Brand New Year

Happy New Year. The holidays are over, and it's time to get back to work.

My "goals" (resolutions, I guess, but that sounds so painful) for the year are to:

1) Submit at least one full manuscript to agents. Soon.

2) Lose 30 to 40 pounds. OUCH. The same 30 to 40 pounds I lost about seven years ago, durnit. Now, I know it's common to see weight loss as a resolution, but honestly, this is the first time ever I've put it down as one. In fact, I rarely make New Year's resolutions, much less make them public. But, this means I'm serious. I have too many health problems in my family history to shrug it away for another year, so I am making myself accountable to myself, and making myself vulnerable by putting it out here like this. I can't stand to make a self challenge public and not get it done. (Remember NaNoFiMo? Mwa Ha Ha ... Works every time.) Anyway, see how I've added a new counter over there on the right? I'm too lazy to look for one that counts pounds instead of words, so use your imagination, please.

3) Become more confident in my writing voice/learn more about "who I am" in that area. I'm planning to take Barbara Samuel's Voice 2 class to that end.

4) Last, but not least. And this might be the hardest one ever. Maybe more than losing weight. I plan to turn my computer off no later than 7 p.m. at least three nights a week. I still need to pick the days, but I believe doing this will be positive in several ways.

• First, I spend a lot of time in the evenings just surfing and basically wasting time ... all in the name of learning, of course, and yet.
• Second, I would like to have more reading time. I read about an hour every morning and every evening before I go to bed, which may seem a lot to you, but for me, that's hardly living.
• Third, I just want to be more present with my family and husband in the evenings, and this is a way I can start. Our coffee table looks pretty ridiculous with all four laptops sitting there every night. Hehe. (Mine. Ahem, both of mine ... long story. Todd's. Ryan's, since he's home for the holidays.) My mom says Todd and I look very romantic sitting side by side on the couch staring at our laptops every night, and she's not talking body parts.

So, yeah, it could be an interesting year. What amazing things could come of all four of these resolutions? Stay tuned to find out.