Just Another Opportunity

Here it is, the end of one year and the beginning of another, and a good time to make plans for what I want to accomplish in the next twelve months. It’s time to change what date I write on my checks and other correspondence. It’s a good time to…

You know what? Tomorrow’s just another day, like yesterday, and the day before. Just like the day after tomorrow will be yet another day. It’s up to me to decide how I’ll spend that time. On Christmas day, I hung out with my family. We played, laughed together, went visiting, ate dinner, and just spent time. Best day possible. Granted, I realize every day can’t be like that. But if I make some effort, I know I can find one day a week, or one hour even, to dedicate to the important people in my life, and to do the things most important to me. Every day is a new opportunity to do things right.

Every year in January attendance at the gym (where I work out) doubles and stays that way until mid-February or the beginning of March before the crowds thin again, because those people who resolved to get in shape have lost their motivation. And every year, I let those people who stop coming to the gym become an example to me. I will not quit, I will persevere. I will press on even if my goals are hard to reach. My gym membership will be well used, and so will my time.

January is just another month whose number on the calendar happens to be one. It’s a beginning, yes. Definitely. But it is not an end (unless you’ve decided to let it be an end to bad habits—that’s a good thing).

What great things have you accomplished in the past year? Have you established a habit that is beneficial to you? I want to know about it.

Oh yes. And by the way, happy New Year!

That Will Do

Tis the season to make resolutions, and I—like probably ninety percent of the people in the world—find myself thinking on what I’d like to do, or accomplish in the following year.

The thing is, I’m not one of those people who writes down my goals. Really, I’m more of a decide-what-you-want-to-accomplish-then-keep-it-firmly-in-mind kind of girl. The method works for me, you know? At least, with the big stuff. Write a book, check. Edit a book (like, 25 times) check. Travel, check, check. That kind of thing.

But every year, as the beginning of another one approaches, I find myself wondering if I should consider making an actual list. Detailed. One that includes smaller things like organizing my house and my time, phone calls I should make more often, the little things that seem less important in the long run, but that would most likely make my life easier, thus, enabling more of my personal happiness.

Except I never actually do that. Maybe I will this year. Or not. Either way, all the above things are in my plans, along with sending out a minimum of 150 queries (or alternately finding an agent—whichever comes first), finishing the edit of my NaNo project along with two other manuscripts, and also finishing two more rough drafts.Read the equivalent of a book a week.

And spend oodles of time with my family. Cheer for my kids at basketball, soccer, art and music. Hang out with my honey.

Can I do all that in one year? Yeah. If I’m determined enough, I really can.

Hey, look at that? A blog post that evolved into a sort of list of resolutions. Whaddayaknow. That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.

What do you resolve to do in 2011?

Five Minutes A Day

Have you ever listened to your favorite song while also reading the lyrics? It seems to me that music tends to be the truest, the most profound expression of experience and emotion available to us in short increments.

Well, okay, there is poetry too. But what is music if not poetry sung to a tune?

If you read the words as they’re sung aloud they often take on a whole new meaning. This past week I have found it to be true of my favorite Christmas songs, as well as others I listen to throughout the year.

Have you ever taken time to sit still and just listen to one song without distraction? If nothing else, it’s a great way to clear your mind and help hone your ability to focus. And the best part is it only requires 3-5 minutes out of your day.

Go now, take five minutes and try it. I’ll wait.

*hums a tune*

What did you learn? Will taking five minutes a day help you keep a calm, focused frame of mind? If you were to allow yourself this much time each day, how would your life, your job, your relationships improve?

Well. You never know until you try it, right? Here we go. Resolution number one. Allow myself 3-5 minutes of personal focus time every single day.

What’s something you’re planning that will improve your life this year?

Oh Fantastic Followers, How I Love Your Smiling Faces

Thanks for sharing your favorites with me this incredible holiday season. I could go on listing, because the truth is there are a lot of things to love about December. But the holiday week is upon us, and I think you get the point.

I wish you joy, happiness, love, and the best of all your favorites this holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Yule, and, well, Festivus. (Yeah, I said Festivus, for all the rest of ya.)

May your days be merry and bright. And may all your holidays be…well, you know the line.

Lots of love, from Me.

PS I'm taking the rest of the week off from blogging, but if you're wondering who won all my recent contests, you can see the winners on the following posts:

Signed copy of Leviathan
Twilight swag
Signed / stamped copy of MOCKING JAY

I'll be back next week!

Oh, Holiday Music, Your Notes are Brightly Singing

So, I was driving down the street the other night and I happened upon a couple reindeer. No, I did not hit them with my car (thank goodness). They were in a yard as I passed by. Or rather, they passed me on their way through several yards.

It happened to be a snowy day, and as I passed the deer, a great Christmas song came on the radio.

Yes, I am a squishy marshmallow, because my heart turned into gooey mush. Yet two more reasons I love December. Real live reindeer (which I shouldn’t like, because they’re pests and also because the fact that they’re in town means there isn’t enough food in the mountains where they live) and Christmas music.

I won’t make a list of the deer. But oh I love the music. There are a handful of CD’s in my holiday stash, but the ones I play the most are probably SheDaisy, Amy Grant (yes it’s old, I don’t care), and Celine Dion. (Scroll down to my playlist if you want to give them a try.)

Oh, all right. Confession: When my kids are around, our family favorite is a CD called Elves Gone Wild. If you ever come across it, you should buy it. Funnest holiday music ever.

And if I had to choose three songs that make Christmas official at my house, they’re Santa Baby by Madonna, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer by (hm, who sings that song?) and Silent Night by—well anyone. It’s just a great song.

Wait. I can't stop there. I also love Oh Holy Night. Because it's just so pretty, about any artist can make it sound good.

Okay, your turn. All time favorite holiday song or entire album? Spill! (I need some new songs this year—so do share.)

Oh, Holiday Parties, You Do Rocketh

You know what else I love about December? Despite the massive amounts of extra housework that comes with putting up and taking down holiday decorations, and with having the kids home from school tracking mud and slush onto my floors, and leaving dishes all over the place, no one really complains about helping.

Maybe it’s because they figure Santa is coming so they should be good. Or maybe they just really want extra money so they can go to movies or out with friends. But mostly I think we’re all just in a better mood all the way around. And we spend time together.

And it isn’t just my little family. December brings with it a plethora of opportunities to visit extended family, coworkers, friends, and other people with whom we associate but don’t very often see socially. Even better, though, if we don’t have an invitation to visit someone, we have the opportunity to extend an invitation for others to come visit us.

In case you didn’t put those two things together, let me help you. Kids + housework= party with friends / family/ other misc people we like. And it’s usually not even a fight to put together.

Huh. Go figure.

Yet another thing I love about December. What possible gathering do you most look forward to this season? How do you know the people with whom you’ll socialize and when was the last time you saw them?

Oh, Holiday Munchies, I Love Thee Too!

All right. We’ve established our top three Christmas movies. But I’m nowhere near done. What about you? All this talk about the holidays is making me hungry. Let’s talk treats, shall we?

As I was growing up, one of my favorite traditions was our Christmas treat table. The week of Christmas, my mother would laden the table with holiday munchies and treats—mostly homemade—that we rarely or never ate throughout the rest of the year. Now that I’m a grownup with children of my own, we’ve carried on the tradition, and of course, my children love it as much as I did. So do their friends. Mine too.

Seriously, who doesn’t love treats? (I better not see raised hands on this count, otherwise I might have to call my friends at the mental hospital and see if they have a spare bed to cure you of this awful sickness. I digress.)

Best part? I eat whatever I want from this special table, and I don’t even care. I always love to have specialty breads (banana, zucchini, or a new fav—caramel apple bread), hand dipped chocolates (or certain delicious store bought ones) and a cheese ball with crackers or pretzels.

My daddy also makes this wicked awesome fresh salsa, and my sis-in-law has a yum recipe for spinach artichoke dip that could stop your heart (literally and figuratively). Both of those go great with tortilla chips.

Dang. That’s five instead of three. Oh well. You know what’s on my list of favorite treats. What’s on yours?

Oh Holiday Movies, How I Love Thee

Summer may be my favoritist season of the year, but I also really love December. I was going to do a post listing all my favorite things about this month until I realized how long that list could get and what a massively long blog post it would make. Cuz I really love a lot of things. (In case you’re worried, I have not recently been to the dentist, nor am I on pain medication, however, I might possibly have recently dipped my fingers into a stash of holiday chocolate. Maybe.)

Seriously, it’s the only month in the year that I don’t much mind when it snows, and everything sparkles with twinkling lights, both inside and outside my house. I love those little twinkly lights.

It’s nice to be home in the cozy warmth during a snowy December night, made all the better when every time someone turns on the TV, one channel or another is playing one of many favorite Christmas movies.

Just the other night, I happened upon Elf. That’s a channel surfing stopper, right there. Then there’s always A Christmas Story. LOVE. Oh, oh, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

See? There you go. A top three off the top of my head. And they all have the most awesome and memorable one-liners (because we all know how much I love one-liners).

Okay, I told you my top three. Now what are yours? Let’s compare!