Happy New Year

It's hard to believe 2007 is already drawing to a close.  Talk about a tumultuous ride.  The year opened up with a lot of promise on the writing front but didn't pan out.  I suppose I should feel a little worse about that, but writing has never been the basis of my life.  Yes, I want to get published and I still think I will, but the desire doesn't consume me like other writers I know.

I'm not going to make any resolutions this year.  It is a fruitless exercise in any case.  I've yet to accomplish them.  But they make good blog fodder, don't they? 

I do need to work on goal setting.  I've taken a vacation from any sort of organization for the last four months and now I need to get back to some kind of routine.  Especially since it appears I will be going back to work part time for awhile.  I'll save those details for another post.

But back to what I was thinking about for the post.  What happened in 2007 that profoundly affected you?  Without a doubt, for me, was the remodel.  I truly had no idea how drastic an event it would be and how difficult it would  be to live through.  I'm thrilled with the results (I promise to get pictures up one of these days.  We still aren't finished, hence the delay).  It gave new meaning to the phrase "Home, Sweet Home" for me.

What about you?  I know many of you have been through some major events this year and I wonder as you look back and reflect, how you thinks those situations changed you.

How to Clean a Kitchen

I'm thinking about cleaning my kitchen today. And I'm researching the subject. Yeah, that takes a special kind of illness to do something like that. But I have my Martha Stewart book out and a book called Cleaning Plain and Simple to show me the proper way to clean. I actually give a damn about my kitchen now so I want to do it right. Also, my kitchen is bigger with more surfaces needed tending, so I want to find a more efficient way of cleaning. And efficiency is not part of my natural make up.

I love instructions. I'm not much of a free-spirit in most facets of my life. I like to be told how to fold, how to cook, how to sew, paint, apply make up, raise my kids, etc. etc. Until it comes to writing. Then all of my rebellion comes out. Oh, I apply some of the rules because some of them make me a better writer. But I like to think it is my own choice and I'm not following anyone's rules but my own. In truth, as much of a rebel as I think I am, I admit while I'm writing, I'm pretty rigid. I have my own rules for how I write and I don't vere from them. Nobody is telling me what to do except for the voice in my head.

My theory is that my yearning for order in my outside life spills over into my writing life subconsciously. All of those skills I hone in the other parts of my life make themselves useful in writing.

Do you notice behaviors or skills you use in your daily life making themselves known in your writing life?

Thirteen Things I Bought for my Kitchen

I just remodeled my kitchen and have had the fun of filling it with new stuff. Here's 13 great things I've bought:

1. Cookware from Kohl's. This is the Food Network brand and I love them.

2. Senseo Coffeemaker. This pod maker is actually for the bar. I've had one before and totally used it to death. When it died I was stuck with enough pods to keep me in brew for a year. Hence, a new one.

3. A toaster oven. I got it for the kids to use for heating up pizza.

4. A whistling tea kette. Suddenly everyone drinks tea in the house.

5. New everyday china. This isn't it exactly...I bought the set at Costco so they have their own sets. But it is based on these patterns.

6. Nice china. I never got china at my wedding. Really had no need for it. But Costco had a deal.

7. A new toaster. My last toaster was a fire hazard. I love this one.

8. Food storage containers. I can tell you, these are the best I've ever had. Got them at Costco. You can put them in the dishasher. My husband had chili in one, left it at his office for over the weekend. I put it in the dishwasher and it came out perfect.

9. New baking sheets. Superglue won't stick to these.

10. Dish rack. Real Simple recommended this one and it works great.

11. New glassware. We are generally acrylic people, but I was at Costco....

12. New flatware. Yeah, you got it, Costco. We had a flat and two carts when we left the store.

13. My favorite, a new Kitchenaid. I already have an older one when there was just one model available to the public. This one has 575 watts of mixing power. It was also my Christmas present.


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There's No Place Like Home

I'm back home and it feels...okay.

I know, as badly as I wanted to come home, it has been very difficult to get back into the swing of things. It feels like a new home, everything is so different. They aren't done hence I haven't posted any pictures yet. Its more than I hoped for, but the work of moving back into the house has been exhausting. I still have people here everyday. We've gone ahead and decided to work on the exterior as well. There are a few cabinet pieces missing and my book case around my fireplace isn't done. But it is livable.

As you can see, I'm trying to get into the holiday spirit. I haven't put up my decorations yet. We tend to wait until two weeks before Christmas. Also, we aren't sure where our decorations are. My attic was completely re-arranged, so heaven only knows where my stuff is. I did buy a new Christmas village from Kohl's. The contractor built in a pot shelf in my family room and I'm going to put it there.

My car got broken into the other day. It was a smash and grab. They smashed my driver's side door and ransacked my center console and glove box. The only thing they took was the dock for my iPod that I plugged into the cigarette lighter. Oddly enough, there was a wad of cash sitting there and they didn't take it. Apparently they were looking for my iPod. As it pretty much stays with me at all times, their efforts were wasted. The dock was a total piece of junk. But it did end up costing me $200 for a new window and I had to wait around all day for the glass guy to come and fix it.

I haven't gotten back into writing yet. I think by next week I'll be able to dive in. Right now I have a to-do list a mile long trying to clean up after the construction. I finally went grocery shopping for the first time in months. Anyway, I hope to catch up with all of you this week.