Goodbye 2010

Happy New Year, everyone. I will start the year with one of my rhinosnowmen.

I wasn't overly fond of 2010 and even though I don't think a new year magically transforms the world at large or our place in it, I'm not sorry to see it go. So, goodbye 2010. So long. I'm not one for New Year's resolutions. Not that I think I'm perfect or anything, but I've always been a bit of contrarian, so if I'm going to resolve to do something it won't be on a day when people are just spouting out empty promises that they rarely stick to. And I think if a person actually wants to do something and they work hard it they will achieve some level of success (I don't mean success in the form of money, but success in achieving some level of what they set out to do that will give them some satisfaction). People are full of excuses, aren't they? I don't always do what I set out to do, but I know, for the most part, I don't have anybody to blame but myself if I don't stick to something. So, if I don't do something, I take responsibility. As much as I don't like resolutions, I think I've said it before, small goals, achievable goals, are something that I will partake in at times. I'm just not going to list them on January 1st as they may seem like a New Year's resolutions. Am I grouchy right now?;) No, not really. I just get annoyed with New Year's resolutions, that's all. Sue me. But if you do sue me, you will not get much money.

One of the goals that I've set recently (o.k., I will mention one that wasn't made on January 1st) is to get back into drawing several times per week. I used to draw just about every day and now whole weeks go by when I don't even pick up a pencil (true as in why would I use a pencil if I wasn't drawing--a pen maybe, but not a pencil). And I could make excuses like "oh I haven't been drawing because I haven't had a scanner, etc," but that wouldn't be true. I can still enjoy the process of drawing even if I'm not posting it on a blog, can't I? The truth is I haven't been drawing because I've been a bit lazy lately. And there's nothing wrong with being lazy once in awhile (I'm not of the mind that a person has to run run run), but when you have an activity that you love, you shouldn't let laziness interfere too much. And you might say, "but you've done paintings lately." Yes, I have, so I haven't been totally lazy even, but I just want to do some drawing now. As for the drawing I did today, I will not post it as I haven't hooked up my new scanner yet, due to flooding in the bedroom, but hopefully I will be posting all kinds of drawing in the days to come.

I made some delicious bread today. It is English muffin bread with corn meal. What I really wanted was corn bread, but I only have olive oil in my cupboard. While olive oil can be substituted for vegetable oil in some recipes, I'm thinking the flavor may be a bit too strong for corn bread. Anyway, I found a way to make a sort of cornbread in the bread machine. I added more corn meal and less flour to the recipe to make it more corn flavored and it turned out great.

Edited to add, I just noticed that I really need to update my Goodreads bookshelf. I finished "Outliers" and "Mockingjay" ages ago, although I suspect I will be working on "A Suitable Boy" for quite some time. The problem is when I'm reading a book that long, I need to take breaks from the long book and read books that I can actually finish quickly, so then it takes longer to finish the long book.