I really enjoyed the comments I got yesterday, thank you! I especially liked the one from Jenny Beattie who said she wants to be a better Crusader. I'm with her. I'm terrible. There are so many of us and so little time to read each and everyone's. That's why I wish you all had an Email Subscription box. I know most of you put an RSS Feed but that goes to an area that I don't check often and doesn't appear on my phone. The Email Subscription goes right into my inbox and onto my phone, so I can read your posts anywhere.
However, I too, will try to be a better crusader.
I was seriously stumped. I didn't know exactly what to choose for myself this year. Mainly because I know what my goals are regarding writing, and I understand my commitment to my family's needs and couldn't find a way out of my tight schedule for at least another year and a half.
I would have loved to choose working on bringing the NaNo Youth Program to my kids' elementary, but I don't have the time because I have my youngest child in preschool through this year and next year. Our preschool is 20 miles away so it eats up a lot of my time.
I thought about making it about my writing group, Write-A-Tat-Tat, and helping them polish their NaNo books, but I can't force them. A resolution is really about what I'm capable of doing. Sure, it can be about helping others. I could have made it about helping my writing group, but I already do that, we work as a team. I needed a resolution that I could focus on in my spare time--a fail-safe.
Now why a fail-safe? Because the far-fetched resolution relies on things outside of my control. Which takes more time and patience. I may never achieve my far-fetched resolution of landing an agent this year. I'll consider it a successful resolution if I give it my all in the query process, but I still want the agent. The fail-safe resolution keeps me challenged in a way that I can do it by myself.
A fail-safe resolution can be as easy or as challenging as I want it to be. I can set a limit on a fail-safe resolution. For example: When I set my fail-safe for 2010 it was to cook a new meal from a recipe book at least once per month. I failed this one. But I was okay with it. If I wasn't absorbed in my far-fetched resolution then I would have easily completed the recipe task. If it wasn't challenging enough I could have up the ante to 2 new recipes per month. See what I mean?
At 10:00pm last night I was over at my sister's house playing Trivial Pursuit the Bet You Know It edition, when I realized I was going to need some help choosing the fail-safe resolution.
I decided the resolution should involve learning a new skill and practicing it. Then I asked my husband, my brother-in-law, and my sister to each come up with a new skill for me to learn. I added one to the list as well.
Here's what we came up with for me:
- LEARN TO SEW (This one came from my sister. Yep, I know a little bit about sewing. I could probably stitch something together but I hate the sewing machine. I have never been able to get that thing to work for me the right way.)
- LEARN TO PLAY GUITAR (This one is from my husband. Okay, back when I was in college I got a guitar for Xmas because I wanted to learn how to play Mazzie Star songs. I quickly found I needed help with the chords and dropped the hobby altogether.)
- LEARN TO PAINT FROM BOB ROSS, THE HAPPY PAINTER FROM THE JOY OF PAINTING (This comes from my brother-in-law. Love this guy, Bob Ross. He paints, "Happy little trees." I could learn from buying his kit HERE or from watching his YouTube videos like the one HERE.)
- LEARN TO CAN 6 FOODS IN 12 MONTHS: JAM, JELLY, PICKLES, KIM CHEE, CARROTS & JALAPENOS (I threw this one into the mix. I want to make orange marmalade.)
DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!!!!
DUH-DUH-DA-DUH!
I WILL BE LEARNING TO PLAY THE GUITAR WHILE I QUERY LIKE A MAD WOMAN FOR ALL OF 2011 and try to be a better Crusader.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
A WISH OF HAPPY, HEALTHY, WEALTHY ALL THROUGHOUT 2011 FOR ALL OF YOU.
Tell me what you have planned for the year, especially if it involves adding an Email Subscription to your sidebar so I can get over there and sign up for it.
Your post is quite an inspiration. I really like the idea of asking family & freinds to throw an idea or skill into the hat (the mix). I would love to learn to sing, but nature just won't permit it my husband just informed me. I will not let him deter me. I will learn some new skills this year and I will do so in addition to my writing goals. I will start with painting (my husband did not have a crude comment about that one-but my 13 year old told me i might be able to help her with art class projects. ha! Thanks for the link to the painting kit and video. And of course I will work hard to be a crusader and to add email subscription to my blog sidebar. Thanks for the advice and inspiration. Happy 2011.
ReplyDeleteMelissa
Sounds brilliant :) Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThat's a freaking great idea! I know better than to resolve to do anything except let 2011 guide me each day. One thing I know as a psychic and a human being, no matter how you plan it, it will get derailed by life getting in the way. So, each day is a new resolution for that day. I can't disappoint myself with that choice. But, hey, at the end of the year, you'll be playing guitar and I'll be the same as I was today. Hmm... Maybe I should rethink that resolution thing. Okay, okay. I resolve to get published this year. That's enough of a task. You have a great one! I loved your list of resolutions, though. All worthy things to master.
ReplyDeleteCool. :D
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a Happy New Year!
Awesome!! It takes patience, but playing the guitar is just too damn cool. Next thing you know, you'll have several guitars and books and amps... like me!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year.
Guitar.... are you musically inclined? I hope so. Reading music isn't that easy, but it's you we are talking about and you can do anything you put into your mind.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, sweetie.... you are the best...... Happy New Year to you, James, Madeleine, Nolan, and Fischer.
Michael
Oh, good. That was my pick for you! Hope you can upload sound on this thing, I'd love to hear you play! :0) christy
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the guitar, and good choice. Like Alex said, playing the guitar is just too cool not to at least try. I bought a guitar in my early twenties and would sit on the roof outside my crappy apartment a play. I looked really cool - unfortunately I could barely play three chords. I'm sure the neighbors loved it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your support everyone.
ReplyDeleteMichael had a good question. Am I musically inclined? It's hard to say for sure. I believe I am. I played the violin for 4 years and can still read the notes. I've helped my daughter a bit with her piano but haven't focused on it enough to know if I would be any good at piano.
However, I've tried guitar before using tabs and didn't quite get it all down. New year though, I think I can do it. I'll keep you all posted.
Cheers!
I've always wanted to learn! You should make vlogs while you practice :) Then I can feel like I'm right there with you!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Ooh, good luck learning the guitar, and can't wait to hear how your querying goes. I have a feeling 2011 will be the year!!!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Rach
I tried guitar. I decided I enjoyed writing more... easier on my fingertips! Let us know how it goes! :)
ReplyDeleteI know how to make kimchi. You should have picked that one and we could have swapped recipes. Haha. I really wanna learn how to make my own pickles though. I always hated them as a kid, but for some reason love them now. You know, it's weird. Your parents always tell you that your tastes will change as an adult and you never believe them. But I like all kinds of things (mostly vegetables) that I never would have touched as a kid or teen or young adult (I'm still young, but early twenties young I mean).
ReplyDeletePainting would have been cool. That's the only artisitic skill that I completely and utterly suck at.
But Guitar is cool too. I wish I had any musical talent at all. Good luck!
Oh, I gave you an award :)
ReplyDelete