enough already!

When David Bowie passed away earlier this month, I wrote a blog post about it. And then Alan Rickman died. And the I scratched my cornea. And then a coworker passed away. And then I got a nasty winter cold. For each of these things, I thought about writing a blog post, and just never got to it. And now all I can really say is, what the hell, 2016? You're supposed to be better than your predecessor, but that was a pretty shitty start! The rest of this year better be an improvement. The bar is low. You can do it, 2016. SHEESH.
At least I'm feeling good about the writing end of things. I have two weekly online writing dates, plus the critique group, plus all my VP and WtO classmates to talk writing with/swap crits with/etc. Slowly but steadily, I do feel like I'm creating the life I want to be leading.
I've been doing a lot of cooking. Kale pesto, spinach pesto, banana bread, homemade granola, soups, vegetarian enchiladas . . . I'm trying really hard to use all the farm share produce and all the food my roommate brings home from her catering gig. It's been a little intense! But I'm really enjoying spending more time in the kitchen. There's something meditative about it, and it's totally different than anything else I've been doing.
And on that note, it's late, I should go to bed and hope tomorrow is an improvement, healthwise. Blood and kisses, everyone!

a new blog post for a new year

Well, here we are. January, 2016. Last year went by in a blur. I’m not going to dwell on 2015; there were a number of things about it that were not good. But there were some other things that were good. It was a year of transition, and those are always difficult. Now I’m choosing to look forward. The transition year has left me poised to move ahead confidently in the direction of my art, and I’m excited to do so. I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions, but I like to do goals, so here are my (vague) goals for 2016: Take better care of myself. Write more. Freelance less. Give myself more down time. 

How about you? What are your goals or resolutions or dreams for 2016?

I will tell you one highlight of 2015: my partner-in-crime and I adopted a kitten. We still have Zoe, our smart, beautiful, antisocial girl who is now almost nine. And now we have Isabel. She's a delightful terror, and is eight months old. I'll post some photos at some point, I promise.

I read a lot more books than I blogged about in 2015. There’s not time to discuss them all, so here’s a list of some of my favorites from last year that I haven't mentioned previously: Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley, The Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace, Chimes at Midnight and The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire, Uprooted by Naomi Novik.

I’ll leave you with links to two blog entries that I read the other morning and found inspiring:

https://mariadahvanaheadley.wordpress.com/2015/11/06/taking-writing-risks-new-adult-novel-sold-to-fsg-and-more/

http://pacificrain.blogspot.com/2016/01/2016-new-direction.html

Blood and kisses, and Happy New Year!