happy new year!

I'm very excited to ring in 2011 - it's a new year, which means new adventures and experiences!

I want to wish all my friends, family, readers and pandacub customers a wonderful end of 2010 and a great start to 2011.

I'm not a big fan of New Year's Resolutions, because it always seems that they're more of a joke to everyone, so I'm just going to make a list of things to look forward to, including:

1. new pandacub products: I took my pandacub Etsy shop offline in December so that I could relax and focus on my family and friends. When I come back online in later in January, there will be old favourites, some new products and some other changes to the shop.

2. new contests: I already have a big contest planned for pandacub for January, plus I'm also going to be running some really cool contests on my other (beauty) blog, Cinnamon Kitten.

3. a new goal: For the past two years, one of my personal goals was to read 50 books in a year. I failed two years in a row (haha), although I did come close this year, ending the year with a whopping total of 44. This year, I'm going to try something new - I'm going to take a photo a day and post in on my Flickr site. It will be interesting since it means I'll be documenting my life for a year, plus I think it will be fun to see what photos I come up with on those "regular" days, when my routine is pretty boring (go to work, come home, sleep, LOL).

4. lose some weight: ok, ok, this is very much like a typical New Year's Resolution, and so, yes, I'm guilty of falling into the cliche of making one of these, but seriously, I want to lose 10 pounds in the next 3 months (is that unrealistic?)

5. some other personal goals:

- focus more on my career

- buy a house

- grow both my blogs

- spend more time with family and friends

What are some of your goals for 2011?

p.s. if anyone wants to join me in the "photo a day" goal, send me your Flickr link - I'd love to check out your daily photos too!

celebrating...

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you're spending the holidays with your loved ones!

where did December go?

Wow, I can't believe that December (and 2010) is almost over! I've been really bad with keeping up with my blogging this past month, but work and the holidays have been taking their toll on my time management skills! LOL

I do promise to try to blog more regularly in the new year.

In the meantime, I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season and spending some time to relax with friends and family!

50 books in 2010 - update 7

Eeek! WIth only 9 days to then end of 2010, I'm SO close to my goal to read 50 books this year...and yet, I know that with the holiday season in full swing, I'm very likely NOT going to finish...but I'm very happy with the amount I have been able to accomplish this year!

1. The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper, finished January 13

2. The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser, finished February 7

3. Lamb by Christopher Moore, finished February 12

4. The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner, finished February 20

5. There Will be Dragons by John Ringo, finished February 26

6. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory, finished March 2

7. Emerald Sea by John Ringo, finished March 3

8. In a Time of Darkness by John Ringo, finished March 3

9. Against the Tide by John Ringo, finished March 9

10. East of the Sun, West of the Moon, by John Ringo, finished March 15

11. Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith, finished March 15

12. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, finished March 16

13. Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, finished March 18

14. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte, finished March 18

15. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished March 24

16. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, finished April 1

17. The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn, finished April 11

18. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, finished April 27

19. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist, finished May 10

20. The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy, finished May 24

21. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished June 5

22. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld, finished June 10

23. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, finished June 15

24. The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn, finished June 21

25. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay, finished July 3

26. The Shadow of the Pomegranate by Jean Plaidy, finished July 25

27. The King's Grey Mare by Rosemary H. Jarman, finished August 13

28. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, finished August 24

29. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 2

30. Servant of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 18

31. Mistress of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 22

32. The Queen's Captive by Barbara Kyle, finished September 23

33. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, finished October 10

34. The Twylight Tower by Karen Harper, finished October 15

35. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, finished October 26

36. The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory, finished November 2

37. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, finished November 6

38. The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, finished November 10

39. Crocodile on the Sandback by Elizabeth Peters, finished November 26

40. Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay, finished November 30

41. The Thorne Maze by Karen Harper, finished December 6

42. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith, finished December 14

43. The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell, finished December 21