Behold, my sole Christmas decoration! I call him my Legolas on the Shelf, because he's an elf, albeit a Tolkien elf, but still.
I don't feel sad about this. The holidays can be crazy. Sometimes less really is more. While everyone else is thinking about taking down trees and lights, I'll simply throw Legolas away and be done with it. Easy peasy.
My Christmas was pretty laid back. We did Christmas with my in-laws in October, a gift exchange (white elephant) with my dad on a weekend, with the kiddos when they dropped by, and dinner with my family on Christmas day.
The craziest part was when I made my first sugar cream pie hours before we had to be at my parents' house. I chopped veggies while it baked. And true to my norm when baking, I spilled cornstarch all over the rug and tracked it into the other room. It's a rare occasion when I use flour and don't make a mess.
I get flour everywhere and promptly yell, "Honey, I made a mess!" From the other room the hubs responds, "I know. You always do."
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Thing I'm currently reading:
Amish Vampires in Space by Kerry Nietz
I'm halfway through this 610 page book. This is not what you would think it would be. You would expect it to be cheesy or funny, right? Not so! The story pulls you in quite unexpectedly.
The Amish are believable and the science fiction good quality.
I'm impressed with how the vampire part is written. I feel like the author put a lot of thought into how a person-turned-vampire might make a transition from one to the other.
I've got a theory that the vampires aren't vampires in the traditional sense. If I'm correct--I don't want to give spoilers--I think there may be a scientific explanation.
Surprisingly good!
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New Year's:
It's that time of year, the time where we make resolutions and decide to try a new thing or put more effort into something.
I'm hoping to find a lot of dinner ideas in these free magazines from the library and The I Hate to Cook Book. I'm often on the lookout for new recipes. It's not really a resolution, more of an ongoing task.
I also checked out Google Blogger for Dummies. It took me so long to figure out how to set up my blog. Knowing there are nicer looking blogs than mine makes me want to up my game. But I don't want to do it and possibly make it look worse, thus the book.
I've decided to make a vision board. Again, not exactly a resolution, but a goal. I'm going to plaster it with pictures of where I want to be in five years.
I was recently asked that question, where I saw myself in five years. I was told to dream big. I expressed my goals only to feel a little shot down. I truly believe the person meant well. They wanted me to understand it will take a while to get there. Somehow, that makes me more determined.
So, I'm going to print off pictures pretty soon of what I want my future office to look like and of where I see myself in my writing career, and I'm going to tack that thing on my bulletin board. I'm going to add words, too. I know at the very least it'll have the words "boss babe."
Will I reach all my goals and dreams in five years? I sure hope so.
Even if I don't, I know that I won't reach them without thinking about them and working toward them. I want those goals in my face.
I need the reminder, just like I need to pause in my writing every now and again and admire the decor in my office. They say things like "Stay Brave," "Wake, Pray, Slay," and "Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast" (Lewis Carroll).
Even if it's just a post it note on your mirror that says, "You got this," I encourage you to have a reminder that keeps you on track with your goals.
Dream big, fellow dreamers!
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Go with the flow:
My hubs is on shutdown from work for nearly two weeks. Can I tell you, not having the house to myself to do weekly workouts or dedicated writing time is hard.
The silver lining is it gives me a chance to step back from my writing. Which I honestly hate. I want to be writing. I fear losing where I'm at in the story and losing momentum.
Not long ago I was taking a lot of time getting to a particular part in my story, practically dragging my feet. I was frustrated. But that extra time I took helped me make it better.
Likewise, I'm at a place where I need to pause (beginning a phase 2 of sorts). This moment just so happens to coincide with me not having alone time to write. I keep telling myself this is necessary. I need to rest and recharge. I find that difficult too. But . . . but, but, but . . . I've had some good ideas, things I didn't think of and plot issues I need to resolve. So I write it down on a posty, slap it on my desk, and walk away.
Life experience (and being married to a youngest child) has taught me you have to occasionally roll with things. It's not the easiest thing when you like control and predictability, but it's doable. For instance, the fact that I'm working on my Friday blog at eight pm. Not what I would have wanted. Still, I've checked off the list for today. Does it really matter what order I did things in? No. It only matters that I did what was needed.
In conclusion, pursue those goals, dreamers. Roll with it. You got this! Soak it in prayer and see what Jesus does with it. He may give you a blessing you didn't expect.
Blessings, Jessica <3
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