Do you love winter Southern Style?

Jasmine is irritated with me, but not for the first time since this cold snap began.  If the temperature was at least above freezing, I’d have opened her kitty door to the screened in balcony that is her outdoors.  But, it is not.  The temperature this morning on my balcony was 7 degrees and I don’t want to know the wind chill, as I did not plastic in the balcony this year as I did in years past.  My office window at right had enough frost on the inside to require an ice scraper.

Even at 35 degrees, when I let Jazmine out she comes right back in and stares at me as only a cat can.  The odd ‘meorrow’ seems to ask accusingly, “What have you done to the weather?”  She might venture out once or twice more before walking haughtily down the hall to lie on the leopard electric throw at the foot of my bed.

I keep that electric throw set on low at the foot of my bed from the day the temperature first hits 40 just for her.  

She knows she can count on that spot for warmth sunshine or no sunshine to warm herself day or night.  Handy for her, since I rarely run the central heat.

I truly hate to run the gas central heat.  It sucks the freshness from the very air, and in my opinion, most of the breathable oxygen.  It dries my skin and my hair.  More importantly, it dries my sinuses leaving me susceptible to any arbitrary bug, as it did last week after several visits to over-heated homes for dinner parties, etc. 

I have to turn the central heat on occasionally to warm the bathroom for a shower, but it’s off again right now as I sit at my desk writing this Blog.  I have  a small ceramic heater whirring away at me feet at the moment, and I’ll move it next to the couch when I move in there to watch NCIS later.  

I go to bed around midnight and I slip my feet under Jazmine's throw just long enough to take the chill off and allow the down comforter to return my heat to me.  Jasmine curls up on top of it for most of the night.  The throw will stay on for Jazmine until we have several consecutive days at 70.

By Thursday or Friday the temperature will be in the 40's and 50's, and I’ll open her kitty door again.  I love winter southern style – it comes and goes and seldom lingers more than a day or two.  

Have you jumped on the 'OneWord' BandWagon?

I jumped on the ‘One Word’ bandwagon thinking it would be easier than making a list of New Year’s Resolutions.  Well, it is not.  Choosing the word was a piece of cake; but living it remains to be seen.

My One Word is ‘Create’.  I’m an artist and a writer and a photographer, so it seemed a logical choice, until I realized that those things are not all I create.

By my every action, deed and word I create my home, my life, my opinions, my relationships, my health and so much more.  I create these things based on the actions I take, the friendships I make a myriad of things I’ve not identified yet.

Therein lies the difficult part – where to begin.  I’ll be pondering and/or meditating on that over the weekend.  What is the ideal life I want to create and what are the steps to the top of that stair.

More later.

Did you choose “One Word” for 2014?

Watching the Today Show on January 1, I was fascinated to find an author, Jon Gordon, touting an alternative to the New Year’s resolutions that I, along with many others, annually make and rarely keep.

Although you can buy his book at Amazon (I haven’t yet, but might later), he explained his ‘one word’ premise – I’ve inserted a link to a free copy of a worksheet (not the book) that will help you choose your one word and get on with your new year.  He also encourages us to make our own “One Word” poster.

I chose CREATE as my one word for 2014. 

Definition:Bring something into existence, produce, generate, make, fabricate, fashion, build, construct, establish, initiate, launch, develop…

I like this new approach to a new year more than making a lengthy resolutions.  Rather than resurrecting that old list of Must Dos and Must Don’ts, that hasn't changed much in many years, I chose one word, an active verb, that encourages me to Create the life I want in 2014.  The possibilities are endless.

Although Gordon encourages us to make our poster from his website's free downloadable templates, I made my own using using PowerPoint and a sunrise photo I took a few years back that I am particularly fond of.

It will be in the center of the 2014 Vision Board I’m working on this week.

The Book: