70 - Vitamin String Quartet

I was on iTunes a few weeks ago, just browsing around for some new music, when I came across a string tribute to Coldplay album. The album is by the Vitamin String Quartet. I didn't really think anything of it, so I moved on to other things. Then, today, I randomly came across them again and kicked myself for not really giving them a listen. Not only do they have an entire album dedicated to Coldplay covers, but also have countless albums of other great covers. Stolen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Chasing Cars, Hallelujah, Bittersweet Symphony, All You Need is Love, Wonderwall, Stairway to Heaven, I'm Yours, Don't Stop Believin'... the list goes on.

I've never really been the biggest fan of classical music. It has its place (like when doing homework, or on Sundays) but I prefer other things. This music is great because it uses the songs that I love to better appreciate those instruments.

Anyway, I just got really excited about it. And I thought that if any of you like string versions of songs you should check out Vitamin String Quartet! Here are a few of their songs via YouTube.

69 - Dry and Boring :(

I've been reading over my last few posts, and I sound so dry and boring! Like I don't even care. I usually have really great voice when I write. :(

I apologize if you've been disinterested because of the lack of emotion in my writing... I promise I really do care! And I'll try to post about things I care more about so the writing isn't boring...

Please keep reading! I promise it'll get better :)

68 - Reading Riot no. 3

Last week's book: Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen.

This book was really interesting, actually. It's akin to The Notebook in that the main character is in his nineties and remembering his life. His name is Jacob Jankowski. During the Depression, Jacob was at Cornell finishing up a degree in veterinary sciences when he's told that his parents were killed in a car accident. Too distraught from the tragedy, Jacob runs out of his final exams and happens upon the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth by jumping their train. One thing leads to another and he becomes the show's veterinarian. Most of the book is dedicated to his time with the Benzini Brothers travelling group.

The book was a bit dry for me at first, but after about a quarter of the way through it picked up. I'll be honest, I only wanted to read it because I haven't seen the movie. If I know that a movie is based on a novel, I try to read the novels first. Everyone who did see the movie told me that it was really good, so I was excited to read the book. It was a little bit predictable, romance-wise, but I liked it because the romance part wasn't the main storyline.

Basically, I liked this book. I didn't love it, but I very solidly liked it. I definitely want to see the movie.

I would say the book is rated PG-18. There was a lot of swearing (a lot of the F bomb) and one particular circus act was... inappropriate. So, Sara and Kim, I wouldn't recommend you read this book. Haha.

67 - Rock Solid Wrap-up #1

My first week of the Rock Solid Challenge went surprisingly well! The thing that was the hardest for me? 64 oz of water. Like I said before, I don't really like water all that much. I only achieved the entire 64 oz 2 out of the six days, but I am proud of myself for even succeeding in that! Hopefully next week will yield more water-drinking.

I still don't have vitamins, so I didn't get any points for that. I'm hopefully going to the store tomorrow though so I should be able to pick some up. The vegetables were probably the second hardest thing to do, but I got all four servings 5 of the 6 days.

Surprisingly, the thing I wanted to do the most was exercise. There was only one day that I didn't get exercise this week, and the other times I loved it. I usually go to the gym between an hour or an hour and a half, and I speak for all of the athletes out there when I say that exercise can be addicting! After the first couple days my muscles hurt a bit and I had to push through the first ten minutes, but then it just felt really good. I've learned that watching movies is the best thing to take my mind off of the fact that I'm exercising, so my iPod touch is a handy thing to have. Music is good, too, but movies fully engage my brain and it's easier to go for longer.

Also, I've flossed every single night this week. I've never flossed so much in my life. Maybe that grosses you out, maybe it doesn't. But that's the truth.

Grand point total minus cheat points = 62

With cheat points = 65

Stuff to work on:

• Go to the gym every day
• Drink more water
• Get vitamins 
• More vegetables 
• More sleep

Check back next Sunday for wrap-up #2!

This is what I watched at the gym for most of the week. It's on Netflix. If you like Sherlock Holmes,  you'll like this mini-series! It has three episodes, each an hour and a half long. Season two is on BBC right now (also three episodes at 90 minutes each). 

66 - Coldplay

For those of you who don't know, my favorite band is Coldplay. Chris Martin is one of the most talented musicians of our generation and he uses his talents to create moving, powerful music.

I will admit that I like their earlier albums more than their current ones, but I feel like I just have to give their newest one more of a try. Either way, Coldplay remains my favorite band. And when I do get a house or an apartment that's not a dorm, I'm gonna do something like this on my wall:

For my 16th birthday, they were on their Viva la Vida tour and my mom took me to their concert. The only way I can describe how I felt afterwards is high on music. Kind of how I get high on Shakespeare...
The words and music inspire me.
:)

65 - Winter Setting

In my literary analysis class today, we talked about the importance of setting in a story. Context. It's important to analyze why in contrast to where. Sometimes, setting can have deeper meanings and reflect thematic elements. A good example of a novel involving setting in its theme is Lord of the Flies. When the boys were on the platform, their society represented civility and organization. When they were by the craggy rock, their society represented barbarism and savagery. Setting is important. (By the way, I really hated that book. I can appreciate its literary value, but I just did not enjoy reading it.)

Setting can be applied to everyone. Context can be applied to everyone. It can also define people, and their actions. Based on my introduction, you might suspect I have some philosophical gem to share about human nature.

Nope.

I live in Logan, Utah. It's generally very cold and snowy. Today, in the middle of January, the high is 44 degrees Fahrenheit. First thing that pops into my mind? I can wear a dress today.

It's funny because I know people from all over that come here. You can usually tell the native Rocky Mountain area people by how they dress: Light jackets usually, often in dresses or skirts (for the girls) and shorts (for the boys). One of my friends once said that only in Utah is it normal to wear a sweatshirt with shorts. You can always tell the out-of-towners by their apparel as well: bundled up like a marshmallow if it's anything below freezing. I've only worn my heavy coat a handful of times this winter (albeit, it has been an unusually mild one), and 40 degrees means I don't even have to wear tights with my dress.

Currently, I'm wearing the dress I wore for graduation with red socks and black boots. No tights.

Just something to think about. I realize that most of the people who read my blog are my family or friends that also live in Utah. But, if by chance you are not someone I know and are from a different kind of setting, please comment and tell me about it! (I have this fantasy that lots of people read my blog, but I know it's not true. Don't worry. It's always fun to pretend, though!)

64 - Solid as a Rock. Hopefully.

Most of my extended family is participating in a 6-week physical health and general well-being challenge: The Rock Solid Challenge. It's a point system based on exercise, healthy acts, and spiritual habits. Today is the first day. Here is the daily point system:

Worth 1 pt -

• no soda
• no sweets
• daily vitamin
• no eating within 2 hrs of bed
• 64 oz. of water
• 7 hours of sleep
• 2 servings of fruit
• 4 servings of vegetables
• 30 min. of exercise (up to 3 points)
• floss teeth
• read scriptures at least 10 minutes
• prayer, morning and night

Things I'm struggling with as of day one:

• Daily vitamin. I don't have those. So, I have to go to the store and buy them. 
• 64 oz. of water. I don't really like water. I know what you're thinking and no, water isn't tasteless. It has a taste. It tastes like water. And I don't really like it haha. 64 oz. is approximately 3 servings of my water bottle, and I barely drink one a day as it is. It's hard... 
• 4 servings of vegetables. Healthy food is expensive to buy! Also, I don't have a car and taking the bus to go grocery shopping is a hassle because if you have more than two bags it can get rather annoying. 
• 30 min. of exercise. It's all well and good to get yourself excited the day before you plan on exercising, but when the time comes to actually do it? I live in Logan, Utah. It's cold outside. My apartment is warm. In order to go to the gym, I'd have to walk there, in the cold. You see my dilemma?
• Floss teeth. I think this one is hard for most people. Most people in my family, anyway. 

The whole reason for this health challenge is to improve habits, though. It's 6 weeks long, and by the end, I will have healthier habits. I don't know if I'll be the epitome of health, but I will succeed in improving myself!

63 - The 13th

Today is Friday the 13th.

It all started with the most realistic nightmare I have ever had. I don't really want to go into the details because all of it scares me. But, suffice it to say that it ends with people I love dying. Cole, Nan, Kim, Porter, Rebecca, Adri, Rachel, and Kenzie. Not only do they die, I see each of the deaths in gruesome slow motion and they're caused by the Big Earthquake that's going to happen on Utah's fault line. So, I woke up hyperventilating.

While I was in the shower, I noticed a tingling feeling on my lip. Cold sore. Third one in six months. I didn't bring any pills or Abreva from Salt Lake specifically because I knew I'd already had two so close together and the likelihood of me getting another one was slim.

While in psych class, I noticed the date. And the day. And the correlation hit me. Today is Friday the 13th.

Literally just happened: Cole told me he has shingles. (Similar to the chicken pox.)

Today is Friday the 13th.

*shudder*

62 - Reading Riot no. 2

Week two: accomplished.
After Christmas, I went a little crazy with the more adolescent-type books. Dash and Lily and this book were both read on my new Kindle, and books can be pretty cheap at the Kindle store. Also, teen books fast reads and usually still entertaining since I am still technically a teenager... I figured that since I'm currently (STILL) in the middle of a Tale of Two Cities AND I haven't finished the last 200 pages of my summer re-read, Anna Karenina, it's probably a good idea to stick with simple reads if I start any new books.

Yes, I am aware of how often I used the word "still" in very few sentences.

This week's book: Providence, by Jamie McGuire.

This book is about a college freshman, Nina, whose father has very recently passed away. Immediately after his funeral, she shares a cab with a random stranger (Jared) who seems to show up everywhere after that. Being a teen fiction novel, it was pretty clear how it would play out. Boy and girl fall in love, they're in love, something gets in their way, they get back together in the end. But I don't want to spoil it for you... Also, in the summary of the book we discover that Jared is actually (dun Dun DUN!) Nina's Guardian Angel, and their love is quite frowned upon. Whilst trying to juggle her love for Jared, her deceased father's uncovered secrets, and a friend who wants to be more than friends, Nina also fights for her life! There is action, adventure, love, and divine intervention.

Ok, this book was pretty cheesy. And pretty predictable. Also, the story is STRONGLY reminiscent of Twilight... even down to the girl wanting to have sex really badly while the boy is against it for his own reasons. It was entertaining enough, but the beginning was rather slow for me. I found the dialogue kind of dry and not realistic. Nina and Jared seemed to fall in love without any sort of background whatsoever. After one date, Jared began calling her "sweetheart". I just don't think that's very real, and the author didn't account for enough space in the book for the romance to grow. Most of Nina's relationships in the book felt like that. Her friend who wants to be more than friends, Ryan, is strangely protective of her and claims a close, intimate friendship as opposed to Jared, whom she "barely knows". The funny thing is that Nina met Jared BEFORE she met Ryan. At least in Twilight, Bella and Jacob had a legitimate friendship and bond grown. Heck, Stephenie Meyer gave them an entire book. Mostly,  I just think the author rushed the connection between her characters and it weakened the credibility of the relationships between them. Up until the last quarter of the book, the plot seemed a bit forced and there wasn't very much intrigue. If there was a question, it was usually answered right away. It left really no room for guessing, which is one of my favorite parts.

The book was only 2.99 on the Kindle store, and I (perhaps rashly) bought the second book in the series for 1.99 before I had read Providence. It was better by the end, so I'm hoping Requiem will be a bit better as well.

As for my new blog series and New Year's Resolution of reading a book a week, Reading Riot is a success as of week two! What will be next week's book? You'll just have to wait and see :)

61 - A Thousand Faces

For Christmas, my mother gave me a semi-professional curling iron. My hair is stalk-straight and normally takes SO MUCH hairspray to hold its shape. My hair is very fine (in-between thick and thin), but I have a lot of it. As a result, it takes about an hour and a half to curl my hair. This morning, I woke up at 7:45 so I would have time to curl it and get ready for my 10:30 class. I also didn't have hairspray. A pointless effort, you say? Not so. My curling iron is so hot that the curls stayed! Well, sort of. The back -- not so much. I took a half hour after all of my classes to touch up. I like taking funny facial expression pictures, so it seemed like the perfect time what with my hair being all curled and all...

Yes, this post is all about me. But, darnit, I looked pretty today and this is my blog. :) 

If it makes you feel any better, I burned my finger on the curling iron. Ouch :( Also, yesterday I accidentally got face wash in my eye. Ouch again :(

At the very least I made you laugh, right?

60 - Work it

Today I left my apartment at 10:00 and didn't get back until 4:30. And you know what? It was great.

I spent all of last semester laying in bed, watching Netflix and occasionally doing homework. Even when I did the homework, there was only one class that I enjoyed and felt like my best was needed. This semester, I'm taking 16 credit hours and as of the first day, three of the four classes seem to require my undivided attention. I'm so excited to be a student again and feel good about myself.

I know that it seems like doing nothing is the dream. Truth is -- it's not. Doing nothing only increases the insecurities you have about yourself. Pretty soon, you get used to it and expect less of yourself. Then you have zero motivation to do anything. I wasn't at that point yet, but if I had even one more semester of the nothing that was my life while everyone else was working at their classes, it would have been bad news. The Kolbie as you know her would've slowly ceased to exist and in her place would be a lazy slob who only gave mediocre work and hated herself.

Like I said, we didn't get there :)

This semester I'm excited to work hard and progress. I'm excited to improve myself and come home tired every day. I'm excited to want to take a nap instead of feeling guilty because I've been in bed all day. Last year I used to feel guilty for napping because I only had a few hours for several hours worth of homework. Believe me, no matter how stressful it was, my personal preference is the latter. Because last year, I felt accomplished. And I know I can get there again.

Let this be a cautionary tale for you all -- a break is nice, and oftentimes very needed and much deserved. However, we have passions for a reason. Working is the way we progress. Who wants to stay the same the rest of their lives? I sure don't. I want to get better and better.

I already know I'm on the right track.

Happy spring semester.

59 - in Disguise

As everyone already knows, life doesn't always go as expected. Oftentimes, we get thrown curveballs and strike out. However, we are always given everything that we need. When major things happen in our lives, they are definitely not simply chance. Every experience we are given shapes our lives and makes us in some way stronger, if we let it.

Sometimes trials are simply blessings in disguise. It's your job to take off the mask.

My life hasn't gone the way I've planned. In my mind, this year was going to be much different. My roommates would be awesome, Cole and I would have an infinite amount of time to spend together, college classes would be very different from high school classes, and my mom would surprise me with the car.

Like I said, sometimes life throws your curveballs.

It took me a while to realize that life really is what I make of it. It's my own fault for sitting in my apartment alone. It's my own fault for not signing up for more classes if I really felt I could. It's my own fault for not learning the bus route.

I spent a long time waiting for my life to happen, waiting for my blessings to come. I was so wrapped up in what I thought should happen that I didn't stop to think about what did happen. I didn't stop to take off the mask and see my trials for what they really were: gifts from God to make me stronger. More independent. More me.

This semester, the only thing I'm going to expect is the unexpected. I'm going to take that knowledge and combine it with an enthusiasm for life and a desire to be happy.

New semester, new goals, new year, new life.

New me.

photo from Flickr

58 - Gifts

Christmas break was very fun, restful, and full of things I can post about!

However, most of the pictures I took are on my little camera with the weird memory card. As in, it won't go into my computer and I lost the USB a LONG time ago. I am already back in Logan, and uploading those pictures using our home computer is another thing on the long list of things I forgot to do. So, like so many other times on this blog, those pictures will have to wait. Instead, I'll share my gifts with you! 

A Kindle Touch

 I've ALWAYS been against Kindles. My dad bought the first generation when they were huge and could only hold about a hundred books. He was so excited to show me, and I was almost offended that Amazon was trying to make the printed word obsolete. Then, a few months ago a friend showed me hers and the electronic ink won me over. I still buy real books (in fact I bought four just two days ago), but I actually love this Kindle!

A pair of grey, herringbone textured Vans and grey TOMS

 My mom actually did a good job buying me shoes. I love Vans, and my other grey TOMS had holes in them. Also, the Vans have built in padding inside, like the Dr. Scholls kind, so they are SUPER comfortable. That on top of the fact that they're super cute means I wear them quite frequently.

Three scarves and two almost professional curling irons

 I love scarves. Naturally, I love receiving scarves. I have so many fancy scarves, so it was really nice getting some new winter ones. The blue-and-white striped (my school colors!) is from my mother, the dark orange is from my Grandma, and the melon cashmere scarf is from Cole's mom. (Isn't she so nice? It's 100% Cashmere. I love it, even if the color isn't something I would normally go for.) I have a CHI straightener, but no matter how many times people try to teach me, I cannot for the life of me curl my hair with it. My sister Kim is a cosmetologist and always tells me how easy it is but I just don't get it. When I try my hair either goes weirdly flat or poofy. Also, my hair is stalk-straight so curls don't stay in it for very long. My mom bought these really nice curling irons that will a) leave the curl in for longer and b) actually curl it! Haha. I tried one of them out already and they work great!

Midnight Pomegranate body lotion, a beanie from Zumiez, Carried Away shower gel

 The lotion is my mom's annual stocking stuffer, and the beanie is from Cole. Funny story about the shower gel -- it was a stocking stuffer at my dad's house. My dad shops a lot, but I would bet my life that he has never before walked into a Bath and Body Works. When I asked him about the shower gel, he said "Darcy" and it all made sense haha. He didn't willingly go into a BBW, his girlfriend did.

Books! 

You all know how much I love books. I especially love the nicely bound copies of old classics. I already have six or seven of them. My mother added to my collection Robert Louis Stevenson novels and War and Peace. The other books are Peter Pan (in novel form), a collection of Robert Frost poems, and the fourth book in the Inheritance series. (It just came out, in case you didn't already know.)

Luggage

 In my family, it's almost tradition for college kids to receive luggage as some sort of gift. Definitely will come in handy!

Scentsy fragrance light, Asian soup bowls and spoons, a kitchen knife set

I'm not allowed to have candles in my dorm so my sister thought the Scentsy fragrance light would help a lot! It doesn't have a live flame, just a hot bulb to melt the wax on top. Plus, it looks super cute and decorative. I've already used it, and it works great Kim :) The Asian bowls were a gift from my cousin. At our Christmas party, the older cousins have started a new tradition of replacing the usual gift-giving drawing of names with a Yankee Swap. That was my present! And the knives weren't actually a Christmas gift, but my sister Sara and her husband Tyler were D.I.-ing all of their old wedding gifts, and I don't have a knife set. They were so kind as to let me take it! 

I received other gifts from friends and family, as well. Thanks, everyone! It was a great Christmas this year. The gifts were only a small part of it. My real gift was the opportunity to come home for Christmas and spend it with the people I love :) 

Another late Christmas gift came when I woke up in Logan this morning! 

Snow!

57 - Constant State of Transition

One reason I love college:

Christmas break is nearly a month long. 

In high school, and every other pre-collegiate schooling for the matter, Christmas break is somewhere between 9 and 14 days. Plus the added bonus of at least 20 hours of homework. They're "trying to prepare you for college." And truly, much more studying and better habits are required in college. However, Christmas break in college is everything Christmas break in high school wasn't. No homework, a very reasonable amount of time off, and brand-new classes to look forward to when the break is over. It's quite lovely. 

My break is almost over, as I'm leaving for Logan tomorrow. When I first arrived back in Salt Lake, it almost felt weird. My house felt familiar, but not like the place where I lived. I occasionally woke up expecting to be back in my dorm. Now, I'm in a routine and I feel like it's my house again. Just in time for me to go back to Logan. 

When you think about it, though, it's just what college is all about: change. Learning to transition. I'm in the process of transitioning from being a child to an adult; dependent to independent; naive to experienced. Things never stay the same, no matter how much we want them to. I've had wonderful moments that were just that -- moments. Time is fleeting, and doesn't like to stand still. I'm not supposed to get "comfortable" anywhere. This period of my life is learning to adapt and change to my surroundings, and then explore new ones. Explore new boundaries, new potentials... see what mark I'm gonna make on the world. Or, at least, try to make some mini ones. 

Rocky Votolato said it best: 

Life keeps on changing

I tell it to stay still but it won't listen

I just want you near me, 

like you are now

for good. 

Life always changes, people always change. The smart thing to do is change right along with them. Change together, progress together with the people you love. Change doesn't seem so scary when there's someone with you. 

I'm in a stage of constant change. I change roommates, I change friends, I change addresses, classes, jobs,  books, callings, style... but I'm the same person. And the people I love will always be there. My family and friends will always be just a phone call away, and a short-but-not-really drive away if need be. 

Life always changes. Just be careful not to lose you during the unexpected turns. Transition into someone better, but as my mother always says, remember who you are. 

56 - Reading Riot no.1

Part of my New Year's Resolutions: to read one book a week. The series will be called Reading Riot, and this is week one.

I read this book:

Yes, it is a teen fiction/kind-of teen romance novel. I have guilty pleasures, and that genre happens to fall right in that category. However, I have no shame in sharing this book because I thought it was great.

The premise of the book is a red Moleskine notebook that a teenage girl leaves in a bookstore for an unknown teenage boy to (hopefully) find and complete the challenge written inside. The girl is Lily, and the boy is Dash. Two 16-year-olds looking for an adventure during a particularly boring Christmas holiday in New York City. Over half of the book is dedicated to Dash and Lily finding new, unique ways to pass the notebook back and forth.

The really cool thing about books written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is the two parts are written by separate people. Not only that, they don't even know how the story is really gonna turn out because they just email the chapters to each other as they write them sequentially. It makes the story and characters more real, in my opinion.

The likelihood of most of the events in the book actually happening is slim. However, the characters felt very real to me. Dash and Lily are two VERY different people, but sometimes it happens that way. Different personalities are attracted to each other all the time. Dash has a very large vocabulary and knows about most things. Lily is a naive idealist who is the youngest in a very large extended family. Personally, I found both characters very likable. To some, Dash may have come across as a tad condescending and unrealistic with his use of large words, but I disagree. He's not the kind of person trying to be condescending, he just loves words. And he means well throughout the book, not trying to make anyone feel inferior. As for his use of the words all the time, he has a nightly ritual of finding a new word to love in his dictionary... I think with a habit like that, it's very realistic for him to have a vocabulary like that. Haha.

Basically, I was sucked into this book. It's only about 250 pages, but I read it in less than a day. It was a very easy book to read, and I found myself wishing there was more. I thought the ending was perfect. Plus, VERY limited swearing and no sex! Like I said, teen fiction is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. So if you're not into teen fiction, you wouldn't like this book. But it was very well written (in my opinion). David and Rachel did a fine job, yet again. (See also Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. That one's a bit more PG-13, though.)

55 - Resolute

My New Year's Resolutions:

1. Put pictures up of Christmas. (They are on my little camera, which has the annoying memory stick that only works with an adapter. Ugh. Sorry, Rachel!) 
2. SERIOUSLY go to the gym regularly. AT LEAST once a week for six months. I think I can manage that. 
3. Read one book a week, and write about it. (Perhaps in my blog? Ooh, that would be fun. However, some of the books might be guilty pleasure books that I'd be judged for reading. With my personality I feel like people expect me to only read the "high quality", sophisticated books. No matter how much I would like to say I shy away from the cheesy romance novels, I do not. They warm my heart. ) 
4. Figure out where Adult Kolbie fits. Teenage Kolbie was a theatre person, a choir person, and an AP class person. Adult Kolbie needs to find her own place in the real, outside-of-high-school world. It should be a fun adventure. 
5. Become a True Aggie. (No, I'm not yet. Sadly, there are only two dates during a year that two people who aren't True Aggie's yet can kiss over the "A". Cole and I missed the first one accidentally... we have to wait until Spring now!)
6. Keep up with my Blessings Keeper. (I filled the Jane Austen journal and have since started on a new journal. I just hope this project doesn't peetre off after a while. I've lasted about three months, but projects can easily slow down and stop completely...) 
7. Work on magnifying my calling in my ward. (I'm the Compassionate Service Coordinator)
8. Call my sisters and friends more often whilst I'm away in Logan. 
9. Watch less TV/be on the computer less. 
10. Get a job and earn money for a car. 

I think 10 is enough New Year's Resolutions. I figure that I should at least be able to do most of them. (Well, I hope ALL of them, but I like to think of myself as a realist.) 

Have you ever thought about the term "resolution"? It's the noun version of the word "resolute", meaning admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering. Think about that while you're deciding your Resolutions. They aren't supposed to be wish lists, or bucket lists. They are things that you are determined to do for yourself. They should be something achievable, but also something that makes you work hard. Generally, someone determined is working hard. And the things you work hard for are almost always the most worthwhile. So when working on your Resolutions, be determined. Be admirably purposeful. Be unwavering in what you wish to accomplish. 

Be resolute. 

2011 was fantastic, I only hope 2012 to be even better. 

If anyone actually reads this blog, please feel free to tell me one of your New Year's Resolutions. I would love any comments to read. 

I hope you can all achieve admirable purpose in this New Year. That's all anyone can hope for, really. Who wants to waste a year doing anything less? 

Happy 2012. 

:)