Here We Are Again!

The start of a new year.

I've seen many hopes and wishes for the upcoming year throughout different media outlets.  When we have a rough year, it's natural to wish for a turn of events in the new year.  2014 was a decent year for me, and I had such high hopes for 2015 and boy was it a lot rougher than what I was anticipating.

But we survived it and now are faced with another new year.  Like many others I hope it turns out better than the last one!

Things will be different, to be sure.  Mr. Janney is back to work and I have changed jobs.  We're both feeling better physically, so that right there is a huge plus in our favor!

And since I managed to accomplish some of the things that I wanted to get done this past week while we were off work, and even a few that were surprises, it's given me a higher hope for the new year.  We haven't been through the clothes in our closet yet, but Mr. Janney and I went through both our dressers and weeded out clothes we can't or shouldn't wear anymore.  We got rid of a good bit.

We finally got the top coat of sealant on the table Mr. Janney made me a year ago. It's so shiny and pretty!  It took us longer than it should have because the first time hubby tried sanding the top...he sanded too far and then we had to buy a new board.  But it was worth it, because this turned out so  nice.

I am terrible at keeping my table clear of clutter.  It is somehow my hoarder parents fault - just joking...But anyway, it's a learned habit that I am determined to unlearn this year.  So far, the only things on the table are my blood testing kit, my medicine container and the roll of paper towels.  Which really, is an accomplishment so far.

One of the reasons why I believe I can do this, is my husband also decided to finally make me some shelves.  Either because he loves me or just so I'd stop asking, I'm not a hundred percent sure!  I was just asking for free standing shelves, but he felt that they would get in the way so he decided to build them into an already existing nook.  Really, this is why I let him rearrange the furniture and stuff like that because he has a better eye for it than I do.

And he did a great job!  I finally have somewhere to put my bulky appliances. What home ever has enough counter space anyway? I mean, unless you've designed the house yourself, the odds are slim.

Our toaster spent many long months sitting on the edge of our table near an outlet, but it wasn't close enough so we always had to use an extension cord.  And I never had a good spot to store the large electric grill a friend bought me for my birthday a few years ago when we didn't have propane to cook.

But I do now.  I grin every time I walk by it.  I still have a few pieces to relocate.  The rotisserie cooker Grandma Peterson gave us a while back still needs to change locations.  It's a huge relief for me to have this.  I did help him.  I was working on doing the dishes that day so I could be near whenever he needed me to hold boards and put in screws.  We had to put the dog in her cage during all this, because she wanted to be right in the middle of all the action and that's just not a good mix with power tools.

I still have to reorganize the items that were already on the small shelf that this is build under and into.  Then my toaster will be sitting on the top, right where there's an outlet so I won't have to move it anymore or use an extension cord.

Another thing that happened is I had a break through with one of the scenes in my novel that's been bothering me.  So I'm hoping that means the writing bug has bitten and that stuff will start flowing again.  I know I'm not the only one that likes hearing that...my mother-in-law asked my just last night if I was going to be releasing book 3 anytime soon.  Well, it's looking sooner than what it was last week.  Not going to be brave enough to even begin to estimate a date though!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy start to the new Year!  Here's looking at 2016!

The Unmerciful Circle of Life

I must admit to a certain amount of melancholy today.  My Facebook post this morning certainly reflected that.  "Sometimes in the morning when I check Facebook on my phone, I'll scroll quickly through the 'top stories' before I switch to most recent. This morning I had two statuses 'side by side' that really made me stop and pause. Posted roughly 6 hours apart, one was a new mama sharing how she and her hubby were falling in love with their firstborn...the second one was another mama sharing the devastating news that her daughter had just lost her fiance. I rejoice with the first, and mourn with the second. And I really have no words to describe my mood at the moment, maybe later."

I am certainly happy for my classmate who had the baby.  It is her first and a fulfilled hope I understand.  I can't wait to see the pics she will post as her baby boy begins to grow and mature.  Not having children of my own, I watch my friends' children grow with bittersweet joy.

But the grief for my other friend, who is only a little younger than I, who just lost her fiance is the dominant emotion at the moment.  Because that's something else I understand.  I didn't marry until this past summer, at the ripe old age of 37.  I had given up on romantic love a long time ago, and Mr. Janney was a surprise.  And as much as there are times when I want to sell him (and his Xbox!) to the nearest traveling circus - I can't imagine life without him.  Well, I can but that's beside the point.  And here is my friend, having found 'the one' - and in a heartbeat, he was gone.  I'm not sure the full story, just that he was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and that an EEG revealed abnormalities.  That was on Friday.  This morning I read that he passed away on Saturday.

When Mr. Janney and I were discussing marriage one night on the way home from his parents, well it was more of an argument really, one of the things he was saying in an attempt to say that things in our relationship were fine as they were was that he loved me ... 'maybe' forever.  Maybe?  That lit a spark in me.  We had just come from a funeral for his 90+ great-grandmother.  I very vocally reminded him that 'forever' could be over in heartbeat because we don't know what the future holds.  There is nothing guaranteed.  All sorts of unplanned random crap can and does happen all the time.  (It's 2014 - who dies from pneumonia???)  Needless to say it was a really quiet weekend after that conversation.  As in, I spend the rest of it in a different part of the trailer and just let him think.

By the end of the week, we were married.  Did we rush?  After being together for almost 5 years and living together for just over 4 - why piddlefart around?  Have I questioned it since then?  Ever since the purchase of GTA 5, more than a little.  Do I have peace about it?  Ever since my last drunk, yes.

Because life is not meant to be lived hesitantly.  Tweet it! :)

In my novel, when Craig brought up the idea of eloping, Angela of course needed time to think about it.  She was surprised, not just by his question but by how possible it was.  He had just proposed to her that afternoon, and should she be willing they could be married before the end of the day.  Naturally she was a little intimidated by the notion, but as they passed through Simmons Crossroads later that day, the intersection where her brother had met his death, she was reminded how quickly life could be over and gave into the spontaneity her fiance was offering her.  A chance to have a wish/desire fulfilled in a heartbeat (or as long as it took to fly to Vegas).

Ironically, this scene was written and 'set' before my own 'quick' marriage.  Whether it was a glimpse into my own future and I didn't realize it, or just my characters mirroring my emotions/mindsets, I may never fully know.  I know that in the second novel, set four years after then end of the first, the events that happen cause Craig to ask Angela is she regrets how quickly they married.  You'll have to wait for her answer (and the events that brought it up), as I don't want to spoil things to much for you.  Yet.

No matter where life finds you today, appreciate those around you even if they frustrate you, and don't hesitate to live to the fullest.

2014 - Life to the Fullest

Full Speed Ahead

This post is really late tonight, because oh my goodness what a day it has been!  First there was the almost 9 hour work day...which started with me realizing I had left my ID/Time badge in my other pants and ended about 30 minutes sooner than usual when the lights went out at 3.  Of course, we had to wait and clear the line of meat before we could clean up and go home.  No big deal.  I come out into the locker room and find text messages from my hubby saying that we had no power at home.  ???  This could have been a problem as we heat by electricity!  But it came back on, and turned off again, and came back on...I almost wasn't sure if I dared try to write this!  So we went out to dinner, got double fortunes in our fortune cookies (that has to be good luck!  Esp. since they were spot on!) and came home to lights still on.  So here we are!

My hopes for the new year are fairly simple.

I expect to get myself caught up to speed on all this social networking business, which is really kind of fun, and sell more copies of my first novel.  I know that there will be some locals things done to help promote it, as my fifth grade English teacher has been talking to our local library about helping me out.  I'm not sure which is cooler...having the library hype my book, or my former English teacher giving it the thumbs up!

I also expect to finish the second book in the series, Ring of Fire, and edited and published.  By summer, if I'm lucky.  That's my goal at the moment.  Because once I 'finish' it, I know I'm going to want to let it sit for a bit before I edit it and do any necessary rewrites.  I don't think I'll need ten years like last time!

In my dreams, I would like a job change.  Mostly because what I am doing hurts my hands.  I had trouble driving home after work today.  Every time I had my left hand on the steering wheel, it would hurt between my middle and ring finger.  It's very unsettling.  Especially since I don't get to drive much anymore.  No real reason, aside from not having our own vehicle.

Which is another of my hopes/expectations for next year.  For my hubby to get his truck back on the road.  This project is closer than the last one, so I'm thinking it'll happen.  I so miss my little Beretta.  It was such a good little car, even though there was a spider in it once, but that's a story for another time.

Oh, and I'd like to be able to get propane for our tanks again so I can stop heating my electric as much and actually start cooking/baking again!  I kind of miss that!  I've lost track of how long it's been since we ran out.  Two years?  It can't be three can it?  I really don't know.  I do decent enough cooking by electric...a griddle, frying pan, slow cooker and the microwave.  If I want to use an oven for anything I have to either use my mother's, my mother-in-law's, or my one friend who is also a neighbor.

Every year is the same.  We take time to reflect on the past year, good or bad, and hope the new one holds better things.  This past year was pretty good for me, and I have no reason to doubt 2014 will be any different.  I know bad things will happen, they always do.  But they don't have to ruin a year!

What are your hopes for the New Year?