A New Year, a New Outlook.

Happy New Year, everyone.

I hope you all had an awesome holiday season. We did. It seems like the last two months have  gone by in a blur of activity. We’ve had two pajama days in the last month. You know days where we stay in our jammies all day, watching  movies, playing games and doing a lot of nothing important. Both were necessary, trust me.

I don’t usually make New Year's resolutions. I’ve always said that you should resolve to do something when you get the conviction to do so, not just at the beginning of the year. I mean how many resolutions burn out by the end of January?  It’s almost like a social wish list without any real commitment behind it... And, if they’d have asked me, I would have made the new year start in March with the spring. I’m not sure why we have a new beginning in the middle of winter. I mean it’s cold and kind of dreary outside. Maybe it has something to do with needing to make changes after indulging for two months...I don’t know... but I’ve kinda always scoffed at them. Until now.

I mean it’s the beginning of a brand new, shiny year. Beginnings are a good place to start, right? So...I made some resolutions this year.

Like many people around the world, I took a good look at my habits, my weight, etc and decided to make some changes. So I’ve made two major resolutions.

1.       I am making a commitment to get healthy. This would entail dropping about 15lbs. I’m fairly active, running around after my 2 yo does assure that sitting for any length of time is nearly impossible. But small things, like walking to the library instead of driving, getting up just a little earlier to walk the kids to school, dusting off my treadmill, will make a huge difference, I know. No diets, just smart eating and activity. My husband and I have a plan, a weekly goal and are determined that this year is the year to be healthy (He wants to lose 45lbs.)

2.       I want to be more in the here and now. I’m always so busy (7 kids, remember?) I have a constant to-do list in my head and I’m usually thinking of the next three or four things I need to do instead of just experiencing the moment I’m living.

I could say I want to organize closets, declutter, etc, but those are things that always need to be done and then redone.  I think I’ve organized my pantry 6 times last year... the kids don’t understand why the cereal goes on the second shelf and the peanut butter goes on the third shelf (or why I sigh when they complain they can’t  find the peanut butter). Let’s not talk about the inability to put blankets on the blanket shelf and towels on the shelf above it... It’s frustrating, but concentrating on them kind of goes against resolution #2.

There are a ton of things I want to do: Write, plant my own vegetables, grow an herb garden, paint, start my Christmas gifts earlier, but those aren’t really resolutions, you know? They’re on my want-to list, hopefully to be upgraded on to my to-do list.

So how about you? Do you have any resolutions?  What’s on your want-to list? 

Shawna Thomas writes fantasy when she's not living her dream of raising a large family with her wonderful husband. Her books are available at Carina Press.

Killer Year

It's a little late in the year for resolutions, but we're also far enough into the year to have a hint, an idea, an inkling, of things to come.

And, from what I can tell, 2014 is going to be a killer. Not a stone cold killer that's all sexy black coat, mysterious scars and no remorse. No, this is one of those sadistic bastards that pretends to be your friend while secretly laughing at you and steering you toward your inevitable DOOM.

I don't think I'm being dramatic here.

I came into the year with a good attitude. I was going to focus on my health and wellness (also known as finding my calm outside of red wine and terrible action movies). I was going to respect my own boundaries, especially as concerns work that I do not like and which does not benefit me. I was going to find beauty in the ordinary.

And then 2014 pooped in the ordinary, struck health straight off the map, and dropped a metric f*#$ tonne of work in my lap. Work which I do not like. Work which does not benefit me. So, what is one to do when an entire year opens its suspicious raincoat and waggles its wretched junk at you? How does one keep calm and carry on when one is already freaking done?

What are your coping techniques? Your calming meditations? Your delightful distractions? I know I'm not the only one struggling, so I'd love to see all your quietest and most far out ideas in the comments. :)

About the Author

Regan Summers lives in Anchorage, Alaska with her husband and alien-monkey hybrid of a child. She is a huge fan of the low profile. She likes books, ottomans with concealed storage, small plate dining, libraries, Corporal Hicks, some aspects of pre-revolutionary France, most aspects of current Italy, and books.

Her Night Runner series, including Don’t Bite the Messenger and Running in the Dark, is available wherever e-books are sold.

Website  -  Twitter  -  Facebook  -  Amazon  -  Barnes & Noble  -  Carina Press

Dropped your 2014 resolutions? Great!

We’re a little over half way through January. By now, the majority of people who decided on New Year’s resolutions have already given them up.

In short, it’s the most wonderful time of the year for goal setting.

Yes, you read that right - you’re sitting smack dab in a stupendously creative, awesome week-end when it comes to your goals! Why? You’ve had just over two weeks to test run those initial goals, to see how they fit into your schedule...and if they’re too big, or just not important enough to bother with.

If your goals are too big, well, huzzah! You now know you need to break them down into smaller bites of activity. Little steps that, cumulatively, lead to great successes!

If the thought of those January 1^st goals no longer excites you (especially if you can break those goals down into manageable bites to take some of the pressure off), then, well, double huzzah! You’ve only spent a fraction of the year pursuing them. Now you have a little over eleven months to dive into goals that inspire, encourage and delight you!

So no sadness, self criticism or defeatist attitudes - those expired last year. This year, instead of committing to set-in-stone goals, and then beating yourself up if you don’t complete them perfectly (or at all), commit to achievements that can flex when needed, shift when called for, and that inspire, always. Let joy guide you! And remember to celebrate every single step you take in the direction of your dreams.

Here’s to your wonderful 2014, you gorgeous creature, you!

 

***

Natasha is the author of the Lost Souls Series - available at Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Audible. Most days she can be found muttering something random or writing related over on Twitter.

On this day...

I heard someone say that by January fourth roughly fifty percent of people have given up on their New Year’s resolutions.

Hmm. While I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that statistic, I can say that January fourth happens to be National Trivia Day.

For fans of the show ‘Supernatural’, you might be interested to know that Samuel Colt apparently sold his first revolver pistol to the United States government on January 4, 1847

Sputnik 1 fell from orbit and burned up upon re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere on 4 January 1958. A year later, Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the moon.

It also happens to be the birthday of folklorist, Jacob Grimm (of the Brothers Grimm).

My point is, I’ve only listed a fraction of the general awesomeness that’s taken place on previous January fourths. You’re certainly welcome to feel bad, and beat yourself up over not maintaining your resolutions...But if you’d rather feel good about the three hundred and sixty one days left in the year, how about brushing yourself off, deciding to do something that’s both good for you and fun, and then attacking that goal with gusto?

Oh, and if that resolution happens to be something along the lines of reading more awesome fantasy, urban fantasy, steampunk and the like, allow me to direct you to the books on the right of your screen. We have a slew of great stories and characters to help you keep that particular promise!

(And if you need a little bit of extra help keeping up momentum on any other resolutions, there’s an app for that - in particular, I’d suggest the Lift app from Lift.do.)

Cheers to your resolution reboot, and to a fabulous 2013!

***

About the Author
Born in South Africa, Natasha moved to Canada in her 20s and settled just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. This meant she was surrounded by an abundance of amazing natural beauty, interesting people from around the world to talk to and a fair bit of rain (which, oddly enough, she rather enjoys). She's always up for a good adventure, especially if it involves ‘stumbling upon' movie or TV shoots, hunting for G1 My Little Ponies at local thrift shops, meandering through book and toy stores, or looking into paranormal phenomena.

She can be found mostly on Twitter, Flickr, at her blog, on Facebook, and very occasionally on YouTube.

The Lost Souls series is available from Carina Press; Barnes & Noble; Amazon; Kobo; the Sony Reader Store and Audible.

Ritual Magic

Today is the day we down aspirin, wash the leftover mascara from the corners of our eyes and swear to ourselves and the list we posted on the mirror, "This year will be different."

Resolutions come in two flavors: Outcome and process. Outcome-oriented resolutions are the ones fitness gurus (like my alter ego) are fondest of: Specific, measureable, goals set to a timeline and a plan.

Process-oriented resolutions are harder to define but ultimately more satisfying. These are the "lifestyle changes" I lecture about when I'm wearing yoga pants and a name tag. These are also the first promises to ourselves we break.

Last year, for example, I swore (and claimed in public) that I would send one handwritten note, letter or card each day of the year. To those of you with January 6 birthdays, I hope you enjoyed your mail. The January 7 folks, however, were left hanging.

This year, being a fan of the power of language and names, I'm not making any process-oriented resolutions. Instead, I'm going to establish rituals. Rituals have a magic about them, an inherit higher power that will back up my will. They are much sexier than "good habits" (which is what nuns wear). They are more fun than goals. They involve nice-smelling candles, more often than not.

Let's see how it will pan out?
1. I will practice a daily sweat cleanse (which sounds better than exercise, doesn't it?)
2. I will create a protective circle between debt and my family (lighting candles while I cut up the credit cards, of course).
3. I will channel the denizens of Stewardsville and record their doings in the rest of my series (word-count, schmerd-count. Wouldn't you rather write this way instead?)

I'm bringing a little linguistic magic into my life in 2012. Howzabout you?