this little life of mine

I haven't done a Monthly Resolutions post for several months, but since I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging on a regular basis, coming up with some resolutions or goals for the month of December seems like a good idea. The whole idea of doing monthly resolutions was originally conceived by Kim, and while I'm not sure if she's still doing them, I'm all for giving credit where it's due. Since I know this will be a busy month, I'm going to try to keep my goals fairly easy and attainable so I don't stress myself out too much. 

So, for the month of December I resolve to:

1. Participate in Holidailies, and post a blog entry everyday.
2. Participate in December Reflections and post a photo everyday.
3. Create and mail out Christmas cards by 12/16/18.
4. Finish colouring my 2019 calendar pages.
5. Finish reading Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr by John Crowley
6. Come up with Goals/Resolutions for 2019.

OK, I think that's enough to deal with this month! I hope you all have a great December, and accomplish all you want to! Cheers!

So, I haven't done any monthly resolutions* for a very long time, and it's about time I did! I'm keeping it simple since I have a lot of things on my plate this month, but I'd like to at least accomplish the following three things:

1. Gain no more than 5 pounds this month. It's the holiday season, and time for indulging in delicious, but fattening fare. I'm not going to deny myself any Christmas treats, but I do want to be conscious of what I'm indulging in, and make sure I don't go too far! I've been doing pretty well with my weight loss this year, and don't want to mess up all my good work! Realistically I know I will gain weight this month, but if I can keep it to 5 pounds or less, it will make losing it next year more manageable!

2. Curb my spending. I've been shopping online a lot lately, and I really need to cut back and start saving money for next year's adventures! I'm pretty sure I have enough rubber stamps, dies, make-up, decorative paper, crafting supplies, clothes, and shoes to keep me busy for a very long time!

3. Clean out the closets. As well as not buying so much stuff, I also need to start getting rid of excess stuff I have, but don't use. I've been doing a pretty good job this past year of going through my closet and drawers every 3 or 4 months, and getting rid of anything I haven't worn in that time, that doesn't fit anymore, or that I just don't like. It's time for another tour though the closets and another trip to Goodwill!

 OK, that looks like a list I can accomplish! Do you have anything you'd like to accomplish this month? Let me know in the comments!

 *Inspiration for the Monthly Resolutions from Kim at The Kim Challenge. Check her out!

Hello, and Happy December! I think I might've forgotten to do my Monthly Resolutions*  in November. I can't remember now, and I don't feel like digging though my November entries (not that there are many, but still ...) to see if I did or not. So never mind, on to December!

1.  I'm participating in both Holidailies and December Reflections this month, and I'm already 1 day behind on Holidailies. While the collective goal is to write an entry every day for the month of December, my personal goal is 20 entries. If I do more, great, if not, I won't beat myself up over it. As for December Reflections, I'm confident I'll be able to post a photo every day for that challenge.

2.  I've recently started stamping again, and have a couple goals regarding that this month: 1) finish my Christmas cards and get them mailed (preferably before December 15th), and 2) start planning and stamping my 2017 calendars. I purchased a couple small calendars from an Etsy shop earlier this week, and plan to make a calendar for myself and one for my mom. They are 6" X 6" which is quite small, yes, but the smaller size will hopefully keep me from getting overwhelmed with lots of blank white paper!

3.  Read a couple books. I haven't done much reading this year, and I would like to change that. I got really sick back in March/April, and reading on the bus made me dizzy, so I just listened to music or watched YouTube videos. Then I started reading a mystery I purchased over the summer which was hard to get into, so it took me literally 3 1/2 months to finish. Now I'm reading a delightful "cozy" mystery I'm really enjoying! I hope to get to my favourite used book store, Buckets of Books, and pick up some more books for the upcoming year!

Well, I think that's enough goals for the already-busy month of December. Do you have any goals, plans, or things to accomplish this month? Let me know in the comments, and have a terrific Friday! 

 *Inspiration for the Monthly Resolutions from Kim at The Kim Challenge. Check her out!

Hey, everyone! It's October and that means it's time for my Monthly Resolutions* again! I'm keeping it simple this month since I'm doing Horrordailies, and will likely be busy blogging! Actually, "Blogging everyday for Horrordailies" could easily be a resolution in itself, but there are a few more things I'd like to accomplish as well:

1. Continue purging makeup and clothes.  I've been doing pretty well with this, despite a couple "two steps back" situations I'll blog about later, and want to keep the momentum going!
2. Take in two pair of too-big pants.  I did a couple pair over the summer, and while it took a whole day (probably because I haven't sewn in a while!), they both turned out really good. So, rather than trying to replace them, I'll try to take them in instead.
3. Go to the beach at least once. I can't remember the last time I went to the beach, and I really miss it!
4. Cook a meal from scratch once a week.  This one might be the hardest, because it takes so much time to buy, prep, and cook. But, the results are always amazing, and way healthier than buying frozen stuff all the time.

That might seem like a lot, but it looks pretty doable. Hopefully! What are you resolutions/goals for October? Let me know in the comments! Have a great day! Cheers!

 *Inspiration for the Monthly Resolutions from Kim at The Kim Challenge. Check her out!

Happy September! I cannot believe how quickly this year is flying by! I swear we should be celebrating the 4th of July, but instead we're heading towards Halloween! Heck, tomorrow it'll be Christmas!! Anyway, it's good to be back, and I hope to do some more blogging this month. Last month I had a terrific vacation to Portland, Oregon where I visited with one of my best friends, Darlene. We had a fantastic time, and I hope to share some of my vacation photos very soon! Also, last month I participated in one f my favourite photo projects: The August Break. It was a fun challenge, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming December Reflections, which is, like The August Break, hosted by Susanna Conway. But, for now, it's time for my Monthly Resolutions (all credit for this idea goes to: Kim at The Kim Challenge) for September. Enjoy!

1.  Do NOT buy any more make-up/face/hair/nail products. Seriously, I have to STOP! I have enough of everything to last me at least the whole month of September, if not longer. And, as I discovered on my recent vacation, I really can live with very little make-up. In fact, I didn't even wear liquid foundation or concealer (mostly because it was over 100 degrees the first few days I was there, and I figured I'd just be sweating it all off anyway!). I just wore some sunscreen, a little blush, and face powder. I did my eye make-up - shadow, brows, and waterproof mascara - but even that wasn't very much. Nothing like a vacation to show you just how very little you need to get along in life!

2.  Clean out the bathroom. This kinda goes with the first one in that I need to get rid of all the unused, excess crap I have in my loo. My plan is to grab stuff I've had in my drawers and bins that I haven't ever used, as well as the stuff I've recently purchased, and just use them! Then, if I don't like it THAT VERY DAY, toss it, and move on to the next one. This mostly applies to eye shadow palettes, of which I have several. During one of my summer trips to Ulta, I bought three eye shadow palettes - THREE - and I ordered two other limited edition ones online! Ridiculous! Sure a couple of them had added blushes and/or highlighters for a "full face look", but the blushes are all too bright for my complexion, so I'll never use them, and as for the shadows, I really only use browns, tans, or nudes, so all the bright blues, greens, and pinks will go to waste.  Also, I have some eye shadow palettes I've used a few times, but have always gone back to my standard palette, so obviously that means I don't need them, right?

I know that's only two things, but I think they will more than fill up my spare time this month. Also, I hate to promise to do any stamping, because let's face it, I've said it before, and haven't followed through. So keep it simple, keep it easy - that's my motto for September! What are you resolutions for the month? Let me know down below! Cheers!

It's been a while since I've done a Friday Five (I think), and since this TGIF lands on the first of the month, I thought I'd combine it with my *Monthly Resolutions and come up with 5 things to accomplish during the month of July.

1.  The first thing I'd like to accomplish is to do some stamping. I bought some new Marvy Markers recently, and not only do I need to try those out, but I'd like to get started on my holiday greeting cards and just do some general scenic stamping as well.

2.  I would like to try to make a couple more YouTube videos. Making videos is a lot more work than I thought it would be, but it's also still kinda fun, and I have a few ideas for videos that hopefully people will enjoy.

3.  I really need to organize my makeup drawer! I went on a bit of a spending spree with makeup palettes, blushes, highlighters, foundations, mascaras, and brushes lately, and I now have a TON of stuff, most of which I will rarely if ever actually use! I need to get it down to a reasonable amount, like, just the 8 to 10 things I actually USE every day, plus one or two palettes just for fun, and a tinted BB cream or two for weekends!

4.   Speaking of organizing, I also need to go through my jewelry. I have TONS of earrings, but only wear the same four or five at a time, dozens of rings and necklaces which I really never wear at all, and when was the last time I wore a bracelet? Oh, never? Yeah. Gonna work on that.

 5. And, finally, I would like to get to the coast at least once during July. I know it's going to be difficult since it's summer and everyone and their DOG will be out there, but I can't remember the last time I went to Cambria or Pismo Beach, and I'm starting to get antsy!

Okay, so there we have it. Five things to get done this month. How many will I accomplish? Stay tuned to find out! Cheers!

*The Monthly Resolutions idea came from Kim at thekimchallenge.com.

The Monthly Resolutions is an idea I got from reading Kim's blog at The Kim Challenge.com. I loved the idea of coming up with just a few things to accomplish over the course of one month as opposed to trying to accomplish a lot over the course of a whole year. I do still come up with New Year's Resolutions, but I love finding a few little goals that I can (or should be able to) accomplish in about 30 days.

In looking over last month's resolutions, I find I didn't actually accomplish ANY of them! And some of them will be moving up to June. Here's the list:

1. Find out when my car will be fixed. My mom's Honda Fit is under the Takata Killer Airbag Recall right now. When I called the dealership back in April about getting in to fix the problem they said they didn't have the parts in stock and it would be late May. Well, it's past late May and we haven't heard anything. So, I'll be making a phone call very soon!

2. Buy a new car. My Toyota Echo - which has been a VERY good, reliable car - is getting pretty old (14 years old!), so as soon as the Fit is fixed it's mine, so my mom will need a new car. I've got the choices narrowed down to three: Subaru Crosstrek, Subaru Impreza hatchback, and the Kia Soul. I just need to make sure whatever I choose will be able to fit in the garage!

3. Start reading again! I know I said this last month, but I never did pick up a book and read, so I'm dragging this Resolution over to June in the hopes I'll be able to accomplish it this time. I still have Love and Friendship by Jane Austen (which I bought for Lil's Austen's April Challenge), and I see now that they've made it into a movie, so I have double the reason to read it (a. I bought the dang thing, so I should read it, right? And b. the movie looks good!).

So, that's it! I think I'll keep it simple this month and just try to accomplish three things. If I manage to accomplish anything else ... BONUS!! What are you trying to accomplish this month? Let me know in the comments! Cheers!

FYI, Kim is the inspiration for the Monthly Resolutions posts! Go check out her awesome blog!

So, I'm still contemplating my New Year's Resolutions for 2016, as well as my Word for the year, but in the meantime, here are a few things I hope to accomplish during this first month of 2016:

Reorganize my closet. While I've been getting rid of stuff in my closet, I haven't been keeping is as organized as I should be. I've got pants hanging with tops, shoes on the floor (and actually way more shoes than I have room for, so there's something else to get rid of!), and other miscellaneous junk I didn't know where else to put. I'll be fixing that and making it pretty and functional by February!

Cook more clean meals. The last few months I really slacked on my cooking, going for quick, easy, and more convenient dinners. Yes, it's a LOT of work to "eat clean", but I need to do better this year, starting with this month. Therefore, I vow to cook at least two meals from one of my many Clean Eating magazines each week this month. I'm off to a pretty good start with the Split Pea Soup with Smoked Salmon I made over the weekend! It was delicious, and I highly recommend it!

Do some stamping. I did a little better with my stamping last year, and would like to improve this year. Since El Nino has finally begun, there's a good chance that it'll be raining a LOT over the weekends, so going out and doing stuff will not be a good idea. Doing some stamping will help pass the time, keep me away from the TV, and help me be creative at the same time!

Write some letters. Yes, I'm talking old school, hand-written (okay, maybe typed; my penmanship is dreadful!), put a stamp in it, and drop it in the mailbox letters! I only have 1, maybe 2 friends to write to anymore, but I'd still like to give it a try!

Okay, I think that's good enough for one month! Do you have any resolutions - either for the whole year, or just the next few weeks? Let me know in the comments! Have a great January! Cheers!

So, I have already decorated my house for Christmas, and all my Christmas cards are stamped and/or purchased and ready to mail, so I'm struggling to find things for my December Resolutions. (I started doing monthly resolutions after reading Kim's blog, and thought it was a fun idea!) The usual "don't drink so much eggnog/don't eat so many Christmas cookies or candies/etc." is off the table this year, because I've decided I'm just going to enjoy myself, dammit (and I'm exercising more, so I can afford the extra calories!). But, I think I've come up with a few things I could try to get done this month. Maybe.

1.  Get rid of more stuff. My closet and dressers are currently overstuffed due to a spending spree I embarked on last month, so I need to go through everything and get rid of more unworn/unwanted items.

2.  Decide on five classic books to read next year. I finished the last book on my list for this year back in October, and really enjoyed all my selections! I'm currently trying to decide if I want to go for a theme, like classic sci-fi, all Bronte sisters, or mid-century modern classics. Any suggestions would be helpful, welcome, and fun!

3.  Decide where to go on my March vacation next year. Weetacon is a given, but I have almost a week after that. A Facebook poll I took a while ago gave me several great ideas, so I just need to narrow it down (and hope a certain friend will be able to meet me at the destination to hang out for a while!).

That's all I can think of. I really don't want to stress myself out with lots of things to accomplish; I really want to enjoy this Christmas season - watch the corny movies, listen to the awesome music, enjoy the yummy food, beverages, and spend time with great people! So, I guess Enjoy the Season is December Resolution #4! 

Do you have any Resolutions or things you'd like to accomplish this month? Let me know in the comments! Cheers!

*Monthly Resolution posts are inspired by Kim at The Kim Challenge.

Hello, and welcome to July! It's hot and humid and gross this first morning of the month, and while I'm generally feeling a little better, I'm not feeling great, but I'm going to hang out with a couple friends this weekend, so everything is going to be a-okay.

So, I haven't really thought much about what I want to accomplish this month (as it sprang up pretty quickly as every month this year has so far!), but I have been lazy in my food choices lately, going for the quickest and most convenient, so I'd like to change that. Also because of the heat, I'm looking at more light, cold salads for my meals rather than heavy, warm casseroles.

By the end of this month I would like to be completely done with adding new items to eBay, and only have to concern myself with relisting the few items I plan to keep on there until the end of this year. (My plan is this: by the end of the year I will stop doing eBay entirely, and whatever hasn't sold I will just keep (if it's an antique or very expensive item); all other items will just go to Goodwill.)

I would like to get out of town a couple times this month also. I'm not counting this weekend, as those plans were already in effect, but a couple other Saturdays or Sundays this month I'd like to make a trip to Cambria or Cayucos, or even Avila Beach. Just somewhere! We haven't been out of town since, I believe it was March when we went to Morro Bay. (I'm not really counting the Art Festival in Paso, because that's practically in our backyard!)

And, finally I resolve to walk more. Mom and I have been doing very well lately adding a longer walk when we go out for coffee by parking at least three blocks away and then meandering through the downtown on our way back, and walking around the block at least once on Sunday (although I must confess we haven't done the Sunday walk in the last two weeks, mostly because it's so hot). But, we can always do better!

Have a great July, everyone! Cheers!