Why I Don't Make New Year's Resolutions

Modified from just THOUGHT no PROCESS

I drafted this post a couple of weeks ago, and I have to be honest, it was pretty cynical.

Random Thursday: Snail Mail

Tammy at Rowdy Kittens posted a great segment on "The Lost Art of Letter Writing". It is a beautiful thing to receive a piece of mail with your name on it (especially handwritten) that isn't a bill. You are overcome with that anxious, excited tingling in your spine, making you feel like a kid again.

Dining In: Better-Than-Crack Brownies

During my photography weekend I came across some pictures that documented a cooking expedition I had with a recipe from HowSweetEats found on the Tasty Kitchen. Yes, you read the name right: Better-Than-Crack Brownies.

They are pretty simple. You start with a box of brownies.

What about the other 364 days?

I've had a lot of downtime to think, journal, and read this week. It's been super-relaxing. I made the mistake of checking my work email two days ago, and after seeing 25 new emails about stuff I needed to do, I vowed not to check it again until after the new year. Right now for me, ignorance is bliss.

From my home to yours.....

Random Thursday: Christmas Cartoon

I thought for this Random Thursday I would share one of my favorite Christmas cartoons:

Love is Synonymous with Giving

We are on the road again, traveling around visiting family and friends in our beautiful home state. It's been wonderful to dine in our favorite restaurants, play in the mounds of snow, and linger in familiar surroundings.

Dining In: Trying not to burn down the kitchen

Yes, we are skipping Christmas this year. Which gave me a great opportunity to spend some quality time in my kitchen, dabbling in a little holiday baking. I had loads of fun getting to try new recipes, and sharing the goodies with our neighbors.  Below is a list of items I attempted to bake, along with my reviews. Sorry no step-by-step pictures, it was a little crazy in my kitchen this weekend.

Taking the path less traveled

"Our greatest fear as individuals should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."

-Crazy Love

This excerpt made me realize I'm scared.

Random Thursday: A Sign

I discovered a sign here in our hometown that made me smile.

Simple Christmas

Here is a beautiful story of a simple Christmas.

Dining In: Recipe Failure

I get tired of all the cooking shows, blogs, discussion boards making everything look so easy. No one ever shows you the recipes that failed.

The perfect song....

A Photography Weekend

Skipping Christmas

In October I started to plan our Christmas trip home and broke out in hives.

Random Thursday: Conspiracy & Inspiring Women

Okay so my Random Thursday is pretty random this week. There are two things I want to share with you. They are so not related, but equally cool, inspiring, revealing, and fun.

Living each moment, your bucket list

For some weird reason I've been thinking a lot about death recently. Okay not so much about death but a lot about life.

Poor Rich People

I am currently reading this book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. It's really challenging and eye-opening. I recently read a section called Poor Rich People, which included some eye-opening facts.

"If one hundred people represented the world's population 53 of those would live on less than $2 a day."

Societies Pull

I've eluded to this feeling, battle, influence, several times. Like when you try to keep up with the Joneses, follow the American Dream, or consume 5,000 calories for turkey day.

Random Thursday

This is a little more serious than usual for Random Thursday, but the poem was so moving for me I just had to share it. I found this on my parents refrigerator while home for the holidays. I hope today we can all take a moment to realize the brevity of life.

December

So I took a much longer hiatus from the blogging world than expected. We literally got back into town and two hours later I was in my office working on my grant, well into the wee hours. However, the document is currently off my plate and will be completely gone by Friday, so I figured I could just take a moment to catch up.