New look, altered focus

I haven't been blogging much lately, even though I've been thinking about the blog quite a bit. Part of me blames Facebook--it's such a fast, easy way to share links and thoughts with people, many of whom would never venture over to this ole blog. [Readers, any thoughts on the redundancy between FB and your blog? Do you post certain things in one place, other things in another? Would love to hear your thoughts.]

I also blame lack of time for my recent un-blogging. Work has been crazy. As has life in general. Mostly in good ways, but still.

I have been thinking a lot about my life and what I want to do with it (For this I blame the many people around me who are having babies, a life-structuring activity that I am just not ready for.) The bottom line is that I want it to be a creative life. What does this mean to me?

* Writing. Lots of writing. Writing for fun. Aloowing myself to write about whatever subjects call me at the moment, and in the style that calls, too.

* Keeping a daily journal. This is separate from the writing bullet just because it's so important to me that it deserves its own space.

* Gardening. Surrounding my home with beautiful flowers and delicious plants.

* Animals. I'm not sure why taking care of my animals feels like a creative outlet to me, but it does. I think it has to do with the intimacy that animals give at such a low cost in terms of drama or emotional neediness.

* Photography.

* Crafts, like knitting, collaging, sewing, decorating the house.

* Yoga.

* Devoting the time and energy to the people in my life whose relationships I cherish, and not spreading myself thin on people who I don't deeply connect with.

* Getting out in nature.

* Dancing. Even if it's just in my living room.

* Volunteering. I realize this is stretching the meaning of "creative", but I do think that giving back to the world/your community is an important part of living a meaningful life. Which is really the purpose, for me, of deliberately living a creative life.

What does all this have to do with the blog? Well, along with the new look, I plan to alter the focus of the blog to reflect these various creative pursuits.

Hope you like the slightly altered focus and the very altered look. Please let me know what you think of both, but especially the color scheme. If anything is hard to read, I want to know so I can change it.

Thanks all. I'd also love to hear what things you think of when you consider your own creative life.