Resolutions

I always like to start the year with about ten resolutions, knowing I have about a 30% retention rate. Already, I can see a few clear winners and losers, and at least one I shouldn't have attempted in the first place. Not necessarily in this order:

1. Revise at least one of my novels and send it to my agent. Slowly, carefully, sometimes painfully, I'm making this happen. This weekend, I'm going away on a mini writing retreat with a good friend of mine, and hope to make some serious revision headway. More on my progress (and my revision process in general) next week.

2. Exercise every day. This one's easy; per my physical therapist, I HAVE to do a series of specific exercises every day, to keep my arm and shoulder limber. Beyond that, I actually enjoy the treadmill; it's one of those places, like the shower, where I let my mind go. That's when the best ideas happen. Recently, I had a client who needed some ideas for a new title for her novel. I hopped on the treadmill and had 4 or 5 ready to go. (Mind you, they weren't GREAT titles, but they were a good jumping-off point for further brainstorming.)

3. Be up by 8:30 each morning and in bed by 11pm each night. This is a tall order. So far, I'm mastering the "in bed by 11pm" part pretty well. Not so much for the "up by 8:30" part. Maybe I'm just not meant to be an early bird; sometimes, we just have to accept who we are (and aren't).

4. Drink more water and less coffee. I don't know what I was thinking. Have I even met me? I can't even quit the decaf.

5. Travel. Fact: I have not been on a vacation longer than a long weekend since the summer of 2000. That includes my honeymoon. It's clear I really need to get away more than I usually do, and experience some new points of view. Where should I go this year? Any ideas?

6. Eat more healthily and locally. Farmers markets. Thoughtful shopping lists. Local dairy with delivery service. More grains and legumes and fruits and vegetables, less sugar and fried food, no red meat or fast food or HFCS. I can do this. And now that my arm is feeling a little more mobile, I actually feel like cooking again. Last weekend, I cleaned and re-organized my pantry, which sounds pretty mundane, but was an extraordinarily satisfying experience. It was also when I came across the petrified gummy bear pictured above. Bye-bye, little ursine sugar-blob!

7. Entertain more often. If you know me, you know I love a party. And yet, we rarely entertain at our house. Why is this, when there is so much in life to celebrate?

8. Live more simply and frugally. An ugly secret: we maintain a collection of disorganized, unused stuff in our basement and on our second-floor landing. Some of it is still in boxes from when we moved in! Finally, I think we're ready to face our surplus, and let go of most of it. I can't wait to turn those over-stuffed areas into usable space. And I'm looking forward to living a more unencumbered life.

9. Read more, watch less TV. This may seem like a no-brainer, but really, there's just SO MUCH brilliant storytelling on television. Don't believe me? Watch the last season of Dexter, or Men of a Certain Age, or Damages, or Nurse Jackie, or Friday Night Lights, or Mad Men. And then there are my own personal faves, the true crime/forensics shows, like Most Evil and City Confidential and Forensic Files and Cold Blood, or the recent stunner The Will: Family Secrets Revealed. See what I mean? It's a wonder I get anything done! Thankfully, I bought myself a nice, big, juicy stack of books for Christmas, and I maintain a running list of "must-read" titles — which is now a good deal longer, thanks to this week's ALA Youth Media Awards announcements. But having great books on-hand is only half the battle. The other half is gifting myself with time for pleasure reading. In general, I'm going to try to be more generous with myself this year.

10. Keep writing. Believe me, I'm workin' on it.

Have you made any resolutions this year? How are you doing with them so far?