2nd Friday of the year

I was talking to a friend today about first impressions and how accurate are they really…we were laughing because I met him when he was in a training class and was sent out in “the field” to observe what he’d be doing after training, to be honest I wasn’t impressed, he was smart but he was trying too hard. Over the years we have become very good friends, he’s someone I can laugh with and it’s amazing how much we have in common.

He’s the perfect example of not going with your first impression but giving yourself time to really get to know someone. It’s just like the old adage, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, allow yourself time or you could miss out on a wonderful friendship.

breathing a sigh of relief...

About 10 minutes ago I was in a state of pure and simple panic...my usb drive decided not to work. I never thought about having a back up drive for my back up drive!

I did think about all the pictures and "stories" on this little pink device and my heart stopped, I have blog ideas galore waiting for inspiration, pictures, holy cow, do I have pictures and ones I could never replace. And my stories, my babies, these characters I developed and I just started a major rewrite on one of my favorites...

I guess I need to talk to my favorite computer guru and get his opinion...

January 9th

If you've read this blog before you know I love books, I spent most of 2011 blogging weekly about some of my favorites. Two of my favorite authors, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child created one of my favorite characters in the world, Aloysius Xingú Leng Pendergast.
 
The mysterious FBI Special Agent first appeared as a supporting character in their first novel, Relic, and in its sequel Reliquary, before assuming the protagonist role in The Cabinet of Curiosities.

I am currently reading the 2nd book in the "Helen" trilogy, Cold Vengeance. The authors never fail to leave me amazed and I can't wait to read the final "Helen" book, Two Graves.

I will admit he can be annoying but he's never dull. And if he isn't your cup of tea they have several other great books and wonderful characters...

Gratitude

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For other uses, see Gratitude (disambiguation).

"Thank" redirects here. For the protein symbol THANK, see THANK.

For other uses, see Thank You.

For other uses, see Thanks.

Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. The experience of gratitude has historically been a focus of several world religions,^[1] and has been considered extensively by moral philosophers such as Adam Smith.^[2] The systematic study of gratitude within psychology only began around the year 2000, possibly because psychology has traditionally been focused more on understanding distress rather than understanding positive emotions. However, with the advent of the positive psychology movement,^[3] gratitude has become a mainstream focus of psychological research.^[4] The study of gratitude within psychology has focused on the understanding of the short term experience of the emotion of gratitude (state gratitude), individual differences in how frequently people feel gratitude (trait gratitude), and the relationship between these two aspects.

Many moons ago Sarah Ban Breathnach introduced Simple Abundance and the Gratitude Journal. I faithfully kept that journal recording 5 things everyday that I was grateful for. I decided that this year I would do something similar on Facebook, beginning on January 1st I posted a quote about being grateful and then in the comments I wrote one thing I am grateful for. Now that I've done one weeks worth of quotes I decided to share them in my blog.

1/1/13

Practice gratitude every day, it won't take long before gratitude is your natural state of being. It is one of the greatest secrets to life. Rhonda Byrne, Day 1 of 365

1/2/13

The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude…Friedrich Nietzsche, Day 2 of 365

1/3/13

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

1/4/13

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”

― Maya Angelou, Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer

1/5/13

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

1/6/13

“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”

― John F. Kennedy

1/7/13

    “Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.” — Lionel Hampton

 

oh dear

I think I've done something I may regret, I started a story 3 1/2 years ago. It came quickly to me, it was actually several stories melded together, the past of a young couple, the past of a young mother and her daughter, the past of a young man and a sick child and current time bringing the young couple together again. Yes, it's extremely complicated but I loved the stories intertwining and the resolution of a wrong being righted even if not fully. I'll admit there were holes to fill in but it was coming together slowly. The I got the dreaded writers block and my wonderful characters hated their lives. I sent them away for a bit and now they are demanding a close to total rewrite. I may have to give it to them, their story is the first of what could be 2 more stories and I adore them!

Happy New Year....lol

a novel idea

My brain is still on overload but I'm going to try and get in touch with some of my characters, I miss Emmy and Riley...

Maybe the plot bunny will jump out of the rabbit hole with the white rabbit...

Sunday, January 6, 2013

As a new week begins I am taking time to reflect on the week just ending...

A new year has begun and it wasn't smooth or without problems; but by weeks end the earlier issues were under control and new "problems" surfaced in the face of a cream colored tom cat named Gus and a nasty abscess on his chest, let's just say the Gus loves being an outdoor cat free to do as he pleases and a mini satellite dish around his neck is not his idea of fun!

Spent the afternoon watching the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Les Miserables. All I can say is wow! Never been a big fan of Russell Crowe but he was great, Hugh Jackman was wonderful. The casting was perfect.

I've said before I don't make resolutions but I'm going to try and make some attainable goals in various areas of my life...stay tuned...