Heptadecagon

For the past three years, I've begun the first day of January with a set of words that mean something to me. In 2014 , the words spoke about goals; in 2015 , they talked about how each person you meet has a role in your life; last year , the words spoke of the fact that your personal destiny depends on you . This year, I'm planning on focusing on the positive even more than I do already, which means I need to remember one thing: When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. ~Helen Keller Happy New Year to you all. I hope this year is one of the best for all of us.

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Summer has started here, so I'll need all the writing inspiration I can find. Because I will no doubt have enough fodder for good stories, but not enough time to do anything with that fodder...

The day dawned dull and gray and the clouds hung low in the sky. And I needed a little bit of spring in my step. What better way to get that than to look at some pictures I'd taken a few days before of the spring glories waking up around the yard. This picture is my favorite. The dogwood hasn't bloomed yet, but it's peeking out. The picture could be centered better, but I like how the filter worked on this photo of our front door. For years, I've tried to get rid of this plant. Lovely flowers, no? But it invades my space. Bright green shoots from the hastas on the side of the house appeared last week. I fear the frost last night might have killed them.

For both 2014 and 2015 , I started off the year with some words that meant something to me. The cool thing is, for both of those years, those quotes truly did hold a special meaning. In 2014 I saw several goals achieved...those that excited and inspired me. And in 2015, I added a few amazing people to the cast of characters I surround myself with (and I mean the people I can touch and people see--not the characters in my head who are also real.) Of course, I'm a creature of habit, so I intend to keep the ball rolling with another small quote for us all to ponder. Remember one thing only: that it’s you – nobody else – who determines your destiny and decides your fate. Nobody else can be alive for you; nor can you be alive for anybody else. ~e.e. cummings Happy New Year and here's to much happiness to you all!

I learned a long time ago not to laugh at what inspires me, but to simply take hold of the inspiration and not let go until I'm done with it. But today, when inspiration hit, I couldn't help but chortle. And now, I'm doing it again--laughing that is. For this, THIS , served as my inspiration for today: One 41-year-old woman + One Direction. I never would have thought it could be true.