 I made ten goals this time last year to hold myself accountable--and while I certainly met some of the goals, there are a couple I did not. Not even a little bit. Some highlights:
Mindfulness became easier with a new job, I finished more than 3 romance manuscripts (I have 3-4 books coming out in 2019!), I started an exercise routine that works great for me, I read the perfect amount of books both inside and outside my favorite genres, and I finished writing a thriller without a drop of romance. It was tough but so worth it. Those are all incredible feats for me and I'm taking a quick moment to be proud of myself. However, there are a couple of goals I fell short. The lowlights: I did not hike ten times. I did once and I just wish I could get into it. It wasn't like I didn't have people asking or rooting for me to go (Thanks for the encouragement, Ruth!) I didn't find a writing group but I did join Romance Writers of America and the first book in my Cleat Chasers Series--Challenge Accepted, was a finalist for best young adult romance. I didn't find a better skin-care routine and I never got around to try learning Italian again. It's time to create my 2019 list of goals and for someone who LOVES to-do lists...this is such a struggle because these are tasks that can just be completed in one sitting. They take time and patience is a virtue I work on daily. Here it goes: 1) Spanish/Italian--I hope to retain my Spanish and find time to learn Italian. 2) Exercise Consistently --running 3-4 times a week worked for me, but I got excited and overdid it a couple of times. I need to find balance and stick with it. 3) Writing series-- I have three series that will be out in 2019 and I hope to finish Cleat Chasers (with book 4!), complete the second in the Out of the Park Series, and the second in Classic Curves. 4) Thrillers-- It was so challenging and fun to write a thriller last year and I hope to write another one. I'm toying with the idea of using a different pen name since there is zero romance, but who knows what 2019 will bring? 5) Getting a house-- The hubs and I are hoping to start looking in January and eek! It's exciting and scary to take this next step. 6) Traveling-- We live in the beautiful southwest and haven't done a lot of traveling. It'd be great to explore some places on the west coast and visit some new baseball parks. 7) Joining a writing group-- I need to do it. Just, join and get over the fear. 8) Discover new music -- This past year my husband introduced me to Jungle and we got to see them live. They are incredible and I rarely branch out of my typical genres. I hope to take time to discover new bands. 9) Keep a tracker journal --I always have the best intensions to track my hobbies/water intake/exercise/etc. but I never follow through. I bought a bullet journal and hope to consistently use it. 10) Record the books I finish! (Aiming for 52) -- I never write down or track how many books I read. There are adorable journals you can buy to write a quick review of the books you read and add comments. 2019 goal: ACTUALLY write them down. Another off-the-record goal is to finish a coloring book. Sure, it's an adult cuss word coloring book that is highly offensive, but it's relaxing and fun. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year and enjoy 2019. I know I will! XO, Jaqueline
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 Can you believe the winter Olympics was held this year? It seems like so long ago...like there's no way we watched Sean White ski and we all cried when he won. (Okay, maybe that was just me but that was amazing) The whole event doesn't feel like this year, but, the calendar says otherwise. It has been a year to remember (for a lot of good reasons) and I wanted to do a quick top three list of some of my favorite things. Top Three Books
Top Three TV Shows
Top Three Writing Things I learned
Top Three Moments
The problem with "favorite lists" is that there are tons of more books, TV shows, things learned, and moments that made this past year incredible. I am very lucky to have such a supporting family that understands how much writing means to me and lets me sit at my desk for hours at a time. There have been a lot of secret projects the past couple months and I cannot wait to share them all with you in 2019! I hope you all had a wonderful 2018 and I wish you all the best for the upcoming year! XO Jaqueline |
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