2014... I Need You To Meet Someone

Happy New Year, everyone!! 

Wow! Can you believe that 2013 is behind us? I know it was the usual three-hundred and sixty-five days in length, just like any other year, but it just seemed to fly by! 

Well, just to keep this post short, I'm going to give you all a quick review of my 2013, what I hope to accomplish in 2014, yada yada yada, and then at the end, I have a little someone I'm going to introduce to you all. Someone who has made a HUGE impact on my life.

So, first, 2013...

January

Started the year off with an epic party with my CBCs and classy blood cousins, and then spent a week at the latter's house while my parents went to visit my grandparents out-of-state. Also worked two part-time jobs from home.

February

Began writing Rebirth of a Legend, landed another part-time job, played the piano at a benefit dinner for a church friend, in addition to other things I can't recall.

March

Was very glad to get a brand-new, allergy-friendly mattress cover which greatly helped with my nocturnal slumbers, and began working on a new story, Kianna. Watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey after innumerable months of waiting! It was amazing!

April

Read Great Expectations, my seventh Dickens, and really enjoyed it. Wrapped up my family's sugaring season by making over ten gallons of syrup, and consequently, ate lots of pancakes. Somehow smashed my finger, making it the third time I've injured/broken the aforementioned finger.

May

My family started the month out by doing two concerts, and, as always, if I can say this without seeming boastful, the old people we sang for loved us. Little sisters always steal the show. *wink* Pollen level was high around our house, resulting in a rough month for asthma.

June

Attempted to write 50K words on RoaL, but got lost in editing Children of a Legend instead and ended up privately self-publishing the latter so that family/friends could help me get the last edits done for a hopefully soon publication.

July

Visited our CBCs to celebrate the glorious birthday of our great country, enjoyed reenacting (by popular demand) the first 4 chapters of CoaL with my siblings and cousins (which was quite hilarious), and finally began scraping the horrid purple paint out of our dining room. Purple does not belong in dining rooms.

August

Celebrated my twentieth birthday in the usual tradition of being sick, and resolved to break that tradition next year. Spent another fun visit with our CBCs, and said a sad good-bye to the first classy blood cousin to break our group up and go to college.

September

Discovered that in addition to being allergic to chocolate, I'm also harboring an intolerance for carob, the popular chocolate substitute, and decided to enter Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Five Glass Slippers story contest, a decision which was only a prelude to cooking up a Cinderella story unlike any I'd ever heard before.

October

Went on my third College Up Close trip to visit a college and two cousins who are currently enrolled there. Started cooking up the 30 Day Middle-Earth Challenge with Melody Muffin, and said farewell to my oldest sister, Beth Grace, who went out-of-state to be with and assist my grandparents for a while.

November

Wrote 72,000 words on Secret of the Hazel Tree, and made the obvious decision that it would not fit in the Five Glass Slippers contest. Visited Beth and my grandparents for Thanksgiving, and spent way too much wonderful time stuck in Middle-Earth doing the 30 Day Challenge.

December

Completed my goal of reading through the Bible in exactly one year! Went nuts with my sisters watching every Frozen clip and trailer we could find, and ended up making my youngest sister a replica Elsa dress for her doll. Played the piano for my second wedding, and had a wonderful Christmas week with family and friends, not being able to grasp that 2013 was just about over.

Some things I hope to accomplish in 2014...

Write at least 150,000 words story-wise

Finish writing Secret of the Hazel Tree

Publish Children of a Legend

Discipline myself to play the flute more

Read at least three more Dickens

Memorize more songs on the piano

Complete a study of one theological-type issue

Turn twenty-one (and not be sick while doing so!)

That's all I can think of for the moment, but there you have it.

And now, dear readers, I have that someone I promised to introduce to you all. Please don't get your knickers in a twist thinking I'm about to introduce you to some boy, because I'm not. Well, maybe... but not that kind of boy. 

Admit it, though... I had some of you think that. *winks* Yes, I'm incorrigible.

The "boy" I'd like you to meet is someone by the name of Ken. Ken is not necessarily a nice person, even though he has the unfortunate blessing of looking exactly like me, blue eyes, blonde hair, 5'7'', and everything. The way to tell us apart, really, is to listen to our voices. While I have a normal, girl-sounding voice, Ken has a deep and breathy voice to which, frankly, I don't like listening. Ken tends to be rather short with people, and he's forever giving me grief because he's not polite in the least respect. He shows up when he's least wanted, and doesn't go away until he wants to. He stole the goldfish I didn't even know I had... yeah, he's that type of guy.

And what's worse.... we're the same, Ken and I. He's my alter ego/evil twin, the "boy" I become when I have asthma. And he's here for New Years.

Anywho, hope you all are having a splendid holiday! The Lord really blessed my family this last year, and I'm looking forward to what 2014 may bring!! 

God bless and keep you all!