I almost feel like there should be a fanfare of trumpets and beat of drurms. Or something. Maybe not. Monday is just Monday afterall. So. New year, new month, new week, new day. I should feel all productive and raring to go. Or something. I’ll work on that, after another cup of coffee. Baby, it’s cold outside and I just want to curl up with a good book and snooze. However, new new new so…whatever. Coffee, don’t fail me now. So much for my word for the year. I used to do that. A lot. Pick a word as my theme for the year. I got out of the practice a few years ago. Then someone reminded me and I said to myself, “Self, we should do that. Good idea, right?” And it came to me. Balance. I need balance in my life. And I mean that in every sense of the word–physical balance, life/work balance, procrastination/productivitiy… Basically, every corner of my world needs some balance. Does this mean I made resolutions? Oh to the hell no. Did I set goals? Not really. That said, I have some hopes for the coming year that I’ll discuss as we go along. If I remember. Heck, maybe I should order some of that Prevergin (or whatever–also spelling) they advertise on TV. Or that sleep thing. Both would help. Moving on.

Does anyone else find the week between Christmas and New Year’s to be…weird? Like you should be both introspective and proactive, reflecting on the past year and predicting the coming one. Me? I just procrastinate and try to figure out what needs to get done before the calendar flips over and what I can put off until it does. I also stare at the new calendars I got for Christmas and try to decide when I should actually put them up. I waited until Jan. 1.

Writing. I did a little. Very little. Mostly, I edited and updated two books–MIDNIGHT CAFE and BLOOD & FIRE–and got them uploaded to D2D. I also added some updates to the website with the new links as both books are going wide. I have five more books coming up this month. Speaking of writing, I’m hoping to get out of my rut. I’d dearly love to complete a book in each of my series. I figure fans of each one will be happier with me if I do. I wonder if there’s something I can take to boost my creativitiy? Besides coffee, I mean. Anyway, Nightriders, Penumbra Papers, Moonstruck Wolf (which will be the Boston Wolves), Hard Target, Red Dirt Royalty, and the Christmas story/maybe the novel in the new anthology series with other authors. That’s 6 books. That’s a book every two months. I used to write a book a month, or close to that. Then I got old and procrastination moved in and made itself at home. We’ll see what happens. I need that balance between lethargy and creativity and I need to balance out the series with new releases. Heck, I’d love to throw the Cajun Wolves in there, but that’s probably pushing it.

On the homefront, I want to finish decluttering my office. I’m making a little progress but I desparately need some organizaiton in here, and in my life. At least half the stuff in here belongs to Only. This was her room before she married and moved out. Thing is, they don’t room eithe. So, I’ll box it up for her to take a box home to sort. Hopefully. I have a floorplan in my head but the execution is complicated. This has to move there so I can move that to this’s spot, but another thing has to be cleared and shuffled around before this can move. See? Complicated. Small bites, as a friend likes to remind me. This where that some of that balance comes in–balancing sitting at my computer working (or playing mindless games) and beling lazy or getting up and sorting through shitstuff. That gets me up and moving, getttin on a two-step ladder to reach a high shelf, and improving my physical balance by climing, bending, reaching, etc. See what I did there?

Speaking of decluttering, I DID clear out three shelves in my built-in clothes pantry. The closet is next. I’ve got stuff in there I haven’t worn for at least 10 years. Why the fuckfrack am I keeping it? I doubt much of the stuff shoved to the back even fits anymore. And again, that whole balance thing–mentally and physically. I will not talk about a balanced diet. Nope. Moving on.

In other news, my OSU Cowboys beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl! Pistols firing! I have no fingernails left because the Cardiac Cowboys were riding the range on Saturday. Argh! But they came back and then held on. OU also won, beating Oregon. College football is mostly over now. There’s one last bowl game tomorrow night, Kansas State against LSU and then I guess Georgia and Alabama square off in the national championship game on the 10th. *yawn*

I did cook for New Year’s. I fixed a brisket, my home-made BBQ sauce, baked beans, deviled eggs, and I thawed the extra pan of rolls I made for Christmas. All was yummy. I haven’t done brisket in a loooong time. The pan is still soaking in the sink. I’ll get around to scrubbing it. One of these days. 😉

I’m in a real reading slump and it’s killing me. I spent literally hours going though the list of paranormal romances on Audible. I found a couple I thought might hold my attention. I didn’t feel confident to spend the money to buy them. I’m cheap when it comes to new-to-me authors and/or book/series. I don’t want to be that customer–you know, the one who buys the book, reads it, is bored, and returns it. I do that a lot, which is why Audible Plus, my library and Hoopla are all friends of mine. Any suggestions?

Nothing new on TV. I do enjoy THE OSBORNES WANT TO BELIEVE and FRIGHT CLUB on the Travel Channel. Listening to Sharon and Ozzy makes me giggle. Poor Jack. Jack Osborne is also on FC, with the Ghost Brothers, 3 black dudes from Texas(?) who are paranormal investigators and made of all kinds of awesome. They share clips of the paranormal and try to freak each other out. Fun times. Yes, I am warped. Shut up.

So, that’s it for this first Monday of the first week of 2022. Let’s just hope that this year isn’t all “2020, too.” (Say it out loud and you’ll get it if you don’t have it already.) Do you have goals for the year? Wishes? Aspiratitions? Do you have a word of the year? Share!