A Post For The New Year

First and foremost, I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's Eve.  I hope that if you're the type to make resolutions that you are able to keep them throughout the year. I hope that if there are other holidays you celebrate this time of year that you were surrounded by loved ones and that you were able to make many great memories.

This year I haven't decided on any concrete resolutions. I mean there's always the one about working out more and eating less junk food, getting out and taking lots of photos, and embarking on lots of adventures. I figure two out of three of those will be easily doable, and one will take a swift kick in the pants.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Monarch Grove, Pismo State Beach, December 2013

2013 was an interesting year.  I spent lots of time with some good friends, I had the opportunity to watch one of my closest friends fall in love and get married, found out that another friend of mine will be expecting her first child this spring, spent a weekend in Santa Barbara at the fabulous Fess Parker Double Tree Resort, went to a gallery opening with my cousins in Los Angeles, attended the Dallas Cowboy's training camp in Oxnard, fell in love with the TV show Sons of Anarchy, went to a couple of concerts, read some good books, shelved some less than good ones, and posted more here on the blog than EVER before.  Yes there have been some frustrations and times that were less awesome than others, but I have to say looking back at all the fun I've had, the good definitely outweighs the bad.

2014 hasn't exactly started out with a bang, so far I've been sick all year (thank goodness it's only the 2nd), but maybe I can get this out of the way now and have a healthy and fantastic year to come.  There should be quite a few changes at work, so it should make things more interesting, at the very least it will keep things from getting monotonous.

I hope to keep up the pace from last year and post frequently, whether that be with photos, recipes, or whatever comes to mind. Stay tuned.

Blogaversary

Hey friends and faithful readers... it's that time of year again, can you believe this blogging journey is about two years old now? Okay, for me is seems longer, I almost posted that it has been a four year long journey... and not because it feels like it's been dragging on, but because it has become so much a part of what I do. I think the past couple years have marked the most consistent journaling I have ever done in my whole life... and while I may not post every event or thought that crosses my path, I do get a lot of it out.

Over the past year I've started chronicling my dreams, posting album reviews, recipes, and working on monthly updates about what has been going on in my life along with other posts about current events. I feel like I've given deeper insights into who I am now, and maybe a map of who I'm becoming as a woman in her early 30s who is still trying to find her place in the world.

In the past two years I've had close to 6,000 hits on my blog, and while that may be far from viral, it's still a voice in the blogosphere, people...strangers care about my thoughts and opinions and while that can be intimidating, it's also gratifying.

I suppose now is the time for my yearly wish list or resolutions to carry me into 32.

Over the past year and a half I've maintained a monthly "wrap up" journal style post, I'm not sure I want to continue that beyond this month. I do enjoy looking back at all the fun I've had, however it's beginning to feel forced and I can see that my writing style is suffering. I want to write about things that matter (not that having fun with friends/family doesn't matter) instead of just spewing a laundry list of diary entries that only my closest friends care about. I haven't ruled it out, I'm just thinking about making some changes.

I want to really learn how to use my camera and be a better amateur photographer (I hesitate to use that title, because there are real talents out here and I just want to better my hobby). I want to be creative and make beautiful things and I don't want to be limited because I only have basic knowledge.

I want to fall back in love with life, right now I feel like I'm treading water and that I need to create some new adventures and experiences before I drown. I'm not hating anything right now, I wouldn't even really say that I'm depressed, I'm just bored and apathetic, and that really needs to change.

Ideally I'd like to lesson my social network addiction, I feel like it takes up too much of my life, and for what? What do I have to show for the hours upon hours that I spend playing on facebook or twitter? I don't my presence to vanish, but I think it will be better if I'm not so connected all the time. So far I feel like I've done a decent job of not being logged into twitter or Facebook while I'm at work and my productivity levels have increased exponentially. It's amazing how much time is wasted on things that are really not that important (not that keeping up with friends and family is unimportant, but when I'm at work, I really should be focused on what I'm being paid to do, like a grown up would do).

Thanks for Reading

Thank you so much for reading about my adventures, my opinions, vents, stories, and listening to my play lists. I definitely couldn't do it without you.  In the last 4 months this blog as received over 1000 hits and it thrills me to get my writing out there for your reading enjoyment (I hope). There are many more adventures to come, so please, stick around for the next installment.

-Lauren