Welcome to 2017! New Year’s seems to be a good time for reflection. A time to say goodbye to the old and bring on the new.
It was about this time a year ago that I started this blog; I thought I’d have a lot more to say. Actually, I do. I just realized that I’ve forgotten how to write, so I haven’t made as much use of this platform as anticipated. Life moves forward more quickly than I can compose, and a lot has happened since last new year.
Since there’s no way to capture everything significant about 2016 – it was a big year in so many ways – I’m going to focus on some of personal new adventures of the year.
Cosplay
In 2016 I made my character cosplay debut. While I have been attending comic cons for several years and have frequently dressed in certain styles (e.g. steampunk), this was the first time I dressed up as an actual character. In March, I attended C2E2 as Ursula the Sea Witch, and I brought out the costume again (with some tweaks) in August for Wizard World Chicago- where I even entered the cosplay contest and received great reviews! At Wizard World, I also cosplayed as Death from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series.
I love this new hobby and plan to do plenty more of it! Costumes are in the works for 2017 cons, and I’m even roping my hubby in this time.
Tattoo
In spring 2015, I had gotten a tattoo of a phoenix that I had been wanting for years. This past March, I had the companion piece done: a single feather and jasmine flowers on my foot. The feather is “left behind” by the rising phoenix. The jasmine is based on my name (which means jasmine).
Joyful Song Ensemble
In May, my church started a new service on Sunday evenings, and I was asked to lead the music. Thus, a new music ministry was born. The Joyful Song Ensemble is still small but enthusiastic.
Archery
Last Christmas I gave my hubby a longbow. He loved it and started going out to the archery range to shoot after work pretty regularly. I decided to buy a recurve bow so I could join him. For much of the summer into the fall, we would go to the local archery range together. It’s a fun, new activity and probably the most exercise I actually get regularly!
Ceramics
Another new hobby! My hubby and I started taking pottery classes together in September, and it has been a blast. I’ve actually managed to make some nice pieces, too. This is something we’ll definitely continue with.
Lakeside Flutes
I joined this ensemble in September and have really enjoyed the opportunity to improve my skills on the flute as well as to meet and play music with such a delightful group!
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The last year has been a journey filled with growth and new adventures! Now on to 2017…
Stay tuned for New Year’s Reflections part two . . .