It’s the new year, and I have a lot of ideas, dreams, goals, and things to accomplish in this year of 2022. Many of them are related to my book writing, publishing, and marketing. But some are related my fitness, my travel plans to visit family and friends, and to our move from this dilapidated house which we are currently living in to our in-progress guest cottage or “Little Casita,” as I am calling it. Here’s hoping our next goal date of by-end-of March is a success!

As I considered all of these goal thoughts running through my mind as I walked into the new year, I have narrowed down my personal goals for the new year to four main aspects of setting and accomplishing goals: writing, reading, fitness, and love.

Setting & Accomplishing Goals

To start, instead of doing resolutions, I am doing the Monthly To-Do Project I did last year and learned about from my cousin, T.C. It goes like this:

• Pick 12 to-dos to accomplish before the end of the year;
• Write each item on a separate piece of paper;
• Fold each paper into a small square;
• Place all of the to-dos in a clear jar, pretty box, or favored container;
• Pull one to-do out on the first of each month; and,
• Take the entire month to complete it.

When I did this project last, because we were moving in the middle of the year, I selected 16 to-dos which needed done before we moved. I was so pleased when I managed to get most of them completed by the middle of May. By the time we staged our house in June, the rest of the to-dos magically disappeared.

This year, I plan to go slow with this project, and do it as it was intended: one to-do per month.

I will be sharing with you in a future blog post more on to-do projects, about getting organized, and which to-do item I pulled from my pretty little box this past Monday. Oh, and FYI, my pretty box from last year is packed away somewhere in our storage Conex, so I found a different pretty box for this year. I’m happy to say that I have lots of pretty boxes – all sizes!

Writing Goals

I am currently wrapping up the last of my hand-written draft of book two. With only about five pages to write in the last or third section, I’ll soon be typing it up. After many delays over the past year – due to our move and transition from city to country life, I’m excited to finally be making some “real” progress.

My goal is have book two typed and printed out by the end of January and ready for its first major editing phase in February. As you know, life does seem to have other plans for me at times, so this is only a goal. I’ll be happy to start typing book two up in February, if that is where I’m at by then.

I will continue to keep you posted regularly on book two as advances are made with it. In the meantime, I’m wondering if you are a writer, and if you have any works-in-progress you are hoping to finish up soon.

Book Reading

It is only the eighth day of January, and I’m already three fourths through my second book of the year. The first book I read was, “For You, For Me, For Us,” by J.F. Aguilar, whom I “met” through email last October when I asked about an article on kindness in the San Antonio newspaper, Westside Sol, which he publishes. I was pleasantly surprised by the storyline and have since published a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and my Instagram feed.

The second book I’m reading is “Widowish,” by Melissa Gould. I’m blown away by this book, and am looking forward to finishing it and doing a review of it sometime next week. It is a memoir, which is one of my favorite genres next to mystery and detective. Since July of last year, every other book I have read is a memoir. The alternating books are fiction, such as mystery or romance, and new genres I have not read before. Most of books are by new other writer/author friends which I have met through the Writers Bridge, Instagram, or randomly.

I will be doing a full post of my reading goals next week on Instagram and later this month on this website. The post will include all my reading goals including books for meditation and further learning. So, in other words, I do a lot more reading than what you see in the photo below.

It is my hope, by then, to have added a books’ page on my website. I will include the books which I’ve read and done reviews, for last year and this, with links to each author’s website.

Fitness Equals Healthfulness

I have always read about being fit, getting fit, and keeping fit. The pros and cons to diet and workout plans are numerous. There are those who say stop dieting. But even your doctor might tell you to get on a diet to change or improve your overall health for better daily living. There are also those who propone a person should work out until it hurts, and those who say gentle-and-easy is just as efficient. So what does a person do?

If you are like me, you might already know what works for you. To be in good physical health, as well as, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically, it takes knowing oneself. In my experience, it comes down to time. It takes time to work out. It takes time to do those activities we enjoy. It takes time to be physical in a sedentary world.

In coming blog posts, I will elaborate on developing fitness goals, sticking to our plan (or not), and how we can find what works for us – rather than trying to follow the mainstream. Until then, think balance, strength, and movement. Ultimately, our fitness goal is to listen to our own body and then take action. What is your body telling you today? Mine is saying it’s time for a walk with the pups.

Word of the Year: Love

Well, I did it…I chose a Word for my Year…or I should say, it chose me.

This year I decided to play along with a writer friend’s reel (@alexandracfree) on Instagram for a Word of the Year. You may have seen a reel in action like this before. The slides/words flip by so fast, it can be difficult to read them all. The idea is to do a screenshot as the words flash by. The word on your Screenshot is YOUR WORD for the year.

Mine was LOVE. I was pleasantly surprised as Love is something I have always striven for with my family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. It’s not easy to love at all times, but the intent is most certainly a deep part of who I am.

And so, as I close off on my first post of 2022, I wish you LOVE. May you find it in the most needed of times. May you willingly give it to others when they need it from you. And may you see more abundance of love in your life and all those around you – more and more, all of the time, everywhere you turn.

And, as we think about this new year and what it might mean for us, always remember: there is nothing wrong with not setting new year’s resolutions or choosing a goal-oriented system of any kind. Maybe this is the year you just take off from any form of goal-achieving, organization, or decluttering and just enjoy some down time. What is your spirit calling you to do? Listen within, and you will find the answer.

Be loved, y’all.