The first day of a brand new year

I love beginnings. It appeals to the obsessive in me. Having a firm starting point makes it much easier to embark on a journey, whether that's literal or metaphorical.

But hand in hand with beginnings are ends. Everything leads to something else, whether it's a destination you expect or not. I often refuse to have regrets, because sometimes those poor choices we made in our past have led to something completely glorious. Taking those away would strip us of our greatest achievements and gifts. For instance, I wouldn't have the most important person in my life - my husband - if I hadn't been a complete idiot about a previous relationship. That ex goes down in the record books as truly horrific, but because of where it put me in life, I was in a place where I could meet the man I'm married to now. That wouldn't have happened otherwise.

I don't do resolutions, but instead choose goals to try and meet. The difference is, I have permission to alter the goals based on real life unpredictability. Things happen we can't control. Modifying our goals is the best way to accommodate them without abandoning progress entirely.

So my top 5 goals for 2013, in no particular order:

1. Have 7 new published titles. Three of those are already done and ready to come out in January and February, while two more are scheduled later in the year with Amber Allure. That leaves me two others to get in there somewhere. I don't know what they'll be yet, but I prefer aiming for published titles rather than word counts since a) stories are often so fickle about length, and b) it's a more definitive result.

2. Blog at least 4 times a week. I'm not good at it. I often forget. But it keeps me involved rather than stuck in my stories, which is always good.

3. Make 1 new jewelry piece a week. I love to bead, but it's something that's really fallen by the wayside this past year with everything. I'm getting back to it.

4. Lose 40 pounds. I have surgery on my foot in less than two weeks, which is really going to lay me up for a couple months. But that makes it all that more important for me to eat smarter and get the weight off to help recovery.

5. Learn 5 songs out of my daughter's favorite piano playbook on my guitar so we can play together. I have no idea what those songs will be. I just know I haven't pulled my guitar out in too long and she wants me to do it with her. It'll be especially fun because she's so good on the piano now that we can pick interesting songs rather than simplistic ones.

I'll add more goals as the year progresses and modify these if necessary. But the important thing is, I'm starting from somewhere. Right here. Right now.

A brand new year. :)