Happy New Year!! Oh, wait...

I hate using words at the end of the year like "resolution." It just seems really trite to me, I don't really know why.

Instead, at the start of 2016, I decided to use words like "commitment." Or, more accurately, "self-commitment." I have complete commitment to my husband, my family, my friends, my job. When it comes to myself, however, not so much. I ended 2015 sick, physically and mentally wiped out. I had a few days off work and I spent them seeping on the sofa. (You could call it my Ariana Huffington moment.)

That's not good.

That's not a badge of honor.

That's a wake up call.

So my theme for this year is self-commitment. It feels great!

I've committed to keeping a 5-year daily journal. Just a few lines a day every evening to end the day on a positive note.

I've committed to regular exercise, even if it's not "convenient." I'm trying barre classes and adding yoga on other days. Talk about a challenge!

I've committed to putting better photos forward on Instagram. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I'd rather curate a few beautiful images than a year's worth of mediocre ones.

I've committed to taking the pressure off myself with creating my jewelry. So, no craft shows this year, and I'm stepping way back on what I post on Etsy and accepting custom orders. I'm allowing myself the time to figure out what's next. (And I think I might be on to something!)

By allowing myself to commit to my own well-being, I will be a better wife, family member, friend and employee. So it really doesn't make any sense not to do it.

It's going to be a really good year, I can feel it!

At What Age Is It Unacceptable to Not Spell-Check Your Blog Posts?

Welcome to 2013! I hope everyone's New Year's Eve was wonderful! Mine was quiet - James and I had "Asian Fare" for dinner (which means frozen pork buns, orange chicken, and pot stickers from Trader Joe's), watched a few DVDs, watched the ball drop in Times Square at midnight, and toasted with a mini bottle of cava. Then we went to sleep. You know, I've really made a terrible 20-something. Maybe my 30's will be better.

James and I went to Crystal Cove on Sunday. It's a state park off of PCH between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, and I've never been. We got caught in a rain shower, saw a rainbow, and wandered among tide pools and old cottages.


James at Crystal Cove's tidepools



Crystal Cove

 

Crystal Cove



An absolutely gorgeous day - is there anything like a vast landscape to make you and your problems feel oh-so-insignificant?



The only thing that ruined getting caught in a rain shower under a rainbow was the fact that I didn't bring an umbrella, rain coat, or camera case, and I had my DSLR zipped up under my hoodie looking like a preggo woman while it slowly got more and more damp. The camera is fine, btw.

 Although our year got off to a quiet start, I have a feeling it's not going to stay that way. Our Christmas tree is still up, and every day I feel thankful that it hasn't burst into flames yet. (It's coming down tomorrow, I promise.) I turn 30 in a little over a month. (Can you tell it's totally weighing on my mind? What the heck? I remember when I was in college, my friend Max found himself repeatedly in relationships with women turning 30, and he said it made them go "a bit mental." At the time, my 22-year-old self thought "Why would that upset them so much? How dumb!" And now here I am, actually semi-freaking out. I vascilate between wanting to hide at home or go out to a dance club in LA where I and my friends are sure to be the oldest ones there to mark the occasion. Poor James.) Also, there is at least one trip back to London on the horizon - 2 friends have had babies, and I'm going to will myself not to get sick because  I want to hold some babies!

So, hello 2013, may you be a year of laughter, friendship, growth, positive energy, forgiveness, strength, and resilliance. Also, maybe the year I remember (or care enough) to spell check my blog posts.

My Year of Books, and, Oh, Yes, Happy New Year!

My year of keeping track of the books I read has come to an end. Sadly, I won't make it to 52 books - I'd really hoped to average one a week. (Sad, I know, but let me have my small pleasures!) I did, however, finish 51 books - just one off from my goal! I started my 52nd this morning.

I'm going to have to continue this habit into 2013...

So, here's what I've read this year:

1. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
2. Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal
3. The Raising by Laura Kasischke

4. Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan

5. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (the only book I re-read this year - everything else was brand new, and a complete novelty to me!)
6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
7. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
8. The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

9. The Woman Who Heard Color by Kelly Jones

10. The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
11. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
12. The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons
13. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore
14. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

15. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

16. About a Boy by Nick Hornby
17. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell
18. Sister by Rosamund Lupton

19. The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

20. Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland
21. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

22. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

23. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
24. Testimony by Anita Shreve
25. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
26. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
27. War Brides by Helen Bryan
28. Pink Smog by Francesca Lia Block
29. The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

30. The Aviary by Kathleen O'Dell

31. Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
32. The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman
33. Blankets by Craig Thompson

34. The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones

35. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
36. Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James
37. Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt

38. The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

39. Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
40. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
41. The Elementals by Francesca Lia Block
42. Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
43. The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor
44. Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
45. Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

46. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

47. The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo
48. The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
49. Summer House by Nancy Thayer

50. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

51. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

A few things I've noticed about my book choices:
-If it has chapters, it counts as a book. It doesn't matter if it was written for an 11-year-old.
-I like World War II novels.
-I like novels set in England. Or London.
-I like World War II novels that are set in England or London.
-While I can't seem to get through a non-fiction book about the sinking of the Titanic, I can easily get through a novel about the sinking of the Titanic.
-This was this year I started to secretly enjoy Nicholas Sparks.
-I like young adult novels that don't really seem like young adult novels because the stories are pretty messed up. Like a magician turning his children into talking birds to keep in an aviary.

Here's what I DIDN'T read in 2012 (that's not to say I didn't try...):
1. Titanic: First Accounts, various authors
2. A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes From my Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
3. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

So what are your goals for 2013?

Here's wishing everyone out there a Happy New Year! I hope that this year is filled with fun suprises, positivity, love, laughter, and all the magic you can handle!

Celebrate!