Happy 2017!

Welcome to 2017, everyone! Wow, 2016 was a rough one, especially there at the end, but we made it. We had a lovely Christmas, and I've really enjoyed having over a week off from work. (Not that I don't like my job! But I really did need a break.) I've been pondering the usual things during that time: love, family, and of course, any changes I might want to make in the coming year. Which of course begs the question: resolutions or no? I just couldn't find anything that spoke to me. I mean, what I need to do is obvious, and quite frankly the same as previous years. Part of me wonders if it's even worth it, given that they are the same as previous years. Several of my friends do a "word for the year," and that idea appealed to me this year. Can you guess what my word is? (Hint: it's in HUGE red letters up there at the top.)

As the blog clearly indicates, my life is rather insane at the moment. Lack of blogging, tweating, or pretty much anything else has been chronic in the last year or two. You can keep up with me on Facebook, but even that gets out of date or some of the "big things" aren't chronicled as well as I would like.

So with all of this going on, why on earth would I choose the word "more"? It seems counter-intuitive, right? Usually, this is the time of year where we look to have less of things. Less clutter, less weight, less bad food, less stress, less chaos. And don't get me wrong, I really need less of all of those things in my life right now! But "less" can also have something of a negative connotation, sort of like the word "don't." No one likes those kinds of words.

Then, I was inspired by this post on Facebook from TheMasterShift (no idea how it popped up in my feed; probably from someone I know "liking" it). I liked the general idea of the list offered, with a few tweaks for myself. (Boy, do I *wish* I could drink more tea!)

So here's what I came up with, things I want MORE of in 2017:

Now I realize I cannot necessarily control everything related to that last one, but it is also up to me to do the best I can to not get quite so worked up about things. 2016 ended up being a year that was a lot about acceptance (reread the Serenity Prayer, if you haven't recently; it is very wise), which I hope will lead to more peace and fewer tears. I guess only time will tell. But I will definitely be trying to do more to keep my own inner peace whenever possible.

Wishing you a healthy, happy, and peaceful new year, with MORE of all the good things in life! And who knows, maybe some more blogging from me. (But don't hold your breath!)

Greetings from Over the Hill!

*This* is what 40 candles looks like.

Yes, I have officially turned 40! Had a great weekend seeing my parents and mother-in-law. We also simultaneously celebrated my husband's 40th birthday, which will occur in a few days. It was a very nice weekend and a great way to start my 40s.

I thought maybe another good way to kick off my 40s would be to try and come back to blogging. I can't promise it will stick, since it was a combination of school and Luke's over the top Harry Potter birthday party that wore me out last year, followed by some other medium to large events both good and bad. I hope to go back and at least blog about a few things from the last 10 months, since I do rely on my blog somewhat to remind me of what happened when. (I can't tell you the number of times I've searched to remember exactly when Luke broke his arm, or how old he was when he hit 4 feet tall, etc. "I shall consult the blog." LOL) However, there is no big party planned for this year (in fact, it may be the smallest ever), and other than the seismic paradigm shift of starting middle school in a couple weeks (YIKES! how did that happen?!), there hopefully isn't anything else major on the horizon for a while.

So, I'm not sure who is still around. I know blogging in general has really fallen off with Facebook and YouTube and Instagram (which I am doing now! moviemuse76, but it's a private account; the good ones will show up here, though), and even I don't read blogs the way I used to, so I shouldn't be surprised if there isn't anyone left to read mine (besides my mom; hi Mom!). But for those who are still reading, thank you for sticking around! I hope to have at least some occasional things to talk about, and I really do hope to post more often (meaning a couple of times a month, I hope).

I hope you all have had a nice 10 months! I look forward to "seeing" you a bit more often.

The End of an Emoticon Era

I've noticed over the past few months that I have been having trouble seeing the emoticons on the "currently feeling" tagline at the end of each entry. I figure if I'm having trouble, others are, too. And so, beginning in 2016, I will no longer be using the tagline or the emoticons. At least, I'm going to try. (I might miss them too much, we'll see.) I hate for my huge collection to sit unused, but I also hate for them not to make any sense because they are too small to see. Wishing you a fond farewell, emoticons. I really enjoyed you!
Currently feeling: already missing my friends

Not Much February Blogging

Not sure what I've been doing in February, but blogging is obviously not it. Don't see much of it happening this week, either. Sorry! Hang in there with me. I'll try to get some stuff up by the first week in March or so. (Can you believe March is next week? ACK!!)

Currently feeling: wondering where the month went

2014 - The Year that Was(n't Blogged)

Copyright: rasslava / 123RF Stock Photo

From 2006-2013, I averaged about 170 blog posts per year. This year? Only about 80 (as of the writing of this post). That's not even half the average! I hope to "go back" and blog a few things, but I honestly don't know how likely that is. Seems like I spent all year running behind. I have no idea if things will be better, worse, or about the same next year. I feel like it's pointless to even make a guess. I'm still here, and I'm still trying.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Currently feeling: exhausted

One Crazy Summer

Copyright: smeagorl / 123RF Stock Photo

We have an incredibly busy summer planned this year! We have some kind of event nearly every weekend for the next 6-7 weeks (some local, some not). Everything is fun and for something good, so I know we will enjoy it and be glad we did it, but we will also be exhausted come mid-July. Consequently, please forgive me if the blog is rather quiet for the next few weeks. I will try to pop in when I can to say hi and post a few pictures for your entertainment. If I get really ambitious, I'll get some stuff pre-written and set to auto-post while I'm running around. Wishing you some fun time in the next few weeks! See you in a month or so.
Currently feeling: ready for fun and sun (with appropriate SPF, of course)

2014 Goals

Image Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

As usual, I'm not really huge on the whole "resolution" thing, but there are a few things I'd like to work on and improvements I'd like to make, and now seems like a good time to start, yes?

• Continue with weight loss. Process: continue with food diary via MyFitnessPal. - I was up to 41 pounds (18.6 kg) lost in early December, but I'm back to only 37 pounds (16.8 kg) lost after the holidays. ::sigh:: That takes me almost back to where I was in September! Must get back to moving in the right direction.
• Drink more water. Process: Drink one 16 oz bottle before Noon and one before 5PM daily. - Hmm, I seem to have made that same goal multiple times in previous years, but I'll keep trying. I'm starting small: two 16 oz (0.5 liter) bottles a day (in addition to what I drink with meals). I'd like to work up to the recommended 64 oz (~ 2 liters) per day, and more if possible, but anything more than the minimal drinking I do now will be an improvement.
• Tweet daily. Process: Set daily phone reminder for 8PM. - I didn't use Twitter nearly as much this past year as I had previously. Part of that is being busy, part of that is not really feeling like I had much to say. I'm hoping that trying to send at least one tweet daily will help me remember even the small things that happen this year, which might even lead to keeping the blog more up to date. Speaking of which....
• Blog weekly. Process: Set aside one hour each weekend to focus on blogging. - I would really like to have something new to post every week here on my blog, even if it is just a picture, recipe, article, or fun quote. There is plenty of stuff I never got posted last year, some major things even, because I didn't have the time to write it up the way I wanted. That's fine, and I'm not terribly upset about it (just frustrated at our busy-ness), but I really want to be posting more consistently so y'all don't have to put up with me going "radio silent" for weeks. I really will try.
• Do something hobby-related each week. Process: Take something hobby-related to Luke's weekly reading tutoring sessions. - Read some pages in a book, watch a movie (hard to do during tutoring, so might have to fit that in at other times), do some needlework (stitching, quilting, or temari), anything creative and something that I enjoy!

You may wonder why I noted my intended process for obtaining these goals. I read a great article last week about establishing a system, not necessarily setting a goal. (No affiliation) There are two huge reasons that these words rang true for me:

1. This is how I finally managed to lose some weight. I think this is really what I've been trying to explain to people, but I couldn't find the right words. Article quote: "When you're working toward a goal, you are essentially saying, 'I'm not good enough yet, but I will be when I reach my goal.' The problem with this mindset is that you're teaching yourself to always put happiness and success off until the next milestone is achieved." See, I didn't really set a goal to lose weight last January; all I did was decide to start a food journal. Now, that food journal comes with calorie counts of the foods I am eating, and it also conveniently sets a recommended calorie target. Was I really hoping to lose weight by tracking my food? Yes, I was! But the process I established was simply to write down what I eat and be aware of how many calories I am consuming. By doing that, and by being aware of the recommended target (and more or less being in its general vicinity), I lost weight. It was the change in process that was important and what (finally!) worked, not setting the goal itself (which I've done many times and completely failed).
2. Spraining my ankle is something I never could have predicted last year. That was such a huge blow to me, physically and mentally. I'm sure that's why this quote resonated with me so much: "Goals suggest that you can control things that you have no control over. You can't predict the future. (I know, shocking.) But every time we set a goal, we try to do it. We try to plan out where we will be and when we will make it there. We try to predict how quickly we can make progress, even though we have no idea what circumstances or situations will arise along the way." I obviously had no idea I would spend weeks not walking at all and several more weeks struggling to just move down the hall at my own house. You really do never know what life will throw at you. All you can do is try to establish a process to change something, and if life happens, change the process to compensate. You can also change the process without changing the goal!

Final article quote: "Goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress." I'm surely going to try! Don't wish me luck, wish me a good process.

Currently feeling: ready to start

Happy 2014!

Image Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

I was trying to come up with an elegant and meaningful year in review collage, but these kept jumping out at me, and it struck me as funny (maybe I'm just in a weird mood).


Click to biggify.

That is every manicure I had in 2013! (And I did them all myself, too.) There is a small group of us who exchange pictures of our various manicures, otherwise I wouldn't even have these. I think I lean towards red/pink, purple, and teal, what do you think?

As usual, I will try to keep the blog more up to date in the coming year, and if I'm lucky, I'll get some of those from August (and September, and October, and....) published from the draft file, too, though it does mean more non-linear blogging, sorry.

I admit, I am not sorry to see 2013 go. I know we have to take the bad with the good, but it was still a frustrating, disappointing, and painful year in many respects (not all of which ever made it onto the blog). 2014 is already shaping up with two good things and two expected (though not guaranteed) sad things. Trying to remember to just keep swimming.... Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2014!!
Currently feeling: gearing up for the new year

Non-Linear Blogging

Image from 123rf.com

I apologize for the out-of-sequence blogging. I'm trying to finish things as I get the pieces ready (like pictures or links), or as the mood strikes, whichever comes first. I'm just so far behind. So hang with me, and I'll eventually get caught up, but until then, things will be a little confusing. So sorry!

Currently feeling: crazy busy

Super Busy July

Been really busy. You might have noticed. I've done all of my Wordless Wednesdays for you, to give you something to look at, and here's a quick preview of some of our July adventures:



I won't get to write about it for a while yet. I did want to let you know that I'm still here, and I'll have a couple more pictures for you in a day or two, but July details will just have to wait a bit, possibly well into August. Hope you're all doing well!

Currently feeling: crazy busy, but with good stuff!

Missing May Mosaic!

I was flipping back through my blog posts to see if I had missed writing about anything, and I realized that I didn't do a Project 365 mosaic in my May 2013 Round Up post. Oops! I've added it there (sorry about that), but I wanted to add it here, too, so everyone could see it. Enjoy!


Click to biggify.

Currently feeling: mosaic-ed

Blog Pictures Not Showing Up

Thanks to everyone who has contacted me to let me know that some of my blog pictures are not showing up. I believe it is a problem with my web hosting company. Info last night indicated they had a hard drive failure. I really thought it would be corrected by now, but apparently not (I'm likely pretty low on the totem pole). Nothing I can really do to fix it, unfortunately, but thank you for letting me know anyway!

Currently feeling: frustrated

Disabling Anonymous Comments

Image from 123RF Stock Photos

Hopefully, this will not affect most people who actually read my blog on a regular basis, but I am disabling the option to leave anonymous comments. I think I can count on one hand the number of real/valid anonymous comments I've received in the last almost 10(?!!) years of blogging, and the volume of spam has increased to almost unmanageable levels in the last few months (probably due to my post about Luke's last birthday). If this causes and issue for any of my "real" readers, please let me know! erinmarie AT rocketmail DOT com
Currently feeling: tired of the evil secret agents

What's In Store? Theme-a-licious 2013 and More

What's in store for the blog in 2013? So glad you asked! We'll be sticking with some favorite features, there will be an old returning feature, and there will be at least one new item. The big new one is:



My wonderful friend Heather ran a set of monthly stitching themes in 2012 (with Mal Reynolds as mascot). I wasn't really feeling the stitching thing at the beginning of last year, so I chose not to participate. This year, I think I'll give it a shot, even though I'm not as enamored of the 2013 mascot as most of my friends (never even seen a Dr. Who episode; I know, I know, it's on the someday list). You can read more about the monthly themes at this post on her blog.

I've worked out that most of the monthly themes will work with my nearly finished fairy, or I can start the second fairy in the series, and still meet most of the requirements. (Partially cheating, I know, but I want to get her done!) We'll see what else I can come up with along the way to stitch on. I mean, it's not like I don't have a ton of partially begun pieces sitting in the basement or something, right? ::rolls eyes:: I hope you'll join me in doing something fun and creative in the new year!



Returning in 2013 after a one year hiatus will (hopefully) be my monthly round ups. I found there were a few times during 2012 that some of the information I routinely recorded there would have come in handy, but I had neglected to record it anywhere. Also, in order to avoid at least three different monthly features, I have decided to combine the monthly round up with my "Pinspirations" for each month. Since most of what I try from Pinterest are recipes, it fit perfectly with the new foods, restaurants, and recipes question on the round up, and any of the other few things that aren't food related can go underneath (I've created a new round up question just for that).



I will be sticking with Wordless Wednesday on a weekly basis. I will also be continuing with Project 365 into 2013, hopefully with a little more conscious thought and commitment behind it than I did this year. I haven't decided if I want to post a summary of those photos weekly or monthly (or not at all). Still debating. I hate for everything to bunch up at the end of one month and/or the beginning of the next, but doing them on, say, the 15th, doesn't make much sense either. Still thinking on that one.

I also imagine there will be quite a bit of whining complaining documenting our experiences with Luke's psychoeducational evaluation and any resulting fallout treatment adjustments that are needed based on the results. From what I can tell, it will not be a short or easy road. Please think good thoughts for us regarding the upcoming testing.

Is there anything you would like to see more (or less) of on my blog? Let me know, and I'll see what I can do.
Currently feeling: ready to get started!

Another Blog Look Revamp

Well, revamp might be too strong of a word. Redecoration is probably closer; the layout/style is more or less the same. Several people said it was hard to read on the other blue background, and given that most of the people who said that are the same people who actually visit my blog to read it (as opposed to using a feed reader), I definitely want them have an easy time of it! This is what you should now be seeing (click to biggify). Please let me know if you're not.



Obviously, this is for fall/Thanksgiving. I have a Christmas-y one ready to put up for December, and then hopefully by the new year, I'll have found the perfect background or template for "everyday" use. Thanks for looking!
Currently feeling: decorative

9th Blogoversary

Nine years. Still hard to believe. As each year passes, I am more and more astounded that I'm still blogging (particularly at the same place, and yes, I do hear all the folks who keep asking when I'll host my own; answer = someday). I've come to rely more and more on the history I've noted here, particularly in Luke's life. Most of the time, if there's a detail about when something happened (like his first tooth - April 23, 2005) that I just can't quite remember, I can look it up here. To paraphrase Henry Jones (Sr.), "I wrote it down so I wouldn't have to remember." I wish I could remember everything, but "the blog" sure does come in handy every now and then.

And so many of you have been there since the beginning. I know I say thank you every year, but I sincerely mean it. Thank you for reading. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for caring. Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you live down the street or half a world away. Love you all!

(And to those who have contacted me to say the background on the new blog theme is hard on your eyes, I'm trying to find a new one I like. Will try to get to it soon.)

Currently feeling: grateful

Redecorating the Blog - October 2012

Wow, I had that last template for just a little bit less than 2 years (one year, 9.5 months, I believe). I've been hunting for a new one for several months but couldn't find something I liked. Still don't love this one, but it's okay. I know folks who use feed readers don't tend to actually visit blogs these days, but if a few of you could please check it out "in person" and let me know if it displays okay on your monitor, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

Currently feeling: ready for a new look

I might get to May, eventually

I'm seriously considering just skipping May and not going back and blogging anything about it. Not much happened anyway. But we're doing some fun stuff this summer, and I don't want to get any further behind than I already am, so I'm just going to jump right in with June and catch up on May (if and) when I feel like it. Hope your May was great!

Currently feeling: running behind

So how was your Nov and Dec?

Long time, no see, I know. Obviously, blogging has taken a back seat for the last couple of months, primarily to work. Between the volume of projects and the learning curve, I am exhausted by the end of the day. The thought of the time and effort involved to write things down, and especially to process the photos, made me want to cry. Other than the October Round Up that I finally got posted on November 12, I haven't done any real blogging since October 31.

Things are a little calmer for the moment (if you consider traveling for Christmas "calm," though we are home now). I expect them to get crazy again by January 9. Between now and then, I'll do my best to start getting caught up. Forgive me if things start posting in batches or are posted out of order. I apologize now for filling up your Twitter and RSS feeds. I'll be backdating things to the appropriate time in a couple of weeks.

Hope you all had a great fourth quarter 2011! I really did miss you.

Currently feeling: outta time

Clueless In the Kitchen: New Recipe Blog

Yes, I know, another new blog. I haven't done as well on my thrifty blog as I hoped (funny how getting a job affects things), though it is still going and I am still recording my thoughts on generics and such as I try them.

But, in support of my "Try 101 new recipes" item on my new 101 Things list, I decided to start a cooking/recipe blog as "proof" of completion, instead of posting them all here. Bulletin board friends will recognize the title as my usual signature when I'm asking "dumb" cooking questions on the board: Clueless in the Kitchen.

I'll post all the new ones as I try them (with pictures!), plus some of our family favorites. I'm not sure yet if I'll have them post to my twitter feed or not (thoughts?). I'll list any new recipes in the monthly round up, though, so you'll know what I tried, and the photos will probably show up sometimes as Wordless Wednesdays and such. If I find something awesome, I'll be sure and post it here, too!

There's not a lot there right now, just a couple of recipes to whet your appetite (pun intended). I thought I would have more up there by now, but being so sick has prevented me from doing much of anything except surviving my day at work. Hope you enjoy following me along. I'm not much of a chef or any sort of food photographer, but I think it will be fun nonetheless. Bon appetit!

Currently feeling: like cooking