Today, in between working on my book and an editing job, I’m going to be working on my Mind Map for 2024.
What is a mind map? It’s a terrific brainstorming tool for all sorts of things—book plots, vacation plans, grocery lists… I know, I get obsessive about organizing tools! I actually used to teach an online class in mind mapping that was a leadup to the “Write 50 Books a Year” workshop my sister and I developed and taught online. The picture above is the result of my 2015 class.
It’s way too busy for me now. My chart will start with a central hub for 2024 Goals but won’t be writing-consumed this year. I’m adding things that make me happy—like family goals and artistic goals. Maybe by the end, it will be just as cluttered as this one was.
I already have my large piece of watercolor paper ready with a few hubs written in. When I finish, I’ll add colored pencil or paint pen embellishments so I can stand to look at it. But it will be something I go back to when I lay out my annual work plan and calendar.
I kind of miss teaching the class because it made me think farther ahead then the final week of the year to get my plans in order, but hey, I’m doing it now. It’s never too late!
I love facing a New Year. It’s a chance to start over again. Twelve months of accomplishment are on the horizon. It’s new territory. What will the year bring? Am I ready for it?
What about you? Do you physically write down your goals or resolutions? Does your planning consist of a simple list or an elaborate spreadsheet?
Last night was funny. We watched a comedy that just wasn’t great (The Family Plan), but we were all together, which was nice. The 10-year-old was stretched out on the rug in front of the Christmas tree, eyeing the presents under the tree. She’s so on edge, so ready for Santa to come. Whether she truly believes or not, she won’t let go of the thought of his existence because like I did with my kids, I told them that when the stop believing, he stops coming. So, my kids NEVER admitted they didn’t believe. And despite the fact she’s ten, and most of her friends have said they don’t believe, she still wants to leave out milk and cookies and carrots tonight. As soon as she heads to bed, Mom and the 19-year-old will be smuggling the Barbie Dream House into the living room and adding fairy lights to make it extra special sparkly. It’s fun for the older ones, too.
Then tomorrow morning, we have to get up at 4 AM. Why such a godawful time? The SIL’s night shift at the PD will end, and because we don’t want to torture him with getting up a couple of hours later because the 10-year-old can’t wait to open presents, we’ll instead wake her up early so he can participate while he’s still awake.
And you know what? I can’t wait for that alarm to go off. My job will be to make hot chocolate for everyone. My dd’s job will be to go around and turn on all the Christmas and fairy lights. Then we’ll shake the kid awake and tell her Santa came. I can’t wait!
BTW, if you’re looking for a GOOD Christmas movie to watch, try A Biltmore Christmas. It’s a Hallmark movie, so yes, it’s heavy on the sappy romance, but it was actually very good. Even the 19-year-old was in love with the hero by the end.
So, for those of you who celebrate Christmas, here’s wishing you a merry one!
This is the last Christmas-themed puzzle before the big day! My daughter and I have everything wrapped. The groceries for our special meal have been bought! Last night, I finished the last bit of work I intend to do until the day after Christmas. (Yes, not much rest for the weary when you’re a writer!) So, from here on out, I will be enjoying spending time with family.
The image I chose for the puzzle depicts the fun of Christmas morning. In our house, we do adult Christmas before Christmas morning because we don’t want anything getting in the way of enjoying watching them open their presents. We’ll have screwdrivers and scissors standing by to install batteries and take apart the packages (why do dolls always have so many wires attached to the packaging?!).
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, share your plans for Christmas morning!
I’ve been doing my Christmas Advent Countdown on Facebook, and one of the questions I posed to folks was: What is your favorite Christmas song?
I had several in the back of mind to choose for my own, until I opened up my emails and saw a link to Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken (Merry Christmas, Barbie).” I’m in love with this!
I guess it’s because the whole “Barbenheimer” thing this past summer was soooo much fun. Yes, I saw Oppenheimer then Barbie, and I bought the T-shirt!
Anyway, I’m sharing the new video here! Enjoy! And even if you already told me on Facebook, you can enter to win a $5 Amazon gift card by naming your favorite Christmas song here in the comments.
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Tomorrow is International Dalek Remembrance Day! But since I’ll be hosting a guest tomorrow, I thought I might get you in the mood for the celebration. After all, it’s an important one! Yes, I’m waving my nerd flag again. I’m a Dr. Who fan, and the Daleks are iconic Dr. Who villains. If you’ve never watched Dr. Who, do yourself a favor and start with Eccleston’s Who and binge your way forward. You won’t regret it!
But anyway, even if you don’t know who Dr. Who is or know a Dalek from an Adiposian, we can still play a word search game!
I chose to honor the Companions, Dr. Who’s travel buddies, as the theme for the puzzle. Naturally, my favorite was Donna. Poor Donna. I could wax on about how funny and sad her story was, but let’s get to the puzzle.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me whether you’ve watched Dr. Who, and if you have, which actor do you prefer in the role?For me, it’s David Tennant. The man has his heart in his puppy dog eyes.
This doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to do something foolish this week. Let’s study the card. The god displayed here is kind of easy to guess. He’s wearing a crown of grape leaves and grapes. He has tiny horns on his head. So, he’s Dionysus, the god of so many fun things: wine, parties, insanity, theater, and more. See the eagle sitting on the branch above him? It’s likely his dad, Zeus, making sure young Dionysus doesn’t do something really stupid. There’s a cave behind him and the sun is rising in the background, so I’m assuming he was partying all night and is just coming out. Is he drunk and ready to fall? He looks too merry. I think he intends to jump.
What on earth does this mean for me? There’s a hint of impulsiveness and high spirits here. So, that falls in line with the plans for the week. The kids only have half a week of school, so they’ll be underfoot creating chaos. We’ll be cooking meals together. The adults’ Christmas (the kids give us gifts before Christmas so we can concentrate on Santa and their gifts on Christmas Day) will be sometime this coming weekend because of my SIL’s shift with the PD. So, there will definitely be some celebrating going on. I envision movie nights, fun dinners, game nights, etc. We’re a fun-loving crowd. What does this mean for work for me? I likely have to plan to get it done in the early hours of the day, before all my little chaos agents rise.
Last night’s First Annual Ugly Sweater/White Elephant Gift Christmas Party was a huge success! The gifts were hilarious. Mine was epic. I won’t say what it was because it’s political in nature, and everyone watched my face to see how I’d react. Perfect gift, actually. Then we moved on to party games, like rolling a can on the table to stop in front of a little, cheap gift we wanted, picking up uncooked beans with chopsticks, charades… There were finger foods, of course! So much fun. And I say “First Annual” because everyone agreed this would be added to our list of Christmas family traditions. Any excuse for a family party in the Devlin house. 🙂 (My dd and I talked about what other holidays we could pump up with some party fun, too.)
Anyway, this is the last partial week of school, and then the kids will be underfoot for the holiday. Yay! And yikes, too. I still have to wrap gifts and get them under the tree. I’m always last doing it.
On to the Puzzle!
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me how close you are to being finished with Christmas/Holiday preparations!
