Preparing for the New Year ~ by Magdalena Scott

My preparations for a new year usually include spending a chunk of December 26th boxing up the Christmas decorations. But this year I'm in no hurry to un-deck the halls. I'm still enjoying the lights on my teensy tree, and the musical sound of jingle bells each time I open the front door.

One thing that is the same this December--trying to figure out the best way to approach the future. 

What am I doing to prepare for 2022?

Buying a 2022 paper planner. Although I keep a digital calendar, I adore making a physical checkmark next to a to-do item. And, hey, sometimes it feels really good to make a thick mark through the to-do item. We all have those moments, right?

I've started working on my vision board for the new year. 

Making New Year's Resolutions? This is not for me. Your mileage may vary.

I like the idea of choosing a word for the year, although the exercise seldom pans out for me. Life happens, resulting in my word getting kicked to the curb. But with a few days of 2021 left, and with mulish hopefulness nudging me, maybe I'll give it another try.

Taking a break. This is my last blog post for a while. Personal challenges of the last four years, and this fall in particular, have caught up with me. In the coming new year, I'll be setting aside plenty of time to discern how to move forward.

You know what? Perhaps Reimagine is a good word for my 2022. 

I hope and pray that your new year will be healthy, happy, and peaceful.

How are you preparing for 2022?

Magdalena Scott

USA Today Bestselling Author Magdalena Scott writes sweet romance and romantic women’s fiction with small-town settings. She is a minimalist who loves to travel–carry-on baggage only–and is always pleasantly surprised at the kindness of strangers.

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How do you get ready for the new year? ~ by Magdalena Scott

As Mary Alford posted a couple of days ago, I've been looking forward to the new year's possibilities.

I love the holiday season: decorations, music, movies, and extra time with friends and family. But as usual, by the end of Christmas Day, my introverted, minimalist soul was ready for...less.

So, when I got out of bed on the twenty-sixth, I "un-decked the halls." The vintage aluminum tree and glass ornaments, then the red bow and jingle bells from the door, were stored away.

Then I moved some furniture around, just for fun, in my studio apartment. (Everything is on sliders, so even though I'm small, this is still a one-person job.)

Here are some other things I've done to prepare for 2019:

* Bought a paper planner. Although I keep a digital calendar, there's just no feeling like making a thick slash mark through a list item when it's accomplished. (Check marks are nice, but not quite as satisfying.)

* Made a list of 2018 lessons learned. (Sheesh - some of them have probably been on that list a few times!)

* Prayed for guidance.

* Wrote down, in the planner, personal and professional goals for 2019.

* Committed to check in regularly with an accountability partner.

That's me so far. How are you preparing for the new year?

Magdalena Scott

USA Today Bestselling Author Magdalena Scott writes sweet romance and romantic women’s fiction with small town settings. She is a minimalist, having downsized from a 3,000 square foot house to a studio apartment, where her Giant Closet continues to resist taming. When not writing at home or spending time with family and friends, she loves to travel–carry-on baggage only–and is always pleasantly surprised at the kindness of strangers.

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What's coming in 2018...by Kristin Wallace

It’s a New Year and a time for making resolutions and plans for 2018. My first big plan is pretty ambitious…the launch of a brand new series this spring called The Heiress Games. The idea started as one book a few years ago (for a different series), but quickly morphed into three books.

 Here’s what The Heiress Games is about….

A pig named Matilda. A $100 million dollar fortune. 3 women out to win custody of the pig…and the fortune.

Heiress Victoria Armington loved two things in life. Her pet pig Matilda and her hometown of Palm Cove, Florida. So when she dies (having never married or had children) she leaves her considerable fortune to Matilda and sets up a competition among the last three remaining Armington descendants. The prize? Custody of the pampered pig and control of the money. Enter the women competing for a fortune: a struggling single mother and lifetime outcast of Palm Cove, a woman desperate to save her sister, and a down on her luck singer with a mountain of medical bills. Plus, meet the three best friends who are supposed to be overseeing the Heiress Games: the lawyer who needs this case in order to make partner, the ex-football player who’s trying to re-reconnect with his troubled son, and the Grammy-winning singer who’s lost the music after a tragic accident. In the end, these three couples will end up competing for a far bigger of prize…a love that lasts forever.

What makes this series so unique – and also challenging to write – is that all three books take place concurrently and each tells the story from different couples’ perspectives. There are many scenes that appear in all three books, but you’ll see them from someone else’s POV. This is a crazy, funny, touching series of a group of loosely strangers who somehow become a family.

Oh…and then there is the pig at the center of The Heiress Games. Matilda is a character in her own right. She lives in pink castle, wears diamond collars, tutus and sequined scarves, and makes everyone fall in love with her. Matilda is so cool, in fact, that she now has her own Facebook and Twitter accounts.

I invite you to follow Matilda and see what she’s up to.

Like Matilda’s Facebook Page

Follow Matilda’s Twitter Page

And look for The Heiress Games to launch this spring!

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and contemporary romance, and women’s fiction filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. She is the author of two best selling series, Shellwater Key Tales (sweet contemporary romance) and Covington Falls Chronicles (inspirational romance). 

For info on all of her books, visit Kristin Wallace Author

Sign up for Kristin’s newsletter HERE and get a FREE book, Finding You At Christmas. 

The Slate is Clean, Sort of ~ by Magdalena Scott

On December 26th, I dismantled my vintage aluminum Christmas tree, and took down the hand-stitched and sequined "Joy" banner that was a gift years ago. Jingle bells and the brilliant red bow were removed from my all-season door wreath, and the mistletoe I kept forgetting about was muttered at and jerked out of its spot above the door. These and the other decorations are all stowed away for next year. (Even the mistletoe. Surely next year I'll remember to look up, all innocent-like, and say, "Oooh! Mistletoe!" at the correct moment.)

I had a lovely Christmas. It was filled with family, friends, beautiful music, and delicious food. But the minimalist in me delights in removing the extraneous. Although I greatly enjoyed my decorations, after a month they had begun to look and feel like clutter to me.

Making Space

When I took the four boxes (the smallest of which contains the tree) out of the closet the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I decided they wouldn't go back in until there was space on a lower shelf.

It wasn't a great idea to be on tiptoes on my little step stool to get them from the top shelf in my ten-foot-high closet, and I refused to re-enact that dangerous move. (A bad ankle sprain in September helps me be realistic about some things.) The boxes sat out longer than I'd like (talk about clutter!) but before holiday guests arrived, I re-arranged things enough to nestle them one shelf lower.

The decluttering and re-arranging hasn't ended yet. I'd love for it to continue indefinitely!

But here's my guilty admission. I'm hosting a luncheon on New Year's Day, and was shifting some dishes around looking for a better way to store them...

Guess Who Still Owns a Deviled Egg Plate

Yep--that would be me. I also unearthed the big etched-glass plate that would have been perfect for serving something somewhere in the last five years. When I didn't find it (whenever that was) in the only place it could possibly be, I decided the beautiful antique had sold at our auction.

Nope--not sold. Just over-owned. You would think (or at least, I would think) that, as limited as my storage space is, and as much as I've embraced minimalism, I wouldn't get all weird about whether or not a specific item answers roll call.

Sigh. Somebody still has work to do. And part of it is mental work. It's much easier to shift stuff in a closet than it is to shift thinking. But hey--I'm up for it. And I'm excited about it! Do you know why?

It's Time for a Clean Slate

Did you read Mary Alford's post here yesterday, about 2018? If not, take a moment and do so.

I won't ask for your resolutions; Mary has already begun that conversation. I will ask, what are you leaving behind in 2017? I'm leaving over-commitment, lack of organization, and negative thinking. When the clock strikes midnight and the new year begins, I will not carry those heavy burdens with me into 2018.

Incidentally, another thing that will not accompany me into the new year is an item received at the extended-family gift exchange on Christmas night. Due to some confusion, I didn't end up with a gift. And that, my friends, was the very best I could have hoped for. Instead of having a new belonging to read instructions about, store, dust, etc., I left the gathering with empty hands but a heart full of memories.

If you're interested in simplifying your life, I have a suggested reading list on my website. You can find it here: http://www.magdalenascott.com/p/simplify-your-life.html

I also wrote a romance about a young woman who realizes she can't reinvent herself after a near-fatal car wreck unless she leaves behind the burdens that tie her to the past. Find Emily's Dreams here.

Until we meet again,

Happy reading!
Magdalena Scott

www.magdalenascott.com

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Adding, Not Subtracting by Patricia Forsythe

 

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?  Six days into the new year is about as long as mine usually last and that’s because they almost always involve subtracting things like sugar and unnecessary carbs, which are hard for me to leave alone.  All it takes is for a piece of chocolate to wink at me and I’m a goner.

This year, I’m changing my strategy because I think 2016 might be a little rough, it being an election year and all.  I’ve decided to add things that will improve my life rather than subtract unwanted ones as I've done in the past.

This is a partial list since I haven’t thought of everything yet:

Fearlessness – I recently read a quote that said ‘Everything you want is on the other side of fear’ and I think that’s true.  Fear is the ugly enemy of fulfillment and happiness.

Joy – It’s so easy to get stuck in worry and despair, but joy is always as close as a sunrise, a blooming flower, or a giggling baby – or online cat videos.  Those are pretty joyous.

Creativity – Although I’m creative every day while writing books, sometimes it’s not much fun wrestling with plot, characters, and emotions, even though the end result is rewarding.  I want to find a creative hobby like painting or jewelry making where I can unleash creativity and maybe silence my inner critic long enough to enjoy making something new.

That’s it so far.  Pretty slim, isn’t it?  But I have to start somewhere.

How about you?  Anything you want to add in 2016?

 

Take a Chance! by Ginny Baird

Seven years ago this month, I took a chance and ran off to the sheriff to get married. After tirelessly caring for everyone else, I finally decided to grab some happiness for myself. Things couldn’t have worked out more wonderfully. If I had to make the same choice today, I’d take that leap again – without a doubt.

January is such a great month for new beginnings. It’s also a time to challenge ourselves by thinking of taking chances. It doesn’t have to be now or next month even, but I’m hoping that sometime during this year, we’ll all take a chance by doing something special for ourselves. When you’re in the role of mother, caretaker, partner or helpmate, it can be hard to focus on anything other than giving. Though it’s important to recall that we often have more to give when we’ve stepped back and taken a little for ourselves.

When considering New Year’s goals, don’t neglect to think of yourself.  If you’ve always wanted to paint, sign up for a class. If you’ve yearned for a session at a spa, book one and make it happen! If you’d like just one day to yourself to shop, have lunch, or see a movie, explain to your family that this is what you need to help revitalize you. Then, rinse, lather, repeat… as often as needed throughout the year to keep your batteries charged and help maintain a healthy outlook that balances self-care with caring for others. For when we give to ourselves, we increase the wealth of what we can contribute by being happier, and more deeply enriched, people.

So, what will it be? What will you take a chance on in 2015? If there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, or hoped to learn, you know what they say… There’s no time like the present!

~ * ~

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Ginny Baird writes short contemporary romance and romantic comedy. Her latest release is The Calendar Brides, a story in which twelve granddaughters plan to send their dear grandma back to Italy to reunite with her long-lost love. Find The Calendar Brides online at iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.