Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

2015

Time For New Dreams And Adventures?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Back to the day job after a nice vacation between Christmas and New Years. Had a calm and fun-filled time with lots of cleaning and rearranging and moving stuff. Made me glad to go back to the day job to get away from doing more.

First squirrel sighting of 2015! Notice Spec Ops Cat reflection in the window.
First squirrel sighting of 2015! Notice Spec Ops Cat reflection in the window. And his ear!

Took some time to read and watch movies too, plus football of course. Made big strides in my office rearranging my office closet and organizing writing projects. Put together another cubie divider to store the piles of projects which seem to get larger with research.

Some observations about trying to sort and purge items:

1. Sorting paper is an activity which can suck your soul. Since I keep all kinds of things for reference, research and sentimental reasons, the paper is the biggest challenge. It really does breed in the dark like rabbits.

2. I love my hardback and paperback books, but I still have too many. However, sorting them feels like choosing among favorite children. The upside is ones I can’t sell I donate to our Friends of the Library and they make money and the books go to new homes. Makes me happy.

3. Organizing and streamlining my office space is freeing up my mind space. And I can use all of that I can get! I’ve read clutter causes stress and that seems so true in my home.

4. Been reading “Plain and Simple – A Woman’s Journey to the Amish” by Sue Bender. It jumped out at me when I was looking for another book in my office. (See, I can’t get that serendipity book discovery on my ereader.) It is nourishing my mind and my sense of cleaning out. Great read.

Game on stare down between squirrel and Spec Ops Cat. Both think they are super heroes with two panes of glass in between!
Squirrel advances in the stare down game with Spec Ops Cat. Both think they are super heroes with two panes of glass in between!

5. New calendars, new checkbook register, whole new year to make magic and dreams come true. Yeah!

“The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, something to give, and something to hope for,” by After Allan Chalmers from Susan Branch’s 2015 Heart of the Home Calendar.

Moving Into A New Year Of Possibilities?

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by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Here we are getting ready to move into 2015. A New Year brings high hopes and fond memories. Since five is supposed to be a lucky number, I’m thinking good things for all of us ahead. That is my wish for all.

Weather is odd once again, woke up to 25 degrees outside and high winds. But we have brilliant sunshine so I can bundle up no problem. Most of the U.S. is in the Arctic Cold outbreak once again so here are some fun things to do this week.

Spec Ops Cat demonstrating his Olympic level napping skills this week. He's a black belt Nap Master. Watch and learn.
Spec Ops Cat demonstrating his Olympic level napping skills this week. He’s a black belt Nap Master. Watch and learn.

1. Figure out what is bugging you the most and clean it out. Did this recently with the container next to my stove that holds my utensils. Couldn’t even get one more in the container, so sorted it out. Stuffed the overage into the kitchen utensil drawer, so now I need to clean that out. But I accomplished one thing!

2. Take a nap. Spec Ops Cat demonstrates his professional level at this activity in the photo. Remember to relax like a cat. Just wish I was as limber as he is.

3. Play a game from your childhood. Taking the Yahtzee game over for New Year’s Eve celebration treats tomorrow to play with family. Nothing like rolling dice and not losing money to make me a happy woman.

4. Read. A magazine, book, cookbook,  ebook or cereal box. It feels like a guilty pleasure to do this during the day in the sunlight, so count me in!

5. Socialize. Whether your watching the bowl games with friends and family, Go Ducks!, or visiting family and friends during the holidays, make time to bond. Actually listen and talk with people. Unplug! It’s a wonderful thing.

6. Be grateful. It’s easy to get wrapped up in all the stuff and things and expectations, but the true joys in life are the little things; always have been, always will be. My favorites this past week were my sister’s pumpkin bread, a calm and happy Christmas, healthy family and friends, donating books to the library, spending Christmas Eve with my Mom, sleeping in and Spec Ops Cat cuddles. Priceless!

Hoping your holidays are going well and let’s all make fun plans for 2015. Happy New Year!

Spring and Summer are just around the corner!
Spring and Summer are just around the corner!