Happy New Year

Celebrate with good sense

Hi everyone.  I could write some craziness as things cross my mind all the time that bring a smile to my face.  I guess this is a good thing, although sometimes I do have to question my sanity.

Just Friday my boss called asking me to come into work on short notice.  I had ten minutes to get there because someone had called in at the last minute.  Of course it takes me longer to get to work than ten minutes, but this would’ve been okay.  The situation was I wasn’t dressed for work so I couldn’t just bolt to the car and get on the road.  I had planned to spend the day finishing the calendar for my mother.  So I said no, even though I rarely do that.  There is life beyond work after all.

I felt bad about saying no because I honestly love the people I work with, the customers not so much because most of them are very rude and disrespectful toward us.  But I would miss most of my coworkers immensely if I ever left there.  One of them is leaving.  Saturday was her last day so we said out goodbyes on Friday.  She and her sister helped me so much when I first started there.  I’ll always be grateful for that and will pay it forward to all the newcomers because it really helps to have someone on your side when you’re new and trying to learn everything.

Tonight I had finished the calendar, finally I might add, and I was feeling giddy because I have so little time for extra activities beyond work and daily life.  I actually accomplished a big task I’d been working on for the last month. 

 Clip art from the net.  I've never tired of watching this movie.

 

I was sitting in my chair tonight trying to relax and thinking about being Dorothy on the Wizard of Oz.  She finally made it home with Toto and said, “I love you so much Auntie Em and Uncle Henry.”  I envisioned myself hugging some of my coworkers and saying what a pleasure it is to have them in my life.  Now maybe this has been on mind because a coworker and I were talking about the Wizard of Oz on Friday.  We were discussing riding out brooms about the warehouse because we were constantly sweeping.  We both wondered who the bad witch on the Wizard of Oz was because we knew the good witch was Glenda. 

I had to giggle at myself.  Hubby was cooking dinner and told me to stop talking so I was fantasizing instead and thinking I must have the perfect job because it requires me to talk all day long.  Now I know my brother-in-law would also have a fit because he always says my family was born with a phonograph needle in our mouths.  Oh my!  That is so funny, don’t you think?  All of us are talkers and I can’t really envision life any other way.

Happy New Year to all of you who are following me.  I hope 2017 is the best ever.

Resolution time

From my house to yours...Happy New Year everyone.  

Raven

We have a blank page again to start new adventures.  What fun.  I haven't made any resolutions yet.  I just hope this will be a better year than 2015, although last year did have some nice moments in it.  

Let's face it, most of the resolutions we make are broken before the month of January is over. What is called for is being more thoughtful and realistic about the goals we set for ourselves.  As we all know, life gets in the way of many things as the days go by.  

This year, I'm taking my time to think this over.  I think the usual items on the list, losing weight, eating healthier and exercising more are hard to keep because we need to be resolved to change our habits.  That isn't an easy thing to do, but it can be done.  I'm happy with myself in those areas anyway because I changed my habits long time ago where weight, diet and exercise are concerned.  

This year I think my goals will be smaller and more attainable. When I reach them I can make more, even if it isn't New Years.  Remember, you can do this too and may be happier with yourself if you take baby steps.  There's nothing at all wrong with that.  As we look to the future, it's time to get serious with ourselves about the things important to us.  What do we really really want to accomplish?  If you're yearning for it, the resolution will be easier to keep.

Think about that as you make your list.  Until next time...

Happy New Year!

A big thank you to all of you have followed me and read my blog posts over the last year.  I love all your comments and try to reciprocate by visiting your blogs as well.  As a result, I’ve met a lot of nice people out there and read some interesting posts.  I hope to do better about dropping by more often, but I always run out of time.

Many of my followers have come from participating in the A to Z challenge every April.  The idea for this challenge started with Lee Bird at this link.  The idea is to blog every day for the month of April (with Sundays off).  It’s quite a test to blog daily with all that goes on in life at any given time, but you should think about putting this on your calendar for 2015.  It’s a lot of fun.

I’m not a big one for making new year’s resolutions because it’s hard to keep any resolution and I don’t like to commit to something I probably won’t do consistently, however, I will say that I’m trying to do better with that way of thinking.

I do what I can daily whether it’s cleaning house, writing, cooking, exercising, reading, watching wildlife and taking pictures, or a combination of all of them.  My days fly by.  I don’t have as much time to read or sew as I used to.

So here goes with something I think I can manage (maybe). 

I will stop emailing myself things to read later.  I’m very bad about doing this.  It fills my inbox so fast because I do it daily several dozen times.  We’ll see how long this lasts.

I’m going to try to eat better and exercise more.  It’s not that I don’t do that already, but I’m not getting any younger and I could also do better in almost any area of my life.

I’m going to try to write more than I do now.  I’d like to finish the three books I have started and get one of them published this year.  It seems I’m always writing now, if you could hear my husband talk, but sometimes it’s just email and blog posts.

I will be doing the ABNA again in Jan or Feb, the A to Z Challenge in April and the NaNo in November because I can’t let any writing challenge pass me by without giving it a go.

I’m going to try and do better about organizing things as I go because in the end I have a big mess to take care of and I have to organize it anyway.  I’ve been doing that with my pictures for the last six months and it sure helps to label them and file them as soon as I download my camera card.  It saves time when I want to find things later, even though it takes time to do all the work in the beginning.  Of course I still have 20,000+ pics on my computer that I took before I started this practice that I have to deal with eventually.

I’m going to try and live a quieter and more peaceful life, but I don’t know if that will ever happen in my house.

I’m going to read more books.  I love to read but have really drifted far from reading my sixty books a year.

I would like to learn to do something new once a month.  I love learning.  There are many things about Photoshop I still need to learn.  Other things on the net catch my interest all the time.  I could probably set a record for my daily use of Google because I have a curious mind and will research things of interest.

I hope to see my family more if I’m able to move closer once we sell the house.  Time flies so fast and all of us are getting older.  It would be nice to do some things with my sisters while all of us can still get around.

I want to find a PT job somehow someway so I can make a little extra money; however, this would ideally be an afternoon or night shift, as anything before noon just isn’t me at this stage of my life.  This one might not happen either, unless I want to be a greeter at Walmart.

I’d like to live like a cat, sleep when I’m tired and eat when I’m hungry, but this will never happen in my house either where everything has to be on a schedule.

The following are things that will never happen:

I’ll never stop taking in stray cats.  I can’t help myself if I see a poor little fur darling that some careless person abandoned outside all alone, starving and perhaps hurt.  I’ll at least make sure it gets to a no-kill shelter, or an organization like PAWS.  Right now, I have three and that’s probably my limit.

I will probably never stop drinking a glass of wine now and then in the evening when I need to relax and chill out.

Please don’t ask me to ever get to bed before midnight.  I’m a born night owl and this is just not going to happen, no matter how hard I try.  It causes constant friction in my house, but I hate to stop writing if I’m on a role.  I also hate to stop reading when I have two pages left to finish the book, or finish the chapter.  Or to stop sewing when all I left is the hem.  This stuff really burns my butt.

I will never be a clock watcher.  It drives me crazy and I look forward to the day I can throw all the clocks out the window.

I wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.  Keep that positive attitude and be realistic about your goals.  It’s easier to find satisfaction that way and not disappoint yourself because you will get there eventually.

If you’re celebrating, be careful on the road and get a designated driver if you’re drinking.  Have fun and make merry with friends and family.  Tomorrow’s a brand new day.  Happy New Year from me and the cats.

Reflections on 2013

Free Clip art

Life is full of happy times and times of conflict, work and play times, sad moments and joyful ones.  I prefer to look back on the best times, as I’m sure most of you do too.

I feel lucky in the fact that I got two trips this year, although neither was long enough, but isn’t that always the way it is when we’re having a great time?  But I won’t complain because there are many years I stay home and don’t go anywhere all year except to the grocery store, post office, pet store, and the herb store.  Yes, I’m usually writing and my life is that boring, although I don’t really look at it that way when I’m off on an adventure with the characters I’m writing about.

Seeing all my friends in southern CA was a great trip last May as I ran my legs off for the five days I was there.  I wore my husband out because he doesn’t like to go that much.  However, I don’t let any grass grow under my feet because I never know when I’ll be there again.  I have to make every minute count.

 Me and my friend Kara

 My friend Cec and me

 Me and my friend Bonnye

Me and my friend Sharon

Then seeing my family was wonderful in Sept.  Those ten days flew by.  I kept up the non-stop schedule there too because it had been four years and is likely to be four years again.  One never knows for sure where the future will lead.  There are way too many people to see and things to do in Texas.  As I mentioned earlier, I made every minute count.  I can sleep when I get home and that’s what I did.  I was pretty beat by the time I returned to the desert.  But if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.

My family (mom and siblings)

In the writing department, I did a little freelance.  Times are slow there, but I did finish the family book I’ve worked on with my little sister for the last ten years, so that was a big accomplishment.  More importantly, all my siblings were happy to get their copies as we all collaborated by phone on this from time to time, amid many laughs at our childhood recollections..  My mom loved it, which is so very important since she’s in the early stages of dementia now.

I’m working on the corrections for my first mystery novel with help from the nice gal who’s doing the edits for me.  Thank you.  You know who you are.  I also entered the NaNoWriMo again this year because I don’t know when to quit.  It’s hard for me to turn down a competition because it’s a challenge and I love challenges.  So I wrote the first 51,000 words to the sequel of the mystery being edited right now.  Aside from that, I managed to write 210 blog posts this past year, plus a lot of other scribbling, so I feel pretty good about my writing time.

I do have a large house to keep up and life to live aside from my writing life, which takes up a lot of my time.  Naturally, I didn’t read as many books as I wanted to, but there is only so many moments in a day.

All issues on the health front have to do with other family members and not me or my husband this year.  Living parents have problems that come with old age and there isn’t a lot you can do about that.  I have a brother whose health issues are usually a result of his own stupidity, but no one can really do anything about that either because he’s grown.  If it’s one thing I know, you can’t change the thinking of a grown person.

We lost another cat this year.  That was difficult, but I try to remember that we gave her the best life she could have had and I like to think she’s having a happy reunion with her friends in the afterlife.

Comet - the cat I lost

I look forward to a better 2014, hopefully with more peace in my life.  It is fruitless to ask for more time each day because that will never happen.  One thing is certain; it will be an adventure with moving in the picture.  We all know what that entails, lots of energy, boxes, and packing tape.  At least next winter will be warmer, I hope, and the summer won’t be 115.

I can’t say I haven’t enjoyed myself here because I’ve seen a lot of things over the last nine-and-a-half-years that I would have never seen if I hadn’t called the desert home.  The landscape here is awesome and the wildlife incredible.  There are national and state parks close by and an outdoor amphitheater I’ve enjoyed.  I’ve also met some new friends to keep in touch with and rescued my little baby, Koki, who is such a love.  I hate to think what would have happened to this precious darling if I weren’t here to take her in.  She is, by far, the best thing that’s happened to me while living here.

 Koki - my little angel

Thanks again to all of you who follow my blog and read my meandering posts.  They tend to get a bit long sometimes.  I appreciate every one of your encouraging words.  You inspire me to do better in my writing.

I hope most of you realize many of your dreams in the coming year.  I think the advice we writers receive is good advice for everyone.  Don’t ever give up on your dreams.  Always believe in yourself.  All the battles you fight will only make you stronger.  No one can ever take away your imagination and determination unless you let them.

May peace, happiness, and good health be yours in 2014.  First on my agenda will be a trip to southern CA after New Years to see old friends again and take advantage of the seventy-degree weather for a few days.  I can’t wait.  Love and good wishes to you all.