Here’s a list 13 things that turn me on, as well as 13 things that turn me off. (As I wrote this list I found it interesting to note how fine the line can be between some of the things that attract me and those that repell …)
If I could rewind time, there are some things I would do a little differently. Not because I have some major regrets, mind you, but mostly because I look at how fast time is flying now and I can’t help but think that I’d be better in some ways if I’d known then a lot of the things I know now. Here’s a list of 13 things I would do over again if I could.
Spoke up for myself more often. I was always rather vocal with my opinions and ideas, but when it came to my feelings? I tended to keep it bottled up inside – especially in my teens and early twenties. There could have been a lot less stress and blow-up fights had I spoken up before things exploded.
Skipped the wedding. Although we didn’t exactly go crazy, we did spend several thousands of dollars on our wedding that could have instead fortified our savings or to double our down-payment on our first home.
Used our dual incomes differently. If we would have, from day one as a married couple, budgeted our expenses around one of our incomes and used the other’s to save and pay off debt, we’d be in a very different place in our lives right now.
Began my writing career earlier. I’ve been putting stories to paper since I knew first learned how to write. But not until a few years ago did I find the courage to try to pursue writing seriously as a side venture. What was I waiting for?
Started having children a few years earlier. Word was that it’s better to have children when your career is established and you’re done partying and living frivolously. And we listened. But the thing is, it’s actually harder to work around kids when your career is well-established, and I’ve never had much of an an interest in partying hard – not even while I was in college. All waiting has gotten us is less energy and older bones – both bad for chasing after rambunctious little ones.
Played more. Speaking of partying – I can count on one hand the number of parties I attended during my college years. Between the tough comp sci curriculum, working 20+ hours a week, spending time with my nerdy boyfriend/hubby and feeding my gaming habit, I didn’t get to even think about partying. But man, I was living on and around a big university campus for 4.5 years – I could have at least tried to attend a decent number of wild parties. Like say, 2.
Spent more time with my grandfather. I lost Granddaddy way too soon, and wish I’d spent just a little more time with him when I had him.
Highschool. I was a rather quiet, shy, nerdy thing in high school. Totally unaware of my feminine potential, hiding in the shadows, avoiding 99.9% of the student body. Looking back on it now, I laugh at how different I was then than I am now. Now, I would rule high school. Hmm, maybe I’ve been watching too many YA movies.
Lived at home longer and paid off student loan debt right out of the gate.
Not let the small stuff get to me. Not the way I did back then.
Tried some of the things I was too afraid to, but wanted to. Like trying my hand at doing freelance IT. Like telling her how I really felt. Like letting myself take more risks.
Not made the mistakes I did. They don’t need to be called specifically, though. My guilt and my pride know what they are.
Knew then everything that I know now. If only. Don’t we all wish that?
Most of the things that I do on a daily basis (outside of scheduled exercise time) have me sitting on my butt – the day job, writing, reading, playing games, watching movies and geeky tv shows, helping the kids with homework.
As I’ve mentioned before in previous posts, I’ve been making a conscience effort to get myself moving a lot more. Here are some of the ways I get out of my chair:
Playing Dance Central on Xbox 360 and Kinect. Vigorous exercise has never been this much fun!
Treadmillin the basement, so that even during times like today where the sidewalks are covered with four feet of snow, I can still take a walk.
Pilates for toning. I especially like Pilates for thighs and buns – a full routine can be done in less than 10 minutes.
TurboJam (DVD) for cardio, sculpting and ab work.
Hip Hop Abs (DVD) is a workout that makes interesting dance routines out of ab work. Fun!
I recently developed a habit of pacing the room while I’m on the phone, instead of just sitting down.
Standing crunches while watching movies or tv shows.
Be inefficient. Run up and down the stairs often to retrieve stuff, go fetch things myself instead of asking the kids to do it, etc.
Don’t act like a rookie duringnookie … act like a pro and burn some extra calories while you’re at it!
Since I’m already standing while I’m in the shower, I started marching in placewhile I’m lathering up.
Do some reps with my hand weightsduring commericals
Yoga for stretching and relaxing. I usually only do a few minutes of it on any given day, but it really helps.
Family exercise time is where the husband and the kids and I find something fun and active to do together. Since the winter weather is pretty much keeping us indoors, this can including playing an active video game together like Wii Sportsor Kinect Adventures, (or the soon-to-be-purchased Kinect Sports) tread-milling together in the basement (we have 2 machines) while the kids play around us.
Every little bit adds up! I lost 5 pounds in January which I attribute mostly to putting more effort in keeping myself moving all day long, instead of just at exercise time.
In my endeavor to be as healthy as I can be, I’ve decided to incorporate some of the guidance provided in the Abs Dietbook. It’s one of the few healthy eating plans I’ve seen that doesn’t place the focus on what you should eat less of, but rather on what you should try to each more of.
It lists 12 Powerfoods that should make up a good portion of your diet. These powerfoods are supposed to help you loose weight, build muscle and even fight cancer and heart disease.
Here are the A.B.S. D.I.E.T. P.O.W.E.R. 12:
Almonds and other nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds
Beans and other legumes such as soybeans, pinto beans, chickpeas,navy beans, black beans, white beans, kidney beans, lima beans, lentis, peas, hummus, bean dips
Spinach and other green veggies, also carrots, peppers and yellow beans
Fat-free or Low-fat Dairy, such as milk, yogurt (but not frozen yogurt) and cheese
Instant Oatmeal or regular oatmeal
Eggs
Turkey and other lean meats such as steak, chicken, fish, shellfish and canadian bacon
Peanut butter, also cashew butter and almond butter
Olive oil, canola, sesame and peanut oil
Whole grain breads and cereals, like brown rice and whole-wheat pastas and pretzels
Extra protein (whey) powder, and ricotta cheese
Raspberries and other berries. Basically all fruits, especially apples and grapefruit
BONUS:Avocados. Technically, the ABS DIET POWER 12 goups Avocados with “Almonds and other nuts”, but there’s so much you can do with avocados that I wanted to call it out separately.
Ideally, you would try to include at least 1 or 2 of these foods with every meal you have . I like this plan because it is really easy for me to stick to since I pretty much enjoy everything on this list anyway. If you’d like to learn more about how these foods can help you be healthy, check out this article or one of the many Abs Diet books available.
Here’s a list of some of the happenings I’m looking forward to this year:
Having more of my books released. What? You didn’t think I was satisfied with only 1 book being published, did ya?
Cowboys and Aliens.It has cowboys AND aliens. Together. I must see where they’re going with this …
Helping my 6-year old develop a passion for reading. I’m very much looking forward to getting him his very first library card and showing him how to use it.
Dragon Age 2 (game). The first game in this series, Dragon Age Origins, is one of my favorite games of all time. So of course I already have this one on pre-order.
Pirates of the Caribbean 4. What I can I say. I like fantasy. And pirates. and Johnny Depp. Put them all together, and I’m a happy, happy gal.
Mass Effect 3. I thoroughly enjoyed Mass Effect, and recently started playing Mass Effect 2 which so far seems even more fun than the first one. The developer, BioWare, hasn’t disappointed me yet, and so I eagerly await the 3rd game in this sci-fi RPG series – too bad I have to wait until near the end of the year.
Season 6 of Supernatural on DVD. I only saw this show for the first time last year, but fell in love with it and watched it all from the season 1. We just finished season 5 last week (I’ve got the husband hooked on it too) and can’t wait to see what happens next!
Star Wars Old Republic (game). This is the only MMORPG that I’ve been anxiously anticipated since Everquest II. It would be nice to have a virtual world that I can explore with my friends again.
Celebrating 10 years of marriage with the hubby.
Sucker Punch. It looks like an over-the-top, super-sexualized mess of part anime and part comic-book-type chaos. Sounds fun.
Fable III (game). This is a rather unique RPG series, and I like it for that reason (that, and the fact that it’s the RPG I know of that allows me to practice polygamy *winks*)
Redecorating our master bedroom. Funny how our tastes can change over time. There’s so little in our bedroom that I like anymore – the paint color, the lighting, the bed, even the mattress have been bugging me for years. It’s about time to change it up!
Having a new, full year in which to set new goals, try again to accomplish missed ones, and to reach for my dreams.
Now there just may be a lot more interesting stuff in the works for 2011 that I’m not yet aware of because I rarely watch live TV, and miss out on a lot of commercials. I’m even out of touch with the news these days. So please, do share – what are you looking forward to this year?
Hard to believe that 2010 is pretty much over already. And what a year it was! I had a lot going on this year – some good things, some not-so-good things, but all in all it was a good year for me.
Here’s some reasons why 2010 was hot:
I became a published author. This summer I made my debut with SAY MY NAME.
I wrote and submitted my first science fiction romance, titled WAY OUT OF CONTROL. (crossing my fingers in hopes my publisher buys it!)
After years of writing, I made money from it for the very first time.
My oldest son’s reading skills improved by leaps and bounds, and he’s also beginning to learn to read musical notes.
My youngest son became fully potty-trained (was getting worried that was never gonna happen) and has latched onto drumming big time.
Home Improvement Projects Completed: Landscaping, Hardwood floors, additional painting, guest room decor, bunk beds for boys.
Husband and I started a workout routine together and we established a Family Workout Time regime.
I’m now a proud owner of an eReader – a Barnes and Noble Nook.
The support from family, and friends both old and new, has been tremendous.
I’m now on sites like Amazon.com and GoodReads.com – making me feel like a real author at last. (If you’ve read my book and enjoyed it, please consider leaving a comment/review – my book’s Amazon page especially is rather lonely )
We’re ending this year with almost all of our credit card debt and medical bills paid off. We sure could use a clean slate for 2011.
Even with all the crazy things I had going on, I managed to make it through the year with my job, dreams, family and sanity still in check and on target. That’s a good thing in my book.
I love to read, both fiction and non-fiction. But there’s a lot of other things that I enjoy doing in my spare time as well, including writing, gaming exercising, watching movies and good TV shows and spending time with my family – and unfortunately there’s only 24 hours in a day. So I actually get a lot less time to read than I’d like, but I do get to read at least 2 or 3 books a month.
I read quite a few books this year, but here’s just 13 of the many I enjoyed this year:
So I’m a gamer. I absolutely adore video games, to the point that I really hope to create some of my own in the near future. I try to get in about a game a month. Here’s 13 that I enjoyed this year:
Dragon Age – I’ve blogged before about this game. Great story + Great battles + Multiple romantic options makes this game a WIN for me. Easily one of the best games I’ve ever played.
Rockband 2 – My entire family enjoys this game, including my drumming-gifted 3-year old. It’s a great party game, too.
Dracula Origin – Pretty, story-driven game with lots of puzzles, a few which gave me quite a challenge. Decent casual game.
College Romance – A casual, visual-novel game that’s easy to play (and to finish).
Spirited Away – This casual game is a mix between a visual novel, a dating simulation, and a mini RPG. What I liked most about this game is that it offered something I don’t see very often in the gaming world – a female heroine who gets to choose amongst 9 different male characters to date and marry, instead of it being the other way around. Very simple game that I personally would have executed a little differently, but I was pleased with the concept enough to be entertained.
Fable II – This is an action RPG game that in addition to kicking some major butt, allows you to chose what kind of hero your character is, and how they live their life – all the way down to what house they buy and live in, who they marry (and how many spouses they choose to have) and if they have children. My kind of game.
Army of Two – This is a shooter game designed to be played as a two-player local co-op. Translation – instead of losing your significant other to hours of addicting fire-powered action on Modern Warfare or Halo, you can join him in this game and take down bad guys side-by-side. We loved this game so much, we bought the sequel. Can’t wait to play it!
Borderlands - this is another two-player local co-op game. It’s also predominantly a shooter game, but also very much an RPG at its core. My husband and I enjoyed so many hours bonding with each other over this game, we bought and played two of the expansions, as well.
Modern Warfare – I played the single player campaign to completion and enjoyed it a lot, but didn’t touch the online campaigns. I really didn’t want to get my a$$ handed to me by a bunch of anonymous kids.
Devil May Cry – Yes, I know how old this game is, but I’d been wanting to play it forever, and only got around to it this year. It was still quite entertaining.
Super Mario Wii – This game wins big points by being one of the few video games that a whole family can play together at the same time and all be sufficiently challenged and entertained – even the preschooler. The four of us were able to jump, stomp, run and laugh our way through many family game nights.
Christmas is a joyful time of year. It can also be quite a stressful one. This is the season of giving, thoughtfulness and charity, but also of shopping for picky folks, working aggressively to meet year-end deadlines at work, and blowing your monthly budget out of the water.
Here’s a list of 13 ways I’m maintaining some semblance of sanity this holiday season:
Begin making a gift list early. I started snooping on the wants/needs of my dear ones as early as this summer, and have been taking notes. Every time they mention something they want or need or are curious about, I wrote it down. This year, I actually had FIVE different potential gift ideas for my hard-to-shop-for mother, when I usually have zero ideas well up until the day before Christmas Eve.
Create a reasonable budget. I’ve been putting away money for Christmas since the beginning of the year. This way, I won’t have to charge a bunch of presents or break the bank in order to give my family presents this year (for a pleasant change!)
Begin working on your holiday savings early. We made it a point to use our reward credit card a lot this year for our weekly expenses such as gas and groceries, and even for some of our larger purchases. Even if the bill is paid off each month before any interest is accrued you still earn reward points, so there was little reason for us not to take advantage of the rewards program. By the first of December, we’d racked up enough points to claim hundreds of dollars worth of spending dollars.
Start shopping early. By the time December 1st rolled around, I had 95% of my Christmas shopping already done.
Shop online. Using the internet made it easier for me to find the best bargains for items on my gift list. The reduced time spent looking for parking or standing in lines is a bonus!
Stick to your guns and your budget. Regardless of how enticing that heavily discounted 52-inch flat-screen tv is, I’m not getting it. No way am I buying my husband a puppy this year (no matter how much he begs or how cute the puppy is! We can’t do it this year!!)
Consider buying joint gifts. My husband and I recently adopted a policy where we won’t buy each other individual gifts for Christmas anymore, and just focus on the children and gifts for the household. This actually works out well for us because we enjoy many of the same things – and just who would the Kinect for the Xbox 360 really be a gift for, considering that everybody in the house is going to play it? This cuts down on holiday costs and stress quite a bit.
Ask what they want. One of the most stressful parts of the holiday season for me is figuring out what to get folks. This year, I just out and asked people what they wanted instead of trying to play mind reader.
Expandable gifts. Even if you ask them – sometimes they just won’t know what they want for Christmas, or would rather be totally surprised. One way to make it easier on you is to buy expandable gifts – gifts that you can “add to” with future gifts. For instance, buying your father a BluRay player last year makes it easy to come up with something to buy him this year: BluRay movies. Buying someone an eReader on their birthday means you can buy them a nice new cover or gifts cards to purchase eBooks with for Christmas.
Make decorating easy. We cheat. We have a synthetic Christmas Tree that we use every year, that is easy to put together and lights up when you plug it in. No tree-searching or extra decorating required. We have artificial poinsettias that we take out of storage and put out next to the fireplace, etc. We don’t put up a lot of lights on the outside of the house anymore because the kids get more excited about the few we hang inside the house to their delight (which is much easier to put up and take down anyway).
Call the year a wrap. I’m not going to sweat too hard over personal to-do-list items that aren’t done yet. Instead, I’m going to consider 2010 pretty much over with, and put my unfinished tasks on the list for 2011. I’m still going to attempt to finish this book I’m working on and maybe try to tackle a few other projects I’ve been meaning to get around to, but I’m not going to break my neck over them or throw a fit if they’re not done by December 31st.
Rejuvenate. 2010 has been quite a year. If possible, take some time to clear your mind, body and spirit from the stress of the year by taking some time off from work to spend time with family, tending to yourself, and indulging in some activities you love. I’m taking vacation the full last 2 weeks of the year, and I plan to spend it writing, reading, playing games and getting caught up on some movies and my favorite TV shows.
I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of whining lately.
Way too much, for my tastes.
About things that feel big and burdensome at the time I’m whining about them, but seem real small in the grand scheme of things when I think about how bad it could really be. So I thought I’d take some to list out some of the things I’m grateful for.
I’m in pretty good health. I know so many who aren’t right now.
I have a spouse who is a good husband, father, lover and friend. We may fight every once in a while, but we always pull through stronger than before.
I have access to the internet. Seriously, I don’t know how people got by without it.
The bills are getting paid. Things may be rather tight these days, especially with the major medical bill$ we’re facing, but at at least we’re dealing.
I have true, supportive friends. Not a whole slew of them mind you, but the few I have are wonderful and I’m beyond grateful for them.
My children are healthy and happy. There are those who are dealing with children that aren’t so fortunate, and my heart goes out to them for the challenges they face.
I have wonderful parents. The only way they could possibly be more wonderful is if they were rich and shared their wealth with me.
I have a book published, a second contracted, and more in the hopper. I’ve finally got my break into the publishing industry, and I feel it can only go up from here.
I have enough wine to get me through the weekend. Need I say more?
I have a good job in a time when so many are struggling to find work. (Although I wouldn’t mind a lottery win soon so I can retire early)
My 3 boys (husband and sons) haven’t eaten me out of a house and home. Yet.
I don’t have to buy any breast or butt implants. Nature has given me an abundance.
I’m thankful for all my readers, although I’m still a little shocked anyone’s interested in what I have to say. *blows kisses*
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