Chillin' With the Rose Parade . . . or not

I learned something interesting last night, HGTV is no longer showing the Rose Parade in full uninterrupted glory.  Came as a shock, a feeling of a tradition lost.  A few internet searches later and I still can't find an explanation.  A loss of contract?  Could no longer afford to show the parade without commercials?

This morning I found ABC and NBC showing the parade.  I can't watch NBC as our local affiliate and DirecTV have been in a negotiations war for months, and I can only watch programing on the app.  ABC was my only option.

So many thoughts.  First: I miss HGTV's coverage.  ABC had so many commercials and behind the scene features that would have been better suited as a pre-program, taking away from the parade itself.  I actually like seeing all the floats, bands, equestrians, etc.  This morning I could only watch the first hour, so I just finished watching the second, skipping through it quickly as commercials flew by. 

Still, I love the Rose Parade.  It's fascinating.  The creativity.  Construction.  Mechanical ingenuity.  Design.  Use of materials.  So many beautiful floats.  Someday I hope to see the parade in person, though a decade ago I got to look at the floats a couple days after the parade.  Worth doing once as the floats are magnificent in person.

New Years Day is coming to a close.  Day one into 2019 is almost finished.  Crazy.  I just want to take this year one day at a time.  Embrace what has been planned along with what hasn't.  Tomorrow I start my resolutions, as New Year resolutions should never start on the first.

This will be a great year. :0)  No matter what.

New Years Resolutions, Goals, and Possibilities: Don't Be Afraid to Dream Big.

"Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it." 

 

~ Anonymous, only because I don't know who deserves the credit. 

New Years Eve.  It's already 2019 in many parts of the World, Japan included.  I just watched a video of fireworks being launched in Tokyo.

I'm so ready for this new year.  There were struggles last year, but many highlights as well, in which I feel very fortunate.  But also, I didn't achieve many of my resolutions this last year.  Didn't walk 1,000 miles.  Didn't blog as often as I wished.  Didn't get music going again on Youtube.  Things happened.  Life happens.  And now I'm ready to retry these goals and add new ones.

The above quote is going to be my theme this year.  Standing alone, that's something I'm really good at.  Asking when I need help, that's something I need to work on, big time.  I have a hard time asking for help, and with certain aspects of my life I really need it.

And I'm going to try that "walk 1,000 miles" goal again.  Really, I'm aiming for 100 miles a month.  I want to get back into Highland dance, as I've let that fall by the wayside.  I bought a 3x4 tap dance board with DVDs, so I want to work through all those.  Learn the guitar.  Get back to playing the piano.  (I'm going to start teaching my Mom piano this week, so that will help me get back into it).  I want to learn to draw.  Self publish books.  Etc.

 

Okay, this is starting to sound crazy, but I need a little crazy right now.

 

I need to believe all things are possible.

I need to believe I'm not over the hill and dreams can still happen.

So I've got a plan.  Taking it bit by bit.  Bite size.

So here's to 2019!!  Good luck with all your goals.

The Ups and Downs with New Years Resolutions

"To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility." ~ Thomas S. Monson

How are you guys doing with your New Years resolutions?

There are some I'm doing okay on and some I'm not.

But that's okay.

Sometimes I feel like I bite off more than I can chew, as the saying goes.  Setting myself up for failure.  But I think goals are important, regardless.  We need to aim for something and keep trying when we fall.

Writing a poem each week is something I've definitely faltered on, so I'm reevaluating that.  Overall I want to increase my writing in multiple writing fields, maybe even get myself published professionally.  That would be amazing.

I've already reached some of my walking goals.  With the Hogwarts Running Club they have the base six medals and a challenge medal at the end of the year that can represent any miles you wish.  Quidditch was a big theme last year, and a year ago this March they did an in house Quidditch match where I walked 60 miles in a week for the Gryffindors.  For the 2017 Challenge medal, in the shape of Quidditch goal hoops, I wanted to repeat this success.  At the end of January I did it, walked 60 miles in a weeks time.  Exhausting!  But all that walking does feel good.

And I'm over 100 miles for my 1000 miles goal, and have lost 6 1/2 pounds since the start of the year.  Not a huge weight loss, but it's something, and I'm refocusing my goals.  I need to get back to walking; I've slacked this last month. 

So don't give up!  Keep trying!

Everyday is a good day to start a new resolution, New Years or not.

New Year's Fresh Starts and Things To Accomplish Before I'm 40

I remember remarking a year or so back that New Year's resolutions are silly and that resolutions should be made all year long.  Though I do agree with this sentiment, partially, there is something nice about a complete fresh start.  The last week in December I've been figuring out how I want to deal with New Year's resolutions for 2018.  Weight loss?  Ah, yes.  Learning new languages? Kinda sidestepped last year, will be better focused this year.  Music goals? Still a ton.

Also during Christmas and News Years I binged the last 2 seasons of Fuller House on Netflix.  Grew up on the show and it's been fun seeing what the Full House gang is up to.  The character DJ pulls out a vision picture board of all the things she wanted to accomplish by 40.  What a cool idea!  And then I realized I'm going to be 40 in 4 1/2 years . . . 0_0

Also a while back I once did a 101 goals in 1001 days.  It was fun, but I accomplished about 15%.  15% is better than 0%!!  Just throwing that out there.  My 40th B-day is a little over 1500 days from now in 2022. 

So now I'm coming up with some goals, my by 40 bucket list.  And every New Years I'll reevaluate and base New Year's goals on where I am each year with my bucket list.

One thing I do want to do this year is write a poem every week starting this week till the end of the year.  I haven't written a poem in over a year!  A poem that's not tied to songs I'm working on.  That part of me needs to come out more.  It wants to; I keep stifling it.

Other things I want to do this year is start tapping again.  As in Tap dancing.  Get a portable tap dance board and follow along with lessons on YouTube.  Highland dance is another thing I need to start taking seriously.  Goal: get a dancing kilt and full outfit by the end of the year.  Then there's learning French, Japanese, and Irish.  I've got Duolingo and book goals with these languages.  Start uploading music on YouTube again.  Haven't done that in a REALLY long time.  And get comfortable composing game songs and jazz songs.

The last major goal, or goals, is to get virtual reality games uploaded on Steam with my siblings.  We're finishing up a game next week, and it takes a few weeks approval from Steam.  (I don't really know what that all means; that's what my brothers have told me.)

Oh!  And I did sign up to do a 1000 mile challenge this year from I Love To Run along with my Gryffindor team at Hogwarts Running Club and Companion Team on Whovian Running Club.  Multiple accountability.  I did 27 miles last week.  And this week I'm aiming for 30.

But mostly I want these goals to be a good variety.  Some easily attainable.  Some beyond my wildest dreams.  Self improvement.  Adventures.  New Skills.  Health.  Etc.

A lot can be done by 2022.

Coming To A Close, 2017

There always seems to be this interesting lull between Christmas and New Years.  Like time stands still for a moment that lasts the whole week.  A time of reflection.  A time of wondering.  Pondering over highs and lows.  What ifs.  Could have been.

I never dreamed I would have gone to the UK and Ireland this time last year.  It seemed like an impossible dream.  It was at the end of January when my Mom and I found the tour we wanted to go on.

I visited California 3 times.  Once with the nieces and my Mom to Disneyland and Balboa/Newport.  Quite a trip that was.  Definite high and lows.  Laughs and tears.  But it was all fantastic.

Last May my Grandpa wanted to make a final trip to the California coast to visit all his favorite places.  My Grandma came along (they divorced when my Mom was 13 (my Grandma is a literal Saint)), and we visited Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Great American Melodrama in Oceano, Arroyo Grande, Cambria, and Ragged Point.  It was so good we made the trip, as my Grandpa is going downhill, and there's no way he could make such a trip now, so it was all very special.  And sentimental.

And last November my Mom and I went to Riverside to help my Uncle with something.  Did escape to Disneyland again and to the beach.  It was a busy trip full of service, but it was still good.

It's strange to think Christmas wasn't even a week ago.  Feels like eons.  We had another white Christmas, completely unexpected.  Snow came late Christmas Eve night, enough to stick on the ground through Christmas.  This has happened these last few years it seems.

I thought I was spending New Years Eve alone, as I didn't know if my Dad needed to work through the night, but I just got a call that he's coming home, and my brother Robbie, sister-in-law Lindsay, and little baby niece will be here an hour or so.  So I need to do some cleaning!

I didn't want to spend New Years Eve alone.  Nice not having too. :0)

Happy New Years!

Hope 2018 is wonderful.

Forming Permanent New Years Resolutions

In the past I've been yin and yang when it comes to New Years resolutions.  On one end I've been like, "Resolutions should happen all year long, don't limit change to the first of the year."  And at other times I'm attempting everything but the kitchen sink on January the first.

This year I'm trying to find the happy medium: Change, but take it bit by bit.  Forgive, move on, and try again.  (And then I hear Yoda in my mind say, "Do or do not, there is no try." -_-;;  Sometimes you have to get through the trying to find yourself in the doing.  It's a process.)

For starters one of my resolutions is to blog more.  I've slacked, but not for a lack of ideas, I've got so many, and so many pictures and experiences and thoughts I want to share.  The last half of this last year went way too fast and there was just a lot going on.  My goal is to blog a minimum of 4 times a week, sometimes more.  That's a good place to start.

But my other goals?  It's really a day to day thing.  I need to develop positive habits.  Develop and strengthen positive habits to replace bad habits.  My brother recommended I buy and read the book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg.  My brother was positively influenced by this book and so I'm going to read it this month.

With my other goals I wrote out a giant list of over 30 items.  It would be an overwhelming list if it wasn't for the fact that I'm not tackling it all at once.  I entered the list in a word document, created spaces for check marks, another space to write in the date, and each day I check what I've done.  It's a way to monitor what I'm doing vs. not doing.  What I can improve upon or get back to.  When I do certain things, or when it's been too long since I've done one of the items.  Really, overall, it's about developing positive daily habits.  A change of life.  Not, "I'll do something for a month or two and then stop."  These are things I want to learn to do naturally, if that makes any sense.

After putting my list together I ventured unto Facebook.  One of my friends shared this anonymous quote: "You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.  The secret of your success is found in your daily routine."  So my New Years resolution is developing and improving my daily routine.

There's so much I want to do with my music and with Talea.  I've got big goals this year, but there's a saying I've got backwards: Can't See the Forest for The Trees.  I have a habit of focusing on the forest, and not seeing the trees at all, but all goals and dreams are a process.  You don't just find yourself at the end.  What would be the worth in that?  Accomplishing goals is a process, a journey, full of ups and downs, heartaches and triumphs.  This year I'm embracing the journey, the path, and the daily doings we must pass through to make dreams possible.

My Simple New Years Resolution . . .

 My Simple New Years Resolution is to . . .

Believe!

("I know it sounds like a cat poster, but it's true.")

Believe in life.

Believe in myself.

Believe I can be successful.

Believe I can learn Japanese and French.

Believe I can become better at composing music.

But really I simply want to Believe.

There's so many articles that pop up around this time of year that explains why New Year resolutions fail, why goals fail, etc, but personally I feel we fail when we stop believing, or even start without believing in our dreams/ambitions in the first place.

We fail when we lose faith.

So Believe!

Believe you can achieve every good thing your heart desires.

And if you misstep, believe you can begin again.

We only run out of chances when we're dead, and sense we're still breathing we can all succeed in our goals.

Believe.

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles." ~ Audrey Hepburn

And on a funny note, I did get some fun New Years resolutions from Zimbio's The Random New Year's Resolution Generator, just in case "believing" wasn't specific enough.

 A great way to get in shape.

 This is honestly a great idea.

 More books!  And no more lamenting at running out of shelf space.

Yup . . .

A Rousing Game of Hearts

If your family is cool enough to like games, which they hopefully are, then there's a favorite game you always gravitate towards.

We go through phases.  When I was a kid we played a lot of Monopoly.  There's So Many Versions!!!  You can never own too many.  Then, in my young twenties, we discovered Ticket to Ride and Pirate Dice from Pirates of the Caribbean.  Good times.  And then there was Shadows Over Camelot.  My Mom always got super competitive with that game.  Recently I discovered The Resistance, an awesome card game.  Everyone I've played the game with has LOVED it, and my parents even got really into it, making all these accusations and getting quite excited.

But out of all the games we play, there's always one we go back to: Hearts.

We played it as a family New Years Eve.  My brothers were off at a friends party, which I skipped because I was still sick (I'm finally better!!), so it was myself, Grandpa R, Aunt Tam, Mom, and Dad.  My Grandma A watched from the end of the table, amused.

We played several rounds until someone finally reached 100 points, which took us 9 turns, after which I only earned . . . 6 points!  And I miraculously "Shot the Moon" once, much to everyone's dismay. Heh.  The funny thing was I never intended to Shot the Moon, and my Grandfather even tried to spare me the Queen of Spades, which was nice, but the next round there was nothing he could do, the Queen ended up in my point pile.  I kept leading, getting hearts, until it was realized midway through that I could do it!  I could Shot the Moon!!  "She can't do it" "Does anyone have high cards?" "We have to stop her!!"

I looked at my hand: Kings, Queens, and a ten.  I could do it!  I was leading, and I did the best I could to hide my smirk.  Heh, it was pretty Epic.

Then my Dad had had enough.  He had decided earlier that day that watching Sucker Punch with the sound system boosting was the best way to spend New Years Eve.  That movie is a guys paradise --_--;;

He had 99 points, just 99 points by the 8th round, and when he saw his hand he started a great big chuckle of a laugh, convinced he could get that final point to end our game.  He bragged, but I later countered, "I can take the hit," boosting, everyone still reeling from the 26 point gift I gave in abundance.  I got 2 points that round, but my Aunt was the true hero, and mission "Prevent Dad from getting a point" was a success.

. . . 6 whole points :0)

Who Needs New Years Resolutions?

 

 Last month I set out to accomplish two things: finish a nanowrimo novel and blog every single day in the month of November.  Both were accomplished, though there were quite a few days I felt really close to giving up.

If you don't know what nanowrimo is, it's a month full of insanity.  For the month of November you commit to writing 50,000 words of a novel, but in the process it's okay if plots change, points of view change, etc, all things are possible as long as you keep writing.  If you finish you're a "winner," and a link to a PDF certificate of completion is provided.  All you have to do is finish.

This is my fifth year attempting nanowrimo, but failed the first three years due to being a college student.  Homework, tests, and class attendance is important after all.  Both last year and this year I pulled off the 50,000 words, though I must admit that the quality of my writing greatly suffered as my typing needed to grow faster to meet deadlines.  Though, regardless, I stumbled upon some great ideas for this sci-fi series I'm working on, and an idea for a third book spin off, which makes me giddy with excitement.  So even though I spent several days writing nothing but garbage, there are gems scattered about that makes it all worth while.

Above is a nanowrimo temporary tattoo that I got a few years ago.  This year I made a pact with myself that if I finished, I'd wear it.  Below is the tattoo pre-application.  It's totally imitating an HP death mark. 

 

 And of course my other goal last month was to post a blog entry every single day.  A couple months back I got pretty close, but I thought it would be cool if I was able to pull off both tasks, and now I have a happy literary/blogging habit.

This got me thinking, who needs New Years resolutions when you can start fresh each month with new goals?  They say that it takes 3 weeks of constant work to turn a bad habit into a good habit, or to simply form new good habits.

So what are my goals for December?  Besides getting the original song finished that Steven and I are working on, I've decided my goal is going to be to finally learn the Japanese kana (katakana and hiragana).  They're the phonetic characters in the Japanese language.  Not learning them is holding me back in my studies in a big way, and I've placed a few learning blocks on myself in the process.  I'm going to blast through those learning blocks! and get back to learning Japanese so I'm not able to just speak the language, but I also what to be able to write original Japanese Pop songs without having to translate English to Japanese.  So that's the goal!  One step at a time.  Anything's possible when you set your mind to it :0)