Ok y'all. I'm SO ready for this new year.

2023 was a bit rough for me. It was not my favorite. Sure, there were some high points and good days. I got back into blogging for one! Go me!

But I'm not going to pretend this year was all sunshine and roses, as much as I love both those things. 

Let's start with the things I'm excited about for the coming year, shall we?

I'm excited to have one job this year instead of several. I love my new job and plan on sticking with it for quite a while.

Second, I'm excited for the income that will come as a result of a full time job. Not only that, but finally allowing me to grow my financial situation. 2023 did a little of that, my husband and I are way better off than we were in 2022, to be sure. But we plan on keeping that momentum going. 

Next, I'm really excited about several projects I'm working on. Madamn, for one, which I hope to publish this year in August. But there is also a children's book or two in the works with my husband, and I am still working towards the publishing house, albeit much more slowly.

Most importantly, I'm excited to focus on my health. The events of this year have shown me that I really need to make this more of a focus. I've started a few habits that will help with this. I've noticed a huge change in my body now that I've had to give up dairy and gluten. 

More than just the diet changes, I'm excited to be working on getting stronger. In fact, STRONG is my word for 2024. 

I want to be stronger, not just physically, but also mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, and in the business sense, too. 

I want to not only start the year strong, but focus on growing that in all areas of my life and I'm so excited to see where I end up!

Not So Consistent, but Making Progress

 Hey friends!

Remember how I wanted to be more consistent, then got a new job and didn't write for a month? Yeah, it's been a doozy!

But just in time for the holidays, I think things are calming down a bit as I figure out a routine. 

I have Saturdays where I can really get some focused work done while I try to balance work and home life. 

Part of the reason I love writing so much is my ability to step away from those and create my own world. My office space just makes me so happy. 

I miss being here everyday, but finances are kind of a thing. So until my books are making me more than my work salary as a full time employee, I'll be masquerading as a bank teller by day. 

On the up side, I've found myself getting much more organized and having better systems in place so that it actually requires less time. 

That I'm loving.

So there might be a few changes and developments as I work on things, but know that big a great things are coming. I'm so excited to see where life takes me. 

The future is looking bright my friends!

Quality Time

 This morning I have been thinking a lot about Madamn.

More changes I want to make, things to include and clarify, stuff to remove...

And sometimes I am amazed that I am still feeling like I am in such early stages and frustrated that this is taking forever.

But isn't that... life?

Isn't that... history?

The more I study the past, the more amazed I am that people took so much time to do anything.

Not just DO the thing, but with QUALITY.

The details they put into buildings, dishes, clothing, even the quality of handwriting.

We still have many of these things from history, because the quality LASTS.

We live in a world where quantity is more desirable than quality. Where prolific is better than perfect.

Which is true, to an extent.

If that quantity improves the quality of what you are doing.

I have the quantity in my writing.

I have many, MANY journals dating back to when I was 8 years old. I have written blog posts, emails, letters, research papers, high school and college writing challenges, even social media posts.

I even have 4 published books.

I love those little books of mine, I really do.

I don't sell them like I should. I often get asked how they are doing.

Not well. And I know that's on me. I'm not putting the work in.

Because in my mind, they were practice.

They were research.

I'm not saying I'm waiting until I'm forty to publish Madamn, but some days it feels like it.

I want this book to be quality.

I want it to stand out.

I want it to last in literature.

One day I'll get faster at creating quality. I really hope my next book doesn't take me as long to write.

The thing is, Madamn is also research in a way. I'm practicing writing a novel, practicing fiction.

And the quality is only going to get better.

Because I'm taking a lesson from the history I'm writing about.

I am taking time to create a higher quality with details and flourishes that add to the story.

I have taken the time to practice.

I'm taking the time to practice.

And I am so excited to see the results.