A White Christmas, The End of 2017, & Looking Ahead to 2018

Alright, my last blog post of 2017! It's hard to believe 2017 has come and gone. I got married, I made some big decisions, made some mistakes, and learned a lot about myself. Here's hoping 2018 is better. ;)

I'm skipping the WWPR post this week because I haven't made much progress during Pass 2 on my MS. I could blame it on the holiday craziness, or the fact that I've been feeling unwell, but in plain black and white, I didn't do much, so I'll accept the consequences of carving out some revision time in Hawaii. Then again, writing time in a relaxing place doesn't sound too bad, right?

I hope everyone reading had a wonderful Christmas! If you follow my instagram, you'll have seen the huge surprise we received from Mother Nature on Christmas Eve: snow! It was my first ever white Christmas. It was beautiful and magical! I loved it! Because of it, Christmas Day was at our place. It was Michael and I's first time hosting Christmas, so that plus the snow will always make it a memorable one.

Here's a quick highlight of my 2017 in no particular order:

1. Getting married

2. Michael's 30th surprise party

3. Santa Barbara wine trip

4. My birthday in the desert & at home

5. Thanksgiving in California

6. Seeing Banners live!

7. Mother's day visit

8. Meeting K&K / TIU Tour

9. visit from Mic & Joan

10. LA Trip

And because, who doesn't love New Years Resolutions:

Writing Goals

1. Finish my YA Contemporary - the current project I'm working on

2. Draft my YA Fantasy - the one I made an outline of last month

Health & Fitness

1. Level up on yoga - i.e. no more intro classes. I'd like to do more advanced classes and get more comfortable with inversions.

2. Stick through a workout plan - I like to dabble in all kinds of workouts and do them based on how I'm feeling, but it' be nice to finish one completely from start to finish. I've decided to do BBG2 from start to finish when I get back from Hawaii.

3. Learn more new recipes - everything I've been making is getting kind of old. Time to revamp my culinary skills.

4. Practice gratitude more often to keep a positive mindset.

Personal

1. Make more time for people and keep in touch more - I have a tendency to keep to my writing cave and my little bubble.

2. Explore the area - whether it's coffee shops, bars, or new restaurants. I used to be all for trying new things, but I've had the tendency to stick to my favorites (and while there's nothing wrong with that--I do enjoy the novelty of new experiences).

3. Live minimally -  as in don't buy things unless I really need it so I can reduce on clutter. I'm no hoarder, but I do have trouble letting go of paper memories, whether that's journals, photographs, cards, or printed manuscripts. The thing is, they end up in my closet or in trunks, which means I have no space for anything else. So, yeah. I'll try to work on that. 

4. Study up on Wine - I'd like to increase my knowledge base enough to past the level 1 somm test!

All dressed up in white

Just before going to bed last night I asked Michael to keep the blinds open.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I want to see the snow!"

I had such a hard time sleeping too. Maybe it was all of the excitement, because I have never seen snow fall since I was like three or four years old, so it kind of meant a big deal!

I woke up around 6:30 a.m., the usual time I get up for work. I opened my eyes, and the sky was pink and orange, but lo and behold there was snow! Being the responsible person I am, I called work to see what time the office was opening (two hours later due to the snow) before launching myself outside to see it!

View from the balcony, looking down into the street.

"It's snowing, honey! It's snowing, honey!" I exclaimed as I threw on whatever would cover and keep me warm. "I have to go and see!"

"Be careful," he mumbled as he rolled onto his other side, continuing to sleep.

On my way down the elevator, I called my mom, waking her up to share the news. Then went outside to walk in it and take a ton of photos!

Stepping out into it! Look at that early morning sky!

7 am, just got out of bed, yet happy as a clam!

Snow falling.

Covering the grass.

Catching snow.

It sparkles!

Some snow in my hair after my walk.

I came back into the apartment so spritely and excited then proceeded to wake Michael by showing him my photos. It was so hard to sit still, so I went back out again to the top deck and took even more photos. The sky finally turned blue as it woke up and voila! Seattle all dressed up in white!

Untouched snow on the rooftop deck.

Getting my footprints in.

The whole skyline, with the Space Needle's lighted Christmas tree on the far right.

Beautiful. It was a good morning for me and a great way to start my Friday! I came back to my apartment, taking in the scene before making pancakes for breakfast!

Can't get enough of it! View from the balcony window.

Such in great spirits that I made blueberry gluten free pancakes topped with sliced bananas and agave nectar.

Blair watching snow for the first time!

Michael snapped this one of me when I wasn't looking.

Happy Friday Everyone!