New Years Resolutions

I have a very intelligent friend named Susan. I've told you about her before. She was the one who convinced me to start peeing in the shower. It makes a lot of sense, once you give it some thought. Anyway, she gives me loads of great advice about my novel because she's an awesome writer and editor. And she told me something else that made a lot of sense to me.

She only makes ONE resolution each year.

Yup, just one.

If you are like me, your mind simply boggles when you consider trying to narrow down your long list of things about yourself and your life that need fixing. I have had "lose 5 pounds" on my list of resolutions every year since time began. Now I need to up that to "lose at least 10 pounds." But I gave up weighing myself somewhere around Thanksgiving. So this year, I am NOT resolving to lose any weight at all. I don't plan to weigh myself again anytime soon, so whatever I weigh this year, no one will even know!

In addition, I usually resolve to fix some basic aspect of my personality. Like "be nicer to people." Stop yelling so much at my children. Meditate more so I am less uptight and more mellow. Perhaps I should add "take more Valium" to this list? I am probably past middle-aged at this point in my life and I'm thinking now that you CAN'T teach an old dog new tricks. This old dog is grumpy and probably won't be any nicer this year than she was last year, so I'm crossing this one off my list as well.

Sometimes I resolve to learn some new skill. Usually something for which I have no natural talent, like "learn to sing" or "shear a sheep and spin the wool, use the herbs I've grown to dye the wool,  then weave a shawl." If you think I might try to learn a new skill this year, please reread the above paragraph. Old dog=no new tricks.

One resolution. Just one this year. I plan to publish my first novel. From what I hear from my friend Susan, this is a time-consuming event and will probably take a good portion of the year. I still need to finish editing, then find a professional editor and have them edit it correctly. I need a graphic artist to help me design a cover. I think I have my title now, but I'm not telling you yet because I've already changed my mind about this almost one hundred times.

As 2014 rolls around, I plan to keep you updated on my progress. I hope you'll be interested in reading my novel once it becomes available. Thanks for your support and have an awesome holiday season!

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