this little life of mine

To remind you of the way this works, here’s how to play:

First — post your list of New Years’ Resolutions in a post at your blog (or in the comments here, if you don’t have a blog).

Second — every week, on Wednesday, write a new post about how you’re doing with each of your goals … you’ll have to list them, again, each week, as people won’t remember what you’re working towards, otherwise. Be brief in your updates, as there may be several blogs to visit! ((come give a quick update here at Should Be Reading, if you don’t have a blog)).

Third — after you’ve written your update, come back to Should Be Reading, and share your link so that we –the other New Beginnings participants– can stop by your blog and encourage you!

Important! … It would be absolutely great if you could visit at least ONE other participant’s blog  on Wednesdays and leave a comment on their post to share some encouragement for their efforts! Show your support! That’s what this event is all about — standing by each other to finally reach our goals!

1. Health and Fitness
o   Get down to size 12 (currently at 16).  Nothing new here, yet, but I'm gathering some "inspire me" pictures of outfits/swimwear I'd like to wear to Vegas this summer.
o   Try three new recipes per month (one of which will be vegetarian). I don't believe I tried any new recipes at all this month. Hopefully in April I'll get more creative in the kitchen.
o   Hit the gym four days per week.  I accomplished four times last week - three with my trainer, Michael and one on my own. Starting this week my third session with Michael will be on Thursdays rather than Fridays. I'm used to having a rest day inbetween the hard workouts, so I'm hoping this new schedule doesn't kick my butt TOO much!

2. Writing 
o   Write 1st draft of book 1 of Falcon's Gate Trilogy.  Not even thinking about this book right now. I'll be starting work on my RavensEarth graphic novel for Script Frenzy starting tomorrow, and my co-worker, Lola, gave me an awesome idea for a new western/romance novel I've started called Bet the Bride.
o   Write 1st draft of book 2 of Falcon's Gate Trilogy during NaNoWriMo. Begins November 1st and continues through November 30th.  o   Write some poetry. Nothing done here.

3. Photography
o   Take more artistic photos. Nothing really done here. I took a picture of my current read and nail polish cover as seen on yesterdays Teaser Tuesday post, but that's about it.
o   Spend more time composing photos rather than just “point and shoot”. Not done.
o   Go "old school": take some pictures using film with manual 35mm camera. Not done.
 
4. Homefront
o   Organize stuff. Nothing currently.
o   Reduce clutter. Nothing currently.
o   Work on landscaping project(s). Met with Rick from Armet's Landscaping last Saturday to see about getting an estimate. He indicated that a dry creek bed (or original plan) wouldn't help our drainage problem, but would just be for aesthetic purposes. Instead he suggested installing three catch-basins to help flow the excess water to our existing drain. If we do that, we won't need a dry creek bed, and instead can have artifical grass installed. It would be SO nice to not worry about watering and mowing the back! Plus, we'll get a rebate from the city if we have artificial grass installed. Of course, if it turns out to be too expensive, we'll just have real grass put in. Later this afternoon,Madrone's Landscape is coming over to give us an estimate, so we'll see what their suggestions are and what their estimate is before making a final decision.

5. Fun Stuff
o   Go to the beach more often. Not yet; we're waiting to have the yard all done with before taking any day or weekend trips.
o   Learn to surf (or at least body board). Not yet.
o   Get new ink. I'm planning to do this when I'm in Vegas this summer. Now I just need a design (or two!).

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser sentences this week come from The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan. This is her second book - her first one - The Forest of Hands and Teeth - was (well, still is) really awesome and I highly recommend it as well.

From page 57:

A hand tumbles in the waves, fingers skimming the white froth. My mother's back stiffens and she tightens her grip around the handle of the shovel.

And, fyi, that's O.P.I.'s "Baguette Me Not" nail colour on my hand displayed there on top of page 53 of the book. Sort of like a product junkie/bonus Teaser combo. Enjoy! Cheers!

Red Glove Pencil Sketch w/ Boost, originally uploaded by LapisBlue.

Single red leather glove found on the street in Chicago, IL in 2008. Enjoy!

To remind you of the way this works, here’s how to play:

First — post your list of New Years’ Resolutions in a post at your blog (or in the comments here, if you don’t have a blog).

Second — every week, on Wednesday, write a new post about how you’re doing with each of your goals … you’ll have to list them, again, each week, as people won’t remember what you’re working towards, otherwise. Be brief in your updates, as there may be several blogs to visit! ((come give a quick update here at Should Be Reading, if you don’t have a blog)).

Third — after you’ve written your update, come back to Should Be Reading, and share your link so that we –the other New Beginnings participants– can stop by your blog and encourage you!

Important! … It would be absolutely great if you could visit at least ONE other participant’s blog  on Wednesdays and leave a comment on their post to share some encouragement for their efforts! Show your support! That’s what this event is all about — standing by each other to finally reach our goals!

1. Health and Fitness
o   Get down to size 12 (currently at 16).  I've had a bit of a set back and gained a few pounds. I don't know exactly how many pounds, but some of my looser-fitting pants felt tight this past week. I know I've been eating too much considering I haven't been working out as hard as I was before, but I've put a stop to that, and am getting back into my regular routine! I should be back on track by April!
o   Try three new recipes per month (one of which will be vegetarian). Nothing new here.
o   Hit the gym four days per week.  I managed three days last week, but only one with my trainer, and my other two workouts weren't as intense or calorie-burning. So far this week, everything is back to normal!

2. Writing 
o   Write 1st draft of book 1 of Falcon's Gate Trilogy.  Falcon's Gate is totally on hold right now, as I've signed up for Script Frenzy during the month of April, so I will actually be working on a graphic novel-version of another old manuscript (from my high school days!) called RavensEarth.
o   Write 1st draft of book 2 of Falcon's Gate Trilogy during NaNoWriMo. Begins November 1st and continues through November 30th. 
o   Write some poetry. Nothing here.

3. Photography
o   Take more artistic photos. Last Saturday I dug out my old Polaroid, took some shots of my flowering tree in the backyard as well as a "portrait" of my camera and the pictures. I still need to scan and post the individual pictures, but they actually came out really good!
o   Spend more time composing photos rather than just “point and shoot”.  Kinda sorta did that in the pictures linked above.
o   Go "old school": take some pictures using film with manual 35mm camera. I picked up my 35mm prints last week, and, wow, were they awful! I have completely forgotten how to use one of those things! Here's a few of the shots I took:

 
4. Homefront
o   Organize stuff. Nothing here.
o   Reduce clutter. Nothing here.
o   Work on landscaping project(s). Because this has become a much larger project than anticipated, there’s a chance we might end up hiring it done. The ENTIRE backyard has been destroyed by the storms last week and our attempts to keep the water away from the house, so a professional landscaper may be our only option.

5. Fun Stuff - Nothing done on any of these, but I think I might get the new ink this summer when I'm at Rehab in Las Vegas! Now all I have to do is decide on a design and location.
o   Go to the beach more often.
o   Learn to surf (or at least body board).
o   Get new ink.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Good morning, readers! This week's teaser comes from page 5 of this world we live in by Susan Beth Pfeffer, and yes I cheated YET AGAIN and have more than two sentences. (I really hope MizB doesn't mind!) This is the third book in the Moon Crash Trilogy (or The Last Survivors series, as some people call it. Personally I prefer Moon Crash.). If you haven't read this series yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. Read on!

I tell myself we've made it through the worst and we can face whatever will happen next. I tell myself what Mom always says, that as long as we're alive, hope is alive.

I just wish I knew if dad was alive also.

Last winter I cut my Midas Touch rose down to the ground - I hear that's what you're supposed to do to roses ... cut them WAYYYY back. Anyway, it has slowly been making a comeback and this past week not only has it gotten HUGE, it's covered with buds! I expect it to explode with bright, cheery yellow blossoms very soon! I can't wait!

lunch_at_tdh 005, originally uploaded by LapisBlue.

Chad and the Two-Foot Brat.

In honour of the first day of spring, I dug out my old Polaroid and took some shots of the pretty pink blossoms on the tree in my backyard. I will scan the individual pictures later on and post them as well. Enjoy!

Because I obviously don't have enough to do in my life -  working a 40-hour week, exercising with a trainer at the Club 3-days-a-week, looking for a landscaper to fix our backyard, writing a novel, going to doctor appointments as well as the monthy blood-letting, er, I mean blood draws for lab tests, trying to update my blog/Twitter/Facebook on a regular basis, and maybe get some sleep - I decided to add one more thing to my schedule during the month of April. Last year I participated in the National Poetry Month, but this year I'm trying Script Frenzy.

I have an old manuscript (seriously old, like, I wrote it back in the Dark Ages, i.e., High School!) that I was working on writing up into a trilogy, but then thought, hey, this might make a really cool graphic novel! Now, I've never written a graphic novel (and am only just now reading my very first one) and I can't draw to save my life, but, what the heck, I thought I'd give Script Frenzy a shot this year.