What's Up Wednesday: A New Year Edition

 
What's Up Wednesday hails from the blogs of Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. Join the fun on your own blog and then go to Jaime's to add your link - it's a great way to share what's going on in your life and get to know other bloggers!
 

Happy New Year, everyone! I for one am glad that 2013 is behind us. While I am truly grateful for all the blessings that 2013 brought to me and my family, there were a few road blocks and I'm looking forward to the new challenges and successes of 2014.

Before I move on to the usual What's Up Wednesday topics, I'd like to present my Word of the Year. For a while, I thought I wouldn't come up with one this year, because I totally tanked my Word for 2013: Balance. It's been fun reading about others' word choices for the year, but I wasn't feeling it. Nothing made sense. Nothing seemed to fit for how I've been feeling.

But Monday, the word appeared. On my wrist:

SHIFT.

This is the bracelet that my husband and children gave me for Christmas, made from old typewriter keys. I adore this bracelet - and that one word struck me. SHIFT will be my word of 2014. Because sometimes, that's all it takes to make something better - a little shift. In perspective. In time. In space. In attitude. In direction. In focus.

It's perfect!

Sometimes, all it takes is a little SHIFT to make a rotten day seem good again. To make an impossible situation seem manageable. And should that fail, I can always take out the F to make my most frequently-used word of any year. :)

And now for the usual topics:

WHAT I'M READING
I've been lucky enough to be entrusted with a beta read for one Ms. Liz Parker, set during the Civil War - with a twist. Liz's writing style keeps me turning the pages for sure!

I'm also reading FROZEN (the junior novelization) out loud to Birdy. We adored the movie and can't wait to see it again - and so far, the junior novelization is pretty good. Those can be hit or miss.

One more: THE MURMURINGS by Carly Anne West. Creepy.

WHAT I'M WRITING
Nothing! lalalalalalalalalalala. But now that kids are back in school - oh wait, did I say the kids were back in school? Because they're NOT. School has been closed because of the dangerously low temperatures. The governor cancelled school for the entire state on Monday. It was the coldest day of their little lives. Talk about FROZEN. We're living in Elsa's ice castle. (A note: much to their disappointment, they go back to school this morning. The high today is supposed to be -4. That's nothing! Feels downright balmy!)

Anyway, things are slowly getting back to normal and I plan to get back to work soon.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
We had such a wonderful holiday season and I hope you did, too. The kids have been Rainbow Looming (with assistance from Hammer Guy, because that is so not my thing. I suck at crafts). Some reading. Lots of Arrow of Light activities. Preparing to pass the Cub Scout torch. Snuggling with the kiddos.

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
I've had this pint of ice cream in my freezer for a few weeks, just waiting for the right moment to reward myself and dig in. The moment arrived - but you'll have to wait a few more days to find out the details! I'm inspired by and grateful for my family (who stopped me from cracking into it one particularly disheartening day) and for my friends - especially other writers from around the globe (you know who you are!) who have been so supportive and encouraging during a challenging time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart - and this pint of Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

What's up with you, my friends? What's your favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor?