New Years Tag

This tag seems to be floating around the blog world and I couldn’t help but take part in it. I might be a little late, but better late then never, right?

What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?
Rewrite a whole entire book. It was a big leap for me. As you probably know by now, I’ve always been terrified of rewrites. *shudders*

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yessss! My bestest friend had her first baby. A little baby boy and the cutest one you’ll ever see. AND my cousin had the most precious little girl. Yep, it’s been an awesome year!

Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully, no.

What countries/states did you visit?
Nowhere, really. Not much traveling this year.

What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
Health! I deal with so many health issues. I’d give anything to just simply be healthy for 2014.

What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory?
May 4th, the day my best friend’s baby was born. ^_^ That was an amazing day.

Did you move anywhere?
Nope, nope!

What was the best month?
Oooh, that’s a tough one! I really enjoyed almost the entire year. I think I’d have to go with November. I had such an AMAZING NaNoWriMo. I’ll never forget that crazy month.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Basically everything I got done writerly-wise. I wrote two full books, edited/rewrote another one, and just learned all sorts of things that will aid in my writing from here on out. It was a great year of writing!

What was your biggest failure?
To counter the last question, I’d have to say managing my time. I sort of spent too much time writing and not enough time living. This year I’m hoping to learn how to balance those things out.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
No injuries, but I’ve been suffering illness since 2011, and some my whole life. Like I said earlier, I have a lot of health issues.

What was the best thing you bought?
Honestly, all I can think of that I bought this year are books. I bought a LOT of books this year, any other money I had went towards getting gifts for other people. Possibly the Blood of Kings Trilogy by Jill Williamson. I loved those books far too much and will probably read them a thousand times over. Well worth every penny!

Whose behavior merited celebration?
Um. . .I don’t know. . .? I’ll say my mom. Her constant kindness and patience always merits celebration.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
That’s classified. ; )

Where did most of your money go?
BOOKS!

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Getting my first car and babies being born! : D

What was the best concert you've been to this year?
Sadly, I did not attend any concerts. Very sad indeed. Maybe this year!

What song/album will always remind you of 2013?
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey soundtrack. I got it fairly early-ish in the year and have been listening to it since. A special extended version of Song of the Lonely Mountain especially. I don’t even want to think about how many times I listened to that thing. 

Compared to this time last year, are you:
1. happier or sadder? Happier, actually.  Much, much happier compared to the year before.
2. thinner or fatter? The same there.
3. richer or poorer? Um. . .I’m just in general usually pretty broke. So probably about the same.

What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercise, eat right, just all that general healthy stuff. Definitely need to work on that. But hey, it’s a new year, right? 

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Spend so much time on the computer. On Pinterest especially. I joined it this year (er, in 2013 I mean) and have spent embarrassing amounts of time on it since. I can’t seem to stop. o.O

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Again I’ll go to The Hobbit soundtrack and the special edition of Song of the Lonely Mountain by Neil Finn. It’s just amazing. If you haven’t heard it you can HERE. It’s definitely worth a listen, trust me!

How did you spend Christmas?
On the day before Christmas Eve (Christmas Adam?) we had quite a bit of family over to our house for supper, gift giving, and just fellowship with one another. Then on Christmas day it was just us and my mom’s mom where we had a fun time opening gifts and all, then that evening we went out and looked at some Christmas lights. We had a really pleasant Christmas this year. ^_^

How are you spending New Year's?
In my boring fashion of staying home. My little sis and I watched Doctor Who while we waited for midnight to hit. But, then again, when you put the two of us together and add Doctor Who in there “boring” isn’t quite the right word. We get a little. . .hyper together, especially late at night. Hee.
 
Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
The phone? You mean that device of fear and torture? Why would I ever use such a thing?? Ahem, okay. Well, probably either Mom or Dad, they’re the only ones I’m ever brave enough to talk to on the phone.

What was the best book you read?
*blinks* Evil question. EVILLLL. Although, I think I sort of already answered that. The Blood of Kings Trilogy by Jill Williamson. To Darkness Fled (book 2) was my favorite, so I guess that one. I also reread Howl’s Moving Castle, which happens to be one of my most favoritest books on the universe so. . .we’ll just call it a tie.

Did you fall in love in 2013?
YES. Wait, does falling in love with books and fictional characters not count? . . .Oh. Then no, I guess not.

What was your favorite TV show?
*siiigh* Y U ask these things?? I have three: Merlin, Doctor Who, and Sherlock, all of which happen to be BBC shows. What can I say, British television is so much better. I always say Merlin is my favorite but I don’t even think I watched any of it in 2013. The series ended on Christmas of 2012 (*commence tears*) and I just haven’t been able to hold in my emotions enough to rewatch it yet. Don’t judge! So for favorite TV viewing of 2013. . . Probably Sherlock. . .or Doctor Who or. . . Dash it all! This is a hard question! I love them all. ALL THE THINGS. I think honestly I love them all equally, it just depends on what mood I’m in.

What did you want and get?
I got my first car in January!!!

What did you want and not get?
Health? I don’t know, I’ve been pretty satisfied this year.

What were your favorite films of this year?
I would love to say The Desolation of Smaug but that was such a disappointment. Catching Fire, absolutely! There are not even words to describe the amazingness of that movie. They followed the book more perfectly than I’ve ever seen in a book-to-movie adaption. It was amazing. Peter Jackson should have taken notes. >.> Let’s see, what else came out this year? Monsters University was cute. Despicable Me 2 was FABULOUS. That was such a hilarious movie! Oz: The Great and Powerful! Looooved that one! Oh! And Frozen of course!! I mean, who doesn’t love that movie? Goodness, there were a lot of good movies this year.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 21 (yes, I’m an “official” adult now *cue scary music*). I hung out at my grandmother’s house with the family, opened presents and such there, had lunch with good friends, and then that evening went bowling with the church group and then went to Wendy’s afterwards with the group where chaos ensued. It was a FANTASTIC birthday!

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
Fashion? Huh, well, I love wearing cute things but I don’t know if I’m all that great at it. I usually wear jeans and a cute top. I also love scarves and wear boots absolutely any chance I can get. And capris are my favorite during the summer. I wouldn’t say I wore anything special though.

What kept you sane?
Sane, what? I’m a writer, sane doesn’t come with the title. Okay, okay, let’s see. . . Reading always keeps me sane. Also cleaning, it’s my therapy. On the other hand though, if I go too long without getting a chance to clean I go a bit crazy. I’m way OCD in that area. I’ve got to have everything clean all the time.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy most?
Well, I dislike celebrities in general. I don’t get into all that in the least. They’re not exactly people I’d want to base my life off of. But. . .well. . .

Benedict Cumberbatch. *COUGH* Don’t judge, you know you love him too.

And Colin Morgan, always.

And let’s not forget David Tennant.

Okay, okay, I’m done. Promise.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Getting published? Becoming totally healthy? The TARDIS appearing in my front yard? I could do this all day, but I won’t, because I don’t think we should focus on what could have made life better, but on the blessings we had. 2013 was a really lovely year for me, and I am so grateful to God for all He has already given me.

What political issue stirred you the most?
Pssssh. I am SO not into politics. I’m not even going to try to answer this question.

Who did you miss?
There were way too many people I didn’t see much or stay much in contact with this year. From internet buddies to friends I know in person. There are so many people I miss. *sniffles*

Who was the best person you met?
I didn’t really meet many new people this year, and I guess I shouldn’t count fictional people, should I?

Tell a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
Being a perfectionist and OCD, I tend to stress about things a lot, tiny, meaningless things that most people wouldn’t even think about. I’m a person who lives by lists and order, or wants to anyway, so when my plans get thrown into a loop I get upset about it. Over the course of the year, God has been teaching me to just let loose and not worry about plans and order. Sometimes things happen that change plans. In fact, more than likely something will go completely against the plan. So I’ve been trying to work on not letting those little hiccups bother me. God has much better plans each day for me than I do. If He wants to interrupt it, then I should embrace the change, not sulk over the fact that things aren’t going exactly how I planned them. Still a work-in-progress, but compared to this time last year I’m doing a lot better.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
”Reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn’t want to live there.” --The Real World, Owl City
Because I spent the majority of the year in the novels I was writing than in the real world. *winks* Okay, really, I don’t know. I’ve never really used song lyrics to sum up my life before.

Five personally significant events of 2013:
-January 2nd, the day I got MY FIRST CAR.
-Two babies being born. (Probably should count that as two events, but they were pretty close together.)
-Two books being written. (Also probably should count as two *cough*).
-One book edited.
-NaNoWriMo in general (but that might count as one of those books being written).

Five things I want to do in 2014:
-Get much further on the road to publishing, or get published, but I’m pretty sure I still have quite a few years of work before that happens.
-Get into some healthy habits.
-Read more books than I did last year.
-Learn to manage my time better.
-Grow my relationship with God.
There are a whole bunch of things I want to do this year, but those are the main goals I have for now.

Five people I'd like to know better in 2014:
Huh. Well, I’m pretty close to my friends and family. I don’t know, maybe I’ll meet some people I’ll want to grow a relationship with this year. We shall see. Anyways, this is a pretty personal question, dontcha think? ; )

I have all sorts of plans and hopes for 2014. I honestly think it’s going to be a great year. But I have to remember, my plans are not God’s plans. I want to take His hand and let HIM lead me, on whatever twists and turns He wants to. Because HIS plans are far, far better than my own. Whatever Your will for 2014 is, Lord, lead on!

Happy 2014, everyone! I do hope this is a blessed, amazing year for you all and that God will never stop showing us His wonder.