An Update

Lately I've been really busy. Crazy busy, actually. That's really no excuse for updating my blog, but it's the only one I have. I mean, I'm in a Creative Writing class right now, so I'm doing a lot of writing, and I'm also in a Lit class, so I'm doing a lot of reading. But I'm not reading any fun books. And when I say "fun" I mean dystopian YA books. Ha. 

The other day I did something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I bought a journal. Oh, I know what you're thinking - this girl already has a shelf full of journals, what could she possibly do with another one? But I needed this journal. Truly. I had a specific image in mind and I found one at Borders the other day for only $3.50. Score!

So, the reason I bought this journal was because I had been looking for something to carry in my bag wherever I go to write stuff down. I mean, I love eavesdropping on conversations, and when I hear something that's especially clever or poignant, I want to write it down...except sometimes I don't have anything but a wal-mart receipt. So I wanted some small, compact, but resourceful and big enough to write even poetry/short stories in. That way, whenever a thought flits through my head, I can write it down immediately and keep track of it. Now it stays in my bag and I've already written down a poem. I'm kind of excited. I used to carry a notebook around with me, but I changed bags (that one fell apart) and this one doesn't really have room for a whole notebook. But this journal I got is perfect.

Classes, club activities, conferences, productions, and homework have all been consuming my life at this moment. That's why I haven't been blogging as diligently. I can't promise I'll have more posts soon, because I'm leaving for two different conferences in the next couple of weeks and then it's the long stretch towards finals, but I'll do my best.

Kleptomania

You probably didn't know this...but I'm a kleptomaniac. I steal. All the time.

Really.

Not in the way you'd imagine though. I steal words. Phrases. Odd gestures. Weird mannerisms. Funky personality traits.

I think I do this compulsively because I'm a Writer and I'm always picking up things that I can work into my writing. That's why people fascinate me so much. I love people-watching. I also love how people talk, what they say, what riles them up. It's great.

Today for example, I saw a flustered mom who had a handful of children who were misbehaving. I was trying to remain inconspicuous because I was already feeling like she was going to be embarrassed by her son's outburst. But I almost lost my composure and smiled when she exasperatedly said,

"I'm fixin' to hang you on a clothesline."

I had never heard someone say that before and I loved it. So of course I'm stealing it. I'm adding it to my bag of trademark phrases and southern sayings.

Listless?

So I've spent a lot of time reading this summer and now I've realized that I need to have a more defined purpose. Obviously I'm still trying to get a job...but I've been thinking about what I want to do with my life and I've decided to come up with some goals for myself this summer.

1. Get a part-time job. (I've filled out several, several, job applications but it looks like I need to step it up a notch.)
2. Get serious about my writing. I feel like lately I've been a poser-writer because I haven't done anything worthwhile with my writing. I'm thinking about writing a novel this summer? How hard could that be? I've already done nanowrimo successfully. So three months is plenty of time...*grins hopefully*
3. Get my etsy shop up and running like a pro. This means taking the time and effort to research and read articles about how I can improve my shop and actually sell something. I'd also like to get at least 50-60 items up and listed.
4. Get in shape. I've started walking...sporadically. I've read that walking is one of the best forms of exercise, plus it gets me out in the sun, when I'm usually inclined to stay inside and read all day.

So, I thought I had more things on my mind, and maybe I did...but that seems to be all I can remember at the moment, and those are pretty large goals that will take a lot of time and effort, but I really want to strive for something and discipline myself to get stuff accomplished.

New Year's Resolutions for 2010

1. Eat 365 apples this year. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Plan of action: My goal is 365 by the end of the year. If I accidently forget to eat 1 some day then I can still make up by eating 2 apples the next day or another time. To keep track of my progress I will keep a calendar next to my bed and I’ll post a sticker on the day I eat an apple and multiple stickers if I eat more than one. (I’m completely motivated by stickers, surprisingly.)

2. Write 365 blog posts this year.

It doesn’t matter how many I do per day, if I skip a day, I just need to have a tally of 365 by the end of the year. And I’m not going to be picky about my blog posts either, if I just write a couple sentences complaining of a cold, that’s fine. Or if I write 10 entries in one day, that’s perfectly acceptable as well. My thought is to just get in the habit of writing every day and become a better writer.

3. Work out regularly.

I want to be healthy and in shape, I want my immune system to fight off colds better, so if I start exercising more regularly I think that will help. My plan is to go to the gym a couple times a week and on the days I can’t go to the gym I’ll do the Pilates DVD I got for Christmas.

4. Do 100 crunches everyday.

This kind of ties in with the above resolution, but I figure if I am so completely exhausted from my crazy school/work schedule and come home to find I haven’t done anything this will be my handy dandy backup plan. I’ll write it down on my calendar when I do the crunches.

5. Don’t eat any food after 8pm each night.

This is just to be healthy. I’ve read that you aren’t supposed to eat late at night because your body doesn’t digest it and it becomes unwanted fat. So I’m going to try this for a year and see how it works out. I’ve done it for the past week and I already feel better.

6. Get completely caught up on my book reviews blog.

I have a really bad habit of writing partial reviews and then getting distracted and leaving the book review in my drafts folder instead of editing and publishing it. I don’t want to get so behind this year like I did last year.

7. Listen to and rate 25 CDs this year.

There are so many good CDs in my iTunes library that have not gotten their fair share of listening to, so I’m going to commit to listening to more music this year.

8. Write 365 pages in my journal this year.

I really need to journal so I can remember what my life was like, plus maybe my life is so thoroughly amusing I’ll publish it when I’m older? (haha, probably not.)

9. Get my Etsy shop in better shape.

I kind of want to sell some stuff.

10. Get a book published.

This has been on my New Year’s Resolution list for years and year…I’m hoping that with hard work and persistence this one will finally come true, if not this year, some year in the future.

11. Read 1 chapter from the bible each night.

I will pick up my bible and randomly flip it open and read 1 chapter before I go to bed. Or I can read what I’ve been recommended or what is on my mind.

12. Eat breakfast.

This is healthy and lately I haven’t been doing it at all. Even something as simple as an apple, a fried egg, and a glass of chocolate milk will suffice.

13. Get a minimum of 7-8 hours (preferably 8) of sleep every night.

This will boost my immune system and I’ll be able to retain more of what I am learning in college. Plus I kind of can’t function when I don’t have enough sleep and I act like a freak. Funny that.

So that is my plan. We'll see how well I did at the end of the year, Haha.

~Song currently playing on my iTunes:
Candlelight by Relient K

Things to do, places to go (no couch potato please)

I'm trying really hard to be organized in my life. I'm taking little steps so that I don't get overwhelmed and get horribly frustrated, because that usually ends with me giving up. It is about this time every year I think all sorts of dangerous thoughts. Well, they aren't really dangerous, but more like radical or boundary-stretching. I start thinking about the new year and what I want to get accomplished, all the while conveniently forgetting my resolutions from last year. I have so many plans, ideas, goals, aspirations, and dreams that are bubbling up inside of me. I often get discouraged though when I fail to reach my lofty goal or crazy schedule. That's why, for the past couple of years, I've made goals that are boundary-stretching, but have more lax restrictions.

In 2008 I decided that I was going to read my bible every day and write one new poem every day for the whole year. I made myself little sticky note calendars that I put next to my bed, and I kept my bible and notebook easily accessible so I didn't have any excuse to not do it. I knew though, that if I missed one day, I would get so annoyed that I would give up, and I would have five new poems for that goal (and that's it) and then I'd quit. So I made it a rule that I was allowed to miss up to thirty days of writing poems. That way, if something came up, and I went to bed without scribbling something down, I was forgiven and didn't have to freak out that I had messed up.

This strategy worked great for me. I am a perfectionist in some areas, and when I make goals I want everything to go according to schedule, so when I made exceptions for myself to fail a little bit, my success was much greater in the end. I wrote a poem nearly every day that year, and I read my daily bible almost every day. Granted, most of the poems were not spectacular or amazing, and sometimes I hurried through my reading because I was so sleepy, but I got into the habit of doing it, and that was really the whole point of it.

It makes me wonder what I should try to do next year. There are so many interesting/enriching things I'd like to try for a year...

1. post a new photograph every day
2. write a new blog post every day
3. exercise at least three times a week
4. send something out to be published twice a month
5. skip eating fastfood (except for special occasions)
6. write one page in a journal every day
7. listen to one CD every day
8. post a new scarf to Etsy every week
9. write a review for a book I've read within a week of reading for my book reviews blog

The list could go on and on. I will just have to mull over all my thoughts for a couple days and then think up a plan of action...I want to do at least two radical things.

As an aside, working with little kids (specifically two and three year olds) cracks me up. They say the zaniest things. Plus they are positively darling and I want to take half of the sunday school kids home on a regular basis.

Whoa! I just sneezed six times in a row. If this is not allergies and I'm beginning to get a cold, I won't be a happy camper.

~two CDs currently on repeat:

The End is Not the End by House of Heroes &

Family Force 5's Christmas Pageant by Family Force 5