Troublemaker

In wrapping up 2008, I am thinking about my habits and various other aspects of my life that I want to improve in 2009. I don't want to make resolutions, because those just become one more reason to beat myself up. 

Part of how I want to improve 09 is by improving the use of this blog. I've gotten myself into trouble a couple times this year, and I don't want any shenanigans like that in the coming year. 

To that end, I'm going to be starting to post an entry every single day with something that I am thankful for. Hopefully that is benign enough that I won't get anyone angry at me, and at the same time it might encourage you (and me) to remember the good stuff in life and not to think so much about the bad or not-according-to-plan stuff.

So farewell, 2008 and all of your angst and worries. 

Hello, 2009. I will make a conscious effort to remember to be glad to be alive every day that we're together.

Media Overload

I do not want my children to drown in media. The way the world is going now, I don't imagine that to be an easy task.

The few things I can do? No TV in the car or minivan. Limits on portable video game systems and setting up appropriate playing times. No eternally plugged in iPod earbuds.

And also, no wheelies. They don't have anything to do with media, I just can't stand those things. At least not on kids who run uncontrolled through crowded public places. :P

Ahhhh.

Finally in my new comfy pajama pants and slippers, with my feet up and a fire going. This has been a stellar Christmas.

Another Christmas Thought

One of my favorite things about working at The Flipside are our stockings. Every person on the team has a ridiculously cool-looking oversized stocking that Jane lovingly hangs by the stairs. We leave little goodies for eachother, and people from the church who know about them also bless us with small tokens. 

Whether it's the Pike's homemade caramel, or the Schmidt's awesome dipped pretzels, or a Starbucks card, or my favorite candy, or a mug, or a Jones soda... it's all just pretty much awesome stuff that makes me feel blessed and thankful for both my job & my church.

It's honestly one of my favorite things about Christmas.

I'm going to go partake in some hot chocolate.

Please, Christmas, don't be late

One of my favorite Christmas songs is still The Chipmunk Song. You know, the one that says "we can hardly stand the wait, please Christmas don't be late"? 

I remember when I was a kid, it felt like Christmas could never come fast enough. Time seemed to actually slow down after the hoopla of my November birthday and Thanksgiving, just to taunt me with the nearness of Christmas.

Aaron has this theory that when you're young, time goes by slowly because it's so relative to how long you've been perceiving time. I'm really starting to believe that. Every year it seems like the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas gets shorter and shorter. I'm just now starting to feel like it's "Christmas time."

I have other friends who think that it goes by more quickly as an adult because of all the responsibilities; presents, decorations, celebrations...

Whether it's one or the other or a mix of the two, I definitely feel the effect this year. I still listen to that Christmas song, but it seems more whimsical now if only because I would rather say "please Christmas, slow your roll."  

TGIF

Happy Friday. Enjoy.

On a scale of 1 to 10

The creepiness in peson was about a 27...

Incongruities

I hate that I say I love to read and write but than I hardly ever make the time for it. It has only taken reading 1,000+ pages this week to get that through my thick skull. There are more things to criticize myself about than that, I suppose; and worse offenses at that. But this is the one that is on my mind because when I'm not home part of my nose is still buried in the book.

Maybe next year I'll make it a goal to do NaNoWriMo (google it). Right now blogging is my only outlet, and I've got to remedy that.

What might be cool is one of those pens that captures what you write. Then I could do that whenever the mood strikes me. Or I suppose I could be putting this energy and thought int a word doc or email to myself... then again I just can't get creative on my blackberry wannabe.

Heather's here.

Wishing...

I wish it was cold enough to be snuggled up with a good book and a soft blanket for a couple of hours without being sweaty when the pages run dry. I wish that I was as clear on my decisions in life as the heroin(e) I've been following around of late. I wish California had winter, I honestly remember there being one when I was a kid. Not a blistering cold, but just a crisp coldness that let you know there was some semblance of a shift in seasons. I wish that I could focus my passion and choose one thing to do, and to do not just better than most, but with excellence. Not that it has to be a contest, but I know I have a lot of gifts and passions, I just feel like I'm slightly above average in some of them; never quite achieving what I somehow believe I could. Why can't I crank out a fantastic piece of fiction? Sometimes I think that (creative) writing is the thing that I'm least talented at, yet it's the thing I want to do the most. It scares me, because I get like this, so engrossed in a book that I can read for hours on end and think about the characters even when the book is miles away... so reading on Stephanie Meyer's website about what she goes through in trying to keep up with the voices of Edward and Bella in her head actually frightens me. I love deeply, I love thoroughly. The friends who are the closest to me are the ones who can tolerate my obsessive nature. Even my dog is not safe! I am thankful to have a husband who loves me just as deeply, yet it is that love that I am afraid to inflict harm upon by engrossing myself into writing something like that. Maybe that's why it is best for me to read things like this quickly, get them out of my system in a week or two and be done with it. If I wrote things like this, they would go with me everywhere. They would know and say things that might upset or offend friends and loved ones, and that looks and smells too much like Pandora's Box to me.

I think I should give it a day or two before I start Eclipse. I need to recover.