So, what were they and how did I do?
I only made two resolutions this year so this will be brief - the first was to shed the extra 2-stone I was carrying post-baby (that I didn't manage to shift in-between pregnancies either); and the second was to read 50 books during the course of the year.
I'll start with the failure - or rather the half-failure - in fact, I'm going to turn it into a success story instead... I didn't shift the 2-stone I had set myself but I did manage to shift just over a stone and get myself back into the healthy BMI zone as well as a fair amount of my pre-pregnancy clothes.
And then there is the resounding success... at last count I have read 198 books (173 if you're not allowing for re-reads and bind-ups counting as just 1) so I stomped all over that target of 50. Pah!!
Click here if you'd like more info: My 50 book reading challenge for 2011
And that brings me neatly onto 2012... what do I want to achieve next year?
My current thinking is as follows:
1) Shed that extra 1-stone
It's not going to be easy, seeing as I'm not really overweight now anyway, but I want to get back into all of my old clothes and feel a bit better in myself. It should be manageable as long as I don't pig out on the 'naughty' stuff and neglect the exercise - which is what happened this year having not done a workout since the start of school summer holidays. Slow and steady wins the race and all that and I refuse to diet, preferring healthy eating and moderate exercise whilst enjoying treats along the way - life's too short to make myself miserable!
I have also signed up for the Race for Life so I really do need to get back into my exercise regime and do some training if I want to run it as I intend and not fall back on walking around it. I should stress here that I am really NOT a runner - even in my youth I was always a sprinter - so this is a pretty big challenge in itself and one that I am not especially looking forward to, but it's for a very good cause.
2) Read 100 books
I've doubled last year's target of 50 and, despite this year's whopping achievement, I still think it's fairly ambitious at almost two books per week.
3) Complete the first draft of a full manuscript
I have two manuscripts on the go at the moment, 'The Masquerade Must Die' and 'Love in the Aisles', and I intend to finish the first draft of at least one of them during 2012.
Ideally, I will also revise and edit one of them and get my first query letter sent out but I don't want to go as far as making that a resolution - I would much rather wait until I had a worthy manuscript than rush it off because of a self-imposed deadline. Maybe I'll have it ready in time for next year's Mills and Boon New Voices competition and can go down that route instead, maybe not. I'll just have to wait and see how it goes.
And I think that will do: three challenges - one physical, one personal and one professional - yes, that will do very nicely indeed!
Do you set yourself resolutions at the New Year?
What do you hope to achieve in 2012?
I'd love to hear about all about it so why not comment below?
What do you hope to achieve in 2012?
I'd love to hear about all about it so why not comment below?
Good for you for losing the weight and in a healthy way! I think too thin is overdone anyway when one looks at the half starved actresses out there. I love reading as well but you have me beat by way over a 100:) It makes me sing inside that people still love to read and good to hear about your book-these are resolutions that are better than the norms you hear.
ReplyDeleteWish I had your enthusiasm. I only completed a couple of mine!
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