I haven't really participated in the New Years Resolutions practice for the past couple of years. I used to write about them on my old blog. I would commit to working on things that I needed to improve... patience, being more open minded, reading my bible every day, etc. Sometimes I'd aim to be better organized or more strict with our finances. The last couple of years I just haven't had the energy to commit to any of it. Not losing weight, not saving money, none of it. And to be honest I still don't have the energy to come up with some new way I'm going to "make a bunch of changes"... I have, however, decided that this year I will take more time for just me. Not big stuff, little stuff... Let's face it, we have to focus on ourselves sometimes so that we can better focus on others. Little things like - I'm going to take time to paint my nails more often... time to give myself a pedicure because the days of getting a professional one every 2 weeks are long gone (childcare costs A LOT!). I invested in a good skin care line and I want to take the time each day to use it. Those are small things but they can add up. I don't have a goal to lose weight, but I do want to take time to be more active. I will go thru spurts where I run every day. In the past I have trained for marathons and triathlons and 100+ mile bike races... but lately I'll go for weeks doing ZERO exercise... I get up and walk 10 yards to sit at my desk where I will then sit ALL DAY LONG... In the evening we generally eat and then sit on the couch for several more hours watching TV. Netflix binge watching with the hubby is the way more attractive option than getting out in the cold, what can I say. It's really ridiculous and I need to change or I may end up old, out of shape and arthritic.
One of the bigger goals this year is getting my novel published (or at least gaining representation from a literary agent). I haven't shared much about my novel but I seriously need to stop dragging my feet. I actually wrote it last year... in three months. I then had several meetings with literary agents with a more than positive outcome. Out of the 3 meetings I had, 2 agents asked for my manuscript. However, while at a writing conference I was given the same advice by more than one industry expert... change the main premise of my book. I have three main characters in my book and the advice was to take out one of them... only thing is that the one they suggested eliminating is the reason I wrote the book. My novel is considered paranormal fiction, if I took out the character in question there would be nothing paranormal about it anymore. But I decided to follow their advice...so after the conference I decided to do a ton of rewriting. My plan was to rewrite a big chunk of it and then submit it to the agents who had been interested. Well, that worked for a week or so and then I hit a standstill. I couldn't write it without the main character that I had grown so close to. At that point I decided to put it aside and pick it back up several weeks (which turned into months) later. When I started writing again I felt refreshed, I went back to my original draft because that is the novel I wanted to write - not the changed version I had attempted after the conference. I rewrote and added several chapters to the book and started in on some final edits. I was literally preparing emails to prospective agents when my external hard drive crashed. Everything was on that hard drive... Digital photos from the last decade...my novel...copies of important documents... I found out the "passport" is known for doing this - crashing and you lose all your schtuff. I was devastated. I took it as a sign and pretty much gave up on my novel. I did have an old copy from 6 months prior but I had made so many changes and added a ton of work since then (yes, I am thankful that I had thought enough to back it that long ago). Fast forward to now... when I decided to focus on myself a little more this year, I decided I wanted to add writing back into my life on a regular basis. I bought myself a new laptop - my first time to ever have a brand new computer for just me! Matt bought me an extra flash drive and now I'm set to "restart" on my book... and restart my photo collection... Everything I lost can't be replaced but I have to start somewhere.
This year will hopefully be full of changes without making resolutions though. Matt and I are tentatively planning an out of state move. *fingers crossed that all works out* We've been looking at homes and even discussing with family and friends. We'll know more about that in a couple months but the thought of having OUR own house (one that we both buy and move in together) is an exciting one. Hopefully I will have more to blog about that whole endeavor later.
I know that's not much of a resolutions list, but they are important things that I'd like to do this year... I don't want to set up goals that I will only keep for a few weeks or months. A new year (even tho it's just a page change on the calendar) does symbolize new beginnings. I hope you set new goals for yourself as well... and most of all, I hope you
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