Busy, busy, holiday busy...

I'm been remiss in blogging for, oh, about a month.  Life got the best of me with holiday happenings.  Lots of shopping, cooking, entertaining, skiing, wrapping, laughing and good times shared.  I'd say the blogging break was worth it just to spend the time with family and friends.

Now it's back to real life.  I have a lot of things on the docket for 2010.  Not resolutions, just a lot going on personally and professionally.  Here's the latest run-down:

I was selected to be a guest blogger for the new Colorado Ski Mamas tour being sponsored by Colorado Ski Country.

I'll be heading out to Powderhorn Ski Resort in late January or early February to enjoy a fun ski weekend with the family.  This opportunity is perfect for me because I love discovering little tips that make mothering easier - particularly when it comes to mothering on the ski slopes.  I'll be blogging and tweeting about the exeperience.  Stay tuned for an update on the all of the fun adventures in Mesa/Grand Junction, Colorado.

I just finished a revision on my brother's blog template.  Check it out here.  I love the slideshow header with rotating images.  Trying to come up with a way to incorporate this into my own blog design.  I'm itching for an excuse to redesign my template anyway, so perhaps this technique will be the starting point.

I'm editing a book for an amazingly talented colleague of mine, Mike Strunk. He is a photographer and writer who is finishing up his second coffee-table photography book.  His photographs are stunning.  I proudly display his first book, Potraits of Preservation, on my own coffee table.  And I can't wait for Butch Cassidy and Outlaw Trail to be complete in the next few months.  You can check out all of Mike's work, including photos and excerpts from both books, here.

After an extremely productive November thanks to NaNoWriMo, I cranked out half of my novel, Sliver of Souls (working title - still not sure what it's going to be called.)  I had every intention of finishing it in December, but then life at the holidays happened.  So, January is the month that I'm back on track to crank out another half. I can't wait to see what Maggie and her cohorts do next.

Just picked up a new story assignment for Purina about rescue dogs and their owners who are involved in agility competitions.  I love writing these stories for Purina's publications, and I get to meet some amazing people in the process. True animal lovers are some of the most passionate and caring people in the world.

I've been in the midst of assisting with the planning of my husband's 20th high school reunion.  I just finished a very down-and-dirty web design for their class to track RSVPs, etc.  You can check it out here.

Lots of other professional activities - a strategic planning session this month, two more website redesigns and a new travel brochure layout for a local travel organization.  The year is starting off to be a busy one, and I'm focusing on taking it one day at a time.  Tomorrow is the beginning of Alex's Mini-Moutaineer program at Echo Mountain ski school.  Shoud be a great day for all those little skiers.