UPDATE: The winner is…SnarkyMom!
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Hello, everyone! First I want to thank Delilah for hosting me today, for sharing her space with me. It’s always generous of her to do that, and always fun for me to be here.
I have to admit, I’ve been looking forward to the end of this year. I thought I was looking forward to the end of last year, but then 2018 happened. The last couple of years have been rough here, but the challenges look like they are winding down, which is a huge relief. I’ve been anticipating the start of the new year for a fresh start.
My fresh start doesn’t include New Year’s resolutions–I’ve never had much success with those. Instead I always set goals for myself (mostly writing, though I used to include personal things on those lists) and try to break them down into smaller, manageable bites that make it more likely I’ll reach those goals by the end of the year. Sometimes life gets in the way, like it has for the past three years. Some things you simply can’t plan for.
I had high hopes for last year, even after the really lousy start we had. But if you’ve experienced loss, you know what happens: even when you think you’re good, or you think you should be better, grief has a way of pulling you under when you least expect it.
So I am looking at next week, at the start of the near year, and am determined that the last couple of things we still need to wrap up will not slow me down. I have my writing goals fine-tuned (Thanks for that, too, Delilah! I do love the goal-setting workshop each December!), and I am almost ready to go. I have a few days left this year to relax a little before we turn the calendar forward–just the direction I’m aiming for.
My list is ready, posted on my bulletin board here beside my desk in my home office, and tucked into my day-job tote bag where I will see it daily when I pull my things out to put on my desk there in the mornings. I did add some personal goals to the list this year (You know what else loss and grief can do? Screw up your day-to-day schedules, including meals and exercise.), so I can end next year in a much better place, writing-wise and personally, than this year or last year, or even the year before, before things went really haywire.
I’ve had some really ambitious lists in previous years, must bigger lists that I managed to pull off, because things went my way in every conceivable circumstance. These last few years? Not so much. So my list for 2019 is a little smaller than I would like, but I don’t want to set myself up for failure. If I get more done, that can be a nice bonus when we get to this time next year. But honestly, I’ll be thrilled to check off everything on my goals list for the year, even if there is no extra.
I wonder how many others are ready for the new year to begin, for your own fresh start? Do you have specific goals? A short list? A long list? Just a reading list? I have an electronic copy of my book Hunting Medusa and a gift card for either Amazon or Barnes & Noble to give away for one commenter. I’ll do a drawing via RandomResult.com for these and include entries for everyone who comments between now and 5pm EST on Friday, December 28, 2018.
Happy New Year!
About Elizabeth Andrews
Elizabeth Andrews has been a book lover since she was old enough to read. She read her copies of Little Women and the Little House series so many times, the books fell apart. As an adult, her book habit continues. She has a room overflowing with her literary collection right now, and still more spreading into other rooms. Almost as long as she’s been reading great stories, she’s been attempting to write her own. Thanks to a fifth grade teacher who started the class on creative writing, Elizabeth went from writing creative sentences to short stories and eventually full-length novels. Her father saved her poor, callused fingers from permanent damage when he brought home a used typewriter for her.
Elizabeth found her mother’s stash of romance novels as a teenager, and—though she loves horror—romance became her very favorite genre, making writing romances a natural progression. There are more than just a few manuscripts, however, tucked away in a filing cabinet that will never see the light of day.
Along with her enormous book stash, Elizabeth lives with her husband of more than twenty years and two young adult sons, though no one else in the house reads nearly as much as she does. When she’s not at work or buried in books or writing, there is a garden outside full of herbs, flowers and vegetables that requires occasional attention.
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My goal for 2019 is to paint my entire house, inside and out. By myself.
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I’m also not a fan of making formal resolutions, and typically avoid making any proclamations that could be construed as such, but… since I already mentioned this to my Grandmother I figure I’m committed to it.
I’ve always been a “glasses in dire situations” type of gal – my eyesight was iffy, and I’d always been told that the more I wore glasses the more I’d need them. However, the other day I was in the grocery and realized I was having a heck of a time focusing, so I pulled my glasses out of my purse – AND THEY DIDN’T HELP.
Yup. My eyes have gotten to the point that they are now WORSE than the prescription, so I REALLY need to just suck it up & get lenses that work and start WEARING them. So, that is what I’m commiting to do in 2019 – get to the eye doctor and get glasses that I’ll actually LIKE and will WEAR. (Which means big bucks, because I need bifocals, and if I’m going to be wearing them, I want the ones with the graduated lenses, not the lined ones with the “sweet spot” for close-up reading.)
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I tend to not make resolutions. I’m more of a “yes I really should…” type of person.
No big goals for 2019 on the horizon.
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It’s now a fresh start so much as a restart plan. I am going to fix my resume and try to get a job. I would love to get my career going again.
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Wow, Audrey! I’ll sling a paintbrush or paint roller when we paint a room (we have some of that on our household list for this year, actually), but I’m kind of in awe of your goal to do it all inside and out!
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I always have a goal of improving my health but it never works. I am still going to try it
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Ouch on the vision, SnarkyMom. I put off going to the eye dr. for too long (almost 6 years between visits), so I totally understand the not-being-able-to-see issue. The good news (?) is there are some websites with much less expensive glasses options. My last pair was my first pair of bifocals, but with no lines, and it took me a couple days to adjust, but being able to see was totally worth it!
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Nothing wrong with no resolutions, Mary. 🙂 Maybe if we made resolutions to do fun things instead of chores or unpleasant tasks, we’d like resolutions a lot better. Like take a real vacation–I could get behind that sort of resolution! 😉
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That’s a great goal, Jennifer! I wish you the best of luck!
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That’s one of the things on my personal list, Debra. I need to get back into better, healthy habits, too!
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My goal this year is to improve my health by exercising and watching my diet.
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I set a target idea, like compassion, playfulness, courage…. almost a mission statement 😉 I try to remember it throughout the year. 2019 is to be courage, to live boldly, with honesty. I may be seen as weird by another, but that is ok! Dance on the walk to the car, sing along with the radio at the store, wear gemstones and speak of positive vibes, be you!
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Good luck, BookLady! I know you aren’t the only one aiming at that goal. 🙂
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Michelle, I have seen a trend the last couple of years where people are choosing a ‘word of the year’, like joy or focus or wonder or something like that, and doing their best to make it part of their lives all year. I think it’s a great idea!
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And, drumroll please! Via RandomResult.com drawing, SnarkyMom is the winner! Congrats!
SnarkyMom, please drop me an email at elizabethandrewswrites @ gmail.com (without the spaces! 🙂 ) so I can get you your prizes!
Happy New Year, everybody, and good luck on your goals and resolutions!
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Congratulations, SnarkyMom! And thanks, Elizabeth, for being a great guest!
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Thanks for having me, Delilah! 🙂
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Since I haven’t had an email yet, I just wanted to pop back in and say, SnarkyMom, you were the winner in the drawing for the book and gift card. Please drop me an email at elizabethandrewswrites @ gmail.com (without the spaces), so we can connect!