There were no brakes at the end of 2019, and we rolled right into the new year flailing and stumbling, but still hanging on for dear life.

We traveled to visit Mark’s family, hung out with my family, and made time for my sister who was visiting from L.A. with her family all while continuing to work the 8am - 6 pm. We went to experience Enchant in DC, babysat my 6-year old niece one day, then my 6-month old niece another day, made canapés for a quiet NYE at home, and whipped up dishes for the 6-month old’s baptism party.

Mark and I did get some time late at night to play Unravel Two. This game is brilliant if you love couch co-ops. He, Sofia (our 9-year old), and I also beat Trine 4—another amazing multiplayer puzzle game that I highly recommend. Oh, and the seasonal updates for Overcooked 2! Definitely play that…

One Word

I don’t do resolutions. I’ve said it in some old blog post, but I just feel like resolutions set me up for failure. Or, I start out with gusto, then start to fizzle around mid-February. I get the point is trying to create habits that will stick, but it’s never worked for me. However, I do find the new year to be a good time to reassess how I’m doing. I can look back to see what went right or wrong, then figure out the way ahead. Goals are well and good, but I also need meaning and purpose.

So what am I doing? I’m trying to find my “one word” this year. I was recently introduced to motivational speaker and writer Jon Gordon, and his blog on “One Word” struck a chord with me. There’s a book you can read (which I haven’t yet), but I think you can get the gist from the blog post. It’s the theme for your year, that simple reminder to keep you on track.

There’s too much pressure to find your word on New Years Day, and sometimes the word will find you. As I’ve pondered this over the last week, I’ve come up with some potential candidates: WRITE, FOCUS, GRATITUDE, POSITIVE. As I’ve reflected, I think my word will be FOCUS. Maybe I’ll write more about it in the coming months to share how it’s going.

For the record, looking back my word (and my colleague’s word) for 2019 was probably WHATEVER—which has negative connotations! Another thing you’ll see in Jon Gordon’s themes is positivity, something I am working on as well!

Goals

I still have goals. I think having a road map of sorts makes sense. What I need to do is map them better. Recently, I’ve been reading Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity by Charles Duhigg. It’s got a whole section on motivation and goal setting. I’m going to try to find some time to reread the goals section so I can map out a plan. It’s an excellent book, super easy to read and entertaining. I highly recommend it, and I do plan on posting a review sometime this year.

Back to my goals. The big ones I have revolve around reading and writing. Back to basics! In 2019, I didn’t reach my goal of 25 books. In fact, I only hit 12 books. However, instead of lowering my goal to 12 this year, I’ve set my reading goal to 20! I know I can do this!

Have you set a reading goal this year? Share it in the comments below! Let’s motivate each other!

Writing

There’s so much I wish I could share with you right now on the writing front. Aren is up to his usual awkwardness! People have been asking me when the second book in the Uniting the Heavens series will be ready, and I know it’s been a long time coming. The first book set up a lot of different little plot lines, and my job is to unravel and reveal those to you. It’s coming. I promise. Remember, my word of the year is FOCUS! Haha!

I’ll also keep blogging, reviewing books (at least 20, right?), and sharing the work of other indie authors in the Behind the Books series. I’ve really enjoyed chatting with these artists—and especially their characters!

Mark gave me a Neil Gaiman gift pack, and one of the things in it was the postcard below. I’m going to frame it (because I will frame things this year!), but I wanted to share because it’s so beautiful.

Thank you for sticking with me! 2020—let’s do this together!