A Last Hurrah for 2010

For the past few weeks I've been so wrapped up in Christmas and family and work that I never gave a second thought for the ending year. I suddenly realized that today is the VERY last day of 2010 and I was surprised at how much I'm going to miss this year. 2010 was good to me. I reconnected with friends, graduated from college, got a job in my major (that I really, REALLY like in case I haven't said that enough), saw great movies like Tangled, Megamind and Miss Potter. Some of my new favorite books were discovered in 2010 like The Bonesetter's Daughter, Eat Pray Love, The Percy Jackson books, Clockwork Angel and Cross My Heart (which I got to edit). I discovered some new favorite artists like A Fine Frenzy and Ingrid Michaelson while re-discovering old favorites like Stephanie Mabey.
I met some great goals I set for myself and since I already talked about them in past blog posts I won't bore you with the details again. All in all, 2010 was a really good year for me and I will miss it. Of course, not all of it was pink sparkles and rainbows, but for the most part it got me where I was headed.
Now that the question of graduation and jobs is finished and done with, it's time to do some fun things. I actually get to stay at my job longer than the 4 months between semesters which means I can start saving my money for trips and such. (ITALY THIS FALL!!!!!!), I am planning on moving out of my house and into a place of my own, I'm currently looking for a car, and of course another couple of 5K's are in order. (The running kind, not the money kind, although that certainly would take care of me for a while.)I'm a firm believer in having some sort of goal to work towards. If you aren't looking forward to anything then your days just all sort of blur together and it's hard to get up everyday.
I know that making resolutions at New Year's is traditional, but why limit yourself to just one day? There are countless opportunities during the rest of the 364 days to make a goal for yourself. It doesn't have to be grand or outrageous like mastering the art of french cooking. Pick one or two fancy recipes and make something spectacular. I think we get so caught up in the hype and if we fail then we feel like we have to wait until the next New Year's Day to make another goal. Challenge yourself this year and make goals throughout the year. If you fail: DON'T GET DISCOURAGED! Look at your goal, really decide if it's realistic and then adjust it accordingly. Many of us (myself DEFINITELY included) think that if we fail then that's it and we shouldn't try again. WRONG! Keep trying! The harder you work at something the sweeter your final victory. If you have to start over multiple times in order to meet your personal goal then DO IT! It shows that you really want something enough to pursue it. I believe that you bow to true defeat only when you give up. So keep trying, no matter what happens. If you only make the resolution and expect it to happen all by yourself you'll be sadly disappointed at the end of the year. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Miss Tick in closing, "If you trust in yourself and believe in your dreams and follow your star you’ll still be beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Goodbye."

Creativity...

Soooo....totally snowed in today. Not a joke. I waded through the snow this morning to get to our age-ed van, NOT looking forward to the roads and to my surprise all of the doors are frozen shut. I pulled and pulled and pulled. I even got out a knife and tried to pry open the doors. (Yes, I do realize in retrospect that using a knife on a slippery surface was not the smartest of ideas.) However, nothing worked. I looked at the road filled with snow, checked the traffic report about all the slide-offs and semi-truck accidents on the freeway and texted my boss. And That is why I am sitting at home instead of at work. Which is WHY I am writing a blog post. See, I keep promising myself that I'll write one over the weekend, but weekends are for friends and laundry. After sitting and staring at a computer screen for 8 hours at work I find that I don't really WANT to get back on the computer when I get home. Go figure eh?
Basically the snowpocalypse has begun. Time to curl up with a Snuggie and a good book...or movie. As for me I'm sticking in Jodhaa Akbar. (The link is to the trailer.) It is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. The cinematography is outstanding and there are no special effects. When you see hundreds of people running towards each other there really are hundreds of people there. The budget must have been gigantic. It is a very visually captivating film. (The beautiful men don't hurt it either.)
I am constantly amazed at what people can create whether it's beautiful movies, or artwork or crafts. Check out some of the artists at Deviantart.com or Etsy.com. I love what Deiter F. Uchtdorf tells us in this message about our ability to create. (This message was given at a gathering for women, but I believe it applies to men as well.) There are few things more satisfying then standing back and admiring a craft or being proud of a killer paper you wrote for school. And yes, some people are blessed with crazy amazing talents like David Hirschfelder (the composer for the score of Australia. Seriously, go check out Stampede). But I don't think we're here to compare ourselves to other's accomplishments. We can use other's accomplishments as motivation I suppose. I can look at great piece of artwork and be inspired to learn how to do that myself. I think we're here to uplift and inspire others to be the best they can be. Let's face it. Life is tough. I was talking to someone yesterday and asked how they were doing. They responded with, "Am I living? Then I have problems, just like everyone else." It's so true. Some struggle with emotional issues, others with physical issues, but I know it's all for a reason. Our creativity is one way we can deal with our trials. Have you ever created something you were really proud of?

FRIENDS! Beautiful, faithful FRIENDS! Ah...How I have missed you. It has been too long has it not? Where have I been? Well...long story short I accomplished a vast majority on my "to-do list for the summer. SMOKED the Mt. Timp hike (I went with the Immies and the rangers were impressed how fast we made it up the trail), worked in the home garden, ran the 24th of July 5k in 42 minutes-woot woot!, welcomed my sister home from her mission AND saw her get married to a truly WONDERFUL guy, will NOT be going to grad school in Fall of 2011 because I...GOT A JOB THAT RELATES TO MY ENGLISH MAJOR! (Which means I'll need to re-vamp my blog title. Dang it!)
So...even though I haven't written in FOREVER (8 months) I did you a favor. See, the GOOD thing about me not writing is that YOU, dear readers, did not have to listen to me whine and moan and complain about being jobless and living at home in the basement. (I did enough of that in my REAL journal. After re-reading it the other day I am seriously contemplating burning it. It's kind of a downer the past few months. Not good at all.)
SO...My job. I actually have two. I am employed for a publishing firm and I actually get to edit NOVELS!!!!!!! It is GREAT!!! I am doing what I love. I do that whenever they call me in and for my 2nd full time job I am an SEO content writer for Overstock.com and no, I do not work from home. I get a desk and I work with fabulous people and I LOVE this job. As an SEO writer I write articles about the products we sell for the website, how-to articles and occasionally, blog entries for Overstock. Here's the link to my latest O Blog. The best thing about this job is that I got it on my own. I had SO many people offer to talk to someone they knew, or pushed me in crazy directions while I was looking. I know they were just trying to be helpful, but I really wanted to do it on my own and I did. I found the job posting, applied, interviewed and got this job all on my own without any inside help whatsoever. (The help I got from above is an entirely different matter.)
Anyway, so that's the big news of the day/week/year. :) I can't wait to get back into this full time and write! Believe me, I have PLENTY to talk about.
Anyway, love to all of you! I'm just so happy to be back...oh, and the fact that it is CHRISTMAS TIME once again! Do you have all your holiday shopping done? Are you waiting for the last minute because you don't know what to get yet or for the thrill of it? Can't wait to hear from you!
EM
P.S. Because you're here I want to give you a gift. Here you are. A clip to brighten your day:
You're China!