No New Year's Resolution

Over my lifetime, I've made thousands of New Year's resolutions.

And have subsequently failed to meet them over the next 365 days.

This year will be different.

I won't make any resolutions. Instead, I'll borrow this wonderful idea from the talented author Holly Jacobs. Last year, her word was GLEE. This year, her word is RESTART.

Find one word that will be your mantra for the year.

For me, that word will be FOCUS.

It will be useful in many aspects of my life:

• losing weight
• becoming more active
• work
• and last, but not least, writing 

One word is easy to remember. Do you have one word that will allow you to make a New Year's resolution without making a resolution?

I found one word. I bet you can, too!

MAG's

Happy New Year!

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

Though many people see the start of a new year as a time to make big changes in their lives, I want to remind you that you can change every single day when you wake up. You don't have to wait to make a difference in your life . . . or in other's lives.

If you have to make a resolution, then resolve to live in the moment.

Technology can wait. Your texts can wait. Facebook can wait. Television can wait.

But your family and friends want you to be WITH them, in the moment.

Don't miss out on their lives because you were too busy to take a few minutes away from your phone, or whatever, to focus on them.

Food for thought.

Wrapping up 2011--

Wow--what a ride 2011 has been!

From the peak of the roller coaster highs to plummeting the depths, tossing in some loop-de-loops and corkscrews into the bargain! Both good and bad from the year has helped us define who we are and how we dealt with adversity. Some days it was with flying colors, but other days I'm not so proud of myself.

As we put 2011 to bed, we need to remember the lessons learned and to approach the New Year with our eyes and hearts open.

I won't bore you by regurgitating my goals. If you want to know how I did, check out the Writing 101 link.

I won't bore you with details about my self-publishing journey . . . I'll do that next year when I have more numbers to deal with. I'm still in the red, which means I haven't made enough to break even yet, but I do think placing GNOME on Amazon Prime was the right move. The trick to publicity like giving away free books is to see if it has a trickle down effect on the rest of my stories.

I won't bore you about losing weight or eating healthy. Though I did lose almost 40 pounds, but I have let myself get a little out of hand during the last two weeks. It's time to buckle down again now that 'candy season' is drawing to a close.

I won't bore you with recipes, seriously bad haiku, my opinion, or poor camera pictures.

But I will wish you the best of luck, health and happiness in the New Year. We are all given the exact same day as everyone else in life, it's how we choose to use this life is what matters.

Enjoy the sunshine on your face, the laughter of children--young and old, the love from family and friends--furry, scaly or feathered. Live in the moment and enjoy what you have been given.

See you on the other side, Peeps!