Obligatory 2021 New Year's Resolutions Post

Obviously 2020 has been a difficult and unusual year. Despite this, I feel like I’ve achieved many goals, even if they might not have been the ones that I set for myself at the beginning of the year. Let’s see how I did…

2020 Resolutions

1. Blog: Commit to two blog posts a week and catch-up on old book/travel reviews. = I’ve mostly achieved this. I posted two blog posts a week without missing a deadline and I’ve caught up on a majority of my older posts.

2. Attend a Writing Conference = Fail, primarily due to Covid

3. Read a Minimum of 50 books.= Fail. Although it would seem that this would have been an easy accomplishment during quarantine, my mind was elsewhere. I completed 24 books. I’m not happy with this one.

4. Start my Youtube Idea: Keeping quiet for now, but I have a business idea for YouTube, which ties into my tutoring job. = I actually started this and posted a few videos. It was time consuming, but I will restart this idea in 2021.

5. Start my Podcast =. I have the equipment, I have a name, and I have a solid plan. I hope to get this going in the the first quarter of 2020. = Fail. I simply didn’t do this, even though the everything is set up.

6. Maintain Going to the Gym =. Dan just bought us gym memberships and I’m hoping that we can get this to become a routine. We both need the exercise and to shed a few pounds. I’d also like to get better, build up to a longer, more intense cardio workout. I love strength training and pilates, but I currently avoid cardio. = Until Covid hit in mid-march, we were going consistently. I was even running on the treadmill. Our gym closed with covid and we really didn’t start exercising again until the summer, when we got bikes and went on walks. It’s turned too cold and icy now.

7. Maintain Food Log = Be aware of what we are eating and focus on eating more sensibly. This always works when I need to focus on my health. =. I kept this going until August and then we traveled, which derailed my efforts and I haven’t gotten back on track.

8. Achieve and Maintain good Blood Test Results = Earlier this week, my annual blood test came back with high triglycerides ( a problem I’ve had throughout my life) and prediabetes (a new and scary diagnosis.) I need to do my best to focus on healthy eating and exercise to change these issues. This is definitely the most urgent and vital resolution of 2020.= Partial success, see number seven.

9. Visit a new country, state, or major city.= I’m writing this on December 18th and on the 20th we will head out on a road trip which will include several new states before January 1st= Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee! I’m so excited!

10. Finish Scanning photos and documents - this should be easy to accomplish. It just feels great to know that precious photos are backed up on the computer.= Complete fail

11. Add several new recipes to our repertoire. We can throw a great dinner party meal, but we usually resort to the same tricks..I’m looking at you, English roast dinner! I’d love to expand and be more creative in the kitchen. =. Accomplished! We cooked a lot more during Covid. I made my first layer cake completely from scratch from Nigella Lawson’s recipe. I learned some Greek dishes and how to make delicious buffalo cauliflower. We also have two new oatmeal recipes and two incredible fish dishes.

Now the fun part…2021 Resolutions. Since we have the kids with us and are traveling until mid-January, I am officially starting my Resolutions on January 16th.

1. Read 50 books. I’m setting this same goal again, since I know it is possible.

2. Stick with my inked Voices Writing group and finish my novel before summer.

3. Submit a minimum of 25 pieces to literary journals.

4. Finish three courses at ACC.

5. Start an exercise routine when we get our new home gym ( likely in March) and build up to running a 5K.

6. Maintain a food journal and limit sugars/alcohol/fried food ( when not on vacation/special occasions) in efforts to lower blood sugar and triglyceride levels.

7. Blog twice a week- same as in 2020.

8. Try two new recipes a month from our cookbook library.

9. Finish scanning old photos/documents.

10. Organize family recipe cards/print outs.

11. Visit new Country/State/Major City

12. Continue with Duolingo Spanish tree and work through Spanish text book.

13. Creative write for an average of 300 hours a week. I actually kept to this goal for a majority of 2020, but crumbled in the fall.

I’m excited and hopeful for 2021. I think it is going to be a year where goals are completed and many areas of life are improved. Although I set goals throughout the year, I always love this reset in January.

Obligatory 2019 New Year's Resolutions Post

I know some people think it’s silly, but I love creating a New Year’s Resolution list. This isn’t to say that I don’t start other goals throughout the year, but there is something about the start of a new year that feels like the perfect time to reflect and initiate change.

As usual, I’m going to start by looking back on my 2018 resolutions.

1. Create a writing schedule with a focus on the revisions for my novel. - A big fail. I did write quite a bit in 2018, but I could not figure out a steady schedule. I could not figure out how to organize this aspect of my life.

2. Finish revising my novel and begin sending it out to agents. - I made a lot of progress on my novel and I am pleased with my progress, but the revision process has been much slower than anticipated.

3. Maintain blogging schedule of every other day. This has been my normal schedule for years, but life got in the way this year and I didn't always stick to it. I felt guilty when I didn't. - Epic fail. This was my most inconsistent blogging year to date. I am so back-logged. I feel like I really let myself down with this goal.

4. Read 75 or more books. - Hanging my head in shame. I only read 34 books. This is the least amount of reading that I’ve done in my adult life.

5. Maintain a food log and eliminate soda. - Fail. Although there is hope with this one. I just got a Fitbit and started tracking my food. This was after getting blood work done in December and realizing that I had to make changes.

6. Work on scanning old-family pictures. Try to get 1/4 of pictures scanned. This has been a resolution from years past that I never managed to accomplish. It's a big project. - Fail, no progress.

7. Work on family genealogy project. - Yes! I have been down the rabbit hole of family history quite a bit this year. It’s exciting and informative. I can trace back to the original colonists and I have family members who formed towns in Massachusetts. I also found out that the real life Hester Prynne ( from Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter) had some sort of relationship with one of my ancestors and it was a scandal!

8. Super secret podcast idea- put into action! I'm very excited about this one. - I’ve worked on a plan and discussed it with a friend who has a Podcast, but I’ve not moved forward on this. I still feel momentum, but I’m not sure how to work it into my schedule.

9. Visit a new country, state or major city.- I traveled so much in 2018, but primarily to places that I’ve already visited. I did see some new cities in England, like Oxford and Windsor. I had many new experiences in the cities that I had previously visited.

10. Attend a writer's conference. I have my eye on the Las Vegas conference in the spring. - No. I’m kicking myself for this one too, although it simply did not work with our schedule or finances for this to happen in 2018.

2018 was a terrible year for resolutions, yet it was a fabulous year for life in general. I spent a lot of time developing relationships with family and friends. I ended one job and started another. Although my goals that I set at the start of the year fell flat, many new goals and opportunities appeared throughout the year. I don’t look at this list as a fail, but as an indication that things have changed.

Here are some of my wishes for 2019:

1. Creating a writing schedule with a focus on my novel = I’m carrying this over. I feel better about accomplishing this, because the last third of 2018 has seen a shift to a more consistent schedule. I’ve been waking up at 7am and I have a regular work schedule. I now need to fit writing time into that schedule. I need the routine to stick.

2. Attend a Writing Conference = I really want to attend AWP in Portland, but that might be a financial stretch. I still have my eye on Vegas.

3. Maintain a blogging schedule= I am shifting this goal to three days a week, rather than every other day. I need to be consistent about the posting days and times though.

4. Read 60 books or more = Achievable. I need to focus on meeting my book review schedule commitments from publishers and stay on track. I also need to whittle down my massive, over-flowing bookshelf.

5. Track food and get to a healthy weight = I need to lose a few pounds, not a lot, but a bit. The primary goal is to fix some issues from a recent blood test. I would like to focus on diet, rather than have these problems require medication. I will likely eliminate soda and cut back on sugar to reach these goals. I never had trouble losing weight when I am mindful.

6. Track steps and be mindful about exercise - I have a Fitbit and have started becoming more aware of my need to move more, especially when I have been glued to my computer all day. I’d also like to take some pilates classes at a local studio or join a gym.

7. Visit a new country, stare or major city

8. Scan in old-family photos and documents- I will be really disappointed if I don’t make progress towards this goal in 2019. It’s long over-due and I’m worried that something might happen to these precious objects.

9. Continue to work on family Genealogy project = I have an idea of how this might also turn into a novel project. I want to keep exploring and have a more concrete idea about connections

10. Work More, Save More, Spend Less = General mindfulness when it comes to finances. I’ve made progress towards this in the last 3-4 months.

11. Invest in my tutoring job = become certified to teach for language tests or create more teaching tools to have on hand.

When I look at all of these goals, the main theme seems to be mindfulness leading to creating good habits. I’m looking to make long-term changes. I also need to find a way to keep these routines, when life becomes less predictable = holidays, family visits, the unexpected, et… Rather than starting January 1st, my New Year’s reset will begin on January 14th, when I have returned home from a holiday trip to Europe.

Obligatory New Year's Resolution Post 2016

It's that time again, where I take a look at how I did with my 2015 resolutions and make some goals for 2016. 

2015 Resolutions

1. Finish Four More Writing Classes Through UCLA Extension - I completed seven!

2. Send out my short stories (Fiction and Non-Fiction) to a minimum of fifteen publications/contests. - I failed this and only sent out five. Four of them within this month.

3. Finish the first half of my novel. - Although it's hard to tell if I've reached the exact half-way point, I'm either there or very close. 

4.  Blog a minimum of three times a week. Keep consistent with publishing blog content on a regular basis, rather than in large clumps, when I'm on class breaks. - I've really succeeded here, with posting every-other day for the entire year. The consistency has paid off with a upswing in readers. 

5. Start or join a writing group - Semi-successful. I did start an online group with a few fellow students over the summer, but it fizzled. 

6. Read a minimum of fifty books- 65 read!

7. Starting Jan 5th until June Cruise - no alcohol/sweets/ fried food ( only exception is Jeep Jamboree or other special occasion)- I did this and lost a ton of weight, but after the cruise I went back to my old habits. I guess technically I met this resolution, but I wish that I had continued it after the cruise. 

8. Log food and exercise in daily notebook.- I did this consistently until our cruise in late June. Tracking really is a key to success with healthy eating and weight loss.

9. Starting Jan 5th, attend regular exercise sessions with trainer. Make working out a priority in 2015. - Nailed this. With the exception of vacations, I worked out three days a week with my trainer for the entire year. 

10. Travel to a new state or country ( hopefully both and several)- No new states, but several new countries- France, Spain, Gibraltar, Netherlands and Belgium

11. Scan and organize 1/4 of family photographs. Print and frame family photographs to hang in both homes.- My big resolution fail, none of this was done. 

2016 RESOLUTIONS- Many of which will be similar or the same as last year, but I find publicly declaring and evaluating the list to be a huge motivator. 

1. Finish UCLA Extension Fiction Writing Program

2. Finish the 1st Draft and 1st complete revision of my novel.

3. Attend two or more writer's conferences

4. Start or join a writer's group

5. Submit my work to a minimum of fifteen publications/contests

6. Create/stick to, a regular writing schedule-find my optimum writing time

7. Read a minimum of 60 Books

8. Travel to a new state or country

9. Keep a food/exercise journal- exception is the family vacation

10. Starting January 4th- cut sugar, alcohol, fried food from diet- except on vacation or very special occasions ( Days ending in Y are not always special), but continue after vacations 

11. Scan and Organize 1/4 of family photos.

12. Organize and maintain paperwork/filing cabinet.