Thoughtless?

For all my devote followers out there, no I didn’t fall off the face of the Earth. So where, you might ask did Thoughts of the Season 7-12 go? Well, rest assured I had thoughts. Really great, fantastic ones. But my writing time over the rest of winter break was devoted to writing book 6. What can I say? I got hooked…sometimes when I get into writing my story I just can’t get out.

For those of you who feel cheated, let down by the missing Thoughts of the Season, I will give my bulleted short list here. Be prepared for mind blowing opinions.

Thought #7 – Board Games

One of my favorite thing to do over the holidays is get together with friends and family and game. Here’s my top choices for group games this year…okay, last year:

1. Tribond
2. The Game of Things
3. Pit
4. Ticket to Ride
5. Rook

Thought #8 – Alone Time

Here’s my Top 5 list of my favorite things to do when I get a chance to do my own thing:

1. Write (sitting on my couch, foot stool up, a hot cup of tea and some dark chocolate…ahhh, good times.)
2. Read (I just started Daughter of Shadow by Tyler Sehn, looking forward to really sinking my teeth in it as it were…once I can stop writing.)
3. Warm Bubble bath (a really nice happy place to ease tired and sore muscles and relax for awhile.)
4. Playing my drums (yep, you heard me. Crank the tunes and let me butcher the beat as I rock out.)
5. Bingeing on Netflix (I love to spend 10 hours straight delving into story – Thank you Jessica Jones for this seasons binge.)

 

Thought #9 – Homemade Gifts

Every Christmas I make at least one gift. This year it was to my mom. Thanks Kelley for the inspiration. This bouquet is all paper flowers, origami style!

Thought #10 – Gifts Received

My family was very thoughtful this year from cowbells to board games. My most unique present? Scavenger lottery tickets! Santa put the first clue in my stocking and then I spent my morning searching for each clue attached with a scratch ticket. Here are 5 of my favorite locations that I found my clues:

1. Treasure island book on my bookcase
2. My own book – Journey to Kokoroe
3. My jewellery box
4. In the tree
5. My sock drawer

Did someone say ‘More Cowbell?’ (Last one of the top 10)

Thought #11 – Best Chocolates of the Season

I love chocolate so here’s a thought dedicated to the ones I savor every year:

1. Chocolate covered cherries
2. After Eights
3. Turtles
4. Lindor Dark Chocolate
5. Terry’s Chocolate Orange

Thought #12 – New Year’s Resolutions

How many times have you made the same resolution? I lost count…but I usually manage to stick to them for four or five months so it’s worth the thought 😉

1. Eat less sugar (that’s a challenge…see thought #11)
2. Build muscle (if I stock up on body building magazines, does that count?)
3. Read one classic book  a month (this is on top of my regular reading)
4. Finish Book 6 of the Essence of Galenia series (I’m halfway through the first draft so well on my way!)
5. Publish Book 4 of the Essence of Galenia series  (yes I write two ahead of what I’m publishing – makes it easier to do foreshadowing and ensure continuity)

That’s it for my Thoughts of the Season, consider your mind blown!

Top 5 Documentaries

I love documentaries. The world is a fascinating place and being entertained, while learning about it, is exciting to me. The following list are some of my favorite documentaries.

1. Connections with James Burke
   • There are 3 series: one from 1978, 1994 & 1997.
   • The shows demonstrate how various discoveries, scientific achievements, & historical world events were built or significantly interconnected to modern day technology.
2. Engineering an Empire from the History Channel
   • The shows explores the engineering and architectural feats accomplished by some of greatest civilizations of history.
   • The episodes include Rome, Egypt, Greece, Greece: Age of Alexander, The Aztecs, Carthage, The Maya: Death Empire, Russia, Britain: Blood and Steel, The Persians, China, Napoleon: Steel Monster, The Byzantines and Da Vinci’s World.
3. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey with Neil DeGrass Tyson
   • Neil presents a storytelling approach of the universe aboard the ship of the imagination which loosely follows the original Cosmos by Carl Sagan from 1980
   • Not only does it show amazing images and information of space, but explores the lives of the scientist who made fantastic discoveries.
4. Fry’s Planet Word with Stephan Fry
   • Stephan explores how languages developed, how it defines us, its uses and abuses, and celebrates story telling.
   • This historical search is not only interesting, but a compelling quest in understanding who we are as is revealed through our language.
5. How TV Ruined Your Life with Charlie Brooker
   • Using a comedic approach, Charlie explores the influences television has had on our lives for better or worse…well mostly worse.

To watch any of these visit Top Documentary Films to watch, go on YouTube or Netflix. Of course, you could always purchase them on DVD.