Book Club

I have only mentioned this briefly in passing, but I belong to a book club out here in the Mile High City. And maybe this is a confession I shouldn't share, but I have always wanted to be in a book club. So three years ago when I had just trekked across the country and was asked to join a brand new book club, by my soon-to-be sister-in-law, I was thrilled. Ecstatic you could say. Of course I wanted to play it cool, but it was not only my dream, but I thought, FINALLY, I don't have to hang out in the basement of my in-laws' house with Shane and all of his guy friends.

Three years later, we are still going (Right, has it really been three years?!!). I admit that we don't all read the book each month. It's not a requirement.  When it comes to choosing a book, I am a classics girl. My past three choices have been:

I am sure most of you who know me, or knew me well at some point, are not shocked by my choices, maybe you're even bored, thinking Liz, there is a whole world of books not written by Ayn Rand or about being a feminist. Well, I am always open to new suggestions. I just may not take you up on it.

New Year's Resolutions

As a general rule, I try not to make resolutions for the new year. It just seems like you are setting yourself up for failure at a very busy time of the year. However, this year I was feeling particularly ambitious as January 1st rolled around, so here is what I came up with for 2011:

1. Being more positive (so generic) and surrounding myself with positivity. I don't consider myself a particularly negative person. However, there is room for more positive thinking and interactions in my life. Not only will I try to be more positive, but I am also weeding out the negative pieces that creep into my everyday world.

2. Snowshoeing. Shane and I decided not to buy ski passes this year in order to spend more time with the dog snowshoeing. It is February, so I am getting down to the last few months of opportunity, but I want to make sure we put in some really good shoeing. 

3. Drinking less. Oh come on, everyone has a year they decide they will drink less. Don't judge me. It's not that I drink an excessive amount, but isn't there always room for less drinking in your life?

4. Work harder. It's a tough one to write as I type away at work, but I would like to be a harder worker. Everyone loves me at work (pat on the back for me), but I keep having the sense they are going to discover that I kind of coast along. Perhaps this is not one of the resolutions I have kept so far, but I am working on it.

5. Parties. I love planning parties. It's probably my favorite hobby of all, except I need other much less expensive ones to fill in the gaps. So this year, I will throw more parties. (Shane, you hear that?) **I can still drink less and throw parties.

6. Finally, I would really like to pay off all of our credit card debt. But the reason is not because I want to be debt free (debt free schmebt free, we will be paying student loans for a long long time). The reason is because I want to buy a house, but Shane and I have set some standards for when we can buy a house and you guessed it, credit card debt needs to be gone.

Are these resolutions too honest? Maybe one of my resolutions should be, stop sharing personal information with everyone. Next year...

So which ones have I stuck with so far? Can you guess?

I'm back

I know it might seem obvious, but I took a break from blogging. When those few who cared asked me where I have been, I would let them know that I am looking for a new hobby and that I have retired from the blogging world. 

After months and months of searching, I have unfortunately not found a new hobby. I have taken online quizzes and made numerous hobby searches and received results such as tooth pick building and something about creating knots in strings. Apparently my interests are shallow, or I'm just very lazy. I dabbled in glass making and going on walks (lame) and I had even determined that for the rest of my life I would be a serial hobbyist, but alas, it is not meant to be. It would seem the hobby world does not want me after all, so with a humble heart, I come back to you blogging world.

Besides taking lots of online quizzes, what have you been up to for the last few months, Liz? Oh yes, well thank you for asking. I will give you a brief rundown of my thrilling months away.

1. I survived Christmas. Survived is the only accurate term for a holiday so wonderful and so exhausting all at once. I love Christmas more than I love most things, but does anyone else feel like it is an accomplishment to merely survive?

2. But as an even bigger accomplishment, I can now say I survived January. If Christmas is the most exhausting part of the year, January is the most unnerving piece, with taking down Christmas decorations, creating resolutions that may not survive past the month, and catching up on sleep and cleaning (and bills!!), while realizing that once January passes, the rest of the year is going to hit fast and hard and you better be prepared.


3. I have already kept three resolutions out of the 30 I originally created. I think that's a feat worth bragging about. Which three have remained? I will get to that soon. (Side note: 30 is an exaggeration.)


4. I have visited with lots of friends and family (my family and others' families). My parents came out to the CO for a visit and I am happy to say, it was a time of laughter and enjoyment. Thanks to my parents for taking care of me and Shane while we were at our poorest.


5. And finally, I have returned to the blogging world. Obviously.


As I said, it really has been a thrilling two months away. I am feeling well rested and optimistic on the year. It's going to be a good 2011.