Frankly My Dear, Romance Me These Five Ways

Valentine’s Day is coming, and love is in the air. As a romance writer, I’m always thinking about the ways in which men and women fall in love, and about the things they do to keep that love alive. In the pages of a romance novel, there are heightened circumstances, bigger-than-life couples, fiery emotions, huge issues to overcome, and battles to be won. But in everyday life, couples fall into ruts. The biggest battle might be fighting through rush-hour traffic to get home in time for dinner before collapsing in front of the TV. Those heightened circumstances might involve arguing over who left the lid off the toothpaste, whose turn it is to pick junior up from soccer practice, or which mother-in-law is going to move into the spare bedroom.

Be still my beating heart, right?

2014 Focus

Resolutions. Love ’em? Hate ’em? Do ’em? Or not? We’re twenty days into 2014 now—how many New Year’s resolutions have already been broken, or at least bent? If you’re still going strong, good for you! You’re one of the rare ones, I think.

Personally, I’ve stopped making resolutions, but facing a brand new year with no plans or goals is way too depressing. There has to be something to strive for, right? Even if you’re wacky like me and rebel against your own goals. I’m like a four-year-old that way. As soon as someone tells me to do something (or not do something!), even if it’s me doing the telling, I start working against it. I used to try to fix that behavior, but I’ve learned it’s easier to just work around it.

So I have my lists. My 100’s List, my daily to-do lists (which have been revolutionized by my new organizational system using sticky notes, which you can read about here if you missed it), and a bunch of other tools I use to try to keep myself moving forward. I also have really good friends who are great about kicking me in the ass if they see me slacking off for too long.

Faeries And Tiaras And Dragons, Oh, My!

The beginning of a new year always puts me in the mood for list making, so the blog may get overrun by lists these first few weeks. Some have already gone up, like the Reverse Bucket List last Monday, and even a few in December. If you look back to the beginning of this blog (last February or March), I started it off with a bunch of lists, too. What can I say? I like my lists.

Today I’m thinking about my collections. I’m a BIG TIME collector, and I’m very enthusiastic about the things I love. A friend once told me that when it came to me, there was never any doubt in her mind about my passions—I wear them for all to see, whether on my body, my vehicle, or on the surfaces in my house. I took that as a compliment! Luckily for me, my husband is pretty indulgent and doesn’t mind that our house has been overrun by faeries, dragons, books, tiaras, Harry Potter merchandise, and the like.

Reverse Bucket List For 2014

What is a Reverse Bucket List? Well, the beginning of a new year always puts me, and evidently almost all other people, into the mood to make changes, resolutions, and plans. To list things to strive for, things to do in the future, including loading up the always-popular Bucket List, that dream-filled receptacle of all the things we want to see and do before we leave this earth forever.

I'm all for those lists. I make a "100's List" every year myself, which is not a bunch of resolutions so much as a year's worth of mini Bucket List items, things I think I can (and want to) actually do in the coming year. A Bucket List, at least to me, is for items that are a bit more out of reach, at least for the immediate future. I might put a trip to Ireland on my extended Bucket List, but trying three new hairstyles from my Hair Board on Pinterest would (and did) go on my "100's List" as a thing to do this year.

New Year's Day 2014

It's 2014! WOOT!

Happy New Year's Day to all of you, and happy birthday to me, LOL. I have big plans this year, a lot of goals, and I hope you do, too. I wish the best of luck to you in all your endeavors, whether you make official resolutions or vague goals, or maybe your goal is to not make a resolution at all. I've done that in the past, and even managed to keep that resolution all year...

Together let's make 2014 the best year yet--personally, professionally, romantically, emotionally, philanthropically, financially, and educationally, in our health and fitness levels, in all areas of our lives. Remember, today is the youngest you will ever be again, so it's time to get crackalackin'! Onward!