New Year's...Somethings.

It's that time of year when I start thinking I ought to formulate some New Year's Resolutions. The problem is, I have trouble wording them just right. I don't want them to be so prosaic that they're merely goals rather than resolutions--e.g., it would be sort of a letdown to say that I resolve to finish revising my novel manuscript for The Latte Rebellion, since I plan to do that anyway and have for months. It's really not even a goal anymore, just an item on the to-do list.

Likewise, I don't want to make any unrealistic, pie-in-the-sky resolutions, like resolving that 2009 is the year that I'm going to land a literary agent and/or a book contract. It's a recipe for disappointment, since that's not something I really have full control over. I guess the aim is to land somewhere in between, with something that I can see as more than simply a goal but something to reach for, to strive for, that IS achievable.

I also tend to feel like a New Year's Resolution should have something to do with self-improvement, in a broad sense. Now, I'm looking at my post from last year about the subject and evidently I was all about the "sensible" goals. My main focus was on the laundry, and not letting baskets of clean laundry languish unfolded until the following weekend, when I needed the baskets for the new loads of dirty laundry. I was relatively successful in this, with only a few lapses--I've generally managed to get the clean laundry folded within a few days of having done it. Not too bad. However, my semi-secret ongoing resolution to lose five pounds (believe me, these are unimportant pounds, but still) remains unattained despite a few years of attempting it. I would still like to lose the five pounds, but there is a caveat--if I do not lose the pounds but convert them straight to solid muscle, that is also acceptable.

Clearly, I still need to think about this resolution thing, but I do already have one entry on the list: I resolve to make another valiant attempt at semi-regular meditation. I need all the non-pharmaceutical anxiety/depression reduction methods I can possibly incorporate into my life. So that's a big one. I'd also like to get back to drawing more regularly, which I evidently need to do judging by the quality of my work at the figure drawing session we attended last night. The writing resolutions I'll save for the other blog, maybe tomorrow.

Ow. Yum. Argh. Sigh.

The above title is the approximate sound of the inside of my head today. My back hurts from cleaning the house, but we ate some awesome food; also, my mom and stepdad are staying with us for a visit and the house is therefore a bit more action-packed than usual. I did manage to kick back a little over the past few days and play a video game--something completely and entirely and wonderfully unproductive. Sometimes it's difficult to begrudge myself the down time, but I really do need it, as proven by past episodes of hives that won't go away and other such fun stuff.

Anyway, speaking of begrudging, I haven't seemed to be able to justify the blogging time lately (except for the writing blog). It's been a very busy month, and I've been mentally and physically exhausted. A New Year's resolution for me is to do more quality blogging. If quality blogging means that I have to set a regular day and time and stick to it, then so be it. One part of that resolution is to ponder the desired purpose of this blog, and how best to achieve that. Right now, I just post whatever whenever, without much regard for structure/subject matter or potential interest level. And I suspect that the latter could be improved by addressing the former. So, we'll see.