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).  Same here.
o   Try three new recipes per month (one of which will be vegetarian). I tried a new salmon recipe on Sunday from the new Clean Eating magazine. It was just a regular baked salmon, but had a corn and red pepper saute and black bean salsa. Turned out pretty good.  
o   Hit the gym four days per week.  Not done this week. I went Monday, but had just a light workout as I hurt my right foot sometime over the weekend, I skipped yesterday for a mani, and I’m meeting with the landscaper tonight. I'll be going tomorrow night, but that'll be it for the week.

2. Writing  Not really working on this one as written right now. I signed up for Script Frenzy and am currently writing a graphic novel, so I guess that counts kinda-sorta, right?
o   Write 1st draft of book 1 of Falcon's Gate Trilogy. 
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.

3. Photography
o   Take more artistic photos. I took some pictures of my beautiful Midas Touch rose on Saturday.
o   Spend more time composing photos rather than just “point and shoot”. See above.
o   Go "old school": take some pictures using film with manual 35mm camera. Nothing here.
 
4. Homefront
o   Organize stuff. Nothing done here.
o   Reduce clutter. Nothing new here.
o   Work on landscaping project(s). The backyard is basically done now. I’m meeting Daniel from Madrone Landscaping this evening to go over everything, but overall, I’m thrilled with it! Before and after pics to be posted soon!

5. Fun Stuff Nothing done on any of these yet.
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!

This week I'm reading Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr. I ended up really enjoying the previous book and right away ran out and bought this one when it was released last week! My teaser comes from page 78:

As if bleeding Ani wouldn't present complications? How did one start that conversation? Hello, I almost murdered you once, but I noticed that your blood - just a bit here or there - would be really useful.

Welcome to our backyard, little tree! I hope you like it here!

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).  Same here.
o   Try three new recipes per month (one of which will be vegetarian). Nothing new here although I am trying to find something fun and different to do with some fresh lemons I recieved from a coworker this past week!
o   Hit the gym four days per week.  Done!

2. Writing  Not really working on this one as written right now. I signed up for Script Frenzy and am currently writing a graphic novel, so I guess that counts kinda-sorta, right?
o   Write 1st draft of book 1 of Falcon's Gate Trilogy. 
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.

3. Photography
o   Take more artistic photos. I got a few interesting shots of lemons on Saturday and my blooming rose bush on Sunday!
o   Spend more time composing photos rather than just “point and shoot”. See above.
o   Go "old school": take some pictures using film with manual 35mm camera. Nothing here.
 
4. Homefront
o   Organize stuff. Nothing done here.
o   Reduce clutter. Finally got around to returning a few things I'd ordered that didn't fit.
o   Work on landscaping project(s). Well, the only yard work I did this week was mowing the front lawn. Actually "mowing" isn't exactly the correct word, because the grass was so tall and thick our little hand mower wouldn't cut it, so I had to use the week whacker instead! As for the backyard project, the Madrone guys came in and took out all the sod and some plants, so the canvas is ready for art!

5. Fun Stuff Nothing done on any of these yet.
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!

This week I'm reading Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr. It's starting kinda slow for me, but I'm sure she's building up to something big!  My teaser comes from page 155:

"Your temper is more obvious as Summer's strength grows." Donia's chilling smile was steadfast. "Like his. You even look like him with that glow pulsing under your skin."

And how do you like that cover shot? It's actually the artwork on the hard cover itself; a hidden gem underneath the paper cover!

My Midas Touch rose bush is finally starting to bloom!

Most of them are still buds.

But at least this one is in full bloom!

And unfortunatly I discovered some icky green bugs on my roses, so I had to spray them. Otherwise, this rose bush looks really good!