2013 Resolutions

So, with reading The Willpower Instinct and the start of the new year and all - I got to thinking about resolutions.  And, you know, making some.

I have one distinct one that has come to mind.  Drumroll, please....

Be a better blogger.

I know what you're thinking, dear readers.  You've heard it before.  You've heard it again and again.  Instead of talking about blogging, why not actually go and do it?

I know.  Perhaps I've just hit a road bump this past year.  Perhaps I have hit the 'five year itch'.  But I am not giving up.  This blog has quite a few things going for it.

1)  It has existed for five years, which is legendary in the blogosphere.  Five years in the blogosphere is better than five years of marriage in hollywood.  I'm not going to give up at the 10 yard line.  And I never thought I'd use such an analogy.

2)  It is part of BlogHer, which is an excellent, well-respected all female blogging network.  I feel like I got into a prestigious sorority.  The only requirement is that I put out new, relevant content on a regular basis.  I will forge on.

3)  I have some awesome readers.  I HOPE I still have them.  Dear readers - are you there?  It's me, Jaime.

Ok, enough of this.  I had to publicly express this goal.  I figured it would help with accountability and that there'd be a better chance of me not failing at it.

Dear fellow bloggers - how do you forge on?  What do you do when you struggle with finding the time and energy to blog?  What do you do when you struggle for meaningful content?  Please share.

Goals For 2012

So last year was a year of a lot of changes for me.  I went in with some goals, as I outlined in some previous posts.

Anyhow. They saying putting one's goals down in writing and/or telling people about one's goals makes her more likely to achieve them because it makes them seem more definite.  That, and there's the fear of public failure.  Other people knowing and, mayhaps, 'watching' one will better keep that person in check.  Kind of like having a weight-loss buddy.  Or something like that.

Anyhow.

My goal for 2012....

I have a short story that needs to be written.  I've dragged my feet on doing so for a very long time.  By the end of 2012, I should have a hard draft done.

There you go.

Keep me in check.

Hopefully this goes better than my promises to blog more.

2011 Reading Goal

So, one of my goals for 2012 was to read 12 books.  I didn't have any specifics on what kind of books they were, how many pages they needed to be, etc.  Yes, I realize these are big factors, seeing that, at times, one book can be over twice the length of another.  However, I didn't want to get pedantic.

Anyhow.  Drumroll please....

I fell short.  Whop whop.  Eleven books.  Just one shy.  I didn't make it.  I feel like a failure.  I kid.  Oh well.

Here's a list of the books I was able to finish:

1)  Save the Assistants by Lilit Marcus
2)  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (Editor's sidenote:  This book took me FOREVER - I would like to blame partially for my not being able to meet my reading goal.)
3)  Bossy Pants by Tina Fey
4)  What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
5)  My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
6)  Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
7)  Summer in the City by Candace Bushnell
8)  Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal
9)  Love At First Bark by Julie Klam
10)  If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) by Betty White
11)  It Was Over When by Robert K. Elder

I THOUGHT about staying home all day Saturday reading to make the goal, seeing that I am already into Mindy Kaling's 'Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)', and it seemed like a quick read.  However, instead, I just decided to up the ante for this year - I will do 13 books to make up for the missed one this year.  I am thinking I will have more time to accomplish this.

Did anyone else make any reading goals?  Were you able to keep them?  Do you feel my goal was a little weak?  Did you lose respect for me for not making it?  Don't answer that.  

Getting off to the Right Start

I just downloaded the blogger for iPhone app. I am not sure how good the app is, but at least I am attempting to be a woman of my word.   This will, hopefully, help in my quest to be a better blogger.  

New Year's Resolutions

I have four that are getting carried over into the new year.  I'd feel bad about this, but I was really ambitious with the resolution making this past year, and I succeeded at several big ones.  So I feel ok about not receiving a 100% A+.  One of said failed resolutions was to be a better, more consistent blogger.  As we know, there is always next year.  I hope to, more specifically, do around 20 posts a month.  This year was a hiccup.  My other resolutions are too personal to mention here, but those who know me in real life know them.

What are your new year's resolutions?  Do you bother making resolutions?  Any success stories?  I won't bother asking if there are any failures....

New Year's Resolution Recap

Well, it's that time.  The year is almost over.  There were several new year's resolutions at the beginning.  I am proud to report success on several counts.  I knew it was time to make a step in a new direction for my career - I am proud to say I did.  I also had a goal to travel more - I took three trips to three new locations this year.  That might not be all that much to someone else, but it was a lot for me - or, at the very least, 'more'.  I can honestly say I succeeded at keeping two new year's resolutions.  Two, at the very least, mid-size, new year's resolutions.  I don't know how many can say that.  I am proud.

Now, sigh, onto the other side....  There were, most definitely, a couple New Year's resolutions I did not succeed at keeping.  Whop whop.  I won't get into them - some are rather personal - but I know they will not be happening in 2011.   One of said resolutions was to be a better blogger.  Dear readers - I do not need to tell you about how I failed at this.  I kept trying to pick back up every month, but needless to say, I never picked the pace back up.  It could be a lot of factors - busyness, the difficulty of finding new material after four years, etc.   This is all true, however - let me say there have been a lot of things on my mind that I've wanted to say, but this blog would not be the appropriate forum for it.  I think those words clouded my mind and prevented other topics from coming to mind.  It might sound stupid, but I am confident it's true.  I will try to do a better job of working past this in the future.  I am curious if other bloggers sometimes have similar problems.

Anyhow.  How did my readers do on their resolutions?  Any big successes?  Any big failures?  Anyone throw in the towel early?  Anyone throw in the towel just recently?

New Year's Resolutions?

Who has broken his or hers so far?

Mine was to be a better blogger.  The jury is still out on me.  :-/