New Year, New Excitement

I always love the feeling of starting a new year. It feels like a fresh start for accomplishing the things I didn't quite get done the previous year. I've never been great at setting goals - maybe I don't like the commitment. But I'm in the early stages of working on a new novel and I'm excited about the story.

Last year the big focus for several months was my older daughter's wedding. Now that that's over and done with and the holiday's are behind me, I can focus on writing this new novel. My (dare I say it) goal is to have the first draft completed by the end of April. To accomplish this I need to write at least 5000 words a week. That's completely doable.

I'll keep you posted.

Life has been busy

Life has gotten busier lately. My older daughter, Valerie, recently got engaged and my younger son just graduated from high school and is getting ready to go off to college this fall. I've never been one to enjoy planning events - my poor kids haven't had a lot of birthday parties - so a wedding seemed even more daunting. But to my surprise it is actually a lot of fun. Maybe it's because it is such a major event in a person's life, but I am actually having fun working on it.

I admit that I did make my life a little easier by deciding to use a reception hall instead of doing all the work myself. Even so, there are a lot of decisions to make: which photographer to use and which package, what food to serve, how many people to plan for. Still, not having to worry about the linens or the centerpieces, or arranging people to serve the food and clean up afterward is a tremendous relief. If I wasn't working full-time I'm sure it would be different. But my husband and I are happy with the choice to use a reception hall vs doing all the work ourselves. On the Big Day I want to enjoy everything and not stress about the details.

It's somewhat ironic, because when I got married 24 years ago I let my mom plan it all. I was more interested in getting our home figured out and looking forward to starting life after the wedding. Luckily for me, my mom was fine with that. My daughter is more interested in the planning than I was for my wedding, but she and her fiance are focused on finding a condo to buy more than choosing wedding colors. But that's ok. I know exactly how she feels.

We went to Yellowstone National Park last week, and my daughter's fiance, Blake, came along. Here is a cute picture of them at Old Faithful:

Nearly finished kitchen

Here are some before and after pictures from the kitchen remodel. We still need to put a tile backsplash up, but other than that, it is done. The things we redid were: Took out the vinyl floor and put in tile, painted, put in new cabinets, put in an over-the-stove microwave, put in under-counter lighting, and had new granite countertops installed. We also extended the cabinets and countertop on the side of the kitchen where the sink is. The layout is the same, but it is now more up-to-date.

Before

After

More remodeling

We've been on a remodeling frenzy. We are just wrapping up a kitchen remodel. Yesterday the countertops were put in and I will soon have use of my kitchen again. Yay! The kitchen has been out of commission for just over 3 weeks. It hasn't been too bad. The upside is I didn't have to cook - not my favorite activity. But we are all getting tired of microwavable meals.

I will post pictures of the before, during and after soon. (As soon as my husband hooks up the appliances, which will hopefully be tonight.)

The Bathroom is Done

Woo Hoo! After nearly 4 months, our bathroom remodel is complete. My husband did all the work himself, with some help from our oldest son, Ryan. We are very pleased with the results. Here are some before, during, and after pictures. The one above is after.
Dave took it down to studs and added a window, then a new jetted tub, tiled the shower and floor. He added a new cabinet and countertop, toilet, pretty much everything.


The ones below are before and during.


Here are more After pictures:

"Four Things" Tag

I'm glad Katie Parker tagged me. I haven't posted anything in a while because I haven't found a topic I really wanted to talk about. So this will be fun.

Four Jobs I've Had:

1. Medical software technical support/trainer (current job)
2. Paint custom jewelry
3. Library shelver
4. Newspaper delivery person

Four Places I've Lived:
1. Sandy, Utah
2. Salida, California
3. San Jose, California (grew up there)
4. Roseville, California

Four Favorite TV Shows:

1. Lost
2. House Hunters on HGTV
3. Seinfeld reruns
4. American Idol

Four Favorite Foods:

1. Chocolate (chocolate is a food group, right?)
2. Homemade salsa with Tostitos Scoops chips
3. Filet Mignon steak
4. Chicken Cordon Bleu

Four Websites I Frequent:

1. DrudgeReport.com
2. article6blog.com
3. ldspublisher.blogspot.com
4. sixldswriters.blogspot.com


Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:

1. Curled on the couch with a good book.
2. Camping in Yellowstone with my family.
3. In Hawaii with my husband.
4. Hanging out with my family.

Four Movies I Love:

1. Lord of the Rings
2. The Bourne Ultimatum
3. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
4. Fun with Dick and Jane.

Four Bloggers I Tag Next:
It would take so long for me to figure out who has and hasn't been tagged already that I'd never actually end up posting this blog. So I will leave it open to anyone who wants to blog on this topic.

Developing Good Habits

Boy it's hard to break bad habits and replace them with good ones. This morning, for example, I dragged myself out of bed at 5 am and spent 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. I had to get up earlier than normal because with only one functioning shower, we have a tight schedule for everyone to get ready in the morning. (Isn't that bathroom remodel done yet, honey?)

Earlier this year, for five months in a row, I'd gotten into the great habit of working out at least four days a week. Then we went on vacation - and it was only for 6 days - but that's all it took for me to get out of the habit of getting up early and exercising. Even though exercising made me feel better and helped me to lose a few pounds, I had trouble motivating myself to get up and do it.

I suppose it comes down to self-discipline and conquering the "natural man". When we're snuggled into our comfortable beds (and mine is super comfortable), and we don't really have to get up yet, it doesn't take much to convince ourselves to sleep that extra thirty to forty-five minutes.

There are lots of good habits I need to develop - eating healthier, reading my scriptures daily, working on my latest novel.

It can be challenging when you get pulled in many different directions at once, difficult to choose the best over the good. I guess what it really comes down to is priorities. Making time for what's most important and discarding the things that waste our time.

What good habits are you trying to develop?