As a means of holding myself accountable, I post the monthly results of my New Year’s resolutions here.
1. Lose 23 pounds, bringing me down to my high school track and field weight.
I lost half a pound in the month of January. Not quite the pace I was hoping to start off the year. But now I have tendinitis in my left knee. That should help matters considerably.
2. Do at least 50 push-ups and 50 sit-ups a day.
I missed the first three days of the month but have not missed a day since.
3. Practice the flute for at least an hour a week.
Did not practice once in the month of January. To be honest, I forgot about this resolution. I need to bring my flute home from work in order to make this happen.
4. Find a wine that I can drink every night or so.
I drank two glasses of wine in January. I liked one quite a bit but it was a wine that is no longer made.
Of course.
5. Complete my fifth novel.
MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND (my fourth novel) is complete. I am currently writing two different stories in hopes that one will take off and become my next novel. A sequel to MEMOIRS is also not out of the question. This is actually the first day that I do not have a story to definitively work on and I am feeling a little lost.
I should be able to make a more informed decision once I have an American publisher for MEMOIRS.
6. Complete and submit one children’s book to my agent.
Not yet, but perhaps now is the time to write one.
7. Complete the book proposal for the non-fiction collaborative project that I began last year.
Not yet.
8. Complete an outline for my memoir
Work continues on this project. I am considering outsourcing some of the work to friend and family by asking them to recommend stories about my life that should be included in the memoir.
9. Convince my sister to write on http://107federalstreet.blogspot.com at least once a week and do the same myself.
No progress. My sister lives a topsy-turvy lifestyle, and so far I have not been able to focus her on the task at hand.
10. Drink at least four glasses of water every day.
I actually did this for about a week and then forgot about the resolution entirely. This kind of thing happens a lot during the first month of the year.
11. Complete at least one of the three classes required for me to teach English on the high school level.
Nothing done yet. But it’s looking like another snow day tomorrow. Perhaps I’ll call the state and get that list of classes.
12. Try liver.
Nope.
13. Publish an Op-Ed in a national newspaper.
Nope.
14. Participate in The Moth as a storyteller, at a live show or on their radio broadcast.
Nope.
15. See our rock opera (The Clowns) performed on stage as a full production or in a dramatic reading format.
Earlier this month we completed another round of revisions and conducted a reading in my home. Interested parties operating at least two different theaters have the rock opera in hand and we await their verdict.
16. Organize my basement.
Significant progress was made this month.
17. Land at least one paying client for my fledgling life coach business.
Nope. Anyone?
18. Rid Elysha and myself of all education debt before the end of the year.
Still waiting on the funding.
19. Replace the twelve ancient windows on the first and second floor of the house with more energy efficient ones.
Still waiting on the funding.
20. Make one mortgage payment from poker profits.
I actually earned about 20% of my mortgage in the month of January, and a large percentage of that money came from live games rather than online poker.
21. Post my progress in terms of these resolutions on this blog on the first day of every month.
Done.
