Happy New Year!

It's New Year's Eve. We're going to do what we do every year - watch a movie, eat a ton of junk food, and snuggle with the kids. :-)

I did get quite a bit of writing done yesterday, but I paid for it this morning. I foolishly had my arms and wrists too high while I was using my laptop on my desk and my neck muscles didn't react well. My headache is thankfully dissipated for the most part and I can enjoy this evening's festivities.

Isn't it a bit strange that we're going to be celebrating the new year of 2006? It always seemed so far away. In fact, the year 2000 always seemed to so far away. Amazing how fast time passes.

I hope all of you have a safe and enjoyable New Year!

Ode to Stuffed Animals

This is my daughter's stuffed animal collection. This isn't all of them since some are lodged precariously on her dresser. But for the most part, they litter her floor, making it impossible for her to even play in her room.

I took care of that a few days ago. I'm trying to find one of those stuffed animal nets to hang from her ceiling and get these things off her floor. Since I haven't been to the store in awhile, the poor animals have languished on my living room floor.

Last night we were into Barnes and Noble (using my gift card that my brother got me for Christmas! Woo hoo!) and she found a Scooby Doo stuffed animal.

"Can I have this, Mom?"

"No. You already have enough stuffed animals!"

She, in a sulking voice, "I do not have enough stuffed animals."

There are actually already two stuffed Scooby Doo's in this pile in the above picture. But the one she wanted was smaller. Sigh...

In Writing News...

I sat down yesterday afternoon and got a page and a half done (single spaced) and was eager to keep going, but my husband came home and we decided to use the gift card my Dad gave us for Christmas to a local resterant. (How come I can NEVER spell that word right?) Unfortunately, I couldn't get to sleep last night due to hubby's snoring and my brain refusing to shut down. I really should have just opened the laptop and kept writing, but as it was already nearing 2 a.m., I didn't think that would be exactly smart. I would have slept the entire day today!

As all three kids are home today, I don't know how much writing I'll get done. I might have to just shut my bedroom door and ignore the crashes coming from the living room. ;-)

A Dog's Life

My dog Charlie has been following my daughter and I around all day long. He loves it when I'm home. I wish I could be home more often. I'm really enjoying my vacation right now.

But instead of writing, I've been playing with my blog, doing laundry, taking some pics with the digital camera, and digging into my kids' Christmas candy stash. Whoops.

Vacation Musings

I've determined not to do too much during my time off from work. Of course, you all know how that goes!

But yesterday, I did manage to indulge in a nap. Consequently, I wasn't ready for bed at 10 p.m. and stayed up until 1 a.m. finishing a novel. That meant I slept in this morning!

Today I want to get some writing done. I still have to do some laundry and since our dryer isn't working right, that means I get to dry the same load of clothes for about three hours. It's a pain, but when you don't have the money for a new one, you have to deal. :-)

I want to de-decorate the house, but that means work. And I'm on my vacation, darn it! So I'll wait until after the new year to take down everything. Of course, that might change. I am known to suddenly become inspired to do something, even if it takes me until late at night to accomplish it.

But today, I want to focus on my writing. I came up with a new idea for a story last night and I'm anxious to perhaps brainstorm with it a little and see what I can come up with. It's always exciting to get that initial burst of inspiration and even more exciting to see what that idea turns into!

More photos

If you've ever seen Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, you know who the white guy holding the star is!

Sorry these photos are kinda blurry - I'm still experimenting with the camera.

My dog, Charlie, is at the top - he's a black Border Collie/Retriever mix.

I also took a snapshot of my Nativity scene - Boyd's Bears. My mom worked at a gift shop and was able to get them for me at cost a few years ago.

Playing with the New Digital Camera!

Before I de-decorate, here are a few images of my Christmas decorations. (And one of my dog just because I love him and he hasn't wanted to leave my side since I got home!)

Here's the Snoopy tree located in a corner of my kitchen and the angel with greenery on my living room entertainment center.

Let the Writing Begin!

Okay. The writing won't begin until I clean this house!!! We got home last night around 9 p.m. and unloaded all the packages and clothes. I've determined that I have to give my daughter's room a thorough cleaning in order to fit her new Christmas gifts.

It was a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve, my grandfather was able to come home from the resthome and be with his family. We enjoyed butterball soup and homemade cherry cheesecake! I went to the Christmas Eve service with my family at the church I grew up in and it was a very blessed evening.

Christmas Day was absolutely wonderful. We went to my brother's house (the family farmhouse and farm that has been in the family for four generations) and ate wonderful food, opened presents, played games, and watched movies. It was so relaxing and I just loved being able to sit back and enjoy being with my family.

The trip home wasn't too eventful, but it was long. It's a 5 1/2 hour drive. Luckily, the kids stayed busy watching movies and playing with their new toys.

I took this week off from work and I slept in this morning. Woo hoo!!! *grin* I'm excited to start using my digital camera (hubby really spoiled me this year!) to share some photos with you all.

I'm also very excited to start writing. Maybe I can ignore the house for awhile and indulge myself. Ha!

Merry Christmas!

May you have a blessed Christmas full of joy and wonder!

Joy to the World!

There's a lot of reasons to be joyful right now!

Reason #1:

I tried on two pairs of jeans that I haven't been able to even button for many, many months. And guess what? I buttoned them. They were still a little snug, but wearable. WOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!!!

Reason #2:

I get off work at 2 p.m. today and I have tomorrow off. In fact, I don't have to come back to work until January 3 since I took three days off next week and our company is closed from the 30th through the 2nd. Major writing time coming up!!!!!!

Reason #3:

We're going to see our families for Christmas. I'm so excited to visit with everyone and can't wait to see their faces when they open their presents!

Reason #4:

It's Christmas!!!! I've tried very hard this year to remember the reason that I celebrate Christmas - the birth of Jesus. It's easy to get sucked into Santa Claus and the commercial aspects of Christmas and forget why I celebrate it in the first place.

Reason #5:

I met my goal of exercising three times a week for the past two weeks. Another big WOOO-HOOOO!!!!

Reason #6:

I have terrific friends, both online and off, and I'm thankful for each and every one of you!

Treats Galore!

It's hard to deny all those yummy holiday treats. Here at the office, we've been receiving gift baskets from companies that we work with and they always include a plethora of goodness. :-) One of my co-workers brought in a ton of cookies and another brought some very yummy Kansas City fudge. My mom is going to be making a lot of treats, too - and I definitely will not pass those up!

What's a girl trying to lose weight to do?

Exercise her tail off! :-)

I've determined that I'm not going to deny myself the treats of the Christmas season. So I've been indulging - a little of this, a little of that, and a lot of sweat in the gym at the end of the day. I exercised three times last week and after tonight, it will be three times this week. I told my husband, "Now when I don't go to the gym, just remind me how good I feel when I finish exercising." Hopefully I won't slip into the non-exercising habit again!

In Writing News...

It was after 10 p.m. last night when I booted up my laptop. I had thought of a ton of ideas for my current WIP while exercising last night and I had to write them down before I forgot. But as usual, life got in the way earlier in the evening and I didn't have time to sit down until after everyone was settled for the night.

Still, I managed to write about a page (single spaced) and I felt rather pleased with that. I would have done more, but I was exhausted. In fact, I really do not remember trying to fall asleep - usually it takes me awhile to drift off, but not last night!

Must be all that exercising...*grin*

10 Reading Secrets

Amy tagged me for ten reading secrets. Hmm...this one might take some thinking.

1) I used to keep a journal of all the books I read. I'd put the name of the book, author, date finished, and then a rating. Some books I would read more than once and I would mark it, "VG as always!"

2) I pretty much just read romance. Inspirational and historical are my two favorite genres. I also read history books (although I tend to jump around in those instead of reading straight through). I will occasionally pick up one of my hubby's books - a Clive Cussler, Dean Koontz, or Ken Follet.

3) I'm a pretty fast reader. I've been known to finish a book in a day. But not lately! That was more in my pre-Mom days. :-)

4) I panic if I don't have anything to read. Thankfully, my trips to the library booksale or the bookstore have solved that problem. I have a plethora of books to read and I know I'll continue adding to that pile.

5) I won't finish a book if I can't get into it. My husband told me once that it's my reading time - I should read what I want to and not waste time on a book that doesn't capture my attention. After all, I have a huge stack of other books waiting for me!

6) I haven't read an e-book yet. It's not because I don't want to - I have some friends who have published ebooks. But I stare at a computer screen all day - the last thing I want to do is stare at a computer screen to read a book. And I don't have enough money to print the entire book.

7) I don't sneak a peek at endings, even though I'm tempted!

8) I read a book to my daughter every night before bedtime.

9) I used to have a special bookmark for all my books. Now I just mark my page with whatever I can find around the house. :-)

10) I used to read during the summer vacations in elementary and junior high...well, okay...even high school when I wasn't working! It used to drive my brothers nuts. They'd constantly ask me to go play baseball and I'd say, "No, I'm reading." :-)

I tag Rachel, Dana, and Tess!