New Year's Reevaluations and Resolutions**

**Change this word to ''Goals'' please in your mind. I just wanted the two Rs so it sounds snappy when you say it. For real, try it. ;)**

I'm really sorry for that weird H if it bother you too

I'm sure you already know this, but tomorrow is a new year. 2015. Oh boy.

There are a few personal things I want to work on in 2015 and I'll get into that later but right now a want to talk about things concerning this blog and the new year.

During January, I really want to reevaluate why I have this blog. With some people, you can read their post about anything --mushrooms, for an example-- and be totally transfixed. It's just a natural talent for writing anything. They phrase their words so beautifully and string them elegantly together and I really don't believe I have that. Sure, I'm great and what not at poems, but how often do I actually post those? I'm seriously thinking about letting this blogging chapter of my life end. I love sharing my writing pieces with you guys and I hope y'all like them too; but my posts about anything else are so bland. One option is to keep this blog open only for my poems, but then I feel like it'd gather dust {if it could} in-between each infrequent post, and I really don't want a ''dusty'' blog.

If I do decide to keep In The Wind I think a lot of things would be changing. I really want to be taking more of my own pictures. I want to share more of my life, even the ridiculous stuff.

As for personal goals, I've decided to have three big goals to work on throughout the whole year, and one small goal that I can accomplish each month. Some things take more than just one month to work on, so that would be a year goal. I'm going to decide each month's goal as I come to it. But as for the year's goal:

• {this is the average cliche one so beware} I want to eat healthier. Maybe your family does this too but for mine we usually eat healthy for the first two months of the new year and then flicker off {nothing bad with this: it's better than never having that goal and spending those months eating bad stuff instead}. Yes, I'm counting myself in there. But this year even if I'm alone I want to genuinely try to make healthier choices. You only have one body, which is precisely why you should both eat chocolate and broccoli. 

• I want to say yes to more things. Not only am I introverted but I'm also very shy. I want to learn how to embrace my introvert-ness and yet still say yes {to group activities and trying new things} and still be friendly and social. 

• I want to rewrite Into the Woods. If you don't know when I was about 12/11 I wrote a short story {130 pages or so}. It was a fantasy snow white retelling. I've tried writing so many different things since then but none of them flowed so magnificently like that one did. It was the best feeling. I absolutely loved that story and I still did. There was never a day when I didn't want to work on it. I'm beginning to think I may only ever have one story that pours out of my soul so naturally, and if I do; I want to stop wasting my time and start perfecting that story. It was written when I was pretty young so obviously it's crap, but I still love the plot and I want to try to rewrite it and round out the plot. I'm going to keep most of the scenes, but add more in and develop the scenes and the characters more. So basically I'm rewriting all of it and keeping the inspiration there. :p

January's goal:

• Drink more water. This is also a unofficial year goal but I have a filtered water bottle, and there are very few bad things water can do to you. Better skin and metabolism? Don't mind if I do. ;)

Please tell me your goals and spread the inspiration below. If you want, leave encouragement on other comments. I have no doubt we are all going to have a fantabulous new year.

Some Books

**edit: I just realized my blog anniversary was on the 22nd! Guys, if you look I have never remembered to post on that day about my anniversary. ;/ Seriously though, my memory... anyway, I think I've been blogging for three years? Four? **


Clever title, eh? {Newp. I stink at titling things}

I wanted to show y'all the two books I got for Christmas! I got other things too that I'm very grateful for but I didn't care to add them since they're not books.

 

The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff

I wanted this book because I heard that the watercolors are just beautiful {and they are--see picture below ;} and because the story sounded so interesting. It's about the old Chinese custom of ghost marriages.

Right now I'm really enjoying the plot and the pictures but I'm not really invested any in the actual story. :/ Hopefully it'll get better at the last half.

*dies*

 

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

I've also heard a lot of good things about this one! I was at Barnes and Nobel and it looked interesting so I picked it up with some holiday money. XD

I haven't started reading it yet but I'm really excited to! I think it's kinda like Narnia where the world is enslaved in an eternal winter. 

I think I need to do a ''most anticipated books of 2015'' post because Red Queen {dang that cover} along with other books.

What did you guys get for Christmas? Books or otherwise, I'd love to hear. :)

I Dyed My Hair Purple

Oh yes I did.

I came into the store wanting to get hair like the picture above. I was quickly talked out of that though, because it would very nearly destroy my hair. Instead I opted for an ombre with long layers. 

This is what my hair looked after the bleach. If you look at the bottoms you can see my ends were already started to break off. The blond part of my hair felt very brittle and dry; it still does a bit.

I actually really like my blond ombre, and once the purple fades out I'll be left with it again. I might decide to get another color put in though. ;}

All in all, my hair was bleached, trimmed, and colored. It took about two and a half hours, and even I was ready to go at the end.

I love the color and everything, but I really love how my hair feels. It feels so much lighter and silkier  and just prettier. Yay for new haircuts.

I went to a school, so everything was $56.

Before:

 

After:

Discussion/Rant :: Ghostwriting

The discussion of ghostwriting is kinda everywhere on the internet right now, because Penguin recently released that Zoella's popular book, Girl Online was ghostwritten. 

If you don't know who Zoella is, she is a full-time British youtuber with 7 million subscribers. {or 6, I'm not sure.}

To start things off, ghostwriting itself doesn't bother me. The ghostwriters know what they're signing off on. However, the particular case with Zoella does.

Zoe made a big deal on all her social media on how happy she was to be writing her own book. Everywhere it was ''my book'' and there was no mention anywhere about the ghostwriting. Only after the news came out did she get defensive and tweeted a picture saying: ''of course I was going to have help from Penguin's editorial team...'' along with more {full tweet here}

There's a difference with getting help-- which of course Zoella would need, considering her youtube/beauty line, etc--and somebody writing your book for you.

To be fair, we don't know how much Siobhan Curham, the ghostwriter wrote.... but I'm gathering from Zoella's tweet it was most of it.

Another thing that bothers me is while Girl Online, a book that has Zoella's name slapped on it, broke records. There are tons of writers out there who write one single book for years, nourishing it everyday, and then when it's finally published it goes no where. Girl Online was written in the time span of about two months. 

Also it digs at me that Zoella lied about her book. If you don't know, Elixir by Hilary Duff was ghostwritten. If you open up to the first page, the first thing you see is ''Elixir, by Hilary Duff.... with help by -----''. The only place the Curham is acknowledged is at the end credits, for ''being there every step of the way''. That's the sort of credit you give to somebody for moral support through your writing process, not for writing your book.

Any thoughts? Leave them below :)

Lately

I think I might have used this picture before but okay

• Christmas is everything. Well, not quite but you get my gest.
• I've only just realized how something as simple as putting lotion on after a shower can make you feel so nice. 
• Re-reading Vampire Academy for the third time {still love it just as much as the first time I read it} and have Cruel Beauty and the Goose Girl in line. {btw, if you haven't read the Goose Girl you should probably get on that because it's the bestest ever}
• Green apples with peanut butter and sweetened coconut flakes are magnificent. YUM YUM YUM

and now a confession / apology to my dearest:

I say this a lot {to remind myself}, but I don't view blogging as a requirement or task. It's something I do for fun. Lately I just haven't been feeling it; and I don't really want to blog. So that's just to tell you about the recent lack of posts, and never fear, because Christmas break is just around the corner and I think I'll be blogging a lot more then. :)