Merry, merry… the end of another year

Another year has flown by. They appear to go by more quickly these days. An illusionist’s trick, it seems, since the days edge along, sometimes even creep so slowly that I feel I can’t bear another minute of it, and yet the year has gone and here I am, again looking back, from this vantage point, at the dizzying speed at which it elapsed.

To usher me out in grand style, the year has thoughtfully given me something to carry with me into the new year… a head cold. I was beginning to feel it’s grip on my on Friday morning at the office, and was relieved that they let us out earlier so that I could go home and rest up. I’ve been drinking lots of fluids and also a concoction of Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) drops stirred into orange juice… and garlic toast and hot herbal teas with the juice of a whole lemon and a big dollop of honey mixed in. I’m happy to announce that I’m on an upswing. And… Puffs brand tissues scented with Vicks mentholatum is da bomb!

Christmas was once again generous. Gabriel got a Guitar Hero 3 game from the Grands, while Steve gave me a lovely (oh how I coveted this necklace!) Tiffany lapis lazuli “bean” necklace. I’m embarrassed to admit that it is appropriately named a “choker” as it fits around my neck but only just, so I’ll either need to go on a diet and lose some of my neck’s girth, or have an extension added… more likely the latter. Steve went out on a limb and purchased a couple of bottles of scent for me… something that he hasn’t done… maybe ever? As most women, I am rather particular about perfumes, and since I don’t wear one daily, it’s pretty hard to figure out what my favorite brand is (assuming you are paying attention… and since this is not something Steve normally pays attention to, I was warmed by the effort made). Gabriel also got a very cool BMX bicycle, and many other goodies. Steve got a pair of new eyes, having had a lasik procedure done on the 21st, but had a few things under the tree to open as well… a nice set of headphones for this iPhone and/or iPod, and an iTunes gift card.

We were able to partake of our customary family holiday dinner together this year. Steve’s parents, brother Brian and sister-in-law Sheri joined us for our usual roast beast (well, TURkey, if I must be specific), with all the fixin’s. I was baking up a storm all the way to Christmas Day morning, which delayed putting the bird into the oven and hence, dinner. I was disappointed in how my baked goods turned out, for the most part, except for the Chewy Bars, which is a Family Recipe and was delish. The breads were either over baked (and hence, DRY) or underbaked (and hence, MOIST but not in a good way). I’ll have to try these again; this oven is difficult to guage as the heat fluctuates a fair a mount, and I’m guessing that even the location of the rack greatly affects the outcome. Love gas ovens, but they certainly are trickier than the electric kind.

Feeling better this afternoon, after a warm shower which cleared my head, I began work on my (overdue) “harvest colors” postcards for the color postcard swap that I have been hosting for the last year. I’ve had my challenges with staying on the monthly plan, but I still end up sending them out, albeit tardy. Not everyone has kept to the program, though, as several people have dropped off altogether and not sent their cards at all… which I’m sure vexes those who are tenacious and punctual. In any case, above is my batch of harvest colors in the making.

I wonder what good and wonderful things this next year will hold? I’ve long ago given up on “new year’s resolutions” but today I think I’ll send out some intentions into the universe, and see what transpires:

• I wish to do my best, at all times, regardless of the endeavor, taking into account that my best will change from day-to-day
• Take small steps to better every moment that I walk upon this earth
• Be gentle, kind and loving with myself and others
• Do little things each day that make my soul sing
• Trust that all will work out exactly as it was meant to, and surrender the outcome

Happy New Year, One And All!

Updates of all kinds

*gasp!* How time flies, even when you’re not having fun. Busy days at work have me pretty exhausted by the end of the day. In the past I used to be able to be somewhat productive after coming home from work during the week; these days I’m so fried that all I can do is curl up in bed and take a nap… and then go out to eat dinner.

Last month I started a coaching program (as in: I’m learning to become a creativity coach through Jill Badonsky’s Kaisen-Muse Creativity Coaching training). So far so good. It’s definitely got me focusing more on my own creative endeavors.I’ve been working on the Gothica project (which is overdue, partly due to my own lagging, but also due in part to the receipt of submissions long after the deadline). So, I’ve been busy laying out the book/zine/magazine and having to relearn the publishing software and become more adept at the photo editing software. It’s great fun and I think the end result will please everyone, but it’s taking a while to lay it all out. Phew! And I haven’t even begun to edit the “editorial” content. At the top is a sneak preview of the cover.I can’t believe the holidays are zooming in! Although… I’m very grateful that I have a four day weekend coming up this next week (not to mention just a three day work week–hooray!).Hope everyone is doing well and I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy New Year and all that…

Well, it’s been a while since my last post. Holiday mayhem ensued and I spent my time (and quite a bit of money at that) preparing for Christmas. I was bitten by the anti-Ebeneezer bug and the pleasure of giving far outweighed my budget sense. Hence, I did some “unshopping” this weekend and returned several of the “one for me” portion of the “one for you” holiday shopping spreeing.

I also upgraded my blog to Blogger’s new template, and am wrestling with my stat counter now… grrr… but it does have a few new added features that will simplify things.

Christmas was good to all (perhaps a little too good)… Gabriel got a guitar, a skateboard and other various and sundry items… Steve got an iPod (to replace the one that was lifted during the Jeremy McGrath Invitational, right from under our noses, in the press room, no less) and a wallet and other various and sundry items, and I should no longer be directionally challenged now that I have a Magellan Roadmate 2000. Which way to the bathroom???

The only down-side to the holidays is that Steve’s mom and dad were not able to join us for our December 25th constitutional. Steve’s mom still has not fully recovered from her heart valve surgery in May/June of last year and continues to ail. We drove over to Hemet on Christmas Eve for dinner with the intention of going to the candlelight mass afterward but mom didn’t even make it through the meal–she had to lay down. We skipped church and headed for home shortly after, not a single one of us particularly distraught at missing mass. They ended up not coming over for Christmas, mom instead heading for the hospital with what seemed to be gall bladder trouble. We’ve since gotten news that she’s much improved, though she is eleven pounds lighter.

         
(Click to see enlarged view in separate window)

The few days off between here and there were a welcome respite and I am grateful for them, though I would have liked about twice as many as I got. Vacation time accumulates very slowly when you only get two weeks a year (and use them up as quickly).

To ring in the new year, I decided to host (yes, you read it right… the very thing that I *swore* I wouldn’t do, under threat of bodily harm) an on-going Color Postcard Swap. There are nine of us participating and the main criteria is that we stick to the monthly color themes as picked out monthly by the players and that all the art must be original (read: not a photocopy) works. I was so sick to death of getting color copies of stuff, or just layered bits of fluff-as-art that I am hoping the colors will speak to the players and make everyone produce some cool stuff.

The color theme for January is black and white. Fortunately (or not), I’ve never met a color I didn’t like… colors by their very nature seem to make concepts “pop” in my head… for example, with black and white, I’m already thinking: “newspapers… read between the lines”… “old b/w photos”… “b/w prints”… “mardi-gras & pierrots”… black lace & pearl buttons… wrought iron… see what I mean? I sketched a bit in my moleskine yesterday, prepping for more imaginative work this weekend. I plan to work on some thick watercolor paper and then cut them into eight pieces as well as create an accompanying piece the size of the uncut sheet and keep that one for myself.

I also got a phone call at work today from Pascale, one of my hometown friends, who confirmed that she and her two boys will be out for a visit shortly. I haven’t seen them since returning home for my mother’s funeral, which was three years ago this past September. Her older one, Simon, is now a strapping six foot one, while the other, Emile, is closer to Gabriel in both age and size.

This past Saturday was a superlatively cool day for me… Gabriel and Steve both left at around 9AM and I had the whole apartment to myself the whole day… I did just about nothing except pick up a bit, the dishes, and watch the Discovery Channel all day long. Quantum physics holds a great fascination to me, and I greatly regret not applying myself to mathematics early on… numbers (and equations) truly do hold the key to everything. I also didn’t know that there are satellites floating around in space taking x-ray images of our universe, and how different a picture it is when taken into that context. Utterly fascinating…

Well… after a fine dinner of garlicy toast, I think I’m ready to tackle the stat counter once more, and if I still can’t figure it out, I think I’ll retire to bed with a book.