I’ve never put much stock in New Years’ Resolutions. I know lots of people do, but for me it was never anything serious. I would make a list at the beginning of the year, probably 1 Jan, and then never look at it again or even remember what I’d written down.

However, God seems to have his 2×4 handy and He’s making sure I hear Him talking.

This week the topic at Weight Watchers was resolutions – but because of my ambivalence to those, I’m going to call them goals – and setting them.

Well, this was certainly a timely topic for me as Beloved and I had just been discussing the problem I have with achieving my goals. Basically, I set a goal but then I don’t seem to find the motivation to work toward it.

Now, I was going to say there that I CAN’T find the motivation, but I’m trying to change the way I think about these things and the word “can’t” takes the blame off me and makes me a victim of some quirk of the universe or my own biology.

“Don’t” is more to the point. It means that I make the choices that either lead to success or to that other word I want to excise from my vocabulary (begins with an F and ends with “ailure.”)

So, for whatever reason, I don’t find the motivation to work toward my goals.

Yesterday Beloved, the Girl and I went to the Hip Hop Abs exercise class at our local YMCA. I love this class as it’s a good workout but it’s not the kind the kills me, like the Kickboxing class that same trainer does. When the class was over, out of the blue the trainer started talking about the new year and setting our resolutions and goals. He said the same things they talked about at WW.

The ways to help achieve your goals:

1. Write it down
2. Keep it simple
3. Celebrate every achievement along the way
4. Make small changes

I had some trouble sleeping again last night and my mind was racing and I thought about my goals for next year. I’m going to post them here, but also write them down and post them somewhere (maybe several somewheres around the house) near the computer to keep them firmly in my mind. That’s one thing the trainer said that clicked with me.

I’d always heard that you should write down your goals, and I would, but then I would promptly shove that paper in my calender/planner or use it as a bookmark or just plain lose it. I never figured out how writing it down did anything because I’d write it down and it still wouldn’t work out.

Maybe I’m slow, but I didn’t connect that you need to see your goals ahead of you, which is weird because I made a pretend cover for one of my WIPs (The Fairy Godmother’s Bridesmaid Dress) and it’s on the wall above my computer. Somehow, seeing that every day doesn’t make me fight to get that book done.

However, I have decided to make this next year better than the last and I’m going to work toward my goals. I hope you’ll help keep me accountable.

NANCY’S GOALS FOR 2010:

1, Get Sword & Illusion (or whatever the title will be given that I’m cutting this massive thing in half) finished and sent out to either an agent or editor. I’d like to have this done by Feb.
2. Finally get down to my goal weight of 155 (and keep working toward 143) by Mar 31.
3. Finish the Boy’s Christmas stocking by, well, Christmas.

Those are the big three, but I could list so many other things I want to happen this year, but I’m going to just stick to those and as I accomplish them, I’ll move on to the next goal.

Thanks so much for being out there and supporting me! Have a great New Years!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. We did.

The Boy is seven and he “gloms” onto certain words and has his own cute kind of sentence structure. When asked, for example, if he is tired, he’ll reply with something like:

“Not really, but I am.”

or

“I’m kind of sleepy but I’m not.”

When he was in language therapy, he and his therapist would work through small stories. She’d read them to him (or he would read it) one sentence at a time and work at helping him put a picture of that sentence in his head. Then they’d move on to the next sentence and so on. Later, she’d have pictures of a story and he’d have to put them in sequence and then tell the story. When it was all done, she’d have him tell it to her again and she’d write it down. She told me that she’d often write down exactly what he said because he has his own special way of expressing himself.

My favorite was a story about firemen coming to an apartment building to put out a fire. He knew all about the Cullen family (yes, the girl was totally into Twilight at the time and talked about Edward Cullen all the time) who were making dinner and the pan caught fire before the firemen got there. The story started like this:

“Once upon a time last Friday…”

I so want to start a book that way!

Anyway, a few days before Christmas, while we were doing our normal nighttime prayers, he said, “Dear God, please let me have infinity presents under the tree.”

Okay, so there weren’t infinity presents, but there were so many for him that we were all finished opening and I was cleaning up the wrapping paper and boxes (we were at my in-laws’) and I realized at least one thing I bought for him wasn’t there. Beloved and I went home (1.5 miles away) to look for it and so Beloved could change out of his pajamas. Yes, we’d driven over to the grandparents’ house while he was in his pajamas.

We couldn’t find it but figured the Boy had enough that he wouldn’t miss it. Then later, I found two presents for him, still wrapped, under his pile of gifts! We also found a resent of Beloved that he hadn’t opened either.

My brother and sister-in-law had mailed us gifts from Ohio or ordered gifts and had them mailed to us. I had done the same thing for them, but we had a bit of a mix-up.

I told my brother that if the gift was addressed to him, his wife should open it because it was his gift and visa versa. This failed, as she opened boxes addressed to her and he did his. Sigh. He told me later that, yes, I had explained my “code” to him, but he forgot.

My husband and father-in-law said what I’d done had been too complicated. What I need to do next year is address things to myself at his house. If it’s for my brother, use my husband’s name and if it’s for his wife, use mine. Okay, like that’s less complicated.

The upshot is that there was a gift sent here from Sephora – the amazing make-up store that the Girl considers her Mothership and that I am enamored of, as well. It was addressed to me, so given my code, I figured it was my gift and told the Girl to open it and wrap it for me.

Christmas morning, she got a Sephora gift card from her uncle and aunt and I got a box of Sephora make-up – a variety palette of eyeshadows and lipcolors, three Sephora Opi nail polishes (which I LOVE) and a set of lip glosses. They also sent me five chick flick DVDs.

The Girl, when all was said and done, said, “Mom, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or selfish or anything, but I think Uncle and Aunt might have sent me a gift that didn’t come.” All she’d gotten other than the gift card (we all got gift cards) was a t-shirt, and I’d gotten the make-up and all the movies.

I called my brother to find out if possibly a gift didn’t arrive. (We still haven’t gotten the gift we ordered for my father-in-law.)

That’s when we found out that they hadn’t sent ME anything from Sephora! It was for the Girl.

Sigh, again. FAIL.

Anyway, since I got a Barnes & Noble gift card from them, the Girl suggested that we switch cards. I have too many books in my to be read pile that I don’t need that card. She has fewer books and since she got the Sephora gift, she is giving me her Sephora card. It all works.

Plus, she gave me a huge set of make-up brushes and we’re going to share them and the stuff she got!

What did you get and how was your holiday?

I’ve decided to start a blog to post pictures and updates on my craft projects. Check out Needles and Notes..

Today I am wearing a Java one baseball shirt my husband picked up at a conference. I have no make-up on, but at least my hair is clean and combed.

Nothing to outstanding to my way of thinking.

So why was I flirted with twice today?

The Girl and I went to Quizno’s to pick up some lunch. We’d been out to the post office to mail a package but the line was too long and I had to get to my MRI, so we left there and went to the restaurant. We ordered our food to go, and as we were waiting, something weird happened.

First, understand, the Girl is 20 and she is beautiful, even without makeup. I was standing next to her, dressed as described above.

The guy behind the cash register started talking to me about the pins I had on my coat. They were buttons I’d gotten from Etsy.com and they are geeky and all refer to Dr. Horrible. I told him what they were and asked if he’d ever heard of Dr. Horrible. He said no (of course – turkey), and then I asked if he knew Josh Whedon. You know, Firefly? Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

He said he’d heard of Buffy but wasn’t really into the vampire thing. I told him about Firefly (cowboys in space) and said it was the greatest TV show ever.

He laughed at that and said that Punky Brewster was the greatest show ever. (I do hope he was kidding.)

Okay, so on the way out, my daughter expressed her amazement and bemusement that I, her “old” mother, was actually flirted with. And before you suspect, as my loving husband did, that the guy was like in his 70s, he was probably in his late 20s/early 30s, so why he went for me and not the Girl is anyone’s guess.

Then later this evening, I was at the grocery store, alone, and headed down the frozen food aisle to get fries for dinner. This guy who was stocking the freezers was watching me and I thought, oh, don’t ask if I need help or anything. I just want my fries and go home.

As I reached for the bag, he said, “Is it still raining out there?”

I replied that it was pouring and a conversation ensued about how rainy days make you sleepy and how it’s good to nap on these days but that we were both tired of the rain and it was too bad he had to come in to work.

That one could just be some 20-something guy just bored and possibly he wasn’t watching me but trying to see out the front window of the store to ascertain the rain situation.

Still though, there was that old former Marine at the party on Monday who ran his hand up my shin…

How is everyone doing? Are you all ready for the holiday?

We finally finished the last of our shopping and now I need to wrap gifts.

If you’re a friend on facebook (and if you’re not, why not?) you might remember that I said I was going to get organized again.

Actually, I’m going to try. I used to use the Sidetracked Home Executives system, years ago, and it worked pretty well for me. Flylady, which I love, uses a modification of that system, but I prefer the card box to the Control Journal.

I’m attempting to get “back in the box” but it isn’t working quite as well as I’d hoped.

First, it takes awhile to get the “box” set up and I kinda feel a little guilty taking that time when I could be actually cleaning something. Plus, I set up my weekly schedule and almost immediately it got “sidetracked” by an emergency. In this case, Monday is supposed to be my errand day but my husband arranged for the roofers to come on Monday. Since it’s been pouring here in Baton Rouge for over a week, and we had a leak in our bedroom ceiling, that was pretty much of a necessity. But it did mean that I couldn’t spend the day running errands.

On further reflection, possibly using Monday as Errand Day might not be the best idea. I though since it’s Weight Watchers Weigh-in Day, I’d be out already but I’ve been having a lot of sciatica pain so I’m also at the chiropractor 3 times a week and thus my errands have to fit in between those two things.

Then, the holiday stuff is take priority over other things I want to do. My poor son doesn’t have a Christmas stocking that matches the rest of the family’s so I need to finish that – only got backstitching and some little embellishment-y stitches. Still, though, I have to do that. I’ll chronicle that more in my new blog, Needles and Notes. I’m also getting a renewed interest in knitting socks, but again, that’s a tale for another blog.

So, today, I was all set to do my morning routine and get started again and the dentist office called. I need to have deep scaling cleaning done and that takes two appointments. I had one scheduled for tomorrow and one for next Wednesday, but they had an opening today so that means I wouldn’t have to go next week.

So I got dressed quickly and hurried over there. Now I sit here, with half my face numb, and my work not done. My daughter wants to run to the mall before Weight Watchers so…sigh.

It’s the holiday season so maybe I’m expecting too much of myself to try to be on a normal schedule.

What do you think?