Happy 2014

I hope you brought in the new year in a fantastic way. If you didn't, you will next year. This is the beauty of a new start. Moving forward.

My new year was brought in with family, and though I've never been the type of person to pretend everything is perfect in my life when it is not (despite this being common online etiquette), I can honestly say I wouldn't have wanted to bring in the new year any other way than with my mother. It was just about perfect.

My husband and I returned to Columbus a few days ago, after visiting my grandmother in Toledo. My family is okay but could be doing better. My grandmother's neighborhood in Toledo is rough and her health is declining. My mother's foot is hurting after multiple surgeries. My sister is having health problems. We all argued quite a bit. My husband wasn't feeling well. I am allergic to Mom's cats. And yet, it was just about perfect. We ate; we laughed; we fought but made up; we pet the dander machines because allergies or no, cats are adorable; we talked about hardships but also set our worries aside; we played Royalty (I kicked ass), which is a cool  little game that should make a resurgence; and we laughed together. We reflected and resolved. 

In other words, despite the challenges we all have, New Year's Eve was near perfection. 2014 comes with promise and love, and this is exactly how it should have come. I have no doubt that this year will be fantastic. Even if this is just another day, it's always another opportunity. And I'm taking it. Just like every year, here are my resolutions...

2014 Resolutions

Eat well and stay healthy (as far as I can control)

Make a new friend this year (choose wisely) and be good/supportive to the friends I have

Get a place with a backyard for Ahti

Spend my time wisely

Read more

Write more

Zipline!

Get a novel contract (We Arrive Uninvited)

Get my short story collection published (The Getaway State)

Finish Rattle novel (My Name is E)

Ensure that Don’t Tease the Elephants is a strong little book (forthcoming March 20)

Be good to my family, and help as much as possible without trying to control or change, only support

Stay focused!

  

I wish you all a wonderful 2014, and I hope you feel the hope that the day (symbolic or not) can provide you. 

HAPPY 2014!!!

Wishing You a Happy 2013

I don't know about you, but I am happy to put 2012 behind me. This was a year of dualism, filled with disappointment and pain as well as much that was divine. There were so many horrific events and so much economic difficulty. And yet, this year was also filled with innovation and hope. Communities came together, and, in hard and even impossible times, people lifted each other up.

My 2012, in summary: 

My family faced illness and worry, and we bounced back. I traveled to visit all the members of my family this year. I also went to New York City for the first time to read at the KGB. Thrillingly, I discovered a new favorite writer in Edith Pearlman and found publication of my own short work in two of my all-time favorite journals: Gargoyle (#58) and PANK (as well as many other fine literary venues). I made new friends, and many friends moved away. I made a dent in my student loans, but still have many years to go. The husband and I moved to a larger apartment, where we can actually have our own space. We get along even better now. We both moved up in our positions at work, if slightly. I became very sick and began working to raise awareness about endometriosis in my small way; I was always afraid to write about this illness but no longer am. I became anxious a few times this year but bounced back naturally. I learned to appreciate a little more, cope a little better. I am, I think, on track to being healthier than I've ever been. I didn't write enough, didn't finish my novel, didn't look for an agent; but I am far prouder of what I wrote this year than I've ever been. I know I'm on my way. I've slowed down a bit, but this has helped my writing more than it has hurt. In 2012, for the most part, I did not fight with people who were out to fight. Engaging is losing. I worried over global events (large source of anxiety), but I also found myself in a better position to truly contribute to causes I believe in, to take a stand in my way. This feels good.

In summary, I'm glad 2012 is over and thrilled to begin anew. I have a lot of hope for this new year.

In 2013, I plan to:

1. Have fun, take risks
2. Read more
3. Write more 
4. Give back in the ways that do not drain me
5. Somewhat conversely, say no more often
6. Join a local group of some sort: running, foodies, something other than writing that will fuel writing
7. Support other writers and writing journals
8. Continue to eat better; workout, but know my limits (again, not too much)
9. Finish the novel, finish the novel, finish the novel...
10. Travel more, visit out-of-town friends and family, and make plans to travel out of the country sometime in 2014 (this will take a small financial miracle, but I have hope)
11. Take a real vacation
12. Meditate/relax/don't stress over what I can't control
13. Aprender mucho de azar frases en español y utilizarlos de forma esporádica. En otras palabras, comienzan a estudiar español (correct me if need be... I'm out to learn)

So that's it. I wish you all the best in this new start. We're in this thing together, so I'd love to know your resolutions. Feel fee to share below. Peace. -Jen  

Oh, and...

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year

Who out there has resolutions in place for 2012?

I asked a dozen or so people yesterday whether they were making resolutions for the new year and every last one of them said no. There seems to be a negative connotation to the word for many people, but for me, the new year is a chance to reevaluate and wipe the slate clean. It's a time for renewal and to set goals.

Here were my 2011 resolutions:

1. Write some stuff.

2. Stop using smiley faces. :)

3. Continue to workout to those horrid Jillian Michaels tapes. I love/hate her.

4. Continue drinking coffee in abundance, but spend less money (i.e. less Starbucks)

5. Don't fall asleep in my contact lenses or on a bus.

6. Get Chris to workout by any means necessary.

7. Read as many books as I did in 2010, even if I find full-time work.

8. Say no every now and then just for practice, so it's not awkward when I really need to say the word (this will be fun).

9.  Come up with a bad-ass pen name so that I can write vampire erotica without anyone knowing. (I'm open to suggestions.)
  10. Blog regularly.     

So how'd I do?


1. Done
2. Working on it
3. I did this until May, when I pulled a tendon and had to modify my workouts
4. Utter failure until, rather recently, my car battery died in the drive-thru of Starbucks, which I took as a sign to man up and renew this goal.
5. Only a few misses here
6. Utter failure
7. Sure enough read as much as possible. I'm currently reading The Marriage Plot and will have a lot to say upon its completion.
8. Did it, and yes, it was fun
9. This may or may not still come to fruition
10. Semi-regularly

Okay, so I didn't hit on quite a few of those but I'm in no way, shape or form discouraged. In fact, I feel like I have all the more resolve for the new year. After some reflection and reevaluation, I'm ready to begin again.

2012

1. Tell the best possible story each time I write

2. Do not write to publish but simply write, then publish

3. Vary my workouts and avoid backbend push-ups, no matter what

4. Eat just a little better than last year

5. Don't fall asleep in my contact lenses or on a bus (this one is worth the carry-over)

6. Make trips to see my family despite finances 

7. Be patient with my loved ones--let them make their own resolutions

8. Pay outrageous student loans without cursing, stomping feet or looking up to the ceiling and screaming, "Why?"

9. Find either a) an agent and/or b) a fellowship that will bridge the gap between the larger literary world and my working life

10. Smile more (this one's weighted)

11. Get in the habit of turning my cell phone off at work and on when I get home (a biggie)

If you have resolutions, I'd love to hear them. 

Photo credit: Sarunyu_foto

HAPPY 2012!