The world is rolling right on, and my sources say it’s already 2013 on the other side of the earth, so I guess it’s time to look back at how I did on my goals for 2012 and start thinking about goals for next year. I’ve kind of procrastinated writing this post (and every other post, to be honest), so I’m just going to jump straight in.

First, the goal I set two years ago and decided it should be a permanent goal:

I’d like to remain thoughtful, objective, gracious, and rational about anything that happens with this book.

This…has been very difficult this year, to say the least. THIS BOOK…came out into the world this year and ceased to be MY BOOK — which came along with so many joys and challenges. I had a launch party and was completely overwhelmed by the support of my friends and family. I traveled to Chicago and Madison to meet up with a bunch of Apocalypsies and had a blast signing books and connecting with other authors. I got to see my first glimpse of a royalty statement and exciting professional reviews. I’ve dragged myself through the period where I couldn’t live without reading every word that was written about my book, and also the period where those words could sting like nothing else (okay, still slogging through that period, let’s be honest…but I’m much better at ignoring the words in the first place, now!)

Kiss the Morning Star has been released into the world, but there will be more books, so I’m going to hold onto this goal.

The rest of my goals for 2012 were in this post, and I did okay on them, overall. First, my writing goals:

–Survive the launch of Kiss the Morning Star, and manage to do a few things right, including having some kind of fundraiser book signing party thingy. (I’m thinking of looking into a way to benefit literacy and LGBT youth in my area, maybe raising money for the YA section of the library?)

Did that! Loved it! It was probably the most amazing thing ever!

–Finish my revision of The Truth About Never and Always

Did this and sold it to flux, got a new title (Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always), worked on edits with my editor Brian Farrey-Latz, and I hope to have more cool stuff about this book to share soon!

–Finish outlining and first drafting Six Impossible Things

Done! I love this book so much.

–Go to NYC for the first time, attend the SCBWI Winter Conference, and have a blast! (eeee!)

This was basically the coolest thing ever, and I got to meet so many awesome people, I can’t even express how amazing it was.

So…I rocked the writing goals, but that’s easy. (haha) I mean, here’s the hard part. LIFE and HAPPINESS goals. These were a little more difficult, but also rewarding!

–find, join, or start a real life writing group, even if its main value to me is social (i.e. leave the house, form complete sentences, make eye contact, you know.)

Nope. Didn’t do this at all — didn’t even try, actually. But I did leave the house a little more often for social activity with some of my co-workers, even if it wasn’t that often. I’m still pretty unreliable when it comes to leaving the house and doing something fun…and this bothers me. It’s been difficult for me all my life, and the thing that worries me most is that it will hurt my kids, that they’re basically learning how to be a hermit, whether it suits their personalities or not. Bleh.

Moving on…

–exercise regularly (shooting for 3 times per week, but I’m not going to stress about it. I just want to do my best.)

I did really well on this one…all the way up until school started, and then the twelve hour days pretty much exhausted me to the point of not caring anymore, so…that’s got to change, obviously. BUT! I did the couch to 5k program during the summer months, and it was the first time in my entire life I’ve ever voluntarily moved my body in a way that slightly resembles running, and I have to admit that it was a pretty huge accomplishment when I realized that I went from getting winded running for 45 seconds (really…I don’t think I had ever run for 45 seconds at one time in my whole life, I don’t know why…I just decided at some point that I wasn’t a runner, and that was that) to being able to plod along for 25 minutes, as long as nobody was watching.

–take another road trip or two with the family, try to make it back out to Oregon.

Didn’t make it to Oregon, but we did go to Mackinac Island, and it was terrific!

–work to get outside in the woods more often, even for short jaunts. I’d love to be at the point by next summer where we could go backpacking again, but I’ll settle for some car camping and a canoe ride or two!

I could do better, but we did really well in the summer months. Winter is so long and so dark…it’s hard to find the time. I’ve been wishing for x-c skis for the whole family for a few years now, but it’s never worked out.

–learn to cook at least 4-5 recipes and cook them ahead of time. Work on filling our new freezer with foods that we can prepare quickly to make dinner time healthier and less stressful.  Stock up on cereal for the picky kids and just enjoy the meal despite their gagging noises.

Again, I did this, but it all fell apart in the school year. Like…I don’t know when this is going to happen, honestly, but it’s disappointing. I did a nice job, though, up until November when the world got so crazy, with at least eating a nice salad for lunch every day.

–do a jigsaw puzzle, sew something, play cards and games, draw, and other fun things with the family.

Yeah, I’m calling this a good try, another thing to keep in mind for the future. (Except the jigsaw puzzles…I have a slight obsession with them that didn’t allow me to get anything else done in the house until  I finished them!)

–drink more water.

I got this! And I even took my vitamins most days.

Now for next year…I’ll have to finalize my plans over this glass of bubbly! Be back tomorrow! (probably)