Happy New Year.

As I sit here this morning at 8am, December 31st, back in Amsterdam - I realize I haven't written much this fall/beginning of winter.  So many people bought me such wonderful journals for Christmas, all impeccably designed, and the only reason I can think they did so was because of how introspective I've been since moving here.  So thank you to those people for supporting me in that, as sometimes we can feel silly writing our feelings out for the world to see. 

I also realized that this year, while hard in its right, was not hard in the grand scheme of life.  We are lucky that we are able to travel the world, and follow our dreams.  We are lucky we have choices. We are lucky we have each other.  We are lucky we have family, and health and happiness.  There are so many people who were affected in such a devastating way this year through loss of homes, loss of life, loss of a daughter, struggling with addiction, struggling with what's happening in our country, and the list goes on.  I don't want anyone for one second to think that as I post and write on social media, or here, about our life, that I think we are not lucky in every single step we have been able to take.  

I created Al Stampa because I like to tell stories, but am not great with my words.  I have a beautiful, courageous sister for that part (although she's good at words and visuals, god bless her). I hope that this year brings me more stories to tell that impact our world, and help people do what they can't, and I can.  

As we set off into the New Year, and my birthday (!) I want to thank everyone for their amazing love and support for us this year.  It's amazing to me the amount of people who I think are not watching, or interested in what I do, be impacted.  That for me is my biggest success.  I also truly felt this year that sentiment that if you do things from your heart and for yourself, it will be your best work.  It's easy to get caught up in competition, and instagram numbers, but it's harder to make work you truly believe in, so in that regard, this year was one of my favorites from my lifetime.

This year it's not about choosing a "new me" for 2018.  It's more about sticking with the belief that who I am is not about improvements all the time.  We can be happy with who we are right now which will leave room for more greatness. :)

Happy New Year. Thanks for following along.