Good-bye to 2008

Can you believe it’s the last day of 2008? I remember at this time in 2006, after I had signed my very first book contract earlier in December, I kept thinking that 2008 (i.e., the year my book would be published) would take FOREVER to arrive. And now it’s over.

It’s been a mostly good year and I still can’t believe that this year I became a REAL published author! Thanks so much to all of you who have sent emails and comments, and to all of you who enjoyed reading about Libby and her friends. I’m looking forward to 2009!

So, resolutions? I don’t really make them. I mean, not like, “I’m going to lose weight! And save money! Pay off my debts! Stop eating chocolate!” Because really, why would I ever want to stop eating chocolate??? But I do have a few things in mind that I’d like to do in 2009:

• Remember to have fun. I first made this resolution in 2005. It was what made me decide to stop obsessing over rejections for the literary and fantasy stories I had been writing and instead write something just because it was fun and I really enjoyed it. So I wrote the first draft of what would become Something to Blog About. This resolution changed everything for me and I try to keep it in mind whenever I’m stressing over deadlines or events.
• Keep up my exercise routine, but don’t beat myself up on days I don’t work out. I started working out in October 2007 and I’ve now kept up a regular routine since then. Treadmill during the week, Wii Fit on weekends (because all of those screens you have to click through on the Wii Fit take up WAY TOO MUCH TIME and so I don’t have time to use it before work. I hope the next release of Wii Fit has an option to skip over all those screens and just go from one exercise to the other). I like that I’m stronger and have more energy.
• Take more pictures. I scrapbook, but I’ve noticed that I don’t take as many pictures lately as I used to. I need to remember my camera more often.

So what do you want to do in 2009? I hope you all have a Happy New Year and have fun with whatever you’re doing tonight. I’ll be at home, probably watching my Road to Avonlea DVDs that I got for Christmas.

And just because I think we all need to end the year with a smile, here’s a cute kitty picture that has made me giggle ever since I first saw it yesterday morning:

more animals