Tuesday, December 20, 2011
There are a couple of holiday movies that make me smile every year. I can watch them on endless loops because, really, who gets tired of holiday movies? Christmas music is another story. Christmas music should never, ever start until after Thanksgiving is over. Never. If it does, I'm way over it by the time Christmas rolls around. So with that in mind, here are some clips from some of my favorite Christmastime movies. Enjoy!
Elf
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
The Holiday
Elf
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
The Holiday
Friday, December 16, 2011
Image via Wikipedia"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." -Les Brown It's almost that time of year again. You know...resolution time.
I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. For me, they're that pie in the sky I'll probably never reach because they're too lofty and unattainable. Instead, I set goals. I set them high enough to be within reach but still a challenge. For instance, in 2011, I set a goal to read 50 books. As of today, I've read 37. I'm working on #38 now. While I won't hit 50 books this year, it was a challenge to read as many as I did, and within those 38 books, two were 600–800 pages each (the first two books in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series). I'm proud of myself for getting so close to that goal. That's approximately three books a month.
So what am I shooting for in 2012? Here are some ideas I have:
- Meal planning and eating out less. I'm terrible at this one. If I have an Achilles' heel, it's eating out. I come home tired and hungry, and if Will is home, he's my enabler when it comes to eating out. It's part of the reason I've packed on some extra pounds. It's time to get it under control, which should correlate to getting my weight under control again.
- Finish another full-length novel. What's considered a novel? It means 80,000+ words. Here we go again.
- More quality family time with Will. Since Summer 2010, he's been working 50+ hours/week and taking classes toward finishing his degree. This means we've had less quality time together, and since he's set to graduate in May, that's soon coming to an end.
- Attend more MCRW meetings. I've been a terrible member all year, attending meetings when I felt like it. My writing chapter is a wonderful place to learn and grow as a writer, and I haven't given it nearly the attention it deserves.
- Get over my fear of query letters. I stopped at about #16, which is kinda pathetic.
- Continue working out 3-4 times a week. My health will thank me.
- Read 50 books. I will make it this time!
- Finally travel to New York City. I've wanted to visit there since I was a kid. I think I've talked Will into it.
How about you? What are your goals for the upcoming year? What do you hope to accomplish? What would you like to be different for you in 2012?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Image via WikipediaI turn into a Grinch this time of year. So...I'm apologizing for my absence from the blog. The traffic, the "gimme gimmes," the general commercialization of Christmas...it all sends me into hiding. I've been hiding from social media, from my blog, even from my (*gasp*) writing. Our offices at work are right across from a large mall, and there's an added 10-15 minutes to my commute time each evening now, which only adds to my holiday frustration. As a society in general, I feel we've forgotten what Christmas is really all about, and it saddens me. It makes me feel as though all the joy has been sucked out of Christmas.I hope life will return to semi-normal after the holidays. And since Will's final tuition payment arrived in my inbox yesterday, I (hopefully) won't feel broke anymore! We haven't had debt since July 2007, but making those tuition payments for the past two years has felt like debt hanging over our heads. We've cash flowed every bit of it, and with multiple visits from Murphy, I am so over college tuition.
Merry Christmas (bah humbug)! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. And if you don't hear from me, I'll be back in the New Year...writing.
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