2016 in Review and other observations of a caffinated introvert

Hello all, it has been much to long since I've last updated this lovely blog but it's the new year and you know what that means. It's time to look back in order to learn and move forward.

2016 was such crap on many levels and utterly wonderful at the same time. It was a year of new experiences and a year of tremendous losses.

Some highlights of 2016 include:

Vacations
A trip to the beach with Handsome Jack's family which involved meeting kangaroos was a blast.

Also, I took a trip to a nearby lake with my family and we had a blast.

Lastly, I spent some lovely days with my girl friends in Memphis which was so fun.

Law School
I've survived a full year of law school!! That's 3 sets of exams I've conquered (and law school exams are just killer.)

I made the Moot Court team for our school and argued like a boss at out competition. We didn't make it to nationals but we did great.

Running
I started 2016 with the goal of running 12 5k's over 12 months....but fell short.

However, the races I attended were fun.

Reading/Writing
I crammed several 'fun reads' into my breaks between semesters including some great books by some of my favorite authors including Kristen Proby, Kate Willoughby, Ashley Poston.

I did not hit any writing goals - I mean, other than the writing projects I needed for school.

There are a lot of things that I missed completely (see my 2016 Happiness Project post or my Q1 update for more details on my lofty goals for 2016). And I experienced crushing loss: the loss of my friend and the loss of my nephew.

In the end, though, it was a great year. I am thankful for all the time I've had with friends and family - every moment is such a precious gift - and look forward to more wonderful moments in the coming year. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow and challenge myself, intellectually and physically, with the rigor of law school. I truly love what I'm learning - even though I hate exams.

I hope your 2016 had more shine than tarnish and I hope you celebrated surviving another year. Never forget to celebrate. **Cheers**

Happiness Project Update - Q1 2016 Status Check

It’s March and that means the end of Q1 2016.

I’m more than halfway through my second semester of #1Lhell. Which means I have another attempt at law school exams lurking in the not-to-distant future.



It also means I’ve learned a ton. I really have. It’s easy to minimalize how much you’re learning in law school because it’s all very details oriented. In the end, though, I’ve learned a lot about Torts, Contracts, Legal Writing (my least favorite class, surprisingly), Legal Research, and Property (one of my favorite classes – except for present estates and future interests because what evil demon thought that crap up!?!).

Anyway, in addition to school work I’ve had nearly three months to work on my happiness project. Here are some of my results so far:

January’s goal – Declutter
· I tackled the kitchen! I decluttered the cabinets and pantry. I even decluttered the fridge. I felt really good about accomplishing this task because I’ve been cooking more and more and needed my kitchen to be orderly. Of course, it’s now March and my kitchen is almost always in a state or clutter: dishes piled in the sink or drying on the counter, fruit bowl on the counter, etc. However, everything does have a place to go – I just fail at putting stuff away. It’s very peaceful when I get around to putting everything away.

· For example, I’ve been meal prepping. This means on Sunday I cook all the food for the entire week, package it up in serving size containers, and store it in the fridge. As you can imagine, I have a literal boat-load of tupperwear. Before the January deculttering I could never find enough lids. Now, however, I have all my meal prep containers in one area, stacked with their lids. All other containers are in another, separate, area and those lids are in a drawer. It’s so much easier to put away the meal prep containers when they are clean and to find clean containers when I need them. It’s fabulous.

· Now if I could just get back on top of keeping the dishes out of the sink and finishing meal prep on Sunday that would be great.

· I also failed at decluttering other spaces – didn’t get to my linen closets, the master bedroom, or the living room. I did declutter my closet but it exploded almost immediately into a huge, unwieldy mess. So I’m not counting that.


February’s goal – Be more present
· I pretty much failed at this goal. At least I failed at it during the month of February.

· I ambitiously sought to create no-phone-zones so I could be more present with my hubby. But every time I wanted to implement a no-phone-zone it seemed impossible. The first no-phone-zone I picked was the car. Seems easy, right? But then I needed directions or I needed to google the hours to some place. And when while I was doing that I would get a text from a friend at school or my sister. Then I would be texting and googling while my hubby drives….so it because pretty clear that the car was not a realistic no-phone-zone.

· Why not make the bedroom a no-phone-zone? My parents do. They charge their phones in the kitchen so they never have their phones in the bedroom. Seems easy enough. But my hubby and I use our phones more than our laptops. We are constantly searching things on our phones or checking the status of our amazon orders or browsing Pinterest (in my case). We do all of these things in bed before we turn off the light so the bedroom didn’t seem like a realistic no-phone-zone either. Moreover, I read my e-reader in bed a lot. And it didn’t seem fair that I should be able to read my books but Handsome Jack not be able to research the latest bike mod he likes one his phone. All things considered, the bedroom was not going to be a no-phone-zone.

· Jump ahead to March. My friends and I start a Fitbit step challenge that requires me to hit 10k steps a day. This led me to take walks with Handsome Jack after work or school. Our walks became the perfect no-phone-zones! We walk, enjoying the weather and each other. We talk and joke and are perfectly present. Sure, it’s a month late (March, not February) but better late than never.

March’s goal – Make time for friends
· Finally, I accomplished the vast majority of a goal on time! I coordinated with my gal pals to have a ‘girls weekend’ later this year. I’m really looking forward to it. We’ve been friends forever but seeing people face to face is always better than merely liking their status updates on Facebook.

· I also coordinated with both sides of my family to have family vacations later this summer!! This is a tradition that started a few years ago and has been one of my all-time favorites. Handsome Jack’s family get together will be at the beach (have I mentioned how much I love the ocean!?) and my family get together will be at the lake (are you sensing a theme here?).

· March hasn’t been all fun and games, however. Earlier this month I learned about the tragic and sudden passing of a dear friend. His death really threw me into a spiral. I started questioning everything. Why him and not me? Why him at all? Did he know how much he was loved? And even though I hadn’t seen him in years I knew he was out in the world, shining his brilliant light into someone else’s life. Now that he has passed the world seems a little less special. But I’m better for having known his kind heart. I’m better for having learned from his determined spirit. The more I focused on all we had together the more I realized the tragedy of his death is overshadowed, at least for me, in the miracle of having known him at all. Of all the people in all the world I was his friend and he was mine. We were close for years and he left an indelible mark on my heart. Isn’t that what this whole happiness project is about? Being present and grateful for all we have while we have it?

· I’ve been helping, in a small way, to plan my friends memorial. As a result I feel connected with friends from my past and I’m looking forward to celebrating my friends life (because he was awesome and loved). If I can help celebrate his awesomeness in any small way I knew I had to contribute. Although it’s sad, this memorial is another way I’m making time for friends.


That’s where I am in my happiness project. Progress, happiness, and some sadness (c’est la vie). I’m not always on schedule with my goals but if you’ve learned anything from my previous posts on goals (here and here) then you know that a little slippage is okay – to be expected even. So far I’m staying the course. I don’t believe I need to make any changes to my goals so far. And I’m really enjoying the 12 smaller goals. It seems more manageable than one or two overarching, yearlong goals. My only yearlong goal is my 5k goal (one race every month). Check out my race recaps for January, February, and March.

How are your goals coming along? How are you working to find your happiness?

2016 Goals and my personal happiness project

If you’ve swung by this blog in the last few years you’ve probably noticed my strange, sometimes creepy obsession with goals. You might even say I’m Gollum-like in my obsession with goals.

That’s because I believe goals are the fuel of progress. It’s cheesy but true. If you want to change, grow, learn, or do (something, ANYTHING) then setting goals will get you there.

Because success doesn’t materialize like magic. You have to work for what you want. But you don’t want to run blindly at a goal. To make the most of your efforts, and to make large goals more attainable, I say break down your goals into smaller parts.

Last year was a wild ride because I started law school. I shortened my goal year to Jan – Aug instead of Jan – Dec. Aside from that change, however, I stuck to my standard SMART goal process (heck, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, amirite?). Check out my overview of SMART goals here.

But this year I wanted to try something a little different. You see, I’ve recently finished reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

The book suggested working on 12 small goals (one each month of the year) instead of a few large resolutions.

I loved the concept. So this year, in an effort to be more flexible (since I’m still in school), I’m doing 12 goals with subparts. Not all of these meet the SMART goal standard. That’s okay. Different is not wrong – it’s just different.

Here’s what I’ll be working on for 2016:

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I. Make Room for Life:

a. De-clutter closets, Kitchen and pantry, living spaces, cars

II. Give more of myself:

a. Be more present with Jeremy (develop limits on social media and create no phone zones)

b. Plan a family vacation

c. Make gifts by hand

III. Make time for friends:

a. Visit

b. Do lunch with someone you haven’t seen

IV. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude:

a. Journal

b. Volunteer pro bono

V. Make time for family:

a. Call more

b. Visit with parents, brothers, sister, sister-in-law, brothers-in-law, and in-laws

VI. Make room for things I enjoy:

a. Write more/ Blog more

b. Sing more

c. Dance more

d. Move more

VII. Learn something new:

a. Make up

b. Hair style

c. Take a painting class

d. Take a riding class

VIII. Develop a healthy habit:

a. Care for your skin

b. Floss more

c. Practice mindfulness

d. Cook more

e. See a nutritionist

IX. Give up a bad habit:

a. Break up with soda

b. Stop overeating

c. Stop negative thoughts

X. Have more fun with fitness:

a. Try a new class (cycle or Zumba)

b. Race more (12 5k’s in 2016)

c. Try Yoga

XI. Make time for sewing:

a. Alter/rescue something vintage and cool

b. Costumes for dragoncon

c. Cosplay at dragoncon

XII. Travel:

a. Go somewhere new

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These are my goals now. I may miss the boat on some of these. That's okay. Not reaching a goal within the desired timeline is not failure. Failure is not trying in the first place.

Also, it is entirely possible that life might get in the way. That's okay. Hell, life is what this whole mess is about anyway (so I say, bring it on). If life gets in the way I'll redefine my timeline or goals life I have in the past.

It's all about balance.

You might have noticed I didn't have a boat load of specific writing related goals on this list. That was intentional. I haven't given up on writing and publishing. I'm still passionate about it. But I want to free myself of arbitrary structure for a while and just write. I can't wait to see what happens.

What are your goals for 2016?

2015 Year in Review - and other observations from a caffeinated introvert

This year marks the beginning of a new normal and adjusting to the newness has been tough. New levels of stress have really thrown me off balance.

December has been slower, at least. And this time of year I always like to pause and reflect on what I’ve accomplished. Mostly because no one is going to do it for you (you gotta toot your own horn). And also because it’s empowering to see what all you’ve done with the minutes, hours, and days you’ve been given.

This year has been remarkable and here’s why:

More than 51 thousand words written. Now, that's a lot less than last year. However, I did stop tracking my words after August (because my writing time was random and fleeting so I didn't count words - I more celebrated the fact that I was writing at all!). That’s good considering my law school work took a boat load of my personal time. *0.0*

76 blogs posted

100 + new Twitter followers

12000 blog views (More than double the views from last year)

32 novels read (11 more than last year)

0 writing class attended (unfortunately)

1 WIP completed *woo hoo* and one outlined

0 contests entered. Ooops. Missed that goal but you know what. Primarily because my story wasn’t contest ready this year and there was a lot of stuff to do with school.

I started law school! I did the work and I took the exams. I survived (*just barely*)! Law school is pretty flipping hard so I'm thrilled with my performance so far.

Running took a backseat as school took most of my time. I didn't even make it to the personal trainer appointments (because they conflicted with my school schedule).

But we did run more than 190 miles this year (including the DOPEY CHALLENGE! Check out my Dopey Challenge posts: 5k, 10k, Half, Full, and my Dopey Recap).

There was travel for vacations and business: St. Louis, MO, various parts of FL (including Disney World), North GA Mountains, a Caribbean Cruise AND an Alaskan Cruise!! These trips included hiking, running, tubing, swimming, and time on the beach. I even attended an awesome bike week in Panama City. I spent a lot of time with family which was my ultimate goal.

Overall, I accomplished a good deal - however, I missed some milestones and goals along the way, but the end result was success and momentum. An (not concurrently, of course)d a kick ass first semester of law school.

It’s time to celebrate our momentum and achievements. It's time to look forward to another great year. I, for one, am going to read a book, sleep, and sleep some more.


How do you plan to celebrate?

The End and other observations of a caffeinated introvert

Wait, what? It's August already *commence panic*

For most of folks August means you are nearly three fourths of the way through the year but for me, (due to my shortened goal year) I am Totally. Completely. Through!! Done. Finished. The End! Omg. Where did the time go?

Today is the first day of class. The first day of my new normal. Before long, I may be pulling an Archer, like this:

But before I get swept up in the newness and energy of my law school life I felt the need to pause, take a breath, and examine my activity thus far. (Because reflection is an awesome tool)

My goals for 2015 were:

Professional: Improving Craft

Take one online writing classes before Aug 2015 – Sorta completed. Okay, so I didn't get to take a legit writing class this summer. The classes I spied on RWA's website started after my goal period ended....so they technically don't count. But you know what did count? My CP and I had an impromptu writer's conference in her home town. So I'm going to count that intense revision activity as my class, because I learned a lot.

Query at least one project before Aug 2015 – Not completed. The idea of querying AND going back to school caused me a lot of heartache. I don't know what this first semester will bring. So, I decided to delay querying. And there is a silver lining to this delay. As a result, I'm going to push forward and write the entire trilogy before I query. This is usually a big no-no but hell, I want the experience and have the time...weeeee!!

Complete 2 revisions before Aug 2015 – Completed - My newer WIP was completed earlier this summer. I also completed a revision on an older WIP and mapped out revisions on a third (still older WIP). I've been up to my eyeballs in revisions.

Professional: Idea Generating

Plot NA sequels before Aug 2015 – Done!!! Yep, I plotted them and I'm in love with the characters. I'm really looking forward to writing them.

Plot YA sequels before Aug 2015 – Done - this book was tough for me. I envisioned it as a stand alone but fell in love with some of the characters at large. I had to map out their stories too...you know, just in case.

Plot UF sequels before Aug 2015 – Done - although this project will likely require major rewriting.

Plot any shiny new ideas before Aug 2015 – Done done done! I'm thrilled to be working on my next project. Plotting has been a huge help for me. I don't know how pantsers do it.


Professional: Efficiency

Define writing time (once law school class schedule is finalized) – Done. But let's be realistic. I'd love to say I can write for thirty or forty minutes every day without interruption...but I simply don't know if that will be true. My goal is to write in the mornings but I may find that time for studying so future revisions to this schedule are entirely possible.

Research alternate platforms before Aug 2015 – Done. I haven’t decided if I’m going to move from Blogger to Tumblr yet but I feel like I’m leaning that way.

Better integrate social media presence before Aug 2015 – Done. I’ve linked my pinterest and goodreads to my blog. So that’s nice.


Personal: Fitness

Run a 10k before Aug 2015 – Done -sorta. The bulk of longer races are offered in the fall and I wanted to run my races prior to starting school. So, instead of running an official, organized race I ran 6.2 miles on the my recent cruise. It was a pretty interesting experience, let me tell you: running while the boat gently pitched and rolled, surrounded by water in all directions. So, although not an official road race I did complete a 10k. I consider this goal completed.

Run 2 or more 5k’s before Aug 2015 – Done. I actually ran three :) Don't get me wrong, I love the half marathon, but nothing beats a fun, fast, 5k.

Define law school fitness time (once class schedule is finalized) – Done. But like my writing time above revisions possible.


Personal: FUN! (Because I’ve heard my 1L year of law school might not be fun)


Go on a Caribbean cruise before Aug 2015 – Done! Check out some pics from my June recap.

Visit Alaska (one of my bucket list items) before Aug 2015 –Done! Check out some of my pics in my July recap post here.

Go camping or backpacking before Aug 2015 (a local fun thing that we sometimes forget to do because we get ‘too’ busy) – Not Completed - but with good reason. Handsome Jack has been the driving force behind camping and hiking. Not that I don't enjoy it but it has really been his baby. However, this year he was more into long rides on his motorcycle. I even went on a long ride with him...otherwise known as the day my butt died. But that's not to say we didn't hike at all. We hiked on a glacier in Alaska (complete with shoe spikes and everything). Handsome Jack even camped, albeit without me. I feel like we completed this task in spirit even though we technically didn't completed it.

Go tubing/float trip before Aug 2015 (another local fun thing that we sometimes forget to do because we get ‘too’ busy) – Done! Went tubing with my brother and his GF.


Personal: Family

Take at least one highway ride on the bike with Handsome Jack – Done! Read about my Biker Con experience here.

Visit STL before Aug 2015 – Done I love my family. We had a blast visiting them in STL and a few brave souls even made the trip down south to visit us.

Visit FL before Aug 2015 – Done. I love my in-laws. I made one weekend trip to visit them and then of course we saw them for the cruise.


So this year I didn't hit all my goals. And I'm okay with that. I'm proud of what I was able to accomplish in 8 months. I'm ready to tackle school and figure out what this 'new normal' will be like.

How are your writing goals coming? Need to make an adjustment? That’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’ve been there. Check out my goal restatement post here.

Three years a-bloggin' *fire the cupcake cannons*

It's time to celebrate three fantastic years on this blog! I can't believe it's been that long.

So, like last year (and the year before that), I’m going to celebrate with a little blog stats (in case you couldn’t tell, I love stats). So here we go:

Number of blog posts this year: 71 (that's 24 fewer posts than last year but that's okay. I'm going for quality not quantity)
Top five most popular posts this year (in order):

*note - there is a fitness theme in this year's most popular posts. After all, this was the year I ran Dopey and who does't love #runDisney?

1. DIY Rapunzel Running Costume #runDisney - 490 hits

2. My Kevin (from Up) Running Costume #runDisney – 277 hits

3. My Thoughts on Nice-guy (and girl) Sexism – 103 hits

4. #runDisney costume ideas for the men in your races – 100 hits

5. 2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Recap – 97 hits

Seeing all these race posts makes me hungry for another run.*opens calendar* *starts planning*

All in all, I’ve really enjoyed this past year on the blog. I think blogging has made me accountable and more committed to my goals. I am confident all of the work and discipline over the last year has made me a better writer.

So happy blogaversary everyone who's enjoyed this blog over the last three years. To celebrate I’ve collected hot boy gifs for your enjoyment.

Olicity, because Olicity:

Thor, because dat wink tho:

Loki, because who doesn't like a badboy:

The cast of Magic Mike XXL, because who doesn’t love a guy who can move:

2015 Quarterly Goal Check

It's April already and for most of you that means you are one quarter deep in 2015. Woo hoo. But for me (due to my shortened goal year) I am Half. Way. Through!! Omg. How did this happen?

Before I spiral into a tornado of doubt and panic (my writing goal time is half over!) I need to pause, take a breath, and examine my activity thus far.

My goals for 2015 were:

Professional: Improving Craft

Take one online writing classes before Aug 2015 – On track but not yet completed. I’ve seen a few that looked interesting but budget restraints kept me from enrolling. Luckily, I’m a member or RWA and the organization offers classes online for members on the cheap. I’ve spied some good ones coming up.

Query at least one project before Aug 2015 – On track but not yet completed. However, the project I’ve targeted for querying is nearly polished. Have not lost hope yet.

Complete 2 revisions before Aug 2015 – On track but not yet completed - 1 project revised. Another one on the schedule.

Professional: Idea Generating

Plot NA sequels before Aug 2015 – Done!!! Yep, I plotted them and I'm in love with the characters. I'm really looking forward to writing them.

Plot YA sequels before Aug 2015 – On track but not yet completed.

Plot UF sequels before Aug 2015 – On track but not yet completed.

Plot any shiny new ideas before Aug 2015 – On track but not yet completed.


Professional: Efficiency

Define writing time (once law school class schedule is finalized) – Schedule still unknown.

Research alternate platforms before Aug 2015 – Done. I haven’t decided if I’m going to move from Blogger to Tumblr yet but I feel like I’m leaning that way.

Better integrate social media presence before Aug 2015 – Done. I’ve linked my pinterest and goodreads to my blog. So that’s nice.


Personal: Fitness

Run a 10k before Aug 2015 – Not yet completed.

Run 2 or more 5k’s before Aug 2015 – On track. One down, one more to go.

Define law school fitness time (once class schedule is finalized) – Schedule still unknown.


Personal: FUN! (Because I’ve heard my 1L year of law school might not be fun)


Go on a Caribbean cruise before Aug 2015 – Booked!!! Can’t wait.

Visit Alaska (one of my bucket list items) before Aug 2015 –Booked. Can’t wait.

Go camping or backpacking before Aug 2015 (a local fun thing that we sometimes forget to do because we get ‘too’ busy) – on track.

Go tubing/float trip before Aug 2015 (another local fun thing that we sometimes forget to do because we get ‘too’ busy) – on track.


Personal: Family

Take at least one highway ride on the bike with Handsome Jack – Planned for May! Going on a full out ride with his RC. Should be fun.

Visit STL before Aug 2015 – On track.

Visit FL before Aug 2015 – Done.


So a lot of my goals are not yet completed. However, I feel like they are reasonable and manageable in the time remaining before I start school. I’m not going to restate any goals at this time.

How are your writing goals coming? Need to make an adjustment? That’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’ve been there. Check out my goal restatement post here.