Consider Me Resolute

A new year is upon us, 2013, and with it comes the sudden urge to put pen to paper in honor of all the wishes as yet unfulfilled, changes as yet unmade, and goals as yet unreached. Yes, I speak of the magic of resolution writing- which is about the only writing I managed to get done over the holiday break (note the hint of bitterness in my tone?). The husband and children have invaded my personal space for the last two weeks, leaving me little of the rigorous eccentricities I insist upon to write, i.e. quiet, space, the COMPUTER. After one measly chapter and a week and a half of beating myself up, I resigned myself to my predicament and gave in. But I did manage to scrawl some basic resolutions down first.

Resolution #1: I will replace all our home smoke alarms. This one is infinitely practical. No gesticulations about wealth, or fame, or turning over a new leaf. Just don't want to die in a house fire because I forgot to get a new alarm after I took a hammer to the last one when it wouldn't shut up whilst my overflowed pie smoked away in the oven.

Resolution #2: I will repaint my son's wall. Anything that stands still around here long enough gets painted...decoratively. I can't help myself. I have an overwhelming need to doodle on everything. The latest of these travesties was my son's bedroom wall, where we decided tribal designs in glow-in-the-dark paint would be fun. They weren't. I have been promising to correct this ever since.

Resolution #3: I will visit my dad. I missed my family over the holidays. Between the need for time, money, and reservations, traveling never happened. I feel repugnant. And I miss my parents. So I am determined that as soon as the small window between completing this manuscript and starting my blog tour shows itself, I will slip through and escape to the hills of central Texas.

Resolution #4: I will finish the OTHERBORN sequel and begin (and hopefully finish) the sequel to my latest work. This is pretty straight up. I have to get some writing done. Period. If it means shipping the family and pets off to Bora Bora, so be it.

Resolution #5: I will begin writing that fabulous new YA novel idea that has been swimming in my head for months now, refusing to let me be. Again, writing MUST happen around here. No more excuses. No more procrastination.  I need to make the leap from merely published to prolific.

Resolution #6: I will pay off our house. Yeah, this one's a fantasy. I mean, it could totally happen...in an alternate universe. Actually, we have been working our way steadily toward this goal and we aren't so far off, but it will take a feat of divine proportions to make it happen within the year. But whatever, I can dream, can't I?

Resolution #7: I will stop beating myself up. While other people lament the extra ten pounds they gained and set their sights on a promotion at work, I have to focus on something a little less tangible: that insistent, nagging, discouraging voice inside my head that strips me with repeated mental floggings of all motivation and joy. It's like a speaker in my brain that reminds me no matter how far I've come, that I am still not quite good enough. I think my mother put it there, acci-purposely of course. And I am going to spend this year digging it out.

Resolution #8: Enjoy life! This is like the sequel to resolution seven. Once I disperse of the nay-saying tape deck in my brain, I'm going to suck the marrow out of every day, no matter what it brings me. Because life is just too short, too much of a gift, not to be relishing in every single moment.

There you have it! My 'new age' resolutions. Eight is my lucky number- a number of abundance. I'd love to hear what some of you have taken on as resolutions in 2013. Feel free to share in the comments below!

And in regards to our BORN WICKED giveaway from the last post, give a congrats to lucky winner Taherah! She runs an awesome blog called "Books As You Know It". Be sure and check it out!