plans for 2013.

sooo, now that the Christmas festivities are over, family get togethers enjoyed, i'm ready to start thinking about the stuff i want to do in 2013.  i'm looking forward to using my camera more.  to help me with my december daily, i subscribed to prompts from this site, i'm thrilled that i'll continue to get the daily prompts, in addition to a list for each month.  i think this will keep me from taking photos of the same thing over and over.  also, i decided to take inspiration from little brown pen and do some photos focused on a specific color.  i made the slips in the photo above, and i'll draw out 1 at the beginning of the month, and hopefully be able to capture a few shots that represent the color.  i hope to get creative with this, so we'll see how it goes.  i'll be embarking on project life. i haven't done much by way of traditional scrapbooking in a long time, so i'm anxious to get back to it, and stealing some ideas from my friends as well.  i am hopeful that these projects will give me some blog fodder as well.  for now, i'm going to doctor the cold i managed to catch from my "boys", and lay low until 2013.  what plans are you making for the new year?

ready or not.

some days i feel ready for this, and some days i don't.

considering 2013.

a friend posted this quote (see link for credit) on facebook. i think i'll adopt this as my motto for the next year. i've given 2013 a lot of thought over the last few months-where i want to be, what i want to accomplish, what changes are coming my way, etc. i won't be adopting a word this year, but rather it'll be the year of "ME", not in a selfish-all about me kinda way, but more in what can I do to make ME a better person way-physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally etc. i learned some hard lessons in 2012, and i told a co-worker the other day when she was surprised i was going to ride in the sunny, but very chilly weather-what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. i have to say the ride was very invigorating and a perfect break from the office. sooo back to the topic at hand, i hope to:
1. maintain my weight and physical health-i'm very happy with both, but am always looking for ways to eat more healthy and keep my exercise routine interesting.
2. create boundaries-yep, unfortunately there are those who have no respect for them, so i guess i'll need a better stronger fortress.
3. knitting-my focus will be on quality rather than quantity. i want patterns that are challenging enough to keep my interest, but not cause me to throw the knitting across the room. i have a feeling i'll be doing several small projects in order to use up my stash (mittens, hats, socks, etc.).
4. sewing/quilting-again working on reducing my stash, would love to put together some scrappy quilts to give away to those in need.  really need to improve my overall skills, so i hope to take a few classes next year.
5. de-clutter-i always seem to be doing this-i'll have some time off in january, so i'm going to do significant decluttering-clothes, "stuff", etc.
6. i want to be involved in more bible studies, but i don't necessarily want to lead them. i'm looking to be "fed", so we'll see where this goes.  i'm really hoping wendy pope will continue her on-line psalm bible study. we've done psalms 1-51 so far.
7. create a better routine when it comes to home computer stuff-i need to be more independent on trouble shooting computer and printer issues. doing my downloads and uploads more regular so i don't get so far behind.
8. improve my photography-really learn how to use my camera-there's so much day to day to capture.
9. embark on project life-i'm real excited about and plan to steal lots of ideas from friends and bloggers.
10. finally, i want to laugh til i cry and my sides ache.OFTEN.

i'm sure i'll be doing more reflecting and musing as the year goes by-lots of fun things coming up- traveling, a wedding, graduations, family get to-gethers etc. anyone else making resolutions or setting goals for 2013?

december currents.

12.3 beautiful day, a photo by lifeandyarn on Flickr.

celebrating ...the season.

hoping for dry weather on sunday at least while andrew and i are going to and from the dome.

planning christmas party tonight, bowling on saturday, football game on sunday, christmas party at the office on monday, family get together the next sunday and then it's christmas-WOW-with the exception of stocking stuffers ALL gifts are bought, wrapped and under the tree.

lots of plans after the holidays- lunch with "the girls", and details for our trip to the new england area are coming together.

playing with my camera and photoshop. have edited the first week of photos for december daily, and once i get my printer at home sorted out i hope to print them otherwise it'll be costco next week.  will spend some time in january putting the whole album together, don't want to rush through it so it'll look like i envision the final product.

cycling- last week i had 3 days off from work, so i managed 150 miles in a 7 day period. i'm really excited by this accomplishment, and i know riding the length of the silver comet trail is definitely doable.

enjoying seeing all the holiday decorations on my way home, i just love lights on the outside of houses.  our neighborhood has lots of pretty greenery and lights up, i hope to get around one evening to take some photos.

reading the latest miss julia book, and the horse and his boy.

knitting just cast on chandail and the honey cowl, using mad-tosh for both so what' s not to love.

watching hoping for some holiday shows this weekend, haven't had much time during the week, and there hasn't been much on either.  current holiday movies just don't sound as interesting as some of the old ones.  i need to add to our collection of holiday movies, we only have 2 DVDs!

listening christmas music on pandora (downloaded the app to my i-phone) really keeps the holiday spirit going.

eating salad for lunch today, and "party" food tonight and tomorrow-gotta be careful with that!

drinking last few sips of coffee then it'll be water the rest of the day.

wearing jeans, a red long sleeve t, my black falcon's shirt (hokey i know, but it's friday), christmas socks and mary jane's.

empty.

the current state of my knitting needles and project bag. socks are done, just need to graft the toe, block and take a photo.  next up the honey cowl and chandail.

10 holiday cookies

1. spritz cookies (photo above)-a sheffield family recipe-an all time favorite, probably because of the almond extract which is one of my favorite "sweet" flavors
2. biscotti-this year includes gingerbread and cranberry/almond
3. shortbread-specially when it's cut into cute scottie dog shapes
4. candy cane cookies-a sheffield family recipe-mine never look great, so i'm glad that my sister in law karen makes this every year.
5. ginger spice cookies (not sure if this is the exact name, mary made these a couple years ago, and i love the ginger-y bite of these cookies.
6. peppermint and chocolate-2 of my favorite flavor combinations. i don't have a recipe, but it's one of the first treats you'll see me go for at a party.
7. toffee squares-another family recipe (yes, there are many!)
8. egg nog cookies-these could become a top favorite, i'm not a fan of egg nog, but andrew made a batch of these the other day and they were so good-must be the cinnamon and nutmeg.
my last 2 are not cookies, but treats that always appear this time of year:
9. pretzel turtles (a pecan, a rolo candy on top of a pretzel and melted) LOVE the salty-sweet
10. cashew brittle
baking was never something our family did at the holidays.  this is a tradition of my husband's family, and i can't begin to tell you how many batches of cookies i've delivered to people over the last 20 years.  one year i made 17 different types of cookies and treats, that'll NEVER happen again.  i'm scaling back on a lot of these kinds of things, and now i just give cookies to a couple co-workers and my bosses since i don't actually buy them gifts. 

my how time flies.

december 4, 2011

december 4, 2012

hard to believe a year has gone by.

doing some good.

one of my things for project 45 for 45 is to do regular journaling.  i found this blog which has helped trememdously with ideas and prompts.  the post about sending love letters caught my eye. something new for Christmas this year which i've already said is going to be very different for me.  i have my first letter written to a woman named emily who lost everything she owned in an apartment fire and her 2 kittens are also missing.  emily is described as a self-less individual who goes out of her way to brighten everyone elses day.  i'm hoping my few words of encouragement will help in some way during this time of tremendous loss and discouragement.