Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Looking forward to 2014...


Last year started off okay and got better toward the middle. We even hired two new employees, though one quit a few short months later. The IT industry is tougher than it sounds. Though, it was for the best that he left as cash flow slowed and we might have had to let him go anyhow. A few other things came to pass in the latter half of the year that weighed us down. But we got through it as we always do.

Personally, I had a few things I wanted to accomplish and unfortunately I have no real reminders of what those were. Not even a blog post from this time last year, though I have a sticky note in my Outlook for the first quarter of last year all in regards to writing. Did I accomplish those goals? Sadly, no.

One thing I do remember is my goal to reach a certain weight. Did I make it? No, but I'm closer than ever. Unfortunately, I seek comfort in food so when we had some things happen, I lost momentum and the willpower to say no as often as I should have. I did finally get and stay below 140 lbs. though--barely--which had been a huge marker to get past. Looking at my spreadsheet, I see I didn't do very well at all this year. An overall loss of only 5.2 lbs. Bummer. Next year will be better. I promise.

Writing wise, I changed focus from writing to proofreading in order to earn some extra money to pay off a specific credit card. Things went well until the uphill slide toward the holidays and people re-purposed their dollars. That's okay. The CC isn't supposed to be paid in full until June 2014, so I still have time to make that happen. And I did make progress, I'm glad to say.

So goals for 2014... Let's see...

1) lose weight--get down to 120ish pounds (that's 16 lbs.)
2) pay off the credit card with proofing money
3) create bulb bed/plant bulbs on the side of the house
4) work on back yard
5) bookshelves in living room
6) ramp up proofreading
7) publish three more Romance Writer's Guides books
8) get my son graduated
9) read up on how to make the body work like it's supposed to and help my hubby lose weight and get healthy
10) to read 64 books in 2014, including 12 books on plotting (remember this post from the end of Nov?)

I think I'm gonna post these on the side bar so I can see them on a near daily basis and be reminded. I think that will also help keep me accountable. Plus updates will provide post fodder!

To a certain handful of my readers--thanks so much for your faithfulness. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. It really means a lot. And to the rest of you who read but don't comment, the number of you who are out there tickles me.

To you all:

Happy New Year to you and yours, and may 2014 be all that you want it to be.

4 comments:

Regina Richards said...

Great goals! And losing 5+ pounds last year while most of the world was gaining is no small accomplishment. Good for you!

Unknown said...

Those are nice resolutions, especially because they are all do-able! I look forward to reading your updates throughout the year :)

Anonymous said...

I'm right there with you on #1, Jen. All your goals sound do-able ... Cheering you on.

And Happy New Year everyone!

Nancy

Jen FitzGerald said...

Thanks for your support and friendship, Regina, Lara, and Nancy. It means a lot to know you're there. Best of luck with your own goals.