A new year, a new week, a new bloggy friend. This weekend I discovered  Northwest Mommy and her Monday Listicles … an opportunity to post a quick list on a random prompt. Today, it’s 10 things new.

True confession: I really, really, really like new stuff. I’m not particularly thrifty, although I appreciate a good deal when I happen upon one (completely by accident). Here are 10 new things that I thoroughly enjoy.

1. New lip gloss. Santa was kind enough to tuck my favorite shade in my stocking. I love Burt’s Bees.

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2. A freshly sharpened pencil and a new, blank yellow legal pad. I love the excitement and the possibility these items represent. The initial spark of creativity, the thrill of a plot thread as I scratch out my early ideas for a story. Even though so much of our writing is done at a monitor and keyboard these days, I still brainstorm with pencil and paper.

3. My Wordtracker app. I thought I was a productive writer. Apparently I’m delusional. This isn’t fancy, but it is free. (See point #1 where I mention I enjoy stumbling across a great deal). You declare a word count for your project, tap the timer when you start writing and hit stop when you’re finished. Then it tells you how much progress you’ve made toward your total word count goal. Then you cry and eat more chocolate. Just kidding. Sort of.

4. Jeff Goins’s #my500words challenge. Jeff has written some excellent books as well as numerous blog posts that I find very inspiring. This month, he launched a challenge of writing 500 words a day. It doesn’t have to be good, you don’t have to share it, but it would be great if you did. Lots of support and empathy can be found by tweeting and/or following #my500words, in case you’d like to join the fun.

5. A new release from a favorite author. Especially with a cover like this:

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6. A haircut. Let’s be honest. It’s not just the haircut. It’s the pampering, maybe a scalp massage, sitting still long enough for someone to blow dry my hair for me. Such a treat for this busy mama.

7. A new blend of coffee. Formerly a Pacific Northwesterner, I’m quite fond of a particular coffee company. White and green, funky mermaid chick with a crown on her head … You know the one. A friend blessed me with a package of Guatemala Antigua coffee, which claims to be all subtle spice and cocoa. I didn’t think it would woo me away from my go-to blend, Blonde Veranda. But, it did.

8. Shoes. I’m female, what can I say? We’re genetically predisposed to love shoes. Running shoes, wedges, boots, Reef flip-flops. It doesn’t matter. Love ’em all.

9. Nutella. This isn’t new. Obvi. But it’s new to me. So it totally counts. Slathered on a graham cracker is where it’s at. Yum!

10. Fresh snowfall on razor-sharp peaks. Both are in short supply deep in the heart of Dixie, but once upon a time, I took this view for granted:

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photo credit: Chicken Gold Camp

Your turn: leave a comment and tell me something new. 

Now hop on over to Northwest Mommy and make some new friends!

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