Getting Ready For A New Year

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Just a few days ago everything felt warm and cozy with Christmas ornaments and cards and glitter here on my blog. Somehow the so-seasonal picture of sugar cookies on a plate and candy cane sticks poking out from a mug of something steamy suddenly seems 'past its prime'.

I love this vintage vase with violets... I love its soft beauty and somehow makes me feel lovely and eager for a new year.


Here's what I'm up to at present as we wait for the dawn of a brand new year...

Getting ready for another online memoir writing course with Lisa Dale Norton -- it starts next week.  Getting ready for me includes having a project idea lined up of what I want to write about (the last time I took the course, I was a green horn and didn't know what to expect).  And, also important, I've been working on having a few meals in the freezer, things like homemade soup and pasta sauce. Which means more time for writing and pondering and pencil chewing...oh yes, and actually writing several essays over the course.
 
Purging my ever-increasing load of emails that arrive from all manner of sources --- wanted and so many unwanted and unsolicited -- determining that this year I am NOT allowing emails to pile up in my inbox till it groans with the cyber-weight. So, the goal is to keep my inbox under a hundred.  If that sounds like a lot to you, I used to have several hundred emails in my inbox, because I had signed up for so many 'free' resources and webinars, and of course I'm on all their contact lists now. I'm more particular now, if I'm not using it right away, I don't need right now either.

Tuning up my computer with the help of tech-savvy nephew. Yes, even computers get bogged down in the corners with stuff that we don't need or want...and we even scratch our heads wondering when that program got downloaded. We uninstalled programs I no longer needed, and we did a full and proper scan for viruses. I am amazed at how swift my computer runs again -- I feel quite light headed about it all.  Mmm... maybe I'll be able to blog faster now too -- haha --don't count on it, my friends.

Pondering 'word for the season' for my inner journey as well. What with all this cleaning up of the old, I think the word 'purge' becomes a good mantra for now -- letting go of the clutter, the unnecessary, any distractions that water down my energy and time.

So...on that note, I'm off. As dear hubby and I work at our local performing arts center (there are events both tonight and tomorrow, so said cleaners must do their duty, even on New Year's Eve), we'll be long retired before the bells ring in the New Year in our corner of the world. As one friend says, whether he stays up or not, the year will still arrive, so we'll toast it ahead.  

For everyone else who's staying up ...or not... here's wishing you a very Happy New Year. May tonight ring 2014 in with grace, beauty, and much joy for you and yours.
 

Hugs and blisses,
Brenda
xox