2008, a year in review

I just re-read my 2007 year in review blog post to check out how well I did with my resolutions. My '08 resolutions were 1) finish my book, 2) work out, and 3) eat more citrus (this was posted while combating a wicked cold). And I'm happy to say that I did accomplish at least one. My book is done! Hurrah!! Old Glory is currently in the hands of my editor, Mr. Wolf, who will hopefully love it. If he does, then maybe I'll start sending it out to real editors/book companies and then start praying. For those of you who want to read it yourself, too bad! I'm still feeling a little uncomfortable with my fiance reading it, so you'll have to wait until I get a review from him. If he likes it then... maybe.

Through the process I learned a lot about what it means to be a writer. I'm getting into a rhythm, I'm developing self-discipline, and I can tell that every day that I stick with it my writing gets better. Writing is like exercise: it's hard to get started, but once you start doing it regularly, you feel better every day and start craving it. I have several other story ideas that I've been keeping on the back-burner which I hope to get started on in 2009.

I called 2007 a great year because it really helped me to focus and get goals and have motivation. 2008 was probably the perfect year to follow that because I worked hard and actually accomplished several of these goals: I got engaged (not that that was a "goal" necessarily, but it certainly was a very large life event), finished my book, and we got our beloved cat Dexter.

Getting engaged was a bigger turning point in my life than I ever could have imagined. At first it seemed like nothing had changed except that I had a little bling on my hand. But everything changed. Wild dreams and goals like travelling the world and becoming rich and famous have been replaced by simpler dreams. Having a home and a family. Growing old with my husband. I'm actually looking forward to a time when I'll be complaining about my neighbors and my biggest concern will be the weeds in my garden. I never thought that these were the kind of goals that I would feel passionately about. I thought it was something that everyone just did. But these stepstones in my life are things I can't wait to see come true, and I certainly care more about that than being able to say that I've been to 30 different countries or some other pointless boast. The most important thing to me now are that I am happy and the people (and cat) I love are happy too.

With every year that passes I get more and more excited about the years I have in front of me.

So, with that being said, here are my goals for 2009:

1. Get married. The date is set- September 13th, 2009! Now to plan the rest of it... :)
2. Lose weight. I know everyone--including me-- says this every year, but I'm feeling like this year I'll actually do it!
3. Keep working hard on my writing. Finishing my book is no excuse for slacking. If anything I hope to write even more this year.

I want to end this by sharing one of my favorite quotes, brought to you by the great Ursula LeGuin: "It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matter in the end." I gotta say, I'm loving the ride that I'm on right now.

Happy New Year to all, and may 2009 be the best year we've had yet!

Survivor: Gabwned

I went from first place to dead last. But I'm not too sorry. (Except for Charlie, I miss him.) I cheered along with everyone else when Crystal got voted out last night. Good riddance. Of the remaining players, here is my ranking of them:


5. Susie (Alia's) - Really has no chance. I think she'll make the final three, but there's no way she'll convince the jury that she deserves the money.

4. Matty (Bag's) - Matty's done well to survive this long, but I don't think he's playing enough of a strategic game to win him enough votes.

3. Kenny (Moon's) - I think if he made it to the final three he'd have a good chance of winning. But I don't think they'll let him get that far. If he does though, look out!

2. Sugar (Alia's) - Sugar has made the plays to earn her the victory and I think she's a shoe-in to make it to the final 3. Her downsides: she's made a few enemies, and I think that people's perception of her as being unintelligent will hurt her chances. On the plus side, a lot of her strategic moves have happened in front of the jury, which will leave a stronger impression than just hearing about it.

1. Bob (Doug's) - Bob went from verge of being voted out to being a dominant force in this game. His insanely large brain makes up for his mediocre brawn. And those who think he's not playing a strategic game haven't been paying enough attention. He laid low in the beginning, but then when he had to he started winning challenges left and right. Look at how far he's gotten and how many friendly faces are sitting on the jury. His Achilles heel is that everyone knows what a threat he is now, so they may drop him before the finals.

We'll see how it goes! The finale is on Sunday night but we'll be watching it Monday at Pamber's before MNF (hopefully... we haven't actually asked them yet). If you're invested or just plain curious, stop on by!