Friday, January 4, 2008

New Year's Anti-Resolutions

Maven Jacqueline BarbourAs you read this, I shall be wending my way with my family to Yosemite Valley for a long weekend of rest, relaxation, and a little skiing. (I haven't been skiing in at least a dozen years. I think I may have to take my beginner's lessons all over again, but this time, with my kids instead of my kid sister. I expect they'll all be whizzing past me before lunchtime!)

You might have guessed from the title of this post that I'm not much of a resolution-maker. Or perhaps more accurately, I'm not much of a resolution keeper.

The main problem with New Year's Resolutions, in my estimation, is that if it's a good enough idea to resolve to start doing it on January 1, why wouldn't you start doing it on December 31 (or 28 or 15 or whatever)? If you can put it off until January 1, you can put it off indefinitely as far as I'm concerned.

So instead of resolutions, I have anti-resolutions. Things I'd like to not do this year that I did in 2007. In 2008, I will not:

1. Enter a slew of contests.
2. Start manuscripts I can't seem to finish.
3. Put on ten pounds.
4. Come up with another pseudonym.
5. Open my mouth and insert my foot--at least not repeatedly!

YOUR TURN: Do you make New Year's Resolutions? If you do, do you keep them? What five things would you like to do (or not do) differently this year?

Finally, I will be guest-blogging in my Jackie Barbosa guise at The Spiced Tea Party on Wednesday, January 9th. I hope you'll stop by and say hi!

8 comments:

Bill Clark said...

w00t for the ski trip! Will you be staying at the Ahwahnee? (It was in the NYT Sunday magazine double-crostic recently, so of course I had to ask!)

I've weighed in elsewhere about how I'm doing a project list instead of resolutions this year. But I also like your anti-resolution approach. Makes a handy excuse for things one would prefer not to do..."I'm sorry, I can't eat this cod liver oil soup - it's on my list of New Year's Anti-Resolutions."

The obvious beauty of your approach, Jacq, is that it can be a work in progress, so to speak - easily added to or subtracted from as circumstances may dictate. Great idea!!

B.E. Sanderson said...

Love the Anti-Resolutions! I'm stumped for some of my own at the moment, but I'll be making my own list. I'm sure I did some things last year that I don't want to do this year.

Oh, like putting italics in a query letter. They hate that. And gaining any additional weight is a good one, too. =oD

Erica Ridley said...

#4 made me LOL.

Anonymous said...

I don't do resolutions. I do goals. :D

Darcy Burke said...

Using your logic Bill, I wonder if I can make changing Zane's diapers part of my Anti-Resolutions. "Sorry, Zane, it's 2008 the Year of No More Diapers." (From this comment to someone's ears.)

I make resolutions (if you can call them that) all the time. They just get chat time this time of year because it's what we do. I'd like to find a way to set or change certain habits. That's a tough one for me.

Bill Clark said...

"Sorry, Zane, it's 2008 the Year of No More Diapers."

Y'know, Darcy, by the time the year is out your anti-resolution may come to pass. And after all, isn't it true that we have a whole year - well, 361 days at this point - to make good on our resolutions/goals/anti-resolutions? :-)

Marnee Bailey said...

Darcy, LOL! The year of no more diapers. I will have to speak with DS about this. :)

Jackie Barbosa said...

To answer Bill's question, we didn't stay at the Ahwahnee, but at the Yosemite Lodge (great location, decent room, good breakfast, less than half the price and AVAILABLE--the Ahwahnee has to be booked a year in advance!).

We had a great time and I may try to get a few photos up on the blog later this week. (Right now, I'm still dealing with piles of laundry and grocery shopping and all the post-vacation rigamarole.)

Erica, you may think #4 is funny, but I should warn you, I'm thinking of cutting DOWN on pen names this year and well, if I do it, the one that's staying isn't this one :D.

Darcy, I am so with you on the year of no more diapers. I was so glad when my kids had all reached that year. And indeed, eventually, it's bound to be. And I agree that setting or changing habits is the hardest (ergo, anti-resolution #5 is the toughie!).

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