Yesterday’s post was about my 2010 goals. I thought it only fitting on this NYE that I post some 2009 reflections before the start of the New Year!
1. Even a year later, I still struggle every day with my love for food and my weight. I wish this aspect of my life would get easier, but as I age, I find it only gets harder. Did I mention I still loathe working out? Not good, my friends. Not good.
2. I am proud to admit most of my best friends are people I met on the Internet. I feel like a walking eHarmony commercial.
3. I LOVE being a puppy mom and am still aboard the No Baby Train. We still feel at peace with this decision.
4. I fell in love with writing again, and I am not as horrible as I thought. The highlight of my week is my writing classes.
5. SIBU only reinforced a truth I already knew: Mr. Mojito is the perfect man for me. I feel like I won the lottery with him. My heart is full and happy. Many people have asked if SIBU is autobiographical. The answer is YES but not in its entirety. There are aspects of SIBU taken directly out of my life, including situations, conversations, and actual people. How much of it is factual? My lips are sealed
6. I love living in our townhome in suburbia (Maggie, Kate, and Slynnro are shaking their heads at me right now haha). There is something peaceful and relaxed about our neighborhood.
7. I HATE the Twilight series but like FanFiction.
8. After visiting Colorado several times over the past year, it no longer feels like home to me. I belong in Dallas.
9. I learned forgiveness does not come with expectations or demands. I wish others would recognize this as well.
10. I could eat Einstein’s Bros Bagels, Toblerone, pasta, and cheese continuously. If I added mojitos or martinis to the mix, then I would have the perfect meal.
I truly am in the midst of a wonderful adventure. Life is good.
Happy New Year!
I toast a mojito to all of you that have stuck with me this past year! xoxo
This past year has been filled with blessings and memories galore. In 2009, I met many best friends through blogging, started a creative writing program, created my own website for my home on the Internets, became a puppy parent, attended countless weddings, fell even more in love with Mr. Mojito, started a Champagne Thursday tradition with three other amazing women, celebrated my one year wedding anniversary, joined the Junior League of Dallas and then went on deferment, consumed a ridiculous amount of calories (both from food and adult beverages), and generally had a kick-ass time.
2010 promises to be even more amazing.
In the next twelve months I plan on:
1. Completing the first draft of my manuscript.
2. Getting a friend/brother for Oliver.
3. Finish furnishing our house.
4. Spending quality time with blog friends (annual Charleston trip in late March with some of my favorites, BlogHer in August, and the continuation of Champagne Thursdays).
5. Staying on track with Weight Watchers.
6. Foster new friendships and nurture old ones.
7. Not losing my replacement engagement ring.
8. Living, laughing, blogging, reading, and loving even MORE than I did in 2009!!
9. Supporting Mr. Mojito in his goal to earn an MBA while working full time.
10. Being the best version of myself.
Thank you, dear readers, for your continued readership and support. I love you all.
…Oliver Pancake frolics in the snow and destroys the bushes and trees in the yard!
Tonight I am celebrating Christmas with my daddy, brother, and sister. Oliver Pancake will also be joining us. He gets to chew open one of his gifts. (A stuffed bear from Santa Paws…shhhhh, don’t tell him.)
Did someone say Christmas cookies, Christmas Vacation, and Christmas cocktails?
Side note: The Epilogue of Somewhere In Between Us has been posted! The story is finally finished. Whew! Happy reading!
Ignore the fact that we have a postage stamp for a backyard, I am IN LOVE with Yardbirds yard art.
How cute are these sculptures? I especially love the Cocker Spaniel with the bone, the fluffy cat, and the frog playing the guitar on the lillipad!
The best part? They have almost every breed of dog!
Bull Dog, Boxer, Poodle, Schnauzer, Jack Russell Terrier, St. Bernard, Doberman, Great Dane, Chihuahua, Dachshund, Hound Dog, Mutt, Labrador, Pug, Rottweiler, Beagle, Wesite, Brussles Griffon, Yorkie, German Shepherd, Weenie Dog, Bichon, Boston Terrier, and many many more!!!
My mom bought me the Cocker Spaniel for Chirstmas this year! I can’t wait to see it adorning our backyard!!
Erin, do I spy one of these Brussles Griffon sculptures in your future?
Run, do not walk, to go buy one for your back yard!
Side note: The last chapter before the Epilogue of Somewhere In Between Us has been posted! Happy reading!
Well hello, Blog World. Long time no talk. Life at the Mojito household has been rather insane lately.
Where to start?
1. I finished SIBU. All that is left is the Epilogue.
2. We packed up our lives and temporarily transported our home to Denver where we will be spending the holidays holed up in front of a fireplace with cocker spaniels and an Oliver Pancake on our laps.
3. We went Christmas shopping yesterday. Holy mother of insanity.
4. I have been searching for weeks but have yet to find a gift for Mr. Mojito. LAME.
5. I had drinks with my best friend, Liz, last night, and on a whim we decided we are going to get matching tattoos over the holiday break. Yesssssss!
6. Mr. Mojito got a much deserved (and long overdue) job promotion at work! Way to go, honey! So proud of you.
7. Oliver Pancake is having penis issues. Yes, you read that correctly. His favorite appendage is infected. We took him to the vet before we left for Denver. The doctor gave him a steroid shot, penis gel, and an antibiotic. So far he seems to be doing much better.
8. I feel fat again. This situation will need to be remedied ASAP!!
9. I have received so many AMAZING holiday cards from friends! These make my heart happy! I love you all and am so thankful for each of you!
10. I want to own every Disney Animation movie. I thought I was on top of my game, buying them as they were released from the vault. Too bad I am about eight years behind the curve on this because 90% of them have already been released. How many do I currently own? Seven. How many are left? Around twenty-five. Awesome. I clearly failed miserably at this simple task. Thank God for eBay.
Updates may be sporadic these next few weeks while I am enjoying time with family and friends.
I spend most Saturdays holed up in Starbucks writing. While most would find this monotonous, I find it thrilling and challenging. I spend so much time at Starbucks the baristas know me by name.
This past Saturday, while working on the first chapter of my first novel, a male barista asked what my book was about. I gave him a one sentence description and waited.
3…2…1
“Oh, you’re writing one of those books,” he said.
I like to call his response the ‘chick lit stigma’. I get that response ALL THE TIME.
Chick lit refers to novels that appeal to women. Yet, the catch phrase has a negative connotation not only to other authors but readers as well. Somehow, in the evolution of modern fiction, chick lit became associated with brainless writing that defined women mainly by their relationships with men, money, and designers handbags.
While I agree not all chick lit is created equal (Emily Giffin versus a Harlequin novel), I find it unfair that novels written for women, about women, are considered “dumb writing”. One critic even went as far to say chick lit clutters bookstore shelves with mindless trash.
Frankly, I am proud to write chick lit and hope one day to complete a novel in this genre.
I genuinely enjoy reading thought-provoking novels that stay with me for years. But sometimes, I crave a lighthearted, witty, fun-loving novel about a girl who slept with her best friend’s fiancé or a shopaholic that works for a finance magazine.
Admittedly, Oliver Pancake has his own stocking. It is currently empty. We have yet to purchase any presents specifically for him. But I want to buy him some fun new toys. I mentioned this to a friend, and she said it was weird to buy Christmas presents for your pets. I tend to disagree.
I originally intended this blog to be anonymous. When I started posting, I was not sure what kind of crazies I would encounter on my way. Now, a year and a half later, I am only semi-anonymous. I do not throw my identity out there for the world to see, but most people in the blogsphere know me by name. Plus, most of my best friends are fellow bloggers that I know in real life!
But that is the extent of it. Most people in my family do not know about this blog. For me, this is the one place where I can say whatever I want about whatever I want. I do not have to worry about what my family thinks of my most recent Restoration Hardware purchase or my in-laws’ feelings about our child free life.
For a long time I was worried that if my family read my blog I would start to censor myself and what I write about. While that is still a fear of mine, I have decided to put on my big girl pants and suck it up. Every day I tell one more person about this blog on the big old Internets. It started with my brother…then my sister, father-in-law, sister-in-law, cousin-in-law, step-sister, and now brother-in-law. I am not sure how often each of these people read my ramblings, but nevertheless, they all at least know about it.
It actually feels oddly liberating. It is fun when I receive an email from my sister about a recent blog post. Maybe someday I will come completely out of the closet and post my blog on Facebook and tell the rest of my family about it.
But if I do that, can I still use my penname Mojito Maven? Hmmmm….
