Resolutions…

For 2013, I didn’t make any.

I almost always do. Sometimes I forget. This is the first year I consciously chose not to.

Don’t worry, this isn’t a “why bother? no one ever keeps them” post. In fact, I’d rather talk about the problem with making a list of things, in one night, that will radically improve your entire year (and ideally your life).

I mean, seriously, who thought that up? Talk about biting off more than you can chew! Like I can accurately predict where I will be in a year. A year is 365 days that I am not in control of. 365 opportunities for things to go exactly as I did NOT plan them to. That’s life.

Happy New Year!

It’s New Year’s Eve!! Yay!

This is the first year I’ve spent the holiday by myself. My parents are out of town and most of my friends had previous plans or didn’t feel like going out (I didn’t either!) Some people might think it’s pathetic to spend NYE alone, but I don’t mind it. I get to watch a marathon of Harry Potter movies and eat my favorite foods. Tonight I made Jalapeno Popper Chicken (recipe review to come…I think). I also love the freedom to reflect on this past year and think about the year to come.

To be honest, I’m happy to see 2012 end. It was a rough year.

Christmas DIY

As might be expected, about 90% of my Christmas gifts this year were homemade. I forged into some new mediums of sewing & mod podge. Furthermore, all my inspiration came directly from my pinterest boards.

My sister & cousin are both professional chefs. Although my cousin no longer works as a chef, he and my sister both have a particular attitude in the kitchen. Mostly they like to be creative, hate cookbooks, and make amazing food. When they were here at Thanksgiving, my cousin commented that cookbooks are “a waste of money.” His argument is that he can look at the ingredients, figure out where they are headed, and do it the way he wants to. I thought this was a ridiculous argument. I love my recipes and without their detailed instructions, well, I would eat a lot of Top Ramen.

But I realized that I have the same attitude towards craft & DIY projects! I look at the materials, skim through the instructions and make it the way I want to.

Today’s crafting review: DIY Kindle (or Nook) Cover.

I < 3 books...maybe a bit too much!

So I have a literary problem.

I am addicted to books.

No, seriously.

I am a member of two book clubs which ensures that I am always reading at least two books per month.

I don't have a lot of extra money so I have to get most of my books from the library. Occasionally I will splurge on a book I just can't wait for. So a few months ago I bought books 1 & 2 from the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy. The sad thing is I haven't opened either one yet!

November Adventures

Prior to the month of November I made two decisions that radically impacted my month. One was free and one cost me a pretty penny but both have kept me extremely busy. Oh and there was a holiday and family drama thrown in the mix. Lovely.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well it’s the day after the holiday and I’m officially full of turkey, cornbread stuffing, and caramel pumpkin pie. We have to be fancy here at the Hill house ;) Our meal was amazing and we have enough leftovers to last the rest of the year (not that I’m complaining!)

Waiting: Week Three~ish

I have to say I am coming off of a wonderful weekend. My best friend (hi Erin!) was here for 3 days before leaving me to go back to Oregon. We had a blast at another friend’s “goodbye bash,” a baby shower, and a girls game night. I got very little sleep and drank a lot of coffee but those are my favorite times. And I’m pretty sure I’ll be having another one of those weekends in just three days. I will be flying to Oregon for my sister’s graduation!

I’m absolutely positive I will get not enough sleep, but will get to spend precious, precious time with my beautiful sister. So far I’ve been promised a fancy caramel making session, wine tasting in the Willamette Valley, dinner at her fancy pants restaurant, and lots of uber closeness that will drive her bananas. :)

On top of that, God continues to patiently teach me about the process of waiting and I’m surprisingly finding more & more joy as I continue to pursue Him.

My wonderful journey continued with last week’s post: http://www.heirswithchrist.com/2012/10/15-free-to-fail-so-dont-wait.html

I was drawn to this quote from the above blog: “Cynicism masquerades as strength. We build buttresses made of negative promises. Arrows can’t pierce nonexistent dreams.”