What have you soaked in this year? (Baths, sun, ideas?) How did it affect your mentality?

 This might sound strange, but I think I soaked in the Internet this year. I became a more active participant and a more intent reader on the Internet. I used to simply have my email up and check Facebook occasionally (or more than that). Yes, I blogged, but I really wasn’t so focused on what my content was and what sort of readership I had. This year, I put a lot more effort into blogging. I became a more active participant in a couple of online forums. I added 30 or more blogs to my Reader, and probably post a comment once or twice a day on other blogs. With weverb12, I’ve found even more blogs I like. Blogging is something I do for me, but it certainly is nice to have an audience. As far as my mentality goes, I think I have struck a good balance between blog life and real life. I’ve also found that there are many other people who think like I do, and have certain quirks that I have. That makes me feel less nutty sometimes, and that is comforting. Blogging reminds me to take in all the moments, because writing them down allows me to relive it. 

“2012 was the last time for ________________.”

I can’t really think of anything that I definitively want to say goodbye to in terms of habits and things. I want to say my long hair, since I have recently cut it and I love it short, but I’m not ready to say I’ll never have long hair again. But, I think I’m ready to stop being obsessed with weddings. I mean, I still really love weddings,  and I’m still recapping ours on Weddingbee. But I’m done with the worrying about every little thing and worrying about how people will feel about us doing this differently or that differently. I don’t think my excitement over weddings will ever be completely gone, especially because I know that many of my friends and family still haven’t gotten married. But, I do know that my excitement will be from an “excitement for them” aspect rather than an “excitement over the little details” aspect. I have toyed with the idea of becoming a day-of-coordinator, but I think it will be quite a while before I’m able to step back so fully into the wedding world. 

How were you challenged by a project or goal this year? What did you learn from it?

I am constantly reassessing myself and my goals. First, I had my New Year’s Resolutions and then, I added my 25 Before 25 List, which I should really share my progress on. There was the whole job thing that I shared with you all. I certainly blogged more and found that fulfilling. But in a year of so many ups and a few downs, I don’t know exactly what to say in this moment. I guess the triumph was nothing tangible. It was an acceptance of today. I talked about it a little bit before in my “stay” post. But I still get stumped by the goal to stay in the moment. It’s so easy to get ahead of myself and just lose my mind because it’s not all happening. I have learned that the more tangible goals may lead to the bigger picture ones, and I have learned that I am always going to be working on it. 

I have more tangible goals set out in my 25 Before 25 list for 2013. Some of them terrify me, but most excite me. Ask me this question next year, and I hope to have a very different answer.

Do you actively listen to your inner voice/conscience? Describe a time this year you heard and responded to it.

This is going to sound kind of nerdy, but I always have some sort of inner dialogue going with myself. I’m always asking myself questions and reasoning answers and solutions out myself. Now, to be honest, most of the time, it’s really just me figuring out if I’m actually going to wear those really cute shoes and if they’re worth buying. But one time that my inner voice really mattered was when I applied for an open position in my office.

There were a few good reasons why I was a good fit, and one big, glaring reason that it wouldn’t work. But, after waffling back and forth and agonizing about it, I told myself, “There is nothing to lose from trying. And I will forever regret this if I don’t give myself the chance.” Once I told myself that, I applied for it. And I did get it, but I think the point really was that I tried.

I think I’m going to have to devote a post to the iPhone photos I take every month. I’m not great at remembering to take pictures, but when I do, I use my phone. And of course, the ones I want to share with friends go on Instagram. So, here are some fun photos that narrate life this month.

When E and I went to go watch a movie at the Americana mall, they were installing the Christmas tree. It was the first sign that Christmas was coming and I got giddy.

I finally got a pair of leopard flats, and I couldn’t be happier with them. Leopard isn’t going away. And I’m ok with that.

I went to Boston for work last weekend and, besides the actual work day, I got to spend a lot of time hanging out with my friend, H. But I failed to take a picture of us together. We had a yummy Italian dinner in the North End, went shopping on Newbury Street, ate at Trident Booksellers and Cafe and had drinks at the Top of the Hub. We ended our evening at the Island Creek Oyster Bar, where I took this photo of my pink drink called a Biciclette. What a way to feel sophisticated.

It’s hard to tell what the left picture is. But those are my legs occupying the whole row of a Virgin America plane. Unfortunately, my flight out of Boston was at 7AM. Fortunately, no one else wants to fly at 7AM, so I got a row to myself, where I slept and watched Friends and some Bravo shows until I was back in LA. I wish they flew more places, because the service is so nice on Virgin America.

The kids table never gets old at my house for Thanksgiving. Plus, the dessert lives on the kids table!

And to really show that it really is time for Christmas:

I hope you’ve all had a great holiday weekend, and that you’ve recharged for the surge ahead to Christmas and 2013!

“Where is your favorite place to read?” BlogHer asked that today.

We’ve moved a few times, but my requirements for a good place to read are: A place to sit up straight, somewhere to stretch out my legs or tuck them under me, well-lit, and cozy.

Thankfully, our furnished apartment came with the perfect reading nook.

It’s pretty perfect, except it is next to the TV station where Halo 4 currently reigns as the #1 entertainment source in our home.

So, my actual favorite place to read at home is:

I sit up against the arm rest with my cup of tea on Sunday mornings and read for a couple of hours. I also blog in this spot, and claim it for TV watching.

It’s my spot.

I will make sure that wherever we live, I can carve out a little spot for reading, writing and quiet time.

I love reading nooks. Please let me know what you like for your reading space.

When I first got an iPhone, the first game I got was Bejeweled.

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I loved playing it, but I especially loved the Blitz mode. It’s one-minute rounds and connected to Facebook so you can compete with other people! And I am competitive and have instant gratification issues, so this is perfect.

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The problem was I got really into it, and couldn’t stop playing. So I had to quit because my hand would automatically go to the Bejeweled app on my phone whenever I had free time or didn’t have free time. Last week, my friend at work was playing it on our lunch break, and I remembered how fun it was. Now, here I am, one week later, and I hold a high score of 699,000 points and can’t. stop. playing! It’s so addictive and kills so many brain cells. But it’s also so shiny and fun! I’m going to have to quit soon or I’ll give myself some muscular issue with my thumb.

Of course, I don’t think E notices much because he got Halo 4 delivered to our door last week, and I think he might be going through a similar situation. He’s currently yelling at people he’s never met about how badly they work as a team.

Any video games or iPhone games get you glued to your phone? How do you take breaks or peel yourself away?

Thank you for existing and being gorgeous all the time. America appreciates the gift from Canada.

I’m going to cast my vote today.

And I hope you do, too.

See you on the other side of this day, friends.

If I could read all day, I would. And I would never even scrape the surface of all the amazing fiction that exists. From the Greek tragedies to the latest Barbara Kingsolver novel (out November 6th!!!), there is so much literature. So much to read. And there is always new fiction coming out as well. It’s hard to keep up.

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So, I really like it when you can see what the top choices in fiction, non-fiction, and memoir are for the year. Since, we are getting close to the end of the year, Goodreads has sent out its nominees for best books of 2012 by genre. I can’t rightfully vote in this contest because I haven’t read all the books, but what I can do is browse the nominees and add them to my to-read list. I spent some time doing this tonight. Thanks to Goodreads, I now have 3 new books, 1 on pre-order, and 10 more waiting to be rotated in. I’m looking forward to great, new literature, but I’m also trying to keep up with some older selections I’ve been putting on the back-burner for a while.

I’m looking forward to the mildly cool weather, because I’m going to just read and read and read. And no one can bother me about that. And of course, I will let you in on the gems that really stand out. Maybe I’ll even get through some of my back-burner books too! Don’t e surprised if you see 6 or more books on my Currently Reading tab. The more important thing is that I am reading.

How do you select which books you will be reading?