board, a receipt that I needed and then something I didn’t recognize emerged. I quickly turned off the machine and see what rose from the depths of the yuk. At first, I thought the vacuum had discovered some puzzle pieces, but I was wrong. The small sack under the seat contained three little hand cut cabochons that had been missing for quite some time.

This was a great find and I’ll be using those in my work tonight.

Before putting away the vacuum cleaner, I couldn’t help but wonder if anything else of value had been in the yuk and eaten by the machine. I opened the machine’s dirt container and found a small stretchy bracelet that was intended for the nursing home bazaar and a mustard colored bead. I retrieved the bracelet, but as I held the bead in my hand, I realized it was only a berry that must have fallen from an artificial plant. Following the pleasure of finding the cabs, I decided to forego cleaning the car windows, It is, after all, a ranch vehicle and it could rain again tomorrow and wash off those cow licks.

This car cleaning made me wonder what surprises await if only I would vacuum the couch or under the beds. Hmmm . . . should I do it? No, I think more cleaning can wait. Perhaps the anticipation of more buried treasure will motivate me another day.

Do you ever feel as though you are just running in place? I often feel that way this time of year and I can’t even pretend to be like the proverbial duck who is smooth and unruffled above water and paddles like crazy below. I do not look or act unruffled!

Yesterday, I decided that part of the problem is that I have too many odds, as in odds and ends. Those are all those things that are lying around waiting to be finished. I used to have more follow-through and quickly finish whatever I started, but lately that hasn’t been the case. For example, I found 5 necklaces strewn about the work table just waiting for clasps. Several others lay about in various stages waiting for a piece to go through the patina process or a pendent to be wired. In one corner, I found several stacked containers of complimentary beads that were organized for projects and on the sewing machine, there were two garments cut out amidst the stack of mending. Obviously, I’ve not exactly been twiddling my thumbs, it’s just that the work had not reached fruition. So, with determination I commenced to finished things.

One afternoon later, the necklaces now have closures. Most of the beads in the containers have been put away (some of them were not so complimentary after all), and I even completed the mending. In other words, many of my odds now have ends.

There are many other areas of my ranch work, house work and bookkeeping that remain as odds with no current ends. I have no control over most of those until other things fall into place. I do, however, have control over my studio and it feels good to complete several creative tasks. This has given me a better outlook on things and although my web feet are still paddling like crazy, I think I’m looking more smooth and unruffled on the top. Let’s just hope my feet don’t get tired!

I try to make an effort to see what other designers are making and occasionally take an afternoon to peruse the offerings at local boutiques. I’m not looking for ideas to “borrow”, but rather for styles that seem to be popular. I used to simply look at what was being offered. Is big and chunky “in” or is light and airy more popular? Are there any new color combinations that I’ve been missing? While this may sound like a good idea, it hit me that it’s possible that what I see a lot of in the stores isn’t really what’s popular, but rather what’s left over. In that case, the question could be “what isn’t here that’s already sold?”

Last week I tried a new approach. I lurked. Although I must have looked like a shopper, I was really watching and listening to see what customers liked and what they asked for. It was all that I could do to keep from giving my business card to the man who wanted to purchase a double strand of turquoise for his wife and was told he would need to by two necklaces of different lengths. I also wanted to tell him that what he thought was turquoise was actually magnesite; but, since I didn’t want to be escorted out of the establishment, I kept my mouth shut and my card in my pocket. Another customer wanted something light and airy with pearls for her adult granddaughter. She was fortunate to find a necklace that would work and I didn’t even try to accost her as she left with her purchase. I really wanted to tell her that what the clerk described as “handmade” looked strangely like a chain marketed at the bead shows, albeit the pearls were probably added by hand.

My other task as a lurker, is to see if my pieces look just like those made by other designers. I’ve never believed in sameness and don’t want to replicate what’s already available. I used to apply this approach when I wanted to author a new book for school teachers. I would study the books available from various publishers to see if what I wanted to author had already been written. If it had, then I turned to another theme. Then, I would talk to publishers’ representatives at conferences to see what kind of books teachers asked for that the publishers were unable to provide. My last book evolved from ideas hatched when a publisher said, “the teachers really want a book about . . . . “ I think great ideas for jewelry can emerge the same way. What do you hear shoppers in the boutiques say they want? Are they looking for a particular length or color that has been hard to find. Is that a design opening that needs to be filled?

Speaking of shopping, you probably know the rule for this time of year. Never go to the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving or the day before Christmas Eve. It’s dangerous! My father and I made this rule long ago and I take it to extremes. There are all kinds of substitutions that you can make for items you forgot to purchase such as corn juice for milk in bread, honey for corn syrup in baked goods, etc. No matter what, DON’T go to the store and if you simply HAVE to have a certain item, remember this rule: Send Someone Else!