Happy 2013!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve celebration. For me, that consisted of picking up some gourmet (and easy to cook) dishes from a local specialty store, and staying in to watch DVDs. There's too much chaos on the roads for my taste, and going out to dinner can often mean a 3-hour wait on a night such as 12/31.

So we had our Chicken Paris, our twice-baked potato salad and creamed spinach, and special key lime tart pies for dessert. The kids joined us, made smores on the grill, and a good time was had by all :)

This morning, I found something in my desk drawer. It was our 2011 Christmas letter, along with my 2012 New Year Resolutions. Since I usually misplace these things, it was fascinating to me to read these and see how many I kept over the 2012 year. To my astonishment, I kept 6 out of 10. That's pretty good. More than half.

I hope for better numbers in 2013, of course, but I would say 60% is my best year yet.

So here we go, with 2013 resolutions:

1. Take a pottery class. Do something different and artistic.
2. Take the plunge into self-publishing my 4-book Elemental series. Book 1 ("Water's Blood") is scheduled for Feb 1 release, with Book 2 out by late summer.
3. Get in better shape/eat healthy.
4. Take the time to write, draw, paint, whatever inspires me.
5. Blog more!

What about you? What are your goals for 2013?

Great inspirational speech for artistic ventures

Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite writers. His "The Graveyard Book" is original and evocative, and I could read it over and over.

He recently gave a graduation speech to the College of the Arts. It's approximately 19 minutes, and worth hearing his words, no matter what type of art you may practice as a vocation or hobby.