This Is Crafty Business

Hey!  I finally had a minute of free time in between wrapping up senior year, planning prom, training for a half marathon, and practicing lacrosse to post the March pep talk I drew.  This one was much needed.

From the perspective of someone who’s been swamped lately (see: above and also the fact that I’m posting this on March 25th), remember to take a bit of a step back and keep things in perspective.  Let it go, this too shall pass.

Love forever,

my final bullet journal entry for 2015!!

Happy New Year!

Let’s start off 2016 with some good luck from Shigesato Itoi. Every New Year the Hobonichi website puts up a collection of 20 kanji which you can draw randomly to see what your auspicious kanji for the upcoming year will be.

I can’t promise I’ll get through all 20 today but I can make a start! I’ll update this post with more kanji as I do them but if yours isn’t on the list yet reblog and comment which one you want to see.

Update: 19 out of 20 done! The final kanji (wataru) just goes to a 404 page.

Step one: Go here and click on the red button marked “「手帳みくじ」をひいてみる”.

Step two: Use the following translations to find your kanji and enjoy your good luck! If you look in the URL of your kanji page, you will see the name of your kanji before the .html ending, (eg, …ometecho/mikuji/raku.html) it might be easier to use this to find your kanji on the list.

手 – TE

Meaning: hand, arm (see the full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 fortune is related to ‘hands’ and this is going to be the year of opportunity. You may come across lots of lovely handmade things, and you might eat a lot of delicious handmade food. Knitting, musical instruments, cooking and so on - you may even start a brand new hobby that uses your hands!

食 – SHOKU

Meaning: food, diet (see the full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 keyword is, to put it bluntly, to do with ‘food’. You may get the opportunity to eat delicious things more than ever. Or, maybe you will come across something new in the field of cuisine?! Oh, if you find a delicious shop, please by all means write a memo about it in a notebook.

逢 – AU

Meaning: to meet, encounter (see the full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 year is going to be full of a variety of ‘encounters’. You will have a lot of happy meetings. You may also be fortunate to encounter nice things as well as people. If you leave a record in a notebook of those happy meetings with people and things you can relive the happy times again later.

感 – KAN

Meaning: feeling, sensation (see the full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 year is likely going to be one where your ‘sensitivity’ is very much increased. Encountering various things is likely to give yourself good incentive. It might be a chance to start something you’ve been worried about for a long time. This year is unique to you, so please enjoy it to the fullest.

柔 – JŪ

Meaning: gentle, soft (see the full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 keyword is ‘soft’. By considering everything with an open mind (literally; a ‘soft head’), you yourself may move forward into new developments. Maybe soft desserts are your lucky item? Please enjoy every day gracefully.

育 – IKU

Meaning: education, growing up (see the full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 may become a profound year for things you are involved in to ‘grow’. Not only will you yourself grow considerably, but projects, hobbies, plants, imagination… this year maybe anything you are involved in will grow. Once you have written down in a notebook how you feel whenever you have grown up, that notebook will also grow up with you.

縁 – EN

Meaning: fate, relationship (see full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 is likely to be the year that you will be connected to your ‘destiny’. There will be encounters with new people, or you may soon reconnect with a previous relationship. Of course it isn’t limited to just people. There may also be encounters with nice objects and things. What kind of relationships will you have this year? It looks like you’ll have a fun year for sure.

祝 – SHUKU

Meaning: celebrate, holiday (see full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 may have many ‘celebrations’ coming your way this year. Not just celebrating the people around you, but you might be in a position to celebrate yourself? By the way, the Hobonichi notebook’s motto is ‘Happy Nothing Special Day!’ Even if you never have any big celebrations, little happy events will accumulate.

決 – KETSU

Meaning: decide, determined (see full meaning on Tangorin)

The kanji which symbolises your 2016 year seems to be ‘determined’. Some big decision may make this the year that you are given the chance to move forward. Otherwise long awaited things might finally come about. Please keep a record in a notebook of important moments. When you look back on them later, you will definitely have happy feelings.

開 – KAI

Meaning: open, unfold (see full meaning on Tangorin)

Your keyword for the year 2016 seems to be ‘open’. Explore a new genre of work and hobbies that up until now you never imagined, and maybe you will meet other people who open their hearts with all their strength? If you have a nice encounter, please open a notebook and write it down.

踊 – ODORU

Meaning: dance (see full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 is likely to be a ‘dancing’ year. Such a happy activity that will bring a lot of fun this year, isn’t it? Sometimes when emotions are swaying back and forth, skipping and jumping, please try to express these feelings with the whole body. It might be a good time to try and start dancing!

集 – SHU

Meaning: gather, collect (see full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 keyword is ‘gathering’.  In new encounters and in any type of meeting you may reveal a positive outlook. Your own existence will gather people around you. Or, there is a possibility that you might start a hobby collecting something new. By the way, when you collect something, it is useful to organise it beforehand by writing in a notebook.

動 – DOU

Meaning: motion, change (see full meaning on Tangorin)

Your keyword for 2016 is ‘motion’. You will not be limited to the place you are now, it looks like you will move on to the next place. This will also be the ideal year to have a connection to pets and exercise. If you are the kind of person who wants to go on a diet, now might be the perfect chance?

一 – ICHI

Meaning: one (see full meaning on Tangorin)

The original ‘one’. Your 2016 year might be the start of something good. There is only one option to take, and perhaps only you can find that one special something?! Please make a nice daily record in the Hobonichi, your one and only very special notebook.

見 – MIRU

Meaning: see, hope (see full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 is likely to be a year with a strong connection to ‘viewing’. Maybe an encounter with an excellent film or theatre performance, or you might witness a particularly impressive scene in sports. Or perhaps you’ll make some new discovery! You will definitely find things, but please write it down in your notebook so that it is not forgotten.

深 – FUKAI

Meaning: deep, intense (see full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 is likely to be the year you will go ‘deeper’. Work or study, even hobbies or lessons, anything that has taken you a long time to do, may become much more profound and more interesting. If you want to follow something very thoroughly, this year may be your chance? Also, your love towards something or someone may get deeper this year.

新 – SHIN

Meaning: new (see full meaning on Tangorin)

Your 2016 may be a year where you have the opportunity to connect with ‘new’ things. A new job, new environment, new people. Let these sort of new things and encounters lead to happiness for you. First of all why not try and write a resolution in a new notebook, seeing as its New Year?

球 – KYU

Meaning: ball, sphere (see full meaning on Tangorin)

The kanji that represents your 2016 year is ‘ball’. When there is just one ball, you can play various games. You can throw, roll, or you could pass it to everyone. Just like that you yourself should act freely, rolling through this year in steadily interesting directions. Or possibly out of a much loved sport you will find a great deal more to like!

楽 – RAKU

Meaning: music, comfort (see full meaning on Tangorin)