Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ?
Nah!
Lots to learn and fondly remember about those days gone by.
BUT…
Let’s not dwell on it people. We’ve got a new year full of promise just waiting in the wings. So incredibly exciting. I love bringing new goals into focus.
Here’s some of the things I’m setting my sights on in 2014…
New Year’s Resolutions
*MOVING! I can not wait for this for a multitude of reasons. I’m super excited about our new home!!! I LOVE it and I’ll be sharing more of that with you as it happens. But I’m also stoked for the arrival of the day when I’m NOT MOVING ANYMORE! This process has officially eaten up most of 2013 and I’m ready to be done with it. Settled. Focusing on my other goals.
*Writing goals aplenty this year. I’m planning on selling book two, finishing book three and brainstorming book four. I’ve also got a little project that I’m dabbling with that I’d love to make more headway on. Getting all tingly for this writing year. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) showed me what I’m made of and I can’t wait to broaden my own horizons.
*I want to keep running. Last month I logged 49 miles of running and today I should break that number for the month of Dec. I’m pretty excited to be running more regularly. By doing that, I’m seeing my running improve and if I can run like that after the holiday season of gluttony is over, perhaps there will be a little less of my in 2014 LOL!
*Back to Workshop in 2014. This is my dance class and it’s way more than dancing, although we do plenty of that. My Tuesday nights are the BEST and I can’t wait to get back to our regular routine. I love my Yanni girls. <3 But why this gets a resolution shout-out is that, for the moment, the inflammation in my hamstrings isn’t bothering me as much as it has the last year, so perhaps I can get some of that lost flexibility back. *crosses fingers*
*I talked about the move, but deep within the move, is the opportunity for me to do a wee bit of clutter purging. As every year kicks off, I always clean and organize, but I am REALLY trying my best to straighten up, fly right and take advantage of this opportunity. I’m sure I’ll be writing more about this in the future too. Such a personal struggle. I blame my father for passing down his unorganized genes. *points accusing finger skyward*
*And lastly, I want to continue my journey of doing things that scare and challenge me. I’ve found that I LOVE what’s on the other side of the hard things I’ve faced. I am a happier and better person for tackling my fears. The only regrets I have are for the things I’m still too afraid to do. So, in 2014 I’ll continue to challenge myself to be brave and we shall see how that’s working for me a year from now.
Your turn. Tell me what you’re focusing on in 2014.
If you’re a runner, you’re probably well aware of the debate about running while listening to music. In truth, I think there are good arguments on both sides of the line. Sometimes it’s good to be alone in my head while watching the world around me. If I’m not listening to other things, I can be paying attention to my body as runners and my thoughts. But since I tend to only run without music or an audiobook about 1 out of every 25 runs, I obviously have a preference. I find the pacing of music to be very helpful, it feels like an extension of dance for me. And at the end of the day, I find certain songs to be very motivating. They make me keep running on those occasions where my head gives up long before my body actually does. It’s a tool I use to dig deep.
One of my newer songs on my running playlist is…
And as I was running and listening to HALL OF FAME by The Script, I realized that one of the things I love about the lyrics is that it gives so many options for being a winner. Translation–whatever you’re going to do–be good at it. If it’s worthy of your time, give it ALL your effort.
On the walls of the hall of fame
Be students Be teachers Be politicians Be preachers
Be believers Be leaders Be astronauts Be champions Be truth seekers
Be students Be teachers Be politicians Be preachers
Be believers Be leaders Be astronauts Be champions
Standing in the hall of fame And the world’s gonna know your name Cause you burn with the brightest flame
My favorite “BE” is the one that always makes my feet fly a little faster…BE TRUTH SEEKERS. That’s what speaks to me. But whether your calling or your passion is “on” the Hall of Fame song list, YOU KNOW IT’S THERE. The purpose of this song is to remind you to BE SOMETHING.
Now tell me what Hall of Fame you’re standing in at the end of every day. What makes you burn with the brightest flame?
Yesterday I overheard two women talking in the locker room at the gym. They were chatting about holiday preparations. One would tell the other something they were doing to get ready for the holidays and then the other would reciprocate. The thing I found the most interesting during my sweaty, eaves-dropping was that both women were telling the other how they wish they could do what the other one was doing. (On a side note–I was pretty in awe of both of their ambitious holiday plans.) There were sighs of longing involved–mine and theirs.
But it got me thinking. They both were proficient, talented in completely different areas. And my first thought was that they should both be proud of what they can do. Gosh–both of them were better prepared for the holidays than I am. But the truth is, there are people out there who think I have my holiday preparation shit together. They envy me! (FYI–I love those people) So, still pumped up on my running high I decided I should be proud. We all should be proud. Too often we focus on what we can’t do. We fixate on our weaknesses. We lack appreciation for the things we excel at. Life is hard enough some days. Why do we do that to ourselves?
And because my mind works like snow in the wind–drifting into ever changing patterns–I came to another realization as I watched the ladies chatter.
We are pieces of a whole.
Our strength is that we are the sum of our differences, not the accumulation of our sameness.
We can’t all be good at the same things, but we can all be good at something. And hell, if we work together, we can probably get ALL THE STUFF DONE.
And then, because I left my water bottle in the car (I’m a forgetful creature) and was dying of thirst, I decided further enlightenment would have to wait. But that’s okay, because today I decided I might not be half bad at disseminating random nuggets of wildly caught wisdom. And I make killer chocolate chip cookies for the holiday–when I get around to doing it. Whatever. I rock!
What piece of awesome are you bringing to the whole? Don’t tell me what you can’t do. I want to hear what you’ve got to offer the world today.
I hit a huge milestone yesterday. Since I started running on May 21, 2010…
I’ve run 1,000 miles!!!!!!
I’ve found it eerily appropriate that I was shooting for this goal while I was also writing my #NaNoWriMo words. While both activities are time consuming and challenging, I have a sneaky suspicion that they actually created a momentum that helped me to make both goals. (fingers crossed–I have plans to also cross that NaNoWriMo finish line by 11/30)
In case you’re wondering, there are many runners who’ve hit 1,000 miles a lot quicker than I did, but this in no way affects my enthusiasm for the accomplishment LOL! Prior to that day in May, I HATED running and I only did it when I was in a soccer game or being chased. Or maybe if I’d eaten way too much junk food and needed to sweat it out of my pours. And even then I only ran on the treadmill. But that day in May it was one of the first perfect spring days of the year. I’d decided to go for a walk and as the movement invigorated me, I had the urge to feel physically exhausted the way you do when you’re a kid and you play too hard. So I started to run. I went just over four miles. No lies it was awesome, but it was also freaking hard. I don’t really know what changed for me that day, but since then I’ve stuck with running. I’ve had periods where I’ve wanted to run and couldn’t. I’ve had sick kids at home or I’ve been injured. I’ve also had periods where I haven’t been very motivated to get out–too hot, too cold, too sick, too lazy, too busy making up excuses. But no matter how much I was running, I’d flipped a mental switch and now considered myself A RUNNER. Maybe a lazy runner on some days, but a runner none the less.
Here’s how it all went down as of yesterday…
*I’ve run 1,001 miles. Which means I ran far enough to go from New York City to St. Louis!!! Yes, it was a long way to travel because I’ve been doing it since May 21, 2010. Whatever. Stopped to see the sights. But hey–technically I ran to my niece and nephew’s house. I find that mind blowing since I would normally take a plane there.
*I’ve run those miles across 221 runs.
*This also means I’ve spent almost 164:46:10 hours of the last 3 1/2 years running. Kinda cool.
*I’ve burned 100,060 calories running. Most of those were chocolate–I can not lie.
*My average pace was 9 minutes and 53 seconds for each mile. I’ve had many slower, but I’ve also had some much faster.
*Only 160.91 of those miles were on the stupid treadmill. Hate running indoors, so I only use it when I have to because of the weather.
*75% of my runs took place in the morning.
*My longest run was 12.08 miles.
*I’ve never officially run in a race.
*I may be a feedback junkie, what do you think? *grin*
Can you tell I was excited to smash this run???
And yes, I look like a bank robber because it was 27 degrees LOL!
Thanks for letting me hog the blog for a glory moment.
Any runners in the audience? Any potential runners? Anyone who’s fallen into a passion they hadn’t expected? How did you get there? What keeps you doing it? What’s your biggest milestone been so far? How are all my #NaNoWriMo friends doing? I’m racing towards the finish line and plan to hit the 50,000 word mark no matter what. Keep it up everyone!!!!
Also, I’m doing Turkey Day at my house this year, so I won’t be running on Thursday or blogging. I’ll catch you on the flip side of the tryptophan on December 3rd. WHAT???? DECEMBER??? How did that happen????
Have a fabulous holiday with your friends and family.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been late posting my blog. But here I am, keeping it real. LOL! What is making me late today? In a nutshell, there are a mess of things on my To-Wacko-Do-List.
In not particular order…
*The hubby had a small surgery last Tuesday. He’s recovering nicely, but when he’s home I have the worst time keeping track of time.
*Switching over to fall/winter gear is time consuming. Where did I put the hats? No, you can’t wear shorts to school anymore! And of course anything that no longer fits the 8 year old goes into the “For the Cousins Pile.” STUFF EVERYWHERE!!!!
*And I know I’ve been saying this forever, but we’re still moving. It’s not the house we’d originally planned on, that deal fell through, but we’ve found a wonderful new house and *crosses fingers and toes* we should be moving in some time before I die. I swear. This whole moving thing feels like an Indiana Jones movie. There are hurdles and traps around every corner. (But no snakes please) Moving is not easy, I didn’t expect it to be, but it’s harder than I thought it would be also. I can’t wait to get to the part where I can simply settle in and be excited. In the mean time, I’m in purge mode. It’s like fall clean up on steroids. I’m trying to do a little bit every day to make the process easier. I am FIGHTING my procrastinating nature and like I said, I want to get to the fun part of this adventure asap! Anyway, more to come about the move craziness as it gets closer.
*And running–I want to be running as much as possible in this weather because it’s perfect. No further explanation needed, but I will say one thing. Crunchy leaves. <3
*And dancing–it’s recital time. Extra rehearsals. Costumes. Trying to remember my dances eek! Always so much fun.
*Prepping for NaNoWriMo and my next WIP. This is a funny little book that’s coming together in my mind. *breathes a sigh of relief because it IS finally coming together* It’s just weird because it’s doing everything differently than my other books. It doesn’t give two figs about a playlist. Really? And it clearly has it’s own agenda. I may kick-off NaNo in the middle-ish of the book. Or maybe not. But I could. I still might. THIS BOOK! And this WIP has weird demands about how it should be written stylistically. I don’t even know what it means, but I know I’m excited about it and I can’t wait to get started. In fact, if it wasn’t for NaNoWriMo kicking off, I’d be typing like mad right now. But I need a timeline for this crazy manuscript. *head thunk* Yup, I’ve never done that before either. I guess I’ll plan, the way this book demands I should, until Nov. 1st!!!
*Oh, and Halloween. Because if you have three kids, Halloween takes up a huge chunk of your existence–for weeks. LOL!
*And don’t forget all the time I spent checking out the new SCBWI website!!!!! You must go check it out and while you’re over there, don’t forget to sign up for the NY SCBWI Conference in February. It is so much fun and we can hang out!!!!
*And reading!!!! Oh, I am reading like a fool. I’m reading for information and inspiration for the WIP. I’m reading Veronica Roth’s ALLEGIANT. I’ve followed the series and I’m hearing all kinds of rumblings and unrest about the ending. So curious!!!! I want to find out what the heck is going on. (Before someone hits me with a spoiler) I’m also reading WONDERBOOK an illustrated guide on creating imaginative fiction. I’m fascinated by this book and it’s speaking directly to me about what I’m about to attempt to write. I love perfect timing. I love it so much I’m carrying it everywhere with me. Plus I’m reading a bunch of other great books in addition to having a heavy line-up of books in the wings begging for my attention. I love books. <3
Alright, you get the point, I’ve been busy and it’s with mostly good stuff so I’m not complaining, just explaining. But now it’s time to hear what you’ve been doing. What’s on your To-Wacko-Do-List? What are you reading? What are you cleaning? Are you prepping for NaNoWriMo? Fill me in…
Yesterday (5/21/13) was my 3rd Runniversary!!! Every year, whether you want to hear it or not, you’re subjected to my annual running stats. And if you’re really a glutton for punishment, the other posts are here…Runniversary and 2nd Runniversary.
But here are the stats:
In the last three years I have gone on 181 runs with and average of 4.5 miles.
I’ve covered 832.27 miles and I’ve spent 137.31 hours of the last three years running.
I’ve burnt 83,171 calories, which doesn’t even put a dent in my chocolate consumption LOL!
My average pace was 9.55 minutes a mile.
And this year (May 21st to May 21st) I ran 261.07 miles.
And this is my favorite place to run. It makes me feel like a bird.
Do you have any anniversaries coming up? I also have another one. A really big one. Check it out on a special post on Thursday.
This week, my agent Michelle Wolfson, accidentally went for a jog. LOL! Her littlest decided to scoot to school and Michelle had to run to keep up with her. This tweet followed…
I can’t believe people jog because they *enjoy* it.
— Michelle Wolfson (@WolfsonLiterary) May 13, 2013
I had to smile because I’m one of those nuts that *enjoys it* (Most of the time.) Like anything else, it can have it’s moments. *pant, gasp, fall over* But yeah, I do it voluntarily and usually with a smile on my face.
I’ve been running a lot since the weather’s gotten nice, but that’s not the only thing I’ve been doing. This week in particular, I’ve wanted to do nothing more than write. I’ve been hit by a tsunami of writingness. I love/hate when this happens. It’s great because I’m doing something I’m so into. Even if I’m not super productive by a word count standard (I am ME after all) I’m still making all kinds of break throughs and I AM getting new words, better words, on the page. And I don’t want to mess with the flow of the universe, because it’s smiling on me and raining creativity. But it’s bad because I don’t want to do any of the other important things in my life and honestly I’ve got tons, heaping tons on my to-do list. So how have I been handling it? Of course I’ve been writing–riding the wave. LOL!
You know my motto–BUY MORE CLEAN UNDERWEAR!!!!
But, being “in the zone” with my writing has gotten me thinking about Michelle’s examination about running. There are certain things in are lives that can be very challenging, but when we are riding their wave, they’re amazing. We are drawn to them like a thirsty desert dweller to an oasis. But the things that fulfill us are different for everyone. There are people out there that would rather do anything else than run and/or write. There are folks who would run a marathon before writing a sentence, of a tome before heading out around the block. There are also people who like to do crafts and cook for fun. Now those people are like a foreign species to me! You made cupcakes for fun? Hello! I EAT cupcakes for fun. And that helps explain why I run. Full circle. ROTFL!
So, tell me. Do you get hit with writing tsunamis? What activity do you love that other people might like to poke their eyes out before doing? Does it pay to ride the wave when it come your way? Or is it really just avoidance of less fun things?
Lots of running going on in the Sabatini house. The boys woke up to giant allergy flair-ups–noses running and stuffed–an always unpleasant combination. Also headaches, puffy eyes and a general sense of bleh. I spent the morning playing with a combination of allergy medicine, alternative treatments and TLC. They are all off to school, so we shall see if they make it through the day ok.
On Friday I took my 12yo running with me for the first time. He’d recently run his first 5k at school and did very well and expressed and interest in hitting the road with me on a day off from school. I mentally prepared myself to run at a slower, more even pace to get him through the four miles and he proceeded to kick my ass. LOL! I was irrationally proud. I did cross the finish line first, think the tortoise and the hare, but he dominated. Now he needs to learn how to pace himself a little better. But that is almost always a skill that comes with experience.
Additionally, spring cleaning has me running up and down the stairs and all over the place trying to clean up my crap. The annual switching of the clothes and cleaning of the winter mess. Soon I’ll be running around with bags of mulch. I’ve also noticed quite a few runs in my dance tights, but with all this dashing around, who has time to buy new ones LOL!
And finally, now that the nice weather is finally here, but before the baking heat arrives, I am running more. In fact, I’m on my way out the door right now…
While I’m gone–tell me if you’ve got any running going on?
I’m off and running–literally. I’m taking my 12yo for his first run. SQUEE! He came in 2nd place at a 5k at his school the other day and now he wants to run with me. So much fun!!!!! But I thought I’d pop in and let you know that I was invited to join the Bookanistas. I’m so excited…
Who are the Bookanistas?
Who We Are
We are a group of writers in various stages of the publishing process who have banded together to recommend/review the special books of our peers.
Combined, we reach over 10,000 followers
We recommend and review all kinds of children’s books, but focus mainly on YA, middle grade and now, picture books. (yes picture books too! Shocker!). As fellow writers, we have decided to only recommend books we absolutely LOVE, therefore, we do not post anything negative!
Yes, that’s right! We give nothing but love! There’s enough negativity in the world.
We post every Thursday covering a variety various book topics– upcoming ARCs, books we love, diamonds in the rough, classics, and even dish out some cover love from time to time.
Come join us on Thursdays and you can be be fashionable, too.
Because The Bookanistas think books are the new black!
You can check out my warm welcome to the Bookanistas and our prayers going out to Boston HERE. And I’ll be posting my first Bookanistas Review on 4/25. Okey dokey…NOW I’m off and running LOL! Have a great weekend.
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