this little life of mine

Hey, hello, and Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a safe and sane New Year's Eve and have fully recovered from their hangovers.

Because I enjoy setting myself up for failure as much as the next guy, I decided to go ahead and write up some New Year's Resolutions for 2014.  I have several that are sure things, but threw in a couple that will be more of a challenge as well, just to keep it interesting. So. Here goes nothing ...

1.  Run a 5K (yeah, let's just throw the cray cray one out there first!).

2.  Write more (blog posts as well as short stories, poems, and small stones).

3.  Cook healthier meals (including at least one vegetarian meal per month).

4.  Read ALL the instructions/directions BEFORE jumping into cooking a dish, putting something together, or basically doing anything!

5.  Take lots of really fabulous photographs.

6.  Read more good quality books and less "fluff".

7.  Spend more time outdoors.

8.  Be more creative.

9.  Be more active.

10.  Visit different places and try different things (also known as "get out of my rut").

So, did anyone else make any resolutions, or am I the only crazy one? Let me know, and maybe we can encourage each other throughout the year!

Wish me luck and I wish you the same! God bless!

Cheers!

Well, here we are at the end on another year. While 2013 wasn't totally dreadful for me and my family, it wasn't 100% fabulous, either, and several of my friends had a rather crappy time of it the past 365 days. So I'm kinda relieved to close the door on 2013 and open up the window for what will hopefully be a much, much better year!

Here are some highlights of 2013:

1.  Weetacon  - always and forever a good time!

2.  Hanging out with friends: visiting my BFF Jewel in Ohio and hanging out with Pammie Sue and DeeDee in SLO  - also a really good time!

3 . My cousin's wedding - fantastic and beautiful!

4.  Getting away from it all - a couple staycations at a couple gorgeous local towns (Avila Beach and Morro Bay)!

Some things that were not so good:

1.  My grandpa's passing.

2.  Developing debilitating pain and stiffness which prevents me from doing a lot of the things I enjoy.

Okay, so, I guess there were a lot more good things than bad things for me, which is quite positive actually! Still, I'm looking forward to starting a new year which will hopefully be filled with TONS of great times and ZERO bad times! (I'm nothing if not unrealistic! Heh!)

Cheers!

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

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•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!)
•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 finally starting a new book: The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo. It's been so long since I downloaded this to Nicky the nook, I didn't even remember what it was about, but so far it's quite a good story.  Here are my teasers from page 312:

I wished that I had never seen his face, yet it was seared into my memory. He had warned me not to look at him. Why had I not listened? 

So, I finally got around to making my Christmas cards for this year. It's a simple design (not necessarily the one above, but I used the same stamp; this card was a tester, although I might send it out because turned out nice), and should be fairly easy to make. I really like the cute curly-cue design of the tree on this stamp by Hero Arts, and the inside greeting (not shown) is by Inkadinkado and is equally cute.  I'm also cleaning out my craft bin by using scrap and leftover papers instead of buying new, so that's pretty satisfying, too. 

What I'm Writing:  Currently not working on anything. I've been WAY too busy!

What I'm Reading:  Still reading Allegiant and thankfully it's gotten a lot better. It's interesting the way the story has gone from the first couple of books. There's less action and more thinking and plotting.

What Inspires Me:  I'm still enjoying Christmas music - both traditional carols and modern interpretations thereof, as well as novelty tunes (except "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer", I've alwasy HATED that song!!) and fresh new music.  

What Else I've Been Up To:  My BFF Darlene drove dwon from Oregon over the weekend, and I was able to spend some time with her and our mutual friend Pammie. We enjoyed some great food, wine, shopping, and martinis!

Periodically I remember to do my monthly resolutions (which I picked up from Kim on her blog The Kim Challenge), but not often. This month, however, I remembered (late, but still ...)! So, without further ado, here are the things I'm going to attmept to accomplish this month:

1.  Make and mail my Christmas cards before December 25th.

2. Call for a doctor appointment regarding the constant pain and stiffness I've had since August.

3.  Post at least 25 days for Holidailies. (Yes, I know I am woefully behind on this goal already, but I hope to catch up this weekend!)

4. Cook up some delicious and healthy soups, stews, and casseroles.

 5. Get to the gym 3 days a week.

Yikes! It seems like a lot now, and this month is already flying by! Wish me luck! Cheers!

December first, and I'm already decorated for Christmas! That might not seem like a very big deal, but I very nearly blew it off, and honestly, if I didn't do it this weekend, it wasn't going to get done. I skipped decorating last year entirely because I kept procrastinating, hemming and hawing for weeks. Finally I accepted the fact I just wasn't in the mood for Christmas, and while it felt pretty good to not do anything,  I thought I'd better do it this year, or risk becoming a permanent Grinch. Now that I'm done, I'm quite pleased. I bought a new artificial tree at Big Lots - pre-lit and pre-tinseled and only 20 bucks! - and it's adorable (pics coming soon!), and have my Santa collection (above), Wizard of Oz ornament collection, Christmas spoons, nativity, and other Christmas goodies on display. I'm exhausted, but it feels good to have it done and to look so pretty and festive!

So, if you've stopped by from Holidailies, hello and welcome! I've been participating in this collaborative holiday writing meme for several years now, starting with my now-defunct online journal self-portrait, and continuing the tradition here on my blog. If you like, you can learn more about who I am on my About Me page, look around my archives, or check out my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest links on the sidebar. 

Cheers!