Photo Hunters Theme: Memory

For the theme "Memory," I took a picture of a page in the scrapbook I'm making. These pictures are my parents through the years. It is just one of the pages in the book, but for me it is one of the most significant pages.

DC Corruption: Building Inspectors

Read this article by the Washington Examiner and find out why people hate DC. I’ll summarize: Building inspector slaps a stop-work order on a project (who’s owner is an FBI agent) and seeks a $20,000 bribe to lift it. The FBI agent records the calls and they begin an investigation on the inspector (complete with sworn affidavits and secret wire taps), but his corrupt colleagues still won’t

sick

Sick yesterday, sick today (and yet I still go to work) Nothing big to report other than the fact that I hate this time of year. Sinus problems are always the issue this time of year and I'm getting tired of it! It's just bad enough that I feel miserable, but not so bad that I have to stay home. So yeah, that's all that is going on in my life.

productive day

After work, I had to do a favor for someone that lasted a couple of hours, but once that was over, I had a very productive evening. I did the first session in the Couch to 5k running program. It was really tough, since I'm very out of shape, but I managed to keep up with the intervals and didn't fall off the treadmill until it was over. (then, of course, I crawled off, lol)

When that was finished, I did about 10 minutes of strength training with the 5 pound weights that have been sitting in my exercise room, staring at me, for several months. I've started SparkPeople again, so tracking nutrition and exercise is easy! Seriously, if you've never tried SparkPeople and you want to lose weight, you should check it out. According to their nutrition tracker, I've consumed a little over 1200 calories today, and my range for each day is 1200-1500. I had a little more yesterday, but still in my range, so that's good.

After I finished exercising, I felt a surge of creativity, so I started mapping out the YA fantasy story that I've been itching to start. It's still just a beginning, just an idea, but it's starting to take shape. I have several pages of notes about characters and settings, and an inkling of a plot. It should turn out to be a series, so I'm working now on what will be the overall arc of the story and thinking of what types of subplots would work best with it. It's more ambitious than anything I've ever attempted, and I'm a little nervous about it. Of course, the best way to do these kinds of things is to dive in, whether it's just writing or doing some research. I am diving in with both feet!

Now that I'm finished with that, I'm going to knit a little before going to bed. I find it's the perfect thing to do as I'm winding down in the evenings. Eventually, I'll finish this first scarf and can start on some new projects. I'm so excited about this new hobby, and I'm really committed to learning everything I can about it. I met someone else around my age who knits, and we're talking about starting a Stitch n Bitch group. I hope we can get that going, because it'll be great to meet other knitters. Since I've started knitting, I've discovered something interesting. Several of my online writer friends are also knitters, and several of the knitters I've found online also write. I wonder why? I guess it has to do with creating things from what looks like nothing. Writers weave words to make the fabric of a story, and knitters do the same with yarn or other fibers. Either that makes a lot of sense, or I'm just delirious from the exercise...

Christmas Part 1: The Legend of the Santa Ninja

At the risk of almost-certain death, I think I should tell you about the Santa Ninja, and why I hate him, then I’ll tell you about my Christmas. Many people don’t realize that Santa was actually a ninja. He was. He was half-chinese and half-japanese and his name was San-te Takahashi. San-te (which means 3 harmonies in Chinese) was a powerful ninja during the 12th century. Before he learned

Writing goals for 2007

1. Where do you want to be with your writing in the long-term?

I would like to write full time.

2. Where are you with your writing now?

I'm writing more than I did at this time last year. I have more ideas than I did then as well. I'm just bursting with ideas that I want to implement! I'm so excited about several projects.

3. What project did you leave unfinished last year that you need to finish for your own peace of mind?

Under the Magnolia Tree needs to be finished, and Deadly Council. I'm so excited to see what will happen with those two stories. I also think I'm ready to start working on After the Storm again. The emotions it brought up were too difficult while we were still doing disaster relief, but since the hands-on portion is over, I think I can handle the story again.

4. What creative goals do you want to achieve over the next year?

I'd like to write a short story each month. I have some interesting ideas for these. I want to participate in Script Frenzy in June. It will be my first attempt at a screenplay. I have absolutely no idea what I'll write for that, but I have some time to figure it out. I want to finish Deadly Council and Under the Magnolia Tree, and continue pitching Summer's Blossom until I find someone who will take it!

5. What financial goals do you want to achieve over the next year? Yearly? Monthly? Weekly? (Note: There is no need to post this information, but you should have a figure that you feel comfortable with in your own notes).

There is a number in my head. Hopefully I can reach it by the end of 2007.

6. What steps do you see necessary in your life to achieve these goals?

Continue doing my best at work.

7. What will make you refer to yourself, first and foremost, as "writer"?

I guess just writing every day would allow me to refer to myself as a writer, but I think ultimately it hinges on being published. I know that's the worst way to determine if you are a writer or not, but it seems to be everyone else's standard.

8. What steps do you need to take on the technical front to achieve your goals (such as improving spelling, grammar, and a general widening of skills)?

Writing, writing, writing! I'm also going to look into some online writing classes and a writing conference or two.

9. What steps do you need to take on the creative front to achieve your goals?

Write every day (I keep going back to that, don't I?) Journal and keep an idea notebook for future projects, spend time watching people and writing down observations about them.

10. What changes do you need to make in your daily life (interaction with friends, family, job) to make this work?

I need to schedule creative time each day. This includes time for writing, journaling, prayer and meditation, and making an effort to really observe the world around me.

11. How much time each day do you vow to devote to your writing?

I'd like to spend two hours writing and one hour editing/brainstorming if at all possible.

12. With what new type of writing will you experiment in the coming year?

I would like to write some poetry, a sci-fi story, a fantasy story, and some other genres I haven't explored.

13. What new non-writing interest do you wish to add to your life this year?

I'd like to become more skilled at knitting. I also want to make a short film, improve my photography skills, learn to sew, learn more about wine, and learn to draw (or paint.)

2006 Evaluation and 2007 Goals

1. Take some time and look back at 2006. Write a few summary paragraphs (NOT A LIST) to evaluate the year.

I could call 2006 a season of growth for me. It was also a season of conflict and confusion in many ways. Of course, the conflict and confusion created the growth, so I'm not going to complain about that! For six years after my divorce, I avoided relationships. I told myself I didn't want to take the risk, that I didn't want to open up to someone just to get hurt again. But at the beginning of 2006, I actually managed to let someone in. The relationship didn't work out, he was not the right person for me due to our differences in opinion about several very important matters, and due to our priorities being totally different, but here's the thing. I don't regret the relationship at all, because it taught me something. I can love again, and I will love again. Just because he wasn't the right one, doesn't mean there isn't one out there who is.. right. 2006 saw the beginning of that relationship and then the subsequent breakup. I had never broken up with someone before. As painful as it was, and as horrible as I felt about it, I knew it was the right thing to do. And it was a huge step for me personally, because I made a decision to be in charge of my life and I realized it was better to be alone than with the wrong person. 2006 brought my 30th birthday, which was an important moment for me. My twenties were filled with conflict, difficulties, and some pretty awful situations, so I was fairly happy to leave them behind. I went forward with the lessons I learned from these situations. I think those lessons will serve me well for the rest of my life. I have gained confidence in myself and in my abilities, and I'm finally ready to stop putting myself down about my physical apperance. I also feel that I grew professionally. I've become a lot more confident at work, and my skills at my job have grown tremendously. I'm especially pleased with my grant writing skills and how they have grown over the past year. I have a long way to go, but I feel good about the way things are going so far. Overall, 2006 was a very good year.

2. What achievement left you proudest last year?

My grant record. In 2006, I wrote 22 grants and we were funded for 20 of them. I'd say that's something to be proud of.

3. What were your disappointments?

I had some personal disappointments. I thought I would be in a different place this year, that I would have a family or would be ready to start one. I feel years and years away from that happening, if ever, and that is a disappointment in a way.

4. What do you wish you had done differently?

When I knew something wasn't going to work out, I let it go too long. I know now that I should have stopped it much sooner.

5. How did your goals for the year evolve and change over the course of it, and what were the unexpected experiences?

As always, my goals evolved. One thing that I get really frustrated about is that I have a hard time keeping with my long term goals, especially the ones that deal with personal issues, like losing weight. I did write a lot more this year than I ever have, so that was one great result of making these goals. One other way my goals evolved was that I decided to do some new things, to shake things up a little. This has proven to be a good decision, as I've picked up a couple of new hobbies and have met some very interesting people as a result.

6. What was the best unexpected thing to happen in your year?

Knitting! Who knew I would enjoy it so much? I know that's a strange thing to name the best unexpected thing, but it's great to find a new hobby that I can really enjoy and that helps me relax.

7. Looking ahead, what are your goals for 2007?

- finish Deadly Council
- finish Under the Magnolia Tree
- continue pitching Summer's Blossom
- finish After the Storm
- start the YA fantasy that's been in my head
- read the Bible all the way through
- read more classics
- take some art classes

8. What steps do you plan to get you there?

I just need to have some discipline to do these things. They are not difficult, I just have to work hard and do them!

9. What are your dreams for 2006?

Get published!

10. What steps will you take to bring you closer to them?

Keep writing, keep pitching, keep going until it happens.

11. What are your resolutions for 2006?

I resolve that I will do everything I can to meet my goals. I also resolve that I will take the time to relax and enjoy life more, so that I don't look back on it and wish I had experienced more and worked less.

12. How do you plan to get there?

By taking a look at my life every day, by continuing to work toward my 101 in 1001 list, and by enjoying my hobbies and developing new ones.

13. What changes has the last year brought to your long-term plan?

The last year helped me realize that I need to stay where I am a little longer. I need to learn more before I can attempt to get a director's position somewhere. It has also taught me that I need to look at my motivations for wanting to go to grad school. Is it because I want to accomplish something that my friends have accomplished? Do I feel a need to prove myself? Or do I want to go because I think it would be best for my career? I have to decide that before I can make any real decisions about what I want to study.

14. Where would you like to be one year from now?

One year from now I would like to have better control of my finances. I would like to have sold something I've written (short story, novel, novella, article, etc)