My Creatively Random Life

The word that came up for A this year was anniversary and that is perfect because this year in May will mark 9 years for Mike and I.  Meeting Mike and having the joy of having someone in my life who shares all of my favourite things and is always there to support my crazy ideas has meant the world to me. Whether it is dressing up with me for conventions or waking up at insane hours in the morning to go do 5ks he is always there for me and it makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world.  I look forward to the next 9 years and beyond. Are you celebrating an anniversary this year?

It has been a while since I have been here on the blog but I decided that since I was home and unable to do much else I would throw down for the A to Z Challenge this year.  I know that I have tried specific themes in the past, usually reading related but themes very much seem to hold me back. This year my theme is random, literally, I went to randomwordgenerator.com and put in the letters and picked the first word that came up.  It has made for an interesting list, one that has come up with a lot of topics for posts that will hopefully inspire myself writing them and anyone reading them this year. I know that we are all going through varying degrees of tough times right now but we need to find the bright spots when and where we can. I look forward to reading everyone's blogs in April. Melissa

Happiness can be faked. What?  I know that was what I said at first.  However it really does work. One of my favourite take aways from Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project is that a part of being happy is acting happy.  Playing the part of what you want to be is advice that people give you all the time in so many areas of life.  Why?  Because it works.  Dress for the job you want, act professional etc. Acting happier works as well, when you start acting happier you are training your mind to be happier with what you have right in the moment and and it becomes a habit.

Good begets good. Feeling down?  Hold the door for the lady behind you juggling three bags and a toddler.  Instant mood boast.  Putting good out into the world makes you feel good.  Hold doors, smile at people you interact with, say hello or good morning.  Wave to small children. You don't need to know how those actions effect other people (they won't hurt them) only how they effect you.

Fear. In my younger years, much younger, I was afraid of nothing.  Except giant ants, and that was only because I once trampled an anthill in my step father's eyesight and he, an excellent storyteller, assured me that giant ants would come get their retribution. Other than that it was not until I got older that I started to develop a fear of doing things, speaking in front of people, social engagements, phone calls, going out in public, wearing bright colours. As I started to get older than that I realized that most of my fears are deeply rooted in what people think of me.  The older I get the more I realize that people judge you a lot less than you think because they are mostly caught up in their own shit.  Or you might be scared they are think something of you when really they are think something totally different. Have I become any less afraid of those things?  No.  But now I embrace the fear and take the plunge most days.  Some days I st...

Eat to fuel your body. Sluggish, tired from eating junk because I was always so busy me was not a fun person to be around at all.  She pretty much just worked and slept and occasionally snapped at people because they tired to make her do other things. A part of the course I am taking is fitness and nutrition and a part of learning about that is learning how food fuels your body.  IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.  You have to stick with it though to get through the bad parts.  The first few weeks of cutting out processed foods and cutting back on sugar were a nightmare, I felt like I was dying. DYING!!!! I feel great now though and it takes some planning to work out days when I am busy or we are going out but so worth it.

Don't delay. One of the biggest things that has impressed me in my research for bringing more happiness into your life is to not delay unpleasant tasks just because they are unpleasant.  In the words of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt "you can do anything for 30 seconds" and you can. Think about how many thinks that we put off and put off that would only take 30 seconds if we just did them.  My biggest is folding and putting away laundry.  What is yours?   

Change. In general we tend to fear change yet without it nothing can move forward.  I am hugely guilty of this one.  I often deal with a status quo that does not make me happy because I am afraid of the unknown.  What will happen if I get a new job?  What is the dating scene like these days?  What happens if I try to make friends with the other parents at karate? There is nothing all that great about the status quo, and who knows what that change might bring?  More money? A trip?  More time with you family?  Take the plunge, change something small today.  Small change makes big ripples. 

Be yourself.  Every book that I have read so far on how to bring more happiness into your life or reduce your stress at some point has this same message in some way.  Stop trying to be something you don't want to do and just be yourself. This is something that I struggled with a long time before finally starting to come to my own now in my late 30's.  Even now I feel the pressure to conform to something I am just not.  I get it from my parents especially who are constantly telling me I need to grow up.  I used to try to please them all because I love them but know I have figured out that if I am constantly trying to please them instead of just being me then when it really matters I tend to balk at doing the stuff they need from me.  It's much better to have an 80/20 balance where 80% of the time they call except me for me and 20% of the time I act like as reasonable human being and don't wear a tutu to the theater. I find it much more freeing to...

When the Paradise Falls bridge fell, Jennifer Katzenberg lost her husband and her happiness. The only thing she has left is her job as a high school teacher, but even that isn't safe. Eliot, her abusive brother-in-law, stalks her every waking moment waiting to pounce. But then she meets him. Jacob, the new math teacher. He's quick witted, sensitive, and smart. But he's also built like an MMA fighter, drives a car worth ten times his salary, and is covered in scars. Something doesn't add up. Jacob Kane skipped town when the bridge collapse claimed his family too. Everyone said it was an accident, but he isn't so sure. Now he's back in Paradise Falls. Not to teach math, but to get revenge. Everything was going according to plan. At least until he saw her. Jennifer. Jacob never thought he would see Jennifer again, but he discovers someone trying kidnap her--Elliot. One of the men he came here to kill. Falling in love was never part of the plan, but there's a...

When helicopters and armored vehicles filled with soldiers in hazmat suits quarantine the small mountain town of Resurrection, Colorado, Sheriff Rick Johnson feels like the Jihadi wars have followed him home. But while the town follows martial law out of fear of a virus released into the air, Rick isn't buying the official version of events. As he investigates, the cover story unravels and he discovers the military's presence and the salvation they offer isn't what it seems. An opportunity to review this book fell into my lap just before the challenge started and I was so excited.  Jeff Gunhus holds a special place in my heart as an author due to my deep love for his Monster Hunter series.  This book is far from a  kids book but I enjoyed reading it just the same, his writing style really draws you into the story.

ONE GIRL WILL BRING AN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES... Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost. Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans. Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man...

This is the romantic office comedy that human resources warned you about. Florida resident Rebecca Blake works as an assistant to a group of psychologists. She is strikingly beautiful and athletic. People see her as a nice, likable girl who is fine in her role but who could never really aspire to more at the company. Rebecca is told in her performance review that in order to get promoted, she is going to have to work on her credibility. As part of her career development plan, she is sent to a behavioral training course (nicknamed 'Club Detention') at company headquarters in Virginia. In error, she is partnered with Foster Diamond, who has the highest intelligence scores in the company. Even though he is a genius, Foster has own issues around interpersonal skills, attitude and his perception overall. Rebecca and Foster have nothing in common, but between his weakness for her beauty and her admiration of his intellect, they forge an unlikely bond. During the course they find ...

To save their parents they will have to travel to unknown worlds. Too bad the natives on each world all seem to want them dead . . . Zachary and Jenna Lane are a brother and sister pair who would much rather tease and trick each other than work together. But when their parents vanish before their eyes through a mysterious shimmering portal, the two kids join forces and adventure through a series of fantastic worlds in an effort to rescue them. But each world is more treacherous than the last, and staying alive for even a day will prove to be the ultimate test of their wits, courage, and determination. And when they finally puzzle out what is happening to them and why, the impossible happens: things get even worse. Because far more is at stake than just their lives. And the odds against them could not be any greater . . . Out of This World is a fast-paced adventure sure to delight young and old alike, packed with breakneck action, brilliant escapes, thrilling cliffhangers, and plent...

Several days late as I was a little under the weather over the weekend but I refuse to just skip it. Ready to two-step under the mistletoe with a hot cowboy? How about a gorgeous tycoon? Spend a white Christmas in Montana with eight heartwarming, contemporary romances. This limited edition collection features sweet and sexy holiday stories from bestselling and award-winning authors. You’ll find eight romantic heroes to fall in love with in A Montana Born Christmas boxed set. And all for less than a dollar!  Christmas at Copper Mountain by Jane Porter   Life has been tough at Copper Mountain Ranch and widower Brock Sheenan's kids have never had a proper Christmas. His new housekeeper, Harley Diekerhoff, is determined to change that--but she doesn't count on falling in love with her taciturn boss.  Come Home for Christmas, Cowboy by Megan Crane   Christina Grey Cooper has finally given up on her marriage and returned home to Marietta to lick her wounds. But Dare c...

Anna Nesmith believes she has it all--a great marriage, a dream job and a home of her own. When an investigator begins asking questions, Anna’s ordered world crashes like Jenga blocks. Frank Caburn is man to the bone and manufactures testosterone like Frito Lay does chips, which seems not to impress Anna one whit as she picks through the rubble of her shattered life. Attracted to Anna, Caburn determines to make her his own--But how to tell her without tripping over a layer of secrets is beyond him. Falling in love has never been more difficult. I picked this booked because I love the cover, the description threw me off a bit but the book turned out to be alright.   Worth the read.

Let it be  is a touching tale of loss, longing, and forgiveness that chronicles the breakup of a marriage, the destruction of a family, and the struggle to come together in the aftermath of what remains. Searching for the love and happiness she feels she deserves, Michelle Jansen leaves her abusive, overbearing husband behind and takes her two kids to Amarillo, Texas, where she begins to learn how to stand on her own two feet, supporting herself and her children with the money she earns from a low-paying job as she becomes increasingly involved with a coworker who is an even bigger fan of the Beatles than she is. But Michelle doesn’t realize that her ex-husband is willing to do whatever he can to destroy her new life. When Michelle is betrayed by her very own son, this already fractured family will be damaged in an almost unimaginable way. Can they find forgiveness in the midst of so much sorrow and guilt, or will love give them the strength that they need to let it be? Part fam...

A shocking murder. A web of deceit. A twist even Hitchcock wouldn’t see coming. It starts with a phone call – Sondra Ellis’ beautiful baby sister, Tracy, has disappeared during a jog along Chicago’s snowy lakefront. She’s even more devastated when Tracy’s mangled body is found days later, the victim of a mugging gone wrong. A year later, Sondra continues to struggle with Tracy’s death. Her trauma deepens when she discovers series of odd and unsettling cracks in her sister’s seemingly perfect life: puzzling messages, inexplicable meetings, and secrets and lies at every turn. As Sondra continues to dig into the mystery of what happened to her sister, she has no idea she’s on her own collision course with life and death.  For fans of Patricia Highsmith, Mary Higgins Clark, and Alfred Hitchcock, Killing Me Softly is a page-turning psychological thriller that will keep you up long past your bedtime. I did not have many K books to choose from but this one caught my eye, such an int...

This is Lady Matilda Darcy's first Christmas since the fire—her first Christmas without her parents, the Marquis and Marchioness of Darcy. She only has her little brother Clarence and her dour Aunt Alda, who thinks that Christmas decorations are a useless frivolity unless the decoration is for a Regency Romance Ball. Aunt Alda says, “No one will see the Christmas decorations if there is no ball, and she is not having a Christmas Ball at her home.” Matilde wheedles her way into hanging a single Christmas ornament:a Christmas mistletoe, but what is the use? No one will kiss her under it. Matilda desperately wants to feel loved, and just one Christmas Kiss would make a Merry Christmas for Matilda. I found a real love for regency romance last year when I was doing a lot of reviews.  This is just a tiny one but it is sweet and there is nothing quite like a Christmas romance.

A popular, young royal couple can't produce an heir? INCONCEIVABLE! When Ozarks native Hatty goes “whole hog” during karaoke, she catches the eye of Prince John. He isn’t what she expects the heir to a small European nation to be: he's affable, witty, and isn’t put off by her tell-it-like-it-is demeanor. Their flirtation should be short lived, but a force stronger than fate—Hatty’s newspaper editor—assigns her to cover the royals. After spending time together, she and John soon begin dating, and Hatty finds herself making headlines instead of writing them.  But challenges loom that are even more complicated than figuring out how to mesh Hatty's journalism career with life at Belvoir Palace. Hatty and John soon find themselves embroiled in an unusual sex scandal: they can't produce an heir. Tabloids dub Hatty a “Barren-ess,” and the royals become irate. Hatty politely tells them to shove it. But beneath her confident exterior, she struggles to cope with a heartbreak t...