Oh.

Hello, there.  I bet  you thought I forgot about you, didn't you?  After all, it's been two months since I last posted, and that was just a picture of a blanket. (Although it was a huge and awesome blanket.)

I didn't forget about my bloggy friends, per se... I thought about blogging a lot.  I composed posts in my head.  I just didn't actually get around to writing them down and putting them on the internet.  Oops.

I can't promise that I will get any better, either.  The thing is, most of my online time lately is mobile.  I check email on my phone.  I use Facebook and Twitter from my phone.  I do pretty much anything I can from my phone.  Unfortunately, I really don't like the Blogger app, so I don't use that from my phone.  That means that if I want to blog, I actually need to sit down at my computer.  My computer, however, is on its last legs, I think, and I try not to abuse the poor dear.  I didn't even use it for NaNo this year!  (Which I won, btw, by cranking out 32k in the last 7 days of the month.)

But it does feel good to be sitting down and typing, so maybe I will manage to get back into it.  If I don't, though, I hope you all enjoy your wintery holiday time (unless you're in the southern hemisphere, in which case, enjoy your summery holiday time), and try to keep an eye out for my return!

Finally!

After two years of work, I have finally finished the blanket for my niece! Woot! Here it is!

Quick project!

I'm part of an iFamily. When the extended family gets together at my sister's place, we have 7 iPhones, 5 iPads, and at least 6 iPods that I know of. That makes for a lot of chargers hanging out, and they're all identical. Until now!
Today, I made charger art. I used Recollections brand double-sided adhesive in two widths, and pink and purple Recollections fine glitter, all of which lived in my craft stash.
First, I covered the charger in adhesive, alternating wide and narrow pieces. I removed the backing from the wide strips and sprinkled on the pink glitter. I pressed it all in, and tapped off the excess, then removed the backing from the narrow strips and sprinkled on the purple glitter.
I also covered the USB cable end with adhesive strips, and used just the purple glitter.
Voila! Now, no one will accidentally take my charger halfway across the continent when we pack up to leave :)

Cooking like a madwoman!

In general, I don't cook.  I bake.  I'll make a loaf of bread every day if I have someone to share it with.  I bake cookies in batches of 12 dozen.  But I don't like to cook. This weekend, though, I went shopping and got stuff together to make dinner.  Lots of dinner.

It all started with this post I saw on Pinterest.  It's a woman who did a whole pile of prep work in one two-hour period, and froze everything for a bunch of slow-cooked meals.  I love my Crock Pot.  I love it so much that I have two of them, actually.  I can have a good meal that's ready when I get home from work, and it doesn't heat up the whole kitchen like the oven will.  I used a couple of her recipes, and then went through my three slow-cooker cookbooks and grabbed some more.  In all, I made 9 different meals, which broke down into 17 batches that are now taking up the bottom of my deep freeze.

It was a LOT of food: 18 chicken breasts, 4 lb stewing beef, 2 lb kielbasa, 8 italian sausages, 9 onions, peppers, carrots, celery, potatoes, spices, soups... that shopping trip included more food than I normally buy over the course of a full month!  But I worked it out, and with leftovers, I should have enough for 20-30 meals, maybe more, depending on whether I make rice or pasta or potatoes to go along with the main dish.  So I'm thinking it'll work out well.

Even following the recipes, though, I ended up with some extra food, mostly because of the way it was packaged.  So last night, I made up alfredo noodles with grilled chicken and grilled orange peppers, and tonight was meatballs and bowtie pasta with tomato sauce.  I've got to say, I'm looking forward to just microwaving or slow-cooking my meals for a few weeks...

Also, it took three showers, a gajillion hand washings, and multiple scrubbings with my stainless-steel smell-remover thingy to get the scent of 9 chopped onions out of my hands.  Just saying.

Anyways, my point here is, I'm going to try all these recipes now, and the ones that I really like, I'll be repeating at the end of October, so that when NaNo rolls around, I don't have to worry about cooking.  I can just use my time to write.  Yay!

There's nothing like a crush...

...to make you feel like a schoolgirl again.

Yeesh.

You'd think, that by 32, I'd be past this whole crush thing.  Nope.  But you know what?  I'm going to just go with it.  Because he's smart, he's attractive, and he does nice things for me.  I don't know if he's actually interested in me or not, but that's okay.  I'm going to enjoy looking at him, and chatting with him, and I'm not going to let myself over-analyze every little move he makes.

But getting a mix cd is a good sign, right?  Even if it was more than a year ago?  And flowers from his garden two years ago?

No! Stop!  No analyzing!

Let me think about it

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably saw a post a few weeks ago about how I was doing a lot of thinking and being all existentially contemplative.  I was thinking about a lot of different things, but among those things was this: I may not be a traditional plotter, but I do plan out a lot in my head.

I've realized over the past few months that I can't just sit down and write.  Well, I can't sit down and write a whole story.  I have to let the first part of the story spill out of me in one big blast, but then I have to wait.  I wrote the first chapter of "Frenchie" (my current WIP) about three months ago.  Maybe more.  And since then, I built my plot wall to keep track of where I'm going, but I haven't done much more with it.  Except think.

Here's the thing - the thinking is a big part of it for me.  I had this Big Important Letter to write, and I kept putting it off and putting it off.  I drafted it in my head several dozen times, but I didn't put it down on paper.  Finally, at the last possible minute, I sat down at the computer, and it just poured out of me.  One draft, a few brief tweaks, and I was really happy with the result, as were the others who had to approve the Big Important Letter before it could be sent.

As much as I would like to be writing "Frenchie" right now, I've realized that I'm still in my equivalent of a plotting phase.  I've wondered a few times if I should write down any of my plotting, but it doesn't feel like it will help.  I'm pretty sure I just need to let it happen.

But it's almost ready... I can feel the story bubbling inside me.  Is that weird?  Maybe.  But that's just the way I work.

A Little Compliment Never Hurts

Last weekend I went out the Georgia Renaissance Festival for the first time.  It was kind of cool out, and rainy, and muddy, and I went alone.  I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy myself, but I figured that if I didn't, I could blame it on the crummy weather and just try again later with some friends.

I had a great time.

Since it was icky outside, it wasn't very busy.  I could walk around without bumping into people, which is always nice.  I didn't have to worry about being too hot.  I could take my time browsing the stalls and shops, and not worry about being in anyone's way.  It took the better part of four hours to make one circuit of the place, and that was without stopping everywhere.

The shows were entertaining, too - rather adult humor, even in front of kidlets, but since I had no kidlets along, I didn't really care ;)  I'd definitely like to go back and intentionally seek out some performances, rather than just stumbling upon them.

I actually spent about an hour at one shop, though I had planned to just ask a quick question and leave.  They sold boots, and I always have a heck of a time finding boots.  I have teeny, tiny little feet (I usually wear kids' shoes, and at best, a woman's 5), but big ol' calves from much tap dancing.  Trying to find boots is tough work.

So I stopped in, and looked.  The guy (Brian) told me that  I really needed to try the boots on to see how they fit.  And I did.  Rather, I let him put me into a boot.  And wow.  It was awesome.  Of course, the top edges just barely met, so if I get a pair, I'll have to special order them so they can be made wide enough, but still.  It was nice to see that I'm not that far off from the standard sizing.

What was even nicer, though, was when Brian asked to play dress-up with me. (And yes, that's what he called it.)  He disappeared into the back, and came out with an armful of things for me to try on - long leather vests, a corset-style vest, a coat, a wrap shirt - all made of such soft, lovely leather.

Even better than all the lovely things, though, was what he said to me: "You've got the body of a real woman.  That's an hourglass figure."

I think that might have been the best I've felt about myself in weeks.

So thanks, Brian.  You made my day. (Sorry I couldn't afford the $500 boots!)

I won something!

I read a lot of author blogs. Some of them, I read for craft information, some I just read for fun. One of those is Michelle Davidson Argyle. I've read two of her books, 'True Colors' and 'Monarch' (and I'll be reviewing 'Monarch' eventually). She's also got a newsletter, and I've been a subscriber for several months. Last month, she was giving away two books to her subscribers, and I won! Woot!


The book I received was an autographed copy of "The Secret Year" by Jennifer R. Hubbard.

I devoured this book. I read it in a single sitting. It's not the sort of book that I would necessarily have picked up on my own - it's YA, written in first person, and features a male MC, Colt. As soon as I started reading, though, I was drawn in.


From the back cover:
Julia and Colt were together for a year, but nobody knew of their secret love. Then Julia dies, and Colt's life spirals out of control. He is haunted by her memory, and things only intensify when her journal falls into his hands. Can Colt bring himself to read Julia's diary? Or will he live without answers to his burning questions about a romance that changed him forever?


From Goodreads:
Take Romeo and Juliet. Add The Outsiders. Mix thoroughly. Colt and Julia were secretly together for an entire year and no one, not even Julia's boyfriend knew. They had nothing in common, with Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt from down on the flats, but it never mattered. Until Julia dies in a car accident, and Colt learns the price of secrecy. He can't mourn Julia openly, and he's tormented that he might have played a part in her death. When Julia's journal ends up in his hands, Colt relives their year together at the same time that he's desperately trying to forget her. But how do you get over someone who was never yours in the first place?


The Goodreads summary is a better version of what the book is actually about. I'm impressed by Hubbard's skills - even though I have virtually nothing in common with Colt, I felt like I could understand what was going on inside his mind. Sure, it helped that the book was written in first person, but there was an empathy that developed. At the same time, Colt and the other characters drove me crazy. I swear, my friends and I weren't that dumb in high school, but when I look at some of the teenagers I know now, I can believe that they would do the same sort of stupid things that the kids in this book do.


The ending wasn't a happy one in a traditional sense, but it was a good one - a realistic one, though it made me wish that I could go talk to this kid and tell him he was being an idiot. Of course, given the choices that I've made in my life, I'm probably not one to talk. Then again, maybe I would be the right one to give advice.


Anyway. The point is, I really enjoyed this book. If you're a YA fan, or you enjoy books that lean towards the realistic rather than idealistic, you should consider picking this one up.

Alpha or beta?

I've been watching a lot of TV lately.  Well, not so much TV as Netflix.  I've been watching Bones and Firefly, mostly, and I've realized that in both shows, I've got crushes.

Okay, not a big surprise. Lots of people have TV crushes. What I've noticed, though, is that on each show, I've got two.  And they're different character types (within each show, not between the shows... just keep reading, it'll get clear!)

On Firefly, I'm torn between Mal and Simon. Yeah, two very different personalities. And on Bones, it's Booth and Sweets.

So here's what I'm thinking: I don't know what I want.  Do I want Mal and Booth?  They're these larger-than-life heroes. They sweep in and save the day. They're brawn with brains, but the brawn gets used more. They know what they want, and they take it. Neither is much for a deep talk about feelings and such, and that's just part of who they are.

And then we have Simon and Sweets. Doctors. Brains before brawn, although both have shown that they're not completely useless when it comes to being physical. They also know what they want, but they're not as direct in trying to get it. They're willing to talk things out. They might talk a little too much.

Mal and Booth are your standard Alpha males, and compared to them, Simon and Sweets are beta.  And I'm crushing on all four of them. If you made me choose, I don't know if I could.

Funny, these TV characters have traits that are reflected in a couple of real-life men that I'm interested in. Wait. No, that's not actually funny at all, is it? Because as much as I am unable to make a decision about which character I prefer, I am equally unable to make a decision about which of these real-life men would make a better date. How do I handle this? I write them into a story and avoid the actual decision altogether.

Isn't that the reasonable thing to do?

I didn't win

And that's not a bad thing!  Especially since I definitely did NOT finish even the first draft of the WIP.  But again, that's okay.  I've got a pretty good feel for the characters, but I get hit with inspiration at the weirdest times.  I'm rolling with it, and I'm happy with what I have so far.  Plus, I've totally got a plot wall running. Except it's sort of a pantsed plot wall.

I'm keeping notes on the physical details of characters as I go, so I keep their appearances consistent, and I'm making stickies for big plot things as I go. The thinking here is that if I keep my plot points mapped as I go, it'll be much easier to move them around when it's time to edit, since I'll already have them all written out.

We'll see how this works...

Uh oh

I entered a blog contest. No big deal, right? For this one, I just gave my name, email, and elevator pitch for my WIP. Then I moved on to the second entry form and realized that the first one was for completed manuscripts. Uh...

I've got until the 31st for the drawing. Maybe I can finish by then? I'm just wrapping the first chapter.

*falls over laughing*. Okay. Let's just
hope I don't win this one.

Random stuff in my purse

I was digging around in my purse tonight, and I realized that there's an almost alarming quantity of odd stuff in there. But then again, maybe it's not that odd.
- glasses
- three Post-It pads
- a vial of Satsuma/Vanilla perfume oil (in a Baggie to prevent leaking)
- a pack of gum
- two pairs of earphones
- a tin of Badger Headache Soother
- a ball of yarn attached to an in-progress armwarmer (with four knitting needles)
- a packet of stitch markers
- my inhaler
- lip gloss in a koozy (or coozie? Cozy?)
- a notebook and purple pen
- a stuffed lemur
- ten 12" pieces of ribbon

Oh, and my wallet and phone usually live in there, too.

Is any of that in your purse/briefcase/man bag/back pocket?

Look! A plot wall!

Early stages, but still! This is more plotting than I've ever attempted before! (and apparently, I'm excited - Check out all my exclamation points!)

The disadvantages of being short

There are actually many disadvantages to being short, but I'm just going to talk about one today:

When you're short, it's really, really hard to see the instructions printed on the top side of a smoke detector that is wired into the electrical system of your house.

About three weeks ago, my kitchen smoke detector started beeping. It wasn't going off (it blares and yells, "Fire! Fire!"). It would just beep once, then be quiet for a few minutes, then beep again. The first time it happened, my dog totally flipped out. Barking, jumping, howling, running in circles, the works. Clearly, the beep is not a pleasant noise.

I dragged over a chair and looked up at the detector. It had some instructions printed on it, including "Test Weekly." Hmm. I have not tested it since moving in six months ago. So I held down the button to test it, and it did the whole blaring and yelling thing (which made my dog freak out even more), but it didn't beep any more. Yay!

A few days later, the power went out. When it came back on, the smoke detector beeped again (setting off the dog). 'Aha!' I thought. 'I know how to fix this!' So I pressed the test button, and my dog freaked out, and it stopped beeping.

And then it started again. This time, in the middle of the night. I didn't hear the first beep, but my dog certainly did! Cue the barking and jumping and howling and running in circles, which confused my still-mostly-asleep brain until the smoke detector beeped again. I stumbled to the kitchen, poked the test button (cue unhappy dog), the stumbled back to bed.

And then it happened again. And again. And again. And again. Almost always in the middle of the night. So I called the company that installed it, and the guy told me to check the battery.

I'm not a total idiot. I thought to check the battery. But I couldn't find a battery. When I twisted off the bottom bit of the smoke detector, it was still wired to the ceiling, and I couldn't manage to see the top part. I saw a little notch-y thing, but I couldn't open it easily, and I was quite certain that if I broke the smoke detector, it would probably make all of the other smoke detectors (which are wired together so that all three go off when any one of them detects smoke or gets tested). Given that my dog still flips out at the sound, I REALLY didn't want to take that chance.

Finally, a tall friend came to visit. She climbed up on the same chair and could see the top side of the detachable bit, and read the instructions: unplug the smoke detector from the house, then open the little battery door that was blocked by the wires.

So she unplugged it, handed it down to me, I opened the little battery door, changed the battery, gave it back to her, and she plugged it back in. And that made it blare and test itself, which made my dog flip out.

On the bright side, if I ever go deaf, I don't need to worry, because my dog will freak out if the smoke detector goes off.

So what was my point? If you're too short to read instructions, call a tall friend. You may get mocked for your lack of height, but you'll get to sleep through the night instead of being woken up by a smoke detector's dying-battery beeps.

Yes, I am alive

I always have the best of intentions when it comes to blogging. I firmly believe that I will be able to stick to my plan, and I'm always surprised and disappointed when I don't manage to post when I said I would. You'd think I'd know myself better by now...

I've been writing again, and I'm happy with my WIP so far. It's not something I would have ever thought I would write - a first-person YA novel. I've always expected to be writing third-person sci-fi, fantasy, or romance, because that's what I tend to read. But Gabi popped into my head and won't leave, so I'm writing her story.

It's nice to be working on something again. As much as I love Happily Ever After (my princess story), I finally realized that, for now at least, I can't find a way to change it to get it to fit as either a Romance or a YA novel. Jane is too old to be YA, but not mature enough to be a standard romance heroine. For now, she'll live on my hard drive (and my flash drive, just in case). Maybe time will give me more perspective.

Partners is giving me fits, still, because I revamped the ending to make it the middle, but now I can't figure out the real ending. So it, too, is being retired for now. I'm sure that someday I'm going to wake up and know what I need to do, but until then... I'm working on Gabi's story.

In unrelatedness, my head is a barometer. When it's grey and dismal outside, I get a headache. The worse the weather is, the more it pounds. Who needs a window or a weatherman?? If I've got a headache, grab an umbrella!

Wait. I also get headaches from muscle tension, and from eating foods with preservatives, and from allergies, and from stress, and from being tired, and from sleeping too much... Okay, don't count on me for your umbrella predictions, unless you know my eating, sleeping, and stress patterns REALLY well.

A forgotten draft

(Apparently, this has been sitting as a draft since January 5th.  Oops.)

All righty, then.  It's time to examine last year's resolutions.

Drink more milk.  I usually only drink milk when my parents are here (or I'm visiting them), and we drink milk at every dinner.  Specifically, I will drink milk with a meal once a week.

     Yeah.  Not so much.  I tried for a couple of weeks, then totally forgot.

Cook dinner.  And I mean really cook, not just reheat leftovers or zap a TV dinner.  Specifically, I will cook myself at least one meal a week.  

     Yes, I managed one meal a week.  And often that was the only cooked meal.  But I'm working on it - after this holiday season, I can't afford to eat out for a while!

Use 'so' less.  I use the word 'so' an awful lot on this blog.  So much, in fact, that it's started sticking out to me.  I will use it less.  But I have no specifics on how much less. ;)

     I think I managed to use it less... I hope.  

Be on time for work.  I am really bad about clocking in at 8:02.  All I have to do is wake up 2 minutes earlier (in theory).  Specifically, I will clock in to work at 8:00 or earlier at least 4 days a week (which is an improvement over my current one-day-a-week trend).

     Not a chance.  I did my best, but I can't do mornings.  Luckily, since I end up working 15-20 minutes late most days, the boss-ladies are forgiving.

Drink more water.  Over the last few weeks, I've been drinking a lot of pop.  A LOT.  Like, 3 or 4 cups of Dr. Pepper at work, then a Cherry Coke with dinner, and a Dr. Pepper later in the evening.  That can't be good for me.  But I got a fancy new plastic cup with my initials on it, and I find that I drink more water when I'm drinking out of that.  Specifically, I will have more water than pop while I'm at work (even if that means guzzling two glasses of water in the last ten minutes of my day!).

     I did it for a while.  And I'm still working at it.  Problem is, I tend to drink more caffeine when I'm stressed, and when I'm programming, and I've been stressed and programming lately.  I will keep trying with this one, I think.

Finish Partners.  I HAVE to finish this play.  I've run it through the critique group once, and I've made some major changes, but I need to finish this next draft and submit it to the theatre if I want to have a chance of having it produced next season.  Specifically, I will finish this draft by the end of January and I will have it to my crit partners by mid-February.

     Fail.  EPIC FAIL.  It's just not working for me.  I've put it away now, and it's just got to sit and stew for a while.  But I do have other projects on the go, including an outline for another play, so I'll concentrate on those.  If I've learned one thing from all of the author blogs I've been reading, it's that sometimes, you just have to let it go.  I'm not sure I'm totally ready to let it go yet, but I'm willing to let it take a very long nap.

Overall, last year's resolutions were not such a success.  Maybe this year will be better.

First Kisses

I've been watching Bones lately - just got Netflix, and I'm totally catching up on a pile of shows that I didn't manage to catch the first time around.

Anyways, I just saw the episode where Angela and Hodgins had their first kiss, and as I was watching it, I suddenly remembered just how a first kiss feels...

There's the tingle all the way to your fingertips, the anticipation.  Your heart speeds up, fluttering instead of beating in that moment where everything stops - the moment when you look at him, and he looks at you, and you just know that it's about to happen.

You can smell him in that moment.  His shampoo, his cologne, the gum he's been chewing in the hopes that this moment would arise.  He smells good, because if he didn't, the moment would pass and you would politely say goodnight and walk away.

You move closer together, slowly, and you can feel his breath on your face, and you're thankful that you had those two sticks of gum in your purse after dinner. There's a brief pause, and you can tell that he's watching for your reaction, needing to be certain that you want this as much as he does.  And then you're moving again, and you're looking at him, until he's too close for you to focus, so your eyes close, trusting your instincts to bring you together.

And finally!  His lips touch yours, just a soft brush at first, testing the waters.  And then, with both of you abandoning your doubts and insecurities, your lips touch again, more firmly, drawing on each other...  And your heart is still fluttering.

Feeling groovy

Actually, I'm not feeling groovy at all. I'm feeling icky. I had some medical testing on Wednesday, and I'm still feeling the effects. Blah.

I'm hoping that in a few days, I'll feel better. Until then, please don't expect too much from me. I'm working on it.

Fine. I failed. Whatever.

Yeah, totally missing the 'every day' part of blogging every day. Honestly, though, it's a habit that I got out of, and it's challenging to get back into it.

That, and I'm not feeling particularly witty this week.

Have you ever had one of those days where technology just seems to have it in for you? I have. I had three in the past week. Between computer viruses, bugs, and systems that apparently didn't get beta-tested before release, I've done almost NONE of my usual job at work. All of the computer fixing at work has left me rather disinclined to touch a computer at home.

But tomorrow... Tomorrow, I don't have to touch a computer unless I want to. And I get to spend the day laying down. It might not be too bad. :)

Annual Project Update

Yesterday, I cleaned upstairs, and unpacked five boxes in the guest room/craft storage room (hence the lack of post - I dropped into bed, exhausted).  Unpacking my two big boxes labelled "Projects" reminded me that there are a lot of things I need to be working on, so once again, here is the uber-list of things I need to finish:

Cross-Stitch Projects

1. Nora ornaments

2. Mom's Christmas stocking

3. Colby's surprise

4. Unnamed baby announcement

Knit Projects

5. Nora's Riders blanket

6. White/Blue/Green baby blanket

7. Nora's legwarmers

Crochet Projects

8. Pink/white blanket

9. Pink/white/purple blanket

10. White/Blue/Purple baby blanket

11. Star baby blanket

Ongoing Projects

12. Dishcloths

13. Baby hats

14. Lip gloss cases

Planned projects

15. Red fuzzy sweater

16. AY's baby blanket

17. BA's baby blanket

Wow... that's, um... a lot.  Excuse me, I'm off to make some stuff now...

Gorgeous!

*giggle* Today I was randomly called gorgeous. Or maybe it wasn't random, but it was certainly unexpected.

Of course, since it happened at work, it quickly became a topic of conversation, but I'm okay with that. I don't expect anything more to come of it, but it was flattering. And while I was a bit confused when it happened, it makes me smile. What gal doesn't like a compliment?

I understand why patients get cranky.

I had a doctor's appointment today. It was scheduled for 3:15. I checked in at 3:17, because the parking lot was full and I had to use the next one over.

I got called from the waiting room at 4:20, and moved to an exam room to wait for the doctor. It was 4:57 when I finally saw him, and I was in my car by 5:13. Really? Almost two hours of waiting, and maybe ten minutes of exam time?

I think it's only because the doctors I work for can be just as bad, that I didn't totally flip out. Still, it's really frustrating to wait for more than an hour before talking to anyone but the receptionist.

Days like this remind me to have patience.

Happiness of the day: I found gooey cake at WalMart and had a lovely bedtime snack tonight.

Happy thoughts

Another short post, mostly because I'm sleepy. Today's happy thought: I now have two valid excuses to go out and buy some really pretty yarn, and then I get to start working on two new knit/crocheted gifts. I love yarn shopping.

The Saga Continues

Yes, I've been to the doctor about my hand yet again.

It would seem that the purple, cold, numb finger is not caused by swelling, which would have been something fixable with medication.

No, no. It is a vascular thing, so next, I get an arteriogram. Wheeee. This will be an all-day event, full of bloodwork, IVs, injections, and bedrest in the hospital. Did I mention 'Wheee?'

But. I am happy that I got to walk in the fog this morning. It was beautiful.

Learning things

It's no secret that I've been reading a lot of writing blogs. They all have lots of great advice to offer, and I know that, but in a book that I finished yesterday, I saw some of the advice in action.

Actually, I saw it being ignored. And as a reader, I was irritated. The book was a romance, and for the first 139 pages, it was exactly what I had expected. Then, with virtually no prelude or foreshadowing, the female MC starts talking about magic. Not just in passing, but in such a way that you soon realize that a belief in magic is an integral part of her life.

I've got no problems with magic. I liked the Harry Potter books. I love the magic that Piers Anthony and Terry Pratchett use. I do, however, have a problem with not being told about the existence of magic for 139 pages, and then being expected to accept it without question.

I mean, I believed it every time I read that you need to make sure you set up your world right away. But it was totally different to read a novel where the world-building missed a major piece.

Definitely encourages me to check for that when I do my self-editing!

Two more!

Yes, we're more than a week into the new year, but I'm still adding resolutions. It's my blog and I can do it like this if I want to.

I resolve to keep track of my resolutions. I looked back at last year's resolutions, and I didn't even remember resolving to drink more milk. Yeesh.

I also resolve to pay attention to the good things in my life. I can get bogged down in stress and negativity, and that's not good. So each day, I want to record one thing in my day that is good or made me happy. Today, I got my bedroom cleaned up, and I'm going to sleep in fresh sheets.

What are you happy for?

How did you spend Ukrainian Christmas?

I spent it watching Mega Piranha, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, and filming video for Janna! Can't go wrong hanging out with friends!

Gotta say, I love that Tiffany (the 80's pop star) was in Mega Piranha and Debbie Gibson (another 80's pop star) was in Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. They were two of my favourite singers. Aw, who am I kidding? They still are ;) I've always been a bigger Debbie Gibson fan, but even if you ignore that bias, she's a better actress than Tiffany.

So there you have it - two of my guilty pleasures in one post. 80's pop princesses and bad horror movies. Anything else you want to know about me?

You know what helps get a post up?

Hitting the "Publish" button, instead of just exiting the app.  *rolls eyes*

Anyways.

So thus far, I have three resolutions:
1. Intentionally exercise at least three times a week.
2. Blog daily.
3. Read lots, at least a book a week.

Looks not bad, but not really anything that should be too hard.  What do they all have in common?  Consistency!  Yes, that's what I'm striving for this year.  And in keeping with that theme, here is resolution number 4:

Post a photo a day in My365 app.  I want to do a better job of keeping track of my life, and I think that this app will help.  I've been better about taking photos of stuff since I got my new phone, but I hope that this app will encourage even more photos.  I think I'm also going to scrapbook more, although we'll see how that works out.  Scrapbooking requires a lot of supplies... and I'm running out of room to store my craft supplies!

Another Resolution!

In 2012, I resolve to read lots!  This shouldn't be a bit challenge - I love reading.  This past year, though, I've felt as if I haven't done as much reading as I wanted to.  In 2012, I will read.  I'm going to aim for a book a week, and I'm hoping that it'll be as easy as it seems.

Wish me luck!

Be it resolved...

To continue with my New Year's Resolutions, I resolve to blog daily. Over the past year, I tried dropping down to three times a week, but it just threw me off, mostly because I'm not always sure which day of the week it is. If I just blog every day, that won't matter!

Plus, it's easier for anyone who follows me - no more guessing if I'll show up online or not ;)

See you all tomorrow!

My poor feet

Have you ever had one of those days when you stood for so long that your feet hurt just thinking about standing? I'm going to rub my feet and legs now...

In other news, I've got resolution number one: I will intentionally exercise three times a week. I say "intentionally" because I have been known to have a day full of shopping and call that my exercise for the day. It's going to be easier (I hope) because I've been trying to ride my exercise bike each morning. I'm going to do my best!

Stay tuned for more resolutions!

Placeholder

Soon, I will post this year's resolutions. First, though, I need to figure them out!

It'll be soon, really!