Wow, where has 2017 gone?! It’s almost over and this last week of it has me sick. I started with a definite cold on Christmas Day to full on not eating for two days and only working a couple of hours on my one of two days I was supposed to work this week. Thank goodness it’s break time because the last time I was this sick, I was off from work for three days. I don’t have to work again until Wednesday so fingers crossed that I feel better by then!
I’ve been spending these past few days not eating then eating very little, drinking lots of water, playing games on my phone and iPad, and reading Harlequin romance novels. The romance novels have given me the chance to stay awake yet keep still. I’ve read four novels so far these past two days and oddly enough, the male leads in all the novels were Greek. Interesting, right? Well, I found it interesting. Of course, the female leads were always a bit young for my taste and inevitably golden haired or what not. Only one of the females had dark hair and she had a makeover in the story before the male really looked at her as a woman. It was enough to make me roll my eyes but I went along with it because I always do with these novels. They were fun, quick reads for me, which I always love…
But I’m not here to regal you with my thoughts on Harlequin romances (I LOVE THEM!!!). No, it’s the end of year edition of my blog, the time to look back a little and look forward with hope and resolutions. I’m ever filled with hope. The resolutions are usually broken before January ends but they’re still fun to make.
THE LOOK BACK ON 2017
My Best Nine of 2017 on Instagram
Is it a surprise that my Best Nine on Instagram features lots of Tyler Rich? I was hoping the one of me with his lady would also find its way to my Best Nine but alas! And as much as I posted Simon Kassianides, he did not make my Best Nine. But I bet if we look back on those 300 plus posts I made during 2017, we’d find that the majority of those posts were Simon. (No, let’s not go back and look because the potential embarrassment would make me hide.)
2017 saw me FINALLY meet Jacob Davis as well as his cohorts, see less Tyler Rich (alas!), buy too much 1888 Design pieces, purchase my first Love Your Melon beanie (which led to more beanies and a baseball cap), NOT attend Sam Hunt’s headlining show (I know, what the hell?!), discover a new fella (more on him later), meet Jordan Davis (Jacob’s brother), get a new tattoo, get a new phone (iPhone 7 Plus), became more politically aware (how could I not?)… 2017 also saw loss in the death of my cousin and as well as the mother-in-law (which led to renewed contact with the sister-in-law). Neither were quite unexpected but it still made for a heavy heart… I kept my one resolution of drinking one new IPA a week. I mostly just made a run of drinking as many different IPAs until I hit 52. I think I got to 60 or so?
FANGIRL ME – My regard continued for the fellas and 2017 bestowed upon me a new Listworthy in the form of Simon Kassianides. I still don’t know why I ever started following him but I’m glad that I did because lo, the inspiration he sparked in me is still burning bright. So thank you, Simon. I hope I haven’t been too much of an oddity… And of course I still love and adore my other fellas. They are number one in their different ways with me and some of them know and some of them don’t. My musical fellows (Tyler, Jacob, Jordan, Sam) have become the soundtrack of my life and my actor fellas (Sully, Henry, and the aforementioned Simon) are the faces in my stories. They’ve all inspired me in different ways and for that I am quite thankful…
WRITING – I wrote my first 70,000 plus words novel for National Novel Writing Month. I also started a few other stories and never finished them but perhaps they’ll serve as future writing fodder for me. The NaNoWriMo novel was my first foray into first person fiction and I’m still not sure if I like it more or less than the third person.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2018
My usual resolutions – write more, read more (READ MORE!!!), eat better (right, that’s going to happen), drink a new beer (any kind this time) a week. Maybe I’ll cull my social media feeds, start muting or unfollowing the people who are spreading more darkness than sunshine. I’d like to get another tattoo but will I dare get one behind my ear? I’d like to keep a cleaner house (I’m so terrible at that) and maybe learn a new dish (again, terrible at that).
Most of all, I’d like to nurture my creativity and spread joy and love more often than not, even if it’s just online and a smile to a stranger. I hope every day brings a lot of laughter and only few tears. I hope those little attentions still bring a thrill…
Happy 2018 one and all!