It's finally here!

My new MacBook has finally entered my life and I'm sooo happy! It is fast, beautiful, reliable, and...oh so pretty. Such an event ushers in much responsibility though. I must, must, must get myself back on a solid writing schedule. In the fall, I had a whole schedule laid out for myself, and I was going to finish the book before Christmas. Well, life has a funny way of getting in the way sometimes. October, November, and December were such busy months, and having a decrepit computer made for a really good excuse to put aside the writing life. So. Now that life has slowed down a little bit and I have this wonderful new computer, I am going to create a new schedule for myself and do my absolute hardest to stick to it! 

Finishing the novel will be such a huge accomplishment. I don't even feel as though I would to do anything with it--just know that it is finished. And I have some other ideas I would love to start working on, but I just can't leave a thing undone. The novel must be done. 

So, no more excuses. There are chapters to be written, scenes to be developed, and characters to get to know. 

Wish me luck!

anticipation

“"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best -- " and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.”


Ahhh, the thrill of anticipation! My favorite time of year is the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love Christmas...but really, it's everything leading up to Christmas that makes it so wonderful. The decorations, the music, the food, the shopping, time off from work, time spent with family and friends. All good stuff!

When I lived in Minnesota, I used to get pretty depressed after Christmas. Because after all the decorations were stowed away and the holiday music was pushed to the back of the shelf, all that was left was one heck of a long, dreary, cold winter ahead. It was definitely not the most wonderful time of the year.

Now that I make my dwelling in SoCal, the end of December isn't quite so sad. Yes, the decorations and music are still put away. The television is full of ads for specials at the gym, weight loss tea, and exercise equipment. And there's no more work holidays until Memorial Day. But...winter does not have its death grip wrapped tight. Not here. Last weekend I got a tan! In January. Somehow it makes the New Year that much more exciting.

It's a New Year. We have a new President. I'm getting a new computer. I've started a new blog (http://iwitnessphotography.blogspot.com). There are eleven full months of new 2009 ahead of us. I know the door is open for plenty of good and bad both, but I can't help but thrill at the unknown and feel just a bit of anticipation to see what's to come.

dreams

Last night I met Matthew McConaughey in my dreams.

Enough said.

Letter to the New Year

Dear Year 2009:

Welcome. Now that we are are few days into your being, I thought there might be a few things you should know before we get too far ahead of ourselves:

1) We're going to get a new computer this year (like next week).
2) With said new computer, there will no longer be any excuse for not writing.
3) That said, this year we will finish that novel I have been working on since Spring 2006.

In case you haven't heard, worldwide economy has been in a bit of a pickle lately. That, however, does not mean that my personal economy is in a pickle or will inevitably become pickled. Keeping good practices in hand, this year we're saving $30 a month for the International Justice Mission. In December, I will purchase a week of advocacy with IJM for victims of oppression.

I'm sure you have lots of surprises up your sleeve in the coming twelve months. FYI: I really like good surprises. I'll try to stay on my toes. Let's make every effort to top 2008. I'm optimistic.

Here's to you,

Stephanie

'Tis the Season...

...for holiday flicks! Here are some my favorite non-Christmas "Christmas" movies:

1) The Family Stone
Dermot Mulroney, Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson. The all-star cast portrays the eccentric Stone family celebrating a holiday gathering full of surprises.

2) Stepmom
Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris, Jena Malone. I love almost any Julia Roberts movie. Humorous and poignant, this is a tale of an unlikely friendship between two extraordinary women.

3) Love Actually
Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson. It's coined the "ultimate" romantic comedy, but I didn't fall for it the first time. It is, however, a great and unique story depicting the twists and turns of love.

4) The Holiday
Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach. Probably the most holiday-ish of the bunch, this is a charming love story that happens to take place during the most wonderful time of the year.

5) While You Were Sleeping
Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher. It's schmaltzy and sentimental, but it's a hilarious story of mix-ups and choices.


Happy Holidays to all!

everywhere I look, I see rain

I have recently discovered something new about myself.

If there is one pet peeve my friends and family know best of mine, it is that I hate wet socks! This is then followed by socks with holes in them. Apparently I am very picky about my feet.

Living in San Diego, there is not much in the way of "inclement" weather. This week, however, we have been doused with rain. It rained all day on Monday. While enjoying the seldom-heard pit-pat pit-pat of drops, I found there is something I really don't like about a rainy day. Something that irks me even more than a damp sock...and that...is a soggy hem. I hate it when the hem of your pants gets soaked. Not only does this increase the chance of acquiring a wet sock, but you cannot simply put your trousers away upon returning home and slipping into comfy-cozy sweats. They have to dry.

So, knowing full well that we were in for another rainy day today, I tried to devise the best possibly way to avoid the same mishap that befell my pants on Monday. I did not come up with anything clever...but I did decide to wear my boots today. So far...my pants are still dry. But I am not done going outside yet.

power

I tend to want to keep this blog free of posts that are seasoned and spun of politics, economics, and the like. But I feel I must say something in regards to this news article.

Over this 2008 year, I have loosely followed the string of news (mostly bad) coming out of Zimbabwe and its tyrannical leader, Robert Mugabe. Despite the increasingly rising number of deaths due to the recent cholera outbreak, still he insists things are under control.

Mugabe has been in control of the Zimbabwean government since the country took its independence from Britain in the early 80s. Since then, a spiral of disaster and strife has claimed hold on the country.

Because of one man's compulsion for total power, authority, and dominance, hundreds of people have been and are dying while that same man tells the rest of the world--anxious to help--that he has everything in hand.

"Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who almost always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt..."
-Barry Goldwater-