Food, Fun and Pumpkins!

It's another Sunday evening with the start of the work week looming closer. It has also been another great weekend.

I spent the weekend at my parents. It was a beautiful autumnal weekend with only a minor chill in the air. The pups had a great time hunting grasshoppers and crickets. I haven't quite figured out if they actually eat the insects or they just like the stalking and hunting part. I've seen them..sort of chew on them but I don't think they actually eat them. I'd prefer to think they don't anyway.

One of the other things I got to do with my parents is go to a local-ish butcher shop. I say local-ish because it's not in their town but is only abour 25 minutes away. It's sort of in the middle of nowhere but it's immensely popular and the meat is great. It's all fresh and butchered in-house. It's also very reasonably priced. It gave me a chance to stock up my little chest freezer with meat that will last several months. I like doing that- it makes cooking fun because there are so many options and I always have meat on hand with which to make something interesting. I'm a big fan of stocking up, especially when I ended up buying probably 20 meals worth of meat for less than $30.

It's fun to go to the butchers and select my purchases. When I was a child in England, we had a local butcher that was at the end of a parade of shops which also featured a greengrocer, post office, newsagent and small grocery store. Back then, while there were big grocery shops, people still went to specialty shops for most of their daily purchases. There was still a milk man who delivered the milk.

It wasn't that long ago, honestly but times have changed. Nowadays both in England and the states, the specialty stores don't exist the same way anymore. If they do, they're novelties. In my opinion, it's a shame. While it's way easier to go to the local supermarket for one-stop grocery shopping, it's just not the same. Bread from the bakery in England was so fresh, it was often still a little warm when you got it and it was so crusty, it was flaky. The fresh cream cakes such as chocolate eclairs and filled buns were fresh and unique. The produce from the greengrocer was better than supermarket fruits and vegetables because that's what the greengrocer did. He didn't try to sell produce AND dairy or meat or cheese...he specialized in fresh veggies and fruits.

The world moves faster now. We want to go to one place and get everything we need. We don't want to spend hours running around to butchers, to bakers, to candlestick makers to complete a list.

Yet...something has been lost in our need for convenience and speed. I miss the smell of the old butcher shops, their floors covered in sawdust. I miss the bakers where the fresh smell of crusty bread called you inside before you even got to the store. Sure, there are still speciality shops around. I mean, the farmers market is, essentially and outdoor greengrocers. Yet...it's not quite the same. I think that's why I'm so drawn to markets in general- Findlay Market here in Cincinnati is one of my favourite places because it's essentially a series of specialty stores all under one roof. In New York, I instantly loved Chelsea Market for the same reason. It's the same reason I loved the butchers shop I went to with my parents. Speciality stores do still exist- it's just not quite as easy to get to them.

I'm partial to butchers shops. I know that's probably not very politically correct to vegetarians and I know that Peta would probably have something to say to me about it but, well, I'm a foodie. I adore vegetables and making vegetable dishes but it's hard to be a real foodie without eating meat. There are so many possibilities when you have different meat on hand- it allows creativity to shine through and to just have fun in both the planning and preparation of a meal.

So, even though it sounds a little odd, going to the butchers with my parents was just a great way to spend time with them and it was just plain fun.

Of course, I didn't just spend the weekend in a butchers shop and watching my dogs chase crickets. I also got to spend some quality time with my sister and my niece. We carved pumpkins. Well, that is to say, I carved, they painted. My niece is an abstract artist and I've never seen such a colourful pumpkin in all my life. I think Jackson Pollock would have been impressed. My sister is a far more disciplined artist and she adorned her pumpkin with a rather impressive Halloween collage of witches and ghosts. My pumpkin turned out rather well- it turns out that there is a reason that they sell pumpkin carving kits. They're great! All this time, I've made do with a selection of knives and trying to draw on a design. However, with the right tools, carving is much easier! Since I gave my pumpkin to my niece for her Halloween display, I'll be carving more of my own next weekend. It's one of my favourite Halloween traditions- I always watch "Harry Potter" while I carve and then roast the seeds. It's a lovely autumn tradition.

All in all, this has been the best kind of autumn weekend- family, fun and food...it's a shame as always that the weekend is ending but when it's been as good as this one, I don't mind as much.

I hope you had a great weekend too. Happy Monday!

Homes, Sweet Homes....

Well, I'm finally back Stateside after 10 days in the UK. Even though the trip back was pretty exhausting (an 18 hour travel day will do that to you), I had a great time.

The trip was essentially two halves for me- the first half was London which was my reward trip from work and the second half was in Essex with my family.

Both halves were fantastic but quite different. London was very lively as cities generally are. Even though the people there are all people who work for our company, they brought their spouses and the whole event did not feel like work at all. It probably helped that the most we had to do for work was one two-hour meeting to discuss ideas for moving the company forward. The rest of the time was spent in more social events as well as free time.

The social events were actually fun. Since we were all essentially there on holiday, it was a very relaxed atmosphere and I had a lot of fun getting to know some of the spouses. I was sort of held up as the resident expert on London and ended up being the translater of all things decidely British (i.e. what's 'rocket'? Answer: Arugula), the converter of currency (i.e. "how much is 52 pounds in American dollars?) and the navigator on the London underground. I didn't mind a bit. I love London and don't mind showing off my knowledge of the city.

The free time we had was fantastic. I got to be a tourist and see things I've never had the time to see such as the Tower of London. I loved it. My rather dark streak gravitates to the more gruesome aspects of British history so seeing the tower where prisoners were kept, the private execution spot, the torture devices and seeing where Henry the Eight's wives were buried was fascinating to me. I also took a trip around the National Gallery, briefly visited Harrods' food Hall and became somewhat of a regular at Fortnum and Mason since it had a fantasic food hall and was only a brief walk from the hotel.

I also got to spend a day with my cousin who I haven't seen in quite a few years. It was lovely to discover that she has also got the same dark streak as me and when she suggested we go to the London Dungeon, I knew that we were definitely related. That place is a lot of fun- it highlights all of the more brutal aspects of British history. I think, by nature, the British do tend to embrace our dark sides a little more and it's not considered quite so twisted to be interested in that stuff when you're there.

Obviously, one of my favourite parts of the whole trip was the food. I abandoned my typical healthy eating/diet and decided to just enjoy myself. Each day, we had access to an amazing breakfast buffet from the hotel which included all the fixings of a traditional full English breakfast as well as kippers, smoked salmon and multiple bread selections. I also got to indulge in lots of my favourite British foods such as sausage rolls, pork pies, fish and chips and, of course, good beer. Fortunately, my terrible eating was counteracted somewhat by the massive amount of walking I did. I seriously think that for the most part, I walked several miles a day which is rather easy to do in London.

All in all, the London part of the trip was wonderful. It was nice being a tourist but not really feeling like one. By the time everyone else left for the airport, I was ready to begin the second half of my trip so after a little drama with Fed Ex- my coworker had left me in charge of a package because she had to catch a plane- I did manage to catch my train two hours late and head to my grandparent's, a mere 35 minutes away.

That part of my trip was far more relaxed. I got to spend the first day and a half with just my granny since my grandad was away in Germany- his native land. It was lovely to just relax in her kitchen- the traditional gathering spot of my grandparents' house since I've been alive. I haven't been back for three years so it was lovely to catch up and feel right at home.

When my grandad came back, he was laden with German goodies such as sausage, bread and chocolate galore. Thus, I got a nice German feast as well as the traditional British food that I normally enjoy.

The only problem with staying with my grandparents is that my granny thinks she needs to feed me. She declared that I was quite thin and could thus stand to eat more. This meant that anytime I sat for more than 10 minutes, I was either offered food or food was placed subtly in front of me. Believe me, I'm not complaining but I do think that now I'm back in the U.S., I'll be calorie counting a lot harder than usual and trying to exercise a little more. I have to make up for all that terrible but wonderful food somehow.

I also got to see more of my cousins as well as my aunts and uncles. I didn't do too much once I hit Essex other than go for walks around the town and once to the neighbourhood where I grew up. It's strange how instantly it seems so familiar and yet seems so distant. Our old house has changed but elements are still the same. I wandered around with that nostalgia that hits when you realize that time moves ever forward. It doesn't seem that long ago when I used to do somersaults on the pole that was a support for the little porch of our house or I used to plant marigolds in a makeshift flowerbed I created in our old front yard. The ghosts of my playmates still hang in the air and walking down the street that was once home made me remember everything so clearly, it actually felt it had all just happened.

It was a good thing to do, that walk. It made me realize that I think no matter how long I stay away, England will always be home. It's in my blood. I wasn't that old when I left but I was old enough to be a person, not just a child and that person was formed by the years spent living in the UK. The U.S. has left it's imprint on me too but at my core, I'm a diehard Brit.

By the time I left on Saturday morning to begin my long journey home, I had managed to do all the things I wanted to do, see all the people I wanted to see and eat all the food I wanted to eat. I left with a sadness that always occurs when you leave a place you love but it was also nice to get home.

It also helps that I had two little furry dachshunds to launch themselves upon me as soon as I walked into my parents house and who've barely left my side since.

In a way, I feel like my trip to the UK took me home. Yet I also came home when I saw my parents at the airport and was assaulted with affection from Sookie and Rory when we were reunited. I think I'll always feel like I have a foot on each continent as long as I'm alive but it's only now when I realize that that's definitely a wonderful thing. I plan on going back a little more often than I have been going.

But...not for a while. I need to do a little dieting first.

Happy Monday and thanks for reading!

The Snap, Crackle and Pop of an Extra Long Weekend...

It's a very sticky 4th of July evening. The humidity is pressing close and the heat seems magnified by the close air.

At present, I'm sitting outside. Even though it's hot and humid, it's not altogether unpleasant and it seems right to write this outside. Occasionally, I'm hearing the odd pop of a firecracker. I don't know if there will be more fireworks later tonight or if my neighbours got them out of their systems over the weekend. All I know is that from Friday night through Sunday night, I had two alert dachshunds who were a little afraid of all the bangs and whizzes coming from local firework lighters.

It's been a nice weekend. Mother Monkeypants came down to stay and we had a very nice time. The wonderful thing about my mother is...well, she's my mother. We can do something or nothing and be very happy. We ended up doing some things but we also ended up just relaxing which I think is the best way to spend time with someone you love.

She left not too long ago and the house seems empty as it always does after a guest leaves. THe pups seem a little lost too. All weekend, they've had their choice of laps and attention and now they're back to just me.

It seems strange that we have to go back to work tomorrow. It makes sense, of course. It'd be greedy to expect more than a three day weekend but it seems so...anticlimactic to have a holiday and then...boom, right back to work. Yet it's the way of the world and so off tomorrow, to work I shall go.

On the plus side, it's only a four-day work week so I won't complain. It's only four more days until the next weekend. That's definitely not a bad trade off.

As I write, aside from the odd snap, crackle and pop of fireworks, the neighbourhood seems quiet. I think lots of people must be away for celebrations. My family sometimes has a gathering over the 4th even though, technically, as Brits, we're not exactly Independence Day celebrators. Yet, it's a good excuse to get everyone together.

This year, I had the luxury of having my mum come and stay and my siblings spent their holiday with their family. It's actually nice to spend a holiday like this in my own home as much as I like seeing everyone get together. It's been two years officially since I started to move into this house and I spent the long weekend painting my living room a shade of cranberry red. This weekend, I planted a tree, shopped, cooked and spent the time hanging out with my mother. I feel like I've come a long way.

The firework sounds are getting a little more constant and a little less sporadic. I think as darkness starts to fall, the sounds will intensify. My guess is that I will have two little dogs cowering inside, woofing at each crack and pop. I might stick my head out and see if I can see any fireworks but I haven't decided yet. It's been that kind of weekend where it's been nice to play things by ear and not have a firm plan. While it's nice to be organized, there's something to be said from being spontaneous and unplanned.

Whether or not I decide to look for fireworks tonight, I plan on relaxing and enjoying the last waning hours of a fun, extra-long weekend. I hope you, too, make/made the most of it.

Happy July 4th and happy Monday!

An Appreciation for Birthdays...

Somehow it's already managed to be Sunday night again and it seems like the weekend was just beginning. That's one of those mysteries to me: How can time during the workday move so slowly and yet the minute you're free, it whizzes by?

Nevertheless, no matter how quickly it went by, I managed to have a lovely weekend. Fortunately, the weather did not prevent my original plans of going to my parent's to celebrate my birthday. I'm glad: Had I not gone, I would have spent the day alone. That's not to say I don't like being alone but somehow, it would seem more lonely on my birthday.

It was a wonderful birthday in the end. It was nice to spend the day with my family, receive some amazingly thoughtful gifts and enjoy reading all the nice and thoughtful comments of Facebook. That's what I like about Facebook- even if it's a simple comment, it's nice to see that your friends know it's your birthday. It's a nice way of knowing people care enough to take the time to write something.

My birthday's almost over. I did my baking tonight when I got home from my parent's. My plan was to make a chocolate amaretti cake, some brownies and maybe some cranberry walnut cookies. Well, I ended up not making the cranberry cookies because I lacked walnuts. Also, I lacked the desire to make them. The chocolate amaretti cake became chocolate amaretti brownie bites. This is because the stupid cake stuck to the pan even after it was cool and even after I used non-stick spray. On the plus side, it tasted nice. On the downside, I had to cut squares out of my cake which had fallen to pieces. My brownies turned out ok...I think. I didn't try those. I figure if they get eaten,they were edible. Then again, I've seen people in office try to eat week-old-formerly-Awkard-bagels so perhaps being edible isn't too much of a requirement.

Aside from that, I spent the evening on the phone with a couple of my good friends. It's always nice to chat and catch up. I have some pretty cool friends. The fact that they all let me drone on about my adoration of Mario Batali speaks volumes about their tolerance of me. I'm still annoyed that he and Emeril Lagasse were defeated in the Iron Chef America "Super Chef" battle against Bobby Flay and the White House Executive Chef, Cristeta Comerford. For one thing, the judges were awful. They had Nigella Lawson who actually can cook and knows about food but then they had Jane Seymore and some Olympian athlete. Let's just say with the exception of Nigella, the judges were useless. In the end, while Bobby and Chef Comerford did ok, to me, it was obvious that Mario and Emeril did the best but because the secret ingredient was the White House's vegetable garden, I think it was pretty much skewered towards Comerford and Flay from the beginning. All I can say is I want to try that sweet potato raviolo that Mario Batali made. Yum.

Anyway, I digress. I was talking about my lovely birthday and my l0vely family and friends. It was a nice day. I wish it didn't have to end. I especially wish it didn't have to end with the thought of going to work tomorrow. However, I have treats ready to go, a birthday lunch with the girls from work planned and a pile of work waiting for me. Things could definitely be far worse. It's nice to say that, especially about a workday.

Happy Monday.

Monday Musings

Weekends go by way too quickly. Somehow, I left my office on Friday and passed through a time warp because here I am again on Monday morning, feeling as though I didn't have a weekend even though I did and it was good.

Still, I shouldn't complain too much. This morning, on the way out of my neighbourhood, I saw a line of sleepy, grumpy looking kids waiting for the school bus. I might not be happy about coming to work after a nice weekend but at least I'm not coming back after three months away like those kids. I always hated the first weeks back. For some reason, I thought that because we were back in school, summer was over. However, the nasty, sticky, humidity of August/September betrayed my beliefs. School, to me, was supposed to be beginning of Autumn and I'd wait for the leaves to start changing, a crispness to slowly emerge in the night air. It never happened that way and at the end of the school day, we'd emerge from the chilly over-airconditioned building and be hit with that wall of stickiness that told me that it really was still summer.

I don't know how those kids that I saw this morning feeling but I can tell you that I didn't see any of them doing a dance of joy or for that matter, even looking slightly happy. They looked weary, tired, apprehensive and just plain annoyed.

Me, I was just sleepy this morning as I left for work. My weekend was great but it was tiring. I went to a Herb Festival in Wabash, Indiana this weekend. I love things like that. When I moved back to the Midwest, I promised myself that I'd try to do more things like that, local activities that salute the charm of the area.

The Herb Festival was a lot of fun. Having just planted my herb garden and being a big fan of herbs in general, it seemed like a perfect time to go. I went with my mother and we had a lovely time walking around, exploring all the booths, talking each other into making purchases and just enjoying the fact that it was a beautiful, not too hot day. I left with a new pot of sage, a little 'pesto garden' and some assorted spices for cooking.

After that, I got to do a more nervewracking thing...show my mother my house for the first time since I moved in. She came to stay with me on Saturday and I was a little nervous. I'm a firm believer that no matter how old we get, we're still going to feel like we need our parent's approval in everything we do, even subconsciously. So, I was a little nervous to show her my furnished and decorated abode.

Fortunately, she seemed to like it. I like it too. Those frustrating cranberry walls actually look pretty good with my furniture and the paintings I've hung. My grass was fairly recently mowed so the back yard looked pretty decent. Of course, my mother being an avid and talented gardener, zeroed in on my lovely weed collection but she did grant me forbearance because I have, after all, just moved in and do have other things to do.

My sister, niece and brother-in-law came down on Sunday to see my new house and visit Jungle Jim's. My niece is three. She is just the greatest little kid and I enjoy getting to spend time with her. She has a lot of energy though and by the time she left, I had to admire my sister and brother-in-law for being able to deal with her every day. She has a very good imagination and at the moment, she's carrying an imaginary...creature...in the palm of her hand called "Baby Wendy." Unfortunately, as she's the only one who can see Baby Wendy, it leads to all sorts of problems. Her mother apparently isn't very nice to Baby Wendy because she accidentally shut her in the pantry the other night. I believe she's also stepped on Baby Wendy a few times.

Baby Wendy aside, it's fun to spend time with my family like that. It was so nice to be able to show them my new house and go to Jungle Jim's with them. When they left, my house was quiet and slightly lonely.

Now the weekend is over, it's time to look ahead to the week. It's actually a short week for me; my plans to go to Las Vegas finally came together and I'll be flying out Thursday night. It should be a fun trip, if a little brief. Then again, while I enjoy the glitz and tackiness of Vegas, two days is probably enough. I haven't checked the weather yet but given that Vegas is in the middle of the desert, this time of year, it's pretty much an inferno of heat only differentiated by the reading on the thermometer. Once it gets that hot, the thermometer reading doesn't really matter- it's more a question of whether it's tolerable to be outside or if you should plan your down the strip by winding your way through the casinos, venturing outside only to cross to the next casino.

Thus, it's going to be a busy week. It seems to be that life is busier lately for me than it's been for a while. When I get back from this trip, I'm putting a moratorium on traveling for a while. I need to get more settled in my house, I need to take charge of being a homeowner instead of coasting off the novelty of being able to dabble around with a little of this and a little of that. I need to figure out what I want to do to the house, to the garden. I need to finish unpacking.

However, for now, the week lies ahead, the berth between now and the next weekend the widest it will be all week. On the plus side, at least I'm not going back to school like those kids I passed this morning. It might be a Monday but for us non-school goers, it's just another Monday. For those kids, it's as though the reins of freedom have been taken away and a clamp of obligation clamped on their leg instead. They're probably already counting down to Labour Day, their first long weekend.

Then again, I'm also counting down to Labour Day. So maybe there's not quite so much difference after all.

Happy Monday.

Friday Quickie...(not THAT kind of quickie)

Just a quick blog today since it's Friday. Also, I want to prove that I don't always have to use so many words. I just like to. Words are fun.

It's been a weird week, up and down. I'm not sure why that sometimes happens but it does and nothing you do can stop it; you just have to hold on and go along for the ride. But next week will be better. For one thing, it's the last week I have to work before the holidays. That means I have plenty of time with my family before Christmas in which to help them do last minute shopping trips and preparation.

My family is big on last minute shopping. It used to be the tradition that my dad and I would go shopping for my mum on Christmas Eve. I loved that but it got to be a little hard to wrap gifts as well as get the shopping trip in. I always wait until the last minute to do my wrapping. So last year, we did it a little earlier. It was still fun. The thing was, I think I ended up going with my brother on Christmas Eve instead. I tend to be the shopping fiend in my family. I love to shop. I especially love to help other's shop. Watching other people spend money is almost as fun as spending your own.

I'm just glad it is the holidays. It's my favourite time of year. I love the lights, the colour, the snow, the music (except the annoying Christmas songs that I talked about the other day). I just love the overall mood.

This weekend means we're moving closer to Christmas. I don't mind if it takes its time in coming. I always love the days before Christmas more than the day itself. Christmas Eve is my favourite, it's the anticipation that is so wonderful. It's a magical day to me. Don't get me wrong, I love the traditions on Christmas Day but on Christmas Night, when you go to bed, you have that sad feeling that suddenly it's over, all that preparation is finished and you're suddenly on the other side of Christmas. I like the climb towards Christmas better.

I've been weirdly random in my blogging this week, just rambling on about whatever I choose. Thanks for sticking with me. Next week will be better...I hope. Have a great weekend.

Christmas Trees and the Reflection of Two-Hundred Multi-Coloured Lights

It snowed a little last night. It was the clingy snow that forms clusters on the ground and sticks to your car windshield. It's pretty. Since it is now officially December and thus Christmas season, I have my tree up. It's the first tree I've ever put up by myself. When I moved to L.A., I lived by myself for five years and because I had virtually no money, I made do with decorating my mantel with ornaments and one of those green tinsel garlands that is the same colour as a Christmas tree from the 99 cent store. I twirled lights around the tinsel for effect and it was pretty. As the years went by, I upgraded to a fake pine garland and added some nativities and candles. Since I flew back to the Midwest for Christmas every year, it didn't matter that there was no tree. My little gas fireplace always looked cozy and with the glow of the multi-colour lights that I had wrapped around the garland, it was very festive.

When I moved in with my roommate, she liked real trees and so we would go pick our tree every Christmas and then spend hours in Walmart picking out decorations. That was always fun. I love the smell of a fresh tree, it brings the outside indoors without the inconvenience of mud, ice and, well, the outdoors. I'm not a very outdoorsy person. I don't mind a good hike or a walk but then I'm done. I hate camping. I've really tried to like it. I even went camping with some experts who cooked gourmet food and had all sorts of nifty camping stuff. The company was awesome, the camping was miserable. I hate sleeping outside. I hate that my feet get so cold that nothing warms them. I hate that damp cold that creeps in overnight so when you wake up, you can't escape from it until you crawl outside and practically wrap yourself around the camp fire that the more experienced campers have already set. And though that warms me, I then smell like smoke for the rest of the trip. So, yeah, a real Christmas tree inside my apartment? That's as outdoorsy as I get.

This year, I don't have a real tree. I have my Black Friday Triumph Tree. It's pre-lit so I don't have to worry about wrapping the lights around the branches. I've never been good at that. I've watched other people spend hours and hours individually wrapping each branch with lights. It always looks awesome but during the time the lights are being put on the tree, the would-be decorators eventually lose all hope that they'll get to hang the baubles on the tree at all that day. I was worried my pre-lit tree would be skimpy on lights and I'd have to supplement but after plugging it in, it is beautifully lit with no bare spots.

I hung the ornaments I inherited when I moved. It was a little sad to hang them alone; I remembered picking them with my roommate and choosing the colours carefully. I also hung up my garland that I first bought when I lived alone. My apartment is twinkly and festive and it makes me happy to turn on the lights.

I tried not to be too reflective when I decorated. It has been a tough year, full of loss and change. Christmas is hard that way. While it's full of tidings of comfort and joy, it's also a reminder that life changes, sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically. The change can be good; I'm still grateful and thrilled that I was able to move so much closer to my family. It's such a treat to drive home and be surrounded by the people that I love, even when we drive each other crazy.

But the change can also be bad. Christmas is a time when the emptiness in our life is a little louder and no matter how many twinkly lights or gift-exchanges you fill it with, it's always there. There's always a gap that can't quite be filled. Christmas is a time when ghosts whisper a little louder, wanting to be remembered and nostalgia grows into something tangible, something that makes your heart break just a little at the most unexpected moments.

Yet Christmas is also the end of the year, a time when all things end, only to begin again. It's a gentle reminder that everything comes full circle. For each year that begins, an ending must follow. It's the in-between part that is tricky. New Years is a time of renewal, of new hope, of resolutions for change. Christmas is a time to reflect and look back. It's a time to celebrate the promise of hope, provided you remember why we have Christmas in the first place. It's a time to spend with loved ones, to honour the spaces that are left unfilled but to not let those gaps overwhelm us.

There's a lot that I miss in my new life. I miss the trip to Target or Home Depot to pick out the tree. I miss laughing and being silly as we decorate the tree. I miss the bickering over whether we should be tasteful (as my roommate preferred) or colourfully tacky (my prefence). We usually compromised and ended up with a pretty cool-looking tree. I'll miss the mini-Christmases I had before I came home for Christmas with my family, the gift exchanges, the laughter, the food. Most of all I'll miss the friends and family I have in California who filled the gap when my own family was too far away and the distance couldn't be bridged with a phone call.

It's been a year full of change, good and bad. It's a year of growing up and realizing that life is too short to waste. Though the new year is still a month away, the inevitable reflection begins in the comfort of 200 multi-coloured lights, blazing away on my $25 pre-lit tree. Though my writing is no further than it was a year ago as far as publishing goes, it's taken leaps and bounds with the subjects I choose and the way in which I write them. The rejection I receive is hard but it's not everything. It depends on how I let it affect me. And so as I lay beneath my Christmas tree and stared up at the lights last night, I decided to enjoy the beauty of life rather than the harshness. The lights, the tree, the snow, the family and the friends, absent and present, all these things make Christmas my favourite time of year.

Happy Tuesday.